Kadyn Tessier was a key for Milford in its win over Hollis Brookline on Friday night in Hollis. (Photo by Jed Heald)

HOLLIS — On a misty, foggy evening during what felt like the first real autumn night of the year, the visiting Milford Spartans beat the Cavaliers in decisive fashion, 48-22.

Milford came out hot and didn’t look back. Liam Zahn blocked not one but two punts in the first quarter, which both led to touchdowns two on big runs by Gavyn Tessier.

Milford Head Coach Max Morrelli, who earned his first career win as the Spartans head coach, praised Zahn’s performance tonight:

“We put the scheme in and were hoping that it would hit,” Morelli said. “And [Zahn] paid a lot of attention to detail on it and what he had to do with timing it up. I know he spent a lot of time watching film on it, so it was great. I was happy we hit it once and then hit it twice. Really nice, really nice job.

“He also had a great play chasing down a breakaway. We ended up getting a stop on that. So little things, little details. I’m really proud of him.”

Milford’s impressive showing early on quieted the crowd of Cavalier fans and the Spartans rolled that momentum right into the second.

On the first play, Milford quarterback Brady O’Connor busted through the Cavalier defense for his first touchdown of the night, upping the score to 28-0.

Hollis-Brookline, pushed back to second-and-16, pitched the ball out to running-back Sam Bruneau for an impressive 65-yard touchdown run. Later in the second Winston Feeney churned out a 42-yard run of his own, but the Cavaliers were unable to convert.

Milford answered quickly, storming down the field with a pair of passes from Brady — one a 35-yard dart to Simon MacFarlane the other a 15-yard touchdown pass to Kadyn Tessier. Tessier left his mark on both sides of the ball with two touchdowns catches and one interception. His pick near the goal line shut down a Cavalier drive right before the end of the half, just about summing up how the first two quarters went for both teams.

After each team’s 0-2 start to the season, Tessier was happy to win this one.

“The game was good; we needed a win. The guys came together and came out from the start,” Tessier said.

Hollis-Brookline showed some fight in the second half with another 65-yard touchdown run from Sam Bruneau and a Dylan Morelli score, but it was too little too late for the Cavaliers.

Despite the result, Hollis-Brookline Head Coach Milton Robinson highlighted his players’ resilience.

“The kids kept fighting to the end,” he said. “You know, we’re rebuilding, we’re growing, so I think this was a positive step in the right direction. I’m happy with how we ended the game and performed at the end. And we’re, we’re going to keep fighting every week.”

Milford’s lone touchdown of the second half came when Brady launched a 30-yard throw to Tessier in the corner of the endzone.

Both teams will now shift their focus to next week, with Milford hosting John Stark and Hollis-Brookline away against Pelham.