The Red Riots outlasted the conference rival Golden Bucks 44-18 in Orono Friday night, in a tense matchup that certainly lived up to the hype.
Coming into Friday night’s game, both sides had ridden their high-powered offenses to undefeated starts and were desperate to establish dominance in the region.
But it became clear early on that neither team would be able to rest on its laurels.
Orono found itself in a desperate position after the first drive, when senior running back Ben Francis had the ball stripped in Bucksport territory, and the Bucks proceeded to use up 10:30 of clock en route to a Connor Fitch touchdown on fourth and goal.
So when Orono received the ball again, they knew they had to kick it into gear.
In only three plays, the Red Riots equalized on a 22-yard senior Pierce Walston touchdown from junior quarterback Jack Brewer.
And then when Orono forced a Bucksport punt on the ensuing drive, junior Will Francis put Orono back on top.
Catching the punt at roughly his own 25-yard line, Francis juked and sped past everyone in his sight for the touchdown, and the crowd went crazy.
“You can’t stop him!” the student section chanted.
After a six-yard Ayden Maguire rushing touchdown brought it back to 14-12, it was Walston’s time to shine again.
Walston proceeded to snag Brewer passes for 33 yards and then four yards, making it 20-12.
Orono never looked back.
Will Francis, Ben Francis, and Jack Brewer each punched it in in the second half, with Orono converting on all three two-point conversions.
On defense, Saladin Wise and Will Francis hauled in fourth quarter interceptions to help ice the game.