The Knights ran for touchdowns on the first and last plays of the first half — plus four more TDs in between — to take a 42-0 lead into halftime and cruised from there.
The perennial powerhouse program started the year 0-2 but has won two in a row to square its record at 2-2.
“The first two games, those were great opponents," senior offensive lineman Matthew See said. "All glory to them. They got the better of us. Right now we’re happy with where we’re at and we’re trying to get better.”
Alter scored touchdowns on its first three offensive plays from scrimmage and never looked back.
That started with a 59-yard run by McDonald, who picked up a lead block from Seth Morris and sprinted down the sidelines for six.
The Patriots gained one first down on their possession then pinned their guests with a coffin corner punt that went out of bounds at the Alter 4.
That was no problem for McDonald. He burst through the left side and was gone down the sideline again, a 96-yard gallop that left the home crowd stunned and the Carroll coaching staff fuming about gaps left unattended.
“It’s the line,” McDonald said as he patted See on the shoulder afterward. “It starts up front baby.”
See was happy to bat the praise back at his classmate.
“We’re just really blessed to have a running back who runs hard and hits the holes like that," See said. "If he can get it, he can get it and it just carries on in the momentum later in the game.
“He’s hard-headed. He does not want to stop running. He wants to get in that end zone and nowhere else, and that’s what we love about him.”
After another quick Patriots possession, they pinned Alter deep again.
Again it didn’t matter.
This time it was Morris, who took a handoff and went 86 yards for a third touchdown in as many offensive plays.
McDonald scored again on a 30-yard run later in the first quarter, and the Knights made it 35-0 when Brian Shane found Patrick Connor with a 14-yard touchdown pass with 3:13 left in the second quarter.
The Knights finished the half with a 3-yard touchdown run by Connor, but that wasn’t how it was drawn up. They lined up for a 20-yard field goal with Connor as the holder, and he had to improvise when the snap went over his head. He grabbed it and outran the Patriots pursuit to the corner for another score.
McDonald added another touchdown in the thir quarter when he took handoff over right tackle then cut back and outran the pursuit for a 44-yard score.
Carroll (2-2) goes on the road to face Badin next week while Alter also heads south for a clash with Cincinnati McNicholas.
“We can’t let up," McDonald said. "It’s like my favorite quote from Kobe (Bryant): ‘Do the hard work now and rest later.’ I think that really falls with us because we can work harder every day and every practice.”
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