WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Reminiscent of the title of a 1984 Scorpions hit song, the Hartford High Hurricanes rocked the Mount Anthony High Patriots, 47-21, in their home opener on Friday night.
Hartford Head Coach Matt Trombly was pleased with the performance of his 2-0 team, considering the adversity it overcame in the days leading up to the game. Six starters missed practices due to illness.
“It was really kind of a mish-mash week and (we were) unable to get quality practice time in,” Trombly said. “For the guys that were sick this week to come back and be able to play like they did tonight was pretty special.”
The Hurricanes were lights out on offense, and their vaunted wing-t scheme stole the show. Hartford rushed for 385 yards and scored five touchdowns on the ground. Junior running back Noah Danieli led the Hurricanes’ ground attack with 202 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.
Although Hartford’s offense was clicking, it was the defense that got to work early and made a statement. Junior defensive back Rex Baning’s interception stymied Mount Anthony’s first possession.
The Hurricanes’ offense wasted little time in establishing a potent ground game. Three different ball carriers helped the Canes march down the field on a drive that ended with a fourth ball carrier, senior quarterback Owen Mock, bulldozing his way into the end zone from about nine yards out.
Fellow senior Graham Thompson capped off the scoring drive with a successful extra point attempt for a 7-0 lead.
The Patriots were unable to answer the Hurricanes’ score and were forced to punt, which opened the door for Hartford to once again drive down the field exclusively on the ground.
Danieli was the star on the ensuing drive, where he had an impressive long run made even longer by a face mask penalty on the Patriots. A few plays later, he punched the ball in the end zone from about two yards out for a 13-0 lead.
After a botched snap on the extra point attempt, the Canes’ lead remained at 13, but once again they forced a Mount Anthony punt before the close of the first quarter.
The Patriots seemed to steady themselves momentarily, picking off Mock after being forced to punt. Still, they were unable to capitalize on the turnover and found themselves punting the ball back to the Hurricanes early in the second quarter.
With the ball back, the Hurricanes went back to their bread and butter, the running game, and steamrolled Mount Anthony down the field. Baning had the standout run on this drive and was briefly banged up, but returned to the field moments later to run for about a 10-yard touchdown on fourth and short.
A successful point-after attempt gave Hartford a 20-0 lead.
“It’s not fancy. You don’t see it on Sundays and you don’t see it on Saturdays, but for us it works,” Trombly said, referring to his team’s style of offense. “We truly believe in the wing-t offense; it allows us to control the clock and grind it out, wear teams down.”
While the Patriots seemed to be on their way to wearing down, they showed some signs of life on the ensuing possession.
Mount Anthony went deep in their playbook and pulled out a halfback pass, drawing a defensive pass interference on Hartford to get its drive going. Two plays later, senior running back Asa Reis ran down to the Hurricanes’ goal line, and Crossman scored on a sneak on the next play. And following a successful extra point, Hartford’s lead was cut to 20-7.
After the score, the Patriots pulled out some more trickery, catching the Canes off guard with an onside kick, which the visitors recovered near midfield with about four minutes remaining in the half.
What could have been a massive momentum-turning sequence for the Patriots turned out to be an early dagger in their hopes of victory, thanks to the poise of the Canes.
After the successful onside kick, the Patriots mustered little on offense and decided to punt on Hartford’s side of the field on fourth and medium, giving the Canes the ball back with around two minutes left in the half.
Mount Anthony’s three-and-out proved costly as Danieli made the Patriots pay, running all over them and eventually scoring, extending Hartford’s lead to 27-7 after a successful extra point.
“Our kids are very resilient,” Trombly said of his team finding their footing after the onside kick. “They know it’s one play at a time… they’re just going to stay the course and play how they play and understand that it’s a long game.”
After halftime, things did not improve much for the Patriots. Mount Anthony’s kickoff to open the second half went out of bounds, giving Hartford good field position and allowing it to quickly re-ignite its ground attack.
But Mock showed he’s more than just a running quarterback. On his way to being tackled, he fought to keep his knees off the ground and got a pass off to Baning for a 23-yard touchdown, which extended the Hurricanes’ lead to 34-7 after the extra point.
The highlight reel play proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the Patriots.
Hartford, coming off a VPA Division I semifinals appearance last fall, continues its strong start to the season, outscoring its two opponents, 80-21.
Trombly attributed his team’s early success to the players’ work ethic and faith in the system. “The kids believe in it, it’s kind of part of our culture, and they buy into it, they believe in what they’re coached to do, and they execute, so that’s all we can ask for,” he said.
Hartford travels to Brattleboro (0-2) on Friday at 7 p.m.
