Midway linebacker Charles Kelly gave the Panthers’ revamped offense a fair grade after the season opener Friday night at Floyd Casey Stadium.

Kelly stamped the ninth-ranked Panthers with an “A” following a 27-7 victory over Alvarado.

But he stopped short of a perfect mark.

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With junior quarterback Ryan Smith running the show and Marc Martinez running for big chunks of yards, the Panthers’ offense proved a worthy complement to a dominant defense.

Martinez rushed for 159 yards and a touchdown, while Smith passed for 117 and a touchdown and dove across the goal line for two more.

But Midway (1-0) gave Alvarado three fumbles which eventually led to the Panthers’ defense losing a coveted shutout in the fourth quarter.

“I’ll give them an A-minus,” Kelly said about the offense. “We did better than I thought, but we still dropped the ball a little. I give Marc Martinez an A-plus.”

At the end of the night, though, the Panthers seemed to enjoy their debut at Floyd Casey Stadium, where the Panthers will play their home games this season while the school builds a new campus stadium.

Midway’s top priority Friday was to avenge a season-opening loss at Alvarado last season.

“You don’t like to lose to anybody,” Midway coach Kent Bachtel said. “I feel like we redeemed ourselves.”

Midway’s loss to Alvarado last August was the team’s only setback before the Panthers fell in the Class 4A Region II final against Longview at Texas Stadium in December.

That was last season and this is this season, but the Panthers didn’t miss much of a beat.

While Midway’s defense almost completely shut down the Indians in the first half, the Panthers found enough offense to gain control by halftime.

Smith, making his first varsity start, connected with senior receiver Levi Norwood on a bubble screen to the right side that Norwood turned into a 14-yard touchdown with a nifty cut in the middle of the field.

That capped a 62-yard drive to give Midway a 13-0 lead after a two-point conversion try failed. The drive gave the Panthers’ a two-score lead, but also showed the young offense was capable of moving on its own without being set up with a short field.

Martinez carried most of the load as Midway consistently put itself in good down-and-distance situations. He finished the first half with 79 yards on 14 carries, including a two-yard touchdown run.

And the Midway defense and offense worked together for the Panthers first score of the season.

Alvarado punter Adam Coffey couldn’t handle the snap on the Indians’ first-punt attempt of the year and the Panthers defensive front moved in to block Coffey’s kick. Midway defensive end Brendon Quinton caught the deflected ball and stumbled for a short return to the Alvarado 40-yard line.

From there, Martinez broke loose for a 14-yard gain and Smith tossed to Anthony Betters for 12 more yards to the Indians’ 14. Martinez finished the drive with a 9-yard run to the 2, then bulled across from there for a 7-0 lead.

Meanwhile the Midway defense popped the Indians on a regular basis. Alvarado managed just two first downs and 46 yards of offense in the first two quarters.

Alvarado went to the air in the second half to move the ball and the chains a little more often. Still, Indians’ highly touted running back Broam Hart finished with only 38 yards on 11 carries.

The Panthers offense enjoyed its best drive of the night after the Midway defense stood firm at its goal line to stop Alvarado on fourth-and-goal from the 3.

Panther defenders Shakiel Randolph and Quinton brought down Alvarado quarterback Travis Pruitt to stop the Indians’ march, then the Midway offense turned around and went the length of the field.

Smith completed three of four passes, including a key one to Ronnie Lee for a 29-yard gain to the Alvarado 8. Smith capped the 96-yard drive by pushing across the goal line from one yard out, putting Midway in command, 20-0, with 90 seconds left in the third quarter.

Though Alvarado scored in the fourth, the Indians never threatened to affect the outcome.

Smith’s second 1-yard touchdown run capped a 64-yard drive, but Martinez did most of the work by carrying 10 times for 50 yards to help the Panthers chew up more than six minutes of the final period.