DIXFIELD — Moving the ball hasn’t been a problem for Livermore Falls this year. Stopping the opposition from moving it has.
With that in mind, the Andies’ sideline collectively held its breath as Dirigo quarterback Ben Holmes dropped back for one final pass that would decide Saturday’s crucial Campbell Conference contest. Then, thanks to Alex Rose, it let out a collective sigh of relief nearly a month in the making.
Rose intercepted Holmes’ pass near the goal line with time running out to preserve Livermore Falls’ 28-24 win and snap the Andies’ three-game losing streak Saturday at a blustery Harlow Park.
“The last play did nothing but end the game. It was how we played through the entire game that won it,” Rose said. “We had to have heart coming out today. We had to have good defense and tackling, and everybody just had to execute their plays.”
“We needed that,” said Andies coach Brad Bishop, whose team improved to 3-3. “We tackled a hell of a lot better than we have been. We easily could be 5-1 if we had tackled better. To come over here and beat the defending champs on their field on a Saturday, that’s a great game.”
Dirigo (4-2) pulled to within four with 2:43 left on a 6-yard TD pass from Holmes (12-for-22, 206 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT) to Nelson Pepin. The Cougar defense then held the Andies three-and-out, forcing a punt.
The Cougars took over at their own 25 with 1:08 remaining. Holmes completed a 29-yard pass to Spencer Trenoweth to get them to Livermore’s 37. After a near-interception and another incompletion, Dirigo lined up four-wide with 9.5 seconds left.
Holmes had thrown a long touchdown pass to Spencer Ross to end the first half, and he went deep in Ross’s direction this time. But Rose hauled it in, then nearly returned it all the way back for a score before being dragged down deep in Dirigo territory.
Rose (24 carries, 113 yards, two touchdowns) was the ring-leader of a rushing offense that racked up 329 yards. Tommy Lee (15 carries, 97 yards, TD), Brent Buote (17 carries, 73 yards) and Steven Michaud (six carries, 44 yards) helped Livermore control the ball for nearly 17 minutes in the first half.
Livermore Falls’ offensive line of Mike Castonguay, Sam Chabot, Dillon Newcomb, Holden Parker and Tyler Halliday owned the line of scrimmage as the Andies held the ball for 26 of the game’s first 29 plays.
“We had a lot of repetition this week during practice, so we just dug down, made sure we hit them low and drove our feet,” said Chabot, a senior guard.
The Andies drove 58 and 85 yards on their first two possessions to take a 14-0 lead on touchdown plunges of 2 and 1 yard by Rose.
“We moved the ball well and controlled the clock,’ Bishop said. “It was so darned windy. It was swirling back-and-forth. It was tough to throw, but both quarterbacks managed to complete some big passes.”
Holmes went to the air twice on Dirigo’s first scoring drive to keep the chains moving, then capped the march with a 3-yard QB sneak to make it 14-6 midway through the second quarter.
Rose and Lee split six of the eight carries on Livermore’s next drive , a 56-yard foray, with Lee’s 1-yard run making it 21-6. The Cougars responded quickly, as Holmes completed three of four passes in a 51-yard scoring jaunt. Ross made it 21-12 by taking a screen pass to the right and running across the field all the way to the left end zone pylon for a 25-yard touchdown.
Livermore Falls tried to run out the half, but Rose fell just short of a first down on 4th-and-8, giving Dirigo the ball back with 0.4 seconds at Livermore’s 49. A pass interference penalty moved the Cougars up to the 34 and gave them one untimed down. Ross got behind the right side of the Andies’ secondary and grabbed Holmes’ pass into the end zone to make it 21-18 at halftime.
The stunned Andies regrouped quickly at halftime.
“We thought about last year (when Dirigo beat Livermore, 49-19, in a battle of unbeaten teams) and the upset, and there ain’t no way we’re going to let them do that to us again,” Chabot said. “We’re going to show them who has more heart and who can come back.”
Dirigo hoped to carry the momentum into the second half, but a block in the back on their first play from scrimmage pushed it back to its own 12. A 27-yard punt return by Ross gave the Cougars fine field position, their own 46, to start their second series, but an interception by Michaud kept the Andies on top.
“I knew we could pass all the time. Field position just dictated that we couldn’t,” Dirigo coach Doug Gilbert said.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Andies went on another long march, this one 16 plays, to extend their lead. Nate Hamblin kept the drive going by hooking up with Brandon Hodges on a 13-yard pass on 4th-and-6. Three plays later, he found Hodges again on the same route, but this time in the back of the end zone, for a 10-yard touchdown that made it 28-18.
“(Hamblin) had a couple of options,” Bishop said. “The flat was wide open, but that’s the first time he’s actually looked for (Hodges on) the drag. He did it a couple of times on that drive. We’ll take it.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
