WINSLOW – Mount Desert Island put forth a stubborn defensive effort in its Eastern Maine Class B football quarterfinal against Winslow on Saturday afternoon.

But that defense simply was asked to do too much.

Third-seeded Winslow solved rainy conditions with a ball-control offense and its own stifling defense to wear down the sixth-seeded Trojans 24-0 at Gerry Poulin Memorial Field.

The win advances the Black Raiders (7-2) to a regional semifinal Friday night at No. 2 Morse of Bath (8-1).

MDI, which was making its second straight playoff appearance despite losing several seniors to disciplinary issues late in the season, finished 5-4.

“We’re proud of another successful season and getting ourselves in the playoffs,” said MDI coach Mark Shields. “And now a lot of these kids, because we lost a lot of seniors earlier in the year, got all this experience that’s only going to help them next season. I hope we can get back here again.”

MDI was within 7-0 at intermission, but Winslow rushed for 190 of its 306 total rushing yards after the break while using an unbalanced line formation featuring tackles Corey Gay and Don Clark that paved the way for brothers Cory Bezanson and Eric Bezanson.

Cory Bezanson finished with 143 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, while Eric Bezanson added 79 yards and a TD on 10 tries.

“I think both teams were limited by the weather, I don’t know who it helped or who it hurt,” said Winslow coach Mike Siviski. “They have a very nice passing attack, but this was a day for the hogs.”

MDI never could establish a ground game to complement the passing of junior quarterback Tyler Crawford (11 of 19, 108 yards), as the Trojans finished with minus-4 rushing yards on 23 attempts.

And even the passing game was altered by the slippery conditions, as MDI had to settle for shorter routes than usual. Terrence Jones finished with six catches for 57 yards, while Jasper Cousins added five receptions for 51 yards.

“We still did what we wanted to do,” said Crawford. “I think we played well given the conditions.”

MDI started out in a six-man defensive front designed to capitalize on the strengths of its own personnel, but a unit backed by Cousins at strong safety and linebacker Camden Fernald more than held its own early in the game.

“Honestly, I think it confused Winslow early on,” said Shields. “Then they came out in the overload look and eventually opened up some holes.”

The Black Raiders broke through late in the second quarter, marching 72 yards in 13 plays with Cory Bezanson scoring from 3 yards out with 1:58 left before intermission.

MDI soon had a chance to respond when Cousins intercepted a Scott Siviski pass that was tipped by Jones and returned it to the Winslow 33 with 24.7 seconds left. Those hopes were dashed when the Black Raiders’ James Wood intercepted a Crawford pass near the end zone on the final play of the half.

Winslow came out in a no-huddle offense at the start of the second half and scored on its second possession with Eric Bezanson powering over from the 2 to cap a six-play, 45-yard drive.

But MDI’s defense answered its next test, after Jones fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Winslow’s Jake Solomon recovered at the Trojans’ 27. The Black Raiders managed just four yards before a fourth-and-six pass to the end zone by Wood went incomplete.

An errant hook-and-lateral pitch by Cousins was recovered by Wood at the MDI 40 early in the fourth quarter, and Cory Bezanson scored on a 33-yard run two plays later to give Winslow a 21-0 lead.

Scott Siviski added a 35-yard field goal with 4:34 left.

BLACK RAIDERS 24, TROJANS 0

MDI (5-4) 0 0 0 0 – 0

Winslow (7-2) 0 7 7 10 – 24

W – C. Bezanson 3 run (Siviski kick)

W – E. Bezanson 2 run (Siviski kick)

W – C. Bezanson 33 run (Siviski kick)

W – Siviski 35 field goal

MDI Winslow

First downs 6 16

Rushing att.-yards 23-(-4) 56-306

Passing comp.-att. 11-19 0-3

Passing yards 108 0

Total yards 104 306

Punts-avg. 4-32.0 1-37.0

Fumbles-lost 3-2 5-2

Intercepted by 1 2

Penalties-yards 2-10 0-0

Rushing

MDI: Burne 5-19, Gaynor 11-17, Bickford 1-0, Jones 2-(minus 2), Crawford 3-(minus 19), Crowell 1-(minus 19); Winslow: C. Bezanson 25-143, E. Bezanson 10-79, Wood 11-43, Moser 4-29, Souviney 2-13, Brawn 2-4, Siviski 2-(minus 7)

Passing

MDI: Crawford 11-19-2-108; Winslow: Siviski 0-2-1-0, Wood 0-1-0-0

Receiving

MDI: Jones 6-57, Cousins 5-51; Winslow: none

A-175 (est.)