High school football’s Championship on Friday night will feature regional finals in all four North divisions over an area ranging from Portland to Old Town.
The four Eastern Maine champions from a year ago — Windham, Brunswick, Winslow and Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield — are within one victory of returning to the state finals next weekend.
Four other clubs — Portland, Brewer, Old Town and Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln — hope to dash those dreams while continuing their own state championship pursuits.
Class B: No. 3 Brewer Witches (9-1) at No. 1 Brunswick Dragons (8-1), 7 p.m.
Two of the preseason favorites in this division are still alive: Brewer after its dramatic 16-15 semifinal victory at No. 2 Skowhegan last week, and Brunswick after a decisive 40-0 win over No. 4 Mt. Blue of Farmington.
Brewer handed Brunswick its lone loss in Week 6 of the regular season as senior quarterback Logan Rogerson amassed 286 passing and rushing yards and generated four touchdowns in the Witches’ 34-27 win.
Brunswick star Will Bessey, considered a candidate for this year’s Fitzpatrick Trophy, left that contest in the third quarter, but Brewer coach Nick Arthers believes containing the senior running back will be pivotal to the outcome of the rematch.
“When it comes down to it, they have one of the best running backs in the state in Will Bessey,” said Arthers. “I know he might have been a little sick in the first game and might not have been on top of his game, but he’s still going to be the focus this week.
“We’ve got to stop him, but along with that, we’ve got to make sure we don’t focus on him too much and let one of their other guys who are just as athletic jump out at any given time and break one for a big gain.”
The Witches will be somewhat shorthanded for the rematch as two starters have been suspended from the team for the game, according to Brewer athletic administrator Dave Utterback.
But the work of playmakers such as Rogerson, Dylan Severance, Trey Wood and Danny Davis has been instrumental in the Witches’ success this fall, along with steady development along the line of scrimmage.
“On the offensive line, we’ve really done a good job of recognizing defenses, recognizing where teams are aligning, and then making adjustments to where they’re blitzing and where the linebackers are lining up,” said Arthers.
“Along with that we’ve just been making sure that our defense and our tackling has stayed at the highest level because that where we really shine, on the defensive side of the ball.”
Class C: No. 2 Winslow Black Raiders (9-0) at No. 1 Old Town Coyotes (9-0), 7 p.m.
These clubs were separated only by a coin flip, which Old Town won at the end of the regular season to gain home-field advantage for their first meeting of the season.
Old Town has been a prolific offensive club, averaging 38.3 points per game including a 38-7 semifinal win over No. 5 Foxcroft Academy of Dover-Foxcroft last weekend behind senior quarterback Jake Jarvis, senior wideout Andre Miller and junior halfback T.J. Crawford.
But an improved defense has been critical to the Coyotes’ quest for their first regional championship since 1991.
“Last year offensively we played well, averaging 32 points per game, but the problem was we were giving up 35,” said Old Town coach Lance Cowan. “That was our focus in the off-season, to get a defense that suited our talents. We figured out where we wanted to go, and then during the season, we figured out who played best in what position.
“Late in the season we started to figure it out a bit, and we’ll see how well we figured it out this week against Winslow,” Cowan added.
Defending state champion Winslow brings a 20-game winning streak into the contest, with coach Mike Siviski’s club outscoring its opposition by a combined 428-27 this fall.
Quarterback Jake Trask and running backs Kenny Rickard and Nate St. Amand pace the Black Raiders’ offense, which is complemented by a defense that has seven shutouts.
“The biggest thing with them is they’re a physical football team,” said Cowan. “They’ll push you around and move the ball that way, and that’s something we haven’t really seen a lot of, certainly nothing like these guys up front.
“I think that’s our biggest challenge, and a challenge we’ve faced all year because we’re not the biggest team on the field each week. We don’t have the biggest guys, and that’s going to be the case this week but we’ll get after it with the same approach defensively we’ve had all year.”
Class D: No. 2 Mattanawcook Academy Lynx (7-2) vs. No. 1 Maine Central Institute Huskies (9-0), 7 p.m. at Pittsfield
Mattanawcook may face the toughest challenge of all — trying to defeat an opponent that handed it a 61-0 defeat during Week 4 of the regular season.
“Obviously the task is tall,” said Lynx coach Pat House, “but it’s been that way every game this year.”
MCI, meanwhile, faces the challenge of knowing it already has defeated MA by 61 points and not taking a second win over the Lynx for granted.
“It’s absolutely a challenge,” said MCI coach Tom Bertrand.” We’re happy we were able to be as dominant as we were when we played them the first time around, but we also totally understand and appreciate that this is the postseason and they’re a good football team and a program with some tradition, so we’re not taking them lightly at all.”
MCI followed up a dominant regular season when it averaged 51.9 points per game with a 76-27 semifinal victory over No. 4 Orono as halfback Willie Moss contributed 200 rushing yards and five touchdowns during the opening two quarters.
“Our focus has been on one thing, and that’s getting a chance at that state championship, that gold ball,” said Bertrand. “We know we have to take of business each week, so every week has been just as important as the week before and the next week.”
Mattanawcook advanced with a 20-14 victory over No. 3 Mount View of Thorndike that avenged a regular-season loss to the Mustangs. Scott Jipson led the Lynx with 200 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
“Mount View is a very good team and a very physical team up front, and our kids brought that physicality with them Friday night,” said House. “That’s something we’ve definitely improved on.”
Mattanawcook’s biggest challenge against MCI similarly may be along the line of scrimmage, where the Huskies’ Curtis McLeod and end Dillon Fitts lead the way.
“The line sets the tone for their physicality,” said House. “Then they’ve got an awful lot of athletes behind them that can take advantage of their speed and athleticism once they have a gap, and Greg Vigue is a tremendous quarterback.”
Class A: No. 2 Windham Eagles (7-2) at No. 1 Portland Bulldogs (9-0), 7 p.m.
Both teams are coming off impressive semifinal wins, Portland 56-7 over No. 5 Bangor and Windham 28-0 over No. 3 Cheverus of Portland.
Portland, the lone undefeated Class A team statewide, shaded Windham 10-3 in their regular-season meeting at Fitzpatrick Stadium on Sept. 25.
