LEWISTON — Cheverus came up with a clutch defensive stand after a fourth-quarter fumble, then burned off the rest of the clock to secure a 20-14 win in a Class A North game Friday night at Bates College’s Garcelon Field.

Both teams are now 3-3, but the win gave the Stags a much-needed boost in the muddled Class A North playoff picture. Cheverus and Lewiston are fighting with Windham and Oxford Hills for the second first-round bye behind undefeated Edward Little.

“We won that game with grit,” Cheverus senior lineman Zeb Leavitt said.

Tanner Cortes returned a fumble 49 yards to the Cheverus 40 with 3:01 left, but he was injured on the play, so backup quarterback Brock Belanger took over for Lewiston’s final drive.

An apparent first-down run by Garrett Poussard on fourth-and-2 was negated by an illegal motion penalty. Cheverus broke up a pass intended for Hunter Landry on the next play, then killed the final 2:20 behind its workhorse back, Max Coffin (33 carries, 143 yards, one TD).

Coffin opened the scoring with a 25-yard run up the middle. Sean Tompkins added two touchdowns – a 34-yard reception from Perrin Conant and an 84-yard return on the second-half kickoff, giving Cheverus a 20-7 lead.

WESTBROOK 28, MT. BLUE 27: Demante Loureiro scored from 7 yards out with 2:30 remaining, then ran for the 2-point conversion as the Blue Blazes (3-3) rallied past the Cougars (1-5) in Farmington.

Dimitri Reid clinched the victory with an interception in the end zone.

The teams exchanged two touchdowns apiece in the first quarter, with Westbrook getting an 87-yard run from Timyka Adams and a 73-yard run from Kyle Champagne.

Mt. Blue took a 27-20 lead late in the third quarter on quarterback John Bell’s 1-yard run – his second TD of the game.

LEAVITT 19, CAPE ELIZABETH 14: Caleb Bowen’s interception with 33 seconds left sealed a victory for the Hornets (6-0) against the Capers (4-2) at Turner.

The Capers (4-2) were facing third-and-10 at the Leavitt 24 in the final minute. Andrew Hartel passed to Jacob Brydson, who slipped on the slick grass. Bowen was there for the interception.

Hartel finished 10 of 22 for 302 yards and a touchdown.

“Without his ability to throw the ball, this game is a little bit more lopsided, I think. He bailed us out, his receivers played well.” Cape Coach Aaron Fileo said. “We told him we were proud of him. He made the plays when he had to, and made the one mistake down there.”

THORNTON ACADEMY 40, OXFORD HILLS 0: Will Mitchell threw for 120 yards and two touchdowns, and the Trojans (5-1) pulled away with 21 points in the third quarter to beat the Vikings (3-3) in South Paris.

Mitchell also ran for 54 yards on nine carries. Both of his touchdown passes were in the third quarter – 27 yards to CJ LaBreck and 44 yards to Anthony Bracamonte.

Thornton led 13-0 at halftime. Jason Montano opened the scoring with a 5-yard run in the first quarter and Cameron Jones returned an interception 50 yards in the second quarter.

LAWRENCE 23, BRUNSWICK 20: Brandon Ballard scored from 5 yards out in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs (4-2) rallied past the Dragons (0-6) in Fairfield.

Brunswick opened a 12-0 first-quarter lead on rushing touchdowns from Dalton Dickey and Owen Richardson, but Lawrence answered with a pair of TDs before a Jack Harvey touchdown dive gave the Dragons a 20-13 halftime lead.

Zach Nickerson kicked a field goal in the third quarter to make it 20-16.

BONNY EAGLE 61, MASSABESIC 12: Connor Sirois rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another as the Scots (6-0) beat the Mustangs (0-6) in Standish.

Nick Thorne had a 62-yard TD run early in the game, and Greg Emerson returned one of his two interceptions 45 yards for a touchdown that made it 27-0 late in the first quarter.

The Scots led 47-6 at halftime.

Nick Roberge was 10 of 18 for 102 yards for Massabesic, and found Noah McGrath for an 11-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Isaac DesVergnes scored on a 65-yard run in the second quarter.

EDWARD LITTLE 33, DEERING 12: Grant Hartley threw two touchdown passes on fourth-and-goal and also completed a 31-yard pass on fourth-and-14, using those big plays to propel the Red Eddies (6-0) past Deering (1-5) at Auburn.

The touchdown passes were to Terrell Thomas from the 9 on the first play of the second quarter, then to Xzabier Weaver from 15 yards in the third.

Deering had its chances, especially in the first half. But three plays, each for more than 50 yards, were called back because of penalties, and a 25-yard run was spoiled by a fumble.

“So the story goes; this is us,” Deering Coach Jason Jackson said. “We can compete with whoever, you see it, but it’s always mistakes here, mistakes there. It’s just mental errors.”

Deering’s touchdowns came on an 84-yard punt return by Dru Tillman and an 8-yard run by Travis Soule.

KENNEBUNK 37, MT. ARARAT 0: Derek Smith rushed for three touchdowns, and the Rams (6-0) had a 305-65 edge in total yards in the first half as they cruised to a victory over the Eagles (2-4) in Topsham.

Aiden Shields and Tripp Bush each added a rushing touchdown.

WELLS 53, YARMOUTH 0: Nolan Potter led a powerful ground game with two touchdown runs as the Warriors (6-0) rolled past the Clippers (0-6) in Yarmouth.

Wells built a 40-0 halftime lead with the help of Potter’s two TDs and an 85-yard punt return by Tyler Bridge.

OCEANSIDE 57, JOHN BAPST 28: Michael Norton Jr. scored five touchdowns and the Mariners (4-2) pulled away from the Crusaders (2-4) in Rockport.

Norton returned a kickoff 78 yards with two seconds left in the first half to give Oceanside a 28-20 lead. His 95-yard run in the third quarter made it 35-20.

Ben Ripley added two touchdown runs, including an 86-yard score on the game’s first play.

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