Monroe stole the spotlight Friday night in Talawanda’s first game in its new stadium, using a second-half surge to score a 28-7 over the home team.

Talawanda began the evening with a festive atmosphere, thanking major donors who contributed to the “Field of Dreams” campaign.

The Braves gave their fans a lot to cheer about early as sophomore Maurice Thomas took the opening kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown. New coach J.D. Vonderheide opened his bag of tricks and followed that with a successful onside kick.

But Monroe forced a punt and broke through with a touchdown of its own on a 41-yard pass from Taylor Larison to Colin Wilsonwith 3:41 left in the first quarter.

It stayed 7-7 until Larison rushed for a 35-yard touchdown with 58 seconds left in the third. The extra point kick failed and it was 13-7 going into the fourth quarter.

“We were not hitting on all cylinders tonight,” Monroe coach Brett Stubbs said. “Our seniors did not do things we had to do in the first half, but we did a good job in the second half. We knew they would key on Wilson all night. The defense did a great job. The defense was awesome all night.”

The Monroe offense got the job done in the fourth, putting the game out of reach with two touchdowns, both by Larison. The first came with 6:47 to go in the game when the senior ran 75 yards for the score, getting caught from behind only as he crossed the goal line. His pass to Wilson was good for a two-point conversion and a 21-7 lead. Larison added a 13-yard TD run with 3:21 to go in the game.

“The defense was on the field basically the whole first quarter,” Stubbs said. “(Talawanda) had good field position all night, but our seniors stepped up and did the job offensively and defensively.”

For Talawanda, it was a disappointing finish as they entered 2012 with a new coach, new field and new league.

“The tale of the night was missed opportunities,” Vonderheide said. “It’s disappointing sign for a young football team with a young coach. We had a touchdown called back, a fumble in the red zone and short on fourth-and-1. We were there. We just had too many mistakes. We’ll come back.”

Larison finished the night completing one pass in three attempts for 41 yards and an interception while Talawanda’s Colin Kimiecik was 9-of 21 for 59 yards and two interceptions.

Monroe will host Ross next Friday while Talawanda will travel to Carlisle.