By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

Callaway’s Antinez Blount made plenty of big plays through the first four games of the season, but coming into Friday’s Region 5-AA opener against Temple he’d yet to score a touchdown.

Blount can cross that off his to-do list.

During the 34-6 victory, Blount had touchdown receptions of 33 and 34 yards from Demetrius Coleman to help Callaway get its region schedule started with a flourish.

Even though Blount hadn’t scored a touchdown in the earlier games, he’d been a huge part of the offense with his ability to make plays down the field.

Blount is part of a talented wide receiver corps that also includes

Jacob Freeman, Jymere Jones, Jalin Shephard and Markus Morman.

“I was never selfish. Everybody’s time is going to come,” Blount said. “If you work hard, your time’s going to come. As long as somebody scores. It doesn’t matter who.”

Blount found the end zone on Callaway’s first possession on Thursday, with Coleman finding him in the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown.

In the third quarter, Blount caught a 34-yard touchdown catch from Coleman to give Callaway a 26-0 lead.

Blount is having a monster season for the Cavaliers, who have scored 214 points during a four-game winning streak.

In a 56-45 win over Troup, Blount had five catches for 137 yards, helping set up a handful of Troup touchdowns.

In the season opener against Opelika, it was Blount’s 50-yard catch that set up Callaway’s lone touchdown.

Blount continued to make plays in blowout wins over Cross Keys and LaGrange, leading up to his breakout performance against Troup.

Blount has been working closely with wide-receivers coach Dialleo Burks, the former head coach at LaGrange High.

Before going into coaching, Burks played professional football for a decade, so he brings a wealth of experience to the practice field.

“He’s helped us a lot,” Blount said. “He’s a coach with NFL experience. To come help us, it’s a blessing.”

STINGY DEFENSE: The game was still very much in doubt when Temple marched down the field, getting to the Callaway 1-yard line in the second quarter.

Had Temple scored a touchdown and kicked an extra point, the game would have been deadlocked.

Instead, Callaway’s defense made two straight tackles for loss, and an incomplete pass on fourth down forced Temple to attempt a field goal, which was unsuccessful.

Callaway responded with an 80-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a Charlie Dixon 2-yard scoring run, making it a 14-0 game with 1:17 left in the first half.

In the third quarter, Temple once again had the ball deep in Callaway territory after recovering a fumble.

Temple went for it on fourth down, and LaQuize Gilbert made a terrific open-field tackle to force a turnover on downs.

Once again the Cavaliers followed that up with a touchdown, with Jalin Shephard taking a handoff from Demetrius Coleman and racing 86 yards to the end zone.

Callaway’s defense continued to make plays throughout the game, with Temple’s lone touchdown coming midway through the fourth quarter when it trailed 34-0.

The defense performed at a high level, even though senior linebacker R.J. Williams missed a large portion of the game with an injury.

“We made several big stands in the red zone that helped us get momentum, and helped us win the ballgame,” Callaway head coach Pete Wiggins said.

BIG PLAYS: A staple of Callaway’s offense this season has been the ability to make big plays.

In earlier games, wide receiver Jacob Freeman had a 98-yard touchdown catch from Demetrius Coleman, Cartavious “Tank” Bigsby had multiple scoring runs of more than

50 yards, and Charlie Dixon had an 88-yard scoring run against LaGrange.

That trait was on display once again against Temple.

With Callaway backed up deep in its own territory in the third quarter, Jalin Shephard took a handoff from Demetrius Coleman, and he beat the Temple defense for an 86-yard touchdown.

UP NEXT: Callaway will continue its Region 5-AA schedule when it visits Bremen on Friday.

It will be the region opener for Bremen (2-2), which was third in the region last season behind Heard County and Callaway.