A lot has happened since the last time Hampden Academy and Leavitt last met on a football field. Everything, it seems, but losing.

Top-seeded Leavitt (9-0) hasn’t lost all season. In fact, since the second half of their 29-22 comeback win in overtime over the Broncos on Opening Night, the Hornets have outscored their opponents, 448-52.

No. 4 Hampden (7-2) has lost just once, to Morse, and has otherwise been dispatching opponents in similarly lopsided fashion.

Given the dominance both teams have shown and the white-knuckle intensity of their Week 1 prequel, the buzz  about a possible rematch has been building for some time. Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway acknowledged that Friday night’s Pine Tree Conference semifinal in Turner is one of the most anticipated rematches of the season, but warns against reading too much into the first meeting.

“That game was a while ago,” Hathaway said. “We’ve gone back and looked at some things that happened in the game and found some places where we need to be better. But both teams are different teams.”

No doubt the Broncos have gone back and identified what they need to improve upon from that game. The first area they have probably addressed is finishing the game better than they did back on Sept. 4. Hampden built a 15-7 halftime lead and extended the cushion to 22-7 before the Hornets came storming back with 22 unanswered points.

On the legs of tailback Josh Strickland, who rushed for 137 yards in the second half, the Hornets pulled to within two early in the fourth quarter. The Broncos maintained the lead until two minutes remained, when QB Jonathan Haws tried to roll out left in the end zone and was tackled by Lucas Witham for the tying safety. Leavitt won the game in OT on a 10-yard run by QB Eric Theiss, his third of the game.

Strickland, who had three touchdowns in last week’s quarterfinal thumping of Belfast, and Theiss, a dangerous run and pass threat, will be the focal points for the Broncos’ defense. But they aren’t the only play-makers in Leavitt’s spread offense. The versatile Jon Letourneau and Jordan Hersom also got into the act last week as the Hornets rolled up 55 points in the first half. Ryan Labbe, Buck Bochtler and Witham add to the offensive fireworks in the passing game.

The Broncos aren’t lacking for firepower, either. Haws, who played youth and middle school football in Turner before moving to Hampden before his freshman year, is the PTC’s leading passer with over 1,100 yards and 13 TDs. It was the running game, however, that dominated last week’s 35-7 win over No. 5 Waterville. Fullback Michael Jenkins ran for 70 yards and four touchdowns to lead a balanced rushing attack that included Haws (85 yards), Ryan Blake (76) and Nolan Turner (61).

The Broncos may try to continue controlling the ball on the ground to burn clock and keep Leavitt’s offense off the field. Like the Hornets, Hampden will spread the field and run the ball in the gaps. That poses a big challenge for Leavitt’s defense. Led by a punishing line that includes Matt Pellerin, Mat Porter and Luke Wiley, the unit has shut out the last four opponents.  

Turner, who hooked up with Haws for a 54-yard touchdown in the first game with the Hornets, will garner much of Leavitt’s attention. He is a scoring threat in all aspects of the offense and special teams. He was at the other end of 11 of Haws’ TD passes, and is also one of the top kick returners in Class B.

“Turner is a big play guy,” Hathaway said. “They get the ball to him in a variety of ways. He’ll run the ball out of the backfield. He’ll catch the ball. He gets the ball a lot in the return game.”

Turner also gets his hands on the ball when he’s on defense.

“Turner and Haws are both kind of ball-hawks in their secondary,” Hathaway said. “So we have to be aware of where they are.”

Hampden’s defense will use multiple fronts, many of them with the purpose of freeing up Jenkins, the middle linebacker, to make a play. It will be up to Leavitt’s veteran offensive line to recognize those fronts and block accordingly.