Two weeks into the high school football season may be too early to call favorites, but it’s fair to say a 2-0 start makes your team a contender.
Hampden Academy and Orono continued to gel this past weekend, riding impressive quarterback play to convincing victories over John Bapst and MDI, respectively.
Elsewhere, Cony had a statement win over reigning regional champion Lawrence, Stearns beat Dexter by 48, Foxcroft outdueled Oceanside, and Portland shut down Windham with ease. Here’s who is looking sharp in the early goings.
Cony beats Lawrence 42-21 at home
The Cony Rams broke open a back-and-forth game with Lawrence on Friday, avenging two frustrating losses to the Bulldogs last year, including a 27-7 showing in the B North regional championship game.
Trailing 14-7 on Friday, Cony’s junior quarterback Parker Morin threw touchdowns to Kaiden Veilleux and then Ethan Demmons in the span of 45 seconds to close out the first half. In the third quarter, Morin found Lance Theriault to make it 28-14 and Cony would ultimately ice the game with rushing touchdowns from Morin and Anderson St. Onge in the fourth.
Morin (234 yards on 12-for-24 passing) also completed a 30-yard fake punt pass in the first quarter, setting up a 13-yard rushing touchdown for sophomore Anderson Noyes (106 yards on 16 carries).
On defense, Cony held Lawrence’s patented Wing-T ground game to less than 200 yards all night — in both of their meetings last year, the Bulldogs compiled north of 475 rushing yards.
“We moved the ball pretty effectively with a nice mix of pass and run [plays]. Parker threw the deep ball very well, and Anderson has great vision and acceleration,” Cony head coach B.L. Lippert said. “We defended the run better than we did in either attempt against them last year. We returned more guys up front and tackled better than we have all season.”
Next up, Cony (2-0) has another tough test in Falmouth (2-0) away Friday night. Lawrence (1-1) will look to bounce back versus Skowhegan (0-2) away.
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
The Houlton/Hodgdon Shiretowners also moved to 2-0 this past weekend, overpowering the Golden Bucks (0-2) by 24 points on the road. The Shires previously beat the Valley Mustangs (Fort Kent) 46-0 in week one.
Leading the Shires is standout senior quarterback Isaiah Ervin, an elusive athlete who has no problem leaving the pocket to make plays. Ervin already has 231 yards and six touchdowns on 16 carries, to go along with 118 yards and three touchdowns in the air.
“He is hard to contain. He’s like a slippery eel,” Orono head coach Bob Sinclair said. “[Have to] stop Isaiah Ervin, plain and simple.”
Adding another dimension to Houlton’s ground game is senior Gage Folsom, who has 150 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries so far this season.
Next up, the Shiretowners will play Washington Academy (1-1) away on Friday, and then host an intriguing Ellsworth/Sumner Academy (2-0) team on Sept. 27. Ellsworth junior Ripley Strout leads the Little Ten Conference in carries (30) and rushing yards (300), with three touchdowns.
