PARIS — There was no Homecoming heartburn or heartbreak this year for the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School football program.

Heart palpitations, maybe. But ultimately the Vikings’ defense proved the heart and soul of a 14-8 victory over Mt. Ararat in front of 1,000 fans on a summery Saturday afternoon at Gouin Athletic Complex.

“We’re excited to be able to do it for the community,” said senior Andy Ripley. “I think everybody enjoyed it, had a blast.”

Such unbridled joy has been rare in recent years. It was only Oxford Hills’ second victory in the last three seasons and the first home triumph of coach Nate Danforth’s career.

Danforth was visibly overcome with emotion as he ordered his team to the dugout of the adjacent softball diamond for the post-game huddle.

“Let me tell you right now, there wasn’t much of a speech over there,” the coach said. “I thought I could hold it together.”

Moments earlier, Oxford Hills (1-3) kept its collective composure and averted a fourth-quarter collapse.

Having held the Eagles to two first downs and fewer than 40 yards all day, the Vikings were nursing a two-touchdown lead when Mt. Ararat’s Kiel Yenco stripped the ball from a runner’s grasp and into the hands of teammate Luke Liedman.

Liedman returned the fumble to the Oxford Hills 1-yard line. From there, Brett Milliken’s quarterback sneak and Jake Liedman’s two-point rush made it a game with 8:02 left.

“That’s the big thing with us is who are we and what do we want to be?” Danforth said of the sudden misfortune. “We don’t want to be one of those here-we-go-again teams.”

Oxford Hills answered with a drive from its own 30 to inside the Mt. Ararat 5. When the Eagles stopped fullback Jordan Croteau on third-and-1, the Vikings’ Chris Priest — who already nailed two extra points — walked on to try a 21-yard field goal from the left hash mark.

It veered wide left, giving Mt. Ararat life with 3:26 left.

With the help of four pass completions and careful use of his timeouts, Milliken (6-for-16, 56 yards) led the Eagles to the Oxford Hills 30 with time for a Hail Mary. But with the Eagles in hurry-up mode, Milliken instead tried a quarterback draw.

Croteau, a sophomore and the Vikings’ defensive stalwart with more than a dozen tackles, dragged Milliken to the turf as time expired.

“Our defense set the tone,” said Oxford Hills senior Dan Taylor, who quickly admitted, “I was getting kind of worried at the end.”

Oxford Hills gave itself margin for error, hitting two long plays for touchdowns after reaching the end zone only once through its first three games.

Ripley used one hand to cradle Logan Sanborn’s launch to the right flat for a 66-yard score on the Vikings’ third play from scrimmage.

“I thought I almost dropped it, but I brought it in,” Ripley said. “That’s the first time we’ve had a lead. It was pretty exciting.”

Mt. Ararat (0-4) had more lost yardage on penalties (45) than net yards gained (38) in the first half.

The Vikings padded their lead 1:37 before intermission when Taylor scooted 18 yards around left end on a counter play. Fullback Zack Moore and tight end Josh MacDonald provided the blocks to set him free.

With Ryan Creney (14 carries for 72 yards, all in the second half) grinding out tough yards up the middle, Oxford Hills’ line of Caleb Archer, Billy Leahy, Nolan Kilfoyle, Tyler Hamlin and Kyle Rainey continued to dominate the trenches after the break.

Jordan Westleigh-Griffin and Zach Lejonhud combined for three sacks of Milliken to lead the Vikings’ defense. Matt Farnum added a third-quarter interception.

The Vikings held Mt. Ararat’s double-barreled backfield of Derek True and McKenzie Gary to 27 yards apiece.

“We just can’t put a team away and make it easy. We’re very young and inexperienced with a lot of sophomores and juniors playing varsity,” Danforth said. “There are some situational things where guys get lost. But I’m just happy to get the win. We needed that, bad.”

Taylor was one Viking with red eyes to match those of his mentor. Oxford Hills has endured both forgettable and unforgettable homecomings during his career, neither with a positive outcome.

Messalonskee routed Oxford Hills two years ago. Last October, in the rain, the Vikings dropped a 56-48 verdict to Edward Little in five overtimes.

“The best thing was to get coach his first home win,” Taylor said. “We’ve been looking forward to this game for a while.”

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