HANNIBAL – Three River ball carriers rushed for over 100 yards and combined for six touchdowns, all in the first half, as the Pilots routed Monroe Central, 48-27, Friday inside a jam-packed Martin Flannery Field.

After a Carter Dennis interception early in the first quarter, he shortly thereafter scored from 5 yards out to give the hosts a 6-0 lead. The Pilots then tallied four more rushing touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversion passes from Stone Thompson to Jake Rose to head into the locker room ahead 42-0.

Opening the second half, the Seminoles went to the air, picking up a pair of first downs on a pair of completions, that included a double-reverse pass from Malachi Rose-Burton to Wyatt Young for 37 yards, before Alex Kilburn carried a couple second-sting defenders into the end-zone for a 16-yard TD run. The Garet Cramer PAT helped the ‘Noles cut their deficit to 42-7 with 9:25 left in the third quarter.

The Pilots responded with a Michael Johnson 50-yard scamper to the Monroe 14-yard line. Dennis scored once more from 11 yards out to give the Pilots a 48-7 advantage with 6:27 left in the third period. Pilots head coach Mike Flannery gave most of his starters a rest for the remainder of the game.

The Seminoles took advantage as Rose-Burton added a 15-yard touchdown run, before he hooked up with Dillon Lincoln for a 7-yard TD pitch-and-catch for the final points of the game.

“We didn’t play well in the first half and I didn’t prepare the team like I should have. We fell behind early and dug ourself a big hole,” said Monroe Central head coach Josh Ischy. “It was the worst two periods of football we have ever played. We made some adjustments and the guys responded with a nice second half. When you get down big early, it’s hard to play the game the way you want to.”

Flannery, meanwhile, was pleased with his Pilots’ performance.

“We had a good week of practice and our No. 1 defense shut them out in the first half, and you got to give my offensive line a lot of credit. They opened some holes while my running backs never game up and played a great first half.”

The Pilots’ big three of Johnson (202 yards), Dennis and Avery Creamer each rushed for over 100 yards, while Thompson passed for 40 yards.

Kilburn rushed for 124 yards for Monroe, while Rose-Burton tacked on 21 yards. Rose-Burton passed for 155 yards on 10 completions. Central had five penalties for 55 yards, while the Pilots committed 10 penalties for 75 yards.

The Pilots will travel across the river to play Magnolia Friday.