Lisbon grounds it out to stave off Cape Elizabeth.
CAPE ELIZABETH – There are no untouchable teams or unthinkable results in the Campbell Conference Class C division this football season.
Give Lisbon High school its proper respect as the last remaining unbeaten squad. Even the Greyhounds, however, needed a clock-draining scoring drive in the third quarter and Tony Walker’s second touchdown of the game in the final 90 seconds to stave off first-year foe Cape Elizabeth, 20-6, at Gull Crest Field.
“We came down here expecting a battle, and they didn’t disappoint us,” said Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan.
Surprisingly tied at halftime, Lisbon (4-0) held the ball for more than nine minutes to christen the second half.
Walker carried the ball up the middle eight times on the 15-play drive, one in which the Greyhounds delivered three third-down conversions.
“Tony is our best conditioned athlete,” Mynahan said. “He runs hills and lifts weights all summer. Just like the Jay game (a 27-14 win two weeks ago), we seemed to be able to give him the ball time after time and he would get those tough yards when we needed them.” Quarterback Chris Kates capped the drive with a quarterback sneak and a rush for the two-point conversion to make it 14-6.
Lisbon limited Cape (2-2) to 89 net yards, including a paltry 21 in the second half. The Capers enjoyed only three possessions after intermission and failed to cross midfield.
Elliot Cohen fell on an errant lateral at the Cape 2-yard line to conclude the newcomers’ last-ditch effort, and Walker (19 carries, 83 yards) hammered in on Lisbon’s ensuing play to ice it with 1:20 remaining.
Walker, Kates, Derek Roy, Levi Ervin and Chris Waters spearheaded the defensive effort. Waters had a quarterback sack, while Kates and Ervin each intercepted a pass.
“It was a little harder maybe than we expected,” Walker said. “We weren’t pumped enough in the first half. In the second half, our line started pushing them back.”
The Greyhounds scored on their first possession. Roy’s 11-yard run with an option toss and Kates’ 13-yard connection with Ervin moved Lisbon into position for a 4-yard scoring surge by Walker. John Tefft’s extra point kick escaped wide left.
Cape answered, though, with sophomore quarterback Matt McClellan finding favorite target Zach Nedwell for 31 yards on its first play from scrimmage. Two plays later, Cohen eluded two would-be tacklers on a 39-yard jaunt to the end zone.
Mike Richards’ kick also missed left, and it remained 6-6 until late in the third. Although Lisbon played turnover-free, six penalties for 43 yards sidetracked the Greyhounds in the first half.
“We would gain 10 yards and take a 15-yard penalty,” Mynahan said. “Those are mistakes we’re still trying hard to correct. Every week we try to improve. Nobody is as surprised as we are to be 4-0.”
With the Capers using primarily the same 15 players and few substitutions, Walker’s hard-nosed presence between the tackles likely wore down the upset-minded hosts in the second half.
“I think we let ’em slip away with the nine-minute drive to open the second half,” said Cape coach Mick Maher. “They’re a more talented team than we are, and to be 6-6 at the half, we were right in it.”
Cohen finished with 14 carries for 59 yards. Nedwell, who along with Dana Erickson and Mike Irace was smothering defensively for the Capers, didn’t catch another pass after McClellan’s opening strike.
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