Andalusia couldn’t handle T.R. Miller’s line-of-scrimmage play Friday night as the Tigers rolled to a 38-15 victory over the Bulldogs at Municipal Stadium.

The Bulldogs were outscored 21-0 in the second half, where the Tigers scored early to take control of the game.

AHS head football coach Brian Seymore gave TRM a lot of credit for the way they played, but added that he’s confident that the Bulldogs will bounce back.

“They were physical,” Seymore said. “They took the game to us. They controlled the front, especially in the second half.

“I’ve got to give it to (TRM) coach (Jamie Riggs), they had a great game plan and they carried it out,” he said. “Their kids played hard from start to finish.”

Last night was the first season-opening loss for AHS since 2008, when the Bulldogs lost 50-26 to Straughn.

Riggs said his team’s biggest strength is the guys up front.

“We have more experience right there,” Riggs said. “We have a good group of senior linemen. We really wanted to depend on them tonight.”

TRM led 17-15 at halftime and capped a 70-yard drive with a 21-yard touchdown rush from junior running back Ahmaud Taylor with 7:39 left in the third quarter. The extra point by Hunter Brittan was good to put the Tigers ahead 24-15.

Touting a no-huddle and fast-paced offense, the Bulldogs couldn’t get anything going on their next offensive series.

TRM answered with a short-scoring drive from the Andalusia 39-yard line, where junior running back Tamerick Jenkins ran it in from the 1. With the PAT, the Tigers led 31-15 with 2:59 left in the third quarter.

The Tigers held Andy on offense again and managed to squeak their third and last TD of the game at the start of the fourth quarter

Jones Manning, who is a senior and was making his first start for the Tigers, connected with junior running back Markail Mitchell for a 44-yard strike with 11:49 in the fourth.

Riggs said Manning played really well.

“I’m real proud of him,” the long-time Tigers coach said. “I thought he handled himself really well.”

Manning finished the game going 9-of-12 for 204 yards and a touchdown for the night. Jenkins had two receptions for 56 yards.

It was a different story for the Bulldogs in the first half.

AHS ran its offense well from the start as senior quarterback Brayden Burkhardt took control. He connected with senior running back Derrick Dorsey for a 21-yard pass with 5:27 left in the second quarter and then dove into the end zone to complete a 2-point conversion to give his team a 15-14 advantage.

Dorsey, who finished with 79 yards on 17 carries, struggled to get into the end zone with 8:17 in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.

AHS sophomore running back Jamal Hourel showed he can run with the big boys, racking up 78 yards on 10 carries.

Burkhardt went 11-of-18 for 135 yards in the air.

T.R. Miller’s McHenry Coleman scored a 14-yard TD rush with 9:28 left in the second quarter for a 14-7 lead. Mitchell had a 68-yard TD dash to tie it at 7-7 shortly after Andy’s first score.

Brittan made a 25-yard field goal for a 17-15 lead going into halftime.

Seymore said the key before next week’s battle at the bay is to get back to work, focusing on the “fundamentals.”

“It’s early,” he said. “I’ve not lost any confidence in our players.”

The coach took much of the blame for the loss.

“I’ve got to do a better job of preparation,” Seymore said. “I’ve got to do a better job from the players to the coaches. I believe in these kids. I believe they’ll bounce back. It’s early and that’s what I told them. It’s frustrating and disappointing, but I still have a lot of confidence in them. I think they’ll respond.”

Andalusia (0-1) visits UMS-Wright next week for a regular-season contest in Mobile.