While the refrain may need honing, Laroche’s three touchdown runs Friday night were key elements in the Redcoats’ 53-0 whitewashing of Rocky Hill at Sage Park’s William B. Scalise Field in a Nutmeg League affair.

"He had a tremendous week of practice and it transferred into the game," noted Berlin’s first-year head coach John Capodice of Laroche. "He had tremendous runs (and) great vision."

After the Redcoats took the opening kickoff and Tom Liberda (6 carries, 62 yards, 2 TDs) opened the scoring with a 23-yard run a mere 2:01 into the game, Laroche capped the longest Berlin (4-0, 3-0 Nutmeg) drive of the night, an 11-play, 57-yard march, with his first score, a 21-yard jaunt on third-and-10 to make it 14-0 with 7:54 left before halftime.

"They had a few more weapons than we did tonight," conceded Rocky Hill head coach Dave Coyne after his club fell to 1-3 (1-2 Nutmeg).

The Hill had put together what would be its best drive of the night after Liberda’s opening score, holding the ball for an 11-play, 44-yard drive that reached as far as the Berlin 35 as the Terriers faced a third-and-2.

But a defensive lineman caught Greg Lappen (team-high 18 carriers, for 67 yards) for a two-yard loss as the running back tried to rush off tackle.

On the ensuing play, the fourth-down rush, Lappen struggled to get back to the line of scrimmage, and Berlin took over on downs.

While Capodice credited Rocky Hill for a "pretty nice drive," the Terriers were without veteran running back Mark Fritz, who didn’t suit up due to a lingering injury.

After Laroche’s score made it 14-0, Rocky Hill went three-downs-and-out before Laroche scored again, his second of the evening, an 11-yard stroll off the left side to make it 21-0 with 3:18 left before half.

Again the Berlin defense yielded little (Rocky Hill managed only 5 first downs in the game after the Terriers’ initial drive), and got the ball back for quarterback Dan Madey, who entered the game without having thrown an interception (he was picked off in the first quarter Friday) or having been sacked all season long.

It took eight plays to go 74 yards, but it was a mere 1:31 off the stadium clock, as Nick Catalano caught a pass at the Rocky Hill three, and fell into the end zone with 17 seconds left in the half.

"Things really started clicking for us offensively there," Capodice uttered. "Dan has so many weapons, and he sees the field really well."

Laroche (12 carries, 141 yards) ripped off a scintillating 56-yard run midway through the third. On the play, he went outside the right tackle and up the sideline, neatly cutting inside to avoid one defender, then slid back to the sideline again, finally touching down in paydirt.

It was a relatively odd foray for the Berlin offense whose bread-and-butter play was to hand off to the motion man for a run off left guard behind the combination of Tom Smith and James Neurath, a duo who earned high praise from Capodice.

"Our entire offensive line has been tremendous," Capodice said, noting Madey’s sack total before revealing a knowing smile. "Smith and Neurath work very well together. They’re in sync with each other."