Centralia has quite a few weapons in the backfield this season.

The Panthers showed off plenty of them in Friday’s home-opening 48-20 win over rival Hallsville. They finished with 417 yards and six rushing touchdowns.

Compared to last week’s close 20-16 loss at Mexico to open the season, head coach Tyler Forsee said he thought his team did the necessary tasks for their runners to be more successful. Centralia (1-1) led 24-8 at halftime this week.

“Our offensive line did a better job of sustaining blocks so we could continue getting that ball down the field,” Forsee said. “They fired off the ball well offensively and were able to get more people involved too.

The more the merrier when it comes to offense, Forsee said, and Centralia was definitely merry. Drayden Conde ran for 227 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, Charlie Robinson rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries, Rex Bryson ran for 21 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries, and Deke Maenner added 74 yards on four carries.

Forsee said Centralia is able to rotate in that many players without losing a step on offense, which ultimately helps the team’s overall health.

The defense looked healthy as well by coming away with four turnovers. Ethan Ross made two interceptions, Elliott McCoy had one interception and Jameson Cooper recovered a fumble. Louis Suddarth led with seven tackles, and Robinson had two tackles for loss.

Hallsville (0-2) likes to throw the ball as a polar opposite to Centralia’s running offense so the Indians finished with 245 passing yards.

“They throw the heck out of the ball as I think they had 37 pass attempts tonight,” Forsee said. “We definitely had to be on point there, defending the pass. The week before, they called 60 pass plays, I believe.”

Centralia opens its Clarence Cannon Conference schedule at 7 p.m. Friday at Clark County (0-2), who lost 28-6 at Harrisburg last week.