Lawrence beat Skowhegan in the Class B North quarterfinals

FAIRFIELD – It didn’t seem to matter who carried the ball Friday night for the Lawrence football team, the result was the same: big plays and touchdowns.

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

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

Senior running back Preston Roy had 97 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 Aiden Mulcahy, who rushed for 98 yards on 16 carries. Junior running back Jason Auben had 104 total yards (60 carries, 44 passes) and a rushing touchdown for the River Hawks.

Lawrence started the attack early. On the second possession, Carter ran outside on a toss-up and saw nothing but an open field, running 90 yards for a touchdown. Trevor Pellerin’s extra point gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead that lasted throughout the first quarter.

“That’s one of our biggest (goals), to set the tone,” Carter said. “Once we start, you can’t stop us.”

“Obviously, we’re a driven team,” added senior defensive end Michael Hamlin. “If we can go out there and establish that early, we’ll be comfortable doing whatever we want for the rest of the game.”

The Bulldogs led 14-0 in the second quarter when Littlefield, taking an inside pass from Carter on a counterattack, raced 51 yards up the middle for the score.

Skowhegan cut the lead to 14-7 on its next possession, going 76 yards on nine plays. Auben capped the drive with a 21-yard field goal. Lawrence responded with two touchdowns — an 8-yard pass from Hamlin to junior wide receiver Leighton Bradford and a 37-yard run by Roy — and went into halftime with a 28-7 lead.

Carter scored the final two touchdowns, one a 36-yarder, the other a 7-yarder, to give Lawrence a 42-7 lead in the fourth quarter.

The success on the ground was a welcome sight for the Bulldogs, who were without senior running back Dustan Hunter-Bellows, who was 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 seniors. Jackson O’Boyle, who got in there a little bit tonight, he’s a sophomore. We can ask anyone to step up and know they are up for the challenge.”

“It’s not really set in stone who will shine,” Lawrence head coach John Hersom said. “(Littlefield) executes that (counter game) very well. He had a pair of touchdowns during that game and is coming back from a knee injury. (Roy) and (Littlefield) and Cole Quirion give us good depth. Colton doesn’t have to get all the carries, but he definitely gets his share.”

Freshman Austin Lancaster replaced the 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 Sear said he was impressed with his group’s fightback, which has battled injuries throughout the week.

“We were very thin this week,” Cyr said. “We’ve had days where we’ve had 20-something guys at practice shaking their heads and thinking, ‘How the hell are we going to prepare for the game tonight with those numbers?’ I’m very proud that we put this together. We obviously had guys that played a little bit tight… We just got a little bit drained.

“We have some good building blocks and have improved throughout the season, finishing last year as sophomores and improving this year as juniors,” Sear continued. “We’re working on finding that winning mentality, (to succeed in) those little plays to win games.”

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