After dropping a hard-fought home loss to Forbush on Tuesday, the Starmount Rams came out guns blazing against East Wilkes on Wednesday evening. The Rams pounded the Cardinals 9-1, scoring eight of their nine goals in the first half alone.

"If we did what we did tonight last night, I think there might have been a different outcome," said Starmount coach Dale Draughn.

Starmount got to work early in the game, scoring their first goal just 40 seconds into the game. Nate Benfield blistered a shot passed East Wilkes goal keeper Chris Deal at 39:20.

The Rams found their second goal a short six minutes later off the toe of Benfield again.

The Rams would plant two more goals in the East Wilkes net within a five minute span. The third and fourth goals by Starmount came from Chandler Chappell at 32:15 and again at 28:57.

"When we pass the ball on the ground, when we play in the space, and do what we're supposed to, we're a pretty solid team," Draughn said.

Starmount found another quick score at 16:40, and again at 12:04. Jose Adame blasted a shot into the Cardinal goal at 12:04, which boosted the Rams score 6-0.

With one minute to go in the first half, East Wilkes committed a foul just outside their own box, giving the Rams a free kick, which Jordan Morrison launched into the goal.

With less than a minute again, the Rams would come up with possession of the ball deep in Cardinal territory. This time, Zack Williams found the back of the net with only 15 seconds left in the half, giving Starmount an 8-0 advantage over East Wilkes.

During the second half of the game, a scoring silence took hold, and both sides were scoreless until Dylan Cook found an opening in the Ram's goal and fired a shot into the back of the Ram's net.

The victory of the Cardinal score was shortlived, however, with a ninth and final goal coming from Jose Luna for Starmount.

"We had a disappointing first half. We came out very flat, and Starmount made us pay for it, " said East Wilkes coach Kathryn Murchison.

East Wilkes goal keeper, Chris Deal recorded 16 saves for the night. "Most of the shots we were giving them were point blank. I thought the boys regrouped at halftime and came back out. Mentally thats as much of a challenge as it is physically with that kind of score at halftime," Murchison said.

The Cardinals will be back at home, hosting the West Wilkes Blackhawks at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The Rams will travel to Ashe County for their game Tuesday also beginning at 6 p.m.