ORONO, Maine — The annual rotation of high school football state championship games for Classes B, C and D at the University of Maine is now in its third year.
So far it’s been good for the northern Maine representative, with Cony of Augusta outlasting Kennebunk in the 2013 Class B final and Winslow overpowering Leavitt of Turner Center in last year’s Class C title game.
Now it’s Class D’s first turn to play its final game at Alfond Stadium, and North champion Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield is angling for a similar result when it faces two-time defending state champion Oak Hill of Wales in a rematch of the unbeatens at 7 p.m. Friday.
“Any time we get a chance to play at the university, we like the opportunity to play up there,” said MCI coach Tom Bertrand, whose team fell to Oak Hill 41-21 in last year’s meeting at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland. “It gives us not necessarily an advantage but an opportunity to showcase what we have in front of everyone.
“I know the [Pittsfield] community would travel hundreds if not thousands of miles to see us play, but we’ll have some more folks from around the eastern Maine community who might come up and see us play that wouldn’t if we were down at Portland.”
MCI (10-0) has dominated its LTC competition this year, winning both during the regular season and regional playoffs by an average margin of 47 points.
Strong play at the line of scrimmage featuring tackle Curtis McLeod and end Dillon Fitts has anchored a stout defense and an explosive offense that has produced nearly 54 points per outing.
Senior quarterback Greg Vigue — a 1,000-yard passer — guides the offense, while halfback Willie Moss — a 1,000-yard rusher — and fullback Alex Bertrand are the main running threats. Brandon McKenna, Braden Monteyro and Josh Buker are the top receivers.
Coach Tom Bertrand says his team’s biggest area of improvement has been its consistency of effort.
“We’re a big-play offense, but we’re now able to establish some drives offensively, and defensively we can really buckle down and not give up the big play as much as we might have early on in the season,” he said.
“The team trust is also stronger than it was when we started. We’ve got the same 12 to 15 guys starting on both sides of the ball, and they really do depend on each other and can count on each other, and that’s developed during the course of the season,” he said.
MCI runs multiple formations as does Oak Hill, whose offensive sets range from the double wing to the spread.
The 10-0 Raiders had a more competitive road back to the state final. Five of their wins were decided by 10 points or less, including a 13-10 South semifinal survival of Winthrop-Monmouth and a 21-20 edging of Lisbon it their regional final.
Coach Stacen Doucette’s club is led by senior quarterback Dalton Therrien, who has completed 68 of 120 passes for 1,297 yards with 17 touchdowns and one interception and rushed for 870 yards and 14 touchdowns on 100 carries.
“They’re very diverse offensively, and they execute their offense very well,” Bertrand said. “They’ve got a quarterback who is the highlight of their offense, but he’s not their only offensive threat. Up front they’re really good technique-wise at getting onto people and moving the football. They get into a lot of different sets, they make you adjust so they’re similar to us.”
Connor Elwell, the Raiders’ leading tackler, is among nine seniors in the team’s defensive rotation who have seen significant playing time on the field since their sophomore seasons.
MCI is seeking its first state championship since 1974 and has focused on that goal since leaving the field after last year’s title game.
“We’re proud to be LTC champions and Northern Maine champions, but it’s not the ultimate goal,” said Bertrand. “We’ve got this one that we need to take care of, and we want it pretty bad. I know Oak Hill wants it bad as well, so it’s going to be a dogfight to see who gets that gold ball.”
