The Gardiner Area High School football team will open the Pine Tree Conference Class B playoffs against familiar foe and longtime rival Waterville on Friday at Hoch Field.

Gardiner senior captain lineman Eddie Donnell, who has helped carry the defense since returning from leg and ankle injuries, said the showdown can’t come soon enough.

The No. 3 Tigers (6-2) will kick off against the No. 6 Purple Panthers (4-4) at 7 p.m.

“We’ve been looking forward to the playoffs for a long time,” Donnell said. “We’ve been waiting for this game all year.”

Added Gardiner tailback Alonzo Connor: “We’re ready. We need to play at our level. It should be a great game.”

First-year Gardiner coach Matt Burgess said the plan is to stick with the routine. The Tigers lifted weights Monday and began preparations for the Panthers.

Gardiner defeated Waterville 23-6 during the regular season.

“We did some film and some installation,” Burgess said. “We have a routine, and we need to stick to it. “

• • •

Winthrop finished 3-5 and was shut out of the postseason for the first time since 2006.

“It’s frustrating,” Winthrop coach Joel Stoneton said. “I feel bad for our seniors. We really wanted to get into the playoffs. But the fact that we put ourselves in position, that was pretty good.”

The Ramblers never strung consecutive victories together this season. They averaged 19.7 points per game and allowed 27.

“Inexperience,” Stoneton said when asked to break down the season. “We had a lot of younger guys playing a lot of reps for us. It was tough, but we accomplished a lot. I still think we’ll be a force to be reckoned with next year.”

Winthrop loses several key players up front to graduation, including Matt Smith, Tyler Reeve, Chris Bowers and Robin Cook, but it should return the bulk of its roster.

Junior Dan Moody and sophomore Zach Glazier provided a nice one-two punch in the backfield this season. The pair combined for about 1,700 yards.

“We finally have the two-back attack,” Stoneton said, “and they will be back next year. We already have the weight lifting program for the offseason put in. We’ll be back.”

• • •

The good news for Oak Hill?

It’s back in the playoffs for the third consecutive season.

And the bad news?

The Raiders (3-5) will play at No. 1 seed and defending Class C state champ Yarmouth (8-0) on Friday.

“We’re backing in, but we’re in,” Oak Hill coach Dave Wing said. “I don’t know if I like this system or not. You feel bad for Poland, which had a better record than us. They really did a nice job.”

Although Poland (4-4) didn’t make the playoffs, it did lose to Oak Hill 28-12 in the third week of the season. The Raiders reached the playoffs because of a strong strength of schedule.

Oak Hill (3-5) will play Yarmouth in the postseason for the second consecutive season. The Clippers defeated the Raiders 28-7 in the Campbell Conference semifinals last season.

“We’ll have to manage the game,” Wing said. “We don’t have a breakaway talent. We’ll have to work our way down the field and go from there. I’ve said all along that if we play well, we can play with anybody.”

• • •

Cony (1-7) closes its season Friday with a PTC A game at Alumni Field against Oxford Hills (1-7). The Rams are coming off of a wild 62-49 setback to Lewiston (4-4).

“That’s the most interesting game I’ve ever been involved in,” Cony coach Robby Vachon said. “It was back and forth for four quarters. It was 55-49 with 1:40 left, so we still had a chance. We battled.”

Despite the loss, Cony finally enjoyed a breakout game from tailback Brandon St. Michel, who took over the job this season as a junior.

St. Michel scored five touchdowns and had 244 yards of total offense. He rushed for 131 yards and caught five passes for 113 more. Cony sophomore quarterback Ben Lucas completed 21 of his 30 passes for 246 yards. He scored a pair of touchdowns.

“We threw the ball very well,” Vachon said. “St. Michel obviously had a huge night. It’s the best game he’s had as a varsity football player. We created a lot of lanes for him. He’s a slasher and really had a good game.”

• • •

With Week 8 of the regular season complete, the PTC A playoff race is coming together.

Lawrence (8-0) clinched the top spot and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a 10-7 win over Brunswick.

Brunswick (6-2) is in and can clinch the No. 2 seed with a win over Mt. Ararat (0-8) on Saturday.

Messalonskee (6-2) is in after beating Bangor, 39-20. The Eagles can finish either third or fourth. Messalonskee hosts Lawrence on Friday.

Bangor (6-2) and Skowhegan (5-3) play each other at Bangor’s Cameron Stadium on Friday, in what’s essentially a play-in game. If Skowhegan wins, it clinches a playoff berth and the third seed because of its win over Messalonskee. A loss eliminates Bangor, since the Rams would have losses to Skowhegan and Messalonskee.

Staff writer Travis Lazarczyk contributed to this report.

Bill Stewart — 621-5618

bstewart@centralmaine.com

 

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