By Justin Pelletier,Staff Writer

BIDDEFORD – Mason Barker was just worried about embarrassing himself.

With less than five minutes to play in the 17th Annual Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl, Barker, the East quarterback, stepped back to pass, but was nearly swamped by the West defense.

The Mt. Blue star shifted to his right and heaved the ball.

“I was just hoping it wasn’t going to be picked off,” said Barker. “That was all Corey (Witham, the receiver).”

Witham, of Leavitt Area High School, settled under Barker’s wobbling pass and made the catch as he stumbled to the ground between two defenders. The 39-yard gain set up the East’s final touchdown, and Aaron Chambers of Skowhegan pounded the ball in for two points following his own touchdown with 5:12 remaining to lift the East to a thrilling 22-21 win over the West.

“The hogs up front had been working hard all night,” said Chambers. “I didn’t want to let them down. I knew I had to give it that extra bit at the end.”

The East appeared to be cruising early.

Barker nearly had the East on the board in the first quarter. The Mt. Blue grad fired two consecutive completions up the right side of the field after his team was pinned at its own 12-yard line.

His first, a 28-yard strike to Mt. Blue teammate John Moloney, gave the East some better field position. A 28-yard run by Oxford Hills’ Jim Bower moved the ball into West territory, and three plays later, Barker slung a 31-yarder to Witham to move the team inside the 5-yard line.

Two unsuccessful runs set up another Barker pass, but this time Josh Morin of Biddeford stepped in front of the ball and picked Barker off to prevent the touchdown.

The East defense held, though, and on its next possession, drove the field for its first touchdown, this by the other offensive unit, led by Leavitt quarterback Tyler Angell.

Key plays in that drive included a 14-yard completion from Angell to Moloney on third down and a 37-yard run by Ricky Porter of Brewer. Porter followed that three plays later with a 2-yard scamper to the right side on a power sweep to put his team ahead.

The East defense helped its own cause later in the second quarter when Dillon Shaw of Cony High School picked off a Chris Brunick (Lisbon High School) pass at the West 46-yard-line and scampered the distance to put his team ahead 14-0.

The West, meanwhile, couldn’t muster much offense, gaining just 108 total yards in the first half. The closest the West got to scoring was a drive that stalled out at the East’s 37-yard-line.

“I think we weren’t really playing as a team,” said West MVP Levi Ervin of Lisbon. “We came in at halftime, the coaches got a few mix-ups straightened out, and we were fine.”

In the third quarter, though, the West stormed back. Ken Paul of Massabesic slammed the ball home at 7:04 of the third frame to cut the East lead in half. Ervin picked off Angell at the East 44 three plays later, and Matt Sherburne of Windham converted a pass from Mike O’Donnell of Bonny Eagle to knot the score at 14.

Early in the fourth, O’Donnell ran the ball in to give his team a 21-14 lead, setting the stage for the East comeback.

Chambers and Jim Bower of Oxford Hills led the East with 58 rushing yards each, while Barker was 4-for-8 for 107 yards and an interception.

On the West side, Ryan Webster of Livermore Falls led the way with 42 yards, followed by O’Donnell with 41 and Kyle Toot of Cape Elizabeth with 35. O’Donnell was 5-for-7 for 66 yards and one touchdown for the West.