FAIRFIELD — The steady, strong wind didn’t change the Lawrence High School football team’s offensive game plan Friday night. The Bulldogs wanted to run the ball, and neither Mother Nature nor Falmouth/Greely could stop it.
“That’s what we do, week in, week out,” Lawrence halfback Nate Regalado said. “We try to force the ball down their throat.”
Regalado ran for a game-high 180 yards on 17 carries, and Lawrence took a 34-8 win over the Yachtsmen in a Pine Tree Conference Class B quarterfinal. No. 3 Lawrence (8-1) will host Mt. Blue in a regional semifinal game next weekend. No. 6 Falmouth/Greely finished 3-6.
“We kind of thought it would be wetter,” Lawrence coach John Hersom said of the field conditions. “We just didn’t want to give them any momentum or life. Over the last several week, we’ve run the ball very well.”
Lawrence, which attempted just two passes, ran for 296 yards. Regalado’s 64-yard touchdown run with 4:56 left in the first quarter gave the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead.
“I owe it to the line. Without them you can’t go anywhere,” Regalado said.
Lawrence took a 7-0 lead just 1:12 into the game. After Regalado’s 44-yard kickoff return to the Yachtsmen 45, the Bulldogs scoresdin three plays. Paul Morneau’s 8-yard run gave the Bulldogs a lead they would not surrender.
Morneau scored again, this time on a 10-yard run with 10:37 left in the second quarter that pushed Lawrence’s lead to 21-0.
The Yachtsmen responded with a nearly 10-minute drive, but lost the ball on a fumble at the Lawrence 12 with 43 seconds left in the half.
“That’s what closed the game, I think,” Regalado said.
Added Hersom: “We were hoping to turn them over. They had a couple fourth down plays they executed. That turnover was a big lift for us.”
Lawrence went up 28-0 on a 3-yard Regalado touchdown run with 6:21 left in the third quarter. The Yachtsmen answered with an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive, getting on the board when quarterback Nick Mancini snuck in from a yard out. Mancini’s 2-point conversion pass to Brady Douglas cut Lawrence’s lead to 28-8 with 41 seconds left in the third quarter.
Regalado scored his third touchdown, this one on another 3-yard run, with 6:42 to play to close the scoring.
Mancini led Falmouth/Greely with 47 yards rushing.
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