The undefeated Red Riots and No. 3 Stearns Minutemen played an absolute thriller of a regional title game on Saturday night, with Orono outlasting its upstart rival from Millinocket 58 to 40 for its second consecutive state championship berth.
It was also the second consecutive 8-man small North championship contested between Orono and Stearns/Schenck, whose rivalry was cemented after a chippy 30-8 victory for Orono back in Week 2. Since then, both sides had utterly dominated the Little Ten Conference, winning out by average margins of more than 30 points each.
It looked like business as usual for Orono early in the first half, with the Red Riots quickly building a 28-6 lead. On offense, junior quarterback Jack Brewer hit junior Sal Wise and senior Pierce Walston for TD scores, and also ran in a QB sneak. On defense, Orono was an equal threat, forcing punts on Stearns’ first two drives, and blocking the second for an easy Alex Maheu touchdown return.
But then the Minutemen suddenly woke up.
Powered by two quarterback sacks of Brewer, and a scuffed punt by Walston, Stearns’ Caden Raymond and Lucas Pelkey shocked Orono by scoring touchdowns in the final sixty seconds right before halftime, cutting the lead to 34-28. Orono hadn’t given up more than 18 points to a single opponent all season.
“They wanted it just as bad as we did,” Walston said. “We knew they were gonna battle, and we couldn’t give up.”
Coming out of the break, Orono and Stearns continued to trade blows.
Orono junior Will Francis struck first on a ridiculous 42-yard catch and run, sending the crowd into a frenzy. The star wide out caught the ball near the Orono sideline, broke two tackles, ran all the way back over the Stearns sideline and turned on the afterburners, speeding past the Minutemen into the endzone.
“You can’t stop him!” the student section chanted.
But Stearns wasn’t fazed, returning the ensuing kickoff to the Red Riot 45-yard line and punching in another Caden Raymond touchdown less than three minutes later. It was the senior’s third of the night.
It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the boys in maroon finally pulled away. A 50-yard bomb from quarterback Jack Brewer to wide out Will Francis — coupled with a gutsy forced turnover on downs on defense, set up Will’s older brother Ben to ice it with 1:48 remaining.
“It feels right,” Ben Francis said after the game. “We knew exactly what it took to get here. We put in the work all summer long.”
In the state championship game next Saturday at Cameron Stadium in Bangor, the No. 1 Red Riots will play the No. 1 Old Orchard Beach Seagulls from the southern region. It will be a rematch of last year’s state final, in which No. 3 Old Orchard outmuscled No. 5 Orono for a 46-22 victory.
The Seagulls look even more dangerous this year, going undefeated and outscoring the opposition by more than 50 points a game. But Orono is optimistic about its chances.
“We’re going to be right back on the horse Monday,” Walston said. “We’re going to preparing, watching film. I’m not scared because we’ve been there before. Old Orchard’s a great team – it’s going to be a great game.”
