PITTSFIELD – Leave it to one of Maine Central Institute’s own to put a damper on the Huskies’ homecoming game Friday night, although Tom Bertrand had a little help from his Minutemen.

It was a happy homecoming for Bertrand (Class of 1990), however, as his Stearns Minutemen of Millinocket stayed unbeaten with a 28-18 victory over previously unbeaten MCI on a cool, wet evening at MCI’s field.

“I didn’t want it to be a distraction. I just wanted to keep it in perspective because this was for the kids, but it’s nice to come back to where you played and coach,” said a beaming Bertrand, who played tackle and linebacker for the Huskies.

There wasn’t much for Bertrand not to beam about as his 6-0 Minutemen used big plays, trick plays, and extra-effort plays to beat the Huskies. Those plus a crucial effort from both interior lines and key performances from quarterback Rick Deloge and star tailback Justin Cummings made all the difference.

With the score deadlocked 6-6 at halftime, Stearns took control early in the second half with an eight-play, 76-yard scoring drive keyed by Brad Wheaton’s 53-yard pass reception and capped by Cummings’ two-yard touchdown run off left tackle.

After forcing the Huskies to go three plays and out, the Minutemen struck again, this time on a seven-play drive after getting the ball back at the MCI-31 following a 14-yard Huskies’ punt.

After five Cummings carries and a four-yard scramble by Deloge, Deloge surprised everyone on the field with a fake handoff to Cummings and a two-yard QB keeper through the right side for a touchdown. Cummings then scored on a two-point conversion sweep run to the right to make it 20-6 Stearns with 3:28 left in the third quarter.

MCI had an answer this time, however, as tailback Tom Twombly caught a 15-yard pass from substitute quarterback Austin Fletcher in quadruple coverage, spun around, and somehow escaped the mob tackle as two Stearns defenders collided, allowing Twombly to sprint down the right sideline for a 69-yard TD reception.

That would be as close as the Huskies would get, however, as Stearns defense forced MCI to punt on its next two series. Then, with 4:02 left to play, the Minutemen all but iced the win as Cummings ripped a 50-yard run off right tackle and Ian Johnson took the next handoff in for a three-yard TD run on his only carry in the game. Cummings then added another two-point run and Stearns was up 28-12.

MCI answered with a three-play, 66-yard scoring drive keyed by Twombly, who accounted for a 20-yard pass reception and back-to-back, 23-yard runs to get the Huskies back in the end zone, but it wouldn’t be enough. The Minutemen recovered MCI’s attempted onside kick and ran the clock all but out with a nine-play possession.

Not surprisingly, Cummings was the man for Stearns with 124 yards on 30 carries. He also made three tackles for losses, forced a fumble, and recovered another.

Cummings credited his coaches for finding a way to neutralize a hulking MCI interior line that outmatched Stearns in terms of size.

“I just think the line did a really good job,” Cummings said. “We just tried to spread out their line and made extra-large splits so it wouldn’t be all compact.”

Center Jeremy Rush, guards James Valley and Brad Cyr, tackles Gabe Mosca and T.J. Dickinson, and tight end Les Cote did a nice job staying with their blocks.

As critical as Cummings was, Deloge was just as instrumental as he shook off throwing an interception on his first pass and an 0-for-4 start by completing six of his next nine passes for 96 yards.

“I thought we played them even, but what hurt was turnovers and losing Chadd Bennett,” said MCI coach Bill Cowan, whose starting QB left the game with a right ankle sprain late in the first quarter. “I still felt we grew up a lot tonight and I think we’ll see [Stearns] again.”

MCI’s Twombly was the game standout with three touchdowns, 135 yards on 23 carries and another 89 yards on two receptions

“They were moving the ball on us, no doubt about it. We didn’t do a great job overall, but we did when it mattered, making big plays and not buckling under to pressure,” said Bertrand.

Minutemen 28, Huskies 18

Stearns 6 0 14 8 – 28

Maine Central Institute 0 6 6 6 – 18

S – Cummings 3 run (kick failed)

M – Twombly 6 run (rush failed0

S – Cummings 2 run (pass failed)

S – Deloge 2 run (Cummings rush)

M – Twombly 69 pass from Fletcher (pass failed)

S – Johnson 3 run (Cummings rush)

M – Twombly 23 run (pass failed)

Stearns (6-0) MCI (5-1)

First downs 11 10 Rushing att. – yds 43-135 44-194 Passing cmp. – att. 7-14 2-2 Yards passing 130 89 Total yards 265 283 Intercepted by 0 1 Punts – avg. 6-29.1 7-26.1 Fumbles – lost 2-1 6-2 Penalties – yds 7-60 1-5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Stearns: Cummings 30-124, Deloge 10-10, johnson 1-3, Pelletier 2 (-2); MCI: Twombly 23-135, Broccio 8-48, Hall 8-10, Riendeau 3-2, Bennett 1-1, Therrien 1-(-2)

PASSING – Stearns: Deloge 6-13-1-96, Wheaton 1-1-0-34; MCI: Fletcher 2-2-0-89

RECEIVING – Stearns: Wheaton 4-80, Darling 1-34, Pelletier 1-12, Cote 1-4; MCI: Twombly 2-89