NEWPORT – The Gardiner High football team has demonstrated a powerful offense at times. And at times, the Tigers also have played terrific defense and shined on special teams.
But seven weeks into the regular season, Coach Jim Palmer was still looking for the dream scenario: A complete game.
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Palmer and the Tigers got one Saturday.
Gardiner racked up 637 yards of offense and scored on six of its first seven possessions to cruise to a 62-7 victory against Nokomis in an Eastern Class B football game.
The Warriors (0-7) were held to four first downs and 106 yards.
“I felt we haven’t had a complete game yet this year, and (Saturday) we finally did,” Palmer said. “We just came out with some emotion from the very first play. We wanted the complete game and I think we got one.”
The Tigers (6-1), coming off a tough loss to Belfast the week before, wasted little time, scoring 27 first-quarter points. Most of the starters were on the bench by late in the first half.
Alonzo Connor rushed for a game-high 107 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 carries. He was one of the three Gardiner running backs — Dalton Eldridge and Tylor Williams were the others — to rush for more than 100 yards.
“It was a pretty big win,” Connor said. “It builds our confidence and we need that going into next week.”
Gardiner will be home Friday night against Leavitt, the defending Class B state champion.
“We tried to put this one away as early as we could,” said Mike Phelps of Gardiner, who returned after missing four games with a back injury. “We just focused on everyone doing their jobs on every single play.”
Phelps returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown to help the Tigers go up 14-0 just four minutes into the game. Connor opened the scoring with a 2-yard run just three minutes into the game.
Gardiner then used the big play to break open the game.
Quarterback Spencer Allen rushed for a 27-yard touchdown on a bootleg with 3:55 left in the first quarter, and Connor added 33-yard scoring run before the period was over.
“It was frustrating,” Nokomis Coach Haggie Pratt said. “We are capable of playing much better than this.”
The rout continued in the second quarter, when the Tigers scored three touchdowns, each on plays of at least 57 yards.
Eldridge staked Gardiner to a 34-0 lead when he rushed up the middle for an 85-yard touchdown early in the second.
OLD ORCHARD BEACH 33, SACOPEE VALLEY 0: Jason Dutton threw three touchdown passes and ran for another to lead the Seagulls (1-6) over the Hawks (0-7) at Old Orchard Beach.
Dutton, who completed 6 of 13 passes for 214 yards, threw for two touchdowns in the first quarter — a 12-yarder to Jeremy Legere and an 84-yard completion to Ryan Gallant.
In the second quarter, he scored on a 1-yard run, then added an 80-yard TD pass to Garrett Hayes as the Seagulls went into halftime with a 26-0 lead.
Taylor Plummer had seven carries for 79 yards, including a 54-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.
Gallant kicked three extra points and Cody Perrone had 17 tackles for Old Orchard.
WELLS 21, POLAND 12: J.T. Sherburne returned a kickoff 70 yards to spark a comeback for the Warriors (6-1) against the Knights (1-6) at Poland.
Tony Whalen started the scoring for Poland with an 85-yard run in the first quarter. Tyler Sturtevant made it 12-0 with a 2-yard run early in the second.
From that point, it was all Wells, beginning with the return from Sherburne, followed by an 18-yard pass from Paul McDonough to Josh Ingalls for a touchdown.
Jake Molly had a 6-yard scoring run in the third quarter for the Warriors.
THORNTON ACADEMY 41, MASSABESIC 19: Josh Woodward threw two touchdown passes and had 180 all-purpose yards to help the Golden Trojans (6-1) beat the Mustangs (0-7) at Saco.
Corbett Smith added 131 yards and a touchdown for Thornton, which used 21 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 27-13 lead.
Woodward had 13 carries for 81 yards and was 4 of 5 passing for 99. James Ek caught both touchdowns for a total of 85 yards.
Casey Nava had two touchdown runs for Massabesic.
GREELY 21, CAPE ELIZABETH 14: Nick Maynard caught a touchdown pass in the second overtime, then ended the game by grabbing an interception as the Rangers (5-2) stunned the Capers (5-2) at Cumberland.
Andrew Hodge threw the winning pass from 4 yards.
Svenn Jacobson of Greely scored on a 2-yard run and Ethan Wyman kicked the extra point to break a scoreless tie in the fourth quarter. Derek Roberts of Cape Elizabeth then scored on a 2-yard run and Patrick Tyler tied it with an extra-point kick.
In the first OT, Jacobson punched in from 5 yards and Jack McDonald of Cape Elizabeth scored on a 1-yard plunge. Both kickers hit the extra points.
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