LEWISTON — Noah Carpenter provided a capstone performance to a brilliant high school football career in the 34th Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic all-star game.

The Leavitt Area High School graduate, who has been recruited to play both football and baseball at the University of Maine, led the West to a 49-18 victory Saturday in front of a standing-room only crowd at Lewiston High.

He passed for three touchdowns and a pair of 2-point conversions. He ran for two scores and kick three extra points. Carpenter earned the MVP award for the West after accounting for 259 yards of total offense, with a final exclamation point being a run off right tackle that he turned into a 57-yard display of his agility, power and speed for the West’s final score.

“It was nice to get one (long touchdown run), but I couldn’t have done anything without my teammates. It’s been a long week, and the brotherhood that we have built was something really special,” Carpenter said.

The game is played to benefit the Shriners Hospitals for Children. Each player and cheerleader that participates must commit to raising at least $500 for the cause. Carpenter, the two-time Varsity Maine Football Player of the Year, was one of the top fundraisers on the West. Overall, the players and cheerleaders raised $206,000. He also was joined on the West side by Leavitt teammates Jace Negley, Mason Twitchell, Will Keach and Maddox Demers, while Hornets Coach Mike Hathaway served as the offensive coordinator and many of Leavitt’s assistant coaches were also on the West staff, which was headed by Brendan Scully of Deering.

“This is a great experience for me, knowing that all the money goes to a really good cause,” Carpenter said. “To be a part of the Leavitt boys, Mason, Will, Maddox and Jace, to be a part of them one more time is truly special.”

The game was close with 58 seconds remaining in the first half after East quarterback Wyatt Rayfield of Foxcroft Academy threw his second touchdown pass to cut the West’s lead to 14-12.

But the West scored twice in the final 18 seconds of the second quarter, then added another TD less than a minute into the third – a 23-point flurry in 62 seconds of playing time that put them firmly in control.

Carpenter ran in from the 6 for a touchdown that made it 21-12 after two big pass plays to Jonah Barstow (Kennebunk) and Aiden Taylor (Westbrook). Then an interception and a 22-yard return by Jordan Bissonnette of Sanford on the next play from scrimmage set up the West at the East 15 with 5 seconds to play.

The call was a hook-and-lateral, Carpenter to Taylor to Keach, who took it the final 6 yards.

Carpenter, then threw a 2-point conversion pass to Demers for a 29-12 halftime lead.

Overall, Carpenter was 10 of 17 passing for 188 yards and had 71 yards rushing on four carries.

The East MVP was running back Tafari Corson-James of Lewiston, who gained 42 yards on 12 carries and scored the East’s only second-half touchdown on a tough 6-yard run. The East’s leading ground-gainer was Kaden Paaso (Mountain Valley), who picked up 45 yards on 10 carries, consistently showing good burst as he hit the hole.

“We played the best we could, to be honest,” Corson-James said. “We went out here and tried to have fun. It’s an all-star game. We tried to do what we can to support the community and the kids at the Children’s hospitals. It’s a charity event, you know. I was coming in as the underdog. The whole team was the underdog.”

But the West, which included players from all four 11-man football championship teams, had far too many options. The West now has a 22-11 record in the Lobster Bowl, not including the 7-on-7 version in 2021.

Barstow had two touchdowns, including a 28-yard burst 44 seconds into the second half to push the lead to 37-12. He finished with 143 yards of total offense, rushing four times for 69 yards and catching three passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. Taylor had three first-half grabs for 59 yards. Maranacook’s Owen Dunn added a 1-yard scoring run.

“Amazing experience, better than I ever could have imagined,” Barstow said. “I think I had more catches and receiving yards today than I did all year at Kennebunk.”

The West defense also shined. Bissonnette at linebacker and defensive back Isaac Ramsdell (Poland) each had two interceptions. Lineman Owen Bourque (Kennebunk) and hard-hitting linebacker Jack Caron (Deering) were tough against the run, which the East used predominantly.

“We worked hard but we didn’t do any hitting,” Bissonnette said. “We didn’t tackle at all. It was like we were leashed until the game, and that’s what made us come out on top.’

After the West took a 14-0 lead on 36- and 16-yard TD throws by Carpenter to York’s Ben Brown and Barstow, respectively, the East responded behind Rayfield.

The Foxcroft quarterback found his high school teammate, Gage Beaudry, alone in the flat for a 10-yard score. Then, with 54 seconds left in the first half, MDI’s Spencer Laurendeau pulled in a contested 28-yard pass in the end zone.