TOPSHAM — Edward Little High School was three yards away from getting back into Friday night’s Pine Tree Conference football game at Mt. Ararat High School. It only felt like three miles.

Whatever momentum the Red Eddies carried at the end of the first half melted into the mitts of Drew Marshall and Dan Rinaldi, who stopped EL quarterback Teven Colon on fourth-and-goal at the 3 with six seconds to go.

Neither team got within spitting distance of the end zone in the second half, and Mt. Ararat walked off with a 20-6 victory that snuffed out the Eddies’ faint playoff hopes.

EL (1-6) will host Lewiston next week in the riverside rivals’ traditional end to the regular season. It’ll be an abrupt end for a team whose starters played at least a supporting role in advancing to the PTC championship game last fall.

“It’s been a very disappointing season,” said EL coach Darren Hartley. “The kids are struggling. The coaches are struggling. We’re getting down on ourselves, and I’m the biggest culprit of all. I’ve tried desperately to stay positive, and we continue to do the same things over and over.”

Kiel Yenco notched three of the four quarterback sacks for Mt. Ararat (2-5). The Eagles also picked off Colon twice in the second half, when they held the Eddies to 14 net yards and two first downs.

“Our defensive line plugged up the middle and gave our inside and outside linebackers a chance to get back there and make some plays,” said Mt. Ararat senior linebacker and co-captain Frank True.

Mt. Ararat mounted a 20-0 lead on 1-yard touchdown runs by True, Marshall and McKenzie Gary before the Eddies showed signs of life on Colon’s 88-yard kick return for a touchdown with 3:11 remaining in the half. 

Colon had to hurry the two-point conversion pass attempt after the Eddies lined up incorrectly, however, and it fell incomplete.

“That’s a formation we’ve run a lot, and that’s a big play right there. If it’s 20-8 and you play hard and get a couple of stops, you’re right back in it,” Hartley said. “It’s been the mental focus for us that we’ve struggled with pretty much from the get-go.”

Ben Bellevue and Alex Smith collaborated on a sack of Marshall to trigger a three-and-out, and EL’s two-minute offense promptly followed suit with a 49-yard strike from Colon to Zack Henry. Marshall took down Henry at the 8 to save a potential touchdown.

A fumbled snap and incomplete pass threw the Eddies into hurry-up mode. Brett Milliken and Dustin Bessler stopped Colon at the 4 on third down, and a keeper to the opposite side of the field yielded almost nothing on fourth down.

“We made too many mental mistakes the rest of the first half, and I didn’t have any timeouts left there because we lined up wrong five or six times,” Hartley said.

EL never got closer than the Mt. Ararat 45 after that exchange.

Milliken and Brad Gagnon grabbed the fourth-quarter interceptions for the Eagles, who outgained the Eddies 310 yards to 122.

“That stop was huge, because it took all their momentum away,” said Marshall. “If they scored there, the ball game might have been much closer.”

Marshall directed the Eagles to scores on three of their first five series, working mostly out of the spread offense. He carried 19 times for 135 yards. Gary added 16 attempts for 80 yards. 

Brandon Vye (41 yards) and Colon (32) were the Eddies’ leading ground gainers.

“We have one more week to play football,” Hartley said. “I just hope the guys can rise to the challenge and have some fun.”

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