STANDISH – Tyson Goodale ran for five touchdowns to lead Bonny Eagle to a convincing 41-7 victory over Deering in a Western Class A football game Saturday at Bonny Eagle High School.

After starting the season 0-3, the Scots used their fourth straight victory to move to the positive side of .500 with a 4-3 record.

Deering slipped to 5-2.

“That’s a big win for us, real big,” said Goodale. “We prepared real hard all week because we knew if we won this, we were getting into the playoffs. (Hard work) pays off, obviously.”

Goodale scored on touchdown runs of 14 and 51 yards in the opening half and added scoring runs of 8-, 1- and 24-yard in the second half to match his career high for TDs in a game. He also scored five touchdowns in a game as a freshman. Goodale was also 6 of 10 passing for 128 yards to go along with 160 yards rushing.

The difference in the game was Bonny Eagle’s dominating second-half performance. The Scots carried a 14-7 lead into halftime, then scored on their first four possessions of the second half to blow open the game.

“We thought we had things that could work and we thought we shot ourselves in the foot a little bit (in the first half),” said Bonny Eagle Coach Kevin Cooper. “We made some mistakes that hurt us so we just talked at halftime about not hurting ourselves any more, and if we did that, we’d have a chance to get in the end zone.

“We really think that we’ve got some playmakers, and in the third quarter, it was those guys who made plays. When we do that, I think we’re going to be tough to beat.”

The second-half surge began when Goodale orchestrated a nine-play drive that covered 77 yards. An 8-yard run by the senior quarterback and an extra point by Isaiah Reynolds, one of five in the game for the sophomore kicker, gave the home side a 21-7 advantage.

While the Scots’ offense was beginning to amp up, Bonny Eagle’s defense was finding its groove as well. The Scots held the Rams to 78 yards in the second half.

“We kind of struggled on the pass, but we made some halftime adjustments and just kept working hard through it,” said Scots senior captain Anthony Ciampi. “We stopped their run, and I think the home field played to our advantage because they’re not used to playing on grass.”

Matt Burnell scored the other Scots touchdown. His score came on Bonny Eagle’s second possession of the third quarter, when he spearheaded a sweep to the right and went 56 yards for the touchdown. The point after was missed and the Scots led 27-7.

Deering struck for its lone touchdown in the second quarter. With the Rams trailing 14-0, quarterback Matt Flaherty guided his side down the field on an 11-play drive that culminated with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Chhorda Chorn.

Flaherty was the Rams’ most effective offensive player. The senior was 11 of 25 passing for 119 yards. He also was Deering’s top rusher, with 43 yards.