AUBURN — Halfway through Friday night’s Lewiston at Edward Little football game at Walton Field — the last in the 88-year history of the Red Eddies’ home field — it looked like it was going to be another classic Battle of the Bridge.
Then Lewiston’s Wyatt Vallee made his presence known in a big way in the second half, capping off the Blue Devils’ regular season with a 31-6 victory.
Vallee scored the final three touchdowns for the Blue Devils (5-3), who held a 13-6 lead before Vallee put the nail in the coffin of the Red Eddies’ (2-7) campaign and Walton Field’s varsity football history.
“As soon as I saw Eli (Bigelow) go down (in the second quarter), I knew I had to step it up,” Vallee said. “The whole team had to step it up. I was getting on the line’s (butt) about not letting anyone through, and they did an amazing job. And we just kept grinding it and punching it in their face, and we won.”
Vallee carried the ball just one time in the first half, for 6 yards. After halftime, he ran 11 times for 74 yards and two TDs, and he scored a touchdown on defense.
“He was the hot hand tonight,” Lewiston coach Jason Versey said. “You know, sometimes it’s Farid (Muhammed-Aceto), sometimes it’s Eli (Bigelow). Sometimes it’s another player. But what’s cool about this team is one or two guys will step up and make a great contribution.
“This is a team sport, you know. And not everyone can be the star. And tonight was Wyatt’s night.”
Things started out rosy for visiting Lewiston after a lengthy pregame ceremony to celebrate the final game at Walton Field, which has been the home of Edward Little football since 1935.
Lewiston’s Jibril Holloman outruns Edward Little’s Jacob Grealish for Lewiston’s first touchdown during Friday’s game in Auburn. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
The Red Eddies fumbled three plays into the game, turning the ball over to Lewiston. The Blue Devils ran six plays to get across midfield, then Jeffrey Randall connected with Jibril Holloman on the seventh play for a 48-yard touchdown pass — the lone completed pass in the game for Lewiston. Michael Caron’s extra point made it 7-0 a little less than five minutes into the contest.
After both team’s offenses went three-and-out, the Red Eddies got their offense moving, driving into the red zone as time expired in the first quarter. However, their building momentum came to a halt on the first play of the second quarter when Tate Morse’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
Lewiston’s ensuing drive drained more than six minutes off the clock, but the Edward Little defense stopped Farid Muhammed-Aceto on fourth down in Red Eddies territory, one play after Bigelow went down with an injury. Bigelow returned later in the period.
The teams traded scoreless drives — an Edward Little intercepted pass at the Lewiston 5-yard line and a Blue Devils three-and-out. Lewiston punter Michael Click was able to get a punt off from his own end zone, but the Red Eddies started their next drive at the Blue Devils’ 37.
The Red Eddies moved inside the 20 but faced a fourth down at the Lewiston 17-yard line. They used trickery to find the end zone. Drew Smith grabbed a reverse toss and threw a halfback pass to Hunter Baker for a touchdown with 58.7 seconds left in the first half. The two-point pass failed, and Lewiston preserved a 7-6 lead.
“I mean, it was just a great play,” Versey said. “And they made a great play, and they executed well, and we got beat on it.”
The Blue Devils were able to drive into Edward Little territory, but Randall was sacked twice to end the half.
Edward Little’s Hunter Baker escapes Lewiston’s Jaden Maynard during Friday’s game in Auburn. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
Edward Little coach Rick Kramer said he told his team to “stay the course” at halftime.
“We were playing really good defense,” Kramer said. “We were moving the ball on offense, and then we would throw the ball away or fumble it. Turnovers has been a battle for us all season long, and part of that is just haven’t been in big games.”
Versey said the Red Eddies were everything he expected them to be in the first half.
“They were going to give us everything,” he said. “There’s so much hype about this game, and so much surrounding the legacy of this field, and all the support. We knew we were going to get their best, and they did not disappoint.”
Lewiston opened the second half by driving into Edward Little territory, but an interception on a halfback pass ended that promising possession.
The Blue Devils made sure to finish off their next two drives.
Lewiston’s Eli Bigelow slips past Edward Little’s Kade Masselli during Friday’s game in Auburn. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
Following an Edward Little three-and-out, Lewiston needed only two plays to score, as Bigelow ran 46 yards for a touchdown and a 13-6 lead.
The Red Eddies appeared set for another three-and-out, but instead they attempted a fake punt with a pass that fell incomplete. Lewiston again capitalized two plays later with an 11-yard touchdown run by Vallee.
“I was thinking that I’m going to score this drive, and I need to. We have this amazing opportunity, I need to capitalize,” Vallee said. “And I was doing everything I could, and it turned out good.”
The two-point run failed, but the Blue Devils had stretched their lead to 19-7 late in the third quarter.
“When you’re down two scores, and they run the ball like they do, it puts you at a disadvantage,” Kramer said. “So that’s where we were stuck.”
Vallee added to the Blue Devils’ advantage in the fourth quarter, converting a fourth-and-8 run for a first down to extend a drive that he finished with a 2-yard touchdown run. On the Red Eddies’ next play, he returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown.
Suddenly, the Blue Devils lead was up to 31-6 with 6:39 to play.
Edward Little went three-and-out one more time before the Blue Devils got the ball back and ran out the clock.
Lewiston outgained Edward Little in total yards 268-104. Morse was 7-for-19 passing for 37 yards in his final high school game.
Smith and Baker are among the players that the Red Eddies will have back next season in the second year of Kramer’s tenure.
Edward Little’s Tate Morse looks to pass the ball while under pressure from Lewiston’s Josaphat Mukendi during Friday’s game in Auburn. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
“The way I look at it, it was a very successful season for us. They ended up in high hopes,” Kramer said. “I mean, we thought we could win tonight. We were going to be aggressive. We made a couple mistakes, a little too nervous at times. That puts you behind the sticks, offensively and defensively. We just need to build consistency and trust in the idea that we’re going to get stronger in the offseason.”
The Blue Devils now turn their attention to the Class A playoffs.
“This team, I’ve always said, don’t count us out,” Versey said. “We’re a special team that believes in the brotherhood, and the family. That ‘Forget About Me, I Love You’ concept of playing, and we’re a team. So as long as we work together and play as a family, don’t count us out.”
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