AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy -- The distance separating Aviano and Baumholder is substantial - both on the map and, as of Saturday, on the gridiron.

The Aviano Saints scored six first-half touchdowns against the visitors from Germany on the way to an encouraging 42-21 season-opening victory.

Though the Saints entered the season with a small roster of players, seven different Aviano runners carried the ball for a total of 205 yards on Saturday and five different Saints - Hayden Roers, Darius Brown, Dante Adolfo, Aaron Island and Amir Love - found the end zone as Aviano piled on the points before halftime.

Trey Kendrick, Solo Turgeon and Justin Bryant converted touchdown runs for Baumholder in a futile comeback attempt.

Hunter Poole paced the Bucs with six tackles, while Brown notched two interceptions for the Saints.

Both teams are in for a challenge next weekend. Baumholder hosts a resurgent Bitburg squad, while Aviano visits defending champion Ansbach fresh off the Cougars’ 48-16 trouncing of Vicenza.

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