Nansemond River High School’s football team pounded the opposition on Friday night and ended up leaving its mark on school history with a 61-6 victory over visiting Hickory High School.

“I was pleased,” Warriors coach David Coccoli said of his team’s performance. “The kids were happy that they set the school record for most points in a game.”

The scoring got started for Nansemond River on the very first play of the game as senior Chris Henderson returned the opening kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown.

Senior running back Terrence Lambert added to the lead with a 28-yard scoring run, and sophomore running back JeVon Waller found the end zone on a 43-yard run to make it 20-0 by the end of the first quarter.

The lead grew to 48-0 by halftime as Lambert scored in the second quarter on runs of 10 and six yards, senior Marquis Braimer had a 45-yard punt return for a touchdown and senior Kiere Landry scored on a 10-yard quarterback sneak.

“We just came out and played hard,” Coccoli said, accounting for the huge first half. “If we put our minds to it, we can be a really good football team.”

In the third quarter, Landry completed a short pass to Henderson who took it the rest of the way down the left sideline for a 59-yard touchdown.

Senior running back Jonas Jones scored the Warriors’ final points of the game on a run from four yards out.

Coccoli was pleased with the Warriors defense, noting they probably allowed the Hawks only 25 to 30 yards of offense in the first half.

Nansemond River senior linebacker Layvaun Baum forced a fumble that senior defensive lineman Deondre Lacey recovered, and sophomore outside linebacker Gerard Stringer was a leading tackler on the team.

“We played pretty well,” Coccoli said of his defense. “(The Hawks) didn’t have over a hundred yards of offense until the last quarter when we were playing our young kids.”

Hickory finally scored on a pass that came on the final play of the game.

Lambert finished with eight carries for 100 yards and three touchdowns.

“It’s a great win for me and my teammates,” he said. “My (offensive) line did an excellent job blocking tonight in this wet weather.”

Waller ended up with six carries for 75 yards and one score.

Nansemond River’s play on Friday night added up to its first complete game of the season, “but I thought that we can get a little bit better,” Coccoli said.

Plans are in motion to make that happen as formidable opponents like Indian River High School and Western Branch High School await.

“We’ve got the meat of our schedule coming up, so we’re excited to take it home,” Coccoli said.

Nansemond River (3-1) visits Indian River next Friday night.