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Opp kicked off the Ed Rigby era and the 2024 regular season with a resounding 34-7 win over Northview (Florida) at home Friday night.

The Bobcats begin the year at 1-0, while the Chiefs fell to 1-1 on the season.

Opp began the game on offense and faced a third-and-8. Justice Baldwin threw a 22-yard strike to Damirian Thompson for a first down near midfield. Jaymaryon Allen moved the chains again with a 7-yard run on second-and-4 before a fumble gave Northview the ball.

Nate Duffy had a 13-yard run for a first down. From there, the defense stood firm and forced the Chiefs to punt. The next home drive began with a 7-yard scamper from Kal Crittenden before a 5-yard run by Will Jackson. Baldwin then connected with DJ Hines and Talan Wicker for back-to-back first downs of 16 and 13 yards, respectively. Three plays later, Baldwin hit Thompson on a 19-yard touchdown pass. The two-point attempt failed, but the Bobcats took a 6-0 lead with 3:05 to go in the opening stanza.

Northview ran one play on its next drive before a fumble. Opp only needed five plays to find the end zone again. Baldwin threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Crittenden, and Hines ran in the two-point conversion for a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Chiefs crossed midfield on their next possession with a 5-yard run by Zikel Jones. From there, the Bobcats saw their defense force another stop and took over following a punt.

After Baldwin called a quarterback run of 11 yards, Northview made a defensive stand of its own. Nick Smith took the spotlight with a pass breakup for Opp on a potential visiting first down.

The Bobcats struck fast – 11 seconds to be exact – when Baldwin threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Hines. Crittenden crossed the goal line on the two-point conversion and took the lead to 22-0 with 5:36 remaining in the first half.

The Chiefs turned to Jones for some runs on their next series and reached the home 38 on their next drive. Dane King nearly converted a fourth-and-9 with a run but came up short of a first down before halftime.

Neither side got into a rhythm on their opening drives of the second half. Jones and King got the call on the ground with three runs for 24 yards and a pair of first downs. King put Northview on the board with a 25-yard touchdown pass to JJ Jacobs. Tristen Pace’s PAT was good and cut the score to 22-7 with 6:14 left in the third quarter.

Opp took over at its own 46-yard line following a great kickoff return. Crittenden started the drive with back-to-back first down carries of 10 and 12 yards. Peyton Campbell converted a third-and-3 with another first down run. Northview ultimately forced fourth-and-goal but could not solve Baldwin who threw another touchdown pass. This one went to AC Hightower from five yards out. The two-point conversion fell short but still stretched the lead to 28-7 at the 2:42 point.

The Chiefs continued to struggle on offense and had to punt as the third quarter came to an end. The Bobcats took over and received more runs by Jackson including two for first downs. Campbell capped the nine-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. The point after was blocked and closed the scoring on the night.

Opp opens region play at New Brockton (0-2) on Friday, Sept. 6.