NEW ALBANY - Canden Dallas saw no signs of panic.

With his team down 14-3 at the half in Friday night's Division 1-4A opener at New Albany, Pontotoc's senior quarterback noticed that his teammates weren't upset. Instead, they were just ready to get back to business.

It showed.

Dallas and his teammates roared back in the second half, scoring 28 unanswered points to turn the 14-3 halftime deficit into a convincing 31-14 win that spoiled New Albany's homecoming.

"At halftime, our guys just looked like they wanted to get back out there and play some football," Dallas said. "We felt like we got hit in the mouth in the first half. We just wanted to return the favor."

That they did. Pontotoc's defense forced a pair of turnovers and sacked New Albany QB Tyler Basil five times in the second half, allowing the Warrior offense to take over.

Dallas threw a pair of second-half TDs and rushed for two more to help Pontotoc improve to 6-0 and 1-0 in 1-4A.

Trailing by 11, Dallas hooked up with freshman wideout Rashad Dixon for a 51-yard score, giving the Warriors their first touchdown and setting the comeback in motion.

On their next drive, the Warriors took the lead for good, as Dallas saw daylight on an option run and dashed 47 yards for the go-ahead score. After the PAT by Michael Bounds, Pontotoc held a 17-14 lead.

"We knew we had to score early in the third quarter to take the momentum back," Pontotoc head coach Charlie Dampeer said. "Our kids did a good job of doing that. (Dallas) did a good job keeping his composure, and he showed he could run a little bit."

Dallas added a 7-yard scoring run and a 10-yard TD toss to running back Randall Crayton in the fourth to help Pontotoc pull away.

For Dampeer, the will to fight back was typical of this year's Warriors.

"We've come back and won before, but tonight was different," he said. "New Albany did an outstanding job there in the first half and it was on us to fight back. This team never got down on itself and found a way."

New Albany, which fell to 4-3 overall and 0-1 in 1-4A play, came up short despite a sterling first-half performance.

The Bulldogs limited to just 51 total yards and did not allow a completed pass in the first half. Head coach Ron Price's defense also forced three turnovers, including two interceptions by junior Dalvin Carr, which led to a pair of Bulldogs' TDs. Basil connected with Taylor Goode for a 39-yard score on New Albany's second play from scrimmage and tailback Eric Johnson added a 9-yard scoring run. Sonny Harrison was 2-for-2 on PATs.

Pontotoc managed a 32-yard field goal by Bounds to get on the board late in the first quarter.

"Our coaching staff did a good job preparing a game plan and the kids executed it well in the first half," Price said, "but that's a very good team over there with a great coaching staff. They made some adjustments and really came out fighting in the second half."

Pontotoc will host Tishomingo County next, while New Albany will travel to take another unbeaten, Itawamba AHS, Friday night.