EASLEY—For the first quarter and a half of Friday night’s game against Daniel, the Easley Green Wave looked to be headed to another down-to-the-wire match-up against their county rivals.

But the Lions scored two touchdowns in the final six minutes of the half, then added three more scores in the second half to score a 35-0 win over Easley.

Easley drops to 0-2 for the 2009 season, losing for the 20th consecutive time. The Green Wave has a bye week this Friday, then will host another county rival – Pickens – Sept. 11.

The game was Daniel’s season opener. The Lions host Hanna, from Region 1-AAAA, Friday night at Singleton Field in Central.

The Lions did most of their damage on the ground, rushing for 216 yards against Easley.

Projected Division I college prospect showed his range of talent, completing three of four passes, and catching one 54-yard pass for a touchdown.

Easley received the ball first, made a first down, then was forced to punt on a fourth-and-two situation. Daniel then began a long drive that would last the rest of the first quarter, and the early part of the second quarter.

The Lions drove the ball to the Easley two-yard line, but a delay-of-game penalty pushed the Lions back to the Green Wave 7. Daniel Coach Randy Robinson decided not to attempt a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the seven, instead sending Hopkins on the run, seeking a touchdown. Hopkins was pulled down at the Easley 1-yard-line by T.J. Bowens, ending the 20-play Daniel drive with no points.

Easley moved the ball to the 20-yard line before being forced to punt. But Dominique Bradley returned the ball to the Green Wave 22-yard line for the Lions. A personal foul called against Easley placed the ball on the 11-yard line.

Three plays later, Brandon Anderson ran in from one yard to give Daniel a 7-0 lead.

On the Lion’s next drive, CJ Davidson scored on a 16-yard run. The extra-point attempt failed, leaving the Lions with a 13-0 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, Easley’s first drive ended when Davidson intercepted a pass and returned it to the Green Wave five-yard-line. Two plays later Davidson ran in from the 2 for another Daniel touchdown. Colton Korn connected with DeAndre Hopkins for the two-point conversion, giving the Lions a 21-0 lead.

Later in the quarter, Hopkins caught his 54-yard touchdown pass from Trevlin Robinson to give the Lions a 28-0 lead.

Daniel’s final score of the night came on a 20-yard pass from Colton Korn to Antonio Cannon for a touchdown.