DIXFIELD — Lisbon’s heart-stopping football playoff history includes The Drive. The Stand, times two. And now you can add The Catch.
Henry Adams reached up to cradle Tyler Halls’ throw to the Lisbon sideline with his fingertips. He tucked it in, planted his left foot inside the chalk and kept his right foot in the air. Then he lunged toward the pylon.
The official’s hands went heavenward, and so did another 500-or-so sets of arms in the screened-out visiting crowd. Adams caught the two-point conversion pass from Halls for good measure with 1:10 remaining Friday night at Harlow Park.
Freshman Lucas Francis’ diving interception, highlight film-worthy in its own right, sealed a 15-7 victory for No. 3 Lisbon over No. 2 Dirigo in the Class D South semifinals.
“It was fourth quarter. I knew we had to make a play or this was probably going to go into overtime,” Adams said. “I knew I had to make a play for my team, my brothers, the coaches, the fans, everybody.”
Lisbon (7-2) advanced to the regional final for the second consecutive year. Kickoff is 12:30 p.m. next Saturday. The Greyhounds would either make the short trip to Oak Hill or host Winthrop/Monmouth, pending the outcome of tomorrow’s semifinal.
Facing third-and-4 from the Dirigo 19 after Halls previously ran for a first down, Lisbon called a play that worked twice earlier in the evening. Halls planned to take the snap and unleash a pop pass in one fluid motion to tight end Tyrese Joseph.
Dirigo (7-3) sniffed it out. Halls saw safety Riley Robinson converge on Joseph and rolled to his left, finding little running room.
“I thought about running it, and then went I went to run I saw Henry go to the pylon,” Halls said. “He did his job to get open.”
Adams’ fourth catch of the night was the biggest of his career. Halls completed 8 of 14 for 90 yards and carried 27 times for 99 yards, accounting for 189 of the Greyhounds’ 219 total yards.
His punt returns also enabled Lisbon to start both their fourth-quarter drives in Dirigo territory. Lisbon’s first look at the go-ahead points ended when Gavin Arsenault knocked down a pass intended for Joseph in the end zone on fourth-and-5 from the 10.
“I thought when we didn’t score if we could hold them we’d have an opportunity,” Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan said. “I wish we had scored the first time through, but I’m happy with the way it turned out.”
The Cougars ran a gadget play in an effort to gain field position, and it almost struck gold. Cooper Chiasson’s halfback option pass to quarterback Robinson was thrown just a tick early, however, and Lisbon stopped Arsenault on third down to force a punt.
Lisbon took over at the Dirigo 38 with four minutes left after Halls’ 16-yard return. Five consecutive runs by Halls and Noah Francis set up Adams’ sensational grab.
“I didn’t see the actual catch. I saw him in the air and just held my breath. It was pretty exciting,” Mynahan said. “Henry’s had a good year, and he’s having a really good ending to it.”
The Greyhounds avenged a 21-14 loss in Week 4 of the regular season thanks to the No. 1 scoring defense in the Campbell Conference, which lived up to that billing.
Lisbon limited Dirigo to 14 offensive plays and 37 yards in the first half, yet led only 7-0 courtesy of a 4-yard run by Halls in the final minute of the opening quarter. The Greyhounds were 4-for-4 on third down in the grinding series, highlighted by Halls’ hook-ups with Joseph for 10 yards and Adams for 19.
Halls is known for his quickness to the perimeter, but his most productive play of the night was a quarterback sneak that repeatedly gained four or five yards to move the chains.
“They hurt us with a few things they were doing,” Dirigo coach Jim Hersom said. “Obviously the quarterback sneak, that’s a weakness in the defense. They had a good game plan and our kids battled right with them. It was a good football game.”
Vincent Hebert’s 55-yard punt in the second quarter gave the Cougars footing in the quest for field position. Dirigo’s best drive of the half fizzled at the Lisbon 31 when a holding call nullified Robinson’s run for a first down.
Dirigo also was denied a Hunter White interception when the Cougars were flagged for pass interference. That Lisbon drive ended when Arsenault swatted down a deep ball intended for Adams.
“They’re a good team,” Mynahan said. “They’re well-coached, well-drilled, and it’s hard to execute against them because they shut down what you do well.”
Led defensively by Gavin Arsenault and Bryce Whittemore’s sacks of Halls and a more consistent ground game, Dirigo dominated the third quarter to pull even.
Robinson connected with Hebert for 18 yards before gobbling up the final 32 yards of the Cougars’ lone scoring march with six consecutive runs. He scored on a 2-yard quarterback keeper with 2:38 left in the third. Gus Brown kicked the point-after.
“We wanted to give them something in the second half that they hadn’t seen,” Hersom said. “It’s been a fun year. The kids have been great. The credit goes to Lisbon for coming up here and playing well.”
Robinson rushed 18 times for 92 yards. Lisbon held Dirigo to 169 total yards. The Cougars had seven of their nine first downs after intermission.
“Offense is on top of its game right now. Defense is standing up for us, too,” Adams said. “The line has gotten so much better with its blocks, getting through on defense. We couldn’t ask for a better defense right now.”
koakes@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
