CUMBERLAND – Five years ago, Greely High shelved its football program because of a perpetual lack of players. A year ago, the Rangers went 0-7 in their return as a stand-alone team playing eight-man football.
Four weeks into this season, Greely was 1-3 and had lost three straight.
Tuesday night, the hard-hitting, second-seeded Rangers earned a trip to the first regional final in program history, dominating No. 3 Mt. Ararat in a 38-0 home win in a South Large School eight-man regional semifinal. The game had been delayed four days in the wake of the Lewiston shootings and subsequent school closings.
“We’ve stuck together since Day One, since double sessions,” said Greely junior quarterback Andrew Padgett. “We’ve been putting in more work than we did last year, obviously, because we were 0-7, and it’s been paying off.”
Greely (5-3) will host No. 8 Brunswick (6-3) on Saturday at a time to be announced. Brunswick won the regular-season matchup, 42-38. Brunswick also was winless in 2022, going 0-8 in its final 11-man season in Class B North.
“The guys have proven all year long they’re resilient, they’re relentless and they believe in each other,” said Caleb King, Greely’s second-year coach. “They don’t quit. They never quit.”
Padgett completed 4 of 7 passes for 111 yards and threw for first-half touchdowns of 43 yards to Ryder Simpson and 39 yards to Wes Piper as Greely held a 16-0 lead at the half. Jerik Phillips (12 carries, 86 yards) busted a 44-yard run for Greely’s third touchdown on the Rangers’ first offensive play of the second half. Brayden Van Pembrook added his third 2-point run for a 24-0 lead.
Phillips capped a lengthy drive with a 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Padgett scored the final touchdown, on a 1-yard sneak after Simpson returned an interception 54 yards to the Mt. Ararat 2.
Defensively, Greely swarmed to the ball, battering Mt. Ararat’s top running back Dash Farrell with multiple tacklers. Farrell, a gritty junior, gained 153 yards on 32 carries but was unable to bust a big play. On the few occasions he got through the Rangers’ front led by Van Pembrook, Carter Wilson and Gavin Michaud, and avoided Simpson coming up in the hole, it was Ben McCarron who dragged him down with a solo tackle.
“We just got to play hard-nosed football, play downhill and eat up blocks,” Simpson said. “We know we’re the most physical team so we just had to show it.”
Mt. Ararat (5-4) had a chance to get back into the game right before halftime. The Eagles’ only pass completion put the ball at the Greely 8 with 34 seconds left after a spike by quarterback Wesley Wallace to stop the clock, but were unable to convert.
“That’s a huge momentum one for us to be up two scores going into half,” King said. “Our defense has really kicked it into gear and found their groove.”
The Eagles played without senior running back/linebacker Jahmir Barber, a two-way starter and 1,000-yard rusher. Barber suffered a knee injury Monday in practice.
“It was a fluke thing. We were kind of just walking through and some guys fell on him, and they think he tore his ACL,” said Mt. Ararat Coach Frank True. “That’s a big part for us, but Greely played exceptional tonight. They were really flying around. They’re a good football team.”
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