DOVER-FOXCROFT – Signs, omens, portents of things to come… Whatever you want to call them, there were plenty of them going into Saturday’s LTC Class C title football game. And they were all good for Foxcroft Academy.

It was tough enough that Bucksport was about to play the unbeaten Ponies on their home turf, it certainly didn’t help that the Golden Bucks were doing so in the middle of deer hunting season. The multitude of orange caps, orange vests, and signs leading into town proclaiming open season on the Bucks served as blatant reminders.

If that wasn’t enough, Bucksport came into the Eastern Maine championship game without its starting quarterback – 1,000-yard passer Dow Cain, who may have dislocated his finger holding the ball in a Friday kicking drill – and a starting defender suspended for disciplinary reasons.

Still, with all those things working against Bucksport and for FA, the 11-0 Ponies still had their hands full for most of the game before posting a 14-0 victory on a frigid Oakes Field and earning a trip to Winslow’s Poulin Field for a 1 p.m. Saturday state game date with Western Maine champ Boothbay.

“I said, ‘Fellas, I don’t give a crap who’s playing because you’ve got to go out and do your job and play to the level of your ability,'” said FA coach Paul Withee. “We knew we might be able to do different things with the guys they were missing and they way they had to move people around, but we weren’t taking anything for granted.”

Good thing. The Bucks put together arguably the best defensive effort on FA all season before the Ponies avenged last season’s 14-13 LTC title loss.

Foxcroft scored its first touchdown late in the first quarter after a Bucks holding penalty on fourth down gave the Ponies the ball back on the FA-43. Three plays later, quarterback Josh Withee (7-for-14, 118 yards) lofted a pass to Brandon Hall on the right side. Hall outleaped Graham Hanson, ripped the ball away from the cornerback, and ran 25 yards to the end zone for a 46-yard score with 1:35 left in the first.

“I ran a fade pattern to get outside and go down the sidelines,” Hall said. “With me and E.J. [Imbert], Josh basically just tries to throw it up to us and let us come down with it.”

Neither offense could do much the rest of the half, but the Bucks came out strong in the third quarter as they forced FA to punt and then drove to the FA-20. On fourth-and-5, Trevor Lalonde tried a 37-yard field goal, but the kick was wide left.

Three minutes later, Dave Mushrall recovered a Ponies fumble at the 50. The Bucks drove down to the FA-18, but after a first-down incompletion, FA’s Lincoln Robinson’s sacked backup quarterback Joey Carmichael, stripped the ball away, and recovered it. Carmichael injured his left knee on the play and had to be helped off the field. He did not return.

With 1:53 left in the third, Danny White intercepted a Bucks pass at the FA-15, broke two tackles, and was gone down the right side for an 85-yard TD return, but a clipping penalty nullified the play.

“I thought we dominated the third quarter, keeping the ball down on this end,” said coach Joel Sankey, whose Bucks wind up 7-4. “We had two chances to score and got nothing, so I think that’s where it turned.”

Four plays later, the Bucks had the ball back, but new backup Josh Johnson lost his footing as Mark Heaney charged him, the ball came loose, and Heaney recovered it. Five plays later, White got a second chance and swept off right tackle for a 7-yard TD run. Withee then ran it in for a two-point conversion with 9:35 left to all but ice the game.

“Both defenses are tough and it just came down to two big plays,” said Josh Withee. “I think we wore them down a little bit in the end, but give them credit. They’re a great team, they played us hard, and they weren’t even expected to be in this game.”

Two-way tackle Trey Merrill and linebackers Robinson and Josh Sands led FA’s defense as the Bucks were held to 142 total yards.

“We know it’s up to us, so we just try and wear them down,” Merrill said. “This is sweet… It’s just sweet.”

PONIES 14, GOLDEN BUCKS 0

Bucksport (7-4) 0 0 0 0 ? 0

Foxcroft Acad. (11-0) 6 0 0 8 ? 14

FA ? Hall 46 pass from Withee (kick blocked)

FA ? White 7 run (Withee rush)

Bucksport Foxcroft

First downs 9 13

Rushing att.-yards 34-94 42-174

Passing comp.-att. 3-11 7-14

Passing yards 48 118

Total yards 142 292

Punts-avg. 4-27.0 7-28.3

Fumbles-lost 4-3 2-1

Intercepted by 0 1

Penalties-yards 3-24 7-54

Rushing

Bucksport: Woodman 19-75, P. Harvey 9-35, J. Harvey 3-2, Johnson 1-(minus-2), Carmichael 2-(minus-16); Foxcroft Academy: Gilbert 11-72, White 10-35, Sands 9-33, Robinson 5-16, Withee 6-10, Imbert 1-8

Passing

Bucksport: Carmichael 3-10-1-48, Johnson 0-1-0-0; Foxcroft Academy: Withee 7-14-0-118

Receiving

Bucksport: J. Harvey 2-41, Tymoczko 1-7; Foxcroft Academy: Hall 2-53, Gosselin 2-45, Robinson 1-15, Sands 2-5

A? 1,200 (est.)