Saint Stephen’s football team reported to its sparkling athletic facility at around 6:30 Saturday morning, a byproduct of a week dampened — literally — by the punishing storms of Hurricane Hermine.

The wet weather had kept the Falcons off the field since Tuesday, and Saturday’s early workout was an attempt to shake off the rust.

It worked.

Saint Stephen’s won a rematch of last year’s Sunshine State Athletic Conference championship game in emphatic fashion, rolling past Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic 41-6 in a game that kicked off 10:30 Saturday morning.

Though both teams compete in the SSAC, the game didn’t count in the league standings because Saint Stephen’s and Santa Fe Catholic are in different divisions.

“It’s an odd week,” said Falcons coach Tod Creneti. “To come away with a win is huge.”

The Falcons (1-1) earned it by putting the ball in the hands of their most reliable playmaker — junior quarterback Fred Billy. His burst out of traffic on third-and-8 turned into a 52-yard touchdown run that gave Saint Stephen’s a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

On the Falcons’ next possession, Billy sprinted down the far sideline on the opening play for a 66-yard touchdown run with 5:25 left in the first quarter. Jordan Murrell’s 18-yard touchdown run made it 21-0 with three minutes to go in the period.

Murrell also recovered a fumble for a touchdown, an emblematic moment for a Saint Stephen’s defense that fell on six Crimson Hawks’ fumbles.

“We didn’t know what to expect coming into the game. We only practiced two days,” said Murrell, who totaled 28 yards on three carries. “We didn’t know if we were going to be up tempo or make a lot of mistakes ... That’s why we came out early. We did special teams, offense and defense, just to make sure.”

Santa Fe Catholic made things interesting early in the second quarter when Damario Vanover made a one-handed catch of J.T. Taylor’s screen pass and took it 29 yards for a touchdown more than 11 minutes before half.

But Alex Virgilio booted a 33-yard field goal at the 3:52 mark before Billy struck again, scoring from 10 yards out to give Saint Stephen’s a 31-6 edge at the half.

Billy, who played little after halftime, finished with 134 yards on seven carries and threw for 35 yards.

The Crimson Hawks lost their spark when Vanover hit his leg early in the third quarter. He rushed for 67 yards on seven carries to go with his touchdown catch.

The entire third quarter was played in downpour that started during halftime, creating another wrinkle in a week full of them.

“We’re going to get into a situation this year where we’re playing a good team and the conditions might be tough,” Creneti said. “We have to play well in those conditions, so this was a great experience for us,”

The Falcons head to Clearwater Calvary Christian on Friday before opening Coral Bay Division play Sept. 16 against rival Bradenton Christian.

“One of the things that has been said about us in the past is we’re not playing teams that are bigger and better,” Creneti said. “We’re trying to play good people. We want to get better as a football team so come playoff time, we want to be ready to roll should we be lucky enough to be there."