HERMON- Oceanside quarterback Cohen Galley rushed for four touchdowns, and passed for another on Friday night in leading the Mariners to a 38-24 Class C North football victory over the Hermon Hawks at Pottle Field.
Oceanside (2-0) received the opening kickoff, and it didn’t take long for them to take a lead they would never relinquish. Galley found a streaking Gavin Ripley down the left sideline behind the defense, connecting on a 39 yard touchdown and would also punch in the two-point conversion on a run for an 8-0 lead just 3:26 in. After Hermon fumbled on their first play from scrimmage, and the Mariners recovered at the Hawks 46-yard line, Galley would finish the drive with a two yard run for a score and another successful two-point try. Galley completed a key 20 yard pass on fourth down and eight to Maddox Robishaw in the redzone to keep that scoring chance alive. The home standing Hawks scored for the first time on the last play of the first quarter, when quarterback Bruce Coulter took it into the endzone on a 10 yard run to make it 16-6. He had kept the drive going with a long run on fourth down and seven. Coulter helped Hermon creep closer also doing it on defense when he intercepted Galley at his own 43 on the next possession for Oceanside, leading to another scoring run from the junior of 41 yards and all of a sudden it was 16-12. Galley answered on a 57 yard drive with a 14 yard touchdown scamper to push the lead back to 24-12 Mariners, and that is where it stood at the halftime break.
Hermon (1-1) got the ball first in the second half, but went three and out and was forced to punt. A bad snap however went over the punters head, and Oceanside recovered at the Hawks 9-yard line. Galley capped that short drive with a two yard score, before Coulter came back with a nine yard TD run near the end of the period keeping at a two possession game. Galley finished off his impressive night after Coulter was intercepted on fourth down by Mariners defensive back Chris Mills at the Oceanside 10-yard line. Galley on the second play after the turnover found a seam through the Hermon defense, and raced up the middle and down the left sideline for a 90 yard touchdown run to seal the victory with 8:05 to play. The Hawks got six more late with the contest already decided on a two yard run by Coulter.
Coulter led Hermon in the loss with 126 yards rushing on 21 attempts, and all four touchdowns for the Hawks. He was 0-4 passing with one interception, but did also record an interception on defense. Damon Kimball had 12 rushes for 46 yards, and Alec Smith added seven carries for 37 yards. It was the first game for Hermon on their new turf field. They will visit Foxcroft Academy in their next contest next Friday at 7 p.m., a matchup that can be seen live on the Eastern Maine Sports Media YouTube page beginning with the pre-game at 6:45. Galley carried 13 times for 197 yards and four touchdowns for Oceanside in the win. He also went 7-11 passing for 119 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Aiden Sargent would also chip in with 55 yards rushing on 10 tries. The Mariners will host Hampden Academy next Friday at 7 p.m.
Recap/photos/video by Chris Lessner
