DEXTER – A little early-season success is breeding confidence for the Stearns High School football team. Plagued by an 0-3 start last season, the Minutemen are now 2-0 this year after handling Dexter 35-0 in LTC play Saturday afternoon.

Stearns dominated defensively, limiting Dexter to 34 total yards and one first down while forcing four turnovers. The Tigers never advanced past the Stearns 40-yard line.

“Last year we started 0-3, so to be 2-0 so far this year gives us a little more confidence now, even though we know we can get better,” said Stearns quarterback-safety Derek DiFrederico.

DiFrederico displayed that confidence by example. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound senior rushed for two touchdowns, passed for a third, and returned an interception for a fourth score.

“I thought defensively we played well,” said Stearns coach Chris Preble. “Defense for the last couple of years has kept us in games, and now the offense has begun to catch up a little bit.”

The Minutemen rushed the ball 49 times for 247 yards, with senior Matt Barnett leading the way with 89 yards on 17 carries and DiFrederico adding 63 yards on nine rushes.

DiFrederico broke the game open by scoring two touchdowns within 45 seconds midway through the first quarter. First he capped a nine-play, 65-yard drive on Stearns’ first possession by rolling left for a 13-yard scoring run with 6:38 left in the period.

On the third play after the ensuing kickoff, DiFrederico intercepted an Eric Day pass in the right flat and returned it 32 yards for another score and a 14-0 Stearns lead. Dexter never recovered.

“We knew they were going to throw a lot, so we were ready for the pass,” said DiFrederico. “On that play I had the flats, and when I saw the tight end make his cut, I broke on the ball and got to it.”

A Craig Jandreau interception set up a 2-yard TD run by fullback Craig Cullen to give the Minutemen a 21-0 lead with 57 seconds left in the opening period.

“We knew Dexter had some good receivers in [Chris] Rabideau and [Mark] Pullen,” said Preble. “We had scouted them and seen them on tape, so we had a couple of routes we really worked on in practice, and we did a pretty good job against them in the game.”

Stearns added two touchdowns in the third quarter. The Minutemen took the second-half kickoff and drove 69 yards in 11 plays, the final 10 yards a TD pass over the middle from DiFrederico to senior tight end Matt LeGassey.

Three plays later, a fumbled Dexter center snap was recovered by Stearns senior tackle Dustin Pelletier at the Tigers’ 19. DiFrederico scrambled into the end zone on the next play to extend the margin to 35-0 with 5:13 left in the third quarter.

Stearns, which plays at 1-1 Orono on Friday night, features 17 seniors on a roster determined to join reigning Eastern Maine Class C champion Foxcroft Academy and perennial power Bucksport among the LTC’s current power elite. With a 2-0 start, they’re moving in that direction.

“Rather than trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel like last year, this year getting off to a 2-0 start has given the kids a little more confidence, and they’re a little more excited about what’s ahead,” said Preble. “A lot of these guys are the same guys who started as sophomores, and they’re seeing their hard work and dedication begin to pay off.”

MINUTEMEN 35, TIGERS 0

Stearns (2-0) 21 0 14 0 ? 35

Dexter (0-2) 0 0 0 0 ? 0

S?DiFrederico 13 run (Pelkey kick)

S?DiFrederico 32 interception return (Pelkey kick)

S?Cullen 2 run (Pelkey kick)

S?LeGassey 10 pass from DiFrederico (Pelkey kick)

S?DiFrederico 19 run (Pelkey kick)

Stearns Dexter

First downs 15 1

Rushing att.-yards 49-247 19-8

Passing comp.-att. 3-5 4-9

Passing yards 27 26

Total yards 274 34

Punts-avg. 2-29.5 7-21.2

Fumbles-lost 2-2 3-2

Intercepted by 2 0

Penalties-yards 5-35 2-10

Rushing

Stearns: Barnett 17-89, DiFrederico 9-63, Kim 10-42, M. Wark 6-41, Knowlton 2-6, Cullen 2-5, Madore 1-3, Bouchard 1-3, A. Wark 1-(minus 5); Dexter: Greene 4-13, Schoenbacher 16-9, Robinson 1-1, Day 8-(minus 15)

Passing

Stearns: DiFrederico 3-4-0-27, Madore 0-1-0-0; Dexter: Day 4-9-2-27

Receiving

Stearns: LeGassey 2-16, Jandreau 1-11; Dexter: Rabideau 3-19, Pullen 1-7

A?300 (est.)