AUBURN — The opening drive of each half of Friday night’s Class A North semifinal between No. 1 Edward Little and No. 4 Windham summed up the rest of the game.

Edward Little started the game with a 14-play drive and punted. Windham started the second half with a 14-play drive and doubled its lead.

Windham stopped the Red Eddies four times in its own territory and converted its opportunities to win 21-12 at windy Walton Field.

Treva Valliere and Stuart Salom each had a rushing touchdown, and a late interception and spectacular return for a touchdown by Hunter Coffin iced it for the Eagles (6-4), who are headed back to their fourth consecutive regional final. They will meet Portland for the third year in a row next weekend.

“It’s a huge win, amazing win. Can’t even describe it,” Coffin said.

The Red Eddies (7-2) pulled to within 14-12 with 7:41 left when quarterback Grant Hartley (7 for 17, 109 yards, one TD, one interception) ran for a 7-yard touchdown.

A delay of game penalty pushed the Eddies back five yards after they lined up for a 2-point conversion attempt. Hartley’s subsequent pass fell incomplete.

Windham’s Connor McInnis recovered the onside kick, and though the Eagles went three-and-out, Anthony Kilgallon downed Tanner Bernier’s punt at the 2 with 3:11 remaining.

The Red Eddies converted on two third downs and one fourth down to get to their own 39 before a ineligible receiver penalty wiped out what would have been a first-down completion near midfield. On the next play, Hartley threw over the middle and was picked off by Coffin around his own 40. The senior weaved his way toward the Windham sideline, followed a block by Bernier and plowed into the end zone for the clinching score with 23.4 seconds remaining.

“I didn’t know what was happening (on the return),” Coffin said. “I was just trying to get the farthest downfield I could, and then I saw (Bernier) sprinting down and make a block. My teammates were yelling ‘Go down. Go down,’ and I was, like, no I’m taking it to the house.”

Windham conceded yardage in short chunks to running backs Maxx Bell (24 carries, 65 yards) and Caden Begos (10 carries, 44 yards).

“What Edward Little does is they rely on the big play, and what we try to do is take away that big play,” Bernier said.

“We were trying to be smart about formation, what they were doing, and make them nickel and dime us,” Windham Coach Matt Perkins.

A punt to end EL’s second drive of the game turned disastrous for the Red Eddies, as the snap was fumbled and Windham recovered at the EL 36. Salom ran for seven yards on fourth-and-2, and Coffin made a sliding catch on a third-and-7 to set up first-and-goal at the 4. After an EL penalty moved the ball to the 2, Valliere took a toss to the right into the end zone for a 7-0 lead with 8:07 left in the first half.

Windham started the second half with a 67-yard drive that took eight minutes off the clock. Salom capped it a 3-yard run.

MARSHWOOD 45, GREELY 19: Joe Taran rushed for two touchdowns in the first quarter and returned an interception for a TD in the third quarter, leading the top-seeded Hawks (10-0) over No. 4 Greely (6-4) in Class B South semifinal in South Berwick.

Greely grabbed an early lead when Nolan Anderson scored on a 19-yard fumble return. Marshwood quickly took control, however, as a 25-yard TD run by Kyle Glidden and scoring runs of 65 and 38 yards by Taran made it 21-7 by the end of the first quarter.

Max Horton added a 25-yard field goal in second quarter, and the Hawks stretched their lead to 38-7 with two more touchdowns in the third quarter – Taran’s interception return and a 10-yard run by Glidden.

WELLS 39, MOUNTAIN VALLEY 6: Nolan Potter scored three touchdowns in the first half, and the top-seeded Warriors (10-0) advanced to the Class D South final with a win over the No. 4 Falcons (5-5) in Wells.

Potter’s 2-yard TD run, followed by a 2-point conversion, gave Wells an early 8-0 lead. Mountain Valley answered with a 21-yard touchdown run Jacob Blanchard but missed the conversion.

Potter than added two touchdowns in the second quarter to make it 23-6. Wells got a safety in the third quarter on a blocked punt in the end zone, then pulled away in the fourth with long TD runs by Tyler Bridge (48 yards) and Chad Fitzpatrick (54 yards).

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