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By Ron Seibel

DAMASCUS — Clay Owens had the right blocking in front of him Friday night. All he had to do was make the right reads.

Come the second half of Southland’s season opener against Southwest Georgia, the sophomore running back and return man was ready to turn some long runs loose.

A long return on the second-half kickoff foreshadowed what Owens had in store later on. His 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown right after a go-ahead score by Southwest Georgia with 4 1/2 minutes to go in the third quarter was a game-changer, as the Raiders pulled away for a 30-14 victory in the season opener for both teams.

“It all starts up front with guys staying on blocks as long as the can, and you have to have the right ones back there returning it,” Southland head coach Rod Murray said. “We certainly had some kids make some big plays for us.

“It all comes down to 11 people on the field wanting to do a job, and they certainly did on special teams (Friday night).”

Owens returned the kickoff to open the second half some 70 yards, well into Southwest Georgia territory, to set up a 30-yard field goal by Zane Hines that gave Southland its first lead at 9-6.

The bigger blow came later in the third quarter, right after Cameron Granger’s 5-yard run and two-point conversion put Southwest Georgia up 14-9.

Owens had open field for about 20 yards after fielding the ball, then he cut off a up man’s block. The move threw Owens into an open lane, setting up a race to the end zone.

“It was more just reading the blocks,” Owens said. “Normally, I return it to the right, so I just returned it to the left, found an open lane and scored.”

Later, with 7:34 to go in the game, Owens scored on a 28-yard run in which he fumbled near the line of scrimmage, only for the ball to pop right back into his hands. He finished with 92 rushing yards.

Southland quarterback Alex Roach accounted for two touchdowns, as well. He threw a 30-yard scoring pass to Brody Shattles in the second quarter, and he had a 4-yard keeper early in the fourth quarter.

K.J. Warren registered the game’s first score, a 5-yard run for Southwest Georgia a minute into the second quarter.

“They’ve got a good team, and they’re well-coached, as well,” said Daniel McFather, making his debut as Southwest Georgia’s head coach. “We’ve just got some things we’ve got to work on.

“I thought our running game was pretty decent, but we made too many mistakes. We had several penalties that hurt us; a big, long run that came back. We’ve got to overcome those and get better.”

Southland hosts Westfield in the Hornets’ season opener next Friday, while Southwest Georgia travels to Northside Methodist of Dothan, Ala.