Foxcroft Academy jumped out to a 35-0 lead in first quarter behind touchdowns from five different players and the Ponies never looked back with a 56-12 victory in the 2018 opener vs. Mount View High School of Thorndike on the evening of Aug. 31.

High school football across the state clearly is a numbers game these days, with many programs struggling to maintain sufficient participation numbers not only for a given season but to sustain themselves over time.

I just wanted to pass along some quick information on fall river flows and lake elevations. I know a lot of people are gearing up for September fishing and would like to make plans.

The upcoming New England Fights mixed martial arts show scheduled for Friday, Sept. 8 at the Cross insurance Center in Bangor will have a distinct local flavor.

A week before starting the regular season with eight games against fellow Class D North programs, Foxcroft Academy got a chance to face defending Class C champion Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield in a preseason matchup on Aug. 24. The visiting Huskies would score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, when both teams had reserve units on the field, to win the exhibition contest 28-21.

Joan Shapleigh and her horse Donatello rode into history when the pair took part in a dressage show at Infinity Farm on Aug. 19. Shapleigh, 81 of Dover-Foxcroft, and Donatello, 21, have a combined age of over 100 and this statistic enabled them to join the Dressage Foundation’s Century Club once Shapleigh rode the horse for a dressage test and had the performance scored by a judge.

The soccer club, Mid-Maine Revolution FC, started in 2015 and had one team with 12 players. Last year Mid-Maine Revolution FC had two teams with 25 players in the club. Into its fourth year Mid-Maine Revolution FC will have three teams with 38 players in the club for the upcoming fall season, a U-12, U-13 and a coed U-14 team.

UMFK will welcome five new players to its roster this fall, including former Piscataquis of Guilford guard Bryce Gilbert.

As the training rounds increased from 60 seconds to five minutes on a recent Monday morning, so did the intensity level as members of a mixed martial arts class at Young’s MMA tested each other’s grappling skills.

The third annual Millside Fitness Bun Run 5K was held on the morning of Aug. 11 as part of the Maine Red Hot Dog Festival. Seth Young, 34 of Ellsworth, finished in first place as he covered the 3.1 miles in a time of 19 minutes, 20 seconds.

Three coaches familiar with the Husson University football program have joined the Eagles’ staff with preseason practices underway. Former Husson football players A.J. McLaughlin and Alex Cardenas, and fellow former volunteer assistant Greg Marter are returning to the program.

A Maine Principals’ Association committee decided Aug. 8 to move forward with an effort to develop an eight-player division for high school football in the state that, if approved, would be implemented in 2019.

Foxcroft Academy is pleased to announce the 2018 inductees into the Foxcroft Academy Athletic Hall of Fame. Started in 2011, the Athletic Hall of Fame has grown to 50 former Foxcroft Academy student athletes, coaches and contributors.

For the last 22 years Foxcroft Academy graduates, community members and visitors to the region have been able to kick off the Saturday of Foxcroft Academy Alumni Weekend/Dover-Foxcroft Shiretown Homecoming by running in the Pony Pride 5K.

Members of the Foxcroft Youth Track program took part in the Group D Maine USATF 15 & Under Regional Qualifier on Aug. 2 at the Brewer Community Track.

University of Maine redshirt sophomore receiver and 2016 Foxcroft Academy graduate Hunter Smith tries to get around teammate Ernest Simon for the football during the Black Bears’ first practice of the season in Orono on Wednesday, Aug. 1.

Friends of Community Fitness held its 13th annual Fitness 5K, as part of the Piscataquis River Festival, on the morning of July 28 with the following results (again this year entrants ran the course in Guilford and Sangerville against traffic).

The Foxcroft Youth Track program took part in a USATF Maine Group D meet on July 27 at the Brewer Community School.