It was a cold, windy, rainy day in Freeport Saturday afternoon. It was also perfect weather for Seagulls.
The Old Orchard Beach Seagulls football team defeated the Freeport Falcons 37-0.
Due to the wet weather, the Gulls (3-2) stuck to a power rushing attack, while picking their spots to throw the ball when needed.
The Falcons (1-4), who are in their first season as a varsity football program, were able to hang with Old Orchard Beach in the first half of the game, before turnovers inevitably hurt the Falcons over and over again in the second half.
Even before kickoff, Freeport’s field was covered in mud, and judging by the rushing attack of both offenses in the first quarter, it appeared the game was going to turn into more of a rugby scrum than a football game, as the score ended in a 0-0 tie after one quarter of play.
However, the Gulls were able to get on the scoreboard early in the second quarter. After a punt return by wide receiver Zach Gordon set up Old Orchard Beach’s offense at the Freeport 22 yard line, running back John Regis struck the first blow of the game with a 5 yard touchdown run. A successful two point conversion play gave Old Orchard Beach a 8-0 lead.
Regis said the Gulls have had experience with bad weather in the past.
“We had a similar game a few years ago against Jay and it was a serious ground game, not much passing, same as today,” Regis said. “We kind of kept it on the ground, ran iso and dive, kept it rumbling.”
The Gulls were able to get one more score before halftime, this time through the air, as quarterback Dean Perrone hooked up with running back Brandon Ouellette for a 26 yard touchdown pass. A failed two point attempt kept the score 14-0 heading into halftime.
Old Orchard Beach’s offense came back with a vengeance on their first drive in the second half. On their second play from scrimmage, Ouellette busted through the middle of the field for a 62 yard touchdown run. After the successful two point conversion, the Gulls had a 22-0 lead.
The Gulls scored again on their next drive, as Regis scored his second touchdown run on the day with a 14 yard scamper to give Old Orchard Beach a 30-0 advantage.
Freeport fumbled quickly on their next drive, which was recoverd by the Gulls. On the very next play, running back Evan Bujnowski took a sweep around the Falcons defense and into the endzone for a 37 yard score for the games final points of the afternoon.
Regis said after the game it was one of the Gulls better games of the season.
“I’d say we did pretty good today,” Regis said. “Definitely one of our better games. We came out a little flat in the beginning, leading 14-0 at the half, but we picked it up afterwards. The offense was really rolling in the second half.”
Offensively, the Gulls were led by Ouellette, who ran for 119 yards on only 8 carries, while Regis rushed for 70 yards on 10 carries. Despite the bad weather, Perrone had an impressive day throwing the football, connecting on 3 of 5 passes for 56 yards.
Miguel Beckles was the leading rusher on the day for Freeport, gaining 33 yards on 9 carries.
Old Orchard Beach head coach Dean Plante gave credit to Freeport and to the Gulls for taking advantage of their offensive opportunities.
“We executed well. Freeport played well,” Plante said. “That’s a team you don’t want to get down to, because of the double wing [offense]. They penetrate the red zone early, we didn’t break, and we were efficient in the first half. We didn’t have the ball much but we scored when we did. In the second half we came out talking about punching one in for that third score and you could kind of feel the air come out of their bubble.”
The Gulls host Jay High School, who also have a 3-2 record, on Oct. 9.
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