Oak Creek — In a way, the Soroco High School football team held to its game plan Friday. Against visiting Dayspring Christian Academy in Oak Creek, the Rams were able to put long drives together and managed to control time of possession.

Unfortunately for Soroco, long drives mean little when they don’t result in points. And teams like Dayspring, which entered the contest ranked No. 1 in the state in 8-man, don’t need long drives to find the end zone.

“We knew when they got ahold of it, their ability was like lightning bolts,” Soroco coach Dick Dudas said. “You just have to contain them and make them go long drives, and we couldn’t do that tonight. But you are going to have times like that. You use them to learn.”

Dayspring’s speed advantage was apparent Friday in its 55-18 win over Soroco, which fell to 1-3 with the loss. Turnovers and missed tackles kept the Rams from truly competing with arguably the state’s best 8-man team, although the game could have easily been closer.

Soroco, which amassed more than 400 yards in a 33-26 loss at Plateau Valley last week, found ways to move up and down the field against Dayspring as well. The problem was the fumbles and interceptions that ended most of those drives, with Dayspring often turning around for a quick score in the other direction.

“We drove the football a lot,” Dudas said. “We could easily have had 30 (points) without the two stalled drives and that sort of stuff. If you score 30 points, you are going to be in most contests.”

Dayspring built a 28-0 lead late into the second quarter before Soroco scored via a 95-yard kickoff return by freshman Jace Logan. Dayspring responded with a one-play, 53-yard touchdown drive to push the lead to 35-6. Soroco answered right before the half, a 12-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Isaac Jonas to senior Warren Hayes, making it 35-12 at the break.

Needing a big stand to open the second half, Soroco’s defense instead allowed Dayspring to march down the field and score on a 21-yard pass just 27 seconds into the quarter. A 40-yard touchdown run by Dayspring early in the fourth quarter pushed the score to 55-12 and enacted the running clock.

“We just couldn’t tackle, and you got to tackle with these guys,” Dudas said. “They aren’t No. 1 for no reason. You just have to play disciplined football. We just had some breakdowns.”

Soroco scored once more, a 21-yard TD pass from Jonas to Hayes in the final two minutes.

Dayspring moved to 3-0 with the win. Soroco will have a week off before hosting Norwood in its league opener on Oct. 2.

To reach Austin Colbert, call 970-871-4204, email acolbert@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @Austin_Colbert