LISBON FALLS

Lisbon High Schol walked away from Saturday’s fierce and physical Class D West battle with Dirigo with the satisfaction of a well-earned victory tempered by the knowledge that it came at a price.

Junior QB Kyle Bourget’s 6- yard touchdown pass to freshman Noah Francis put the Greyhounds ahead in overtime, then Austin Proctor’s interception in the endzone clinched a 22-14 win over Dirigo at Thompson Field.

The Greyhounds lost star senior running back Quincy Thompson to a dislocated elbow on the first play of the second half. Thompson suffered the injury carrying the ball on a running play and is likely out for the season.

“We just had to keep going, keep playing,” senior wide receiver Jordan Glover said. “We couldn’t worry about that. We had to play for him.”

With Thompson out, Lisbon regrouped quickly to take a 14-6 lead on the same opening drive when Bourget found Glover (six catches, 72 yards) over the middle. Glover hauled the ball in around the three, broke a tackle and dove for the end zone to give the Greyhounds a 14-6 lead.

“He ran a great pattern and I just had to put the ball in a spot and I knew he would catch it,” Bourget said. “I have all the faith in him.”

Dirigo rallied to tie the game late in the third quarter after sophomore QB Riley Robinson found junior FB Tyler Frost in the left flat. Frost made a fingertip grab, turned upfield and bowled over two Greyhounds before being knocked out of bounds at the 1-yard-line. Robinson snuck it in from there and Joe Casey ran in the 2-point conversion to tie it.

Both defenses were put to the test at different points for the balance of regulation. Dirigo stopped Lisbon on downs at its own 13. Lisbon forced a three-and-out on Dirigo’s ensuing possession, and Torres’ 23-yard punt return set the Greyhounds up at the D-33. A penalty and a failed fake punt turned the ball back over to the Cougars at their own 35.

A pair of completions by Robinson (7-for-17, 82 yards, TD, INT) drove Dirigo to Lisbon’s 33, but a holding penalty helped scuttle the drive. The Cougars punted the Greyhounds back to their own 6, but runs by Torres and a pair of completions by Bourget (10-for-23, 107 yards, 2 TDs, INT) got Lisbon to midfield with a minute left.

Dirigo buckled down and forced three straight Bourget incompletions, prodding the Greyhounds into a punt that, after taking a Dirigo bounce, went only three yards.

The Cougars took over at their own 49 with 54 seconds to go, but a sack by Joe Philbrick on second down and an incompletion on third down forced them to punt again. Starting at its own 45 with 14 seconds left, Lisbon decided to take a knee and focus on overtime.

Dirigo won the toss and elected to start on defense, with each team starting at the 10-yard-line with four plays to score. Lisbon went to Philbrick for a 3-yard gain on first down, then the Cougars limited Torres to a 1-yard gain on second.

On third down. Bourget connected with Francis amidst a crowd in the front of the endzone for the lead.

Bourget and Glover hooked up for the two-point conversion.

The Greyhounds stuffed Robinson for no gain on the first play of Dirigo’s series. Robinson’s pass intended for Casey on second down fell incomplete. His third-down pass did find its intended receiver, Frost, but he was quickly surrounded by Greyhounds and dropped at the 8.

On fourth down, Robinson rolled right under pressure and saw his primary receiver, Brett Beauchesne, covered. He threw back left into the endzone where Lisbon’s Austin Proctor was waiting for the interception.

“I thought our defense played really well today, the best I’ve seen them play all year,” said Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan, whose defense limited Dirigo to eight first downs. “We were real confident heading into the overtime because they’d been working hard all day.”

Good starting field position after a failed fake punt helped Dirigo (4-3) get on the board first on a 7-yard run by Heath Hersom with 3:35 left in the first quarter. Lisbon (6-1, scheduled to visit Oak Hill next Saturday) answered on its next drive and then some when a 21- yard Bourget-to-Glover pass and runs by Thompson (13 carries, 60 yards) and Jordan Torres (27 carries, 102 yards) drove the Greyhounds to the 1. Philbrick plunged in from there and Jacob Johnston caught the 2- point pass from Bourget for an 8-6 lead.

Beauchesne recovered a fumble on the Greyhounds’ next possession at Lisbon’s 33, but the Lisbon defense allowed only four yards on four plays to get the ball back.