The four-play, 65-yard, 52-second drive started and ended with tailback TC Scott (24 carries, 123 yards) bursting for long gains, his second carry resulting in a 34-yard touchdown run that, coupled with quarterback Mike Snyder’s rollout into the end zone on the extra point, gave the Blue Devils a lead they would never relinquish en route to a 10-0 win at Alumni Field.

"It was kind of up and down," said rookie head coach Michael Archangelo of the team’s mood of last week’s decision to move the game in anticipation of the remains of Hurricane Ivan. "It was tough having the game cancelled, especially when it didn’t rain Friday, but (the delay) gave us a chance to heal up a little."

Based on the way Plainville opened the game, with Shawn Thibault’s 18-yard gain augmenting Scott’s long runs, it looked like Plainville’s health was just fine.

"The kids came out very excited, firing off the ball," Archangelo continued. "That set the tone. I think it took St. Paul out of the game early on."

But Plainville’s offense, which amassed 248 of its 273 yards of offense on the ground, ended four consecutive first-half drives with turnovers, the first three coming on fumble recoveries by the Falcons, and the last on an interception by Kenny Byrd.

That kept St. Paul close, but the offense could muster only 107 yards in the game, including 28 after halftime.

With their defense forcing turnovers, the Falcons reversed their fortunes somewhat in the third quarter, but were unable to hit paydirt against a stubborn Plainville defense.

Kenny Byrd took the opening kickoff of the second half 42 yards to the Plainville 36, but the Falcons turned it over on downs.

"We’re pretty young on offense," St. Paul’s rookie head Ben Lee said afterward. "We have 10 new starters."

No drive emphasized St. Paul’s offensive struggles more than when the Falcons started at Plainville’s 26-yard line after a short punt. After a first down, St. Paul had a third-and-1 situation at the Plainville five, but Cory Wisk stopped St. Paul’s Brent Seaver on third down, and the middle of the Plainville line stopped quarterback Jamel Greenlee’s sneak less than an inch short on fourth down.

"Cory has improved tremendously (since the team’s first scrimmage), and tonight he really stepped it up," Archangelo said, pointing out this is the senior’s first season. "Our defense was on the field for a long time because (of the fumbles) and they really stepped up to that task."

After the teams exchanged punts, Plainville engineered a 13-play, 63-yard drive that lasted 7:03 and featured several quarterback sneaks by Mike Snyder (18 carries, 81 yards) before Snyder’s punt pinned St. Paul at its own 16-yard line.

There, on fourth down, the snap sailed high over punter Kyle Abucewicz’ head, and he inadvertently stepped on the end line as he attempted to recover the ball, resulting in a safety with 4:03 left.

After the free kick, Plainville ran out the clock by making extensive use of Snyder on the quarterback sneak, which Archangelo acknowledged was an unusual development.

"Our (game) plan wasn’t to have 15 quarterback sneaks," he grinned sheepishly after his first-career win. "But we had to take what they were giving us, and our center Aaron Weinhofer did an excellent job against all of their nose tackles."