By Randy Whitehouse,Staff Writer

If this year’s Western Class C semifinals look familiar, well, you’ve been paying attention the last couple of years.

This is the third straight year that Boothbay has met Jay and Livermore Falls has faced Lisbon in the semis. Both games are the rubber match in the respective trilogies. Lisbon beat Livermore, 26-0, in 2003. The Andies got their revenge last year, 28-6. Boothbay bounced Jay two years ago, 43-6, while the Tigers bounced back, 34-20, last November.

For No. 4 Livermore Falls (5-4), Saturday’s rematch with No. 1 Lisbon (8-1) will be a measure of how far they’ve come since getting trounced by the Greyhounds, 34-0, in Week 1.

“They were a young team coming into the season. They worked hard and they’ve improved every single week,” Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan said. “Their offense has really come a long way. The line caught up with the backs halfway through the season. Defensively, they got a shutout at an important time of the year and I’m sure they’re very confident right now.”

The Andies began the season with two freshmen in the secondary, a couple of new down linemen, a new linebacker and a new defensive end. But the defense looked anything but green in shutting out Jay last week.

“I think the kids have grown into their roles and their positions,” said Andies coach Brad Bishop. “From the Foxcroft game (in Week 2), we started playing better and better. I’m sure Lisbon’s improved, I just don’t know how much. Hopefully, we’ve matured enough where we can give them a competitive game.”

Lisbon, which gave up the fewest points in the state (5 ppg), had been looking for a competitive game after rolling over most of the competition in September. Mynahan is glad his team has stayed sharp preparing for the playoffs.

“The past four or five games have all been difficult games for us, and it’s given our kids a chance to work hard for the full 48 minutes of football,” he said.

The game features two of the top ground gainers in Western C – Lisbon’s Levi Ervin (1,485 yards, 23 TDs) and Livermore Falls’ Ryan Webster (1,445 yards, 22 TDs). But focusing on the two workhorses would be hazardous for both defenses. Livermore Falls’ Karlton Jones and Mark O’Shea combined for more than 1,000 rushing yards, while Lisbon’s Dan Willis totaled 650 yards, including 122 yards and two TDs against the Andies.

“Ervin’s their go-to guy, but we’re really not trying to key on him because they’ll run the counter with somebody or the fullback will get the ball,” Bishop said. “They present a lot of problems.”

Boothbay will present a lot of problems for Jay at Taglienti Field tonight. The visitors are led by quarterback Roy Arsenault, who gives the Seahawks a double threat in their double-wing.

“He’s a great athlete,” said Jay coach Mark Bonnevie. “They’re throwing the ball a little bit more than they have over the years, but also, if you get pressure on him, he can put it down and take off.”

Arsenault relies on his two ends, 6-foot-2 Pat Norton and 6-foot-4 Kris Noonan, in the passing game and looks for those big targets in the red zone. They will challenge a Tiger defense that has been banged up.

Jay lost Zane Armandi, who led the team with seven interceptions, to a broken collarbone two weeks ago, and Trevor McCourt went down with an ankle injury in Wednesday’s practice.

Losing McCourt will hurt on both sides of the ball, as he is one of the Tigers’ top linebackers and also ran for 88 yards and two TDs in Jay’s 35-20 win over the Seahawks during the regular season. QB Mike Nemi and receiver Brad Loon may have to pick up the slack through the air.