RUMFORD — Mountain Valley turned to its tried-and-true measures to remain unbeaten in a Class B Campbell Conference football game Friday night.
Matt Hosie rushed for 145 yards and a 3-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to put the Falcons ahead, and then the defense stiffened to secure a wild 34-22 triumph over York at Chet Bulger Field.
The see-saw affair featured two teams who lined up and played smash-mouth football. The final quarter emphasized the hard-hiitting performances and ultimately came down to execution and desire.
Mountain Valley (5-0) was trailing after three quarters, but it engineered a monumental drive. Hosie ran behind the middle off the offensive line for the eventual winning TD. The 13-play, 71-yard drive, which included six first downs, including two each by Kyle Duguay and Hosie. Izaak Mills kicked the extra point for a 26-22 lead.
“We gutted it out and made the plays when we had to,” said Mountain Valley coach Jim Aylward. “This was just an awesome game by both teams, and both sides should be proud of their efforts.”
Duguay had a TD run in third quarter. York had utilized the running of Sean Kelly (154 yards, 34 rushes) who the Falcons didn’t have an answer for. Quarterback Wesley Warner scored his second 1-yard TD to give the Wildcats a 22-1 lead in the third quarter.
“We didn’t come out with enough intensity,” Hosie said. “In the second half, we needed to double out intensity level in order to turn things around.”
The Wildcats’ last win was the 2005 regional final in Rumford.
Mountain Valley punter Devon Hamel had pinned the Wilcats back on their own 17, and tackle Santos Rodriguez recovered a fumble. The jubilation was short-lived because the Falcons coughed up the ball with 2:21 left to play. York was forced to pass and Isaac Roberts returned an interception to the 1-yard line. Two plays later, Mills scored and quarterback Zach Radcliffe passed for the conversion.
“York is a good team,” Mills said. “We had switched to a 53, but went back to our 44 bread and butter on defense. Our conditioning paid off in the fourth quarter because we were fresh.”
Mountain Valley, the highest-scoring offense in Western B, relied on its dominating running game (269 yards) and the current.
Duguay (100 yards, 18 rushes) and Hosie scored on 16- and 12-yard runs in the first half. York countered with two TDs to lead 14-13 at halftime.
“We were more disiplined tonight,” Hamel said.
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