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It was a dominant homecoming cor the Callaway football team. The Cavaliers routed region foe Jackson 49-14 in a comfortable night at Callaway Stadium.

“I thought that we established physicality up front, on offensive line and defensive line and that was the difference tonight,” Callaway coach Pete Wiggins said. “They have a really physical football team and you can see that with their approach to this game.”

It was a nearly perfect start for the Cavaliers before things got a bit shaky. Callaway returned the opening kickoff to the Red Devil 40-yard line and quickly capitalized on the good field position when BreShun Hall punched the ball into the end zone from a yard out after a long run from Blake Harrington set the Cavaliers up just inches from the goal line.

Harrington would eventually find the end zone in the first quarter on a long touchdown run after the Callaway defense forced a punt on the opening possession from Jackson. Harrington, the team’s junior starting quarterback, has really come into his own as a first-year starter.

“He’s a competitor. Regardless of what he’s doing, he’s going to compete, and he’s physical, and he wants to win, and so, you know, he comes to work each day and you know what you’re going to get,” Wiggins said. “He gives his all out here on the field, and he brings that leadership quality to our team.”

However, the Cavaliers early 13-0 lead quickly evaporated. The Red Devils forced a couple of turnovers and quickly turned those into two touchdowns, taking a 14-13 lead with 2:21 left to go in the first quarter.

“We had two big turnovers and you can’t give anybody those opportunities and momentum ,” Wiggins said.

Callaway had a near instant response as Harrington connected with Bryceton Sanders on a 2-yard throw for a touchdown with a minute to go in the first quarter. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful as the Cavaliers settled for a 19-14 lead.

From there, it was all Cavaliers. Tyren Buggs found paydirt for the first time on the night from 18 yards out just three minutes after the Cavaliers recaptured the lead.

A 50-yard touchdown pass from Harrington to Jeremiah Dunn with 8:23 left in the first half gave the Cavaliers a comfortable 33-14 lead. A muffed kickoff gave the ball back to Callaway and one play later Harrington hit Hall for a 25-yard touchdown.

The Cavaliers would find the end zone one last time in the third quarter as Buggs got his second touchdown of the night to trigger a running clock and an opportunity for some backups to get into the game.

Buggs and Hall missed the first four games of the season and they were sorely missed.

“And so those two guys being back is huge for, they’re both explosive,” Wiggins said. “They’re both two different kind of guys. I mean, BreShun is a little bit heavier, he’s bigger, and more of a power guy where Buggs is shifty. But they are both really, really special football players.”

After a low start, the defense buckled down. The team gave up very little to the Red Devils offense after the first quarter and came away with a big turnover  in the second quarter when Xae Anderson dislodged the football and Dunn recovered it.

Callaway is now 7-2 on the season and 4-0 in region play. The Cavaliers will host Morgan County in a region championship showdown at Callaway Stadium next Friday.