FAIRFIELD —With his team protecting a seven-point lead in the waning moments of the fourth quarter, Lawrence football coach John Hersom faced a decision on fourth down at the Lewiston 23 and his team needing to pick up eight yards to put the game away Friday night.

Hersom elected to put the ball into the hands of Christian Powers, who has come up with many big plays week after week.

Mr. Reliable didn’t disappoint. The senior halfback swept around the right side, shaking off a pair of tacklers before the first-down marker and hurdling another defender before racing to the end zone.

Powers’ effort capped a hard-fought 28-14 win over Lewiston.

“He made that play a little bit on his own,” said Hersom. “It was supposed to go off-tackle, but he saw the outside was open. It was a great individual effort and read by him.”

Powers rushed for a pair of scores and racked up 190 yards on the ground. He also turned in a game-ending interception.

“With 1:18 to play and fourth down, we know if you don’t get him at the point of attack, he’s going to get a touchdown,” added Lewiston coach Bill County.

The Bulldogs (6-0) led 21-6 at the half and appeared to be in control of the game up to that point. They had put together an 11-play, 77-yard scoring drive on their second possession of the game. The march ended with a 2-yard sweep around the left side by halfback Curtis Dow.

They added two more scores in the second quarter as Powers outraced the Blue Devil defensive backs for a 48-yard run down the sideline and quarterback Bobby Belanger found Jeshua Dearborn open on a seam pass down the middle for a 29-yard touchdown.

The Blue Devils (4-2) set up their first score after recovering a fumbled snap on fourth down at the Lawrence 41. A 30-yard run by halfback Jeff Keene (11 carries for 97 yards) set up a 1-yard run by fullback Eddie Chan.

Lewiston turned things around in the third quarter. After stopping Powers on fourth down, the Lewiston offense put together an impressive drive which began on its own 31.

A flanker pass from wideout Peter Blais to Keene surprised Lawrence for 20 yards and a first down. Quarterback Seth Mason, playing in place of starter Ronnie Turner, found Andy Pulk for a 23-yard gain to the Lawrence 16. From there, Keene swept around the left side and weaved his way through the defense for the touchdown to bring the Blue Devils within a touchdown.

“They had some nice play calling and kept us on our heels,” said Hersom, “but we were able to keep them out of the end zone when we needed to.”

The Blue Devils had a chance to drive for the tying score in the final four minutes, but the Bulldogs held them to a harmless four-and-out series which started at the Blue Devil 20.

“We came in here to win the football game,” said County. “We were good enough to win it. There were spurts we played well. Their touchdowns in the first half came on big plays. We can’t give these up.”

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