Big plays led Thomas to its first win of the season.

It came at the expense of the Hennessey Eagles.

The Terriers scored three times on plays of 35 or more yards last Friday as they pulled away from the Eagles for a 35-14 victory at home.

The loss dropped Hennessey to 0-2 while Thomas moved to 1-1.

Thomas’ Cason Frymire and Cash Willis connected for three touchdown passes on the night, the shortest of which was 17 yards.

It included a 73-yard hookup in the third quarter as Thomas started to pull away from its one-score halftime lead.

After scoring two firsthalf touchdowns, Hennessey failed to score in the second half.

“We moved the ball more effectively on offense (than Week 0),” said Hennessey head coach Mark Cox. “But we turned it over way too much.”

While the Eagles racked up 23 first downs and 318 total yards, they had just one play over 25 yards and had three turnovers.

The Terriers countered with 445 total yards and had just one turnover.

“When you lose both the turnover battle and the big-play battle, it’s tough to win,” said Cox. “Especially against a good, well-coached team like Thomas.”

The Terriers took the early lead on Jayce Villines’ 12-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

The remainder of their scores would come through the air.

First, though, Hennessey struck back as Alex Gonzalez capped a scoring drive with a 3-yard TD run for the Eagles.

Thomas rattled off 14 straight points as Willis and Frymire connected on scores of 51 and 17 yards.

The Eagles didn’t surrender as Levi Ferrell found Beau Vinson for a 9-yard touchdown in the second half, bringing Hennessey within 21-14.

But the scoring stopped for the Eagles as they were outscored 14-0 over the final two quarters.

Willis ended up with six catches for 155 yards and the three scores. He added another 63 rushing yards. He was one of four Terriers to run for 35 or more yards.

Frymire was 8 of 16 for 212 passing yards.

Ferrell was 14 of 32 for 196 yards and the TD, but was also picked off twice. The senior also ran it 16 times for 81 net yards.

Hagen Copeland hauled in five passes for 84 yards to lead the Eagles in that category.

Titan Root and Raiden Briley led the team with eight tackles apiece.

The Eagles return home this week for their final non-district game.

They’ll host Perry, which also sports an 0-2 record. The Maroons are coming off a 34-8 loss to Alva.