Leavitt has unleashed Jordan Hersom and the passing game in spots this season. Yet because the Hornets are usually running away from the competition by the second quarter, they have invariably had to keep one of their best weapons in the holster.
Hersom dropped back to pass 12 times in Friday night’s 22-17 win over Mt. Blue and showed even though he doesn’t get a lot of reps in game situations, he can still be sharp. The senior completed nine passes for 161 yards and a touchdown. All but one of the completions were for more than 10 yards.
“We probably should have thrown it more, to be honest,” Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway said. “He was throwing well. We hit some good plays in the pass game. They were stacked up on the run. We got a little stubborn with the run a few times and we probably should have opened it up a little more, but we tried to pick our spots when we had good field position. We certainly converted some third downs that were huge.”
The Hornets were 7-for-13 on third downs. Hersom was three-for-three through the air on third down, including a 31-yard TD pass to senior tailback Jake Ouellette and a big 13-yard completion to Ian Durgin on 3rd and 11 that kept the chains moving on what proved to be the game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.
Because they were often in short yardage on third down, most of of the Hornets’ conversions came via the run. Ouellette converted six of seven third downs, including two for touchdowns.
The win gave unbeaten Leavitt the inside track on home field advantage in the playoffs with two games remaining. Next week, it hits the road to face Oceanside (2-4), the consolidated Rockland and Georges Valley school, then hosts Gardiner (5-1) to wrap up the regular season.
“You want to play as many playoff games as you can at home,” Hathaway said. “We’ve still got two weeks left. We’ve got to win them all if we’re going to be guaranteed home field. We can’t take anybody lightly.”
COUGARS HAD DIRTY LAUNDRY
Penalties have been a concern for Mt. Blue coach Gary Parlin this year, but until last Friday night, they weren’t a problem.
Eight penalties contributed to the Cougars’ 22-17 loss to Leavitt. Three infractions were particularly costly.
A 15-yard roughing the passer call on Leavitt’s opening drive helped the Hornets drive 92 yards to their first touchdown. A third-quarter illegal motion penalty turned a 3rd and 3 at the Leavitt 8 into a 3rd and 8, and the Cougars ultimately had to settle for a 30-yard Shawn Keach field goal. On their next possession, a long run by Izaiha Tracy was called back for a holding flag.
The Cougars could get away with such mistakes against less talented teams this season. Parlin hopes finally having tangible evidence of how much the flags hurt will help them realize how important those mistakes can be.
“We’ve had some issues with penalties. We’ve talked about it,” Parlin said. “We’ve been in some games this year where we’ve ended up getting in 1st and 20 and two plays later we get a first down. This may be a good week for us to tell them, ‘OK, that’s what a penalty did. A penalty took us out of this. A penalty took us out of that.'”
Parlin said it took some time for the Cougars to adjust to Leavitt’s speed and tenacity on defense, but he was pleased with how the offensive line of Caleb Farrington, Sean Moore, Chris Cautillo, Eli Luker and Dustin Zamboni responded.
“We haven’t (faced) people that, after you make the first contact, fight like hell to get off the blocks, and that’s what these guys did,” he said. “I thought our offensive line grew, and as the game went on they got better. But I think it was a shock to them. It’s not like some of the other teams that we’ve played. I won’t mention any names, but some of the teams make the first contact and the play’s over.”
VIKINGS PATCH IT UP
Oxford Hills remains stuck in the one-win-a-year mode that has plagued the program for the last five seasons.
There’s something to be said, however, for being good enough to wonder what might have been.
Injuries, illness and occasional off-field distractions have kept the Vikings from entering a game at full strength for nearly a month. Yet Oxford Hills continues to play well against the iron of the Pine Tree Conference, putting together solid efforts in recent losses to Lawrence (25-0), Lewiston (21-12) and Bangor (33-7).
“I’d like to see what we really could have been like as a team if we had everybody,” Oxford Hills coach Paul Withee said. “Every coach wishes that. That’s part of the game. But we are losing significant players. It’s not like we’re losing the second-string fullback.”
Center Kyle Rainey and tackle Bill Leahy watched the Bangor game from the sideline. So did Logan Sanborn, a two-year starter at quarterback.
Ten regulars missed the Vikings’ most one-sided verdict of the year, at Messalonskee.
Quarterback Tyler Brown sat out the first two series against Bangor, a consequence of missing practice early in the week while attending to family commitments.
“It makes a huge difference when we’ve got our center out, got our tackle out, got the kid who was going to be our quarterback (John Frechette) out, got the kid who played quarterback (Sanborn) out,” Withee said.
Oxford Hills continues the brutal heart of its schedule with a trip to Brunswick before finishing with Edward Little and Cony.
Nine different Vikings carried the ball and an array of five receivers caught at least one pass against Bangor.
“They’re out there working their fannies off. They’re doing good that way,” Withee said, “There just isn’t any consistency with what we’re doing, and it’s very frustrating.”
ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER TRIP
Every year at this time, it seems as if Lewiston makes the two-hour trek to Bangor either for a pivotal, late regular-season clash or a playoff game.
Friday night’s latest installment in that classic series will be a little bit of both for the Blue Devils.
It’s technically not a win-or-else game. Lewiston will have Skowhegan and Edward Little left on the docket, no matter what happens at Cameron Stadium. But make no mistake: If the Devils (3-3) don’t beat the Rams (5-1), their hopes of finding a seat at the four-team PTC playoff party are dashed.
“Our kids think they’re going to win no matter what happens. I don’t know if they believe that because they’ve lost,” Bangor coach Mark Hackett said. “It’s a hard thing. High school sports are hard. I love Lewiston. I love Bill County. But I’m glad we’re playing at Bangor. I don’t think they like that ride. We’re used to it.”
Bangor beat Lewiston 25-20 at home in last year’s PTC championship. The game turned when the Devils elected to try for the first down on fourth-and-inches from their own 10-yard line while leading in the fourth quarter. The Rams stopped the gamble for a loss.
Lewiston lost 14-0 at Lawrence on Friday night, snapping a two-game winning streak. Bangor’s 33-7 victory at Oxford Hills was its fourth straight.
Lawrence, Brunswick and Messalonskee already have beaten Lewiston and would own any head-to-head tiebreaker. The Devils need to beat the Rams and hope for some assistance from other league rivals down the home stretch.
“They are tough. They are gritty. They always hit the crap out of us,” Hackett said of Lewiston. “It is a playoff game for us, too. We think it’s winding down to what would be Lewiston, Messalonskee and Bangor, and one of us is going to be out.”
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