Fourth quarter touchdown helps Dexter defeat Mattanawcook
DEXTER — After coming up empty in the team’s first three trips inside the redzone Dexter Regional High School was able to get across the goalline in two of the final three such drives with short touchdown rushes in the third and fourth quarters during a Class D North/Little Ten Conference semifinal against Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln on a muddy field during the early afternoon on Saturday, Nov. 9.
Tiger senior Cameron Paige scored on a 5-yard run on the sixth redzone possession for what would turn out to be the winning play as second-seeded Dexter (now 8-1 with the team’s seventh consecutive victory) won 14-6 to move on to the Class D North championship against top seed Bucksport High School scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15 at Hampden Academy.
Third-seeded Mattanawcook (6-4) took advantage of its only trip into the redzone all day. Just over three minutes into the second quarter the Lynx faced a fourth-and-1 at the Dexter 2-yard line.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
NOT TO BE DENIED — Dexter senior Cameron Paige drags a pair of would-be Mattanawcook tacklers on the way to the winning score via a 5-yard touchdown during the fourth quarter of a Nov. 9 Class D North semifinal in Dexter. The Tigers won the team’s first home semifinal in multiple decades 14-6 to advance to Friday’s regional final vs. top-seeded Bucksport at Hampden Academy.
Lynx senior fullback Brayden Lujan took the handoff and he bounced off right tackle to get into the endzone for the first points of the game at 6-0. Mattanawcook tried to run the ball in for two but Lujan was gang tackled on the other side of the goalline to prevent any more points.
Dexter head coach Andrew Shorey said at the half the coaching staff urged the team to “just keep playing, it was an ugly first half but we minimized the damage pretty much and came out in the second half and they played really, really hard. That was a good half of football minus some turnovers. I’m very impressed and proud of how they played in that second half.”
Following a fumble at the goaline, resulting in a touchback for Mattanawcook, on the first possession of the second half the Dexter defense forced a three-and-out with the punt downed at the Dexter-49. Three plays quickly moved the ball 41 yards to the Lynx-9 for the fourth trip inside the redzone.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
STOPPED SHY OF THE STICKS —Dexter senior Gage Stone, left, and junior Robbie Dorman bring down Mattanawcook freshman quarterback Isaac Hainer three yards shy of the first on a third-and-6 to force a punt during the second quarter on Nov. 9.
On first-and-goal senior quarterback Logan Perkins decided to keep the football on an option run and he ran up the middle and dove across the goaline for the touchdown to tie the game 6-6. The Tigers tried to take the lead on a PAT but the kick fell short of the crossbar.
At the end of the third quarter, Dexter got down near the endzone again to set up a fourth-and-goal at the Lynx-4 to start the final quarter. Perkins took the snap and ran up the middle, but he was ruled down just shy of the goalline as Mattanawcook took over and kept Dexter 1-for-5 on potential point-scoring drives inside the Lynx-20.
The visiting team tried to run the ball on three straight plays, but could no further than the 1-yard line to force a punt from out of the endzone. The football was only kicked about 20 yards to give Dexter possession at the Mattanawcook 15-yard line.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
27 YARDS FOR NO. 17 — Junior Parker Ponte outruns Mattanawcook junior Travis Mushero for a 27-yard reception down to the Lynx 5-yard line during the opening quarter.
The Tigers then moved to the 5-yard line, including a fourth-and-1 conversion on a rush by senior Gage Stone to get the needed yard. On first-and-goal senior Cameron Paige ran left along the sideline (Paige rushed for a game-high 126 yards on 21 carries). He dragged two would-be tacklers and hit the pylon before going out for the touchdown at the 7:52 mark. Perkins then had the conversion on a quarterback sneak to put Dexter up by eight at 14-6.
“It’s been the MO of this team all year, they just never quit, they have got a lot of heart,” Shorey said about how the team responded after believing that Perkins scored rather than being down inside the 1. “They never get too high, they never get too low, they just kind of stay even keel. I think a big part of that is having a big senior group and being able to maintain and keep our emotions in check.”
Despite taking the lead for the first time all day, Dexter still had plenty of work remaining. On the next possession the defense made a stop on a fourth-and-1 inside Tiger territory at the 45. The offense would then lose a fumble at the Lynx-37 to give Mattanawcook 2:44 to work with in an attempt to tie the game.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
BREAKING FREE — Getting out of the tackler’s grasp is senior Justin Wing for a 7-yard gain and a first down on the opening drive of the second half.
The defense did its job again with a tackle after only a gain of a yard, the defensive line knocking down a pass and then forcing another incompletion for a fourth-and-9. After a Mattanawcook timeout, the team threw on fourth down where sophomore Avery Gagnon jumped the route to knock the football harmlessly to the ground. Dexter kept Mattanawcook without a completion in six attempts.
Taking over at the Lynx-38 with 1:58 to go, the Tigers were able to run out the clock.
Dexter — which is in the postseason for the fifth year in a row and the seventh time in eight years and hosted a semifinal for the first time in more than a quarter century — will play at No. 1 Bucksport in the Class D North championship. The Tigers were last in the regional final in 2016 when the seniors were freshman, a 41-0 loss at then Little Ten Conference member and now Class C North program Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield which was the program’s first berth in a regional championship since 1991.
“We’re looking forward to it, they’re a good football team,” Shorey said about Bucksport. “It will be a tough one for sure.”
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
BIG CATCH — Senior Gage Stone hauled in a 31-yard reception in the third quarter, giving Dexter a first down at the Mattanawcook-9 and setting up a 9-yard touchdown for senior quarterback Logan Perkins.
The Golden Bucks are the only team to defeat Dexter this season, with the Tigers losing on the road 43-7 back in week two. The points allowed are the most given by Dexter and the seven points scored are a season-low. Bucksport, which like the Tigers had a bye to start the playoffs, defeated No. 5 Foxcroft Academy 49-12 in the weekend’s other Class D North semifinal.
FOOTBALL
CLASS D NORTH
SEMIFINAL
No. 2 Dexter 14,
No. 3 Mattanawcook 6
MAT 0 6 0 0 | 6
DEX 0 0 6 8 | 14
Second: M — Lujan 2 yds
(rush fail)
Third: D — Perkins 9 yds
(kick short)
Fourth: D — Paige 5 yds
(Perkins rush)
Passing: M — Hainer
0-of-3; Weatherbee
0-of-3
D — Perkins 5-of-7
83 yds; Gagnon 0-of-0
Receiving: D — Wing
2, 16 yds; Stone 1,
31 yds; Ponte 1, 27 yds;
Paige 1, 9 yds
Rushing: M — Peters
12, 56 yds; Lujan 10,
55 yds TD; C. Ireland
6, 16 yds; T. Ireland 4,
8 yds; Hainer 3, 7 yds;
Weatherbee 1, 0 yds
D — Paige 21, 126 yds
TD; Stone 8, 49 yds;
Perkins 7, 19 yds TD;
Wing 5, 14 yds; Gagnon
2, 5 yds; Ponte 2, -3 yds
Records: M — 6-4,
D — 8-1
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
TOSS LEFT — Senior Cameron Paige takes the toss from senior signal-caller Logan Perkins. Paige rushed for a game-high 126 yards on 21 carries, including the winning score in Dexter’s 14-6 victory.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
FAILED ATTEMPT — Mattanawcook senior Brayden Lujan is stopped in the backfield by a gang of Dexter tacklers as the Lynx went for two in the second quarter following the team’s only touchdown.