Friday, the Greyhounds gained the upper hand early and never let go in a 30-0 win over the Cougars in a Class D South  game at Harlow Park.

Quarterback Tyler Halls threw for a touchdown and rushed for two more for the visiting Greyhounds.

Lisbon set the tone early behind middle linebacker Kurtis Bolton and the rest of the defense, which held the Dirigo offense to 91 total yards. Halls and company followed suit and scored on the Greyhounds’ first three possessions of the first quarter.

Halls (7-of-9 for 124 yards, TD) found a wide-open Tyrese Joseph for a 59-yard catch and run to set up a first-and-goal. The duo immediately hooked up again, as Joseph drifted out alone on the left side and caught an 8-yard TD. Joseph also caught the conversion pass for an 8-0 lead.

“With Tyler at quarterback, he was able to get some good passes off,” Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan said. ”Plus, we were able to convert some fourth-down plays that really helped. We knew Dirigo has a good defense, and that was the case tonight.”

Lisbon made things happen by faking three punts, and Halls slithered through the Cougars defense to pick up first downs.

The Greyhounds (2-1) had solid field possession and took full advantage of it. Joseph (five catches, 88 yards) caught a belly pass over the middle to set up another first-and-goal. Two plays later, Halls called his own number and scored from 5 yards out. Joseph caught the two-point conversion pass.

Dirigo (1-2) was unable to generate any positive yards as QB Luke Lueders couldn’t escape the Lisbon defense. The Cougars were held without a first down until Cooper Chiasson gained 11 of his 39 yards on a burst up the middle. The Cougars did utilize the outside running of Hunter White (46 yards, eight carries) in the second half.

”We went with our thunder and lightning on defense,” Bolton said, adding that doing so required an adjustment. ”I just shot on their center and was to quick and got around him.”

The Greyhounds’ defense was too stout, led by Bolton (11 tackles, two sacks), Cole Bolduc, tackle Reece Martin-Morong and Tanton Mattson.

Lisbon faked another punt, and Halls picked up another first down. Bolton caught a 28-yard pass. Halls then served notice by running in a 5-yard TD, with 44 seconds left in the first half.

”We knew Dirigo would be strong because they were against Winthrop. But, we also knew from last year the QB sneak was there,” Halls said, .

Last year, Dirigo scored twice in the second half to take a big lead and then held on for a 21-14 win against previously unbeaten Lisbon at Thompson Field.

The Cougars received a break when Lueders intercepted a pass in the third quarter. A few runs by Chiasson and Alex Gorham reached the red zone, but the drive stalled at the 15. Linebacker Bryce Whittemore had 14 tackles, while Chiasson, White and Gorham each had eight.

In the fourth quarter, the Greyhounds’ Noah Francis (94 yards, 19 carries) broke several tackles and for a 45-yard TD.