Cougars shock Raiders to advance

Scouting keyed Dirigo's victory

by Bob McPhee

DIXFIELD -- Never underestimate the importance of scouting teams because Dirigo coach Dave Crutchfield and staff knew Oak Hill had definitely outcoached and executed better two weeks earlier. Oak Hill had won the time of possession battle outright.

Dirigo ran approximately 35 offensive plays against them, and Lisbon had approximately 15 offensive plays at halftime.

"That’s what that double wing offense does," said Crutchfield after having scouted Oak Hill vs. Lisbon in the quarterfinal game.

"Oak Hill is tough, and is coached well, as we know from a couple of weeks (earlier), short yardage gaining first downs keeps the clock moving."

Lisbon did have some luck in the second half, so Dirigo was encouraged it could get it done. A major objective was to get them to pull out of that double wing get up by a couple of touchdowns.

Spencer Trenoweth scored on 69 and 51 touchdown runs in the second half and the defense steadfastly made the proper adjustments as the Cougars rallied for a 13-6 win over the Raiders in a Campbell Conference semifinal football game Saturday afternoon.

In the 33-0 loss to Oak Hill in the regular season finale, Dirigo had no answer for the power eye, double wing and counters.

It gave the Cougars fits as well but Pat Mooney, the defensive coach had some plans and switched out of the normal 44.

"We went to a 6-2," said Cougar defensive end Kaine Hutchins, referring to the six-man front. "The coaches had put it in and we had flyers to key on their running backs to hopefully tire them.'

The defense bent on third down, but made several stops on fourth down. Hutchins and bookend partner Nelson Pepin were effective, along with the interior line. Linebackers Tyler Frost and Thomas Barnett were able to clean up.

Crutchfield said the boys are working hard and know it’s all on the line. "This group of seniors is pretty tight and they’re working hard for each other. Hopefully we can spoil and upset these teams that were supposed to be in it. I don’t think we were on many people's radar and no one is expecting us to make it past this weekend."

Spencer Trenoweth became the first 1,000-yard rusher in Dirigo history and now has 1,183 yards in his lone season in the backfield, after having played mostly split end until this year. He started putting muscle on last year, so after the season, a light went off.

"We started talking about running backs to fill in," said Crutchfield, for the graduating seniors Brian Blackman and Jake Dowland. "We had some good JV prospects but liked what we were seeing in Spencer, he was hungry. He worked hard in the off season and it’s paid off. We can only image what he’d been like with a couple of years exposure to the running back position.

Quarterback Brett Whittemore passed 1,000 yards passing, with 57 against Oak Hill. The senior had 15 TDs, 13 passing and two rushing. He stayed healthy after suffering broken bones in his freshman and junior years.

Oak Hill featured a highly touted offensive line, but Dirigo's was not to be overlooked. Despite being outweighed, the Cougars realized they needed to stay low and keep their legs driving in order to be effective. The guards were Austin Bernard (5-10, 190) and Jack Brown (5-8, 210); tackles Zack White (6-1, 220) and Cliff Boynton (5-9, 220; center Joey Hebert (6-0, 220) and tight end Nelson Pepin (6-0, 185).

WALES -- There wasn't any question that the deck was stacked against them, however, the Dirigo football team went toe-to-toe with Oak Hill in a Campbell Conference semifinal Saturday afternoon.

Spencer Trenoweth scored on 69 and 51 touchdown runs in the second half and the defense steadfastly made the proper adjustments as the Cougars rallied for a 13-6 win over the Raiders.

The mark of a good team is to respond quickly following a score by the other team and that's exactly what Dirigo did. Oak Hill had just broken the ice, but on the ensuing possession Dirigo answered. On the second play from scrimmage, Trenoweth followed tackle Zack White through the line, cut outside and sprinted down the left side for a 69-yard TD. Nelson Pepin added the point after to give the Cougars their first lead in seven quarters against the Raiders with 4:39 remaining in the third quarter.

"We just knew that we needed the lead," said Trenoweth, referring to Dirigo's 33-0 loss in the regular season finale to Oak Hill. "The defense made a big stop on the first series (Pepin recovered fumbled) and that set the tone."

No. 3 Dirigo, who beat Old Orchard Beach 19-14 in a quarterfinal game, advances to play in the regional championship game against No. 1 Winslow this Saturday. The Cougars beat the Black Raiders 31-22 at Poulin Field in September.

"We knew things had to be adjusted," said Dirigo coach David Crutchfield, regarding the Cougars who did not show up and was outplayed by the Raiders previously. "So, we sat the kids down and explained what needed to be done and talked for a couple hours. The kids bought into the system we wanted to use and they executed it, especially on defense."

In the first half, Oak Hill had gained big yards with its double wing formation and counter plays. Raider QB Parker Asselin extended drives, but in short yardage, the Cougars shined. Twice, the Raiders reached the red zone and drives ended with stuffs on fourth down. The latter on inches to go from the eight yard line with 1:18 left in a scoreless first half.

Dirigo had switched from its 44 to a 6-2, moving the ends into have two sets of tackles in the middle. This allowed Tyler Frost (16 tackles), Kaine Hutchins and Pepin to make big plays.

"Those two came up big," said Crutchfield, referring to the ends. "Kaine was playing out of position, but did the job."

On its initial series in the third quarter, No. 2 Oak Hill had just driven down the field with a series of runs and passes on third down that set up first and goal. Kyle Flaherty scored on a three- yard run to lead 6-0.

The teams traded punts and then OH was held on fourth down. The Cougars ran Nick Young outside to pickup two first downs. A penalty moved the ball back, but Trenoweth (143 yards) broke tackles on his way to a 51-yard TD. Cougar QB Brett Whittemore completed 5 of 9 passes for 57 yards to go over 1,000 yards this season. Dave Merrick and Frost caught passes for 24 and 16 yards, respectively. Cougar linebacker Thomas Barnett broke up a pass on fourth down from the 19 with 1:18 left to seal the deal.

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Cougars shock Raiders to advance