Keegan Reny, right, Brock Poulin and Ian Garcia have played big roles and helped the Leavitt football team overcome key injuries and return to the Class C South final. The third-seeded Hornets face top-seeded Fryeburg on Friday. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

TURNER — Preparation has been key for the Leavitt football team this season.

The Hornets, coming off back-to-back Class C state championships, have dealt with injuries to several important players, including running back Randan Hutchinson and receivers Landon Daigle and Mason Henderson.

“It’s a good reminder that planning is the thing that you need to spend a lot of time on, because you’ve got to be ready for different scenarios, different situations, different guys being in and out, prep up different guys on the depth chart,” Leavitt Coach Mike Hathaway said. “We have been spending a lot of time doing that.”

Quarterback Brock Poulin, running back Keegan Reny and slot receiver Ian Garcia are among the players who have stepped up to help the third-seeded Hornets overcome those injuries and reach their sixth consecutive Class C South final. Leavitt faces top-seeded Fryeburg Academy (7-2) at 7 p.m. Friday.

All of the injuries meant Poulin, already a first-year starter at QB, needed to develop chemistry with even more of his teammates.

“It’s hard, but we battled through it. A lot of injuries and a lot of sicknesses, but getting to know everybody’s strengths and weaknesses,” said Poulin, a senior. “Overall, understand everybody better. ”

Reny played tight end in 2023 because that’s where the team needed him. He excelled and made big plays during the Hornets’ state title run. He moved back to running back for his senior season.

“I thought moving to different positions, I’ve got to step up for the team, do what the team needs,” Reny said. “It’s more about all the boys and the family than myself.”

Leavitt’s Keegan Reny looks for running room during a preseason scrimmage against Thornton Academy on Aug. 30 in Turner. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

He carried more of the load while Hutchinson missed time because of injuries. Hathaway has also experimented with Reny at quarterback in certain packages.

“I think as the year’s gone on, we’ve kind of expanded his role to play a little bit more quarterback than we thought because he’s been so good back there,” Hathaway said. “And it’s just a different way to get him the ball. And now that we have Hutch back healthy, it certainly gives us more freedom to do that because we’ve got more depth at the tailback spot.”

Losing Henderson early in the regular-season matchup with Fryeburg (a 34-12 loss on Oct. 4) forced the Hornets to change their offense from 11 personnel to 12 personnel – meaning they line up with two tight ends instead of one.

Garcia, a junior, took over Henderson’s slot receiver position and eventually became another playmaker. Like Reny, Garcia was voted all-Campbell Conference.

“It took Ian a little while to kind of settle into that position and to know what he was doing, but he’s really come around,” Hathaway said. “He’s the first-team all-conference guy for us, a playmaker both in the run game and in the pass game. And he’s had a great year. We’re happy we get him back for another one.”

Leavitt’s Ian Garcia follows his blockers as he looks for room to run during a game earlier in the season against Cony in Turner. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Poulin said the offense has gotten to the point where he just needs to figure out which player is in the zone and find ways to get them the ball.

“The guys that get the ball, we are just trying to run hard, do whatever we possibly can to win the game,” Poulin said. “The hot hand is working. We keep going to them, keep feeding the ball, and get it done.”

Poulin did his job leading the Hornets back to the playoffs and commanding the offense.

“Brock had a great year for us,” Hathaway said. “He’s thrown the ball well for us. He’s run our offense really well. You know, he’s got a real good command of what’s going on out there. So, you know, we’ve been happy with what he’s done. He’s also, you know, he’s made the most of some opportunities. So, you know, he’s had a couple of chances in the two-minute drill. He’s been really good for us. We’ve had a few drives where we had to throw, and he’s done a nice job of moving the chains there.

“So, you know, overall, we’re pretty pleased with what he’s done. I told him last game, I go, ‘Your regular-season record (doesn’t) matter. It’s playoff wins that they’re going to rank you on.’ So, he’s 1-0 in the playoffs, so we’ll take it.”

Many other players have stepped up, including Dane Cabral, Brody Poland and Asa Hodgkin. Another player, senior Josh Blais, entered the season as a tight end but has been used in many ways.

“So Josh Blais has played some tailback and some H-back, which really wasn’t the plan for him going into the year,” Hathaway said. “But he’s been good for us there. And, you know, we’ve just had to move some pieces around and each week kind of game plan with what we have. So, you know, it certainly tested us as coaches as well.”

Leavitt quarterback Brock Poulin throws a pass during a preseason scrimmage against Thornton Academy on Aug. 30 in Turner. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Garcia said the team wanted to keep the season going as long as possible for Henderson, Daigle and Hutchinson to have the opportunity to get on the field again.

“They are always in the back of our minds when we play,” Garcia said. “We play for them, every play, every down, we keep fighting for them, the people who want to play but can’t. So we keep coming out here and playing.”

Hutchinson and Daigle recently returned and played big roles in last week’s 27-20 semifinal victory over Cape Elizabeth. Hutchinson scored on a 25-yard run. Daigle intercepted two passes and returned one for a fourth-quarter touchdown that increased Leavitt’s lead from one point to seven. He also caught a touchdown pass.

Hathaway said Tuesday that he didn’t know whether or not Henderson would be able to play in Friday’s regional final.