Gorham 28

South Portland 14

For three quarters against South Portland on Friday night, the Gorham football team controlled every aspect of the game and pulled out to a 28-0 lead. But in the fourth quarter, the Red Riots stormed back with 14 straight points before running out of time and falling short, losing to the Rams 28-14. Jonathan Day had two touchdown runs for the Rams.

“The first three quarters I think it was week one football,” said South Portland head coach Steve Stinson. “Like any team we have some spots with new starters out there. Gorham had great schematics. They have the double wing on offense which poses challenges and on defense they are a pressure front and they got after some of our young protectors up front and they set the tone physically.”

The game was scoreless at the end of the first quarter with neither team getting particularly close to a score. But Gorham began their first scoring drive late in the first. It was a 14-play, six-minute drive that ended with Day’s first touchdown of the game from one yard out. The Rams went for a two-point conversion but failed and Day was shaken up on the play.

Following the score, the Rams executed an onside kick and caught the Red Riots napping a bit and were able to retain possession of the ball. But they were unable to get any points out of it.

South Portland’s offense just couldn’t get started in the first half. They were forced to punt twice in the first quarter and twice more in the second.

“We couldn’t establish anything on the run or the pass early so we became very grab bag,” Stinson said, “and you’re not going to be very balanced doing that stuff.”

“I think the defensive game plan we had was great; it was flawless,” said Gorham head coach Dave Kilborn. “Coach Zinchuk did a great job calling defense. He almost knew what they were doing; he had a great feel for the game. I have the best defensive coordinator in the state on my staff.”

The Rams took over for their final first half possession with 1:13 to go in the second quarter. Ben Moody got them close to the end zone with a big pass play to Day. Finally on first down, Doug Woods bulled his way into the end zone from eight yards out. Woods then returned to the end zone for the two-point conversion and a 14-0 Gorham lead.

The first possession of the third quarter was another long one for Gorham. The 12-play drive took nearly six minutes off the clock. They converted three third downs on their way to the end zone. Midway through the drive with second and long from near midfield, Moody dropped back to pass and was nearly sacked before finding Abe Kilborn for a 25-yard gain. Several plays later, it was Carson Walker who got into the end zone from 14 yards away. Another two-point conversion made it 22-0 Gorham.

Late in the third, the Rams got their fourth and final touchdown when Day got loose, spun around one defender and plowed over the safety on a 44-yard touchdown run. Day was quick to credit the offensive line.

“They’re not expected to be that good this year,” Day said of the Gorham line. “But they are a hell of a lot better than everyone says. They go out every day and do their jobs and they’re a big reason why we won tonight.”

Just as nothing went right for the Red Riots through the first three quarters, nothing went wrong in the fourth. They began the fourth with a big fumble recovery. From there they went 64 yards in 13 plays for their first score of the night. Ryan Curit found the end zone from two yards out and it was 28-6.

The Riots took over again late in the fourth and once again found the end zone quickly. This time it was David Hardison finding JC Esquiebel open in the flat. Esquiebel then faked out one defender and got himself in the end zone. Hardison then connected with Matt Hebert for two-points and the 28-14 final margin.

Big play of the game

With Gorham up 14-0 early in the third, they were driving down the field looking to add to their lead. On second-and-13, Ben Moody dropped back to pass and was grabbed by a Red Riot defender. Somehow he shimmied away and kept his balance. Moody found Abe Kilborn for 25 yards to keep alive the drive that scored the winning touchdown.

“It reminded me too much of the Giants, how’s that?” said Kilborn, comparing Moody’s play to Eli Manning’s in the Super Bowl. “He made a great play. He’s a senior, he stepped it up. That play in itself stepped the game up and showed us he is ready to lead us. Up until that point we had a big challenge in preseason as to who would be the quarterback. He just helped solidify that by being able to scramble and make a play like that.”

They said it

“As long as we stay in our system with what we do and don’t try to do too much, I think we’ll be fine,” Kilborn said. “It’s a great bunch of kids. The chemistry is great. They all want to work and get better; they all want to get in the game. We have something we haven’t had in a long time.”

Unsung hero

Cody Stover was all over the field for the Rams. He came up with several big tackles.

“I think (Stover) did a great job,” said Kilborn. “Offensively he did a great job leading the offensive line. Defensively getting in there and getting some key tackles toward the end of the game and the first half and I love linemen. He’s just got that tenacity; it’s great to have a guy like that.”

Up Next

The Rams look to move to 2-0 on the young season when they hit the road for the first time. Friday night they will be on the turf of Fitzpatrick Stadium to take on Portland. Last week Portland squeaked by Westbrook with a 19-14 win to start 1-0 and equal their win total from all of last year.