BARRINGTON — Members of the Portsmouth Patriots’ varsity football team converted several turnovers by Barrington into points as they romped to a 40-21 victory on the road Friday night, Sept. 20.

The Eagles made several miscues in the first half, allowing Portsmouth, led by first-year head coach Dustin Almeida, to jump out to a 27-0 at the break during the Division I matchup.

On consecutive possessions in the first half, Barrington muffed the snap to the punter, which Portsmouth turned into touchdowns. The host team also fumbled the ball, which the Patriots converted into another touchdown.

Quarterback Ben Hurd had a good game, throwing two touchdown passes — the first a 40-yard toss to Henry Gibson, the second an 11-yard throw to Chris Bulk near the end of the first half. The latter TD come after a fumble recovery by Portsmouth’s Connor Perry.

Hurd also scored a TD on a two-yard run after his team’s defense swarmed the Barrington punter before he could get the kick off around the 15-yard line.

Tyree Evans ran for an eight-yard touchdown to off a 40-yard drive by Portsmouth, made possible by Barrington fumbling a snap for a punt.

In the second half, Bulk ran 30 yards for a touchdown, while Marcus Evans got into the end zone from six yards out.

The Patriots did most of their offensive damage on the ground, running the ball 38 times for more than 220 yards. Hurd alone accounted for more than half that yardage.

Portsmouth is now 1-0 in the conference and 1-1 overall. The Patriots fell to North Kingstown, 41-20, in a non-league road game on Sept. 14.

Next up

The Patriots will play another game on the road as they face  Cranston East at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27, at Cranston Stadium.

The team travels to Central High School on Oct. 5 before playing its first home game of the season against Cranston West on Oct. 11.