Slow start dooms Jeff

Defense hasn’t been a strong suit for Hamilton Southeastern early in the 2012 high school football season.

The Royals have given up 71 points the last two weeks but are 2-0 in that span because the offense has scored 94, including Friday night’s 58-36 victory over Lafayette Jeff.

Hamilton Southeastern (3-2) racked up 332 yards on the ground and 451 overall against the Bronchos (2-3), who trailed 30-0 in the second quarter. Ryan Ripp ran for three touchdowns in the first quarter and finished with four touchdowns and 167 yards on 19 carries.

Matt Johnson’s 80-yard touchdown run with 4:48 to play in the first half put Lafayette Jeff on the board. HSE quickly countered with a pair of touchdown passes from Ross Risley to make it 44-7 with 39 seconds remaining in the half. Darian Green beat the halftime gun for the Bronchos, springing 50 yards with Johnson’s screen pass to close Jeff within 44-14.

Green added touchdown runs of 3 and 9 yards in the second half to finish with 126 yards on 17 carries. Johnson also had two touchdown runs and picked up 66 net yards on eight carries.