HAMLIN, W.Va. - Before all the fans had parked and made their way to their seats at Hamlin's Lion's Club Stadium, the visiting Huntington Highlanders were already on the board.

A kickoff coming about 7:28 p.m. for a 7:30 p.m. scheduled kickoff caught some fans craning their necks to see a fumble by Lincoln County on the third play of the game, giving the Highlanders the ball at the Panther's 25-yard line.

Three plays later, junior running back Charles Crawford crashed in from five yards out to put Huntington up one touchdown on the way to eight more scores and a 63-8 win over the home team.

The Highlanders, coming off an 8-4 year last season under Coach Billy Seals, after winning only six games in the previous four years, rolled up 402 yards on the ground and seven touchdowns by five different players, while starting senior quarterback Mark Shaver hit 4-of-6 passed for an additional 115 yards and two more scores.

Shaver, who spent the summer at a variety of football camps, was cool and collected all evening.

"Anytime you bring back an experienced quarterback like Mark," Seals told Grant Traylor of The Herald-Dispatch, "it's a plus. He looks like a different quarterback … he really knows our offense."

Lincoln County, the consolidation of four former single A schools - Hamlin, Duval, Guyan Valley and Harts - turned the ball over with two fumbles and two interceptions, fueling the high-powered Highlander offense to 538 yards of total offense on an average of 10.76 yards per play.

The Panthers are also a very young team, dressing 16 sophomores out of 34 players on the evening's active roster, while only having nine seniors.

"Looking at them on film, we felt we had a chance to get out on this team," said Highlander assistant Willie Wilson, returning to assist Seals on the offense after leaving the head coaching position at Winfield. "It is hard to be sure what a team has, looking at a scrimmage, though.

"But you can't tell the kids that. They went out, played hard and executed well for the opener."

One of those sophomores was starting quarterback Grant Bates, who was sacked four times and pressured three times that, did pass for 14-of-26 on the evening and 112 yards, over two-thirds of the yards Lincoln Co. amassed on the evening.

But Lincoln Co. had seven negative yardage plays in the first half, along with two lost fumbles and an interception, and rushed for minus-one yard on the ground as Huntington blew the game open in the second quarter.

The Highlanders scored on its second series of the first quarter, when Shaver hit receiver Nick Tubbs for a 61-yard touchdown that gave HHS a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

Then, taking the ball for its fourth series of the first quarter with :04 seconds on the clock, Huntington marched 53 yards in five plays, scoring just 10:47 into the second quarter on a nine yard run by Donte Hendricks for a 21-0 lead.

Bates would fumble on the Panthers second play of the second quarter, and Marcus Eller gathered up the turnover for HHS.

Just one play later, Paden Christian went 41 yards for another score in eight-seconds, and with 9:47 to go in the second, Huntington led 28-0.

A tackle for loss by Huntington's Tevin Thomas on LCHS's next series was followed by another sack for Austin Budd, then an interception by Chase Mann to give the ball back to the Highlanders.

It took only five plays and 1:31 to go 36 yards for another score, with Tubbs rushing for the first of two scores for the junior on the ground to go with the long score through the air.

Huntington held for a punt from LCHS, then went 52 yards in three plays for its next score, with Tubbs scoring for the third time, this time from ten yards out, and HHS was up 42-0.

Again, Lincoln Co. found the Huntington defense as good as the offense, as the Panther's next series was a three-yard loss for back Brian Parsons - who ended the game leading Lincoln Co. with 57 yards rushing - a catch by Parsons for another loss of two yards, then an incomplete pass by Bates, on pressure by Mann and Eller.

Huntington got the ball back with just over two minutes left in the half.

Shaver would move HHS 30 yards in four plays, with 23 of it coming on a touchdown pass to senior Nate Haikal to make the halftime lead, 49-0.

The Highlanders benched the starters in the second half, but the second team was also too much for Lincoln Co., as sophomore Brandon Morrison scored on a four-yard run to open the third quarter and put HHS up 56-0.

Bates would throw a final interception in a drive that saw the Panthers ready to score at the six-yard line.

HHS sophomore Bryce Clark stepped in front of a pass intended for Blayke Cyfers (sic) at the goal line and returned the ball out to the 18-yard line to give the Highlander offense another scoring opportunity.

Seven plays later, Hendricks picked up his second touchdown on a one-yard run to end the 82 yard drive and Huntington was up 63-0 in the third.

But Lincoln Co. continued to move the ball against the Huntington reserves, and Bates again drove his team down the field, setting up a first-and-ten at the 21-yard line on a 30 yard completion to Connor Smith and a nine yard pass to Blake Taylor.

Parson would do the rest, hitting the corner on a sweep and scoring from 21 yards away to give the young Panther's something to build on by avoiding the shutout at home with a touchdown, raising a big cheer from a near standing-room only home crowd for the Panthers.

Bates would then hit Taylor for a two-point conversion for a final score of 63-8. Huntington took a knee late in the game inside the five yard line on fourth-and-one, and Lincoln Co. ran out the clock.

Huntington's top rusher was Christian with five carries for 67 yards and one touchdown. Hendricks had seven rushes for 53 yards and two touchdowns.

Shaver rushed six times for 48 yards, and added 115 yards passing with two scores. Backup quarterback Clark Wilson, a sophomore, hit his only pass for 21 yards to Bryce Clark, and rushed for 26 yards on five carries.

Tubbs had 45 yards and two touchdowns on just three carries, and also had the 61-yard touchdown on one catch, while Crawford only had three rushes for 30 yards and the opening touchdown.

Dominic Allen had five carries for 39 yards and a score; Stefan Gibbs had two rushes for 27 yards; and Clark had the catch for 21 yards and two carries for another 35 yards.

Huntington will play at the Wolves Den next, and expects a tougher challenge out of Spring Valley, who fell Friday at Cabell Midland, 21-13, before HHS heads back up the hill for the home opener in week three with the Winfield Generals (44-7 losers at Putnam Co. rival Hurricane Friday).

Lincoln County will continue the home stand with AA power Scott visiting next Friday night, and the Skyhawks beat the Rebels of Tolsia in the opener, 28-6, at Scott in Boone County.