HANOVER – With rain and wind pounding the turf, Duxbury utilized a potent ground game to grind out a 14-7 football victory over Patriot League foe Hanover.

The weather meant that passing would be at a premium. Additionally, one direction featured significant wind, so punting was pretty much not an option.

With this in mind, Dragon’s head coach Matt Landolfi said his team was focused on securing first downs and just utilized this approach the entire game.

“It’s kind of like ‘you have to get a first down,’” Landolfi said. “Kids stepped up and they got it down. They moved the chains consistently.”

The two teams traded possessions for the first half of the opening quarter, but a punt swept up by the wind allowed Duxbury to start a drive at the Hawks 30-yard line. Quarterback Trevor Jones and running backs Brett Barr and Jack Rees helped drive the ball to the one-yard line and Jones was able to bury it home for the opening score.

Neither team would approach the red zone for the remainder of the opening half as the conditions worsened, although Dragons defensive back Jack Solvik was able to secure an interception on a Hail Mary attempt as the clock expired.

The third quarter saw Hanover’s passing game start to develop. However, Rees was able to pick off a Tyler Vincent pass at midfield and squelch the momentum.

Rees would eventually finish that drive and put the Dragons up by two scores. However, Hanover would charge down the field and a 23-yard pass connection between Tyler Vincent and Brandon Errico put the Hawks in the red zone.

Eventually, Vincent hit Kevin Balducci with a seven-yard pass to cut the deficit to 14-7. A strong kickoff gave the Dragons possession at their own 15-yard line and the team faced the daunting task of managing the seven remaining minutes on the clock.

“They grinded seven minutes off the clock, that’s what a good team does,” Landolfi said. “To be able to grind the clock is huge, we were able to take advantage of that tonight.”

A huge factor in this was a third down conversion from Jones that sealed the game. He said he recognized the coverage and went for it.

“I made a good cut,” Jones said. “I saw that the backs were blitzing on the outside and I made a couple moves, got loose and used my athletic ability to grab an open field.”

The win moved the Dragons to 3-0 and Jones said that it is only the beginning of this team’s potential.

“We believe in each other in Duxbury,” Jones said. “We play team football, not selfish football.”