Kings Mountain routs Burns in season opener

If anyone harbored any doubts about new Kings Mountain quarterback Ethan Reid heading into Friday night’s season opener, those doubts ought to be thoroughly erased by now. Reid found his way into the score column early and often as he led the Mountaineers to a 34-6 win over county rival Burns.

A few plays after connecting with junior wide receiver Kobe Paysour on a 30-yard bomb, Reid wrapped the Mountaineers first drive with a pair of runs at the Bulldog defense, eventually finding his team six points.

Reid would strike again on the ground in the second quarter. Facing a fourth and one inside the Bulldog three-yard line, Reid ran the ball in for another score.

Later in the period, Reid would find Quntin Davidson on a 65-yard touchdown pass. A few minutes later, Reid would strike again, completing a six yard pass for a touchdown before halftime and a 46 yard pass to Kobe Paysour for a touchdown in the third quarter.

“Ethan took another step forward tonight as quarterback, I was real pleased,” said Kings Mountain coach Greg Lloyd. “He’s improving daily. He’s learning the system and I think he’s going to have a big year.”

Burns sole scores came midway into the second quarter. On fourth down inside the Mountaineer 20, quarterback Cam’Ron Sweezy dropped a snap but recovered and found KJ Leslie from 15 yards out for a touchdown.

That play would be one of only a handful of highlights for the Bulldog offense. The Mountaineer defense had star runners Kujuan Pryor and CJ Hopper well contained all game long, and kept both in check.

“We knew we had to keep an eye on (Pryor) and our coaches did a good job preparing our defense for him,” said Lloyd.

Difficult as it was to keep Kings Mountain’s explosive offensive down, the Bulldog defense did have some bright spots on Friday.

The team recorded a goal line stand early in the game, which ended with senior safety Austin Setzer sacking Reid. The defense also forced multiple fumbles and took an interception away from the Mountaineer offense.

“We’ve got to get better, offense and defense,” said Burns coach David Devine. “I thought our defense played hard at the beginning, we just couldn’t get anything going all night on offense. Their defense did a good job.”

Up next: Kings Mountain heads to Monroe for a non-conference game. Burns will host Asheville in Lawndale. Kickoff for both games is 7:30 p.m.

Dustin George can be reached at 704-669-3337. Find him on Twitter @DustinatTheStar.