ORONO, Maine — The cooperation at the foundation of the annual joint Senior Night game between the Orono and John Bapst of Bangor high school football teams will give way to a clear sense of urgency when the LTC Class D rivals meet Thursday evening in their mutual regular-season finale at the University of Maine.

A postseason berth is at stake.

“Our information is the loser goes home and the winner advances, so it’s a big game, no question about it,” said Orono coach Bob Sinclair. “One team is going to win and go on and the other team is going to put their stuff away.”

John Bapst enters the 7 p.m. contest with a 5-2 record while Orono is 4-3. Based on strength of schedule considerations associated with the Crabtree point system used to seed teams for postseason play, barring any major upsets there’s room for only one of the two in the four-team LTC playoffs that begin next weekend.

Undefeated and top-seeded Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield (8-0) has completed its schedule while second-ranked Bucksport (6-1) and Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln (4-3) also are poised to secure postseason slots.

So after sharing the stage during pregame ceremonies at Alfond Stadium, more selfish goals will motivate what follows.

“The way we’re approaching this game is that this is the quarterfinals and it’s time to win or go home,” said John Bapst coach Dan O’Connell.

Orono and John Bapst began staging joint Senior Night at UMaine in 2010, taking advantage of the stadium setting to make the event more memorable for the participants.

“The first time we did this in 2010,” said Sinclair, “I walked out on that field, looked around and thought, ‘Holy cow, I thought we were in New York City,’ because it’s just a beautiful facility to play in and a great venue for football.”

The teams have split four regular-season contests at the neutral site, with Orono also winning a postseason matchup there in a 2011 LTC semifinal.

In 2011, the rivalry was shifted from Friday to Thursday to avoid potential scheduling conflicts with UMaine sporting events.

“We’ve created an event over the last four years that’s certainly special for both groups of seniors, and I think we’ve worked well with Orono and vice versa to create this early-in-the-week game that’s become a tradition,” said O’Connell. “I think both schools are happy about that and respectful of the idea that we’re rivals but it’s great to be able to come together and do this for the kids.

“But certainly once we kick the ball off one team’s going to win and one team is going to lose, and both teams want to be in the playoffs. So as respectful and as shared as the game might be, we want to execute and beat them and they want to execute and beat us and that’s just the reality of competition,” he added.

Both teams rely heavily on formidable rushing attacks. John Bapst features Jackson Leonard, one of the LTC’s top ground gainers with 1,254 yards and 15 touchdowns after a 285-yard, five-TD performance in a 43-36 win at Mount View of Thorndike last Saturday.

“Leonard is a real good football player,” said Sinclair. “He’s a classic I-formation tailback and they like to get him the ball, so one challenge is going to be to contain him. Their quarterback [Spencer Baron] throws the ball well and he’s got a big tight end in [Harrison] Dieuveuil that they look to but you’ve got to slow down Leonard a little bit.”

Orono, which hosted Medomak Valley of Waldoboro in an exhibition game last Friday, counters with a deep rushing contingent that includes Matt Fowler (578 yards, five TDs), Keenan Collett (503 yards, six TDs) and Tom Lucy (403 yards, five TDs) and is directed by sophomore quarterback Jackson Coutts (four rushing TDs, six passing TDs).

“They continue to do what they do well,” said O’Connell. “Coach Sinclair always says to coach what you know, and they run that T offense and nobody runs it quite like they do in our league.

“They’re disciplined on offense and then they run coach’s 5-3 defense where you might know where they’re going to line up but they play a hard, physical brand of football and they’re disciplined in doing it so you’ve got to be ready,” he added.

Not often, perhaps, but once in a while — such as when junior quarterback Spencer Baron ran a naked bootleg play 9 yards for a touchdown with 2:26 remaining at Alfond Stadium on Thursday night to lift John Bapst of Bangor to a 28-22 victory over Orono. The win clinched an LTC football playoff berth for Bapst.

Only two people — Baron and John Bapst coach Dan O’Connell — knew the true plan for that fourth-down play, the finale of a 10-play, 41-yard march that gave the Crusaders their only lead.

“It was there so it makes me look good, but we didn’t tell the huddle,” said O’Connell. “We called 44 rip and I told Spencer, ‘Don’t tell them, just keep it.’ We ran it against Mount View late in the game last week and he got caught by the D-end. I did remind him very friendly like, ‘Don’t get caught,’ and he didn’t. He did a great job.”

Nearly everyone in the stadium expected star tailback Jackson Leonard to get the ball one more time with John Bapst facing fourth-and-3 from the 9 — Leonard had carried the ball each of the previous eight plays.

But this time Baron faked the handoff to Leonard, then circled around left end and eluded an Orono defender before racing into the end zone to break the 22-22 tie.

“Coach O had the confidence to call the play for me,” said Baron. “I’d been cramping up, but we’d been running it all game long and Jackson had carried us down there, and then he gave me a chance to make a play.

“Once I faked the handoff I saw one guy to beat, but I had to get it in the end zone because we had to win.”

Orono had one last possession and drove into John Bapst territory before an interception by freshman J.J. Higgins clinched the come-from-behind victory with 46 seconds left.

The win improves John Bapst to 6-2 and means the Crusaders will enter next weekend’s LTC Eastern Maine Class D semifinals as the No. 3 seed.

Orono, which also could have earned a playoff berth with a victory in the annual joint Senior Night game with John Bapst, likely will miss out on postseason play with a 4-4 record.

It looked like just the opposite would happen at intermission, as Orono’s rushing offense dominated the first two quarters while building a 22-7 lead.

The Red Riots ran 43 plays in the half compared with 14 for John Bapst and controlled the ball for 19 minutes, 5 seconds to 4:55 for the Crusaders.

Orono took the opening kickoff and marched 66 yards in 18 plays to take an 8-0 lead on an 11-yard TD run by Matt Foster (18 rushes, 91 yards) and a two-point conversion run by Keenan Collett (24-90).

John Bapst immediately answered as Leonard (29-176) scored from 5 yards shortly after Garrett Pattershall’s 55-yard kickoff return.

But there was no stopping Orono early. Fowler scored his second touchdown on a spinning 9-yard effort 1:38 into the second quarter at the end of a nine-play, 59-yard march.

Then after Orono stopped John Bapst on downs at the Red Riots’ 18, sophomore quarterback Jackson Coutts led coach Bob Sinclair’s club on a 16-play, 79-yard sojourn that led to a 2-yard scoring run by Collett and a two-point conversion pass from Coutts to Connor McCluskey to make it 22-7 with 1:02 left before intermission.

But what followed was as if the teams changed uniforms at halftime.

John Bapst took the second-half kickoff and immediately drove 63 yards to close within 22-14 on a 3-yard run by Leonard and Harrison Dieuveuil’s extra-point kick.

“I think if we wouldn’t have scored right out of the gate it might have been a different story,” said O’Connell, “but when we scored to make it 22-14 and were one score away the kids started to believe, and then we made plays in the fourth quarter.”

John Bapst’s defense forced a three-and-out from Orono, and Leonard then sprinted 51 yards up the middle for the tying touchdown on a 51-yard sprint with 10 minutes left in the game.

Another three-and-out and a short Orono punt gave the Crusaders possession at the Red Riots’ 41 with 8:11 left, with Leonard assuming workhorse duties until O’Connell and Baron faked out their teammates to produce the playoff-clinching score.

ORONO, Maine — Throw-ins can be an effective weapon in soccer.

They certainly were for the Fort Kent High School Warriors on Friday afternoon.

Senior Hailey Nadeau scored off Danielle Pelletier’s throw-in with 44.9 seconds left in overtime to give third seed Fort Kent a 2-1 Eastern Maine Class C semifinal win over No. 2 Orono.

Fort Kent improved to 9-4-3 and will take on the winner of Houlton-George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill in Wednesday’s EM title game.

Orono had beaten Fort Kent 2-1 in double overtime in last year’s EM final.

Orono had a decided edge in possession thanks to the play of dynamic sophomore striker Becky Lopez-Anido and senior attacking midfielder Diana Tyutyunnyk along with sophomore midfielder Brinsley Chasse.

But Pelletier’s throw-ins and Erin Chasse’s corner kicks were problematic for the Riot defense.

In fact, Chasse’s corner kick late in the first half produced Pelletier’s game-tying goal.

Orono had carried the play in overtime but the Warriors received a throw-in along the left sidelines and Pelletier’s strong throw-in skimmed off the head of a Red Riot and skipped into the penalty area.

The ball popped in the air and Nadeau raced on to it and steered it inside the near post past Orono goalkeeper Katelyn Richards from four yards out.

“My throw-ins seem to bounce through the defense,” said Pelletier. “I was just trying to get it in the box and [Nadeau] just happened to be there.”

“The ball went right through [to me]. They have worked for us in other games,” said Nadeau.

“We had trouble defending throw-ins and I don’t know why,” said Orono coach Cid Dyjak. “It was just one of those things.”

The other key to the victory for Fort Kent was senior goalkeeper Alexa Pelletier, who made 13 saves on 26 shots, including several gems.

“That’s the busiest I’ve been all year,” said Pelletier. “I knew I’d be busy. I knew they were going to be our toughest competition. Orono is the best team we’ve played. I think this was my best game of the year.”

“She was amazing,” said Tyutyunnyk. “She had very good reactions. She did an awesome job.”

Fort Kent coach Robby Nadeau called Pelletier an “All-State goalie. I don’t care what the papers say. She has been unbelievable.”

One of Pelletier’s best saves came when Lopez-Anido made one of her several scintillating runs down the flank and slid the ball to the middle of the penalty area, where Tyutyunnyk struck a powerful shot only to see Pelletier make the save and grab it before it crossed the line.

“I wasn’t going to let that ball in. It hit off my leg,” said Pelletier.

Orono opened the scoring at the 22:14 mark of the first half when Tyutyunnyk curled a cross from the left flank to the top of the penalty area, where Lopez-Anido beat the onrushing Pelletier to the ball and headed it past her.

Fort Kent equalized when Erin Chasse’s corner pinballed wildly in front of goal and, after Richards had made a couple of point-blank saves, Danielle Pelletier nudged it home.

“Right moment, right place, right time,” said Pelletier.

Orono nearly forged ahead in the second half when a Tyutyunnyk corner created a scramble in the penalty area. The speedy Lopez-Anido ricocheted a point-blank attempt off the post and the ball came outside the area to Bella DeSisto, whose long shot labeled for the upper far corner was punched away by Pelletier.

“We had our chances but the goalie made some great saves and you have to give credit to Fort Kent,” said Dyjak. “I’m very proud of our girls. It’s hard to see our seniors go.”

Orono loses five seniors but just three were starters. Sophomore Richards made 11 saves on 18 shots for the 12-2-2 Red Riots.

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Hannah Steelman of Orono won the Class C girls race in the state cross country championships in Belfast on Saturday. (Ernie Clark photo)

BELFAST, Maine — If the Orono High School girls cross country team felt pressure entering Saturday’s Class C state championship race, it was hard to notice by merely watching the Red Riots run.

Not only did coach Lin White’s squad roll to its second straight state crown behind the 1-2 finishes of sophomores Hannah Steelman and Kassidy Dill, Orono posted the best score of the day regardless of class when all times in the Classes A, B and C were combined to determine qualifiers for next weekend’s New England championships.

“There was definitely that pressure,” said Steelman, “but we were going into this weekend thinking it was just another race. We knew anything could happen, but we were prepared for whatever did happen.”

Scarborough and Greely of Cumberland also won team titles on the 3.1-mile Troy Howard Middle School course, both with narrow victories after a cold rain began to fall midway through the event.

Scarborough edged Massabesic of Waterboro 92-96 for the Class A crown, while Greely topped Yarmouth 59-64 in Class B.

Orono faced no such post-race scoring uncertainty, as the Red Riots placed five runners among the top 11 finishers to total 31 points, far ahead of runner-up Waynflete of Portland (71). George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill was third with 86 points with Merriconeag Waldorf School of Freeport (113) and North Yarmouth Academy (145) next.

“I think that was one of the best races we’ve ever had,” said Dill, whose team had edged Washburn by two points to win its 2013 state championship. “I know I did not expect to get what I just got today. We all expected Hannah to pull through for the win but our team competed so well. I’m so proud of our team.”

Steelman quickly took charge of the field and won the Class C race by more than a half-minute in 19 minutes, 16.99 seconds.

“I was feeling great today,” said Steelman, also the Eastern C champion a week earlier. “It was a little nerve-wracking, of course, it always is. But my job was just to run my race and that was the job for everybody on the team.”

Dill ran much of the race with Hannah Austin of NYA, Tia Tardy of Mattanawcook and Ellie Chidsey of Waynflete, but a late surge produced her second-place finish in 19:53.59, four seconds ahead of Austin and eight seconds ahead of Tardy.

Chidsey finished fifth, followed by Waynflete teammate Phoebe Colvin-Oehmig.

Orono also got a big performance from junior Olivia Fandel, who finished seventh overall, as well as teammates Liza Gallandt and Lily Koffman in 10th and 11th places.

“We knew it was a huge deal to try to keep up the image that we earned for ourselves last year,” said Dill. “We knew a lot of teams were watching us and trying to beat us, but we knew if we competed to our abilities we had the capability to accomplish it again.”

Orono boys soccer players (l/r) Kam Stockley (11), Anthony Bottie (4), Fred Linden (10), and Nathan Frederick (2) carry the Eastern Maine Class C soccer trophy across the field to their fans after defeating the Central high school team 2-0 in Bangor, Maine, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014. (Michael C. York photo)

BANGOR, Maine — The Orono boys soccer program had come so close to winning an Eastern Maine Class C title in recent years only to come up short that Red Riots’ fans could be excused for fearing the worst as their team appeared in a regional final for the sixth time in the last seven years Thursday.

But at last trepidation was replaced by celebration on Boucher Field at Husson University, as first-half goals by Frederick Linden and Nate DeSisto and a stout defense lifted third-ranked Orono to a 2-0 victory over No. 5 Central of Corinth.

“It feels amazing, honestly. It feels so good,” Orono senior midfielder Kam Stockley said. “We’re going to states.”

Orono, 15-2 overall and undefeated against Class C opposition this season, secured its first Eastern Maine crown since competing in Class B in 1992 and a date against defending state champion Maranacook of Readfield (17-0) in Saturday’s 3 p.m. state title match at Deering High School in Portland.

“We did what we needed to do,” Waldo Caballero, the Red Riots’ fifth-year head leader, said. “We wanted to score early; that was our plan and it did happen.

“We could have controlled a little bit more but we’re not used to playing on [artificial turf]. Still, we played as strong as we needed to play, controlling the field as much as possible.”

While Orono cherished its championship breakthrough, Central’s appearance in the final for the first time since 1991 — when current coach Paul Speed was a senior at the Corinth school — also represented a milestone.

“The biggest thing is just the kids having the confidence to know they can play at this level,” said Speed, whose club finished 13-4, with three of the losses to Orono.

“Hopefully this will build at the middle school and the younger levels and the kids will want to be involved in a program like this and hopefully continue to play in games like this,” he said.

Orono boys soccer player Kam Stockley (11) works the ball away from Central player Matt Hewitt (5) in the first half of their Eastern Maine Class C championship game in Bangor, Maine, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014. (Michael C. York photo)

Stockley had been a primary factor in Orono’s 3-2 and 6-2 regular-season victories over Central, so the Red Devils assigned junior Grant Poulin to mark him.

That concession ultimately served to open up the middle of the field and enable Orono to dominate play in the first half, with Linden and DeSisto cashing in.

Linden, a senior exchange student from Sweden, put Orono on top 6:15 into the match, gaining possession on the right side of the penalty area and eluding several surrounding defenders to score with a low, sharp-angled shot past Central goalie Quanah Harrod.

“I just tried to get the ball through the four people on me,” Linden said. “Then I got through and had a clear shot and skipped it on the ground and the goalie had no chance because he’s not used to turf and the ball went very fast.”

Linden continued to attack with a series of long-range shots that sailed over the crossbar before Stockley and DeSisto collaborated on the final goal of the match with 18.4 seconds left until intermission.

Stockley advanced the ball deep on the right side, then crossed it toward the near post. DeSisto headed the ball off the crossbar, but the rebound came straight down and bounced off Harrod’s back into the net.

“Kam somehow got that ball through a bunch of people and took it down the sideline so I knew I had to book it to the middle, and then he put a perfect pass on me,” DeSisto, a sophomore, said. “I headed it and it hit the crossbar and there was a scrum and it went in.”

Orono boys soccer players Jake Koffman (6) and keeper Alik Espling knock the ball away from Central playerJoe Nawojczyk (4) in the second half of their Eastern Maine Class C soccer game in Bangor, Maine, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014. (Michael C. York photo)

From there it was left to the Orono defense — sophomore center fullbacks Jake Koffman and Noah Burr, senior wing fullbacks Nathan Frederick and Isaiah Wilson-McFarlane and senior goalie Alik Espling — to hold off a Central attack that grew more consistent after intermission.

Yet the Red Devils’ best scoring bid didn’t involve a shot at all.

That came with 17 minutes left when when Andrew Speed beat Espling to a loose ball near the end line on the left side and grounded a perfect centering pass toward an open net. Teammate Caleb Shaw raced toward the ball but couldn’t get to it in time as it agonizingly rolled through the crease.

Orono outshot Central 18-8, with Espling making five saves and Harrod with eight stops.

PORTLAND, Maine — The Maranacook of Readfield boys soccer players prepared for Saturday’s Class C state championship match with a target on their backs.

Literally.

Each of the Black Bears’ black warm-up shirts featured a yellow circular target, but Eastern Maine champion Orono — like 17 earlier opponents this fall — were unable to hit it.

Matt Dubois and Max McQuillen provided a goal in each half while Kent Mohlar controlled the midfield as Maranacook won its second straight state title with a 2-0 victory over the Red Riots at Deering High School’s Memorial Field.

“This is the goal from the beginning of the year,” said Mohlar, a junior midfielder who had a hand in both goals. “This is what you think about from Day 1 of last year. It’s hard to explain.”

The victory also capped off a second straight undefeated season for coach Don Beckwith’s club, 18-0 this fall and 34-0-2 over the last two years.

Orono, making its first appearance in a state final since 1992, finished 15-3.

“They have a complete understanding of the sport and playing together,” Orono coach Waldo Caballero said of Maranacook. “They move to the empty spaces, they anticipate well and they make the passes correctly into the empty spaces rather than just to the person.

“It was a little physical for us, but our conference is not that physical so it was a different game for us.”

Maranacook dominated the first 38 minutes of the first half and grabbed a 1-0 lead when DuBois converted in transition with Mohlar with 11:50 left in the period.

Mohlar, the KVAC Class B North player of the year, gained possession near midfield, then dribbled down the center of the field before spotting DuBois racing ahead between two defenders. Mohlar’s pass along the ground found DuBois’ foot perfectly, and the one-timed redirection slipped inside the left goalpost and past Orono goalie Alik Espling.

“The ball fell to me in the midfield, and I carried forward and got around the first guy and saw Matt making a run across the middle and he put a great first touch on it,” said Mohlar.

Espling otherwise came up big in the first half for the Red Riots, making eight saves on 15 Maranacook shots despite facing fairly constant pressure by the Black Bears.

Orono did not generate a shot on goal until Frederik Linden left-footed a blast from 25 yards out that Maranacook netminder Justin Freeman fielded easily in front of the right post with 2:42 left until intermission.

The Red Riots had a much more serious opportunity a minute later when Max Neitschke was sent in ahead of the Maranacook defense on a quick counterattack after an Espling save at the other end.

With a defender in close pursuit, Neitschke grounded a shot toward the left side of the goal, but Freeman dove to his right to block the breakaway bid away for the toughest of his four saves during the game.

“That’s a small guy playing big, and that’s what we expect him to do,” said Maranacook coach Don Beckwith of Freeman, a sophomore. “I think people underestimate him because he’s small, but he’s got the skills of any goalie in the state — and he’s got the heart, obviously.”

Maranacook amped up the offense even more after the break. Chris Beckwith, heavy footed on free kicks throughout the match, tested Espling on a restart from 30 yards out two minutes into the second half only to have the Orono goalie block the ball away at the right post.

Mohlar nearly scored after the ensuing corner kick, heading the ball from the crease off the left post.

Another Mohlar header led to an insurance goal by McQuillen with 19:16 remaining.

Beckwith started the play with a free kick from deep along the right wing to the left side of the penalty area, where Mohlar headed the ball back toward the right post.

When Espling (12 saves) couldn’t gain control of the ball, McQuillen was near the goal line to direct it into the net.

“Chris can serve up a great ball from distance,” said Mohlar. “He can serve them up from all over the field, and whenever we get a free kick like that it’s a great opportunity for us.”