Bangor to face E.L. in PTC quarterfinal Playoff berths ride on LTC season finales

The season is over. Well, the regular season, anyway, in the Class A ranks. Classes B and C still have one more week to go before the postseason participants are officially anointed.

The math is fairly simple in the B and C ranks as Winslow, Brewer, Belfast and Morse have clinched the four spots in B.

Class C is also fairly straightforward. Bucksport and Foxcroft Academy are Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. Dexter, Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln, and Stearns of Millinocket are vying for the last two spots. A Dexter win and the Tigers are in with the winner of the MA-Stearns game filling the final slot. A Dexter loss and both the Lynx and Minutemen are in the playoffs.

Edward Little (4-4) at Bangor (8-0), 7 p.m., Cameron Stadium: The last time these teams met, the Rams came away from Walton Field with a 31-0 preseason victory, but both these teams have gone through plenty of changes and retooling since then.

Bangor’s top weapons: Tailback Buddy Nickerson leads the Rams and the PTC in scoring with 90 points and is the PTC’s No. 2 rusher with 1,037 yards and 14 touchdowns on 175 carries. Chris Bombardier is the PTC’s No. 3 quarterback with 686 yards and five TDs on 47-for-89 passing and the No. 1 punter with a 43.9-yard average. Both he and Nickerson are also ranked fifth and fourth, respectively, in kick returns. Placekicker Nick Achorn is No. 4 with 23 points on 20-for-22 PAT kicking. Linebacker Derrick Shain leads Bangor and is No. 8 in the PTC with 88 total tackles (49 unassisted). Sophomore split end Mike Prentiss is 10th in the league with 13 receptions for 201 yards.

Edward Little: Senior tailback Tom Hunter, who was injured and missed the Bangor preseason game, is No. 2 in scoring with 68 points and No. 3 among conference rushers with 906 yards and 10 TDs on 186 carries. Jeff St. Pierre is 11th among passers with 215 yards (22-for-52) and two TDs. The Red Eddies have no one in the top 10 for receiving or kick returns, or the top 20 among defensive players. Rory Flynn is 14th among PTC punters with a 26.4 average and Craig Cormier is 11th among placekickers with seven points on 7-for-8 PAT kicking.

Stearns (4-4) at Mattanawcook (5-3), 7 p.m., Alumni Field, Lincoln: The winner of this game is in the playoffs. Period. Not a bad feat for a team that started the season 0-3 (Stearns) or features only two senior starters (MA). Stearns holds a commanding lead in the all-time series with 24 wins against 12 losses and one tie.

Sophomore tailback Ty Gardner leads the Lynx with 708 yards and five TDs on 128 carries – good for sixth among LTC rushers. Sophomore quarterback Dustin Hanscom is fifth in the LTC with 491 yards passing (30-for-59). Junior receiver Jon Carney, who began the season at quarterback, is Hanscom’s favorite target as he’s second in the league with 399 yards on 20 receptions.

Derek DiFrederico leads the Minutemen in points (56) while Ryan Sweeney leads in rushing with 497 yards on 104 carries. The Minutemen are averaging a modest 192.8 yards per game offensively and 265.3 defensively.

Brewer (7-1) at Winslow (8-0), 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Poulin Field: The winner of this game gets the top seed in LTC Class B and the regular-season title. The Witches haven’t had seven wins in a season since a storied 1970 campaign and Winslow comes into the game with a 19-game win streak.

The Witches feature two of the LTC’s top 10 leading scorers in Josh Caldwell (sixth) and Seth Emerson (ninth). Emerson is also the third-leading rusher with 817 yards on 80 carries. Brewer’s offense and defense are both ranked No. 2 as the Witches are rolling up an average of 328.1 yards per game while yielding an average of 145.3.

Winslow has two of the LTC’s top three point men in Ricky Vigue (80, No. 2) and Chris McInnis (76, No. 3). Vigue is also No. 2 in rushing with 905 yards on 157 carries. Chris Langlais leads the LTC in passing, completing 42 of 76 for 731 yards and 12 TDs. The Black Raiders have the No. 3 offense (321.2 yards) and No. 4 defense (186.1) in the LTC.

Foxcroft (6-2) at Dexter (5-3), noon, Saturday: The 50th installment of one of the LTC’s longest-running rivalries has a lot more than local pride on the line. The Ponies hold a 27-20-2 edge in the series.

Dexter junior back Adam Russell is seventh in scoring (56 points) and fifth in rushing (752 yards, 113 carries) while backfield mate Kevin Armstrong is fourth in rushing (785 yards, 138).

Junior back Danny White leads the Ponies with 75 points (fourth in LTC) and also has 464 yards rushing. Josh Sands leads FA with 508 yards on 78 carries.