Banning Lewis likes its dessert first. 

The Stallions enjoyed a first half filled with treats Friday at Woodland Park High School. 

Then, the white-hot Stallions opened their bag of tricks to secure a 27-13 victory at Woodland Park. Following an 0-2 start for the Stallions, they now have three consecutive wins. 

“This game is a credit to our offensive line,” Banning Lewis quarterback Sam Early said. “They block their (butts) off every day, work in the trenches and give me a clean pocket to let me do what I need to do.”  

Early shined in the first half and diced the Panthers (2-3) through the air and found Jordan Jones on a 37-yard pass in the opening frame to give the Stallions a 7-0 lead. 

After the Panthers fake punt resulted in a turnover on downs, Early capped the ensuing drive with a 3-yard passing touchdown to Isaiah Gomez to give the Stallions a 13-0 lead with 29 seconds left in the first half.

Banning Lewis (3-2) opened the second half with the ball and used a 12-play, 80-yard drive to dismantle the Panthers’ defense. Early ended the drive with a 24-yard dime to Gomez for his second touchdown of the night and, after the Early-Gomez duo connected on the 2-point try, gave the Stallions a 21-0 lead with 7:14 on the clock in the third.

“We had a great swag with us and a great poise about us after we got that lead,” Early said. “…But there was no doubt in our mind that we had this game won. Even after their third quarter. We have our guys and we have our confidence, so there was no doubt.”

After the Panthers spent the first 30 minutes dormant on offense, Woodland Park found its spark in the third quarter after Bryce Bischoff scored on the ensuing possession to cut the lead to 21-7.

Spencer Cross then intercepted Early and carried it 16 yards to the Banning Lewis 4 where Bischoff reached pay dirt for the second time in 60 seconds to cut the lead to 21-13.

“I had confidence in my team and we weren’t worried about the comeback,” Jones said. “They came out hard and fast and we neutralized them at the end of the day.”

The Stallions opened their bag of tricks in the fourth quarter and that put Jones in the end zone for the second time after a 40-yard reverse down Banning Lewis’ sideline gave his team a 27-13 lead with 11:30 on the clock in the fourth.

“When I run that, I look to bump it to the outside,” Jones said. “That hole opened up and I went out and turned on the jets.”

The Stallions’ defense then put the clamps on the Panthers as Jones, who finished the game with two picks, snagged an interception to end a promising Woodland Park drive.

On the Panthers’ final shot to cut into the Stallions’ lead, Gomez read the play and earned an interception, Banning Lewis’ third of the game. “They threw it short every now and then and I got a little undisciplined at times,” Gomez said. “But I talked to my coaches and told them I needed to stay back. I back peddled, saw he threw it short cut underneath hands up. That was it.”