In a game Gorham coach Dave Kilborn said resembled a track meet, Deering’s fleet-footed running back Jack Heary proved the difference.

Heary ran for 301 yards and scored five touchdowns to lead Deering past Gorham 49-32 on Friday night at Gorham High School.

Heary, a top contender for the Fitzpatrick Trophy, was held in check by Gorham’s defense in the first half, being limited to 38 yards on 12 carries, though he did return a kickoff 63 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Gorham, which was eliminated by Deering in the playoffs last season, led 14-12 at halftime.

In the second half, Heary scored on touchdown runs of 21, 80, 65 and 12 yards.

“He’s a good player,” Kilborn said. “We knew we had to contain him and we didn’t do a very good job of that in the second half. That’s what happens when you have great players, they make great plays. That’s football.”

Gorham’s first half defensive scheme made things tough on Heary, as his blockers had a tough time dealing with blitz pressure.

“They were blitzing a lot, which was confusing our linemen a little bit, but they figured it out and stepped up,” Heary said.

Gorham punted on its first two possession, but Deering did no better, going three-and-out and turning the ball over on downs on its first two drives. With 2:39 remaining in the first quarter, Gorham’s Doug Woods bounced a run to the outside and scampered 43 yards down the right sideline for the game’s first score. Connor Walker’s two-point conversion rush made it 8-0.

“Their offense, it’s very tricky,” said Heary, who also lines up at safety, of Gorham’s double-wing set. “It’s hard to pick up the ball. You don’t know if it’s a pass, you don’t know if it’s coming up the middle or going to the outside.”

On the ensuing kickoff, Heary gathered a bouncing ball at his own 33 and took it up the middle, shed a couple would-be tacklers, and ran in for the touchdown to make it 8-6 as Deering missed the PAT.

“I was just going out, trying to stay focused and do something for the team,” Heary said. “I didn’t really do much of anything on that. (The blockers) set a perfect wall and I just ran to daylight.”

Gorham responded with an 11-play, 86-yard drive highlighted by a 41-yard run by Walker. Quarterback Ben Moody connected with Woods on a 10-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-6 with 9:41 to go in the second. Gorham failed on its conversion attempt.

Deering was forced to punt on its next possession and Gorham – thanks to a 44-yard carry by Matt Walrath – drove deep into Deering territory. But on third-and-inches from the Deering 14, Gorham committed three straight penalties to push it back to third-and-20 from the 34. After a short run and an incompletion, Gorham turned the ball over on downs.

Deering took over and drove 72 yards on 10 plays and scored on Jamie Ross’ 17-yard quarterback keeper to make it 14-12 with 1:03 to go in the first half (the two-point conversion try failed).

Both teams punted to start the second half, but a poor Gorham punt gave Deering the ball at the Gorham 34 less than four minutes into the third quarter. Heary ran the ball on first down for 13 yards. His number was called again on the next play and he carried through a hole up the middle and broke outside to the left on his way to a 21-yard touchdown. Ross hit Matt Alves on a two-point conversion pass to give Deering a 20-14 lead with 7:57 left in the third.

Ryan Luxton put Gorham right back in it, as he returned the kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown. The conversion attempt failed and it was 20-20 with 7:43 left in the third.

But Heary countered with an 80-yard TD run on Deering’s next play from scrimmage. He also ran in the conversion to make it 28-20 with 7:29 left in the third.

“It’s difficult when you’re got to contain a Heary,” Kilborn said. “They got big returns, then we got big returns. It was almost like a track meet.”

Deering went up 35-20 with 2:16 left in the third on a 10-yard TD pass from Ross to Ernie Salamone, with Ross adding the PAT. Gorham followed with a 12-play, 65-yard drive, capped off by Woods’ two-yard TD plunge. After a failed conversion, it was 35-26 with 7:30 left to play.

Heary soon broke a 65-yard TD run and Ross’ kick made it 42-26 with 6:27 to go. Gorham came right back as Jon Day took an inside handoff 64 yards to get Gorham to the Deering 1. After a Gorham penalty, Woods scored his fourth TD of the game, diving for the pylon to complete a six-yard run. It was 42-32 after the failed conversion with 5:39 left.

Heary’s final score came on a 12-yard run with 1:27 left. Ross’ kick made it 49-32.

Day finished with 13 carries for 153 yards, 113 of which came in the second half. Woods carried 17 times for 89 yards. Moody was 1-for-8 throwing the ball. Gorham totaled 359 yards rushing and 10 yards passing.

Deering ran for 386 yards. Ross was 4-for-7 for 38 yards, completing all four of his second-half attempts after throwing two incompletions and an interception (by Woods in the end zone as the second quarter ended) in the first half.

Play of the game

The Gorham offense’s three straight penalties following a third-and-inches at the Deering 14 midway through the second quarter. Gorham had just gone up 14-6 and forced Deering to punt. A long run by Walrath had the team set up well to take a two-touchdown lead, but the penalties forced Gorham back 20 yards. Two plays later, Gorham turned the ball over on downs and Deering drove in for a touchdown to make it 14-12 just before halftime.

Unsung hero

Gorham’s Ryan Luxton. His kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter tied the game at 20-20 right after Deering took its first lead. Luxton picked the ball up at the 18, followed blockers up the middle, and outraced the Deering coverage for the score.

They said it

“I told our kids we had two choices,” Kilborn said. “We could have just rolled over and let them do what they wanted to do or we could have kept attacking them. I was proud of my offensive line. They kept attacking and kept the pressure on to keep it a game.”

Up next

Gorham is scheduled to play at Cheverus at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Stags are also 2-1. After being manhandled by Bonny Eagle 46-6 in their opener, they’ve bounced back with wins over South Portland (20-12) and Westbrook (37-12).

“Cheverus is a great team,” Kilborn said. “They’ve improved greatly since last year. It’s one of those battles that you have to win…It’s the fourth week of the season and the winner of this may get into the playoffs.”

Gorham defensive coordinator Bob Zinchuk spent a number of years working with Cheverus head coach John Wolfgram when the two coached at South Portland – a connection Kilborn hopes will work in Gorham’s favor.

“Cheverus is well coached,” Kilborn said. “I have the best D-coordinator. He knows Cheverus’ coach very well, spent many years with him. That’s what I’m trying to bank on, having a good scout on them, understanding what they are trying to do and then taking that away from them.”