HUNTSVILLE — Kyle Payne had just 11 touches with the football here Friday evening, but made the most of them, rushing for 247 yards and four touchdowns as York defeated Scott High 41-24 in the season opener.

The Dragons scored on their first offensive play from scrimmage en route to a 27-0 first half lead. The Highlanders would ultimately close the deficit to 27-12 but could get no closer.

“We played a pretty good football team,” Coach David Gillum said. “Our youth showed and our inexperience showed. It took a little while for our offense to get going. If we’d gotten started sooner, maybe it would’ve helped. But, to be honest, it would’ve taken a near-perfect effort to beat them and we weren’t anywhere close to that.”

Gillum pointed out, however, that his team never stopped fighting.

“As a whole, our kids played hard up to the last second,” he said. “There wasn’t any giving up. We didn’t execute well and that showed, and we are young and that showed, but the effort was just as good the last play as the first play.”

Payne scored three of York’s four first-half touchdowns on runs of 68, 24 and 19 yards. The individual performance by Payne was eerily similar to last year’s season opener between the two teams, when Scott’s Wesley Smith set a school record with 301 yards and four touchdowns as the Highlanders defeated the Dragons 46-20.

As a team, York recorded 410 rushing yards on 33 carries, and completed five of seven passes for 78 yards.

The Highlanders, meanwhile, recorded 233 yards of total offense, including 127 yards on the ground and 106 yards through the air.

Quarterback Josh Terry completed 11 of 20 passes for 106 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jared Sexton as time expired. Terry also had 22 carries for 87 yards. Josh Jeffers added 44 yards on 10 carries.

The Highlanders started the game with a promising drive that began with a 13-yard pass from Terry to Josey Chambers but stalled just inside the Dragons’ 30-yard-line. After Brooks was stopped behind the line of scrimmage on a fourth down attempt, York took possession and needed just one play to take the lead, as Payne broke free for a 68-yard touchdown run, putting the Dragons up 7-0.

After a three-and-out by Scott, York took possession at its 22-yard-line. After a 61-yard run on first down by Cody Hamby, the Dragons scored three plays later on a three-yard run by Michael Bishop to go up 14-0 with 4:49 remaining in the first quarter.

The two teams traded punts for the remainder of the first quarter, but York’s first possession of the second quarter resulted in another touchdown, with Payne scoring from 24 yards out with 9:35 remaining in the half. The PAT put York on top 21-0.

Another three-and-out by the Highlanders allowed York to set up another touchdown drive, covering 70 yards in six plays. Payne capped the drive with a 16-yard scamper to put his team up 27-0 with 5:00 remaining after the extra point attempt was missed.

Following another three-and-out by Scott, York appeared to be headed for more points before the Highlanders finally saw the ball bounce their way. With a first down at the Highlanders’ 14-yard-line, York’s Brian Vanwormer fumbled the ball. Steven Kries scooped up the loose ball and scrambled 88 yards for a touchdown, putting Scott on the scoreboard with 54 seconds remaining in the first half.

Scott would cut further into the deficit on its first possession of the third quarter, using a long, 12-play drive to cover 62 yards. Terry did most of the work on the ground before Jeffers capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge on third-and-goal, cutting the deficit to 27-12 after a two-point-conversion attempt failed. With 3:26 remaining in the third quarter, it appeared that the momentum had swung in the Highlanders’ favor.

The Dragons needed just one play, however, to recapture the momentum, as Payne broke free for a 73-yard touchdown run on first down following Scott’s kickoff, putting his team up 35-12 after Dakota Jones found tight end David Smith for the two-point conversion.

Following a three-and-out by the Highlanders, York would cap its scoring with a six-play, 68 yard drive. Jones connected on a 15-yard touchdown pass to Shane Beaty to cap the drive with 11:05 remaining, putting the Dragons on top 41-12.

Scott would score on both its final two possessions of the game, including an 11-play, 66-yard drive on the ensuing possession. Jeffers did most of the work on the ground, with Terry setting up a touchdown on a 16-yard, fourth down quarterback keeper to push the ball inside the Dragons’ 10 yard line. Terry then scored from seven yards out on second-and-goal, cutting the deficit to 41-18 with 5:41 remaining.

York advanced the ball inside Scott’s 31 yard line on the ensuing possession before backup quarterback Brian Reynolds fumbled the ball away, with Sexton recovering for Scott with 1:12 remaining.

Four plays later, Terry hooked up with Sexton for a 45-yard touchdown pass as time expired, setting the final score at 41-24.

Scott received a blow early in the game when Joe Brooks, Terry’s go-to receiver, left the game with a knee injury. The Highlander coaching staff was awaiting the results of an MRI yesterday (Wednesday) to determine when Brooks will be able to rejoin the starting lineup. Gillum said that Brooks’ status doesn’t look promising.

In the meantime, he said, losing one of their best players will force other Highlanders to step up.

“Jared Sexton will have to mature real quickly offensively for us,” he said. “At the same time, Josey Chambers is really coming around.

“We’ve come too far to abandon what we’re doing,” he added. “(But) we may tweak it a little bit. You may see a two-back gun set some on Friday.”