Teams love to get off to a fast start. That goes double when one plays its top rival.

Williams Field scored 28 first-quarter points and used a big opening quarter from standout running back Alex Howard Friday night to pummel sister-school Higley, 49-22, in a Division III, Section I battle at Higley High.

Williams Field (5-1) ran its record to 3-0 in the rivalry, which began in 2009. None of the games have been close. Higley (4-2) was never in this one. The game wasn't as close as the score indicated.

"We came out fast, hit on all cylinders," Williams Field coach Steve Campbell said. "That's what you want."

Williams Field scored on its first six possessions. Five of those began in Higley territory thanks to either good special teams play from Williams Field or poor play of the same from Higley.

Williams Field opened the game with a 39-yard kickoff return from Jordan Johnson that set the Black Hawks up at Higley's 46. Ten plays later Howard scored the first of his four touchdowns in the game finishing off the drive with a 1-yard TD run. 

Williams Field's second TD drive took just five plays and covered 40 yards after a Higley punt traveled just 14 yards. Quarterback Garrett Forsgren tossed a 22-yard scoring pass to Cole Forsgren to cap that march. Howard added TD runs of 20, 51 and 7, which helped improve the margin to 35-0 with 7:36 left in the second period.

Howard, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior, carried 11 times for 121 yards. He played slightly less than a half and made Higley's defense look overmatched on several runs.

"He's taking pride in developing in to a power runner," Campbell said. "He doesn't want to be thought of as soft."

About three minutes later n the second period, jjunior Sean Schweichler scored on a 5-yard run to make it 42-0. The game proceeded with a running clock with 4:50 left in the first half.

The bad start by Higley was just the beginning of the bad news for the evening. After falling behind late in the first period 21-0, senior quarterback Eric Kump was injured. Kump, who had thrown for 200 yards or more in the Knights first five games,  left with a knee injury and did not return. Higley coach Eddy Zubey said the initial prognosis is a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

"When he got the hurt the game was already out of control," Zubey said. "It was a bad first half. .....

"We finished strong, but they are a good team. A very good team."

Higley got second-half touchdowns from Mythias Young, a nifty 61-yard run, a 1-yard run from backup quarterback Jacob Gonzalez and a 56-yard TD pass from Gonzalez to Tristan DaCosta.