BOOTHBAY HARBOR — After scoring just two touchdowns through three games, Maranacook Community High School football coach Joe Emery knew he had to do something about his team’s offense.
Emery and the Black Bears unveiled those changes in Friday night’s 22-18 win over Boothbay at Sherman Field, switching from a power-I style to a double wing set.
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Maranacook’s Kyle Morand scored a pair of touchdowns and a 2-point conversion in Friday’s 22-18 win over Boothbay.
Cony’s Reid Shostak rushed for 102 yards on 14 carries and also added five catches for 41 yards and a touchdown in a 28-7 win over Skowhegan.
Cony’s Tayler Carrier had 10 catches for 124 yards and a rushing touchdown in Friday’s 18-7 win over Skowhegan.
Cony quarterback Mitchell Caron completed 21-of-30 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for a touchdown.
Winthrop/Monmouth’s Dakota Carter has two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 33-0 win over Telstar.
Oak Hill’s Kyle Flaherty returned from injury to rush for 175 yards and a touchdown in a 32-2 win over Old Orchard Beach on Saturday.
Gardiner’s Andrew Doody-Veilleux had two tackles and blocked three kicks in a 14-8 loss to Brewer.
“I had to. We didn’t have the athletes to run a power-I,” Emery said. “The double wing was it; that’s pretty much what we need. We have enough kids that can pull and we have three pretty fast, quick wing players.”
Kyle Morand had been playing quarterback for Maranacook, but in the new offense has been moved to fullback. In Friday’s win over the Seahawks he scored a pair of touchdowns and had a two-point conversion.
Sophomore Isaiah Weston has taken over under center and also had a strong Western D Campbell Conference debut. In Maranacook’s game-winning drive he completed a number of key passes before scoring the go-ahead score with 90 seconds remaining on a 16-yard run.
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Cony has made vast improvements on defense the last two games. The Rams have given up just three touchdowns over the last two weeks after allowing 46 and 42 points on back-to-back weeks to Brewer and Brunswick, respectively.
A big part of Cony’s improved defense has been the play of junior Benaiah Willhoite, a home-schooled student who just started playing the sport this season.
“He just kind of fell into our laps actually,” Cony coach Robby Vachon said. “A home-schooled kid, he came out, very athletic, he’s new to football and he’s kind of come into his own the last few weeks. He’s got a great motor. He’s got a great build, he’s 6 foot, 205 pounds. Doesn’t get tired. He’s pretty diligent in the weight room.”
Willhoite was a force Friday night against Skowhegan. He recorded two sacks — one at the end of the first half that helped set up a dramatic last-second touchdown pass from Mitchell Caron to Anthony Brunelle — and also recovered a fumble.
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As Pine Tree Conference Class B continues to shake itself out, one thing has become clear — everyone is chasing Brunswick.
The Dragons have more or less rolled every single opponent they’ve faced so far this season, and are winning games by an average of 29.8 points per game. Outside of a 34-21 win over Skowhegan on Sept. 26, Brunswick has won each of its games by at least 28 points.
“The main goal is to be at our best at the end,” Brunswick coach Dan Cooper said. “We were 5-0 at this time last season and we lost our last two out of three games and I thought last year’s team was better than this year’s.
“We want to try to learn from last year.”
Will Bessey and Alex Bandouveres lead the Dragons.
“They’ve been fantastic. They’re both two-way starters, great on defense, great on offense,” Cooper said. “It helps that every time they touch the ball they can take it the distance. They’re good running, they’re good blocking and they’re good catching.
“Probably the best quality about them is they’re very unselfish. They’ll do whatever it takes to win.”
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It has been touch and go over the past few weeks for Oak Hill coach Stacen Doucette on whether star running back/linebacker Kyle Flaherty (leg injury) would be available to play.
Saturday morning he finally got the approval and played a major part in the Raiders’ 32-2 win over Old Orchard Beach.
“It was a confidence booster to our team,” Doucette said. “The kids have seen how hard he has worked on the season and I don’t want to use the word inspiring, but it was definitely a morale boost.”
Doucette said they thought on Wednesday that he would be available to play in the game, but still were not 100 percent sure until Saturday morning.
It appears after rushing for 175 yards and a touchdown against the Seagulls that Flaherty is back to his old self and ready for the rest of the season.
“He’s feeling fine,” Doucette said. “We still take things easy. He still does his rehab work daily. We’re going to continue to go to that routine as long as we can.”
Evan Crawley – 621-5640
ecrawley@mainetoday.com
Twitter: @Evan_Crawley
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