In Saturday’s Class A football semifinals, fans were treated to an epic finish in Windham and an epic upset in Saco. The No. 2 Windham Eagles went for two points and the win in overtime against No. 3 Bonny Eagle. Quarterback Jackson Taylor checked through his reads as he rolled out, and with his first and second options covered, went to tight end Jake Darling cutting through the end zone. Darling, being closely defended, reached up to snag the pass and send the Eagles to their first-ever Western Maine Class A championship game, with a 22-21 win over the two-time defending state champs.
Windham will host No. 4 Cheverus, which not only knocked off heavily favored and previously unbeaten No. 1 Thornton Academy, but did so in a resounding manner, taking a 36-0 lead before giving up a meaningless late touchdown to the formerly prolific Golden Trojans offense. Cheverus ended up with a 36-7 win. Stags coach John Wolfgram gives up size and numbers to most opponents, but there’s a reason he’s arguably the best football coach this state has ever seen.
The Class B title clash features a Cape Elizabeth-Mountain Valley match up for the fourth year in a row, as the No. 1 Capers cruised in their semifinal meeting with No. 4 Wells, 35-14. The No. 3 Falcons needed to go on the road to upend No. 2 York, avenging a lopsided late-season loss by a 14-10 score.
Class A West championship
No. 4 Cheverus (8-2) at No. 2 Windham (9-1). The Eagles have never been here before, and the Stags have not made it this far since any of its current players were born. The teams met back in Week 2, with Cheverus handing Windham its lone loss to date, 27-13. In that game, the Stags controlled the time of possession with their running game, which they’ll look to do again.
Since the loss, Windham has run off eight straight victories. The Eagles haven’t forgotten about what the Cheverus did to them, either. “We owe ’em,” said Windham coach Matt Perkins. He said the key is simple: “Play physical. They hit us in the mouth last time and we cowered. We’ll change that this week.”
Windham has shown it can play physical over the course of the season. The offense features bruising running back Jack Mallis, Taylor, a strong-armed QB who can also tuck the ball and get upfield, the versatile Matt Gledhill, who is a threat as a receiver and a runner, and Tucker Miller, another top target in the passing game.
The run-oriented Stags have found success on the ground with a host of different ball carriers. Spencer Cooke is a top rusher, and Evan Jendrasko had a big game against Thornton, where the Stags gashed the Trojans for nearly 300 rushing yards. Quarterback Peter Gwilym also runs well and can mix in the pass when necessary.
This game will be decided on the lines. If Cheverus can once again control the play up front and impose its will, the Stags could pull off another upset. But Windham is the deeper, more talented team. If the Eagles can run the ball successfully and avoid turnovers, they should come out on top. Prediction: Windham wins, 31-21.
(Last week’s predictions had Windham winning 24-21 in a game that “has the potential to be a classic.” Nail struck on head. As for the TA-Cheverus prediction, I have a badly bruised thumb, as I went with the Trojans, 28-13. Oops.)
Class B West championship
No. 3 Mountain Valley (8-2) at No. 1 Cape Elizabeth (10-0). Could it really be any other way? Sure, there was a question as to whether the Falcons would live up to their end of the bargain after closing the regular season with bad losses to York and Cape, but the three-time defending Western Maine champs (with two state titles in the past three years) weren’t ready to give up their perch just yet.
But its is going to take a Herculean effort from the boys from Rumford to beat the Capers for a fourth straight time in the regional championship. Cape will have the three best skill players on the field in running back Tommy Foden, wide receiver Finn Melanson and quarterback Ezra Wolfinger. Oh, and a defense that has given up just 41 points all season. Cape has not been tested yet. It rolled over the Falcons 34-0 when the teams met two weeks back in the regular-season finale. And Mountain Valley actually semi-contained Foden in that one, “limiting” him to 98 yards and two touchdowns. But the Falcons had no answer for Melanson, who shredded the secondary for three TDs and 124 yards with some eye-popping grabs.
By all reasonable measures, Cape should again win handily. But a Mountain Valley team with nothing to lose is a dangerous idea. Falcons coach Jim Aylward knows how to fire up the troops. Last time around, the score clouded the ferocity of this rivalry. The postgame scene better resembled a family reunion, with its hugs, words of mutual respect and best wishes for the following week. The atmosphere is likely going to be a little different this time around.
The Capers will need to match the Falcons in intensity and again win the battles at the line of scrimmage, like they did two weeks ago in holding Mountain Valley to a scant 110 yards of offense. The Cape offense can be flashy and will make some big plays, but picking up the short yardage at opportune times is what will beat the Falcons. In the past, the Capers have come up short because Mountain Valley has been more physical. If Cape comes out and, to borrow a favorite Aylward-ism, punches Mountain Valley in the face, the Capers will be playing for their first Gold Ball. Prediction: Cape wins, 28-7.
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