ORANGE — The momentum was always in the hands of the Easthampton football team.
It just took the Eagles a drive to get it going.
Easthampton beat Mahar, 52-0, in an Intercounty North game Friday night.
Following a brief Mahar first drive, a Senators punt pinned the Eagles to the 5-yard line — but the Eagles plowed their way through the defense. In five plays, they were a yard away from the red zone.
But a fumble by junior quarterback Nick Pellegrini halted the momentum.
Mahar took a three-and-out and after another punt, Easthampton got going, taking a 26-0 lead into halftime.
Mahar fumbled the ball six times in the game, recovering one of its own, and gave away one interception.
The Senators had a chance to keep the game tight in the second quarter trailing 8-0. But Mahar fumbled in Eagles’ territory and Easthampton’s David Helems recovered the ball.
After a 10-yard holding penalty on the Eagles, pushing them back to their 27-yard line, junior Quintin Baker-Cicero ripped through the defense for a 73-yard touchdown.
The Eagles soon recovered a fumble on an attempted punt, and punched it in on one play with a 13-yard run by senior Sopie Peck.
Following an interception, Easthampton broke through the seam and scored another touchdown — this time using a 55-yard sprint by junior fullback Justin Malek to make it 26-0.
Easthampton added on quickly in the third as Helems returned the opening kick 90 yards for the touchdown.
Eagles freshman Jacob Neumann capped an eight-play drive with a touchdown in the fourth.