Can anything stop Westbrook’s Maurice Johnson? Certainly that was the question on every football fan’s mind in Cumberland Friday night, when the No. 5 Blue Blazes descended on No. 4 Greely’s home turf to discuss postseason strategy with the Rangers.

The answer to that little inquiry, as it turned out, happened to be yes. After scoring thrice in the first half alone, MoJo exited the game for the latter quarters with an unspecified injury. He was, however, present (and boisterous) on the sidelines, cheering his teammates on as they maintained their advantage and eventually won, 28-15.

Westbrook head coach Jeff Guerette expressed satisfaction with his boys’ performance. “I thought we made plays in all three phases: We turned the ball over on defense, we turned the ball over on special teams, we executed on offense,” he said. “Total team effort on offense, second half in particular.

“I was really happy for our kids.”

The upset victory bumped Westbrook to 4-5 on the year; the Blazes move on to a towering challenge this Friday night, Nov. 7: a semifinals bout with Marshwood, B West’s uncontested No. 1 seed. The Hawks are 9-0 already in 2014 and undoubtedly looking to pick the meat off another team’s bones.

Greely, meanwhile, retires till next season, 4-5 themselves. Interestingly, the Rangers bludgeoned Westbrook, 31-6, back on Sept. 26. Life lesson: sometimes the tables, the tides – call them what you will – sometimes they really do turn. Be prepared.

Johnson & Co. sure were. They showed as much, after working out the kinks for the better part of a quarter. Late in the first, Greely in possession, the Blazes’ Miece Loureiro picked off a pass attempt by Rangers QB Matt Pisini, giving Westbrook the ball – and the momentum, which they then held onto with a determined fervor.

They advanced nimbly on MoJo’s solid running and a pretty Bailey (Sawyer) to Bailey (Ryan) pass, all the way to first and goal at the Greely five. From there, Johnson had but to hop, skip and jump for a TD and a 6-0 lead.

The Rangers began their follow-up series looking sharp: John Riolo returned the kickoff to Greely’s 39 and Sam Peck ran, ran, ran from there, grabbing a yard, then 22 more, then 8 more – before the team fumbled and the Blazes recovered.

The turnover proved costly, as it put the ball back in Johnson’s hot hands – Johnson who, less than two minutes after reaching the end zone for the first time that night, broke away for a long run up the right side to reach it again. Peck pursued, but MoJo had a step on him; Peck’s last-second diving grab missed, and left him to watch from the turf as Johnson put the Rangers behind 12-0.

“We’ve kind of, the last three or four weeks, improved a lot,” Guerette said. “We’ve eliminated the big mistake. I think we’re getting more physical as it goes along. Our kids prepared extremely well this week; we felt really comfortable coming in.”

Greely looked a bit rattled on the ensuing drive. Peck continued to gain ground in the team’s run game, even grabbed nice 14-yard and 17-yard first-downs, but the Blazes’ defense held him on fourth and five at their 23 to regain the ball once more.

Westbrook’s series withered on the vine and they punted with just 43 seconds remaining in the half. But, of course, a lot can happen in 43 football seconds.

In this case, Rangers QB Pisini promptly took a hard hit from behind, midway through a throw; the ball tumbled through the air nowhere near its intended target, but plenty close enough to the Blazes’ Jared Clark, who snatched it up for the team’s second interception. From there, the dominant Johnson tallied eight more, rushing for a 10-yard TD and a two-point conversion. 20-0, Westbrook.

Greely finally got on the board, midway through the third, on a stellar series that began with a long punt return by Nick Dubois all the way to the Blazes’ 44. Peck and Pisini strung together a quick chain of carries to advance their squad to the 16, and Peck the put the finishing touches on the drive with a dash to the end zone. 20-7.

The momentum looked like it might shift. The Rangers appeared fired up on the sidelines and hungry on the field: Were Greely fans in for a treat, a comeback, and Blazes fans in for a heartbreak?

Nope. Johnson had checked out by then, but his teammates rallied to pick up his slack. Ytbarek Hailegiorgis returned the follow-up kickoff to Westbrook’s 33, and Sawyer ran a number of short keepers before hurling a long bomb – 39 yards long – up the middle to Ryan.

Finally, on third and goal at the Rangers’ six, Sawyer pitched to Derek Breunig on the far side of the goal line. The ball slipped in and out of Breunig’s grasp, but Ryan had his back, and snatched the nigh-incomplete pass before it could hit the ground.

Truly a team effort, that one. Add in a successful QB keeper by Sawyer for the two-point conversion, and Westbrook stood on top 28-7. Greely would add another score before the night concluded, but in the end, the game belonged to the Blazes.

“I thought Bailey Sawyer stepped up,” Guerette said. “We ran the ball with him a little more than we usually do. I thought the long pass he connected with Bailey Ryan was a huge play. We just reshuffled the deck a little bit and made it work.

“We always want to be balanced; we’re trying to be as balanced as we can.”

Maurice Johnson runs for Westbrook early in their road win over Greely Friday night.The Blazes, including Mikiel Lepage (64) and Derek Breunig (10) receive instruction from head coach Jeff Guerette during a time-out.Westbrook junior Nate Wetherington cuts wide around a Greely defender.Blazes QB Bailey Sawyer stepped up to run more after Maurice Johnson checked out of the game with an injury.Westbrook’s Bailey Ryan (1) and Philip Stearns criss-cross on a route during the Blazes’ 28-15 win at Greely Friday night.