SACO — The heat was on for all the players Saturday at the 30th Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic.
Then the West offense turned it up even more, scoring on all seven first-half possessions and setting a Lobster Bowl scoring record in a 60-14 win at Thornton Academy.
The West led 48-14 at halftime. The previous scoring record in the all-star game for recently graduated seniors was 58, set by the East 2016. That record was broken even though the game was reduced from 60 minutes to 48 minutes.
The West seemed unfazed by the conditions.
“I guess not,” said Fitzpatrick Trophy winner Tyler Bridge of Wells High, who scored on the West’s first offensive play and finished with three touchdowns. “I mean, we had a good training staff on the side to keep us cool the whole game. We were doing good.”
One play after East quarterback Marcus Christopher’s fumble was recovered by Dante DeLorenzo of Kennebunk, Bridge ran through an arm tackle at the line of scrimmage, broke another lunging attempt and scored on a 36-yard run just 1:01 into the game.
A half hour before the 5:30 p.m. kickoff, the artificial surface field temperature was hovering around 105 degrees, with air temperature in the mid-to-upper 90s and oppressive humidity.
The heat did not cause any apparent injuries, but with 3:20 left in the fourth quarter, East defensive lineman Dylan Farnham had to be placed on a backboard and was taken from the field via a Saco Fire Department ambulance. The game did not employ running time after the West opened a 35-point lead in the second half, as would have happened in a regular high school game.
Bridge finished with 113 yards on 11 carries. The West’s quarterback tandem – Biddeford’s Carter Edgerton (9 of 10, 168 yards, 3 TDs) and Marshwood’s Tommy Springer (7 of 11, 157 yards, two TDs) – was on target all game. Thornton Academy’s Anthony Bracamonte was named the offensive MVP for the West after a 43-yard touchdown catch and two carries for 12 yards. Bonny Eagle’s Will Whyte got into the act with an 11-yard touchdown run and a tackle-busting 43-yard touchdown catch on a screen pass. Matt Conley of Cape Elizabeth caught a team-high four passes – among seven West players with a catch.
Because of a midweek injury to University of Maine recruit Zach Reed of Scarborough, the West used only five offensive linemen – Adam Doyon and Drew Gregor of Marshwood, Morgan Welch-Thompson of Wells, Aiden McGlone of Bonny Eagle and Chase Lamontagne of Kennebunk.
“Definitely, training all week with the heat got our bodies used to it,” Doyon said. “I think we were really, really prepared to play and always came out strong. It felt really nice getting a hot start, and then everybody was just up, feeling the game, and it was awesome.”
Fryeburg Academy linebacker Tucker Buzzell spearheaded a West defense and earned team MVP honors.
“When we first got out here, you could feel (the heat). My feet were on fire,” Buzzell said. “But honestly, as the game got on and the adrenaline kicks in, none of that matters.”
The West caused three turnovers. The East’s two scores came on long passes.
Leighton Girardin of Edward Little uncorked a deep throw while being hit by Thornton’s Tommy Palmer, and Cony’s Reed Hopkins ran under it for a 59-yard touchdown to get the East on the board and cut the lead to 28-6 early in the second quarter.
Girardin was knocked from the game by Palmer’s hit and did not return.
Later, Christopher used a good pump-fake to help Hyatt Smith of Foxcroft Academy get behind the defense for a 66-yard touchdown. Smith finished with four catches for 103 yards. Christopher (14 of 21, 191 yards, one TD, one interception) was named the East’s offensive MVP. Noah Bell of Mt. Blue, who blocked two point-after attempts, was the East’s defensive MVP.
In the first half, Springer and Edgerton combined to complete 13 of 15 passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns. Springer’s TDs went to Caleb Treadwell of Oak Hill (33-yard deep slant) and Bracamonte.
Edgerton rolled left and connected with Conley from the 8 to make it 21-0 after a PAT from Stephen Gray of Leavitt.
Edgerton’s second TD was an 11-yard fade to Kennebunk’s Zack Sullivan, who leaped over a defender.
“He did it all week. We knew if we got inside the 15 we were tossing it up back corner to Zack and let him do his thing,” Edgerton said.
The West extended its lead in the third quarter on a 23-yard run by Bridge and the Edgerton-to-Whyte screen pass.
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