In the first half of Friday’s Three Rivers Conference crossover matchup against Orion, the Hall-Putnam County football team was crisp and was able to put points on the board and make a few big defensive stops.

However, the second half was a different story as the Red Devils were shut out in the third and fourth quarters in a 40-21 loss in Nick Sterling’s debut as head coach.

Back-and-forth was the pace of the game in the beginning.

After Orion scored on its first drive, the Red Devils gave the ball to senior Aiden Redcliff on the first play, which resulted in 9 yards. The second play saw senior Braden Curran find a seam and break away for a 72-yard rushing touchdown.

The Red Devils scored next on a 32-yard run by senior quarterback Dylan Glynn with a little over a minute left in the first quarter for a 13-7 lead.

The Chargers took a 14-13 lead, but the Red Devils quickly responded with another big run from the quarterback as Glynn galloped 56 yards for the team’s third touchdown of the game.

Although the defense made a couple big plays during Orion’s last offensive possession in the second quarter, the Hall-Putnam County defense couldn’t stop the Chargers from tying the game, 21-21, with 2.4 seconds left on the clock.

The clouds had been darkening during the second quarter but there wasn’t any inclement weather. Right after the Orion band performed the halftime show lightning strikes were close enough for a delay and heavy rain followed.

After a 1 hour and 10 minute delay, the second half was played.

In the first half there were two total penalty flags thrown. During Hall’s first drive of the third quarter, there were four, which pushed the Red Devils back 25 yards and gave them a third-and-32.

The following Red Devils’ drives didn’t have as many flags, but they had the same amount of points as Hall-Putnam County was held scoreless in the second half while Orion was able to score three touchdowns for the 40-21 victory.

The Red Devils’ Week 2 game is at home against Erie-Prophetstown at 7 p.m. Friday.