OLD TOWN, Maine — The defending state champion Winslow Black Raiders absorbed every ounce of energy Old Town’s passing game had to offer Friday night but had plenty of its own power in reserve.
Nate St. Amand rushed for 331 yards on 26 carries and Winslow controlled the line of scrimmage after intermission to rally for a 40-27 victory over the Coyotes in the Class C North championship game played before more than 2,000 fans at Victory Field.
Old Town, seeking its first regional title since 1991, jumped out to a 14-point second-quarter lead behind senior quarterback Jake Jarvis, but Winslow used its backfield combination of St. Amand and fullback Kenny Rickard to score 33 unanswered points.
Winslow’s offensive line of Andrew Beals, Alec Clark, Ben Abbott, Cam Morrison and Nat Beckwith created holes at the point of attack and St. Amand then used his sprinter’s speed to break the game open and break the Coyotes’ collective hearts.
“What we wanted to do was to win the game with our line,” said Winslow coach Mike Siviski after guiding the Black Raiders to their fourth consecutive regional crown. “That was our battle plan, but it took a while.”
Winslow, 10-0 this year and the winner of 21 straight games overall, will play the winner of Saturday’s C South final between Yarmouth and Wells for the state championship on Nov. 21 in Portland.
Old Town ends its season at 9-1.
Jarvis, who finished the night completing 20 of 39 passes for 314 yards, hit 13 of 21 attempts for 218 yards and three touchdowns — each a 14-yard strike — as the Coyotes built a 21-14 halftime lead.
The Old Town passing game got going on its second offensive series as Jarvis hit Andre Miller with a 39-yard strike down the right sideline to set up a 14-yard connection between the duo to give the Coyotes a 6-0 lead with 6:44 left in the first quarter.
It took Winslow just two plays to respond, with St. Amand cutting outside and racing down the right sideline 43 yards to the end zone. Ryan Gagnon’s PAT kick gave Winslow a 7-6 lead with still 5:01 left in the opening period.
But just as quickly as Winslow gained the lead, Old Town struck back.
A 21-yard run by T.J. Crawford was followed by a 43-yard pass from Jarvis to Miller, and one play later Jarvis passed over the middle to tight end Ethan Stoddard for the touchdown. Jarvis passed to Josh Crouse for the two-point conversion for a 14-7 lead.
A pass interception by Old Town’s Pascal Cyr ended Winslow’s next possession, setting the Coyotes up for a nine-play, 63-yard march that concluded when Jarvis found Miller over the middle on fourth-and-12 from the 14 for his second touchdown of the night, making it 21-7.
St. Amand scored on a 2-yard run to make it 21-14 with 6:22 left in the half.
Miller had six catches for 141 yards in the half, but Winslow doubled up defensively on the Coyotes’ star after the break and limited him to three additional catches for 47 yards.
“They’ve definitely got the best secondary we’ve faced this year by far,” said Jarvis.
The teams traded fumbles in the opening minute of the third quarter before St. Amand ripped off a 69-yard run to the Old Town 9 to set up a 1-yard fourth-down scoring run by Rickard with 8:55 left in the period to cut the gap to 21-10.
Winslow regained the lead on its next possession, with St. Amand again providing the ignition with a 53-yard sprint to set up a 1-yard plunge by Rickard that gave the Black Raiders a 26-21 edge with 3:52 remaining in the quarter.
Miller later had a 49-yard punt to pin Winslow at its 2-yard line early in the fourth period, but that just gave St. Amand more room to run.
The junior halfback took a second-down handoff and raced 72 yards to the Old Town 26 to set up his own 3-yard touchdown run with 7:26 left in the game.
St. Amand’s backup, Patrick Hopkins, added a 41-yard touchdown run with 4:15 left.
Jarvis scored the game’s final touchdown on a 1-yard keeper with 2:42 remaining.
