HAMPDEN — A minute after sinking to the turf after a hard tackle near midfield, William Cleaves found himself approaching the net after a direct kick from teammate Daniel Wiener floated near the top of the box.

Cleaves saw a Houlton defender rise to meet the ball, but took a chance and assumed there wouldn’t be solid contact.

“The ball’s been going through the whole game, so I just thought I’d get behind it,” Cleaves said. “It’s my lucky day. I put it through.”

The ball came to the foot of Cleaves and he sent it into the corner of the net three minutes into the second sudden-death overtime to give Waynflete a 2-1 victory over Houlton in the Class C boys soccer state championship game Saturday night under the lights of Hampden Academy.

The score had been tied at 1 since early in the second half. Only three stellar saves by Houlton goalkeeper Cole Buzzeo in the first 15-minute overtime kept the teams on the field.

“We definitely had chances, a lot of chances,” Cleaves said. “Their goalie was great. He talked a lot. He was really the backbone of their defense. He got to a lot of balls.”

Buzzeo’s best stop was a reaction kick save three minutes into the first overtime period after Kevin Kanakan redirected a cross from Mohammed Suja toward the right post. Somehow, Buzzeo kicked it wide.

A few minutes later, Buzzeo made a leaping save on a shot by Wiener headed for the top right corner. Buzzeo finished with 14 saves to three for Waynflete keeper Zander Majercik.

Waynflete (14-1-3) held a 15-4 advantage in shots on goal over Houlton (14-3-1) and had 10 corner kicks to Houlton’s four. The Shiretowners did not put a shot on goal in either overtime period, but held their own in midfield play.

After a scoreless first half, both teams came out on the attack. Houlton, which failed to challenge Majercik in the first 40 minutes, had a dangerous flurry near the left post in the 41st.

After dodging that bullet, Waynflete countered with a run down the right sideline culminating in a low cross by Cleaves. A Houlton defender knocked the ball to a surprised Buzzeo, who prevented an own goal.

The rebound, however, went to Waynflete’s Kevin Kanakan and he didn’t miss. Suddenly, 69 seconds after intermission, the Flyers led 1-0.

“Great finish by Kevin Kanakan on the back post,” Cleaves said.

The lead lasted less than two minutes, as, in similar fashion, Waynflete’s back line saw an attempt to clear a dangerous cross go awry.

Houlton junior James Fitzpatrick, who provided all the Shiretowner scoring in a 3-1 Eastern Maine final victory over Orono, sent a hard cross from right to left, headed for the far post. The ball got past Majercik and appeared to be rolling wide of the goal, but Waynflete sophomore Carter Burrowes couldn’t be sure.

Burrowes got to the ball, but his momentum sent it across the line for a tying Houlton goal.

“We’ve been fighting back all year,” Cleaves said. “We’ve gotten down before. You’ve got to keep fighting. It’s a long game.”

This one lasted 98 minutes and one second and gave the Flyers their first Class C state title. They are three-time Class D state champions but had appeared in only one previous Class C final, losing 2-1 to Washington.

Houlton was making its first appearance in the championship game.

Waynflete needed penalty kicks to defeat No. 3 Hall-Dale in the Western Maine semifinal before beating No. 9 North Yarmouth Academy 3-1 in the final.

“It feels good,” Cleaves said. “I was here my freshman year. I didn’t see the field. To come back here as a senior and win

this is just amazing.”