Jerry Parker predicted a tough season opener when his South Summit Wildcats ventured to Duchesne County to take on 1A Altamont Friday.

But that wasn’t the case.

The Wildcats jumped all over the Longhorns early and often, taking a 28-0 lead in the first quarter and never looking back in a 42-0 road romp.

South Summit quarterback Matt Rydalch was 7-for-9 and threw for 148 yards and one touchdown to lead the way for the Wildcats. Never short on runners, South Summit had seven players rush for at least 10 yards, including Hayden Packard (two carries, 36 yards, one touchdown), Jay Reidhead (three carries, 33 yards) and Porter Santos (four carries, 19 yards, one touchdown).

Packard also had three receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown.

“We got off quick,” Parker said. “I was a little nervous how we’d show up with most of these kids being JV players last year. But they got it done.”

South Summit’s head coach said he was pleased with the overall performance.

“As the team goes, it was a great team effort,” he said. “A lot of kids touched the ball on offense.”

Parker was also pleased with the performance of Rydalch, who was starting his first game at quarterback.

“I thought our quarterback did a really nice job,” he said. “I thought he made really good decisions.”

And middle linebacker Garrett Crystal was “exceptional,” Parker added.

While South Summit coasted to a big week-one victory, the Wildcats are reeling a bit after losing senior captain and offensive/defensive lineman Bonner Mitchell, who suffered a serious knee injury in the annual Green-White scrimmage game.

Parker said Mitchell had some meniscus tears and will get his left knee scoped today to see the extent of the injury. There is no timetable for his return.

“We don’t know how bad it is,” he said. “I hope he’s back soon.”

The Wildcats get back to business Friday against visiting 3A Morgan. The Trojans are coming off a 30-27 week-one win against Maple Mountain, which hails from Spanish Fork.

Parker said he is expecting some fireworks as both teams feature high-octane offenses.

He said the Trojans run a “mush” offense, similar to that of Gunnison’s in recent years. Parker said the offense, which is based around misdirection, will force his players to stay disciplined.

“You’ve got to stay at home and pay attention,” he said. “You’ve got to stay low. It’s something you don’t see all year and it’ll be interesting.”

As for pumping up his kids for a 3A school venturing to Kamas?

“They know Morgan’s for real,” he said. “Morgan will bring it, too. They always bring it. If we can stand toe-to-toe with them, we’ll be fine all season.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday night at Wildcat Stadium.