Scarborough senior Owen Garrard had scored four touchdowns in a game one other time in his high school career before Friday night’s season opener against Deering.
“Actually, I think it was last year against Deering,” said Garrard.
A three-year starter, Garrard led the Red Storm to a 43-0 win over Deering with four rushing touchdowns – three from the 1 and a 38-yarder. Scarborough scored all its points in the first half, with senior Zoltan Panyi contributing passing touchdowns of 18 and 34 yards to Jeremy Sendrowski and Reece Lagerquist.
“It all comes back to the offensive line doing a good job up front so we can run and throw it,” Scarborough Coach Lance Johnson said.
“It’s hard to stop us when we’re balanced.”
Scarborough totaled 420 yards (252 rushing, 168 passing), while Deering was held to 104 (83 rushing, 21 passing). Panyi was 7 of 14 for 153 yards and rushed seven times for 54 yards. Garrard had 13 carries for 85 yards.
Scarborough got the job done on defense, too – recovering five Deering fumbles to go along with an interception by Sendrowski.
“That was one of the goals this year – more turnovers,” Panyi said. “We’re ball hungry; we try to get picks and fumbles, and that’s what we did.”
Scarborough got on the board less than five minutes into the game when Garrard drove into the end zone from the 1 after a 28-yard catch by Tyler Gobeil. Garrard then capitalized on a Deering fumble, breaking loose for a 38-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0.
The Rams fumbled again at their own 22 on their next drive, but they managed to hold Scarborough on downs.
It didn’t matter. Sendrowski intercepted a Jack Lynch pass to put the Red Storm in scoring position again. Jaquan Seme and Panyi each rushed for 10 yards to set Garrard’s third touchdown, 28 seconds into the second quarter. He scored his fourth touchdown less than five minutes later, and Sendrowski – the holder on place kicks – passed for a 2-point conversion.
Liam McDonnell went 5 for 5 on extra points.
“I would just give all the credit to the offensive line,” Garrard said. “We’ve been working together since second or third grade, so we’re really close. Without them, I wouldn’t have got (into the end zone four times).”
A 31-yard catch by Seme and a 10-yard run by Garrard helped set up Scarborough’s next touchdown, as Panyi connected with Sendrowski for an 18-yard reception with 2:22 left in the half.
Lagerquist capped the scoring with a 34-yard touchdown catch in the final minute of the half.
All in all, it was an impressive start for a team widely regarded as a top contender in Class A after reaching the Class A South final last year.
“We’re an older team, so we came out here cool and calm,” Panyi said. “We just have to keep working hard, because obviously, teams want to beat us, so we just need to work harder than them.”
Taylor Vortherms can be contacted at 791-6417 or
tvortherms@pressherald.com
Twitter: TaylorVortherms
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