By Bob McPhee,Staff Writer

RUMFORD – It certainly wasn’t the text book version of Xs and Os, but the Mountain Valley football team had enough in reserve to get the job done.

Andy Shorey and Travis Fergola each scored touchdowns in the first half as unbeaten Mountain Valley relied heavily on its defense for a hard-fought 15-6 triumph over Greely in the Western Class B playoffs Friday at Hosmer Field.

Mountain Valley (10-0), the defending Class B state champions, extended the longest unbeaten streak in the state to 21 games.

Greely, which tested the Falcons during the regular season, was definitely up for the challenge.

The Falcons will host York in the conference championship game next Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

“There was some skilled players playing out on the field tonight,” Falcon coach Jim Aylward said. “We kept trying to bust things open with a big play, but it never happened. You have to give Greely a lot of credit.”

The Falcons utilized their ball-control offense effectively on a few possessions, including in the second quarter when Fergola broke outside and raced the final 7 yards to complete a 52-yard scoring drive.

A highlight during the march was a 22-yard run by Devin Roberts. The Falcons then displayed some trickery as holder Matt Lyons threw a fade pass to freshman Justin Stairs for the two-point conversion. It put Mountain Valley ahead 15-0.

Greely (7-3) finally scored in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard plunge by QB Erik Goranson. The Rangers then had Goranson run in the conversion, but a holding call negated the play.

“Greely played hard,” Shorey said. “Their quarterback was on, and we wanted to avoid giving up the big play. Our defense held their running game in check.”

Greely gained 70 yards on the ground, led by Chris Martin with 51 on 14 carries.

The Falcons were held to a season-low 202 yards. Senior running back Aaron Arsenault was a workhorse with 98 yards on 28 carries.

The Falcons defense proved strong with sacks by Matt Glover and Thaddeus Bennett, while linebackers Brendan Bradley and Fergola were effective at clogging up the middle.

“Greely had nothing to lose, and they came in well prepared,” Fergola said. “Normally, we are a second-half team, but tonight we came out firing in the first half. The offensive line did a great job. We had to adjust to their outside backer, Chris Martin, who was getting up field.”

Fergola gained 58 yards on 13 carries.

Mountain Valley quarterback Shorey scored on a 1-yard sneak in the first quarter, and D.J. Gerrish kicked the extra point. The touchdown was set up by a Stairs’ 44-yard punt return, giving the Falcons first-and-goal at the 8.

The Falcons’ Kyle Dow recovered a fumble, but the Rangers recovered two, including one by Martin in the red zone.

Greely completed long passes to Sam Green and Matt Harris, but Falcon cornerback John Perry broke-up the last ditch pass.