Foxcroft defeats Winslow to win Class D North championship

HAMPDEN — A pair of third quarter touchdowns helped Foxcroft Academy break the game open and roll to a 27-7 win over Winslow High School in the Class D North football championship Saturday, Nov. 16 on the turf at Hampden Academy’s Weatherbee Complex.

With the victory over the North’s second seed, the No. 1 Ponies (11-0) advanced to the Class D championship for the fourth year in a row — a first for Maine’s smallest division of 11-man football — and  sixth in the last seven seasons. Foxcroft will face South champion and region No. 1 seed Wells High School (10-0) at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Lewiston High School. Wells won the Class D South title with a 35-7 victory over second-seeded Winthrop High School on Friday evening, Nov. 15.

The game will be a rematch of last year’s matchup, a 22-21 Wells victory in Lewiston with the Warriors going ahead on a 2-point conversion completion in the final minute rather than trying a potential tying point after kick. The matchup between the two programs will be the fourth in seven seasons, with the Warriors defeating the Ponies 48-0 at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland in 2017 and 55-20 at the University of Maine’s Harold Alfond Sports Stadium in 2018.

With Foxcroft leading 7-0 to start the second half, the team fumbled the kickoff and Winslow sophomore Alyx Hardy returned the football 18 yards the other way for the touchdown which the ensuing PAT tied the game 7-7.

Foxcroft responded with a 6-play, 63-yard touchdown drive to retake the lead. Junior Landon Smith ran through a hole in the left side of the line 40 yards for a touchdown and 14-7 advantage with the PAT by junior Aiden Harvey.

“Those things happen in football, that’s part of the game and it was a break for them and they took advantage of it,” Foxcroft head coach Danny White said. “The way we responded right after that, we marched the ball right down the field. Up front we played our best game with our offensive line and defensive line.”

“We knew that they were going to make plays and we knew we had to stay together and stay composed when they did that and that’s what we did,” said senior Silas Topolski. “Props to our defensive front line, it was a big week for them and they knew that. Our middle linebackers, (sophomore Thomas Day and junior Finn Holmes), did an outstanding job and it starts with them. Once they do that, we all just come together.”

After a 3-and-out by the defense, Foxcroft found the endzone again. The Ponies moved the football from the team’s own 48 to the Black Raider-30 for a 4th-and-7. On fourth down junior quarterback Griffin Caruso found Topolski open down the left side of the field and Topolski made the catch for the touchdown and 21-7 lead with Harvey’s third PAT of the day.

Topolski led all players with four receptions for 50 yards.

Holmes had a 15-yard touchdown in the opening quarter and he also ran the ball in from a yard out late in the fourth. He rushed 14 times for a game-high 106 yards, with Smith gaining 91 yards in 13 carries.

“Offensively we lean on them a little bit and Landon and Finn just wore them down,” White said. “They just kept the pile moving, leaning forward, falling forward. Rather than a 2-yard gain it became a 4-yard gain and 2nd-and-6 vs. 2nd-and-8 and that obviously sets us up well with the lead and running the clock. They executed when they had to. It’s hard to run the football when the other team knows you are going to run the football and we did it well.”

White also credited the Foxcroft defense for its play late in the second half when it stopped Winslow after the Black Raiders got into Pony territory. The defense forced an incompletion on a 2nd-and-7 from the Foxcroft-33 and on third down junior Aidan Bryant sacked Winslow senior quarterback Tucker Pomerleau for a 8-yard loss to end the quarter.

The coach said this play was huge considering how Winslow (which ended the year at 6-5 and had a 4-game winning streak snapped) would score to start the second half. “We obviously wanted to maintain our lead going into the half knowing we get the ball to start the second half so that was a huge play in the game, especially in light of what happened after coming out after halftime,” he said.

“Defense wins championships and we are going there because of our defense.,” Holmes said about the unit, which held the opposition scoreless on its end. “We rely on everybody as a team and we are so happy we could get here today. We started here June 6, 6 in the morning working to get us here and everybody stepped up, we are just so proud of everyone.”

Winslow — the team previously fell at home vs. Foxcroft 35-3 back on Sept. 21 to start a 4-game losing skid for the Black Raiders who had a season-low in points that day – would end up getting flagged 12 times for 107 yards. Just four calls went against the Ponies for 30 yards, half of which was on a roughing the passer penalty in the final minute.

“We know the job is not finished, we have a huge task ahead of us,” White said, looking to the Class D championship matchup vs. Wells. “We are familiar with them, they are familiar with us, so there are no secrets involved. They are not going to change for us and we’re probably not going to change much for them. We respect the heck out of them and we know we are going to have to put in a really good week of practice together in order to execute on Saturday.”

“It’s the fourth in a row so we are so blessed to have this opportunity as a group,” Topolski said.

The win puts Foxcroft in the state final for the fourth year in a row, a first exclusively at the Class D level.

Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield won the Class C championship in 2017 after winning the Class D crown in 2016 and falling in the Class D finale before in 2015 and 2014.

The four straight state championship appearances is a new Foxcroft school record.

The Ponies played in the 2005-07 Class C games with Lisbon High School winning the 2005 and 2006 gold balls and Foxcroft defeating Boothbay Regional High School 26-8 in the third game of this run.

Thornton Academy of Saco will be playing in its sixth consecutive Class A championship on Saturday against Portland High School, the longest such streak of berths in the 21st century across all football divisions. Marshwood High School of South Berwick won four straight Class B titles from 2017-21, and Winslow was in four Class C title contests in a row from 2012-15 — the first of these games was a 22-20 loss to Foxcroft.

In the more than six decades the Maine Principals’ Association has recognized state champions Foxcroft will have now appeared in 19 finals with the team playing in different classes over the 60-plus years based on enrollment and/or the number of divisions offered by the MPA. The Ponies enter the 2024 Class D championship 8-10 in these finals, which includes falling to Wells in the 2017, 2018, and 2023 Class D championships.

The Ponies were part of a four-way tie for the Class D title in 1963 based on regular season records and had sole possession of the 1983 Class D championship. Foxcroft claimed Class C championships in 1967, 1996, 2003, 2007, and 2012 before winning the Class D title in 2021 for the school’s first back-to-back title on the gridiron.

Wells, which in 2023 moved back down to Class D after three years in Class C, won its sixth state championship overall one year ago. In addition to 2023 and 2017-18 the program earned Class C honors in 2016 and Class B titles in 2011 and 1997. On Saturday the Warriors will have been to 10 football finals, falling in the Class B championship in 1987, 1992, and 1993.

FOOTBALL

Class D North championship

No. 1 Foxcroft 27, No. 2 Winslow 7

WIN 0 0 7 0 – 7

FOX 7 0 14 6 – 27

Second: F – Holmes 15 yds (Harvey kick)

Third: W – Hardy 18-yd fumble return (Hobbi kick); F – Smith 40 yds (Harvey kick); F – Topolski 30 yds from Caruso (Harvey kick)

Fourth: Holmes 1 yd (kick wide right)

Passing: W – Pomerleau 1-of-7 10 yds Int; Hobbi 0-of-1; Fortin 0-of-0; F – Caruso 7-of-14 66 yds TD Int; Harvey 0-of-0

Receiving: W – Hardy 1, 10 yds; F – Topolski 4, 50 yds TD; Sickler 1, 10 yds; Holmes 1, 5 yds; Sands 1, 1 yd

Rushing: W – Hobbi 7, 38 yds; Fortin 14, 33 yds; Bimpson 4, 30 yds; Pomerleau 5, 13 yds; F – Holmes 14, 106 yds 2 TD; Smith 13, 91 yds TD; Harvey 2, 4 yds ; Topolski 1, -2 yds

Records: W 6-5, F 11-0