Each of the Pine Tree Conference Class B semifinal game on Friday is a rematch of one of the more interesting games of the regular season. No. 4 Messalonskee (5-4) plays at No. 1 Brunswick (7-1), and No. 3 Lawrence (7-2) is at No. 2 Cony (6-2).
Messalonskee is the only team in the PTC to beat Brunswick in the last two regular seasons. Both this season and in 2013, the Eagles knocked off an undefeated Brunswick team. This season, the score was 20-7, and Messalonskee shut down the Dragons strong run game.
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Honor Roll
• Nick Hubel, a junior quarterback at MCI, made his varsity debut in an exhibition game against Medomak Valley. Hubel ran for a touchdown and threw a 2-point conversion pass.
• Messalonskee’s Jack Bernatchez ran for 293 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-28 win over Mt. Blue in the PTC B quarterfinals.
• Colby Dexter of Messalonskee ran for 116 yards and caught two passes for 43 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown, in the Eagles’ win.
• Lawrence quarterback Cody Martin threw for 307 yards in a 34-14 win over Brewer in the PTC B quarterfinals. Martin was 15 of 20 passing, threw for four touchdowns, and ran in another.
• Dustin Simpson-Bragg and Seth Powers each caught two touchdown passes in Lawrence’s win over Brewer.
“There’s things we have to work on. We have a tough opponent next week,” Messalonskee coach Brad Bishop said after his team’s 48-28 quarterfinal win over Mt. Blue.
Against Brunswick, the Eagles will need to take better care of the ball. Although Messalonskee ran for 516 yards against Mt. Blue, the Eagles lost three fumbles, two inside the Mt. Blue 20 yard line.
This is the second time in three years Cony and Lawrence meet in the playoffs. Lawrence defeated Cony in the 2012 conference title game. Cony earned a 30-13 win at Lawrence earlier this season.
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With the top seed in the Eastern Class C playoffs, Winslow earned a bye out of the first round. The Black Raiders used the week of practice without a game to review some things and add a few items to the playbook, coach Mike Siviski said.
“We didn’t slow down,” Siviski said. “We tried to add some things.”
The Black Raiders (8-0) also reviewed some things to prepare for possible semifinal matchups with either Madison or Belfast, two teams Winslow defeated in the regular season.
“It wasn’t like a mini preseason, but it was a review,” Siviski said.
Winslow will host Belfast at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Poulin Field. The Black Raiders defeated the Lions, 62-6, in the regular season, but Siviski said Belfast quarterback Drew Nealey and running back Steven Davis are tough challenges. In Saturday’s 20-12 win over Madison, Davis ran for 346 yards and three touchdowns.
“The Davis kid, he’s a load. Obviously, we have to know where he is at all times,” Siviski said. “Their quarterback is an excellent scrambler and runner.”
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Waterville used its bye week to do some self-evaluation.
“We took it as an opportunity to look at what we do,” Waterville head coach Matt Gilley said. “We took a look at our weaknesses. If we were scheming against us, what would we do? What would we attack? That was the luxury of a bye week, to have the freedom to do that.”
The Purple Panthers, the No. 2 seed in Eastern Class C, now know their semifinal opponent is No. 3 Foxcroft Academy (7-2). Waterville beat the Ponies, 36-14, in week one. Since then, Foxcroft moved Hunter Smith from wide receiver to quarterback, and the Ponies’ offense has excelled. In Saturday night’s 35-20 win over Mt. Desert Island in the quarterfinals, Smith ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns, and threw a pair of touchdown passes.
“Their offense certainly looks a lot different. They’re trying to throw the ball a lot more lately,” Gilley said. “They’ve got a bunch of athletes who are very dangerous.”
Gilley noted that while Foxcroft’s offense seems to be improving with Smith at quarterback, which the Panthers did not see in the first meeting, Waterville did not have leading rusher Cam Thomas in the first game, either.
Kickoff Saturday at Waterville’s Drummond Field is at 1 p.m.
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Around the state: Lower seeds won three of the 19 playoff games played this past weekend. In Western Class A, No. 6 Biddeford beat No. 3 South Portland, 34-20. In Western B, No. 5 Westbrook beat No. 4 Greely, 28-15, and in Western C, No. 5 Yarmouth beat No. 4 Cape Elizabeth, 14-12… Seven of the eight teams that played in state championship games last season are still alive in this season’s playoffs. Only Class B runner-up Kennebunk has been eliminated… If you’re curious about such things, the region with the best overall record of teams still in the playoffs is Eastern Class C. Winslow (8-0), Waterville (7-1), Foxcroft Academy (7-2) and Belfast (6-3) have a combined winning percentage of .824.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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