On Satur-day morning, not only did the Indians do just that, but they showed they can score numerous ways as well.

Nick Bliss carried 19 times for 177 yards and scored three times while quarterback Steve Harrington threw for two more as Farmington rolled past Northwest Catholic 42-7 in West Hartford.

"These guys are finally starting to understand that we can put points on the board," Farmington coach Jeff Bemis said. "We want to mix it up a little bit. We don’t want to be a one-dimensional team where the other team knows we’re running leads with our back all day long. We don’t want people to be able to predict what we do."

By the time the first quarter was over, the only predictable thing about the Farmington offense was where its drives would end up: in the endzone.

After Mitch Alves intercepted a pass on the game’s opening drive to set Farmington (4-3) up near midfield, Farmington’s offense went to work on the ground. Bliss carried twice for 18 yards, and Orlando Ortiz went 35 yards up the left side for a score and a 7-0 lead.

Farmington’s defense forced Northwest Catholic (1-6) quarterback Mike Sarnese to fumble on a scramble down the sideline on the Indians’ next possession. Twice Northwest Catholic had driven for more than five minutes, twice Farmington had ended the threat by forcing a turnover, and twice Farmington made its hosts pay for their mistakes.

Harrington found Martin Jones for a 49-yard gain along the left sideline on Farmington’s first play of the ensuing drive. Bliss scored from 11 yards out on the next play, giving Farmington a 14-0 lead with 26 seconds left in the first quarter.

After Harrington hit Sean Gerhart for a 23-yard score with 2:51 left in the half, Northwest Catholic mounted a rally. The hosts went 92 yards on 11 plays in 2:40, highlighted by a 52-yard pass from Sarnese to Anthony Donatelli and capped by Sarnese’s three-yard score. Northwest Catholic took momentum into the half, trailing by only two scores.

That momentum swing didn’t last long.

Bliss took the first play from scrimmage of the third quarter 67 yards over the right side for a touchdown and a 28-7 lead. After scoring on the quarter’s first play, Farmington ended the quarter with just as big a bang. Gerhart (four catches for 91 yards) made a leaping catch over the middle that covered 50 yards and gave Farmington a chance to put the game away, which it did with 18 seconds left when Gerhart caught a 12-yard pass and carried a defender into the endzone. Bliss capped things off with a 10-yard score with 5:53 left, making it 42-7.

"I think this gives my offensive team a lot more confidence," Bemis said. "In the past we’ve relied on our defense to stop everyone, and now people have to realize that we can score."

Matt Straub can be reached via email at mstraub@newbritainherald.com