MEMPHIS - The Rhodes College football team opened their 2015 season with a bang on a hot and humid Saturday afternoon at Crain Field as they lit up the scoreboard, defeating the Southern Virginia Knights, 65-10.

The 65 points scored by the Lynx is the most points scored in the modern era. The most points scored by a Rhodes team previously was in 2002, when the Lynx defeated Colorado College 59-0.

The Rhodes offense was explosive, finishing with 523 total yards, including 370 yards through the air as the Lynx averaged 7.9 yards/play. The defense also had a huge day as they suffocated the Knights, holding them to 140 yards and forcing 10 punts throughout the afternoon.

After a three and out, the Rhodes offense came out firing, putting together a quick six play, 57-yard drive resulting in a 39 yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Blake Box to senior wide receiver Jonathan Wiener. 

The Lynx continued to stifle the SVU offense as the Knights did not pick up any first downs in the first quarter and finished with -3 yards in the quarter.

On their second drive of the game, Rhodes went 42 yards in 10 plays as junior Mason Windatt put the Lynx on the one after a 23 yard catch and carry, his second catch of the drive. Junior Roc Sherrell powered it in from one yard out to make it 14-0.

The Rhodes offense exploded in the second quarter, putting 30 on the board as Sherrell had a pair of touchdow including a 51-yard rush for six while juniors Nick Parinella and Brandon Box each hauled 40+ yard touchdown catches.

The defense continued to dominate as they forced a fumble inside Southern Virginia's own 10 yard line, leading to a Sherrell score while special teams forced a safety on a wild snap. 

Junior Xavier May kept the foot on the gas pedal for the Lynx as junior backup quarterback Austin Henyon connected with him for a 72 yard score to extend the lead to 51-0 early in the third quarter. Two more quarterbacks would throw for touchdowns as senior Brett Dawidowski found freshman Josh Lucas for a score while junior Sam Yarborough hit freshman Josh Loud to put the Lynx over the 60 mark.

Box finished 12-for-18 on the afternoon for 213 yards and two touchdowns. He did have two interceptions on the day as well which were the only two giveaways by Rhodes. Henyon added a 2-for-4 day for 77  yards while Yarborough was impressive, going 5-for-6 for 69 yards. The Lynx quarterbacks combined to throw for six touchdowns.

Sherrell ran for 99 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns while sophomore Alex Chavez added 32 yards on four carries. 

May's 72  yard reception led all receivers in yards while Parinella added 63 yards on two catches and Wiener had 61 yards on three catches. Freshman Alden Seger had the most receptions with four catches for 60 yards.

Defensively, a total team effort was led by senior Michael Shield who finished with five tackles, a tackle for loss, and a forced fumble. Sophomore Sam McLain and freshman Taylor Waddilove added four tackles a piece. 

The Lynx also had a pair of sacks on the afternoon coming from senior Christian Labenberg and junior Henry Weinreich. Freshman Luis Vela added two tackles for loss.

The Lynx are 1-0 and have now four straight opening games, moving to 4-1 overall in openers during the Dan Gritti era. Rhodes has now won 11 straight games at Crain Field, including two undefeated home seasons the last two years.

Next week the Rhodes will return home and welcome in Pomona-Pitzer under the lights. Next week's game will be the opener for the Sagehens. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and live video and live stats will be provided via Stretch Internet.