By ALEX SPONSELLER The Cranston East Thunderbolts are still searching for their first win as they fell to visiting South Kingstown 34-8 last weekend at Cranston Stadium.

SK running back Rory Hazard exploded for three rushing touchdowns in the first quarter to give the Rebels the early 21-0 lead.

Despite the tough opening quarter, the Thunderbolts defense would shut down the Rebel offense in the second and third quarters to keep the score at 21-0 heading into the fourth.

However, SK would get another Hazard rushing touchdown in the opening minute of the fourth to put the game away, as well as another score from Ryan Hazard.

“We played better (after the first quarter) but that was our problem last week too, we get off to slow starts. We are trying but just aren’t ready to go and then later in the game we’ll get into it. (SK) is a good team, they’re physical, they made a few mistakes and we just didn’t take advantage of them. We just can’t execute as well as we need to,” said East head coach Tom Centore after the loss.

East’s lone score came midway through the fourth quarter when quarterback Ben Harding connected with AJ Greene on a deep touchdown pass. East would then convert on the two-point conversion when Christian Mestre connected with A’driahn Foreman.

The Bolts had a nice opportunity to turn the tide late in the second quarter when they pushed the ball inside the SK 10-yard line on first down. The Rebels made the stop however, and carried that momentum into the halftime break.

“There was improvement, but they were just bigger and stronger than us. We had our chances, we had a chance to score (late in the second quarter) which would have made it 21-7, not that that would have won us the game, but it would have been different. There were a few times that we had chances but we just couldn’t take advantage,” said Centore.

The Bolts fell to 0-2 in the loss, and Centore hopes the young roster will begin to play with more poise and confidence moving forward.

“They don’t believe in themselves right now. They’re a young team that wants things to happen. But they are waiting for things to happen instead of making them happen. That’s inexperience. This is the only way to get that experience. This is how you get it,” said Centore. “They’re great kids that work hard and come to practice everyday. They need something to happen. We just need to focus on getting better, not worry about who we’re playing, just worry about ourselves. This week, we played better on defense, moved the ball a little better on offense, so we just need to continue to do that and focus on us.”