CENTRAL — Winning a AAA state title ring was all the talk around D.W. Daniel during the summer.

But on Friday night in the season opener at home against Easley, the Lions found themselves up only seven late into the fourth quarter. Despite a sputtering offense the final 36 minutes, Daniel’s defense did enough to knock off the Region 1-AAAA Green Wave, 14-7.

Daniel (1-0) got off to a quick start with a touchdown run and then a pass by quarterback Justin Walker, who was 11-for-15 passing with one interception, on the first two drives of the game. But, self-inflicted mistakes and mental breakdowns, especially on the offensive line, kept the game closer than Lions coach Randy Robinson would have liked.

“Up front we had some breakdowns and fundamental mistakes, things they’ve been working on, but obviously they’re not working hard enough,” Robinson said. “We’ll address them Monday in practice.

“To be good offensively you’ve got to sustain a drive and right now we’re not very good up front.”

The Green Wave (0-2), who opened up last week at home with a 31-7 loss to Hillcrest, made the game interesting when quarterback Zach Lappin threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell English with 10:03 left in the game. The score was set up two plays earlier by a 65-yard catch and run play by Brandon Grady.

“This week was much better than last week, obviously,” Easley coach Jabo Burgess said. “Daniel’s a heck of a team. I know it’s a loss and there’s no such thing as a morale victory per say, but as far as these kids getting some confidence and everyone coming together, you could see it in their eyes. Last week they looked like a bunch of whipped puppies.”

The Lions’ defense, which was stout nearly all night despite forcing no turnovers, was able to keep Easley off Daniel’s side of the field down the stretch with the offense just trying to run out the clock. It was a stark contrast to how the contest began.

On Daniel’s first drive, Walker led the Lions on a 75-yard drive highlighted by a 38-yard pass from Walker to Antonio Cannon that gave the Lions first-and-goal at the 1. Walker snuck it in on the next play, and the extra point by Logan Howard was good to put Daniel up 7-0 at the 10:00 mark. On the next Lions’ drive, Walker found Marcus for a 32-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead near the end of the first quarter.

Daniel running backs Michael Wingard and Brandon Anderson rushed for 82 yards each.

With another AAAA opponent next week at T.L. Hanna, Robinson hopes his team won’t have eight consecutive scoreless drives, including three punts and two turnovers on downs, like it did against Easley.

“The injury bug’s been rough on us early, and we’re still not full speed,” Robinson said. “We’re getting some guys close so hopefully we’ll be healthy next Friday.”