JAY – The Jay High School football team wasted no time establishing its ground attack in a season-opening game at Taglienti Field on Friday night.

Workhorse Miles Hutchinson rushed for 200 yards and scored two touchdowns, but Jay relied on a solid defensive effort to muster a 20-7 win against Yarmouth in a Class C Campbell Conference tilt.

Jay utilized a three-prong running game with Hutchinson, Max Couture (68 yards, 17 carries) and Jordan DeMillo (63 yards, 10 carries, one yd. TD) en route to gaining 296 yards.

The outcome wasn’t solved until midway through the fourth quarter, following a 16-yard touchdown by Hutchinson to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead.

“We had made some adjustments a halftime,” Jay coach Mark Bonnevie said. “The kids picked up on them, and we moved the ball. But I have to credit Yarmouth because they gave us all we could handle. We just wanted to come out of here with a win.”

The slim margin was necessary because Yarmouth responded as Colin Simsarian returned the ensuing kickoff 76 yards for a TD wiith 5:53 left to play.

The Clippers were unable to shake away from the Tigers’ swarming defense, which allowed 91 total yards. Simsarian gained 55 yards.

“It was a hard-nosed football game,”Yarmouth coach Mark Hartman said. “Both teams left everything on the field. so did I – I’m mentally exhausted.”

Jay had freshman quarterback Zach Bonnevie manage the offense in place of regular single-caller Austin Clark. The rookie had one completion, but any short comings were handled by Hutchinson who gained yards with second-and-third efforts.

Hutchinson scored a 6-yard TD in the first quarter and David Farrington kicked the first of two extra points. Jordan DeMillo had recovered a fumble at the Clippers’ 31-yard line

Yarmouth made first downs by running off tackle, but hurt itself with several fumbles.

“The play worked well, so we kept going to it,” Hutchinson said. “I may have gained a lot of yards, but I owe it all to the offensive line.”

The Tigers were led on defense by tackle Tyler Dorr, Zach Lacroix, Dylan Wiggins-Rider, Farrington, and Jordan DeMillo.

Livermore Falls 14, Boothbay 0

BOOTHBAY HARBOR – Senior fullback Kyle Stebbins rushed 27 times for 109 yards and scored all of Livermore Falls points as the Andies blanked Boothbay 14-0 in Class C Campbell Conference football opener Friday evening.

Stebbins raced for a 14-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a 23-yard touchdown in the third quarter for the Andies (1-0). He also notched the point-after in each scoring drive.