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Clarksburg quarterback Andrew Veith fumbled on Northwood's 2-yard line on one drive, saw a false start halt another at the Gladiators' 11, and left the field at the half lamenting missed opportunities.

"To be honest, we didn't come out here and do what we should've done," Veith said.

Then Devin Moreno started getting the ball.

Moreno ran for 103 of his 106 yards after halftime, including a 6-yard touchdown on the first possession of the third quarter, and Clarksburg (2-0 overall, 2-0 Montgomery 3A Division) eventually cruised to an 18-0 road victory Friday night.

"He really had a great half," said Clarksburg head coach Larry Hurd, who gave the bulk of the first-half carries to Mike Dixon. "He ran excellent, and we're really proud of how hard he's worked. To see him in there and having him perform that way is very exciting for us."

Dixon was pretty good himself, carrying 12 times for 58 yards before halftime, including a 2-yard plunge that made it 6-0 with 5 minutes, 46 seconds left in the first quarter.

Moreno busted runs of 16, 18 and 20 yards before scoring on a nine-play, 75-yard march that took the first 5:08 of the second half. Veith added a late, 5-yard bootleg scamper to push the lead to 18-0 in the fourth.

Ace Clark grabbed two of four Clarksburg's interceptions against the usually dangerous Jimmy Hessler.

"We already knew that they were going to be throwing a lot to No. 7 (Gary Vaughn), because he's one of their fastest receivers, and they threw a lot to my side," Clark said. "So I just made a play."

Hessler, who threw for over 2,500 yards last season, battled bad field position and persistent penalties all night, as well as a stout Clarksburg secondary. The Gladiators (1-1, 1-1) ran just five plays in Coyote territory before halftime and committed 13 penalties for 122 yards.

All four of Hessler's interceptions came with 10 or more yards to go to the first down marker.

"He'll definitely bounce back," said Northwood coach Dennis Harris. "He had some routes that weren't run right, and he's putting the ball in places where it should've been. And [Clark] made a hell of a play on his first one."

Hessler finished with 102 yards passing. And when he wasn't battling penalty flags, his defense was.

The Coyotes got three first downs via penalty on their final scoring drive — five in total — and Veith also ran for 14 yards on a third-and-12 to keep the 10-play, 55-yard move going.

It was the brightest moment of an always soggy, sometimes-frustrating evening. One week after an interception return to beat Seneca Valley, Veith ran for 28 yards and threw for just 25, as he continues to learn the quarterback role with projected starter Tyler Stevens injured.

"We're two games into the season, and I'm still figuring things out and still working," Veith said. "But we'll get there and our offense will be running sound, hopefully next week."