Barker lifts East past West 22-21 Chambers runs in 2-point conversion

BIDDEFORD – The East had seen a dominant first half rendered virtually meaningless in the face of a smashmouth West attack that produced 21 unanswered points in the second half good for a 21-14 lead.

Then quarterback Mason Barker discovered some momentary magic, and Aaron Chambers followed with a 12-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion run as the East rallied for a 22-21 victory in the 17th annual Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic at historic Waterhouse Field.

Barker’s magic came in the form of a 39-yard pass while being chased out of the pocket to Corey Witham on a third-and-9 play from his own 34 to give the East a first down at the West 27 with 6:18 to play.

Barker soon passed to Chambers for nine yards and a first down at the 17, and one play later Chambers plowed up the middle the final 12 yards to draw the East with 21-20 with 5:12 left.

Chambers, a University of Maine-bound tailback from Skowhegan, added the two-point conversion to give the East the lead – and ultimately their third in the series and first since 2003.

Chambers was named the East’s most valuable player, while Levi Ervin of Lisbon was the MVP for the West.

The game was delayed at the outset for 70 minutes due to rain and lightning, marking the second straight year weather issues played havoc with the opening kickoff. Last year’s contest started nearly two hours later due to a violent thunderstorm before the West went on to a 23-12 victory.

The start may have been similar this year, but the result was vastly different.

The East used both offense and defense to move out to a 14-0 halftime lead.

The West gained possession near midfield to start the game when the East touched an onsides kickoff before it traveled 10 yards. But the West couldn’t take advantage, as Bangor linebacker Mike McPike stopped West tailback Ken Paul for no gain on fourth-and-one from the East 40.

Barker of Mt. Blue of Farmington drove the East 83 yards on its second possession, a drive that included back-to-back 28-yard gains on a pass to Mt. Blue teammate John Moloney and a run by Oxford Hills of South Paris tailback Jim Bower.

Barker then passed to Leavitt of Turner Center’s Witham for a 31-yard gain to the West 5, but the drive ended when Barker underthrew Witham in the right corner of the end zone and the West’s Josh Morin intercepted with 5:01 left in the opening quarter.

The East took the lead on its next possession, marching 73 yards in 10 plays. A 14-yard pass from Leavitt’s Tyler Angell to Moloney moved the ball near midfield before Brewer’s Ricky Porter exploded down the right sideline for a 37-yard gain to the West 5. Porter went wide right for the final two yards three plays later, and Angell passed to Witham for the two-point conversion to give the East an 8-0 lead with 10:49 left in the first half.

Cony of Augusta’s Dillon Shaw provided the East’s other first-half touchdown, stepping in front of a pass by Lisbon’s Chris Brunick intended for Windham’s Matt Sherburne in the right flat and returning it 46 yards to the end zone to extend the margin to 14-0 with 2:37 left before intermission.

The West turned to its running game with great success for much of the second half. Paul scored on a 2-yard run and Sherburne caught a 12-yard TD pass from Mike O’Donnell of Bonny Eagle of Standish to forge a 14-14 tie late in the third quarter. O’Donnell then drove his team 73 yards in 10 plays early in the fourth quarter, scoring on a 13-yard keeper to give the West a 21-14 lead with 7:28 to play.

At halftime, the Maine Football Coaches Association presented the first John R. Schmidlin Trophy to the top players from the Class of 2006 in all three classes based on outstanding play on the field, citizenship, team play, loyalty and reliability. The inaugural recipients of the award, as voted by MFCA members, were Ken Paul of Massabesic of Waterboro in Class A, Travis Fergola of Mountain Valley in Class B and Levi Ervin of Lisbon for Class C.

East 0 14 0 8 – 22

West 0 0 14 7 – 21

E – Porter 2 run (Angell pass to Witham)

E – Shaw 46 interception return (pass failed)

W – Paul 2 run (Matthews kick)

W – Sherburne 12 pass from O’Donnell (Matthews kick)

W – O’Donnell 13 run (Matthews kick)

E – Chambers 12 run (Chambers rush)