It’s one thing to go into Runkel Field and expect to compete with the Stevenson Titans. Just don’t expect to score much.

The Titans defeated their UCS rival Utica Chieftains 24-10 on Friday, Sept. 6 to improve to 2-0 this season.

After allowing Novi to score just three points in last week’s season opener, the Titans’ defense was stingy again — Utica had five drives end without a first down and lost a fumble.

“Defense is playing incredible,” said Stevenson head coach Justin Newcomb. “Guys are getting lined up. They’re playing fast. They’re going to the ball. They’re diagnosing well, they’re triggering well. They’re keying well. All the things that a fundamental team needs to do. So it’s really good to come out and see.”

Stevenson set the tone offensively when they started the game with a 71-yard scoring drive, punctuated by a 4-yard rushing touchdown by Donny Horton to give the Titans the quick lead.

And though the Titans dropped a long touchdown on their second possession, they still looked to be in control — but things could’ve spiraled after Bryce Briscoe muffed a Utica punt attempt, which the Chieftains recovered on the Titans’ 5-yard line.

But that defense held strong — in fact, Utica was pushed back by negative runs and penalties. And instead of being just five yards away from a potential tie game, they had to settle for a 33-yard field goal while they continued to try to figure out how to move the ball.

“They’re physical,” said Utica Matt Marulli of the Stevenson defense. “They’re aggressive. They’re athletic. They got a lot of talented players. We just tried to keep sticking to our game plan and sticking to our run game. And we had some opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of.”

The Titans extended their lead to 14-3, which is where it stood at halftime, in the second quarter with a 4-yard rushing score from junior running back Jaiden Hill-Alston then again to 21-3 early in the third when Hill-Alston broke free for a 31-yard score.

The junior got touches last year, but Newcomb has confidence in Hill-Alston to step into a bigger role this season — something he showed on Friday.

“He got some carries as a sophomore, and he’s really had a great offseason and propelled himself into a spot where he can really be our bell cow this year,” Newcomb said. “Tough runner, finishes runs. So it’s exciting to see what he can do in (MAC) Red play.”

Utica’s biggest play of the night came in the third quarter when Mahti Gwilly broke off a 43-yard touchdown run to keep the Chieftains within shouting distance at 21-10.

The long touchdown run was the first big play the Chieftains managed to break off, but it came on the backs of some other positive plays — things which weren’t happening in the first half.

With the offense running more toward the right tackle, Stevenson’s defense needed to adapt. And it did, holding Utica without a first down on their final three drives.

“Football is a game of adjustments,” Newcomb said. “They (Utica’s) got a great coaching staff. … And we knew it was a matter of time. So he made an adjustment, it took us some time, but our kids finally buckled down.”Gwilly was Utica’s hero in their Week 1 win over Grosse Pointe North, too, going for over 200 yards with three touchdowns.

“(Gwilly’s) a dynamic player for us,” Marulli said. “We move him around in different spots. He’s able to make some explosive plays like he did today. He’s just kept working and eventually one popped. He’s a big player for our offense.”

A 37-yard field goal by Stevenson’s Pawel Surowiec capped the scoring in the fourth quarter.

Stevenson, now 2-0, is preparing to dig into the ever-challenging MAC Red slate. They’ll visit the Chippewa Valley Big Reds (1-1) on Friday, Sept. 13.

Utica (1-1) is also gearing up for MAC play, with their White schedule set to begin on Sept. 13 at Lakeview (0-2).

And despite the loss, Marulli saw plenty in the Chieftains’ game against Stevenson to build off it as they prepare to visit the Huskies.

“We just are going to take the good things from today,” Maruilli said. “They kept fighting. They kept battling all night. Then (we’ll) work on what we can do. We had some opportunities that I don’t think we took advantage of and didn’t execute.

“We got to work on getting better. That’s our goal, is to get better every day and you know we’re going to come back on Monday (and) get ready for next week. … We got a good team coming in next week that we got to take this game and learn from it.”