O'Connor, Easton roll in opener

EASTON — Mikey O’Connor may have been the happiest player on the field. And Chase Raab wasn’t too far behind.

O’Connor, who suffered a season-ending injury in last year’s second game, ran for a pair of touchdowns and threw for two more Friday night, as Easton High’s football team opened its season with a dominating 43-0 victory over North East of Cecil County.

“He’s a great athlete,” North East head coach Taylor Slaughenhoupt said of O’Connor, Easton’s senior quarterback. “And we knew it coming in. Fantastic athlete and he did what he does. There’s a reason why … he’s missed pretty much two years and he still has college offers. That kid can play flat out. Just like his brothers (former Easton quarterbacks Ryan and Kevin).”

The Warriors scored on their first possession, junior running back Dustin Blue’s 8-yard touchdown run capping an eight-play, 66-yard scoring drive with 8 minutes, 21 seconds left in the first quarter. Dominic Stanco drilled the first of his five point-after kicks to make it 7-0.

North East senior quarterback Garrette Kirby ran for 13 yards and a first down on the first play of the Indians’ next possession. But North East went nowhere with a fresh set of downs, as Easton’s Tymiere Thomas sacked Kirby on third down, forcing a punt.

One play later, O’Connor found space around right end and raced 34 yards for a touchdown. Stanco’s second PAT made it 14-0 with 5:06 left in the first quarter.

“Feels great to be back out here playing again, and to get a good win like this,” said O’Connor, who carried four times for 84 yards. “Definitely feels great.”

Easton extended its lead to 22-0 on its next possession, as O’Connor (7 of 14, 121 yards, one interception) hit Raab in stride for a 52-yard scoring play, then found Diontaye Copper for the two-point conversion. A senior wide receiver, Raab missed all of last year because of an injury suffered during summer 7-on-7 play.

“Mikey did a good job,” Easton head coach Matt Griffith said. “He managed the offense and took what the defense gave him all night long. He made some big plays with his arm and his legs tonight. And that’s what we expect out of him.”

Easton looked ready to take a 22-0 lead into the break. But a snap from center sailed over the head of North East punter Craig Aubrey, giving the Warriors the ball on the Indians’ 5-yard line. On the next play, O’Connor raced virtually untouched around right end for a 5-yard touchdown that helped Easton to a 29-0 halftime cushion.

“They had a ton of great plays tonight,” O’Connor said of his young offensive line. “And they really showed how good they can be. A lot of our touchdowns and big plays, give credit to them for that, especially on my runs.”

The Warrior set the running clock in motion with 10:09 left in the third quarter as O’Connor rolled left and hit Copper for a 35-yard scoring strike. Stanco’s kick made it 36-0.

Easton padded its lead with 4:30 remaining when backup quarterback Brady Walls connected with Colin Mooney for a 52-yard touchdown play.

“It was a good night,” Griffith said. “We still have a lot of things to clean up on. I thought we did enough things well to put a good product on the field tonight.”

Easton, which notched its first shutout since Week 2 of the 2021 season, held North East to just 39 yards rushing on 22 carries, dropping the Indians for losses seven times. Kirby, who was harassed seemingly from start to finish, completed 5 of 18 passes for 65 yards and was intercepted by Zach Barnhart.

"He was running for his life," Slaughenhoupt said of his quarterback. "We weren't protecting him. I mean we couldn't stop a leak up front.

"I thought we'd be able to run the ball on them," continued Slaughenhoupt, who graduated from Easton. "I thought it would be a competitive game and it kills me. We just did a lot of things tonight that were not us. We had a really good week (of practice) and a really good (preseason) camp, and it just wasn't there tonight."

Notes: Blue carried 8 times for 87 yards. ... Raab had two receptions for 64 yards, Copper caught three passes for 44 yards, and Colin Mooney had a pair of catches for 52 yards. ... North East wide receiver Deyshawn Henderson had two receptions for 41 yards. ... O'Connor was intercepted in the second quarter by Nathan Tesch, who caught a ball that deflected off Warrior receiver Carter Mooney.