FARMINGTON — Sticking to a persistent ground game, Mt. Blue powered its way to a 20-6 win over Cony on Friday night at Caldwell Field on opening night in Class B of the Pine Tree Conference.
In a contrast of styles, Mt. Blue (1-0) rushed the ball 40 times while Cony (0-1) went to the air 29 times. The Cougars, however, capitalized on three big plays to earn the opening win.
“We wanted to stick with the running game,” Mt. Blue quarterback Ryan Pratt said. “We mixed it up a little and made some big plays.”
After the teams battled to a 6-6 stalemate at halftime, the Cougars size and strength begin to wear down the Rams. Mt. Blue took the opening kick-off, marching 75 yards in six plays.
Pratt, looking to run around the left end, pulled up when he saw Christian Whitney open down the sideline. Pratt fired a long range bomb Whitney managed to run under for a 62 yard touchdown just three minutes and 15 seconds into the second half.
“I was planning to run but saw Christian open,” Pratt said. “So, I just threw it as hard as I could.”
Pratt finished the game hitting 7-of-10 passes for 142 yards.
On it’s next possession Cony put together, what looked like a potential game tying drive that suddenly stalled when Cougar Chase Heikkinen pounced on a Ram fumble at the 30.
Whitney capped off a 70-yard, nine play drive, powering in from the eight to give the Cougars a 20-6 advantage with 1:13 left in the third quarter.
Whitney amassed 106 yards on 16 carries including a stellar 54 yard jaunt in the third.
“We struggled early,” Whitney said. “Once our line got it going, the running was easier.”
Penalty prone throughout the game, Mt. Blue was flagged 16 times for a total of 110 yards.
Mt. Blue opened the scoring in the second quarter, on it’s second possession when Zach Meader burst up the middle and down the left sideline for a 45 yard touchdown run at 4:51. Cony responded on the next series when quarterback Taylor Heath broke into the end zone from the two.
“Defensively, I felt we played okay,” Cony coach B.L. Lippert said. “Mt. Blue was big and they wore us down, but I saw a number of things we can improve on, as we move forward.”
Heath finished the game completing 19 of 29 passes with two interceptions for 227 yards.
Prior to Friday night’s football home opener, Mt. Blue rededicated the newly renovated Competition Field in honor of long time coach Ray Caldwell., who coached the Cougars to three, Class B state titles, while compiling a 149-53 record from 1972-1992.
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