'Cats issue Notice, run over Guardians.

• Position: SPORTS

Byline: John McGuirk

WORCESTER - It took the Gardner High football team a little more than eight minutes to find the end zone. But once it did, there was no stopping the Wildcats.

Gardner's catch-me-if-you-can offense was on display yesterday in a throttling of Division 1 West foe St. Peter-Marian, 28-0, to improve to 5-2 and 3-1 in league play. The Guardians drop to 1-5, 0-3.

Behind a solid running game, the Wildcats ran over and through the Guardians, capitalizing on some huge runs which often left SPM in the rearview mirror.

Senior back Tyrone Notice had eight carries for 177 yards and a pair of touchdowns, on runs of 63 and 54 yards. Senior fullback Ryan Cormier had seven rushes for 96 yards and a score.

"We knew coming in that (SPM) would be ready to play," Wildcats coach Walt Dubzinski said. "I don't care how many kids they have on crutches or how many kids they don't have playing. They're still going to play hard. But to come out here on a Saturday afternoon and win, we're pleased."

Gardner finished with 305 yards of offense, but the big plays made the difference.

Cormier put the Wildcats in front, 6-0, thanks to an 85-yard jaunt through the line with just 2:46 left in the first quarter. Time and again, the SPM offense (291 yards) was able to move the ball, but in critical times it folded. Seven times they faced a fourth-down situation and in each occasion the Guardians failed to convert.

One of those situations came late in the second quarter. Turning the ball over to Gardner, the visitors needed...