LIVERMORE FALLS — Spruce Mountain knows what it’s like to be bitten by turnovers and game-changing special teams sequences.

On Friday night at Griffin Field, the Phoenix finally were the ones sinking their teeth into somebody.

Brandon Stearns’ blocked punt set up a second-quarter touchdown, and Matt Vigue returned a fumble 59 yards for a score in the third period to ignite a 40-8 Homecoming rout of Gray-New Gloucester.

Stearns also recovered a fumble for the Phoenix (2-3), who forced five turnovers to put themselves back in the Western Class B playoff chase.

“We started off slow (this season) and we knew it was time to pick it up,” said Stearns, a 5-foot-8, 185-pound senior. “We knew this would be the best time to do it.”

Spruce Mountain lost its two previous home games to Greely and reigning state champion Wells by a combined score of 83-7.

Giveaways inflicted most of the damage, but on this drizzly night it was the Patriots (1-4) putting the ball on the ground. Trouble with the exchange between the center and the quarterback haunted Gray-NG all evening, particularly in the second half.

Peter Theriault, Josh Wilcox and Payton Kennison also fell on fumbles to bolster the Spruce Mountain defense, which pitched a shutout until Josh Greenleaf’s 7-yard TD with 23 seconds left.

“We changed the lineup a little bit, changed the defense a little. It’s one of those things that’s still a work in progress,” Spruce Mountain coach Walter Polky said. “After the Wells game (a 50-0 loss), they exposed us. We switched it around a little bit, and it worked out our way.”

Like the defense, the Phoenix option attack gained momentum throughout the night. Spruce started a drive at the end of a scoreless first quarter and capped it with a 2-yard TD run by Austin Schmidt. Stearns’ extra point made it 7-0 with 9:52 left in the half.

Alwayne Uter sacked Gray-NG quarterback Zach Haskell to force an Aaron Chapman punt on the Patriots’ next series. The snap was on the money, but Stearns’ rush from the left end snuffed out the kick.

Stearns tacked on a 9-yard return to the Patriots’ 7. Theriault scored two plays later on a quarterback keeper.

“We’ve been working on practice all week just telling me to work on my assignment and pressure the kick,” Stearns said. “I came around the edge and got inside and just got a hand on it.”

“That’s something that we always try to teach,” Polky added. “You’ve got to have all three phases of the game. We work a lot on special teams in practice, and it’s good for Brandon to get one. He deserves it.”

Spruce turned it over twice in the first half and had a long Vigue touchdown run wiped out by an illegal block far behind the play, so the 14-0 halftime lead was hardly satisfying.

The Phoenix made up for lost time, though.

Schmidt cashed in Kennison’s recovery with his second TD of the night, a 6-yard scamper early in the third quarter. Vigue followed with his defensive gem just over a minute later.

Theriault (13 carries, 67 yards) added a second TD run from 5 yards out in the fourth quarter. Freshman Austin Henault exploded for a 48-yard score.

In addition to its sophomore quarterback, the Phoenix also got productive nights from Schmidt (16 carries, 59 yards) and Vigue and Patrick Flanagan, who combined for 124 all-purpose yards.

“We had one fumble in the beginning, but besides that everyone did their assignments. At the beginning of the season I wasn’t sure about it,” Theriault said of Spruce Mountain’s new offensive scheme. “Now I’m starting to get the hang of it, and you can tell. We’ve got momentum now.”

Spruce spoiled Gray-NG coach Jim Hersom’s return to one of his old haunts. Hersom led the former Livermore Falls High School to a Western Class C title in 1992.

Greenleaf had an outstanding game in a losing cause for the second straight week, amassing 24 carries for 164 yards.

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