The post-Nick Gibson era at Pinson Valley is off to a very good start, thanks in part to a running back who was, in the words of coach Matt Glover, “pretty shifty.”

The Indians proved equally adept at scoring with a quick strike or with a long, drawn-out downfield march, as they defeated visiting Hartselle 28-13 in Friday’s season opener.

Junior running back Torrey Hendrix scored two touchdowns, and sophomore quarterback Jackie Matthews got the other pair — one on a 78-yard pass to Errius Collins, and the other on a 3-yard run.

And the Pinson defense proved they were up to the task when their backs were against their own goal line, stopping three Tiger drives inside their own 10-yard line with just two field goals conceded as a result.

Both teams began the game swapping possessions, trying to get a feel for each other. Hartselle mounted the first extended drive of the game, starting at its own 32 and marching steadily behind quarterback Jacob Tiffin and running back David Easterling. Eleven plays later, the visitors had clawed their way down to the Valley 1-yard line, but were backed up on a 15-yard chop-block penalty.

After two more passes by Tiffin didn’t put the ball over the goal line, the Tigers settled for a 29-yard field goal by Beau Nosal to take the lead late in the first quarter.

The Tribe wasted no time in striking back. Three plays into their next possession, Matthews found Collins — the man he replaced at quarterback halfway through last season — with a 78-yard touchdown bomb.

Saul Rios’ extra point put Pinson ahead 7-3 with :44.6 left in the first period.

Hartselle responded on its next drive by switching quarterbacks. Trevor Oakes stepped up, and effectively guided the Tigers on a 61-yard drive with passes to Kyle Hamlett and handoffs to Easterling and Jordan Stover.

Oakes finished it off with a 10-yard touchdown toss to Garrett Wade, and the Tigers had the 10-7 advantage with 8:32 before halftime.

That turned out to be the guests’ last lead of the night, as Pinson responded quickly once again. The Indians needed only three plays to regain the advantage, helped by a 34-yard kickoff return by Collins that placed the start of the drive at the Hartselle 48.

Matthews needed just 74 seconds and three plays: a 5-yard keeper, a 20-yard pass to Marshall Tanner and the finishing touch by Hendrix on a 23-yard scoring dash.

That gave Pinson a 14-10 lead with 7:18 left, and the score would remain that at halftime.

Compared to the Indians’ earlier scoring drives of three plays each, their opening possession of the second half seemed to be almost a marathon, but it was equally effective.

Beginning on their own 18, Pinson methodically moved over 15 plays — short runs by Handrix, short tosses from Matthews to Collins and Trey Minnifield — and finished things off with Matthews going straight up the middle for three yards and the score.

The drive ate up more than seven minutes off the clock, and put the Indians up 21-10 with 4:53 left in the third period.

The Tigers found themselves back on their heels just a bit, and started relying more on the air attack of Tiffin, which proved ineffective. He gave up an interception to Pinson’s Andrew McKinney on the following possession.

Late in the third quarter and moving into the fourth, the Tigers were able to drive deep into Indian territory once again, aided by a personal foul for helmet-to-helmet contact on Pinson that spotted the ball on their 17. But the Pinson defense stiffened again to stop Hartselle at the 9-yard line, and a Nosal field goal was the only damage.

Just afterward, the Tribe got their third three-and-score of the night, in dramatic fashion.

On third down and eight, Hendrix burst through the middle of the Tiger line, but appeared to be stopped after about 12 yards. But Hendrix was never quite brought down, and he righted himself to dash the rest of the way to the end zone for a 61-yard touchdown.

Hendrix finished with 20 carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns. He was generous in his praise afterward for his offensive line.

“They did a heck of a job blocking that line and opening up holes,” Hendrix said. “It was a great team effort. Everybody did their job on offense.”

Glover was quite pleased with the effort.

“We didn’t make a lot of mistakes, and that was really what I worried about with this young team and how they would respond,” he said. “I think our offense is pretty potent, with some good receivers and Jackie doing the right things. The kids have faith in him after he came through last year, and he’s starting to have faith in himself.”

Matthews was 9-of-15 passing with one interception for 148 yards and a touchdown, and ran eight times for 41 yards and another score.

Pinson Valley makes the short trip to Oneonta next week.