The first time Navasota had the ball Friday night, the Rudder Rangers' defense forced and recovered a Dexter Pratt fumble.

It was the only time Rudder could contain Pratt and the Rattlers.

Behind four Pratt touchdowns, Navasota rolled to a 58-3 victory in the District 24-3A opener for both teams at Merrill Green Stadium.

Pratt, who has orally committed to play at Louisiana State, needed only 14 carries to amass 235 yards and four touchdowns as the fifth-ranked Rattlers (3-0, 1-0 District 24-3A) got back under the lights after three bye weeks in a row -- two of which were caused by Hurricane Ike.

"Our kids have been biting at the bit to get back on the field," Navasota coach Lee Fedora said. "Our kids played well and got after it."

For the Rangers (0-3, 0-1), it was another tough lesson for the first-year varsity squad composed of freshmen and sophomores. Rudder fumbled the ball nine times, losing five. Each one lead to a Navasota score.

The Rangers also had a pass intercepted and returned 52 yards for a touchdown by the Rattlers' Kye Hildreth.

"When you go up against a team, it doesn't matter, good team or bad team, turnovers will kill you," Rudder coach C.M. Pier said. "They have got enough talent that every time you step wrong, it could be six. They are a good ball club."

Rudder's defense started strong when Kelvin Caldwell recovered a Pratt fumble. The Rangers went three-and-out, and a big punt return set the Rattlers up at the Rudder 24-yard line.

Navasota needed just two plays to score, with Pratt going in from eight yards out following a 15-yard pass from Jacolby Stokes to Antron Harris.

Rudder's offense responded with its best drive of the night, moving 42 yards to set up a 45-yard field goal by Will Johnson. The drive featured a 28-yard pass from Tre Hammond to Mike Jones and a 20-yard run by Hammond to convert a third-and-10.

The field goal lifted the spirits on the Rudder sideline. But just as quickly as they rose, Pratt deflated them when he galloped 60 yards for his second TD.

The Rangers fumbled away their next two possessions. Each turnover was followed by a Navasota score -- a 7-yard scoring run by Pratt and a 46-yard scoring pass from Stokes to Texas A&M commit Brandal Jackson.

Another turnover led to Pratt's final score on the night and a 41-3 halftime lead for the Rattlers.

It didn't get any better for the Rangers in the second half. They fumbled away the opening kick, and Navasota needed only two plays to turn it into points. Pratt dashed 36 yards to set up a 2-yard sneak by Stokes.

Hildreth's interception return and a 29-yard field goal by Oscar Barron closed out the scoring.

Rudder returns to district play next week when it travels to Caldwell to take on the Hornets, while Navasota will step out of district for a homecoming contest against Sealy.

"The thing we've got to do is we've got to fix this stuff," Pier said. "We're starting to get closer to being what I want us to be. We are still a ways away, but we are making strides. We've just got to go out and fix it."