WINSLOW — Saturday’s Big Ten Conference semifinal game was the sloppiest offensive effort of the season for the Winslow High School football team, as the Black Raiders turned the ball over five times. Winslow’s defense, however, was as sharp as ever, and that’s what won the game for the Black Raiders at Poulin Field.
Winslow’s defense pitched its fifth consecutive shutout, holding Mt. Desert Island to 131 yards of offense in a 21-0 win.
Winslow, now 9-0, will face Old Town (9-0) for the conference title on Friday. No. 3 MDI ends the season at 7-3.
“That was a real nice defensive effort,” Winslow coach Mike Siviski said. “We’re kind of disgusted with not taking care of the ball. That amount of turnovers is what we’ve had all year, and that’s one game. If we don’t take care of the ball, Old Town will teach us a lesson.”
While the Trojans were able to mount a few long drives, Winslow’s defense stiffined in the red zone. MDI had five drives stall inside the Winslow 30-yard line.
“We just couldn’t get the ball in the end zone. We had some decent drives. I’m sure if you look at the stats, we moved the ball a little bit, but we just couldn’t get it done offensively,” MDI coach Mark Shields said.
When these teams met in Bar Harbor on Sept. 18, MDI’s Tanner Bickford, who ran for 1,042 yards in the regular season, gained 134 yards on the Black Raiders. This time, Winslow held Bickford to just 26 yards on 14 carries.
“We just executed. Everybody filled the gaps we needed to fill. It was just a successful day,” Winslow co-captain and defensive end Luke Fredette said. “He’s a heck of a back. We knew that going into the game. He ran all over us the first time.”
Croix Albee, who ran for 93 yards and two touchdowns in the first matchup against Winslow, had 55 yards on 14 carries on Saturday.
“Our defensive front is nice. Our defense has been great all year, and they kept us in that game today,” Siviski said.
Winslow got on the board with 4:01 left in the first quarter. One play after Nate St. Amand (160 yards rushing) broke a 50-yard gain, Kenny Rickard went 18 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. The Black Raiders added to their lead early in the second quarter, when quarterback Jake Trask threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Nate Gagnon.
Winslow led 14-0 at the half, but could have had more. The Black Raiders lost a muffed punt, and Trask threw two interceptions in the second quarter, the second one an Isaiah Keene pick at the Trojans goal line with 11 seconds left in the half. Keene had another pick inside the MDI 5-yard line in the fourth quarter, and the Black Raiders lost a fumble, as well.
Rickard (83 yards rushing) scored his second touchdown, this time on a 1-yard run, with 9:57 left to ice the win for the Black Raiders. Trask added 74 yards rushing for the Black Raiders, who gained 319 yards on the ground.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
<URL destination=””>tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
</URL>Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.