LEROY — After a year apart, LeRoy-Ostrander senior Trey Hungerholt finally had his backfield teammate next to him, and it made a huge difference as LO beat Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons 48-18 in its season opener in LeRoy Friday night.

Carter Johnson, a junior, returned to the lineup for the Cards after missing most of last season and he made things much easier for Hungerholt, a senior. Johnson was the bruiser in the middle as he racked up 117 yards and two scores while averaging 5.3 yards per carry and Hungerholt was the explosive play-maker as he averaged 14 yards per carry on his way to racking up 182 rushing yards and three scores.

“Carter’s one of my best friends and I’m so happy to have him back.,” Hungerholt said. “He takes a lot of pressure off of me.”

While Hungerholt broke off a 63 yard run on his first carry of the season, Johnson hit pay-dirt on his fifth carry of the game as he came up with a 20-yard burst to put LO up 14-0 with 2:10 left in the first quarter.

It was a TD that Johnson had anticipated for a long time.

“That felt so good. I’m so happy to be back,” Johnson said. “I was nervous and anxious, now I’m ready to go. The last year was rough. I was missing every game.”

LO scored the first 28 points of the game, but the Knights pulled to within 28-12 when Ryan Hansen hit Dawson Dahlum on a TD pass to close the first half and a TD pass early in the second half. The Cards made a big stop from their own 16-yard line when they forced an incomplete pass on fourth and nine and Hungerholt iced the game with a 55-yard TD burst on a QB sneak up the middle to make it 34-12 with 1:46 left in the third quarter.

The Cardinals pushed that lead to 40-12 when they executed a hook-and-ladder to perfection. Hungerholt hit Riley Olson for a short completion, who pitched it to freshman Chase Johnson, who ran 30 yards for the score.

“We just had trust in each other and we started playing our game again,” Hungerholt said. “We believed in each other. We take every team one step at a time, but this was a big win and it gets the confidence going. Now we’re ready to roll and keep the momentum going.”

LO’s defense played big in the win as it held the Knights to 37 rushing yards and it forced four turnovers.

SCORING SUMMARY

ACGE 0    6  6   6   —  18

LO 14 14 6  14  —  48

First quarter

(LO) Collier 3 run (Chase Johnson from Hungerholt) (3 plays, 68 yards) 9:4

(LO) Carter Johnson 20 run (pass failed) (5 plays, 50 yards) 2:10

Second quarter

(LO) Hungerholt 22 run (run failed) (1 play, 22 yards) 10:09

(LO) Hungerholt 4 run (Hungerholt run) (4 plays, 18 yards) 6:39

(AC) Dawson Dahlum 6 pass from Ryan Hansen (pass failed) (14 plays, 43 yards) :00

Third quarter

(AC) Dahlum 8 pass from Hansen (pass failed) 6 plays, 64 yards) 8:23

(LO) Hungerholt 55 run (pass failed) (7 plays, 84 yards) 1:46

Fourth quarter

(LO) Chase Johnson 30 run (pass failed) (7 plays, 84 yards) 8:19

(AC) Zach Peterson 5 pass from Hansen (pass failed) (3 plays, 35 yards) 7:28

(LO) Carter Johnson 20 run (Nick Kasel from Hungerholt) (6 plays, 58 yards) 4:35

STATS

LO RUSHING: Trey Hungerholt, 13-for-182, 3 TDs; Carter Johnson, 22-for-117, 2 TDs; Chase Johnson, 4-for-42, TD; Isaac Coller, 6-for-10, TD

LO PASSING: Hungerholt, 4-for-9, 29

LO RECEIVING: OLSON, 3-FOR-18; Chase Johnson, 1-for-11

LO DEFENSE: Fumble recoveries: Memphiz Gomez (1); sacks: Nick Kasel (1); interceptions: Collier (1); Andrew Lohuis (1)

LO PENALTIES: 7-for-71

ACGE RUSHING: 37

ACGE PASSING: 232

ACGE PENALTIES: 8-for-60