DOVER-FOXCROFT – It’s amazing what a stellar defensive effort will do.

Penalties, turnovers and frequent struggles to move the ball were all forgotten in the minutes after Friday’s LTC Class C semifinal. Fumbles, personal fouls and offensive mistakes didn’t stop the Foxcroft Academy football team from its first berth in the LTC Class C final since 1997.

The Ponies held Stearns of Millinocket to 75 yards of total offense and one first down en route to a 14-0 victory at Oakes Field Friday night.

Foxcroft, now 8-2, will face Bucksport for the league championship next weekend. Stearns finishes its season at 5-5.

Foxcroft got fine overall efforts from Danny White, Derek Morong, Josh Sands and Josh Withee, who combined for 176 rushing yards. Morong, a fullback, carried the ball seven times for 103 yards, including runs of 43 and 37 yards. Sands added 42 yards.

The Ponies scored on their opening possession (a 7-yard run by Withee put FA on the board) but the teams went back and forth from there as penalties, turnovers and fine defense seemed to stall almost every drive. At halftime, a 7-0 finish seemed entirely possible.

The third quarter opened with the same pattern, but Foxcroft’s second possession put the game away. White’s TD and the plays preceding the score were huge for the Ponies. Sands set up the scoring drive with a 30-yard punt return that put Foxcroft at Stearns’ 41-yard line. White took it nine yards, then Sands pushed for 12 yards on the next play. After White was dropped for a loss at the Stearns-23, the Ponies called a play for White. He went around the left tackle for the score thanks to blocks by Rob Crocker, Trey Merrill and Brendan Robinson.

“We were set up in a power backfield and it was just a straight handoff. The hole was just huge,” White said. “It was unbelievable. It was huge hole and it was just green.”

After White scored the touchdown and kicked the extra point, he kicked the ball off to Stearns. Thanks to a big White boot and a tackle by Cody Libby, the Minutemen found themselves back at their own 8. They got as far as the S18 before punting it away.

“We really concentrate on special teams,” White said. “Coach is really big on special teams for all of us. He expects a lot out of us. If we put teams in situations where they’re stuck and their deep, defensively we’re great.”

The big tackles, the long runs, the defensive stands – and the play of the offensive and defensive lines – were the keys for Foxcroft.

“They blocked us and they had big runs,” said Stearns quarterback Derek DiFrederico. “I think the main thing for them was the big play. They had a lot of big plays that helped them throughout the game. That kept them in it. Then they just punched it in from there. They had a lot of people in the box and their defense stuck us the whole game.”

The defensive effort wasn’t all about FA, however. The Minutemen limited the Ponies as well. Stearns also held FA in some tough situations

Ryan Sweeney led the Minutemen with 38 yards on 13 carries. Ian Johnson chipped in with eight carries for 25 yards.

The two teams racked up 127 yards of penalties, 75 of which were Foxcroft’s. The penalties didn’t turn out to be costly, but they did negate some big plays, including most of an interception return by E.J. Imbert. The Ponies also fumbled the ball three times, although they didn’t lose possession.

“Bucksport’s a great team and if we don’t play fundamentally sound it’s going to be tough,” White said.

Ponies 14, Minutemen 0

Stearns (5-5) 0 0 0 0 ? 0

Foxcroft (8-2) 7 0 7 0?14

FA ? Withee 7 run (White kick)

FA ? White 23 run (White kick)

Stearns Foxcroft

First downs 1 7

Rushing att.-yards 35-75 40-199

Passing comp.-att. 0-3 1-8

Passing yards 0 36

Total yards 75 235

Punts-avg. 5-37.8 5-40

Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-0

Intercepted by 1 1

Penalties-yards 7-52 9-75

Rushing

Stearns: Sweeney 13-38, Johnson 8-25, DiFredericoo 1-10, Leino 4-2; Foxcroft: Morong 7-103, Sands 16-42, White 8-41, Withee 9-13

Passing

Stearns: DiFrederico 0-3-1-0; Foxcroft: Withee 1-7-0-36, White 0-1-1-0

Receiving

Foxcroft: White 1-36

A?500 (est.)