Archrivals rematched in `C’ semifinals

The Madison Bulldogs are two victories away from capturing their third consecutive Class C football state championship.

Yet, the road toward the state game has not been as smooth as in past years for Coach Carl Rudman’s squad, which is 6-3. The Bulldogs hope to avenge one of their regular-season losses when they travel to 9-0 Old Orchard Beach for one of Saturday’s Class C semifinals.

In the other semifinal matchup, 8-1 Livermore Falls will entertain 7-2 Jay in a rematch of traditional rivals. Both games begin at 1 p.m.

At Old Orchard Beach, Coach Jack Trull’s Seagulls will try to beat Madison for the second time, after taking a 22-21 decision over the Bulldogs on Oct. 6 at Madison.

OOB pushed Madison around early in that game, but Rudman believes his team can match up with the ‘Gulls.

“We feel we’re one of the few teams that is physically tough enough so that we can maybe match up a little better,” Rudman said. “Earlier in the year we weren’t getting a lot of consistency. We had a lot of penalties and we were turning the ball over a lot. I think we’ve turned that around a little bit.”

Madison has won seven consecutive postseason games dating back to the 1988. Rudman is banking on the Bulldogs’ playoff experience.

“We’ve been in tight, pressure ballgames week after week,” Rudman said. “We’ve been there (playoffs) before and, hopefully, that will be a little bit of a mental edge for us.”

The ‘Dogs feature one of Class C’s most dominant two-way players in senior Ross Fichthorn. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound tailback has romped for 1,284 yards on 215 carries, an average of 24 attempts and 143 yards per game. He has also scored 16 touchdowns and leads Madison with 138 tackles out of his linebacker spot.

Junior quarterback Rick Lessard has helped the ‘Dogs balance out the offense, completing 53 of 102 passes for 814 yards and six touchdowns. His favorite target is 6-4 senior Nate Clark (22 catches, 397 yards, 4 TDs), who has moved from TE to wingback.

Madison will face an OOB team that boasts a big offensive line, myriad talented skill players and several different looks. The Seagulls are led by quarterback Kevin Moulton, who has a quality receiver in Carlton Pratt.

OOB, which has rolled up big yardage running the wishbone and variations thereof, has a balanced backfield which includes fullback Steve Morin and halfbacks Mike Palanza and Chad Desrochers.

“They’ve got so much depth and versatility,” Rudman said of OOB. “They can run five or six backs and Kevin Moulton’s a really fine quarterback. They’re a pretty complete football team. Chad Desrochers is one of the finest backs around. There’s not really any one person you can key on.”

Rudman described OOB linebacker Shane Wilcher thusly: “He’s kind of like a Lawrence Taylor (New York Giants linebacker) at this level. He does some thumping. He and Fichthorn are probably the two best (Class C) players in the state.”

At Livermore Falls, the Andies will try to beat the Tigers for the second time in two weeks.

Livermore Falls beat Jay 14-7 in their mutual regular-season finale. Since an opening-day loss to OOB, the Andies have won eight straight, outscoring their opponents 248-35.

Tailback John Castonguay has been a solid running back and quarterback Tom Beedy has provided the Andies with a potent passing attack. Jon Beedy and Jason Jacobs are LF’s leading receivers.

Jay’s option attack is keyed by QB Scott Hill, FB Todd Dumeny and speedy HB Victor Mortero.