SCARBOROUGH — By late in the third quarter, leg cramps were becoming a concern for the Sanford High football team.
No wonder, given the way the Spartans were running through the hot, humid night.
Sanford used big plays and a physical, uptempo offense to roll past Scarborough 29-14 in a Western Class A opener Friday night at the Kippy Mitchell Sports Complex.
Peter Hegarty, a 5-foot-7, 153-pound running back, led the Spartans’ who-has-it-now offense, rushing 19 times for 114 yards. Nick Love carried 17 times for 64 tough yards, and Eddie Michetti ran for two touchdowns.
“It’s our style to play fast. Had a couple hiccups, kids were resilient, made some plays in key situations,” said Sanford’s first-year coach, Keith Noel, who took over after 19 years with Mike Fallon in charge. “We were fortunate enough to get after a couple plays.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Sanford opened with a big play to take the lead. A misplayed Scarborough punt gave the Spartans the ball at the Red Storm 5.
Three plays later, Chase Eldredge ran around left end for a 5-yard TD. Hegarty’s kick made it 7-0 less than two minutes into the second quarter.
“I was looking for a back-corner flag,” Eldredge said, “but my receivers held up, so I looked backside, saw green grass, so I took off.
After the teams exchanged punts, Sanford began to find its rhythm, putting together a five-play, 43-yard drive that ended with Michetti’s 2-yard run. Hegarty set up the score with three runs, including a 16-yard run off the right side to bring the ball to the Scarborough 3. Hegarty’s point-after try failed, but the Spartans led 13-0.
“(Hegarty) is a little workhorse,” Noel said. “He’s a nifty runner and he finds that little crease and gets positive yards.”
Then it was Scarborough’s turn to get in gear, as Hughes went 3 of 3 passing for 59 yards, including a 30-yard strike down the right sideline to Milani Hicks. Wyatt Tanner’s PAT was good, and Scarborough cut the lead to 13-7.
The game turned on the Spartans’ next series. Hegarty returned the kickoff 23 yards to the Scarborough 39. With 53 seconds left in the half, Sanford called a timeout. Coaches called for a reverse, and receiver Peyton Wiegand went around right end for a gain of 54 yards. Three plays later, Michetti crashed in from a yard out, and Love ran for the conversion.
When the coaches called the reverse, “I just got ready to run,” Wiegand said. “That play probably pushed us to drive the ball harder and it intensified our defense. Kids got pumped up, and we got more aggressive after that.”
Hegarty kept the momentum going for Sanford, racing 66 yards on the opening play of the third quarter. Scarborough held and took over on downs, but the Spartans forced three incompletions and Cody Marshall blocked the Red Storm’s punt through the back of the end zone for a safety and a 23-7 lead.
Sanford made it 29-7 on the ensuing possession when Eldredge scored from the 1 to cap a nine-play, 48-yard drive.
Scarborough’s Zach Carriero (22 carries, 121 yards) broke three tackles on a spectacular 61-yard run that set up Brandon Watkins’ 5-yard plunge that cut it to 29-14 with 3:53 left in the third quarter.
“The kids played really hard defensively, we just couldn’t get enough going offensively,” said Scarborough Coach Lance Johnson. “We’ll look at the film and get better.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
