MADISON — Steve Sirois rushed for 170 yards and four touchdowns to lead Gardiner to a 47-0 Pine Tree Conference Class B win over Madison on Friday night at Rudman Field.
Sirois powered a determined Gardiner (5-2) offense which took control of the game from the opening kickoff with an 11-play, 61-yard drive. Sirois carried the ball nine times on that drive and capped it with a powerful run up the middle.
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“We have a diversified running game, it just happened that tonight I was on fire,” Sirois said. “We’ve had a rough couple of games but tonight our blocking was great and we moved the ball.”
Gardiner’s defense, led by Jory Vermillion, Jeff Minchin and Darian Donahue, held Madison (2-5) to 78 rushing yards, including minus-3 the third quarter when the Tigers took control of the game. Madison quarterback Cody Soucier completed six of 13 passes for 69 yards.
“We played a dominant game on defense,” Vermillion said. “We were relentless going to the ball.”
Gardiner quarterback Dennis Meehan threw two touchdowns in the second quarter to build a 20-0 halftime lead. Meehan tossed a 29-yard pass over the top of the Madison defense to Josh Moore in the end zone.
On a second-and-6 at the 10, Meehan hit Tyler Jamison at the 1. Jamison’s second effort pushed the ball over the goal line with 2:53 left in the half, completing a 12-play, 61-yard drive.
“This game was all about building momentum for next week when we face Leavitt,” Sirois said. “We were looking to build a lot of confidence on offense.”
Following his blocking, Sirois and the Tigers dominated the third quarter. Sirois scored on runs of 9 and 8 yards. He had seven carries and 52 yards in the quarter to lift Gardiner to a commanding 33-0 lead at the end of three quarters.
Defensively the Tigers turned in a near perfect quarter, holding Madison to minus-3 yards rushing and 13 in the air. The Bulldogs did not earn a first down the entire quarter.
Sirois added his fourth touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter, powering 19 yards through the right side for the score with 8:56 left in the game.
On Gardiner’s last possession, Brad Weston bolted 66 yards for a touchdown with Moore racing along side-by-side and stepping in front of a potential Madison tackler at the 5-yard line with 3:43 remaining.
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