Members of the Cony football team acknowledged that their 21-20 victory over Brunswick in a Pine Tree Conference Class A semifinal game Saturday wasn’t exactly their best showing of the season.
“At this point in the season you can’t expect to be being blowing anybody out,” junior quarterback Ben Lucas said Monday. “We played just well enough. It wasn’t perfect, but we made just enough plays.”
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Added Cony coach Robby Vachon: “We just didn’t play very well. We did what we have to do, but we’re going to have to be better.”
No. 2 Cony (8-2) will get that chance Saturday when it will play top-seeded Lawrence (10-0) in the conference championship game at 1 p.m. at Keyes Field.
Cony is playing in its first conference title game since 1992, when it lost 19-18 to Lawrence. The Rams led that game 18-0 before the Bulldogs stormed all the way back to win the title.
Cony, which lost to Lawrence 27-6 in a regular season game Oct. 12, studied film Monday and did light stretching indoors.
“We’re keeping the same routine at this point,” Vachon said. “We’re going full pads (today) and Wednesday.”
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Lucas said his left ankle felt fine after the Brunswick game.
Lucas injured his ankle when he was sacked in the second quarter of the regular-season finale at Oxford Hills. He returned in the third quarter, but his mobility has been limited since.
The injury prompted the Rams to add a new wrinkle to the playbook: Lining wide receiver Chandler Shostak up at quarterback in the popular Wildcat formation.
The move paid off Saturday when Shostak rushed for a pair of touchdowns from inside the 5-yard line.
“We just put that play in,” Shostak said. “It worked well for us in the red zone. There was no way Brunswick knew it was coming because they hadn’t seen it before.”
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Gardiner lost to Mt. Blue in the PTC B semifinals for the second consecutive season.
The Tigers lost 33-21 on Saturday and 35-14 in 2011.
“Even though we lost, we showed we can still compete year in and year out, and that’s important for our program,” Gardiner coach Matt Burgess said. “It’s important to do that.”
The No. 4 Tigers (7-3) edged Brewer 26-14 in the quarterfinals before losing to top-seeded Mt. Blue (10-0).
Gardiner featured 12 seniors on its roster, including quarterback Dennis Meehan, tailback Steve Sirois, wide receiver Tyler Jamison, wide receiver Josh Moore and tight end Frank Chepke. Linemen Tyler Eldridge, Mitch Chesley and Jory Vermillion are also seniors.
“We’re losing quite a few seniors,” Burgess said. “We’ll be different next year.”
The Tigers return just three starters — center Adrian Heath, lineman Andrew Doody-Veilleux and linebacker Brad Weston.
All three will be juniors next season.
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Oak Hill finished 8-2 after suffering a 13-6 loss to Dirigo in the Campbell Conference Class C semifinals Saturday.
The second-seeded Raiders, under first-year coach Stacen Doucette, beat No. 3 Dirigo (8-2) 36-0 in the regular-season finale Oct. 19.
“It’s always tough losing,” Doucette said. “But this senior group accomplished a lot. We raised our standards for Oak Hill football. We wanted to win with class and lose with dignity, and we did.”
Doucette, a longtime assistant at Lisbon under Dick Mynahan, will lead a different-looking team next fall. Eight of the team’s linemen are seniors and won’t be back next season.
“We might be a little less of a physical team and more finesse,” Doucette said. “Who knows. It’s a long ways away. We’ll be a different team but the expectations will be the same.”
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Kents Hill will have its last and likely best opportunity to earn a victory this season when it travels to longtime rival Hebron on Saturday.
The Huskies and Lumberjacks, both 0-7, will play for the 119th time in their storied history. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.
“We’ve had four games go right down to the last minute,” said Kents Hill coach Steve Gritti, whose team has won three straight over Hebron. “We’re one dropped ball, a penalty or a play from being 3-4. Hopefully, we can get excited for Hebron. It’s going to be a good game.”
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Around the state: John Bapst of Bangor is playing in the Little Ten Conference championship game for the fifth time in six years. The Crusaders will take on top-seed Foxcroft and are trying to get to the Class C state championship game for the first time since 2008 when they beat Winthrop for the state title… If Marshwood beats York in the Western B championship game, the Hawks will earn a spot in the state finals for the first time since 1989. That year, Marshwood beat Skowhegan, 26-14, for the Class A crown… If Cheverus and Lawrence each win their regional final Saturday it will set up the first Class A championship game rematch since Biddeford and Waterville met in 1993 and 1994.
Staff Writer Travis Lazarczyk contributed to this report.
Bill Stewart — 621-5650
bstewart@centralmaine.com
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