It was a seemingly perfect start for the Boothbay football team opening night, Sept. 2, versus Sacopee Valley of Hiram. The Seahawks scored four first quarter touchdowns, three on offense, in establishing a 26-0 lead. Boothbay continued its dominance in the final three quarters in winning, 54-16, at Sherman Field. 

But Head Coach Ed Crocker saw a lot of imperfections in the victory. “It was pretty much what I expected, but our rushing offense really struggled in the second half. The competition is going to get better. So we need to get better, too,” he said. 

Senior quarterback Kayden Ames rushed for three touchdowns and ran for 129 yards. He also completed four of nine passes for 70 yards and one touchdown. Crocker plans on using two quarterbacks this season. Senior Drew Meader completed five of eight passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns. “Their defense really started to key on Kayden’s running. So we put Drew in to give them another look, and he did an outstanding job throwing the ball. Our passing game really made up for our struggles running the ball,” he said.

Senior Dylan Plummer, linebacker, registered six tackles. Senior Ryan Amaral, safety and wide receiver, had three receptions and one interception. For the two seniors, excitement generated by the season’s first game was a big factor in the strong start. “It was a great job by everyone especially our defense. It was a great team effort and an amazing night,” Plummer said. 

Boothbay’s defensive pressure resulted in Amaral scoring on a first quarter interception. “I saw the slant coming, but he overthrew it,” he said. Boothbay (1-0) travels to Readfield to play Maranacook Community School (1-0) on Friday, Sept. 9. Maranacook won its season opener, 34-28, versus Dirigo.