LISBON — The same adjectives that traditionally describe the Lisbon football team fit them like shoulder pads this season: Explosive, tough, gritty, prepared.

Big and physical? Not usually, and not this year. So Maranacook’s tactic of running between the tackles and trying to control the clock Saturday was the best-odds approach.

“This is probably the most physical game we’ve had,” said defensive lineman and tight end Jacob Johnson, the largest Greyhound by far at 6-foot-5 and 285 pounds. “It’s just going to get tougher and tougher to the end of the season.”

The Black Bears were a nice dress rehearsal for the Greyhounds, who overcame a few frustrations to pick up their fifth straight Western Class D victory, 24-6, at Thompson Field.

Quincy Thompson rushed for 138 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a 58-yard scoring jaunt on the second play of the second half. Kyle Bourget also connected with freshman Tyler Halls for an 18-yard score.

Lisbon (5-1) finishes with Dirigo and Oak Hill, a one-two punch that likely will determine whether the Greyhounds slide into the playoff bracket as the second, third or fourth seed.

“This is the start,” Thompson said. “We’re trying to get home-field advantage, and these next two games are going to determine how many home games we can get.”

The tune-up wasn’t easy for Lisbon, which saw Maranacook (3-3) hold the ball for six minutes to start the game before Thompson tackled tight end Zach Bessette on fourth down just shy of the stick at the 23.

“I think if they watched the film from Boothbay, they know what we’re like up the middle,” Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan said. “We’re not a big, strong team. They went toe-to-toe. I thought if they were smart they would do that, and they did. We just don’t have that size and strength inside.”

Thompson’s 30-yard catch on third-and-21 fueled Lisbon’s ensuing long drive. He added an 18-yard run before barreling in from a yard out with 1:39 remaining in the quarter. Jordon Torres rushed for the two points.

Lisbon took advantage of a Maranacook miscue on the ensuing kickoff to pin the Black Bears and force a short punt before scoring again.

Halls juked his man in single coverage and caught Bourget’s spiral in stride. Thompson provided the PAT rush for a 16-0 advantage.

Chris Robinson and Jake Gibson promptly ripped off runs of 13 and 11 yards to ignite Maranacook’s next march. Immediately after an encroachment penalty on fourth-and-3 gave the Black Bears a first down, Robinson raced 19 yards through a cavern off left tackle to the end zone. Lisbon shut down Kyle Morand’s quarterback sneak on the two-point try to keep it a two-possession game at the half.

“They started off really strong. I didn’t expect it,” Johnson said. “They actually really surprised me by what they did. I thought they were going to try to get to the outside.”

The Greyhounds shut down a drive inside their own 10 in the final minute of the half by forcing three straight incompletions.

Lisbon adjusted at the break by moving around its defensive tackles. The Greyhounds also altered their snap count, which had caused a couple of early false start penalties when Bourget and his center couldn’t hear each other over the chattering Maranacook defense.

Thompson quickly let the air out of Maranacook’s tires with his long run to paydirt. He broke a tackle at the line and averted two more Black Bears with subtle stutter steps on his way up the middle.

“After the yelling and hollering when they stopped us, we came out fired up. It definitely motivated us,” Thompson said.

Maranacook drove no deeper than the Lisbon 37 in the second half. Johnson, Austin Proctor and Andrew Golino each notched second-half sacks of Morand.

Robinson logged 15 carries for 97 yards to lead the Black Bears.

“There’s not an easy game left for us. It’s going to be a fun ending,” Mynahan said. “We have a chance to win every game and a chance to be beaten in every game. We know that, and we’ll just continue to work hard.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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