Preston, Fearon lift Ponies by Old Orchard

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BANGOR – The number of first downs or total yardage a team accrues really doesn’t matter as long as it can scrounge out enough points to win.

The Foxcroft Academy football team has proved it two weeks going.

A week ago, the Ponies upset the five-time Eastern Maine champ Stearns of Millinocket in that fashion.

They did it again Saturday for a 15-14 Class C state victory over Western Maine champ Old Orchard Beach at Cameron Stadium.

“Defensively, our quickness has been our biggest asset all year,” said jubilant Ponies coach Paul Withee. “Our kids have just done a great job stepping up. I felt very comfortable going into the game and I felt we had the personnel to shut them down.”

Witness the miracles Foxcroft caused, and benefited from, to gain their first state title since 1983:

Charlie Fearon connected on a fourth-and-goal field goal attempt with 6.6 seconds left in the first half for a 9-6 Foxcroft lead.

Fearon’s kick followed a bad punt snap by Seagulls’ center Todd Pulk, which gave the Ponies the ball at the six-yard line.

Running behind a wedge on the second half’s opening kickoff, junior Ben Preston bounded 83 yards for a touchdown and the Ponies’ 15-6 lead.

“There was a wedge up front and one guy grabbed me and spun me around but I stayed up and kept going,” Preston said. “It was all green grass and goalposts from there.”

Foxcroft’s Adam Harvey stripped Fitzpatrick Trophy-nominee Dave Girard of the ball on the two-point rush attempt to preserve Foxcroft’s 15-14 lead with 10:44 left in the third quarter.

The failed rush followed Girard’s eight-yard touchdown charge after he and Todd Pulk ate up 62 yards of the 92-yard, quarter-spanning drive.

A Seagulls clipping call brought back Girard’s touchdown run after the 5-foot-8, 155-pound running back caught a 15-yard bullet from Donald Dubois at the Gulls’ eight-yard line with eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Old Orchard Beach wound up punting after Fearon sacked Donald Dubois, who had fumbled for a five-yard loss on third-and-eight.

Foxcroft defensive back Mike Saunders comes out of nowhere to tip away Girard’s 37-yard, option-play pass meant for Brian Tucci in the end zone with 54.9 seconds remaining in the game.

Preston, for the second consecutive week, intercepts an opposing quarterback’s pass in the game’s last minute, when he grabs Donald Dubois’ fourth-and-10 attempt from the Ponies’ 37-yard line with 43.6 seconds left.

Foxcroft limits Girard to a game-high 74 rushing yards, the fewest yards the senior has rushed this season. It is only the second time Girard is held to less than 100 yards in a game this season.

“One of the large reasons we’re standing on this field right now is Dave Girard,” Old Orchard Beach coach Curt Chretien said. “And obviously, teams are going to key on him. Foxcroft did a pretty good job of containing him, but not only him, they did a pretty good job of containing all of our players.”

Old Orchard Beach, which ends at 8-3, found its own good fortune early when James Bickford recovered a fumble he forced from Shawn Beaudry to put the Seagulls at the Foxcroft 18 with 3:38 left in the first quarter.

Ralph Dubois made a four-yard touchdown punch with 2:16 left following Girard’s 14 rushing yards in three plays to set up the Gulls 8-0 lead.

Foxcroft drove from its own 33-yard line, and aided by a Gulls’ roughing-the-passer penalty, answered with Fearon’s punishing 12-yard touchdown run with 6:48 left in the first half.

Fearon and Preston combined to rush for 56 yards on 14 of the drive’s 16 plays.

Ponies 15, Seagulls 14

Old Orchard (8-3) 8 0 0 6 – 14

Foxcroft (9-2) 0 9 6 0 – 15

OOB – R. Dubois 4 run (Girard rush)

FA – Fearon 12 run (rush failed)

FA – Fearon field goal

FA – Preston 83 kickoff return (pass failed)

OOB – Girard 8 run (rush failed)

Old Orchard Foxcroft

First downs 13 8 Rushing att. – yds 45-168 41-52 Passing cmp. – att. 4-16 1-4 Yards passing 58 9 Total yards 226 61 Intercepted by 0 1 Punts – avg. 3-27.3 4-42.2 Fumbles – lost 2-0 1-1 Penalties – yds 4-36 1-5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Old Orchard: D. Dubois 5-22, Girard 21-74, Pulk 12-49, R. Dubois 7-23; Foxcroft: Hartford 6-(-21), Preston 17-35, Fearon 16-56, Beaudry 7-(-18)

PASSING – Old Orchard: D. Dubois 4-13-1-58, Girard 0-3-0-0; Foxcroft: Hartford 1-4-0-9

RECEIVING – Old Orchard: Hubbard 2-26, Tucci 1-28, Girard 1-4; Foxcroft: Laita 1-9