Dawson Stevens scored two touchdowns and rushed for more than 200 yards to lead Oxford Hills/Buckfield to a 20-14 win against Portland in a Class A North season opener Saturday night at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
It was the Vikings’ first win over Portland, which ran away with a 55-16 victory in a regional semifinal last year on the way to its second consecutive regional title.
“This is good stuff for us,” said Oxford Hills Coach Mark Soehren. “Portland is always Portland. They’ve got the P on the helmet.”
The Vikings held a huge statistical advantage, especially in the first half when Portland was limited to 11 offensive plays.
“We weren’t ready to run inside,” Portland Coach Jim Hartman said. “We could not run inside and we couldn’t get (to) the edge. We were forced to throw the ball, which I thought we did well.”
Sam Knop, a sophomore who took over at quarterback when Ronaldo Wakati injured a leg on the final play of the first half, completed 6 of 12 passes for 106 yards in the second half.
The score was tied 7-7 at halftime.
The Vikings opened the scoring when Stevens swept right 18 yards to cap a 15-play, 80-yard drive that consumed the first eight minutes. Quarterback Colton Carson twice kept the drive alive with completions to Cam Slicer on third down.
With less than four minutes left in the first half, Wakati threw a 49-yard scoring strike to Vincent Pasquali. The touchdown came two plays after Pasquali intercepted a pass at his own 10 and returned it 30 yards.
The Vikings threatened again in the closing moments of the half, but Pasquali intercepted a tipped pass at the 10 and returned it 53 yards.
Oxford Hills regained the lead on its first possession of the second half when Stevens, who carried 32 times, swept right 47 yards for a touchdown.
The Vikings made it 20-7 later in the third quarter when Emerson Brown went 2 yards up the middle to cap a six-play, 43-yard drive after Alex Turner intercepted a pass. Fullback J.J. Worcester rumbled 34 yards on fourth down to set up the touchdown.
Portland completed the scoring midway through the fourth quarter when Zach Elowitch swept left 2 yards for a touchdown. The Bulldogs needed to go only 32 yards after Jonah Green blocked a punt.
Although Soehren was elated with the win, he saw plenty of room for improvement.
“This isn’t the end,” he said. “This is the beginning of a long season. In this game, a lot of stuff wasn’t good enough. It really wasn’t.”
Hartman said he expects the Bulldogs to improve.
“You know, we are replacing some serious studs,” he said. “These kids have got to learn how to be big boys. The talent’s there … We’re going to get better.”
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