The undefeated No. 1 Red Riots did not miss a beat on Tuesday night, sending the No. 4 Houlton Shires packing with an impressive 43-14 win in Orono. The Red Riots outscored the Shires 37-0 in the first half, and punched their ticket to their second consecutive 8-player small North regional final.
Energized by a flamboyant student section dressed in Halloween costumes — combined with the traditional Orono cowbells coming from the stands — the Red Riots dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, flexing their conference-best offense (51 points scored per game) and defense (11.5 points allowed per game).
Junior utility man Sal Wise got Orono on the board in less than two minutes, capping off a lightning-quick opening drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jack Brewer. It took Orono only four plays to reach the end zone and get the crowd roaring.
“We have the best fans in the Little Ten Conference, and I think it shows,” Wise said. “It’s Halloween and we had that crowd.”
Orono’s other scoring drives were just as fast, with Brewer hitting the speedy Will Francis for catch-and-run touchdowns of 56, 65, and 51 yards. The junior caught all three of his touchdowns in the second quarter.
“Our O-line blocked for us, and Jack put the ball where he needed to put it,” Francis said. “I just go up there and get it.”
Will’s older brother Ben also punched in a rushing touchdown from seven yards out in the first quarter and caught two two-point conversions to help inflate Orono’s lead before the break. On the other side of the ball, Ben and Will joined forces with junior Brady Grant, senior Caden Gray and many others to combine for six sacks and two forced fumbles and recoveries as a team.
The Orono defensive front overpowered Houlton’s O-line all game, but the elusive Isaiah Ervin still managed to make some unbelievable plays for the Shires in the second half. The mobile junior quarterback scrambled for 156 yards and two touchdowns in the game.
“Ervin’s a worm, props to him,” Gray said. “He’s a great player. You just gotta find where he is and hold on.”
With a 35-point lead and running time in the second half, the Red Riots’ offense was only able to take the field for thirty seconds or so, but quickly converted on a 35-yard touchdown pass to senior wide out Pierce Walston.
Last year’s Red Riot offense was equally impressive, averaging 54.8 points scored per game during their five-game winning streak. Orono’s final victory was against No. 2 Stearns/Schenck 57-36 in the regional final, before falling to Old Orchard Beach in the state final 46-22.
This Saturday, the Red Riots will host Millinocket in this year’s iteration of the 8-player small North regional final, and will attempt to stop a red-hot Minutemen squad in its tracks. Stearns/Schenck has now won seven games in a row and just beat No. 2 Bucksport away 46-14 in the other regional semifinal game.
“It will create an interesting matchup,” Orono head coach Bob Sinclair said. “[Millinocket’s] a good, solid football team. They’ll be hungry, and are well-coached. They want this championship game as much as we do.”
Two years ago, being in the position to host a regional championship game would have been unthinkable for Orono. The Red Riots went winless in 2021, and ended last year’s campaign with an unexpected regional championship run as the No. 5 seed. This year though, the playoffs go through Orono.
