Scarborough’s Jarett Flaker breaks away for a touchdown in the Red Storm’s 61-23 win over Bonny Eagle in last weekend’s Class A South semifinal. Defending state champion Scarborough goes to Thornton Academy for the regional final Saturday.

Cape Elizabeth’s Sean O’Sullivan tackles a Leavitt receiver during the Capers’ 35-6 loss in Saturday’s Class C South semifinal.

The title defense of the Scarborough football team marches on, while Cape Elizabeth’s bid to reach another state final has come to a close.

Fireworks

Scarborough, which peaked at the right time a year ago en route to capturing a Class A state crown for the first time, might be following a similar script this autumn.

The Red Storm, ranked second in Class A South, earned a bye into last Friday evening’s semifinal round, where they met perennial powerhouse Bonny Eagle, the No. 3 seed. Just two weeks earlier, the rivals went toe-to-toe in a 48-35 Scarborough win, but the rematch was all Red Storm.

Quarterback Chase Cleary put Scarborough on top to stay with a 4-yard touchdown run and a 44-yard TD pass to Jared Quintiliani. After the Scots cut their deficit in half, a 69-yard touchdown run from Jarett Flaker made it 21-7 after one quarter.

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By halftime, the Red Storm completely blew the game open, as Cleary ran for a 4-yard score, Flaker had TD runs of 4- and 16-yards and Cleary hit Flaker for a 22-yard touchdown pass to make it 49-7 at the break.

After Bonny Eagle scored in the third period, Cleary hit his older brother, Robert Cleary, for an 8-yard score, and a 55-15 advantage. Chase Cleary’s 10-yard TD run in the fourth quarter accounted for Scarborough’s final points and one last Scots’ touchdown and two-point conversion accounted for the 61-23 final score.

Flaker rushed for 159 yards and three scores on 10 carries, with five catches for 97 yards and a score. Chase Cleary rushed for three touchdowns and threw for three more, completing 8 of 12 passes for 155 yards.

“Chase’s progress throughout the season has been amazing,” said Flaker. “You see him today and he was lighting it up in the passing game. We haven’t passed a whole lot but today we kind of showcased him a little bit and he was amazing.”

“Our defense was much improved over two weeks ago,” said Red Storm coach Lance Johnson.

Scarborough (7-1) now faces the daunting task of going to top-ranked Thornton Academy (9-0) for the regional final Saturday at 1 p.m. (see theforecaster.net for game story). On Oct. 6, the Red Storm lost, 35-13, at the Golden Trojans in a game that was tied, 7-7, at halftime.

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Scarborough is 2-3 all-time versus Thornton Academy in the postseason, with wins the past two years: 36-29 in the 2016 Class A South semifinals and 49-7 in last year’s Class A South Final.

The Red Storm hope to advance to the state final for the second year in a row and meet either Portland (8-1) or Oxford Hills (7-2) Saturday, Nov. 17 at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

Not this time

Cape Elizabeth, meanwhile, couldn’t get past the semifinal round.

The Capers, ranked fourth in Class C South following a .500 regular season, downed No. 5 York, 40-27, in the quarterfinals, but at top-ranked Leavitt in the semifinals, they only managed one score and lost, 33-7, to finish 5-5.

After falling behind, 13-0, quarterback Andrew Hartel hit Matt Laughlin for a 12-yard touchdown pass to cut Cape Elizabeth’s deficit to six at halftime, but the Capers never scored again and the Hornets pulled away to advance and meet Fryeburg Academy in the regional final.

“It’s kind of been an issue with us all year,” Cape Elizabeth coach Aaron Filieo said. “We’ve been able to move the ball and our ‘green zone’ efficiency hasn’t been good. Tonight, it wasn’t again. We’ve had a hard time stopping big plays, too. It’s kind of fitting that’s how the season ended.”

Press Herald staff writer Steve Craig and Sun Journal staff writer Randy Whitehouse contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.


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