Then the problems began, and once they arrived, they never stopped plaguing Rocky Hill.

The Terriers fumbled three times in the first half and never recovered in a 24-7 loss to SMSA at Dillon Stadium in Hartford on Monday night.

"That killed us," Rocky Hill coach Dave Coyne said of the fumbles. "We had a couple drives going..e came out strong but we fumbled the ball three times. (SMSA) started believing in themselves, and we started doubting ourselves."

Rocky Hill (0-1) opened the game with an 11-play, 71-yard drive that Greg Lappen finished with a 10-yard touchdown run. The Terriers then fumbled on their next possession, and SMSA turned it into six points. Ricky Padilla capped a seven-play drive by taking a pass from Chaise Pressey in the left flat and going the last 12 yards to close the gap to 7-6 with 9:28 left in the second quarter.

The Terriers’ ensuing possession lasted just two plays before ending with another fumble. The Tigers then needed just two plays of their own before Dominique Rose went 25 yards for a score and gave SMSA (1-0) a 12-7 lead with 7:26 left in the half.

Rocky Hill’s next drive was longer, but ended in similar fashion. The Terriers moved the ball into SMSA territory with less than five minutes remaining in the half, but the third fumble in the half by the visitors put a halt to yet another surge. This one didn’t prove costly, as the half ended with the score still 12-7, but the damage had been done to Rocky Hill’s momentum.

The Tigers hurt themselves on the opening drive of the third quarter, wasting a trip to the Rocky Hill 11 with four penalties that pushed them back out of scoring range. Rocky Hill went three-and-out, however, and SMSA countered with a 47-yard scoring drive that featured a 21-yard run by Padilla to set up the touchdown and an 18-7 lead.

The last, best chance for Rocky Hill came on its next drive, as the Terriers went 74 yards to the Tiger four-yard line. Faced with a fourth-and-2, SMSA stopped Mark Fritz (22 carries, 107 yards) at the line of scrimmage, forcing a turnover on downs.

The very next play ended the game for all intents and purposes, as Padilla broke free over the middle, cut back to the left and cruised 96 yards for a touchdown and provided the final scoring margin.

"We missed some tackles tonight," Coyne said. "Our blocking wasn’t bad, but we dropped the football. We won’t make any excuses. We’ll look at the film, talk about what we did wrong, what we did right, and get ready to play again Thursday."

Lappen had 80 yards on nine carries, including a 47-yard run. Scott Lucas caught four passes for Rocky Hill.

Matt Straub can be reached via email at mstraub@newbritainherald.com