Adam Gowans (24) jukes outside as Colby Brochu (22) provides the block. The two combined for 401 yards and three touchdowns.
BRISTOL, VT- U-32 ran the ball over and over again, and Mt. Abraham couldn’t do anything about it. Three Raiders had over 120 yards on the ground, and the team compiled 610 total yards in a wild 48-38 win over the Eagles.
The Raiders were in command for most of the game, holding off a late surge to win their season opener. Mt. Abraham threatened late, cutting a 18-point halftime deficit to just ten, but U-32 hung on.
Adam Gowans and Matt Smith ran for 313 yards between the two of them and four touchdowns, and Colby Brochu added a team-leading 214 yards and a touchdown. Jordan Hanson rushed for 37 and a touchdown, and also caught one of quarterback Matt Greene’s few passes of the day for a 19 yard touchdown.
“Our running backs who like to run hard,” head coach Brian Divelbliss said on his backs. “They don’t like to be tackled by the first, second or even third guy, and thats why the success is there.”
U-32 did encounter some troubles throughout the game, including seven fumbles, turning over three of them. Gowans also left near the end of the game with possible cracked ribs, continuing the injury turmoil from the start of training camp. He had to be helped off the field, while teammate Nick Priole was taken to the hospital with a hand injury and possible concussion.
The Raiders struck early, with Greene finishing a 11-play yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Hanson. Mt. Abraham came right back with a 37-yard Tommy Lee Hodsen rushing touchdown, his first of four on the day. Hodsen also ran for 230 yards for the Eagles.
The Raiders then scored on all four of their drives going into halftime, including three marches over 65 yards. Brochu, Hanson, Gowans and Smith all added touchdowns runs. Hodsen added two more touchdowns before halftime, on four and 27 yard runs. All three times, however, the Eagles couldn’t convert.
U-32 struggled in the second half, with multiple fumbles, a punt and a turnover on downs. They only added two more touchdowns, with Gowans and Smith both adding their second touchdowns on the day.
Mt. Abraham began to fight back, adding three touchdowns in the second half, but several blunders shut the door on the Eagles. They punted twice, fumbled twice and turned the ball over on downs to let U-32 sneak out after a sub-par second half.
“Sometimes in athletics guys can get comfortable, and we have a lot of young players on the team so they need to understand that they have to play the entire 48 minutes of high school football to finish the game.” Divelbliss said on the troubles in the second half. “Regardless of what the score is, those mistakes could’ve come back and made the game tough to win.”
The Raiders are back in action Friday night against the Oxbow Olympians at 7pm on the Lower Field at U-32. Mt. Abraham takes the loss and will travel to Winooski for a Friday night game as well.
ZSN 