TURNER — Leavitt Area High School’s football opponents already knew about Jordan Hersom, his fearlessness in running the option, and his ability to throw quick slants on a dime.

They already understood and respected Jake Ouellette’s ability to punish prospective tacklers and push them an additional five yards downfield.

Now, anyone hoping to halt the Hornets’ two-years-and-counting reign as Eastern Class B champions will be forced to deal with a third troublemaker.

Ian Durgin’s symmetrical statistics — 82 rushing yards, 82 passing yards — convey about one-third of his contributions to a 27-6 win over Hampden Academy on Friday night at Libby Field.

Don’t ignore his four tackles, his fumble recovery and his work as a battering ram for those more widely recognized senior classmates.

“He had a huge game.” Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway said. “Running the ball. Catching the ball. Blocking on the perimeter, which often goes unnoticed. And he’s one of our go-to guys defensively at strong safety.”

Hersom and Ouellette? They were OK, too.

Headlined by his three carbon-copy quick-outs to Durgin, Hersom was 5-for-8 for 115 yards through the air and added 44 more yards on the ground, including a 16-yard touchdown run. He also intercepted a pass.

Ouellette made Leavitt’s last three trips to the end zone and logged 19 carries for a game-high 125 yards.

“We have a fast line,” Durgin said. “We like to get the edge.”

Despite a smattering of missed-time injuries due to the typically hard-nosed nature of the season-opener against Hampden, that front five held its ground and wore down the Broncos as the evening progressed.

Jack Griffin, Jake Posik, Devin McMahan, Matt Powell and Tom Langelier provided the push up front. Powell was a substitute for the nicked-up Josh Bunker and saw his first extended varsity playing time.

“Hampden is a pretty good first test,” Hathaway said. “They’re always going to be physical. It’s week one of high school football. Things aren’t going to go just the way you’d like.”

Simon Burditt’s fumble recovery late in the first quarter hoisted Hampden’s hopes and condemned Leavitt to lousy field position for much of the half.

But Leavitt sandwiched two scores around the turnover and a three-and-out to take a 13-6 halftime lead.

Ouellette scored on a counter play from 13 yards out with 1:28 remaining in the half.

Durgin set it up with two gigantic runs — a 47-yard gallop along the home sideline, and a grinding 11 yards at the end of two broken tackles.

Hampden had Leavitt stalled near midfield until Hersom hit Durgin with a quick screen to the left on third-and-23. Durgin again escaped two would-be stops and flourished for 48 yards to the Broncos’ 4.

Earlier, Hersom hit Ouellette with a similar snap, one-step drop and strike for 23 yards on third-and-6 to extend the drive.

“It was a matter of taking what they gave us,” Hathaway said. “We wanted to throw the ball more early, but we didn’t have the field position.”

After a false start moved the ball back to the 9, Ouellette scooted up the middle with nary a finger to slow his progress.

Hersom and Durgin hooked up again for gains of 16 and 18 on Leavitt’s next drive. Ouellette chalked up runs of 17 and 24 and finished the work with both a 1-yard plunge and the two-point conversion rush with 57 seconds left in the third quarter.

With that, Leavitt locked up its 23rd consecutive league victory.

“Obviously we want to go all the way and win a state championship and correct the finish to last year,” Durgin said, “but mostly we want to get better every play.”

The Hornets did that, rolling up 408 yards to the Broncos’ 195.

Nick Stevens led Hampden with 15 carries for 84 yards. He also caught a 22-yard TD pass from Brian Fickett with 3:22 remaining in the second quarter.

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