On Senior Night at Deering High’s Memorial Stadium, a junior stole the show.

Nate Richards scored two touchdowns and had two interceptions in the first half of Deering’s 49-14 win over Edward Little in a Class A game Friday night.

After Edward Little (2-5) scored on the opening drive, the Rams responded with 28 straight points. Richards scored from 3 yards out and caught a 27-yard TD pass from senior quarterback Max Chabot. Chabot added a 42-yard touchdown run in the waning minutes of the first half.

“I don’t usually worry about us in the first half, because in the second half we usually come out flat,” said Deering Coach Jason Jackson. “It was a statement that we put up some points in the second half, too.”

Deering (5-2) dominated at the line of scrimmage, running for 237 yards in the first half on 22 carries. For the game, nine Rams combined for 414 yards on 47 carries, led by Dominick Bernard with 138 yards.

“Wow,” Jackson said. “For us, it’s whoever is rolling, and all of them stay ready. I have a saying that if they stay ready, they don’t have to get ready.”

Jackson said he couldn’t have expected his team to run for more than 400 yards, but he did see a few things to indicate that the Rams’ rushing attack would be successful.

Edward Little couldn’t stop the Rams, and couldn’t get much going on offense, either. Matt Verrill threw for 127 yards and two scores, but the Red Eddies finished with 212 yards and only nine first downs.

EL moved the ball through the air after falling behind 14-7, as Verrill completed four straight passes for 53 yards. On his next attempt, though, Verrill badly overthrew his receiver in the end zone, and the pass was intercepted by Richards.

After a 29-yard run by Bernard, Richards caught a checkdown pass from Chabot and turned it into a 27-yard touchdown, giving Deering a 14-point lead.

“(Richards) is a very dynamic player and is fascinating to watch,” Jackson said. “Every now and then he gets in there and if he gets his touches, he can steal the show.”

The Rams received the second-half kickoff and scored eight plays later on a 27-yard pass from Chabot to Patrick Viola. Edward Little answered with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Verrill to Grant Hartley, but Deering tacked on TD runs by Bernard and Caysey Anthony.

Chabot, a three-year-starter playing his last home game, completed 7 of 12 passes for 119 yards and three scores. He also ran for 52 yards.

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