Good enough to come up one or two plays short.

For the second season in a row, that appears to be the theme for Poland football.

A year ago, the Knights capped the season with wins over Winthrop and Winslow but missed the playoffs by a whisker due to a sluggish start. Poland (1-5) is back in that same state of limbo again this fall, having dropped four games to the cluster of teams that is 5-1 and sitting atop the Western Class C standings.

“When we take things away from other teams, they make plays,” Poland coach Ted Tibbetts. “We’re still working on not making those turnovers in crucial situations. You’re probably getting tired of (hearing) that.”

Poland was a two-point conversion away in its season opener from knocking off Winslow, which has emerged as perhaps the hottest team in the league in October.

The Knights also stayed within a touchdown of Dirigo (22-14) and a field goal of Old Orchard Beach (21-18) before their offense sputtered in Saturday’s 28-7 loss at Oak Hill. Poland kept Oak Hill’s potent running game in check, but three interceptions and a lost fumble cost the Knights a chance to spring the upset.

“As a coach I’m being kind of hard on myself, asking myself what I can do to help these guys get past it,” Tibbetts said.

Phoenix firing up

Defense has been a strength for Spruce Mountain since the beginning of the season. You might have expected that from first-year coach Walter Polky, who was a Division II defensive lineman not long ago.

Now the offense is catching up and so are the Phoenix, who have put together impressive wins over Gray-New Gloucester and Lake Region to move back into the Western B playoff race at 3-3.

“It’s going pretty good. We just need to be more consistent on offense,” Polky said.

Against Lake Region, quarterback Peter Theriault completed touchdown passes to three different receivers — fellow sophomores Deonte Ring and Matt Vigue and senior Austin Schmidt — and rushed for another score.

“A lot of that is the maturation of Peter. He’s making the right reads and making better decisions,” Polky said.

Spruce Mountain hosts Marshwood (5-1) on Friday. If they don’t knock off the Hawks, the Phoenix could face a virtual playoff game at Fryeburg (3-3) in the final game of the regular season.

“Fryeburg is a scary team,” Polky said. “I think they’re the same team as us.”

Rough go for the Ramblers

Winthrop hasn’t missed the Western Class C playoffs in back-to-back seasons in nearly a decade, but that fate now seems likely as the season winds down.

Injuries and a porous run defense continues to haunt the Ramblers in a 47-18 loss to Boothbay. Only two teams in Western C have scored fewer points than Winthrop (2-4), and only one has allowed more.

“We just can’t stop anybody,” Winthrop coach Joel Stoneton said. “I’m at a loss.”

The good news and bad news are one and the same. Winthrop concludes the season with tough opponents in Freeport and Old Orchard Beach, so there’s still a slim chance that the Ramblers could sneak into the postseason if they win both.

“I’m not sure we’d make it even if we win out.” Stoneton said. “I don’t know if the (Crabtree) points are there.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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