WOODVILLE — The Zachary (La.) High School Broncos exploded for 48 points over a span of the second and third quarters as they defeated the Wilkinson County High School Wildcats 56-34 Friday night.

Even though this was the third game of the season for Wilkinson County and the season-opener for Zachary, the Broncos entered this game ranked No. 5 in the LSWA preseason Class 5A poll.

And their depth and experience paid off, even though the Wildcats played much better offensively in the second half. Zachary got off to a slow start and was only up 8-0 after one quarter of play before putting up 21 points in the second quarter and took a 29-6 lead into halftime.

Wilkinson County, however, would not fold the tent or lay down for Zachary. The third quarter saw a whole lot of offense and not much defense from either team. The Broncos managed to score 27 points, but the Wildcats were not far behind with 20 points.

Still, Zachary had a sizable lead at 56-26 heading into the fourth quarter. The Wildcats were so worn down from trying to rally back from a big halftime deficit that they only scored eight points in the fourth quarter.

Wilkinson County (2-1) plays host to North Pike at 7 p.m. next Friday.