Nine minutes and forty-one seconds.
Frankly, it might have been the best offensive drive a team has ever had in a 32-7 defeat.
It was supposed to be a statement. Driving over an hour on the buses to come on the road to a highly-ranked 6A program, draining the clock and picking up four yards a carry without starting running back Ryan Minges — all while sucking the life out of the stadium.
That is how much time East Central chewed up on the opening drive of the game and struck first against Lawrence North.
It should have been a game-defining moment.
“I thought it was going to be a long day,” running back Izayveon Moore said.
Despite Moore’s first-quarter beliefs, the long day ended up being for the Trojans.
After punting away their first drive of the game, the Wildcats got the ball back near their goal line to start the second quarter for their second drive of the game. This is when all the momentum quickly shifted in favor of the home team.
Moore spun out of a tackle and hurdled his way for a 30-yard run to give the offense breathing room. Two plays later? A Darian Prather 47-yard touchdown pass to Monshun Sales.
The sophomore quarterback would quickly get his second touchdown pass of the day to Amari Moore on a 33-yard go-route from the slot.
Izayveon Moore would punch in two scores of his own in the third quarter — from 25 and 40 yards out — to help seal the deal before Prather found the endzone for the finishing blow with five minutes left in the game.
“After starting slow, we came out and did what we needed to do,” Izayveon Moore said.
East Central will look to bounce back next week on the road against Franklin County, while the Wildcats continue their homestand against North Central.