LISBON

The teams have studied the film, prepared one, two or even three game plans, and seem ready for a matchup that will decide who is the best team in Class D.

On Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland, Lisbon, the Class D South winners, take on Maine Central Institute, the Class D North champs, at 6:06 p.m., with the Gold Ball on the line.

Coming into this week’s final set of practices, both Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan and MCI leader Tom Bertrand did a lot of studying, trying to discover a chink in their opponent’s armor. For both, it is a difficult task, as the Huskies from Pittsfield and the Greyhounds have not seen each other.

How fast are the Huskies? How tough up front are the ’Hounds? According to both coaches, the film doesn’t do each team justice.

“MCI, I noticed on the film from last year has a lot of last year’s kids back,” said Mynahan of the 11-0 Huskies, who will play for the third straight season in the Class D title game. “We are going to face runners we haven’t faced. MCI has a diverse backfield. They run power, wing, open. They seem to come up with a different offensive scheme every game. That is a real challenge for us.”

“Lisbon’s size is something we consider,” said Bertrand of the 8-1 Greyhounds. “We are a small team, traditionally one of the smaller teams, so their power will be a challenge for us. Plus, their quarterback (senior Tyler Halls) is solid and is able to do several different things.”

As with any matchup, both coaches feel there are several keys to success.

“We need to make sure we are sound defensively on making tackles,” said Bertrand. “Offensively, we will need to execute. There have been times this season that we have struggled with penalties, where several times we shot ourselves in the foot.”

“No one has been able to stop them this season,” said Mynahan, referring to MCI’s offensive scheme that averages over 42 points a contest. “Like us, their quarterback (Josh Buker) is tough and does a lot of things. We will need to be prepared for that coming into Saturday.”

MCI

As mentioned, the Huskies have scored a ton of points this season.

After opening with a 42-0 rout of Stearns, MCI rolled to a 41-21 win over Bucksport.

“We knew that we were pretty solid after beating Bucksport,” said Bertrand, who watched his team continue to roll in wins over Washington Academy (50-6), Mattanawcook Academy (42- 6), Houlton (61-19) and Dexter (36-2) for a 6-0 start.

Up next was MCI’s biggest rival, Orono, also entering the week 7 contest with a perfect 6-0 record. In the first half, play was even, but the Huskies rolled in the second for a 35-25 win.

“We have had several kids fill voids from the senior losses, and they really came together in the win over Orono,” said Bertrand. “It was a big couple of weeks. We had the win over Dexter, a solid team, and then beat Orono. We kind of knew that we had something special from there.”

“Beating Orono, for them, meant they were going to go undefeated,” said Mynahan, who scouted the Oct. 14 contest in Pittsfield. “Neither defense stopped the other in the first half, but MCI took over in the second half.”

MCI closed the regular season with victories over Ellsworth/Sumner, 42-6, and Mt. View, 37-7, to claim the No. 1 seed.

Next was a 41-8 rout of Bucksport in the semifinals. Dexter, the No. 3 seed, stunned Orono in the semifinals, but failed to follow it up as MCI rolled to a 41-0 whitewash in the Class D North final.

Buker is the captain of the Huskies’ ship. The senior quarterback has thrown for 707 yards and has rushed for another 818. He is also dangerous on punt returns, having returned eight kicks for touchdowns this season. Combined, Buker has 24 touchdowns.

At running back, senior Eli Bussell has 872 yards and 12 touchdowns, and leads the MCI defense with over 100 tackles from his middle linebacker position. MCI has allowed 100 points, an average of just nine per contest.

Wide receiver Adam Bertrand has 504 all-purpose yards (300 rushing, 204 receiving) and another 12 touchdowns on the ground.

“We are pretty balanced in what we do,” said Coach Bertrand. “We tend to have games where we score seven touchdowns from seven different guys.”

Another possible factor is MCI has been to the past two State title games. In 2014, Oak Hill captured a 41-21 win at Orono over the Huskies, then pulled away in the second half for a 34-21 victory in the 2015 title game.

Coach Bertrand still believes his team will have pre-game nerves.

“ Playing in a state championship, there will be nerves. If you don’t, check your pulse. We want to take that next step and win the Gold Ball,” said Tom Bertrand.

MCI will be looking for its first state title since capturing the 1974 championship.

Lisbon

Lisbon has improved as the season has progressed.

After dropping a 31-12 home decision to Winthrop/Monmouth in the opener at Thompson Field, the Greyhounds have rolled, with shutouts over Maranacook, Dirigo, Old Orchard Beach and Medomak Valley.

The Greyhounds had to get over a bunch of humps, including dethroning threetime Class D champion Oak Hill. After a 36-14 come-from-behind win during the regular season ended an eight-game slump against the Raiders, Lisbon shook off a slow start in the Class D South semifinal, rolling to a 42-9 victory to eliminate Oak Hill.

Then came Saturday’s 20- 17 roller-coaster win over the Ramblers at Winthrop, a game that provided the Greyhounds with a lot of confidence.

“There is no reason for us not to be confident,” said Mynahan. “We know that MCI is good, but we are good too. We realize that MCI’s defense has a lot to prepare for, like us. We have some things that we haven’t shown this season, several formations that I like. If one doesn’t work, we will try something else, and maybe something else. We will hopefully find one that works.”

Lisbon averages 32.6 points per contest, while allowing a tad over nine points. Take away the 31 points Winthrop/Monmouth scored, the Greyhound defense has permitted just 52 points over their final eight games, an average of just 6.5 a game.

Like Buker, Halls runs the Lisbon offense, completing 54-of-77 passes for 800 yards this season and adding 490 yards on the ground on just 69 carries, an average of 7.1 a run. Halls’ favorites target is receiver Tyrese Joseph, who has hauled in 30 passes for 370 yards.

On the ground, senior Noah Francis and sophomore Lucas Francis handle the bulk of the runs, with Lucas leading with 618 yards and Noah picking up 535. Senior Jared Glover, who missed some time with an injury, has returned to add 222 yards on 35 carries.

Defensively, Joseph, Noah Buiniskas, Mason Jefferies and Reece Martin-Morong are immovable objects up front, while linebacker Tanton Mattson is in charge of calling the defensive lineups. Linebackers Cole Bolduc, Glover, Bradley Harriman and Lucas Francis have been solid. In the secondary, Halls, Kurtis Bolton and Morgan Perron have helped limit opponents’ aerial attacks.

“MCI runs a lot of no-huddle, so Tanton has to make the decisions for the defense,” said Mynahan, who will go for his fourth state title at Lisbon. The Greyhounds won the Class C title over Foxcroft Academy in 1997, 2005 and 2006.

No matter the outcome on Saturday, Mynahan is proud of his team.

“This has been a great year,” said Mynahan. “This team, in some ways, can be difficult, with all the characters that we have. But they all work hard. No one has missed a practice throughout the entire season. I will always think back on this team as being a team that has a solid work ethic. That sticks out for me.”