Uninspiring, unsatisfactory, unusual. Each of those adjectives apply to the performance of the Mt. Hope High School football team in a 40-14 loss to host Cranston East in the first Division III league contest of the 2026 season for both sides Saturday, Sept. 19, at Cranston Stadium.

In another word, most of the Huskies (1-1 overall) were lackluster and the paltry effort was something seldom if ever seen in the now four years of the program under the staff of head coach Shane Parker.

As good as the Huskies looked in their Injury Fund win over Moses Brown and their regular season opening romp over Bristol-Plymouth, that’s how poorly they appeared last weekend against a Cranston East side they dominated twice a year ago.

But the calendar has changed and so, too, it appears have the Thunderbolts (2-0 overall), who dominated at the line of scrimmage and turned Mt. Hope over six times en route to the win, which included good amount of verbal sparring between the sides. Both teams were flagged for numerous unsportsmanlike conduct infractions during the game.

"That's what we deserve," said Parker of the defeat, adding the loss, in part, could be traced back to how some of the Huskies trained, or didn't, during the offseason.

Of his team's more recent preparation, Parker said its performance Saturday wasn't just due to one poor week of prep, but a "bad three weeks of practice."

He continued, "We just got lucky that our first two opponents were not good football teams. And we had an elevated sense of what we were, and this is what we are. And we better fix it quick or it's going to be a long year."

The noontime game began well enough for the locals. Quarterback Will Francis raced for a 28-yard gain putting Mt. Hope in East territory, but two plays later the Thunderbolts intercepted his pass attempt over the middle at their own 15.

Four running plays moved the hosts in the Huskies' end, they then converted a simple screen pass from junior returning QB Gavin Boylan to freshman Marvin Taveras in the right flat into a touchdown. Taveras ran untouched along the way to the endzone with just over five minutes remaining in the first half. After Mt. Hope was called for an encroachment penalty, the 'Bolts decided to go for two, but the run was stopped short of the goal line on a tackle by Huskies' linebacker Brody Cavalieri.

Mt. Hope's next series ended in its second turnover. Francis completed a pass to end Nick Rogers, who swiftly had the ball ripped away by an East defender and whose teammate recovered at the 'Bolts' 37. The Huskies' defense eventually held the hosts, forcing a punt, but another error by the Huskies soon gave them back the ball.

The third Mt. Hope miscue of the first half was a botched handoff between Francis and end Tyler Rhynard on an attempted jet sweep. East recovered at the Huskies' 24 yard-line about 90 seconds into the second period. Again it appeared Mt. Hope's defense would prevail after Francis sacked his counterpart to set up a 3-and-26 from the 28. But, the 'Bolts struck for another TD strike, this one from Boylan down the left seam to David Dale Jr. for six. The kick for point by Jean Dure made it 13-0 'Bolts.

The pattern of Mt. Hope missteps continued when Francis was picked off for a second time at the Huskies' 30. The interception was returned 24 yards to the six. The MHHS defense held its ground to keep the 'Bolts in sight for the moment at least, Cavalieri tipping away a slant pass at the goal line just before halftime.

The stand appeared to have given the Huskies a bit of momentum. The defense later forced East to punt after the 'Bolts' received the second half kickoff. And the Mt. Hope offense finally found a spark when Francis raced 85 yards to touch on a QB keeper. Jake Mancieri's PAT sliced the Huskies' deficit to 13-7 midway through the third period.

But the response proved short-lived. The Thunderbolts answered with a five-play drive following Mancieri's ensuing line-drive kickoff. East was aided a bit by a Mt. Hope offsides penalty. The 'Bolts then completed their answer with a seven-yard QB keeper of their own by Boylan. The kick for point returned their lead to 13, 20-7, with 3:29 remaining the quarter.

During the Huskies' ensuing series there was a bit of confusion over a reception and fumble recovery.

Freshman back-up quarterback Brennan Correia entered the game in the stead of Francis for a second time, the first for the latter's ineffectiveness and the second after he suffered a leg injury during a run earlier in the third. Correia completed a pass to Chase Savinon, who was stripped of the ball, but the East defender couldn't corral it before it went out of bounds. The officials convened for quite a while to initially determine possession then were confused about where to spot the ball.

No matter, the 'Bolts eventually forced the Huskies to punt. A long East return was nullified by a penalty, but the hosts soon after completed a 43-yard TD pass, Boylan to John DaCruz down the left sideline. Savinon made the tackle on East's two-point run try, leaving the score at 26-7 with 2:09 showing on the clock.

Mt. Hope's next series ended on a familiar refrain, a turnover, this time a pick thrown by Correia at the Huskies' 45. East's possession crossed into the fourth quarter and concluded on another keeper by Boylan for a 35-yard scoring run. The PAT kick made it 33-7 'Bolts 1:01 into the final period.

Rhynard got Mt. Hope's ensuing series off to a good start with a six-yard run. Correia connected with Rogers for a 10-yard pass. And Cavalieri covered the final 22 yards for the scoring carry. The Huskies' trailed 33-14 after Mancieri's kick.

For the final time, though, Cranston East made an emphatic statement, returning the following kickoff all the way back to the Mt. Hope 13. Two plays later, the Thunderbolts' Kalsin Yan ran it in from the eight and the kick for point brought the scoring to a close, the hosts up 40-14.

The last gasp for the locals ended when Correia was picked off with 3:24 to play in the game. East then ran out the clock.

On his team's overall effort in the game, Parker said, "We just gave them the ball. They started drives inside the 20 six times. We had four personal fouls that put them in positions like that. We turned the ball over (six) times. There's not a team in history who's won a football game with those stats."

The Huskies have a short week to try to rectify the result. Mt. Hope plays the second of two regular season counting games against Massachusetts teams when the locals travel to Ashburnham, Mass., to face Oakmont Regional High School Friday night, Sept. 25, for a 7 o'clock kick. The Spartans, who compete at the Massachusetts Division 5 level, enter the contest at 2-0, following 28-19 and 38-19 wins to open their 2026 schedule.