OAKLAND — In theory, this is when Messalonskee should be feeling the effects of its small roster. Instead, the Eagles are playing their best football of the year over the last two weeks.
Last week, it was an upset victory over previously unbeaten Brunswick. On Friday night, Messalonskee improved to 4-3 with a 55-21 win over Hampden at Veterans Field.
“You can have 100 kids on your roster, but if only six or seven of them really want to play, then what good are you?” Messalonskee coach Brad Bishop said. “We’ve got some kids that want to play, and they’re tough.”
“We may have few players, but we’re making the best of it,” said Messalonskee junior Caleb Chavarie, who scored two touchdowns Friday. “It makes us more of a team, it makes us more of a family, and it creates a bond like no other.”
Jack Bernatchez and Colby Dexter also scored two touchdowns apiece for the Eagles. After Dexter’s first touchdown, just 1 minute, 26 seconds into the game, the Eagles gathered around Connor Garland, a student at the school who was injured in the Haunted Hayride accident that killed his girlfriend, Cassidy Charette. Garland was recently released from the hospital.
“We’ve had a rough week here at Messalonskee,” Chavarie said. “We wanted to honor Connor, and honor his family, and Cassidy Charette, who passed away recently. That was our way of doing it — singing the school song with him, ‘Eagle Pride.'”
Messalonskee’s other touchdowns came on a 26-yard pass from Jake Dexter to Josh Boucher, and a 17-yard run by Jordan Pelletier. The Eagles led 49-7 in the third quarter before Hampden scored two late touchdowns on a 1-yard run by quarterback Derek Jesiolowski and a 65-yard pass from Jesiolowski to Ian Gehrke.
In the second half, a few Eagles got a chance to get their names prominently on the stat sheets. Daryn Morris, a sophomore who wears No. 66 and is listed as a tackle on the Messalonskee roster, carried the ball a few times for nice gains. David Kinney, a junior tackle, burst through the line to sack Jesiolowski.
Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243
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