enlarge
Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer
enlarge
Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer
enlarge
Gordon Chibroski/Staff PhotographerYORK — When York played Mountain Valley in Rumford two weeks ago, it was all York.
This time it was a different story. A very different story.
Third-seeded Mountain Valley, bouncing back from consecutive lopsided losses, used a devastating ground game to beat second-ranked York 14-10 in the Western Class B semifinals Friday night.
Mountain Valley (8-2), the defending Class B champion, advanced to next Saturday's regional final against Cape Elizabeth or Wells, who play today.
The Falcons lost to York 33-14 two weeks ago and 34-0 to Cape Elizabeth last Friday night.
This time Matt Duka and Brady Fergola combined for 168 yards rushing behind a strong blocking line.
And the defense held Jared Prugar, who rushed for 227 yards in the first meeting, to 66 yards on 25 carries.
"We wanted to stop York's running attack, which hurt us in the first game," said Fergola.
"They hurt us with the pass, but not too much."
Trailing 10-7, Mountain Valley scored the winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a 4-yard run by Duka, who went over 1,000 yards for the season on a 13-yard gain in the third quarter.
Then it was up to the Falcons' defense. Tim Ross, a 5-foot-8 defensive back, intercepted a Chris Cole pass down the sideline at the 12 that was intended for Prugar.
The play before, Prugar had made a circus catch for a 22-yard gain.
Mountain Valley then pounded out two first downs to run time off the clock before punting.
Taking the ball at its 15 with 1:33 remaining, York completed one pass, a 5-yarder, before throwing three incomplete passes, the last two dropped.
The Falcons then ran out the final 56 seconds.
"My kids found a way to get it done," said Mountain Valley Coach Jim Aylward. "We wanted to play in another regional final. We'll be banged up as usual but we'll show up to play."
The Wildcats (8-2) took a 10-7 halftime lead with an 18-yard field goal by Sam Leal with less than a second remaining. Aylward complained that time had run out because the scoreboard showed no time on it.
The way the half ended appeared to motivate the Falcons in the second half, even though they fumbled away the kickoff.
Anthony Ciampa recovered at the Mountain Valley 33, but the Wildcats failed to take advantage and were stopped on a fourth-and-3 at the 13. The Wildcats never got that close again.
"Mountain Valley made more plays than we did," said York Coach Randy Small. "We had our chances. They converted several third-and-long plays with passes. We knew what was coming; we just couldn't stop them."
The Wildcats went to the air to score on their second possession. Cole passed to wide receiver John McCafferty for 27 yards and a first down at the 27.
Prugar then gained 11 yards on two carries for a first down, and Cole passed to Aaron Prugar for 12 yards on first down.
After a 15-yard penalty on the Wildcats for a chop block moved the ball back to the 26, the Falcons were called for being offside.
On the next play, Cole passed to a wide-open Jared Prugar at the goal line for the touchdown. Leal's point-after made it 7-0.
Mountain Valley scored on its first possession of the second quarter.
Quarterback Chris Day passed to end Christian Durland on fourth-and-goal from the 4. Jacob Arsenault's point- after tied it with 6:25 left in the half.
Leal then kicked his field goal to give the Wildcats a 10-7 halftime lead.
The Falcons played without first-string quarterback Cam Kaubris and halfback Tyler Mason, who are out for the season with injuries.
Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at:
tchard@pressherald.com
Reader comments
Click here to view or add comments on this story
Were you interviewed for this story? If so, please fill out our accuracy form