It’s been a little more than two weeks since a pair of coin flips decided Old Town would enter the Big Ten Conference playoffs as the No 1 seed while defending Class C state champ Winslow would follow at No. 2.
“Ever since that whole coin flip fiasco we just wanted to be able to settle it on the field,” Old Town coach Lance Cowan said. “That’s all we wanted, a chance to settle this on the field.”
Morning Sentinel Weekly Honor Roll
• Winslow running back Kenny Rickard rushed for 83 yards and two touchdowns in a 21-0 win over Mt. Desert Island.
• Winslow running back Nate St. Amand rushed for 160 yards against MDI.
• Mount View quarterback Cole Hannan threw two touchdown passes in a 20-14 loss to Mattanawcook.
• Skowhegan quarterback Garrett McSweeney threw for a touchdown and ran for another in a 16-15 loss to Brewer.
• Maine Central Institute running back Willie Moss rushed for 201 yards and five touchdowns in a 76-27 win over Orono.
That chance comes Friday night at 7 when the undefeated Raiders (9-0) and Coyotes (9-0) meet at Victory Field in the conference title game.
“Two coin flips and we’re going to Old Town,” Winslow coach Mike Siviski said. “That’s basically it. It is what it is.”
Winslow and Old Town did not meet in the regular season but the teams are hardly unfamiliar with each other — they scrimmaged in the preseason and scouted several games this fall as well.
“We’ve seen them play, yes,” Siviski said. “We know what they are about.”
Added Cowan: “We’ve seen them play three or four times. We felt that this was a matchup that could happen. When you play on Friday nights, you get the chance to see some games Saturday. It worked out. It should be a good one. We know what they will bring.”
Winslow features the toughest defense in the conference, having shut out opponents in seven games, including five straight. Old Town, meanwhile, will lean on an explosive offense that racked up 3,240 yards this season (1,983 on the ground and 1,257 in the air).
“Old Town is a tremendous quick-score offense,” Siviski said. “They have some great athletes. But on the other hand, we are very proud of our defense.”
Old Town quarterback Jake Jarvis completed 75-of-125 passes for 1,207 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. He threw three interceptions.
His favorite target, Andre Miller, has 35 catches for 728 yards and 11 touchdowns. Miller has also rushed for 385 yards and five touchdowns.
“Our offense has some big playmakers,” Cowan said. “But Winslow is hard-nosed football team. They can hit. Our offense and their defense, it seems like a big storyline going into this game. By all means, this is the best defense in the league. We’ll just try and do what we do and try to take advantage of any weaknesses.”
• • •
Top-seeded Maine Central Institute (9-0) will host No. 2 Mattanawcook (7-2) in the Little Ten Conference championship game Friday night at 7.
It marks the third straight season the teams will square off in the playoffs, although the previous two showdowns came in the LTC semifinals.
The Huskies prevailed 20-0 last season but dropped a 34-6 decision in 2013.
“It’s nice to be back in this game,” MCI coach Tom Bertrand said, “but we won’t be satisfied unless we can get to that final game and win it.”
The Huskies have steamrolled their competition this season, averaging 55 points a game.
However, Bertrand acknowledged the lack of close contests — the Huskies have won all their games by at least three touchdowns — is of some concern.
“It’s always nice to win and win big,” he said, “but it’s been awhile since we played in a really close game, a back-and-forth game. I think if we get into one of those game that we’ll respond just fine. It’s been a little concerning but I am confident that we can handle those type of games really well.”
MCI, which ripped Orono 76-27 in the LTC semifinals last Friday, handled Mattanawcook 61-0 in the regular season.
“That was Week 4,” Bertrand said. “We know Mattanawcook is a good team. They are going to come here looking to win the championship. They will show up ready to go.”
• • •
It was a tough ending for Skowhegan (7-2), which fell to Brewer 16-15 in a Pine Tree Conference Class B semifinal on a fourth-down touchdown run and ensuing two-point conversion with 11 seconds left in regulation.
“We had a great season but I still wish we were around to play another game or two,” Skowhegan coach Matt Friedman said.
Despite the heart-wrenching defeat, the Indians are poised to contend for the PTC B crown next season with several key players set to return.
Junior quarterback Garrett McSweeney established himself as one of the top passers in the league, completing 149-of-259 passes for 2,073 yards and 23 touchdowns. He threw just two interceptions.
“He’ll be one of the top quarterbacks in the league — if not the state — next season,” Friedman said. “I already feel like he’s one of the elites and he’s going to elevate his game even more.”
McSweeney will have plenty of options at the receiver position as well.
Jon Bell, a sophomore, caught 24 passes for 323 yards and four touchdowns, while junior Michael Berry caught 17 passes for 146 yards in the last five games.
“He came on strong at the end of the season,” Friedman said. “We like what we have coming back next season.”
• • •
Mount View had its five-game winning streak snapped in a 20-14 loss to Mattanawcook in an LTC semifinal last Friday.
Still, the Mustangs turned in the best season in program history, going 7-3.
“We had a lot of firsts this season,” Mount View coach Haggie Pratt said. “These kids accomplished quite a bit.”
Mount View hosted and won its first playoff game on campus — a 43-6 victory over Houlton in a conference quarterfinal game.
“At the end of last season we talked about what we wanted to do,” Pratt said. “We wanted to earn the respect from the league. We just wanted to get up there with the top teams in the league, and I feel we accomplished this.”
The Mustangs will lose several key players, including quarterback/defensive back Cole Hannan, running back/defensive end Tyler Ripley and running back/linebacker Jack Axsom, but will return enough talent to stay competitive in the LTC, including fullback Devon Davis.
“We have some tough kids coming back,” Pratt said.
Bill Stewart — 621-5618
bstewart@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @billstewartMTM
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