STANDISH – The Bonny Eagle defense showcased its best work in Friday night’s shutout of South Portland.

The second-seeded Scots had two defensive scores, caused four turnovers and shut down South Portland’s red-zone offense in a 32-0 victory over the seventh-seeded Red Riots in a Western Class A quarterfinal.

Bonny Eagle (8-1) will host No. 3 Deering (7-2) in a semifinal next Saturday. The Riots finished 5-4.

“Everyone wants to talk about the spread offense, but we’ve played pretty good defense all year long,” said Bonny Eagle Coach Kevin Cooper.

“The amount of points our starting defense has given up is not that much, so we have confidence with their back to the goal line. Our kids rose to the occasion tonight.”

The Scots started and finished the game on defensive high notes.

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Bonny Eagle ended each of South Portland’s final three possessions with interceptions. The second was by Kevin Rollins, and he returned it 60 yards for a touchdown with just under five minutes remaining that put the Scots up 25-0.

“It felt pretty good,” said Rollins. “Even though it was 19-0, we’ve got to keep playing. We tell the guys we have to play for 48 minutes.

“Anytime you can shut out a quality opponent like South Portland, it’s a great feeling, especially in the playoffs.”

The third interception set up another late score, a 36-yard TD run by Ethan Thorne.

Bonny Eagle’s first defensive stop came from Jeff Amell, who stripped the ball from a South Portland runner and returned it for a 79-yard touchdown.

“Anytime that you can have a huge play to start the game, it’s a huge momentum swing.” said Rollins. “When you see Jeff barreling down the field, that is going to get your team fired up.”

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The Scots’ offense responded by scoring on its next two possessions.

The first came on Rollins’ pass to Cam Cooper, who beat two defenders downfield and hauled in the ball for a 30-yard score.

The second capped a seven-play, 66-yard drive that put Bonny Eagle up 19-0. A pair of short carries and three passes by Rollins set up a 35-yard touchdown run by Nick Adkins.

South Portland was unable to generate a long scoring drive. The Riots moved the ball well at midfield but struggled to find a rhythm once they got inside the Scots’ 20, where their first three possessions, and four overall, ended.

“We were able to move the ball at times tonight but we just never finished,” said South Portland Coach Steve Stinson.

“Bonny Eagle’s outstanding defense stepped up when it needed to. We couldn’t finish.”

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The Riots nearly scored on their first possession of the game. Quarterback Michael Salvatore’s 25-yard run and a 35-yard pass to Billy Darling quickly brought the Riots to the Scots’ 11-yard line.

But on four-and-3, Bonny Eagle came up with a stop and took over at the 6.

The closest South Portland came was a 70-yard drive to the Bonny Eagle 4, featuring passes of 10 and 19 yards by Salvatore.

 


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