SKOWHEGAN — Gardiner and Skowhegan entered Friday night’s game at Clark Field knowing they were playing to keep playoff hopes alive. With a 32-0 win, Skowhegan knows next week’s regular-season finale will be another shot at a postseason spot, while Gardiner knows the season ends with next week’s rivalry game against Cony.
“It was a must-win game,” Skowhegan senior Eli Holland said. “Now we have to go to Mt. Blue next week, stay focused, and hopefully take care of them.”
Last week, Skowhegan (3-4) made a change at quarterback, starting sophomore Garrett McSweeney and moving Nate Morris to wideout. This week, the move paid off. McSweeney completed 19 of 34 passes for 320 yards and four touchdowns.
“When we made the change, we wanted to be a more balanced team,” Skowhegan coach Matt Friedman said. “We knew Garrett was going to be our quarterback of the future, but as the season progressed, he was showing a lot of growth, so we decided to make the change and give him a chance.”
All four of McSweeney’s touchdown passes came in the first half, when he threw for 283 of his 320 yards. The first was a 4-yard touchdown pass to Sam Baker with 4:08 left in the quarter, giving the Indians a 6-0 lead.
After forcing a Gardiner (2-5) punt, Skowhegan took over on its own 47. On the first play of the drive, McSweeney connected with Spencer Salley (six catches, 90 yards) on a 53-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
“(McSweeney) was a little nervous last week, but he stepped up in the second half (a 14-12 loss to Brewer). He definitely came out tonight determined to do it the whole game,” Friedman said.
The Indians took full control of the game late in the second quarter, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the final 1:26 of the half. First, McSweeney hit Holland with a 68-yard touchdown pass.
“He’s a great quarterback. He made some great throws. He hit me right in the hands, and it was all green grass from there,” Holland, who had three catches for 109 yards, said.
On the ensuing possession, Gardiner decided to go for it on fourth and 3 from its own 40. Eli Kropp’s pass was incomplete, giving Skowegan the ball in Tiger territory with 35.8 seconds left. Three plays later, McSweeney found Baker for a 12-yard touchdown and a 26-0 halftime lead.
“It felt good to finally have some success offensively, sustain some drives, have some big plays,” Friedman said.
The Tigers drove inside the Skowhegan 20 just twice. The first time, in the first quarter, the drive reached the Indians 9, but stalled. Late in the fourth quarter, Gardiner drove to Skowhegan’s 3, but a Baker interception in the end zone ended the scoring threat.
Skowhegan played without senior linebacker and captain Gus Benson. The leading tackler in the conference, Benson injured his knee last week against Brewer, and had surgery to repair a torn meniscus on Thursday.
“I’m really proud of my defense. Losing Gus is a huge hole, obviously,” Friedman said.
“Everyone played a great game. We all did our job,” Holland said.
Kaleb Brown ran for 49 yards and a 6-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter for Skowhegan. Brad Weston led Gardiner with 42 rushing yards.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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