Liem Fortin and Matthew Quirion combined for all eight touchdowns on Tuesday afternoon, leading the Winslow Black Raiders to a 55-14 win over the MCI Huskies in a Class D North quarterfinal football game played at Poulin Field in Winslow.
Fortin scored his first touchdown of the day on the first drive of the game on an 8-yard run for a 7-0 Winslow lead. MCI tied it a few minutes later when Quirion fumbled deep in his own territory at the 28-yard line, and the Huskies recovered. Quarterback Caleb Kennedy connected with Drew Shorey for a 4-yard passing touchdown to make it 7-7. The Black Raiders took the lead for good when Donald Gurney returned the ensuing kickoff 60 yards, and Fortin capped it off with a 3-yard run. The hosts started to break it open in the second quarter. MCI attempted a fake punt on 4th down near midfield, but couldn’t convert as a pass by Shorey fell incomplete and Fortin finished that drive with a 9-yard scoring run. The Huskies then drove to the Raiders 14-yard line, but on 4th down a pass by Kennedy that was nearly intercepted fell incomplete. A 54-yard run by Quirion set up another touchdown scamper by Fortin of 5-yards. A 30-yard pass from Fortin to Nolan Kelly, and another 19-yard pass to Quirion on the next possession would lead to a short 1-yard TD run by Quirion. MCI scored for the final time late in the half on a 35-yard pass from Kennedy to Shorey. The Raiders outscored the Huskies 21-0 in the second half to advance to the semifinals on Saturday.
Quirion and Fortin both had big days out of the Winslow backfield in the win. Quirion had 19 rushes for 230 yards and two touchdowns, also adding four receptions for 71 yards and a score. He also would convert a two-point run. Fortin had five rushing touchdowns, carrying 18 times for 135 yards. Kennedy accounted for 309 yards of offense on his own in the MCI loss going 26-52 passing for 278 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions, and also added 31 yards on the ground. Shorey had both touchdown catches and had 12 receptions for 150 yards, along with several tackles on defense for the Huskies who end their season at 1-8. Connor Reynolds also contributed in the passing game with seven catches. Winslow (4-5) now gets a rematch with two-time defending state champion Foxcroft Academy (8-0) in Dover-Foxcroft on Saturday with a time to be announced. The Black Raiders gave the Ponies their toughest regular season game in Winslow on October 21, a game FA won 35-14 but was behind for the first time this year and was tied at halftime.
Recap by Chris Lessner
