PORTLAND – Steve Lizotte still had plenty of fight left in him.

The Mountain Valley senior lay on the ground for a few moments after a bone-jarring play. He got up, and calmly walked back toward the huddle as if he were ready for more.

He had to come out of the game momentarily, but Lizotte returned to prove he had no quit in him, something his entire team displayed in the second half Saturday night. The Falcons rallied with a dominating second half to beat Winslow in the Class B state championship game. That was after a horrendous first half that would have had lesser squads packing it in early.

“That’s our kids,” said Mountain Valley coach Jim Aylward. “We have one kid Matt Glover. “We’re pretty sure he tore his ACL. We taped him up at halftime. I was like ‘I’m not going to put you in. He says ‘I’ve got to be dressed coach.’ So we dressed him up like he was going to play.”

The Falcons had a relatively easy time, cruising through its Western Maine schedule, but faced adversity like no other against Winslow. The team that hits opponents hard and then hits them again was the team looking tentative and intimidated. There were times that the hard-nosed Falcons appeared to be wilting as Winslow built a 16-6 lead at the half.

“We have a swagger,” said Aylward. “I hate to say it. My kids started to doubt a little bit. At halftime, I could sense the frustration. They knew they were undisciplined. I told them to believe in each other and they just played their game, which is very physical and a quick swarming defense.”

It was one of those halves where just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong from Mountain Valley’s perspective. The only positive was the fact that the Falcons were only down 16-6. The Black Raiders had the Falcons on the ropes but couldn’t deliver the knock-out blow.

“We came out with a lot of heart,” said sophomore Matt Laubauskas. “We played hard. We underestimated (Winslow).”

The Falcons first four possessions of the game featured a four-yard punt that helped set up Winslow’s first touchdown. Mountain Valley also fumbled the ball away, managed just one first down, totalled just 26 yards, missed five straight pass attempts and also were plagued by bad penalties. If it weren’t for some penalties and failed execution on Winslow’s part, the Black Raiders might have been able to add to their lead early. Though Mountain Valley was fortunate to be able to stick close, the Falcons struggled to turn the tables.

“We were really shocked at how good they really were,” said Lizotte. “It shows the season has been a bit of a cakewalk. They’re a hell of a football team. I tip my hat to them.”

Mountain Valley shook off the frustration and put the mistakes behind them in the second half.

As much as things went wrong in the first two quarters, the Falcons had everything going their way in the second half. Players that made mistakes in the first half came up with key plays to keep the Mountain Valley momentum rolling. Laubauskas, who had a short punt that aided Winslow’s first touchdown, was solid on defense and had a number of gritty carrys in the second half. John Perry had an undisciplined penalty in the first half, but had some fine runs later in the game.

Andy Shorey was finally connecting with receivers and passes weren’t being dropped. The wave of emotion and momentum that had the Falcons on their heels in the first half made them unstoppable in the second.

“We all got fired up,” said Lizotte. “It doesn’t take much. We all slapped each other in the face and said ‘Get into it. We’re not playing like we can. We have to get back into it.’ We had to get back in the game. We didn’t want to go out without a win.”

The Falcons needed to elevate their game and used the Justin Staires to do just that.

Justin Staires took a short Shorey pass and burst through tackles for a 66-yard scoring strike early in the third quarter. That lit the Mountain Valley fuse and had the Falcons within 16-12. The game was on.

“That was big,” said Laubauskas. “That set the whole tone in the second half. We knew we were back in this when that happened.”

From there, the Falcons swarmed with their typical attitude. There was little doubt in their minds and no tentativeness in their hits. The Black Raiders, who moved the ball at will at times in the first down, needed an Atlas to find the end zone in the second half.

“I’m really happy for these kids,” said Aylward. “We were tested and we passed.”