The local regional football finals feature rematches of a pair of intense regular season meetings between Spruce Mountain and Leavitt in Class C West and Dirigo and Oak Hill in Class D West.

If last weekend’s action is any indication, football fans looking for even more intense and exciting sequels are in for a treat.

No. 3 Spruce Mountain (8-2) and No. 1 Leavitt (9-0) will converge at Libby Field at 7 p.m. Friday night for the Western C crown. No. 4 Dirigo (7-3) and No. 2 Oak Hill (8-2) will vie for a spot in the first Class D title game in 27 years at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in Wales.

The Class C contest pits two teams only separated by 15 miles and three weeks from their last meeting. Leavitt won that highly-anticipated showdown on Oct. 25 at Griffin Field, 25-6.

It was a typically dominant performance for the Hornets’ defense, which has surrendered just 41 points all year and is coming off another impressive effort in a 21-9 semifinal win over Cape Elizabeth.

This is the first Campbell Conference final appearance in 15 years for the Hornets, but the fourth regional final berth for the former Pine Tree Conference power in five years. The Hornets reached the Class B state championship game 2009-11, winning the title in 2009.

It is the first regional championship game for Spruce Mountain since Jay and Livermore Falls merged schools three years ago. Jay won its last Campbell Conference Class C title, beating Livermore Falls in 2004. Livermore Falls won its last regional title in 1992.

Last week, the Phoenix went on the road to upset second-seeded Wells, 29-20, in the semifinals. They dominated the first half behind a swarming defense, the power running of Alwayne Uter, the gear-shifting open-field dashes of Matt Vigue and the lethal passing combination of Peter Theriault and Deonte Ring before holding off a furious Wells rally in the second half.

Leavitt held Vigue and Theriault in check in the first matchup in Livermore Falls, allowing only a 30-yard touchdown connection between the juniors in the early stages. The Hornets, meanwhile, got their own running game buzzing behind Nate Rousseau (158 yards), Billy Bedard (109) and Nate Coombs (90) en route 411 total yards on the ground. Tailback Conor O’Malley, who rushed for 153 yards last week against Cape Elizabeth, sat out that game with a knee injury.

Yardage and points were tough to come by when Oak Hill and Dirigo clashed in Dixfield on Sept. 13. A two-point conversion by the Raiders’ Kyle Flaherty in the second quarter proved to be the difference in an 8-6 nail-biter.

Flaherty rushed for 97 yards in that game, and Parker Asselin threw for 90 yards, including a short touchdown pass to Luke Washburn. Dirigo rallied to find the end zone on a Riley Robinson QB sneak, but the Raiders thwarted the Cougars’ two-point conversion try with 23 seconds left, then held firm again after Dirigo recovered the ensuing onside kick.

Oak Hill is coming off a dramatic 21-20 semifinal win over Lisbon. Asselin threw a pair of touchdown passes to Alex Mace, including the 37-yard game-winner with 1:29 left, and also rushed for 77 yards and a score. Mace led the rushing attack with 81 yards.

The Raiders have Dirigo to thank for their home field advantage after the Cougars pulled off an equally-dramatic 22-20 upset of top-seeded and previously unbeaten Winthrop/Monmouth. Dirigo employed a wildly successful three-headed wildcat of Brett Beauchesne (115 yards), Tyler Frost (105) and Heath Hersom (93) to chew up clock and 358 yards on the ground.

This is the second year in a row Dirigo is playing for a regional title. The third-seeded Cougars upset the second-seeded Raiders in Wales in last year’s Western C semifinals, 13-6, before bowing to Winslow in the final. They last won a regional final in 2009 and went on to win the state championship.

Oak Hill last won a championship game in 1984, two years before Maine reverted to a three-class system. The Raiders defeated Maranacook in Readfield for what was then known as the Downeast Conference Southern Division title before going on to lose to Dexter in the state championship game.

Copy the Story Link