LEWISTON — The chant “Hoggies, Hoggies” erupted from the Messalonskee bench throughout Friday night’s game against Lewiston, an encouragement for the Eagles offensive line.

The Hoggies responded, opening holes for Corey McKenzie and his running mates. McKenzie rushed for 269 yards on 22 carries as the Eagles ran over the Blue Devils 43-12 in Pine Tree Conference Class A action at Don Roux Field. Messalonskee is 2-0 while Lewiston is 1-1.

The Eagles led just 16-12 early in the second half after Lewiston’s Ben Howell scooped up a fumble and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. But the way Messalonskee’s line dominated both sides of the ball, it was just a matter of time until the Eagles pulled away.

“We just all came together as a team” McKenzie said. “It took us a week or two.”

Last week, the Eagles squeaked past Cony 21-19, although they held the Rams to negative yardage on the ground. Friday night, the defense was just as impressive holding the Blue Devils, led by talented sophomore Quintarian Brown to 70 rushing yards on 25 carries.

The Eagles scored on their first possession when McKenzie broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and scored from 24 yards out. The junior back rushed for 138 yards in the first half and 131 in the second.

“He’s older and more mature,” Messalonskee coach Wes Littlefield said. “But he’s been a pretty special athlete since he was a freshman.”

Lewiston’s Sheon Brown returned the ensuing kick 90 yards to cut the lead to 7-6. A 31-yard field goal by Devin Warren gave the Eagles a 10-6 lead and McKenzie added his second touchdown on a 2-yard run to make it 16-6 at the half.

The Eagles controlled the second half. Led by senior linebacker Chris DeLisle, the defense continually beat the Blue Devils off the line and got into their backfield.

“It helps that he only goes one way,” Littlefield said of DeLisle.

If not for 10 penalties totaling 95 yards, the Eagles might have scored 60 points. The offense went to fullback Jake Stinson early in the third quarter and the big senior rolled over the Lewiston defense. He rushed for 51 yards on five straight carries, scoring from 2 yards out. He finished with 14 yards on 14 carries. McKenzie tacked on two fourth-quarter touchdowns before Corey Foye wrapped up the scoring with a 1-yard run.

Gary Hawkins — 621-5638
ghawkins@centralmaine.com