New London — Mike Clancy hadn't run for a long touchdown like that since high school, meaning the thought passed through his mind that he might get caught from behind.

“I was definitely a little nervous,” Clancy, Coast Guard Academy's senior running back, said.

“We really just wanted to move the ball on offense. It was definitely nice to get it started.”

Coast Guard's 34-6 win Thursday night over Anna Maria in the opener for both teams came by virtue of its old philosophy: Throw. A lot.

Junior quarterback Derek Victory, making his 18th straight start, was 13-for-20 for 148 yards and a touchdown, moving within 10 completions of the Coast Guard career mark of 425. He left late in the fourth quarter in favor of Griswold High graduate Adam Davis, with the Bears up comfortably.

But there were a few nuances in the Coast Guard attack, as well. Namely, the running game.

Clancy, in his first game as the Bears' starter, carried the ball 14 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns — 96 yards in the second half — sophomore Cam Cecchini rushed for two more touchdowns and Coast Guard finished with 30 carries for 154 yards and four TDs.

The Bears rushed for five touchdowns all last season. The last 100-yard rusher was Jake Wawrzyniak on Oct. 13, 2012.

“It's obvious we want to run the ball a little more and we did all the things right along those lines,” Coast Guard coach Bill George said. “I gotta give Ray (LaForte, offensive coordinator) the credit; I might have put the bug in his ear about running outside zone.

“We needed to juggle some things up. 'Where do we need to improve? Where are we weak?'”

Coast Guard averaged just 60.2 rushing yards per game last season, second-worst in the New England Football Conference. It ran the ball 239 times, also second-to-last.

Thursday marked Coast Guard's first home night since 1996, played before 1,650 fans at Cadet Memorial Field, and its first season-opening victory since a 10-8 win over Merchant Marine in 2010.

Coast Guard led 20-3 at halftime, at which time Victory was 9-for-12 for 106 yards and a touchdown and Cecchini had rushed for the first two touchdowns of his career. The Bears added 119 return yards in the half — kicks, punts and interceptions — helping to set up all three scoring drives.

Mark Behne's 13-yard punt return to the Anna Maria 31-yard line put Coast Guard in position for its first scoring drive of the season, as Victory flicked an easy 30-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Kyle Jackson for a 6-0 lead with 51 seconds left in the first quarter.

On Anna Maria's next punt, Jackson got things started with a 25-yard return and Victory highlighted the drive with a 33-yard completion to Carter Provost, airing it out to Provost at the 12-yard line to put the Bears in position for another touchdown. Cecchini capped the drive with a 2-yard run.

The biggest return came from Coast Guard's Will Daniels on an Anna Maria kickoff, following a 22-yard field goal by Francis Cole. Daniels ran the kick back 53 yards to the Anna Maria 31 and five plays later, including a first-down run by Victory, Cecchini scored from 3 yards out. Tyler Henning's extra point made it 20-3.

Clancy rushed for touchdowns of 37 and 33 yards in the third quarter to complete the scoring, meanwhile the Coast Guard defense held Anna Maria to a pair of field goals.

“Fabulous, tremendous, exciting, all a beautiful Thursday night” George said of the game's atmosphere, under the lights at Coast Guard for the first time in his 17 seasons. “But you still have to play the football game. It doesn't matter if you're playing here or in a cow pasture in South Dakota with one cow watching you, you have to play the game.

“… We did some things right.”

Carter Provost made three catches for 81 yards to lead Coast Guard, which plays rival Merchant Marine next week at Kings Point, N.Y.

James Rizzo, who was injured on the play, had a 28-yard interception return and Joe Rizzardi and freshman Jake Behne had fumble recoveries, while sophomore linebacker Jacob Brown led the team with eight tackles.

The Bears did not turn the ball over.

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday