YORK — After a quiet first half by both teams, Biddeford made a lot of noise in the second half and prevented York from doing the same. The Tigers scored twice in the third quarter, then again on the first play of the fourth as they shut out the Wildcats 21-0 in a Class B South football game Friday.

Biddeford (3-2) gained just four first downs in the first half and compiled 56 yards of offense against a York (1-4) defense that Biddeford head coach Brian Curit said gave us his team some looks they weren’t ready for.

Wildcats star running back Cullen McCarty was able to pile up yards in the first half, totaling 88 on 18 carries, but wasn’t able to find the end zone. In fact, neither team was able to get into the red zone in the first half.

Curit said he his team made some adjustments at halftime, “a little tweaking here and there,” and those adjustments seemed to work on both sides of the ball.

The Tigers got some help from a bad York punt early in the third quarter. After Lucas Rhoy pinned the Wildcats at their own 6 for their first drive of the second half, York was only able to get out to the 11-yard line. The Wildcats’ punt then only made it to the 20, giving Biddeford prime field position.

The Tigers didn’t let it go to waste. Rhoy opened the ensuing drive with a short gain, then consecutive penalties by the Wildcats – an offsides calls and a personal foul facemask penalty – moved the ball to the 7. Three runs later and Rhoy was into the end zone, putting Biddeford up 7-0.

York went three-and-out and Biddeford used three more runs to get into the end zone again, starting with a Joey Curit 12- yard quarterback keeper followed by Rhoy runs of 13 and 40 yards.

“Lucas Rhoy is as good a player as there is in this entire conference. No ifs, no ands, no buts. It’s as simple as it is,” said Curit. “He’s a tremendous football player, how tough he is, the way he moves his feet. He’s a special player.”

Rhoy finished with 147 yards on 26 carries, including 124 yards in the second half. Biddeford as a team gained 216 of its 272 yards of offense after halftime.

York went the other direction on offense, gaining just 27 yards of offense in the second half and 108 total for the game. McCarty had just five carries for 10 yards after halftime. Quarterback Trevor LaBonte was just 3-for-18 passing for seven yards.

“They’re very well-coached. They got tough kids. I’m pleased that we pitched a shutout,” said Curit.

The Tigers put their stamp on the game and put it out of reach on the first play of the fourth quarter. Curit hit Jeremy Lugiano over the middle on a short pass and Lugiano split the secondary and took it the rest of the way for a 49-yard touchdown.

“Lugiano, he catches the ball real well. Joey put it on the money. And it was a ballsy call, I thought,” said Curit. “I was a little worried where it was. That gets picked there, the complexion of the game could change.”

The only change in the game after that was the Wildcats being forced to pass, which they didn’t do well against the Biddeford defense. Many of LaBonte’s passes were on-target, but Biddeford defenders were able to knock passes down or out or receivers’ hands.

Biddeford was then able to run out the final 6:50 of the game, save for a York kneel-down on the final play of the game.

It was the second shutout of the season for the Tigers, who have been competitive in every game this season.

“We think we can play with anybody in this conference. This is a very tough football conference,” said Curit. “You got to come ready to play every week, and I think we’re getting better.”

— Sports Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or sports@journaltribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.