BUCKSPORT – Two plays, 135 yards.

They were Bucksport’s first two plays from scrimmage in its early season Class C football showdown with Foxcroft Academy on Friday night, and senior tailback Nick Tymoczko wouldn’t let either end until he was in the end zone.

The first run – 13 seconds into the game – was a dive play that went for 58 yards. The second run – less than two minutes later – was a counter play that went for 77, and those two touchdowns propelled the Golden Bucks to a 34-21 LTC victory at Carmichael Field.

“The line came out and had an unbelievable performance, made the holes really wide right at the beginning of the game and made my lanes really easy to run through,” said Tymoczko, who finished with 271 rushing yards on 23 carries.

Tymoczko added an 18-yard scoring run later in the quarter as the 3-0 Golden Bucks built a 19-0 lead behind a line featuring seniors David Harvey and Travis Tolman and junior Cody Wilson.

Foxcroft (2-1) rallied to within 19-13 early in the second quarter on a pair of 21-yard touchdown runs by senior Bobby Gilbert. But a subsequent Ponies’ drive was stalled by a holding penalty inside the Bucks’ 30, and Bucksport countered with a momentum-changing TD on a 3-yard bootleg run by senior quarterback Joey Carmichael with 34 seconds left in the first half.

That score was set up by a 36-yard pass down the right sideline from Carmichael to senior fullback John Harvey one play earlier.

“I had called a quick [pass] to a wide receiver out of that formation,” said Bucksport coach Joel Sankey. “We had Nick and John together, and Joey audibled and went long and John made a great catch.”

Carmichael’s TD run restored Bucksport’s control of the contest, giving the Golden Bucks a 27-13 lead at the break.

“We knew they were going to score, too,” said John Harvey. “We didn’t think we were going to blow them out. We just needed to stick with them and play hard.”

“That’s a good quality team, and you can’t give up a hundred yards on two runs to start a game and then expect to come back,” added Foxcroft coach Paul Withee. “We played even with them after that. We got the score to 19-13 and we’re driving and get a first down and they call holding on us. Then Bucksport scores right before halftime, and to me that kind of put the game away.”

The loss ended two winning streaks for reigning Class C state champion Foxcroft, 14 games overall and a 23-game regular-season stretch dating to Bucksport’s 24-14 win over the Ponies at Dover-Foxcroft on Oct. 5, 2001.

“We knew this was a huge game,” said Tymoczko, now averaging 205 rushing yards per game this season. “We know our two teams are in the upper echelon of this league, and that it was going to be a great game.”

Bucksport finished with 402 total yards, 335 on the ground. John Harvey added 40 yards on six carries, including a 13-yard scoring run with four seconds left in the third quarter that extended Bucksport’s lead to 34-13.

“They’re a great team,” said Gilbert. “They’ve got a lot of talent and they block very well and open up some good holes for their backs. They were beating us to the outside, and if we?re going anywhere we need to step it up on defense.”

Gilbert, who entered the night with 458 rushing yards in two games, rushed 26 times for 148 yards and three touchdowns. His final score came on a 1-yard run with 4:03 left in the game.

Senior fullback Andrew Pomeroy added 76 rushing yards on 14 carries for the Ponies.

“Bobby Gilbert is legit, a great back,” said Sankey, “but we’ve got a couple of kids who can run the ball, too.”

GOLDEN BUCKS 34, PONIES 21

Foxcroft (2-1) 7 6 0 8 ? 21

Bucksport (3-0) 19 8 7 0 ? 34

B ? Tymoczko 58 run (Beeson kick)

B ? Tymoczko 77 run (kick failed)

B ? Tymoczko 18 run (rush failed)

FA ? Gilbert 21 run (Bellemare kick)

FA ? Gilbert 21 run (kick failed)

B ? Carmichael 3 run (Carmichael pass to Eaton)

B ? J. Harvey 13 run (Beeson kick)

FA ? Gilbert 1 run (Gilbert rush)

Foxcroft Bucksport

First downs 9 11

Rushing att.-yards 44-237 37-335

Passing comp.-att. 2-8 3-8

Passing yards 22 57

Total yards 259 402

Punts-avg. 5-33.2 1-44

Fumbles-lost 4-1 2-0

Intercepted by 1 2

Penalties-yards 3-20 6-40

Rushing

Foxcroft: Gilbert 26-148, Pomeroy 14-76, Croan 2-3, Dever 1-13, Forrest 1-(minus-3); Bucksport: Tymoczko 23-271, J. Harvey 6-40, Babson 3-22, Carmichael 3-1, Maguire 2-1

Passing

Foxcroft: Croan 0-1-0-0, Forrest 2-7-2-22; Bucksport: Carmichael 3-8-1-57

Receiving

Foxcroft: Gilbert 1-14, Dever 1-8; Bucksport: J. Harvey 2-45, Tweedie 1-12

A? 1,000 (est)