Dirigo edges Traip for big win

TRAIP -- Dirigo coach Dave Crutchfield had made some adjustments the offensive formation (T formation to bully the middle some), in order to even the odds and it eventually paid off. However, it was the airways that proved to be the difference.

Quarterback Brett Whittemore threw a 14-yard touchdown in the flats to Spencer Trenoweth with 2:54 left as the Cougars football team won 12-6 in a Class C Campbell Conference clash against previously unbeaten Traip Academy Friday night.

Dirigo made the long trip down I-95 for the first-ever night game at Traip's Memorial Field, who had rented lights. The Cougars had lost a quarterfinal playoff game on the same field last fall.

Traip (5-1) had one last surge and was driving late, but Dirigo's Tyler Frost ripped the ball away from Christian Montembeau and recovered a fumble at the Cougar 15-yard line with 1:24 remaining to seal the deal.

Dirigo wanted to prove its worth after having lost to Maranacook 26-19 win the previous week.

“This is huge for us,” said Crutchfield, regarding beating Traip, so the performance gave them a little taste of their own. "Traip has been talked up to be the hardest-hitting team in our division and we came down here to run at them and see what they really had."

Both teams hurt themselves several times with penalties and the first half ended scoreless. Trenoweth's 75-yard TD run was brought back on an illegal chop block. Riley Robinson had a first half interception.

The hard-hitting game produced a combined 150 penalty yards.

In second half, Whittemore capped off a drive with a four-yard TD pass to Thomas Barnett but the kick failed.

Traip responded with a 85-yard TD run by Cory Aldecoa, tying the game 6-6. Dirigo had the Rangers pinned on third down and long, but several missed arm tackles let Aldecoa to slip away.

Dirigo received hard nose running by Frost (54 yards, 15 carries) and Trenoweth (84 yards, 16 carries). The Cougars felt it was starting to get obvious late in the second quarter that Traip was wearing down.

Heath Hersom had an interception, caused by pressure on the quarterback by Cougars Zach White, Frost, Bennett and Nelson Pepin. Coach Pat Mooney is running a 4-4 swarming defense that has the DE’s smashing TE’s and reading, while the LB’s need to fill the gaps and also identify (sense) who's blocking them, avoiding contact.