THORNDIKE — As a Waldo County sheriff’s deputy, Jon Shaw was at Saturday’s Little Ten Conference playoff game between Houlton and Mount View in a purely professional capactity. As a Mount View High School alum and a member of the school’s first football team in 2007, he was in full booster mode, and loved what he saw on the field Saturday afternoon.

Mount View beat Houlton, 43-6, to earn the first playoff win in the program’s history. It was just the second playoff game ever for the Mustangs, who lost to Foxcroft Academy in the first round in 2011.

Shaw never got to play in the postseason, he graduated in 2010, or on this field. When he was a Mustang, the team played home games at Belfast Area High School, then Larrabee Field, just down the road in Knox. He was on the field for Mount View’s first win, a victory over Old Town to start the 2009 season. As one of the original football Mustangs, he grinned like a proud parent and enjoyed the team’s current success.

“This is great. All the fans, and they’re kicking some butt. It’s grown out, it’s huge, and the more they win, they better it’s going to be,” said Shaw, who played offensive line and linebacker when he was a Mustang. “I’m pretty excited for next week.”

Next week, Mount View will play at Mattanawcook Academy in the semifinals. A couple weeks ago, Mount View went to Lincoln and beat Mattanawcook, 33-16. Through the fickle fortune of Crabtree points, the system which determines playoff seeding in Maine high school football, the Lynx earned a higher seed than the Mustangs, and will be home for the rematch.

To their credit, the Mount View players don’t care if they play their next game in Lincoln, Thorndike, or the parking lot of Dysart’s Truck Stop. They’re thrilled to be taking their program to a new level. For senior guard/linebacker Ethan Sewell-Berry, beating Houlton made it a little more special.

“It means a lot. It’s a different feeling, especially against my hometown Houlton. It’s something else,” Sewell-Berry said. “I lived there five years. When I first played football, it was for them.”

Haggie Pratt is in his third year as Mount View’s head football coach. He’s won playoff games in the past, when he coached at Dexter. Even a veteran coach like Pratt was caught up in the enthusiasm surrounding the team. It started in the offseason, Pratt said.

“I’ve been down this road a few times, but the kids are so excited,” Pratt said. “It all comes back to, we had a great summer. Twenty-five kids there every single day, four days a week, working hard. They wanted to win in the worst way. They have not accepted mediocrity.”

In 2013, Pratt’s first season with Mount View, the Mustangs missed the playoffs when they lost the regular-season finale, 35-33, to Washington Academy. Last season, the Mustangs were in the playoff mix until a late season loss to Houlton, but with just one senior, only won two games. Pratt saw the talented and committed group of seniors (there are 14 seniors on the Mount View roster) he had coming for 2015, and knew this season could be special.

“I think we had 18 kids that went to the Little Ten Conference camp. We had 11 more that went to the University of Maine camp. That’s kids spending money that want to be a winning football program,” Pratt said.

At halftime, the Mustangs honored their youth football program that recently won its league title. Shaw stressed how important that youth program is to the high school team’s success.

“The pee wees just won the championship. Now these kids are coming in with six, seven, eight years experience. That’s huge. The guys we were getting were coming off the streets and didn’t even know 11 men were supposed to be on the field,” Shaw said.

Mount View’s senior class has eight years of playing football together, quarterback Cole Hannan said.

“We all started in the same year, fifth grade, and we came up together as a group, and it shows, right now,” Hannan said.

Mount View football finally has a playoff win. Now the Mustangs want to go to Lincoln, and get another playoff first, a win streak.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

<URL destination=””>tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

</URL>Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM

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