The Foxcroft Academy Ponies scored three second half touchdowns on Saturday, and would pull away from the John Bapst Crusaders for a 29-8 win in the Class D North Football Regional Championship game at the Weatherbee Complex in Hampden.
Points were hard to come by in the first half, as Foxcroft had the only scoring on an early first quarter 5-yard touchdown run by Finn Holmes. Both defenses played extremely well in the first 24 minutes, as the score was still 7-0 headed into halftime. The Ponies broke it open in the second half led by running back Gage Beaudry. Beaudry had scoring runs of 4 and 39 yards in the third quarter as they extended their lead to 23-0, after a pair of successful two-point conversions as well. John Bapst scored for their only time on the day on a Nathan Butler 68-yard TD pass from Aidan Ouellette. Foxcroft put it away on a short run for six by Hunter McSorley in the fourth quarter.
Beaudry led all players in the game offensively with 128 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns in the Foxcroft win. Wyatt Rayfield passed for 100 yards (8 for 12), and Jackson Smith had 55 yards receiving on three catches. Holmes and Silas Topolski led the defense with an interception each, with Holmes also scoring a rushing touchdown early in the first quarter. Ouellette went 9-21 passing for 99 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in the loss for John Bapst. Butler had four catches for 81 yards and a score, while Logun McMahon led the Crusaders backfield with 37 yards on 11 attempts and also had 5.5 tackles on defense. Hayden Rollins had two sacks, as JB ends their season with a record of 7-3. Foxcroft Academy is now 10-0, and will try to win their third consecutive Class D State Championship when they take on Wells in Lewiston on Saturday. The game time hasn’t been announced, but it will be either 11 a.m. or 2:30 p.m.
Recap by Chris Lessner/Stats provided by Toby Nelson/Photos courtesy of Eric Ogden PhotographyÂ