Ponies to battle Tigers, Bapst faces Mattanawcook in ‘C’

It’s semifinal weekend in the LTC football ranks, with three familiar faces and a new kid on the block.

Familiarity reigns at the top of the standings, where top-ranked and undefeated Foxcroft Academy is in search of its third consecutive Eastern Maine Class C championship and fifth in the last six years.

Also making a repeat trip to the playoffs are second-ranked John Bapst of Bangor and third-ranked Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln. John Bapst is making its second straight postseason appearance after a nine-year absence, while MA has advanced to the regional final each of the last two years.

Joining that trio will be fourth-ranked Rockland, which finished 5-4 for the fifth straight year but finally broke through by winning a three-way tiebreaker with Bucksport and Orono to earn its first trip to the playoffs since 1988.

Also set for Friday night are the Eastern B semifinals. Top-ranked Gardiner (8-1) will be challenged by fifth-seeded Waterville, which is 6-3 and on a five-game win streak since losing to the Tigers in Week 4. The other matchup has No. 2 Morse of Bath, 8-1 and the winner of seven straight, against No. 3 Winslow, 7-2 after a 24-0 quarterfinal win over Mount Desert Island last Saturday.

Rockland Tigers (5-4) vs. Foxcroft Academy Ponies (9-0), 7 p.m. Friday, Oakes Field, Dover-Foxcroft: Rockland’s grand prize for winning the LTC’s fourth-place tiebreaker is a chance to face Foxcroft on its home turf – where the Ponies have won 37 straight and not lost in more than six years.

Foxcroft and Rockland met just two weeks ago, when coach Paul Withee’s Ponies shook off two early kickoff returns for touchdowns by the Tigers to cruise to a 41-20 victory.

That represented the most points allowed by Foxcroft all season, though none came against the Ponies’ first-team defense, a unit led by linebackers Jerod Rideout (75 tackles) and Ben Provost (60 tackles) and defensive end Evan Worthing (61 tackles, four QB sacks).

Foxcroft’s offense is one of considerable rushing balance, with its five leading backs combining for more than 2,000 yards in Ian Champeon (467 yards), Shane Adkins (444), Rideout (443), Provost (343) and Wade Witham (333).

Junior quarterback Jamie Nason has completed 47 percent of his passes for 414 yards.

Rockland is seeking to regroup after being outscored by a combined 106-35 in its last two games, the Week 8 loss to Foxcroft and last Friday’s 65-14 drubbing by Bucksport.

Coach Woody Moore’s Tigers have several offensive weapons, led by brothers Andrew Weiss (843 rushing yards, 224 receiving yards) and Sam Weiss (632 rushing yards), quarterback Dylan Meklin (956 passing yards) and wideout Nick Baudanza (399 receiving yards).

But Rockland will need a big effort from a defense that ranks eighth among 10 LTC teams in yardage allowed if it is to have a chance to pull off the upset.

Mattanawcook Academy Lynx (7-2) vs. John Bapst Crusaders (8-1), 4 p.m. Saturday, Cameron Stadium, Bangor: These teams last met nearly two months ago, with John Bapst fending off a late Mattanawcook drive inside the 10-yard line to preserve a 22-20 victory.

The teams are a combined 13-1 since then, with John Bapst extending its win streak to eight straight and MA rebounding from a 16-6 loss to Foxcroft the following weekend to embark on a six-game win streak of its own.

“We both have changed a lot since the first time we played, so I don’t know if this game will be the same,” said John Bapst coach Dan O’Connell. “Both teams have improved since then, so you’re probably going to see a similar game from a competitive standpoint but probably a cleaner game than the first time.”

John Bapst features the LTC’s second-leading rusher in senior Nick Smith, who went over the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight year, while Bill Weatherbee has averaged nearly nine yards per carry while gaining 507 rushing yards. Senior QB Kyle Gallant leads the league with 961 passing yards, with Aaron Healey (17 catches, 253 yards) one of five Crusaders with at least 112 receiving yards.

Mattanawcook has persevered despite injuries that have sidelined quarterbacks Derek Libbey and Kyle Epp and starting fullback Josh Murchison.

Senior Peter Coggins, who has caught three TD passes as a receiver this fall, will become the Lynx’s fourth different starting quarterback this season when he gets the call against John Bapst, according to MA coach Art Greenlaw.

“He’s a senior, he’s got varsity experience and he’s a good athlete,” said Greenlaw of Coggins, who was the program’s JV quarterback in 2005 and 2006 and has called signals in a reserve role this fall. “We have a lot of confidence in him.”

MA’s offense is led by junior tailback Brady Vose, a two-time 1,000-yard rusher who has averaged 8.3 yards per carry this fall. Tyler White and Derek Gardner have combined for 22 pass receptions for 300 yards.

Mattanawcook’s defense, led by senior linebackers and brothers Nate (121 tackles) and Ian (98 tackles) Nevells and sophomore Greg Hand (13.5 QB sacks), has allowed a league-low 1.7 yards per rush this season.

John Bapst has allowed the fewest total yards on defense, just 104.2 per game. Safety Chase Huckestein (76 tackles) is the team’s leading tackler.