Mt. Blue’s first win over Bangor in three years came down to the start of the second half, Cougars coach Gary Parlin said.

The Cougars held a slim 6-0 lead at halftime and braced themselves for what they knew was coming next.

“They came out like they always do when they’re behind at halftime, just trying to ram it right down our throats, and we took three hits from them and stopped them and made them punt,” Parlin said. “We’ve been ahead of them before and they’d just take over the line of scrimmage, so it was kind of refreshing. It was a well-deserved win for our seniors.”

Mt. Blue’s defense played spectacularly throughout the 12-6 win. Bangor running back Lonnie Hackett gained 110 yards, but the Pine Tree Conference’s third-leading rusher going into the week had to earn every yard he got.

“We were so leery of Hackett. He’s broken a lot of long runs this year. We definitely kept him in check,” Parlin said.

Parlin said his defensive line, consisting of Zach Tracy, Chadd Harris, Brandon Cochran, Nick Watson, Pat McHugh and Mike Letarte, played their best game of the year, while junior linebacker Alec Wallace, the third-leading tackler in the PTC, continued his outstanding play Friday night.

“He’s been kind of underrated. He came up huge with 17 tackles,” he said. “He just keeps getting better every week after missing almost all of last season with a broken hand. I think he’s become one of the better linebackers in the league.”

The win, plus a brutally tough schedule, gives the Cougars (2-5) a tight grip on the eighth and final playoff spot. In fact, Bangor (2-5) will have to beat Brewer next week to secure its own berth. The Cougars, meanwhile, will face a Skowhegan team coming off its first loss of the season against Lawrence, which is likely in Mt. Blue’s first round playoff future. Lawrence won the season opener between the two teams, 41-0.

‘Battle’ looming

The countdown to next week’s Battle of the Bridge has begun.

For the first time since the two schools met for the Pine Tree Conference championship in 2002, Saturday’s meeting between 7-0 Lewiston and 6-1 Edward Little at Don Roux Field will feature two of the top teams in the conference.

The Red Eddies will head into that game not only hoping to cut into Lewiston’s 87-64-12 edge in the all-time series by winning for the first time since prevailing in that thrilling championship game. They also hope to deny the Blue Devils an undefeated regular season and leap frog them in the final Crabtree standings.

“This is the first time in awhile that our two teams have been competitive at the same time, so it’s definitely going to be a brawl,” said senior Dylon Therrien, one of those 15 seniors. “There are so many weapons that we have to watch for. It’s going to be a long week of practice. We need to get healthy because we know we need to be at the top of our game to compete with them.”

Lewiston won last year’s meeting at Walton Field, 40-20, behind 237 yards rushing from then junior tailback Wesley Myers.

“This might be bulletin-board material, but the Lewiston guys already know this. I’ve got 15 seniors that have thought that they were better than Lewiston for a couple of years and they haven’t proved it,” EL coach Darren Hartley said. “Now they’ve got to go out and play football and try to defend Wes and Ronnie (Turner). Those guys are all friends and they know each other. Our guys think they’re better than they are, and they have to prove it.”

– Randy Whitehouse