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For the first time ever, Deering and Portland’s football teams will each take part in a regional final.
Last Friday, the Rams blanked Massabesic, 21-0, in the Class B South semifinals.
Across town, the Bulldogs eliminated Windham, 42-14, in the Class A North semifinals.
Both squads need just one win to reach the state finals and lest we forget, regardless of what happens the rest of the postseason, Deering and Portland will meet in one of the more highly-anticipated Turkey Day contests in many years two weeks hence.
Resurgence
In 2021, Deering didn’t win a single game. The following year, the Rams won one. In 2023, Brendan Scully came aboard as coach and the turnaround was immediate, as Deering went 4-4 before losing to Westbrook in the quarterfinals.
This fall, the Rams won seven of eight regular season games, losing only at Kennebunk, and as the No. 2 seed in Class B South, earned a bye into the semifinals.
Last Friday, No. 3 Massabesic paid a visit. Deering eked out a 21-14 win at the Mustangs during the regular season. Massabesic had won both prior playoff games, but this time around, it was all Rams.
Deering set the tone early, driving 74 yards in a dozen plays, chewing up nearly seven minutes and taking the lead for good, 7-0, on a 7-yard touchdown run from Dash Newhall. The Rams scored twice more in the second period, but they had to settle for a pair of field goals, from 23- and 35-yards, from quarterback Tavian Lauture, to go ahead, 13-0.
Throughout the game, Deering never gave the third-seeded Mustangs’ offense any life and after an interception from Corbin Burke, the Rams slammed the door with 7:49 remaining, as bulldozer running back Joey Foley (27 carries, 112 yards, one TD) scored on a 1-yard rush and Lauture added the two-point conversion, helping produce a 21-0 victory.
“I haven’t heard a story like this,” said Lauture, who wound up with 78 yards passing and 53 rushing. “Freshman year, we didn’t win a game and from then to now, making it to regionals, it feels great. People didn’t think we’d be here, but here we are.”
“It’s just hard work, dedication,” said linebacker Santino Cavallaro. “We never quit even in games when we were down 56-0. We knew we had a bright future.”
“It’s great and everything for me, but there are some really talented kids here and I just got them pointed in the right direction,” Scully added. “The guys deserve it. They’re very talented. I saw many of these guys who are playing now when they were sophomores and I saw there was something there then. It just took a little bit for them to grow up and it’s very special.”
Deering faces the imposing task of going to top-ranked, 9-0 Kennebunk in the Class B South Final Friday at 6 p.m.
Deering suffered its lone loss at Kennebunk, 41-0, Oct. 5.
Kennebunk won the lone prior playoff encounter, 49-0, in the 2019 Class B South quarterfinals.
The Rams will have to play their best game of the season to reach a state final for the first time since winning it all way back in 2003.
“We’ll just go in and execute and play better than we did last time,” said Cavallaro.
“We need to stay focused,” Scully said. “That’s our biggest challenge. We need to come out with an excellent physical effort like we did tonight for four quarters and if we do, that gives us a good chance.
“Deering’s playing in a regional championship game. That’s pretty cool.”
On the brink…again
Portland, meanwhile, is just 48 minutes away from its third straight trip to the state final.
The Bulldogs, the top seed and clear favorite in Class A North after a 7-2 regular season, had no trouble with No. 4 Windham in their semifinal.
Portland struck first, with Charlie Abramson-Thompson weaving through the defense to turn a screen pass from quarterback Louis Thurston into a 17-yard score and 7-0 lead. Thurston then kept the ball for a 2-yard score after Colin Haigh recovered a fumble and Cordell Jones (10 carries, 63 yards) scored on a 1-yard run on the next series to make it 21-0 with 1:33 left in the half.
The Portland ballcarriers – a group that included Aidan McGowan (15 carries, 98 yards) – piled up the yards, but the damage was being done up front, as an offensive line featuring Riley Wildes, Dominic Huntington, Colin Haigh, Anthony Tavares and Colin Kelly moved bodies and opened up big holes.
“Anthony and Colin are beasts,” McGowan said. “That’s all I’ve got to say. It’s great to have them. They’re definitely the best linemen in the state, in my opinion.”
“The blocking was great,” said Thurston. “It helps when that’s on, I just kind of run to space. It’s a gift every time I run the ball, man. They don’t ever let anything up.”
Carter Lucca’s 56-yard interception return just before the half put the Bulldogs up, 28-0. Thurston added a 41-yard scoring run in the second half to make it 35-0, and McGowan tacked on a 5-yard touchdown run to make it 42-7.
“We have a saying when playoffs come at Portland, ‘We’ve got to go 1-0 every day and we went 1-0 every day this week,’” said quarterback Louis Thurston, who ran 10 times for 171 yards. “Our seniors really hit this week that any game could be our last. We’re not going to let it slip.”
“We talk about having a maniacal sense of urgency,” Portland coach Sean Green said. “It’s something we talk about every single week and just being present on every single play. We know how well-coached Windham is and how tough those guys are. You can’t let off the gas pedal at any point.”
The Bulldogs host No. 3 Bangor (4-5) in the Class A North Final Friday at 6 p.m. On Oct. 11, Portland rolled to a 35-7 road victory.
The Bulldogs are 1-1 all-time versus the Rams in the playoffs with a 56-7 win in the 2015 semifinals the most recent.
Press Herald staff writer Drew Bonifant contributed to this story.
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