By Dave Dyer

Staff Writer

The pass from Edward Little High School quarterback Cody Goddard seemed to stay in the air forever, the football spiraling in slow motion against a blue sky.

It fell to the mass of blue and red jerseys, all hoping for one-year bragging rights to say which team is better:  East or West.

It was a day for the East team, as Edward Little receiver Sean Daigle grabbed the ball and secured the team’s 17-16 victory Saturday afternoon in the 20th Annual Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic at Waterhouse Field in Biddeford.

The win brings the overall series record to five wins and 15 losses, for the East, although the East has won four of the last six contests.

The West started the scoring quickly in the first quarter. On the first play from scrimmage on their own 29-yard line, Bonny Eagle High School quarterback Nate Doehler ran the ball on an option play and sprinted 71 yards for a touchdown. Doehler kicked the extra point to give the West an early 7-0 lead.

Doehler’s run would be the only touchdown in the first half of the game. Both the East and West offenses focused on running the football, with the East using a power running attack and the West using a spread option offense, similar to the offense Doehler used at Bonny Eagle.

The West was able to score three more points near the end of the first half. Following a 13-play, 71-yard drive, Doehler kicked a 30-yard field goal to give the West a 10-0 lead at halftime.

On their second drive of the second half, the East scored their first points in the game. Goddard hit Skowhegan High School running back Billy Clark with a pass in the flats, and Clark scrambled 26-yards for a touchdown. Winslow High School kicker Scott Siviski kicked the extra point to make the score 10-7.

On the following possession, the West was unable to move the ball down the field, punting after an eight-play drive. On fourth down, Doehler, who lined up at punter, attempted to fake the punt and pass the ball down the field. However, John Bapst High School defensive back Chase Huckestein intercepted Doehler’s pass, giving the East the ball on their own 46-yard line. The East took advantage of the turnover, moving down to the West’s 11-yard line, capping off an eight-play drive with Siviski hitting a 26-yard field goal to tie the game 10-10.

Two possessions later, the West offense marched down the field on a 12-play 64-yard drive. The East defense tried their best to shut down the West, stopping them on two straight plays inside their own five-yard line. However, Doehler ran an option play to the left and dove into the front pylon of the end zone to score a touchdown, making the score 16-10 in favor of the West. Doehler missed the extra point, a mistake that would prove costly for the West on the next possession.

At the beginning of their drive, it appeared the East squad was on the verge of losing the game, as a botched snap and a false start penalty forced the offense into a third and 24 situation on their own 28-yard line. 

Goddard found Lewiston running back Wesley Myers open and hit him with a pass. Myers sprinted down the field before being brought down on the West’s 31-yard line for a first down.

The West defense hurt themselves with two personal foul penalties in four plays, helping move the East further down the field, giving the offense a first and goal situation at the five-yard line.

After two unsuccessful running plays that moved the East offense back to the 10-yard line, Goddard hit Myers with a five-yard pass to set up fourth and goal at the five-yard line. Goddard bootlegged to his right and heaved a desperation jump-ball pass into the end zone.

With defenders all around him, Daigle used his 6-foot, 5-inch height to out-jump everyone else and snatch the ball out of the air for the touchdown and tie the game at 16-16.

Fans on the East side of Waterhouse Field jumped out of their seats at once in ovation, while East players on the sideline ran onto the field in celebration.

“It was supposed to be a rollout [play],” Goddard said. “Wesley [Myers] was supposed to run a slant, my number two was running an out. Daigle was sitting in the middle. I just threw it up and Daigle came down with it, like always.”

A pin drop could be heard on the following play, as Siviski lined up for the extra point. As he nailed the kick giving the East a 17-16 lead, East fans went into a frenzy, with only 36 seconds left in the game.

The West offense could not move the ball on the following possession, as Doehler heaved a hail Mary pass in the closing seconds, which fell incomplete well shy of the end zone.

Huckestein was named Most Valuable Player for the East team for his interception earlier in the game.

Doehler, who was the 2008 Fitzpatrick Trophy winner and will play at the University of Maine at Orono this fall, was awarded Most Valuable Player for the West team, as he was responsible for all of the team’s scoring for the day.

“It just became a fist fight,” Doehler said. “It went back and forth. In the end, the crucial kick missed. They did well though.”

Doehler said all was not lost, as he made new friends throughout the week of camp leading up to the game.

“It was nice, I got to play with kids I played against, going up against. I made a lot of new friends.”

Goddard said the win was comparable to winning a state championship.

“I didn’t win a state championship, I only made it to the [Class A] Eastern Maine Championship,” Goddard said. “This was my state championship this year.”

Staff writer Dave Dyer can be reached at 282-4337 ext. 219