LINDEN &045;&045; Too bad for the West Alabama Prep Titans, nothing much changed about Patrick Cannon over the summer. The powerful Marengo Academy running back devoured the Titans’ defensive line in a 40-6 win Thursday night in both teams’ season opener.

WAP assistant coach Brian Sellers may have summed it up best after the game.

And some gaping holes did Cannon ever have.

With just under four minutes gone in the first quarter, Cannon scored the first of his three touchdowns one a three yard plunge into the Titans’ endzone.

Three plays later &045;&045; and three minutes later &045;&045; after WAP couldn’t sustain an offensive drive, Cannon broke through the line and sprinted 55 yard for another touchdown.

The scoring didn’t stop there. With MA leading the Titans 13-0, Cannon found another hole so big that only one WAP defender could get a hand on the senior running back. And 17 yards later &045;&045; on the first play of the second quarter &045;&045; Cannon picked up his third and final touchdown of the game to put the Longhorns ahead 20-0.

That was the last time Cannon would get into the endzone, but by the end of the first half, he had compiled 232 yards on the ground.

And as for Cannon?

I hope we don’t have to play against a running back like him again this year," Sellers said.

While Cannon accounted for three of the Longhorn touchdowns, he wasn’t the only one plowing through the Titans’ defensive line.

Averette, a freshman for MA (1-0), ran the ball 11 times for 132 yards. With 4:40 left in the third quarter, Averette took the ball from eight yards out and put the Longhorns ahead 40-6.

Quarterback Trey Lyles added another touchdown earlier in the second quarter when he kept the ball and sprinted into the endzone. And Parker Sanford accounted for MA’s other score when he found the goal line with more than seven minutes left in the second.

Little also found something else impressive about Thursday night’s home opener.

Sellers didn’t take any solace for having a team that played hard. He said the coaching staff expected more out of the Titans.

At the same time, anyone who watched the Titans (0-1) play on Thursday realized that the team had more fire than they’ve had in a while. That may have been indicated best by a couple of personal fouls called against the Demopolis team.

And unlike last year, the Titans were able to find a way onto the scoreboard after a Longhorn cornerback bit on a play-action fake. With 4:43 left in the first half, WAP quarterback Kevin May faked a hand-off and found Shane Hilchey wide open down the field. Hilchey sprinted for a 52-yard touchdown putting the Titans on the scoreboard.

Joe Magro led the Titans in rushing with 69 yards. Rollin Biggs picked up 37 yards on nine carries and Tony Reed had 16 yards on one rushing attempt.

Along with Cannon and Averette, Sanford had 69 yards on 10 carries.

West Alabama will host Coosa Academy on Friday, Sept. 5, while MA next travels to Cottage Hill on Friday.