Knights break out, down Huskies; all football teams at home Saturday

Contributed photograph
ACTION — Knights quarterback Quinn Harris, far left, looks for an open receiver against the Huskies last Saturday.
By Coach Andy Hay
Special to the Pioneer Times
    The Houlton Knights football team traveled to Sincock Field in Caribou to battle their arch rivals the Huskies in a highly contentious and physical contest.
    The Knights won the coin toss and elected to receive. Ten seconds into the game, Caribou had the ball when the runback attempt was fumbled. If this was a version of the “Longest Yard” it was scripted well. The first quarter was scoreless as both teams yielded little between the 20-yard lines.
    The second quarter began with the Knights in possession of the ball on the Caribou 39-yard line. Two minutes and 47 seconds later, quarterback Quinn Harris called his own number and punched it in from the one to put Houlton on the board.
    Caribou’s strategy was to go to the air, early and often. On the next Huskies possession, free safety Bill Livezey picked off an errant Cody Bryant pass at the Caribou 33 and returned it to the three. Two rush attempts later and Harris had his second touchdown.
    On the following Caribou possession, Bryant was picked off again, but Houlton was held to a punt and Caribou returned this one to the Houlton three. The Huskies capped the one-play drive with a touchdown at the four-minute mark, as the score was 12-6 Houlton.
    Caribou kicked deep to Aaron Eastman. Eight seconds and 70 yards was all it took for the speedster to arrive in the end zone. Houlton pushed the lead to 18-6. Houlton put up an outstanding defense against a determined Caribou team as the clock slipped to zero and the scoreboard remained Knights-18-6.
    “We were a little shaky in the beginning.” said Knights head coach Brian Reynolds. “We finally got it going in the second quarter. Caribou played well during the first half and we were beginning to solve some offensive shortcomings.”
    In the third quarter both defenses held each other scoreless. The tackles were bone crunching. The efforts were inspiring. This was a game through the end of three quarters, but Houlton held its two-touchdown lead. Something had to give.
    At the start of the fourth quarter, the Knights were in trouble. Harris had taken a 22-yard loss when he was chased out of the pocket. That loss was nullified by a big penalty on Caribou and a 37-yard swing in field position. Houlton’s Eastman was called on to run outside. He traveled 17 yards toward the end zone and … had the ball jarred loose. It didn’t matter. Hunter Hanning alertly scooped up the ball and finished the play with the score at 14:36 of the final stanza. Fittingly Eastman carried in for the extra point.
    Caribou would not lie down. In an unusual Knights’ special teams lapse, the Huskies returned the ensuing kick off 60 yards for a score. It was now 25-12 and Houlton was being challenged with over 14 minutes remaining.
    Good teams know how to respond. Houlton is a good team.
    On the next possession, it was all Eastman (28 rushes for 156 yards and one rushing touchdown to go with 70-yard runback score) and 45 yards in two carries as the Knights scored their fifth touchdown. Harris put the finishing touches on it with the extra point at 12:32, as Houlton went ahead 32-12.
    On Caribou’s next possession, Harris alertly picked off a desperation Caribou pass at the Houlton 10-yard line and raced 40 yards to the Caribou 30.
    Play was becoming a little chippy with frustration, but the teams settled down and Houlton went back to work. Eastman carried to the five and freshman Jake Drew found paydirt as a varsity member. Drew was rewarded with a pass from Harris for a two-point conversion, as Houlton had a 40-12 lead.
    The game ended 10 minutes later with heroic efforts by both teams and the Knights collected their second win of the season running “the streak” to 17.
    There were many defensive standouts in this game. The Houlton secondary recorded four interceptions, the defense had a sack and limited Caribou to 94 total yards of offense, while the Knights were gaining 241 for themselves.
    Defensive highlights of the game were performed by Sam St. John with three tackles and two swatted passes. Eastman was everywhere with eight tackles. Caleb McGary and Josh Carmichael had two-plus tackles and Carmichael caused a Caribou fumble.
    Coach Bill Alderson was happy with the defense and said, “It was a real battle out there. The kids showed a lot of perseverance.”
    “We will be working on a few fundamentals this week. Things that we work on at practice were not translating today. Hopefully they will be straightened out in time for our game against Madawaska next Saturday,” added Reynolds.
    The junior varsity Knights defeated their Caribou counterparts 31-0 behind the stellar performances of Jake Drew, Ryan Baptiste and quarterback Ryan Heath.
    On Saturday, Sept. 17 football fanatics will be entertained with a triple header as the Peewee Knights, junior high Knights and high school Knights come home and play at Airport Field. Games begin with the peewees taking on Presque Isle/Caribou at 9 a.m.. The junior high follows at 11:30 a.m. meeting up with the Huskies of Caribou. Finally, the main event when the varsity Knights host the Madawaska Mustangs in a League matchup that could signal who may own the rights to the title. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
    Admission is free and concessions will be available.