SABINE PASS — New Sabine Pass head coach Dustin Driskell had to wait three games to get his first victory with the Sharks, but it was a doozy. On Friday night, the Sabine Pass football team beat Galveston O'Connell 44-0 in a game that could have been much worse.

According to Driskell, the Sharks had five more touchdowns that were called back due to penalties.

That may be why Driskell was just cautiously optimistic after his team's first victory of the season.

"After the game, we talked about consistency," Driskell said. "We made some mental mistakes that took points off the board. We have to improve in those areas moving forward."

Running back Ernest Ford led the way against O'Connell (0-2), rushing for 309 yards and scoring three TDs and five PATs. That included an 82-yard TD run that was, improbably, not the longest of the night.

That honor went to John Warren, who scored two TDs and had 127 yards rushing. His longest TD was a 92 yard run that beat out Ford's by 10 yards. He added a 3-yard TD run and had 67 yards passing.

Also scoring TDs were Tanner Gripp, who scored on a 4-yard run, and Khalil Francis, who had a 4-yard run. Francis picked up 39 yards receiving while Gripp had 64 yards rushing.

Gripp and Francis also combined to lead the defense as Gripp had seven solo tackles and Francis had five tackles and an interception. Frederick Lewis chimed in with nine tackles and had four sacks on the night.

Still, with all the production against O'Connell, it was the 26-16 loss to West Hardin in Week 1 that Driskell pointed to as the one he's most proud of this season.

"That West Hardin game, we're really proud of that," Driskell said. "We had two chances to turn that one around that just didn't work out. One was on a punt where we had West Hardin pinned back and Ernest Ford was able to get a long punt return down inside their 10, but a penalty called it back. The other came when they had a fourth-and-30 play and somehow got 31 yards on it.

"We’re coming together as a team. The success rate and perspective here haven't been up to standards in the past. We're just trying to raise those up. I can hit them with all the fundamental work possible, but in high school ball, it's all about heart. They showed a lot of that in the West Hardin game. Hopefully, we can capitalize on that game and the success we had Friday to go on a little run."

Sabine Pass (1-2) plays Class 2A Warren (2-0) this week for the Sharks homecoming game.