GARDINER — Pat Munzing knew his Gardiner offense had the ability to make plays.

On Friday night, the Tigers repaid Munzing’s faith.

Gardiner racked up 302 yards of offense, 247 on the ground, in a 35-6 victory over Skowhegan in a Class B North football game at Hoch Field.

“We know we have all the parts, we just haven’t been able to get the offense moving,” said Munzing, Gardiner’s head coach. “We knew at some point, it was going to click. Being able to do that in this game (was big), and we’ve been harping on cutting down the turnovers.”

Junior running back Owen Chadwick led the Tigers (3-2) with 92 rushing yards on 11 carries, scoring two touchdowns. Senior Chase Burgess added 89 yards rushing on eight carries along with a touchdown.

“The (offensive) line was awesome,” Chadwick said. “We came out and did what we wanted to do.”

Skowhegan (1-4) was led by quarterback Jason Aubin, who was 10 of 19 passing for 201 yards and had 24 rushing yards on nine carries.

It was Skowhegan that struck first, as Aubin hit a wide open Kaden Pelletier down the seam for a 77-yard touchdown pass on the River Hawks’ first possession, taking a 6-0 lead.

Gardiner started to find its offensive rhythm in the second quarter, capping an eight-play, 57-yard drive when quarterback Asher Nagy hit Brayden Elliott on a 7-yard touchdown pass. Kutman Bakytbekov’s extra point gave the Tigers a 7-6 lead.

After recovering an Aubin fumble on the next series, Gardiner needed to go just 30 yards for its next score, which was capped by a 5-yard run by Chadwick for a 13-6 score. Gardiner would score again with two minutes left in the first half as Nagy raced 23 yards up the middle for a touchdown, giving the Tigers a 21-6 halftime lead.

Gardiner running back Owen Chadwick, left, gets tackled by Skowhegan defensive end Jaimeson Shanoski, (76) during a football game Friday in Gardiner. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“We wanted to make sure that we focused and scored when we got in the red zone,” Chadwick said. “Make sure we got our blocks downfield and do what we’re supposed to do.”

Gardiner scored on its first possession of the second half. With the ball near midfield, Chadwick took a handoff and started running left, only to cut back and rumble down the middle of the field for a 55-yard touchdown. Bakytbekov’s extra point gave Gardiner a 28-6 lead.

The Tigers’ final touchdown came at the start of the fourth quarter when Burgess ran for a 22-yard touchdown on a reverse, giving Gardiner the final 35-6 score.

Nagy, a junior, was efficient in the passing game for Gardiner, going 5 for 6 for 55 yards.

“(Nagy) really did a great job managing the flow of the game,” Munzing said. “I’m really proud of the way he did that. And then (Chadwick) really put everybody on his back. We had plays with (Elliott). We had skill guys that we knew could (be successful).”

Gardiner’s defense struggled in the first quarter, allowing Aubin to go 5 for 5 passing for 160 yards. The Tigers cracked down the rest of the contest, forcing two interceptions — one from Elliott and one from Eli Manning — and two fumbles recovered by Kyle Doody and Peter Dube.

In its last four games, the Gardiner defense has allowed a total of 24 points, an average of six points per game.

“Our defense, it’s like we’re reading the same chapter in the book, over and over again,” Munzing said. “They just grit down and take it upon themselves to say, ‘We’re not going to let (the opponent score).’”

Skowhegan nearly matched Gardiner in offensive yards, gaining 300 for the evening. Junior running back Ayden Mulcahy had 88 rushing yards on 18 carries for the River Hawks.

Pelletier had four receptions for 93 yards for Skowhegan.