TURNER – The NCAA doesn’t orchestrate the Eastern Class B football playoffs, so we can all stop and give thanks that no power rankings or point differentials are being crunched to set up a championship game. Four teams will show up for what should be two incredible semifinal contests next weekend.
Each of them certainly played the quarterfinal round as if style points mattered, though. Leavitt Area High School had the last word Saturday night and took advantage of the open forum, rolling up 494 yards of total offense in a 46-21 rout of Hampden Academy at Libby Field.
Senior quarterback Tyler Angell couldn’t be contained when he kept the ball to himself and couldn’t be stopped when he distributed it through the air. Angell threw touchdown passes to three different receivers and rushed for another score.
Angell finished 18-for-23 for 240 yards and legged it out on the option play another 17 times for 99 yards.
“My line was amazing. I had all day to pass,” Angell said. “They ran a different defense than everyone else did against us, and I think it made running the option a little easier.”
Leavitt (8-1) kept up with the Pine Tree Conference Joneses in winning its eighth consecutive game.
All four quarterfinal conquerors scored 40 points and won by a margin of at least three touchdowns.
The Hornets will host Brewer in a game tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday night. Waterville visits Winslow in the other semifinal on Saturday.
“Those are four great teams. For any of those teams to win it, it wouldn’t surprise me,” said Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway. “We knew the other three teams won big, so we said, We’re the last game. Let’s play the best game.’ I thought we did pretty well, also.”
Chris Brewer recovered a fumble on Hampden’s third play of the game and capped the Hornets’ ensuing series with a 10-yard TD scamper. Corey Witham made the first of his two visits to the end zone on a 7-yard reverse to make it 13-0 at the end of the opening quarter.
Leavitt went up 32-7 at the half on an 8-yard hookup from Angell to Tyler Millett, a 5-yard Angell keeper and a 14-yard grab by Ben Boulay.
Angell completed his first eight attempts in the game, and the front five of Shane Pearl, Mike Austin, Brandon Pare, Josh Levesque and Doug Nash provided the push to 295 total yards in the first half, alone.
Junior Bobby Seger was the story for Hampden (4-5). After scoring the Broncos’ lone TD in the first half on a 49-yard catch from Shawn Smith, Seger stripped the ball from Witham and ran it back 50 yards for a TD early in the third quarter.
Later, Seger’s 41-yard halfback option pass to Jarrod Maddox set up a scoring plunge by Som Ratsakongsky. Smith was 9-for-21 passing for 137 yards, while Seger was responsible for 131 all-purpose yards.
Witham and freshman Tyler Green completed the scoring for Leavitt with a 10-yard TD reception and 5-yard run. Green, in his first game back after breaking a bone in his wrist, carried nine times for 73 yards.
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