SKOWHEGAN -- By 1989, Skowhegan's status as a football town was fading. The Indians hadn't been to the playoffs since winning the Pine Tree Conference championship in 1978, and winning seasons were becoming rare.

"In the mid to late '80s, things were pretty dire in terms of winning," said Doug McEwen, a junior running back on the 1989 team. "We were all looking forward to making an impression and changing things."

In 1988, the Indians reversed the trend with a 5-4 record. In 1989, they were once again on top of the PTC. When the Indians take the field Saturday night at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland, they will be the first Skowhegan football team to play in a state final since 1989.

"We had some tough kids, but this team has some tough and gritty kids, too," said Chris Jarvais, who quarterbacked the 1989 club. "We had expectations for the first time in a long time."

Like this season, the 1989 team began preseason workouts confident it was prepared to succeed.

"The thing that stands out most is a lot of offseason work by the team," said Steve Cates, a senior wide receiver in 1989. "The coach at the time, Paul Lynch, really made sure we worked hard."

Added Mark Shields, a junior defensive end in 1989: "We knew we had a pretty good team coming back. We thought we could compete with any team in the league."

The Indians opened the season with a close win at Cony and followed that with wins against Bangor, Brunswick and Morse. A loss at Mt. Blue was the only blemish on Skowhegan's regular season record.

"I just remember there being a big commitment overall," said McEwen, who went on to be a finalist for the Fitzpatrick Trophy the following season. "We came out, and a lot of times we scored quite quickly."

Unlike this season's Indians, who rely almost exclusively on the run, the 1989 team was fairly balanced. McEwen led the team with 1,165 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns. Jarvais threw for 1,043 yards and 10 touchdowns. Cates, his favorite target, had 30 catches for 500 yards and six touchdowns.

Shields, now the head football coach at Mount Desert Island High School, caught 19 passes for 191 yards.

"I remember we were a real athletic group. I remember Steve Cates being one of the best players in the state," Shields said. "He just made so many big plays for us that year."

Cates went on to play wide receiver at the University of Maine, where he led the Black Bears in receiving yards in 1994, with 347 yards on 25 catches.

Jarvais called a win at Lawrence, a team the Indians hadn't defeated in more than a decade, the pivotal win of the regular season.

"We beat Lawrence in a really close ball game. That was our first time beating Lawrence in 12 years," Jarvais said.

Skowhegan beat Oxford Hills in the conference semifinals 22-6. That set up a rematch with Cony at Bowdoin College. Down 13-6 in the first quarter, the Indians rallied for a 28-20 win.

"(Cony) ran the wishbone and did a good job with it," Jarvais said.

In the state championship game, the Indians ran into a Marshwood juggernaut. The Hawks had won Class C state titles in 1985 and '86, and a B crown in '88. In '89, Marshwood, led by eventual Fitzpatrick Trophy winner Steve Knight, was eager to prove it belonged in Class A.

"They were just huge," Jarvais said. "We had a big team for the PTC, and they outweighed us by 10-15 pounds each."

Added Shields: "That's still the biggest high school football team I've ever seen."

Behind Knight, who ran for 214 yards and four touchdowns, Marshwood took a 26-14 win.

"I think we proved we belonged there," McEwen said.

McEwen left Skowhegan with the career scoring record (230 points). Billy Clark, who has run for 2,124 yards and 28 touchdowns this season, broke McEwen's mark this season and currently has 328 points.

McEwen said he's happy for Skowhegan's latest halfback.

"Any time kids are setting records, it means to team is successful," said McEwen, now the assistant principal at Skowhegan Middle School. "To see a kid have success and still focus on the team like (Clark) does, that's great to see."

McEwen and Jarvais plan on attending Saturday night's game. Cates, who lives in southern New Hampshire, said he'll try to make it to the game. Shields, whose MDI team fell 10-7 in the Eastern B final to Morse last Saturday, won't be able to make it to Portland.

Jarvais sometimes fills in on the Skowhegan chain gang and hasn't missed a regular season or playoff game this season. The biggest thing he sees in common with this year's team and the 1989 squad is its disposition.

"I'm proud of the character guys I played with. You could trust the guy next to you," Jarvais said. "This team is the same way. Every team Mike Marston has coached in Skowhegan has been that way."

Travis Lazarczyk -- 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com