OLD TOWN — With their team trailing by seven points in the Class C North football championship game Friday night, Winslow High coaches reminded the Black Raiders about the last time they were behind at halftime.

“They said ‘Remember last year at Foxcroft Academy; now let’s finish what we started,'” Winslow halfback Nate St. Amand said.

The Black Raiders scored 26 straight points in the second half, shutting down an Old Town offense that looked unstoppable in the first half. The result was a 40-27 win that sends second-seeded Winslow (10-0) to the Class C state championship game for the fourth straight season.

The Black Raiders’ opponent will be determined Saturday when Wells visits Yarmouth for the Class C South final.

Old Town finished 9-1 – its best season in 18 years.

St. Amand ran for 331 yards on 26 carries and scored three touchdowns, including 256 yards in the second half, when an offensive line led by guard Alec Clark and tackle Nat Beckwith wore out the Coyotes.

“We really planned to let our line win us the game,” Winslow Coach Mike Siviski said.

With 8:55 left in the third quarter, fullback Kenny Rickard scored on a 1-yard run to cut Old Town’s lead to 21-20. Another 1-yard TD run by Rickard about five minutes later gave Winslow the lead for good, 26-21.

The key drive of the game came early in the fourth quarter, when an Old Town punt pinned Winslow at its own 1. On second-and-nine, St. Amand broke up the right sideline for 73 yards. Five plays later, he scored on a 3-yard run, and Winslow had a 34-21 lead.

Patrick Hopkins’ 41-yard touchdown run with 4:15 left made it 40-21.

After giving up 209 yards passing in the first half, Winslow held the Coyotes to 66 yards in the air in the second half.

Old Town’s Andre Miller caught nine passes for 189 yards, and his second touchdown gave the Coyotes a 21-7 lead with 10:16 left in the first half.

But Black Raiders slowed Miller down in the second half, as Winslow rolled safety Jake Trask to Miller’s side of the field to help with coverage.

“No. 6 (Miller) was just as advertised,” Siviski said. “He’s the real deal.”

Old Town scored a late touchdown on a 1-yard run by quarterback Jake Jarvis, but Winslow recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

MCI 45, MATTANAWCOOK 0: The top-seeded Huskies (10-0) hit their stride after a slow start and captured the Class D North championship with a one-sided win over No. 2 Mattanawcook (7-3), in Pittsfield.

It’s the second straight regional title for MCI, which lost to Oak Hill in last year’s state final, 41-21. The Huskies will play either Oak Hill or Lisbon at 7 p.m. next Friday at the University of Maine.

“We came up short last year and it’s not a very good feeling, but we’re going back,” MCI senior Alex Bertrand said. “We’ve got a second chance and we’re going to take it.”

The Huskies outgained Mattanawcook 315 to minus-16 in the first half and built a 37-0 lead, thanks in part to big performance from Willie Moss and Greg Vigue.

Moss, a junior running back, rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. Vigue bounced back from an early interception, going 7 of 12 for 135 yards and a touchdown.

Moss’ 10-yard run gave MCI a 7-0 lead with 2:57 remaining in the first quarter.

From there it was all MCI, as the Huskies scored touchdowns on their final five possessions of the first half – including a 23-yard strike from Vigue to Josh Buker as time expired.

John Haliburton capped the scoring with a 6-yard run with 2:48 remaining.

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