Cam Theberge returned a punt 45 yards to set up his go-ahead 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and Bonny Eagle held on to beat Deering 20-19 in a Class B South football semifinal Friday night at Deering’s Memorial Field.
A 37-yard field-goal try by Deering’s Pat Viola with about 2 minutes remaining fell short. Bonny Eagle then had to punt from deep in its own territory and Christian Napolitano barely got it away, with the ball stopping on the Deering 40.
After two Max Chabot passes fell incomplete, a pass interference penalty gave Deering (6-3) some room, but an interception by Ben Autry clinched the victory for the Scots.
No. 3 Bonny Eagle (7-3) will play for the regional title next weekend against either Scarborough or Thornton Academy.
The second meeting between Bonny Eagle and Deering was in sharp contrast to their regular-season meeting, which the Scots won 42-7. This was a battle to the end.
“Deering is a very good football team,” said Bonny Eagle sophomore running back Nick Thorne. “They tried a few new things against us. We were able to come out on top.”
Bonny Eagle’s running combination of Thorne, Nick Clark and quarterback Zack Brannon proved just enough to hold off Deering. Brannon also mixed in a few passes.
“We’re at our best when we have a diversified offense,” said Bonny Eagle Coach Kevin Cooper. “I thought we ran the ball very well, but give credit to Deering, they played us a lot tougher the second time around.”
Bonny Eagle took the opening kickoff and scored in 11 plays. Clark went over from the 1, and Napolitano’s kick made it 7-0.
Deering answered quickly. The big play was a 41-yard pass completion from Chabot to Sambath Sao. Chabot scored from the 1 with 1:06 left in the first quarter, but the extra point was no good.
Two interceptions of Brannon passes enabled Deering to forge a 19-14 halftime lead.
First, Dom Bernard intercepted and returned it to the Bonny Eagle 14. Three plays later, Chabot scored on a nifty 10-yard run to make it 12-7.
The Scots regained the lead on a 43-yard run by Thorne. But with 1:53 left in the half, Sao intercepted a Brannon pass and took it 33 yards for a touchdown.
Bonny Eagle then drove to the Deering 7 with time running out in the half, but the Rams held.
At halftime, the lights went out at Memorial Field and it took approximately 20 minutes for them to come back on.
Cooper said the delay didn’t affect his team.
Trailing by a point, Deering got the ball at its 37 with 6:32 remaining and drove to the Bonny Eagle 20. A Chabot pass intended for Viola was broken up in the end zone by two Bonny Eagle defenders. On fourth down, Deering Coach Jason Jackson opted for a field-goal attempt.
“I felt if we made it, we could hold Bonny Eagle the rest of the way. It just fell a little short,” said Jackson.
Bernard ran hard for Deering, as did Viola, Nate Richards and Scotty Bresette.
“I’m proud of my team,” said Jackson. “We’ve had a great season. We just fell a little short in this one.”
Tom Chard can be reached at 791-6419 or:
tchard@pressherald.com
Twitter: TomChardPPH
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