By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

STIFF ARMED — Fryeburg Academy quarterback Ryan Gullikson (right) tries to break away from York defender Cullen McCarty. (Rivet Photos)
YORK 47
RAIDERS 0
First downs: FA 11, Y 9
Penalties: FA 15-123, Y 7-55
Rushing: FA 37-88, Y 24-301
Passing: FA 10-25-121, Y 5-6-136
Total yards: FA 209, Y 437
FA Rushing: Ryan Gullikson 21-70, Billy Rascoe 8-8, Ben Southwick 2-0, Isaac Wakefield 6-10
York Rushing (top carriers): Sean Kelly 11-165, Cullen McCarty 4-25, Benjamin Finitz 6-80
FA receiving: Brandon Ludwig 1-4, Matt Boucher 5-39, Ben Southwick 1-44, Nicholis L’Heureux-Carland 1-18, Jaquan Causer 1-11
York receiving: Jordan Pidgeon 2-36, Mark MacGlashing 1-25, Jack Neary 1-1, Keelan Hynes 1-74
FA tackles (solo, assist, total): Winston Richard 6-2-8, Kyle Provencher 1-0-1, Jaquan Causer 1-2-3, Greg Harmon 2-1-3, Ben Southwick 1-1-2, Donovan Brown 0-1-1, Billy Rascoe 0-3-3, Brandon Ludwig 0-1-1, Angel Escalante 0-1-1, Eli Thompson 1-0-1, Bahadir Demir 1-0-1

FRYEBURG — When players left the Raider cheerleaders holding a paper banner for the team to run through before the start of the Homecoming game Saturday, Coach David Turner said, “That can’t be a good omen.”

With a couple of starters out of the line-up due to injury and two key players nicked up during the game, Fryeburg Academy had little chance to derail a hot York team.

Senior Sean Kelly ran wild against the FA defense, rushing for 165 yards and three touchdowns as York (5-2) clobbered the Raiders 47-0.

“We had subs for subs that were out. At the end of the day, they (York) are a very good football team that is extremely well coached and they are peaking at the right time,” FA Coach Turner said. “They don’t give you much. You have to take it and earn it. We had some things there, but we couldn’t make plays. We either turned the ball over or had costly penalties.”

A critical penalty took early points off the board for York as Kelly seemingly scored on a 45-yard burst, only to see the touchdown negated by a block-in-the-back call. Two plays later, York fumbled and Andrew Lyman recovered for the Raiders.

York capitalized on a 5-yard punt and a Raider penalty on third down as Kelly scored from 28 yards out with 4:43 left. Trevor Labonte added the extra point.

Unable to run the ball against a stout Wildcat front, FA quarterback Ryan Gullikson looked to throw over the middle, but misfired resulting in an interception by sophomore Cullen McCarty.

With a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty against the Raiders tacked on, York scored three plays later with quarterback Ross Hogan keeping the ball from 3 yards out. Labonte’s kick made it 14-0 with 2:04 left in the first.

Gullikson showed off his scrambling ability and strong arm, avoiding the York rush then gunning a deep ball to Brandon Ludwig for a 45-yard gain to the Y-33, but the outstanding toss was erased by an illegal block penalty. It proved to be a drive killer.

“It’s frustrating (penalties), but that is what happens when you have guys in there that haven’t played a lot,” Coach Turner said.

York went up 20-0 as Hogan found Mark MacGlashing out in the flat for a 25-yard score with 9:35 left until halftime.

The Raiders avoided disaster when Ludwig’s punt was blocked and Cole Merritt recovered the ball. But in trying to advance the ball, Merritt was hit and coughed it up with the Raiders recovering at their own 3- yard line. Gullikson gave FA some breathing room when he darted up the middle on a third down play, good for 24 yards. The Raiders worked the ball into York territory, but the drive stalled when Gullikson was dropped for a two-yard loss and James Orso dumped Rascoe for a yard loss on third down, forcing a punt.

With 3:10 to go, York went on the attack. Kelly picked up a quick 16 yards and Hogan moved the ball to the FA-34 following a 28-yard toss to Jordan Pidgeon, who made a nice catch as the ball sailed just over a FA defender. Kelly followed good lead blocks over the left side for a 33-yard TD run. Labonte added the extra point for a 27-0 lead at halftime.

If the first possession of a second half is a tone setter, Sean Kelly turned out the lights — the FA Homecoming party was over. On the first play from scrimmage, Kelly got to the outside and bolted 70 yards for a touchdown. 34-0.

After three incomplete FA passes, York scored again on a 74-yard pass play.

Gullikson completed four straight passes, including a 44-yarder to Ben Southwick and 12-yarder to Matt Boucher to move the ball into York territory. Again, the Wildcat defense stiffened as Matthew Tennant sacked Gullikson for an eight-yard loss on third down. A flip pass to Donovan Brown fell incomplete.

UP FOR GRABS — FA receiver Ben Southwick is unable to pull in a ball as he is converged upon by York defenders Travis Niles (#19) and Elias Loeffler (#18).

York closed the scoring on a 71-yard run with 3:13 left in the third quarter.

Fryeburg’s best drive of the day came in the closing five minutes as Gullikson rushed for 17 yards and completed passes of 9 and 11 yards. With the ball at the Y-11 — the deepest penetration into Wildcat territory all day — the Raiders saw reserve running back Isaac Wakefield dropped twice for no gain, and a FA holding penalty back the ball up to the Y-24.

FA rushed once more, and time expired.

“We had some substitutes on the offensive line and a sophomore quarterback who had gotten beaten up. So, the protection would have been a little shaky, and my back-up quarterback (Billy Rascoe) was already out,” Coach Turner said. “We were just trying to get out of the game without any other injuries and turn our focus to next week. The last thing we needed is for Ryan to get hurt.”

Despite a tough offensive afternoon, Coach Turner liked what he saw in his sophomore quarterback.

“It doesn’t matter if it is the first quarter or the fourth quarter, Ryan battles. Even when it was 47-0, he is still playing hard. He does make some mistakes because he is young and inexperienced. It’s a matter of catching up to the speed of the game, especially against a good team. Sometimes, it is hard to do. He’ll be fine,” Coach Turner said.

The Raiders (1-6) close out the season this Friday night, 7 p.m., at Gorham. The Rams are 0-7. Coach Turner is hoping to see some starters return to the line-up and see his Raiders end the year on an up note.

“We had several guys who didn’t practice all week and were game time decisions. We lost one kid Thursday in sprints when he rolled his ankle. All of a sudden, we had to scrap our ‘grand defensive plan.’ I am hoping we can get those players back this week, especially the seniors who will be playing in their last game (at Gorham),” he said. “I am hoping they get a chance to play and play well to get a better taste than the one they had this week.”