Choctawhatchee rips through Rutherford (with VIDEO, PHOTOS)

FORT WALTON BEACH — Quarterback Jesse Adams made a grand entrance to the season. A suddenly swarming Choctawhatchee defense has also showed up, although fashionably late.

Throw in a trio of critical mistakes by Rutherford that led to Choctaw touchdowns, and the Indians cruised to a 33-14 victory Friday in District 1-3A action at Etheredge Stadium.

PHOTOS: Click to view a photo gallery from the game

Choctaw (1-2, 1-0) scored 26 unanswered points in the second quarter, an astonishing number considering the Indians only scored nine points combined in their first two games.

Rutherford (1-3, 0-1) didn’t do itself any favors. The Rams had three straight dismal possessions in the first half that led to a disastrous outing. They botched a punt that set Choctaw up at the Rutherford 24 and proceeded to lose two fumbles — neither of which resulted from an Indian tackle — that gave up the ball at their own 20 and 15.

Coming off an MCL injury that sidelined him the first two games, Adams didn’t miss a beat and scored Choctaw’s first rushing touchdown of the season on a 3-yard keeper. He spotted Justin Savage for a 9-yard touchdown after Rutherford’s first turnover and fired a slant pass to Cody Brannen for a 59-yard score and 26-0 lead.

Choctaw’s defense had been torched by Niceville two weeks ago for 49 points but held Rutherford — and namely quarterback Cordarryl Rogers — in check. The Rams only gathered 67 total yards in the first half as the Indians built an insurmountable lead.

Rutherford had a glimmer of hope in the second half after intercepting Adams’ first two passes. But the Rams only converted one of the miscues into a score, which was a 22-yard touchdown pass by Rogers to Josh Williams.

Choctaw buried any doubts when it marched 89 yards behind running back Freddie Gray for a touchdown. Gray’s 7-yard score capped a night in which he ran for 81 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, while Adams completed 10 of 19 passes for 164 yards with two touchdowns against two interceptions.

Rogers threw for 105 yards and two scores on 7 of 12 passing and added a team-best 59 yards rushing on 16 carries. Dieton West and Williams both had a touchdown catch for Rutherford.

Kenny Barnes tallied three sacks for Choctaw while Trey Ellison and Qwenelon Ware each had fumble recoveries.

Choctawhatchee 33, Rutherford 14

Rutherford   0                        0                 7                        7—14

Choctaw        0                      26                  7                      0—33

Second quarter

C – Jesse Adams 3 run (Dillon Drake kick); 9:28

C – Justin Savage 9 pass from Adams (Drake kick); 6:55

C – Freddie Gray 6 run (kick failed); 5:27

C – Cody Brannen 59 pass from Adams (run failed); 2:52

Third quarter

R – Josh Williams 22 pass from Cordarryl Rogers (Dieton West kick); 10:52

C – Gray 7 run (Drake kick); 1:09

Fourth quarter

R – West 12 pass from Rogers (West kick); 9:26

                                             Ruth                  Choctaw

First downs                           10                       12

Rushes-yards                        27-108             32-129

Passing yards                         105                  164

Com./Att./Int                    7-14-0                  10-20-2

Fumbles-lost                        4-2                     4-2

Penalties-yards                     10-55               6-65

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING— Rutherford: Cordarryl Rogers 16-59, Nick Smith 8-46, Kirkland Raibon 2-3, Marcus Barwick 1-0. Choctaw: Freddie Gray 16-81, Stephen Heidelberg 6-32, Jesse Adams 5-16, Marcus Rosenthal 3-5, Justin Savage 1-2, Colton Kane 1-(-7).

PASSING— Rutherford: Cordarryl Rogers 7-12-0 105; Josh Williams 0-1-0; Dondrell Harris 0-1-0. Choctaw: Jesse Adams 10-19-2 164; Colton Kane 0-1-0.

RECEIVING— Rutherford: Dieton West 3-39, Nick Smith 2-27, Josh Williams 1-22, Kirkland Raibon 1-17. Choctaw: Justin Savage 3-56, Ryan Born 3-40, Cody Brannen 1-59, Freddie Gray 1-13, Marcus Rosenthal 1-4, Jesse Adams 1-(-8).