CRANSTON — Home or away, it doesn't matter at the moment for the Mt. Hope High School football team when it comes to winning.

The Huskies, who last week completed a perfect four-game homestand, hit the road for the first time in over a month with a trip to Cranston Stadium to play host Cranston East Friday night, Oct. 25, and the locals came back to the East Bay with their fifth win in a row, 35-7.

JJ Pimental scored two first-quarter touchdowns to put the Huskies well out in front. Zach Borges next reached the endzone in the second quarter, upping the locals' lead to 21, which they maintained to intermission. Rocco Palazio later scored twice in the second half to make it a rout in favor of the visitors, 35-0. The hosts scored a meaningless touchdown in the final seconds to avoid the shutout.

"We were able to run the ball pretty effectively. There was really no need to anything more than that," said MHHS head coach Shane Parker. "We pretty much dominated on the ground and our defense played well as well. I was actually pretty worried going into the game. Cranston East is a very athletic team, but we were able to keep them contained the whole game, thankfully."

Parker continued, "I was very concerned, very nervous going in. I was hoping our game would travel, but I knew they were a very athletic team. And if you make one small mistake, they can score at any moment. They played a hard schedule and they were a play here or there from winning a few of those games. And I was preaching to our guys all week if you changed one play here or there in our games, we could be 2-4."

Instead, Mt. Hope improved to 5-2 overall with the easy victory over the host Thunderbolts. The playoff-bound Huskies wrap up their 2024 Division III regular season schedule back home at Deets Field when they host North Providence Friday night, Nov. 1.

As for the playoffs, the victory over the 1-5 Thunderbolts left the locals ranked third in the new Rhode Island Interscholastic League power index. Eight teams qualify for league championship tourney field. The top four host quarterfinal round games the weekend of November 8.

Pilgrim, Classical, Mt. Hope and Rogers maintain the first four places, but that's likely subject to change with the results from the final week of regular season action. Parker said a victory over North Providence, ranked sixth at the moment, would certainly help the Huskies' power rating.

"North Providence is an athletic team as well," Parker said of the Cougars. "They definitely have a lot of good players. This is their first year in Division III after winning Division IV last year. They have something like 19 seniors, so they have the experience, especially at this time of year when things really start to matter. They'll be ready to play and we need to be ready as well."

The Huskies were definitely ready last Friday night. They needed just eight plays after receiving the opening kickoff to begin the scoring. Pimental concluded the possession with a 21-yard touchdown run. He then converted the first of his five kicks for point to put the locals on top quickly, 7-0.

Mt. Hope's defense, stifling all evening, forced the Thunderbolts to punt at their end of their initial possession. The Huskies' offense, in turn, scored again before the first quarter finished and it was Pimental once more. This time, he rushed 10 yards to touch. His PAT made it 14-0.

Following another Cranston East punt, the locals made it three-for-three on scoring possessions. Borges concluded a 10-play drive by taking a toss from quarterback Ethan Martel the final nine yards to the endzone. Pimental's third kick for point put Mt. Hope up comfortably, 21-0, in the second period.

The visitors maintained their grip on the game and then some, adding to their edge in the third period. The Huskies held East to a three-and-out to begin the quarter. Palazio later ran the last six yards to touch. Pimental's fourth PAT pushed the lead to 28-0.

Palazio concluded the scoring for the locals in the final period as he rushed seven yards to endzone. Pimental's kick officially made it a blowout, putting Mt. Hope up 35-0.

Pimental, who's rushed for over 100 yards in six of the Huskies' seven games, had another monster game on the ground for the locals, carrying 23 times for 142 yards and the two TDs. Borges finished with 69 yards on 11 carries. Palazio had five for 20 and his two scores.

Of the his senior's season to date, Parker said of Pimental, "He is the centerpiece of what we're trying to do, obviously, being a running offense. When he has the ball, he's hard to bring down. And when he doesn't have the ball, all eyes are still on him, which opens things up for the other guys. He's the main guy and he also becomes a tool of distraction."

Pimental enters the North Providence game having rushed for 835 yards on 135 carries, an average of 119.3 per game and 6.2 per touch. He ran for a season-best 203 yards in the Huskies' win over Chariho three weeks ago. He's also an outstanding kicker, having converted 14 extra points and one field goal.

Martel finished the night completing 8-of-10 passes for 76 yards. The Huskies also attempted another option pass as they did last week in their win over Stafford, Conn. That one wasn't successful, but this week's was a Pimental completed the toss for 40 yards Nick Rogers.

Tyler Rhynard had five catches for 51 yards. Rogers compiled 56 yards on two catches. Evan Rodrigues had two for nine.

Lineman Colin Maloney led the Mt. Hope defense with eight solo tackles. Brody Cavalieri had seven, including a sack. Ben Martel also had a sack among his five tackles. Robert Annis had five solo tackles as well. Palazio had four.

"Our defensive line has become dominant of late," Parker added. "All of those guys on the line — Ben Martel, Robert Annis, Colin Maloney, Matthew Thibaudeau, Quentin Smith —they're definitely the strong suit of our defense. They've disrupted a lot plays in the run and pass games."