BANGOR— Sacopee Valley scored 15 unanswered points to earn a 15-12 victory over Stearns on Saturday afternoon at Husson University.
The Hawks forced four turnovers, including key interceptions from Aiden Foley and Decklin Hutton.
Stearns dominated play in the first 22 minutes. Steven Beardsley rushed for 73 of his 110 yards in the first half as the Minuteman built a 12-0 lead. They held that lead until Foley grabbed an interception and ran it in from 50 yards out with 2:05 remaining in the first half. The Hawks converted the two point play to cut the deficit to 12-8 going into halftime.
The second half was controlled by the Hawks defense. Kyle Cordasco did a good job pressuring the quarterback, including a big sack when the Minutemen were driving.
Janoah Edwards made the most of his one pass attempt for the Hawks. Quarterback Brandon Capano flipped it back to Edwards, who threw it to Joshua Hart for a 23 yard touchdown to give the Hawks a lead they wouldn’t give back.
Stearns were moving down the field in the final minutes. Minutemen quarterback Bennett Dunstan connected on long pass plays to Drake Modery and Andrew Daigle. On second and three from the Hawks 21 yard line, Hutton stepped in front of a receiver and made an interception that eventually sealed the victory for Sacopee.
After the Hutton interception, the teams had to leave the field due to a lightning delay. The game resumed 30 minutes later and the Hawks closed out the victory.
Beardsley rushed for a six yard touchdown with 6:24 remaining in the first half, while Dunstan connected with Modery for a 29 yard play for the Stearns scoring plays. Stearns (0-2) will host Orono on Friday, September 15th.
Sacopee (2-0) will host Maranacook on Friday, September 15th.
Sacopee warms up before their game with Stearns at Husson University on September 9th. Photo from Marc Calnan
