Maine West bests East

Last season, cross-town rival Maine East spoiled Maine West's homecoming game.

This season, the Warriors returned the favor.

Backed by a staunch defensive effort and a successful running attack, Maine West was able to defeat the Blue Demons 26-12 on Friday night.

The Warriors defense, led by senior defensive end Ethan Slopecki (sack, fumble recovery), and sophomore defensive backs Raul Anaya (interception) and Dan Cardamone (interception), held the Blue Demons to just 26 rushing yards and only 7 completed passes.

"The defense really stepped up with some big, big plays," Maine West coach Chris Hare said. "They have some very special players. No. 2 (Xavier Levy) is a very special player. No. 3 (Andrew Lee) is a very special player. And their quarterback (George Zakaria) is a good runner. We worked real hard to contain what we called the three-headed monster."

Levy was the only player of the group Hare mentioned who hurt the Warriors (2-5, 1-2). He turned a screen pass into a 68-yard touchdown and a quick slant into a 64-yard score. He finished with 4 catches for 143 yards.

Maine West racked up 225 rushing yards behind the efforts of running back Calvin Williams (18 carries, 86 yards, 2 touchdowns), quarterback Ziggy Krycka (14 carries, 70 yards, touchdown) and running back B.J. Lambert (9 carries, 52 yards, touchdown).

"Our goal is to use the clock, travel down the field using the clock, and get about 4 yards per play," Hare said. "Overall we ran pretty hard. At times we could have definitely run harder. But our goal is to run the ball."

Williams credited his offensive line with paving the way for his solid day.

"Without them, we wouldn't have anything," Williams said. "They made some nice plays. And they made me have a nice game today."

Williams said it felt great to dish out a little payback to the Blue Demons from last year's game.

"It means a lot to come out here and win after what they did to us last year," Williams said. "They beat us last year so we had to come out here for a little bit of revenge."

It was a happy night for a Maine West team that has been struggling to find wins this season.

"Any type of win is a great feeling," Hare said. "Wins haven't been easy to come by. Any time you can get a victory, we'll take it."

Krycka also completed 5-of-12 passes for 92 yards. Zakaria finished with 179 passing yards for Maine East (1-6, 0-3).