BRISTOL — The Mt. Hope High School football team got the victory it wanted and needed early in the 2024 season as the Huskies shut out visiting East Greenwich, 20-0, in a Division III contest played Friday night, Sept. 27, at the Vendituoli Complex.

The locals improved to 1-2 both overall and in D-III with the triumph.

JJ Pimental, Zach Borges and Rocco Palazio each scored touchdowns in the second half, giving Mt. Hope not only its first win of this fall, but also its first league victory in two years.

The Huskies, who went 0-7 in D-III last fall, had lost their previous 11 division games dating back to a 47-10 defeat to Rogers on September 30, 2022. Their previous league win came the week prior, September 23, 2022, when the locals beat Narragansett, 33-15.

"I think the game went about how we expected it to go," said MHHS head coach Shane Parker. "In the first half we shot our selves in the foot, but in the second half we were able to clean up those mistakes."

The victory was also a positive beginning to what is an all-important four-game homestand for the Huskies after playing and losing their first two contests on the road against expected league title contenders Classical and Ponaganset.

"It was a good way to get it started," Parker said of the stretch of games on campus. "It's also good because it was Mt. Hope's first league win in two years, so it was a good way to get us going."

The Huskies were thwarted by themselves and the Avengers, who fell to 1-2 overall, in the opening 24 minutes.

Mt. Hope's best chance at scoring came following a 52-yard screen pass and catch between between Pimental and quarterback Ethan Martel (4-for-8, 79 yards, 1 interception) deep into EG territory. The drive, however, stalled like every other possession for the locals before intermission.

Things changed for the Huskies coming out of the break. Pimental (20 carries, 116 yards) completed a 55-yard drive with a five-yard burst to the endzone in the third quarter. The first of Pimental's two point-after kicks for the locals made it 7-0.

Mt. Hope doubled its lead in the fourth quarter after Borges (65 yards rushing) ended a 52-yard drive with a two-yard plunge.

Palazio capped the scoring with a one-yard rush, which followed a takeaway by the Huskies' defense, one of three in the game. Robert Annis caused an EG fumble, which was recovered by Quentin Smith.

The two other turnovers created by Mt. Hope were a fumble forced by Preston Brodd in the first half recovered by Brennan Perry and a second-half pick by Jayden Martin.

Parker highlighted the all-around play of Annis on defense as well as linemen Smith (4 solo tackles) and Ben Martel (6 solo tackles), who each had a couple stops for losses in the EG backfield.

"Every week we have to show up and play our best," Parker added. "This week in the second half we were able to put all it together. We just have to not make the mistakes we did in first half like not finishing drives.

"There were a couple of things wrong in our run game that were my fault. I think we'll fix those this week...They're easy fixes at the coaching level."

The Huskies will continue to makes tweaks in preparation for their next outing set for Friday night, Oct. 4, at home against Pilgrim of Warwick. Kickoff is 6 p.m.

The Patriots enter the game 2-1 overall following their first loss last week to Burrillville, 43-21, after victories over Woonsocket, 12-7, and Cranston East, 13-6.

"I think they're a good football, well coached," Parker said of the Huskies' guests this week. "I think it's a match-up of styles. We're have more of a smash-mouth run game. They have more of a finesse run game compared to us. It's going to be a good game."