Westerly — It took Stonington roughly nine minutes to set a dominating tone on Thursday.

The Bears stuffed Westerly on the opening drive of the storied Thanksgiving Day rivalry, forcing a three and out.

Then they methodically marched 61 yards in a 13-play, seven-minute drive - all on the ground - to seize a 7-0 lead on quarterback Amadi White's one-yard plunge.

And they also gained a huge dose of confidence.

"We just continued on a roll and kept going," senior Matt Mitchell said.

From start to finish, Stonington was in complete control of the 151st meeting in the series, scoring a convincing 28-0 victory.

The Bears (6-5) won their third straight Thanksgiving day game.

"It's tough to win one," Stonington coach A.J. Massengale. "It really is. I'm very happy. ... It was great for the kids to come out today and put it all together in the big game."

With a wall of blockers carving out space, the Bears rolled up big yards on the ground. Mitchell, who was named the game's most valuable player, rushed for 149 yards on 23 carries while seniors Jack Riordan (88 yards) and Jacob Shulda (69 yards, two touchdowns) did their share of damage.

When they weren't running through gaping holes, the senior trio fought off defenders to gain extra yards after contact.

"Our line came out confident and we had some great blocking up front," Shulda said.

Still, Westerly hung tough in the first half.

The only other score came from the Stonington defense, as junior Seamus Wallace took an interception 22 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter.

Heading into locker room trailing 14-0, the Bulldogs still had a legitimate shot at a comeback. That's until the second half started.

Mitchell raced around the outside for 10 yards on the opening play of the third quarter and rushed for nine more on the next play. Shulda's 18-yard touchdown run capped a four-play, 56-yard scoring drive for a 21-0 lead.

"To be able to set the tone in both halves is fantastic," Massengale said.

Stonington's aggressive defense never cracked.

The Bears forced five turnovers, including knocking the ball loose from senior Clayton Minnich at the one-yard line to prevent a touchdown in the second quarter. Junior Floyd Hunter recoverd the fumble.

"Defensively, we just came out strong and we just played our hearts out," said Shulda, who made a fumble recovery from his defensive tackle position.

The Bears stopped another drive on downs at the Stonington 28 in the third quarter.

Junior Marcus Harris finished with two interceptions.

Overall, they held the Bulldogs to under 50 yards of total offense.

"We couldn't control the line of scrimmage on either side of the ball," Westerly coach Chris Wriedt said. "That's where the game is won and lost. That's the bottom line."

Shulda's four-yard touchdown run with five minutes remaining closed out the scoring and prompted the enthusiastic Stonington fans to chant: "It's too easy!"

The final score represented Stonington's biggest margin of victory in the Thanksgiving Day game since posting a 45-0 victory in 1955.

"We worked so hard on the game plan and the kids just did a great job with it," Massengale said. "Very rarely have we've had it go smoothly. We've had some barn-burners. The (Thanksgiving Day) games are always tight.

"This is a bit of a different game."

When the game ended, the Bears celebrated the win with their fans.

"It's a great feeling," Mitchell said. "Nothing beats it. There's no other game like it."

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe