Charles Henderson Middle School began the 2016 season with 40-24 win over Coppinville on Thursday.

“It was about as good a way to start as we could hope for,” said Trojans head coach Will Garner. “It was one of the most important games of the year, and it just happened to be the first one. We came out quick and forced a turnover.”

From the very first snap the Trojans offensive line controlled the game.

“We learned tonight that our offensive line controls our team,” Garner said. “They set the tone from play one. Our two running backs in Blair and Caldwell had phenomenal ballgames.

The Trojan offense scored five touchdowns, including a touchdown pass from quarterback Walker Stallworth to Javen Hill and rushing touchdowns Ja’raye Blair and Elijah Caldwell.

On the defensive side of the ball the Trojans forced three turnovers to set up the offense.

Winning the opening game of the season was a must for the Trojans on Thursday and Garner believes it sets the tone for the rest of the season.

“It was absolutely huge,” Garner said. “We challenged our guys at the beginning of the week to come out and play with a fast tempo and fly around. The guys came out and responded and played very physical. They came out and ran the ball, which set the tone of the game. We could not have asked for a better start from our guys.”

The Trojans have had to battle the heat during practice and they were well conditioned at game time.

“We had a few guys cramp at the beginning of the ball game which is understandable,” Garner said. “We were in much better shape than the opposing team. You could tell our conditioning held all our guys stronger through the first half.”

The Trojans face Girard next Thursday.