LEOMINSTER — The Catholic Memorial football team entered Friday night’s contest at Leominster High with an 0-1 record and hadn’t played a game in 20 days.

One would think that the Knights may have some rust to shake off, but that was far from the case as Catholic Memorial scored on its first play from scrimmage and scored at will in a dominating 56-28 victory over the Blue Devils at Doyle Field.

With the win, the Knights ran their record to 1-1, while Leominster fell to 3-1.

“We came off that tough loss against that team from New York then that unfortunate situation where we didn’t play because kids were sick, so we hadn’t played in two and a half to three weeks,” said Catholic Memorial  head coach John DiBiaso. “We did make some mistakes, but that quarterback over there is one of the best around. The kids played real hard tonight.”

After a three-and-out for Leominster on the opening possession of the game, the Knights wasted little time taking control as Mekhi Dodd took a handoff and sprinted 60 yards for a touchdown. Morgan Lenenhan booted through the extra point, giving Catholic Memorial a 7-0 lead just 2:05 into the contest.

Leominster got the next score when Osiris Lopez connected with John Reed on a 22-yard scoring strike with 3:15 left in the first quarter. But like they did all night long, the Knights answered the Blue Devil score. Junior quarterback Kise Flannery hooked up with Gavin Brown on a 15-yars scoring strike.

Catholic Memorial took control of the game early in the second quarter when the visitors scored a pair of touchdowns just 17 seconds apart. Flannery ran the first score in from 11 yards out and following a recovery on the ensuring kickoff, the Knights scored on their second play when Flannery hooked up with Caleb Garrity on a 27-yard scoring strike, giving the visitors a 28-6 lead after the successful kicks by Lenenhan.

The Knights extended their lead to 35-6 when Flannery hooked up with Dodd on a 59-yard touchdown pass. Isaiah Simmons hauled in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Flannery who later added a 13-yard touchdown run of his own.

Joshua Pena scored the final Catholic Memorial touchdown from a yard out.

Xavier Cora scored a touchdown from Leominster when he picked up a fumble and scampered 50 yards for a score. Aramis Reyes had the final Blue Devil touchdown when he sprinted in from eight yards out.

Catholic Memorial’s Isaiah Simmons tries to evade a Leominster defender during Friday night’s game. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Nick Mallard)