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TURNER — Leavitt football coach Mike Hathaway chuckled when he was asked about his team’s go-ahead score.
Hermon coach Kyle Gallant shrugged his shoulders when he was asked about the uncalled fumble recovered by his defense on that same play.
Leavitt’s Nathan Karkos may not have had possession of the football when he crossed the goal line late in the third quarter to give the Hornets a 12-7 lead, but since there is no replay review in Maine high school football, the call on the field stood.
“The refs called what they called all night,” Hathaway said after the rainy 12-7 win. “So, you could pick a lot of plays like that, probably.”
The ball squirted out of the junior tight end’s left arm around the 2, and it was recovered in the end zone by Hermon junior Sam Hopkins. After a brief discussion with the line judge, the back judge ruled it a touchdown.
“Listen, I’m not that guy,” Gallant said. “We had plenty of other times in the world to stop them or go score ourselves. So, fumble or not, we’ve got to stop them the whole game, and we’ve got to score on them. So that’s neither here nor there.”
After the Hornets (6-2) took the lead with 3:15 left in the third quarter, Hermon (7-1) churned together three drives into Leavitt territory. Each ended with an interception.
Brody Poland, who capped the Hornets’ opening drive with a 6-yard touchdown run, sealed the victory with a pick on the Hawks’ final attempt from the 27-yard line as time expired.
“I was out of breath, but coming into the game, I was hyped,” Poland said. “I was more hyped than any other game. And our team played amazing, and we just did good overall. … Especially in the rain, with the conditions.”
Entering their Class C regular-season finale, Hermon and Leavitt occupied second and fourth place, respectively, in the Crabtree standings. The two squads switched spots after Friday’s result, but both will host at least one playoff game following a first-round bye.
Hermon went into the game averaging 258 rushing yards per game but struggled to get anything going against Leavitt’s defense. The Hawks accumulated 17 yards on their first four drives before Ethan Curtis (8 of 16 passing, 132 yards, two INTs) found Owen Lang for a 76-yard score and a 7-6 lead with 38.2 seconds left in the first half.
“We’re a run-first football team, and when you can’t establish that early, it’s going to be a struggle. … Hats off to Leavitt for that up front,” Gallant said.
The Hornets lost starting running back Randan Hutchinson to an injury on the final play of the second quarter, so Karkos (11 carries, 74 yards) and Landen Reny became the committee backfield. Sophomore QB Landon Marquis (6 of 15 passing, 110 yards; 47 yards rushing) found senior Mason Henderson (4 catches, 88 yards) for a few large gains to open the third quarter before Karkos rumbled for a 21-yard scoring run.
Hopkins (14 carries, 55 yards) took the ensuing kick return into Leavitt territory, but the drive was marred by penalties, and the junior slotback threw an interception on a fourth-and-long trick play. The Hornets couldn’t get anything out of the turnover, though, as they left the red zone empty handed for the second time of the evening.
“We had some good play calls, and, you know, something happened where they just didn’t pan out,” Hathaway said. “I mean, that happens, but the defense was able to keep those guys off the scoreboard. Other than the long pass they hit down the sideline where we went for the pick and missed it, our defense played great all night and kept them out of the end zone. So that’s really what won us the game in the second half.”
