McCaskey's Rob Monzon Era is off and flying.

The Red Tornado piled up 341 yards of total offense and scored early and often on the way to a 47-0 drubbing over Peabody in a non-league football game Saturday afternoon in Lancaster.

Senior scatback Markeith Williams rushed for 110 yards and three touchdowns, and backfield mates Demarcus Sumpter and Diante Cherry had one rushing TD apiece for the Tornado, which is coming off an otherwise forgettable 1-9 season.

It was a tumultuous offseason of sorts for McCaskey, which didn't win until Week 10 last fall — after going 0-10 in 2008. Then first-year coach David Given up and left, and Monzon, a former standout lineman and assistant coach for the Tornado, was handed the keys to the program.

The team was also left scrambling for a Week 1 opponent, and finally landed a deal in July to play Peabody, a Double-A program from the Pittsburgh City League in District 8.

The Highlanders piled on a bus at 7 a.m. in downtown Pittsburgh Saturday and made the four-hour trek to Lancaster. Peabody's roster included 17 kids, although 20 players were dressed. Four players were injured during the game, including standout QB Dantae Forte, who missed most of the second half.

Forte was tackled for a loss nine times by the Tornado's shoot-the-gap defense, which held Peabody to 34 first-half yards and just 84 total rushing yards by game's end.

Peabody had just 138 total yards and seven first downs — six of those in the second half, once the game was decided.

"Certainly a great start," Monzon said. "Now we have to build off this and continue to grow."

McCaskey is at York High for a non-league game Friday, before reigning Double-A state champ Lancaster Catholic visits Tornado Alley for a much-anticipated non-league game in Week 3.

Williams had two first-half TD runs — from 1 yard and 37 yards, respectively, and junior QB Jonathan Hulyo tossed a pair of first-half touchdowns, both to senior Joe Anderson.

The first covered 11 yards, giving McCaskey a 13-0 lead with 24 seconds to go in the first quarter, and the second was a perfectly placed 10-yard slant, making it 27-0 with 6:40 to go in the first half.

"This means a lot for the whole team," said Hulyo, who was 5-for-7 for 55 yards with no interceptions. He was 5-for-5 in the first half. "We went 1-9 last year, so to come out and — bang! — get some confidence right away means a lot. This feels really good."

Not much went right for Peabody in the first half. The Highlanders had a highlight play — Jaylen Coleman busted an 80-yard TD run — but it was called back because of a holding flag.

McCaskey, which piled up 18 first downs, kept its foot on the pedal in the third quarter with three more scores to ice the game — and evoke the Mercy Rule.

After junior Kelvin Cunningham returned the second-half kickoff 46 yards to give the Tornado peachy field position, Williams took a toss to the right, got a terrific kick-out lead block from Sumpter, and sprinted 22 yards for a TD, making it 33-0 after a missed PAT.

"I give all the props and all the shout-outs to the line," said Williams, a 900-yard rusher last season. "Those guys really fired off the ball and got a good push. And Jonathan did a really good job; he paid attention and he made great reads."

Later in the third, McCaskey capitalized on its third recovered fumble of the afternoon, with Sumpter rumbling 22 yards for a score and it was 40-0. He had 76 yards on eight carries.

Cherry closed the scoring with 2:29 to go in the third when he zoomed 43 yards for McCaskey's seventh and final TD. He rushed for 61 yards on four carries.

"We're hoping the kids see that when they're focused and when they play together and when they play composed — even when adversity comes knocking at the door — that they can stay true to the direction we're going," Monzon said. "If they can do that, hopefully we can accomplish a lot of good things."

So far, so very good for Monzon and the Tornado.

Notes: McCaskey is supposed to travel to Peabody to play a non-league game in Week 1 next year, but Peabody is being dissolved, and the remaining students will attend Westinghouse High School, right down the street in Pittsburgh. A number of student-athletes transferred out of Peabody this summer, knowing the school will be dissolved after this school year — hence the Highlanders' smallish roster, which includes just one senior. … McCaskey AD Jon Mitchell said he's looking into many options about next year's game.

jreinhart@lnpnews.com