BIDDEFORD — By the clock, the most critical moment in the 20th Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic took no more than a second or two.
But if you ask any of the 5,000 or so witnesses, eyes glued to the end zone from all corners of Waterhouse Field, they might say that the football — as it careened off of Ernie Salamone’s damaged hand toward Sean Daigle’s waiting ones — seemed suspended in mid air for an eternity.
No matter, Daigle’s grab with 36.5 seconds remaining, plus the extra point kick by Scott Siviski of Winslow gave the East Squad a dramatic 17-16 come-from-behind win over the West.
Talk about hang time.
The pass, an 8-yard, fourth-down prayer slung toward the end zone by quarterback Cody Goddard — Daigle’s Edward Little batterymate — had plenty of it.
Too, much, in fact, for West safety Nate Curran of Biddeford, whose goal line coverage of East receiver Wes Myers of Lewiston forced Goddard to draw up Plans B,C, and D all at once.
“It was just a free-for-all,” said Curran. “That’s how it seemed at least.”
Said left end Ryan Jolley of Wells, whose pressure helped flush Goddard out of the pocket, “Every one was busting their butt trying to get to the ball. We just got real unlucky there at the end with that tipped ball.”
It was the last twist in what will likely go down as one of the most memorable Lobster Bowl finishes ever.
One that seemed far-fetched back in the game’s opening moments, when West quarterback Nate Doehler of Bonny Eagle bolted 71 yards for a score on the first play from scrimmage.
“It’s funny,” said the Orono-bound Doehler, the reigning Fitzpatrick Trophy winner. “I was all hyped up, and I told somebody I was going to score on the first play. It was good blocking. All my teammates came down field to block for me.”
Doehler booted the extra point, then kicked a 32-yard field goal just before halftime to give the West a 10-0 lead.
The East regrouped in the second half, and knotted the score 10-10, after a 26-yard TD strike from Goddard to Billy Clark of Skowhegan, and a 30-yard field goal by Siviski.
That set the stage for what proved to be a furious fourth quarter.
Doehler drove the West to a go-ahead score, engineering a lengthy 12-play, 64-yard campaign that he capped himself with an 11-yard sprint to the left pylon with 6:24 remaining.
However, he pushed his extra-point kick outside the right upright, and the score remained 16-10.
“I just shanked it,” said Doehler, who had kicked dozens of conversions during his stellar Bonny Eagle career. “I didn’t concentrate enough.”
The East responded with a 59-yard march that brought it to within reach of the end zone in the final minute.
West defenders held firm on three successive plays after the East had first-and-goal from the 8.
“It was a bunch of running around,” said Jolley, “trying to make last minute plays. Everyone was stressed out, too. They were really stressful moments.”
Then on fourth down, Goddard looked for Myers cutting across the goal line, but he was blanketed by Curran.
After opting not to throw to Chase Huckstein of John Bapst, Goddard tried to find Tyler Pembroke of Bangor near the end line.
“I thought I was going to come away with a pick,” said Curran, who got a small piece of the ball.
However, Salamone, playing with a thumb broken earlier in the week, stepped in front of the ricochet and tried to bat it away.
Instead, it popped up to the 6-foot-4 Daigle, who snatched it from thin air for the tying touchdown.
“I was rolling out,” said Goddard. “I was supposed to stay in the middle of the pocket, but I got rushed up the middle and was forced to roll out. I threw it up and Daigle was there to catch it. It was the best feeling I could ask for.”
— Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.
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