DOVER-FOXCROFT – It was a dive a year in the making, and it required additional time to complete.

But when quarterback Josh Withee dove into the end zone on the third play of Foxcroft Academy’s first overtime possession Saturday, the Ponies had outlasted Stearns of Millinocket 6-0 to earn a return trip to the state Class C championship game.

“It’s been our goal all season long, to get back to the states,” said Withee. “We kind of kept it inside so we didn’t look overconfident, but now we’re going back and hopefully we can bring the championship back to the East this year.”

With the win, Foxcroft (11-0) became the first team to win back-to-back LTC Class C football titles since accomplishing the same feat in 1996 and 1997. The Ponies, who fell to Boothbay 25-20 in last year’s state final, play Lisbon (11-0) for the state title Saturday in Portland.

Withee’s game-winning 6-yard run was a rollout that allowed him the option to pass to wide receiver Greg Perry or fullback Lincoln Robinson in the right corner of the end zone, or to run with the ball.

Withee chose the latter.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior raced toward the right sideline, saw a crack in the Stearns defense and launched himself across the goal line, and on a cold, windy day when it seemed like no one would score, Foxcroft finally did.

“We’d loosened them up because we’d thrown that flat pass earlier and completed some so they stayed back,” said Withee. “I just saw this crease and ran right through it. I saw the line and I thought I was going to get there but I wasn’t 100 percent positive so I stuck the ball out there to make sure.”

“It’s a tough play to defend when they get to the corner because you’ve got to cover the guys in the flat and if you come up on the quarterback, he’ll dump it over your head,” added Stearns coach Chris Preble.

Foxcroft faced that third-down play after tailback Bobby Gilbert gained 4 yards on first down but was stuffed for no gain on the next play by Stearns’ Derek DiFrederico and Dallas Marquis.

“I actually wanted to run what we call our double-dive pass to the left-hand side, and that’s the side Josh would be rolling to,” said Foxcroft coach Paul Withee, Josh’s father, of the winning play. “Josh wanted to run the counter pass and go to the other side and make Derek decide if he was going to come up or stay in the flat with Lincoln.

“Derek stayed with Lincoln and did a great job coverage-wise, and Josh did a great job of reading that, planted on his outside foot and made Derek miss him by just a little bit.

“And if you’ve ever watched Josh play quarterback the last three years, he loves to do that little dive into the end zone.”

Stearns ends its season at 9-2, both losses coming at Foxcroft.

“We knew coming into this game after the first game was so close [14-13] that it was going to be a battle the whole time,” Robinson said. “It was a war in the trenches.”

Stearns had the ball first in overtime, but three straight runs produced just one yard, and a fourth-down pass by DiFrederico was batted down by Foxcroft’s Max Kennedy.

“We wanted to get outside or off tackle in overtime because we weren’t getting anything up the middle the whole game,” said Preble. “But Foxcroft did a good job on defense.”

Indeed, defense dominated this game, as Stearns edged the Ponies 160-154 in total yards. Both teams were hindered by bone-chilling weather that negated any hope for a passing attack after intermission and made punting so treacherous that both teams opted to attempt fourth-down conversions on their own end of the field rather than punt into a wind that sent anything airborne rudely back to the frozen turf.

“After a couple of series, you could tell it was going to be tough to score,” said Gilbert. “Their defense was flying at us, and our defense was flying at them.”

The best scoring chance of regulation time came on Foxcroft’s first possession of the game. The Ponies took over at the Stearns 41 after a 9-yard Stearns punt into the wind. Withee passed to Gilbert for 15 yards and to Robinson for a 16-yard gain to the 13. The drive ended there, as Gilbert fumbled a first-down pitch and Stearns’ Matt Wark recovered.

The Minutemen spent just one play in FA territory during the first half, but did edge their way into Foxcroft territory twice in the third quarter. But a 4th-and-4 keeper by DiFrederico from the 34 came up a yard short, and a later fumble by Wark at the FA 45 was recovered by Kennedy.

PONIES 6, MINUTEMEN 0 (OT)

Stearns (9-2) 0 0 0 0 0 ? 0

Foxcroft (11-0) 0 0 0 0 6 ? 6

FA ? Withee 6 run (PAT not attempted)

Stearns Foxcroft

First downs 7 10

Rushing att.-yards 47-127 43-84

Passing comp.-att. 2-9-2 7-19-1

Passing yards 33 70

Total yards 160 154

Punts-avg. 6-17.6 8-21.6

Fumbles-lost 4-2 3-1

Intercepted by 1 2

Penalties-yards 2-10 2-10

Rushing

Stearns: DiFrederico 14-56, Wark 16-38, Barnett 7-24, Cullen 8-12, Bouchard 1-2, Pelkey 1-(-5); Foxcroft: Gilbert 19-41, Robinson 12-38, Libby 3-3, Kennedy 1-2, Withee 7-2, Perry 1-(-2)

Passing

Stearns: DiFrederico 2-9-2-33; Foxcroft: Withee 7-19-1-70

Receiving

Stearns: LeGassey 2-33; Foxcroft: Gilbert 3-35, Robinson 1-16, Kennedy 1-9, Earnest 1-5, Perry 1-5

A?1,500 (est.)