Gilbert’s football team got back on track Friday night as the Indians rolled past Batesburg-Leesville 41-6. 

After suffering its first loss of the season last time out, the Indians returned to Tomahawk Stadium and unloaded on the Panthers in their home opener. Gilbert conceded an opening touchdown and then went on to shut out Batesburg-Leesville 41-0 the rest of the way. 

After the game, head coach Ozzie Exume said he was happy to get the win, but stressed to his team it could’ve and should’ve been by more. He has high expectations for his group this season, and with region play creeping up, he wants them in top form. 

“We want to be cleaner. A lot of plays got called back,” he said. “ All in all, I'm happy with the win. I'm not satisfied.” 

Despite the minor errors, Gilbert's offense moved the ball when it wanted, how it wanted, as many top skill guys got involved. 

Quarterback Kendall Wright threw for over 250 yards and two touchdowns. 

His top targets were Chandler Guthrie and Chance McLauchin. The pair combined for more than 200 yards on 11 catches. Guthrie caught both touchdown passes. 

Jaylen Brost carried his load in the backfield, rushing for 161 yards and two touchdowns. 

Together, all four players combined for over 400 yards of offense in just three quarters. Gilbert got their key guys some rest late in the game and played the backups for the final few minutes. 

“We’ve got some guys that have played a lot of football with this program, and we got some guys that are really young, but every week they’re getting better,” Exume said. 

Dee Coleman got the lone touchdown for the Panthers. He took a handoff at the 50 and shot through a gap in the middle of the line and didn’t stop until he reached the end zone to be swarmed by his team.

That was the last bit of celebration Batesburg did that night as Gilbert’s defense refused to allow another busted play like that. 

“We’re going to be really intentional about fixing it, so it doesn’t happen again,” Exume said. “We want to start games a little bit hotter, be ready to go, and throw that first punch.”

The Indians may have had to eat the first punch, but they threw all the rest until the final bell. 

Brost scored the first touchdown for the Indians, ramming his way into the end zone from one yard out. 

The Panthers' next drive was going well as the team moved the ball into the red zone, but soon all the positive momentum would be snatched away. 

A penalty backed the team up to the 17-yard line. Then facing a second and 16, Terrance Cook’s pass was deflected into the air and fell into the arms of Gilbert’s Gavin Elliot. 

The Indians offense took three plays to score their next touchdown. This time, Wright hit Guthrie, who took off 82 yards for the score.

Batesburg-Leesville kept fighting and responded to Gilbert’s score with another long drive that threatened to score. The Indian’s defense eventually locked down and stopped the Panthers from reaching the end zone, but they could attempt a field goal. 

Unfortunately for Batesburg, the kick attempt missed the mark and all the work to get into scoring position was for nothing. Gilbert took over, and Brost got his second touchdown. 

Trailing 21-6, the Panthers still had a chance to soften the blow and get some points on the board before halftime. However, that opportunity would have to wait as the team failed to recover the kickoff and Gilbert took over for an extra possession. 

The free possession also ended in points as Wright found a wide-open Guthrie in the back of the end zone. 

Neither team scored again in the first half, but both got one more possession. 

Batesburg’s struggles continued in the second half, but this time the team had much less success moving downfield. 

Gilbert mostly took its time, milking the clock but still looking to score. The Indians would add 13 more to their lead off a pair of quarterback keepers from Wright and backup Jack McQuilkin.

Batesburg-Leesville’s rough start to the year continues with the loss. The Panthers are (0-4) this season and play Clinton next week. 

Gilbert improved to (3-1) and bounced back nicely from its 37-0 loss against South Aiken the previous week.

The Indians will host Chapin next week before jumping straight into conference play with a game against Camden.