For a few reasons, Friday night’s scrimmage between Rome and Calhoun was the Yellow Jackets’ preview party, hosted at their own Phil Reeve Stadium.

The Wolves, coming off the most successful season in the program’s history, were looking to recapture a feel.

Calhoun quarterback Nash Nance had his preseason debut behind center and the Jackets’ new artificial turf was christened with an optimistic outlook for both teams.

The reigning Region 7-AA champion Jackets ended up ahead of the visiting Wolves from 7-AAAA, 14-7, with Nance leading the charge on both of Calhoun’s touchdown drives.

“I thought Nash had a good night,” Calhoun head coach Hal Lamb said. “As the quarterback, you have to be the guy and we like him.”

Nance, who transferred from Darlington following last season, was 9-for-12 with 91 yards passing and a nine-yard touchdown pass to Garrison Pasley in the early minutes of the second quarter.

“He handled himself well,” Lamb said of the senior QB. “And I was very pleased with the offensive line’s protection. We had some good runs.”

Rome found it hard to try and halt Calhoun’s spread offense in the beginning and the Jackets took the ball 75 yards in methodical fashion to score on a one-yard dive from senior David Collins.

“I thought we played the first half like we practiced,” Rome head coach Sid Fritts said. “We didn’t have any game speed and we were slow on both sides of the ball.”

The Jackets’ defense took off quick, in more ways than one, and began a tough night for the Wolves’ offense.

“Our defense ran and hit well,” Lamb said. “I don’t think we’re as big as we were last year, but we’re faster.”

Stephen Gaylor, one of Rome’s top returning defenders, picked off a pass from Nance to start Calhoun’s second offensive series after a wrong route by a receiver.

With Calhoun ahead 14-0, Wolves’ running back Reggie Whatley took off for a 42-yard gallop in the middle of the second quarter for six points and produced some excitement for the Rome fans.

“Once we adjusted, I thought we did well,” Fritts said. “In the second half I felt like we went toe-to-toe with them. But you can’t give a team like that a 12-minute head start.”

Da’Rick Rogers, considered one of the highest rated wide receivers in the state, made two catches for 10 yards and nearly had a 24-yard touchdown catch. The senior leapt in the end zone but came down out of bounds as Gaylor defended him.