Even though it’s only two weeks into the high school football season, it’s safe to say that a 2-0 start makes your team a winner.
This past weekend, Hampden Academy and Orono continued to work together. They beat John Bapst and MDI convincingly thanks to great quarterback play.
On the other hand, Cony beat the defending regional winner Lawrence in a big way, Stearns beat Dexter by 48 points, Foxcroft beat Oceanside, and Portland easily shut down Windham. In the early going, these people look good.
Cony beats Lawrence 42-21 at home
The Cony Rams broke open a back-and-forth game with Lawrence on Friday. They got back at the Bulldogs for two frustrating losses last year, including a 27-7 loss in the B North regional title game.
Last Friday, Cony was down 14–7. To end the first half, junior quarterback Parker Morin threw scores to Kaiden Veilleux and then Ethan Demmons, both within 45 seconds of each other.
Lance Theriault was found by Morin in the third quarter, making the score 28–14. In the fourth, Morin and Anderson St. Onge scored running touchdowns for Cony to win the game.
This was Morin’s second touchdown pass of the game. He completed a fake punt pass of 30 yards in the first quarter, which set up Anderson Noyes’s 13-yard touchdown run. Noyes had 106 yards on 16 runs.
On defense, Cony kept Lawrence’s famous Wing-T running game to less than 200 yards all night. The Bulldogs ran for more than 475 yards in both of their previous games against Cony.
“We got the ball moving pretty well with a good mix of run and pass plays.” “Parker threw the deep ball very well, and Anderson has great vision and speed,” B.L. Lippert, head coach of Cony, said. “We did a better job of stopping the run than we did on either of their last two tries.” More guys were sent back up front, and we tackled better than we have all season.
Next, Cony (2-0) plays Falmouth (2-0) away on Friday night, which will be another tough game. Lawrence (1-1) will try to get back on track away against Skowhegan (0-2).
Portland beats Windham 29-7 at home
With a loaded senior class and a regional championship under their belts, the Portland Bulldogs have their eyes set on a gold ball this fall. Portland defeated Oxford Hills 40-20 away last week, and took care of business at home versus Windham on Friday.
The Bulldogs controlled the line of scrimmage versus the Eagles, rushing for 374 yards and four touchdowns while deriving tackles for losses from four different players. Louis Thurston had 94 all-purpose yards and a touchdown on offense, and five tackles on defense. Cordell Jones ran for 125 yards on 17 carries, with three touchdowns.
“We were very balanced in our ball distribution and points of attack. We ran the ball all game because we liked what we had for looks,” Portland head coach Sean Green said. “Really long drives — time of possession was deeply in our favor.”
With week two’s results in the books, Portland is the only 2-0 team left in Class A North. Bangor, Edward Little, Oxford Hills and Windham are all 0-2.
The Bulldogs will play Bonny Eagle (1-1) away this upcoming Friday, and will come up to Bangor on Oct. 11.
Houlton/Hodgdon beats Bucksport 54-30 away
Another team that went 2-0 was Houlton/Hodgdon Shiretowners, who beat the Golden Bucks (0-2) by 24 points on the road. In week one, the Shires beat the Valley Mustangs (Fort Kent) 46-0.
Senior quarterback Isaiah Ervin is a great leader for the Shires. He is a sneaky athlete who doesn’t mind leaving the line to make plays. Ervin has already run for 231 yards and scored six touchdowns. He has also thrown for 118 yards and scored three touchdowns.
“It’s hard to hold him.” The head coach of Orono said, “He’s like a slippery eel.” “I just need to stop Isaiah Ervin.”
The senior Gage Folsom gives Houlton’s running game another dimension. He has run 11 times for 150 yards and one score so far this season.
The Shiretowners’ next game is away on Friday against Washington Academy (1-1). On September 27, they will host an interesting Ellsworth/Sumner Academy (2-0) team. Junior Ripley Strout of Ellsworth is the league leader in carries (30) and yards gained (300), and she has scored three scores.