RUMFORD — There are times when a solid effort isn’t enough.

The Mountain Valley football team found that out first hand in its Class B Campbell Conference home-opening game Friday night.

A 20-yard touchdown run by Brett Gerry in the second quarter and the extra-point kick by Sam McPherson proved to be enough as Marshwood stayed unbeaten with a 19-12 win over Mountain Valley at slick Chet Bulger Field.

Mountain Valley (0-2) needed to rebound and make a statement, but it simply was unable to get on track offensively against the huge-and-quick Hawks’ defense. Then the Falcons shot themselves in the foot with a series of penalties.

“We’re circling the wagons,” MV coach Jim Aylward said. “Our kids played great (tonight). At the beginning of the year, we as coaches penciled in a lineup. I’ve been using the wrong end of the pencil.”

Marshwood (2-01-1) proved to be no fluke this time, limiting the Falcons to 126 yards rushing  and was able to take advantage of positive field position. The Hawks, who had beat York the previous week, received a golden opportunity when they started a drive at the Falcons’ 33-yard line.

Gerry gained eight on the first play and two snaps later rammed his way through the secondary. A series of arm tackles wasn’t about to deny Gerry (84 yards, 12 rushes) from reaching pay dirt. McPherson split the uprights to give Marshwood a 13-6 lead.

“We ran the ball well at times,” Marshwood coach Alex Briscoe said. “But it was difficult to execute against Mountain Valley’s six-man front. Their inside tackles were getting through the gaps.”

Mountain Valley had tied the score on a Colin Merrill 34-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. The Falcons’ running game was led by Brett Beauchesene (45 yards, 12 carries) and Theriault (46 yards, 10 carries).

The Falcons committed seven penalties in the third quarter to stall a drive in Hawks territory. Falcon defensive linemen Ryan Stickney and Santos Rodriquez each sacked Marshwood quarterback Cameron Roll, inside his own 10.

Marshwood’s Dan Lizotte (44 yards, nine rushes) ran for a 3-yard TD in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons responded on the ensuing possession. Beauchesne gained 16 yards and quarterback Ryan Nicols completed a pass to Theriault on the left side for a 29-yard TD.

“We are missing (a player) and are pretty banged up,’ Theriault said. “Everybody on this team has an injury, but we gave Marshwood a lot of respect entering the game after they had beat York. I thought we played well and earned a lot of respect by Marshwood

Mountain Valley had a high snap on a punt attempt to set up Marshwood on the Falcon 14-yard line. Roll rolled right and followed a host of blockers into the end zone with 7:58 remaining in the first quarter.

“We played young kids and they did great,”Aylward said.