By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

FARMINGTON – It was just the way the Oxford Hills football team wanted to open the half – or so the Vikings thought.

Oxford Hills had stuffed Mt. Blue’s opening drive of the second half, and was poised to ride that momentum. Before the Vikings’ offense could build upon that, a fumbled punt led to a Cougar touchdown and a sudden double-digit lead.

The Vikings never recovered as the top-seeded Cougars advanced to the Eastern Class A championship game with a 34-20 win Friday night at Caldwell Field.

The Cougars host Skowhegan next Friday in the final, a rematch of last week’s game in which the Indians handed Mt. Blue its only loss.

“That was a big momentum boost,” said Alex Johnson, who recovered the fumble for the touchdown. “We needed that.

“It just made the team work that much harder. We worked hard all week and played as hard as we could. We bottled everything we had in Bangor and brought it here.”

Trailing 20-13, the Vikings forced Mt. Blue to punt for the first time in the game. Ethan Sutton received the punt inside the 5 and cut back to his right. Mt. Blue’s Mike Cayer was in pursuit and put a hit on Sutton. Cayer also had a pair of interceptions.

“He’s unbelievable,” said Mt. Blue coach Gary Parlin. “That’s a kid that’s been on the edge for quite awhile, but he’s really matured.”

When Cayer knocked the ball loose, Johnson pounced on it for the touchdown to make it 27-13 with 7:35 left in the third quarter.

“The punt team did great, and I had a good recovery,” said Johnson. “I just saw it land there, and I picked it up.”

The Cougars added a Justin Lowe 42-yard burst up the middle midway through the fourth quarter for a 34-13 lead. Oxford Hills got a late plunge from the 1 by Jim Bower. Bower finished with 196 yards on 41 carries and two touchdowns.

“We held them for the first time in the game,” said Oxford Hills coach Bob Austin. “Then the the touchdown on the punt, but the kids didn’t quit. They haven’t quit all year.”

The Vikings (5-4) struck first with a 61-yard drive to open the game. Bower capped it off with a run through the right side from the 10 for a 7-0 lead.

The Cougars (8-1) got within 7-6 on its first possession. John Moloney recovered a Mason Barker fumble in the end zone.

The Cougars made it 12-7 with 10:25 left in the half when Mike Toothaker took it up the middle from the 3. Though the Vikings took the 13-12 lead with 4:37 left on a rollout pass from Ben Ryerson to Jon Cote, the Cougars retook the lead with 2:10 left. Toothaker bowled over a tackle to score from the 5 for a 20-13 lead.

“No one stopped anybody,” said Parlin. “We figured at halftime, the team that made a couple of stops was probably going to win. Coach (Craig) Collins made some nice adjustments and the kids responded.”

The Vikings had lost to Mt. Blue 28-14 on opening night, but figured they could give the Cougars a challenge. Oxford Hills gave Mt. Blue a physical battle and had more first downs and outgained the Cougars 354 yards to 258.

“Mt. Blue’s a very good football team,” said Austin. “We played right with them. It was closer than the score showed.”