LISBON – The way things have been going for Lisbon football this season, gaining just nine yards and allowing 12 points in the first 10 minutes of Saturday’s matinee against Livermore Falls seemed about par for the course.

But something was different on this day.

The Greyhounds found a sense of resilience that they had been lacking all season.

And, they took to the air.

Lisbon quarterback Mike Unterkoefler was 13-for-17 in the air for 122 yards and a touchdown, and his feet carried him to another score and to 53 more yards as he led the Greyhounds to a 23-12 come-from- behind win over Campbell Conference rival Livermore Falls at Thompson Field.

“We weren’t ready to just give up,” Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan said. “That first drive kind of turned the field a little bit for us, our defense held them for the first time after that, and we scored again. The big thing was, two touchdowns down, we didn’t give up.”

The win springboards Lisbon (3-3) into the thick of the playoff race, along with the Andies, who are also 3-3.

The Greyhounds went three-and-out on their first possession, which followed a long Livermore Falls touchdown drive. Four plays later, the Andies celebrated again as they ran the score to 12-0. Everything was going in their favor, until Lisbon went airborne.

“We planned on going to the air all along,” Unterkoefler said. “It was coincidence that we did it after they scored. We planned it all week.”

Five of the next nine Lisbon plays were passes, and Unterkoefler converted on all five attempts, including an 11-yard strike to junior Jake Cyr to cut the Andies’ lead in half.

“One element they do have is that they throw the ball real well,” Livermore Falls coach Brad Bishop said. “We tried several different coverages, and they still got through.”

Livermore Falls’ next drive stalled at its own 47, and a partially blocked punt gave Lisbon the ball at its own 40. Using a good mix of running and passing, the Greyhounds carved their way up the field and into the end zone again. This time, Nate Blackwell converted the PAT to give Lisbon a 13-12 lead at the half.

Unterkoefler kept the ball late in the third and fell in for another touchdown to put his team ahead by eight, and Blackwell converted a 35-yard field goal in the fourth to salt the game away.

“Nate’s definitely got a great leg,” Unterkoefler said, starting to laugh. “He might go pro, and I want to be his holder when he does.”

Livermore Falls didn’t help its cause late in the game, though, after an injury to starting quarterback Kevin Gats forced coach Brad Bishop to use his backup. The result? Two consecutive fumbled snaps. Lisbon recovered them both.

“He doesn’t work with that center,” Bishop said. “We’re no different than anybody else. We do what we have to do and we’ll try to win three in a row. We’ll regroup next week. We’re not out of it by any means.”