For the fourth time in the past five years, Leavitt will play a football game on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

In Maine, that means you’ve extended the season as far as it can go, earning the right to play for a state championship.

Three previous journeys to Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland ended with a win and two losses in the Class B final. This year, after a hotly discussed, protracted realignment process, Leavitt (10-0) will lock up with Winslow (9-1) in the Class C championship. Kickoff time is 6:06 p.m.

Leavitt has heard the rumblings that it probably could have petitioned up to its former label, at least for this year, without much of a drop-off. Those observers ignore the reality that it would be a four-year commitment. Understandably the chatter has begun leaving a hollow ring in coach Mike Hathaway’s ears.

“I think people think that we’ve got a bunch of great football players and it’s real easy to be good, and it’s not,” Hathaway said.

In reality, the Hornets and Black Raiders simply are two tradition-rich programs playing smack-dab in the middle of the classification their enrollments allow.

Leavitt seeks its sixth state championship in a history that includes trophies from Classes B, C, even D. Winslow has nine previous titles, all in Class B, the most recent coming in 2001. The Black Raiders lost the 2004 and 2006 Class B title games to Mountain Valley and the 2012 Class C final to Foxcroft.

“You’ve got a group of players and a group of coaches who have been there at some time or another on both sides, not just state championship experience but big-game experience,” Hathaway said. “Playing in tight games, playing in front of big crowds, playing against teams that are well-coached, we’ve all been there. That part of it will be a nice challenge, I think.”

Winslow avenged its lone loss — a 25-21 verdict to Waterville in the closing seconds of the regular-season finale — with a 49-18 rout in the Eastern Maine final.

The Black Raiders flaunt an offense that resembles the one run by Campbell Conference rivals Cape Elizabeth, Wells and Yarmouth, but arguably with greater skill and more playmakers.

Quarterback Bobby Chenard, halfback Dylan Hapworth, 6-foot, 225-pound fullback Zach Guptill and split end Justin Martin all started in the state game a year ago.

“They run a lot of formations, a lot of different plays. Just in terms of the volume of stuff that they do, not an easy team to prepare for,” Hathaway said. “They’ll run some funky sets where they overload some things.”

Tackles Troy Ellis and Tanner Gilliland and guard Dustin Fitch, all seniors, lead Winslow’s offensive line.

Two-way all-conference defensive tackle Aaron Lint is a load at 285 pounds, even though he’s nearly a foot shorter than Leavitt counterpart Matt Powell at the same reading on the scale.

“I don’t think they’re quite as big as Cape was, but they’re as physical as Cape was. You can see that right away,” Hathaway said. “They’re a team that seems to enjoy contact. You wouldn’t expect anything less. They’re going to have good coaches on the sideline and they’re going to have good schemes on the field.”

In addition to coach Mike Siviski, who has won more than 200 games in 29 years at the helm, the Black Raiders have added longtime head coaches Mike Marston (Skowhegan) and Wes Littlefield (Messalonskee) to the staff as assistants over the past two years. Leavitt did the same in 2012 by adding former Spruce Mountain boss Mark Bonnevie to a staff that already included longtime defensive coordinator Chris Gray and offensive line coach Dave Bochtler.

Leavitt and Winslow were conference opponents for eight seasons until the Raiders dropped to Class C in 2011.

“We have film of them going way back to 2003,” Hathaway said. “Obviously it’s Marston and Littlefield and Jimmy Poulin is no longer coaching the defense, but they do some of things the same, and I’ve coached a fair amount of Lobster Bowls with Mike and Wes, so I have a little bit of an idea what they like to do.”

Likewise, the Raiders are familiar with the Hornets’ spread offense and zone defense. Knowing what’s coming and stopping it are vastly different things, as evidenced by Leavitt’s aggregate score of 405-62 this season. A 14-7 victory over Yarmouth in Week 2 was the only single-digit margin in the bunch.

The Hornets have a time-share at quarterback between senior Tyler Chicoine the thrower (73-for-117, 1,097 yards, 11 touchdowns, 7 interceptions) and sophomore Billy Bedard the runner (70 rushes, 695 yards, 6 TDs).

Startlingly, those totals made Bedard only Leavitt’s fourth-leading rusher behind Conor O’Malley, Nate Coombs and Nate Rousseau. Coombs, the top receiving threat, is complemented by Sam Green and Mitchel Davis.

It unfolds behind an offensive line led by three-year starters Powell and Morin, who also star for the defense along with Scott Sleeper at linebacker, Will Parkin at nose tackle and Coombs and Clay Rowland at safety.

“Just to see all the work they put in the offseason and during the season with that one goal in mind of getting to Fitzy and seeing it actually happen for them, I’m proud of them,” Hathaway said.

With their four-year record of 37-4, the Hornets’ seniors have made it look easy at times, but the journey has been a trying one on multiple levels.

Two friends and former sports teammates died along the way — Madison Daigle in an automobile accident during their freshman campaign, and Brandon MacDonald of a medical emergency at the start of their junior season.

There were losses in state finals to Mountain Valley and Wells and an injury-plagued regional quarterfinal shocker against Belfast, as well.

“They’ve probably battled a little more adversity than people realize, in their personal lives,” Hathaway said. “There’s a lot of stuff that goes on, a lot of little details that need to be done and just hard work in the weight room and in the summer in terms of conditioning that needs to be done. Those guys have done it, and they deserve everything that they get.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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