L.J. McFarland returned an interception for a touchdown with 2 seconds remaining, capping a stunning final minute that lifted sixth-seeded Sanford to a 42-35 win over third-seeded Lewiston in a Class A football quarterfinal Friday night in Lewiston.
Lewiston (5-4) led 35-27 on Farid Muhammed-Aceto’s 3-yard run with 7:51 remaining, but Sanford (6-4) converted a fourth-and-3 with 1:11 to play and reached the 5 with 44 seconds left. Makai Bougie then hauled in a TD catch to make it 35-33, and Jordan Bissonnette’s conversion run tied it with 18 seconds remaining.
McFarland then won it with his interception return.
Sanford will play No. 2 Thornton Academy in the semifinals.
BONNY EAGLE 14, SCARBOROUGH 13: Cam Marcello passed for two touchdowns in the third quarter, and the Scots (6-4) blocked a potential tying extra point in the fourth quarter to hold on for a win over the Red Storm (5-5) in a Class A quarterfinal in Scarborough.
Fifth-seeded Bonny Eagle trailed 7-0 at halftime but tied the game in the third quarter when Marcello connected with Trevor Perkins for a 27-yard touchdown and Brandt Abbott added the extra point.
D’Angelo Alston scored on a 6-yard run to cut Scarborough’s deficit to 14-13 with 4:22 to play, but Perkins blocked the extra point.
The fourth-seeded Red Storm recovered the ensuing onside kick, but their drive ended with a lost fumble.
Tim Crockett opened the scoring with an 18-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
Bonny Eagle advances to play No. 1 Oxford Hills in the semifinals.
SOUTH PORTLAND 22, MASSABESIC 6: Jaelen Jackson rushed for two touchdowns and passed for another, and the third-seeded Red Riots (7-3) beat the second-seeded Mustangs (7-3) in a Class A South semifinal in Waterboro.
South Portland took the lead less than three minutes into the game when Jackson plowed in from the 5, then rushed for the conversion after a Massabesic penalty.
Jackson’s 11-yard pass to Nolan Hobbs in the second quarter made it 15-0.
Massabesic quarterback Collin Scully scored on a 5-yard run in the third quarter, but South Portland stopped the 2-point conversion attempt.
The Red Riots fumbled the ball away deep in Massabesic territory twice in the fourth quarter, but the Red Riots held on downs after the first fumble and picked off a Scully pass after the second. The interception led to a 1-yard TD run by Jackson with about 2 minutes remaining.
FALMOUTH 35, CONY 28: Taylor Evers scored on a 23-yard run in the fourth quarter to snap a tie and lift the fourth-seeded Navigators (7-3) over the top-seeded Rams (7-3) in a Class B North semifinal at Augusta.
Finn Caxton-Smith scored three touchdowns for the Navigators, on runs of 40 yards in the first quarter, 83 yards in the second and 8 yards in the third. Indi Backman added a 60-yard scoring run that gave Falmouth a 21-7 lead in the second quarter.
Cony’s Dom Napolitano threw two first-half scoring passes to Ken Douin and had a 5-yard TD run in the third quarter. Jasper Parilli returned an interception 100 yards for a Rams touchdown with 15 seconds left in the half, tying the game at 21-21.
LEAVITT 64, CHEVERUS 28: Noah Carpenter threw for five touchdowns and ran for another as the top-seeded Hornets (10-0) handled the fifth-seeded Stags (6-5) in a Class C South semifinal in Turner.
Carpenter threw three TD passes in the first quarter – 20 yards to Brett Coburn and 50 and 30 yards to Sawyer Hathaway – as the Hornets raced to a 36-0 lead after 12 minutes. Carpenter also had a 64-yard TD run and a conversion pass, and Dayton Calder scored a 3-yard run.
Carpenter added two more scoring passes in the second quarter – 90 yards to Will Keach and 20 to Coburn – and the Hornets went into halftime with a 50-16 lead.
The Stags got on the board when Giovanni St. Onge hit Matthew Fogg for a 10-yard TD reception in the second quarter. Fogg followed with a conversion rush.
Silvano Ismail helped Cheverus gain some momentum when he caught a 23-yard TD pass from St. Onge just before halftime and teamed with St. Onge for a 40-yard scoring reception on the opening drive of the third quarter to get it to 50-22. Leavitt answered with a 59 run by Keach.
Fogg scored from the 3 in the fourth quarter. Leavitt’s Mason Henderson returned the kickoff 81 yards for the final TD.
OLD ORCHARD BEACH 20, DIRIGO 16: Brady Plante passed for one touchdown and ran for another in the fourth quarter as the fourth-seeded Seagulls (8-2) rallied past the third-seeded Cougars (7-3) to win the eight-man Small School South title at Dixfield.
The Seagulls will play for the state title next Saturday against Orono.
Dirigo led 16-6 through three quarters before Plante threw a 32-yard pass to Wesley Gallant with 9:54 remaining, then ran in from 25 yards with 2:48 to play.
After a scoreless first quarter that included two OOB fumbles inside the Dirigo 25, Charlie Houghton passed 19 yards to Trenton Hutchinson, and Hutchinson’s conversion run gave the Cougars an 8-0 lead.
Asher Hubert answered for OOB with a 2-yard run, but the conversion failed.
Dirigo made it 16-6 on Hutchinson’s 9-yard run and Houghton’s conversion rush early in the third.
FREEPORT 41, OAK HILL 12: Jordan Knighton scored three touchdowns, and Alex Graver added a touchdown and two field goals as the second-seeded Falcons (6-3) advanced to the Class D semifinals by defeating seventh-seeded Raiders (2-7) at Freeport.
Knighton caught a 35-yard TD pass from Aiden Heath and a 55-yard touchdown run as Freeport built a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Knighton’s third TD came on the final play of the half as Freeport made it 28-6.
Max Peters returned a blocked punt 35 yards for a score for the Falcons in the second quarter, Graver scored on a pass in the third, then added field goals in the third and fourth.
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