By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

As heavy rain pummeled the field Friday night, seniors Mike Triglione, Kamen Scott and David Cosgrove hardly minded the brutal weather conditions.

They finally had their moment to shine.

Triglione scored on a 49-yard touchdown run and recovered a key fumble as Lake Region ended a 15-game losing streak with a 13-6 victory over Gray-New Gloucester in the season finale at Art Kilborn Athletic Complex.

The Patriots had a chance to add to the Lakers’ misery for the second straight year. Both teams entered last year’s final game winless, and the Patriots rolled to a 26-12 win to put the Lakers at 0-7.

What a difference a year makes, just ask Patriot running back Josh Greenleaf. He had a career night in 2011 against the Lakers with 163 yards and a 71-yard kick-off return for a touchdown.

Mother Nature, however, helped the Laker defense put the brakes on Greenleaf Friday night. The GNG senior had just 84 yards and lost the pigskin three times.

Both teams finished the season at 1-7.

Prior to Friday’s win, the Lakers last taste of victory came in the Pleasant Mountain Bowl in 2010 when they thumped Fryeburg Academy 27-6 to finish the season 3-6.

“It sure feels great,” LR first-year coach Brian Jahna said after Friday’s victory. “It says a lot about these kids. They just never gave up. I am so happy for them,” Coach Jahna said.

Triglione gave the diehard LR fans something to cheer about with 4:29 left in the first quarter when he darted free along the right sideline. Triglione did a great job selling an inside dive play, and then bolted to the outside for a 49-yard sprint. Scott booted the extra point, despite having the ball backed up five yards due to a LR penalty.

The scoring drive was set up by a booming punt from freshman Jordan Williams, which pinned the Patriots back on their 14. After Greenleaf shot free for a 17-yard gain, the Laker defense dug in as senior Derek Douglass made back-to-back tackles for minimum gains.

A Patriot fumble, recovered by Triglione, put the Lakers back in business 30 seconds later. LR cashed in as Cody Gibbons (14 carries, 65 yards) followed big blocks on the inside by Brian Brooks and Jaried Pierce, and a kick-out hit by Williams on a Patriot cornerback for a 32-yard scoring run. Gray’s Mike Sinclair blocked Scott’s extra point try with 2:07 left in the first quarter.

With 4:05 left in the half, Gray-NG had great starting position near midfield, but two David Cosgrove sacks pushed the Patriots back 14 yards.

Lake Region hoped to run out the clock, but the Patriots front line, led by seniors Sam Quintal, Josh Hilliard and Collin Skilling resulted in three runs with a net of minus 3 yards.

The effort paid off. Williams failed to pull the trigger on a punt — he actually received a perfect snap after fielding several grounders earlier in the game — and was sacked at the LR-44.

After Greenleaf gained a yard, the Patriots cashed in as freshman Zachery Haskell went right and scored from 3 yards out with 4.4 seconds left until halftime. A fumbled snap resulted in a failed conversion try.

Gray-NG threatened to tie the game at the start of the fourth quarter. Greenleaf motored for a 12 yard gain on a third down play and Carson Hodsdon connected with receiver Haskell for 8 yards to keep the drive alive. But, inside the red zone, Greenleaf fumbled and linebacker Kamen Scott recovered.

Gray would keep good field position, but another trip into Laker territory slipped  away due to another fumble, this time recovered by Cosgrove with 8:43 left.

Behind solid blocking from Pierce, Cosgrove, Erik Christensen, Brooks and Nolan Abrams, the Lakers drained time off the clock with six straight runs. Triglione and Gibbons picked up 11 and 12 yards respectively, with freshman lineman Dan Neault and Abrams each pouncing on LR fumbles.

Gray-NG’s Skilling did recover a LR bobble with 21.1 seconds left at the GNG 11, but their would be no fantastic finish for the Patriots as Cosgrove ended the game with a sack.

While both teams experienced difficult seasons, they each showed lots of character. As LR players started to huddle following their customary handshakes at midfield, Gray’s senior  Josh Hilliard pointed toward the blue and gold and yelled, “Nice game Lakers!”

“They (Gray) played hard all game,” Coach Jahna said. “They’re a classy group. The way they congratulated us after the game speaks a lot of the type of kids and type of program they have there.”

LAKERS 13

PATRIOTS 6

First Downs: LR 6, GNG 4

Penalties: LR 3-15, GNG 3-15

Rushing: LR 44-169, GNG 32-73

Passing: LR 1-4-22, GNG 2-4-12

Total Offense: LR 191, GNG 85

LR Rushing: Cody Gibbons 14-65, Jordan Williams 4-9, Kyle Stevens 2-1, Kamen Scott 8-25, Mike Triglione 16-69.

LR Receiving: Quinn Piland 1-22.

Tackles (solo, assist, total): Kyle Stevens 2-1-3, Derek Douglass 2-0-2, Mike Triglione 3-0-3, Kamen Scott 4-2-6, Jordan Williams 2-1-3, Jarid Pierce 2-3-5, Gunnar Harriman 4-0-4, David Cosgrove 2-3-5, Erik Christensen 0-2-2, John Casillas 1-1-2.

Fumble recoveries: Triglione, Scott, Cosgrove.