Prime-time playmakers Steven Davis of the Belfast Lions and Dylan Hapworth of the Winslow Black Raiders will be featured when the two high school football teams battle in Belfast Friday night.
The Class C battle is one of several intriguing matchups in week five of the season that also includes East Class A unbeatens Windham at Bangor.
Winslow Black Raiders (4-0) at Belfast Lions (3-1), 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3: Winslow enters the game averaging 49.0 points per contest while Belfast is at 48.0 points per outing.
The difference to date has been defensively, as Winslow has yielded just 29 points in four games compared to 114 for Belfast.
“We’ve had two weeks of poor tackling, so that’s something we’re working on,” said Belfast coach Chris Bartlett, whose team is coming off an 82-60 win at Madison-Carrabec last week after a 34-26 loss to Foxcroft Academy in Week 3.
Davis and Hapworth have already surpassed touchdown totals that it some players won’t match until the end of the season. Davis has scored 16 touchdowns this season, including eight during the shootout with Madison-Carrabec.
Hapworth has scored 10 touchdowns and kicked two field goals despite limited playing time given the one-sided nature of Winslow’s victories.
“The thing with Winslow is they’re just fundamentally sound no matter what they’re doing,” Bartlett said. “They always seem to be in the right spots and individually they do their jobs, which makes them successful as a team.”
“I think this is going to be a battle of the wills,” Hackett said. “Their skill game is quite a bit more advanced than ours right now, but as long as people keep thinking we’re not going to throw it, sooner or later those throws are going to work.
“We are throwing the ball more, we work on it every day, and I just think our kids are going to make the plays when they need to. We had pass plays in the Portland game that were huge. We’re either going to make them or we’re going to lose,” he said.
Stearns Minutemen (3-1) at Orono Red Riots (3-1), 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3: With just four postseason berths in the LTC Class D ranks, the winner of this game will take a huge step toward remaining in playoff contention with the likes of undefeated Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield and once-beaten Bucksport, Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln and John Bapst of Bangor.
Stearns has won three straight games since a season-opening loss to Mattanawcook, with coach John Jamo’s club outscoring Ellsworth-Sumner, Mount View of Thorndike and Houlton 102-48 behind seniors Marc Morneault and Nick Dumas.
Orono counters with a younger nucleus sparked by sophomores Matt Fowler, Keenan Collett and quarterback Jackson Coutts, who have combined for more than 700 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
Senior Tom Lucy has added 290 rushing yards and three touchdowns for coach Bob Sinclair’s Red Riots, who rebounded from a Week 3 loss to Mattanawcook by defeating Dexter last Saturday.
Bucksport Golden Bucks (2-1) at John Bapst Crusaders (2-1), 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, Husson University, Bangor: Last week John Bapst fell to the LTC’s lone remaining undefeated team, MCI.
This week coach Dan O’Connell’s Crusaders host defending regional champion Bucksport, which bounced back from its first loss at MCI in Week 3 with a comfortable win over Mount View.
Coach Joel Sankey’s Golden Bucks feature offensive balance keyed by senior quarterback Matthew Stewart (36-50 passing for 447 yards and 10 touchdowns) and senior halfback Jack Cyr (44 carries, 401 yards).
John Bapst counters with senior Jackson Leonard (51 rushes, 411 yards) and junior quarterback Spencer Baron (218 combined rushing and passing yards).
Windham Eagles (4-0) at Bangor Rams (4-0), 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, Cameron Stadium: Both teams have relied heavily on ball-control rushing attacks, with Windham averaging 288.8 yards per game on the ground compared to 283.8 for Bangor.
“In a day and age when it’s all wide open and it’s quasi-flag football, there are a few teams that are still playing some old-fashioned stuff,” said Hackett. “One just happens to be the team we’re playing this Friday, and Portland was a little like that, too.”
Bangor features Eastern A’s leading rusher in junior halfback Dane Johnson, who has 858 yards and 13 touchdowns on 116 carries.
“He’s got something special,” Hackett said. “Is he one of the top 10 backs I’ve seen here? Absolutely. Is he the best one? Who knows, but we’re glad he’s on our team. He’s certainly up there among the best.”
Windham counters with junior Dylan Koza, third in Eastern A with 544 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on just 67 carries for coach Matt Perkins’ club.
But while Bangor has completed just seven passes in four games, Windham sophomore Desmond Leslie has been one of the more accurate quarterbacks in the league, completing 25 of 32 attempts for 436 yards with four touchdowns.
Defending one of the more balanced attacks in Eastern A will be one of Bangor’s major tasks.
