LIVERMORE FALLS — If this indeed was the last Livermore Falls-Jay football classic, the combatants won’t need to exaggerate the details for future generations.

They’ll tell tales of a gang-tackling, grind-it-out classic from 2010 that was straight out of 1950. They’ll recall multiple goal-line stands, intermittent snow flurries and a wind chill in the teens.

Oh, but that’s the future. Friday night, the tears welling in Alex Rose’s eyes and the blood splattered across Mike Armstrong’s jersey said it all. As did the scoreboard they surrounded with their fellow seniors for a final photograph, index fingers raised heavenward.

Andies 7, Tigers 6.

“This, beating them my senior year, means more to me than you could ever imagine,” Rose said.

Rose scored Livermore Falls’ only touchdown with 2:06 remaining in the second quarter. His interception with just over a minute left in regulation sealed it for an Andies defense that was brilliant when it had to be.

Livermore Falls (4-4) also made two notable stops inside the 1-yard line.

Kenny Pelletier and Tyler Halliday denied a would-be Jay touchdown on fourth-and-goal late in the third quarter.

After Jay (5-3) scored on a 2-yard Bill Calden run with 3:48 to go, Armstrong and Dillon Newcomb wrapped their arms around Jordan D. Couture to thwart the two-point conversion.

“They made the two plays they had to make,” said Jay coach Mark Bonnevie.

Two of the Tigers’ three losses this season were settled by failed two-point conversions late in the fourth quarter. Jay also lost 7-6 at Dirigo.

Neither team is guaranteed a playoff spot.

Jay needed a win to guarantee its berth in the eight-team Western Class C draw, according to Bonnevie. Livermore Falls presumably stayed alive with a win. Both must await the outcome of Saturday’s Maranacook-Oak Hill and Winthrop-Lisbon games.

But that sense of urgency was dwarfed by the knowledge that Friday’s 77th renewal of an epic series could be the last. Livermore Falls and Jay schools may consolidate, pending the outcome of a vote in January.

“Knowing that the merger is probably going to happen, our class and our team wanted to go out with a bang,” Armstrong said. “We talked a lot about it that if it’s not meant for us to make the playoffs, this is our championship game.”

Livermore Falls won without moving the chains in the entire second half. But defense and special teams rescued the Andies time after time.

The goal-line stand silenced a Jay drive that drained more than eight minutes off the clock. Jay ran off tackle 18 consecutive times, including eight in a row and 11 in all by Calden, and converted four third downs.

Brandon Hodges, Sam Chabot and Newcomb collaborated to stuff Couture for a two-yard loss on second-and-goal at the 5. Calden got only those two yards back on third down before Pelletier and Hodges intervened.

“We dug down. I’m so proud of my defense tonight, especially on the goal line,” Armstrong said.

Between two Jay stops for no gain and a false start penalty that moved the ball back a half-yard, Livermore Falls miraculously averted a safety on its ensuing three-and-out.

Hodges’ 49-yard punt got the Andies out of a huge hole as the fourth quarter began.

Thanks to its own defensive effort, led by James Barker and Ron Holland, Jay continued to rule the tug-of-war for field position. Jay eventually took over at the LF-43 with 7:19 remaining.

Calden (24 carries, 110 yards) and Couture (20 carries, 67 yards) guided the Tigers to the end zone in nine plays to set up the fateful two-point conversion.

“We adjusted at halftime,” Bonnevie said. “We seem to have a hard time making adjustments on the fly.”

Livermore Falls was limited to 19 total yards in the second half but pounded out 108 before the break.

Hodges recovered a fumbled Jay exchange at the Tigers’ 19 to give the Andies a short field for their only touchdown.

Helped by an encroachment penalty and a third-down conversion by Brent Buote, Livermore Falls turned to Rose on three consecutive carries to close it out. Hodges booted what was an all-important extra point.

“The defense made some big stops. We didn’t snap. It was a team effort,” said Rose, who carries 21 times for 82 times and won the Area Youth Sports/Roland Ouellette Trophy as the game’s MVP.

Andrew Stearns’ tackle stopped the Andies on fourth-and-1 at the 5 after a fruitful first drive of the night.

Nate Hamblin’s 6-yard strike to Rose on that march was the only pass completion for either team. Jay and Livermore Falls were a combined 1-for-10. Gavin Jones also notched an interception for the Andies.

“In this weather, you just couldn’t do anything,” Bonnevie said.

Jay leads the all-time series, 40-36-1. Livermore Falls has won five of the last six.

koakes@sunjournal.com

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