Week 4 football: York's Gullison scores four TDs in win over Lisbon; STA falls to Kennett
The fourth week of the high school football season kicked off Friday with five games involving six Seacoast teams.
The highlight game featured Dover hosting Spaulding in the 127th meeting between the two schools. Also in Division I, Portsmouth/Oyster River visited Memorial. In Division IV, Somersworth hosted Franklin. In Maine, Class B Marshwood hosted Class A Sanford, and Traip Academy visited Dirigo in an 8-Man Small contest.
The week continued on Saturday with three games, including Winnacunnet at Exeter in Division I, St. Thomas Aquinas visiting Kennett in Division II, and Class C Maine hosting Class D Lisbon.
Here are the results from Saturday's games.
York 41, Lisbon 20
YORK, Maine - Lisbon got on the board first, but York rattled off 21 unanswered points and overcame five turnovers to earn the 41-20 win. Class C York (2-2) saw its defense and special teams consistently pick up the pieces after offensive snafus to get back into the win column.
After Lisbon scored on its first drive, York charged right back down the field and Brody Gullison caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Peter Martin to give the Wildcats a 7-6 lead.
After a Lisbon three-and-out it was Gullison again who carried the load for York, carrying the ball three times for 48 yards, including a hulking 22-yard touchdown run in which he broke five tackles on his way to the end zone.
Lisbon cut the lead to 28-20 on an 65-yard Emmett Mooney touchdown reception just before the end of the third quarter, but York responded immediately.
Brady Higgins, on the final play of the third quarter, took in a pass on a slant route on the first play of York’s next drive, then broke three tackles on his way to a 65-yard touchdown to open the lead back to 34-20. The York defense held firm in the fourth quarter, gathering two interceptions of its own and holding Lisbon off the scoreboard.
Coach’s comment: “After giving Lisbon five extra possessions, we were still able to battle back,” said York coach Matt Nelson. “That’s something we have to clean up. I know we'll be better, but the defense stepped up nearly every time. We preach that we don’t get down on each other, and we didn’t get down on each other, we picked each other up.”
Key Moments: With York leading 14-6, Gullison took a punt return back 55 yards for a touchdown, but the play was called back for a block in the back. York didn’t balk under the pressure, however, as Martin hit Kyle Edminster for an 18-yard touchdown to give the Wildcats back a two-score lead. Early in the third quarter Maleek Beaumier intercepted Martin, and one play later Mooney broke off an 89-yard run to cut the York lead to 21-12.
On York’s next possession it was Lisbon’s Caleb Hayes that intercepted a pass to give the Greyhounds the ball back, but York’s defense stood tall, pushing Lisbon back 14 yards, keyed by an Edminster sack, and Lisbon was forced to punt. On York’s fourth touchdown drive of the day, Higgins hauled in a one-handed catch across the middle then spun free for a 24-yard gain, which ended up being the key play on the drive that culminated with a 3-yard Gullison touchdown run.
Key players: Gullison ran the ball 10 times for 74 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and reeled in three catches for 18 yards and a score. Higgins hauled in six catches for 123 yards and a touchdown for the Wildcats. Martin completed 20 of 33 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns.
Up next: York visits Cape Elizabeth Friday at 7 p.m.
-Terrill Covey
Kennett 25, St. Thomas Aquinas 7
NORTH CONWAY - Senior Sam Grondin scored on a 7-yard touchdown run for St. Thomas Aquinas in this Division II loss.
The Saints are now 2-2 on the season, while Kennett improved to 4-0.
Grondin ran for a team-high 91 yards on 14 carries. The Saints, as a team, ran for 220 yards. Dillon Lassard ran for 46 yards on six carries for the Saints, while Trent Salyards rushed for 43 yards on seven carries, and Michael Skowron had 40 yards on seven carries.
St. Thomas Aquinas is scheduled to host Pembroke on Friday at 6 p.m.
-Jay Pinsonnault
Friday's games
Portsmouth 48, Manchester Memorial 6
MANCHESTER – Senior quarterback Aidan Thomas threw for three touchdowns, all in the second quarter, and Portsmouth/Oyster scored on its final four drives of the half and cruised to this Division I win on Friday night.
Portsmouth improved to 4-0 on the season, while Memorial, which beat Winnacunnet last week, is now 1-3.
Coach’s comments: “As far as the game goes, we had so many different guys score and we moved the ball around a lot which we’ve done all year,” Portsmouth head coach Brian Pafford said. “I am really happy with that because we’re playing team football.”
Top players: Thomas completed 10 of 14 passes for 175 pounds, throwing three touchdown passes. First to Brooks Connors, a 12-yard scoring strike with 8:23 left in the half; then an 11-yard touchdown pass to Angus Moss with 4:38 left in the half, and finally a 36-yard pass to Jackson Jones, giving the ClipperCats a 27-0 lead with 1:34 left in the half.
“(Thomas) is making really good decisions,” Pafford said. “He’s done a great job. He pulls the ball when he’s supposed to pull it. With our inside zone game, he can run it, he can throw it, he can give it, and he does a really good job with the decisions that he’s got.”
Senior Emmanuel Poe, at 5-foot-7, 155 pounds, had four catches for 46 yards, while Jones had two for 53.
"(Poe) is so low to the ground, I don't think he goes down on the first hit ever," Pafford said. "His balance is so good; just another person we didn't have a year ago and just compliments everyone."
Connors rushed 10 times for 90 yards. His longest run came on his last, a 22-yard touchdown scamper down the Memorial sideline which gave Portsmouth a 34-0 lead with 10:50 left in the third quarter.
Senior Cole McLaughlin ran just three times for 21 yards. His second carry of the night was a 6-yard touchdown, giving Portsmouth a 6-0 lead with 11:50 left in the half.
Porter Lalime’s 4-yard touchdown run gave Portsmouth a 41-0 lead with 2:50 left in the third. He then threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Stone Karnacewicz with 11:41 left in the game, accounting for Portsmouth’s last score.
Key moments: On a third-and-11 play from the Portsmouth 41, Memorial quarterback Connor McFarland connected with Collin Beaulieu for a 40-yard catch. Portsmouth’s Dillan Kane tackled Beaulieu just inside the 1-yard line and Memorial called its final timeout of the half with just 2.6 seconds left on the clock.
McFarland tried to sneak it in with a quarterback keeper, but was tackled at the line of scrimmage.
“That was big,” Pafford said. “We stacked the box, and stopped them. I thought we did a really good job on their inside run game tonight.”
Late in the third quarter, Memorial faced a third-and-4 from its own 39. Backup quarterback Lucas Brown took the snap and ran left. Two Portsmouth defenders approached Brown, who then pitched the ball right into the hands of Jackson Jones.
“He’s the luckiest guy ever,” Pafford said of his senior outside linebacker. “He’s had a couple of picks this year that were funky just like that. He’s just in the right spot and the ball fell into his hands.”
Memorial broke through on the scoreboard on Jathyen Torres’ 29-yard touchdown run with 8:44 left.
Up next: Portsmouth travels to South Paris, Maine next Saturday to face Oxford Hills, which plays in Maine’s top’s division.
-Jay Pinsonnault
Sanford 42, Marshwood 6
SOUTH BERWICK, Maine – Class A Sanford scored on its first three possessions Friday night en route to a 42-6 win over Class B Marshwood.
The Hawks committed four turnovers for the game including two interceptions in the first half that the Spartans turned into touchdowns.
Sanford led 21-6 at the end of the first quarter and 28-6 at halftime. The loss snapped a two-game win streak for the Hawks (2-2) who had piled up 76 points in their previous two games.
The Spartans, who had a huge size advantage, remained unbeaten and improved to 3-0.
Marshwood’s lone touchdown came on a 39-yard pass from Tyler Hussey to Brady Isabelle that made it 21-6 early in the second quarter.
Coach’s comment: “If somebody punches you in the mouth you better punch them back or it’s going to be a long night and that’s basically what happened,” said Marshwood coach Alex Rotsko. “It’s embarrassing.”
Key moments: Marshwood fell behind early and never really recovered. An interception by Sanford’s Makai Bougie on the game’s fifth play from scrimmage set up a 26-yard touchdown run by 235-pound running back Jordan Bissonnette that put the Spartans ahead to stay.
The bruising Bissonnette made it 14-0 on a 2-yard run on Sanford’s next possession and Bougie returned his second pick for a TD three plays later with 1:19 left in the first quarter.
The Hawks got on the board less than a minute later when Isabelle got behind the Sanford secondary and hauled in a 39-yard touchdown pass from Hussey to make it 21-6.
Bissonnette’s third TD made it 28-6 at halftime.
-Al Pike
Somersworth 50, Franklin 6
SOMERSWORTH - Tayshawn Sheppard returned the opening kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown and the Hilltoppers never looked back, en route to a 50-6 win on Homecoming weekend.
Franklin (1-2) appeared poised to take an early lead when it recovered a muffed punt return for a touchdown while trailing 6-0. Muffed punts cannot be advanced, however, so the ball was placed back at the spot of the recovery, and the Somersworth defense stood tall, pushing the Golden Tornados back 12 yards and forcing another punt.
Somersworth (2-0) responded with touchdowns on six of its next seven drives, with the only exception being a 1-play drive when it kneeled to end the first half. Sheppard added a 79-yard touchdown reception, and touchdown runs of nine and 11 yards.
The Hilltoppers defense allowed just 50 yards in total offense to Franklin, which would have been minus-12 yards without the Golden Tornadoes 62-yard touchdown drive.
Coach’s Comment: “I’m proud of the effort and happy with the result, but we need to iron some things out,” said coach Jeremy Lambert, after his team muffed a pair of punts, dropped a few potential interceptions, and muffed a pair of snaps on extra points. “That’s not going to fly next week. We’ve got to play better football. That’s the difference between good teams and great teams. We’ve got good, talented kids. We’ve got motivation. But we don’t have discipline yet. We’re going to take a moment to refocus this week, and try to play better football.”
Key moments: Sheppard’s 77-yard return of the opening kickoff set the tone early, and his 79-yard touchdown reception with 1:46 left in the first half put a nail in the Franklin coffin with 1:46 left to play in the first half. Up 6-0 in the first quarter, and on the heels of narrowly avoiding disaster on the muffed punt, the Hilltoppers marched down the field 75 yards, capped by an Eric Goodrich to Thomas Rees 22-yard touchdown connection. Franklin cut the lead to 35-7 on its first drive of the second half, but Somersworth responded with an eight-play, 63-yard drive capped by Kayden Bickford's 6-yard touchdown run.
Key players: Sheppard finished with 102 yards on 10 carries on the ground, and 79 yards receiving, in addition to the 77-yard kickoff return touchdown. Bickford carried the ball seven times for 119 yards and a touchdown, and he added an interception on defense. Carter Morgan tallied 64 yards on nine carries, while quarterback Eric Goodrich completed two of five passes, both for touchdowns, for 101 yards.
-Terrill Covey
Dirigo 42, Traip Academy 0
DIXFORD, Maine - The Rangers were shutout for the second consecutive week and for the third time in four weeks this season in 8-Man Small action.
"We had four drives to the red zone, and couldn't punch it in," Traip Academy head coach Eric Lane said.
Traip's Chris Balano had a team-high 52 receiving yards, and Seamus Berry had 42 rushing yards. Angelo Salvaggio had five tackles and one interception for the Rangers.
Traip is scheduled to host Mountain View next Saturday.
-Jay Pinsonnault
Winnacunnet (0-3) at Exeter (3-0)
Kickoff: Saturday, 1 p.m.
The breakdown: Winnacunnet head coach Ryan Francoeur said besides playing for a Division I state championship, which the Warriors did two seasons ago, a game against the rival Blue Hawks is "the next best thing."
Coach's comments: "Everyone is excited about it," Francoeur said. "It's spirit week and everyone's ready to go."
"It's always the biggest game of the year, a season within a season, and this year's no different," Exeter head coach Bill Ball said. "It brings out the best in both schools, and both communities. It's a great week."
Winnacunnet will look to win its first game of the season, and what better team to beat than its undefeated rival.
"Exeter is having a great year so far," Francoeur said. "They have 11 guys who really function as one unit on both sides of the ball. They're really solid, disciplined and do a nice job with their schemes. We'll have to do the same thing this week on our end. Hopefully we can do that, and turn it into a competitive football game."
Ball said the Blue Hawks will need "great defensive discipline" against the Warriors, who have scored just 11 points this season.
"Their quarterback (Riley McDaniel) is a run-pass threat every time he touches the ball," Ball said. "Their halfbacks are deceptive, especially (Mason McDonald) who gets to his spot quickly. Up front, they've got some experience ... that's a team that's improving every week as evidenced by the Memorial game."
Exeter has allowed 27 points through three games, with 14 of those points coming in the first quarter in a 45-14 season-opening win over Timberlane.
If the Warriors can limit the Blue Hawks' rushing attack, and keep the Exeter offense off the field with long drives, Winnacunnet will give itself a chance to pull off the upset. But the problem is when you think you may have stopped one Blue Hawk in the backfield, there's another two or three ready to pick up extra yards, along with quarterback Jack Bove.
"I think we need to finish our drives in the red zone," Francouer said. "I think we made a good step last week, yardage-wise. It was the most yards we've had offensively this season. I thought we moved the ball consistently at times, and just got bogged down near that 15- to 10-yard line range, so I think finishing drives in the red zone will be key."
Our prediction: Expect the Warriors to hang in with the Blue Hawks in the first half, before Exeter's running game controls the tempo in the second half. Exeter 27, Winnacunnet 14.
Follow on Twitter: @brandonbrownsc1 and @JayPinceSMG
-Brandon Brown
-Jay Pinsonnault
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Seacoast football roundup Portsmouth, Dover, Spaulding highlight games
