KENNEBUNK ”“ Fending off a stiff challenge from a pesky Kennebunk squad, Biddeford scored four unanswered touchdowns to turn back the Rams, 47-21, at rain soaked Veterans Memorial Field, Thursday.
Nick Gagne rushed for four touchdowns (4, 5, 4, 12 yards), including one in the Tigers’ explosive fourth quarter, to help Biddeford lift its mark to 3-0.
The Rams, who had earlier fought back from a two touchdown deficit to tie the contest, 21-21, fell to 1-2.
For Biddeford, it was a matter of finding the right gear at the right time.
“I think it was good that we came out in the second half,” said Biddeford quarterback Tyler Audie, “and kept pumping. I think we’re lucky to get out with a win, but we’ll take it.”
If luck was involved for the Tigers, then it was good fortune of their own making.
After being picked apart by Kennebunk quarterback Matt Dube, the Tiger secondary came up with three drive-halting interceptions.
The first of those was pulled off by sophomore Patrick Wilson, whose third quarter pick of a Dube pass at the Tiger 32 stopped Kennebunk just when the Rams appeared to be rolling toward another score, one that might have knotted the score at 28 apiece.
“I was just reading the quarterback the whole way,” said Wilson. “I saw it (the pass) so I jumped the (pass) route. It was a little underthrown, right to me. Perfect.”
Said Audie, “They were driving the ball on us before that. We were looking for answers on defense, and he (Wilson) came up with a big play for us.”
Audie, who contributed several big plays of his own on offense (including a 39 yard TD scamper), chipped in one on defense, a fourth quarter interception, that led to Gagne’s final TD run, his eighth of the season that made it 34-21.
Gagne set that one that up himself with a 50 yard gain a few plays earlier.
“It was a tough (game),” said Gagne. “I’m all bruised up. “But I’ll get back at it.”
Jordan Hevey added a 65 yard interception return that gave the Rams more than enough breathing room.
Bryan Gelinas capped the scoring with a 4 yard run.
By then, the fight put up by the Rams was all but washed out of the memory banks.
Kennebunk, with Dube routinely able to find favorite targets Ethan Drigotas and Vann Brazz, rebounded from deficits of 14-0 and 21-7.
Drigotas pulled in a 25 yard scoring strike just before halftime, and Brazz gathered in a 14 yard TD pass early in the third quarter to make it 21-21.
But the head of steam the Rams had managed to build up evaporated when they began turning the ball over.
“Bang,” said Kennebunk coach Joe Rafferty. “It got away from us. They’ve got a lot of weapons. We knew that they were going to stick with what they knew, and we couldn’t stop them when we had to.”
Both teams will return to action, Friday, with Biddeford set to host Scarborough while the Rams will invade Marshwood.
— Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.
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