HAMPDEN — Fifty two seconds is all it took.

If the St. Dom’s boys’ soccer team wondered if it would come out strong Saturday or questioned whether it would have a bundle of nerves to start the Class C state championship game, the Saints got their answer in just seconds.

St. Dom’s scored the first of three first-half goals in the first minute of play at Hampden Academy to beat Fort Kent convincingly in a 4-1 victory.

Cam Brown and Jackson Erickson each scored two goals as the Saints won their second state title in the last three years.

“We were heartbroken that we didn’t get one last year,” said St. Dom’s coach Matt Erickson, whose club lost in the semifinals. “That’s the way the ball bounces. This was an indirect goal at the beginning of the season. Our philosophy is one game at a time, and we found ourselves undefeated. Going into the playoffs, the only way I could see this being a successful year is to finish undefeated because that meant we’d win the state cup.”

Erickson, Garrett Darnell, Trevar Haefele and Alex Parker were all on the club that beat Madawaska two years at Hampden Academy. To claim another title two years later tasted even sweeter this time around.

“It’s amazing,” said Darnell, who missed most of last season to a knee injury. “I was here two years ago. It feels a lot different being a senior and it being my last high school game. Last year could have been the same but I went down. It makes this even better.”

There are seven other seniors that weren’t part of that 2007 team that went out in style Saturday.

“It’s big for us seniors,” said Brown, who scored the Saints first two goals in the first 12:04. “It’s what we’ve been waiting for since freshman year. I wasn’t on the team when they won (in 2007). I took a year off and hoped to win something and got it. It feels really good.”

The Saints (18-0) dominated the Warriors (12-4-2) from the get-go. St. Dom’s scored the first goal in the first minute and never let up. The Saints familiarity with the turf field and experience in the state game gave them an edge, and the Warriors couldn’t match it.

“We came out a bit flat,” said Fort Kent coach Tim Desjardins, whose club hadn’t been to the states since 1981 in Class A. “I think the boys were a little overwhelmed at this stage. They haven’t been here in quite a while.”

The Saints’ first goal came off an Erickson rush. Fort Kent keeper Alex Charette made a stop but the ball got free. Brown was there to put it in off a defender.

“Jack played it up on a volley,” said Brown. “I volleyed it off a defender and put it in. It was big. It quieted the crowd down.”

The Warriors had a boisterous fan following, but the Saints didn’t allow Fort Kent to give them much to cheer about. The Saints went to the ball hard and dominated play early. St. Dom’s looked comfortable and confident on the turf field and had the lead up to 2-0 after outshooting the Warriors 7-0 to start the game. The Saints even had two near-misses that could have made it 4-0 early while the Warriors didn’t produce a shot until midway through the first half.

“Honestly that’s some of the best we’ve played,” said Erickson. “They were just totally psyched for this game. The bus ride up was nothing but business.”

Brown made it 2-0 with 27:56 left when two Fort Kent defender’s misplayed a ball and Charette couldn’t get to it. Brown was able to put it past him and into the net.

“It was a ball over the top and the goalie miscommunicated with the defenders,” said Brown. “I just went in and poked it over the top and it trickled in.”

The Saints outshot Fort Kent 14-3 in the first half and made it 3-0 when Erickson buried a shot with 6:55 left in the half.

“We’ve been focused the whole season,” said Darnell. “We stuck to our game plan. We played the way we always do. They weren’t ready for us. I don’t think they’ve seen this type of play before.”

The Saints started the second half as quickly as they did the first. St. Dom’s struck just 49 seconds into the half.

“I put a challenge out there then,” said Erickson. “That first goal was a bit shocking. It was under a minute. I challenged them in the second half to see if they could beat that.”

Erickson took a pass from Darnell and finished it in front to achieve that goal. With many of the Saint starters out, the Warriors began to challenge play a bit and produced their lone goal. Thomas Levesque scored on a penalty kick with 17:27 left. It was the only goal scored on St. Dom’s in the postseason. Saints goalie Nick Brigham finished with seven saves.

“To go down 3-0 or 4-0, that’s tough, “said Desjardins. “That’s a very good team. They were comfortable. They came out and played their game right from the first minute. They’ve been here before and were very comfortable and very skilled.”