BOGALUSA, La. — It took two and a half quarters for Centreville Academy’s defense to figure out what Ben’s Ford Christian School was doing. It also took that long for their offense to wake up.

But once the Tigers did, there was very little the Eagles could do to slow them down. Centreville rallied back from a 16-14 deficit to defeat Ben’s Ford 40-16 Friday night in the MAIS District 5-AAA opener for both teams.

“I just don’t think we played with a lot of heart in the first half. They weren’t ready for what Ben’s Ford was brining,” Centreville assistant coach Robbie Isonhood said. “We started off sluggish. We were challenged.”

After a scoreless first quarter, the Tigers scored just seconds into the second quarter to take a 7-0 lead. But Ben’s Ford answered with a touchdown and a two-point conversion to go up 8-7 at halftime.

“We had three fumbles, one in the end zone. We made too many mental mistakes,” Isonhood said.

Centreville scored three touchdowns in the third quarter while Ben’s Ford managed just eight points to give the Tigers a 27-16 advantage. Knowing what the Eagles are capable of doing, the Tigers put the game away with two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Isonhood said that Britt Netterville and Tyler Thomasie at quarterback and running back Scout Chandler picked up their games in the second half. So did the defense.

“After halftime, we played much better,” Isonhood said. “Britt ran the ball hard. Scout scored our last touchdown. Defense stepped up. We covered their receivers well.”

Centreville Academy (3-1, 1-0) plays host to Class AAAA Oak Forest Academy next Friday at 7 p.m.