Old Orchard Beach attacked Orono from all angles on Saturday evening to earn a 46-22 victory in the eight-player small school state title game.
The southern Maine team finished the season 9-3 and won its first state title since 1993. Orono finished 7-4.
Old Orchard’s Reid MacNair ran in a six-yard touchdown on the team’s opening drive to give the Seagulls a 6-0 lead with 9:14 left in the first quarter.
The Seagulls kept the ball moving throughout the first half following up their first touchdown drive with another one of 85 yards.
The drive ended with a four-yard touchdown run from Wesley Gallant, and while the two-point conversion was no good, the Seagulls held onto a 12-0 lead with 3:42 left in the first quarter.
Orono’s offense struggled early.
Quarterback Jack Brewer was 3-7 in the first quarter and the Red Riots struggled to get more than one first down per drive.
On Old Orchard’s third drive, quarterback Brady Plante found Riley Provencher for a 16-yard touchdown pass on the right side as Provencher caught the over-the-shoulder throw, made a couple of moves and barreled his way into the end zone to give OOB an 18-0 lead with 10:16 to play in the first half.
OOB scored again with 39 seconds left when Plante found Provencher again for a six-yard touchdown pass, Provencher’s 10th of the season.
Orono had just 30 seconds left on the final drive of the first half and started on its own 32-yard line. However, with three timeouts the Red Riots moved up to the Seagulls’ 36-yard line.
On the final play of the first half, Brewer found Will Francis over the middle for about a 20-yard pass before Francis lateraled the ball to Pierce Walston, who ran down the left sideline and scored as time expired. The two-point conversion throw from Brewer to Brady Grant was successful and the Red Riots went into the half down 24-8 and geared up to receive the opening kick off of the second half.
On the ensuing kickoff, Will Francis returned the kick for a 76-yard touchdown to pull the Red Riots within 24-16 after a two-point conversion.
OOB never wavered and on the next drive Plante found Gallant for a 29-yard touchdown pass that put the Seagulls ahead 32-16.
Two drives later, Provencher intercepted a Brewer pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown that gave OOB a 38-16 lead with a minute left in the third.
Francis took the next kickoff back 95 yards for his second return touchdown of the game to pull the Red Riots within 38-22.
Gallant would add another rushing touchdown to his total in the fourth and OOB held a 46-22 lead with 10:25 to go.
Old Orchard Beach got the ball back with 8:32 to play and was able to run the clock out to clinch the victory.