WINSLOW – Winslow running back Justin Lindie was well on his way to a solid day against Leavitt on Saturday. On just three carries, the junior accumulated 31 yards, including a substantial number on a fake punt run for a first down. On that run, though, Lindie went down and never returned to the game.
“We wanted to be cautious,” said teammate Jared Maroon. “He wasn’t hurt that bad, but they wanted to be careful.”
Maroon, a senior running back, and the rest of his Black Raider teammates picked up the slack in Lindie’s absence, pounding out 157 yards on the ground over the next three-plus quarters on their way to a tight 16-12 win over Leavitt at Gerry Poulin Memorial Field.
“This was a crazy season-opener,” said Winslow coach Mike Siviski. “I’m glad the kids hung in there against a tough team. These are two potential playoff teams, and they gave us all we could ask for.”
The game took a bizarre twist from the opening kickoff. The Winslow captains won the toss and deferred to the second half, but ended up receiving the ball anyway. In the second half, the teams began on the same side as they had in the first, and Winslow again received the kickoff.
“It was a fun game to watch for the fans,” said Siviski, “but it was a crazy game to coach.”
“I guess all I can say about that is that everyone was still in preseason form out there,” said Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway.
Hathaway’s team, meanwhile, staked itself to a comfortable 12-3 lead at the half thanks in part to another officials miscue. Down 3-0 and forced to punt, the Hornets’ Corey Witham kicked the ball 25 yards past the line of scrimmage. It sailed over the Winslow returner’s head, but he tipped the ball on its way down, making it live. The ball then ricocheted off of the line judge, who had fallen to the ground while attempting to run backwards, and into the clutches of three Leavitt players, including Craig McCann.
On the ensuing drive, senior Chris Brewer (26 carries, 120 yards, two touchdowns) carried the team down to the Winslow 4-yard-line and punched it in for a 6-3 Leavitt lead. With the momentum, Leavitt forced Winslow to go three-and-out on its next possession and scored again on a Brewer run.
“He worked hard to get into shape for this season,” Hathaway said of Brewer. “He’s a good, hard-nosed runner. He’s not a breakaway back, but when he has the ball he’s tough to bring down.”
In the second half, still fuming about the punt, Winslow started to make its comeback.
“We just got more upset about it at halftime,” said Maroon. “We got everyone pumped up.
Maroon, who only had two yards on four carries in the first half, ran for 63 yards on 10 carries in the second. Fellow running back John Goulette added 40 yards of his own after halftime. On their first possession of the third quarter, the Raiders scored on an 11-play, 53-yard drive and added the extra point to cut their deficit to 12-10.
Leavitt mounted a long drive, but stalled out on a fourth-and-four at the Winslow 13. The Hornets did get the ball back, still with the lead, but again fired blanks from the Raiders’ 26. On its next possession, Winslow took the lead on a 23-yard pass from quarterback Stephen Siviski to Kevin McCabe as Siviski fell backwards.
“We had some chances on fourth down and we didn’t convert,” said Hathaway. “In the second half, we didn’t have the same intensity that we did in the first. Between now and next week, we’re going to have to learn how to finish games.”
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