WINSLOW – Saturday’s Pine Tree Conference Class B semifinal couldn’t have started any worse for the Winslow High football team. It couldn’t have continued any better for the Black Raiders.

Winslow spotted Belfast a 6-0 lead in the opening minutes, then scored 42 unanswered points during the remainder of the first half to roll to a 49-24 victory over the defending state champions at Poulin Field.

The win, the Black Raiders’ fifth straight, sends No. 2 Winslow (8-2) to next Saturday’s Eastern Maine final at No. 1 Brewer (9-1). The Black Raiders defeated Brewer 20-14 on Oct. 30 at Winslow.

“We’ve very pleased to be where we are,” said Winslow coach Mike Siviski, “and we’ll obviously have a battle on our hands next week.”

No. 3 Belfast, which lost a 43-28 shootout at Winslow on Oct. 9, struck first in the rematch after Garren Horne recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and returned it to the Winslow 30. Four plays later, senior tailback Josh Aldus raced 16 yards to give the 6-4 Lions a 6-0 lead with 9:24 left in the first quarter.

From there, it was a Winslow blitz on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Jared Maroon began the onslaught 62 seconds later with a 44-yard sprint to the end zone, and Ben Poulin made the first of seven extra-point kicks to give the Black Raiders a 7-6 lead. Ryan Lindie followed less than two minutes later with a 65-yard punt return.

The Black Raiders scored four more touchdowns in the second quarter. Justin Lindie (6 carries, 72 yards, all in the first half) scored on a 5-yard run to cap an 81-yard drive after senior tackle Tory Joseph recovered a fumble to halt a Belfast march.

Sophomore quarterback Steven Siviski passed sparingly (3 of 4, 84 yards) while playing just the first half, but he was effective, throwing TD passes of 31 yards to Alex Pellerin and 37 yards to Ryan Lindie.

Between those scores, defensive end Mike Bombardi blocked a Belfast punt and Pellerin scooped up the ball and ran 8 yards for a touchdown. By halftime, Winslow’s lead was 42-6, a stunning turn of events in a rivalry that has been among the best in the state for more than a decade.

“If you had told me that right after we had taken it down and scored, that they’d score the next 42 points, I’d say you’re crazy, because I thought all we needed was something like that to get us going,” said Belfast co-coach Butch Arthers. “You got to hand it to them. They were prepared and ready to go. We thought we had a great game plan.”

Aldus (25 carries, 194 yards) added a pair of second-half touchdowns for Belfast on runs of 2 and 15 yards. Teammate Sean Leeman scored on a 42-yard run.

Winslow’s lone second-half TD came from Maroon, whose 42-yard jaunt capped an 11-carry, 123-yard day.

“We were really, really pleased with our execution in the first half,” said Mike Siviski, who went heavy into his team’s bench after intermission. “We were very, very sharp.”

Winslow also was sharp defensively, including Bombardi, linebacker Brandon Bellows and senior tackle Andy Poulin, who had a pair of quarterback sacks in the second quarter after the quickly escalating score and the Black Raiders’ defense forced the Lions to the airways – where they completed just 2 of 16 passes.

“Offensively they took a couple of things away from us in the last game,” said Belfast co-coach Butch Richards, “so we wanted to make sure we could do some of the things that are our strength. We were able to do that, but instead of throw when we wanted to we had to throw because we had to offensively.”

BLACK RAIDERS 49, LIONS 24

Belfast (6-4) 6 0 6 12 – 24

Winslow (8-2) 14 28 7 0 – 49

B – Aldus 16 run (rush failed)

W – Maroon 44 run (Poulin kick)

W – R. Lindie 65 punt return (Poulin kick)

W – J. Lindie 5 run (Poulin kick)

W – Pellerin 31 pass from Siviski (Poulin kick)

W – Pellerin 8 blocked punt return (Poulin kick)

W – R. Lindie 37 pass from Siviski (Poulin kick)

B – Aldus 2 run (rush failed)

W – Maroon 42 run (Poulin kick)

B – Aldus 15 run (pass failed)

B -Leeman 42 run (rush failed)

Belfast Winslow

First downs 15 8

Rushing att.-yards 47-310 33-232

Passing comp.-att. 2-16 5-7

Passing yards 31 108

Total yards 341 340

Punts-avg. 4-25 1-35

Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-1

Intercepted by 1 1

Penalties-yards 5-40 9-46

Rushing

Belfast: Aldus 25-194, Leeman 4-59, Horne 7-23, Whalen 10-22, Lee 1-12; Winslow: Maroon 11-123, J. Lindie 6-72, R. Lindie 7-15, Wheeler 2-13, Bombardi 2-5, Goulette 3-4, Jacques 2-0

Passing

Belfast: Whalen 2-16-1-31; Winslow: Siviski 3-4-0-84, Wheeler 2-3-1-24

Receiving

Belfast: Morse 1-16, Littlefield 1-15; Winslow: R. Lindie 1-37, Pellerin 1-31, Lopez 1-18, J. Lindie 1-16, Goulette 1-6

A-900