The Streak? It’s just life in Winslow

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WINSLOW – Whew boy, this Winslow High football program has it going.

Let’s see… 26, 27, make it 28 straight victories and counting.

You have to scroll back in the microfiche to the great Orono teams of the late 1970s and early ’80s who rang up 48 wins in a row to find a streak like this.

Orono fans more than anyone should appreciate what the Black Raiders are accomplishing. Not only were the Red Riots the last team to beat Winslow, handing the Raiders a 22-0 setback back in November of 1991, Orono’s ’94 edition became the latest victims of The Streak on Saturday.

It was billed as the LTC Class B game of the season. Winslow never let it materialize.

Oh, Orono looked as ready as a team could look to derail the Raiders. The Riots stormed onto Poulin Field with a 3-0 record, having averaged 56 points and 500 yards of offense a game.

And after 48 minutes of beating their heads, shoulders and hearts against the Raiders in the steady downpour, the Riots limped off on the short end of a 21-6 score.

Winslow dominated every phase of the game in moving to 4-0 this season, rolling up 329 yards of total offense while limiting Orono to 116 yards. The Riots didn’t score until there were two minutes left in the contest.

With Orono so neatly dispatched, the topic of The Streak became too big to ignore in the Winslow locker room. Could the Raiders possibly match Orono’s 48 straight? Though 20 more wins seems a long way off, it represents only a season and a half. Eight more wins this fall counting the playoffs, plus an undefeated mark next year and Winslow would be there.

“Don’t even mention that,” dismissed ninth-year Winslow coach Mike Siviski. “We don’t even discuss it.”

The Raiders might not discuss it, but they are very much aware of what they’ve got going.

“I think it works in our favor,” assessed senior tailback and safety Chris Houston, who torched Orono for 149 rushing yards and a touchdown, adding a pivotal interception on defense.

“You try not to think about it, but every game you go out knowing losing would end it. You’re afraid to lose,” Houston shrugged.

Orono coach Bob Lucy knows a thing or two about what feeds a streak. Lucy was starring for the Riots as a player during their five-year dance with perfection. After watching Winslow’s performance Saturday, Lucy had no trouble recognizing the mindset a streak creates.

“I think it works to the advantage of the kids in terms of confidence,” Lucy replied. “They’ve been there before. We tried not to think too much about it and take it game by game, but certainly there’s a confidence factor there.”

What makes streaks like Orono’s and Winslow’s so impressive is they can’t be accomplished with a single nucleus of athletes. Biddeford, Lawrence of Fairfield, Bangor, and Stearns of Millinocket have all had great football teams over a season or two. But graduation invariably kills a winning streak before it gets near 20.

Winslow graduated all but two starters from last year’s 12-0 state championship squad. How can that happen and a streak remain intact?

Siviski offered one answer.

“These kids might not have started but they practiced against some great players,” he said.

“I think it’s work ethic,” answered Houston, who knows the subject since he kicks PATs and returns kicks in addition to playing both ways. “When the streak started, everyone started doing more. Like lifting weights.”

Jay Roy, Winslow’s senior tight end and linebacker, offered another explanation.

“It’s the coaching staff,” said Roy, who burned Orono with a tackle-busting 41-yard TD catch. “They have us playing smart.”

Siviski, when pressed, seconds the coaching notion. He said part of the credit must go to his dedicated staff of assistants that includes Bob Farrell, Jim Poulin, and Wes Littlefield, winner of the recent Maine Tough Man Competiton who once tried out for the Patriots.

Perhaps the likeliest explanation for Winslow’s streak, however, wasn’t anywhere on Poulin Field Saturday. It was on an adjacent practice field. There, in a driving rain, a midget football team of 9-year-olds coached by Dan Richards was holding practice, oblivious both to the weather and the jam-packed varsity contest only a hundred yards distant.

Houston, told of the kids’ practice, smiled at the recollection of his own midget days not so long ago.

“There’s the football game on the field, and three or four games going on the side,” Houston nodded. “That’s how it is growing up in Winslow.”

WINSLOW – Whew boy, this Winslow High football program has it going.

Let’s see… 26, 27, make it 28 straight victories and counting.

You have to scroll back in the microfiche to the great Orono teams of the late 1970s and early ’80s who rang up 48 wins in a row to find a streak like this.

Orono fans more than anyone should appreciate what the Black Raiders are accomplishing. Not only were the Red Riots the last team to beat Winslow, handing the Raiders a 22-0 setback back in November of 1991, Orono’s ’94 edition became the latest victims of The Streak on Saturday.

It was billed as the LTC Class B game of the season. Winslow never let it materialize.

Oh, Orono looked as ready as a team could look to derail the Raiders. The Riots stormed onto Poulin Field with a 3-0 record, having averaged 56 points and 500 yards of offense a game.

And after 48 minutes of beating their heads, shoulders and hearts against the Raiders in the steady downpour, the Riots limped off on the short end of a 21-6 score.

Winslow dominated every phase of the game in moving to 4-0 this season, rolling up 329 yards of total offense while limiting Orono to 116 yards. The Riots didn’t score until there were two minutes left in the contest.

With Orono so neatly dispatched, the topic of The Streak became too big to ignore in the Winslow locker room. Could the Raiders possibly match Orono’s 48 straight? Though 20 more wins seems a long way off, it represents only a season and a half. Eight more wins this fall counting the playoffs, plus an undefeated mark next year and Winslow would be there.

“Don’t even mention that,” dismissed ninth-year Winslow coach Mike Siviski. “We don’t even discuss it.”

The Raiders might not discuss it, but they are very much aware of what they’ve got going.

“I think it works in our favor,” assessed senior tailback and safety Chris Houston, who torched Orono for 149 rushing yards and a touchdown, adding a pivotal interception on defense.

“You try not to think about it, but every game you go out knowing losing would end it. You’re afraid to lose,” Houston shrugged.

Orono coach Bob Lucy knows a thing or two about what feeds a streak. Lucy was starring for the Riots as a player during their five-year dance with perfection. After watching Winslow’s performance Saturday, Lucy had no trouble recognizing the mindset a streak creates.

“I think it works to the advantage of the kids in terms of confidence,” Lucy replied. “They’ve been there before. We tried not to think too much about it and take it game by game, but certainly there’s a confidence factor there.”

What makes streaks like Orono’s and Winslow’s so impressive is they can’t be accomplished with a single nucleus of athletes. Biddeford, Lawrence of Fairfield, Bangor, and Stearns of Millinocket have all had great football teams over a season or two. But graduation invariably kills a winning streak before it gets near 20.

Winslow graduated all but two starters from last year’s 12-0 state championship squad. How can that happen and a streak remain intact?

Siviski offered one answer.

“These kids might not have started but they practiced against some great players,” he said.

“I think it’s work ethic,” answered Houston, who knows the subject since he kicks PATs and returns kicks in addition to playing both ways. “When the streak started, everyone started doing more. Like lifting weights.”

Jay Roy, Winslow’s senior tight end and linebacker, offered another explanation.

“It’s the coaching staff,” said Roy, who burned Orono with a tackle-busting 41-yard TD catch. “They have us playing smart.”

Siviski, when pressed, seconds the coaching notion. He said part of the credit must go to his dedicated staff of assistants that includes Bob Farrell, Jim Poulin, and Wes Littlefield, winner of the recent Maine Tough Man Competiton who once tried out for the Patriots.

Perhaps the likeliest explanation for Winslow’s streak, however, wasn’t anywhere on Poulin Field Saturday. It was on an adjacent practice field. There, in a driving rain, a midget football team of 9-year-olds coached by Dan Richards was holding practice, oblivious both to the weather and the jam-packed varsity contest only a hundred yards distant.

Houston, told of the kids’ practice, smiled at the recollection of his own midget days not so long ago.

“There’s the football game on the field, and three or four games going on the side,” Houston nodded. “That’s how it is growing up in Winslow.”