The undefeated Capers twice rallied from a two-touchdown deficit, used a touchdown pass from Jack O’Rourke to Matt Graham to take the lead in overtime, and stuffed a Spruce Mountain two-point conversion attempt on the final play to escape Griffin Field with a 35-34 win Friday night.
“We needed to see what we’re made of,” Cape Elizabeth coach Aaron Filieo said. “I knew Spruce would play us very tough and very well. I thought the boys were tough and made the plays when they needed to.”
Ben Ekedahl kicked the extra point to make it a seven-point lead in overtime, giving Spruce Mountain (1-2) four chances to match the touchdown from the 10-yard line.
After Andrew Darling juked two would-be tacklers to score his fifth touchdown of the night, Ekedahl and Nate Weare combined to deny Darling’s bid up the middle and touch off a wild Cape celebration.
“We knew they were going to run, and we said we didn’t work this hard the entire game to lose on one play,” O’Rourke said. “We just had to step up, and Ryan Weare did. That was a hell of a play by him.”
Cape won at Leavitt by an identical score, in overtime, on opening night of the 2014 season.
The finish soured a sensational night by Darling, who rushed 17 times for 138 yards and three touchdowns and caught a 29-yard scoring toss from Caulin Parker, all after racing 71 yards to the end zone with an interception to end Cape’s first series of the night.
“When they give an effort like that, there was no doubt I was going to go for that two,” Spruce Mountain coach Walter Polky said. “We believed that we were going to get it. Sometimes you fall short, but I believe we came together as a team tonight more than any week so far.”
Sebastian Lombardi blocked a 32-yard field goal attempt by Ekedahl at the horn to force overtime.
That came after Cape took over with 1:02 left in regulation and marched from its own 29 to the Spruce 16, most of it covered on a 40-yard bomb from O’Rourke to Ekedahl.
“Those are things we practice, areas like that,” Polky said. “The kids late in the game, they knew what to do. They didn’t crumble. The moment wasn’t too big for them, and that’s something we like to see with our senior leadership.”
O’Rourke, who hadn’t played football since elementary school until this summer, completed 19 of 30 for 273 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for a score.
The senior beat out junior incumbent Jeb Boeschenstein for the job in camp.
“He’s still learning. He came to me last spring and said he wanted to be the quarterback,” Filieo said. “I said, ‘We’ve got a quarterback, but every position’s open.’ So he competed.”
Cape (3-0) did most of its damage through the air in part due to early deficits of 14-0 and 21-7, and also because another monster game by Spruce middle linebacker James Ouellette made it difficult to run.
Ouellette stuffed Weare for a five-yard loss to give the Phoenix the ball on downs midway through the first quarter. Dillon Webster’s 40-yard run set up the Parker connection with Darling for a 14-0 edge. Cape shut down the two-point try.
Fourth-down conversions by O’Rourke to Ekedahl and Justin Guerrette helped put Cape on the board early in the second quarter. O’Rourke capped the march with another 6-yard strike to Guerrette.
Back stormed Spruce in only three plays — runs of 23, 13 and 34 by Darling. Devon Pomeroy’s kick restored the two-touchdown advantage.
Nate Ingalls answered with a 61-yard jaunt on a slant-and-go from O’Rourke. Later, O’Rourke found five different receivers in a two-minute drill that ended with his own 10-yard scramble.
“They’re playmakers. They did a great job,” Polky said. “We just have to make the fundamental play more consistently.”
Ekedahl’s point-after try veered wide right, and the Phoenix led 21-20 at the break.
Ouellette turned the game back in the Phoenix’s favor by stripping the ball out of Brett McAlister’s hands. Parker immediately hooked up with Austin Henault for 33 yards to the Cape 3, and Darling slashed in from there with 4:10 left in the third quarter.
“I thought we played our most complete game tonight,” Polky said.
Weare’s 1-yard TD and O’Rourke’s PAT rush pulled Cape even with 9:19 to go.
Ethan Dow’s sack stopped Cape’s next drive. With a chance to win the game in regulation, the Phoenix drove to the Capers’ 44 before being forced to kick.
“This is a huge win for us,” O’Rourke said. “This is our first big test on the road against a very good team. It’s good to get it.”
Ekedahl had six catches for 81 yards. Ingalls grabbed four for a team-high 108.
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