Belfast, Foxcroft sweep football honors in LTC Parenteau, White Players of Year

The 2002 season was a dominant one from start to finish for LTC perennial pigskin powers Belfast and Foxcroft Academy.

So it was no surprise that players and coaches from both squads dominated the conference’s major postseason awards listings.

Both conference and regional championship teams came away with this year’s coach and player of the year honors as Belfast’s Jeff Parenteau plus co-coaches Butch Richards and Butch Arthers, and Foxcroft Academy’s Danny White and Paul Withee, respectively, named the LTC’s players and coaches of the year.

In Class B, Belfast’s senior tailback was named LTC Player of the Year after leading the conference in rushing and touchdowns for a second straight season. The 5-foot-5, 150-pound captain rushed for 1,767 yards and 25 touchdowns on 245 carries as he led the Lions to the Eastern Maine (LTC) regional championship.

Parenteau is a rarity in high school football as he finishes his four-year career with 5,003 yards and 70 touchdowns on 668 carries. He is the first Lion to eclipse the 5,000-yard career mark in rushing and is one of the few in the state to do it.

This is the first time the LTC has named co-coaches of the year with Richards and Arthers having teamed to lead the Lions to their fifth regional crown in the last eight years.

In Class C, it was a clean sweep for the Ponies, too, as senior tailback Danny White was named the LTC Player of the Year and FA’s Paul Withee won the Coach of the Year award for the fourth time.

“I don’t think you’ll find any coach who’s in it for individual honors,” said Withee, who finished his 13th season with the Ponies. “To me, it’s all about winning championships.”

White, a converted quarterback, gained 771 yards on 95 carries and scored 10 TD’s, but it was his versatility and leadership – combined with an uncanny ability to pull off a game-breaking play whenever FA needed one – which led the Ponies to their third regional title in the last seven years.

“He’s so versatile, we kind of take him for granted,” Withee said. “I think he missed a practice as a junior once and we realized just how much we use him in so many ways because with him not there, we couldn’t run plays we wanted to. Danny is one of those special kids who comes along once in awhile. He’s a real good one.”

Both Foxcroft and Belfast came up just short of state titles as each lost close decisions in the state championship games.