The first time Cranston East touched the football on Friday night against Ledyard, it warned the Colonels that they were in for a long night.

Ledyard went three-and-out to open the game, forcing a punt to senior captain Malik Gavek near midfield. Gavek found holes in the Colonels’ special team unit, using superb blocking and his field vision to dash 50 yards to pay dirt.

That touchdown would get called back on an illegal block in the back, but it was a harbinger of what was to come.

East dominated in all phases of the game en route to a 48-12 victory over the Connecticut-based Colonels. Ledyard shut down the ’Bolts in their tilt last season, but there would be no such luck this time around. East mixed up the offense early and often, building a three-touchdown lead before Ledyard, which rolled out its varsity defense for several series, could respond.

“We’re excited to start, tonight was a good game,” East head coach Tom Centore said. “This football team [Ledyard] would be decent in our state. They would be good, they’re just very young and inexperienced, but they’re certainly going to get better.”

The ’Bolts weren’t afraid to play with fire right out of the gate. East was faced with fourth-and-2 on its first drive, which Neary converted on a pass to Jake Palazzo. However, a penalty moved East back five yards for an even-more-precarious fourth-and-7.

Neary remained calm, though, and he delivered. He fired a pass to wide receiver Wesley Isom, who had a defensive back glued to him, to secure the first down and then some. Isom ditched his defender and sprinted to the end zone for a 38-yard touchdown that sent Cranston Stadium into a frenzy.

Isom is just one member of a formidable core of wide receivers that also features Isaiah Hinds, Sam Hanley and Palazzo.

The seasoned ’Bolts defense proved impenetrable for Ledyard. The Colonels didn’t achieve a first down on any of its first four drives because of unrelenting, suffocating pressure from East’s front seven. Despite returning the kickoff after the touchdown to the East 42-yard line, the Colonels couldn’t make any progress. Two forced overthrows and a muffed snap forced another quick punt.

“It’s a good defense,” Centore said. “There were a couple of fluky passes, but it’s a very impressive defense. They’re well prepared and there are some smart kids back there, too. That’s the difference. It’s an intelligent group.”

It was a long field for East, starting at its own 11, but its secret weapon came to play. After working a first down at the 26-yard line on an encroachment call, Neary came out passing. He hooked up with 6-foot-3, 255-pound tight end and captain Jay Bast across the middle for a 60-yard gain. Bast usually serves as a linebacker on the defensive side of the ball, but instead of being a quarterback’s nightmare, he was his ally this time.

“When I had one-on-one coverage with the outside corner, I just hit it every time,” Neary said. “I just saw that they had a weak defender, so I just picked on him most of the game.”

Palazzo would punch it in on a short end-around to increase the lead to 13-0.

As Bast and the defense continued to make life difficult for Ledyard starting quarterback Max Ebdon, special teams started to help out the offense. The Colonels would be forced to punt from their own 15 as the second quarter began, and Gavek flashed his swiftness without any penalties this time.

The crafty returner brought the ball all the way into the Ledyard red zone at the 18. Five plays later, Neary found Isom again on his back shoulder for an 11-yard touchdown reception. Gavek took the 2-point carry past the goal line to give the ’Bolts an even three-score lead.

“Justin is a very smart, intelligent quarterback who sees a lot of things,” Centore said. “Kids trust him. I was happy for him.”

Ledyard would find the end zone on its next drive. Ebdon got the Colonels on the board with a 4-yard keeper, but East would respond right back with help from its second-string quarterback.

Steve Alvarez led the ’Bolts on a four-play, 67-yard drive to strike back. On third-and-8, he connected with wide receiver Ryan Winn for a 48-yard gain down to the Ledyard 27. Gavek would finally find pay dirt of his own, cutting around the edge to the left sideline and over the pylon for a rushing touchdown.

“We’ve been practicing hard the whole week,” Gavek said after the game. “We were ready for them. We came out and dominated.”

East put the game away before halftime, dealing the decisive blow after another Ledyard punt. Sophomore Robenson Antoine took the ball at his own 3 and never looked back. He scampered 97 yards down field for a score with 1:22 left in the first half, extending East’s lead to 35-6.

“I was very impressed with the specials,” Centore said. “The way Robenson, the sophomore, had a great return. Malik had a couple of good returns, so there’s some definite potential in that group to be dangerous. Very pleased with their efforts tonight.”

East’s last touchdown of the game, coming with 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, may have been its most encouraging. Kei-Sean Felix, who missed last season with a torn ACL, demonstrated his regained speed with a 20-yard score up the middle.

The Colonels are young and sport a small roster, but the win starts the ‘Bolts off on the right foot heading into Division I play this Friday. East’s league slate begins on the road at Pariseau Field at 7 p.m. against Tolman. After that, the ‘Bolts will play three of their next four at home.

“We’ll go play Tolman, and that’s going to be a battle,” Centore said. “I don’t care what they have, but any time we play Tolman, whether they were good, we were bad, [or] we were good, they were bad, it didn’t matter. They were good. It’s going to be a great rivalry. I think that’s going to be a tough football game. We’re the target now. We’re their Division I rival.”