PARIS — Home games are a more precious commodity in football than most other high school sports.

Every team gets to play four, perhaps five regular-season contests on its own turf. Add one or two more for the handful of programs fortunate enough to advance in the playoffs. Then consider that most players don’t see significant varsity action until their junior year.

Easy to understand why Oxford Hills fullback, safety and kicker Chris Priest had a tough time articulating the experience of his final game at Gouin Athletic Complex, a 25-7 loss to Brunswick in Friday night’s chilly drizzle.

“I just can’t explain it. It’s tough. I’ve been playing since I was a sophomore,” Priest said. “This is my 25th game starting. Some people on the team bleed green and gold.”

Oxford Hills (1-6) kept its hopes of a fond farewell alive for a while, leading 7-6 until the final minute of the first half.

Keith Kitchens punched in a 3-yard touchdown to give Brunswick (4-3) the advantage with 22 seconds left.

The Dragons took the second-half kickoff and marched 65 yards in nine minutes, gobbling up nearly five minutes prior to another Kitchens TD rush.

Game over. Vikings faint playoff hopes extinguished.

“We’ve always been good in the second half,” said Kitchens, a junior who notched game-highs of 21 carries and 140 yards. “It was huge. We knew we had to get that touchdown to keep that momentum going.”

Max Roberts intercepted a pass on Oxford Hills’ next play to keep the Vikings’ beleaguered defense on the field even longer.

Oxford Hills also lost a fumble in the second half and limped to a net minus-two rushing yards after intermission.

“I think we got a little bit flat in the second quarter,” said Priest, one of 13 Oxford Hills seniors.

The Vikings will conclude their season next week at Cony.

Brunswick overcame the slow start and three turnovers to clinch a playoff spot. The Dragons host neighbor Mt. Ararat next week prior to the Eastern Class A quarterfinals.

“We had a couple of mistakes and stopped ourselves a couple times,” said Brunswick senior linebacker Zack Duffy. “We stepped it up in the second half and made things happen. We came back off a big loss and won the last two, so we’re gaining momentum.”

Duffy and defensive tackle Evan Mahoney led the Brunswick defense, which had only one notable lapse.

Logan Sanborn found Andy Ripley for a 30-yard touchdown strike with 3:44 remaining in the half. Priest’s extra point put the Vikings in front.

Oxford Hills scored on its first play after one of sophomore Jordan Croteau’s two fumble recoveries on the night. Croteau also had a hand in 21 tackles.

Casey Pratt pounced on another Brunswick fumble for the Vikings.

Brunswick bounced back from those miscues to out-gain Oxford Hills by a margin of 323 to 145.

Sophomore Jordsan Rysdham book-ended the win with TD runs of 7 and 3 yards for the Dragons. Rysdham’s first score was set up by a 19-yard connection from Ezra Drehobl to Roberts on the first play of the second quarter, a third-and-11 conversion.

With the hardest rain falling early, Kitchens carried 13 times for 81 yards to help Brunswick dominate time of possession in the first half.

“We talked about it in practice,” Kitchens said. “Coach (Dan Cooper) said he wanted to give me the ball, and I tried my hardest.”

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