BUCKSPORT – Nick Tymoczko took a lot of pride in leading Bucksport High School to its first state football title in 21 years last fall.

Now he’ll join the Pride next fall to continue his career.

The record-setting running back and 2005 James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy winner has decided to attend Springfield (Mass.) College, which boasts one of the top Division III football programs in the Northeast.

Tymoczko chose Springfield after also considering the University of Maine.

“I took visits to both schools and made a list of positives and negatives about both of them,” said Tymoczko, who will study physical education at Springfield with an eye toward becoming a teacher and coach. “Both schools had a ton of positives and both are great programs, but Springfield was the best fit for me.”

Tymoczko likely had the best statistical season in Maine high school football history last fall, rushing for 2,741 yards and scoring 40 touchdowns to lead coach Joel Sankey’s Golden Bucks to a 12-0 record and the Class C state championship.

He set LTC regular-season records of 2,071 rushing yards and 33 TDs, then gained 670 yards and scored seven touchdowns in three postseason victories. That playoff effort was capped off by a 330-yard, three-touchdown performance as Bucksport defeated Jay 42-20 in the Class C state championship game at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.

The son of William and Deborah Tymoczko went on to become just the second non-Class A player to win the Fitzpatrick Trophy in the 34-year history of the award, given annually to the state’s top high school senior football player. He was the first Eastern Maine player to win the honor since 1997.

Bucksport High School also retired Tymoczko’s uniform No. 19 during ceremonies this winter.

Springfield went 8-2 last season, winning the ECAC North Atlantic championship after a third-place finish in its first year in the Empire 8 Conference. Interestingly, the Empire 8 has just seven football teams: Springfield, St. John Fisher, Ithaca, Alfred, Norwich, Utica, and Hartwick.

“Coach Delong was right up front with me,” said Tymoczko. “They went 8-2 last year, and he said he wasn’t satisfied with that.”

That’s because in 2003 the Pride had the first undefeated regular season in school history and was ranked sixth nationally while earning a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Springfield lost to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to finish with a 10-1 record.

The Pride is known for its rushing offense, having led all of NCAA Division III in that category three of the last five years. In 2000, Springfield became the first team in Division III history to rush for more than 4,000 yards in a season with a national record of 4,275 yards.

“They run a true triple option,” said the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Tymoczko. “It’s a great opportunity for me to get in there and run the football.”

Tymoczko, who battled plantar fasciitis during indoor track season, currently is gearing up for outdoor track. He helped Bucksport win the Class C state championship last spring.

‘A’ tourney attendance down a tick

Average attendance for the final Class A basketball tournament to be held at the Bangor Auditorium was down just slightly from a year ago, according to statistics compiled by Eastern A tournament director Norris Nickerson.

This year’s Eastern A tournament drew 6,139 students and 6,014 adults for a total of 12,153 spread over eight sessions – an average of 1,519 fans per session.

In addition, 3,928 fans attended the two single-game Class A state championship sessions, an average of 1,964.

That brought the total for the 10 Class A tournament sessions held at the Auditorium this year to 16,081, or 1,608 per session.

In 2004, Bangor hosted just the eight Eastern A tourney sessions while the state finals were played in Portland. A year ago, 13,010 attended the Eastern A games at Bangor, an average of 1,626 per session.

The Eastern A tournament is moving to the Augusta Civic Center next year, with the Class A state finals set to return to Portland.

State champs to tour schools

Members of the Class A state champion Hampden Academy boys basketball teams plan to share their message of success with elementary school pupils in SAD 22 during a tour of the schools on Thursday.

The purpose of the tour, according to Hampden Academy athletic director David Shapiro, “will be to share the import of scholarship, teamwork and goal setting” that were instrumental in the Broncos winning the school’s first state championship in boys basketball with a 59-49 victory over Deering of Portland at the Bangor Auditorium last Saturday.

The team is scheduled to visit Reeds Brook Middle School, McGraw Elementary School, and Weatherbee Elementary School in Hampden, Wagner Middle School and Smith Elementary School in Winterport, and Newburgh Elementary School.