With Saturday’s 24-10 win over Yarmouth, the Winslow High School football team won its second straight state title. With a second consecutive 11-0 season, the Black Raiders put themselves in the discussion with some of the best teams in the school’s football history.
Back-to-back undefeated seasons put Winslow’s win streak entering 2016 at 22 consecutive games. While impressive, it’s the Black Raiders’ third-longest win streak of the last 25 years. The longest is 32 games, which came from the start of the 1992 season to Week 9 of 1994. The Black Raiders went 12-0 in both 1992 and 1993, and were 8-0 heading into the final week of the ’94 season, when they lost to Messalonskee, 21-14.
Winslow also won 24 straight games, 2000 season to 2002 season. After losing to Belfast in the opening game of the 2000 season, the Black Raiders didn’t lose again until Week 2 of the 2002 season, falling at Foxcroft, 12-6.
This season’s championship was the seventh for Winslow’s Mike Siviski, who completed his 31st season as the Black Raiders head coach. It was the third time Siviski coached Winslow to back-to-back titles, joining the 1992-93 and 2000-01 teams. Siviski also won a state championship in 1986.
Of Winslow’s seven state champions under Siviski, the 2015 team surrendered the fewest amount of points, just 64, an average of just under a touchdown per game. Winslow had seven shutouts in 11 games this season, including a run of five games that included a 21-0 win over Mt. Desert Island in the regional semifinals.
Winslow’s 491 points scored was the second-most for Siviski’s championship teams. Only the 2014 Black Raiders — who scored 504 points in 11 games — scored more than this season’s team.
Winslow’s defense came up big in the second half of Saturday’s win over Yarmouth. Twice, the Black Raiders stopped a Yarmouth drive into the red zone, and Winslow forced four Clippers turnovers in the second half. The play of the game was Trenton Bouchard’s 34-yard interception return for a touchdown for Winslow, which gave the Black Raiders a two touchdown lead late in the third quarter. Winslow forced five turnovers in the game.
Winslow was the only state champion to go undefeated at have no games decided by a touchdown or less. Winslow’s closest game of the season was the 14-point state championship win over Yarmouth. The Black Raiders trailed at halftime just once all season, 20-14 to Old Town in the Class C North regional final. Winslow outscored the Coyotes 26-7 in the second half to pull away with the win.
Although Winslow graduates 12 players from the season’s team, including four-year starting guard/linebacker Alec Clark and Jake Trask, a three-year starter in the secondary, the Black Raiders will return a number of key players. Among those back next year are leading rushers Nate St. Amand and Kenny Rickard, linebacker Patrick Hopkins, and wide receiver/cornerback Dylan Hutchinson.
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