Bulldogs to face Rams in rematch Foxcroft hosts John Bapst Saturday

DOVER-FOXCROFT – Week 11 of the high school football team is for the survivors – six teams from Eastern Maine and six from the West that are one win away for playing for a state championship.

Rematches are the rule in Eastern Maine Classes A and B, with defending Class A state champion Lawrence of Fairfield (10-0) hosting Bangor (9-1) Friday night and top-ranked Gardiner (9-1) at home against 2006 Eastern B champion Winslow (8-2) on Saturday.

Saturday’s Eastern C final will feature two-time defending champion Foxcroft Academy (10-0) hosting John Bapst of Bangor (9-1) at Oakes Field in Dover-Foxcroft.

Western Maine title games Saturday have Marshwood of South Berwick (8-2) at Bonny Eagle of Standish (10-0) in Class A, defending state champion Mountain Valley of Rumford (9-1) at Cape Elizabeth (10-0) in Class B, and Boothbay (9-1) at Winthrop (9-1) in Class C.

Bangor Rams vs. Lawrence Bulldogs, 7 p.m. Friday, Keyes Field, Fairfield: Lawrence owns the state’s longest winning streak at 21 games, including a 19-5 win over Bangor in last year’s Eastern Maine final and a 32-12 victory over the Rams at Fairfield in Week 3 of the 2007 season.

“At the beginning of the year I thought their offense might be better than last year and their defense might not be quite as good, but I don’t know if that’s true any more,” said Bangor coach Mark Hackett. “They’re the best team offensively and the best team on defense and we’re going to have to be at our best to beat them.”

Lawrence has been unscored upon in its two playoff games, a 42-0 win over No. 8 Mt. Blue of Farmington and a 50-0 blitzing of No. 4 Skowhegan.

Bangor, which has won seven straight since its loss at Lawrence, also owns two convincing postseason wins, a 42-0 shutout of No. 7 Brunswick and a 56-35 semifinal victory over No. 3 Lewiston.

That latter win proved much easier than Bangor’s regular-season survival of the Blue Devils, in which the Rams rallied from a 21-0 halftime deficit to win 28-27 in overtime.

“Since the first half of the first Lewiston game, this has been a different football team,” said Hackett. “There’s just something that makes me feel awful good about them.”

Bangor’s Wing-T offense is quarterbacked by senior Ian Edwards and sparked by 1,100-yard rusher Kyle Vanidestine and backfield mate Shane Walton, who also has emerged late in the season as a top receiving threat along with tight end Ryan Weston.

Defensively the Rams feature linebacker Tyler McDade and a veteran secondary led by Edwards and Walton, the Pine Tree Conference leader in interceptions.

Lawrence quarterback Jack Hersom, the son of Bulldogs’ coach John Hersom, has proven himself capable both as a runner and passer. Shawn Champagne and Devon Costigan give the Bulldogs a potent 1-2 rushing punch, while Nick Nelson leads a deep group of receivers.

“We’re getting used to what they do,” said Hackett, whose team has lost its last four games to Lawrence over the past three seasons. “They’ve been ahead of us the last few times. The question is are we going to make enough plays to make up the difference.”

John Bapst Crusaders vs. Foxcroft Academy Ponies, 1 p.m. Saturday, Oakes Field, Dover-Foxcroft: This matchup may have been in the cards since the start of the season, when Foxcroft eked out a 13-12 victory over the Crusaders.

While Foxcroft is seeking its fifth EM crown in the last six years, John Bapst is playing in its first championship game since 1991 and is in search of their first title since 1976.

“They’re a veteran ballclub with 18 or 19 kids back from a year ago,” said Foxcroft coach Paul Withee of the Crusaders. “Leading up to the game there will be nerves, but once the whistle blows it’s the game of football and it’s a matter of who executes better than the other person.”

Foxcroft’s success has been built on a stout defense and a strong running game. Junior quarterback Jamie Nason runs an offense that features a quintet of running backs – seniors Jerod Rideout, Ben Provost and Shane Adkins, junior Wade Witham and sophomore Ian Champeon.

“Foxcroft executes meticulously,” said John Bapst coach Dan O’Connell. “They exude a confidence that they can run any play on you on any down and they’re not afraid to do it. If you give them an inch they will take advantage of it. We were fortunate enough the first time we played them to limit some of those opportunities. Hopefully we’ll be able to answer the bell again.”

John Bapst is guided by senior QB Kyle Gallant and also boasts a 1,000-yard rusher in Nick Smith and several other threats including wingback Bill Wetherbee and receivers Aaron Healey, Derek Smith, Shane Hass and Ross Moriarty.

Gallant completed 11 of 18 passes for 203 yards against Foxcroft in Week 1 but the Ponies will have safety Jason Gould available for the rematch. Gould, who led the LTC in interceptions despite missing the first Bapst game, had three interceptions last week in Foxcroft’s 32-0 semifinal win over Rockland.

“That makes a tremendous difference when you have a kid back there like Jason who’s a tremendous athlete,” said Withee. “The things he does really help us in the passing game, so we hope he’ll be a difference-maker for us and obviously we’ll have to have our other kids step up and do a great job for us.”

John Bapst rallied in dramatic fashion to edge Mattanawcook Academy 15-14 in its semifinal, as Derek Smith returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown with 2:35 left and Gallant kicked a game-winning 31-yard field goal with 4.8 seconds to play.

“I think they’re playing with a lot of confidence now,” said Withee. “Not that they didn’t have it at the beginning of the season, but they were a little unsure then because they hadn’t beaten the powers of the LTC.

“Now, not only have they beaten Mattanawcook twice in a season, which is a tremendous feat, but they gave us all we could handle in that first week and we feel fortunate we could come away with a win.”