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Rivermen silence Thunder in fall opener
Senior running back AJ Mulcahy powered his way for over 230 yards on the ground as the Durand-Pecatonica Rivermen rolled over the West Carroll Thunder 53-6.
The senior leader, with 16 carries, paced the way to the run away victory getting the visitors on the board first, in the Friday gathering
With strong blocking pushing back West Carroll defenders and a determination to get into the zone, Mulcahy collected five touchdowns in the season premiere.
The Rivermen put the first points of the season on the board in the latter moments of the opening frame. With 4:27 to go in the contest, Mulcahy broke away for an 18-yard score.
The extra point attempt was off target as the Rivermen closed down the first period of play holding onto the one-strike margin advantage, 6-0.
There was a lot of offense on display in the second period of play. The Rivermen scored at will and denied most offensive attempts by the host Thunder.
With 7:44 to go before the half, Mulcahy notched his second score. This time from five yards out, pushing the Rivermen edge to 12-0.
The extra point kick by Handy sailed through the uprights as the score jumped to 14-0. West Carroll ran into trouble right after the Rivermen score.
With 5:50 to go in the first half, Mulcahy broke away, this time from 55 yards out and carried the margin to 20-0 with nearly a half of the second period to go.
It didn’t take long for the Rivermen to again get their shot at the ball. A take away gave the ball back to the Rivermen offense with Mulcahy taking it the rest of the way.
The running back’s 16-yard strike, his fourth of the game, pushed his yardage total to over 100 with better than a half of football to finish.
The Rivermen added the final score of the first half at the 2:22 mark. Mulcahy’s 39 yard run made it 33-0. The Thunder were in danger of facing a sped-up second, if the Rivermen scored again.
Durand-Pecatonica collected the second half kick and wide receiver Jaylen Noud slipped away from coverage and accelerated to an 83-yard score.
14 seconds had expired in the third. The two-point pass from Mulcahy to Drew Williams was good as time moved ahead, non-stop, with the Rivermen in front 41-0.
There would be two more strikes in the third period for Durand-Pecatonica. Dermot Dolan ran one four yards between the tackles at the 7:00 mark. The kick was no good, due to a bad snap.
Six minutes expired in regular game play and the Rivermen defense got the ball back for the offense. As the final minute of the third struck, Brody Black cut loose for a 16-yard strike.
There would be no additional scoring for the Rivermen. However, with 4:00 to go in the fourth, West Carroll put one on the scorecard. A 28-yard pass led to the team’s only score of the game.
The Rivermen won the NUIC opener 53-6 and moved to 1-0 on the season. West Carroll fell to 0-1 and sits two games behind Durand-Pecatonica in the early chase for conference greatness.
Solid running, led by Mulcahy and his game average of over 14 yards per successful attempt was nearly matched by sophomore running back Brody Black, who carried a ten-yards per haul average. Junior wide receiver Jaylen Noud closed own activities with 77 yards on six attempts.
From behind center, Mulcahy also contributed for the Durand-Pecatonica cause, throwing a perfect pass in his solo attempt.
The Rivermen are home this Friday night and will play host to the Fulton Steamers. Varsity kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
