Red Riots stay red-hot with “Breakfast Bowl” win at Scarborough

BOX SCORE

South Portland 27 Scarborough 7

SP- 0 14 7 6- 27
S- 0 7 0 0- 7

First quarter
No scoring

Second quarter
SP- Jackson 73 run (Demers kick)
S- Hassett 15 pass from Alston (Wandell kick)
SP- Jackson 1 run (Demers kick)

Third quarter
SP- Jackson 4 run (Demers kick)

Fourth quarter
SP- Hobbs 12 pass from Jackson (kick failed)

SCARBOROUGH—Jaelen Jackson was more than happy to get up early Saturday morning.

For starters, it was his 18th birthday.

And it would prove to be an unforgettable day for South Portland’s standout senior signal caller, who had a most impressive day against host Scarborough at the Kippy Mitchell Sports Complex.

The teams had to take the field for a 9:30 a.m. kickoff after poor field conditions forced the contest to be postponed from Friday and considering the hour, it wasn’t a big surprise that neither squad could break through in the first quarter.

Jackson then broke the ice early in the second period when he ran away for a 73-yard touchdown run.

The Red Storm answered, when senior quarterback De’Angelo Alston found senior Tom Hassett for a 15-yard TD pass on fourth down to tie it up, but the Red Riots chewed up most of the rest of the half before Jackson put them ahead to stay with a 1-yard run, making it 14-7 at the break.

After an athletic interception from senior Nolan Hobbs on Scarborough’s first drive of the second half, South Portland made it 21-7 on a 4-yard Jackson touchdown scamper.

The Red Storm weren’t able to rise off the deck and Jackson put it away with a 12-yard TD pass to Hobbs.

Jackson finished with 254 rushing yards and three touchdowns, as well as another TD passing as the Red Riots, who also continued their recent defensive dominance, won their third game in a row, improved to 5-2 and in the process, dropped Scarborough to 4-3.

“I can’t complain, I’ll take it,” said Jackson. “Our mentality has changed. We just brought it to them for 48 minutes.”

Good morning, South Portland

South Portland started fast with wins at home over Marshwood (35-26) and at Gorham (36-13). The Red Riots then lost late at Massabesic (14-13) and were beaten soundly by visiting Cape Elizabeth, the reigning Class C champion, 41-13. After blanking host Noble (21-0), South Portland pitched another shutout last week, downing visiting Biddeford, 28-0.

After falling at home against reigning Class A state champion Thornton Academy in the opener (35-0), the Red Storm won at Bonny Eagle (33-21), then held off visiting Marhswood, the defending Class B champion, in a thriller, 29-28. After a surprising 39-7 setback at Lewiston, Scarborough bounced back and defeated host Massabesic (37-16) and visiting Bangor (51-24).

The teams met in last year’s season-opener in Scarborough, a 40-3 Red Storm triumph.

As late as mid-afternoon Friday, it appeared the game would be held under the lights, but the rain continued and water pooled on Scarborough’s new turf to the point where the field wasn’t playable.

With officials only available first thing Saturday, the contest wound up having a most unorthodox start time, but South Portland’s approach to the change paid big dividends.

“Last night after we got the call, we met and I said, ‘It’s weird, but let’s embrace it,'” said Red Riots coach Aaron Filieo. “I started calling it the ‘Breakfast Bowl’ and we got excited about it. We’ve never (played this early) before and I never did this as a coach. We’ve had a lot of adversity this year and we’ve learned to embrace it.”

The Red Storm hoped to beat South Portland for the eighth straight time, but instead, on a beautiful mid-October day (the temperature was 56 degrees and rising at kickoff), the Red Riots beat Scarborough for the first time since Sept. 17, 2004, to pull within 7-3 in the all-time series between the neighbors (see sidebar, below, for previous results).

South Portland senior quarterback Jaelen Jackson follows his blockers to one of his big gains during Saturday’s 27-7 win at Scarborough. Jackson rushed for 254 yards and three touchdowns. Hoffer photos.

South Portland got the ball first and began to march before eventually turning the ball over on downs.

Starting from their 32, the Red Riots’ first play saw Jackson keep the ball for one yard and after the first of many illegal motion penalties cost them five yards, a seven-yard run from senior Johnny Poole set up third-and-7, where Jackson rolled left and passed to senior captain Josh Sparacio for a 15-yard pickup to midfield. After Jackson threw incomplete, he picked up 13 yards, bouncing off a tackler to move the chains to the Red Storm’s 37. Jackson then found running room again and spun for a 16-yard gain to the 21. After Poole gained four yards, he fumbled and while Hobbs came up with the ball, the play resulted in a six-yard loss, setting up third-and-12. Jackson scrambled for six yards to set up fourth-and-6, then Jackson threw to the end zone to Hobbs and while he caught the ball, he couldn’t come down inbounds and the incomplete pass gave Scarborough the ball for the first time, at its 17.

The Red Storm picked up one first down, as senior Griffin Denbow ran for five yards, the Alston hit Denbow for three yards and Denbow ran for five more for a first down at the 30. Alston then threw a pass to senior Keegan Weed for no gain, then, after an incomplete pass, Alston was sacked by junior Matt Frey and sophomore Will Stanley for a nine-yard loss, forcing a punt.

South Portland senior Paol Magaya pressures Scarborough senior quarterback De’Angelo Alston into an incomplete pass.

South Portland got the ball back at its 37 and promptly shot itself in the foot.

After a false start penalty cost five yards, Poole ran for three yards, then Jackson gained 10, setting up third-and-2. Jackson then broke free for an apparent 55-yard score, but an illegal formation penalty short-circuited the play and instead set up third-and-7, where a one-yard Jackson pickup forced a punt.

With 1:37 to go in the opening stanza, Scarborough took over at its 38 and started to march, as Denbow ran for seven yards and Alston hit senior Charlie Murray for four yards and a first down at the 49. On the final play of the first quarter, Alston connected with senior Jason Liponis for six more yards into Red Riots’ territory.

Denbow then started the second period with a nine-yard run and a first down at South Portland’s 36. After Alston hit Weed for nine yards on a quick slant, Murray scooped a low pass just inches off the turf for four yards and a first down at the 23. After Denbow ran for four yards, Alston hit Hassett for 10 yards to set up first-and-goal from the 9, but the Red Storm would come up empty, as after a false start penalty, Alston threw three incomplete passes and junior Caleb Wandell’s 32-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.

With 8:50 remaining in the first half, the Red Riots got the ball at their 20 and this time, in a blink of an eye, struck paydirt.

After Poole ran for seven yards, Jackson did the rest, running to the left, cutting back, then outracing the pursuit down the left sideline for a 73-yard touchdown run. With 8:07 left in the half, senior Brady Demers added the extra point to make it 7-0.

Scarborough then roared right back to tie it, driving 58 yards in five plays and 89 seconds.

After a false start provided an inauspicious beginning to the march, Alston found Hassett open with a deep throw down the left sideline for 50 yards to the South Portland 13. After Denbow ran for a yard, he caught a pass but lost three yards, then Alston threw incomplete, setting up fourth-and-12.

This time, Red Storm coach Packy Malia opted to eschew the field goal and go for it and the gamble paid off, as Alston connected with Hassett on a slant that went for a 15-yard touchdown with 6:30 on the clock. Wandell added the PAT to tie the score, 7-7.

And after 120 minutes of game action, two-and-a-half games worth, the Red Riots had surrendered points.

“We came out with two shutouts after the Cape game and almost got one here,” Jackson said. “I expected a team like (Scarborough) to score on us, so I’m not mad at seven points.”

South Portland was unfazed and it took over at its 37 with 6:22 left in the half. Ten plays later, after a most impressive, time-consuming (5 minutes, 16 seconds) drive, the Red Riots took the lead for good.

Poole was held to no gain on first down, then Jackson kept the ball, faked out one defender, then ran all the way to the Scarborough 33, good for 30 yards. Poole then ran for four yards and after Jackson threw incomplete, he kept the ball for six to move the chains. An illegal motion penalty backed South Portland up to the 28, but Jackson ran for five yards, Poole picked up one and on third-and-9 from the 22, Jackson rolled left and threw a pass to freshman Darius Johnson along the sidelines. Johnson managed to snare the ball at the 3 and get a foot inbounds as well and compounding matters for the Red Storm, roughing the passer was called on a late hit on Jackson, setting the Red Riots up at the 1. Jackson did the rest, keeping the ball for the score and with 1:06 remaining, after Demers added the extra point, South Portland had a 14-7 advantage.

Scarborough senior Griffin Denbow finds running room.

Scarborough had a chance to answer before the break and starting from its 41, began to march, as Alston hit Denbow for six yards, Alston scrambled for three yards to midfield, then he connected with Murray for seven yards and while Murray fumbled, senior Isaac Glidden recovered to allow the Red Storm to keep possession at the Red Riots’ 43. After Murray caught another pass for nine more yards, Alston tried to go deep, but junior Royce Miles knocked the pass incomplete. Alston then threw two more incomplete passes and the horn sounded, allowing South Portland to take a seven-point lead to the break.

In the first half, the Red Riots gained 198 yards to the Red Storm’s 135 and Jackson ran for 162 yards on 11 carries with two TDs.

He was far from finished.

Scarborough got the ball to start the second half and began a promising, potential game-tying drive, but Hobbs and his teammates would have stop the home team in its tracks.

The Red Storm began at their 41 and after Alston threw an incomplete pass, Crockett ran for seven yards, then Alston found Murray for four more to move the chains into South Portland territory. After Weed ran for three yards out of the ‘Wildcat” formation, Crockett gained a yard, but on third-and-6, Alston’s pass over the middle was somehow snagged by Hobbs, with just his right hand, and Hobbs not only gave his team the ball, he returned it 33 yards, all the way to the Scarborough 30, to turn momentum for good.

“I was just making a read and I jumped it,” said Hobbs. “We’re confident in our secondary to get things done. Cape was a wakeup call for us to step up on D. Ever since then, our mentality has been different, just to attack.”

“That was huge,” said Filieo. “Nolan is about as steady as they come and that’s what makes him a phenomenal player. He doesn’t come off the field often. He’s smart and figures things out.”

The Red Riots then needed seven plays and 3:20 to drive for the touchdown.

Poole got the first call and ran for six yards. After Sparacio was held to one yard, Jackson gained six on third-and-3. Jackson then did the rest, running for two yards, picking up four, then gaining seven to set up first-and-goal at the 4. Jackson then ran one more time, to the right, and bulled into the end zone for the touchdown and with 6:14 left in the third quarter, after Demers added the PAT, South Portland had a 21-7 lead.

The Red Storm hoped to answer, but when the ensuing kickoff bounced off of Denbow and went out of bounds at the 3, they were pinned deep and after Denbow ran for two yards and Alston hit Murray for four, Alston threw incomplete, forcing a punt.

With 4;34 left in the third, the Red Riots got the ball back at the Scarborough 44 and began to drive again.

Poole ran for five yards, then picked up four. On the next play, Jackson couldn’t handle the snap, picked it up, rolled right, then hit Hobbs over the middle for an apparent 35-yard touchdown, but South Portland was flagged for having an ineligible player downfield and the score was negated. On third-and-6 from the 40, Jackson ran for one yard, then Poole gained five before the Red Riots were frustrated again, as an apparent Jackson 20-yard scoring run was wiped out by a holding penalty. After Poole ran for five yards and Frey picked up four, on fourth-and-10 from the 25, Jackson was intercepted by Murray, who made a nice leaping catch, on the final play of the quarter.

As the final stanza began, the Red Storm started at their 5 and began to move the ball on the ground, as Denbow ran for 12 yards, then picked up 16. After an illegal block moved Scarborough back, Denbow ran for five yards, then Alston showed perfect touch on a pass that went right over a defender’s hands and found Hassett for 34 yards, but that play was called back by holding, setting up second-and-23. After Crockett caught a shovel pass for 11 yards, then Alston connected with Crockett for 11 more, on fourth-and-1, Alston flipped the ball to Denbow, who dropped it, then picked it up and prepared to run for the first down, but the officials ruled it an incomplete pass instead and South Portland got the ball back at the Red Storm’s 42 with 8:38 remaining.

And in a penalty-plagued drive that needed 10 plays, the Red Riots chewed up a whopping 6:29 to score and end all doubt.

Jackson got things started with a four-yard run. He then gained 10 more to the 28. After Frey ran for six yards, South Portland was called for holding, but Jackson gained 13 yards for a first down at the 17 before another holding penalty followed. After Jackson ran for 13 yards, he hit Hobbs for eight to the 8. Jackson then ran for six yards to set up first-and-goal at the 2. Frey got one yard, then, after a false start and a delay of game penalty, Jackson ran for four yards to set up third-and-goal at the 7. Another penalty, this time illegal procedure, moved the ball back five more yards, then Jackson hit Hobbs over the middle and he ran into the end zone for the 12-yard TD with 2:09 to go. This time, Demers’ extra point attempt hit the right upright, but the score was now 27-7.

Scarborough’s final possession began at its 40 and after throwing incomplete, Alston hit Crockett for 18 yards, then connected with Crockett for four more and Denbow for 10 to the South Portland 28. After throwing incomplete, Alston found Weed for 16 yards to the 12, but that’s as far as the Red Storm would get, as Alston threw incomplete, then he was intercepted by senior Lucas Mehlhorn at the 1.

Jackson then pushed the pile forward for four yards and that allowed the Red Riots to run out the clock and celebrate their 27-7 victory.

“Our mentality was to come in here and dominate,” Hobbs said. “It doesn’t matter the opponent or time. Saturday morning, Monday night, we don’t care.”

“The great thing about these guys is they play hard for 48 minutes,” Filieo said. “We saw what happens when we don’t (against Cape), it’s hard to recover. We’re good when we come out and play. Our defense has really stepped up and played really, really well the past three weeks. I thought our defense played very disciplined. We gave up one long (pass). We bent but we didn’t break. Scarborough has a lot of athletes, but so do we. We knew what they had to offer, so we had to just do our job. I’m really proud of them.

“Offensively, we’re finding things we like and Jaelen does what he does. I thought our offensive line played great today.”

South Portland finished with 293 yards of offense and was able to overcome one turnover, as well as dozen penalties for 79 yards.

Jackson stole the show, rushing 24 times for 254 yards and three touchdowns. He also went 4-of-8 passing for 54 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

“Coach wanted me to stay on schedule since (Scarborough’s) a high-powered offense,” Jackson said. “We wanted to keep the ball and keep control as long as we could. We have great dudes up front and the guys leading the way for me picked up for me downfield, so I could make plays.”

“Jaelen’s just a stud,” Hobbs said.

“He’s an elite athlete,’ Filieo added. “He has a level of physical and mental toughness I haven’t seen in awhile. He has the ‘it’ factor. His will to win carries everybody. To see him run the way he does, that inspires everybody.”

Poole gained 45 yards on 14 rushes.

Scarborough finished with 241 yards, turned the ball over twice and was flagged five times for 30 yards.

Alston threw the ball 37 times, completed 20 passes and accumulated 198 yards. He was intercepted twice and threw for one TD.

Hassett was the top receiver with 75 yards and a touchdown on three receptions.

Murray caught six passes for 32 yards, Denbow had four receptions for 16, Crockett four for 44, Weed three for 25 yards and Liponis one for 6.

Denbow also ran 10 times for 66 yards.

“I think this week we didn’t come out of the gates with the same type of intensity and physicality we have the past couple of weeks,” Malia lamented. “They hit some big plays early and they executed well down the stretch while we were too inconsistent on offense. We had our chances, but we didn’t make the plays when we had to.”

A Bridge to conquer

Scarborough welcomes 2-5 Edward Little next Friday. The Red Storm then have a huge test at undefeated Oxford Hills in the regular season finale Oct. 28.

“We’ll watch the film and learn from it and move on,” Malia said. “We just need to continue to get better as a team, players and coaches, and focus on maintaining our intensity and consistency.”

South Portland wraps up its regular season next Friday at home versus suddenly resurgent Portland (4-3) in the “Battle of the Bridge,” in a game that will have major Crabtree Points and playoff positioning implications.

The Red Riots lost last year’s meeting, 32-7, and are looking to turn the tables.

“We have to win the Bridge back,” Jackson said. “We have a little revenge situation going on.”

“We have to keep the same mentality, dominate on defense,” Hobbs said.

“We don’t talk about (all the implications), since we have enough to deal with with penalties and stuff, but the one thing we’ll do is we’ll play hard for 48 minutes and see what happens,” Filieo added. “We just want to get into the playoffs and see what happens.”