BIDDEFORD — Opening the game with a successful onside kick wasn’t part of the plan for Biddeford Coach Brian Curit.
It just worked out that way.
“I know a lot of people probably thought that, and that would make us look smart,” Curit said. “But absolutely not.”
Curtis Petit, Biddeford’s third kicker of the season, mistakenly lined the ball off a Kennebunk blocker, Curit said, and the Tigers recovered. Although they didn’t score right away, a tone had been set.
Biddeford went on to a 22-8 homecoming victory over Kennebunk in a Class B South football game Friday night at Waterhouse Field as Petit ran for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Both teams are 5-2.
Defenses ruled the first half, with a 30-yard field goal from Nick Phillips of Biddeford providing the only scoring. Kennebunk held on fourth down at its 12 but came up empty on two forays into the red zone.
Consecutive holding penalties doomed the first drive and Tyler Janelle’s interception snuffed the second. Josh Dutremble blocked a punt to set up the Phillips field goal and make it 3-0 at halftime.
“The line really stepped it up,” Petit said. “They did a great job in the second half and made some key blocks.”
Biddeford needed only four plays, all runs, to score after Janelle returned the second-half kickoff 54 yards. Petit carried the final seven yards and Phillips kicked the conversion for a 10-0 lead.
It remained that way into the fourth quarter, when Kennebunk stopped Biddeford quarterback Joey Curit a yard short of the end zone on fourth down.
The Rams couldn’t move the ball, however, and Biddeford took advantage of the short field with a 36-yard scoring drive aided by a 15-yard Kennebunk penalty for a late hit. It was one of the nine penalties for 85 yards on Kennebunk and led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Josh Dutremble.
“I thought both teams played well,” said Kennebunk Coach Joe Rafferty. “I’d like to see us clean it up a little in terms of penalties, but they made some big plays when they had to.”
Kennebunk blocked the PAT attempt to hold the score at 16-0 and quickly cut that in half when Justin Wiggins connected with Evan Warren on a short pass that Warren turned into a 48-yard touchdown. Wiggins ran for the 2-point conversion to make it 16-8 with just over seven minutes left.
After forcing a punt, Kennebunk took over on its 32 with five minutes left but an illegal motion penalty and a sack put the Rams in a big hole. Wiggins scrambled for 15 yards to bring up a fourth-and-4, but Biddeford stuffed Patrick Saunders after a 1-yard gain to take over on downs.
The Tigers clinched the game when Curit rolled left, cut back across the grain and, after being sprung by Patrick Pearl’s downfield block, ran 40 yards for a touchdown with 1:42 remaining.
“We were just trying to stay in bounds and keep the clock running,” Curit said. “But then we saw an alley and I just hit it.”
In addition to the successful, if unintentional, onside kick, Biddeford blocked a punt, executed a fake punt for a first down and kicked a field goal.
“We really work hard on that stuff in practice,” Joey Curit said. “In a close game that can make the difference.”
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