PITTSFIELD — It was a battle, right down to the wire, but in the end the Winslow football team’s rushing attack was too much to tame.

The Black Raiders held on to beat Maine Central Institute 32-29 on Friday night in front of a packed house at Alumni Field. Winslow finished the regular season 7-1 record, while the Huskies fell to 4-4.

The Black Raiders ground game was led by Ryan Fredette, who had 218 yards on 28 carries. Of those yards, 97 of them came on a touchdown run in the first quarter.

“We had a good initial push, we were losing and I just wanted to score,” Fredette said of the play.

Fredette was joined by Alex Demers, who ran for 60 yards on 10 carries and scored two touchdowns. Benjamin Dorval added 51 yards on 10 carries.

MCI enjoyed a 14-12 lead at halftime, thanks to a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Friend to Pedro Matos, as well as a 3-yard run from Adam Bertrand.

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But Winslow took the lead in the third quarter, when quarterback Ryan Gagnon hit Hunter Campbell on a fade route for a 24-yard score to give the Black Raiders an 18-14 lead. Winslow added another touchdown with a 1-yard run from Demers for a 25-14 lead to start the fourth quarter.

“We came out here, just wanted to run our stuff,” Fredette said. “Do everything 100 percent. We practiced hard all week, we just wanted to come out here and get the win.”

MCI never quit. On the following possession, Matos bursted up the middle for an 81-yard score, cutting the lead to 25-22. Winslow answered back with a nearly seven minute, 80-yard drive capped by a 2-yard touchdown run from Demers for a 32-22 score.

The Huskies answered with a 55-yard scoring drive, punctuated by a 3-yard scoring toss from Friend to David Young to bring the score to 32-29 with 1:28 left. Devon Varney’s onside kick was then recovered by Winslow’s Tom Tibbetts, effectively ending the comeback.

Matos led the MCI offense with 112 rushing yards on six carries. Friend was 11 of 22 passing for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Young had six receptions for 52 yards.

Dave Dyer — 621-5640

ddyer@centralnaine.com

Twitter: @Dave_Dyer


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