Bucksport on the run this season Tymoczko, Harvey piling up yardage

Nick Tymoczko spends much of his summer vacation cutting grass to earn money – this year he had 15 lawns he maintained regularly.

This fall the Bucksport senior has been mowing down the competition in the LTC Class C football world, combining with fullback John Harvey to rush for nearly 1,200 yards and 18 touchdowns during the Golden Bucks’ 4-0 start.

“Nick has tremendous speed, but he’s not afraid to run inside,” said Bucksport coach Joel Sankey. “He runs the isolation well, and he runs the counter well.”

Tymoczko leads all Eastern Maine Class C rushers with 854 yards and 11 touchdowns on 73 carries – good for averages of 213.5 yards per game and 11.7 yards per carry. He enters Saturday night’s game at Bangor against 1-3 John Bapst off back-to-back 200-yard efforts, a 271-yard outburst in a 34-21 win against defending Class C state champion Foxcroft Academy and a 238-yard performance in last Friday’s 54-6 win against Stearns of Millinocket.

Tymoczko blends considerable strength with his sprinter’s speed – he played a key role in leading Bucksport to its first state Class C track and field championship last spring by placing second in the 110 and 300 hurdles and running a leg of the Golden Bucks’ first-place 4×100 relay team.

“That was definitely a confidence boost,” said Tymoczko, who played wingback, wide receiver, and tailback for the 2003 Bucksport football team and averaged nearly 10 yards per carry. “To be part of the first team to win a state [outdoor track] title at Bucksport was pretty special.”

Harvey, who played more as a receiver last year, has moved virtually full time into the Golden Bucks’ backfield this fall and complemented Tymoczko to the tune of 340 yards and seven rushing touchdowns on just 26 carries, good for 85.0 yards per game and 13.1 yards per carry.

“The first thing [about the move] was that he said he didn’t mind blocking for Nick,” said Sankey. “John’s got great hands for a back, he’s very fast and very explosive, and he’ll hit.

“I thought by having them both in the backfield we could get the ball in their hands more.”

That duo runs behind an offensive line coached by Adrian Stone that has had to cope with the loss of senior David Harvey, who went down with a broken right ankle during the Foxcroft game.

“[David’s] a big tackle, about 280 pounds but none of it fat,” said Sankey, who added that Harvey possibly could return late in the season. “He has a tremendous work ethic, and he’s been a strong, quiet leader for us.”

Juniors Chris Mitchell and Nick Osborne have replaced Harvey, and join seniors Travis Tolman and Rick Spohrer, junior Cody Wilson, and sophomore Chris Gray open holes for the running game.

“The line has been blocking great,” said Tymoczko. “Losing Harvey hurt a lot, but Stoney’s a great line coach and the guys who have stepped in have really stepped it up.”

The Bucksport rushing attack also benefits from the threat of the pass, as senior quarterback Joey Carmichael threw for 1,000 yards as a junior. He has thrown less often this year, largely because the Golden Bucks have outscored their first four foes by a combined 185-39.

But the threat remains, as evidenced by a key 36-yard pass from Carmichael to Harvey late in the first half of Bucksport’s win over Foxcroft that helped extend the Golden Bucks’ lead to 27-13 at halftime.

“I think the threat of the pass helps,” said Sankey. “Coaches know from my past history that we’ll put the ball in the air.”

“We’ve been keeping it on the ground so far,” added Tymoczko. “We’re averaging about 10 yards a run, so there’s no sense airing it out.”

Ernie Clark can be reached at 990-8045, 1-800-310-8600 or eclark@bangordailynews.net