Balanced Ponies top Rockland

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DOVER-FOXCROFT – There are lots of ways to analyze statistics and there were plenty to analyze in Friday’s LTC season-opening football game between Foxcroft Academy and Rockland.

The visiting Rockland Tigers had a 100-yards-plus rusher and passer, while the defending Eastern Maine Class C champions had neither.

What Foxcroft did have was a dominant effort from its offensive and defensive lines. That may help to explain the Ponies’ resounding 42-14 victory.

Foxcroft’s offensive line of center Tim Nason, tackles Shaw Weeks and Bill Macomber and guards Adam Dow and Adam LePrevost owned the line of scrimmage and paved the way for a Ponies rushing attack that averaged a whopping 7.8 yards per carry.

“They were doing an unbelievable job. The holes were huge,” said junior halfback Shane Adkins, who led the Ponies’ express with 85 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. “Our line just executed extremely well.”

The Ponies’ dominance up front offset solid efforts by Rockland tailback Mike Marsh (160 yards and one TD on 25 carries) and quarterback Andrew Weiss (122 yards passing).

“We don’t care about statistics, especially individual ones,” said Rockland coach Daryle Weiss. “They capitalized on the mistakes we made and they out-toughed us and we didn’t block.”

That’s not to say the Ponies didn’t tally a few impressive stats of their own. They were just of the team variety and not the individual. Foxcroft piled up 396 yards rushing with 10 different ball carriers combining for 51 carries, and the Ponies had 23 first downs to Rockland’s 16.

The Ponies also harassed Andrew Weiss, thereby harrying and hurrying Rockland’s hurry-up offense into several miscues and mistakes.

“We really had to contain Weiss and we knew he’d throw a lot so we had the outside linebackers drop back into [coverage] like cornerbacks, have the ends contain, and get a lot of pressure from the defensive tackles,” Macomber said. “I think we forced them into making some bad decisions.”

Like when the Tigers fumbled a handoff on second-and-3 from the FA 20 late in the first quarter with the score just 6-0 Ponies. Foxcroft’s Mike Winkler recovered and the Ponies scored six plays later and never looked back.

Weiss was pressured all game long as he completed just 10 of 28 passes, fumbled the ball once, was sacked four times, and intercepted once.

The Ponies’ defense even stiffened when it could have afforded not to, keeping Rockland out of the end zone on first-and-goal from the FA 1 with a deflection of a pass that would have gone for a touchdown and three tackles for no gain on run plays just before the half with FA leading 28-0.

“Our goal line stand before halftime was really big, but I thought a real key in the game was the turnover they had on a handoff when they were down deep in our territory,” said Ponies coach Paul Withee. “Then we came back and scored after recovering the fumble.”

“It could have been a close game, but it wasn’t,” Weiss said. “We’ll see them again in the playoffs. I’m not backing off that statement at all.”

PONIES 42, TIGERS 14

Rockland 0 0 0 14 – 14

Foxcroft 6 22 0 14 – 42

F – Frasz 19 run (kick failed)

F – Adkins 17 run (Bellemare kick)

F – Bellemare 1 run (White pass to Winkler)

F – Bellemare 17 run (Bellemare kick)

F – Imbert 3 run (Bellemare kick)

R – Elwell 2 run (Weiss pass to Elwell)

F – Frasz 83 kickoff return (Bellemare kick)

R – Marsh 1 run (no attempt)

Rockland Foxcroft

First downs 16 23

Rushing att.-yards 46-151 51-396

Passing comp.-att. 10-28 3-6

Passing yards 122 49

Total yards 273 445

Punts-avg. 5-22.0 1-30.0

Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-1

Intercepted by 0 1

Penalties-yards 4-40 4-33

Rushing

Rockland: Marsh 25-160, Elwell 6-7, Tripp 1-6, Weiss 14-(-22); Foxcroft: Adkins 9-85, Frasz 6-64, Bellemare 9-61, Provost 5-53, White 4-43, Imbert 7-31, Witham 5-29, Rideout 4-26, Hanson 1-4, Champeon 1-0

Passing

Rockland: Weiss 10-28-1-122; Foxcroft: White 3-6-0-49

Receiving

Rockland: Boynton 1-32, Elwell 3-30, Marsh 2-25, Baudanza 1-24, Sanford 1-10, Tripp 2-9; Foxcroft: Provost 2-29, Imbert 1-20

A-450 (est.)