SOUTH PARIS – D.J. Drew barely played a half Friday night, but he turned in a full game.

The junior tailback ran the opening kickoff back 79 yards for a touchdown and later turned in a 76-yard scoring run to help Oxford Hills defeat Brewer 29-14 in a Pine Tree Conference football clash.

Drew totaled 229 all-purpose yards with 123 coming on the ground before he left the game with a sprained ankle after the first play of the third quarter.

On the opening kickoff, he fielded the bounding ball at his own 21. With traffic all around him, he quickly cut to the left and found an opening. He then pulled away and went the distance.

“I was just trying to get the ball in my hands,” said Drew. “When I finally got it there were four guys in my face. Luckily, our guys held their blocks.”

With the Vikings (2-0) up 14-7 in the second quarter, Drew again popped loose. This time he took a pitch from quarterback Justin Frechette and headed around the right side. Once he gained the corner it was a foot race down the sideline. He outran a pack of Brewer defenders and high-stepped away from the last one for a 76-yard score.

“He ran hard,” said Brewer coach Don Farnham of Drew. “He makes people miss. We’re grabbing and not tackling.”

Oxford Hills jumped out to a 14-0 advantage in the first quarter. On their second drive, the Vikings used a 22-yard screen pass from Frechette to Drew to set up their second score. On third down from the Brewer 17, Frechette found Andrew Hart open on a fade pattern down the left sideline.

The Witches (0-2) quickly cut the lead in half when Caleb Smith returned the subsequent kickoff 77 yards for a score. The senior darted his way through a hole up the middle.

The Vikings led 21-7 at the half and put together a 16-play, 84 yard drive to start the third quarter. With Drew out of the game, fullback Chris Ney (43 yards rushing) and back-up tailback Caleb Flanders (50 yards) alternated carries. Ney handled the inside work and Flanders slashed his way outside.

The drive culminated into another Frechette 3-yard scoring pass. This time he rolled left and floated the pass to Jake Hall in the left hand corner of the end zone.

“That drive in the third quarter was a big one,” said Oxford Hills coach Bob Austin. “The offensive line really came through. We’ve been talking about finishing drives and we did that tonight.”

Smith completed the scoring with a quarterback keeper from 24 yards out. He began the night at wideout, but starting quarterback Coby Hutchins injured his left shoulder late in the first half and was lost for the rest of the night.

“(The injury) hurt us more at wide receiver,” said Farnham. “Caleb (Smith) is our best receiver and losing him there took away from our passing game.” Smith replaced Hutchins at quarterback.

The Witches were held to just 67 yards on 33 carries.

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