SOUTH BERWICK — Marshwood had two touchdowns called back because of holding penalties in the first half. They were only minor delays.
Nothing could stop the high-flying Hawks, not holding penalties and not the York Wildcats. Marshwood ran roughshod over its Campbell Conference rivals, rolling to a 41-12 win in a battle of unbeaten teams Friday night before a crowd of 3,500.
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Marshwood (8-0) gained the top seed in the upcoming Western Class B playoffs. York (7-1) will be the No. 2 seed.
Marshwood scored on its first four possessions to take a commanding 27-0 lead at the half. Brett Gerry, a Fitzpatrick Trophy candidate, scored two touchdowns and rushed for 286 yards on 17 carries.
It was a matchup of two of the top runners in the state – Gerry and York junior Cullen McCarty. Both entered the game with over 1,300 yards. But while the Hawks gave Gerry plenty of running room and he also made tough yardage, the Marshwood defense shut down McCarty.
Marshwood Coach Alex Rotsko called it “an eye-opening win.”
“Everyone talks about our schedule. It nice to play a good team,” he said.
Marshwood won the coin toss and elected to receive. Gerry went for 10 yards on his first carry and 30 yards on his second carry. Slowed by two holding penalties, the Hawks still needed only eight plays to take a 6-0 lead.
Quarterback Luc Blanchette connected with Zach Doyon on the final two plays of the opening drive, ending with an 8-yard touchdown.
“We just came out and played hard,” said Gerry. “We were a little lucky to score on the opening drive because of the holding penalties. We kept on going and scored.”
Doyon scored on an 18-yard run on Marshwood’s next possession to make it 12-0. The key play was a 50-yard run by Gerry.
On Marshwood’s next possession, a 73-yard touchdown run by Blanchette was called back, but Jackson Howarth had back-to-back runs of 17 and 16 yards. Gerry then carried for 34 yards and 11 yards, and after an incomplete pass he scored on a 25-yard run. Jacob Bossi’s PAT made it 19-0.
The Hawks soon made it 27-0. Blanchette passed to Doyon down the sideline, and the junior receiver eluded several tacklers before being stopped just short of the goal line. Blanchette scored on the next play and then passed to Jack Spear for the 2-point conversion.
Gerry carried the ball 11 times for 190 yards in the first half. That didn’t include a 66-yard run negated by a holding penalty.
“My line was giving me some great holes,” said Gerry. “It’s nice to win this one. It gives us the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the playoffs. We’ll probably meet York again. We have to keep getting better.”
Unable to run the ball, York went to the air with some success in the second half. The Wildcats scored on a 10-yard pass from Cole Merritt to Keelan Hynes with 4:01 left in the third to make it 27-6.
Marshwood responded on its next drive as Gerry ripped off runs of 15 and 37 yards. He scored from the 15. Bossi’s kick made it 34-6.
Marshwood’s final score came on a 10-yard pass from quarterback Kyle Parmley to Jake Lebel in the fourth quarter. York scored with 2:36 left, as Merritt fired a pass over the middle that Jack Neary caught in full stride for a 53-yard score.
“I thought we ran the ball well in the first half,” said Rotsko. “Other that the penalties, I was pleased with our effort. I thought we played hard. We were able to take York out of its running game and force them to throw.”
Rotsko cited linebackers Zach Mitchell and Howarth and defensive end Nick Dalecki for strong defensive games. He said he didn’t develop any special defense to stop McCarty.
“It was our base defense,” said Rotsko.
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