Helena struck first and never trailed in a 50-14 win over the Chelsea Hornets that saw two Huskies running backs eclipse the 100-yard rushing mark.

After senior quarterback Carson Acker opened the scoring with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Ward to cap a 10-play drive with 6:46 left in the first quarter, Jordan Washington had a chance to shine. The senior running back took the handoff on the first play of the Huskies’ next possession and streaked 80 yards for the score. A missed PAT made it 13-0 with 2:18 left in first quarter.

It was all Helena as Acker threw for a pair of touchdowns — the opener to Ward and an 82-yard catch-and-run to Hunter Hale — while Washington scored twice and ran for 131 total yards.

“First of all, our defense had five three-and-outs in the second half and kept the ball in our hands,” Huskies head coach Richie Busby said. “Our running game got going and we have three really good running backs. Jeremy Spratling came on in the second half … we knew he was that kind of back, and he got to show it tonight.”

Chelsea blocked a field goal attempt on the Huskies’ next possession and the Hornets’ Emerson Russell answered with a 40-yard slashing run right up the gut. But despite a 106-yard performance and two rushing touchdowns by Russell, the Hornets could not match Helena’s firepower.

In a game where kickoff was pushed back 30 minutes due to heat concerns, Chelsea head coach Todd Cassity said he didn’t think the heat really made a difference in the game.

“I don’t think so,” Cassity said. “Maybe the long bus ride over here without air-conditioning might’ve got us a little bit. Our kids were sweating at four o’clock.”

With Washington sitting out most of the second half, junior running back Spratling took over and delivered, scoring three touchdowns in the second half and running for 102 yards. Spratling capped the scoring with a 73-yard run past, over and around a tired Chelsea defense.

— Play of the Game: Pinned at the three-yard line by penalties, Helena was bailed out after a 10-yard gain that gave them just enough room for Acker to find Hale for an 82-yard touchdown to answer the big play from Chelsea’s Russell and extend the Huskies’ lead in the first half.

–By The Numbers: Both teams were anxious and it showed in penalties in the first half, with Chelsea racking six and Helena committing four fouls. But the night belonged to the running backs as Washington went for 131 yards and two touchdowns, while Spratling went for 102 and scored three times … The Huskies defense forced five three-and-outs in the second half and pitched a shutout on the scoreboard after the end of the second quarter.

— Game ball:  Spratling showed what he could do in a dominant performance in the second half … Defense: Joseph Roberto had 12 tackles.

— Coachspeak: “Carson (Acker) is a smart kid. He’s been in our program for four years and he finally got his chance. I’m tickled to death for him because he’s never complained, always come to practice and did everything we asked and now it’s his turn to start.” —Busby

—They Said it: “We wore down a little bit. They were a little bit bigger and stronger than we were and it showed. We didn’t play very well in the second half. We had some injuries, and that was really it.” —Cassity

— Next week:  Helena (1-0, 0-0) hosts Buckhorn while Chelsea (0-1, 0-0) hosts Calera.