Witches back home to face tough Lions

The Brewer Witches have played their own version of Road Rules during the first half of the high school football season.

Week 1 offered a trip to the Sebago Lake region and a narrow loss to Lake Region of Naples. That was followed by a bus ride to Greater Portland, and an exhibition victory at Gorham. Week 3 brought a respite from the road and a home-field win against Mount Desert Island, but last week the Witches returned to the highway, traveling to the outskirts of Lewiston for a win that knocked host Oak Hill of Wales from the unbeaten ranks.

Home is where the challenge is this week, as coach Ed Ortego’s club hosts defending Eastern Maine Class B champion Belfast in one of Week 5’s top matchups.

Belfast Lions (4-0) vs. Brewer Witches (2-1), 7 p.m. Friday at Brewer: This represents a key midseason test for both teams. Brewer has played the more formidable schedule, but Belfast has been overwhelming in averaging more than 57 points in its first four games.

“They’re darned good,” said Brewer coach Ed Ortego. “They have tremendous athletic ability at just about every position.”

Belfast may be without starting quarterback Nick Arthers (injured left shoulder) for the second straight week.

“He’s day to day right now,” said his father, Belfast co-coach Butch Arthers. “The trainer’s working with him in the pool and the weight room, and we’re hoping, but it may be more a dad hoping for his son than a coach hoping for a player.”

If Nick Arthers is unable to play, sophomore Andy Whalen will get his second start of the year in a backfield led by senior tailback Josh Aldus, who has scored 14 touchdowns in four games.”

“We think our defense has to lead the way,” said Ortego. “We need to play defensively the way we did in the second half against Oak Hill [a 32-6 Brewer win last Saturday], and give our offense the chance to get used to the pressure Belfast will bring at us.”

Brewer’s defense has allowed just one touchdown in its last two games. That contingent is led by outside linebacker Court Rancourt, the Witches’ leading tackler, interior lineman Brad Kearns, end Ryan Elliott, linebacker Chris Noyes and cornerback Dan Fox.

“They’re huge up front, and their skill-position people are solid,” said Arthers. “We’re not as big as them, but we may have a little more quickness.”

Lawrence Bulldogs (1-3) vs. Bangor Rams (3-1), 7 p.m. Friday at Bangor: Lawrence is trying to cope with the loss of 13 players to suspension, 12 for the season, due to violations of the school’s athletic code announced last week.

“The first thing we had to do was try to catch our breath,” said Lawrence coach Scott Walker, who will bring just 25 players to Cameron Stadium. “We had an unbelievable amount of wind taken out of our sails.”

After having just one full practice with its shorthanded team before dropping a 26-7 decision at previously winless Windham last Saturday, the Bulldogs have tried to return to a normal practice regimen this week with a roster heavy on sophomores.

“We’ve had the chance to evaluate our players on film for the first time, and we’ve seen a tremendous amount of improvement already,” said Walker, himself a former Lawrence quarterback. “That’s our goal right now, to improve every day.”

Bangor is coming off its biggest victory of the season to date, a 17-0 win against Skowhegan that lifted the Rams into a tie with the Indians atop the PTC North Division standings.

While the offensive exploits of senior tailback Mike Prentiss (782 rushing yards, nine TDs) have been one key to Bangor’s success, a defense that has allowed just one touchdown in the last two games and 27 points overall this season has been a crucial complementary component for the Rams.

Linebacker Ben Payson leads the Rams with 30 tackles, while defensive back Aaron Gallant has 26 and linebacker Brian Lever has 24.

“The way we teach defense is do your assignment and then play, and don’t try to overplay your assignment,” said Bangor coach Mark Hackett. “It sounds clich?, but that’s team defense. So far this season we’ve done a good job.”

Lawrence and Bangor have a rich football tradition, including last year’s matchup in Fairfield when Bangor rallied in the last 65 seconds for a 10-7 victory.

“I’d love to be able to bring a full complement of players up there,” said Walker. “Bangor and Lawrence have such a great rivalry going back to the days of coach [Pete] Cooper and coach [Gabby] Price, and we have a wonderful battle with them last year.

“The thing about Bangor is they do what they do very well. They run a tailback-based offense, and they want to do it better than everybody else.”

John Bapst Crusaders (2-2) vs. Bucksport Golden Bucks (2-2), 7 p.m. Friday at Bucksport:

The winner of this clash moves a step closer to an LTC playoff berth while dealing the loser a serious blow to its postseason aspirations.

Both teams are coming off losses, Bucksport a 21-20 heartbreaker against unbeaten Stearns at Millinocket and John Bapst a 41-8 decision to defending LTC champion Foxcroft Academy.

Bucksport features an explosive passing attack keyed by junior quarterback Joey Carmichael (517 passing yards and eight TDs) and a solid ground game featuring tailback Chris Woodman (364 rushing yards).

John Bapst relies heavily on the play of junior quarterback George Keefe (198 rushing yards, 108 passing yards), who rushed for 100 yards against the stout Foxcroft defense last week. Senior linebacker Joe Baillargeon is one of the keys to the John Bapst defense.