It’s difficult to say whether Scarborough’s offense or their defense in the second half of Friday’s bout with Bonny Eagle proved more important, but if the Red Storm’s comeback W hinged on a single play, it was QB Jack Hughes’s 47-yard hookup in the last minute with wide receiver Griffin Madden.

Or maybe it was Stormer Anthony Simoneau’s block on the PAT following the Scots’ last touchdown. Or his interception on their final, desperate drive. Or Hughes’s 11-yard strike to Jacob Gardner to tie the action in the third.

OK, so maybe Scarborough’s 27-26 victory was a complete team effort. Hughes thought so:

“We’ve got really good receivers,” he said. “[And] our line’s been working really hard the last couple weeks – so we’ve had good protection.”

And so did head Storm coach Lance Johnson:

“We knew it was a battle,” said Johnson. “We have faith that we can make plays. We know we can score in a hurry. We’ve got a great quarterback and great receivers and runningbacks, and our line’s working their tails off in practice to get better.

“We play a little bit different brand of football than most, so it’s a little bit different to prepare for.”

The Storm’s approach Friday night sure was atypical. The pass-run balance for most high school teams frequently tends in the run direction. Hughes, however, threw for three TDs and more than 300 yards, completing 23 of 38. (Incidentally, he also ran for more than 100 yards.)

Scarborough didn’t start hot, though; not by a long shot. The Storm trailed throughout the first half, at one point falling behind 20-6. Their opening drive ended unceremoniously on an interception, Hughes’s pass attempt snatched from midair by the Scots’ Dalton Sanborn.

Bonny Eagle capitalized on the turnover, converting a short series that included a beautiful, 52-yard zigzagging route by Cam Theberge. QB Zack Brannon completed the drive with a 4-yard keeper over the goal line, and Christian Napolitano tacked on the PAT, giving the Scots an early 7-0 lead.

Scarborough answered immediately back, Hughes capping a succession of short runs and passes with a 23-yard connection to Connor Kelly in the end zone, but Bonny Eagle blocked the extra point to stay one step ahead, 7-6.

The Scots pried open some breathing space by grabbing the next two scores. Brannon earned the first on a breakaway, 43-yard keeper; Theberge earned the second, running 27 yards up the right side of the field and diving, hands outstretched, as he tumbled out of bounds. His momentum carried the ball just over the pylon. Simoneau blocked Napolitano’s extra point attempt, however, holding the Scots’ advantage at 20-6.

The Storm soon responded. Hughes found Tim Carion, a 29-yard pass play left, to begin the drive, and later found Kelly – another 29-yarder, this one to the right – to advance Scarborough to first and goal at Bonny Eagle’s two. Owen Garrard powered the ball across the remaining six feet and Emmett Peoples added the PAT for 20-13.

That’s where the scoreboard lingered through the break.

“First half, we came out a little bit slow,” said Hughes. “We were still in it, but we were down. Going into halftime, we knew we could make some plays. We were driving the field all game, just kept giving it up at the end. We had to step it up on defense a little bit.”

The Scots started the second half on the attack; Nick Clark – this kid’s one slippery fish – ran back the Storm kickoff to Bonny Eagle’s own 32, shaking off maybe a half-dozen defenders to get there. It was an encouraging start to a series that eventually arrived at Scarborough’s 14, but Brannon’s pass attempts to the end zone both fell incomplete. Stormer Zolton Panyi provided impeccable coverage on Brannon’s second throw, giving Scarborough the ball back on downs.

“At halftime we kind of challenged our defensive line to take advantage of their strength, their athleticism – we challenged them to get off the ball,” Johnson said. “They did a better job up front and made it easier for other guys to come and make tackles.”

They failed to make much of the follow-up drive, though. Hughes’s protection collapsed on third and seven at his team’s 38, and Scot Lukkas Pierce sacked him for a loss, forcing a Madden punt.

The Storm answered with a strong defensive stand of their own, then assembled a spectacular series comprised of one short run (a seven-yard Hughes keeper up the middle) and five, count ’em five, pretty passes. Hughes nailed Kelly up the middle for 25, then Simoneau over the top for another 12 – that one was especially impressive, considering Hughes had to aim essentially downward, threading the ball through coverage and underneath one Scot’s arms to find Simoneau’s hands, waiting low.

Hughes connected with Carion for another 22, moving play to the Bonny Eagle 11, then with Gardner to cross the goal line. Peoples’ kick split the uprights and suddenly the Storm had pulled even.

The teams traded defensive stands to usher in the fourth quarter, when Brannon suffered a minor injury and temporarily checked out of play. Cam Day filled his cleats for a drive, and the Scots noticeably picked up their pace, perhaps hoping to throw Scarborough off-balance. Day’s stint at the helm ended in a punt – but so did Scarborough’s next assault, time ticking away all the while.

The Storm got the ball back at 3:45, but Bonny Eagle – and Ben Autry in particular – kept them in check once more. Autry stripped a ball from Carion’s grip as the pair careened out of bounds, then intercepted Hughes’s attempt to connect with Gardner.

The Scots piled short run on short run after that to reach Scarborough’s one-yard-line, where Brannon pushed through for the TD. That, however, is when Simoneau blocked Napolitano’s PAT kick to hold Bonny Eagle’s lead at 26-20.

“Anthony blocked a couple extra points, and we ended up winning by a point,” Johnson said. “After the first touchdown, ours got blocked, the next three we settled our protection down and we made those three and those points are crucial.

“Little things like that win the game, and our guys just hung tough.”

After first and 10 at Scarborough’s 36, Hughes ran for four and connected with Kelly for 13, leading his boys into Scots territory – specifically, to their 47. From there he launched the fateful long-ball up the right side, the one Madden pulled in and carried onward to the end zone for 26-26.

Hughes described the action: “We got tackled in-bounds,” he said, “so went right up on the ball, went no-huddle, went to the fade. I saw the cornerback rolled up right on [Madden], so I knew he could get by him, he’s a fast guy, just try to give him a chance. Then he made a move on the safety and took it to the house.”

It’d already been a night of blocked kicks, so the possibility that Peoples’ would never get near the goal posts hung unspoken in the air. But the Scots’ defense couldn’t penetrate quickly enough to stuff the ball back in Peoples’ face, and he inched the Storm into the lead, 27-26.

The Scots had roughly 40 seconds to work with, and Brannon’s first pass, to Day, was effective; Day gained eight yards and skittered out of bounds to stop the clock.

Brannon’s second pass, though, ended up in Simoneau’s hands, sealing the final.

“Only letting up one touchdown in the second half on defense really helped us,” said Hughes. “We didn’t change much on offense. We just kept driving it, doing our thing, and it worked out for us.”

Scarborough advanced to 1-1 on the road win; the Storm opened their season with a 47-26 loss at home to Portland (2-0). They face off this coming Friday, the 18th, at Massabesic (0-2).

Bonny Eagle slips to 0-2 – an unusual position for the Scots. They’ll attempt to regain their footing on Friday, when they travel to Bangor for a showdown with the Rams (0-2).

Christian Napolitano boots an early P.A.T. for the Scots against visiting Scarborough Friday night.Bonny Eagle defender Kordell Menard runs interference on Scarborough ball-carrier Tim Carion.Cam Theberge carries for the Scots; Stormer Lucas Albert swoops in, aiming for the tackle.Griffin Madden runs a route for the Storm at Bonny Eagle on Friday night. Madden pulled in the game-tying TD pass late in the fourth quarter.Scarborough’s Tim Carion hops away as the Scots’ Nick Clark dives in, trying for the low tackle.Nick Clark ran a number of impressive routes for the Scots Friday night, frequently shirking would-be tacklers.Scarborough QB Jack Hughes, seen here on the keeper, threw for three TDs and better than 300 yards.Stormers and Scots line up for a warm embrace in the midst of Friday night’s action.Scarborough’s Connor Kelly escapes the Scots’ Ben Autry; Kelly played a key role in the Storm’s narrow win at Bonny Eagle on Friday night.