Colton Carson threw for two touchdowns and rushed for two more Saturday as Oxford Hills defeated Cheverus 42-14 in a Class A North football game at Boulos Stadium.

The Vikings broke open an early 7-7 game with 21 straight points to improve to 4-1. Cheverus dropped to 3-2.

Parker LaFrance got Oxford Hills on the board with a 41-yard touchdown run with 1:39 left in the first quarter. Cheverus answered on the next play from scrimmage – a 70-yard touchdown pass from Marc Reali to tight end Vick Marrone.

From there, the Vikings took advantage of Cheverus turnovers and used big plays to take control.

“To play well against a team like that, you have to play a clean game from start to finish, and we weren’t able to do that,” said Cheverus Coach Mike Vance.

The Vikings took the lead in the final seconds of the first quarter when Carson juked a couple of defenders and capped a three-play, 67-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run to make it 14-7.

Cheverus was hurt early in the game when center Mitch Cloutier was forced out because of an injury. From there the Stags had four fumbled snaps. Only one of those resulted in a turnover, but each one halted any momentum.

“Having a different center in the game is a different mesh,” said Vance. “That’s one of the hardest things to overcome in a game, is to lose your center. But, next guy up. Once he settled down, especially in the second half, he did a pretty good job for us.”

Cheverus also was hurt by two interceptions and another fumble that led to a turnover.

“The turnovers were a big part of it,” said Oxford Hills Coach Mark Soehren. “(They) do a good job every year. I know they’re young now but they still execute at a high level. They typically don’t make those types of mistakes.”

Oxford Hills took advantage of each turnover: All but one led to a touchdown.

Carson completed 5 of 8 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed 11 times for 117 yards and another pair of touchdowns.

LaFrance rushed seven times for 125 yards and a pair of scores, and also caught a 31-yard TD pass.

“The offensive line and wide receivers did a great job of blocking the edge,” he said. “I think Coach does a great job of spreading the ball around. He goes with who is the hot hand, so today I was lucky enough to get the ball and the line made plays, and I was able to get in the end zone a couple times.”

Cheverus fullback Teigan Lindstedt had 20 carries for 118 yards. Ian Trafford added 16 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown. Reali completed 7 of 14 passes for 182 yards and one TD.

Related Stories