DIXFIELD – Devin Brann ran for 118 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown in the third quarter for the eventual winning points, Buckfield/Dirigo used a strong running game in a 32-14 win against Traip Academy on Saturday.

Buckfield/Dirigo (1-4) gained 260 yards rushing and had a balanced attack as quarterback Jamie Henderson (7-for-14, 94 yards) spread the wealth around. The 6-foot-2 sophomore threw TD passes to Troy Houghton and Josh Daley for 12 and 13 yards, respectively, in the first half.

“The coaching staff prepared us well,” Henderson said. “We worked hard and we came into this game, knowing that Traip hadn’t won a game in over three years. We didn’t want to lose to them.”

On the opening drive of the third quarter, the Cougars attacked the Rangers defensive line and Brann got around the left side for 3 yards.

Brann then ran in for the score, capping a five-play, 57-yard drive. The junior also caught two passes for 55 yards. Traip (0-5) trailed 9-6, but still had an opportunity to get back into the game. A fumble recovery on a punt gave the Rangers possession and a face mask penalty set the ball in Cougar territory. On fourth down, Cougar corner back stepped up and tackled Ranger QB Sean McDonough short of the marker.

“We finally played four quarters of football,” Cougar coach Al Cayer said. “In our last two games, the scores were 13-6 and 7-6 at halftime. Today we didn’t let it slip away.”

The Cougars proceeded to ice the game by scoring on its next two possessions. Kevin O’Leary and Troy Houghton (58 yards) had TD runs of six and one yards, respectively.

Traip had scored in the second quarter on a McDonough keeper and again on a two-yard run by Jacob Smith in the final quarter.

The Rangers Nate Cario gained 97 yards on 28 rushes.

The Cougars tackles -Keith Ellis and O’Leary – bottled up the middle. The Rangers made one of 11 third-down conversions.

“We prepared hard all week for this game,” Brandon Elliot said. “The coaches had a good plan and we had success early passing the ball. We wanted to establish our running game and the offensive line started picking up their blocks.”