STANDISH — Deering High may not be among the top Class A football contenders, but it got the attention of powerful Bonny Eagle by playing the Scots to a 7-7 halftime tie Friday night.

“They’re a really good football team and we struggled in the first half,” Bonny Eagle lineman Kirby Morrell said. “We had something to fight for.”

And the Scots fought, striking for two third-quarter touchdowns to beat Deering, 21-7.

Bonny Eagle remained undefeated at 5-0. The Rams dropped to 2-3.

Nick Sprague ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns, and Cam Day rushed for 88 yards and threw for 56, including a 42-yard scoring pass to Cam Theberge for Bonny Eagle.

Deering quarterback Nate Richards rushed for 73 yards and threw for 92. His 10-yard touchdown pass to Robbie Dacey was the lone Rams score. Joe Pelletier also took snaps at quarterback and passed for 43 yards.

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Deering drove into Bonny Eagle territory three times in the second half but failed on fourth-down conversions each time.

“We were right there. We just couldn’t seem to pull it off,” Deering Coach Jason Jackson said. “I’m proud of my guys. We had opportunities.”

The Rams stayed in the game with defense, containing the Scots’ dual running threat offense of Sprague and Day.

“They had a good plan to attack us,” Bonny Eagle Coach Kevin Cooper said. “They were giving us a lot of linebacker pressure that we had trouble dealing with. We haven’t seen that in a while.”

On its second drive, starting at its 49, Bonny Eagle had third-and-1 at the Rams 42. Sprague got the ball, burst through the right side of the line, then broke to daylight on his left for a 42-yard score.

“They have a certain system and if you don’t read their keys, they’re going to hurt us,” Jackson said. “It’s bound to happen a couple times a game.”

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The teams exchanged turnovers – Keith Hoffses’ interception for the Scots and Vail Blaize’s fumble recovery for Deering. The Rams then drove 77 yards, keyed by a third-down 42-yard Richards pass to Mason Kaserman.

On fourth-and-3 at the Scots 10, Richards passed to Dacey for the tying touchdown with 9:07 remaining in the half.

Bonny Eagle received the second-half kickoff and drove 62 yards in 12 plays, almost all runs by Sprague or Day. Sprague ran in from the 9 and Bonny Eagle led 14-7.

“We didn’t make a huge amount of adjustments,” Cooper said. “We wanted to go back to what we do. That got us a pretty good drive to start the second half.”

On their next possession, the Scots used a play-action pass, with Day finding Theberge open downfield.

Christian Napolitano’s third extra point made it 21-7 with 3:52 left in the third quarter.

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Deering drove to the Bonny Eagle 10, but on fourth-and-7, Morrell sacked Richards.

The Rams reached the Bonny Eagle 18 on their next drive. On fourth-and-3, Napolitano tackled Richards for no gain.

Deering next got to the Scots 41 before stalling on a fourth-down incomplete pass with three minutes left. Bonny Eagle ran out the clock.

The Scots will play at Windham next Friday, while Deering will be home against Oxford Hills/Buckfield.


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