The undefeated Red Riots and No. 3 Stearns Minutemen played an absolute thriller of a regional title game on Saturday night, with Orono outlasting its upstart rival from Millinocket 58 to 40 for its second consecutive state championship berth.
It was also the second consecutive 8-man small North championship contested between Orono and Stearns/Schenck, whose rivalry was cemented after a chippy 30-8 victory for Orono back in Week 2. Since then, both sides had utterly dominated the Little Ten Conference, winning out by average margins of more than 30 points each.
After Orono built a 28-6 lead early in the second quarter, it looked like business as usual until Stearns woke up.
In the final sixty seconds right before halftime, Stearns’ Lucas Pelkey and Caden Raymond each scored touchdowns to cut the lead to 34-28. Orono hadn’t given up more than 18 points to a single opponent all season.
Coming out of the break, Orono and Stearns continued to trade blows until the boys in maroon finally pulled away in the fourth quarter. A 50-yard bomb from quarterback Jack Brewer to wide out Will Francis — coupled with a forced turnover on downs on defense, set up Will’s older brother Ben to ice it with 1:48 remaining.
“It feels right,” Ben Francis said after the postgame award ceremony. “We knew exactly what it takes to get here. We put in the work all summer long.”
