Ethan Johnson and the Central Cyclones started the 2018 season with a bang on Saturday at Gutheridge Field.

Johnson threw four touchdowns, including two to receiver CJ Vincent, to lead the Cyclones to a 38-0 win over the Vanier Vikings to kick-off the Moose Jaw High School Football League season.

"These kids have put in a lot of work over the last couple of weeks, all that hard work pays off and the reward is what we put on the field," said Central head coach Colin Belsher. “I knew our grade 12s, our veterans, were going to play well, but it was all those other kids, the grades 11s, 10s and 9s, that really played the role and played their hearts out."

Vanier stuffed Central at the goal line on their opening drive, but the Cyclones came right back and finished off the next chance they had. Once their offence found its rhythm, the team was almost unstoppable at points.

The Vikings are a young team and head coach Ryan Gottselig said they will be able to take a lot away from the game, despite the loss.

"We hung around pretty well in the first quarter, but they're just so veteran right across the board and the difference in experience shows up, especially in Week 1, they're just miles ahead of us at this point, but hopefully we can get there," said Gottselig.

Central quarterback Ethan Johnson unleashes a pass from deep in his territory during Saturday's win over Vanier. (Photo: Marc Smith)

Johnson put together a massive opening game to lead the Cyclones, as he finished 19-of-22 for 330 yards and four touchdowns. He completed a pass to eight different receivers to keep the Vikings' defence off balance throughout the game.

Vincent was Johnson's top target with five catches for 46 yards and two scores, while Josh Reidy hauled in four passes for 66 yards. Crozier Holmes had three catches for 61 yards and a touchdown and Mathew Dyck had two catches for 67 yards and a touchdown.

"Ethan is an amazing player, I see him going to some university playing, he's all the traits that you want in a captain," said Vincent. "He gets the ball to everyone, not just myself and Crozier, it's everywhere, and he's my best friend as well, so that helps the chemistry."

Belsher added that Johnson is a special player for them, "Yeah he's got a big arm, but his strength is that he's just so smart," he said. "He reads the defence and he's able to spread the ball around, all of our receivers had big catches today and multiple catches, so that's a tribute to the hard work that he's put in."

Vanier's offence was focused primarily along the ground where running back Tyler Lorenz finished with eight carries for 31 yards, while Xander Montgomery picked up 43 yards on five carries.

Quarterback Philip O’Reilly was 3-of-7 for seven yards with two interceptions.

"Our run defence was reasonable at times and we had a young corner that made a great play on their best receiver (during the goal line stand), so there were some bright spots for sure and we've just got to keep getting better," said Gottselig.

Central defensive lineman Bradly Hickox pulls Vanier fullback Xander Montgomery after a fourth-quarter interception on Saturday at Gutheridge Field. (Photo: Marc Smith)

Central's defence pitched the shutout despite missing Team Saskatchewan linebacker Hunter Morgan due to an injury.

Defensive back Barritt Sitavanc and defensive lineman Bradly Hickox had interceptions for the Cyclones’ defence in the win.

"We started a grade nine and 10 in the middle, they stepped up and played well, our defensive line played well, we had an interception from our DBs, so overall it was a real good team effort today," said Belsher.

The Cyclones will be tested in Week 2 as they travel to Yorkton to take on the Raiders next Friday night. Yorkton rolled to a 61-10 win over the Weyburn Eagles in their season opener on Saturday.

Vanier returns to the field on Thursday when they travel to Swift Current to take on the Colts under the lights for a 7 p.m. kick-off. Swift Current won 21-6 over Peacock on Saturday.