CAPE ELIZABETH – Connor Maguire threw three touchdown passes to lead Cape Elizabeth to a 40-15 victory against Marshwood in a Western Class B football game Saturday night at Hannaford Field.

Maguire’s three touchdowns were the only passes he completed in six attempts in the opening half. He finished with 108 yards passing.

“It felt great,” Maguire said. “It’s a team effort and our receivers, they were doing really well getting open tonight. I was just happy I could put the ball in their hands and let them run.”

Cape Elizabeth improved to 5-1 with its fourth straight win. Marshwood dropped to 1-5.

Marshwood looked as if it would give the Capers a game early on. Cape Elizabeth struck first on a 3-yard touchdown run by Andrew Lavallee. The point after was missed.

On the ensuing kickoff, Reggie Muchemore sprinted the length of the field virtually untouched for a 94-yard score. The point after was good and the Hawks led 7-6.

Marshwood followed with a recovered onside kick to push Cape Elizabeth further back onto its heels. But the defense held the Hawks to 11 yards on five plays in the following series and took over on downs.

“Our defense certainly gave our offense a boost,” said Capers Coach Aaron Filieo. “Our offense wanted to get on the field after that first drive because they felt they could do some things. After they scored the touchdown on the kickoff and then got the onside kick, the offense just couldn’t get on the field. Once they were able to get back out there they were excited and wanted to take advantage of it.”

Maguire made quick work to restore the Capers’ lead. He needed only three plays, including a 57-yard touchdown pass to Derek Roberts, to get his team into the end zone. Roberts ran in a fake on the point-after attempt to increase the lead to 14-7.

The quick score appeared to devastate the Hawks, whose offense fell apart. They had six more possessions in the half but were only able to run 14 plays and generated just 30 yards.

Included in their struggles were three costly fumbles that resulted in 13 Cape Elizabeth points.

On the other side of the ball, the Capers were clicking. They scored on four of their next five possessions to gain full control of the game by halftime. Cape Elizabeth led 33-7 at the break.

“They had us pretty good (early in the game),” said Maguire. “They got that kickoff return and that was a big momentum shift. But we just kept doing what we’re best at, running the ball. Then we threw a couple of passes. We don’t throw much but when we do, we try to keep it as effective as possible. Obviously tonight it worked out really well.”

During the surge, Maguire connected with Bill Brooks on an 81-yard touchdown pass and with Roberts on a 12-yard strike. Donald Clark added a 27-yard touchdown run to complete the first-half scoring for Cape Elizabeth.

Brooks made it 40-7 with a 52-yard kickoff return to start the second half.

Marshwood drove for a late touchdown. Quarterback Troy Pappas capped a 15-play drive with a 16-yard run, and Cameron Roll ran in a conversion.

 

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