KENNESAW - Kennesaw Mountain caught area rival North Cobb off-guard with an onside kick to open the 2011 edition of the "Civil War."

Nine plays later, the Mustangs took a 3-0 lead. That was the only lead Kennesaw Mountain could muster in the battle.

North Cobb scored 42 unanswered points en route to a convincing 42-17 victory over the Mustangs.

The Warriors, who improved to 2-2 on the season, led 42-3 at the half and rested most of their starters in the second half.

"I'm really proud of the way our kids bounced back after that onside kick and field goal to start the game," North Cobb head coach Shane Queen said. "We've got to do a better job in the second half than we did tonight, but we're looking at it like we're 1-0 in the region and we're going to build from there."

North Cobb scored three quick touchdowns in the first quarter.

On the Warriors' next possession after the field goal, quarterback Tyler Queen punched it in from 2-yards out. A.J. Borduin kicked the first of his six extra points to give North Cobb a 7-3 lead.

North Cobb defensive end Tre Griffin tackled Kennesaw Mountain quarterback Dalin Finley on his own 1-yard-line on the Mustangs' next possession. Nick Miller then scored from the 3 to put the Warriors up 14-3 with 5:17 left in the first quarter.

After Darius Conaway returned a Kennesaw Mountain punt 50 yards to the Mustangs' 5-yard-line, Queen scored his second touchdown on a 2-yard run to push the North Cobb lead to 21-3.

Finley fumbled on Kennesaw Mountain's next possession and the Warriors took over at the Mustangs' 30. Seven plays later, Quinten James scored on a 5-yard run to pad the North Cobb lead to 28-3 early in the second quarter.

Kennesaw Mountain head coach Chad McGehee said that his team's early momentum was ruined by mistakes.

"Penalties and turnovers were what wiped out the early lead for us tonight," he said. "We have been making progress every week, but tonight I feel like we took a step backwards. We can't make mistakes like we did against a talented and athletic team like North Cobb."

In addition to his rushing touchdowns for North Cobb, Queen completed all eight of his passes for 105 yards.