Be it ever so humble, there is no place like Sherman Field, at least for the Boothbay Seahawk football team. In the team’s five games so far, a distinct pattern has formed. In the home games, Boothbay won all three, and, in the two road contests, the Seahawks lost both times. So Sherman Field was definitely a welcome site Oct. 4 as the Seahawks welcomed Sacopee Valley for their annual homecoming game. 

And the hometown fans were treated to watching  the “good” Seahawks, as Boothbay thumped Sacopee Valley, 36-0. In Boothbay’s last game, the Seahawks were down four key contributors in losing to Telstar in eight-man small conference play. But defensive end Michael Cusumano and Michael Hollowell returned to action and both made key contributions to the victory. Cusumano had a sack and recorded two tackles for losses. Hollowell scored two touchdowns. The first expanded Boothbay’s lead to 16-0. Hollowell scored on a 43-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Hunter Crocker. He later scored on a two-yard touchdown run. 

For Boothbay coach Ed Crocker, playing at home and having key players back on the field made a big difference for the Seahawks. “There is something about playing at home. We’re a much better team. I don’t know if it’s the long bus ride or what,” he said. “It also helps being healthy. We didn’t have four key contributors this week and getting a couple of those guys back made a big difference for us.”

Another difference was big plays. It seemed when the Boothbay offense became bogged down, lightning would strike out of nowhere. Boothbay scored its first touchdown on a fourth and long at midfield. The Sacopee Valley pass rush pushed Crocker out of the pocket on a pass play only to see him run 50 yards down the left sideline for the game’s first score. Later in the first quarter, Crocker converted a third and long, with his only touchdown pass to Hollowell. 

But Sacopee Valley found no quick scoring plays, as the Boothbay defense bottled them up with a stingy, interior defense which allowed only 310 total yards. The Hawks offense rushed 47 times for only 59 yards. Sacopee Valley’s best scoring drive was in the fourth quarter, but Boothbay stopped them on a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line with 3:10 remaining. On defense, Michael Cusumano’s return to defensive end was a welcome addition. 

“He kept the outside containment and forced them to run inside,” said Coach Crocker. “Our interior run defense is our strength and Dwight Lucas and Kayden Ames stuffed their running attack all game.”Boothbay is 3-2 in eight-man football small conference play. Sacopee Valley is 1-4. Boothbay hosts big conference foe Yarmouth (2-3) at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 11.