SCARBOROUGH — Needing a win to regain momentum and seal a playoff berth, Massabesic High turned to its thoroughbred and Joey Eon carried the Mustangs to a much-needed victory.

Eon, Massabesic´s senior fullback, rushed 39 times for 353 yards and two touchdowns as the Mustangs pulled away from Scarborough, 34-12, Friday night.

The Mustangs, who had lost their last two games, also got two rushing touchdowns from junior quarterback Tony Campbell, making his first start in place of Nolan Rollins, who wasn´t with the team.

"We needed this big-time," said an exhausted Eon. "It gets us going in the right direction again and builds our momentum.

"This is definitely a big thing for us."

Massabesic is now 5-2 while gritty Scarborough lost its third in a row to drop to 3-4.

This was a 14-6 game heading into the final quarter before Massabesic´s size and depth wore down the Red Storm, which lost six defensive starters over the course of the first three quarters.

Massabesic´s Quintin Drain intercepted his second pass of the game on the first play of the fourth quarter, setting up the Mustangs at the Red Storm 39. Eon gained 17 yards on the next play, then rumbled up the middle, bouncing off a couple of defenders, for a 22-yard touchdown. Pat McCarthy´s PAT kick made it 21-6.

Scarborough was forced to punt on its next possession and the Mustangs punched in another score.

Eon had three carries for 49 yards on the drive, which was capped by an 11-yard run by Campbell with 8:39 remaining.

While Scarborough´s defense faltered in the final 12 minutes, it forced four Massabesic fumbles in the first three quarters to keep the game close.

"I think we had some people really step up," said Red Storm Coach David Sterling. "I´m proud of the way we played and stuck together."

The Mustangs were happy to win despite losing the four fumbles and playing with a new quarterback. Campbell didn´t practice with the first team until Thursday and while he made some mistakes, he directed an offense that rushed for nearly 450 yards.

"Tony´s been a quarterback in our system since the third grade," said Massabesic Coach John Morin, who wouldn´t elaborate of why Campbell was starting instead of Rollins. "He´s been ready for this opportunity for a long time. At times he did some really nice things."

And it´s always nice to have Eon to fall back on. Eon opened the scoring with a 45-yard run with 5:54 left in the first quarter.

"Part of the reason we were able to hand the ball off (to Eon) so much was the job the guys up front did," said Morin. "We did a lot of nice things."

The Mustangs scored early in the second quarter on a 6-yard option keeper by Campbell, who set up the touchdown with a 37-yard completion to Drain two plays earlier.

The Red Storm got their first touchdown with 45 seconds remaining in the first half on a 1-yard sneak by quarterback Zack Bean.

Bean was instrumental throughout the 46-yard drive, rushing for 20 yards and completing 3 of 4 passes for 21 yards.

Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:
mlowe@pressherald.com