HOLMES TOWNSHIP — As Steve Mohr faced reporters, the Wynford basketball coach was not happy with his team’s performance.

“It was a horrible start for us,” Mohr said. “In 30 years of coaching, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team get off to the start we got off to.”

Mohr watched as the Old Fort Stockaders scored the first 19 points of the game and jumped out to a 29-2 lead after one period en route to a 75-49 win in the season opener for both teams Friday night at W.R. Donnenwirth Gymnasium.

The long and athletic Stockaders hit 11 of 15 shots in the first period, knocking down five 3s, and forced eight Wynford turnovers and never looked back.

“We were down 29-2,” Mohr said. “I’ve seen a lot in my 30 years but to be down 29-2 — you can spot a jayvee team a 27-point lead after a quarter and they’re not going to come back. It was turnover after turnover and just about everyone on the perimeter on the floor were a mess against their pressure. And we knew that they were going to be double-teaming and that their press was going to cause us problems. We just didn’t handle it well.”

Old Fort coach Eric Hoover said that his team’s fast start settled them down.

“I couldn’t have asked for anything more out of our starters,” Hoover said. “We did a lot of good things and we made a lot of shots early in the first quarter.

“We did a nice job of making things difficult getting the ball across half-court,” Hoover added. “We also did a good job of rebounding and not letting them get second shots. And we were able to rebound and convert them into points on the offensive end.”

Old Fort forward Carson Steyer scored 11 of his team-high 19 points in that first period and forward Zach DeWese added eight of his 17 points in the opening stanza.

“Once we started making shots, it made everyone else feel better,” Hoover added. “We were confident and relaxed, and we made it tough to get down the floor.”

Wynford star Josh Crall scored 12 of his game-high 22 points in the second period as the Royals got the lead down to 41-26 early in the third period but they never got any closer.

“Against their 2-2-1 press, when we attacked it correctly, we were okay,” Mohr said. “We just didn’t do so with consistency.”

Old Fort hit 30 of 57 shots for 53 percent from the floor, while the Royals hit 15 of 46.

“They shot it well,” Mohr said of the Stockaders. “They’re as good as advertised. They’re good. We knew we were going to have to play well to compete with them. They’re one of the better teams, if not the best team, we’ll play all year. They have size, they’re skilled on the perimeter and they gave us problems.”

Jordan Smith added 11 points for Old Fort.

Isaac Sterrett and Jaron Filliater each scored six for the Royals.

“We have some good length and we were able to make some deflections and make some tough passes,” Hoover said. “We were able to come out defensively and make some key passes to get some good shots.”

Old Fort won the junior varsity game, 51-25. Isaac Snyder scored 11 and Jonah Englehart added 10 for the Stockaders. Dylon Robinson scored nine for the Royals.

Box score

Old Fort 75, Wynford 49

Old Fort     29   10    20     16 — 75

Wynford      2   20     15     12 — 49

Old Fort (1-0): Shots 30-57; 3-pt shots 7 (Zach DeWese 4, Carson Steyer, Gregory Steyer, Casey Clouse); Free throws 8-9; Rebounds 38; Turnovers 17. Scoring: Carson Steyer 8 2 19, Gregory Steyer 3 0 7, Casey Clouse 1 0 3, Myles Miller 2 2 6, Jordan Smith 4 2 11, Mason Salas 1 0 2, Zach DeWese 7 0 17, Colin Nutter 3 3 8, Ryan Miller 1 0 2.

Wynford (0-1): Shots 15-46; 3-pt shots 5 (Isaac Sterrett 2, Josh Crall, Lucas Hackworth, Jaron Filliater); Free throws 8-11; Rebounds 17; Turnovers 20. Scoring: Lucas Hackworth 2 0 5, Gunner Coffman 1 0 2, Isaac Sterrett 2 0 6, Josh Crall 7 7 22, James Schieber 2 2 6, Toby Butterfield 1 0 2, Jaron Filliater 2 1 6.

JV: Old Fort 51-25.