In a game that started slow and was favoring the Tallassee Tigers style of play, sophomore Quintus Moss stepped up and ran an interception 30 yards to the end zone to give the Charles Henderson Trojans momentum and the lead just before the half Friday night at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium.

Moss’ interception breathed new life into the Trojans and propelled them to a 25-7 victory.

The Trojans (2-0, 1-0 AHSAA 5A Region 2) struggled to contain the Tigers’ (1-1, 0-1 AHSAA 5A Region 2) offense early.

“That was a huge momentum swinger,” Trojan head coach Hugh Fountain said. “That was a big pick. You have to say we were flat until then.”

The Trojans trailed 7-3 at that juncture in the game, following a drive that saw senior place kicker Dustin Smith nail his first of four field goals on the night.

“My brother had just bought me a new pair of gloves this week,” Moss said. “He told me he wanted to see me do something with them.”

Moss did, to the tune of completely turning the game around for Charles Henderson.

The Trojans missed the extra point attempt, but they had the lead at the half and never looked back.

“That play broke our backs,” Tallassee head coach Rodney Dollar said. “They came out and just wore us down after that.”

The Trojans came out of the half with a 67-yard kickoff return from junior Jawara White to the Tallassee 27 yard line.

“It’s all because of the people that set the blocks,” White said. “They set the wall and I just find the way through.”

White named every player on the defensive side of the ball and gave them credit for the game’s success.

“Thanks to all of the defense for playing hard,” White said.

The opening kick return set up an eventual eight-yard touchdown run by senior fullback Lequintez Reynolds.

That boosted Henderson’s lead to 16-7 with 9:12 to play in the third quarter after a true PAT from Smith.

Tallassee was forced to punt and the next drive for CHHS ended with a 22-yard field goal from Smith, pushing the lead to 19-7.

Smith hit field goals from 23, 32, 28 and 22 yards.

“It helps the team and it helps me,” Smith said. “The guys on offense and defense do what they do so I can go out and do what I do. I can’t do it without them.”

Smith set a career high with four field goals in one game.

“The kicking game definitely made a difference tonight,” Fountain said. “Our punt returns and field goals were big.”

White, the team’s punt and kick returner had 117 total yards on three returns and he had a 47-yard return negated by a clipping call on his fourth return. Junior quarterback K.D. Edenfield had two returns for 85 yards.

The Trojans offense rushed for 221 yards on the night. Junior Ahmaad Brantley led the ground attack with 68 yards.

Edenfield ran for 55 yards, White added 40 yards and junior Billy Neal added 33 yards. Reynolds had 10 yards and a touchdown.

The Trojans threw for just 12 yards on the night.

“I’m exhausted,” Fountain said after the game. “You never know how a 5A game is going to turn out. They came out and played us great in the first half.”

White said the team is glad to get a win, and he knows they did not do it alone.

“We’re thankful for our coaches for getting us prepared,” White said. “We would like to thank God for letting us have a good game. He makes it all possible.”

The Trojans hit the road for the first time this regular season for a region contest against Booker T. Washington in Tuskegee. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.