Mountain Valley defense stifles Winslow's offense

Sunday, November 21, 2004

By TRAVIS LAZARCZYK
Staff Writer

Staff photo by JIM EVANS
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Mountain Valley High School's Patrick Knapp (2) picks up a fumble and runs it in for a touchdown after Winslow High School quarterback Stephen Siviski was hit from behind by Mountain Valley's Chris Lever on Saturday during the Class B state championship in Portland. Winslow lost 21-7. At right is Mountain Valley tackle Thad Bennett.

PORTLAND -- Mountain Valley High School head football coach Jim Aylward may want to look into opening a kissing booth in downtown Rumford to handle all the affection he'll surely receive from overjoyed Falcon fans in the coming days. Thanks to a hard-hitting defense and an opportunistic offense, Aylward's Falcons became the first team in school history to win a state title, beating Winslow High School 21-7 to take the Class B crown Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

"I'm done," the coach said while speaking to reporters. "I've got to go hug people and stuff."

Mountain Valley dropped the season opener at York, but went on to run the table and finish with an 11-1 record. Winslow, which improved tremendously throughout the season, e163 yards of total offense and forced five Winslow turnovers. The first two were the most costly turnovers of Winslow's season. After Jared Maroon fumbled the opening kickoff, the Falcons took over on the Winslow 31. Eight plays later, Aaron Arsenault scored on a 2-yard run to give Mountain Valley a 7-0 lead.

Winslow took the next possession to the Mountain Valley 34, but quarterback Stephen Siviski fumbled as he was hit by Chris Lever.

Patrick Knapp picked up the ball and went 42 yards for the touchdown and a 13-0 lead with 3:47 to play in the first quarter.

"We always come out strong," Arsenault said. "We knew Brewer (Winslow's opponent in the Eastern Maine championship) lost because they lost the ball. We had to hang on to it. (Winslow defenders) were swatting in at it the whole game."

"We had more turnovers in this game than we probably had in the last five," Winslow head coach Mike Siviski said. "That first quarter, that was it. We just couldn't overcome that. We never had any momentum."

Winslow spent the second quarter trying to control the damage. The Raiders stiffened up on defense, stopping the Falcons on three trips into Winslow territory. After Mountain Valley had first-and-goal at the 8-yard line, the Black Raiders knocked the Falcons back to the 16 before Tom Jacques intercepted a Zach Fergola pass in the end zone.

The Black Raiders struck quickly for their only touchdown, moving 61 yards in three plays early in the fourth quarter. Maroon went 24 yards for a touchdown with 10:16 to play, cutting left to right across the field to elude tacklers. Ben Poulin's extra point made it 13-7.

Winslow looked to be gaining momentum, forcing the Falcons to go three-and-out. Backup punter Lever, punting for the injured Travis Fergola, got his kick off just ahead of the rush and managed to boot a 49 yarder, pinning the Black Raiders at their own 7 with eight and a half minutes to play.

"At that point, momentum went, wham! Right back in our favor," Aylward said.

Winslow's drive stalled out after just 20 yards, and after taking over at their own 42, the Falcons iced the game with an eight play, 58-yard drive, culminating with an Arsenault 12-yard touchdown run with 2:39 left in the game.

Arsenault ran for a game-high 141 yards on 27 carries. Generously listed on the Mountain Valley roster at 5-foot-5, Arsenault's elusiveness reminded Winslow of former Belfast Area High School star back Jeff Parenteau.

"(Arsenault) is only 150 pounds, but 145 of those are heart," Aylward said.

Sophomore Justin Lindie led Winslow with 98 yards on 21 carries, while sophomore quarterback Stephen Siviski completed 6-of-9 passes for 36 yards.

"We have a lot of young kids. We're small and athletic," Coach Siviski said. "Today we went up against a big and athletic team."

Travis Lazarczyk Ð 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com