By Kalle Oakes,Staff Writer

JAY – Somebody eventually turned out the lights Friday night, which was about the only thing that could stop the Livermore Falls football team from savoring the scenery at squishy Taglienti Field and turning its attention to a most anti-climactic playoff game next week.

Yes, the Andies are headed to the Western Class C semifinals as the fourth and final qualifier, but whoop-de-do. It’s what got them there that will mean the most to Livermore Falls a dozen years from now: a 19-0 mauling of riverside rival Jay that wasn’t even remotely that close.

“It’s our first shutout of the year,” said 6-foot-5 junior two-way tackle Mike Durrell, “and what a time to do it, against our rivals. I can’t believe it. Our defensive line was unreal.”

That zilch on the home half of the scoreboard also represented a winning regular season for Livermore Falls. Five-and-four seemed overly optimistic after the departure of 10 starters from a team that reached the regional championship game last autumn, and almost unfathomable after this season commenced with consecutive losses to Lisbon, Foxcroft and Boothbay.

“These kids went from the outhouse to the penthouse in six weeks. They really did,” said Livermore Falls coach Brad Bishop. “We thought at the end of last season that five wins would be a hell of an accomplishment considering what we lost, and we went out and got it done. These kids got it done. It wasn’t me.”

It was over at halftime. Livermore Falls physically dominated Jay, scoring on its first three series and falling one yard shy of a fourth touchdown when the horn sounded to end the half.

Senior Ryan Webster ran for touchdowns of 24 and 53 yards. He finished with 28 carries for 222 yards, six tackles and a fumble recovery and was an easy choice for the Roland Ouellette Trophy, symbolic of the game’s most valuable player.

After accepting the golden football from retired coaching greats John Taglienti of Jay and Ron Beedy of Livermore Falls, Webster turned to his offensive line and couldn’t let them put their fingerprints on it quickly enough.

“I love this team. There aren’t going to be any solo photos tonight,” Webster said as Livermore Falls parents gleefully snapped pictures. “Those guys opened huge holes and allowed us to control the clock.”

Livermore Falls outgained Jay 246 to 28 before intermission and 332 to 107 overall, with neither team completing a pass in the 73rd battle between the neighboring schools.

Mark O’Shea (54 yards) and Karlton Jones (52) also made mighty gains behind Durrell, Dylan Braley, Josh Thurlow, Rory Young and Craig Jackman.

Webster’s two scores were sandwiched around a 1-yard TD sneak by quarterback Mike Nichols.

“We got beaten by a better team tonight,” said Jay coach Mark Bonnevie, whose Tigers tripped Livermore Falls twice last year on the way to a Western Maine title. “They dominated us.”

Jay (6-3) will enter the playoffs as the No. 3 seed and travel to the winner of Friday’s Boothbay-Old Orchard Beach game.

Trevor McCourt led Jay with 49 rushing yards. The Tigers crossed midfield only once on their own. McCourt’s fumble recovery gave Jay the ball at the LF-25 late in the third quarter, but freshman Kyle Stebbins stripped and recovered the ball from McCourt to silence that drive early in the fourth.

Jones picked off a pass while Durrell, Young and O’Shea anchored the run defense for the Andies, who will travel to top-seeded Lisbon next Saturday.

“I don’t know if we’re in or not,” Bishop said before knowing that Lisbon beat Winthrop and punched the Andies’ playoff ticket. “I’m just impressed with what these kids have accomplished.”