SCARBOROUGH — Griffin Madden of Scarborough returned the second-half kickoff 46 yards and then quarterback Jack Hughes ran for 20 yards on first down.
The Red Storm were off and running, a sharp contrast to the first half when their defense kept them in the game but their offense sputtered.
There would be no sputtering on offense in the second half.
Hughes and running back Owen Garrard both scored two touchdowns as fourth-seeded Scarborough beat fifth-ranked Sanford 28-0 in a Class A South quarterfinal Friday night.
The Red Storm (5-4) will play at top-ranked Thornton Academy (7-1) in the semifinals next Saturday at 1 p.m.
The first half was scoreless. Scarborough stopped Sanford (4-5) on fourth down from inside the 1 in the first quarter.
“Our defense kept us in the game in the first half,” said Scarborough Coach Lance Johnson. “Once our offense got going in the second half, they weren’t going to stop us.”
Hughes, who didn’t carry the ball at all in the first half, showed his elusiveness on the opening drive of the second half.
After his 20-yard run, he had consecutive runs of 5 yards. The Red Storm banged out another first down before Hughes scored from the 8 on the next play, beating the defender to the goal line.
“We needed to sharpen up our offense in the second half,” said Hughes. “The first play I had a good gain so we just kept going with it.”
Johnson said Hughes was reading the defense on the plays.
“The plays were designed for him to run,” said Johnson. “In the first half he could have run, but I think he was reluctant to take it on his own because he wanted to get our other backs some carries.”
The Red Storm had success running the ball early but couldn’t sustain it.
With the run opening the passing lanes, the Red Storm were able to hit a couple of passes that led to their second touchdown as time expired in the third quarter.
Hughes passed to Connor Kelly for a 25-yard gain. Moments later, Hughes threaded the needle on a sideline pass to Anthony Simoneau for a 35-yard pickup. Three plays later, Hughes scored from the 3, then passed to Jacob Gardner for a 2-point conversion to make it 14-0.
In the fourth quarter, Garrard scored on a 62-yard run and later added a 21-yarder. On his 62-yard run, Garrard broke a couple of tackles at the line, found a crease and outran the secondary.
“It was a tale of two halves,” said Sanford Coach Mike Fallon. “It was a tight and physical football game for three quarters and then the bottom kind of dropped out for us.”
Sanford intercepted two passes in the first half. The first, by Peter Hegarty, gave the Spartans the ball at the 39. Keith Kerrigan ripped off a pair of 10-yard runs. Moments later, Hegarty was stopped on fourth-and-1 from the 1.
Sanford didn’t threaten in the second half until the every end.
“That was a great goal line stand,” said Johnson.
Scarborough’s defense took its cue from the offense and continued its inspired play in the second half.
Tom Chard can be reached at 791-6419 or at
tchard@pressherald.com
Twitter:TomChardPPH
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