A KICK IN THE GUT

SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — All night long, the Marshwood High School football offense faced resistance like it hadn’t seen all season.

But its final drive had the big home crowd on its feet. Quarterback Tommy Springer, hit hard and often by the Kennebunk defense, sometimes limping back to the huddle, hit two straight passes to move the ball to the 10.

Fullback Justin Bryant ran up the middle for a touchdown on the next play and then Springer, with a push from his offensive line, ran in the two-point conversion to tie Friday's heavyweight fight at 14-14 with three minutes left.

“I thought that whole drive was amazing,” said two-way lineman Drew Gregor. “Everybody was executing their job. Tommy made a great decision on (the conversion) to run it in, and we had the whole line jump in and push him in. I felt like we were in good shape.”

It was the feel-good point of the night.

Until Kennebunk ripped away the good feeling.

With quarterback Tripp Bush running a nifty three-minute drill with his legs and arm, and longtime coach Joe Rafferty taking a fourth-down gamble that paid off, the Rams claimed first place in Class B South when Ryan Connors hit a 31-yard field goal with 1.2 seconds left for a 17-14 win.

The Rams (8-0) will be the No. 1 seed for the Class B South playoffs, which begin next week. Marshwood (7-1) will be No. 2.

“Honestly, the game could have gone either way,” said Rafferty. “It was a great night for high school football. But this is the beginning of the next season; all it means is we have home-field advantage.”

In a game between two teams that have thrashed opponents all season, Kennebunk seemed the sturdier one Friday, finishing with a 295-244 edge in yardage and overcoming two first-half turnovers.

Springer, under pressure most of the night with his team forced into passing, finished 4-of-15 for 71 yards and was picked off twice. Justin Bryant (65 yards) and John Valentine (60 yards) were the top gainers on a night that saw the Hawks run 42 times for 180 yards.

“It was the game that we thought it was going to be,” said Marshwood coach Alex Rotsko. “Good defense on both sides of the ball. I thought they did a real good job shutting down our running game and we didn’t execute in the passing game, so it was tough to score points.”

The first half saw both defenses marking their territory, but each team making a big offensive play to help it get on the scoreboard.

After the Rams' defense bailed the team out after a fumbled punt gave Marshwood a red-zone chance, Bush (88 yards rushing) led a 13-play, 83-yard touchdown drive. The big play was his own 34-yard keeper that moved the ball across midfield.

The Hawks, bottled up early, answered in the second quarter. Springer, who'd missed on five of his first six passes, threw a beauty downfield that Trevor Chase caught in stride for a 38-yard touchdown. Missing injured placekicker Jake Lindsay, the extra-point try went off the upright to leave the game at 7-6.

Marshwood's defense made the big play that closed the half. Springer, a first-year starter at linebacker, stepped in front of a receiver at the goal line to intercept Bush on a third-and-5 at the 10 to keep the game a point apart.

But Kennebunk owned the third quarter, with Derek Smith starting and finishing the first big swing. His directional 40-yard punt from midfield pinned the Hawks at their 6, and after a stop, he broke a tackle and got free for a 49-yard touchdown run that made it 14-6.

As the game wound down, Springer found his groove. His defense — and a punt return by John Valentine — gave his team the ball across midfield and he hit Valentine (13 yards) and Chase (16 yards) to set up Bryant’s score and his own two-point conversion.

“Springer," said Rafferty. "What a gutsy, gutsy drive he and those guys had there."

It could have been enough to get to overtime. But on a fourth-and-3 at the Hawks’ 38 with 1:05 left, Rafferty went for it, and Bush’s 10-yard pass to Zack Sullivan set the winning field goal in motion.

“We did certainly think about it,” said Rafferty. “But in this situation, we’re here to win.”

And grab home-field in case these two teams meet again in three weeks. The last three times, the team that won the regular-season meeting won the playoff meeting, too.

“Our entire goal now is going to be building up to (face) Kennebunk again,” said Gregor. “We are going to work harder, build a better sense of community and we’re going to get it done.”

RAMS 17, HAWKS 14

Kennebunk 7 0 7 3—17

Marshwood 0 6 0 8—14

First Quarter

Ken—DeLorenzo 1 run (Connors kick), 1:04.

Second Quarter

Mar—Chase 38 pass from Springer (kick failed), 3:56.

Third Quarter

Ken—Smith 49 run (Connors kick), 6:28.

Fourth Quarter

Mar—Bryant 10 run (Springer run), 3:12.

Ken—FG Connors 31, :02.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Kennebunk, Bush 12-88, DeLorenzo 15-63, Smith 7-53, Connors 3-11. Marshwood, Bryant 12-65, Springer 17-42, Valentine 8-60, Chase 5-13.

PASSING—Kennebunk, Bush 6-14—80 (INT). Marshwood, Springer 4-15—71 (2 INTs).

RECEIVING—Kennebunk, J. Sullivan 4-60, Z. Sullivan 2-20. Marshwood, Chase 2-54, Valentine 2-17.