Mount Ararat’s Adrian Reyes (76) prepares to block Dash Farrell (11) in the eight-man Big School semifinal. Cooper Sullivan/The Times Record

The Mount Ararat football team had a little extra motivation as they advanced to the eight-man Large School semi-final at Camden Hills on Saturday.

The Eagles (8-2) were seeking a berth in the state final and were looking to avenge the regular-season loss to the Windjammers. Mount Ararat accomplished both with a 48-12 victory.

Camden defeated the Eagles 36-20 in October.

“It was huge,” senior running back/linebacker Dash Farrell said. “We all hate to lose, it just pissed us off. We showed up an hour early to practice this week. We’re all getting out there, getting out there, working on our offense.”

The Eagles (8-2) will next face Greely (8-1) in the Big eight state final at 11 a.m. Saturday at Kennebunk High School.

The Mount Ararat defense forced the Camden Hills offense to total 92 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The Windjammers were without starting quarterback Hollis Schwalm (380 total yards, 5 TDs in Week 5) due to injury; Farrell acknowledged that was a factor but added that the extra defensive practice reps “make a big difference.”

“We played Yarmouth (in the final week of the regular season), then Gray-New Gloucester in the first round and now Camden Hills,” head coach Frank True said. “They all like to pass the ball a little bit, they all kind of get into double formations. That’s why we’re repeating our transition coverage more thoroughly. “It’s happened over and over again in the last three weeks.”

COMPETITORS COMPLETE 43.2% of passes in the last three weeks were against MTA, including two goals.

Ararat will continue to be tested in the air in his match against Greely in the state final.

Both Greely quarterbacks, senior Andrew Padgett (seven touchdown passes) and sophomore Luke Piper (nine touchdown passes), have the ability to hit the deep ball. In a 30-26 win over the Eagles on October 19, Piper scored twice and converted two fourth-and-longs that gave the Rangers the lead and pinned the Eagles deep in their own territory for the final drive of the game. .

Farrell left the Week 7 matchup with the injury in the third quarter, but said before last week’s semifinal that he would “play now that it’s the playoffs” if there was another in-game injury.

FARRELL’S NAME WAS GIVEN Campbell Conference eight-man Large School Player of the Year and first-team all-conference. Juniors Adrian Reyes, Martell Bowman and Aidan Ramsay also made the all-conference first team. Doughty, seniors Kurt Coen and Phillip Edelblut were named to the all-conference second team. True was named the eight-man Large School Coach of the Year.

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