BREWER, Maine — Senior quarterback Anthony Sousa scored on a 1-yard run with 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter Friday night to lift Cony of Augusta to a 20-14 Class B North football victory over Brewer at Doyle Field.
The win was the third straight for coach B.L. Lippert’s club, now 3-2 on the season. Brewer suffered its second straight loss — both at home — and fell to 2-3.
Cony trailed 14-6 entering the fourth quarter but drove 60 yards in five plays to tie the game on Logan Leadbetter’s 5-yard scoring run and a two-point conversion pass from Sousa to Matthew Wozniak with 6:48 left.
Cony’s defense held Brewer without a first down on its next two possessions, the second stop leading to the Rams taking over at their 45 with 1:56 left.
A pass interference penalty against Brewer soon advanced the ball to the Witches’ 15 before Sousa ran 13 yards to the 2 — with a personal foul penalty against Brewer moving the ball to the 1.
Sousa went off left tackle on the next play, initially being stopped after jumping toward the end zone but crossing the goal line on second effort for the game-winner as the Rams avenged a 44-34 loss at Brewer in last year’s Class B North semifinals.
Sousa finished the night 15 of 26 passing for 212 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, but key to Cony’s offensive success was its balance as the Rams added 133 rushing yards on 24 carries. Leadbetter gained 54 yards on nine tries, while Jordan Roddy rushed for 49 yards and added 51 receiving yards.
Wozniak contributed four pass receptions for 89 yards and also had a pass interception and a fumble recovery on defense, while Reed Hopkins intercepted a Brewer desperation pass in the game’s final seconds.
Wozniak’s fumble recovery, at the Brewer 47-yard line on a muffed punt return by the Witches, led to the only touchdown of the first half.
Cony, which had been stopped at the Brewer 9-, 8-, 24- and 31-yard lines on possessions earlier in the half, went the distance in just four plays, with a 25-yard pass from Sousa to Wozniak helping to set up a 16-yard touchdown pass from Sousa to a wide-open Hopkins on the right side of the field to give the Rams a 6-0 lead with 50 seconds left in the second quarter.
Brewer came out rejuvenated offensively after intermission, taking the third-quarter kickoff and marching 80 yards in 20 plays, a drive that consumed the first 9:20 of the second half.
Andrew Kiley capped off the scoring march, scoring from the 1 with 2:40 left in the period and then adding the extra-point kick to give the Witches a 7-6 edge.
Cony had the ball for just 29 seconds on its next possession before punting, and Brewer then required just three plays to extend its advantage as senior quarterback Cody Wood found junior tight end Jacob McCluskey wide open along the right sideline for a 53-yard touchdown strike with 53 seconds left in the period. Kiley’s extra-point kick made it 14-6.
Wood finished the game completing 14 of 26 passes for 189 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. McCluskey made six catches for 86 yards.
Cony’s defense limited Brewer’s ground-oriented offense to just 117 rushing yards on 41 carries, with Bryant Kiley leading the way with 61 yards on 18 tries and Andrew Kiley adding 41 yards on 10 carries.
Brewer’s defense recorded three interceptions, two by junior Brandon Glidden — one on an option pass by Hopkins — and the third by Wood.
Cony outgained Brewer 345-306 in total offense.
