UNIONDALE, NY — April Fools’ Day was earlier in the week. But you could forgive Dragons coach Weylan Harding for wondering if his team was tricking him.

After losing four of the opening five games, the Dragons’ defense took out a season’s worth of frustrating on Grand Rapids quarterback James MacPherson. Defensive back John Walker did his best Night Train Lane impression, picking off three passes and contributing to a fourth interception as the defense tied a franchise record after generating six turnovers in a 63-34 blowout victory at the Nassau Coliseum.

“I feel like I was able to make plays in good opportunities, but that’s no credit to myself. Our defensive line really got after them and our DB’s held up big time,” said Walker, who added his last intercepted three passes playing for Birmingham High School in San Fernando Valley.

The Dragons (2-4) shutout the Rampage through 36:30, logging stops on the first seven possessions. Quarterback Aaron Garcia capitalized on the shutdown pass coverage, helping his team surge to a 49-0 lead. Garcia, who played just his second full game of the season, completed at least one touchdown passes to four different receivers, including four scoring passes to Chris Anthony.

Garcia looked fully recovered from leg injuries that kept him out of two games. The 37-year-old finished with seven total touchdown passes and another rushing TD, helping his team snap a three-game losing streak in front of 8,211 fans Saturday night.

“We have to continue to get better as an offense or it won’t matter what they do,” Garcia said about the defense. “They played a great game last week and we came out on the short end. This is the first time that we were able to play two weeks in a row together and you can’t get in sync like that. Tonight, we had our timing down.”

Harding was on the opposite end of a potential shutout last season when the Dragons went down by 53 points before losing 60-7 in the season opener to Dallas. Grand Rapids made the score respectable, scoring 21 straight points at one juncture.

But the evening belonged to the defense, which Harding highlighted in the offseason. Henry Taylor came over for in a trade for veteran wide out Mike Horacek and Brown and Walker were added to complement Billy Parker in the secondary. Though the Dragons remain behind front-runners Dallas and Philadelphia (both 6-0) in the Eastern Division, Harding said the two-sack; eight-pass-breakup effort could be a turning point. Cleveland also is one game ahead and Columbus also stands at 2-4.

“I describe it as kind of watching your kids run for the first time,” Harding said. “You see the talent, you tell them what you see, and you finally see those guys put everything together. It was like watching your kids take their first steps, but they took off on a dead sprint in the first half.”

Garcia said the quarterback uncertainty that resulted from his injury hurt the passing attack’s cohesion. Backup Rohan Davey and Garcia almost split time in the opening four games, but outside of a setback, the position should stabilize. His quarterback sneak late in the second half to extend the lead to 35-0might have caused a few tense moments on the bench, though Garcia said it was big psychological boost.

“Coming off the injury, everyone was like, ‘we need to protect Aaron. He can’t run the ball,’” he said. “I wanted to do it last week but I didn’t feel like I was totally ready. I did it this week and it’s something they [opposing teams] need to look out for.”

Walker commenced MacPherson’s nightmarish outing during the opening possession, stepping in front of an outlet pass for his first pick. Anthony followed by completing a tough catch, maintain possession despite getting by Chris Martin into the padding behind the end zone.

Anthony recorded 10 catches for 92 yards and added three more touchdown receptions. Despite setting a season-high mark in points scored without the injured Kevin Swayne, Anthony said the offense can still refine its system.

“I still don’t think we played that well,” Antony said. “We made a lot of mistakes, especially in the second half. It’s a lot of fundamental things we did poorly.

“Our defense is playing unbelievable. We have a lot of great players. They are playing well right now, which is helping us.”

Grand Rapids was held off the scoreboard in the first half as MacPherson (16-31, 235 yards and three touchdowns) tied a team record for turnovers after tossing four picks and losing two fumbles.

Following his first pick, Walker set up his teammate on the second drive thanks to his deflection on a pass attempt. Levy Brown raced laterally to get under the tipped ball, hauling it in for the Dragons second interception in the opening two drives. Keron Henry added his only touchdown catch for the two-score lead.

Henry Taylor sustained the pressure on Grand Rapids’ subsequent possession, recovering a fumble to set up Jason Willis’ touchdown catch. All 21 first-quarter points came off turnovers.

“It’s huge in this league if you can get a stop and then score, that’s how you win ball games in the Arena League,” Anthony said.

Notes: Keron Henry added a new level of fan interaction, falling over the sideboards and into the first row of stands earlier in the first quarter… Anthony was named Ironman of the Game. Garcia was tabbed as the Offensive star…The Dragons complete a three-game homestand Sunday against Columbus. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m.