New London — At Springfield College, you don’t just show up at football practice and earn a spot on the field through the natural order of things. There were 12 backs who ran the ball in Saturday’s 49-6 victory over the Coast Guard Academy.

The fact that out of Springfield’s 523 yards of offense, 2020 East Lyme High School grad Blane Hart had 111 of them — more than any player besides quarterback David Wells — means that Hart fully earned those opportunities.

Hart, who pulled a hamstring in the preseason and is just getting back to full strength, is a 5-foot-9 junior halfback for the Pride (3-2 overall, 1-0 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference), while twin brother Cam is a starting linebacker.

“They saw my family in the stands so they’re like, ‘We’ve got to give Blane the ball,’” Hart said with a laugh of having the best game of his career in front of an army of friends and family in the stands at Coast Guard.

“The real reason is I was coming back from an injury. I got injured in camp and I worked my way back. Now I feel better than ever. The coaches are seeing that. The team’s seeing that. So they trust me a little bit more. ... There’s definitely been a lot of setbacks and a lot of people to beat out but every setback has made me stronger, made me better.”

Coast Guard, still without starting running back Spencer McMillion (676 yards, 11 touchdowns), who was injured in last week’s loss to Norwich, began the game by moving the ball swiftly down the field against the Pride.

Quarterback Joey Armentrout kept the ball down the right side for a 47-yard rush to the Springfield 30 to highlight the first series of the game, but there were two dropped passes in the sequence and Armentrout then threw an interception on third-and-9 from the 29.

Springfield immediately took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard run by Arsen Shtefan and the ensuing extra point.

Coast Guard, however, got a first down on its next series, a 24-yard pass from Armentrout to freshman Broock Desta. Then the defense got a stop against Springfield, which was followed by a 14-yard net punt by the Pride which gave the Bears the ball back at the Springfield 35-yard line with a chance to tie the score.

On first down, Armentrout was intercepted by Bryan Feliciano, completely turning the momentum in Springfield’s favor.

The Pride scored on a 3-yard run by Joseph Cannizzaro to make it 14-0, then scored on every drive for the remainder of the half to take a 35-0 lead at the break.

“I think, for us, when we play against a team as talented as them, you can’t afford to make the mistakes we made,” Coast Guard coach C.C. Grant said of matching up with defending NEWMAC champion and league favorite Springfield, an NCAA tournament team a year ago.

“I told them after the game, ‘Even if we play our best game, I don’t know that we would win. I know playing like we played, there’s no way that we win. ... It’s frustrating. Not that it would have been a totally different game, but I thought if we could have scored at that time (down 7-0), it would give us a little bit of confidence.”

Armentrout was 9-for-26 passing for 113 yards and two interceptions and had 69 yards rushing on seven carries. Coast Guard wide receiver Jacob Wagner threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Desta with 8:08 remaining in the game, the sixth of the season for Desta, a freshman.

Finnegan Hall added a 65-yard punt for the Bears (2-4, 0-2) and linebacker Connor Healy led the way with 13 tackles.

Blane Hart had six carries for 53 yards, with four of his carries earning Springfield first downs. He also caught the run-based Pride’s only pass completion of the game, hauling in a 58-yard pass from Wells in the third quarter, getting to the Coast Guard 22 to set up a Springfield TD.

“We were fortunate to get him back (from injury),” Springfield coach Mike Cerasuolo said of Hart. “It probably took a little longer than we wanted or he wanted or anybody wanted, but getting him back out there is awesome.

“Having him and his brother for us has been great. They’re two special kids that work extremely hard, love the game, they’re passionate about it. Having them be a part of the brotherhood is awesome. They work hard every single day, just consummate teammates, just earn everything. (Blane) has earned everything. That’s pretty special.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com