LIVERMORE FALLS – Karlton Jones and his teammates weren’t pleased with their performance Friday night, but they got the necessary result on the scoreboard.
After a dreadful start to the season, the Andies earned a third consecutive victory to climb back to the .500 mark and keep their playoff hopes alive with a 35-18 decision over Dirigo at Griffin Field.
While the Andies’ offense racked up 373 yards on the ground and put up five touchdowns, there was no sense of satisfaction from the sideline.
“We did not play well at all,” said Jones, who rushed for 148 yards and a touchdown. “We’ll just have to go home and rest up for next week. Every game is a playoff game now. We have to win every game.”
Livermore Falls coach Brad Bishop called all three of his first-half timeouts in the first quarter trying to ignite his team.
“There was no spark,” he said. “We were missing blocks. Just because we’re playing an 0-5 team doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy or you don’t have to be on top of your game.”
The Andies (0-3) would eventually get their running game in gear as Ryan Webster rushed for 185 yards and three scores. Jones had a quiet first half, but he exploded for long runs on his first three touches in the third quarter.
With Livermore Falls up 21-12, Jones ripped through the Dirigo defense for gains of 28 and 23 yards before bursting up the middle for a 67-yard touchdown to put his team up 28-12.
“It was a good hole,” said Jones. “I saw an opening and ran through it.”
Webster’s 1-yard score early in the fourth quarter put the game away, but the win didn’t come easy.
The Cougars (0-6) gave the Andies fits defensively with their razzle-dazzle offense. They threw eight halfback or end-around passes and put up 178 yards through the air and another 112 on the ground.
Trailing 7-0 on their opening drive of the game, the Cougars utilized an end-around pass from Dakota Holmquist to Levi Hutchins (three catches for 114 yards) for a 39-yard gain to the Andies 7.
Moments later, quarterback Spencer Berry rolled right and cut up the middle for a 3-yard touchdown. The score was the first of the season for the Cougars and lifted a load off the shoulders of coach Hart Daley.
“It’s been an uphill battle,” Daley said of his team’s offensive struggles. “(Scoring) was our goal tonight. We wanted to move the ball like we did last week against Winthrop and punch one in.”
In the second quarter, the Cougars closed to 14-12 when Berry (6 of 9 passing for 103 yards and two touchdowns) waggled to the left and threw a pass over the middle to Hutchins. As the receiver turned away from the middle of the field, three Andies defensive backs collided and went down in a three-person pileup at the 30, allowing Hutchins to score easily for a 46-yard catch and run.
Livermore Falls quarterback Mike Nichols only had to put the ball in the air three times and completed one pass, but the completion was a big one.
The 14-yard scoring pass to tight end Tom Gagnon came on fourth down and gave the home team its 21-12 advantage at the break.
“I’m proud of our kids,” said Bishop. “They’re a great bunch of kids. We’ve dug ourselves out of an 0-3 hole.”
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