Skyline coach Angelo Paffumi isn't a big fan of uneven performances, but as he told his team Friday night after its victory over Notre Dame Prep, "We won the game."

With its running game clicking and penalties cut down substantially in the second half, Skyline posted a 45-22 triumph over the visiting Saints in a matchup of interdivision foes at Skyline High. Skyline, new to D-II from D-I this year, improved to 2-0. Notre Dame slipped to 1-1 under new coach Mark Nolan. The Saints dropped from D-II to D-III this season.

"Our offense wasn't good the first half and great the second half," Paffumi said. "The defense was great the first half, stunk the second half. We need to be consistent in a game on both sides of the ball.... "It's early. We'll keep working toward that."

The night belonged to Skyline's offensive line, which allowed four players to produce shining results for the Coyotes. Senior running back Amarii Keyes rushed for 190 yards on 31 carries and scored three touchdowns -- all of those scores in the second half. Junior Kaleb Hardin had his workload increased from the season opener two weeks ago. He responded with 14 carries for 130 yards and two TDs -- 99 of those yards amassed in the second half.

Junior quarterback TJ Duarte got Skyline off to a fast start, completing 8-of-13 passes for 162 yards in the first half. Half of that came on the game's first play from scrimmage --  a play-action, 80-yard TD toss to senior wide out Manny Ruiz. Ruiz finished with six catches for 131 yards. Besides the opening-play TD, he contributed two more big plays to help Skyline to 34 second-half points.

On Skyline's first possession of the second half -- after Notre Dame pulled within 11-10 a minute in to the third period on a 70-yard run by Kyle Soelle -- Ruiz's 17-yard reception on fourth-and-10 prolonged Skyline's first of five, second-half scoring drives. It was the only pass Skyline completed in the second half and last pass it attempted in the game.

After Notre Dame scored its second long TD of the third period (Cole Fisher's 56-yard reception from quarterback Cameron Yowell) to get within 25-15, Ruiz returned the ensuing kickoff 67 yards to the Notre Dame 23. It set up Keyes' third TD and pushed Skyline's lead to 31-16 as the final period began. Notre Dame got no closer the rest of the game.

Skyline had rout on its mind early with the opening-play TD and an interception by Christopher Dolan on Notre Dame's first play from scrimmage. Dolan's pick set up a 35-yard field goal to make it 11-0 with six minutes gone. Notre Dame managed a 27-yard field goal by Joe Zepp late in the first quarter for what would be the last scoring of the first half.

Skyline, which limited Notre Dame to 79 yards of offense in the first half, might have had a bigger lead by intermission. Skyline piled up 100 yards in penalties the first 24 minutes, pretty much negating the 262 yards of offense Duarte, Keyes, Ruiz and Hardin put on the stat sheet.

Notre Dame produced three TDs in the second half and continued to go with a two-quarterback platoon using sophomore Kyle Weisser and junior Yowell. Weisser got most of the reps in the first half and Yowell the bulk in the second half.

"I like platooning them, giving them lots of reps," Nolan said. "We'll keep playing both of them.".

In the end, Notre Dame just didn't have an answer for Skyline's ground game, which scored on drives of 61 yards, 31, 23, 69 and 48.

"Skyline does a great job in the weight room and executing power football. "We couldn't stop them in the second half, but I was proud of guys for continuing to battle. The credit tonight has to go to Skyline."