Friday’s 34-8 win over Orono was a long time coming for the Stearns 8-man football team.
The Minutemen of Millinocket snapped a three-game losing streak to their Little Ten Conference rivals — including defeats in the last two Small school regional championship games — shaking off a monkey that had clung to their backs for so long.
The reigning state champion Red Riots scored on their opening drive, but from there on it was all Stearns. On Orono’s home turf, the Minutemen gained more and more steam as the game went on, turning an 8-6 halftime deficit into a 26-point victory.
“They’ve had our number. Orono’s a really good football team with a high-potent offense. Hats off to our kids and my coaches, I couldn’t be more proud,” Stearns head coach Cody Herring said. “The most important play of the second half is the first drive. Having the opportunity to get the ball and score there — that’s what shifted the momentum our way.”
Staring down a short field after the second half kickoff, the Minutemen converted on 3rd-and-long and then scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Cam Atkinson to senior tight end Gavin Gagnon.
After an Orono punt, the Red Riots responded by forcing a Stearns punt, which senior Jack Brewer blocked. On the very next play from scrimmage, however, Stearns stripped the ball right back and marched down the field, where Atkinson punched in a 20-yard rushing TD with 4:53 remaining in the third.
Things snowballed from there, as the Minutemen parlayed two quarterback sacks, a ridiculous layout catch for senior Sam Jacobs on third down, a 17-yard receiving touchdown for Gagnon and a rushing touchdown for junior Lucas Pelkey to ice it.
Stearns tallied 405 yards from scrimmage in the second half, compared with Orono’s 80.
“It kinda started my freshman year when we played them in the northern Maine [championship game] on our home field. I don’t think we showed up, and then next year they had our number,” Pelkey said. “It feels great to beat them on their home field.”
