The Blackfoot football team came in with one goal: play physical. They did just that.

From the opening whistle the Broncos dominated the line of scrimmage and cruised to a 41-13 win over Century to start the season 2-0.

"We wanted to play physical on the line of scrimmage, and I felt like we did that tonight," head coach Josh Stewart said. "Last week, we were pretty inconsistent with our execution offensively. I just thought we did a much better job of executing and it showed itself in the end score."

Coming into the season, the offensive line was the Broncos' strength and identity, and it was on display in the rainy conditions Friday night.

Behind three-year varsity tackles Lawrence Cousineau and Carter Ethington, both seniors, and the rest of a massive front, the Broncos found success early and carried it through the fourth quarter.

"Those kids are our anchors there," Stewart said. "All five of those guys up front just work hard and work really well together, and we knew going into this year that was going to have to be the strength of our team."

Blackfoot ran for 372 yards and scored 19 unanswered points in the second half to take the commanding win.

On the first offensive play from scrimmage, senior running back Zade Larkin took the handoff and found the end zone to put the Broncos up 8-0.

The Diamondbacks responded. After a punt on their first possession, senior running back Tito Villano punched it in from five yards out to cut the deficit to 8-7.

The Broncos then opened up the other wrinkle in their offense: the pass game. They did not go to it often, but when they did it was effective, and it mainly came through the connection between senior quarterback Parker Wright and senior receiver Briggs Esplin.

The two hooked up for the first time for a touchdown to put Blackfoot up 16-7.

Esplin finished with three total touchdowns and credited the line for the offense's success.

"Boys came out physical, dominated. Our line definitely played a huge role," Esplin said. "Defense had a great game, shutting down everything, playing good, playing our roles. So overall, great game."

Wright echoed Stewart and Esplin on the trenches.

"Just knowing that my line is as good as they are, it's nice to know that if we can run the ball behind them," Wright said. "If no receivers are open, I can take off and get some extra yards behind the extra mobility that I have."

The best play of the half, however, came from the Diamondbacks and senior quarterback and receiver Justus Mangum. Mangum took the snap, scrambled up the middle, cut and broke tackles on his way to a 31-yard touchdown that pulled Century within 16-13.

Wright answered on the next series with his legs. On a broken play he scrambled out of the pocket, saw green grass, cut to his right and sped past everyone for the score, sending the Broncos into the break up 22-13.

Blackfoot poured it on after halftime. Two Esplin touchdowns in the third quarter pushed the lead to 35-13 and put the game in hand — the first on a six-yard run, the second a reception from Wright late in the quarter.

That connection between Wright and Esplin was strong under the Friday nigh lights and it was built both on and off the field.

"Definitely a great connection," Esplin said. "We obviously know when a play is going to be open. We're good friends outside of football, so that definitely helps the connection between us."

Wright did not throw it often, but when he did he was on target 70% of the time, finishing 7 of 10 for 99 yards and three total touchdowns — two through the air and one on the ground.

The Broncos capped the night the way they had played it all evening: on the ground. Sophomore running back Mason Taylor, who led the team with 123 yards and a touchdown, took the handoff from Wright and went 70 yards to the end zone, sealing Blackfoot's first home win of the season.

After a game last week in which the Broncos struggled with consistency on offense, Wright and the offense were in command, which gives the team confidence in how far it can go.

"When we play our best, I think we can beat pretty much anybody," Wright said. "It's just a matter of fact, we can actually play our best and play our best through all four quarters. Knowing that our defense is as good as they are, and how dynamic our offense can be, either we spread the ball out or get down and dirty in the trenches."

Century fell to 0-1 and struggled on both lines of scrimmage.

"Everybody's bigger than us. So if we're going to compete," head coach Ryan Fleischmann said, "we're going to have to figure out how to compete against bigger teams. These are big, strong programs that are well-coached, and we're gonna have to be a little bit smaller, scrappier program."

The Diamondbacks will look to bounce back next week against the Skyline Grizzlies on Friday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m.

"I didn't see a lot of wet eyes. I saw a lot of anxious eyes to come back to work on Monday and start filling in some of those holes we revealed this evening," Fleischmann said. "I don't even know that it's a leadership thing, it's a team culture thing. These guys want to compete."