ORANGE — Dilan Fountain made the most of his six carries Friday night at the Woodward Complex.
The senior running back racked up 217 yards and four touchdowns on the ground as Athol downed Mahar, 42-8, in the season’s first edition of the Thanksgiving rivalry.
Fountain thanked his offensive line for opening huge running lanes for him.
“The linemen made great blocks, the holes were opening up,” Fountain said. “Without them I couldn’t have gotten all the yards I got tonight.”
Athol head coach Bill LaRose praised his senior running back’s effort.
“Dilan Fountain was by far the best athlete on the field tonight,” LaRose said. “Mahar didn’t have a counter for him. Anytime he touched the ball, he could break it for a large gain.”
Despite dominating on the ground, it was the passing game that opened up the scoring for the Bears. Following a punt, Fountain started the game with a five-yard carry before senior tight end Vincent Gordon caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from QB Caleb Cox three minutes into the first quarter.
The Bears fumbled away their next drive but the defense kept Mahar off the scoreboard with an interception – the first of five total interceptions on the night for the Athol defense. Fountain took the following play 55-yards into the end zone.
The Senators answered back in the second quarter with an 8-minute, 13-play drive finished off by a 35-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Kaleb Lemcke to bring the score to 28-8 at halftime.
On the first snap of the second half however, Fountain took the ball 50 yards into the end zone, and finished his night off with a 35-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach for the Senators.
LaRose said it was a great win for his team as Intercounty League North play gets into swing in the middle of the season. He added it’s always special to beat the Senators.
“It’s a nice win for us going into the meat of our schedule … it was a great win for our kids.” LaRose said. “It’s always nice to beat Mahar and we’re looking forward to Turkey Day.”
The Bears (2-3, 1-1) return home next week to take on Palmer (4-1, 1-1) while the Senators (1-4, 0-2) will hit the road to take on Ware (5-0, 2-0).
“Palmer’s on,” Fountain said, “let’s go get ’em.”
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.