The sentiment was that the Raiders may take a (small) step back this year, and Winthrop/Monmouth and Lisbon would take a step forward as co-favorites. The Ramblers made a big statement in Week 1 with a road win over the Greyhounds.
There were a pair of statements made Saturday afternoon in Week 2. And not from the teams you might be thinking of.
Oak Hill and Winthrop/Monmouth both won to up their respective records to 2-0. But neither victory came easy. The Raiders hosted Old Orchard Beach — which had a bye week in Week 1 — and had to grind out a 26-14 win. The Ramblers made the long trek down to Kittery and had to rally for a 19-7 victory over Traip Academy.
As surprising as those scores may be to fans and newspaper writers, they weren’t to the winning coaches.
“We’ve scouted OOB, and I told the kids they’re a very physical team,” Oak Hill coach Stacen Doucette said. “And I told them it was going to be a very good football game.”
Doucette said he expects Class D South to be an open race this season. Dirigo has good talent on its small roster. OOB has decent numbers and didn’t lose much to graduation. No opponent looks forward to driving down to Kittery and facing coach Ron Ross’ Rangers.
“We think we’re as good as them,” OOB coach Dean Plante said of Oak Hill. “I think we’re good enough to compete with most teams in our conference.”
Even in a Friday night blowout victory, Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan said his team didn’t overlook Maranacook during a good week of practice. Mynahan said his team had to focus on some good Black Bears backs, even if the opponent his team beat 36-0 lacks depth to compete on a consistent basis.
A second chance for a win
Oxford Hills/Buckfield waited too long to make a comeback bid in Week 1, scoring all 18 of its points after halftime in a 33-18 loss to Cheverus. The Vikings then scored both their offensive touchdowns in the second half Friday, but it was enough for a shutout victory over Lewiston.
“We can’t wait for the second half to win a bunch of games. We were fortunate today,” Vikings coach Mark Soehren said Friday night. “So we’re going to work on being a first-half team as well.”
The Vikings are trying to break in a new running attack, and they committed fully to it after the opening drive of the second half against Lewiston, going all run the remainder of the game.
“We’re inexperienced in this downhill run game,” Soehren said. “So as they learn, as they pick it up, they become better as they go.”
Soehren noted that Ryland VanDecker ran the ball well in the second half Friday night, and Dawson Stevens did the same in the second half against Cheverus.
Now if the Vikings could just get their offense running efficiently early, they could make a push in Class A North.
Growing pains
It was a week to to forget for Gray-New Gloucester, Poland and Mt. Blue. Of the three, only Mt. Blue was able to move the lights on the scoreboard, and that came on a safety by the Cougars’ defense.
Speaking of those defenses, they gave up 42, 42 and 33 points, respectively. None of them got any help from offenses that are in rebuild mode, at both the skill positions and on the line. It could be a season of damage control and moral milestones for some local teams.
Two-touchdown club
Two touchdown runs was a good recipe for success in Week 2.
Local individuals that ran in for paydirt twice in winning efforts were: Lisbon’s Noah Francis, Oxford Hills/Buckfield’s Ryland VanDecker, Leavitt’s Hunter Sirois, Oak Hill’s Matthew Strout and Winthrop/Monmouth’s Alec Brown. Spruce Mountain’s Dillon Webster joined the club twice, scoring four rushing touchdowns in the Phoenix’s 47-14 win.
Looking at the injured list
The one thing a newspaper writer never wants to see while covering a game (other than overtime when feeling the deadline crunch) is an injury to a player that looks to be serious.
On Friday night, Maranacook had a few players get knocked out of the game with injuries, and the Black Bears have little in the way of depth already. Senior running back Drew Davis was able to finish the game, as was Lisbon’s Jared Glover, who missed a few plays.
On Saturday afternoon, the injury bug struck the Oak Hill-Old Orchard Beach game as well.
Two OOB players went down with injuries which appeared to be in the head/neck area. Jack Timmins held his head on the ground for a few minutes before being helped to the sideline. His teammate, Dylan Creswell, wasn’t so lucky. Creswell left the game in the back of an ambulance after making a tackle. The OOB senior had to be immobilized and put on a backboard.
Injuries are inevitable in sports, especially contact ones like football. But it doesn’t make it any easier to see while standing on the sidelines.
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
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