For the first few series of the 2017 Class D football championship on the turf at Fitzpatrick Stadium during the late afternoon of Saturday, Nov. 18, North region top seed Foxcroft Academy and South No. 1 Wells High School were evenly matched as both defenses forced the opposing offense into a pair of three-and-outs. The Warrior offense then got going with two touchdowns in the opening quarter and three more in the opening half to help the team win 48-0.

It started with a nomination in June and ended with a win during Thanksgiving week. Word came on Nov. 20 that Foxcroft Academy teacher and coach Luis Ayala was named the 2017 US Cellular Most Valuable Coach (MVC) after a three-plus month online contest.

Both Foxcroft Academy and Bucksport High School had to contend with a kickoff temperature of around 20 and a windchill dropping the conditions into single digits during the 2017 Class D North championship on the evening of Friday, Nov. 10. But the Ponies weathered the situation better, jumping out to a 20-0 first quarter lead and claiming the regional crown with a 34-0 victory.

Three area field hockey stars were named to the Maine Field Hockey Association’s North All-State Team for their performances during the 2017 season: Rebecca Batron and Kaitlyn Webber of Dexter Regional High School and Makenzie Beaudry of Foxcroft Academy

A number of fall athletes from the region’s five high schools earned postseason recognition from the Penobscot Valley Conference.

The Foxcroft Academy showed no ill effects from having a weekend off as a result of earning a quarterfinal bye by virtue of being the top seed in the Class D North football playoffs. During the team’s first action in two weeks the Ponies defeated fourth seed Dexter Regional High School/Piscataquis Community High School 40-0 on Nov. 3 to set up the Class D North championship at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 10 with Foxcroft hosting No. 2 Bucksport High School.

Sixteen players representing each of the area’s five high schools were named as respective Maine Soccer Regional All-Stars for the 2017 season.

Piscataquis Community High School’s Bryce Gilbert has had a very successful start to his senior year. Gilbert led the Pirates boys soccer team into the Class C North quarterfinals against top-seed Fort Kent Community High School -- PCHS lost 6-3.

Nine Foxcroft Academy boys and girls soccer players received Class B postseason honors from the Penobscot Valley Conference for the 2017 season.

You may have heard this one before, the Richmond High School girls soccer team is heading to the state Class D title game.. The top-seeded Bobcats earned their eighth straight berth in the title game by blanking No. 2 Greenville 2- 0 Nov. 1 in the Class D South regional final.

For the past few years, the Houlton High School girls soccer team has been knocking on the door of a regional championship, but had been unable to make that next step. Finishing as regional runners-up three of the past four seasons, many of Houlton’s seniors were wondering if their time would ever come. On Nov. 1 it did as top-ranked Houlton defeated No. 2 Dexter Regional High School 4-2 for the Class C North crown. The Tigers end their season with a 12-5 record.

On Oct. 21 the Ridge View Community School boys soccer team defeated Sebasticook Middle School of Newport for the Penquis League Large School Championship. The Tigers of Dexter defeated Sebasticook 2-1.

When the high school girls soccer teams from Dexter and Central met in the regular season, each game featured a combined nine goals. The Class C North semifinal had only three goals but two of the youngest players on the roster accounted for Dexter’s pair of biggest plays in the Tigers’ 2-1 victory at the Jeffrey S. Parola Memorial Soccer Field on Oct. 27.

The first goal of the season for Houlton High School junior Nolan Porter turned out to be the most important of the season for the Shiretowners as he scored the game-winner in his team’s 3-2 Class C North quarterfinal victory over the Dexter Tigers at the Jeffrey S. Parola Memorial Soccer Field on Oct. 27.

A hat trick from senior Dillon Drew was not enough for the visiting Piscataquis Community High School Pirates to overcome the ball controlling offense the Fort Kent Warriors brought to the team’s opening contest of the Class C North boys soccer playoffs on Oct. 24. The Warriors won the game, 6-3, in dominating fashion.

The Winthrop Ramblers had two potential game-winning goals waved off in the second half of the Oct. 24 Class C North field hockey final against Dexter Regional High School. But the Ramblers shook it off and annexed their first regional championship since 2012, nipping Dexter 2-1 on junior midfielder Kate Perkins’ goal with 3:19 left in the first overtime.

A pair of goals in the opening half and a shutout effort by the defense helped the Piscataquis Community High School boys best Sumner Memorial High School of Sullivan 2-0 in a Class C North preliminary round soccer match between the eighth- and ninth-ranked teams in the region on the afternoon of Oct. 21.

The Foxcroft Academy boys cross country team finished in 13th place at the Class B North Championship on Oct. 20 at Troy Howard Middle School. The Ponies’ top five runners combined to score 339 points, besting the 371 accumulated by 14th place Oceanside High School of Rockland.