Ponies fall to Hermon in 2025 opener
DOVER-FOXCROFT — Foxcroft Academy went from trailing 13-6 with the ball inside Hermon High School’s 10-yard line early in the fourth quarter to being down 26-6 in just over 3:00 of game time during a mutual 2025 opener on Sept. 5 at Oakes Field between the two programs who are part of the new-look Class C for this season.
After playing in Class D from 2017-2024, which included four straight berths in the state championship from 2021-24, after being a Class C program from 2013-16 when Maine high school football expanded from three to four classes, the Ponies are now one of 13 teams in the revised Class C which features one division and 10 playoff teams instead of North and South groupings. Last season Hermon won the Class C North crown.
With the visiting Hawks ahead 13-6 to start the final quarter, Foxcroft Academy used five plays to move the ball from the team’s 37 to the Hermon-14. Three more plays set up a 4th-and-goal at the 5 as the Hawks called a timeout at the 8:35-mark.
OPENING THE SEASON – Foxcroft Academy senior Aiden Sickler brings down Hermon junior Sam Hopkins during the first drive of the game in the 2025 opener on Sept. 5 in Dover-Foxcroft. Closing in are Pony seniors Tyler Wing (60) and Finn Holmes (22). The visiting Hawks won 26-6.
Once play resumed, senior Finn Holmes took the handoff. Hermon’s defensive line got into the backfield and dropped Holmes for a loss of one or two yards behind the sticks to give the Hawks the ball again on downs.
On 2nd-and-9 Hermon junior Sam Hopkins ran 93 yards down the left sideline to help put his team up 20-6. The rush helped Hopkins tally 168 yards in 11 carries with two going to the endzone.
On the next play from scrimmage Hopkins intercepted the football near midfield and his return and a flag for a hit out of bounds gave Hermon possession at the Pony-7. On 3rd-and-goal from the 4-yard line, junior Dylan Yeo ran the ball in for his second touchdown of the evening with just over 5:30 to go.
Yeo put his team on the scoreboard early in the second quarter with a 3-yard touchdown to help build a 7-0 lead
Senior Aiden Harvey gave Foxcroft a spark after a first quarter with just one possession — with three plays for -1 yards — for the Pony offense. Harvey brought the kickoff back 67 yards to set his team up at the Hermon-12.
BIG GAIN – Pony senior Finn Holmes takes the handoff from junior quarterback Evan Seavey, with senior guard Aidan Bryant clearing a hole, for a 31-yard gain early in the second half on Sept. 5 at Oakes Field vs. Hermon. The game was Foxcroft’s first as a Class C program since 2016 and this year the Ponies and Hermon are two of 13 teams in the new-look statewide class.
On a 3rd-and-12 junior quarterback Evan Seavey found senior Lucas Sands in the back of the endzone as Sands got at least a toe down for the touchdown, making the game 7-6 at this point (no kick was attempted after a miscue on the long snap exchange).
Sands and senior Aiden Sickler tied for the game-high with 22 receiving yards each with both making a pair of receptions. Seavey threw for a contest-best 55 yards on 7-of-13 passing with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Holmes led the Ponies with 49 yards on the ground in 11 carries, Seavey had 41 yards in 8 attempts and senior Landon Smith gained 30 on five carries.
The loss is only the second of the regular season and at Oakes Field for the Foxcroft since tackle football resumed in 2021 after the pandemic-canceled season of 2020. The last for the Ponies came in late September of 2022, a 14-13 defeat to visiting Lisbon High School.
OPENING THE SEASON – Senior Aiden Harvey boots the football down the field to start the 2025 regular season for Foxcroft Academy as the Ponies hosted Hermon on Sept. 5.
Foxcroft will have its first road contest of the season at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12 when the Ponies travel to Rockland to face Oceanside High School. The Mariners lost 31-0 at Gardiner Area High School in week 1.
FOOTBALL
Hermon 26, Foxcroft 6
HER 0 7 6 13 – 26
FOX 0 6 0 0 – 6
Second: H – Yeo 3 yds (E. Garner kick); F – Sands 14 yds from Seavey (no kick)
Third: H – Hopkins 47 yds (kick blocked)
Fourth: H – Hopkins 93 yds (E. Garner kick); H – Yeo 4 yds (kick blocked)
Passing: H – Curtis 2-of-7 7 yds; F – Seavey 7-of-13 55 yds TD 2 Int
Receiving: H – Dunton 1, 5 yds; Hopkins 1, 2 yds; F – Sands 2, 22 yds TD; Sickler 2, 22 yds; Turzik 2, 8 yds; Harvey 1, 3 yds
Rushing: H – Hopkins 11, 168 yds 2 TD; Yeo 13, 47 yds 2 TD; Dunton 3, 16 yds; Largay 8, 14 yds; Curtis 2, 3 yds; F – Holmes 11, 49 yds; Seavey 8, 41 yds; Smith 5, 30 yds
Records: H 1-0, F 0-1