The day is here. The time is now.

In a week that seemed like an eternity, the day has finally arrived for the Wells football team, who will seek to end the season with a perfect 12-0 record today as the Warriors take on the Leavitt Hornets for the Class B state championship at Fitzpatrick Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

The most popular battle of the game will be the high-powered offense of Leavitt going against the stout defense of Wells. The Hornets (11-0) have one of the most potent offenses in all of Maine high school football, scoring 490 points this season, an average of 45 points per game.

Meanwhile, the Warriors have allowed 72 points this season, an average of less than seven points per contest.

Quarterback Jordan Hersom has led the Hornets for 956 yards rushing yards this season. He has also passed for 1,630 yards and has scored 26 touchdowns ”“16 passing and 10 rushing. Also added into the mix are running backs Jake Ouellette, who has rushed for 1,297 yards and scored 25 touchdowns, and Ian Durgin, who has 1,305 total yards this season ”“ 652 rushing, 653 receiving.

The Hornets run a spread, zone-read option offense, and shift into multiple formations to confuse defenses.

“(Mike) Hathaway is the master of the spread offense,” Wells head coach Tim Roche said. “I guess between him and (Kevin) Cooper at Bonny Eagle, they’re masters of the spread. There are a lot of formations, but the plays seem to be the same. You don’t want to get caught up in the formations, because the play is going to be the same. But they’re a formation team.”

Wells runs a 4-4 defense, which middle linebacker Louis DiTomasso, who has made 100 or more tackles in each of the past two seasons, leads. The Warriors have excellent size on the defensive line, which 6-foot-4 defensive end Josh Ingalls leads. Wells also boasts a small but opportunistic secondary, led by cornerback Joey Spinelli, who has four interceptions this season.

“They’re obviously good football players and tough, physical kids,” Hersom said. “They like playing defense and have done a great job this year. We’ve got to make sure everyone does their job so we have the ability to move the ball and get first downs and try not to hit the big play every play. First downs lead to touchdowns.”

On the other side of the ball, DiTomasso said the defense collecting its fifth shutout of the season is the goal today against Leavitt.

“It would be quite a privilege to shut out one of the league’s best offenses, and that’s our goal,” DiTomasso said. “We’re going to take pride in that, just like we did in shutting out Mountain Valley.”

But it goes beyond that matchup alone. Leavitt has championship experience, as this will be the third consecutive year the Hornets will play for a Class B championship. The Hornets won the title in 2009 and lost 20-0 to Mountain Valley last year. The Warriors haven’t appeared in a state title game since 1997, when they won their only football championship in a 32-30 contest against Belfast. The two teams have that title opponent in common as Leavitt beat Belfast in 1995 for the school’s first title.

While experience is a factor, Leavitt head coach Mike Hathaway said it doesn’t mean much for long when kickoff arrives.

“It helps, but not as much as you might think,” Hathaway said. “It’s a football game, and Wells knows how to play football. I think you’re in a little bit of awe for the first couple of minutes, but after you get the first hit out of the way, everybody’s playing football. It helps with your nerves at the beginning of the day, but they have a lot of seniors and they’ll be ready to play.”

And both teams are just as talented on the other side of the ball. Running out of the Wing-T, the Warriors have scored 329 points this year, an average of 30 points per game. Much of that success can be attributed to DiTomasso, who has rushed for 1,196 yards this season with 169 carries, scoring 17 touchdowns. The Warriors have also had success with running backs Doug McLean, who has rushed for 667 yards and eight touchdowns, and Drew Shelley, who scored the lone touchdown for Wells last week in the regional final against Mountain Valley.

“DiTomasso is a good fullback,” Ouellette said. “Their line is physical. They know their schemes well, and the backs know where the holes are to make the right cuts. They run hard, they block well.”

Leavitt has had success as a defense, allowing 146 points this year, an average of 13 points per contest.

Whatever the case may be, the team with the lead when the clock hits zero later this evening will be deserving of the gold ball. The question now stands.

Who will it be?

— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535, Ext. 323 or follow on Twitter @Dave_Dyer.