CAPE ELIZABETH — It’s been a season of battered shoulders, bruised ankles and twisted knees.

Saturday, it was the hearts of the Mountain Valley Falcons that were broken.

The Falcons had a fourth straight Western B title within their grasp at Hannaford Field field, but watched Cape Elizabeth rally with two touchdowns in the final quarter to stun upset-minded Mountain Valley 23-13.

“We were the only 47 or 48 people in the state that thought we could win this game,” said Mountain Valley coach Jim Aylward. “This hurts. I’m crushed. I’m crushed for the kids. It’s very devastating.

“It’s Cape’s day. They’re a great team. We didn’t lose this game. You don’t lose championships. Teams win them. When the game was on the line, they stepped up and got it done.”

Cape was struggling offensively in the second half and was playing from behind for the first time all year. The Capers weren’t panicking, but they were getting close against a Falcon team that had beaten them three times in three previous regional finals.

“It’s incredible,” said Cape coach Aaron Filieo. “All season long you’re playing these games in which the games are over at halftime. I told the guys that that was not going to be the situation with Mountain Valley. I didn’t know how my guys would respond against that adversity. They were down but they found a way to win.”

The Falcons rallied from a 9-0 deficit and had a 13-9 advantage in the second half. Cape had struggled offensively in the rainy and windy conditions, and Mountain Valley had them reeling.

“That was the first time this season that I had my confidence shaken,” said Cape quarterback Ezra Wolfinger, who threw two interceptions after throwing just one all year. “That’s a great team. They could go to states and win it easily. It was a battle.”

Up 13-9, the Falcons had prime chances to really put the Capers in the hole. Mountain Valley got inside the 5-yard line early in the fourth. Facing fourth-and-2 from the five, Joshua Allen dove up the middle but only reached the 4. Cape took over on downs with 10:36 left. The Capers couldn’t move the ball and turned it over when Matt Duka intercepted a pass at midfield with 6:54 left.

Two plays later, a Falcon fumble gave Cape life. There were 11 fumbles in the game and one lost by each team. This one cost Mountain Valley a chance to milk the clock and hold momentum. Instead, Cape, using its starters in the final quarter for the first time all year, took advantage of its last possession.

“We had chances,” said Aylward. “If you don’t take advantage of every crack an excellent football team gives you, you don’t get it done.”

Cape still didn’t get anywhere fast with the final minutes of the fourth quarter ticking away. The Capers, who were penalized for 55 yards in the game, had a motion penalty and an incompletion. The Capers faced third-and-14 from the 40. With a strong Falcon pass rush, Wolfinger, who played the final quarter with a possible sprained wrist, was able to find Kyle Danielson over the middle for the completion. It went for 39 yards and a first down.

Most importantly, the Capers had new life.

“The conditions had been adverse all day,” said Wolfinger, who is interested in attending Bates College next year. “We knew we had to make something up. We just made that play up on the spot. He made a hell of a catch. That’s all you can ask from a receiver. He used guts and came down with it.”

Tom Foden, who had been held for negative yardage through three quarters, rushed the Capers a little closer. He finished with 40 yards on 17 carries. Then, with 2:59 left, Wolfinger spotted a wide open Kyle Piscopo in the left corner for a six-yard touchdown pass that made it 16-13.

“We’ve been working for it all four years,” said Wolfinger, who was held to just 80 yards passing on six completions. “We finally got over that hump.”

The Falcons still had time to rally, but the Cape defense was swarming. Brady Fergola gained a yard and then a sack led to a four-yard loss. After an incompletion, the Falcons went for it on fourth-and-14 but Chris Day’s pass was picked by Foden and returned 30 yards for the score with 2:01 left.

“It’s a tough day for big plays,” said Filieo, whose team used plenty of them to beat the Falcons 34-0 in the regular season win. “On a day like this, you hope for one, and we got that one.”

The Falcons were in trouble early. Cape marched downfield on the first drive and scored with 10:28 left in the first quarter. Foden punched it in from the 2 but it was a 55-yard run by Piscopo that set up the score. He bounced off a tackle at midfield and broke it big. He finished with 74 yards on five carries and two thirds of the Capers total yards in the first half.

Though Mountain Valley survived a bad snap on a punt on its first possession, the Falcons weren’t so lucky the second time around. A snap sailed over Fergola’s head and into the end zone. A Cape rush left him little time and Leandre Some tackled him in the end zone for a safety with 4:50 left in the quarter.

The Falcons totaled 88 yards in the first half and were slow getting things going. Duka was an offensive spark in the second quarter but the drive stalled at the 13. Duka finished with 112 yards on 23 carries. An interception by Tim Ross gave the Falcons a chance late in the half. Mountain Valley took advantage. The Falcons used six plays, two completions by Day and some fine running by Allen. Allen finished it up by zig-zagging up the middle from the 13 with 36 seconds left in the half. Allen finished with 47 yards on nine carries.

Mountain Valley had the ball to start the second and quickly seized control of the game. The Falcons used an 11-play drive that carried 80 yards to take the 13-9 lead. Duka finished it off by scrambling around the left side.

Cape struggled to mount a comeback against a stellar Falcon defensive effort. The Capers gained just 41 yards on their first four possession of the second half. Cape had only gained another yard before Wolfinger’s 39-yard pass to Danielson changed everything.

“My kids played the best football they’re capable of playing,” said Aylward. “We’re devastated. We actually thought we were going to win this game.”

Mountain valley’s Matt Duka gives Cape Elizabeth tackler Ezra Wolfinger a stiff arm as nearly the entire Cape devense persues him during the second half of Saturday’s Western Maine Class B Regional Championship game. No penalties were called on the play.

Mountain valley’s Matt Duka has nowhere to go as nearly the entire Cape Elisabeth defense tracks him down during Saturday’s Western Maine Class B Regional Championship game.

Mountain Valley’s Cole Clark, right, gives teammate Matt Duka a head butt after Duka made a spetactular catch for a first down during Saturday’s Western Maine Class B Regional Championship game.

Mountain Valley quarterback Chris Day gets sacked by the Cape Elizabeth defense during Saturday’s championship game.

Mountain Valley head coach Jim Aylward reacts late in the fourth quarter after his quarterback, Chris Day, bottom left, was sacked for a loss.

Mountain Valley quarterback Chris Day breaks down after a hard fought battle that came down the the fourth quarter where Cape Elizabeth pulled away in the final minutes of the game to win the Western Maine Class B Regional Championship.