DIXON’S MILLS — Sweet Water took control early and never let up en route to a 56-0 thrashing of Marengo High School Friday night.

Facing a fourth and long on its first possession of the game, Sweet Water scored when Brett Davis hit Michael Thompson on a 21-yard touchdown pass. Taylor Wilson added the point after for a 7-0 lead.

After an eight-play, 52-yard Panther drive stalled at the Sweet Water 24, the Bulldogs took over on downs. Six plays later, Sweet Water scored again when Thompson punched the ball in on a five-yard run. Wilson made the score 14-0 on the extra point kick.

“The thing I am most proud of is that we put them on their heels and kept them there,” Sweet Water head coach Stacy Luker said of the win.

Sweet Water added to its lead on the first play of the second quarter when Caderius Ward tackled the Panther punter in the end zone for a safety.

Ward stretched the advantage on the next play from scrimmage when he took the handoff 41 yards for a touchdown. Wilson’s kick left Sweet Water up 23-0.

Marengo responded with a 13-play march that started at its own five and went as far as Sweet Water’s 47 before Jarvis Lewis stepped in front of a Marengo pass and took it back to the Panther 10. Two plays later, Demarcus Gamble plowed in from two yards out. Wilson added the kick to make it 30-0 in favor of the Bulldogs.

Ward struck again on the next series with a 40-yard touchdown run to up the advantage to 36-0. Marengo’s Jamarcus Agee blocked the extra-point try to preserve the deficit.

Marengo found little success on the only play of its ensuing possession when SWHS linebacker Ty Morgan reeled in an errant pass and took it 26 yards for a touchdown. Wilson’s kick left Sweet Water up 43-0 at half.

The Bulldogs scored again on the third play of the third quarter when Thompson broke a 47-yard touchdown run the punctuated the night for the Sweet Water starters. Wilson’s point-after put SWHS up 50-0.

The final Bulldog score came when Wilson hit D.J. Hayes for a 15-yard touchdown pass to cap the scoring.

“We’re just trying to establish ourselves again,” Luker said of the win. “We’ve got a lot of questions as a football team, especially defensively.”