CAPE ELIZABETH — Garrett Mello rushed for 204 yards and scored three touchdowns, and Colin Campbell added 79 yards and two scores Friday night as Cape Elizabeth overcame two hook-and-ladder scoring passes and a furious comeback to defeat York 40-27 in a Class C South quarterfinal.

The fourth-seeded Capers (5-4) will play at top-ranked Leavitt (8-1) in the semifinals.

After trailing 26-0 late in the second quarter, the Wildcats cut the deficit to 32-27 on Teagan Hynes’s 10-yard scoring pass to Shane Pidgeon with 4:07 left.

On the ensuing drive, Cape attempted a second-down pass instead of running down the clock and Connor Daley intercepted, setting up York at its 40. But the Capers held on downs and took over with 1:46 remaining.

Mello had a 35-yard run to the York 4 before Andrew Hartel found Ethan Convey with 1:21 for a TD that iced it.

Hynes finished 20 for 28 for 303 yards, 232 n the second half. He had three passing touchdowns and one rushing.

“We had a game plan for our defense because we knew they had a good air attack,” said Mello. “You have to give York credit. They got us in a shootout and fought hard.

“That’s what happens in playoff football. You have to expect the unexpected. We bent but we didn’t break.”

Cape Elizabeth took a 6-0 lead on its first drive when Mello scored from the 10 after his 40-yard run on the first play.

Cape then went on a methodical 17-play, 88-yard drive that took 7:50. Campbell capped the drive with a 3-yard score, running between Louis Daukas and Will Brenneman. A Hartel to Conley pass on the 2-point conversion made it 14-0 with 9:52 left in the half.

The Capers extended their lead to 26-0 with 3:33 left in the half.

“Our (defense) was spotty at times but I thought it stepped up at critical moments,” said Cape Coach Aaron Filieo. “We talked about coming out fast and getting ahead, and we did that. It was very important.”

York (3-6) scored with no time left in the half when Cape was assessed a personal foul penalty on the final play. The Wildcats got a free play and Hynes found Riley Linn 13 yards away. Linn then pitched the ball to Colin Edminister who beat a couple defenders to the sideline, going in for the final 28 yards and a successful hook-and-ladder.

The same combo connected for its second hook-and-ladder when Hynes found Linn for 10 yards at the York 35. As he was being wrapped up he flicked the ball to Edminister (212 receiving yards), who covered the final 65 yards for a 75-yard play.

“In the playoffs you have bring out everything, empty out the playbook,” York Coach Matt Nelson said. “We were thinking on the other sideline that they would never think we’d try it again.”

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