Last year’s close call motivating Ponies FA seniors seeking coveted gold ball

DOVER-FOXCROFT – Their final offensive play of the 2005 Class C state championship game forever will be etched in the minds of the Foxcroft Academy football players.

Facing fourth-and-goal from the Lisbon 4-yard-line, the Ponies attempted a pass into the end zone, only to have it tipped away with 13.4 seconds left – enabling the Greyhounds to escape with a gut-wrenching 12-7 victory.

“I remember cut-blocking a kid because he was quick, and I was on top of the guy on the ground and I remember watching [quarterback] Logan [Forrest] throw the ball,” said Foxcroft senior David White, who played offensive guard in that game. “But after that I didn’t want to watch anymore. I just laid my head down and listened, and it was a horrible feeling.

“Ever since that moment I’ve been like, ‘We’ve got to go back. I have to be back this year.’ That’s been our goal the whole time, and now we’ve made it.”

Indeed the Ponies are back, for the fourth time in five years in the state final, and for the third time in four years against Lisbon. Those schools will meet for the 2006 state title at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.

Foxcroft won its 2003 state final against Lisbon 26-20, but its 2004 and 2005 seasons ended with great accomplishments muted by considerable heartbreak.

The Ponies fell to Bucksport 26-25 in the 2004 Eastern Maine championship game after coming up just short on a two-point conversion with 38 seconds left.

And last fall, they battled Lisbon in another game that came down to the last minute.

“Our sophomore year we like to say we were two inches short, and our junior year we were two feet short. We’ve used that a lot in inspirational speeches this year,” said senior Shaw Weeks, a linebacker and offensive lineman.

The inspiration gleaned from those narrow misses has transcended speeches, particularly in the team’s dedication to off-season training.

During the summer, for example, players routinely got together at least three mornings a week to work on conditioning.

“Most of these kids have played three or four years for me and have been through the paces and have had a taste of winning championships,” said Foxcroft coach Paul Withee. “I don’t know if they really needed a lot of motivation. The fact they played there last year, the fact that they realized they needed to work really hard during the off-season to get better, more kids that bought into that philosophy this year.

“Maybe the fact we lost that close game last year and had so many kids back got them going in the off-season. I don’t really know if they needed any more motivation, but they really took the bull by the horns.”

Many of the players recognized an immediate impact from their off-season regimen, even as practices began in mid-August.

“We seemed stronger, faster, and in better shape,” said Ian Imbert, a senior fullback and linebacker. “Double sessions didn’t seem as hard this year.”

That foundation built in June and July continues to serve the Ponies well months later, and not just in a physical sense.

“We’re probably more united this year,” said Weeks. “We’ve done so much work in the off-season, countless hours of workouts and running and everything. We’re tried to build our team around working out together.”

The Ponies haven’t lost since last year’s state final and will take an 11-0 record into Saturday’s game.

Now a senior class that is 42-4 representing Foxcroft on the gridiron would like to end its high school experience as it began – as a state champion.

“Our freshman year we went 12–0 and had a state championship season,” said senior lineman Adam Dow, a fourth-generation Pony. “I know that all I’ve wanted since then was for it to happen again. This is our chance to go 12-0 again.”