KENNEBUNK — Kennebunk High had a couple of hiccups to start, but once the Rams got going, they kept going, romping past Skowhegan 62-19 Friday night in a football season opener at Memorial Stadium.
Kennebunk fumbled on its first drive and, on its next possession, threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal at the 1.
Then the Rams pulled away, scoring four straight touchdowns for a 34-0 lead late in the first half.
“They came out in a different defense and we had to adapt to what they gave us,” senior quarterback Tripp Bush said.
Bush passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more. He ended with 149 passing yards, and another 52 on the ground.
Running back Derek Smith scored two touchdowns.
He rushed for 18 yards and a score, and caught three passes for 95 yards, including a 58-yard score.
Dante DeLorenzo rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown.
The combination of DeLorenzo pounding the ball up the middle, and Bush taking off after fakes to DeLorenzo, was hard to stop.
“Dante’s a tough inside guy and Tripp does a good job disguising the ball,” Kennebunk Coach Joe Rafferty said. “Both of those guys have started for us for three years. They got some good chemistry going.”
When Kennebunk was stopped at the goal line early in the game, the Rams’ defense held Skowhegan for little gain.
The Indians’ punt was shanked out of bounds at the Skowhegan 10.
The Rams needed only one play.
Smith ran around the right end for the 10-yard score, and Kennebunk led 6-0 with 5:07 left in the first quarter.
Kennebunk punted on its next series, but scored on its following four possessions.
While the Rams were romping, they were also stopping the Indians and their vaunted quarterback, Marcus Christopher. Skowhegan did not get a first down until its final drive of the half. Christopher began finding open receivers. He connected with Aidan Louder for 49 yards, which help set up Christopher’s 25-yard scoring pass to Colby Miller. The conversion run failed, and Kennebunk led 34-6 at halftime.
“I was very pleased overall,” Rafferty said. “One of those games. A good first half and then it got too lopsided.”
Skowhegan received the opening kickoff of the second half and went nowhere. Christopher tried to run on a fake punt and was stopped. The Rams scored on their first play. Ryan Connors, who kicked seven extra points, showed his speed, breaking free for a 32-yard touchdown run and a 41-6 lead.
The 35-point lead meant a running clock, but Skowhegan scored two more times — on Zeb Tibbetts runs of 5 and 6 yards — to stop the clock.
In the fourth quarter, Kennebunk sent in its reserves. Backup quarterback Thomas Lazos found Alden Shields for a 78-yard touchdown pass and Jack Andrews finished the scoring with a 22-yard run.
Next week, Skowhegan plays host to Brunswick at 7 p.m. Friday and the Rams are at Mt. Ararat at 11 a.m. Saturday.

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