DIXFIELD — Although things haven’t gone the Cougars’ way lately, they weren;t about to let that stand in their way.
Dirigo put its best foot forward and solid execution paid off in a Class D Campbell Conference football game at Harlow Park as sophomore quarterback Riley Robinson passed for two touchdowns and also ran for a score and Tyler Frost spearheaded a stout defense as the Cougars rolled over Telstar, 39-0.
Frost had an all-around performance with a pair of TD runs. On defense the linebacker recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass and was in on eight tackles.
“We knew coming in to this game that we couldn’t take them lightly,” Frost said. “Telstar is a good team and we were 1-2 coming in, so we needed to get it going. Our team has high expectations.”
Dirigo (2-2) was anxious to get back on track, following an 8-6 loss to Oak Hill and then blowing a lead to the big play explosion by Winthrop/Monmouth in a 28-14 loss. This game started out with a bang when Telstar fumbled on the second play and Frost recovered at the Rebels 36.
Dirigo didn’t waste any time as Frost gained 20 yards on the first play. On first and goal on the three, Robinson called his own number, rolled right and cut inside for the score.
On the other end of the spectrum, Telstar (0-4) has struggled, but had gained confidence the previous week after jumping out to a 14-0 lead. The Rebels, who are in their third year of varsity status, were unable to move the ball with QB Jared Vermette (1 of 5 for four yards) The tandem running of Austin Ryerson and Chris Chappie only generated two first downs in the first half, and then were held without a first down until late in the fourth quarter.
Dirigo seized the momentum and answered with 11-play drives of 93 and 61 yards. The former concluded with Robinson throwing his first of two pooch passes to end Kaine Hutchins for three- and five-yard scores. Frost scored on a seven-yard dive and Zach Demars booted the conversion for a 21-0 lead.
The Cougars spread the wealth by using runners Brett Beauschesne (146 yards, 12 rushes), Frost (65 yards, 10 rushes), Heath Hersom (53 yards, eight rushes) and Joe Casey (46 yards, six-yard TD in fourth quarter). They gained 328 yards on 47 rushes.
“The line blocked great tonight,” Robinson said, referring to tackles Jack Brown and Ivan Luu, guards Jesse Hutchinson and Julian Baldinelli and center Joey ‘Big Cat’ Hebert. “We ran off-tackle and the backs exploded through the holes for good gains.”
Telstar was led on defense by linebackers David Pilgram (nine tackles, sack) and Dakota Merrill (eight tackles).
“We struggled with penalties (10 for 65 yards),” Dirigo coach Dave Crutchfield said. “We tried to blend in everything tonight, both sides of the ball, in an effort to be a complete ball club. The team jelled quite well and our running backs ran hard through the holes.”
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