By Michael Hoffer
MaxPreps.com
It took 11 weeks to determine the cream of the crop in Maine high school football. Next Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland, three teams will cap their seasons with Gold Balls.
This past Saturday, in varying degrees of rainfall, six squads moved on with compelling victories.
As has been the case for almost all of the past five seasons, the Western A story proved to be all about the Bonny Eagle Scots. The Scots, who overcame the No. 4 seed and earned a date in the regional title game with their stirring win at unbeaten and top-ranked Deering a week ago, went to No. 2 Thornton Academy, which was also without a loss.
The Golden Trojans had been clamoring all season for respect as most of the talk centered around the Scots and Rams while Thornton Academy quietly earned its first regional final berth in 15 seasons.
Saturday, the hosts just couldn't find an answer for Bonny Eagle's defense. The Scots scored the only points they would need on senior standout Nate Doehler's touchdown run in the first period.
Thornton had an opportunity to draw even in the second, but a fumble deep in Bonny Eagle territory turned the tide for good. The Scots scored again before the half on senior Josh Ruby's run, then iced their 20-0 triumph when Doehler hit Joe Davis with a TD pass.
The Scots (9-2) will battle Skowhegan (10-1) in the Class A state final. The Indians also completed a run from the No. 4 spot to win their first regional title since 1989.
Skowhegan, a week removed from ending Lawrence's reign, went to No. 2 Edward Little and dominated play in the muck, also winning 20-0. The Indians ran for over 300 yards, dominated possession and never let the Red Eddies' offense get untracked.
The Western B Final featured another Cape Elizabeth-Mountain Valley showdown. The teams met in that round for the third year in a row, just two weeks after the Falcons capped an undefeated regular season with a 34-6 home win over the Capers, handing Cape Elizabeth its first loss in the process.
After Mountain Valley cruised past No. 4 Falmouth in the semifinals and the second-ranked Capers rallied past No. 3 York, the familiar foes hooked up in what would prove to be a entertaining contest.
The Falcons appeared state final-bound in the first period when they forced not one, but two safeties. The first came when Cape Elizabeth junior standout Tommy Foden was tackled in the end zone. The second came on a Capers' punt when the long snap sailed over junior Ezra Wolfinger's head and the punter/quarterback had to down it beyond the goal line. In between, Mountain Valley scored a touchdown on a short pass and led 10-0 after one.
When senior standout Justin Staires scored on a TD run early in the second to make it 16-0, it looked like Cape Elizabeth was cooked, but the Capers came to life, getting on the board with a 42-yard TD scamper by Foden.
The Falcons then converted a fourth-and-12 as Staires hit Travis Ruff for a 26-yard scoring pass to make it 22-6.
Foden struck again late in the half, taking a short pass and turning it into a 36-yard touchdown to pull Cape Elizabeth within 10, 22-12, at the break.
The Capers would draw even closer. During an eight minute drive that spanned eight minutes in the third and fourth quarters, Cape Elizabeth drove 84 yards on 18 plays. Foden's 3-yard run with 7:47 left made it 22-19 and put all the pressure back on Mountain Valley.
The Falcons live for such moments, however, and answered with aplomb, marching 62 yards on 10 plays and taking a 28-19 lead when Cam Kaubris scored on a 1-yard keeper with 2:29 to play.
This time, the Capers couldn't get off the deck and their season ended at 9-2.
“I think Cape played the best football I've seen them play all year,” Mountain Valley coach Jim Aylward said. “They're good. Like we expected. We kind of looked over when it was 16-0 and thought Cape might be down, but when Aaron Filieo's your coach, you won't stay down long.
“Our kids played their (rears) off today. I'm proud of all our seniors. This is the fourth year in a row we've played in the Western Maine championship game. We're here every year.”
“In the first quarter, we just made too many mistakes and got in a hole,” Cape’s Filieo said. “You can't do it on a day like today or against a team like that. They're such an aggressive defense.
“We got a lot of skill guys coming back and a good portion of our offensive and defensive lines back. It's easy to say next year, next year, but we felt we could knock these guys off this year. No one else felt that way, but we knew we were better than people thought. It was us and Mountain Valley.”
The Falcons (11-0) advance to meet surprising Morse in the state title game. The Shipbuilders, who lost their first two contests before going 5-0 down the stretch to earn the No. 5 seed, capped their stirring playoff run Saturday with a 10-7 win at No. 2 Mt. Desert Island on Ethan Kingsbury's 22-yard field goal in the final minute.
Morse (8-2) will be a decided underdog Saturday, but Mountain Valley, still stinging over last year's 21-14 state game loss to Gardiner, will be ready for anything.
“All we want to do is just play,” Aylward said. “We can't guarantee this or guarantee that. It's a privilege to get there and we'll prepare. The goal's to get to the last dance. We remember we lost last year. It gives us a little extra motivation.”
There were no surprises in Western C as undefeated Winthrop capped its run with a 34-0 victory over No. 3 Lisbon Saturday. The Ramblers (11-0) will meet John Bapst (10-1) in the state game. The Crusaders upset No. 1 Bucksport 21-14 in the Eastern C final.
