Centralia had a formidable rushing attack going against Hallsville on Friday.

The Panthers needed their collection of kids solid at home as they defeated their rival 65-36 after rushing for 407 yards 38 carries. They scored their most points since a 72-19 victory in 2015 against Louisiana.

Hallsville’s athletes broke free in the second half more after Centralia carried a 32-14 lead into halftime, but head coach Tyler Forsee said Centralia (2-0) had a talented trio accumulating the yards and points. Jesse Caballero, who led with five tackles on defense along with Cayden Dunn, had a team-high 173 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries, Drayden Conde had 119 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries, and quarterback Cullen Bennett ran for 113 yards and three touchdowns 13 carries. Brayden Decker added another rushing touchdown on his lone carry.

“Our offensive line set the tone,” Forsee said. “I thought we could dominate them up front. Coach (Ben) Sontheimer does a good job with the offensive line.”

Centralia is accustomed to having talented kids running the ball behind a stout offensive line as Kyden Wilkerson graduated after a senior season as an all-state defensive back and regular 100-yard rusher. Forsee said the Panthers have plenty of kids that get the job done on the ground for this season.

“Losing a guy like Kyden Wilkerson is tough, but we got a lot of guys that are coming up and stepping up,” Forsee said. “It’s fun to see.”

On defense, Forsee liked how his team did in the first half as Centralia was about to own a 32-8 halftime lead only for Hallsville (1-1) to score as time expired. The Panthers still won the third quarter 20-6 and then allowed 16 Hallsville points in the fourth quarter.

“The floodgates went off from there,” Forsee said. “Teams were scoring quick back and forth as it was kind of a track meet. Hallsville has a lot of kids that can flat out run.”

Ultimately, the Indians had a balanced 421 yards that contained 214 rushing yards and 207 yards through the air.

Forsee said he would like to see Centralia be more balanced in the future but said he liked how efficient and effective Bennett was through the air as he threw for 161 yards on 14-for-17 passing and hit Mattie Robinson for a 15-yard touchdown. Robinson also had two interceptions on defense to go with Ian Tuggle’s interception and two sacks.

“We have to be a little balanced, but he was very efficient throwing the ball,” Forsee said. “If we can do that, we’re going to have a pretty good season.”

Centralia plays at Clarence Cannon Conference foe Palmyra (0-2) at 7 p.m. Friday.