A dominant first half was all the Carlton Crusaders needed as they topped the Tommy Douglas Tigers 49-10 in high school football action Friday night at Max Clunie Field.

The Crusaders scored 27 points in the first quarter and 21 in the second on route to the victory.

Crusader head coach Lindsay Strachan says a strong start was the focus to the Crusader gameplan this week.

“We weren’t happy with where we were last week. It was good to get out on the right track. We were efficient in the first half. Which is what we talked about, getting off to a good start and we did in all three phases.”

It was just under two minutes into the first quarter when the Crusaders opened the scoring. Tazmin Smith-Windsor rushed the ball into the end zone from 8 yards out to give Carlton the lead right from the start.

A little over 2 minutes later, Gage Prodaehl caught a pass for a touchdown from 30 yards out to extend the Carlton lead.

Carlton would add two more touchdowns in the first quarter on receptions by Tristan O’Connell and Dayson Janvier.

The Crusaders kept the pressure on in the second quarter. Keenan Turner started the scoring for Carlton in the second quarter with an interception returned for a touchdown. Gage Prodaehl would record his second touchdown of the contest with a catch from 28 yards out. Jackson Hufnagel would then return an interception from 13 yards out to extend the Crusader lead to 48-0 at the half.

In the first half, Carlton rushed for 159 yards and passed for 163.

Strachan says the offense was clicking on all fronts.

“I thought we were pretty balanced. We were good on the ground and we hit some big plays through the air when we needed to. We were good and balanced here tonight.”

With Carlton leading comfortably, Strachan sent in his backups for much of the second half. Tommy Douglas would kick a field goal and a touchdown in the fourth quarter to bring the contest to 49-10.

Strachan says the Crusaders are glad to be back in the win column after last week’s loss to St. Joseph’s.

“We talked lots about getting the ship on track this week and getting back to where we want to be. It’s a good step. We got one more next week and (then it’s) getting geared for playoffs.”

The Crusaders are back in action on Friday, Oct. 14 against the Bethlehem Stars. Kick off is at 6:30pm.