LEWISTON — Long drives and turnovers propelled Oxford Hills to a 21-7 win over Lewiston in a Class A North football matchup Friday night at Don Roux Field.

The Vikings (2-3) scored touchdowns on drives of 20 and 21 plays and turned an interception into another score.

The victory is Oxford Hills’ second in a row. Coach Nate Danforth said the offensive line has come together lately, opening holes for the running backs and helping the offense maintain possession.

“We have been working on getting better — that has been the saying, the motto, is to get better every week,” Danforth said. “The O-line, Malaki (Sparks) and the running backs are doing a good job, and the kids are coming together.”

Lewiston coach Jason Versey blamed himself for the loss, the Blue Devils’ second straight.

“My message to the guys was they played their butts off,” Versey said. “And it’s completely on me as a coach and this coaching staff. And we got to do better. We put them in terrible situations that they couldn’t get out of. We mishandled the second quarter, mismanaged the clock, gave them the ball, allowed them to punch it in. And that’s on us, it’s unacceptable.”

After the defense forced a three-and-out on Lewiston’s (2-2) first possession, Oxford Hills’ offense nearly went three-and-out on its opening drive, but quarterback Carter Wyman’s 10-yard run kept the drive alive.

“That’s one of Carter’s weapons we are glad he has,” Danforth said. “He keeps the chains moving with his legs, he’s super smart and has great vision, and he knows when to take off. It’s a great asset to our offense when coverages break down and we need to get down the field for a first down.”

Oxford Hills capped its 20-play first drive with a score when Wyman found wide receiver Brayden Murch for a 3-yard touchdown pass with 2:14 remaining in the first quarter. The Vikings led 7-0 after the extra point by Brady Delamater.

“Everyone knows Brayden, he’s 6-4 and he goes up and gets it,” Wyman said. “I see him 1-on-1, and I trust my guy ,and he went up there and grabbed it with one hand. He’s a beast, an absolute beast, we love him.”

Oxford Hills quarterback Carter Wyman throws over the line during Friday’s game against Lewiston. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Lewiston went on its own long possession and knotted the score with six minutes left in the second period. Quarterback Lonnie Thomas finished off the 17-play drive with a short touchdown run and Michael Caron’s PAT made it 7-7.

The key play of the drive was Jayden Sands springing loose for 25 yards to put Lewiston at the Oxford Hills 37-yard line.

“He’s such a fun, shifty, athletic kid,” Versey said. “He’s so dedicated to this football program. He works so hard. These kids work so hard. They deserve a different outcome tonight.”

After making a stop on the Vikings’ next drive, Lewiston took over at its 6-yard line with about two minutes remaining. The Vikings got the ball back when Jackson Stack picked off a pass by Thomas at the Blue Devils’ 44.

Stack had an opportunity to grab an interception earlier in the game but wasn’t able to come down with it. This time, he made it count.

“I was kind of disrupted from dropping that first one, and I saw my opportunity to get that second one,” Stack said. “I had to make it up to the boys.”

On the ensuing drive, Stack’s 15-yard run on fourth down moved the ball to Lewiston’s 18. Two plays later, Wyman found Brady Delamater in the back of the end zone to give the Vikings a 14-7 lead with 23 seconds remaining in the first half.

“To be honest, I didn’t see much,” Wyman said of the touchdown pass. “I had a very tight window and he’s my (cousin), so I trusted him to make the play, and he came through to me. I love him for it, it was a great catch.”

In the third quarter, the Vikings took over at the their 23 and marched downfield on a 21-play drive marked by penalties on both teams.

A roughing-the-passer call against Lewiston on fourth-and-goal at the Blue Devils’ 26 gave Oxford Hills the ball at the Lewiston 13. Wyman went to the sideline after the roughing the passer and was replaced at QB by Stack, who ran for a 5-yard gain and then an 8-yard scamper into the end zone that gave the Vikings a 21-7 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the third.

Stack, a junior, said the plays he made Friday and throughout the season are the payoff for hard work in the offseason.

“It’s not easy, but if you put in the work in the summer, it will come naturally,” Stack said.

Stack finished with 40 yards on four carries. Malaki Sparks led the Vikings with 60 yards rushing on nine carries.

The Blue Devils moved the ball downfield in the fourth quarter, but their final possession was slowed by a couple of false starts, and it ended when Oxford Hills recovered a fumble with about four minutes remaining. The Vikings then ran out the clock.

“There was a lot of laundry on the ground, and it definitely stopped momentum for us,” Versey said. “And, you know, we just got to clean it up. We got to do better.”

Next Friday, Lewiston hosts Noble (4-1), which battled defending Class A champion Thornton for four full quarters before suffer their first loss of the season, 33-26, on Friday. Oxford Hills plays its New Hampshire crossover game against Portsmouth on Thursday.