FREEPORT — Spruce Mountain slot back Matt Vigue runs like the driver of a standard-transmission sports car rifling through the gears.

There’s almost the hint of a half-speed, warm-up phase when Vigue takes a pitch from quarterback Peter Theriault. Then he applies the brakes, turns the wheel in the opposite direction and finds a faster rhythm.

If there’s a hesitation as Vigue waits for his downfield blocker to play traffic cop, it’s only one, final tease before he turns on the afterburners.

Freeport watched that fast, furious scene play out four times Saturday afternoon, with Vigue and Spruce Mountain coasting to a 53-20 Western Class C football victory at Pownal Road Field.

Vigue, a junior, ran for touchdowns of 35, 20 and 45 yards in the first half and added an 85-yard score on a kick return as a fourth-quarter exclamation point.

“The team was great at blocking. I just read their blocks,” Vigue said. “I had a lot of open holes.”

Indeed, other than stopping itself once with a lost fumble, the Phoenix offense was a study in efficiency and open real estate in the first half.

Theriault added two touchdown runs and a 39-yard scoring strike to Deonte Ring, ripping open a 40-7 halftime lead.

That was supposed to be the last everyone saw of the Spruce Mountain offense. More on that later.

Vigue led the attack with 10 carries for 169 yards. Andrew Darling added 89 yards, and Theriault combined 90 through the air with 75 on the ground.

The Phoenix piled up 539 total yards, the vast majority of it behind the starting offensive line of Luke Greenwood, Anthony York, Dylan Smith, Tristan Castonguay and Denton Bilodeau.

“All we do during practice is run option, so we’re confident in it, and we were hoping they weren’t going to stop us,” Vigue said.

“We’re still really young. We’ve still got all sophomores and juniors pretty much,” Spruce Mountain coach Walter Polky added. “But you can’t team speed and you can’t teach experience, either. It’s got to keep building and being consistent all the time.”

Spruce Mountain’s second-team offense also turned it over twice in the second half. One fumble led to an 81-yard touchdown return by Brady LaFrance.

Freeport’s offensive scores came on a 37-yard connection from Eli Fox to Cameron Buthlay and a 6-yard run by Bryan Lee.

Defensively, Ben MacMillan led the Falcons with three sacks. The Phoenix recovered six fumbles — two by Austin Darling and one each by Sebastian Lombardi, Dillion Webster, Brandon Stearns and Chad Richards.

The game had a bizarre finish, beginning with a scary scene.

Phoenix sophomore Zack Black, who gained 57 rushing yards and made several tackles at linebacker in a relief role, briefly rose after attempting to tackle the Falcons’ Lee before stumbling to the ground with 2:08 remaining in the game.

Black complained of numbness in his extremities. He was immobilized and transported by ambulance to Maine Medical Center in Portland.

Freeport fumbled on the next play. Spruce Mountain recovered. In the continuing action at the bottom of the pile, a Freeport player pushed a Spruce Mountain player, who retaliated. Each was ejected.

Polky, frustrated by the presence of Freeport starters on the field at that point, sent his starting offense back onto the field. Theriault ran 58 yards on a bootleg before the Falcons reeled him in at the 5-yard line.

Spruce Mountain’s junior varsity returned, but the clock ran out before they could run a play. The teams shook hands at midfield after the game without incident.

“It didn’t end like I wanted it to,” Polky said. “Their starting fullback is the one that (collided with Black). Zack’s a sophomore. Hopefully he’ll be OK. He’s a tough kid.”

Webster also had a touchdown run for the Phoenix.

But the story before that was Vigue’s vision and explosiveness.

“Matt’s a game changer,” Polky said. “This year I think he took it on himself to take it to the next level. He worked hard in the offseason. He had a great fall camp. He’s been a great leader on our team, and we need all the leadership we can get.”

koakes@sunjournal.com