Bonny Eagle’s Cam Day lit a fuse late in the first quarter at Deering on Friday night, Oct. 2, running a 20-yard keeper into the end zone to bring his team within one point of the Rams. That fuse slowburned until after the half, when Nick Clark exploded for the Scots, notching two breakaway TDs – a 74-yarder and a 51-yarder – and blowing the game wide open.
Clark would add a third before the final buzzer, when Bonny Eagle celebrated not just a 42-7 victory, but also going above .500 for the first time this year.
“It was our guys really committing themselves to doing what they had to do to win,” said Bonny Eagle head coach Kevin Cooper of the blowout, “which was play hard and play smart. We really did that tonight.”
Specifically, the Scots jump to 3-2 on the season. The team started 0-2 in a pair of narrow matchups against South Portland and Scarborough. After that, the team spun on a dime, reverting to its winning ways with a 42-0 slaughter of Bangor, and then a similar crushing, 41-0, of Massabesic.
Deering’s opening kickoff actually boded ill for Bonny Eagle on Friday night: the Scots fumbled the return and the Rams recovered with great field position. They drove forward on a series of short runs by Nate Richards nearly to the red zone before QB Max Chabot dashed left on a keeper for a 25-yard TD and 7-0.
After that, however, the Scots slowly seized control. They shut Deering down on offense and – though it took them a couple drives to begin doing so – overwhelmed the Rams’ defense.
With roughly two minutes remaining in the first quarter, Day carried a 20-yard keeper into the end zone for a quick six. Christian Napolitano’s PAT missed its mark, allowing Deering to cling to a slim advantage.
The Rams held onto 7-6 through the half, and for almost half the third quarter. That, however, is when Clark hit a stride: From first and 10 at Bonny Eagle’s own 26, he blasted through the middle, ditching all defenders and tearing up the turf for 74 yards and the 12-7 touchdown. Four minutes later, he performed almost the same feat, this time from the Scots’ 49.
“The linemen just block great,” said Clark. “We went into halftime and the linemen coach said, ‘You’ve got to fix trap-block.’ We fixed it, and we came out on the same play twice and scored two touchdowns.”
19-7, and Bonny Eagle had all the momentum. Early in the fourth, Day connected with Ben Autry, open in the end zone, for a 14-yard pass TD. Deering’s Chabot then rifled an incomplete pass just a couple yards backward and through the end zone, resulting in a safety for 28-7.
“I don’t think we really made adjustments,” Cooper said of the turnaround. “We just were talking about things that we thought would work. We thought our split-side trap play was a good play in the second half. Nick made a great run the first time we called it; we actually ran the same play again, got another touchdown out of it.
“He’s a good runningback,” said Cooper of Clark. “When he hits the holes like that, he’s pretty good. It was hard playing without him last week; it was good to have him back tonight.”
“I don’t know,” Clark said, when asked what his secret is. “I see guys, I make ’em miss; it’s just kind of what I do, make a couple cuts and try to make ’em miss, get open in the field.”
The Rams free-kicked, and the Scots – Clark, surprise, surprise – proceeded to score all over again, carrying the 35-7 touchdown in from second and goal on the Rams’ five. Bonny Eagle added seven final points in the waning minutes, when Napolitano echoed Clark with a five-yard run through the center to nail Deering’s coffin closed.
Cooper is happy with his squad’s recent accomplishments.
“We’ve had three good weeks,” he said. “We’ve scored over 40 points three weeks in a row. Other than not recovering the first kickoff, we would have had a chance at a shutout tonight, I think. That would’ve been three straight shutouts.”
Likewise, Cooper is optimistic about the direction his boys are headed. “Our defense is playing well, our offense is coming around; we’ve got a lot of weapons. So we’ve got a chance to be right in the mix of it.”
Bonny Eagle, now third in A South, hosts Windham, second in A North at 4-1, on Friday, Oct. 9. Deering, now 3-2 and fourth in A South, travel to Oxford Hills/Buckfield (eighth in A North at 1-4) that same night.
Bonny Eagle’s Cam Day carries a keeper through a crowd of bodies. Day would make it all the way to the end zone, scoring the Scots’ first TD of the night.
Bonny Eagle’s Parker Gammon lingers near the line of scrimmage for just a split second, picking out the perfect mark in the moments following a snap Friday night.
Bonny Eagle’s Lukkas Pierce collides with Deering’s Blaize Vail on the Rams’ home turf Friday night.
Cam Theberge – among the Scots’ most potent weapons – cuts away on a run as a Deering defender closes in.
Keith Hoffses escapes a Deering defender to scoot up the right side for solid yardage.
Alex Sprague cruises up the right side of the field for the Scots at Deering on Friday night.
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