READFIELD — The only way to go was up for Dirigo after getting shut out last week.
But instead of up, the Cougars decided to go right through their opponent Wednesday, and the points finally came.
Dirigo scored often on offense, once on special teams and almost on defense in a 45-13 victory at Ricky Gibson Field of Dreams on Friday night.
“The intent was we were going to come in and get back to playing good football, all the way around,” Dirigo coach Jim Hersom said. “I think the kids responded. It’s good to know that we can turn it on when we need to.”
Hersom said his Cougars (2-2) simplified the offense after getting blanked by Lisbon last week. On Friday night, the game plan was simple — give the ball to Cooper Chiasson and get out of the way. The junior running back only ran the ball 12 times, but those dozen attempts went for 163 yards and four touchdowns.
“I’m just working hard,” Chiasson said. “When I get the ball, I want to get the touchdown every time.”
Dirigo went to the air for its first score. Luke Lueders hit Cam Turner for 27 yards on the game’s opening possession. That was Lueders’ only completion on just two throws, but it gave the Cougars an early 6-0 lead.
After an opening drive for the Black Bears (0-5) that went nowhere, Chiasson finally got his turn to find paydirt. He ran for 20 yards combined on his first two runs of the drive, then finished it with 20 more for a touchdown and a 12-0 lead.
The bruising back then finished drives lasting two plays and one, with touchdown runs of 7 and 51 yards, respectively, to make it 24-0 early in the second quarter.
A Hunter White 58-yard punt return for a touchdown gave Dirigo a 31-0 halftime lead.
“We put in some power football plays, and we just wanted to establish ourselves physically at the point-of-attack,” Hersom said. “Our backs ran hard, our line did a good job. That was the intent tonight, is get back to basics, simplify, let’s get to work.”
On the other side of the ball, the Cougars held Maranacook to just 50 yards in the first half, including a pair of three-and-outs in five drives.
“We’ve been pretty solid defensively,” Hersom said. “We’re going to have to continue to be physical up front. We got some veterans over there on D.”
The Cougars’ defense nearly scored a touchdown of its own to start the second half. Lueders intercepted a pass by Skyler Boucher on the third play of the third quarter and took it to the house, but an illegal block put the ball at the Maranacook 20-yard line for the Dirigo offense.
Chiasson ran the ball twice, with the second attempt going 17 yards for his fourth and final touchdown.
Those were the only two offensive plays for Dirigo in the third quarter. Maranacook ran 14, with Drew Davis taking the last one into the end zone for a touchdown. Davis looked like he would be stopped for a loss running to the right, but eluded a tackle, changed direction to his left and ran in for the score.
“Lot of character over there. Their kids worked hard,” Hersom said. “(Davis) is an excellent back. He’s tough, he’s strong.”
Mike Packard finished off Dirigo’s scoring with a 1-yard run midway through the fourth quarter. Davis finished the scoring for the game with a 9-yard touchdown run on the last offensive play of the game. The senior ran 24 times for 107 yards, and was the Black Bears’ only consistent source of offense.
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
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