The Huskies’ run through the playoffs came to a halt Friday night as Mt. Hope lost to top seeded Moses Brown, falling just short of the Division II Super Bowl.

The Mt. Hope football team kept the game close through the first quarter, but lost control after that, as Moses Brown dominated the Huskies on both sides of the ball en route to a 38-7 win.

“They controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides,” Head Coach T.J. DelSanto said after Friday night’s game in Providence. “They were a bot more physical tonight. They were just the better team tonight.”

The Quakers jumped out to an early lead after intercepting Mt. Hope quarterback Vinny Berretto and returning it to mid-field. Two quick passes later , and Moses Brown was in the end zone for a 7-0 lead.

Berate answered right back, connecting with wide receiver Jayson Pompey on a 30-yard catch and run, then hitting Zachary Burke on a nice in-cut for a 24-yard score to even the game.

Mt. Hope would not come close to scoring the rest of the night. In fact, the Huskies crossed mid-field only once the rest of the game when Berretto scrambled for 34 yards early in the second quarter, bringing his team into Quaker territory for the last time. The Quaker defense harassed Berretto and the rest of the offense all night. The dominance at the line of scrimmage forced multiple fumbles throughout the game, all of which Mt. Hope recovered but on which the Huskies lost significant yardage. 

Moses Brown’s constant pressure led the Quakers to dominate the turnover battle, forcing Berretto into desperation heaves that turned into 5 interceptions on the night. Moses Brown turned the interceptions into points, putting Mt. Hope in an early hole that only grew deeper. Falling behind early put Berretto in a tough spot, DelSanto said. 

“It’s pretty hard when everyone in the stadium knows you’re passing the ball,” Coach DelSanto said. 

Offensively, the noticeably larger Quakers were able to do pretty much anything they liked. Quarterback Michael Walsh threw for more than 200 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Abe Bloom gashed the Huskies defense, scrambling for multiple long runs on his way to 150 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. Moses Brown dominated the play clock, initiating several long drives, and would have widened the gap in score even more if not for two missed field goals and a fumble on the goal line.

DelSanto implored his players not to get down on themselves after the tough loss, remarking on the team’s impressive season. The Huskies went 7-3 on the season (5-2 in division) to earn the second seed in Division II-B, behind only Shea High School, which will face Moses Brown in the Super Bowl.

“I know this is tough; this is a hard thing to swallow,” DelSanto told the team after the loss. “But you guys have worked hard all season. You have done everything we have asked you to do, and we thank you for that.”

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Mt. Hope has one last game… the annual Thanksgiving Day grudge match against Barrington High School Thursday at 10 a.m.