PARIS — Coach Hunter Rowell stressed to the Oxford Hills boys lacrosse team this week the importance role of composure in generating offense.

The Vikings listened, then applied the advice in a 10-7 win over Mt. Blue at Gouin Athletic Complex on Friday.

Rowell said Oxford Hills ran its offense more efficiently than in Tuesday’s low-scoring 6-5 overtime win over Edward Little.

“The message this week was: Hold your composure, onto the next (game). We were really hungry after Edward Little, and it certainly showed, even today when it was a 1,000 degrees out,” Rowell said.

Owen Marr led the Vikings (3-5) with four goals, and teammate Derrick Brooks added three.

Marr said he entered Friday’s contest determined to make an impact on both ends of the field.

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“I really knew I had to step my game up on offense and defense,” he said.

The Vikings netted two goals in the opening two minutes of the game. Jack Bressetts scored the first and Hayden Riley the second to give Oxford Hills an 2-0 lead.

The Cougars (1-5) then spent most of the remainder of the game chasing the Vikings.

“We couldn’t get (a lead). We tried, but we couldn’t get it, for whatever reason,” Mt. Blue coach Matt Reynolds said.

Mt. Blue’s Josh Smith found teammate Colby Ranger for a goal to get the Cougars on the board nearly four-and-half minutes into the first quarter.

Bressette recorded his second point of the first quarter by assisting on Derrick Brooks’ goal, then Nick Bancroft scored an unassisted goal to give Oxford Hills a 4-1 lead.

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“(Bancroft) is one of our captains,” Rowell said. “When he’s on, everyone is electric, so it’s super important for a big man to draw those extra defenders out or make the extra pass or (score) those goals. He’s an all-around good player.”

Dustyn Hinkley scored 20 seconds later, 6:28 into the first, moving the Cougars to within two goals. Mt. Blue’s Aaron Whitley scored an unassisted effort late in the quarter to cut the deficit to 4-3.

The scoring slow down in the second quarter, as almost the full 12 minute passed without a goal.

Mt. Blue controlled possession for the majority of the second, but shots weren’t finding the back of the net.

“Working on getting shots is one thing, working on getting shots on goal is another thing,” Reynolds said. “We will go back (to practice) and work on the fundamentals to get the goal scored.”

Follwing a timeout by Oxford Hills with 24 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Marr beat Mt. Blue goalie Brody Farmer (four saves) with 14 seconds remaining to give the Vikings a 5-3 lead.

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“(Rowell) told us to slow down and do our thing like we do in practice,” Marr said.

Marr added another goal early in the third quarter to extend the Vikings’ lead to 6-3.

The Cougars went on a three-goal run to tie the game. Trey Bailey scored the first off an assist by Ranger, then Ranger scored the next two goals to make the score 6-6.

“Getting that momentum going has been a process,” Reynolds said. “We moved Trey from JV to varsity, and he has been producing. I tell these guys: ‘We aren’t looking for rocky road, we are just looking for vanilla. We are looking for fundamental plays, nothing flashy, just get the job done. We have had some guys step up, and it has worked so far — we just need to find the goal a little more.”

Marr and Brooks scored for Oxford Hills later in the third quarter, and the Vikings took an 8-6 lead into the fourth.

The teams traded goals midway through the final period. Hinkley scored his second goal of the game for Mt. Blue, then Brooks put one in to reclaim Oxford Hills’ two-goal edge, 9-7.

Owen Marr put the game out of reach with a man-up goal with 2:25 remaining in the fourth quarter.

“It was huge with how our record has been the past couple of years,” Rowell said of Marr’s goal. “Even if we are up five or six goals, you never know. That’s the great thing about Maine lacrosse. We need to put that nail in the coffin.”

Cougars controlled possession for the final two minutes and fired shots on Oxford Hills goalie Troy Edmunds (12 saves), but the shots missed high and wide.

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