CLAREMONT- The Cardinals marched 54 yards down the field on their first possession behind the running of Keaghan McAllister for a quick 6-0 lead and used that to set the tone for their opening game win Friday at Barnes Park.
Epping tried to answer right back on the legs of their workhorse runner Devon Titus, who gained a total of 26 yards during the drive but an incomplete pass turned the ball over to Stevens at the 30 yard line. That Cardinal drive stalled as the quarter ended with Stevens up 6-0.
After a quick Epping attempt that was crushed by a huge hit by the Cardinals’ Phillip Mason, the Cardinals took over at the 48 and marched down the field for a score capped off by a touchdown pass from Quentin Bicknell to a leaping Baylor Rozzell in the back of the end zone. Gabe Spaulding’s kick made it 13-0 midway in the second quarter.
Spaulding’s kickoff pinned Epping deep as the new Stevens kicker had a fine day booming kicks all game long.
The defensive line for the Cardinals including Mason, Josh Stithen, Tucker Derosier and Isaiah Forrest seemed to get stronger as the game went along and allowed no gaps for the Epping runners to find, forcing another 3-and-out for the visitors.
Stevens opened up their offense a bit with Bicknell hitting Rozell twice in the next drive including a 30 yard strike which set up another McAllister score, making it 20-0 after the extra point was good heading into halftime.
“I was very proud of the effort tonight, we have been going hard in practice in the heat this week and tonight that work really paid off,” said Stevens head coach Paul Silva after the game.
Epping managed only 6 yards on their opening possession of the half and when Stevens took over, McAllister was the featured weapon, as he ran for 37 yards including a dive into the end zone as the ball came out. Forrest dove on the ball for the score as Stevens was in complete control, 27-0.
Stevens would end the game with Spaulding, Mathew Jones and Damon Roy leading the way behind a wall of blockers including Noah Sandonato, Hunter Paradis, Derosier, Forrest and Stithen, as they opened up huge gaps in the Epping defense. Bicknell and Spaulding found the endzone to close out the scoring as Stevens would end up winning 41-0.
McAllister finished the day with 96 yards rushing and 2 TDs, while Spaulding (38 yds), Roy (33 yds), Rozell (23 yds) and Jones (30 yds) all had nice games on the ground. Bicknell would finish the night going 7/11 for 87 yards passing and 1 TD.
Touchdowns scored tonight for Stevens were from McAllister (2), Alex Taylor, Bicknell, Spaulding and Forrest for his first ever touchdown.
“I was blocking hard with my head kinda down and all of a sudden I saw the ball and I just pounced on it,” said Forrest after the game. “I wasn’t sure it if was a touchdown but I just did what any lineman does and hit the ground and smothered it.”
The Cardinals added Bill Gobin to their coaching staff this week and his impact was “immediate and strong,” according to Silva. “We’re lucky to have him on board.”
The Cardinals ended up with over 300 yards of offense, including 220 yards on the ground.
Stevens will head to Newport for a Saturday game next week.
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