LEWISTON — Ball control and self-control served Edward Little very well against its arch rival Saturday.

Edward Little dominated time of possession and scored 26 unanswered points to win the 167th Battle of the Bridge, 26-7, on a blustery day under a clear blue sky at Don Roux Field.

Teven Colon rushed for 184 yards and a touchdown on 36 carries as the Red Eddies picked up their fourth straight win and brought the Alan Clark Sr. Memorial Trophy back to the Auburn side of the river after a one-year stay in Lewiston.

“All week in practice and all season long we’ve talked about dominating the line of scrimmage,” Colon said. “I told you at the beginning of the season we’d come together as one. And we did. Now, we’re going to the playoffs, as a team.”

Indeed, the Eddies (5-3) enter next week’s PTC quarterfinals as the No. 7 seed and will travel to No. 2 Bangor. The Blue Devils (6-2) will be the No. 4 seed and host No. 5 Messalonskee.

EL controlled the ball for 32:36, Lewiston for 15:24. Five Lewiston turnovers (three fumbles, two interceptions), all in Edward Little territory, kept points off the board.

“It just seemed like we were playing catch-up, and our kids got into a little bit of a panic,” Lewiston coach Bill County said. “Obviously, they played well defensively. I don’t have an answer right now as to why we bogged down the way we did. It looked like the game took control over the players, not the other way around. Sometimes momentum does that to you.”

With the game tied, 7-7, at the half, Lewiston went three-and-out on the first series and punted to EL’s 43. A 22-yard run by Dylan Deconzo (eight carries, 62 yards, TD, two interceptions) immediately put the Devil defense back on its heels. 

On 4th and goal from the 7, quarterback Josh Delong rolled out right, then threw across the field to wide-open tight end Zach Leblonde in the end zone for the touchdown that put EL ahead for good.

“I was just looking at the ball. I wasn’t thinking about nothing,” Leblonde said. “I just wanted to catch it.”

 “That was a great play call,” senior wide receiver Spencer Emerson said. “A play pass right and we bring a drag across the opposite side of the field. (The quarterback) lobs it up there and lets him go get it.”

Lewiston took its ensuing possession to the EL 39, but fumbled on 4th-and-2, although it looked like the Eddies had running back Jeff Keene stopped short of the first down anyway.

Taking over at their own 39, the Eddies went entirely to the ground on a 16-play, 71-yard scoring march, with Colon converting two fourth downs amongst his 10 carries on the drive. The senior tailback went over the top of the goal-line pile to make it 19-7 Eddies with 7:04 left to play.

“We were more successful (controlling the ball) than we expected,” EL coach Dave Sterling said. “Our offensive line was the reason why. They stepped up and played really well.”

Edward Little held a 293-146 advantage in rushing yards, was 8-for-13 on third down and 4-for-5 on fourth down, and collected 18 first downs to Lewiston’s nine. EL’s all-senior line of Avery Jackson, Ben Believue, Cody Meserve, Zach Earle, and Alex Smith kept the chains moving.

“We just worked hard all week and did what we had to do,” said Meserve, a senior center. “We came out and smashed them in the mouth.”

Lead backs Deconzo, Luc Ferrago and Ryan Farrissey took care of Lewiston’s linebackers and secondary trying to fill the holes.

“They did a really good job of getting lead blocks through,” Lewiston senior linebacker Ben Wigant said. “I know personally I had to take on a really strong lead back that was blocking for Teven. It created problems in the ‘C’ gap for us, not being able to close that up and make the tackle.”

Another Lewiston fumble midway through the fourth quarter led to an EL score, although the Blue Devils were set to get the ball back after forcing the Eddies into a 3rd and 20 immediately after the turnover. A roughing-the-kicker penalty on the punt gave the Eddies an automatic first down, and after Colon ripped off his longest run of the day for 48 yards, Delong scored on a sneak from a yard out to clinch the win with 2:39 left.

The Devils actually were in good position to take a commanding early lead. They took their opening drive 67 yards in 12 plays and took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard run by Joe McKinnon (11 caries, 82 yards).

A botched punt attempt on EL’s next series set the Devils up at midfield, and they appeared poised to go up by two scores. But McKinnon never got a handle on a 3rd and one hand-off and dropped the ball, which EL’s Demeron Lauze fell on at his own 11.

“I thought we played well in the first half when we had the ball. We didn’t have the ball very often,” County said. “(That drive) was an opportunity for us to take advantage of what I thought we were doing well.”

The Eddies took advantage of the turnover by driving 89 yards in 16 plays, capped by Deconzo’s 10-yard TD run that tied the game with 43 seconds left in the half.

“We were able to capitalize on the turnover. That was the big thing,” Sterling said. “We got a break there and we were able to keep the game under control.”

Lewiston now leads the all-time series, 88-67-12.

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