Jack Brewer threw seven touchdowns to lead the Red Riots to the upset victory, defeating Dexter 61-22 in the eight-player small school North semifinals in Dexter on Saturday afternoon.
The win advances Orono to the small-school North final against No. 2 Stearns (7-1) next Friday.
“This feels great,” Orono quarterback Jack Brewer said. “We’ve been trying to get them since last year. They beat us twice last year, beat us once this year, so we got our turn.”
The game began with Orono’s Will Francis picking back up where he left off after his seven-touchdown performance in the quarterfinal, immediately making a difference for the No. 5 Red Riots (6-3) against No. 1 Dexter (7-1).
Francis had a 60-yard kickoff return to start the game, and the return set up a 22-yard touchdown pass from Orono quarterback Jack Brewer to Pierce Walston. The extra point was blocked.
On Dexter’s opening possession, the Tigers tried a fake punt but the play was stopped just short of the line to gain, giving Orono possession again.
Two plays later, Francis caught an 81-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion was no good, giving Orono a 12-0 lead on the defending champions.
Orono had a lead for much of its showdown with Dexter in the regular season before losing 38-34, so the Red Riots knew they had to keep their foot on the gas.
Dexter lost possession on a fumble during its next drive, setting Orono up with good field possession at midfield. Two plays later, Brewer found Walston again for a 51-yard touchdown that gave the Red Riots an 18-0 advantage.
The defense stepped up for Orono on Saturday afternoon.
“The key to stopping them was [quarterback Bryce] Connor first, then [Gage] Beaudry and then their receivers,” Orono coach Bob Sinclair said. “We had plans in place for those players and we repped it all week and it paid off.”
Dexter was able to get points on the board in the second quarter off a 60-yard pick-six by Caleb Schobel that, with a two-point conversion, pulled the Tigers within 18-8.
Orono’s offense kept on attacking.
Pivotal play: Brewer would find Sal Wise for an 8-yard score to put Orono ahead 25-8. Orono forced a fumble on the kickoff and picked up possession at Dexter’s 28-yard line. Three plays later, Wise scored on a 3-yard run that increased Orono’s lead to 31-8 with 4:31 left in the first half.
Last week, Brewer and Francis connected on seven touchdowns. On Saturday, Brewer was able to connect with a full array of receivers.
“They were trying to take certain players away like Will so we hit other receivers and everyone can step up at any time,” Brewer said. “A lot of guys had a lot of catches.”
Brewer threw for 279 of his 400 yards in the first half while also throwing for four of his seven touchdowns.
Orono only rushed for 36 yards in the game compared with Dexter’s 100, but the passing game was seemingly overwhelming for the Tigers.
“It’s what we do,” Sinclair said. “We’re different and we pride ourselves on being different. We were a ground and pound team a couple years ago and prided ourselves on doing things differently then. We are a hard matchup for teams because we have so many athletes and if you can get kids out in space then you have a chance.”
Dexter scored its first offensive touchdown in the third quarter when quarterback Connor found Blaine Gould for a 6-yard throwing touchdown to pull the Tigers within 31-16.
Brewer would throw another touchdown on the next drive, this one a 26-yard throw to Kase Walston, to extend the lead to 40-16.
“We’re going to have to break it down on film to find out [what happened],” Dexter coach Andrew Levensalor said. “The better team one and that’s a great coach.”
Red Riots’ lineman Brady Grant had two sacks on the day to help the Orono defense keep Dexter from moving the ball.
Brady Maheu made a difference for the Orono defense as well, scoring off an interception late in the third quarter and then picking off Connor once more in the fourth quarter.
Up next: Orono will face No. 2 Stearns (7-1) in the eight-player small school North final.
