PITTSFIELD — A lot of high school football teams lose their top two running backs to injury, panic sets in like a frost. It freezes the entire offense.

At Maine Central Institute, when leading rushers Jonathan Santiago and Eric Hathaway went down with knee injuries during the a win over John Bapst on Sept. 26, the Huskies kept rolling.

“It’s all about the depth. We have a lot of kids who can step in and play,” senior wide receiver Austin Tolman said.

With Santiago, the Little Ten Conference’s leading rusher, and Hathaway out last week against Washington Academy, the Huskies turned to Willie Moss and Eli Bussell. The result was a 58-6 win in which MCI scored eight touchdowns and put up 398 yards of total offense.

“We had complete confidence that Eli and Willie would be able to step up and play the position,” quarterback Greg Vigue said.

While neither Santiago nor Hathaway is expected to miss the rest of the season, having a few more players with meaningful varsity carries only makes a good MCI team better.

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MCI, now 5-0, goes to Lincoln for a big game against Mattanawcook Academy (3-1) on Friday.

“The young kids step in and don’t miss a beat. They have a lot of talent,” senior guard Jimmy Hall said. “It’s reassuring knowing if one guy goes down, we’re not going to miss anything and we’ll be able to replace them.”

Ten players have scored at least one touchdown for the Huskies this season. Santiago leads the team in rushing with 690 yards, while Moss (241), Alex Bertrand (229) and Hathaway (205) each have more than 200 yards. Tolman has 10 catches for 222 yards a pair of touchdowns, while tight end Mitchell Hallee has 12 catches for 209 yards and four touchdowns. MCI averages 451 yards and 53 points per game, both the most in the Little Ten Conference.

Improving his team’s depth was something MCI head coach Tom Bertrand worked on the entire offseason, particularly the way the 2013 season ended. With key players injured before and during the Huskies’ regional semifinal game against Mattanawcook, MCI struggled, losing 34-6.

“We didn’t want to get into the spot we got into last year at the end of the season. We had some injuries, and the guys we were counting on, we didn’t have them there. We’ve been working on this,” Bertrand said.

“There’s always a point of concern when you have two of your best players sitting out, but we knew we have the kids who can step up and are all ready to play,” Tolman said. “Eli started playing for us last year, and so did Willie.”

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Against Washington Academy on Friday, Moss had nine carries for 98 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 241 yards and six touchdowns on the season. Bussell had four carries for 42 yards and a touchdown, upping his season total to 102 yards and a pair of scores. On many teams, the duo would start in the backfield, and in the week of practice leading up to the game, their teammates let Moss and Bussell know they believed in them.

“After (practice), I would talk to each one of them and say don’t be nervous, just go out and play. Because I know they can do it,” senior co-captain Hallee said. “We’ve been preparing for this the last two years. Knowing we can give the ball to any of our running backs, even if they’re a freshman or sophomore. Knowing they’ll get the job done.”

The depth meant MCI didn’t have to simplify its game plan due to the injuries.

“Having so many weapons make it easier for the team to continue on and run the stuff we run. It gives us more versatility,” fullback Alex Bertrand, who had seven carries for 33 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders on Friday, said. “We can continue to pound the ball up the middle, or spread it out and throw a bit.”

The game plan against Washington Academy actually called for more emphasis on the passing game, with Vigue throwing to Hallee and Tolman.

“We absolutely made a concerted effort to throw the ball a little more, for a couple of different reasons. We saw some matchups we liked, and (to) ease Eli and Willie into it a little bit and get Alex a few more touches,” coach Bertrand said.

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Vigue completed eight of 12 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns on Friday, both to Hallee.

While acknowledging the Huskies’ big-play threats Santiago and Tolman, coach Bertrand said even without the injuries in the backfield more players would touch the ball this season. That was the plan entering the season.

“It was going to be about committee, and hopefully that’s going to pay off more as we get down the stretch,” Bertrand said.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM


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