Lisbon/St. Dominic matched Bucksport’s power game punch for punch on Saturday.
Then the Greyhounds added a decisive mix of speed and passing to claim the Class D football championship with a 28-8 victory at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
Seth Leeman threw a first-possession touchdown pass to Justin Le, then ran 55 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter that put Lisbon ahead to stay.
Leeman (5 of 11 passing, 72 yards) also came through with a fourth-and-9 completion to Daytona McIver that set up Le for a 1-yard touchdown run that pushed Lisbon’s lead to 21-8 late in the fourth quarter.
“We knew they were really physical up front, so if we were able to move the ball with throwing, that would be a huge part of the success,” Leeman said.
McIver sealed the win with a 53-yard burst late in the game, taking a jet sweep around right end.
“Overall, their lines were a lot bigger than ours, and we just thought speed obviously beats bigger people,” McIver said.
Lisbon (8-3) completed a late-season surge that included an upset of Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale to win the South region. It’s the Greyhounds’ first state title since winning the 2006 Class C crown.
“We put so much into it and I’m just glad we could come out on top,” Leeman said.
Bucksport finished 9-1. The Bucks were paced by freshman running back Jaxon Gross, running behind a big offensive line that included his brother, David, a senior who was the 2019 New England heavyweight wrestling champion. Gross carried the ball 35 times for 210 yards, with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. But the Lisbon defense held the rest of the Bucks to a total of 60 yards.
Riley Quatrano had two interceptions that set up the first and third touchdowns for Lisbon. Colin Houle led a swarming, sure-tackling defense that shut down Bucksport’s occasional perimeter runs.
“The key was just all around speed and effort,” Houle said.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
