BANGOR- The youthful backfield of the Winslow Black Raiders proved to be too much for John Bapst on Friday night, culminating in a 26-6 Class D North football victory over the Crusaders in a game played at Husson University.
Freshman quarterback Jace Poulin put Winslow on the board first with a short 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to make it 6-0. The extra point was missed. John Bapst answered led by some nice completions from Thomas Curtis to Zach Babcock and Chase Wilkinson to help set it up. Curtis capped off the drive with a keeper of his own for a 1-yard score to tie things up, as the Crusaders also missed their extra point attempt. Sophomore running back Issac Bulger put the Black Raiders ahead for good with a 3-yard TD run in the second quarter, as the guests (who failed on the two-point conversion) would take a 12-6 lead to the halftime break. A big turn of events in the latter half of the third quarter helped Winslow pull away. On 4th down and 6 at the Black Raiders 17 yard line for the Crusaders, Layne Ferran came up with an interception of Curtis in the endzone. On the second play after the turnover, Bulger broke through the defense and up the near sideline for a 65-yard touchdown run. With the two-point conversion run successful it was 20-6. Dominic Heese would intercept Curtis again in the final period, and sophomore running back Michael Loubier put a cap on the scoring with a 6-yard TD run with just 1:13 left to play.
Bulger had two touchdowns on the night in the Winslow victory, including the game winning score, and was named the Pine State Nutrition Player of the Game. Poulin and Loubier each had a rushing TD of their own, with Loubier also making several tackles on defense. The Black Raiders (1-1) return to action when they host Oak Hill next Saturday at 1 p.m. John Bapst drops to 0-2 and will host Dirigo on Thursday night at 7 p.m.
