LEWISTON — Unbeaten Leavitt went into Friday night’s Class C South quarterfinal against No. 8 Lake Region as healthy as it’s been since early September.
Hornets coach Mike Hathaway wanted to keep it that way.
Junior quarterback Wyatt Hathaway enjoyed having virtually his full complement of weapons back and threw four touchdowns, all in the first quarter, as the Hornets raced out to a 36-0 lead, then kept the starters on the sideline for the second half of a 42-6 win.
The game was moved to Lewiston High School’s Don Roux Field after the recent rains made Libby Field unplayable. The Hornets, who had won a playoff game last year that was moved to the Lewiston artificial turf, hope to be back on their home field next week, when they will host fifth-seeded Freeport in a semifinal.
Tight end Cole Morin caught two touchdown passes, while Keegan Melanson and Camden Jordan hauled in one apiece.
Hathaway also had a touchdown run in the first quarter.
Denver Taylor led the Hornets (9-0) defensively with two interceptions.
Five different Hornets touched the ball on their first six plays from scrimmage (which included an incomplete pass) as they raised a 14-0 lead only 3:12 into the game on Hathaway’s 27-yard TD run and 21-yard touchdown pass to the 6-foot-6 Morin on an audible the QB called at the line of scrimmage.
“We were going trips (three wide receivers to one side), and what they were doing was taking their safety and rolling him up, and then they were taking the free safety and playing him over the trips, so it was basically just Cole and a linebacker one-on-one,” Wyatt Hathaway said.
“It’s pretty easy when you’ve got a kid that’s 6-foot-6 running right down the seam,” he added. “A lot of our linemen are a lot bigger than me so half the time I can only see his head. I just throw it to the head and I know he’ll catch it.”
Melanson made a nice leaping grab of a deep throw from Hathaway (7-for-10, 145 yards, four TDs, one interception) and ran it in for a 46-yard TD to make it 20-0. After the defense stopped the Lakers on fourth-and-5 on the ensuing series, Jordan rushed 29 yards, caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Hathaway and ran in the two-point conversion for a 28-0 lead.
Reeve Twitchell recovered a fumble at his own 47 to set up the Hornets’ final score of the period, Hathaway’s seven-yard pass to Morin over the middle. Hathaway’s two-point run made it 36-0.
“We just found the soft spot in the defense really good. We found it multiple times throughout the game,” Morin said.
Seven different players touched the ball on offense for the Hornets in the first half.
“We wanted to get everyone some touches (and) we wanted to stay healthy,” Mike Hathaway said. “It was nice to see Dasean Calder back. It was nice to see Eddie Kern back. He’s been out since the exhibition game.
“It was good just to have all of the guys back as a group and to be able to spread the ball around. It makes us a little tougher to prepare for when we’re going like that.”
Kern added an eight-yard touchdown run in the second half.
“They’re very big and strong and fast,” Lake Region coach Mike Shea said of Leavitt. “They’re a very good football program. They do things the right way and every kid on the field does their job. We wanted our kids to believe in themselves, go out there and work hard and just see small pieces of success.”
Lake Region got on the board with a trick play at the end of the third quarter against Leavitt’s reserves. Quarterback Ethan McMurray lined up in the slot, took the handoff on a jet sweep to the right and fired deep downfield to Isaac Rawson, who hauled it in for a 59-yard touchdown.
“We hadn’t really been able to go downfield very much this year, so it was cool to see that,” Shea said.
Rawson also had an interception for the Lakers (3-5).
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