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HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Gardiner opens with victory
BY BILL STEWART, Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 09/07/2008

WALES -- Seldom-used sophomore Dalton Eldridge didn't expect many, if any, carries Saturday when defending Class B state champ Gardiner Area High School traveled to Oak Hill High in a Pine Tree Conference Class B football showdown.

So you can only imagine the surprise awaiting Eldridge when starting tailback Forrest Chadwick injured his left Achilles and right ring finger during a 52-yard touchdown rush midway through the first quarter of an eventual 32-6 victory.

"I was a little bit (nervous) at first," Eldridge said. "The coaches told me to just stay with it and get to the holes."

Eldridge did, over and over again, rushing for a game-high 76 yards and two touchdowns.

"We knew he could run hard," Gardiner coach Jim Palmer said. "We'd like to be able to have four, five backs back there."

The Tigers did Saturday, rushing for 288 yards. Fullback Peter Caradonna, Michael Phelps, Jake Usher, Nick Grover and Nate LaPointe also saw time in the Gardiner backfield.

Chadwick, who lined up to receive punts but otherwise played sparingly in the final three quarters, rushed for 71 yards on six carries. Chadwick opened the scoring when he rushed off right tackle and got to the outside with a little more than six minutes remaining in the first.

Senior cornerback Tyler Wells nearly recorded a touchdown-saving tackle, but Chadwick wiggled out of the hold near the sideline en route to the end zone. Chadwick said he thought he suffered the injuries on that play, including a possible fractured finger.

"I remember feeling it on the extra point," he said. "It'll get better; it's just a fracture."

The Tigers led just 13-6 after the first quarter and 19-6 heading into the fourth. However, they put the game away when Eldridge rushed for a 7-yard score before Caradonna returned an interception 40 yards for another with 7 minutes, 7 seconds remaining.

"It's definitely good to get the first game under our belts," said Caradonna, who rushed for 45 yards. "On defense, we just tried to shut them down."

The defense did just that.

The Raiders managed just 59 net yards and four first downs, one of which came via penalty. The Tigers, meanwhile, piled up 319 yards and 15 first downs.

"Our offense, we just couldn't execute," said Oak Hill senior tailback Drew Jannelle, who rushed for a team-high 34 yards. "We wanted to run all of our stuff, the dives and waggles. We wanted to run all of our bread and butter plays, but it didn't happen today."

The Raiders nearly pulled even at the end of the first when Tim Blais picked off a Mike Denham pass and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown. Oak Hill failed to convert the two-point conversion, however, and Gardiner led 7-6 with 2:30 left in the first.

But on the ensuing kickoff, Jake Wright followed his blocker, found a seam and raced 89 yards for the touchdown that gave Gardiner the lead for good.

"That set a fire under us," Caradonna said.

Added Oak Hill coach Bruce Nicholas: "We had just scored and it was big. But good teams say, 'The heck with it, we'll come back,' and they did. It was a huge play."

Bill Stewart -- 623-3811, ext. 515

bstewart@centralmaine.com

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