The Southern Aroostook (SAW) Youth Football season came to a successful conclusion last Saturday with Championship Weekend festivities at the Connell Park in Woodstock.
The previously undefeated and number-one ranked HBMI Bucks (6-1) were stunned in the nightcap against the second-seeded VIP Roadrunners (5-2) by a score of 53-7.
Photograph/Eric Thomas Woodstock Bugle Observer
MANEUVERS – Mitchell Vargas catches the ball and gets around a Jazz defender.
Quarterback Brandon Pickel of Millville was the story for VIP in their shocking success, as he scored on runs of 37, one yard and 16 yards to stake the Roadrunners to a commanding 21-0 lead after just one period of play. The Bucks’ normally disciplined offense was whistled for numerous costly penalties in the early stages of the game, and could never get their offense on track. Meanwhile the Roadrunners came out with a six-man line on defense, and the Bucks were never able to adjust to a situation where all the running lanes were plugged at the line of scrimmage.
“It’s a really tough defense to run on,” said beaming VIP coach Brian Forest. “We had an idea it might work well against their power rushing attack, and thought we had a chance to win, but I don’t think even we expected this.”
The Roadrunners continued to pour it on in the second quarter, getting a fumble return touchdown from Houlton’s Devin McLaughlin, another eight-yard run by Pickel, and a 27-yard scamper from Woodstock’s Jordan Hutton to make it 40-0 for the underdogs at intermission.
The second half was basically more of the same. Bucks quarterback Keighan Robichaud-Griffin of Mars Hill, who had been the offensive catalyst all year for HBMI, finally scored on a four-yarder in the third quarter, but it was 46-7 by then.
Hutton scored off a lateral from 19 yards out to put a cap on the game at 53-7. Defensive end Dallas Tomah led the charge for the Roadrunners, and was virtually unblockable all afternoon.
Upsets were the name of the game on this day, and the number-four seeded L.G. Wilson Motors Spartans (2-5) pulled out a narrow 32-26 win over third-ranked Jazz Sports Jazz (2-5) in the preliminary. The Jazz scored first on a 49-yard run by quarterback Lucas Flewelling of Houlton. Spartans quarterback Corey Moorehead returned the favor with an 11-yard jaunt in the second quarter to even the score at 7-all. This was a back and forth affair all day, and Mitch Vargas of the Spartans (36 run) and wide receiver Josh Viera of the Jazz (55-yard kickoff return) also traded scores in the second quarter to knot it again at 13-all in the second period. Vargas scored on a nine-yard run just before intermission to give the Spartans a 20-13 halftime lead, and the confidence that they could pull off the upset coming out of the break.
Vargas was the story again in the third quarter, putting L.G. Wilson up 26-13 (their largest lead of the year) with a 13 yarder. Running back James Grant of the Jazz — inserted at QB for the play — made it 26-20 on a beautiful pass to Flewelling later in the third.
Grant then scored on a 54-yard punt return to make it 26-26 midway through the final quarter. But, the Spartans’ Tristan Larson scored the game-winner on a one-yard run late in the quarter, and L.G. Wilson made a goal line stand as time was running out to preserve the win.
After those games, everyone enjoyed a pizza party, and League President Steve Martin made presentations to all the coaches who did such a fine job all year volunteering their time to teach local youngsters the game of football.
The All-Star showcase game under the lights followed, and the final score was 19-13, but nobody really paid attention to that. Everyone just enjoyed the celebration of a new sport coming to the region and expressed their excitement for what next year will bring.
