SENECA - The School of the Osage Indians made sure their long trip to southwest Missouri was worth it.
Going outside of its usual playing area to fill its regular-season schedule, Osage scored touchdowns on its first three offensive possessions and went on to smother Seneca 41-19 on Friday night.
The three-hour bus ride to Seneca, something worrisome to the Osage coaching staff, was no problem at all.
"Our kids started very well," Osage coach Devin Johnson said. "We scored on our first three possessions and was up 21-0. From there it was a pretty good game. Seneca was big and physical and they kept plugging away."
After Osage bolted to the three-touchdown advantage, Seneca got on the scoreboard in the second period to cut its halftime deficit to 21-7.
Each team would added a touchdown in the third period, as Osage went into the fourth quarter up 27-13.
Seneca struck first in the final period, scoring a touchdown but failing on the conversion attempt to pull to within 27-19.
However, Osage ended with two late touchdowns to ice things.
"With five minutes left they fumbled on the two-point conversion and we scored twice more to put them away," Johnson said. "We were able to do some things we had game-planned. They have some pretty good skill kids, too, and they adjusted.
"Our overall effort was really good. Defensively, we played well."
Three Osage players each had a hand in a pair of touchdowns.
Osage junior quarterback Zach Wheeler was 9-of-18 passing for 181 yards and two touchdowns, with both scores going to sophomore wideout Dalton Depee, who caught three passes for 115 yards.
Junior running back Nick Riley rushed for 80 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns for Osage, which finished with 309 yards of total offense.
"In the second and third quarters, we just got ourselves into some long second- and third-down conversion (situations) and that makes it tough," Johnson said. "Depee is an outside linebacker and wideout for us and we put in a personnel package for him. We felt we had a couple of players who could step up against them and he did. He played a little as a freshman and is not necessarily an experienced player. But he has a chance to be pretty explosive."
This week, Osage (2-0) will open Tri-County Conference action by traveling to Hallsville. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Friday.
"They've given a little different defensive front the first couple of games, so we're not sure what to expect," Johnson said of Hallsville. "Offensively, they've got some good skill kids. They're 2-0 and well-coached."