CAPE ELIZABETH – Andrew Lavallee is intent on making sure that the bumps and bruises of a long football season won’t slow him down.
Despite hobbling noticeably as the game wore on, the hulking back scored all three touchdowns as the Cape Elizabeth Capers topped the Greely Rangers 21-9 in a Western Class B quarterfinal Friday night at Hannaford Field.
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“This is just normal,” Lavallee said as he limped to the locker room. “Nothing big. Nothing’s going to stop me.”
The win allowed the third seeded Capers (7-2) to advance to a semifinal against second-seeded Mountain Valley. The Falcons blanked Spruce Mountain 48-0 in another quarterfinal.
The Capers took advantage of two Greely (5-4) turnovers in the opening half to get an early upper hand in the game.
On its first offensive series, Cape Elizabeth marched the ball from its own 32 all the way down to the Greely 10-yard line before a pair of Connor Maguire pass attempts into the end zone fell incomplete and allowed the Rangers to take over on downs.
Greely subsequently fumbled on the first play from scrimmage following the possession change and handed the ball back to the Capers on the 10. Three plays later, Lavallee ran the ball in from five yards out for a 7-0 lead.
The Rangers fumbled again on their next series, setting Cape Elizabeth up on the Rangers’ 36-yard line.
A seven-play series, which carried the game into the second quarter, followed and resulted in Lavallee’s second touchdown run of the game, this time from seven yards.
The point after by Cam Wilson was good and Cape led 14-0.
“We were hoping to get some turnovers with the offense that they run,” said Cape Elizabeth Coach Aaron Filieo.
“They like to try and spread the ball around and we were just hoping to make some plays. When we were able to get turnovers it kind of takes the momentum away from them on offense.”
Greely managed to salvage something from the opening half.
Mike Leeman got the Rangers into good position on the ensuing kickoff with a 25-yard return for a drive that started near midfield. They pushed down to the Capers’ 11-yard line before settling for a 29-yard field goal by Pat Finnegan and a 14-3 halftime deficit.
The Rangers asserted more pressure on the Capers when they struck at the end of the third quarter to close to within 14-9.
Quarterback Drew Hodge guided Greely on a nine-play drive that featured a 23-yard run by Leeman, who finished the sequence with a two-yard touchdown. The point after was missed.
Cape Elizabeth answered the Greely drive on their very next series as Maguire put together a drive that ate up nearly half of the fourth quarter. Lavallee capped the 12-play effort with a six-yard score giving Cape a 21-9 edge.
“That was huge,” said Filieo. “Derek Roberts had a first down run (20 yards) on third down and so did Donald Clark that was just as big.
“The three of those guys (Roberts, Clark and Lavallee) together have really stepped up their game as seniors the way they should.”
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