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KENNEWICK -- Grant Woods' touchdown run early in the fourth quarter Saturday night pretty well summed up how the evening went for the Kennewick football team.
He was in motion to start the play, stayed in motion throughout and didn't stop until he reached the end zone.
When the Pendleton Buckaroos coughed up the ball on the ensuing kickoff, like everything else on this night, it went the Lions' way.
Woods ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns, Drew Loftus threw for three scores and ran in another, and the Lions cruised to a 41-7 rout in the season-opener at Lampson Stadium.
"I haven't had fun like that on a football field in quite a few years," said Loftus, who made a smooth transition from all-league wide receiver last season to quarterback, where he had played most of his life.
He completed 8 of 10 passes for 124 yards, about half of that coming on an incredible catch and run by Bodie Simpson in the first quarter.
Loftus, whose speed rolling out gave the defense pause all night, pulled a defender out of coverage before floating a pass to Simpson a few yards past the line of scrimmage. Simpson raced toward the sideline and seemed to be hemmed in by half the Pendleton defense. He shook one tackle and somehow slipped free of the scrum, sprinting the final 45 yards on a play that covered 63 yards.
"You don't see a play like that very often," Loftus said.
On the heels of Woods' first touchdown -- a 24-yard sprint around a perfectly sealed left side -- it was evident the Buckaroos were going to keep up in this race.
"You got to run hard on every down, on every play," said Woods, who displayed a nose for the corner and wasn't afraid to put his hat on a tackler to pick up extra yards falling forward. "You run for touchdowns, and those extra yards count big in a game of inches."
Pendleton pulled within 14-7 on Jacob Watkins' 4-yard run with 1:09 left in the half -- another long drive by the visitors' double-wing offense that finally hit pay dirt.
But Jose Magana speared the ensuing linedrive kickoff out of the air, setting the Lions up a midfield.
After Loftus scrambled 25 yards on a busted play -- he finished with 64 yards on seven carries -- Zak Albertin hauled in another well-placed floater and scored from 20 yards out.
Another touchdown on the opening drive of the second half -- Simpson's second scoring catch -- gave Kennewick a three-TD cushion and pretty much ended Pendleton's hopes.
With both Simpson and Woods showing a penchant for play-making, Loftus keeping the pass rush honest and the defense shutting down the Buckaroos in the second half, the Lions had a lot to smile about in Week 1.
"What I'm excited about is our boys," said coach Bill Templeton. "They're a great group and they have great athleticism, and they play with their heart."
Kennewick 41, Pendleton 7
Pendleton 0 7 0 0 -- 7
Kennewick 14 7 13 7 -- 41
SCORING PLAYS
K--Grant Woods 24 run (Paul Martinez kick)
K--Bodie Simpson 63 pass from Drew Loftus (Martinez kick)
P--Jacob Watkins 4 run (Lathan Alger kick)
K--Zak Albertin 20 pass from Loftus (Martinez)
K--Simpson 9 pass from Loftus (Martinez kick)
K--Loftus 1 run (kick fail)
K--Woods 30 run (Martinez kick)
STATISTICS
RUSHING--P, Jacob Rickman 18-88, Watkins 5-28, Aaron Henshaw 6-25, Calin Smith 2-9, John Kimbrow 3-11, Alger 3-5, Adam Futter 3-8, Tori Eaton 1-0, Team 2-(minus 19). K, Woods 15-111, Loftus 7-64, Albertin 7-23, Devven Ramos 4-29, Shaun Smith 9-11, Bryce Leavitt 1-(minus 6), Team 1-(minus 10).
PASSING--P, Alger 2-6-0-50, Connor Johnson 2-3-0-12. K, Loftus 8-10-0-124.
RECEIVING--P, Henshaw 1-4, Pake Sorey 2-29, Kolby Haliewicz 1-29. K, Simpson 5-91, Ramos 2-13, Albertin 1-20.
FIRST DOWNS--P 11, K 16. FUMBLES-LOST--P 4-2, K 4-2. PENALTIES-YARDS--P 11-60, K 4-25.
