By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

Cape Elizabeth was already in the heads of some Lake Region players before the opening kickoff.

Hearing the news that Cape’s mammoth linebacker Andrew Lavallee (6-foot-2, 300 pounds) had sent three opposing players to the hospital created a little “intimidation” amongst the Laker ranks.

And, the Lakers showed it early on Friday night at Art Kilborn Athletic Complex.

Three first quarter Laker turnovers all turned into quick scores as Cape Elizabeth jumped out to a 19-0 lead and never looked back.

Zip back Donald Clark (5-foot-5, 145 pounds) torched the Laker defense for 205 yards on 24 carries including a touchdown as the Capers handed the Lakers their third straight loss, 33-0.

“Our guys had some jitters early on,” LR Coach Jason Simmons said. “They received some information before the game that really didn’t help.”

Eventually, the Lakers did settle down and actually put up some good rushing numbers against a physical Cape defense. Sophomore Cody Gibbons rushed for 99 yards on 11 carries, while Jamie Anderson added 62 yards on nine carries. Lake Region visited the red zone three times, but couldn’t find pay dirt.

“We moved the ball well at times, but couldn’t finish,” Coach Simmons said. “We showed our inexperience at critical times.”

Lake Region moved the ball effectively on their first possession as Anderson ripped off a 14-yard gain behind a good lead block from Jake Fleck. But, the drive stalled at midfield on a fumble, recovered by Cape’s Austin Petsinger.

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CAPERS 33

LAKERS 0

First Downs: LR 10, CE 15

Penalties: LR 4-30, CE 10-105

Total Offense: LR 219, CE 330

LR Rushing: Jake Anderson 6-29, Ryan Skillern 3-minus 7, Jamie Anderson 9-62, Cody Gibbons 11-99, Kyle Stevens 6-6, McKae Curran 4-0. Total: 43-219.

CE Rushing: Donald Clark 24-205, Derek Roberts 11-97, Connor Maguire 4-12, Andrew Lavallee 2-5. Total: 41-319.

LR Passing: Ryan Skillern 0-3-0.

CE Passing: Connor Maguire 1-9-11.

Turnovers: LR 3, CE 1

LR Tackles (unassisted, assisted, total): Jamie Anderson 9-3-12, Jake Anderson 5-5-10, Sage McKeil 1-4-5, Mike Triglione 0-1-1, Cameron Harriman 2-0-2, Jake Fleck 1-3-4, Nolan Abrams 1-1-2, Jarid Pierce 0-2-2, Cody Gibbons 2-0-2, Damien McKeil 1-0-1, Kamen Scott 3-1-4, Eli Szeto 0-2-2, Ben Fillmore 1-0-1, Austin Chamberlain 0-1-1 (fumble recovery), Mckae Curran 1-0-1.

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Derek Roberts carved up the LR defense with runs of 16, 14 and 10 for the game’s first touchdown.

A bobbled snap on a punt try left the Lakers again with their backs up against the wall as Cape took over at the LR-15. After Roberts rushed for 12 yards, Clark followed the lead blocks of Lavallee and Matt Ross for a 3-yard TD run.

When things go bad, they seem to get worse in a hurry. On the ensuing kickoff, Kyle Stevens tried to scoop up the ball in full stride, but the pigskin bounced away and Cape recovered at the LR-20. Lavallee showed his versatility when the Capers set up a screen pass to the bulldozer. A long run, however, was negated by a pass interference call. Penalties stopped the Capers (yellow flags were a big problem all night for the boys in maroon as they were hit for 105 penalty yards).

But, the Lakers handed the ball right back to the guests as Gibbons had the ball ripped from his arms trying to pick up extra yards on a punt return.

“Tough play. It’s hard to fault Cody when he is trying his best to gain some extra yards,” Coach Simmons said.

At the LR-14, Cape punched it in on three plays as Lavallee plowed off tackle for a 7-yard score with 57.5 left in the first quarter.

Cape 19, Lakers 0.

Lake Region matched Cape’s physicality in the second quarter led by their Bash Brothers — Jamie and Jake Anderson. The senior linebackers delivered some big shots on defense as the Capers were shutout in the quarter. Jamie recorded nine solo tackles on the night and finished with 12 overall, while Jake had 10 tackles.

Offensively, the Lakers’ ground game came to life, moving the ball inside the Cape 10 yard line on eight rushing plays. Gibbons made two strong inside runs (each for nine yards) behind a good push from linemen David Cosgrove, Lewis Morton, Jake Fleck and Derrick Douglass to put the ball on the Cape 5 yard line. But, Cape rose to the challenge, stopping three LR tries to gain a yard for a first down. After two stops for no gain, LR went to the air on fourth down, but quarterback Ryan Skillern’s pass sailed high over the head of a tightly-covered receiver.

Cape made it 26-0 by scoring on the opening drive of the third quarter. The drive was aided by a LR pass interference call. Roberts broke free for a 20-yard TD run on a 3rd-and-11 call. Jamie Anderson had dumped Roberts for a three-yard loss to put Cape in the long-distance situation.

Lake Region threatened again late in the third quarter after Gibbons made a nice cut from the right to the left, rumbling 47 yards to the CE-15. On third down, Gibbons was hammered in the backfield by Lavallee for a three-yard loss. On fourth down, Skillern’s pass to the left sideline was off the mark, as the Lakers were shutdown once more.

Cape appeared ready to tack on another score to start the fourth quarter, but Jake Anderson laid a hard hit on quarterback Connor Maguire, who fumbled at the LR-27. Lineman Austin Chamberlain recovered. Again, the Lakers put together a nice drive, but were unable to score once inside the 20.

With the Lakers sprinkling in some reserves over the final five minutes, the Capers added some window dressing as their starting offensive unit drove 92 yards on eight plays with Maguire scoring from a yard out with 50.8 seconds left to make it 33-0. Clark had the big pick-up, a 55-yarder as Jamie Anderson chased him down from behind to make the saving tackle.

LR lineman Kamen Scott left the field a bit gimpy, but he reported later that he would be good to go this coming week.

“I thought our kids played with a lot of heart tonight, a big improvement from last week,” Coach Simmons said. “That’s what I like about these kids. They play all out and never quit.”

Up next: The Lakers travel to Eliot this Friday night to meet Marshwood. The Hawks have found their return to Class B a little rough, going 0-3 against the conference’s heavyweights — York (26-0), Mountain Valley (34-16) and Falmouth (33-14). Game time is 7 p.m.