Defensive depth propels Ponies to ‘C’ final

DOVER-FOXCROFT – Look at the list of the top 10 tacklers in this year’s final LTC Class C statistics, and there’s not a Foxcroft Academy player to be found.

It’s a classic example of how statistics tell none of the story and much of the story at the same time.

For while Foxcroft may not be represented among the league’s most prolific individual tacklers, the Ponies led the conference in nearly all team defensive categories, particularly total defense and scoring defense.

And Foxcroft’s tackles are spread out among more defenders than any other team in the LTC – suggesting a different brand of power in numbers.

“Depth is our key,” said senior outside linebacker Mike Winkler, who with the rest of the top-ranked Ponies hosts No. 3 Mattanawcook Academy on Saturday afternoon for the Eastern Maine Class C championship. “We have a lot of good players, and a lot of depth on our defense and our offense, and that’s what been a key to our success. We’re all rested up, and we play all 48 minutes.”

Foxcroft’s first-team defense has allowed just six touchdowns this fall, a primary reason the 10-0 Ponies rank as one of just five remaining unbeaten teams statewide – along with Class A Lawrence of Fairfield, Class B Gardiner and Mountain Valley of Rumford, and defending Class C state champion Lisbon.

“We’ve got a lot of speed on defense, and we’re pretty disciplined,” said senior safety Brad Bellemare, who did rank among the LTC’s top 10 tacklers before being sidelined with a shoulder injury late in the regular season. “We stay at home, but we swarm, we attack the ball.”

Foxcroft runs a 4-4 defense, with Bill Macomber, Tim Nason, Adam Dow and Evan Worthing up front, David Frasz, Shaw Weeks, Ian Imbert and Winkler at linebacker and Bellemare, Shane Adkins and David Farrar in the secondary.

“Our philosophy is a gap responsibility defense, and everyone is responsible for their gap and to get there,” said Foxcroft coach Paul Withee. “We have very good athletes, which makes it easier to do that, but with so much depth and the ability of a lot of different players, if one kid’s not playing very well and someone else is doing a much better job, we can make changes.

“We try to get kids in situations and positions that utilize their abilities the best.”

That philosophy is not confined to the starters, as Foxcroft typically rotates 18 to 20 players into the 11 defensive positions.

“We’re able to be very diverse,” said Withee. “We can go to a pass defense and bring in three or four kids, or I can go to a goal-line defense and bring in three or four more different-size kids.”

Perhaps the biggest adjustment from a year ago, when Foxcroft won its third EM title in the last four years, was replacing graduated inside linebackers Josh Pelletier and James McPhee, both all-conference performers.

But in Weeks – an all-LTC defensive end last year – and fellow converted end Imbert, the Ponies have found solid replacements that give the defense good size and aggression at an area of the defense where many tackles are made.

“They really have made the transformation tremendously,” said Withee, who also credited junior linebacker Ben Provost for helping Weeks and Imbert make their transitions. “We’ve seen such improvement in their play from week to week. At the beginning of the season, you’d look at them and they sometimes would shuffle and not really get into the hole where they needed to be, or pursue the football at the right angles or overpursue. But it’s a process that takes a long time, and they’ve really come along.”

Withee also cites improved pass defense since the start of the season, but the Ponies believe there’s always room to get even better.

“Just flying to the ball, being quicker and making the plays behind the line,” said Nason. “We’ve been doing a lot of catching at the line, and the next step is to stop them behind the line.”

If they take that next step this weekend, it could earn the Ponies yet another trip to Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland, site of the state championship game.

“Our overall defense has gotten better each week,” said Withee, “and our overall objective has always been to improve upon our play from the previous week to where we’re peaking hopefully on Nov. 18.”