Marshwood High staked its claim to the No. 1 spot in Western Class B football Saturday afternoon with a resounding 40-20 win over Westbrook, which went into the game ranked first in the Crabtree standings.
But no one was willing to say the Hawks are clear favorites entering the playoffs.
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“It looks like there are five to six teams right on top of each other, all very even,” said Alex Rotsko, the Hawks’ first-year head coach. “Anybody can win it.”
Indeed, each of the top five teams can claim a win over another contender.
Marshwood’s lone loss was to Wells, which lost to both Westbrook and York. Westbrook’s other loss was to Greely, which lost to York.
York lost to Marshwood and Westbrook but beat Greely and Wells.
Marshwood, Westbrook and York finished in a three-way tie for first in the Crabtree standings, but Marshwood got the No. 1 seed based on its head-to-head wins. The Hawks will face Cape Elizabeth in the quarterfinals. Westbrook is No. 2 and will play Fryeburg Academy, No. 3 York takes on Mountain Valley, and No. 4 Greely hosts Wells.
“It’s wide open,” said Westbrook Coach Jeff Guerette. “It’d be hard to pick a favorite going into the playoffs after Week Eight.
“I think it makes for an exciting league. It’s good for a lot of schools, a lot of kids and a lot of communities.”
MARSHWOOD SOPHOMORE Brett Gerry had a big game offensively against Westbrook, with 118 rushing yards, a 16-yard reception, two touchdowns and a 2-point conversion.
But he also made arguably the two biggest defensive plays of the game.
An outside linebacker, he twice sacked Westbrook quarterback Kyle Heath for big losses in the fourth quarter.
The first sack forced a punt, which led to a Marshwood touchdown. The second sack came on fourth down, giving Marshwood the ball deep in Westbrook territory to set up another touchdown.
“I just got the call that I was blitzing,” said Gerry. “Everything else happened from there.”
BONNY EAGLE football coach Kevin Cooper has built the Scots into one of the most powerful programs in the state, so it comes as a surprise that they missed the playoffs, finishing 2-6 after a 31-14 loss to Windham.
The Scots played all the best teams in Western Class A and gave some of them their toughest games, leading Thornton Academy in the third quarter, losing to Portland in overtime, and handing undefeated Cheverus one of its most difficult games in a 21-7 loss.
“We don’t think of ourselves as 2-6,” Cooper said. “I think we played everybody tough. Every game was a close game. We just couldn’t seem to get over the hump.”
WINDHAM’S DEFENSE almost blew a 17-point lead to Bonny Eagle, but then the Eagles line came up big, making key tackle after key tackle while holding the Scots scoreless in the second half.
Joe and Shawn Francoeur were in on several tackles for losses, along with Brad Carpentier and Brandon Mitchell
“They played very well tonight,” Eagles Coach Matt Perkins said. “Those seniors, we were on them all week after a tough loss (34-7 to Sanford) last week. They bounced back.”
THE CHARLEY WHITE Trophy is awarded to the most valuable Cheverus player or players in the regular season game against Deering. Quarterback Liam Fitzpatrick and halfback Donald Goodrich received the award after Saturday’s 21-0 win.
Fitzpatrick was 6 of 10 passing for 123 yards and three touchdowns, and also had an interception on defense. His touchdown passes covered 23, 15 and 25 yards.
Goodrich caught the first two touchdowns. Tight end Ryan Casale had the third. Goodrich was the Stags’ workhorse once again with 27 carries for 154 yards. He also was strong at defensive end.
White was a standout running back for Cheverus, graduating in 1963. Every year, several of his teammates and family members attend the Cheverus-Deering game to present the award.
Cheverus won its 32nd consecutive game for a Class A record. The Stags (8-0) went unbeaten the last two seasons on the way to winning the state championship. They’ll host Deering for the second straight week in the opening round of the playoffs Saturday.
WHILE GOODRICH was the chief ball carrier for Cheverus, Kenny Sweet had the same role for Deering. Sweet, a converted quarterback, carried 18 times for 102 yards. Sweet was moved to quarterback from running back midway through the season when starter Mike Marzilli got injured. He sparked Deering to three straight wins after the Rams started 0-4.
CROSS COUNTRY
THE MUDDY CONDITIONS at Twin Brooks Recreation Area for the Western Maine cross country championships only got worse after each of the six races.
Yet Jack Pierce of Merriconeag, running in the fifth race — Class C boys — turned in the fastest performance, with a time of 16 minutes, 38.28 seconds over the 5-kilometer course.
“I just killed it on the hard spots and survived the wet spots,” he said.
MASSABESIC UPSET Scarborough in the Class A boys’ race, but the Mustangs were still respectful of the Red Storm.
“It means a lot to beat them,” said Massabesic senior George Morrison. “I’m not going to say we’re better than them, but it feels good to be there with them.”
Mustangs Coach Mark Crepeau said, “I don’t know if we can beat Scarborough at states.
“Our kids are so pumped up. It will be hard to get them back at this same level (this Saturday). It’s our job to try and get them back up for states. If they run like this, they might have a chance against Lewiston and Scarborough.”
GREELY JUNIOR Kirstin Sandreuter dominated the Class B girls’ race with a time of 19:57.60, winning by 34 seconds. Now comes the true test at states, against the Eastern trio of Bethanie Brown (Waterville), Aleta Looker (Ellsworth) and Brittany Bowman (Camden Hills).
“She wants to compete with the best and she knows she has three good ones next week,” Greely Coach David Dowling said. “She wants to be in that crowd with them.”
GIRLS’ SOCCER
Massabesic saw its season end with a 3-1 loss at Gorham in Friday’s Western Class A preliminary round.
But Coach Kevin St. Jarre was very pleased with the season. It was Massabesic’s second consecutive appearance in the playoffs after a seven-year absence.
And this time around, the Mustangs scored a goal.
Freshman Kailey Daigle’s goal gave Massabesic a 1-0 lead. “First playoff goal in at least eight years,” said St. Jarre. “And I think it kind of worked against us.
“It was like the girls said, ‘Cool, we scored a playoff goal.’ And then let up a little bit.”
Gorham stormed back with two quick goals to take control.
But St. Jarre pointed out that the future looks good for Massabesic. “The girls enjoy playing together,” he said.
— Staff Writers Kevin Thomas, Mike Lowe and Tom Chard contributed to this report.
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