OLD ORCHARD BEACH — After dropping their first two games of the season – one to the defending state champions and one by just seven points – the Old Orchard Beach Seagulls knew they needed to rack up several wins in a row in order to reach the postseason.

OOB got back on the right track with a Week 3 win at Telstar and, on Saturday, the Seagulls kept it going with an impressive 30-0 win over visiting Traip Academy at Joe Regina Field.

“It’s huge for us,” said OOB senior Erik Hogan. “We really needed this one. If we didn’t win this one, there wasn’t a good shot that we would be going to the playoffs and now there’s a good shot.”

Hogan was a big part of the Seagulls’ dominant performance on Saturday as the standout blocked a punt, picked off a Traip pass and racked up 66 yards on the ground in the win.

Hogan helped get the Seagulls going when he blocked a first-quarter punt, which didn’t lead to any points on the next OOB drive, but did change the field position in the Seagulls’ favor.

The Seagulls would get on the board midway through the second quarter as they cashed in on a long, 14-play drive with a six-yard touchdown run from Dylan Creswell. OOB would make it 8-0 with a fake extra-point – a pass from Brian Davis to Joe Anderson.

That would be the only score of the half as the Seagulls were unable to take advantage of a few chances and the visiting Rangers were held to just 95 yards in the opening two quarters.

Traip had a chance to tie the game early in the second half when they drove to the OOB 8-yard line following a Seagulls’ fumble. The OOB defense would come up big with Hogan picking off a pass in the end zone to end the threat.

OOB would take advantage of Hogan’s pick. The Seagulls used big runs from both Hogan and Creswell, who also found Anderson twice on the drive for gains of 13 and 15 yards. Creswell would finish the drive with a one-yard scoring run with 2:04 left in the third. The OOB quarterback would convert the two-point conversion to make it 16-0.

Just 21 seconds later, the Seagulls’ defense would come up big again as Anderson picked off a Traip pass and returned it 35 yards for the score. Creswell would hit Zach Hirst for another twopoint conversion to make it 24-0 with 1:43 left in the third.

Anderson was happy to collect the picksix, but also deflected praise to his teammates.

“I saw it and saw wide-open field and just went … it was a good block by Thomas Fregeau,” said Anderson, who thought the Seagulls put together a complete game. “We played really well and we didn’t let go when we got up.”

Like Anderson, Hogan was quick to give his teammates and coaches credit.

“It’s not really me, it’s my teammates,” said Hogan on his big day. “The defense my coach puts in allows me to do what I did out there, the offensive line blocked great all day, it’s really them, it’s not me.”

The Seagulls would put the final nail in the coffin midway through the fourth – with their backups on the field.

Backup quarterback Dylan Boudreau took over midway through a drive and would rack up 39 yards, including a threeyard touchdown run with 5:50 left. The extra point was no good and the Seagulls’ lead would stand at 30-0.

OOB head coach Dean Plante was thrilled with his team’s performance, which included four interceptions (one was called back), Hogan’s blocked punt, and allowing just 164 yards to Traip.

“The little things that we sometimes struggled with early in the preseason and against Oak Hill, we didn’t struggle with today. Our special teams were sound and we didn’t give up any big plays,” said Plante.

Plante was also aware of how big this win was in terms of the Seagulls’ playoff chances.

“It’s a fantastic place to be in terms of (playoff) positioning,” said Plante of his team’s 2-2 record. “You control a little bit and a home field playoff game isn’t out of the realm now.”

The OOB coach also knows that his team will have to play well in order to get wins in their final three games against Dirigo, Maranacook and Winthrop/ Monmouth.

“Obviously, we have three very difficult opponents left, one on the road, so we need to continue to progress,” said Plante.

In Saturday’s win over Traip, one of the big things in the Seagulls’ favor was depth as the Rangers had just 18 players available for the game.

“We play anywhere from seven to nine linemen, we have a rotation, our kids are in shape and depth is always big,” said Plante. “Obviously, if you have numbers, it’s good, but if they’re talented numbers it’s even better.”

The Seagulls got a strong game from Creswell, who finished with 55 yards and two scores on the ground and went 5-of- 10 for 55 yards through the air.

Plante was happy with what he saw from his junior quarterback, but also knows Creswell has a high ceiling in terms of potential.

“Our quarterback has been a quarterback for four weeks. He’s learning on the fly, and we are learning on the fly what he can and can’t do well,” said Plante. “He’s a running back playing quarterback right now. He runs hard, he finishes runs and he sees the field well. The play-action stuff and the passing is what’s coming. If we can get that before playoffs, he’s going to be real tough to defend.”

OOB will make the trip to Dixfield on Friday night to face a 2-2 Dirigo team in another Class D showdown.

— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at [email protected] or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @ JournalTsports.