It was billed as a battle between Patriot League powers, but by night’s end it was just another Dragon rout, as they destroyed the Sailors, 38-7, on Friday night in Scituate.

Entering the game with a 5-1 record, the hosts were hoping to upset Duxbury and make the race for the league crown interesting. But a look at the list of the Sailors’ five wins paled in comparison to Duxbury’s wins over Xaverian, Bridgewater-Raynham, and Plymouth North.

According to QB Sean Cross, Duxbury didn’t come into the game with any set game plan, but showed how deadly their arsenal of weapons can be, as they took what the defense gave them and exploited every advantage they had.

Duxbury’s opening drive sent a clear message, as it took Cross just nine plays to drive 53 yards before stalling on the Scituate 11-yard line where sophomore kicker Ben Startzell came on and converted a 29-yard FG attempt to give the Dragons a 3-0 lead.

The over-powering Duxbury defense gave senior QB Dean Kennedy little time to get his feet wet, forcing the Sailors to punt after three downs and taking over on the Scituate 46.

After a pair of Shane Dibona runs and a penalty had the Dragons back on the 45, Cross dropped back and found senior Quinn Cully for a 29-yard strike that moved the ball down to the 14-yard line.

Four plays later and with 39 seconds left in the first quarter, Dibona plunged into the end zone from a yard out to make it 10-0.

Junior Matt Stewart had the Scituate crowd on its feet when he returned the kick-off 70 yards down to the Dragon 22-yard line. But faced with a fourth and five at the 17, Kennedy was crushed by Dibona and tackle Kyle Gavoni, turning the ball over on downs at the Duxbury 25-yard line.

After two Dibona carries netted 15 yards, Cross dropped back on second down and fired an out to Cully on the left sideline. The senior receiver took off, dodging a pair of defenders, and scampering into the end zone from 60 yards out for his third catch of the game to make it 17-0.

Scituate was being beaten in all facets of the game, and couldn’t mount any kind of attack once again, as they punted the ball away and watched it land just 35 yards away from another Duxbury score.

A six-yard run on first down by Dibona set-up the fourth score of the afternoon, as Cross found his favorite first-half target and hit Cully (4/148 yds.) on the right side of the field where he broke several tackles and took it into the end zone for a 24-0 lead with 7:16 left in the half.

Whatever magic worked for the Sailors in their first five wins went up in smoke on Friday night, as the Duxbury defense stopped them in their tracks once again when senior Colin McKenzie picked off Kennedy at the Scituate 47.

On third and five, Cross handed off to Dibona, who broke through the line and out-raced the Scituate secondary for a 42-yard TD run that made it 31-0 at halftime.

Duxbury’s total domination in the first half was the team’s best performance all year, as Cross was 7 for 9 for 172 yards, Dibona rushed for 87 yards, and Cully caught everything in site.

It only went downhill for the Sailors in the second half, as they fumbled on the second play from scrimmage, allowing McKenzie to recover it on the Scituate 39. A 35-yard run by Dibona, and a one-yard sweep around the left side by Hakeem Lecky on third down made it 38-0 after Startzell’s PAT cleared the cross bar with ease.

Coach Dave Maimaron went to his bench with 7:47 left in the third quarter, and Scituate took advantage, marching 83 yards in 16 plays and scoring on a five-yard pass to tight end Rob Carlezon for the final score of the game.

Duxbury’s second defensive unit did a stellar job in the fourth quarter, as senior defensive tackle Justin Coonan and senior defensive end James Roumacher made two big plays that killed Scituate’s drive for another score.

“We executed on both sides of the ball tonight and tried to stay balanced,” said Maimaron. “Cully and Cross had huge games tonight on offense, and I think our defensive line of Cully and Dibona on the ends, and Will Shields and Kyle Gavoni at tackle is one of the best in the state. These guys have been outstanding all year long and they keep getting better every week.”

That isn’t good news for the Whitman-Hanson Panthers, who will host the undefeated Dragons (7-0) on Thursday night at 6 p.m.