PARIS — Oxford Hills pulled away in the second half to defeat Cony 42-6 in the football season-opener for both squads Friday at Gouin Athletic Complex.
Lincoln Merrill returned an interception 53 yards, methodically weaving through would-be tacklers and blockers to reach the end zone for the Vikings’ first score of the season in the first quarter.
Quarterback Eli Soehren added a 6-yard touchdown run later in the first to give Oxford Hills an early 14-0 advantage.
Cony dug in and prevented the Vikings from pulling away further before halftime. Soon after a fumble recovery by Tyler Pelletier, the Rams closed the gap when Caden Schleis-Hooyman took a short pass and rumbled through defenders for a 26-yard touchdown catch, cutting the deficit to 14-6.
Meanwhile, the Cony defense held Oxford Hills scoreless in the second quarter, and the score was still 14-6 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Tanner Bickford hauled in one of his seven catches (176 yards) for a 25-yard touchdown catch, and Trey Morrison scored on a 19-yard run to push the Vikings’ lead to 28-6.
Soehren added his second touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The 2021 Maine Gatorade Player of the Year finished with 129 yards rushing on 11 carries and completed 13 of 23 passes for 215 yards and one TD and one interception. He also was 5-for-5 on PATs and had a nice 40-yard punt that pinned Cony inside its own 10.
Later in the fourth, Oxford Hills backup quarterback Brady Truman connected with Nicholas Binnette on a 24-yard touchdown pass to complete the scoring.
The Class A Vikings finished with 412 yards of total offense. The defense intercepted three passes and held the Class B Rams to 140 yards of offense.
FREEPORT 35, LISBON 22: Nick White caught a 42-yard scoring pass from Aidan Heath midway through the third quarter as the Falcons opened a 22-point lead and went on to defeat the Greyhounds in Freeport.
Jordan Knighton of Freeport opened the scoring with a 60-yard run on the second play, and the Falcons led 14-6 after the first quarter and 28-6 at halftime. Knighton added a 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth that made it 35-14.
LEAVITT 50, YORK 0: Junior quarterback Noah Carpenter was quite comfortable in the pocket, tossing three touchdown passes and rushing in with another TD to lead the Hornets past the Wildcats in Turner.
Carpenter gave Leavitt a head start, tossing touchdown passes to Dayton Calder and Brett Coburn in the first quarter. Will Keach sent over a 34-yard pass to Sawyer Hathaway for another TD, providing the Hornets with a 22-0 lead.
Leavitt took a 30-0 lead at halftime after Carpenter scored on a 1-yard rush, followed by Keach’s two-point conversion.
The Hornets collected another 20 points in the second half, starting with Carpenter connecting with Calder on a 37-yard TD pass in the third quarter. Braxton Rowe and Mason Henderson each delivered a TD on 27- and 16-yard rushes, respectively, in the fourth quarter.
FIELD HOCKEY
MOUNTAIN VALLEY 5, TELSTAR 0: Mallorie Bourret had two first-quarter goals to lead the Falcons (1-1) to a win over the Rebels (0-1) in Rumford.
Lola Bisson also had a goal in the opening quarter for Mountain Valley, while Mariya Gammon and Celeste Dickey potted goals in the fourth quarter. Brooke Brown stopped two shots for the shutout.
Lindsey Stephenson stopped 29 shots in goal for Telstar.
SPRUCE MOUNTAIN 7, OAK HILL 0: Olivia Mastine and Aubrey Kachnovich each scored two goals and had an assist in the Phoenix’s (1-1) victory over the Raiders (1-1) in Jay.
Mariyah Fournier scored and earned an assist, while Brooklyn Fournier and Leah Burgess each collected a goal for Spruce Mountain. Mallory Clark and Hannah Jewett combined to make two saves in the win.
Ella Martin stopped two shots for Oak Hill.
BOYS SOCCER
HALL-DALE 2, OAK HILL 0: Thomas Murch and Keegan Cary each scored a goal to lead the Bulldogs to the Mountain Valley Conference win in Farmingdale.
Cary also had an assist for Hall-Dale (1-0-0), while Jackson Leach made 15 saves.
Cade Fessenden stopped 12 shots for Oak Hill (0-1-0).
MARANACOOK 4, LEAVITT 0: Jacob Nisby had a pair of goals to pace the Black Bears (1-0) past the Hornets (0-1) in Turner.
Luke McLaughlin and Ethan Clark scored in the win, while Sam St. Germaine made 13 saves for the shutout.
Vanya Bezhenar stopped six shots for Leavitt and Alex Corey made 10 saves in the loss.
MT. ABRAM 14, TELSTAR O: Kaden and Killian Pillsbury each turned in hat tricks to lead the Roadrunners past the Rebels.
Charlie Pye and Jose’ Torres contributed two goals apiece Mt. Abram.
CARRABEC 3, WINTHROP 2: Luke Carey notched a hat trick as the Cobras (1-0) defeated the Ramblers (0-1) in Winthrop.
Peter Vicneire made 10 saves in the win.
Iker Penniman and Tyler Shumway scored for Winthrop, while Jaxson August made eight saves in goal.
GIRLS SOCCER
RICHMOND 3, RANGELEY 0: The Bobcats made a long road trip a successful one with a shutout win over the Lakers in Rangeley.
Breonna Dufresne, Izzy Stewart and Lila Viselli had one goal apiece for Richmond (1-0). Nichole Lemay made 13 saves for Rangeley (0-1).
GREELY 4, POLAND 0: Shaylee O’Grady scored two goals and Eva Williams and Avery Bush each had one as the Rangers (1-0) handled the Knights (0-1) in Poland.
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