Renewal of old rivalry may decide Eastern B playoffs

The early stages of the high school football season suggest that when Winslow and Waterville renew their rivalry in an official sense for the first time since the 1980s at the end of the regular season, some serious playoff positioning will be at stake.

Winslow and Waterville are two of only three undefeated teams left in the Pine Tree Conference Class B ranks after Week 2 play.

Winslow, the reigning Eastern B champion, owns victories over 2004 playoff teams Leavitt of Turner Center and Belfast despite having very limited production from one of its featured players, junior tailback Justin Lindie.

Lindie left the Black Raiders’ season-opening 16-12 win over Leavitt with a mild concussion, then had just six carries in a 16-0 win at Belfast before being sidelined with an ankle injury.

Coach Mike Siviski’s club instead has relied on a quick, aggressive defense that has produced six straight scoreless quarters since Leavitt jumped out to a 12-3 halftime lead.

Waterville, meanwhile, looked impressive in a 26-20 victory over Brewer last Saturday. The Purple Panthers, who opted not to petition up again to Class A this year, feature plenty of offensive weapons in sophomore quarterback Dan Hussey, 240-pound senior fullback Jon Hart, senior tailback Tyler Madore, and tight ends Finley Allen and Barrett Moore.

The win over Brewer came on the heels of an impressive opening-night victory at Hampden Academy, in which the Waterville defense came within 14 seconds of a shutout.

“It feels great, but we’ve got to keep going,” said Hart. “We’ve got to work hard. Coach [Frank Knight] isn’t going to let up just because we won two games. We’re going to take it one game at a time and hope we can keep it going.”

The third undefeated team in the PTC Class B ranks is Mount Desert Island. MDI, winless a year ago, improved to 2-0 with a 6-0 upset of Oak Hill in its home opener at Bar Harbor on Saturday.

“This is a great start for us,” said third-year MDI coach Mark Shields, “especially coming off a winless season like we had last year.”

The Trojans struggled offensively but held Oak Hill scoreless and got a 55-yard interception return from Mike Dutra in the game’s final minute to earn its second narrow win.

Dutra, a senior defensive end who is a first-year football player, was in the right place at the right time when fellow defensive end Wes Chipman pressured the Oak Hill quarterback into an errant throw. The pass went right to Dutra, a former cross country runner who raced untouched into the end zone with 35 seconds left.

In the LTC Class C ranks, both Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln and Rockland have been impressive in their 2-0 starts. Mattanawcook has averaged 43.5 points per game in wins over Orono and Maine Central Institute. Senior Duncan Markie has led a balanced rushing attack with 346 yards on 29 carries, an average of 11.9 yards per rush.

Coach Art Greenlaw’s Lynx should get a significant test at home Friday when they play Western C preseason favorite Lisbon. The 2-0 Greyhounds have yet to allow a point in victories over Livermore Falls and Dirigo.

Rockland is off to its best start in years, with victories over Foxcroft Academy and Stearns of Millinocket. Offense has been one key to the Tigers’ success, particularly sophomore quarterback Andrew Weiss, who has passed for 339 yards and rushed for 255 yards. Weiss has had plenty of weapons to work with including Mike Marsh, Josh Elwell, and John Coppola.

Mt. Blue of Farmington and Edward Little of Auburn are the only 2-0 teams in the PTC Class A, but just barely.

Mt. Blue, playing without injured running back Hazen Pingree, held on to edge Lewiston 35-34 at Farmington last Friday. The Cougars built a 35-21 lead, but Lewiston rallied behind star tailback Jared Turcotte – who rushed for 275 yards and five touchdowns – to score twice in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils went for a go-ahead two-point conversion after their final score, but the center snap was mishandled and Mt. Blue held on for the win.

Turcotte, incidentally, has rushed for 512 yards and eight TDs in two games for the Blue Devils.

Edward Little rallied past Cony of Augusta 21-13 in its opener, then edged Lawrence of Fairfield 6-0 Friday night on a 53-yard Hail Mary pass from Troy Barnies to Jon Demers with four seconds to play.

That game also marked the first coaching matchup between twins Jim Hersom of EL and John Hersom of Lawrence.

Brunswick and Messalonskee of Oakland are also undefeated at 1-0, with each having had a bye during the first two weeks of the season.