AUBURN – Some skeptics wondered aloud how Edward Little High School’s resurgent football team would answer the bell on the first Friday night everything didn’t go quite right.

Well, how does this rank on the snafu scale?

Flu ripping through the depth chart like a tropical storm, with six starters out of practice on Tuesday or Wednesday and at least one home nursing a fever on game night; eight punts; the first turnover of the season by the Red Eddies’ passing game; 10 net rushing yards.

The fickle finger of fate will have to work harder than that.

Edward Little stopped Brunswick on three consecutive plays inside the 15-yard line in the final 90 seconds of regulation to protect a 13-12 Pine Tree Conference Class A win.

Margin of victory: A blocked extra point by sophomore Teven Colon.

“It’s a huge test,” said EL coach Darren Hartley. “All these prognosticators say we’re an elite team in the conference. We felt that everybody certainly would measure us by tonight.”

EL shredded Oxford Hills and Mt. Blue for 86 points in its first two games. Brunswick (1-2) limited the Red Eddies to 148 yards. Seven drives ended in a three-and-out or a turnover.

But Cody Goddard (12-for-26) hooked up with Shane Ciriello seven times, including a 15-yard TD strike with 3:26 remaining in the first quarter.

Goddard later located Sean Daigle for 15 yards and Dylon Therrien for 12 to set up Therrien’s go-ahead, 1-yard scoring plunge in the third. Goddard’s crucial extra point split the uprights after it was partially blocked by Brunswick.

“We had a lot of people who were really frustrated at halftime, and we knew we needed to come out and bang, bang, bang.” Ciriello said. “I can’t remember EL being 3-0. This really means a lot to me.”

Colon swatted Sam Guerrette’s PAT attempt after Shaun Tanner’s second TD run of the game for Brunswick on the final play of the third quarter.

After the Dragons drove to the EL-12 with 1:40 left, the heart of the Eddies’ defense – headlined by Therrien, Grady Burns, Matt Saucier and Jake Goulette – leveled Tanner for no gain and a one-yard loss on consecutive plays.

Robbie Basquez rolled left and found an open James Cejka on fourth-and-2, but the pass was wide and rattled off the wingback’s hands to the turf.

“If that game had been a minute longer, I’m pretty confident we would’ve gotten that ball in the end zone,” said Brunswick coach Dan Cooper.

Tanner finished with 105 yards for Brunswick. Basquez completed 6-of-14 for 98.

Therrien and Burns were double-digit tacklers for EL. The Eddies also pounced on a fumble in the fourth quarter to stall a Brunswick drive.

“I’ve got to be honest. I didn’t do a lot of coaching at halftime,” Hartley said. “I did a lot of discussing, in a very old-fashioned way.”