LEWISTON – The Lewiston Blue Devils hopped aboard the Jared Turcotte Express and the running back carried his squad to a 46-28 victory over the Brunswick Dragons in a Class A football game on Friday night.
The injury-free junior rushed for 334 yards on 33 carries, scored five touchdowns and even added a two-point conversion.
And with quarterback Chris Ford back calling the shots, the Devils had no problem rushing for 436 yards on the evening.
“I just had to step it up,” said Turcotte, knowing a win moves the Blue Devils closer to a playoff slot. “It was just do or die.”
With the score tied at 14, Turcotte slipped through the Dragons’ defense on the first play from scrimmage and rushed up the field for 49 yards and the first of his three touchdowns in the third quarter.
When the Devils got the ball back on the 37, Turcotte and teammate Garett Preston slugged their way to the 20-yard line, before the junior back took it in, giving Lewiston a 26-14 with 6:18 left in the quarter.
The Dragons responded with a touchdown of their own when Adam Aube (three TDs) scored on a 12-yard rush, closing the gap to five.
But that’s when Turcotte delivered the knockout blow.
With the Blue Devils pinned at their own 11-yard line, Turcotte bolted up the field for an 89-yard touchdown.
“Obviously, he’s a high impact player,” said Lewiston coach Bill County. “He told me he felt like he’s one-hundred percent.”
The Blue Devils also made some changes on defense in the second half, which threw a wrench in Brunswick’s passing game. The Dragons were punching holes in Lewiston’s secondary, passing for 128 yards in the first half.
“We made some defensive adjustments, and that was big for us,” said County. “I knew coming into it, this would be blood-and-guts football.”
Ford, who is playing with a damaged knee and will need surgery after the season, seemed to keep the Devils on course for the entire game. Before the game, County instructed Ford to “run the team,” and not run the ball.
The Dragons struck first when Justin Dionne held on to a 32-yard pass from quarterback T.J. Thompson with 3:33 to play in the first quarter.
The Blue Devils answered when Preston scored on an 8-yard run to tie it up. Turcotte scored on a 1-yard spill-in to give the Devils a 14-7 lead.
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