PORTLAND — For much of Friday night, Edward Little could have mistaken Deering quarterback Mike Marzilli for its own mascot — a ghost. On too many occasions, the Red Eddies seemed to have the senior surrounded in the backfield, only to have him slip through their grasp for positive yardage.

But when they needed it most, the Red Eddies had a ghostbuster, Daniel Williams.

Williams sacked Marzilli deep in EL territory on third and fourth down with under 30 seconds remaining to preserve a 21-14 Eddies victory, their second in a row.

“We needed that,” said Williams, who had three sacks on the night. “We have one team, one family. This is my team and we did it today.”

After Ian Miliekis’ 36-yard touchdown run broke a 14-14 tie with 4:44 to go, Deering (1-6) drove from its own 24 to the EL 10 with a minute left. A holding penalty pushed the Rams back to the 19, but runs by Marzilli and his younger brother, Dan, set up a third-and-goal at the 11.

After a Deering timeout, Williams tracked down Mike Marzilli for a 10-yard loss with 29 seconds left. Then, after timeouts by both the Rams and Eddies (3-4), Marzilli dropped back again on fourth down, only to have Williams wrap him up once more at the 24 with 15 seconds to go.

“We played several sophomores and guys that didn’t really play JV over the last  couple of weeks and they stepped up in a situation where a good team has an opportunity to tie the game up or win the game, and for them to step up, it means a lot to me and the coaching staff and the whole team as a family,” EL coach Dave Sterling said.

Edward Little dominated the first quarter, running 20 plays to Deering’s four and outgaining the Rams 109-13. But the Eddies didn’t get on the scoreboard until the third play of the second quarter, when Johnny Boyd (22 carries, 67 yards) found the end zone from two yards out on fourth-and-goal. Boyd took a hard hit on the play and sat out the second quarter but returned for the second half.

Mike Marzilli’s elusiveness helped him get off a key throw in Deering’s first scoring series, a 16-yard pass to Dominick Bernard on 4th-and-10 that kept the drive alive. He capped it with a one-yard sneak, but the Rams failed to execute the two-point conversion and still trailed, 7-6.

Hunter Martin immediately added to the Eddies’ lead with a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that made it 14-6, which is where it stood at halftime.

“The guys up front did a good job creating the wall. I saw the hole and just took off,” Martin said. “I saw their kicker was chasing me so I just kept running. I didn’t want to cut back.”

“We knew he’d break one,” Sterling said. “We were going to have him fake punt earlier and he had a high snap and couldn’t get down field. He’s a very good athlete and we try to get him in space. When he gets that opportunity, he can break something.”

Deering took the opening possession of the second half to EL’s 24, but Williams and Andrew St. Pierre teamed up to stop Mike Marzilli (22 carries, 96 yards) for no gain on 4th-and-3.

Penalties pushed the Eddies backward on their ensuing possession and they had to punt, setting the Rams up with good field position at their own 49. The Rams needed just four plays (aided by a hit to the head penalty on EL) to find the end zone on Dan Marzilli’s nine-yard run. Mike Marzilli ran in the two-point conversion to tie it at 14 with 3:13 left in the third.

The teams traded fumbles early in the fourth quarter, then Mileikis picked off Marzilli at his own 33 and took it all the way back for an apparent touchdown. A block-in-the-back penalty wiped out the score, but the Eddies still had the ball at midfield to start.

On 3rd-and-10, Mileikis (20 carries, 149 yards) ran to his right on the option, followed a block by Boyd and outran the rest of his pursuer’s for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.

“It’s an option play, but Ian saw a hole and Johnny got right up there and made an excellent block,” Sterling said. “You can’t ask for more than a senior to see an opportunity to help his team score and to throw his body in there.”

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