HENRYETTA - The 2018 varsity football season opener was a nightmare for the Henryetta Golden Knights this past Friday night at historic Cameron Field.

The Knights suffered their third-straight - and 9th in the last 11 - meeting with their arch rivals, the Morris Eagles in last Friday's season opener for both Okmulgee County squads.

The Henryetta gridiron squad found themselves in an early deficit in the 2018 opener, as Morris scored three times in the first 20 minutes for a 20-0 advantage.

The lone score for the Knights came with 12 seconds left before halftime, cutting the deficit to 12 points.

The Henryetta squad was unable to get any closer, as Morris scored three more times in the final 24 minutes, 12 seconds of regulation to hand the Knights the season-opening 40-8 setback.

The Henryetta defense had a hard time containing Morris sophomore tailback Jeremiah Ramos during the contest. Ramos had 118 yards rushing and 5 TDs in the contest, including scoring the final two touchdowns in a 17-second span in the fourth quarter. The Henryetta offense turned the ball over six times in the opener - three fumbles and three interceptions.

The Knight defense did not come away empty-handed, however, in the contest, recording a total of three takeaways, with two fumble recoveries and one interception.

Henryetta will return to action this Friday night, traveling to Warner for a non-district battle with the Warner Eagles. The Week 2 showdown with Warner is scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m. In last Friday's season opener, Morris got the scoring started with a 4-yard TD run by Ramos at the 3:15 mark of the opening quarter. Kolby Burgess crossed the goal line on the conversion attempt to give the Morris squad an 8-0 advantage after the first 12 minutes of action.

Ramos added TD runs of 1 and 3 yards, respectively, in the second quarter to increase the Morris lead to 20-0. Ramos' first score of the second stanza came at the 8:28 mark with Burgess running in the conversion attempt.

The second touchdown run of the second quarter by Ramos came with 3:58 left in the first half. The Henryetta defense kept the ballcarrier out of the end zone on the conversion attempt to trail 20-0.

Both teams found the end zone in the final minute of the second quarter to send the county battle into halftime with Morris in front, 28-8.

Austen Macaluso got the Knights on the scoreboard for the first time in 2018 by hauling in a 16-yard TD pass from Jakob White with 12 seconds left in the second stanza. White then hooked up successfully with Cameron McKinney on the 2-point conversion try to cut the Morris lead to 20-8.

Burgess found Scott Walters on a 30-yard touchdown strike on the final play of the first half to send the county teams to their respective lockerrooms with the Eagles leading 28-8.

Neither team was able to find the end zone in the third quarter, then Ramos scored twice for Morris in a span of 17 seconds in the fourth quarter to help the visiting Eagles walk away with the 40-8 victory.

Ramos' first touchdown of the final frame came with 6:55 left in regulation when the sophomore tailback raced 49 yards to pay-dirt, extending the Eagles' lead to 34-8.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Morris special teams unit recovered a Henryetta fumble at the Henryetta 23 and needed just one play to cover the 23 yards, as Ramos scampered 23 yards for his fifth - and final - touchdown of the contest. Ramos' last score came at the 6:38 mark of the final quarter and put the finishing touches on Morris' 40-8 victory.

The Knights totaled 196 yards of offense on 56 plays, earning 14 first downs, in the season-opening loss. The Henryetta squad had 87 yards rushing on 25 carries and were 11 of 31 passing for 109 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.

The Knights were also flagged 16 times for 115 yards in the contest.

Jordan Hart was the leading rusher for Henryetta with nine carries for 63 yards - an average of 7 yards per carry. Other HHS ball-carriers against Morris were Jeremiah Boyles with one carry for 23 yards, Austen Macaluso with two carries for four yards, and Jakob White with 13 carries for minus-three yards.

The top receiver for the Knights in the opener was Austen Macaluso with two catches for 37 yards and one score. Aiden Macaluso was next in the receiving department for Henryetta with three catches for 32 yards. Cameron McKinney, Daniel Bear, Jeremiah Boyles, and Jordan Hart also had receptions for Henryetta in the season-opening loss.

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Morris 40, Henryetta 8

Morris -8-20-0-12 (40)

Henryetta-0- 8-0- 0 (8)

First Quarter

Morris - Jeremiah Ramos, 4-yard run (Kolby Burgess run); 3:15

Second Quarter

Morris - Ramos, 1-yard run (Burgess run); 8:28 Morris - Ramos, 3-yard run (Run Failed); 3:58 Henryetta - Austen Macaluso, 16-yard pass from Jakob White (Cameron McKinney pass from White); 0:12 Morris - Scott Walters, 30-yard pass from Burgess (Pass Failed); 0:00

Third Quarter

No Score

Fourth Quarter

Morris - Ramos, 49-yard run (Pass Failed); 6:55 Morris - Ramos, 23-yard run (Pass Failed); 6:38

Team Stats

First Downs: Morris 18; Henryetta 14 Rushing: Morris 35-182; Henryetta 25-87 Passing: Morris 9-13-1 152; Henryetta 11-31-3 109 Total Offense: Morris 334; Henryetta 196 Fumbles: Morris 2-2; Henryetta 3-3 Penalties: Morris 15-124; Henryetta 16-115

Henryetta Individual Stats

Rushing: Jordan Hart 9-63; Jeremiah Boyles 1-23; Austen Macaluso 2-4; Jakob White 13-(-3). Passing: Jakob White 11-31-3 109, TD. Receiving: Austen Macaluso 2-37, TD; Aden Macaluso 3-32; Cameron McKinney 2-26; Daniel Bear 1-13; Jeremiah Boyles 2-4; Jordan Hart 1-(-3).