Every game is meaningful from here on in for the Dragons, and they wasted little time getting this one under control on Friday night in Kingston. Before a Homecoming crowd at Silver Lake, Duxbury took just over six minutes to build a 21-0 lead while cruising to a 35-7 win over the Lakers in Patriot League action.

While injuries hampered the Dragons in the first half of the season, a healthy trio of seniors that include Bobby Murphy, Matt Savard, and Pat McWilliams has come back just in time to give the team a huge boost as they go for a berth in postseason play.

All three were responsible for big plays in the win, and are key contributors in the Dragons’ arsenal of weapons, as they head toward their big confrontation with Whitman-Hanson on Friday night at 7 p.m. in Duxbury.

Part of Duxbury’s game plan was to take advantage on special teams, and they did it right away, as sophomore Henry Buonagurio took the opening kickoff out to the 45-yard line. Despite a minor penalty, the Dragons went 55 yards in just over three minutes to take a 7-0 lead after Ben Startzell’s PAT.

A 19-yard pass to Murphy and a 25-yard run by the senior captain on a direct snap had the ball down to the Silver Lake 12-yard line where junior QB Kane Haffey rolled to his right and found tight end CJ Cote for the TD pass.

The Duxbury defense was fired up for this one, as the Laker offense went nowhere in its first three downs after a sack of QB Mitch Graziano by Dan Buonagurio and Wes Dow forced a punt at the 15-yard line.

Murphy broke through the Silver Lake line and blocked the punt, scooping up the loose ball at the five and walking untouched into the end zone. Startzell’s PAT was good and the visitors were ahead 14-0 with 5:12 left in the quarter.

“We knew going in we would have a huge advantage on special teams,” said Coach Dave Maimaron. “We spent a lot more time on special teams then at any time this year and it really paid off.”

The Lakers were in a hole already, but they dug it even deeper on their first offensive play following the TD when Dow smacked Graziani and caused him to fumble at the 32-yard line.

A beautiful first-down pass from Haffey to junior Matt Hallisey down the left sideline was good for 30 yards and had the ball at the two. Haffey then snuck it in over the center and Startzell’s extra point made it 21-0 before a stunned crowd.

The Duxbury defense continued to stymie the Lakers, getting the ball back after three downs and threatening again. However, their next drive would stall, as neither team could generate much of an attack the rest of the first half.

The second half started much like the first, as the Dragon defense forced a punt after three downs. Matt Savard went back deep to field the ball on the 28-yard line. He cut to his right and through the initial wall of tacklers, evading a second wave of Lakers and running down the right sideline for a 72-yard TD return. Startzell split the uprights and the Dragons had a comfortable 28-0 lead.

The hosts would engineer a nine-play, 70-yard drive over four minutes to cut into Duxbury lead at 28-7. However, Maimaron’s squad would eat up the clock in classic Patriot style on its next drive, taking eight more minutes off the clock while going 74 yards in 13 plays and overcoming a pair of penalties.

The defense continued its strong play with a 35-7 lead, and did a good job keeping the Lakers off the board the rest of the way, especially when a sack by senior Matt Schneiderhan cost Silver Lake six yards in its final drive.

“We worked hard this week and our defensive coaches put together a great defensive game plan,” said Maimaron. “I thought Aaron Kramer played out of his mind tonight and he took care of their big guy pretty easily. We spent plenty of nights working on how to stop them and when you have a couple of sophomore safeties back their calling the plays and it works, you have to be impressed.”