GORHAM – The Cheverus football team made it look easy in the first half Friday. The Stags took early control against Gorham, scoring on their first five possessions on their way to a 35-0 win in a Western Class A game at Gorham High School.

Three- and eight-yard rushing touchdowns by Spencer Cooke in the opening seven minutes of the game got the Stags rolling. Quarterback Cam Olson followed with three TD tosses on the next three series to give Cheverus all the offense it needed to improve to 2-0. Gorham dropped to 1-1.

“I thought we played very well in the first half and did a lot of things well,” said Cheverus Coach John Wolfgram. “We threw the ball well, executed well, the quarterback made some nice decisions and we ran the ball well.

Olson was in tip-top form in the opening half. The first scoring drive lasted only three plays covering 26 yards before Cooke rolled into the end zone. The second drive ate up 54 yards in only five plays, culminating with Cooke’s second running score of the game. The senior finished the game with 165 yards rushing, 140 in the first half.

From there the senior quarterback went to the air, completing 7 of 8 passing attempts for 150 yards and three touchdowns to blow the game wide open. Olson hit Louie DiStasio with 33- and 47-yard touchdown completions and capped the half with a 41-yard TD pass to Donald Goodrich.

“We always try to establish our run first, that’s what we live for,” said Olson. “Coach Wolfgram has always established that. Off of that we progress to the pass and you could tell in the game that it works.”

Gorham’s best scoring chance in the opening half came during a drive that spanned from the first quarter into the second. The Rams brought the ball from their own 20 to the Cheverus side of the field during a 13-play drive that was slowed by two penalties before being snuffed out on a failed fourth-and-long conversion attempt.

Gorham came out with some jump in the second half. Jeremy Foster landed a hard hit on Jackson McMann on the opening kickoff and the Rams defense forced Cheverus to a quick punt. The offense attempted to carry the momentum but after only four plays Gorham turned the ball back to the Stags after a fumble in the backfield, spelling an end to the second-half optimism.

“The fumble took the wind out of our sail,” said Gorham Coach Dave Kilborn. “Coming out the second half we had a great defensive stand and we started playing football the way we know these guys can play. But we just needed to do more and we can’t have the mistakes.”


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