BIDDEFORD – As Jeff Parenteau staggered off the grass at Waterhouse Field Friday night, Chris Preble took a few steps toward the Belfast running back.

Did you signal that you wanted to come out, asked Preble, the Stearns of Millinocket football coach and an assistant on the East staff for the Maine Lobster Bowl Classic.

Parenteau nodded his head. He had just reeled off 12 yards on three rushing plays during a series in the third quarter – 12 of his more than 100 yards in the game between all-star seniors from Eastern and Western Maine.

Parenteau’s effort helped key a huge 55-8 triumph for the East, its first since 1999, second in the 14-year history of the game, and the biggest point differential ever in a Lobster Bowl.

“The East, we’re not about winning this game,” Parenteau said. “We had a great time all week. We weren’t expecting this. It’s really exciting to see us come out this way.”

The East ran the ball, didn’t let the West get into any kind of an offensive flow, and benefited from good field position and some West penalties.

Waterville quarterback Ryan Lockard was named the East’s MVP. He ran for a 7-yard touchdown in the third quarter, passed for a score in the first, and went 2-of-3 for 41 yards and one interception. He also finished with 51 rushing yards on four carries.

Parenteau finished with 120 yards on 12 carries and two touchdown runs. His second score, however, was the key.

The East had a 20-8 halftime lead and was to open the third quarter with the ball at its own 35-yard line. After a long wait because of a West injury, Parenteau reeled off a 65-yard run on the first play of the quarter. Lockard rushed for the extra points, giving the East a 28-8 lead.

“The play was a blast-left, and we got [Foxcroft offensive lineman] Trey Merrill, our biggest guy, opening up holes,” Parenteau said. “The whole line just pounded, and I saw the biggest hole I’ve seen all year. We owed the defense a touchdown for that pick we had [in the second quarter].”

Charlie Goodwin of Mount Ararat in Topsham rushed for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Foxcroft’s Josh Sands intercepted a pass in the fourth and ran it back to the West’s 34 to set up a touchdown later. Brent Dube of Lewiston recovered a West fumble on an East kickoff, also setting up for another TD. The East scored twice in a 17-second span in the fourth.

The West finished with 122 first-half offensive yards and just 39 in the second half.

“People were saying that [the West] had an incredible offense and they’d be hard to stop,” said Bangor’s Zak Ray, who started at cornerback. “We knew that and we worked [hard]. We thought they were going to run the ball. They came out and tried to pass a little bit and we just squashed that.”

The East shocked the West with solid defense early (the West gained just 36 yards in its first two series and was forced to punt both times). The East got the ball at the West 39-yard-line for its second series, and Parenteau and Skowhegan’s Josh Meyer combined for 12 yards on two rushing plays, setting up a 16-yard TD pass from Lockard to Maranacook of Readfield’s Danny Stearn for a 7-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Cony of Augusta’s Nkolo Nyada ran for a 31 yard touchdown, keyed by a Parenteau run of 34 yards and an earlier Lockard scramble for 16.

“Our line has a great initial push,” Merrill said. “After that, our backs are just crazy.”

The East forced another West 3-and-out, and Parenteau went on to run for a 10-yard score. A 15-yard Lockard pass to Lawrence of Fairfield’s Peter McLaughlin (and a 15-yard West penalty) sparked Parenteau’s TD run.

The West turned the flow of the game a bit at the end of the first half. Biddeford’s Bryan Laverriere intercepted a pass in West territory and returned it about 40 yards, setting up a 30-yard touchdown pass from Portland’s Keith Derrig to Chad Garwood of Winthrop. Derrig hooked up with Bulldog teammate Will Hews for the two-point conversion.

Brandon Hamilton of Skowhegan had two sacks in the first half.

Portland’s Carl Frye, who won the Fitzpatrick Award last season, was named the West’s MVP.

West 0 8 0 0 – 8

East 7 13 15 20 – 55

E – Stearn 26 pass from Lockard (Nyada kick)

E – Nyada 31 run (Nyada kick)

E – Parenteau 10 run (kick failed)

W – Garwood 30 pass from Derrig (Derrig pass to Hews)

E – Parenteau 64 run (Lockard rush)

E – Lockard 7 run (White kick)

E – Vigue 48 run (White kick)

E – Goodwin 9 run (kick failed)

E – Goodwin 6 run (Lasko kick)