BIDDEFORD — The teams blew up the Lobster Bowl scoring record Saturday, and Andre Miller of Old Town was the master detonator.
The sturdy 6-foot-3 wide receiver with speed and sure hands caught a record-setting four touchdowns – all from his Old Town teammate, Jake Jarvis – in a wild shootout to lead the East to a 58-52 victory in the 27th Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic at Waterhouse Field.
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Miller has been linked to the University of Maine but said after the game he’s undecided where he’ll play college football. He showed his skills with seven catches for 194 receiving yards and was named the East team’s MVP.
“Coming from Class C, a lot of players kind of underestimate me a little bit so I just wanted to show everyone what I had. Yeah, I feel like I did it,” Miller said.
He turned a jet screen into a scintillating 62-yard touchdown when he outran most of the defense, then hurdled a final tackle attempt to put the East ahead 44-30 with 4.4 seconds left before halftime.
The play came right after the West, which at one point trailed 30-8, scored with 21.5 seconds left in the half to get within six points.
In a game with limited outstanding defensive plays, the West got two big ones in the second half – an interception near the goal line and a 45-yard return by Jack Snyder of Yarmouth to end the East’s first possession; and a key tackle for a loss by Elijah Ayotte of Thornton Academy early in the fourth quarter.
Ayotte’s play set up the West to make it 52-52 on a 1-yard rush and subsequent two-point conversion run by its MVP, Zach Doyon of Marshwood, with 9:10 left.
Doyon rushed for 84 yards with two TDs, caught six passes, including a 3-yard score, and also completed a 36-yard pass to Corey Hart in his one play as the quarterback.
“We started out rough in the first half but we pulled it together,” Doyon said. “We knew we could come out and play well, and it was just a great football game. When they had 30 in the first half I said, ‘Oh my goodness, this is going to be a high-scoring affair.’ ”
On the next possession, Miller struck again, streaking across the middle to snare a well-thrown post pass by Jarvis.
“There was no safety in the middle of the field and you have a post called, there’s no question where you’re going with that one, especially with a great player like Andre on the outside,” Jarvis said.
“I was just looking to capitalize every time I got the ball because I knew I wouldn’t get the ball that much because we just had a great group of guys on this side of the ball,” Miller said. “I mean, we have a lot of playmakers so I was just looking to make every opportunity worth it.”
The East was able to come up with a rare stop when it sniffed out a fake punt and tackled Doyon for a 1-yard loss.
The East then turned to its power running game – which was also potent – to grind the clock down before giving the ball up at the West 5 with 21.5 seconds to play.
Fittingly, the West was able to get off four plays – the last included multiple laterals before Nate Pratt-Holt of Mt. Blue got his hands on the ball for the East to end the game.
The 110 combined points easily broke the previous record of 75 set in the East’s 40-35 win in 2010.
Only once before had a team scored 50 or more points (East’s 55-8 win in 2003).
Miller’s four touchdown catches also included grabs of 3 and 39 yards.
Also scoring for the East were Fitzpatrick Trophy winner Joe Esposito of Portland on runs of 7 and 1 yard in the first half, Will Bessey of Brunswick on a 7-yard run, and Johnson on a sweet 16-yard cutback run.
The East, which hurt itself early by fumbling two kick returns, got strong games from its two quarterbacks. Dalton Therrien of Oak Hill rushed for two scores, and he and Levi Craig of Leavitt combined to complete 15 passes for 231 yards, with Craig throwing touchdowns to Doyon and Hart.
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