CUMBERLAND — The East Providence High School football team took to the road for a rare Thursday night regular season outing September 21, in Cumberland where the Townies dropped a one-sided contest to the host Clippers, 33-6, in a Division II contest at Tucker Field.

Cumberland never trailed after finishing off the first drive of the game with a touchdown. The Clippers reached the endzone twice in the second quarter, both TDs coming late in the period to build a commanding 20-6 lead at halftime.

The hosts then added to their advantage over the final 24 minutes, scoring another touchdown in each of the third and fourth quarters.

East Providence's lone salvo came after a defensive stop to close the first period. The Townies were aided by a poor Cumberland punt and a penalty on the Clippers, giving the visitors the ball on the hosts' 42.

The locals moved the ball near the redzone to close the first, then took it the rest of the way just under three minutes into the second when sophomore quarterback Jacob Duarte scored on a keeper from the two. EP's point after kick attempt was blocked, leaving the score level at six at the time.

The contest turned in the Clippers' favor, however, on their ensuing drive. Cumberland needed nearly seven minutes to break the deadline. The PAT made it 13-6 hosts with a two minutes and change left in the half. The Clippers next made the most of good fortune, scoring another TD and XP with 30 seconds to go to build their 13-point halftime lead.

The Townies, 19-0 winners over St. Raphael in their league opener the week prior, fell to 1-1 in the D-II-A standings. East Providence got an extra day to prepare for its initial league home game of the fall Friday, Sept. 29, against Cranston West.

Cumberland improved to 2-0 in the II-A ranks. The Clippers shut out East Providence 20-0 in their league opener. Cumberland also won a similarly lopsided contest over the Townies in Week 2 of last fall's Division II schedule, a 31-7 win over EP at Pierce Stadium.

The Thursday night game in Cumberland was the first of two EPHS will play this season. The locals host  Mt. Pleasant on October 5 at Townie Stadium. The Interscholastic League asked all schools to play at least one Thursday night game due the lack of available referees to officiate games on Fridays and Saturdays.