Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

Red Storm dominate with grind-it-out style

Scarborough wears down Sanford behind running back Zach Bean and gets a 14-0 rain-soaked win

By Rachel Lenzi rlenzi@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

SCARBOROUGH - It seemed Zach Bean's long run to open the game would be the play that set the tone.

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Justin Carlson, left, of Sanford tips a pass away from Scarborough’s Mike Cyr, but pass interference on the play set up the Red Storm’s first TD in a 14-0 win Thursday.

Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

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Zach Bean of Scarborough cuts back to the inside Thursday night as he finds a hole against the Sanford defense. Bean rushed for 243 yards on 44 carries and scored both touchdowns in Scarborough’s 14-0 victory.

Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

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Instead, it was a series of short bursts by Bean that created a rhythm for the Scarborough football team Thursday night in a 14-0 victory over Sanford at the Mitchell Sports Complex.

Bean scored two touchdowns and finished with 243 yards on 44 carries, accounting for more than three-quarters of the Red Storm's 318 total yards.

Bean had a 37-yard run on Scarborough's first play from scrimmage, but with the field, players' jerseys and the ball getting damp as a storm moved into the area just before the game, Bean's carries became shorter and shorter, but more and more frequent.

And the rain, which got harder as the game went on, didn't deter him.

"I like the weather like this because I feel like every time I get the ball, no one can take me down," said Bean, a senior running back.

He even had a hand in the Red Storm's no-quarterback, wildcat formation, completing a pass to tight end Mike Cyr for a 33-yard gain with 27 seconds left in the first half.

"It was basically the line the whole game," Bean said. "They did a great job opening the holes and I couldn't have done anything without them. Especially the left side of the line. They opened up really good holes."

Bean's first touchdown, a 1-yard run with 2:02 left in the first quarter, was the only score as the Red Storm led 6-0 at halftime. Scarborough (2-1) scored on its second possession, an 11-play drive that began at the Redskins' 26-yard line.

The Red Storm had a chance to increase the lead halfway through the second quarter, but quarterback Jack Adams was unable to connect with receivers in the end zone on third and fourth downs from the Redskins' 10.

Scarborough's defense held Sanford (2-1) to 75 yards, including 21 in the first half, and the Redskins failed to capitalize on a pair of second-half fumble recoveries. The second one put Sanford at midfield, but on fourth-and-5 from the Scarborough 20, quarterback John Schroder's pass bounced off the hands of his intended receiver, turning the ball over to Scarborough on downs.

"They kind of ground us down by the end and we didn't take advantage of our opportunities either along the way," Sanford Coach Mike Fallon said. "We just couldn't finish on our end."

With 3:14 left, Bean scored on a 3-yard run to cap a 14-play, 6-minute drive, and the Red Storm added the 2-point conversion.

"It was a statement drive for Scarborough. ... I'm sure their coaches and kids have to be pleased by that because they were able to march it and control the clock," Fallon said. "That's what all coaches want to do.

"That's the first time in three weeks our kids have had to play for 48 minutes.

"We'd preached to our kids all week that they had to be prepared for 48 minutes and we kind of ran out of gas somewhere around 42. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough."

Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be reached at 791-6415 or at:

rlenzi@pressherald.com