SOUTH PORTLAND – Sanford senior Alex Shain is going to remember this one for a while.

The sensational Sanford (2-1) running back had just pounded in a fourth-and-one touchdown with 1:50 to go to cut what had once been a two-possession South Portland lead to 35-34 on Friday night. After a timeout, Sanford Head Coach Mike Fallon elected to go for the two-point conversion – and the win.

“Late in the game I was a little bit concerned,” Fallon said. “I felt like defensively we were back on out heels a little bit, and then they were going to get the ball back with quite a bit of time left. Of course, if we convert for two and we win the game, I am saying that’s the greatest decision ever made… but that’s the joys of being a head coach sometimes – you get to make those decisions.”

There was little question about whose name he would call.

On the resulting play, Shain took a pitch as he rolled left and angled for the corner of the end zone. Hit once by South Portland defensive back Michael Salvatore – also the Riots’ quarterback – Shain kept chugging. But it was enough to slow the big back down, and that gave the Riots (2-1) time to swarm. After an agonizing struggle, Shain was lifted off his feet and stopped… at the six-inch line.

No good.

“I thought, ‘This is the play’,” Salvatore said. “Everything I had, I needed to put on this play. And I stuck that kid. He tried to run on that toss to the side, and I stuck him. I popped him, and then it was just a team swarm over to him, and we stripped the ball.”

South Portland would score again in the final minute on a 56-yard run by back Dan Medeci, and sophomore Joey DiBiase intercepted Sanford quarterback Cody Mooney on a last-chance drive to seal the 42-34 victory.

But there was no question that the game turned on missed conversion.

“Emotionally that was the end,” said South Portland Head Coach Steve Stinson. “It was like basketball – we saved our timeouts. We saw from the sideline that they were going to go for two, and we let them show how they were set.”

Such drama would have been unnecessary if feisty Sanford hadn’t clawed their way back into contention. The Riots led 21-14 at the half after trailing early 14-7, having taken advantage of a couple of Sanford fumbles and a running into the kicker penalty, all of which resulted in drives that produced points. The final score of the half came on a tipped 11-yard pass by Salvatore that was hauled in by senior Logan Gaddar to give the Riots the momentum heading into the break.

“It was really kind of an ebb and flow game,” Fallon said. “We played well, and then we weren’t playing well, and then we shot ourselves in the foot. But a lot of credit goes to South Portland – those kids came to play, and Coach Stinson and his staff did a good job. They are a good football team, no question. But I think we’re also a good football team.”

But the first drive of the second for South Portland began and ended in disaster, as Salvatore was picked off, and six plays later, senior back Jon Schroder punched it in from the 1 to tie things at 21. The Riots responded quickly, however, striking on a second-effort five-yard touchdown run by Salvatore to cap off a quick drive, then extending the lead further early in the fourth on a five-yard run by Medeci that made it 35-21.

Sanford did not fail to respond, answering on their ensuing drive with an eight-play, 61-yard push that ended in a two-yard touchdown run by Shain. The Redskins stopped South Portland defensively, then again moved efficiently downfield to set up two tries from the 1 before Shain put it in. That paved the way for the decisive two-point conversion showdown, and Salvatore’s heroic stop.

“We came into this year with two 18-year-old senior quarterbacks,” Stinson said. “We went with Jordan (Muller, who was injured in the season opener), but Michael last year started games for us down the stretch when we had quarterbacks injured, he beat Gorham, beat Portland in the bridge game to take us into the playoffs, and he just refused to lose tonight. He had just a different speed on both sides of the ball.”

Sanford’s offensive line kneels ready to nose forward against
South Portland on Friday night. The Redskins were able to take a
14-7 lead early against the Riots, but wound up having to fight
from behind late. (Staff photos by Emory Rounds)