Skowhegan football tops Lawrence to notch signature win

Lawrence ball carrier Landas Mansfield, left, finds running room against Skowhegan defenders Jaimeson Shanoski (76) and Ben Linkletter (51). (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image

FAIRFIELD — Twenty minutes after the game had gone final, Brad Cyr was still catching his breath.

No, the Skowhegan football team’s showdown with Lawrence on Friday wasn’t exactly a shootout. Yet after the Bulldogs nearly pulled out an unlikely win despite the River Hawks dominating the second half, the third-year Skowhegan coach’s blood pressure was certainly elevated.

Still, the 14-13 win at Keyes Field was worth every bit of the stress caused by a late Lawrence touchdown drive on which Skowhegan stuffed a 2-point try to seal the win — a signature win for a team trying to once again be a factor in the Pine Tree Conference.

“We haven’t had tons of wins the past few years, so to feel like we’ve won an important game for our kids, it’s huge,” Cyr said. “We’re trying to climb and ascend again, and this is a real big win in a real tough place to play.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Skowhegan’s passing game delivered. Austin Lancaster completed 12 of 16 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown, with Trevor Austin catching seven of those throws for 124 yards. Lancaster hit Jason Aubin for a 34-yard score that put the River Hawks (1-1) up 14-7 in the third quarter.

• Skowhegan seized momentum. After scoring on the opening drive of the second half, Cyr elected to try an onside kick to retain possession. The River Hawks recovered, leading to a five-play, 51-yard drive that culminated with Lancaster’s touchdown pass to Aubin.

• Down seven with 2:22 left, Lawrence (1-1) mounted a 74-yard drive that resulted in a Keegan Littlefield touchdown run with 34 seconds left. The Bulldogs elected to go for the win, but Skowhegan stuffed Littlefield at the 4-yard line on the 2-point attempt and then recovered the ensuing onside kick.

“I thought we had momentum, but they’re tough to run against, and they got the stop,” said Lawrence coach John Hersom. “You try to take advantage and maximize all of your opportunities. Sometimes you’re going to make that call, and sometimes you don’t, but I don’t think it came down to just that one play.”

WHAT IT MEANS

• After back-to-back 2-7 seasons, Skowhegan now has a win it can use to position itself as a player in the Class B North race. The River Hawks felt they were done in by mistakes last week against Fryeburg Academy, but outside of a fumble, they delivered a clean performance Friday to earn a statement win.

• Lawrence loses a Pine Tree Conference game at Keyes Field for the first time since a 41-21 defeat to Skowhegan to open the 2022 season. The Bulldogs must now regroup for upcoming games against a pair of potent Class A teams in Bangor and Deering.

NOTABLE QUOTABLES

• “Some people don’t believe in momentum, but when you have it, you’ve got to use it. In our case, we had it, and we thought we might as well go for (the onside kick). The worst thing that could happen was they’d recover it, but the ball bounced the right way, and we got it. That was a big momentum boost.” — Brad Cyr

• “That (onside kick) was huge; that’s what won us the game, I think. … This is that (signature) win (we’ve been looking for). To do it against a rival at Keyes Field, there’s nothing better.” — Trevor Austin

• “I trust (Trevor); I know his every move in practice every day. It’s just easy.” — Austin Lancaster

STAT LEADERS

• Skowhegan: Austin Lancaster (12 of 16, 189 passing yards, touchdown), Trevor Austin (seven receptions, 124 yards), Jason Aubin (three catches, 61 yards, touchdown), Ayden Mulcahy (16 carries, 52 yards, touchdown).

• Lawrence: Colt Robinson (10 of 18, 88 passing yards, touchdown), Keegan Littlefield (12 rushes, 53 yards, touchdown; three receptions, 37 yards, touchdown), Jaxson O’Boyle (two sacks).