The evidence is mounting that Rockland High will be a major player in the LTC football race this fall.

The Tigers, whose back-to-back 5-4 campaigns in 2003 and 2004 marked the program’s first winning seasons since 1988, opened the 2005 season last Friday by knocking off Foxcroft Academy 26-19.

“From Day 1 when we started camp, we talked about Week 1 being a playoff game for us,” said fifth-year Rockland coach Daryle Weiss. “We knew we would have our hands full with Foxcroft because that’s a great program, but we knew about the importance of this game.”

The Tigers found success in their balanced offense, as sophomore quarterback Andrew Weiss – the coach’s nephew – passed for 115 yards and rushed for 127 and junior tailback Mike Marsh rushed for 130 yards and scored three touchdowns.

Much of that rushing success came behind the right side of the offensive line, which features seniors Clint Dodge and Dan Curtis.

“We run a wide-open shotgun offense,” said coach Weiss. “At the end of last year we within a tenth of a point of being 50-50 between the pass and run, and we look to do that every week.”

The Rockland defense came up big at a crucial moment during the second quarter. Trailing 12-7, Foxcroft had advanced to a first-and-goal at the 5, Weiss said, but the Tigers kept the Ponies out of the end zone -and then went on a 98-yard scoring drive capped off by a 20-yard TD pass from Weiss to Josh Elwell. Marsh soon followed with his third touchdown of the half, a 1-yard scoring run, and Rockland had a 26-7 halftime lead.

Coach Weiss cited the work of Josh Fogg, Dom Morrill, Derek Tripp and nose guard Mark Boynton among a host of key defensive contributions for the Tigers.

Indeed, things are looking up for this program, which not too many years ago had just 19 players suited up for a game. Currently there are 37 players on the roster for a team now eligible for the Class C playoffs after competing as a Class B program in the LTC the last two years.

“The commitment level on the kids’ part is there,” said coach Weiss, a special education teacher at the school who recently took out nomination papers to run for the Rockland City Council this fall.

“They understand the goals of the program, and the first goal is that we’re trying to educate these kids in school. We don’t lose kids to academics. But they’re also involved in community service in the lower-level programs, and there’s a lot of excitement.”

The Tigers face their first road test of the season Friday night at Stearns of Millinocket, which dropped a 24-19 decision to Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield last Friday.

“We’ve got a three-hour bus ride to make,” said coach Weiss. “We’re going to approach it like a playoff game.”

MDI doesn’t wait for first win

The Mount Desert Island High football team waited the entire 2004 season for its first victory – but it never came.

The wait was of brief duration this year, as the Trojans opened their season Saturday with an 8-6 victory over Maranacook in Pine Tree Conference Class B play at Readfield.

“For us, we have to play it a game at a time,” said third-year MDI head coach Mark Shields. “To get the monkey off our back and to get that first win, especially on the road, when the program has been down is pretty special.”

MDI secured its first win in come-from-behind fashion, as Jeremiah Cousins capped off a 78-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run and freshman quarterback Tyler Crawford passed to Collin Walton for the decisive two-point conversion.

The Trojans amassed 320 yards of total offense, with freshman quarterback Tyler Crawford coming off the bench in the second quarter to replace the injured Sean Parady and complete 6 of 9 passes for 120 yards. Walton, a junior split end, had seven catches for 120 yards.

Junior linebacker Andrew Leiser led the MDI defense with 14 tackles, while senior linebacker Jeremiah Cousins, a transfer from Alaska, also played a strong game, Shields said. The Trojans also got four interceptions from their secondary, two by safety Jon Hall and one each from cornerbacks Walton and Alex Keene.

“The defense played solid football, and kept us in the game,” Shields said.

Yet MDI trailed 6-0 into the fourth quarter, in part because of three fumbles deep in Maranacook territory.

“The kids just didn’t quit,” said Shields. “We had the ball inside the 10 three times, but we put the ball on the ground and they picked it up. We had ample opportunities to score, we just couldn’t put the ball in the end zone.”

In fact, a disastrous series of plays in the second quarter momentarily brought back flashbacks of recent tough times. On the first play, Parady was sacked and knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury. On the next play, MDI fumbled and Maranacook recovered at its 8-yard line. On the third play, Maranacook’s Jake Hewett broke off a 92-yard touchdown run to give the Black Bears a 6-0 lead.

But an MDI team with just two senior starters didn’t let the sudden turn of events ruin its day.

“We were down 6-0 at the half, but the kids were still very positive, because we knew we could move the ball,” Shields said.

MDI will play its home opener at 1:30 p.m. Saturday against Oak Hill of Wales. Oak Hill opened its season with a 29-7 win at Old Town.

Parady is considered day-to-day with his right shoulder injury. Originally it was feared he suffered a broken collarbone, but Shields said X-rays suggested just strained ligaments.

“If Sean’s ready to go Saturday, he’ll be our starting quarterback against Oak Hill,” said Shields. “But it’s nice to know we have someone behind him in Tyler we have a lot of confidence in.”