The Bonny Eagle High football team was out to make sure it was not deja vu all over again when Deering visited Standish on Sept. 17.

Last fall, Deering overcame a late two-touchdown deficit to shock the Scots 29-28 at Stadium Field. While Bonny Eagle avenged the loss in the Class A West semifinals, it had to go on the road to do so, as the Rams had earned the home field advantage. The Scots knew this year’s matchup would likely have similar postseason implications.

Oh, and the Bonny Eagle players don’t take losses on their home field lightly.

“That was in our minds since we saw the schedule,” said senior quarterback Ryan Nason, who had a monster game for the Scots, running for two touchdowns, passing for another and returning an interception for a score.

“We knew that we had to get this win. We didn’t like the taste in our mouths after we lost here and we had to go over there for a playoff game. We knew this win would be huge if we could get it.”

They got it, scoring 27 straight points to overcome an early deficit and rolling to a 41-21 victory in a rare Thursday night game, pushed up a day due to the Rosh Hashanah holiday. With the win, the Scots stayed perfect, moving to 3-0. It was the first setback for Deering, which fell to 2-1.

Bonny Eagle couldn’t have scripted a better start. The defense forced Deering to go three-and-out on the opening possession, then Nason scooted 80 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown on the Scots’ first play from scrimmage. Nate Martel’s extra point gave Bonny Eagle a 7-0 lead just 79 seconds in.

Nason was hoping to score early, but even he didn’t plan to break one on the first play.

“We knew we had to come out and make a statement because they are a very good team,” Nason said. “We knew we had to come out fast and score – not on the first play, but we knew we had to score on the first drive. It was just good blocking and I did what I could.”

Deering answered right back, however, behind the strong running of junior quarterback Jamie Ross. He ran on eight of Deering’s 14 plays during an 80-yard drive that spanned nearly six minutes. He finished it with a 1-yard TD plunge. The PAT made it 7-7 with 4:53 to go in the first quarter.

After the next three drives resulted in punts (two for Bonny Eagle and one for Deering), Ross led another extended march down the field, covering 87 yards in 15 plays and more than six minutes. He carried seven times before finding Sam Balzano in the right side of the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown pass. The kick was good, and the Rams led 14-7 with 5:51 left in the half.

Bonny Eagle needed fewer than two minutes to craft its response. A four-play drive that included runs of 26 and 15 yards by sophomore Nick Adkins, a 7-yard pass from Nason to Ryan Lambert and finally a 25-yard carry by Nason in which he broke through the middle and took it down the left sideline to paydirt tied the game, as Martel made the PAT.

The Scots retook the lead shortly thereafter, forcing Deering to punt after stalling at its own 25. Bonny Eagle took over on the Rams 45. Three plays later, Adkins broke outside for a 35-yard TD jaunt that gave his team a lead it would not relinquish. The kick by Martel made it 21-14 with 1:43 left.

“If there’s one thing that was really nice tonight, it was how we responded once we got down,” said Bonny Eagle coach Kevin Cooper. “They took it to us for a couple drives and put 14 points on the board. We were scrambling quite a bit trying to figure out how to stop them. Then our offense just made plays to get the lead back. After that, we could play with a little bit less anxiety.”

The Scots turned the ball over on a fumble on their first possession of the second half, but Nason soon got the ball back, leaping and reaching back for an interception, somehow staying afoot, then weaving down the field and breaking tackles until he found the end zone. It was officially a 70-yard TD return, though Nason’s actual distance covered was likely at least double that.

“Ryan’s pick, that was Barry Sanders-like,” said Bonny Eagle senior defensive back and wide receiver Joe Davis.

With the kick, Bonny Eagle led 28-14 with 8:16 left in the third.

The teams traded punts, then Jeff Amell recovered a fumble by Ross that gave the Scots the ball at the Deering 21. Davis found the end zone five plays later, scooping up a quick pass just before it hit the grass near the line of scrimmage, then racing forward and bulling over a Deering defensive back on the goal line for a 9-yard TD reception. The kick failed and it was 34-14 Bonny Eagle with two seconds left in the quarter.

Ross captained a 14-play drive to start the fourth quarter, covering 68 yards. His plunge from about a foot out on fourth-and-goal and the ensuing PAT made it 34-21 with 6:29 remaining.

Adkins broke a 44-yard TD run with 2:41 left for the final score.

Nason finished with 171 yards on 16 carries, while Adkins carried eight times for 163 yards. Nason was two of six passing for 16 yards.

Ross was nearly the entire Deering offense, carrying 37 times (22 in the first half) for 164 yards. Deering’s six other running plays netted a total of 22 yards. Ross also threw for 101 yards, completing seven of his 20 attempts.

Last year, the Rams had standout running back Jack Heary to handle the bulk of the carries. This year, Ross gets them.

“That’s why we run the spread,” said Deering coach Greg Stilphen. “The whole point of the spread is the guy who touches the ball the most, and that’s the quarterback. Jamie’s a talented player who’s really progressing and doing the things we ask him to do.”

Stilphen mentioned a Heisman and a Fitzpatrick Trophy winner in explaining Ross’s importance to the Deering offense.

“You look at Tim Tebow, you look at (Nate) Doehler – that guy touches the ball every play,” Stilphen said. “That’s why we do what we do. Ross is the man for us. Everything builds off of that.”

Ross is a straight-ahead runner, not a finesse player, though he has nice touch on his passes. At 6-foot-3 and over 200 pounds, Ross more resembles the University of Florida’s Tebow than Doehler, who led the Scots to two state championships and now plays at the University of Maine.

“You don’t expect the quarterback to lower the shoulder and knock over our linebackers and defensive ends, but that’s how (Ross) runs,” Cooper said. “He’s tough to deal with.”

Though Ross picked up positive yardage on most of his carries, his longest went for just 13 yards.

“He’s a good runner,” Davis said. “He runs hard. He runs low. But if you hit him low, he falls, just like anybody else. That’s a credit to our d-line and our linebackers. Our linebackers filled unbelievably. Tony Ciampi is a sophomore. Stephen Martin went out injured and Tony Ciampi came in and filled in perfectly.”

In the end, Bonny Eagle not only made big plays, it prevented Deering from making them, as well.

“The guys that carry the ball for us are big-play players,” Cooper said. “They’re a threat to go the distance any time. Our line gave them just enough holes to get through there and they made plays, getting in the end zone. What can you say? Some of the plays Ryan made and the runs that Nick made were just unbelievable.”

The Scots venture to South Portland on Friday night for a 7 p.m. contest against the Red Riots, who are 1-2 and coming off a 21-0 loss to Cheverus. South Portland is led by running back Ryan Curit. At 6-2, 205, Curit is a powerful back who also has speed in the open field. Wide receiver Mike Foley is also dangerous, though the Riots have struggled to get him the ball in the past couple games.

Bonny Eagle’s Stephen Martin (22) and Joe Davis (15) tackle Deering quarterback Jamie Ross during a game in Standish on Sept. 17.
Staff photo by Tom Minervino

Copy the Story Link