OROVILLE – Oroville proved in its first game of the season it could win a defensive struggle.

The Hornets showed in Game 2 that they were also up for an offensive shootout.

Despite allowing Mary Walker of Springdale nearly 450 yards off offense, the Hornets broke away from an early 14-14 tie to defeat the Chargers 49-28 on Friday, Sept. 13, in their home opener.

After Mary Walker erased an early 14-0 Oroville lead, the Hornets outscored the Chargers 35-6 in the second, third and early fourth quarters.

Oroville had its ground game clicking as Sean DeWitte led the way with 106 yards rushing on 14 carries, Connelly Quick added 67 yards on 14 carries and Tanner Smith added 52 yards on four carries.

The Hornets opened the game with a 70-yard, five-play drive that ended quickly when Smith broke loose for a 44-yard touchdown run.

Quick added the first of his three touchdowns on the night with a 2-yard run to cap a 45-yard drive.

Mary Walker struck back quickly with a pair of touchdowns to knot it at 14-14. But the Hornets struck back with a 20-yard DeWitte touchdown run to take a 21-14 halftime lead.

Oroville put the game out of reach in the third quarter with a 2-yard Kindred run, an 18-yard pass from Kindred to Smith and a 20-yard fumble return by Quick.

Quick added a 1-yard score midway through the fourth quarter for a 49-20 lead.

The Hornets were able to sit on their big lead late despite being outgained on the ground 313-270 and through the air 132-63. But Oroville played a much cleaner game in committing four penalties for 35 yards, while Mary Walker was flagged 16 times for 117 yards.

Oroville (2-0) travels to West Seattle next Saturday as they take on Seattle Lutheran in their final non-league tuneup.