Lisbon defendes Nick Blair (25) and Cam Bourget (33) have their eys on the ball after Madison/Carrabec running back Kaleb Nichols (20) fumbled. Bourget recovered, and the Greyhounds went on to a 44-6 victory at Lisbon on Saturday. (Joe Phelan / Kennebec Journal)

LISBON — Chris Kates chuckled a bit when asked about his team’s opening drive of Saturday’s Class D South high school football game on Lisbon High School’s Thompson Field.

“I wish every drive was like that,” Kates said of his team’s one play, one-yard drive moments into Lisbon/St. Dom’s game with Madison/Carrabec. 

The drives from there were a bit harder for the Greyhounds — but not much — as the hosts evened their record to 1-1 with a 44-6 victory. 

Madison’s (0-2) opening drive went backwards. Nick Blair sacked Bulldogs quarterback Bryce Willette on third down to force a punt. The snap was short and bounced away from the punter, giving Lisbon the ball at the 1-yard line. 

“Our defense put us into a great position that first drive, and when you get a short field

Lisbon running back Daytona McIver (21) prepares to stiff arm a Madison defender during a game on Saturday at Lisbon. McIver scored three touchdowns to power the Greyhounds to a 44-6 Class D South win. (Joe Phelan / Kennebec Journal)

you have to capitalize,” said Kates after Daytona McIver finished off the short drive and ran in the 2-point conversion for an 8-0 Lisbon lead 1:50 into the game. “We had to get back to the win column and get the kids something to get excited about. We go to Mountain Valley, then have Winthrop here, so we knew a loss here could have us looking at 0-4.”

The Bulldogs punted again on their second drive. McIver gained 16 yards on the first play, plus Madison was called for a horse-collar tackle, tacking on 15 yards to the M-30. On the next play, Cam Bourget found a hole and ran into the end zone. He finished off the series with a 2-point conversion and a 16-0 Lisbon advantage. 

The Greyhound defense refused the budge, with Colin Houle sacking Willette to bring about a long fourth down. A 10-yard punt gave Lisbon the ball at the Madison 30. 

Lisbon wide receiver Riley Quatrano celebrates after scoring touchdown to put the Greyhounds up 36-0 in the second quarter during a game on Saturday on Thompson Field at Lisbon. The Greyhounds rolled to a 44-6 victory. (Joe Phelan / Kennebec Journal)

“Last week we had some kids who were unsure of their reads and were going to the wrong place, where this week we spent more time on it and went back to basics,” said Kates. “They played a lot faster today.”

Quarterback Nick Ferrence, who was forced into the starting role when Seth Leeman was injured in Lisbon’s 14-6 loss to Fryeburg Academy in Week 1, threw a strike to Riley Quatrano for 20 yards. Two runs moved the ball to the 1-yard line, and McIver finished off the series with a TD run and a 24-0 lead after a quarter. 

The Madison/Carrabec defense held Lisbon on downs early in the second quarter. However, the Bulldogs, who gained just eight yards in the first half, were stopped when Robbie Dick intercepted a Willette pass at the Madison 25-yard line.

Again Lisbon had a one-play drive, this time with McIver taking a handoff and breaking six tackles before diving into the end zone. 

“We put the foot on the gas pedal and got it done,” said McIver, who rushed for 76 yards on 10 carries and three touchdowns, all coming in the first half. 

And of his third touchdown run … “I put my head down and kept going. Coach says to smell the end zone and I was able to do that,” McIver added. 

Quatrano closed the first half with a 23-yard TD run, giving the hosts a 38-0 halftime lead. 

With the clock running in the second half, Lisbon continued to pressure Willette, who was sacked for the fourth time early in the third quarter by Kevin Gallic. 

“We have some fast kids at defensive end, and we can get after the quarterback,” said Kates. (Willette) is a great quarterback. But it is tough to play quarterback when there is a guy in your face.”

“We made our reads, something we didn’t do last week. We played unselfish, and for us, it is about the entire defense playing well and doing their jobs,” said Lisbon linebacker Justin Le, who had 10 tackles. “(Willette) couldn’t get the ball off and make his reads. We did a good job of getting pressure on him today. This week we were there in practice and we were ready to go.”

Lisbon upped its lead to 44-0 when Ferrence intercepted a Willette pass and rumbled 60 yards to paydirt. 

Midway through the fourth quarter, Madison/Carrabec had produced just three yards of total offense. The final two drives against mostly Lisbon backups allowed the Bulldogs to finish with 104 yards of offense, including a 19-yard touchdown pass from Willette (2-for-9, 43 yards, TD, two interceptions) to Cameron Cobb with one minute remaining in the game. 

Blair rushed for 81 of his 82 yards in the second half to lead the Greyhounds on the ground. Lisbon finished with 232 rushing yards, while Ferrence completed 4-of-6 passes for 48 yards. Dick (two receptions, 26 yards) and Quatrano (2-24) led in receiving yards. 

Lisbon/St. Dom’s heads to Mountain Valley (0-2) this upcoming Friday at 7 p.m.