Talk concerning the firepower of the Brewer High football team’s offense this fall has centered on the three-man wrecking crew of Ricky Porter, Ben Caldwell, and Zach Wilson.

But if the Witches’ 42-13 domination of Gardiner in the Pine Tree Conference Class B quarterfinals is any indication, coach Ed Ortego’s attack has entered the fourth dimension.

That fourth dimension comes from junior quarterback Ricky Adams, whose play throughout the season has enabled Porter to periodically shift between quarterback and wingback.

Against Gardiner, Adams saw much of the action behind center, rushing 11 times for 29 yards and completing 4 of 5 passes for 53 yards and two touchdowns.

“We feel he’s good enough to start, but we have Ricky Porter,” said Ortego, whose third-seeded Witches (7-2) play No. 2 Leavitt (8-1) in a semifinal at Turner Center on Friday night. “But this gives us a chance to develop him for next year and put Porter at different positions. I think if I was a defensive coordinator, I’d hate to see something like that, so we like doing it.”

At 5-foot-10, 141 pounds, Adams isn’t the most imposing physical presence on the field, but his instincts running the option attack helped Brewer amass 293 rushing yards against Gardiner.

“Once we start rolling,” said Adams, “all I have to do is hand it off to one of those three guys and let them do their thing, and then I try to chip in a little bit.”

Adams’ passing potential, as displayed against Gardiner when he threw touchdown strikes of 11 yards to tight end Ryan Babin and 27 yards to Porter, also offers hope of expanding Brewer’s offense beyond its run-oriented roots.

“He’s smart,” said Ortego. “We’re looking at a decision maker. He’s actually been a quarterback longer than Ricky Porter, so he’s a little more sound, he has enough athletic skills, and he just sees everything. He really sees the field nicely, and he’s tough. They tried to sack him and he still got the ball off. For 141 pounds, he’s really tough.”

Rams conclude on bright note

One of Bangor High’s goals each football season is to win its last game. Usually that involves a run deep into Class A postseason play, but this year the youthful Rams have to settle for achieving it with a 21-14 victory at Oxford Hills of South Paris in their regular-season finale.

The win enabled Bangor to finish with a 5-3 record, but because of a weak strength of schedule compared to fellow 5-3 teams Oxford Hills and Lewiston, the Rams weren’t able to amass enough Crabtree points to qualify for the four-team Eastern A playoffs.

Bangor opened the season with a loss at Lewiston, then won four straight before back-to-back losses to Lawrence of Fairfield and Mt. Blue of Farmington meant the Rams needed help from other teams entering the final weekend of play to gain a playoff berth.

That help didn’t come, and Bangor knew it would be out of the playoff hunt even before it took the field against Oxford Hills.

“It’s tough when you lose your first game and know you can only lose one more and still make the playoffs,” said Bangor coach Mark Hackett. “Oxford Hills was kind of in the same situation when they lost their first two games, but they had a stronger schedule.”

Bangor jumped out to a 21-0 lead against an Oxford Hills team that entered the game with a five-game winning streak and held off the Vikings after they rallied within 21-14 in the third quarter.

“The kids went out and did something that lifted the program and lifted the spirit of the coaches,” Hackett said. “We ended the season on a good note and with something to build on for next year.”

Bangor will return many of its key players in 2006, among them tailback Alex Gallant and quarterback Ian Edwards, who is poised to guide the Rams for the next two years.

“For a sophomore stepping into that position this year, I couldn’t have expected any more from him,” said Hackett.

Even though his team didn’t make the playoffs, Hackett still favors a four-team postseason format, noting that it requires those teams to truly earn their playoff berths.

And he’s excited about the possibilities for his team to return to that four-team field next fall.

“The kids were already talking about how they couldn’t wait to start working to come back next year,” he said. “That kind of resolve, and the way the played against Oxford Hills, really left a good feeling.”

Rematches mark PTC A openers

Friday night’s Pine Tree Conference Class A semifinals will feature a pair of rematches from the opening week of the season.

Top-seeded Mt. Blue of Farmington (7-1) will host No. 4 Oxford Hills (5-3) of South Paris while No. 2 Skowhegan (6-2) will host No. 3 Lawrence of Fairfield (6-2).

Skowhegan, which lost two of its first three games, battled its way into the playoffs by knocking Mt. Blue from the unbeaten ranks with a 24-21 victory at Farmington last Friday night.

Perhaps most important for the Indians beyond the victory was the presence in the lineup of senior tailback Aaron Chambers. Chambers, who set a school single-season rushing record as a junior, had been sidelined since Week 4 due to a leg injury but returned to action and rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns to lead coach Mike Marston’s club to victory.

Skowhegan will face a Lawrence team that has been the surprise of the conference this year under new head coach John Hersom. Lawrence built momentum for its success in Week 1, when it defeated Skowhegan 29-14 at Fairfield.

Oxford Hills earned the fourth and final playoff berth despite dropping its regular-season finale to Bangor. The Vikings finished tied in the Crabtree points with Lewiston, but earned a trip to postseason play by virtue of its 19-7 victory over Lewiston in Week 7.

Mt. Blue defeated Oxford Hills 28-14 at South Paris in Week 1.