EAST CLARENDON — Host Mill River rode a fast start to a 44-14 victory over the Mount Abraham football team on Saturday. The Minutemen improved to 6-1 and will look to lock up the No. 2 seed this week. The Eagles dropped to 5-2, but remained in the hunt for a first-round Division III home game. They will host Poultney on Saturday afternoon.
The Minutemen took a 23-0 lead early on two offensive touchdowns, a field goal, and a 25-yard interception return. They also picked off an Eagle pass inside their 10 to snuff out an early Mount Abe threat.
Mount Abe got on the board late in the first half on a 16-yard halfback option pass from Tommy Lee Hodsden to Mike White. They added a 40-yard scoring strike from Aaron Rowell to White, but quarterback Joey Payea was held to four for 14 passing for 106 yards and the two interception.
The Eagles ran for 132 yards, paced by Hodsden, who rushed 19 times for 107 yards. In all, they gained 302 yards from scrimmage.
MRU racked up 418 yards of offense. Dan Blanchard ran 10 times for 195 yards and also ran a pass back 25 yards for a score. MRU’s quarterback tossed a 14-yard TD pass to Greg Zigler and finished eight of 11 for 82 yards. He also ran 14 times for 95 yards, including 55 yards for a score.