LEWISTON — Depth is a luxury the better teams in any class of football enjoy. But for many of them, having the chance to play those depth players is an even greater luxury.

Consider the Blue Devils ahead of the curve on that front, too.

Joe McKinnon scored three times rushing and another through the air on 68 total yards, Jeff Turcotte added a pair of rushing touchdowns and Chris Madden completed five of six passes for 63 yards and a TD — all in the game’s first 20:43 — as Lewiston began using its second team in the first half on its way to a convincing 41-2 opening-night win over Mt. Ararat at Don Roux Field on Friday.

“We have an extremely difficult schedule, and we figured they might be a little bit young and this might be a good chance to open up,” Lewiston coach Bill County said.

McKinnon and Turcotte alternated touches in the first quarter, though it hardly mattered. They were running nearly untouched at the line of scrimmage.

“When I was running, I could have driven a truck through those holes,” McKinnon said. “The linemen were doing a great job opening those up for us.”

As impressive as the offensive numbers were for Lewiston, the better benchmark may have been the Blue Devils’ defense, which allowed only 21 yards of total offense in the first half. The Devils’ second (and third) unit allowed only 30 yards in the second half, too, against a Mt. Ararat offense still looking for its identity.

“We’re going to take our lumps. We’re learning on the fly,” Mt. Ararat coach Frank True said. “We have zero returning starters on offense and two on defense. We’re young, and I thought we hung in there.”

“I thought his kids played with some enthusiasm and energy,” County said. “I think he has them moving in the right direction.”

The Blue Devils, meanwhile, know exactly who they are. It took three plays from scrimmage on its first possession to go 42 yards for the first touchdown of the game, a pass from Madden to McKinnon. After stuffing Mt. Ararat on the Eagles’ next possession, the Devils marched 56 yards in 2:38 to take a 14-0 lead on a Turcotte score. Four plays later, after a Mt. Ararat fumble, Turcotte again found the end zone. On the ensuing Mt. Ararat play, Lewiston again forced a fumble and scored two plays later for a third touchdown in the opening quarter’s final two minutes.

The Devils’ starters played two series’ on each side of the ball in the second. The defense didn’t allow another first down, and the offense tacked on two more touchdowns — both McKinnon runs — before County inserted his second unit.

“We have an amazing group of underclassmen, they do their work, they practice hard and give us good look-teams, and they got their time tonight,” McKinnon said.

Neither team registered a first down in the third quarter until the Blue Devils managed one on the quarter’s final play. The Eagles notched their two points on a safety early in the fourth when Lewiston QB Steve Hinkley threw the ball away while in the end zone.