Bangor, Foxcroft hitting the road for key games Rams travel to Lawrence; Ponies take on Lynx

It’s the midway point of the 2005 high school football season and a bit further along for Class A teams, which have only three games left before postseason play begins. Playoff battles are joined in earnest as teams fight either to stay alive or to have control of their own playoff destiny.

Bangor (3-1) at Lawrence (2-2), 7 p.m., Cooper Stadium at Keyes Field, Fairfield: It may be 10 years since renowned head coaches Earl “Pete” Cooper of Lawrence and Jonathan “Gabby” Price of Bangor patrolled their respective sidelines, but their legacies live on when their teams go head to head.

It’s usually not a meaningless game when these two teams match up and Friday night’s game is no exception as it is essentially a battle for a Pine Tree Conference playoff spot.

“I think it’s a playoff game for both teams because we each have at least one loss and there are only four playoff spots,” said Rams coach Mark Hackett. “This is basically the stretch run for us.”

“We don’t say that,” said Lawrence coach John Hersom. “But it certainly is an important game when you look at the remaining schedule.”

Bangor’s pro-style offense revolves around a balanced run-pass attack led by junior tailback Alex Gallant, sophomore quarterback Ian Edwards, and junior wide receiver Tom Crews.

“They might be younger than normal, but they seem to be executing well,” said Hersom. “Bangor is starting to jell offensively the last couple weeks. They’re a little more multi-faceted.”

Lawrence will defend that offense with a 5-3 base defensive alignment which they will revamp to blunt Bangor’s attack. On offense, tailback Aaron Champagne leads the Bulldogs’ aggressive wing-T attack.

Bangor alternates between a 5-2 and 5-3 defense, so the game should come down to a traditional Bangor-Lawrence power game with mistakes being particularly costly.

“I’d like to see it be a defensive battle because we tend to respond well in tight games,” Hersom said.

Foxcroft Academy (4-1) at Mattanawcook Academy (5-0), 7 p.m., Alumni Field: The Ponies weren’t supposed to be this good this fast with all the young talent on the roster, but head coach Paul Withee attributed much of the rapid maturation to the team’s senior players.

“We have kind of really grown into our roles well,” said Withee. “We’re playing some young kids and we played like it our first game, but they’ve grown up in a hurry since the second half of that Livermore Falls game.”

The Lynx of Lincoln, however, are no surprise as an unbeaten. A big, physical team with a stable of talented backs (Duncan Markie, Jason Murchison, Randy Reed and quarterback Dylan Hanscom) and quick, aggressive defense, MA has looked every bit the preseason favorite, but a loss here would throw a big fly into their postseason ointment.

“MA is more a physical team than we’ve seen so far. They have great size and three outstanding backs. They can throw and run at quarterback and they have big targets to throw to,” Withee said.

The Ponies, led by LTC Class C player of the week and linebacker-lineman Josh Pelletier, will try and stay fresh so as not to get worn down by the Lynx. On offense, FA will try to deceive the Lynx.

Brewer (4-1) at Old Town (1-4), 7 p.m., Victory Field: This is a tall order for Old Town as the Witches are on a roll and gunning for one of the top two playoff spots. Brewer can’t afford to look past Old Town with key games left against top-ranked and unbeaten Winslow and perennial power Belfast.

The Witches are led by quarterback Ricky Porter (8 TDs, 590 yards), tailback Zach Wilson – the two leading PTC Class B scorers – and fullback Ben Caldwell. Old Town counters with some good players at the skill positions such as receiver Brian Lonko and quarterback Jarrett Lukas but lacks any overall size to be able to consistently open up holes or create them.

Belfast (3-2) at Hampden Academy (2-3), 7 p.m., Veneziano-Sinclair Field: The visiting Lions have a rare Friday night game after playing Saturday last week and back-to-back Mondays before that due to weather and events stemming from the tragic deaths of two students at Old Town High School.

Tailback Sean Leeman leads the Lions rushing attack with 583 yards and six touchdowns.

Hampden counters with Som Ratsakongsky (546 rushing yards), also the team’s leading tackler with 50 total (37 solo), and receiving threat Jarrod Maddox (14 receptions, 42 yards).