Boothbay used a strong second half effort Oct. 30 in defeating Telstar, 44-17, in 8-man football Southern Conference playoffs at Sherman Field.

The Rebels led 9-8 at halftime due to a long first quarter drive which ended with a 28-yard field goal and a touchdown pass as time expired in the first half. But the second half proved to be Boothbay's, as the Seahawks used the intermission to regroup and dominated Telstar, by outscoring the Rebels, 36-8, in the final 24 minutes.

Boothbay, 6-2, advances to the conference championship game on Saturday, Nov. 7 against defending conference champion Old Orchard Beach (9-0) who defeated Maranacook, 42-0, in the other semifinal.

There is no mystery in what the Boothbay offense attack entails. The Seahawks try to involve junior Peyton Barter as much as possible whether it’s a run, pass, kick return, or punt return opportunity. Barter didn’t disappoint Friday as he scored four touchdowns.

“Everybody knows Peyton is getting the ball. He gains yard after yard and no one stops him. Teams know it is coming, but they just can’t stop him,” Boothbay coach Ed Crocker said.

Despite Telstar’s lone touchdown on the final play of the first half, Boothbay didn’t seem phased. Defensive end Aiden Locke didn’t think for a second Boothbay would lose. “It was a hard fought game and a lot of things happened, but I still thought we’d win,” Locke said.

At halftime, Crocker tried to right the “wrongs” of the first half. Both teams were heavily penalized and there was plenty of "extracurricular" action after the whistle blew.

“It was a tale of two halves,” Crocker said. “Our defense saved us in the first half. We regrouped at halftime. I told them not to react to what they were doing. On offense, we refocused which worked out for us.”

Cornerback Thomas Hennessy believed Telstar’s go-ahead touchdown didn’t impact the team’s determination in seeking victory. “There was a lot of talking and fighting between plays. We just didn’t let it bother us,” he said.

Boothbay took the lead for good midway through the third quarter. The Seahawks were faced with a third-and-nine on their own 40-yard line. Quarterback Miles Murray threw a middle screen pass to Barter, who scampered 60 yards to pay dirt.

“Miles got hit after he threw it. I had three linemen in front of me and scored," Barter said. The middle screen was a new play Boothbay hadn’t used in a game but worked on for a couple weeks prior. "We didn't use it last week against Mt. View because we wanted to save it for the playoffs," Barter said. 

Another factor in the victory was Boothbay’s tough defense. In the first series, Telstar running back Alex Dougherty left the game with a broken arm. Early in the second half, Walker left with a possible concussion and one of Telstar’s offensive linemen left with a possible ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury. 

“We are such a hard-hitting team. Tonight showed how hard we hit,” Crocker said.