BANGOR — Things were going so well for Leavitt in the first half of Saturday’s Class C state championship game that even lineman Beau Mayo got in on the scoring.
Leavitt’s Beau Mayo reacts after crossing the goal line to score a touchdown against Medomak Valley during the Class C state championship football game Saturday at Cameron Stadium in Bangor. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
The senior was the recipient of a lateral by wide receiver Sawyer Hathaway, who caught Noah Carpenter’s initial pass before Mayo took it the rest of the way into the end zone.
That was the Hornets’ fourth score of the game, which Leavitt won 46-6 over Medomak Valley at Cameron Stadium to cap off a perfect 11-0 season.
“Beau Mayo has been probably the best lineman in this league all year, and maybe one of the best in the state. So you get a chance to reward a kid,” Leavitt head coach Mike Hathaway said. “We had worked on that play a few times this week, and hit it. Inspired by ‘Varsity Blues’ and then some other things that we saw on Twitter. But it was a good play and we executed it well, so hats off to the kids. But, yeah, I love to give a lineman some love like that, for sure.”
The Panthers (9-3) got the ball first and handed it off to start running back Hayden Staples five straight times. Staples gained one first down before Medomak was forced to punt.
Carpenter, Leavitt’s junior quarterback, started and ended the ensuing eight-play drive with runs, the capper a 5-yard rush for a touchdown. The Panthers stopped the two-point conversion, which they did after each of the Hornets’ four first-half touchdowns, but Leavitt had an initial 6-0 lead.
After a Medomak three-and-out, Leavitt needed only two plays to go 59 yards for a score. Carpenter connected with Hathaway for 38 yards, then Dayton Calder ran 21 yards for the touchdown and a 12-0 lead.
“There’s just weapons everywhere, and Coach Hathaway just does a great job at mixing stuff up, and finding angles to attack,” Medomak coach Ryan Snell said. “But, yeah, there’s just weapons across the field, not really any weak spots on either side of the ball. Just an impressive team.”
The Panthers went three-and-out again and Leavitt got the ball back around midfield late in the first quarter.
The Hornets capped off that scoring drive on the first play of the second quarter, with Calder running in a jet sweep from 4 yards out.
Mayo’s 8-yard touchdown with 1:08 left before halftime made it 24-0.
“That was amazing. I mean, I don’t think I’ve scored a touchdown since, I don’t know, my middle school years, maybe seventh grade. And to just go out my last game of the season, last game of the career, and just do that is awesome,” Mayo said.
“Coach promised me that I’d get that touchdown before my career is over,” the senior added.
Leavitt’s Jace Negley kisses the gold ball after the Hornets beat Medomak Valley 46-6 to capture the Class C state championship at Cameron Stadium in Bangor. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
The Hornets then scored on their first two possessions of the second half. Carpenter ran the first one in from 60 yards out on fourth-and-4, then connected with Brett Coburn on a 34-yard touchdown pass. Successful two-point conversions gave the Hornets a 40-0 lead.
“When the O-line is blocking like that, it makes it super easy,” Mike Hathaway said. “They’re giving Noah a lot of time, and they’re opening holes for the running backs — and we got a lot of weapons we can spread the ball around to. And obviously Noah is back there dealing. So the O-line makes it happen. When those guys block, we got a lot of other stuff that people got to worry about.”
Sawyer Hathaway scored the Hornets’ final touchdown from 8 yards out in the fourth quarter.
Staples ended Leavitt’s shutout bid with a 6-yard touchdown run on the Panthers’ next drive.
“Kids battled. I mean, we got a little dinged up, but we were able to move the ball, just not able to piece some things together,” Snell said. “Then you get down, you get a couple situations where you got to take shots that didn’t work out. I think Leavitt is giving up 11 points a game, roughly, this year. The kids gave great effort, and just weren’t able to string things together, but that’s a credit to Leavitt and their defense.”
The Hornets defense held the Panthers to 116 yards, all on the ground. Carpenter picked off one of Medomak’s five pass attempts. Staples finished with 93 yards on 22 carries.
On offense, Carpenter completed 13 of 18 passes for 200 yards, and he added 81 yards rushing on six carries. Calder, in his final game, ran seven times for 67 yards and caught one pass for 5 yards.
Mike Hathaway called winning a title — his fourth as the Hornets’ coach — with this year’s team “as special as it gets.”
“Last year was super tough. The year before that, not having football was super tough. It’s been an uphill battle for me, my family and this football team,” he said. “And so for these guys to finish it out like this, and for our coaching staff to get a little redemption this way, it’s as sweet as it gets.”
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