FARMINGTON – Mt. Blue couldn’t do anything against Lewiston on the ground on Friday, managing just 73 yards in the first half against a tough-as-nails Blue Devils defense.

Good thing quarterback Mason Barker has a cannon for an arm.

Barker let the ball fly for 182 yards and three scores in the second half, two of them long gainers to David DiGravio, as Mt. Blue broke out of a halftime deadlock and defeated Lewiston 27-13.

“This was not a normal 0-5 team,” said Mt. Blue coach Gary Parlin. “It’s obvious they studied us well, and we had a hard time running against them to the outside tonight. They did well keeping us away from the sidelines.”

After battling to a 7-7 halftime deadlock, Mt. Blue made some adjustments and put the ball in the hands of its quick-footed receiver.

“I knew I had missed a few early,” said DiGravio. “The plays were there all night, I had just missed them.”

With his team trailing 13-7, DiGravio caught fire, turning a third-and-eight into a 63-yard touchdown catch-and-run. With the extra point, Mt. Blue went ahead for the first time, and for good.

“He’s such a good player for us,” Parlin said of DiGravio. “He was all defense in his sophomore year, and then he started working in to the offense last year. Aside from the extra points, he was in there for every play tonight.”

After forcing a Lewiston fumble, Barker again went to the air, this time finding Hal Robbins over the middle to stretch the lead to eight.

Another Blue Devil three-and-out later, Barker again went deep to DiGravio, connecting on a 78-yard bomb that slipped through the fingers of Lewiston defensive back Chris Ford.

“I had to really adjust on that one,” said DiGravio. “He made a good play on the ball, but I stayed with it and caught it after he tipped it.”

To Lewiston’s credit, the defense was in place to play the inside slant patterns Mt. Blue was running, but DiGravio was too quick and was able to slip behind them.

Lewiston coach Bill County was unavailable for comment following the game.

The Blue Devils actually scored first, as Jared Turcotte threw a halfback option pass to Christian Reilly in the corner of the end zone midway through the second quarter. Turcotte finished with those 20 yards passing and 142 yards rushing to lead the Blue Devils’ offense.

Barker countered with a run up the middle for a score with 52 seconds left in the half.