Killingly — The East Lyme football team is limping to the end of the season.

So is their offense.

The Vikings fell behind by 20 points in the first quarter against Killingly and was never able to sustain any offense in a 48-7 Eastern Connecticut Conference Large Division loss on Friday night, leaving them only mathematically alive in the CIAC Class L playoff race.

"It's been a tough five-game stretch," East Lyme head coach Rudy Bagos said. "We have injuries. Not to make any excuses, Killingly outplayed us tonight.

"It's that time of year (when injuries add up). We're trying to see what kind of grit we had tonight and we didn't have any."

Scott Galbo, one of the Vikings' leading receivers, was out injured.

"That was our worst game," Bagos said.

East Lyme is 5-4, 1-3.

Killingly easily shook off last week's 27-21 loss to Norwich Free Academy on a game-ending hook-and-ladder play. It took advantage of five sacks and two interceptions, one of which Kameron Crowe returned for a 78-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.

Workhorse Jack Sharpe ran 19 times for 138 yards for the Red Hawks (8-1, 4-1) while Jackson Lopes ran six times for 52 yards and four touchdowns.

Jacob Nurse also completed 4-of-5 passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns.

"We wanted to prove to the state that we're not done yet," Crowe said. "It's one little bump in the road. We're still chasing a (Class M) state championship."

Noah Perry completed 16 of 31 passes for 106 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for East Lyme. Owen Robbins caught the touchdown pass for 21 yards.

Nurse threw a 23-yard touchdown to Josh Heaney on Killingly's first drive to give it a 7-0 lead with 5 minutes, 56 seconds left in the quarter.

The Red Hawks started their next drive at the East Lyme 12 after a punt return and face mask penalty. Lopes ran for an 11-yard touchdown two plays later as Killingly went ahead 13-0 with 3:53 left in the quarter.

Red Hawks nose guard Connor LeDuc intercepted a pass on the Vikings next drive and returned it 25 yards down to the East Lyme 2. Lopes ran for a touchdown on the next play to push Killingly ahead, 20-0, with 2:20 left in the quarter.

Nurse found a wide-open Crowe behind the Vikings' defense and threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to him as Killingly went ahead, 27-0, with 4:40 remaining in the first half.

n.griffen@theday.com