Buoyed by first-round win, Ponies eye rematch

By Ernie Clark

Staff Writer

DOVER-FOXCROFT — As the temperatures cool, field conditions begin to deteriorate and leaves coat the ground instead of the trees, surviving high school football teams around Maine take great pride in being among the last to continue their pursuit of fall sports state championships.

It’s been a tradition enjoyed routinely at Foxcroft Academy, and it will continue for at least one more week this year.

Coach Danny White’s fifth-seeded Ponies will visit top-ranked and undefeated Old Town in a Class C North semifinal Friday night after upending No. 4 Madison-Carrabec, 21-14, in a quarterfinal decided in overtime last Saturday.

Foxcroft trailed just 12-7 at halftime of its Week 4 regular-season meeting at Old Town, but Pascal Cyr’s 85-yard return of a blocked field goal for a touchdown in the third quarter — one of three touchdowns the Coyotes scored on plays of 76 yards or longer — propelled the hosts to a 41-19 victory.

“The big challenge in playing Old Town certainly is preventing them from making the big plays,” said White.

Foxcroft (5-4) spotted Madison-Carrabec one big play Friday — a 99-yard first-quarter touchdown run by Nick Morales — in its quarterfinal before winning for the fourth time in its last five games when Zach Caron produced the lone overtime score on a 5-yard run.

Caron finished with a team-high 96 yards on 22 rushes to help Foxcroft avenge a 33-12 loss at Madison-Carrabec during Week 2 of the regular season.

“We gave up that one drastic play early in the game, but after that our defense did a good job and we were able to hold them to less than 140 total yards after that,” said White.

Foxcroft took a 14-7 lead against the Bulldogs on touchdown runs of 8 and 4 yards by junior Billy Brock, the first score in the second quarter and the second after intermission, before Madison-Carrabec tied the game on a 4-yard keeper by quarterback Chase Malloy in the fourth quarter.

The presence of Brock on the offensive side of the ball gave the Ponies a significant boost, as he finished with 53 yards on 10 carries as well as providing another blocker for a Foxcroft offense that generated all of its offense on the ground.

Brock, who has been one of Foxcroft’s leading tacklers throughout the fall, also was expected to be one of the team’s top ball carriers from the outset of the season but a broken hand suffered during preseason left him unable to contribute offensively until Saturday’s game.

“It definitely made a difference having Billy back on the offensive side of the ball,” said White.

Brandon Brock, Billy’s older brother, added 44 yards on nine rushes for the Ponies.

Caron led Foxcroft’s defense with 12 tackles, while Billy and Brandon Brock were in on 10 stops apiece. Hyatt Smith and Tanner Strout each had an interception for the Ponies.

Old Town, which earned the No. 1 seed by coin-flip tiebreaker over fellow unbeaten and reigning Class C state champion Winslow, features one of the most diverse offenses in the region.

Senior quarterback Jake Jarvis has passed for 1,208 yards and 16 touchdowns, with 6-foot-3 senior Andre Miller, a college prospect, his top target. Junior T.J. Crawford has rushed for 1,044 yards and 16 touchdowns for the 8-0 Coyotes — who have averaged 38.4 points per game this fall.

“They’ve got probably the best athlete in the league in Miller and one of the best quarterbacks in Jarvis. “They’ve also got another receiver in Pascal Cyr who’s also very good, and then they run the ball with Crawford, who I think has been a key to their success.

“They’ve got a lot of weapons to concern you defensively, and their defense has come a long way since last year and even earlier this year.”