When Justin Villacci broke free and ran 63 yards for Gorham’s first touchdown Friday, it seemed to do more than just put six points on the scoreboard.

Down 13-0 in the first nine minutes of their season opener at home against Scarborough, the Rams needed some kind of jolt to get them into the game. The Red Storm had struck first via the air and then on the ground, while Gorham struggled, including committing a pair of costly penalties.

“Scarborough came out of the gate attacking us,” said Rams coach Dave Kilborn, “They did an awesome job of using their speed and their weapons, and they put us on our heels for a while.”

Then Villacci stepped up, sprinting past the defense for the initial score, and less than two minutes later breaking away for another long run, leading to another touchdown. Gorham finished with nearly 500 yards rushing, and came back to beat Scarborough, 51-20.

“It comes right down to the quarterback and the blocking,” said Villacci, who scored twice and ran for 255 yards on 15 carries. “That line has got to make a four-second block, and I’ve got to see the hole and just go.”

The Red Storm had rushing success of their own in the first half, with Chris Albert (four carries for 126 yards) finding the end zone after runs of 58 and 62 yards. The passing game was also clicking, as quarterback Spencer Murray completed two passes in the opening drive, including a five-yard touchdown toss to Matt Wahrer.

That drive, which took the visitors 65 yards, consisted of 10 plays and chewed more than five minutes off the clock, but Scarborough was unable to put together another such sequence. When the Rams further adjusted at the half to prevent big run, the Red Storm offense went silent. They were unable to score in the final two quarters.

“We just got to keep moving the ball like we did in the first half,” said Eric Klein, the Scarborough coach. “That’s the first time we’ve really shown the offensive capability to strike and score some points.”

Villacci is just one of Gorham’s offensive options, which makes it difficult for opponents to key on just one person.

Senior Andy Oldenburg ran for 142 yards and scored three touchdowns, while freshman Carson Walker rushed for 91 yards and found paydirt once.

But it was Villacci, a sophomore, that defenders had the hardest time corralling. In addition to the first score, he had runs of 44 and 68 yards, the latter a particularly impressive dash at a key moment.

The Red Storm had just reasserted themselves with a long touchdown by Albert on an option pitch from Murray, and the Rams were up, 22-20, with less than three minutes in the half and the ball on their own 24.

The first play from scrimmage was a handoff to Villacci cutting to his left. As he hit the line, the back made a quick move to his right to steer clear of defending linemen. Then he bolted to the left sideline.

“I saw the three guys and (tight end Matt) Trask was coming down, and they were going to cut me off,” Villacci said, “so I broke it back to the middle, and Trasky made a good block.”

That second move drew a roar from the home crowd and allowed Villacci to get down to the Scarborough 11 yard line.

Moments later, quarterback Mark Clements hit Trask with a 10-yard pass to increase the margin and Gorham was on their way.

“Once we figured out that we could score, we just kept pounding it and pounding it, and our offense stepped up,” said Clements. “Our offensive line is big and they’re going to pound people.”

The Ram defense also did some pounding, with linebacker Charlie Justice (three tackles, seven assists and two sacks) and lineman Adam Kidder (four tackles, two assists and one sack) leading the way.

“It was nice that we answered the bell in the first game,” said Kilborn, “but we can’t start like that (again). We got lucky.”

It’s likely that Gorham’s defense will need to be on their toes from the start Friday, as the squad travels to Fitzpatrick Stadium to take on Portland.

The Bulldogs scored 42 points at Thornton Academy last week, with four of the six touchdowns coming via the passing arm of quarterback Chris Treister.

It will be the first big test of the Rams’ football program in Class A.