WINSLOW — Facing a war of attrition, the Winslow football team was missing some key components as it entered Week 2.
Injuries and illnesses mounted for Black Raiders, who were missing six starters ahead of Saturday’s Class D North battle with Madison/Carrabec/Valley. Yet with Winslow’s back against the wall, two reliable regulars lifted the Black Raiders to victory.
Winslow used a late drive to claim a 16-14 win over the Bulldogs in Saturday’s contest at Poulin Field. Trailing 14-13 in the final minutes, the Black Raiders got key runs from Matt Quirion before Hassan Hobbi’s 34-yard field goal with 1 minute, 27 seconds to play proved to be the difference in what was a tight game throughout.
“We’re playing ironman football right now,” said Quirion, who ran for 147 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries in the win. “Everyone is playing both sides of the ball and special teams, and we’ve just got to buckle down and do what we do. … It was tough, but we were not going to lose this game.”
Playing its vintage brand of smashmouth football, Winslow (2-0) drove down the field bit by bit on the game’s opening possession to take a 7-0 lead. The Black Raiders ran the ball on all 11 plays of the 59-yard drive, which culminated in a 9-yard run by Quirion with 4:24 left in the first quarter.
Madison/Carrabec/Valley (0-2) failed to take advantage of good field position on its next two drives. First, the Bulldogs went backward and turned the ball over on downs after taking the ensuing kickoff all the way to the 5. The visitors did so again after getting the ball at the Winslow 35 as they were called for three holding penalties.
Finally, with 3:35 left in the half, Madison/Carrabec/Valley capitalized. After a block in the back negated an interception return for touchdown, Brode Strout hit Pablo Giddings for a 29-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-4 before a successful 2-point try gave the Bulldogs an 8-7 lead they took into halftime.
Madison running back Jacob Hilenski, left, is tackled by Winslow defensive back Izaiah Costigan during Saturday’s game at Poulin Field in Winslow. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
“Brode did a great job for us today; he busted his butt out there,” said Madison/Carrabec/Valley head coach Danny Moreshead. “He was a wide receiver last year who moved to quarterback when we had some injuries. He worked his butt off all offseason, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more from him.”
Possessing the ball at midfield midway through the third quarter, Winslow reached the visitors’ 5 on a 44-yard run from Quirion before Liem Fortin scored on a 1-yard run to make it 13-8. Madison/Carrabec/Valley, though, responded early in the fourth as Strout hit Jaylen Horton for a 17-yard touchdown to put the visitors back in front.
Winslow did not score on its next possession, but after stopping the Bulldogs, Quirion went to work. He rushed seven times for 35 yards on the final drive to take the Black Raiders into the red zone, and on fourth-and-4 from the 17, Hobbi drilled a field goal that would have been good from much longer than 34 yards.
“It’s been my goal to have a long field goal like that, and I was able to do it at a good time,” Hobbi said. “I wasn’t feeling any pressure. As I walked out there, I said, ‘Have faith in me; l have faith in you.’ They started screaming, and I just went out there and hit it and started hugging people. It was great.”
Attempting a field goal, Winslow head coach Wes Littlefield said, was the Black Raiders’ only real option given their personnel losses. He had faith in Hobbi after the sophomore had converted field goals from 40-plus yards in preseason practices. To top it all off, Hobbi intercepted Strout following the kick to seal the game.
“I had a lot of faith in him, and I was perfectly comfortable putting him in that situation,” Littlefield said. “Between injuries, COVID and concussions from last week, we had no other choice. … Then he (makes that interception) at the other end. Talk about player of the game right there.”
Fortin added 64 rushing yards on 19 carries for Winslow, which ran the ball 47 times and passed just five. Strout completed 11 of 20 passes for 144 yards for Madison/Carrabec/Valley, which stuck to the air for much of the game as the Black Raiders contained the Bulldogs on the ground (16 rushes for 37 yards).
Although the manner of the defeat was difficult, Moreshead was nothing short of pleased with his Bulldogs’ effort. After losing eight straight games to end last season — seven by 40 points or more — and a 48-0 Week 1 loss to Poland, it took a remarkable kick for Madison/Carrabec/Valley to be denied this time.
“That was one of the best games I’ve seen us play as a unit in the three years I’ve been a part of this program,” Moreshead said. “They really fought today, and for (Winslow) to win it that way, you’ve got to hand it to them. You don’t send a kid out there to do that every day, but that was a great kick.”
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