The Old Town High School football team put its playmakers to the test Monday night, and boy, did they deliver.
Junior wideout Davon Alston and senior wideout Chester Turner each scored two touchdowns as the Coyotes jumped out to an early lead and sped past Oceanside of Rockland 37-6 in a Class C North game at Victory Field in Old Town.
Both Old Town and Oceanside are now 1-1 through the first two weeks of the season in a division where the only remaining undefeated team is Hermon, which has yet to play a game because of COVID-19 issues.
“As coaches from around the league I think we’re all in agreement that the league is pretty transparent this year,” Old Town coach Lance Cowan said. “Everybody’s going to compete with everybody, I think, and Class C North is going to be very competitive top to bottom.
“Hopefully teams get their games in and we actually see that competition.”
Old Town controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage against Oceanside, outgaining the Mariners 430-170 in total yardage and forcing three turnovers while playing error-free offense in rebounding from a 35-6 Week 1 loss to Gardiner.
“We came out pretty flat last week and in this game we came out with more intensity,” Alston said. “We all just flew around and did our parts, and that’s what made the game come out the way it did.”
Alston rushed for 80 yards, registered 58 yards in pass receptions and added a pass interception and fumble recovery on defense for the Coyotes. Turner posted 81 yards of total offense and an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Senior Isaac Hayes, one of three Old Town quarterbacks to see duty, rushed for a game-high 93 yards and had both a touchdown pass and a touchdown reception.
Another senior quarterback, Caleb Sprague, threw two touchdown passes and also had a key block on another Old Town scoring play.
“We have quite a few playmakers, and trying to find different ways to get them the ball and give them opportunities to make plays was what this week was all about for the coaching staff,” Cowan said.
“The kids executed it, and it showed.”
Alston and Turner each had a touchdown catch to stake the Coyotes to a 12-0 first-quarter lead.
An interception by Hayes at the Old Town 40-yard line set up an 11-play, 60-yard march that concluded when Sprague found Alston open on a slant pattern across the middle with a 14-yard touchdown pass 6:55 into the contest.
“I knew it was going to be open once there was no safety on me,” Alston said. “I just looked at Sprague, he looked at me, it was wide open and we made it happen right there.
Turner doubled the lead on the second play of Old Town’s next possession, catching a pass from Hayes near the right sideline and getting a late block by Sprague en route to a 55-yard catch and run with 1:41 left in the opening period.
A 6-yard scoring pass from Sprague to Hayes on Old Town’s initial possession of the second half extended the lead to 18-0 before Oceanside sophomore Aiden Sergent scored on a 4-yard run to narrow the gap to 18-6 with 3:19 left in the third quarter.
Sergent finished the night with a hard-earned 81 yards on 21 rushing attempts.
It took Old Town just two plays after the kickoff to answer that challenge, with Alston eluding a tackle and racing down the left sideline to complete a 65-yard touchdown run to make it 24-6 with still 2:18 remaining in the period.
“At first I thought I was going to be tackled, I thought he was going to wrap me up right there,” Alston said. “But I made him miss and it was all green [open field].”
After Old Town’s defense forced a three-and-out, Turner gathered in an Oceanside punt, eluded a potential tackler just after the catch and then sprinted down the left sideline 80 yards to the end zone.
Renato Fernandes’ extra-point kick made it 31-6, and Justin Hazlett added an 8-yard touchdown run for the game’s final score with 8:52 left in the contest.
“We got beat up pretty good last week, and this week was all about responding to that,” Cowan said. “They came out and responded just how we had preached it in practice all week. It was a much faster start tonight than we’ve had in a while, and we’re happy about that.”