AUGUSTA — The Cony Rams rushing game was held to minus-18 yards Friday night. But when they needed it most, an 11-yard run by Brandon St. Michel came at the most opportune time.

St. Michel’s fourth down run from midfield around the right side picked up the Rams’ final first down and helped them cement a 14-13 win over the Oxford Hills Vikings.

The Rams (2-7) were limited to just nine first downs for the game with just four coming in the second half. Two came on the final drive which began at the Cony 34 following a Chandler Shostak interception of a Tyler Brown pass with just over three minutes left in the game.

Cony is a pass-happy, spread offensive team not known for its running game. Leading by one point and trying to milk the clock down, Cony looked for St. Michel on a pitch to begin the drive. After dropping the pitch from quarterback Ben Lucas (15-of-29, 195 yards), St. Michel picked up the ball and was thrown for an 8-yard loss. Two plays later, Lucas found senior wideout Chase Shostak for a 20-yard gain down the right sideline.

After picking up just two yards on their next three plays, the Rams faced fourth down from the Oxford Hills’ 49. The Rams called for St. Michel to get the ball on a sweep to the right. The junior halfback broke across the line of scrimmage and bulled his way for the first down.

“It came at a great time,” said Cony coach Robby Vachon. “It was our longest run of the night.”

Not having been in “victory formation” much this season, the Rams had to call two time outs before electing to take a knee from the shotgun formation on the game’s final two plays.

The Vikings (1-8) were coached Friday by assistant Joe Oufiero, who took over the reigns after head coach Paul Withee was ejected last week and was given an automatic one-game suspension.

Their game plan was to use a power running game.

“The last few games we realized we could play some power football and we pretty well did,” said Oufiero. “We battled. These kids never quit all year.”

The Vikings took their opening drive for 46 yards and a score. A pair of 22-yard runs by Brown, who had a team-high 68 yards rushing, set up a fourth down touchdown pass by Brown from two yards out to fullback Jordan Croteau.

The Rams moved the ball up and down the field throughout the first half as Lucas spread the ball around the field to four different receivers. Early in the second quarter, Lucas dropped back from the Oxford Hills’ 39 and found Chase Shostak behind his man at the 15. Shostak gathered in the bomb and coasted into the end zone.

“It was a hitch and go,” said Shostak. “(The defensive back) bit on it. I was a little worried because I bobbled it, but I hung on.”

Moments later, Oxford Hills’ Dylan Cox fumbled at his own 15 and Cony’s Westley Benner pounced on the ball. After an 8-yard run by St. Michel, Lucas lofted a ball into the right-hand corner of the end zone to Chandler Shostak for a 9-yard score to give the Rams a 14-7 advantage.

The lead carried midway into the third quarter. From deep in his own territory, Lucas hit Taylor Carrier with a pass to the Cony 24. Croteau blasted the freshman, causing a fumble which was recovered by the Vikings’ Josh MacDonald.

A 6-yard run up the middle by Kyle Ayotte (14 carries for 57 yards) and an 8-yard burst by Ryan Creney (15 for 59 yards) moved the ball to the Cony 1. From there, Brown sneaked in to cut the deficit to one. Needing the extra point attempt to tie, Ayotte’s low kick was blocked by Chandler Shostak.

The Vikings, who rushed for 204 yards on the ground, would move the ball to the Cony 35 early in the fourth quarter, but a Charlie Hallak interception of a Brown pass would put an end to the drive. They held the Cony offense to just 41 yards in the second half and kept them out of sync.

“Defensively, we played fantastic,” said Oufiero. “We got a couple of fumbles, but we needed one more.”

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