LIVERMORE FALLS — As a rule of thumb — or ankle, or knee, or hamstring — every team is banged up at this advanced stage of the football season.
The teams that polish off new playmakers while the tried-and-true headliners miss a play here and a series there are the ones who generally survive.
No. 3 Spruce Mountain exhibited that balance on both sides of the line of scrimmage Friday night in an authoritative 42-13 Western Class C quarterfinal win over No. 6 Freeport at Griffin Field.
With offensive, defensive and special teams star Matt Vigue limited to eight rushes by a banged-up left ankle, the Phoenix (7-2) flummoxed the Falcons (4-5) with depth.
Sophomore Andrew Darling rushed 15 times for 122 yards and a touchdown to lead Spruce Mountain.Quarterback Peter Theriault scooted to a pair of scores, and fullback Alwayne Uter also found paydirt.
And Vigue? He still scarfed up 68 yards, getting the ankle taped between his two TD runs. The second score made it 22-0 at the half and ensured that Spruce Mountain could afford to give him the rest of the night off.
“We just had to fill our spots. Everybody had to do their jobs,” said Uter, who rushed for 75 yards after sitting out the regular-season win over Freeport due to an injury. “You can’t be a one-man team. We went to our assignments and took care of our business.”
Spruce Mountain travels to No. 2 Wells (6-2) for a semifinal next Friday night. The Warriors won 20-15 on a late touchdown in a rainstorm back on Sept. 13.
The win was the Phoenix’s first postseason victory as a program since the Jay and Livermore Falls schools consolidated in 2011.
“In playoff football, the teams that go the farthest usually have the most depth,” Spruce Mountain coach Walter Polky said. “A game like tonight, Austin Darling, he’s only a sophomore and he had most of the carries. He did a good job.”
For all that efficiency with the ball, defense is where Spruce Mountain sent its loudest message.
Freeport was held to minus-5 net yards in the first half.
Dalton Autrey, Anthony York and James Ouellette each notched a sack of Falcons quarterback Eli Fox. Deonte Ring chipped in an early interception to go with his two leaping catches from Theriault.
“We really came together on defense tonight,” said senior captain Austin Couture, who made eight solo tackles. “We had some people injured last week, but we got them back and it’s been working good for us.”
Spruce Mountain needed only four plays and less than a minute to score after Freeport won the coin toss and deferred its option to the second half.
Theriault (16 yards), Darling (14) and Vigue (19) rushed for consecutive first downs before Vigue capped the drive from six yards out.
“This week we talked about setting a tone on the offensive and defensive line. It’s the playoffs now. You have to be able to control the line of scrimmage,” Polky said. “You have to be able to run the football in between the tackles, and most of all you have to stop it in between the tackles. Everything is magnified. We tried to set that tone, and we did it most of the night.”
Darling’s 27-yard ramble set up Theriault’s 10-yard score with 1:08 remaining in the first quarter. Darling rushed for the two-point conversion and a 14-0 lead.
Ring made his interception off a tip from Theriault to put the Phoenix in business again at the Freeport 41 midway through the second quarter.
Uter picked up one first down before Theriault found Ring behind the Falcons secondary. Joe Nixon dragged down Ring at the 3, but Vigue scored on the next play and added the two-point scamper.
Spruce allowed only two first downs in the first half, one on a penalty.
“We know we’ve got to come out and play our best, because every team’s good out here,” Couture said.
The Phoenix ripped it open in the third quarter by scoring on all three possessions. Darling, Theriault and Uter provided the points.
Freeport got on the board with a long drive, capped by Ben MacMillan’s 1-yard run with 7:41 left. Cameron Buthlay had a 56-yard TD reception in the closing seconds.
“To be able to host a home game like this in our third year, we know where our program is,” Polky said. “We know where we need to be, and we’re striving to get there. We’re playing a championship team next week.”
koakes@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
