KENNEBUNK — Alex Hussey, a senior at Kennebunk High, lost his starting tackle position early this season to junior Brennan Schatzabel.

On Friday night, in the Class B South championship football game, Hussey discovered a new way to contribute from the backfield, helping clear a path for Jake Littlefield when Kennebunk used a Power-I formation.

Littlefield ran for 121 yards and three touchdowns as the top-seeded Rams remained unbeaten with a 42-21 victory over No. 2 Biddeford.

Kennebunk will face Brunswick next Friday night at the University of Maine for the Class B title. Both teams are 11-0. The Rams last won a state title in 1991.

Biddeford finished 9-2 with both losses to Kennebunk. The first was 16-12 in mid-October.

In the rematch, the Tigers jumped ahead 14-7 before Littlefield scored with 2:31 remaining in the half to tie. Consecutive completions to Austin Dutremble and Patrick Pearl then brought Biddeford deep into Kennebunk territory, but Justin Wiggins of Kennebunk intercepted a third-down pass at the 7 in the final minute to prevent a potential go-ahead field goal.

“That was mainly because of the pressure,” Wiggins said of Kennebunk’s harassment of Biddeford quarterback Joey Curit, who completed 10 of 15 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns.

Biddeford had another chance to seize momentum with the second-half kickoff, but went three-and-out on its first two possessions of the third quarter thanks to Kennebunk penetration from Dante DeLorenzo and Christian Putnam on third down that forced the Tigers into 10-yard losses both times.

Kennebunk capitalized with scoring drives of 53 and 54 yards to take a two-touchdown lead and, after forcing another punt, basically sealed it when Littlefield burst through a big hole and rumbled 68 yards down the left sideline for a 35-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.

“It obviously worked out,” Littlefield said of following the 285-pound Hussey off tackle. “His blocks were there all night. It’s because of him and because of Pat Saunders that allowed me to do what I did.”

Saunders, the fullback, finished with 176 yards on 19 carries, including a 1-yard plunge midway through the third quarter that broke the halftime tie.

Quarterback Tripp Bush added 137 yards on nine carries, including a 16-yard scamper for the game’s first touchdown. He would have had more, but a 68-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was negated by an unnecessary block in the back.

“We know how to spread the ball,” Saunders said. “If you try to target one person, it opens up a hole for another person to make a play.”

Curit connected with Colin Lavigne on a slant pass up the left seam for a 44-yard touchdown with a little more than 10 minutes remaining to make it 35-21, but Biddeford failed to move the ball after forcing a punt.

The Rams took over and gobbled up the clock with an eight-play drive culminating in a 15-yard touchdown pass on fourth down from Bush to Wiggins with 1:46 left. Jared Dyer added his sixth successful PAT kick and Kennebunk was bound for Orono.

“I’m just thrilled for the kids,” said Kennebunk Coach Joe Rafferty, in his 38th year at the helm. “I thought our linemen did a great job of controlling the line of scrimmage. Defensively we played well against the run. We made some mistakes in pass coverage a few times, but overall I was very pleased.”

Curit had scored on a 2-yard run and connected with Curtis Forcier on a 71-yard reception to give Biddeford a 14-7 lead.

It lasted for a little more than three minutes, when Littlefield ran in untouched for his first touchdown.

“They’re 11-0 for a reason,” Biddeford Coach Brian Curit said. “They’ve got great athletes, they’re very sound and they’re incredibly physical. They’ll give Brunswick everything they can handle. I guarantee that.”

Related Stories