Bonny Eagle’s football team avenged a loss from eight days earlier, putting up a strong fourth-quarter defensive effort for a 26-22 win over visiting Gorham in Saturday’s Class A regional quarterfinal.

With a three-point lead at intermission, it looked like the Rams would continue using their smash-mouth running game to outslug the Scots. But Bonny Eagle held Gorham scoreless over the final two quarters, as both teams concentrated on shutting down the opposing offense.

“There were a lot of big plays in the first half,” said Gorham coach Dave Kilborn, “but the defenses tightened up in the second half.”

However, Scots quarterback Mike O’Donnell was able to connect on his second touchdown pass of the afternoon, a 22-yarder to Ben Delcourt in the third quarter, to give his team the win. Delcourt also caught a 55-yard TD earlier and Bonny Eagle’s Stanley Watts ran 62 yards to the end zone.

The Scots’ offensive performance overcame an impressive day for Gorham running back Justin Villacci, who caught a 70-yard touchdown pass and ran for two others.

“We had our opportunities to get the lead back,” Kilborn said, “but they controlled a lot of the clock in the second half.”

This Saturday, in a 4 p.m. game at Portland, the fourth-seeded Scots (7-2) will try to avenge another loss, this time against the top-ranked Bulldogs (9-0).

For Coach Kevin Cooper, it means shifting gears on his defensive machine.

“The last two weeks, we’ve been gearing up to stop the run,” said Cooper. “And I think we played Gorham’s running game better than anyone this year. But now we have to start thinking about the pass.”

Portland’s quarterback Chris Treister, who threw a pair of touchdown passes in last week’s win over Biddeford, has a way of making more work for opposing defenses. The talented junior has been the centerpiece of a powerful Bulldog offense all season and his big plays were a key in a 35-27 win at Bonny Eagle Sept. 23.

Cooper thinks he’ll see the same approach from the Bulldogs in Saturday’s western Maine semi-final.

“I think they will try to beat us the same way,” Cooper said. “They will have to throw the ball to beat us.”

Cooper said his defense is blessed with a number of standouts, including linemen Brett Cartwright and Charlie Butler, and the coach noted that Watts, a linebacker, “played great last week.” In addition, the ability to move Neil Patnaude around to different positions has made the defense stronger.

Portland, which had little trouble knocking out Biddeford last week, 34-0, will give the Scots their biggest challenge of the year, and Cooper is counting on his more experienced players to give his team an emotional edge.

“The senior class on this team is starting to become more serious,” said Cooper. “(Beating Gorham) was a big win for us and gave us a real confidence boost, and the seniors have realized that this is their last chance to make something happen.”

– Chuck Anschutz and Jim Correale