YARMOUTH — Michael McGonagle is a bull and a ballerina. Yarmouth’s 6-foot, 200-pound running back can run over a defender, or nimbly stay in bounds along the sideline to gain a few extra yards.
Friday night against Mt. Desert Island, McGonagle did both.
McGonagle carried the ball 47 times, rushing for 433 yards while scoring five touchdowns, and also recovered a fumble as the Clippers defeated MDI, 50-46, in an eight-man Large School football game.
“That’s a lot,” said McGonagle when told how many yards he gained. “I’m definitely tired, but I’ve never been more excited about a win. We definitely earned it.”
Yarmouth improved to 4-0, and it was the 100th win of coach Jim Hartman’s career.
“When I first took the job (at Portland High, his former team), they told me I wouldn’t win two games, and here we are,” Hartman said.
McGonagle had touchdown runs of 6, 70, 5, 13 and 5 yards, including touchdowns on three straight possessions in the second quarter to help the Clippers take a 30-16 halftime lead. Often, McGonagle lowered his shoulder and initiated contact with a tackler, driving the MDI player for a few extra yards.
“I can’t believe how tough he is. You can’t coach that,” Hartman said.
On his 13-yard touchdown run with 18.5 seconds left in the first half, McGonagle took a toss and ran wide, almost stepping out of bounds at the 5 before maintaining his balance and running to the end zone.
“I’ll be seeing him in my dreams tonight, my nightmares. We knew with their scheme, you put the big fullback (Spencer LaBrecque) in front of (McGonagle), that’s a tough 1-2 combination, for sure. We didn’t have a stop defensively all night,” said MDI Coach Mark Shields.
The only time the Clippers had the ball and did not score came when they took a knee to end the game. LaBrecque scored three touchdowns, and his 7-yard TD run with 4:28 to play gave the Clippers a 50-30 lead.
The Trojans (1-2) made it interesting in the final minute and a half. First, Sam Sinclair caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Spencer Laurendeau with 1:28 to play, and Aiden Grant’s 2-point conversion rush cut Yarmouth’s lead to 50-38. After Grant recovered the onside kick, Laurendeau hit Jacob Shields for a 15-yard touchdown pass with 37 seconds left, and Grant’s rush made it 50-46.
This time, Yarmouth’s Eddie Kim recovered the onside kick, and the Clippers took a knee to end the game.
Grant had a huge game for the Trojans, running for 253 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. Grant’s 87-yard touchdown run on MDI’s first offensive play gave the Trojans an 8-7 lead, and he scored on a 2-yard run early in the second quarter for a 16-12 lead.
Grant also returned the second-half kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown.
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