Lewiston football fans may have noticed a lot of 7’s and 11’s around the team and the school this season. The gate at the players’ entrance to Don Roux Field is adorned with a giant blue 7 and 11, and the Blue Devils’ practice jerseys have a 7 on the front and 11 on the back.
No, Lewiston hasn’t picked up a corporate sponsor, and there haven’t been any former Blue Devils’ numbers retired. The numerals are there to inspire the defense.
“We talk about the typical play in football takes seven seconds, and we want 11 guys on the football in seven seconds,” Lewiston coach Bill County said.
The rallying cry was the brainchild of defensive coordinator Matt Madden, according to County. The idea is for the Blue Devils to get the maximum effort from everyone on the defense for the full length of every play.
“That’s part of our philosophy coming into this year,” County said. “We probably only start two kids, three kids maybe, that weigh over 200 pounds. We’re not going to win football games by overpowering people. We’re going to win football games by being tenacious and not letting our motor stop, so we talk about let’s get 11 guys to the ball in seven seconds.”
What the Blue Devils lack in size they more than make up for with speed and smarts, County said. They are epitomized by senior linebacker/guard Ben Wigant, the leading tackler in the Pine Tree Conference.
“Ben Wigant is probably the prototype,” County said. “If he was a 6-foot-2, 6-foot-3 kid, he’d probably be a college football player anywhere in the country. As it is, I think he’s going to have an outstanding career as a Division II or III football player somewhere. He’s intelligent. He’s tenacious. He doesn’t make many mistakes.”
Wounded Cougar
Mt. Blue running back Izaiha Tracy is out for the year with a hip injury suffered in the Cougars’ loss to Lawrence two weeks ago.
“He fractured his right hip socket,” Mt. Blue coach Gary Parlin said. “We’d hoped maybe we could get him back, but we found out today the recovery for that is six weeks so he’s done for the year.”
Tracy was the 11th-leading rusher in the Pine Tree Conference when he went down with 279 yards and a touchdown on 49 carries.
Parlin moved Cam Sennick from wing-back to replace Tracy in last week’s 39-7 loss to Bangor. He scored their only points with a 74-yard touchdown run and gained 92 yards on nine carries overall. But Parlin said Sennick is back at his original position in practice this week, and Eric Berry has moved over from wide receiver to running back.
“He’s probably been one of our best players this year,” Parlin said of Berry. “We’re going to give him the opportunity to run the ball. He’s really excited. He’s a really quick kid. He’s run back some kicks for us this year and we like what he’s done with a couple of screen passes we’ve thrown to him. We’d like to keep Cam at the wing.”
After winning their first three games and getting off to their best start since 2005, the Cougars have lost their last two games, to unbeaten Lawrence and Bangor. They hope to get back on track in Friday night’s crossover game against Cony (3-2), which Parlin thinks could have a big impact on playoff seeding.
“The winner of this has a pretty decent shot to get a home playoff game if they win out afterwards,” he said. “I think the first three spots (for a home game) are pretty much set, but the winner will have an advantage for the fourth spot.”
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