PITTSFIELD — In the span of about two and a half hours, Friday night’s game between Stearns and Maine Central Institute produced just about everything that can happen in a football game.

There was a team that scored two touchdowns in 17 seconds and also committed 12 penalties in the game. There was a 75-yard run, an 81-yard kickoff return and a halfback pass for a touchdown. There was a blocked punt, an interception return for a touchdown and another player who intercepted two passes and returned a fumble for a touchdown.

In the end, the biggest statistic was that in the second half, MCI had three first downs and committed six turnovers. That was enough for Stearns to take control and post a 40-20 come-from-behind victory.

MCI (0-2) was routed by Orono on opening night, but came out much stronger against Stearns. After a scoreless first quarter, quarterback Patrick Noonan’s 40-yard keeper set up a 7-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Santiago for a 6-0 MCI lead.

The Minutemen (2-0) quickly bounced back with a 47-yard touchdown burst by Tyson Girsa to tie the score, but Santiago took the ensuing kickoff at his 19-yard line and went 81 yards down the left sideline, putting MCI back on top, 14-6.

“Before the game, I just had a sense that the kids weren’t focused as they should be,” Stearns coach Chris Preble said. “And I knew this team here (MCI), after last week, they were going to be fired up and ready to get after it. They were prepared, and they played hard. They completely outplayed us in the first half, no question.”

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Riley Whitney (21 carries, 185 yards) ran it in from 2 yards out to get Stearns within 14-12. With under a minute left, MCI tried the trickery route and halfback Eric Hathaway just missed hitting a wide-open Austin Tolman with a pass.

MCI tried the same thing on the next play and Tolman was double-covered. But Hathaway’s pass was perfect for a 51-yard scoring play and a 20-12 MCI lead at the break.

“It’s certainly a turnaround from last week for us,” MCI coach Tom Bertrand said. “It’s about getting ourselves in a position to win and believing that we can do that. We didn’t really have that opportunity last week.”

Stearns gained 396 yards rushing in the game, and naturally began the second half on the ground. A 48-yard run by Jordan Morrow (13 carries, 118 yards) set up a 2-yard touchdown plunge by Girsa and Whitney ran in the two-point conversion to put the game at 20-20 with 5:34 left in the third quarter.

MCI responded by driving right down to the Stearns 25, but lost the ball when a fourth-down pass fell incomplete. On the next play, Whitney went up the middle and went the distance for a 75-yard run. The two-point conversion was good, and Stearns led 28-20. Then, on the first play after the kickoff, Mark Lyons returned a fumble 26 yards for another touchdown, and MCI went from tied to playing catch-up in 17 seconds.

The Huskies blocked a punt and recovered a Stearns fumble in the final minutes, but Lyons picked off two passes in the fourth quarter, and Morrow ended the scoring by returning an interception 38 yards with 2:48 to play.

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@mainetoday.com


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