Witches hope to get past Black Raiders Brewer must limit turnovers, penalties

BREWER – Only through defeat earlier this season did the Brewer High football learn what was required for victory, and it’s a lesson the Witches hope will carry them to an Eastern Maine Class B championship Saturday.

Brewer (8-2) will square off against defending EM champion Winslow (10-0) in the regional final for the second straight year, and for the fourth time in the last two seasons.

Winslow has won those three earlier meetings, including a 14-0 victory in the 2004 title game and a 21-0 decision in their most recent meeting at Brewer on Oct. 14. Those games were marked by Brewer turnovers, six in the 2004 game and four in this year’s regular-season meeting, in which the Witches never threatened to score after Winslow stopped them on the goal line on their first possession.

But that most recent loss has served as a reality check for the Witches, who since then have scored consecutive victories over Belfast in the regular-season finale and Gardiner and Leavitt of Turner Center in the playoffs.

“I think it was a wakeup call for us,” said Brewer senior fullback-linebacker Ben Caldwell. “We knew if we didn’t start playing better football, we weren’t going to get anywhere, so we knew we had to be focused on our plays, on our blocks, on getting our snap counts right, on not getting many penalties, everything. I think we’ve succeeded in that the last couple of weeks.”

Brewer has been particularly impressive in its first two playoff games, whipping Gardiner 42-13 and then ending Leavitt’s eight-game winning streak with a 27-7 win.

All of Brewer’s offensive weapons have been in top form of late, from the dangerous backfield combination of Caldwell, quarterback-wingback Ricky Porter, running back Zach Wilson and quarterback Ricky Adams, to a steadily improving line.

“We’ve focused a lot on technique and knowing our assignments this year,” said senior center Zach Sherry of the line play. “Every practice, every time we’re on the field it’s technique, it’s getting off the ball quick, hitting your man, and staying on your man through the whistle.”

And now the Black Raiders await the Witches once again. The last time they met, Brewer was coming off some easy victories against some of the second-tier programs in the Pine Tree Conference Class B ranks.

This time, they believe they are more battle tested.

“Winslow’s always a good team,” Porter said. “Gardiner, Leavitt and Belfast are all good, and when you get them back to back you know the levels of play you’re going to come up against. You have to be at your best, so it’s definitely an advantage to play teams like that going into this game.”

Porter and his mates know they must play error-free football to break through against Winslow.

“We can’t fumble the ball, we can’t have penalties,” said Caldwell. “We just have to roll like we can roll, and we can beat them. We have the capabilities. We have multiple weapons we can use. The line’s great. We can pass the ball when we need to pass the ball. We’ve got to focus on the little things. If we have a busted play we’ve got to come right back and pound the ball again.”

That motivation to succeed is most personal, but also based in a couple of other factors.

For one, Brewer head coach Ed Ortego is stepping down after the season to move back to his native Louisiana, where his wife is working as a professor of nursing at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. The players are appreciative of his impact on the program over the last decade, including the last three years as head coach.

“What does every kid want when they’re in high school and playing on a sports team, to win a state championship,” said Caldwell. “He’s definitely helped us move in that direction. He’s gets right after us and makes sure we focus.”

A win Saturday also would give Brewer its first regional title since 1970, and leave the Witches within one victory of its first state title since that same run 35 years ago.

“History is a big part of this team,” said Sherry. “The whole town is behind us. We know they want it just as much as we do.”