Foxcroft football team must cope with preseason injuries

 By Ernie Clark
BDN Staff

DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine — The Foxcroft Academy football team already had planned to turn to some talented underclassmen for the depth needed to pursue another deep postseason run this fall.

But two significant injuries suffered during last Friday’s preseason game at Orono will serve to accelerate that youth movement.

Senior quarterback-safety Hunter Smith suffered a dislocated left hip during the second play of that exhibition contest and will be sidelined indefinitely. Junior halfback-linebacker Billy Brock — expected to help replace the contributions of graduated 2014 Big Ten Conference player of the year Peter Boyer — suffered a broken bone in his hand later in the contest.

“It’s certainly a combination of worst things that could have happened for us,” said seventh-year Foxcroft coach Danny White.

While Brock likely will return to action early in the season, a timetable for Smith’s return is less certain.

“I’m fearfully optimistic about Hunter,” said White. “I’m fearful that he’s not going to return, but I’m optimistic that he will.”

Smith rushed for 1,037 yards and 22 touchdowns last fall as Foxcroft finished 7-3 and reached the Eastern Maine Class C semifinals and recently was selected to play in the Blue-Grey North-South All-American Bowl, a national high school all-star game at Tampa, Florida, in January as a wide receiver — where he is considered a Division I college prospect.

“Nobody, including myself, is going to push to have Hunter rushed back,” White said. “He’s just got too much of a future ahead of him.”

Junior Nick Dyer, who had been penciled in at wide receiver on offense, will move to quarterback for Foxcroft while sophomore Nick Clawson will join senior Brandon Brock as the primary ball-carrying threats during Billy Brock’s absence.

“We’ve got to hang in there and have kids step up so we can compete,” said White.

The Ponies’ recent track record should provide some measure of confidence — the program is 45-18 during the first six years of White’s coaching tenure.

The development of depth along the line of scrimmage to support returning seniors Connor Holmes and Jamie Smith could be a significant factor in enabling the available backs and receivers to thrive amid the injury-related circumstances.

“We lost a lot of starters last year,” said Holmes, a center and defensive tackle, “but we’re pushing ourselves to meet the expectations if not more.”

Much of that support, particularly up front and in the defensive backfield, could come from many of the younger players on the roster such as Clawson, classmate Drew Dankert and freshmen Hyatt Smith and Jeremy Richard.

“At any given time on defense we’ve got five sophomores and two freshmen on the field,” said White.

Foxcroft faces an immediate test in the season opener at Oakes Field on Friday night against Mount Desert Island of Bar Harbor, and its schedule also includes back-to-back challenges in Weeks 6 and 7 against defending state champion Winslow and senior-laden Belfast.

“A huge challenge for us will be do we believe we can compete without our best player?” said White. “That’s something we’ve got to figure out internally, do the kids really believe they can play and have success without Hunter Smith?”

THE SCHEDULE: 7 p.m. Sept. 4 vs. Mount Desert Island; 7 p.m. Sept. 11 at Madison-Carrabec; 7 p.m. Sept. 18 vs. Waterville; 7 p.m. Sept. 25 at Old Town; 7 p.m. Oct. 2 vs. Hermon; 1 p.m. Oct. 10 at Winslow; 7 p.m. Oct. 16 vs. Belfast; 7 p.m. Oct. 23 at John Bapst.