Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – He is renowned for much more on the soccer field, but winning balls in the air has always been a specialty of Presque Isle senior Russ Mortland.
He put that strength to very good use last Wednesday, scoring on two headers and helping set up another goal off a head ball, leading the Wildcats to their second Eastern Maine Class B championship in four years with a 4-1 triumph over Camden Hills last Wednesday at the Gehrig Johnson Athletic Complex.
“I don’t know if there is a lot you can do to shut him down,” said Windjammer coach Mike Grey of Mortland.
Eighth-year PI coach Scott Young is grateful to have such a skilled player on his team.
“His play is spectacular all the time, but he excels in the big moments,” Young said. “He has great timing and reads the ball so well. Plus, he is able to put force on his head shots and isn’t just lofting it up there.”
Mortland opened the scoring with 4:22 remaining before the end of the first half. He took a pass into the goal area from classmate Eric Morris and headed a low shot that squirted between the legs of Camden Hills freshman goalie Ian Cushing and into the net.
Mortland’s next goal proved to be the game-winner and came in the opening minutes of the second half. Morris lofted a corner kick in the direction of the 6-foot-2 Mortland, who caromed the ball inside the right goal post to make it a 2-1 Presque Isle lead.
Morris said playing with Mortland makes it easy to pick up assists.
“Last year, Ethan Hill was in that spot and they connected all the time for goals,” Morris said. “This year came down to me and it was my chance.
“On corners, I just put it up there and am really confident Russ can put it in all the time.”
Presque Isle’s third and fourth goals were scored by Warren Zubrick, who has been another reliable scoring threat throughout the season. Zubrick’s first tally came courtesy of a Mortland head ball which landed at the feet of Zubrick in front of the goal, who cashed in with 26:25 left.
Zubrick then gave his team an insurance goal with 14:09 to go by converting yet another Morris pass.
Presque Isle overcame a somewhat shaky start. After Mortland finally put PI on the board late in the first half, Camden Hills knotted the score as an unmarked Joshua Andrews headed in an Andrew Stevick corner kick with just 18 seconds to play before intermission.
“Coach told us we played great, but had some letdowns and that we had to grow up some in the second half and play like men,” said Wildcat back Nate Ackerson of Young’s halftime speech.
“We can be a second-half team, and that is when we turned it on,” Young said.
Camden Hills, on the other hand, was unable to sustain the momentum it had gained with the goal, and Grey credited the Wildcats for that.
“That’s a really good team,” Grey said. “They pass the ball well and they are strong in the middle. We were hoping to weather the first five minutes of that second half, but that goal by Mortland put us on our heels and that was the story of the game.”
Meanwhile, the Presque Isle defense demonstrated, especially in the second half, why it had only allowed six goals in 14 regular season contests and none in the first two playoff matches.
Senior back Evan Richards was his usual dependable self, junior goalie Dillon Kingsbury showed off his athleticism and senior Nate Ackerson proved up to the task of marking the opposing team’s top scoring threat as he held James Weferling in check throughout.
“They went head to head and Nate won that battle, he did a great job,” Young said.
“I play against Warren (Zubrick), our fastest guy, in practice, so that prepared me a little bit,” Ackerson said. “I just wanted to play my game.”
Kingsbury had six saves on 11 shots, while Cushing had seven saves on 14 shots for Camden Hills.
The ’Cats said the No. 1 seed they worked for all season long paid dividends in the playoffs, being able to play three more times on the artificial turf.
“We play great on this stuff,” Ackerson said. “That’s why we play the regular season, to get that top seed. We got there and this is our reward.”
