STOCKBRIDGE - It didn't help that Whitmore Lake High School football team's opening game of the season was against reigning Southern Michigan Activities Association champ Stockbridge. The Trojans graduated the majority of their starters from last year and sophomores make up more than half the varsity roster.

Stockbridge, meanwhile, features four-year starter and Division 1 prospect Jeff O'Brien at quarterback and returns six starters on each side of the ball. Throw in an offensive line that averages 260 pounds against a Trojan team that features only two players that crack 200 pounds and it's easy to see how different the teams are.

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On top of all that, a flu-like bug made its way through the Trojans' locker room the past two weeks, leaving coaches wondering who would be healthy enough to practice each day. If that wasn't enough, sophomore running back Maverick Bristol, expected to be the primary ball carrier, watched all but one series from the sidelines after suffering an injury in practice this week.

Facing all those obstacles, the Trojans lost on opening night, 75-8. Stockbridge quarterbacks were a perfect 13-for-13 in the game for 315 yards and five touchdowns. Seven different Panthers ran the ball for 164 yards and four touchdowns.

O'Brien was everything pre-season projections painted him to be. On the first play from scrimmage he found Devin Allen alone on the right sideline for a 57-yard touchdown pass, just 14 seconds into the game. Just more than two minutes later he returned a punt 49 yards for a touchdown and a 13-0 Stockbridge lead.

Whitmore Lake's first three possessions netted them negative three yards and a 39-yard interception return that made the score 34-0 Stockbridge (1-0) with just under five minutes left in the first quarter.

The Trojans put together a nice drive on their fourth possession, holding the ball for nearly five minutes, picking up 23 yards and two first downs before being forced to punt.

Playing with a running clock in the second half, the Trojans (0-1) finally cracked the scoreboard after William Wagner recovered a muffed Stockbridge punt on the Panther 29-yard line. On the first play backup quarterback Sam Panicacci found starting QB Dylan St. Charles for a 29-yard touchdown strike. Levi Bank scored on the two-point try.

"They'll grasp things more, and they'll get better," Trojan coach Barry Pierson said. "Scoring the touchdown at the end was a nice plus for us. They were a lot bigger than us, and they have a nice team. We're hitting them with 140-pound guys and were just bouncing off.

"We couldn't really turn the corner with size against this team," he continued. "Our offensive line made some mistakes as well. Their size helped them just shed us off."

"We expected to be pretty good this season," Stockbridge coach Jeremy Killinger said. "We worked hard in the offseason against some good competition. Our offense flows through Jeff (O'Brien) and we expect him to do well. Whitmore Lake played hard, they didn't quit."