DOVER-FOXCROFT – Visualization has been a big part of Bobby Gilbert’s relationship with football.

When his grandfather used to drive him 35 miles from Greenville to watch Foxcroft Academy football games, Gilbert envisioned playing the sport one day – even though his hometown high school has not fielded a team for three decades.

Today, as he fulfills that childhood ambition as a junior at Foxcroft, he sees a hole made by the Ponies’ offensive line and visualizes the possibilities.

“I love running the ball,” said Gilbert, whose undefeated Ponies will host Stearns of Millinocket in the LTC Class C title game Saturday. “If I see a hole, I just try to make something happen with it. It feels like an artist painting a picture of running down the field and trying to make the defenders go one way while you go the other way. It’s an awesome feeling.”

It has also become relatively common. Gilbert surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the season during Foxcroft’s 41-7 LTC semifinal win over Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield last Friday night. That’s a good year for any running back, but until last fall when he transferred to Foxcroft from Greenville, Gilbert had not played organized football.

“It’s been amazing,” said Foxcroft quarterback Josh Withee. “He started off not knowing too much about football, but now he’s one of the leaders and knows most everything about it. He’s really studied the game both on and off the field.”

Gilbert’s transition was made easier by his preparedness. He’s been a weight-room fixture since the eighth grade, and has just 5 percent body fat on his 5-foot-10, 200-pound frame.

“Bobby’s an extremely hard worker who listens intently, is athletic, and has the kind of body that probably fits more into being a football player than any other sport,” said Foxcroft coach Paul Withee. “He has all the intangibles, the things you don’t coach such as quickness, speed, dedication. He’s very agile and has an incredible vertical leap.

“It’s really not that hard to take a kid like him and make him into a good football player. He had all the necessary tools and it was just a matter of fine-tuning those skills and assets he has to make him a productive member of our offensive unit.”

As a sophomore, Gilbert started at defensive end and was a backup on offense until late in the year when starting fullback Lincoln Robinson was injured.

“Just getting used to the flow of football was different because football is five seconds a play, and you have to make the right decisions and can’t hesitate at all,” Gilbert said. “You just go 100 miles an hour and hope it pays off.”

Gilbert helped Foxcroft win the 2002 LTC title and advance to the Class C state championship game, where the Ponies suffered a narrow loss to Boothbay.

In Year 2 of his football career, Gilbert’s role has increased. His blend of power and speed has served him well not only at tailback, but as a linebacker on a starting defense that has yielded just four touchdowns. Much of the credit for his progress goes to Robinson, a football mentor to Gilbert who ranks among the conference’s leading tacklers.

“Lincoln’s a three-year starter at linebacker, and he’s really taken Bobby under his wing and is a big reason Bobby’s become a better linebacker now than he was at the start of the season,” coach Withee said.

“I think he’s just beginning to blossom, and next year as a senior he should be one of the premier backs and one of the premier players in the state, not just necessarily in Class C.”

For the moment, Gilbert and the Ponies are focused on this year and visualizing the quest for the Ponies’ first state championship since 1996.

“We were broken-hearted last year,” said Gilbert. “That [state] game was tough, and that’s when I decided how much I love football, that I want to work as hard as I can to get us back to the position we were in and hopefully take it one step further this year.”