SACO – Deering High went to the spread offense two years ago because of one player — quarterback Jamie Ross.

“He’s our guy,” said Coach Greg Stilphen.

And no wonder.

Ross passed for three touchdowns, ran for two more and kicked five extra points Saturday in an impressive 35-6 victory against unbeaten Thornton Academy at Hill Stadium.

Two weeks after losing 34-12 to Bonny Eagle, the Rams (4-1) dominated the Trojans (4-1).

Ross and John Hardy teamed for two touchdown passes in the first 5:14 that quieted Thornton’s large Homecoming crowd. Although the Trojans cut it to 14-6 late in the first quarter, Deering kept the ball for nearly all of the second, scoring with 2:14 left in the half to make it 21-6.

“A lot of things went right for us,” said Stilphen. “The players have worked really hard to make things go right. They’ve absorbed a lot of coaching. Since the Bonny Eagle game, we knew we had to get better as a football team. We want to be part of the league conversation. The reality is that people need to look at this team. No one is looking at this team. These kids deserve to be observed. We can beat anyone.”

Deering totaled 300 yards and intercepted two passes, shutting down a team that averaged 50 points per game. Plus the kickoff coverage didn’t allow Thornton any good field position.

Ross threw scoring passes to Hardy of 32, 38 and 27 yards, all on the same pattern.

“It’s a deep slant,” said Ross. “It was almost too good to be true, seeing them that wide open. We thought they would make adjustments. Those two quick scores really set the tone for the rest of the game.”

Ross completed 7 of 13 passes for 128 yards, scoring on runs of 1 and 42 yards, and finishing with 130 yards on 21 carries.

“Jamie can throw the ball, and Hardy and Renaldo Lowry are good receivers. We want the pace to be fast and get more plays in,” said Stilphen.

Thornton Coach Kevin Kezal said Deering’s speed and athleticism didn’t surprise him, but dealing with it was another matter.

“Deering is very athletic,” he said. “You can talk to your team about it and show it on film, but until you actually go against it, it’s tough. I think we took bad angles on covering the slant passes, but Ross put the ball right on the money. That’s hard to defend. We had the opportunity to make plays but we missed here and there. The bottom line is Deering outplayed us. Now we know what we have to work on. Our kids are resilient and will come back.”

Deering’s speed was evident early. On the Rams’ second play, Lowry fumbled in the backfield, scooped it up and reversed field for 30 yards. On the next play, Ross fired to Hardy, who made a nice catch and run for the score.

Deering held Thornton on three plays again and three plays later, scored on the same play, this one covering 38 yards. Ross’ point after made it 14-0.

The Trojans went to the air late in the first quarter to score. Josh Woodward passed to Chris Dolewa for 22 yards. After a penalty, Woodward passed to Dimitri Skinsacos for 23 yards to the 1. Andrew Libby then scored.

In the second quarter, Deering drove 80 yards in 16 plays with Ross scoring from the 1.

“We made a couple of big third-down plays,” said Ross. “This was definitely a statement game. There were a lot of non-believers out there about the ability of our team. Coming in, we knew we had to prove ourselves. We knew Thornton had beaten Bonny Eagle in a preseason game.

“This game showed our toughness. No player has been 100 percent physically since the first game. This is our biggest win in my three years as the quarterback. Now we have to continue to play like this.”

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be reached at 791-6419 or at:

tchard@pressherald.com

 

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