By Brad Greer

Led by freshman tailback Chris Rodgers, 181 yards rushing and three first-half touchdowns, the North Delta Junior High Green Wave opened up the 2008 slate with a 36-0 thumping of Desoto, (Ark.) Thursday night at North Delta.

The Green Wave made it look easy by rolling up 336 yards of total offense with 327 of that coming on the ground.

North Delta did not waste any time getting on the scoreboard as Rodgers rumbled 60 yards on the first play from scrimmage. Chase Bruce ran in the two-point conversion to make the score 8-0.

After holding the Thunderbirds to three plays on the next possession, the Green Wave marched 75 yards on 14 plays capped off by a Rodgers six-yard run with 6:43 left in the second quarter.

Bruce again ran in the conversion attempt for a 16-0 lead. Quarterback Bailey Guckert keyed the drive with runs of 13, 12 and 10 yards. Guckert rushed the ball five times for 73 yards on the night.

Rodgers put the finishing touches on the first half by racing 72 yards for his final touchdown of the game with 46 seconds left in the half to give the Wave a 22-0 lead.

Things went from bad to worse for Desoto as they fumbled the second half kickoff. North Delta recovered the ball on the Thunderbird 35. After a Guckert 16-yard run moved the ball to the 14, Bruce scored three plays later to increase the lead to 28-0.

The Green Wave defense got into the act late in the third quarter by stopping a Desoto drive on 4th-and-eight from the North Delta 11 when Blake Sullivant registered a quarterback sack. Whit Hudson also recovered a fumble in the fourth period to preserve the shutout.

Taylor Morris added a 35-yard touchdown run with 42 seconds left in the game to provide the final margin of victory with Alan Larson running in the two-point conversion. Morris ran the ball four times for 55 yards while Larson added two carries for three yards.

Desoto did manage to come out on the winning end of a 14-0 victory in the Pee Wee contest.

Both North Delta Junior High and Pee Wee squads will be back in action Thursday as they host Marvell starting at 5:30 p.m.