CAPE ELIZABETH – After jumping out to a 20-0 lead, Cape Elizabeth held off a second-half rally and defeated Wells 26-12 Friday night in a Western Class C football game at Hannaford Field.

“I thought we did a nice job of taking some punches that they threw in the second half and responding well,” Capers Coach Aaron Filieo said. “We didn’t let them get us down. We stuck with the game plan and kept going, so I was proud of their resolve.”

Christian Lavallee led the Capers (2-1) with 202 rushing yards on 19 carries.

Cape Elizabeth quarterback Noah Wolfinger (7 of 13, 145 yards) threw two touchdown passes, both to Evan Murphy, and one interception.

The Capers dominated the first half, collecting 277 yards and 14 first downs, while the Warriors (2-1) managed just 8 yards and one first down.

Lavallee, a junior, broke a tackle on an 84-yard run midway through the first quarter that set up Cape Elizabeth’s first score.

“I thought I was down,” Lavallee said. “I was in the middle of the pile. But I popped my head out and just took off down the sideline.”

Three plays later, senior Nick Moulton (9 carries, 44 yards) ran right for a 5-yard touchdown. Ben Ekedahl’s extra point gave the Capers a 7-0 lead.

On its next possession, Cape Elizabeth marched 70 yards on 12 plays and ate 6:08 off the clock. Jack Drinan’s 10-yard run capped the drive, and the Capers led 14-0.

With 39 seconds to play in the half, Wolfinger found Murphy in the left corner of the end zone. Nate Booth of Wells was in position to make a play on the ball, but Murphy snatched it for a 21-yard score that put the Capers in control at halftime.

“I challenged the kids at halftime,” Wells Coach Tim Roche said.

“I said, ‘guys, we’re not changing anything. We’re not going to draw up a hundred different things. We’re going to see if we can play Warrior football right now.’ And they did.”

On the first drive of the second half, Chris Carney (13 carries, 75 yards), ran for a 21-yard touchdown on fourth-and-3 to draw Wells within 20-6.

Carney intercepted a throw from Wolfinger on the ensuing drive. That set up a 24-yard scoring strike from quarterback Nate Booth to Jake Moody that made it 20-12 at the end of the third quarter and shifted momentum to the Warriors.

“We went into the locker room thinking we had the game won, and we came out flat in the third quarter,” Lavallee said.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, facing third-and-13, Wolfinger hit Murphy in stride down the right sideline for a 75-yard touchdown that sealed the victory.

“We saw something that we thought we could exploit,” said Murphy, who finished with five catches for 125 yards.

“Noah put it right where he needed to. I just had to sprint down the field. He put it right there for me, I caught it, and I ran, simple as that.”

Cape Elizabeth sacked Booth three times for a total loss of 35 yards.