Saturday’s Class D South quarterfinal victory, a 33-8 thumping of Boothbay, was the quintessence of Mynahan. His team was efficient, calculated, impeccably prepared and merciful.
And it was no ordinary win. It was No. 200 in Mynahan’s 29-year tenure at Lisbon, a number that rounds up to about seven each autumn in a state whose regular season is only eight or nine games long.
He is the fourth active coach to join that club, following John Wolfgram of Cheverus, Mike Siviski of Winslow and Jim Aylward of Mt. Blue.
“It means you’ve been around a long time,” Mynahan, unassuming as ever, said. “Probably too long, you know?”
There is no reason to step away when your team is program is still thriving, often overachieving, and almost always playing into November. No. 3 Lisbon (6-2) kicked off its latest playoff run by scoring on all five first-half possessions before letting off the accelerator.
Tyler Halls passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more, all in the second quarter. Henry Adams and Kaleb Little were the recipients. Noah Francis also rushed for a score to lead the Greyhounds, who will travel to No. 2 Dirigo for the semifinals Friday.
No. 6 Boothbay (2-6) played Lisbon to a 19-0 regular season verdict and stunned Winthrop/Monmouth last week to move up two spots on the playoff ladder, but the Seahawks were no match this time.
“We studied up on film. We practiced hard all week,” Francis said. “We prepare for teams a lot different than we used to.”
Blake Berube, Tanton Mattson and Kurtis Bolton led a smothering defense that bullied Boothbay to 18 net yards in the first half. Little and Mattson made fumble recoveries.
The Seahawks didn’t notch their initial first down until the 6:20 mark of the third quarter. That came largely on the strength of two encroachment penalties against Lisbon’s defensive reserves.
“We heard that last Friday when they beat Winthrop that they were excited to come down here and play us, and that didn’t settle with us. We took that to heart,” Berube said. “We heard that on Monday and we worked all week because of that. We wanted to show them what happens when you come to play us in the playoffs, and that’s what happened today.”
Boothbay averted the shutout on a 68-yard bomb from Duncan Drapeau to Abel Bryer with 3:20 left. It more than doubled the Seahawks’ prior yardage in the contest. Xavier Downing rushed for the conversion.
Prior to that, it was all Lisbon until Mynahan called off the dogs.
Halls was 6-for-7 through the air in the first half. Lisbon’s four-pronged ground attack of Halls, Francis, Adams and Shawn Grover combined for 32 carries and 191 yards in the first half, monopolizing time of possession.
“Boothbay the last time we played them, they’re a tough team, a fired-up team and a good team,” Mynahan said. “Our kids just made some plays I thought today, offensively and defensively.”
Lisbon’s opening 11-play, 59-yard drive gobbled six minutes. Francis converted two third downs before finishing the work with runs up the middle of 8 yards, then 2 yards for the score. Berube booted the extra point.
Francis also was the star of the second series, churning out consecutive gains of 12 yards apiece to set up Halls’ 25-yard TD on the option.
Boothbay used the 6-foot-4 Bryer as a wildcat quarterback on its second series, but Berube set the tone for Lisbon by throwing him for a six-yard loss on the first play.
“I was a spy today, and I love hitting. I really got my head in for this one,” Berube said. “We knew something was coming when they put him back there. I just watched him and whatever way he went, I went. We were reading that. We knew everything they were going to throw at us.”
Between a lengthy return and a late hit, Lisbon’s next possession began at the Boothbay 31. Halls faked out everyone on a 13-yard scoring scamper.
Adams’ catch in the end zone covered 12 yards. Little’s TD reception registered 20.
Lisbon has allowed only two touchdowns, both in the fourth quarter of one-sided wins, in the past three weeks.
“The key is we’re just out there grinding as a team, day in and day out,” Francis said. “We take a lot of pride in our defense. We’re working. Sweat and repetition.”
Nothing new in the Mynahan regime.
koakes@sunjournal.com
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