MCI defeats Dexter for Class D North championship
PITTSFIELD — Top-seeded Maine Central Institute continued to roll with a 41-0 victory over third seed Dexter Regional High School in the 2016 Class D North/Little Ten Conference (LTC) championship under the lights on Nov. 11. The berth in the regional final was the first for the Tigers in 25 years, when the 1991 team played in the Class C East/LTC finale.
The now 11-0 Huskies have scored at least 35 points in every one of the team’s games, winning each contest by double-digits and having only one final score end up being less than 20 points. MCI — who won at Dexter 36-2 back on Oct. 8 — will be playing in the state championship for the third year in a row on Saturday in Portland against Class D South champion Lisbon High School. The regional final victory over Dexter extended the Huskies’ winning streak against LTC competition to 31 games, dating back to the start of the 2014 season.
“We changed up a few things but it was really just about execution and they executed a lot better than we did tonight,” Dexter co-head coach Andrew Shorey said.
After the Tiger defense forced a punt on the opening series of the game, MCI held Dexter to a net total of zero yards in three plays for a three-and-out. The Huskies then had eight plays cover 60 yards — which included a conversation on a fourth-and-1 — as senior Willie Moss ran off left tackle from four yards out for the game’s first touchdown with just over two minutes to go in the opening quarter.
MCI forced another three-and-out as three plays on the ground could only net two yards for the Tiger offense to give the home team the ball back at the Tiger 46-yard line.
“They (have) got great run defense, just phenomenal,” Dexter co-head coach Brian Salsbury said. “We were not able to run, we were not about to throw — that translates to field position. If we we’re not moving the ball, they’re getting great field position every time we punt.”
On second-and-6 at the 42 MCI senior quarterback Josh Buker found junior Adam Bertrand open over the middle. Bertrand spun around a defender and cut to the left for the touchdown.
Facing another fourth-and-long, Dexter lined up in punt formation but instead of booting the ball senior Brayden Miller threw. His pass ended up getting picked off by Husky senior Eli Bussell and his short return gave MCI possession at the Dexter-28.
Seven plays later Bussell dove across the goal line for the touchdown and the PAT by junior Devon Varney, who was four-for-four on the evening, made the score 21-0.
The Dexter backfield would be held to just 34 yards on the ground by MCI. After a touchback junior Tyler Beem found a hole in the defense for a 25-yard rush to move the ball to the Tiger-45 (Beem led his team with 28 yards on seven carries). Dexter would get into MCI territory on a completion from Miller to senior Jason Campbell at the Husky-42, but the possession ended in a punt.
The ensuing drive culminated in a 4-yard touchdown run by Buker which helped set up a 28-0 lead at the half.
Miller finished with 44 passing yards. He picked up 38 on a late pass to Campbell as the play moved the ball from the Dexter-25 to the opposition’s 37.
“It was a great year, a lot of fun to coach this team,” Shorey said, as Dexter finished 8-3 with two of the losses coming against MCI. “What we just talked about is don’t let this score reflect what our season was.”
“We’re very proud of our guys, don’t let that define us,” Salsbury added. “They’re a good team, they’re family, they played hard all year. It wasn’t the outcome we wanted but we got here.”
The Dexter senior class is captains Brandon Allen, Jason Campbell, Brayden Miller, Chandler Perkins and Zachary White, along with Colby Burton, Tanner Hall, Jacob Hesseltine, Sean Lockhart and Ryan Wyman.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
REGIONAL RUNNERS-UP — Dexter Regional High School finished as the 2016 Class D North runners-up following a 41-0 defeat at top-seeded Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield on Nov. 11. The Tigers reached the regional final for the first time since 1991, while MCI advances to the state championship for the third consecutive season. Accepting the team’s plaque are Dexter senior captains, from left, Brandon Allen, Jason Campbell, Zachary White, Brayden Miller and Chandler Perkins.