WESTBROOK – Mt. Blue coach Gary Parlin laid into his team at halftime despite the fact that it held a touchdown lead over Westbrook.

“Even though we scored, they believe,” Parlin said. “They believe they can move the football on us.”

Mt. Blue’s defense took that notion out of Westbrook’s head when it mattered and it was the Cougars’ running game that moved the football on its way to a 27-6 win in a Pine Tree Conference-SMAA matchup.

Fullback Hazen Pingree ran for 188 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 carries to lead a Cougar ground attack that churned out 370 of the offense’s 376 total yards. David DiGravio (6 carries, 77 yards) and Jordan Stevens (10 rushes, 50 yards) added a touchdown apiece.

“The linemen did excellent. They came out and blocked the linebackers and when you can see that, you can see the open field and make all of the cuts that you need,” said Pingree. “It was speed against speed today.”

Pingree showed off his speed the first play of the second quarter with a 72-yard TD run up the middle that, following John Moloney’s PAT, gave the Cougars a 7-0 lead.

Westbrook, meanwhile, couldn’t take advantage of some good field position early, getting turned back on its first two forays into Cougar territory by a stout defense led by Rob Blake (two sacks).

Unable to take the short route, the Blue Blazes (0-2) decided to do it the long way, putting together a 14-play, 95-yard drive for their only score, an 11-yard QB keeper around left end by Gino DiPietro with just over five minutes left in the first half. The PAT attempt hit an upright to keep the Cougars (2-0) in the lead.

Mt. Blue responded on its next series with a 70-yard scoring drive. The Cougars had a 24-yard TD run by Stevens called back for illegal motion, but all that did was take more time off the clock before Pingree took an inside handoff 27 yards to paydirt with 14 seconds left in the half.

Moloney’s PAT made it 13-6, but the score couldn’t save the Cougars from their halftime tongue-lashing.

“We came out flat,” Pingree said. “It was our first away game and we weren’t quite prepared. We thought we could just show up and win, and coach had been pounding it in our heads all week that we couldn’t.”

Visibly more fired up for the second half, Mt. Blue held the Blazes to a three-and-out on their opening possession, got a big second effort on a fourth-down, drive-preserving run by Pingree and opened it up to 20-7 when DiGravio took a pitch around the left side for an eight-yard TD run midway through the third.

“I think we’re the better team. In the first half we didn’t show it and in the second half we did,” said Parlin.

Westbrook threatened to pull back within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, setting up first-and-goal at the nine. A run by DiPietro got them down to the one. Chad Merrill stoned Todd Thompson (15 carries, 75 yards) for a two-yard loss on second down then, following an incomplete pass, pounced on DiPietro as he tried to find the handle of a low snap for a four-yard loss on fourth down.

The Cougars got out of the shadow of their own end zone thanks to a 64-yard run by DiGravio, then put the game away on Stevens’ run up the middle from two yards out.