The Charles Henderson Trojans kicked off their 2015 season with a preseason victory over their archrival Pike County 17-13 Friday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium

The Pike County Classic didn’t disappoint as the season opener as both teams had a chance to walk away winners Friday night.

The Bulldogs got the game off to a roaring start in the game’s opening play when Jerrell Lawson rolled out and connected with Jahmir Lampley who sprinted to a 56-yard touchdown to put the Bull dogs up early 7-0.

“We knew they were going to come out and either do a mis-direction or a boot and that’s what they did,” said Trojan head coach Brad McCoy. “It was a simple read that we had a miscue on. It was something we worked on all week, that’s the nerves part of the game coming out.”

After the opening touchdown, the Trojan defense settled down and really stifled the Bulldogs potent offensive attack.

The Trojans dominated the time of position in the opening half with the Bulldogs offense only touching the ball four more times in the first half. The Trojans held the Bulldogs’ strong offense to three and out in three straight possessions.

“I was pleased with the defense being able to settle down. I thought we came back and really tackled and made adjustments,” McCoy said. “We made the plays we were supposed to make.”

The Trojans featured a heavy running attack Friday night led by quarterback Bryson Gandy and sophomore running back Jared Wilson.

Gandy rushed the ball 16 times in the first half for a total of 80 yards.

Wilson followed suit with 71 yards on 17 carries.

After the early touch down for the Bulldogs and a turnover on downs by the Trojans, Charles Henderson forced their first three and out and took over on the Bulldogs 38 and went on an 11 play drive culminating in a three-yard touchdown run by Jalante Smith to tie the game at seven.

The game stayed tied all the way until the final minute of the first half when kicker Baylor Barnes nailed a 22-yard field goal to give the Trojans a 10-7 lead heading into the half.

After more three and outs by both teams, the Trojans added to their lead midway through the third quarter. On the fourth play of the drive, Gandy connected with Nick Lewis on a 37-yard touchdown pass to push the Trojan lead out to 10 at 17-7.

Gandy didn’t throw the ball much Friday night but he connected at a key moment in the game.

“Bryson Gandy played a good game for us,” McCoy said. “I think Bryson showed that he can lead the offense and make plays. Our offense is always the second or third to come along. Our offensive line did a great job, we controlled the line of the scrimmage tonight.”

The game entered the fourth quarter with the Trojans still up by 10 points. Early into the fourth quarter the Bulldogs had an opportunity to score and initially had a long touchdown reception before it was reversed to an incomplete pass.

After an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty Pike County faced a fourth down. Lawson faced pressure and threw an interception in the end zone to No. 4 to end the threat.

“The second half with all the negative that happened, the turnovers and the penalties, the defense really bowed the neck in the red zone, McCoy said. “I am really proud of them, they were resilient and they stuck in there.”

Pike County had one final chance to win the game in the game’s final two minutes when they took over the ball on their own 17 yard line with just 1:16 on the clock. The Bulldogs failed to get a first down giving the Trojans the win.

The Trojans featured a heavy run attack all evening long in their win against Pike County. Wilson led the way with 97 rushing yards on 29 carries.

“It was a big win for us tonight,” Wilson said. “They are our big rival and we really wanted to go out there and beat them.

Gandy finished second in rushing on Friday night rushing for 83 yards on 20 carries. He finished the game 3-6 in the passing game for 42 yards and one touchdown.

Next week the Trojans will travel to take on Dale County Friday night, kick off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.