WELLS — When Wells met Spruce Mountain each of the past two years, it was as close to a bye week as it could get for the Warriors, who won both games by a combined score of 98-6.

When the teams met earlier this season on Sept. 13, it looked to be more of the same as Wells controlled the first two quarters and opened up a 12-0 halftime lead.

But true to their nickname, the Phoenix rose from the ashes with a big defensive stand followed by two long touchdowns and a safety to take a 15-12 lead early in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors came back to win in dramatic fashion when Jake Moody caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Nate Booth with 1:05 to play for a 20-15 victory, but Wells coach Tim Roche knew this Spruce team, which was created when Jay and Livermore Falls High Schools consolidated three years ago, was of a different caliber.

“Any time you combine schools, I think the kids had a tough time at first, feeling each other out and wanting to play together,” Roche said. “But you get a group of kids that gets pounded for a couple of years, that’s going to make them better in the long run.

“I think that’s what you’re seeing right now, they’re building a program that’s pretty good.”

Spruce went on to show it was no one-game fluke, going 6-2 in the regular season to earn the No. 3 seed and walloping Freeport 42-13 in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs last week.

That sets up a mouth-watering rematch with the second-seeded Warriors (6-2) in a Western Class C semifinal tonight at 7 p.m. at Warrior Memorial Field, a game that on paper projects to be one of the best matchups in the state this weekend.

“It’s going to be a really good football game,” Roche said. “No. 2 versus No. 3 usually is.”

While it’s likely to be just as competitive a game this time around, both teams will hope it will be played under much different circumstances.

The Sept. 13 game, scheduled for an early 5:15 p.m. start due to the EEE threat, had to be delayed for 20 minutes when heavy rain, that eventually short-circuited the scoreboard, hit. That monsoon, and the mud bowl that was Warrior Memorial Field in its aftermath, led to a sloppy, attritional contest as the teams combined for 17 fumbles, six resulting in turnovers.

Usually, that kind of three yards and a cloud of dust ”“ or mud ”“ game would be right up the Warriors’ ally, Roche said. But with speedy backs like Moody and Chris Carney and the strong throwing arm of Booth, the Wells coach is hoping for a much more dry track tonight.

“Most years, I would tell you that Wells football is meant to be muddy. We’re the mudders, we like that,” Roche said. “I do think we can still do that, but we’ve also built ourselves so much on team speed that can get nullified on a wetter surface.

“It’s supposed to be dry, and I’d like to see it be nice so both teams have equal footing, there’s no excuses and we can both just get after it.”

Spruce and its triple-option offense probably won’t mind better conditions either. Wells did a good job of bottling up that attack for most of the first game, but was hurt by two big plays in the third quarter ”“ a 51-yard Matt Vigue punt return TD when the Warriors had just 10 players on the field, and a 75-yard run on the option from quarterback Peter Theriault as he faked the toss and bolted downfield himself.

“Any time you play a triple-option team, you have to stay disciplined,” Roche said. “That’s what option football’s all about ”“ they keep running the same play at you, you think you’ve got them stuffed, and then bang, they hit one.”

In addition to Theriault and Vigue, a dynamic playmaker in all three phases of the game, Spruce also features running back Andrew Darling, who rushed 15 times for 122 yards and a touchdown in the win over Freeport, and fullback Alwayne Uter, who added 75 yards and a TD against the Falcons.

They’ll be met by a stingy Wells defense that’s had two weeks to rest and prepare after receiving a bye past the quarterfinals.

And with a trip to the regional final against the winner of Friday night’s other semifinal between Cape Elizabeth (6-3) and Leavitt (8-0) on the line, Roche said he doesn’t expect much rust despite that 14-day layoff.

“The kids want to play somebody,” Roche said. “They’re sick of practice, and they want to play a game, and I’m in the same boat as they are.

“I feel like we’re ready. The hay’s in the barn, let’s just get it going.”

Westbrook at Kennebunk, 7 p.m. Friday

In averaging just under 40 points a game, the Kennebunk offense hasn’t had much trouble putting up points in its first nine games this fall.

One of the few exceptions, however, came against a defense the Rams will confront again in a Western Class B semifinal tonight at Veterans Memorial Field.

Westbrook (7-2) frustrated the usually dynamic Kennebunk (9-0) attack for a half when the teams met on Oct. 19, forcing three turnovers and taking an 8-6 lead into halftime, the only time the Rams have trailed at the break all season ”“ and one of the few times they’ve been behind at all.

The Rams offense did clean up the miscues and regain its footing in the second half as quarterback Nick Emmons found favorite target Larson Coppinger for a pair of touchdown passes in a 22-8 victory, but it was a stark reminder that one poor game, or even one poor half, can be a potential season-ender.

“We didn’t play well, turning the ball over too many times that game,” said running back Nicco DeLorenzo, who led the Rams with 171 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. “They’re a good team, and they can definitely hurt us; we had to play solid defense and take care of the ball.”

Playing solid defense hasn’t been a problem.

While the offense garners the headlines, perhaps the chief reason behind Kennebunk’s success this season has been a suffocating defense that has so far allowed just 95 points, the lowest total in all of Class B.

It’s an effort that has been defined by the typical unsung heroes ”“ the big guys up front, as two-way starters Richie Platt, Jake Boothby, Ben Bath, Shane Normandeau and Austin Cressey have dominated at the line of scrimmage.

“I believe that we’ve controlled the defensive front in my games and played error-free on the defensive front,” Kennebunk coach Joe Rafferty said. “We’ve gotten pressure on the quarterbacks, we’ve had a couple of scores from fumbles that were caused. That pressure has been a big reason for why we’ve had 12 picks on defense in the last four games.”

And it’s not as if the Rams have been putting up the strong defensive numbers against only the cream puffs of the division either: Kennebunk has held each of the other top seeds in the West ”“ York, Marshwood and Greely ”“ as well as East No. 1 seed Brunswick, to their respective lowest points totals of season.

The Rams also held Westbrook to just 214 yards of offense the first time the teams met, 85 of which came on a Maurice Johnson TD run on the Blue Blazes’ signature play ”“ a double handoff counter, one of several misdirection plays the Blazes run with precision with Johnson and fellow backs Collin Joyce and Kyle Heath.

“They run that wing back against the grain, and it’s hard to see,” Rafferty said. “It is hard to simulate, but I think it’s like them trying to practice against our option.

“They’ve got some good, quality running backs, three or four coming in and doing a good job, and you’ve just got to be responsible for every potential ball carrier.”

The winner of Friday night’s game will move on to play the winner of Saturday afternoon’s clash between rivals Marshwood (7-2) and York (7-2) in next weekend’s regional final.

The loser, as Rafferty concisely put it, will not.

“The reality is, you’ve got no other choice, if you don’t get it done, you’re going home,” he said. “Having that knowledge that (Westbrook’s) capable, I think that’s a positive thing from our perspective.

“I’m pretty confident that if both teams play a good game, we have the ability to come out on top.”

— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323.