ALMA -- Holding up four fingers after the game posing with the Battle of the Bone trophy on the field, the Van Buren Pointers more than accomplished their goal Friday night. They made it a four-peat over Alma and did so in convincing fashion.

Van Buren opened up the season with a 41-20 victory against its Crawford County rival in the 80th all-time meeting of the matchup. The Pointers have now won eight of the past nine and lead the all-time series against Alma 44-31-5.

"This task was in front of us," Van Buren Coach Moe Henry said of winning four in a row against Alma. "We talked about it being one year at a time. They were excited about the shirt that was made and what goes with that. To be able to do that, it's special. Last year was the first year since I've been here to go through all three years to win the Bone. That was the challenge to this senior class. They were able to sweep it. We've got kids that played in all four games, too."

If it could go right for Van Buren forcing a mercy rule and running clock with the opening drive of the third quarter, it did go right for the Pointers. But they created those breaks on both offense and defense to put the game away early.

Van Buren led 7-0 after the opening quarter when senior defensive back Kyle Organ intercepted a pass and took it for a 15-yard touchdown for the Pointers. That would help set the tone for what was ahead.

A 26-point explosive second quarter allowed Van Buren to open up its lead. The senior duo of Hayden Williford at quarterback and Hayden Christenberry at running back each rushed for a touchdown then connected on a pass for another score. Van Buren also turned to its defense for an additional game-changing play when Jaxson Silvers forced a fumble and Donovan Akins scooped it up for a 35-yard touchdown and a 26-0 edge in the second quarter.

Van Buren needed fourth-quarter rallies in each of the past two editions of the Battle of the Bone but didn't need them this time around.

"Last year, I thought we played well throughout the game, but we just didn't take care of the ball," Henry said. "You are going to have to fight and claw in those. We knew we'd need to take care of the ball. We were on the other side of that with our defense taking it away and scoring. It gives you a little bit of morale to get it all kick-started. We'll take our chances and odds in any game our defense scores twice. We played well in all phases."

After holding a 33-6 halftime lead, Van Buren opened the third quarter with an eight-play drive capped by Williford finding Kannen Russell for a 27-yard touchdown. Williford then found Fre'non Brouwer for the two-pointer and a 41-6 advantage to force a running clock.

Alma started to put together some offensive momentum with a late first-half score then found much more success in the second half. Jay Lemieux tossed scores twice to Maddox Caldwell and once to Dylan Jackson.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME: With a young team around them this year, Williford and Christenberry knew they'd need to step up their game and add new facets this season. They did just that Friday night to become more complete players.

Williford continued to show his passing abilities by connecting on 12 of 19 passes for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns. But it was his rushing prowess that were his biggest contributions on offense to keep the defense honest. He rushed for 100 yards on just 6 carries with a touchdown after finishing with 60 yards all of last season.

"I've always known that I could run," Williford said. "My freshman year and every season before that, it was the biggest part of my game. I actually used to be a running back up until seventh grade. It's a different type of adrenaline, too. I want to give props to my O-line up front and the receivers down field with their blocks."

Being clutch on third downs were key to both Williford and Christenberry. They converted that down into scores a combined four times.

Christenberry got plenty of defensive attention when he was handed the ball while still rushing for 70 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown. But it was his ability to catch the ball for big plays that was a key addition to his game. He hauled in two passes for 48 yards and a touchdown to make it 118 total yards with a pair of scores on the night.

"They did well stopping the run," Christenberry said. "I will give them that. But they focused too much on me and couldn't stop anybody else. The team is not just one person. Williford and the offense around me made plays. I didn't get a lot of out of the backfield passes last year. But I worked on it a lot last year. They believe in me to do what I can do."

PLAYS OF THE GAME: Defensive touchdowns are perhaps the biggest momentum swings you can achieve. Van Buren got not one but two of those.

After not playing the past two years, Organ now as a senior made the most of his opportunity getting a 15-yard interception return for a touchdown.

"This was an awesome experience to be out here my senior year," Organ said. "I didn't play my sophomore or junior years. So to come out here and do that, it's amazing and made my life. From watching film, I knew when he was rolling out where it was going. As soon as he threw it up, I knew it was mine."

The second-quarter fumble recovery touchdown that went for 35 yards from Akins was a redemption moment for the senior after missing a chance to score on defense last season.

"Jaxson smoked the running back, which forced the ball out," Akins said. "I just took it and ran after that. I was ecstatic when I saw that ball bounce. Last year, I dropped a pick six. I've been really wanting a touchdown this year. I thank Jaxson for giving me that opportunity."

INJURY REPORT: Alma and Van Buren avoided any major injuries in the game.

NOTABLE: Alma had Frank Vines, the legendary coach who guided the Airedales to three state titles, flip the coin to open the game. Vines was the coach to first-year Alma Coach Jeremie Burns, who made his debut Friday back at his alma mater ... Jaden Alvarez, who scored a Van Buren freshman program record 30 goals last season in soccer, handled place kicking and punting duties for the first time in his career. ... In addition to his fumble recovery for a touchdown, Akins forced a fumble of his own, but it went out of bounds. ... Van Buren's Thomas Cole had a tackle that resulted in a turnover on downs. ... Blayne Pruitt had several passes knocked down leading the Van Buren secondary. ... A starter since his freshman season at Van Buren, Johnny Sayaxomphou played in his fourth win in the Battle of the Bone leading the offensive line. ... Abe Cone did a little bit of everything on both sides of the ball for Van Buren, including throwing for 27 yards on a trick play.