Playing its first-ever football game as a member of the Peninsula Athletic League, Sacred Heart Prep showed it will be a contender — and perhaps the favorite — to win the Ocean ‘B’ championship after an impressive 42-19 win over host Capuchino on Friday. The Gators (1-0 Ocean ‘B’, 4-0 overall) made it look easy, scoring on six of their first eight possessions.

Sacred Heart Prep set the tone on the game’s first play from scrimmage, as tailback Matt Walter went around left end for a 80-yard touchdown run. It was just one of several big plays for the Gators, who piled up 485 of their 554 yards of total offense on the ground. They averaged a whopping 13.5 yards per carry.

Walter (129 yards on nine carries) was one of three SHP running backs who went over 100 yards. Matt Bocci finished with 131 yards on nine carries to go along with touchdown runs of 2, 24 and 14 yards. Alek Konopnicki had 114 yards on just six carries, and his last two rushes ended up being TD runs of 42 and 45 yards.

Using plays up the middle, between the tackles and sweeps, the Gators ran Capuchino’s defense ragged. Bocci went virtually untouched on his scoring runs, running through huge holes created by an offensive line anchored by center John Oppenheimer. If SHP wanted to make a statement, it certainly delivered one.

“The kids know the meaning of this game,” Gators coach Pete Lavorato said. “We knew if we could beat Cap that it would be the first step (towards a potential league title). I thought we played well, especially in the third and fourth quarters when we started hitting on all cylinders.”

Capuchino (0-1, 0-4) will have to wait at least another week in search of that elusive first victory. The Mustangs kept things close for a while — they trailed 14-6 at halftime — before Sacred Heart Prep pulled away. The game was pretty much encapsulated on the teams’ opening possessions.

After Walter’s long TD run, Capuchino answered with a vintage possession — a 18-play, 63-yard drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock. However, in what would be their downfall, the Mustangs couldn’t finish off their drives when they needed to. They had to settle for a Martin Szczerban 27-yard field goal.

Nate Newman, Capuchino’s outstanding tailback, carried the ball on seven consecutive plays to open up the drive. He finished with a game-high 218 yards on a workmanlike 33 carries. Teammate Anthony Amato rushed for 116 yards on 14 carries. Unfortunately for the Mustangs — who gashed SHP for 356 yards on the ground — it wasn’t enough.

Capuchino had another drive stall deep in SHP territory just before halftime, getting the ball to the Gators 1 before settling for another Szczerban field goal as time expired. That cut the Mustangs’ deficit to 14-6, but that’s as close as they would get. SHP scored on its first four second-half possessions to win going away. More importantly, the Gators slowed down Capuchino’s ground game in the third quarter, allowing them to pull away.

“In the second half we didn’t tackle at all,” Mustangs coach Chris Chaika said. “You get frustrated. The kids are there in the right spot and they don’t make the plays.”

But the Gators did, showing why they’ll be a force in the Ocean Division.