HAMMOND | It was a matchup of E.C. Central's experience against the youth of Gavit Friday night at Gladiator Arena.

At game's end, the experienced Cardinals gained a close 23-19 victory while Gavit gained a measure of respect from the visiting opposition.

"We expected this to be easy, but (Gavit) came out and really played us," E.C. running back Arion Clanton said.

Gavit (0-4) started quickly by scoring on their first possession. Freshman quarterback Tashon Rogers capped a 12-play, 65-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. Meanwhile, Gavit's defense held E.C. Central's passing attack in check, and Gavit led 7-0 after one quarter.

The Gladiators scored on a 39-yard run in the second quarter by senior running back Christian Ellison to lead 13-0.

"The team got some bad news today that our homecoming date has been pushed back and we didn't respond very well," E.C. coach Stacy Adams said of the slow start.

That deficit served as a wakeup call for E.C.'s offense. An interception by Tyree Purham gave the Cardinals offense the ball in Gladiator territory. Running back Arion Clanton then put E.C. on the scoreboard with a 5-yard touchdown run. He finished the night with 125 yards and a pair of scores.

The Cardinals scored on their next possession on a 2-yard run by Everett Coleman to take a 15-13 lead into the half.

Coleman later went out with an injury, and the Gladiator defense took over on downs after pushing the Cardinals back to the 25-yard line.

"We have a very young team, playing seven or eight freshmen and sophomores at any time," Gavit coach Scott Oman said. "This game was a good step in the right direction."

In the fourth quarter, Clanton returned after leaving with an ankle injury and promptly broke runs of 35 and 22 yards before scoring his second touchdown on a run of 2 yards. The touchdown gave E.C. (2-2) a 10-point lead and proved to be valuable as Rogers recovered a Cardinal fumble in the end zone to cut the lead to four points with just under three minutes left in the game.

"This was our best effort of the year," Oman said. "We didn't get down and we kept fighting."