If you were told the Southside Panther offense held the ball for all but one minute of the entire first quarter of their season opening matchup against rival Selma, you would likely assume the Panthers controlled the game.

You would be wrong; terribly wrong.

A punt return for a touchdown and an interception return for a touchdown, both by Selma’s Davian Brantley, gave the Saints a 13-0 lead in the first quarter without the Saints’ offense ever touching the field.

“Turnovers. Turnovers. Turnovers. That’s what you get sometimes with a young team, but we have got to figure out how to take care of the ball,” Southside head coach Daniel Flowers said following his team’s 34-8 loss.

In addition to capitalizing on Southside mistakes, the Saints used an offensive attack that relied heavily on the power of their stable of running backs, but did not lack in quick-strike ability.

On the third play of the second quarter, in their first offensive possession of the game, Saints starting quarterback Jesse Boggs connected with wide receiver Kadarius Brown down the right sideline for a 46-yard touchdown. After the two-point conversion, the Saints held a 21-0 lead.

Selma running back Adam Bruno scored a touchdown with 5:11 left in the first half, giving the Saints a 28-0 lead.

With a little more than a minute left in the half, another Selma running back, Charvis Wood, added another touchdown. After the extra point attempt failed, the Saints took a 34-0 lead into the lockerroom at halftime.

“It’s nice to get a game like this to start the season,” Selma head coach Leroy Miles said. “A rivalry game to start the season is something the kids are able to look to when they working out over the summer and it’s an opportunity for both schools to come here and have a huge crowd.”

Southside would gain their footing in the second half, slowing the Selma attack, holding them scoreless.

As for the Southside offense — an attack that also relied heavily on the run — they were able to see a little more success in the second half than they did in the first half.

While they did have some success, the Panthers were only able to score once, when Derick Daniels scored a one-yard touchdown with 10:48 left in the game.

Overall, Southside was able to rack up 221 yards of total offense on the evening, while Selma collected 290 yards.

Selma had 210 yards on the ground alone, led by Bruno’s 55 yards.

Southside had 161 yards on the ground, with starting quarterback Khamari Gibbs leading the way with a game high 83 yards.

Selma will travel to Jackson next Friday night for the opening of region play, while Southside host Cottage Hill from Mobile.