TURNER – When your offense fumbles the ball away three times inside the opponent’s 10-yard line and your defense can’t stop the other team’s offense, it doesn’t usually add up to a victory.

That was the case Friday night as Oceanside booted away some key offensive opportunities,while Leavitt’s ground game ran wild to the tune of 438 yards on the ground in a 42-16 Hornets victory in an Eastern Class B football game.

Brian Bedard exploded for 170 yards on just 13 carries while teammate Conor O’Malley rushed for 142 yards and a pair of long scores on his three attempts in leading the way for the Hornets (6-1).

On the Mariners’ first possession, they marched down the field by ripping up the gut for large chunks of yardage, keyed by a 10-yard scramble by senior quarterback Sam Meklin and a 15-yard burst by Dan Hendricks to put the visitors in the red zone. But on third down, Hendricks’ 11-yard run ended with the ball in the hands of a Hornets defender.

Things then turned from bad to worse for the Mariners (2-5) as O’Malley took the ensuing handoff from quarterback Tyler Chicoine and weaved his way between the tackles before racing down the right side for a 92-yard touchdown run.

Two other occasions the Mariners coughed the ball up deep in Hornets territory.

Meklin was tackled shy of the goal line and Nate Coombs scooped up the loose ball in the end zone. Later on, Meklin attempted a quarterback sneak from the 1, only to lose the ball as he tried to bury his way to paydirt.

“We had a simple game plan and we were executing it,” said Mariners coach Woody Moore. “(The turnovers) were devastating. You can’t turn the ball over against a great team. Those three turnovers changed the game.”

The first half finished with the Hornets leading 22-8 after Bedard went over from the 2 and caught a 26-yard scoring pass from Chicoine (132 yards passing) on a post pattern over the middle.

Meklin’s 1-yard keeper put the Mariners on the board.

The second half was a different story for the Hornets’ defense. Instead of being continually pushed down the field and saving themselves by creating turnovers, they went on the attack. They sacked Meklin four times in the second half, including twice on the Mariners’ opening series in the third quarter.

“We had a lot of guys out this week at practice,” said Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway. “When you have that many out, it’s hard to get that continuity. We got after them a little bit at halftime, but we started to play with a little more intensity. It was more attitude than anything.”

“We started a little slow,” added Bedard. “We expected an easy one, but you have to play hard every game. We came out and made a statement.”

Leavitt’s offense clicked throughout the second half. A 21-yard gallop by Bedard set up a 15-yard scoring pass from Chicoine to Coombs and gave the Hornets a 30-8 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

Early in the fourth, senior Kevin Russell barreled in from the 3. Later on it was O’Malley striking again from long distance, this time 49 yards.

The visitors put an end to the  run when Preston Spear returned a kick off 82 yards for a score late in the game.

For Hathaway and his Hornets, they’ll have to have a better effort next Friday night in Gardiner in a battle for the No. 2 seed in the east.

“It’s always a physical game against Gardiner,” said Hathaway. “We have to be sound on offense, defense and special teams.”

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