PORTLAND — With the wind whistling through his football helmet and his nerves rattling through his body, Rashaud Lavoie stepped up for the punt of his life.

The senior guard, who kicks the football in his spare time, had to give the football back to Leavitt on Saturday morning. With his team ahead 6-0, Lavoie wanted to help keep it that way. Putting the Hornets on their heels with a good wind-aided kick, he knew was a perfect way to do it.

“It was my first punt of the day,” Lavoie said. “I was pretty nervous. I almost thought I was going to mess up and just punt it right to them.”

Lavoie booted it deep into Leavitt territory. The Hornets didn’t field it as it sailed over their heads. Instead, they watched helplessly as the Falcons downed the ball at the 2.

“I can’t explain the feeling,” Lavoie said. “It was awesome. To have it back there and not have them return it, it was all with the help of our friend Danny (Garneau).”

Garneau, who would have been a senior on the team this fall, died of leukemia in April.

The punt came at a point in the game from which Leavitt struggled to recover. Already fired up with the early lead, the Falcons’ defense could sense having the Hornets on the ropes. After already picking off a Jordan Hersom pass, Mountain Valley’s defense had the Hornets in their sights.

“There are two times that our defense plays like wild dogs,” Mountain Valley coach Jim Aylward said. “That’s when our backs are against the goalpost or when your back is against the goalpost.”

Leavitt never altered that momentum surge. The Hornets were hemmed in and spent much of the first half just trying to escape. Mountain Valley took advantage of that field position battle for a 14-0 lead at the half, and never looked back in the 20-0 win.

“It’s hard to spread things out and do what you like to do on the perimeter when you’re backed up in your own end, and you’re going into the wind,”  Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway said. “That dictated a lot of what we could do in terms of calling plays. It was an uphill battle that whole first half.”

With the help of a blustery wind that Mountain Valley had at their backs in the first quarter, the Falcons were able to set the tone early on special teams.

“We talked about how we wanted to win all three phases of the game,”  Aylward said. “We knew we were going to be alright defensively. Offensively, we’re about as exciting as watching puddles dry up, but our special teams play, Rashaud had a great day kicking the ball.”

The Hornets next possession following the big punt began at the 20 after another Lavoie offering just missed again landing inside the 5. Then, after stopping the Falcons on fourth down at the 5, the Hornets took over at the 7. Leavitt’s best field position came on its last series of the half when it returned the kickoff to their own 41 late in the half.

“It was one of those snowball things,” Hathaway said. “You’re constantly down in your own end. Defensively, you’re constantly with your backs against the wall. I thought our kids did a good job defensively after that first score. They had the ball in our end for a long time. We held them until the very end of the first half. You can’t play in your own end of the field  against a team that can run the ball like that for a whole half.”

While keeping Leavitt’s offense on its heels and forcing the Hornets to focus on its defensive game, the Falcons took control of the play early. The Falcons established a slow and steady, methodical ground game that moved the ball just enough to keep Mountain Valley moving toward the end zone. Those were often aided by the other side of the special teams play. Though Leavitt’s Devin Long did a nice job in the punting game, even kicking a 41-yarder after bobbling the snap and nearly being trapped in the backfield, the Falcons were able to get some good returns to start the offense.

The Falcons were able to set up at the 33, 28, 38 and 38 after Leavitt punts.

“Taylor Bradley was returning punts instead of letting them hit the ground,” said Aylward. “We tried to get him to play more aggressive.”

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