TURNER — The Wells Warriors football team may be making its first appearance in the Class B state championship game since 1997, but their opponent, the Leavitt Hornets, have been making the state game an annual rite of fall for three years.

Both teams square off for the gold ball on Saturday night at 6 p.m. at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.

Leavitt (11-0), the Eastern Class B champion, has had a similar season to Wells ”“ with some important differences. The Hornets have breezed through the competition of the Pine Tree Conference in dominating fashion. Leavitt’s experience in the state championship game also cannot be questioned. The Hornets won the Class B title in 2009, and lost 20-0 to Mountain Valley last season.

But, where the Warriors made their statement defensively, the Hornets have crushed opponents with their offense.

Leavitt runs a spread, zone-read option offense. York County football fans may be familiar with such an offense, as Thornton Academy runs the same style and had almost as much success, making it to the Western Class A final before losing to Cheverus.

The Hornets have run the spread to near perfection in 2011, and in doing so, have one of the top offenses in the state. Leavitt has scored 490 points this season ”“ an average of 45 points per game.

Leavitt head coach Mike Hathaway was quick to give credit to the offensive line for the group’s success.

“Those guys have blocked well up front,” Hathaway said. “Just being able to spread the ball around on offense. Last year, we were pretty heavy on Jordan (Hersom) and Jake (Ouellette) was our No. 2, we didn’t have a lot else in the mix. This year, our carries and receptions have been equally divided. Just having a lot of weapons and an offensive line that can execute the schemes has been the biggest thing.”

But much of that success has come from three skilled players: Quarterback Jordan Hersom, and running backs Jake Ouellette and Ian Durgin.

Hersom is no stranger to Maine high school football. His dad, Jim, is an assistant coach on the Leavitt staff and has prior head coaching experience at Edward Little and Livermore Falls, leading both schools to regional championships. His grandfather, Lawrence “Doc” Hersom, led multiple Edward Little teams to state championships in the 1970s.

Jordan Hersom has carried on the family tradition successfully, especially this season. He has a combined 2,586 yards of offense (956 rushing, 1,630 yards passing), a combined 26 touchdowns (16 in the passing game) and only four interceptions.

Ouellette has been a force on the ground, rushing for 1,297 yards on 155 carries (eight yards per carry) along with 25 touchdowns. Much like Thornton’s Andrew Libby, Durgin is a force both in the run and passing games. He has an almost even split in yardage with 652 rushing yards on just 39 carries (a whopping 16 yards per carry), while gaining 653 yards receiving on 32 receptions. He has a total of 11 touchdowns on the year, and may be the x-factor on Saturday.

Ouellette said much of the success on offense comes from experience.

“We have a lot of connection with each other, we’ve all grown up together,” Ouellette said. “We played with each other for a while. We have that connection of where each other is going to be and what each other’s going to do. We have confidence in each other that they’re going to make the play or make the block, catch the pass, all of the above. I think that bond helps us a lot. We’re all pretty good friends and hang out a lot, so we have that bond and carry it over to the field.”

But the Hornets will be facing one of the toughest defenses in the state in Wells on Saturday. The Warriors (11-0) have allowed just 72 points in 11 games this year, an average of less than seven points per contest. Leavitt will have to put together one of its best offensive performances of the year in order to win the gold ball.

“It’s going to come down to who can execute the plays on the field, and who plays better on Saturday night,” Hersom said.

Still, it’s a challenge the Hornets welcome.

“I’m looking forward to it, ready to get after it,” Ouellette said. “I’m sure they’re going to come with lots of intensity, their defense is going to be fired up. Our offense is going to be fired up. We’ll be ready to get after it, hopefully it will come down to a shoot-out.”

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