PORTLAND — The football spent most of Saturday night in clutched fingers and screaming toward the two end zones at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

Imagine the size of Bradley Jackson’s dilated pupils when the Mt. Blue linebacker saw that same leather lying on the turf with under two minutes remaining in the Class B championship game for the ages.

“I was waiting all night for the defense and myself to make a play,” Jackson said. “We got lucky and made a play and got the ball back.”

Jackson pounced on the fumble by Marshwood’s Dan Lizotte at the Hawks’ 10-yard line. It gave him the privilege of swapping the brown ball for a gold one.

Mt. Blue went home to Farmington with its fourth state championship and first since 1980 in a fantastic 44-42 verdict over Marshwood.

The 86 points were the highest combined total by two finalists in any class in the Maine Principals’ Association playoff era.

“It was the toughest game I’ve ever played in,” Mt. Blue quarterback Jordan Whitney said. “They could run. We ran the ball. They could throw. We threw the ball. Forty points, that’s a lot of points, but the defense came to play a little bit I guess.”

Chad Luker rushed for five short touchdowns and Whitney was sensational.

The senior was only 4 for 7 through the air for 69 yards, but his 20-yard touchdown pass to Zak Kendall on fourth-and-4 with 6:18 left essentially provided the winning margin.

Whitney also rushed 19 times for 124 yards and made numerous tackles on defense and special teams, fighting through cramps that sidelined him for a few plays in the second half.

Mt. Blue (12-0) never trailed after Calan Lucas’ 85-yard kick return furnished a 14-8 lead with 6:48 left in the first quarter.

Dustin Richards’ fumble recovery led to a Luker 1-yard TD rush and a two-score lead before quarter’s end. But the issue remained in doubt for the duration because neither defense could summon anything remotely resembling a stop until Jackson’s late recovery.

It was 26-21 at the half and 38-27 after three.

“Both offenses were on fire tonight and we got the win,” Whitney said. “That’s all that matters.”

Cameron Roll went 4 for 6 for 129 yards, including first-half touchdowns to Beau Blanchette (67 yards) and Ryan O’Neil (14).

Roll also rushed nine times for a team-high 126 yards and a score for Marshwood (10-2) out of the Hawks’ Wing-T.

“They’ve got that added dimension of the quarterback being able to run it,” Mt. Blue coach Gary Parln said. “Then you load everyone at the line of scrimmage and they throw that little seam pass and it is almost unstoppable. It certainly was today.”

Lizotte rushed for a 3-yard TD and added the two-point conversion to pull the Hawks within 38-35 at the 11:21 mark of the fourth.

With Whitney sitting out two plays on Mt. Blue’s next drive, Lucas spun for 6 and 5 yards on back-to-back plays to convert a huge third and fourth down sequence.

Whitney then narrowly overthrew Nate Backus in the end zone on second down before finding a wide-open Kendall on play action.

“This was just the longest game,” Whitney said.

Indeed, it wasn’t nearly over.

Roll returned the subsequent squib kick all the way to the Mt. Blue 33. Five plays later the Hawks were back in the end zone on a 10-yard ramble by Brett Gerry (17 carries, 93 yards).

Justin Hockney’s kick made it a two-point game with 4:04 to go.

Marshwood had burned all its timeouts, giving the Cougars a chance to use up the clock. But the Hawks stopped Luker, Lucas and Backus on three runs to force something the spectators hadn’t seen all night — a punt.

Whitney (who else?) did the work, taking advantage of a healthy turf roll at the end of his 50-yard boot. Mt. Blue downed it at the 7.

“(Line coach Peter) Franchetti kept saying we’re going to have to get them to turn it over to stop them,” Parlin said. “He kept saying it was going to be a shootout and I guess it was.”

Lizotte lost the handle on the first play after the change of possession.

“The ball popped out of No. 3’s hands. I picked it up and made a play,” Jackson said.

After all the plays made by his other two stars on the night, Parlin wasn’t surprised by that one.

“Everything this year has been fitting, and that right there was fitting, because he is the heart and soul,” Parlin said. “Jordan on offense and Bradley on defense is our heart and soul.”

Mt. Blue lost its last three appearances in state championship games, most recently the Class A final in 2005.

The Cougars fell to Leavitt in double overtime in the Eastern Maine title game a year ago.

“Thanks to them,” Jackson said of the 2011 team. “They gave us a taste of the big games.”

None bigger and wilder than the one their successors played in.

“12-0 is a dream,” said Parlin. “I don’t think I’m going to sleep for a week.”

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