NORTH ROBINSON — Big expectations accompany this Colonel Crawford football campaign, and the Eagles lived up to them in their season opener.
Coach Jake Bruner’s club hammered River 55-13 in Thursday night’s lidlifter.
Connor McMichael ran for 158 yards and three TDs, while Dominic Dean added 68 yards and three more rushing touchdowns.
The Eagles compiled 341 yards on the ground, and 553 yards of total offense.
The Pilots dropped a bomb on Colonel Crawford early, with a 50-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead just three minutes into the game. But the edge was short-lived.
Quarterback Brayden Holt tossed a 16-yard TD pass to John DeGray, with Joseph Zizzo’s PAT tying the game halfway through the first period.
It was the beginning of an offensive show for the Eagles.
Dean finished the next possession with a 1-yard scoring plunge to put Colonel Crawford on top for good, with a 14-7 advantage at the end of the quarter.
McMichael ripped off a 65-yard touchdown dash at the beginning of the second period to make it 21-7.
River’s Lucas Dennis countered with a 61-yard TD sprint to cut the margin to 21-13, but the Pilots wouldn’t score again.
McMichael sandwiched touchdown bolts of 19 and 42 yards around a 3-yard scoring blast by Dean to push the bulge to 42-13 at the half.
Two more long TDs in the third period completed the scoring.
Peyton Baker fired an 84-yard touchdown pass to Parker Weithman to trigger the running clock. A few minutes later, Dean got loose again for a 58-yard TD run to finish it.
The Eagles are home again next Friday night to host Richmond Heights.
River is in action at Martins Ferry.