By Jon Moffett

Mikey Thomas’ opening kickoff return for a TD set the tone for the Blue Devils.

McDONALD — The rain was pouring down on McDonald Friday night, but that didn’t bog the Blue Devils down. McDonald blanked Mineral Ridge 25-0 to begin the season 3-0.

Things started off perfectly for the Blue Devils, as senior Mikey Thomas hauled in the opening kickoff and ran it back 90 yards for a touchdown. The play took only 12 seconds, but the impact lasted throughout the game.

“Any time you get a team like this and you give them a free touchdown, basically, that’s hard to overcome,” said Mineral Ridge coach Dom Leone. “Our offense has struggled the past few weeks as it is, so if you put yourself in a deficit like that, it’s a huge hole to climb out of.”

Thomas said he was happy to have scored on the kick because he was tired of people saying Ridge was going to win.

“People are talking all week about Ridge, and we tried to keep our mouths as quiet as we can,” Thomas said, “but you really can’t say anything with 25-0. It was a great game by us.”

Thomas added another score in the first quarter on a 49-yard run. He finished with 49 yards on four carries with the one score.

“Taking the kick back was a great team effort,” Thomas said. “Then we came back and put another one on them. We just tried to get up as much as we could and try to put them down, and that’s what we did.”

Thomas was part of a three-headed ground attack by McDonald. His 49 yards put him behind junior Nick Cupan and senior Alex Sampson.

Sampson hammered his way to 122 yards on 23 carries with one touchdown. Cupan led all rushers with 150 yards on 24 carries and scored once. Sampson and teammate Trent Clay both left the field with injuries.

Clay suffered an apparent leg injury with 2:32 left in the second quarter, and Sampson left with a leg injury with 10:25 in the game. Sampson returned to the game, but Clay remained on the sideline.

McDonald coach Dan Williams said both players had cramps and were fine.

The weather was a factor from the start of the game, with a light drizzle coming down for most of the first half. However, in the second half the drizzle turned into a downpour, forcing many fans out of the stadium or under their umbrellas. The heavy rain may have stopped the air attack, as both quarterbacks completed a combined one pass, but it didn’t dampen the running game.

“It was nice to get up in that first half,” Williams said. “I think it helped us getting a big lead early, and it was to our advantage in the second half.”

Mineral Ridge (1-2) plays host to Lisbon next week, while McDonald travels to Wellsville.

jmoffett@vindy.com