The Houlton High School football team played Friday night’s game under the new lights at the Maliseet Field.
The Houlton Shiretowners fell to the visiting Dexter Tigers, 27-8.
The anticipation of the night game was heralded by chilly autumn weather and injury to running back Josh Upton, which put the Houlton team at a slight disadvantage to start the game.
On the first defensive series of the game, Upton injured his ankle and limped off the field. He returned for the Shires first offensive play, but was unable to continue and was helped off the field.
“It really dictated what plays we could run for the rest of the game,” said Houlton coach Brian Reynolds. “We knew Dexter was going to key on Jake and our game plan was to use Jake as a decoy early on and figured that Josh would have a big night.”
With Upton taking the ball early, eventually the line would have opened up for Drew later in the game.
“But, an injury happened,” Reynolds said. “You cannot avoid that. But, it really changed things for us.”
Austin Brown stepped in to fill Upton’s spot and according to his coach, he played “admirably.”
Houlton was knocked off its game plan and Dexter came hard at the Shiretowners all night.
“They brought it to us and wore us down,” Reynolds said. “I thought going into the game we had the advantage along the line of scrimmage, but it did not work out that way.”
Houlton committed mental errors on defense, which Dexter capitalized on. The Tigers built a 14-0 halftime lead after a closely contested first quarter of play.
“We needed to play disciplined against their tricky double wing offense, but we did not get the job done,” Reynolds explained. “But, losing one of your top two running backs while already shorthanded in the backfield in an important matchup, really hurt our ability to run our offense and pound the ball how we like to.”
Dexter stuck with their strategy and dictated the play, altering Houlton’s performance by pushing the Shires back on their heels.
“On that night, Dexter played better,” said Reynolds.
The Tigers extended their lead to 27-0 early in the fourth quarter before Drew put Houlton on the scoreboard with a 34-yard run into the end zone.
This Friday, the Shiretowners will travel to Millinocket to face the Stearns Minutemen in a 8 p.m. game.
“We need to get some guys back and healthy for this game,” said Reynolds. “But, if Stearns has the ball the whole game like Dexter did and we don’t keep our responsibilities on defense, it could make for a long night.”
Reynolds believes Upton will be ready to go on Friday night. But, he wants to see his troops refocus and “get the train rolling in the right direction again.”
If the Houlton defense does not get stops, it could be a problem for the Shires.
“Stearns is very good at doing what they like to do offensively,” said Reynolds. “If we can’t stop them, we will be in trouble.”
The Shiretowners are going to continue grinding it out on the ground.
“When you are missing two or three of your backfield, play calling gets tricky,” Reynolds said. “Before you know it, you are punting the ball a lot. Sometimes we forget that football is a game where you only need to gain 10 yards every four plays to keep possession.”
