AUBURN — The momentum turned quickly in the second half and Portland High never let it go Friday night.

Portland broke a halftime tie with four third-quarter touchdowns to beat Edward Little 40-14 at Walton Field.

Bulldogs quarterback Issiah Bachelder threw for 159 yards and ran for two touchdowns.

The Bulldogs took the second-half kickoff. Bachelder hit Jake Knop for a 54-yard touchdown pass on third-and 15. The pass was tipped and Knop still hauled it in after a bobble.

Less than three minutes later, Vincent Pasquali of Portland (1-1) rushed in untouched and blocked a punt, recovering at the Edward Little 5. Knop ran it in.

After a short punt, Portland drove 47 yards. Bachelder scored from the 2.

Edward Little (1-1) had to pass to rally and the Bulldogs knew it. Dylan Bolduc stepped in front of a Red Eddies receiver, intercepted and ran 35 yards for a score.

Just like that a tie game turned into a 40-14 rout.

“A little bit of momentum is a lot at the high school level,” Edward Little Coach Dave Sterling said. “They get that tipped ball for the touchdown. You got the blocked punt and that last pick-six.

“Three big things happened …those are all things we can work on.”

Edward Little has been working and looks much improved from last year’s 3-6 team. The Red Eddies put a scare into the defending Class A North champ.

“That’s a great football team,” Portland Coach Jim Hartman said. “I thought before the season they might be second or third in (the North) and they still might be.”

Hartman, meanwhile, wants his team to forget about the 2015 success.

“They still think this is last year’s team,” he said. “They have to have their own personality, learn how to tough things out.”

Penalties hurt Portland (13 for 85 yards). The Bulldogs only had the ball three times in the first half, scoring twice and throwing an interception.

“We toughed it out,” Bachelder said. “We were playing kind of soft in the first half.”

The Bulldogs scored first, driving 57 yards, capped by Nick Archambault’s 43-yard score, after breaking through the middle of the line. Quinn Clarke’s extra- point kick made it 7-0.

Edward Little came back with a 75-yard drive. On fourth-and-11 at the Bulldogs’ 34, flanker Max Bell reversed for a 31-yard run. Caden Begos (84 yards on 21 carries) scored from the 2. The snap on the extra-point kick was mishandled and the Eddies still trailed 7-6.

Portland scored on its second possession, marching 64 yards in 11 plays. On fourth-and-goal at the 1, Bachelder snuck it in for a 14-6 lead.

The teams traded drives and turnovers, giving Edward Little one last chance in the first half. Quarterback Grant Hartley hit Tyler Blanchard with a 1-yard TD pass with 10 seconds left. On the 2-point conversion, Hartley scrambled before finding Blanchard to tie the game 14-14.

Portland went backward after the second-half kickoff but on third-and-21, Knop caught a screen pass and gained 24 yards. He finished with six catches for 96 yards.

“Knoppie is my favorite receiver,” Bachelder said. “Great hands, great speed.”

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