The Deering football team is no longer just a feel-good story.
The Rams have grown into a bona fide contender in just three weeks.
And Friday evening at Memorial Field in Portland, the Rams made their biggest statement yet, making big plays on both sides of the ball in the fourth quarter of a scoreless game against Biddeford.
First, sophomore backup quarterback Jordan DiBiase scored on a 1-yard keeper on the first play of the quarter.
Deering’s defense then came up huge on multiple occasions and DiBiase clinched the game with an improbable 46-yard scamper on fourth down to allow the Rams to run out the clock on a 6-0 victory in front of a large crowd.
“Jordan came through, our kids rallied around him and our defense has given up 13 points in three games,” said Brendan Scully, Deering’s first-year coach. “I’m really excited for the kids and I’m pleasantly surprised.”
Sophomore running back Joey Foley was able to gain yardage, but the Rams squandered multiple opportunities in the first half. There was a field goal that came up short after a long Foley punt return. Midway through the second period, Deering lost starting quarterback Tavian Lauture after he suffered a hard hit.
The Tigers couldn’t do anything on offense either, turning the ball over twice, as quarterback Gino Mariello was intercepted by Lauture and Dom Bixler.
Late in the third quarter, the Rams’ special teams sparked the lone scoring drive of the night. Santino Cavallaro partially blocked a punt, giving the Rams the ball at the Biddeford 46. By the end of the quarter, Deering had the ball at the 1 and on the first snap of the final quarter, DiBiase kept it and scored.
“I wasn’t sure what Jordan was comfortable running, but we had big guys up front and at the 1, I liked our chances,” Scully said.
The extra point was no good.
Biddeford nearly answered back, driving to the Rams’ 3 before Asher Rubin made the biggest interception of his young career to preserve the lead.
After two more stops on downs, Deering took over at its 30 with 2:29 to play and gained 9 yards on three plays, as the Tigers used up their timeouts. With everyone expecting Foley to get the call on fourth-and-1, instead DiBiase kept the ball, broke through the line and ran for 46 yards to essentially clinch it.
“We saw an opportunity to get one yard and ice the game, but I was able to take it (for more),” said DiBiase, who gained 36 yards on six rushes.
“We just stayed disciplined the whole game,” added Foley (27 rushes, 141 yards). “We played our hearts out and didn’t give up the entire time.”
Mariello threw 41 times for Biddeford, completing 19 for 247 yards, but he was intercepted three times.
“We improved tremendously against a really good football team so I’m proud,” said Tigers Coach Steve Allosso. “It’s that ‘oomph factor,’ I’ll call it. We don’t have that yet. We’re inexperienced and kind of young, but we played a full football game. We didn’t do that the first two weeks.”
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