PORTSMOUTH — It’s tough to say what made the East Providence High School football team more miserable Friday night: the swirling wind and sideways rain or Portsmouth High’s unrelenting running game and swarming defense.

The adverse conditions didn’t seem to bother the Patriots in the least. They romped to a 35-0 home victory that came despite only one pass attempt the entire game.

The Townies are no pushovers, so this was an impressive statement from the Patriots.

“This is huge,” said Portsmouth head coach Ryan Moniz. “E.P. is an outstanding football team. They had some guys out tonight much like we did. The most important thing is that our kids did an unbelievable job of executing really all facets of the game — offense, defense, special teams.”

Senior running back Ryan MacDonald had himself a game. In the first half alone, he carried the ball 13 times for 74 yards with two touchdowns.

His first came with 4:45 left in the first quarter, when MacDonald was seemingly stopped at the five-yard line but kept pushing his way into the end zone. He scored again from a few yards out with 10:41 left in the second half.

At one point in the second half, MacDonald gained five yards

while dragging three or four Townie defenders with him. Then, after John Coyne’s only pass attempt made it fourth down and five, MacDonald broke free and scampered 35 yards into the end zone to make it 24-0 with 3:39 left in the third quarter.

“That’s him; this is nothing new,” Mr. Moniz said of MacDonald’s toughness. “This is how Ryan runs. He’s a very physically running back. He’s got tremendous vision; he sees when to cut back, when not to cut back. And, he’s a great-finisher.”

Two safeties

Portsmouth’s offensive line and stout defense was also a key factor in the game.

“They deserve a lot of the credit. We owned the line of scrimmage tonight, and that’s important,” said Mr. Moniz, adding that it was unusual to see his team score two safeties in one game.

The first came with 2:37 left in the first quarter, after one East Providence player dropped the ball on a kickoff and the Patriots pinned the team in the red zone. A couple of plays later the Townies lost the ball again and the Patriots recovered in the end zone, making it 9-0.

With six minutes left in the third quarter, East Providence muffed a punt snap and running back Thomas Lopes was caught in the end zone for another safety.

Lopes would later mishandle the ball again on a third down, with Portsmouth recovering at the Townies’ 27-yard line. Shortly afterward, Portsmouth junior running back Alex Khalfayan skirted the left side for a nine-yard touchdown run, making it 31-0 with 1:32 left in the third.

East Providence’s next possession had a promising start, with Lopes running 37 yards to the Portsmouth 27. But after two incomplete passes, the Patriots took over on downs at their own 30.

That’s when the Townies got sloppy with penalties. On a third-and-eight with Portsmouth now relying on its reserves, sophomore running back Dan Correia was stopped short of the first down, but a face mask penalty on East Providence kept the drive going for the Patriots.

After sophomore quarterback Konner Kluth kept the ball for six yards, the Townies were called for unnecessary roughness, giving Portsmouth 15 yards and another first down.

After Correia ran for eight yards, East Providence was called for yet another personal foul. A few plays later and Kluth ran to the

left and in for a touchdown.

Important win

Mr. Moniz said Friday’s big win could have positive ramifications for the Patriots down the road.

“(The Townies) are going to be right in the mix at the end,” he said. “These wins and a potential tie-breaking situation are crucial. We know that Hendricken and La Salle are going to give us a run for our money and we’re going to do the same.

“We take tremendous pride in being a small school in Division 1 and one of our goals is to beat every public school. We’ve got three public school wins to start the year,” he said, referring to victories over Rogers, Cranston and now East Providence high schools.

The Patriots sole loss was to defending state champs Bishop Hendricken, 35-7, on Sept. 25.

The Patriots are now 2-1 in Division 1 and 4-1 overall. The loss dropped the Townies to 1-2 in the division and 2-3 overall.

Portsmouth’s next game is against Cumberland at home on Friday, Oct. 9. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Small turnout

Mr. Moniz said his team knew “it was going to be a mess” on the turf field. Not surprisingly, only a sparse turnout of fans witnessed Portsmouth’s impressive win.

Although the rains kept the PHS marching band and cheerleaders away, a small but vocal contingent of parents and a student “zoo crew” braved the conditions to root the team on.

PHS Principal Robert Littlefield was there, wiping the outside windows of the press box so viewers could see the plays better.

“Can I check your oil, too?” he joked upon returning inside.