SOUTH PARIS – It was not a night conducive to a couple of quick scores, but Friday night, Oxford Hills managed just that.

With back-to-back drives in the third quarter, the Vikings erased a 13-7 deficit as Oxford Hills handed Edward Little a 22-19 defeat.

“We got momentum,” said Oxford Hills coach Paul Bickford. “We carried the momentum, and we put some points up. We had to come out in the second half. It was a gut-check for our team and they responded very well.”

A 46-yard dash by Jeff Tifft and a four-yard run by Jim Bower put Oxford Hills in the lead. The Viking defense did its part, holding EL to 63 yards and one first down in the second half. Most of the Red Eddies’ yardage came on one play, a 51 yard touchdown pass.

“It was the same for both teams,” EL coach Jim Hersom said of the soaked field. “We’re not going to make excuses. Oxford Hills played a good game, and we came up short. We’ll regroup and try to get back at it next week.”

The Vikings defense set the foundation for a strong second half by stopping EL on back-to-back possessions to start the second half. Holding a 13-7 lead, the Red Eddies (1-2) needed a nice lengthy drive and points to pad the lead, but Oxford Hills (2-1) wouldn’t allow it.

“It really did set the tone,” said Bickford. “(Chris) LeClair is a really good football player. Our defensive game was to try to contain him as much as we could. He was our focus. He’s their best player and a very talented kid.”

LeClair was held to 48 yards on the ground while EL’s passing attack managed 90 yards on three completions.

With the defense doing the job, the Vikings’ offense eventually got rolling. After taking over on its own 49, Oxford Hills used two plays to take a 14-13 lead when Tifft took a counter play up the middle for 46 yards. Justin Cocroft added the extra point.

EL’s offense was stopped again and the Vikings marched downfield. Bower cut back from four yards out for the touchdown and then ran the conversion for a 22-13 lead with 12 seconds left in the third.

Bower, who practiced lightly all week while nursing an injury, gained 111 yards on 26 carries. Tyler Slack added 42 yards on 10 carries.

“He’s been a little dinged up,” Bickford said of Bower. “He came out and played a great game, especially in the second half. Then in the fourth quarter, he got a little banged up and Tyler Slack was moved from fullback to tailback, and he stepped up big for us. That’s a senior stepping up and taking that leadership role.”

EL got within 22-19 with 8:43 left in the game. With the running game stuffed, EL tried to use its passing game but had six straight incompletions before Bennett connected with Robie Leighton over the middle for a 51-yard play.

“We were unfortunate,” said Hersom. “We dropped a few, but I don’t think that was the real deciding factor. We just didn’t play well enough to win tonight.”

EL got the ball back with 6:48 left but managed just seven yards on its first two plays. LeClair was then hit for a loss by Shawn Verrill on third-and-three, and EL never saw the ball again.

EL took the lead on a 21-yard pass from Bennett to LeClair with 1:48 left in the first quarter. Oxford Hills tied it with 6:20 left in the half on Bower’s 5-yard run. A short punt set EL up late in the half, and the Red Eddies took advantage with 55 seconds left. LeClair dove in from the 1 for the 13-7 lead.