FALMOUTH — Sam Cartmill intercepted three passes, returning one for a touchdown, to lead Marshwood to a 33-8 victory over Falmouth in a Class B South football game Friday night.

Marshwood, the two-time defending Class B state champion, improved to 4-3 and dropped Falmouth, which averaged 30 points entering the game, to 5-2.

The Hawks totaled 349 yards. Falmouth finished with 292.

“I just made good reads, kept my eyes on him and executed,” said Cartmill. “We just followed our game plan and stepped up when we needed to.”

Max Horton had two touchdowns for the Hawks, and quarterback Cole McDaniel and Kyle Glidden also scored.

Quarterback Jack Bryant scored for the Yachtsmen in the fourth quarter.

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“To finally beat a team that has a good record and is a good football team is huge for us,” Marshwood Coach Alex Rotsko said. “I thought our defense did a great job against a very good offensive team.”

It wasn’t all pretty for the Hawks. Brandon Martin of Falmouth intercepted the ball on Marshwood’s first drive near midfield, but the Yachtsmen couldn’t capitalize.

“We lost our poise a little bit in the first half, but in the second half I thought we did a great job,” Rotsko said. “We played hard the entire game. It seems like we play a little harder each week.”

McDaniel set the Hawks up for their first touchdown with a 15-yard run into Falmouth’s red zone. From the 4, Martin twice stopped Marshwood with tackles before Horton broke through on third down from the 1. Jake Lindsay’s kick gave Marshwood a 7-0 lead with 13.6 seconds left in the first quarter.

Garrett Aube of Falmouth opened the second quarter with a 19-yard run. The Yachtsmen then marched 47 yards over their next five plays before incomplete passes and penalties halted their momentum. Their nearly four-minute drive to Marshwood’s 7 didn’t result in points, and they turned the ball over on downs.

With 3:20 left in the half, Cartmill notched his first interception. McDaniel capped off the Hawks’ drive from midfield with a 14-yard touchdown run to put the Hawks up 13-0 entering halftime.

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Cartmill set the tone for the second half when he intercepted another Bryant pass on the Yachtsmen’s opening drive. From Marshwood’s 23, Glidden broke through for a 74-yard run to Falmouth’s 3. Horton turned that into points for a 20-0 lead.

“He’s a good player, no question,” Rotsko said of Bryant. “Sam has been steady for us all year at the strong safety position, and he came up big for us today.”

Glidden opened Marshwood’s next drive with another long run for 25 yards, then capped it with a 3-yard touchdown run with 2:22 left in the third quarter.

“Offensively we ran the ball hard. We had a couple big plays,” Rotsko said. “We haven’t seen that all year. We haven’t been able to sustain drives, and we were able to do that tonight.”

The Yachtsmen finally got on the board early in the fourth quarter when Bryant rushed 2 yards into the end zone. Bryant and Martin connected for a successful 2-point conversion that cut the Hawks’ lead to 27-8.

Cartmill delivered one final blow with his third interception, which he brought back 44 yards for a touchdown.

“Beating a good team like this is a boost of confidence,” said Cartmill. “We needed big plays and I came up with it. Then our offense stepped up and scored points.”


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