NASHVILLE — The Nashville Hornets took over the driver’s seat in the SIRR Mississippi with a 49-13 beating of Carterville Friday night.

Nashville jumped out to a 14-0 lead after one quarter. Carterville appeared to right the ship, cutting it to 14-7 by halftime and had the ball to start the second half, but it all fell apart for the Lions in the third.

Carterville turned the ball over three times via a fumble and two interceptions, in addition to turning it over once on downs. The Hornets capitalized, scoring three touchdowns during a 4:05 span to turn the one score halftime lead into a 35-7 rout. The Hornets tacked on another score late in the third to for a 42-7 lead and then scored again on the first play of the fourth quarter to trigger the running clock.

Nashville senior quarterback Kolten Gajewski completed 10-17 for 232 yards and three touchdowns through the air, and added 14 rushes for 67 yards and another score on the ground. Connor Gladson ran for 106 yards and scored twice, and Isaac Turner tallied six catches for 136 yards, scoring three times on the night.

The Hornets improve to 5-1 (2-0). They will host Pinckneyville next Friday. The Lions fall to 4-2 (2-1). They will host Madison in a non-conference game next week.