BANGOR—It was a battle of winless teams at the Winkin Complex at Husson University Friday night, but Junior Running Back Stephen Fitzpatrick wanted his team in the win column and he made sure of it. Fitzpatrick who ran for only 37 yards was a key Red Zone player for the Crusaders as he racked up three Touchdowns to lead the now 1-6 John Bapst Crusaders to a win over the 0-7 Waterville Purple Panthers 30-14.
It was a very run heavy offensive night for the Crusaders as they racked up a total of 220 Rushing yards with Jack Dalton leading the way with 115 yards on 19 carries. While Running Back Jared Smith also scored a Touchdown in the 4th Quarter.
It wasn’t all offense though, the Defense played a huge part in this game, they were able to pressure quarterback Jack Thompson into two sacks both by Austin Michuad and an Interception by Logan Dempsey. The Crusaders were also able to force a fumble as well.
For the Purple Panthers the offense did not get going until the 4th quarter where Thompson would find Chase Wheeler for a 64-yard Touchdown and would later connect with Theodale Heaven for a 12-yard Touchdown. Thompson ended his night going 13/18 with 180 yards and 2 TDs. Wheeler was the leading receiver with 109 yards on five catches while Trafton Gilbert led rushing with 41 yards on 19 carries.
For Waterville’s defense Max Rogers led the way with 9 tackles with two for losses, while John Evans and Chase Wheeler each had .five sacks.
The 0-7 Purple Panthers will travel to Winslow next Saturday for their season finale at 1 pm, while the 1-6 Crusaders will travel to Foxcroft Academy for their season finale at 7pm on Friday night.
Final Box Score
Bapst- 0,8,0,22
Waterville- 0,0,0,12
