In fact, the Blue Devils did score on that first drive … but it took 24 hours to accomplish.
Eddie Emerson’s pass on the second play from scrimmage Saturday night found Steven Patrie for a touchdown to complete a 36-yard drive that began on Friday before lightning sent the teams home for one night.
The early score spearheaded a 26-14 Lewiston victory over the Eagles, who dropped their 19th consecutive game overall, despite finding a little bit of light at the end of a long tunnel.
Down 26-0 in the fourth quarter, the Mt. Ararat backups put together two drives in a span of just four minutes, with Bru Abreu scoring twice against the Blue Devil reserves to make the final score closer.
Abreu finished with 30 yards on six rushes, while receiver Brandon Dionne hauled in a 26-yard pass from quarterback Dylan Johnson to set up the first Mt. Ararat score with 3:22 remaining.
The Eagles got the ball right back as Abreu recovered a fumble on the kickoff and finished off the drive with 1:14 remaining on a 3- yard TD run.
“With 25 kids, they are working hard in practice and I am glad to see that we were able to put some things together at the end there,” said Mt. Ararat (0-1) coach Frank True.
True’s forces were hurt by penalties in a long first half. The Eagles were whistled nine times for 68 yards, while gaining just 72 yards from scrimmage.
“We need to pay attention to detail and clean up the mistakes,” said True. “A couple plays we would do well, then it was backwards. When you’re a young team and struggling that way, it is tough to get it going.”
When the starters were in the game, Lewiston dominated behind the hard running of sophomore running back Quintarian Brown, who routinely broke arm tackles on his way to a game-high 137 yards on 17 carries. His 2-yard TD run 90 seconds into the second half completed the Blue Devils’ scoring.
“He looked good last week in our exhibition game, and after tonight we are going to have to work on other parts of our offense because our opponents will know Quintarian is the man,” said Lewiston (1-0) coach Bill County.
“We wanted to start off with a win and see where we are at as we move forward, knowing that we are a young team and can do it,” said Brown. “There was pressure, but I just have to me. I wouldn’t have gotten half of my yards without keeping my feet running.”
“As a sophomore, I won’t want to see him coming in the next couple of years,” said True of Brown.
Lewiston rolls
The Blue Devils began finding their stride in the second quarter, with Brown darting through the Mt. Ararat defense for a 23-yard gain, and Nick Perreault finding room on the outside with runs of 23 and 21 yards.
“Once Lewiston started getting downhill, it was tough to get a stop,” said True, who saw his team struggle in the second quarter when Lewiston turned a 6-0 advantage into a 19-0 edge at the break.
Gabe Johnson finished off a 64-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run for a 12-0 Lewiston lead, and Sheon James’ 6-yard TD scamper and a Tom Hird point-after kick gave the Blue Devils a 19-point lead.
The Blue Devils had 199 yards on 37 rushes, while Emerson finished 5-for-8 in the air for 69 yards. Zach Phelan led the Lewiston defense with 12 tackles, with Brian Wigant picking up six solo tackles and Colton Bernier recovering a fumble.
With its late spurt, Mt. Ararat finished with 201 yards of offense, including 167 on the ground, led by Joey Burr’s 51 yards on 11 carries. Jordan Castonguay led the Eagles’ defense with eight tackles, with Ryan Moody adding seven tackles.
Lewiston 26,
Mt. Ararat 14
Lewiston —61370—26
Mt.Ararat—00014—14
First quarter
L — Steven Patrie 8-pass from Eddie
Emerson (kick blocked), 5:35.
Second quarter
L — Gabe Johnson 2 run (run failed),
8:57.
L — Sheon James 6 run (Tom Hird
kick), 1:03.
Third quarter
L — Quintarian Brown 2 run (Tom Hird
kick), 10:30.
Four quarter
MA — Bru Abreu 5 run (kick failed),
3:22.
MA — Bru Abreu 3 run (Abreu run),
1:14.
Records — Lewiston 1-0, Mt. Ararat 0-1.
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