POCATELLO — After a sluggish start, the Skyline Grizzlies controlled the game, rattling off 21 points in the second half to defeat the Century Diamondbacks 35-24 and move to 2-0.

“We knew they were a well-coached team,” Skyline head coach Scott Berger said. “Coach Fleischmann does a great job. Those guys are excellent coaches. We knew it was going to be a dogfight. Going on the road is always difficult, but you have to learn how to do that, and we’re getting better.”

The Diamondbacks got on the board first after senior quarterback Justus Mangum strolled into the end zone, giving Century its first lead of the season.

For the Grizzlies, stepping onto the gridiron comes with championship expectations — and for the first five quarters of the season, they struggled on offense.

“We started out a little bit flat,” senior quarterback John Giannini III said. “Then we picked it up. Once we got that first score, we were able to pick up the intensity. I feel like once we can score, we can control the game. And that’s what I tell our offense, and that’s what I felt like we did.”

That first score came on the first drive of the second quarter. Facing third-and-10, Giannini III dropped back, looked over the middle and found junior Sam DeMott behind the defense, connecting on a 58-yard gain down to the 10-yard line. Junior running back Riley Stewart got the Griz on the scoreboard a few plays later.

The Diamondbacks answered with a 35-yard field goal from Mangum to take a 10-6 lead.

Giannini III then showed off his arm, connecting with senior tight end Max Clinger, who raced 65 yards into the end zone to give the Griz their first lead of the game heading into the locker room.

After a Diamondbacks turnover on downs, the Grizzlies extended their lead to double digits on a three-yard touchdown from sophomore Jace Serna. Another touchdown later in the quarter pushed the lead to 28-10, and hope looked lost for Century.

But the Diamondbacks weren’t out of the fight. After the defense stood tall and stopped the Grizzlies inside their own territory, the offense came out with a mission to get back in the game.

Mangum delivered, hitting senior running back Tito Villano on a 42-yard strike; Villano made defenders miss inside the 5-yard line and walked into the end zone to cut the lead to 11.

The Grizzlies, however, landed the final blow.

With the offense in his hands and a chance to deliver the knockout punch, Giannini III went back to the passing game and ended any hope of a comeback, connecting with senior wide receiver Cash Webster on a 61-yard touchdown to seal the Grizzlies’ second win of the season.

A week after managing just 202 total yards of offense, the Grizzlies rebounded with 443.

Giannini III was a big catalyst, going 15-for-21 for 328 yards and three total touchdowns. The Griz, who like to attack every blade of grass on the field, showed their balance by adding 115 yards on the ground — a sign of why their offense is so difficult to defend.

“We like to spread the field, we like to move the ball around,” Berger said. “We like to have a lot of people touch it, and you see we had some big catches, big runs by multiple guys. That’s what our hope is offensively — we want to make them defend the whole field.”

Wearing the Skyline “S” on their helmets brings pressure and expectation, and with the loss of several key players to graduation, the depth and character of the Grizzlies has been tested through the first two games of the season.

“We lost a lot of guys last year that graduated,” Clinger said. “During two days we needed some guys to step up. The first two games, they’ve been huge for us — we can’t win without them.”

For the Diamondbacks, senior Mangum showed off his talent both with his arm and his legs, accounting for all three of Century’s touchdowns and bringing a spark to a struggling Century offense.

The Diamondbacks fall to 0-2 and will be back on the road next week as they look to get back on track. They’ll travel to Canyon Ridge to take on the Riverhawks on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m.

The Grizzlies will look to move to 3-0 and will be right back home in Pocatello to take on the Thunder next Friday at 7 p.m.

“Like Berger always says, the most important play is the one coming up,” Giannini III said. “The most important game is the one coming up. We’re undefeated, but we have to focus on Pocatello now. That two-and-oh doesn’t matter anymore. We just build on Pocatello.”