ORONO, Maine — Friday night served as the unveiling of what the Orono High School football team hopes will be a revamped, more diversified offense.
However, facing a two-touchdown deficit at halftime, the Red Riots went back to the scheme that has been their bread and butter for many years.
Coach Bob Sinclair’s team lined up in a T formation in the second half, sparking a dominating 24 minutes that culminated in a season-opening 28-12 LTC victory over Houlton.
The Red Riots scored on their first four possessions of the second half, riding strong offensive line play and a balanced ground attack to the come-from-behind win.
“When we got our backs to the wall, we just made a decision at halftime to come out and do what we’ve always done,” Sinclair said. “The kids know how to do that.”
Orono responded after the Shiretowners made their varsity debut with a well-rounded first-half performance. The visitors rode the powerful play of halfback Jake Drew, who carried 14 times for 137 yards in the first half alone.
He finished the night with 187 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns.
Houlton also was sparked by steady line play and a versatile, ground-oriented offense.
“The end of the first half, they had us on our heels a little bit,” Sinclair said. “They’re big kids, tough kids.”
However, Orono received the second-half spark that it needed from its offense, while the defensive unit made a couple of adjustments that enabled the Red Riots to shut down the Shires’ run game.
Orono took the second-half kickoff and quickly went 64 yards on only five plays. Sophomore halfback Matt Fowler (12 carries, 77 yards) burst up the middle for a 33-yard scoring run and Keenan Collett added the conversion rush to light the Red Riots’ collective fire and cut the deficit to 12-8.
“We were fortunate to be able to make a few things happen and I think that gave us a spark,” Sinclair said. “Once we scored that first one and the way that we did by ripping big yardage, gave the kids a lot of confidence.”
The hosts grabbed the lead for good after Houlton gave up the ball on its own 14-yard line after a bad punt snap. Tom Lucy’s 5-yard scamper on the second play made it 14-12 at the 7:58 mark.
Orono forced another punt and marched 56 yards on six plays. Lucy (8 carries, 60 yards) peeled off a tackle-breaking 26-yard run that set up Fowler’s 4-yard scoring drive. Collett’s rush made it 22-12 with 3:26 to play in the third quarter.
By that time, the Shires appeared a bit deflated. And when Mark Lucy sacked Houlton quarterback Ryan Heath and Connor McCluskey recovered the fumble only moments later, Orono was back on the attack.
The Red Riots covered the 28 yards in seven plays, with Collett capping the drive from two yards out with 11:21 remaining.
Houlton could not muster any serious threats after that.
“They did some good things, but we made some nice adjustments,” Sinclair said. “We made an adjustment at halftime where we did a few things and that kind of slowed them down.”
The Shiretowners broke a scoreless tie midway through the second quarter. They did so in somewhat bizarre fashion.
At one point during its possession, Houlton faced a third-and-39 from its own 34-yard line. However, consecutive 15-yard penalties, including a personal foul that resulted in an automatic first down, got the visitors within striking distance.
On the next play, the 13th of the seesaw drive, Drew took a toss to the left side, eluded a would-be tackler, cut back to the right and dove into the end zone while being tripped up by Coutts.
The 29-yard run made it 6-0 with 5:46 to play in the half.
Houlton scored again on its next possession, taking over at the Orono 47 after a punt. The Shires needed only four plays to score.
Again, Houlton defied the odds. Drew again took a pitch to the left and encountered a handful on blockers and onrushing potential tacklers. He muscled his way out of the scrum, chugged back toward the middle of the field, broke a tackle, then sped down the right side into the end zone.
The PAT kick was blocked, leaving Houlton on top 12-0 with 1:07 to play in the half.