Shannon leads Indians over Rams in season opener, 31-15

Senior Comanche quarterback Colby Shannon made his final home opener memorable, scoring five touchdowns as the Indians pulled away from the visiting S&S Consolidated Rams from Sadler, Texas, 31-15, on Friday night.
While Shannon was leading the offense, the Indians had a stellar defensive effort to keep the Rams scoreless in the second half, allowing the Indians to hold on for the win.
Comanche scored 24 points in the first half, scoring on four of five possessions. They would need them as the Indians came out sluggish in the second half, but the defense kept them in the lead.
Shannon would finish with 24 carries for 234 yards and five scores. He was 8-of-19 passing with one interception for 105 yards. He had one long potential touchdown run and one potential passing touchdown called back on penalties.
Comanche coach Gary Robinson was happy with his team's performance in their first game of the season.
"I thought in the first half we played really well," Robinson said. "We came out clicking on offense, and played good on defense. They played hard tonight, probably the hardest I've seen them play since I've been here."
Robinson said his team was focused before the game.
"I think that's the maturity level," Robinson said. "There's the bunch of seniors in there. That's the quietest the locker room has ever been before a game. The mental preparation was a ton better. I think that showed in the first half."
Now the trick will be to keep the momentum going after halftime.
"What we need to improve on is going into the locker room at halftime and not losing focus," Robinson said. "I think we kind of lost our focus in the second half, but at the same time there were some crucial penalties that hurt us."
Robinson thought his team was better conditioned and it showed in the second half on defense.
"We were in better shape than they were," Robinson said. "We played hard and they got tired."
He also had praise for his senior quarterback.
"He's a good runner," Robinson said. "I thought his passing game was off a little bit tonight, but his running was good. That is what we talked about before the game, if you are scrambling around just tuck that sucker and go because he can win football games by just running the ball."
The Indians (1-0) received the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards in nine plays capped off by a four-yard run by Shannon. The missed extra point kept the score at 6-0 with 8:12 remaining in the first quarter.
The Rams (0-1) answered by scoring in just two plays on their first possession. The made point after gave S&S Consolidated a 7-6 lead in 7:37 still left in the opening quarter.
The lead would not last long, however, Comanche came right back and scored on a 72-yard drive in six plays before Shannon broke a couple of tackles near the line of scrimmage and then took off on a 40-yard touchdown run down the left sideline.
The touchdown would give the Indians the lead for good. 
The Rams drove down to the Comanche 10 on their next possession, but the Comanche defense held and forced a turnover on downs to end the threat. 
Comanche's offense then went back to work, driving 86 yards on 15 plays with Shannon capping the drive off with a three-yard run to push the lead to 18-7 with 5:10 left in the half.
After forcing a Rams' punt, Comanche was going to go for the jugular, but Shannon's pass on the third play of the drive was tipped and intercepted. 
S&S would take advantage and score in two plays from the Comanche 35-yard line on a 35-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 18-15 with a 1:23 left on the clock.
Shannon, however, was not finished. On the next possession following a 36-yard pass to Kruz Lile, Shannon broke loose on a 19-yard run with just 33 seconds left to give the Indians a 24-15 lead.
The offense could not carry the momentum into the second half as penalties and a turnover thwarted much of their efforts. The defense, however, kept the pressure on the Rams as the defensive line and blitzing linebackers kept S&S off-balance. The Rams did have some drives but they all ended in punts or turnovers on downs.