TAYLOR -- The Rudder Rangers had to suffer through two seasons without seniors to help lead the way. All that changed this season, as that senior class gave Rudder its first season-opening victory in school history, beating Taylor 45-7 on Friday in Taylor.

"They made some plays and we didn't early in the game," Taylor head coach Rick Cobia said. "Rudder went through the growing pains we're going through right now when they didn't have seniors, and now they are a strong team."

The two teams looked evenly matched in the first quarter, as the Rangers scored the only points of the opening 12 minutes on a Will Johnson 30-yard field goal with 2 minutes, 11 seconds left.

The game broke open when Rudder scored three times in the last six minutes of the second quarter. Rudder's Mike Jones caught a 12-yard pass from Kyle Danford with 5:58 left in the first half to make the score 10-0. The Ranger defense quickly forced another punt from Taylor, which Tre Hammond returned 60 yards for a touchdown.

With a 17-0 lead, the Rangers added another touchdown with 25 seconds left in the half as Danford hit Will Martin for a 2-yard pass.

"We let them get the momentum and we could never get it back," Cobia said. "Rudder executed and played well. My hat's off to them."

The second half played out a lot like the first, as Taylor managed to move the ball but couldn't score any points. Rudder added another touchdown with 1:14 left in the third quarter when Danford ran in a 14-yard touchdown.

The Rangers only had six more first downs than Taylor but ended up with 214 yards rushing. Taylor was held to 91 yards on 35 carries.

Rudder (1-0) will play at Leander Rouse next week.