After his team shut out Deering 14-0 Friday night, Oxford Hills/Buckfield football coach Mark Soehren grinned while listening to his two top running backs recall a drill he had his team do before the game.
“You have to smell the end zone, like Coach said,” said Dawson Stevens, a freshman. “We all stood there, bent down and smelled the end zone.”
“It’s the best smell in the world,” added Ryland VanDecker, who found the end zone in the second quarter for Oxford Hills’ first points of the game.
VanDecker and Stevens took turns marching the ball down the field – finishing with 121 and 155 rushing yards respectively – to lead the Vikings (3-3) past the Rams (2-4) at Memorial Field.
Oxford Hills quarterback Connor Truman scored the only other touchdown with a 1-yard run.
Oxford Hills totaled 310 offensive yards while Deering finished with 164.
“Coming in, we knew Deering was a good team and that we needed to control the ball,” Soehren said. “We came out in the second half and just pounded down the field.”
The Vikings didn’t quite accomplish that in the first half, when they threw three interceptions – by Deering’s Keegan Stanton, Mason Kaserman and Robbie Dacey – all within 25 yards of Deering’s end zone.
“They have a solid defense – they were strong,” VanDecker said. “It just comes down to who wants it more.”
The Rams also had two turnovers before halftime, recovered by Oxford Hills’ Adaryan Ray and Tasker Winslow.
Following a 28-yard catch by Stevens that put Oxford Hills on Deering’s 2, VanDecker finally managed to punch one in with 8:07 left in the half.
Stevens kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
“You just have to get in,” VanDecker said. “That’s your mentality.”
In the second half, the Vikings stuck to their running game.
VanDecker nearly recorded his second touchdown after fighting 12 yards into the end zone, but was ruled down at the 1. Truman then took care of business with 31 seconds remaining.
“I dove into the end zone but they didn’t call it,” VanDecker said. “Then I was like, I don’t care who scores.”
Stevens added another extra point for the 14-0 lead, but just as valuable as the seven points was the seven minutes Oxford Hills ate off the clock.
“They did a great job hitting holes,” Soehren said. “It was just ball control. We didn’t turn it over in the second half.”
The Rams didn’t have a chance to answer.
Ray and Shawn Hermanson helped lead the Vikings’ defense, which held Deering to just 75 rushing yards – 60 by Ryan Walsh.
Stevens and VanDecker credited their offensive line with the win.
“We walked into this as a can’t-lose game,” VanDecker said. “It’s the best feeling in the world.”
Oxford Hills will host Windham next Friday, and Deering will play at Edward Little.
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