FAIRFIELD — It didn’t seem to matter who was carrying the ball on Friday night for the Lawrence football team, the result was going to be the same: Big gains and touchdowns.

Running back Colton Carter ran for 201 yards on 13 carries and scored three touchdowns to lead the No. 3 Bulldogs to a 42-13 win over No. 6 Skowhegan in a Class B North quarterfinal at Keyes Field.

“It’s really thrilling to come out and win like this,” said Carter, a senior.

Senior running back Preston Roy had 97 rushing yards on 13 carries for Lawrence (6-3), while sophomore Keegan Littlefield added 58 yards on two carries. Each scored a touchdown. Of the Bulldogs’ 431 offensive yards, 372 were on the ground.

Skowhegan (2-7) was led by junior running back Ayden Mulcahy, who ran for 98 yards on 16 carries. Junior quarterback Jason Aubin had 104 total yards (60 rushing, 44 passing) and had a rushing touchdown for the River Hawks.

Lawrence established its offensive attack early. On its second possession, Carter ran to the outside on a toss and saw nothing but open field, sprinting 90 yards for a touchdown. Trevor Pellerin’s extra point gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead, which remained through the first quarter.

“That’s one of our biggest (goals), setting the tone,” Carter said. “Once we do get going, you can’t really stop us.”

“We’re obviously a run team,” added senior quarterback Michael Hamlin. “If we can get out there and establish that early, we feel comfortable in doing anything we want the rest of the game.”

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the second quarter when Littlefield, taking an inside handoff from Carter on a counter, darted 51 yards down the middle of the field for a score.

Skowhegan cut the lead to 14-7 on the next possession, marching 76 yards on nine plays. Aubin capped the drive with a 21-yard scoring run. Lawrence answered with two touchdowns — an 8-yard touchdown pass from Hamlin to junior wide receiver Leighton Bradford, and a 37-yard run by Roy — to go into halftime with a 28-7 lead.

Carter scored his final two touchdowns, one a 36-yarder, the other for 7 yards, to give Lawrence a 42-7 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The success on the ground was a welcome sight for the Bulldogs, who were minus senior running back Dustan Hunter-Bellows, who is out with a foot injury.

“It gives us so much versatility,” said Hamlin, who was 5 of 9 passing for 59 yards. “(Littlefield) is a sophomore, Preston and Carter are both seniors. Jaxson O’Boyle, who got in there a little tonight, he’s a sophomore. We can ask anybody to step up and know they’re up for the challenge.”

“It’s not really set in stone who’s going to shine,” Lawrence head coach John Hersom said. “(Littlefield) runs that (counter play) very well. He’s had a couple touchdowns on that play, and he’s coming back from a knee injury. (Roy) and (Littlefield), along with Cole Quirion, gives us some good depth. Colton doesn’t have to get all the carries, though he certainly gets his share.”

Freshman Austin Lancaster filled in for an injured Aubin in the fourth quarter. His first pass connected deep down the field to sophomore wide receiver Kaden Pelletier for an 84-yard touchdown. Pelletier had 98 yards on five receptions.

Skowhegan head coach Brad Cyr said he was impressed with the fight of his group, who battled injuries throughout the week.

“We were very thin this week,” Cyr said. “We had days where we had 20-something kids at practice, shaking my head thinking, ‘How in the hell are we going to get prepared to play tonight with what we have numbers-wise?’ I’m very proud that we put it together. We obviously had some guys playing a little dinged up. … We just ran out of steam a little bit.

“We’ve got some good building blocks and we’ve improved all season long, getting off of last year as sophomores and improving this year as juniors,” Cyr continued. “We’re working on finding that winning mentality, (succeeding on) those little plays to win games.”

The Bulldogs completed a season sweep of the River Hawks. Lawrence beat Skowhegan 32-7 in its regular season matchup on Sept. 20.