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BIDDEFORD – Jon Gautier enjoys hitting people on the football field. It is something he does well.
For that reason, the University of Maine’s football program will be footing the bill for his college education beginning in September. Gautier gave the state’s fans a preview of what they might expect to see from him in a Black Bears uniform, sparking the West to a 35-12 victory over the East in the fourth Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic here Saturday night.
The West defense shut out the East through 48 minutes and accounted for a pair of touchdowns as the West won its fourth straight East-West senior all-star game. A near-capacity crowd turned out at Waterhouse Field to view last fall’s premier high school seniors.
Proceeds from the game will benefit the Shriners’ orthopedic hospitals and burns institutes located across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Gautier, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound defensive end out of Edward Little High School in Auburn, sparked the West squad with nine tackles. He was selected as the Most Valuable Player for the West.
John Tennett of Bangor, who completed 10 of 23 passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns, was tabbed as the East MVP.
As much as Gautier likes playing defense, the West defense was on the field for 81 plays Saturday night.
“It was a little rough the second half, because we were out there all the time,” said Gautier. “After the offense put points on the board, everyone knew we had to turn it up defensively and we did. We set the tone.”
The West defense received some extra duty in the second half as, under Lobster Bowl rules, a team trailing by 10 points or more in the second half is automatically awarded the ball, even if that team has just scored.
That happened twice in the second half Saturday night.
After Thornton Academy QB Kirk Purvis threw to TA teammate Matt LeBlanc for a 9-yard touchdown in the first quarter, the defense took over. The West thwarted a 30-yard East drive when Dexter’s Brian Smith narrowly missed a 36-yard field goal at 8:30 of the first.
Later in the quarter, Gautier stripped the ball away from Gardiner’s Chris Whalen, recovered it, and ran 21 yards to the East 29. The East’s defense held when Doug Peters of Winslow dropped Wells’ Tim Ryan for a loss on a fourth-down screen pass with 55 seconds left in the quarter.
Peters made an interception to stop another West threat at 10:27 of the second quarter.
The West extended its lead with a seven-play, 42-yard scoring march in the final 1:35 of the first half. Purvis hooked up with Cheverus’ Tony Aceto on an 18-yard pass to help set up his 12-yard strike to Aceto in the back right corner of the end zone four plays later.
Aceto also rushed for the conversion.
“We came out and strutted our stuff,” Purvis said. “We showed them up north what we’ve got. We didn’t know what to expect, but we clicked right off and we had a lot of fun.”
The West got a huge emotional lift going into intermission when, on a second-and-10 play from the W-48, Biddeford’s Shawn Walton pickesecond-and-10 play from the W-48, Biddeford’s Shawn Walton picked off a pass by Kevin Legassey of Stearns and raced 69 yards down the sideline for a touchdown as time expired.
“What killed us was the big play,” said East player Josh King of Hampden Academy. “The defense was solid, but the big plays hurt us. I think the result was the defense was on the field too long and the offense never got going.”
The second half featured a more conservative offensive approach on both sides. The West padded its advantage with a nine-play, 46-yard scoring drive late in the third.
The march featured the running of Fitzpatrick Trophy winner Bert Rich of South Portland, who carried five times for 25 yards, paving the way for a 3-yard TD run by Biddeford’s Reuben Sevigny with 37 seconds left in the quarter. The West led 28-0.
The passing skills of Bangor’s Tennett and the running of Gardiner tailback Whalen helped the East get on the board on its ensuing possession.
Tennett hooked up with Mt. Blue’s Tyson Wehrman on a 24-yard completion to spark the march. Tennett found J.D. Way of Belfast open over the middle on an 11-yard scoring pass with 11:48 to play.
Even after the East got the ball back on the ensuing kickoff, the West spoiled the party. Sanford’s Brian LaClair stepped in front of a Tennett pass and motored 35 yards for a score with 10:53 left.
The East answered with a 56-yard drive. Tennett completed four passes during the possession, including a 9-yard TD toss to Wehrman in the end zone with 6:58 to play.
West All-Stars 35, East 12
West 6 15 7 7 -35
East 0 0 0 12 -12
W – LeBlanc 9 pass from Purvis (kick failed)
W – Aceto 12 pass from Purvis (Aceto rush)
W – Walton 69 interception return (Desmaris kick)
W – Sevigny 3 run (Desmaris kick)
E – Way 11 pass from Tennett (pass failed)
W – LaClair 35 interception return (Desmaris kick)
E – Wehrman 9 pass from Tennett (pass failed)
EAST WEST First downs 19 19 Rushing: att. – yards 45-190 38-172 Passing: att. – comp. 36-13 24-13 Yards passing 128 153 Total yards 318 325 Intercepted by 2 2 Punts – average 6-32.5 3-36.0 Fumbles – lost 3-2 1-0 Penalties – yards 4-40 4-30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – WEST: Carrier 6-46, Turcotte 6-38, Sevigny 10-34, Rich 8-22, Ferrante 5-21, Purvis 2-9, Aceto 1-2; EAST: Jacunski 7-70, Whalen 13-50, Way 2-29, Vigue 6-24, Libby 10-19, Legassey 3-0, Tennett 4-(-2)
PASSING – WEST: Purvis 7-15-1-112, Carrier 6-9-1-41; Tennett 10-23-1-114, Legassey 3-13-1-14
RECEIVING – WEST: LeBlanc 4-76, Aceto 3-39, Sevigny 2-21, Durgin 2-15, Ferrante 1-11, Turcotte 1-(-9); EAST: Wehrman 2-33, Scott 3-29, Jacobs 3-27, Way 2-26, Vigue 1-9, Norris 1-4, Whalen 1-0
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