But as Jaguars coach Jeff Smouse put it, "We have to play well to win, and we're learning to make plays to win."

Athens (4-0) pulled away from a 7-7 tie with touchdowns on its final two first-half possessions and went on to post a 35-10 nonconference win.

Athens hosts Apex Friday in a Tri-Seven opener. Broughton (2-3) hosts Millbrook Friday in a Cap Seven contest.

"Athens is a good team and in the second half pushed us around," Broughton coach Chris Martin said. "We're a young team, and even though we moved the ball we couldn't sustain and finish the drives. On defense we had a pass interference [penalty] that hurt, a late hit, and offsides on a fourth down that cost us."

Broughton's first two drives went to the 8- and 16-yard lines, but both ended with turnovers.

The second one, a fumble caused by Athens defensive tackle Marc Campbell and recovered by end Nathan Scott, set up a 36-yard touchdown pass from Nick DeMuro to T.J. Kornegay.

Broughton tied the scored early in the second quarter on a three-play, 80-yard drive, with Caps junior quarterback Chandler Browning hitting junior Owen Hayden on a 54-yard TD pass.

DeMuro then directed his team on an 80-yard drive. DeMuro connected with Kornegay again for a score, this time covering 10 yards for the 14-7 lead.

Athens continued to build momentum on its next drive when punter Ross Snotherly completed a fourth-down pass with just more than a minute to play for a first down that led to a 5-yard touchdown run by DeMuro for the 21-7 lead with just 11 seconds left in the half.

"I didn't know how we'd play tonight," said Smouse, referring to the unusual Monday game. "But we played on three Mondays last year and won all three. Broughton came in with a great game plan and executed well."

The Caps execution fell off in the second half, as the quicker Athens defense began to take control.

Campbell, a 6-foot-2, 256-pound senior, led the charge with 10 tackles.

"Marc Campbell is a three-year starter with 4.6 speed and is very strong. We have trouble blocking him in practice," Smouse said.

Athens took control early in the third quarter. Broughton was penalized on the kickoff, and the Jaguars' Garrett Smith recovered his team's onside kick.

Denardo Melendez capped a 31-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown run for the 28-7 lead.

Broughton's final score was a 39-yard field goal by Jeremy Shelley in the third quarter.

Athens capped the scoring when DeMuro threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Phillip Barron with 3:33 left in the third. Athens kicker David Enichen then added is fifth extra point of the game.

DeMuro threw for 230 yards. Darius Williams (52 yards) and Melendez (47) helped the Jaguars rush for 173 yards on 26 carries.

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.