No matter who the opponent is, opening the regular season with a victory is always important in gaining momentum for the long run.

For the second year in a row, the Parkland football team played its first game of the season against Eastern Pennsylvania Conference opponent Allen. The Canaries have struggled in recent years and they were overmatched last Friday night.

The Trojans (1-0) were able to break in their new players and work each member of their roster onto the field in a 49-0 rout at Andre Reed Field at J Birney Crum Stadium.

“It’s the greatest feeling in the world being back on the field on a Friday night,” said senior captain Jahan Worth. “I’m not going to lie, I was still nervous coming in because I knew it’s my last opener and I wanted to be perfect. The seniors, we were talking about this for weeks and how emotional it’s going to be. I’m just glad we came out with the win.”

Worth, like many of his teammates, started fast and was relegated to the sidelines by the time the whistle blew to start the second quarter. Parkland scored five times in the first quarter to lead 35-0 after 12 minutes.

Worth only had four carries, but he converted three of them into touchdowns. He gave the Trojans their first three scores, and fellow running back Joseph Guida broke free for a 48-yard touchdown after Worth’s tallies.

Parkland’s defense also got in on the scoring as senior linebacker Nate Wieder intercepted a pass from Allen quarterback Romeo Wright and took it back 10 yards to pay dirt for a five-score lead at the end of the first quarter.

After a Canariy punt two minutes into the second, senior quarterback Michael Ruisch connected with classmate Tyler Hays for an 85-yard touchdown and 42-0 lead with 9:08 remaining until halftime.

The Trojans only needed eight plays to score their five offensive touchdowns in the first quarter-and-a-half of play.

“During the preseason and camp, we didn’t get to showcase much,” Worth said. “Everybody has a great mesh. We don’t have any individual superstars.

“We’re all a unit and everyone is hungry to do well and that plays a huge part in multiple guys contributing like this.”

Ruisch only attempted two passes, completing them both. With the game well in hand early, it was the ground game that was highlighted most of the game.

Six different running backs carried the football throughout the course of the game, three of which found the end zone. Dominic Nelson had a touchdown run in the third quarter. Guida was the leading rusher with 79 yards, while Nelson was had 75 yards.

“We have a lot of young running backs this year,” said Worth, who tallied 30 yards. “Besides me, Joey [Guida] only had a few carries last year, so there’s not a lot of experience there.

“Coach wants to get some of the other backs carries so they can adapt to what goes on in our offense and play on Friday nights. They shined tonight, and I expect us to do well this season.”

Colten Peischl, Ryan Zolotsky and Asher Reede all had their hands on the ball in the backfield as head coach Tim Moncman ran out the clock for much of the second half.

“We can be really happy about this one,” Worth said. “But we have to remain focused and have a hard week of practice, and not look down on Nazareth.”