LEWISTON — Massabesic did most the of the damage in the first half, and despite Lewiston’s respectable efforts to get back into the game, the Blue Devils couldn’t recover in time in a Class A football game Friday night.
Massabesic stayed in step in the first half and marched off with its first victory of the season, beating Lewiston 32-14.
The Blue Devils made the necessary adjustments in the second quarter and slowed the Mustangs down a bit. Lewiston began using a no-huddle offense and fired off short passes all over the field, and it seemed to be working before Massabesic caught on and made its own adjustments.
Massabesic built a 26-0 lead late in the second quarter before the Blue Devils finally got on the board with 3:59 left in that quarter.
The Blue Devils went to the no-huddle and Jared Rubin started finding open receivers with a burst of short passes. They moved from the 36 all the way to Massabesic’s 1-yard line where Will Adams shoved his way into the end zone for Lewiston’s first TD. The conversion failed, but Lewiston turned up the heat on Massabesic at halftime.
Lewiston meant business on the first possession of the second half. This time, Stefan Porter began Lewiston’s procession to the end zone from the Blue Devils’ 35. Porter rushed the ball for 51 yards, helping the Devils get to the 6-yard line where Rubin found Garrett Poussard open for a touchdown pass. Rubin reeled off the successful two-point conversion pass to junior Jacob Strout and made it a 26-14 game with plenty of time for Lewiston to score again.
The never happened.
The Blue Devils started to sputter again in the fourth quarter. Rubin’s pass was intercepted by Massabesic’s Derek Coulombe and he ran it back to Lewiston’s 18. Coulombe rushed the ball for another 12 yards to move the Mustangs to the 7, where Coulombe did the honors and scored. The conversion failed, but Massabesic had more breathing room, leading 32-14.
“We dug a big hole and it was 26-0 and then we got it to 26-14. It looked like maybe we might get another one,” Lewiston coach Bruce Nicholas said. “And then either a penalty or a bad play or whatever, and all of sudden you are second and long, and we are not good at second and long, and so the drive stalls and you go back on D again.
“We only gave up one touchdown in the second half, but we dug a huge hole. You go a week when Portland comes into town and beats you bad, you’ve got to rebound and go up against a team you maybe should beat, and we just haven’t learn how to do that real good, yet.”
In the first quarter, Massabesic ran roughshod over Lewiston. Sophomore quarterback Isaac DesVergnes, who moonlights as a running back on keeper plays, was finding holes and open receivers in Lewiston’s defense.
DesVergnes opened Lewiston’s eyes after he fired off a 35-yard touchdown pass to Trevor Walton at 10:56 of the first quarter. The Blue Devils had a successful drive on the next set of downs but were stopped at the 19. But Massabesic fumbled on the 22, and after getting the ball back, the Blue Devils were stopped deep inside Mustang territory again.
Massabesic was on 20-yard line when DesVergnes sent a 71-yard pass over to Simon Roberts. The Mustangs moved to the 3, and Coulombe spilled into the end zone with a 3-yard TD run and Walton’s kick was good, giving Massabesic a 13-0 lead.
The Mustangs picked up two more touchdowns in the second quarter. DesVergnes scored on a 7-yard keeper and Walton kicked in the extra point. DesVergnes kept the ball again and dashed up field for 28 yards and a touchdown, giving his Mustangs a commanding 26-0 lead.
“(DesVergnes) gets better every day,” Massabesic coach Brooks Bowen said. “He has become quite a student of the game. He is obviously blessed with some athletic ability. But his vision is getting better weekly. So we are starting to capitalize on some of that.
“But what we really like about him is he is only a sophomore so we are going to have him for awhile.”
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