SANFORD — Both teams had lost to the heavyweights of the Class A South, so the matchup between Sanford and South Portland looked somewhat even.

It wasn’t.

Sanford scored on the first play from scrimmage, took a 27-0 first-quarter lead and cruised to a 46-7 win over the Red Riots on Friday night at Alumni Stadium.

Caleb Saucier rushed nine times for 190 yards and three touchdowns. James Meggison added 10 carries for 102 yards and three more scores.

Sanford (3-2), upped its winning streak to three games (after losses to Scarborough and Bonny Eagle). South Portland, which also has losses to Scarborough and Bonny Eagle (and Thornton Academy) dropped to 1-4.

“We’re hoping to keep the train rolling,” Sanford Coach Mike Fallon said.

Saucier, a 6-foot, 172-pound junior, got the rout going right away. On the first play after the kickoff, Saucier took the hand-off, burst up the middle, found plenty of daylight and sprinted 70 yards for the score.

“We’ve obviously been playing well and winning games, but our objective tonight was to do a better job running the football,” Fallon said. “We hit the power to start the game, and he takes it to the house.

“Caleb is a good player. We could see him coming at the end of last year as a sophomore. We thought, ‘This kid might be something special.’ Tonight, he was pretty special.”

South Portland’s night was reflected on the next series. The kickoff took a bad bounce over the returner, and the Red Riots had first down at their 4. After going three-and-out, the Spartans set up at the Red Riots 39.

Sanford drove in, with Saucier scoring from the 5, for a 14-0 lead.

Another three-and-out, and Sanford began its next drive on the South Portland 46. A penalty nullified a 46-yard TD pass from Xavier Levine to Saucier. The Spartans still scored, Ethan Shain reached the 3 with a 30-yard run. He got the next handoff and scored.

South Portland’s third punt was blocked by Nick Liston, and Sanford recovered at the Red Riots 5. Meggison scored from there. The Spartans missed the extra point and led 27-0.

On Sanford’s next march, a holding call brought back Saucier’s 60-yard run into the end zone. The Spartans made their first big mistake, and Anthony Poole timed an interception and raced 70 yards to put South Portland on the board, trailing 27-7.

Sanford responded with two more Meggison touchdown runs – of 41 and 4 yards – for a 40-7 halftime lead. Saucier already had 138 yards, and Meggison 101. The Spartans outgained South Portland 362-55 in the half.

South Portland began the second half with a fumble (recovered by Liston at the Spartans 47). On third down, Saucier ran to his right, broke tackles, and rumbled in for a 49-yard score, and a 46-7 lead, with 8:47 left in the third quarter.

With the 39-point lead, the game went to running time, and the subs came in.

Next Friday, both teams are away: Sanford at Massabesic, South Portland at Deering.

Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or:

kthomas@pressherald.com

Twitter: @KevinThomasPPH