BIRMINGHAM >> The host Birmingham Groves Falcons scored on five of their first six drives and rolled to a 35-0 win over the Birmingham Seaholm Maples in the latest installment of their rivalry.

It was a lopsided result opposite of their meetings last season, both won by Seaholm, including a wild 56-49 victory in the first round of the playoffs.

“We took one silly penalty, but other than that, I was pleased with the guys’ effort,” Groves head coach Brendan Flaherty said. “They (Seaholm) are a tough team. They’re a great team and very well-coached, and we have so much respect for Coach (Jim) DeWald at Seaholm. That’s why it’s sweet getting this one under our belt.”

The Groves offense started hot and stayed that way all night. The Falcons got nine yards from Mario Campoy-Lovasco on the first play from scrimmage, and seven plays later they were in the end zone for the first time with Campoy-Lovasco going around the right end for a 12-yard touchdown.Offensively, the Falcon ground game was dominant. Campoy-Lovasco and Noah Sanders took turns dancing through the Seaholm defense as the offensive line ripped open holes for them to run through. Sanders led everyone with 104 yards and two touchdowns while Campoy-Lovasco added 86 yards and two more touchdowns for the Falcons.

“I thought they really ran hard. I challenged them before the game to run hard. (I said) let’s get what we can, and the linemen held their guys up. I think that was the hardest our guys have run all year,” Flaherty said.

When quarterback Ryan Counts dropped back to pass, he had plenty of time and was very efficient as well. Counts completed 11 of 13 passes for 132 yards and one touchdown.

Seaholm’s offense was led by their ground game where Penn Roberts was the leading rusher with 44 yards on 13 carries. But the Maples could not find any consistency, and whenever they had to pass, the Groves rushers feasted. Seaholm ran only one play in Groves territory all night — and that play ended in disaster for the Maples as Joshua Hammonds blazed in off the right side and avalanched the quarterback for a strip sack. The fumble was recovered by Ray Glory-Ejoyokah, and the Falcons had the ball back just across midfield themselves. Eight plays later, Groves was in the end zone again with Sanders finding paydirt.

“We got beat in the box a little bit, got out-physicaled in the box,” DeWald said. “We’ve got to be more physical.”

Both teams will now look to Sunday night to see what happens next.

Groves finishes the regular season 9-0 and is assured of both making the Division 2 playoffs as a high seed and hosting its first game. The Falcons will have to wait until Sunday night to see who they play.

“I think it’s good. It’s amazing how fast it’s gone,” Flaherty said. “These guys are on a mission just trying to get better each week and just enjoy this group of guys and try to talk about the memories of these guys. We’ll keep it rolling.”

With a record of 6-3, Seaholm, who came into the final week tied for 13th in the D2 playoff points rankings, also looks to have secured a playoff spot.

“Our kids, their heart is bigger than 300 pounds. We fight,” DeWald said. “We’ll reset, focus on ourselves, see where we can get better when we watch the tape. Obviously, physicality is going to be the main focus going into next week, and we’ll see who we play. We’re looking forward to it,” he added.