DOVER-FOXCROFT – Foxcroft Academy’s first two games of the 2005 LTC football season were marked by slow starts and strong finishes.

In their Week 3 clash against Bucksport at Oakes Field on Friday night, the Ponies’ start was so strong, their strong finish was merely an exclamation point on an 49-16 victory.

Foxcroft amassed 455 yards of total offense, a performance so dominant the Ponies didn’t have to punt until the fourth quarter – and by that time they had built a 26-point lead and the reserves were on the field.

Foxcroft built a 21-8 halftime lead through the air, with senior quarterback Logan Forrest completing all six passes he attempted for 141 yards and touchdown passes for 10 yards to fullback James McPhee and 24 yards to wideout Jon Catell.

The Ponies then went to the run, grinding out 229 of their 314 rushing yards after intermission.

“They couldn’t stop us,” said Forrest. “Our running and passing games both worked. We had so many key players they couldn’t stop all of us.”

Senior tailback Joey Caparrelli rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, while McPhee had 88 yards and a rushing TD on 11 tries as well as some bruising lead blocks. Brad Bellemare contributed 55 yards on three carries as well as six extra-point kicks, while Shayne Adkins had a 4-yard scoring run and a 56-yard punt return that accounted for Foxcroft’s final TD of the night.

Foxcroft’s rushing success was grounded in line play featuring tackles Josh Pelletier and Bill Macomber, center Tim Nason and guards David White and Adam Dow.

“When we came out throwing they had to loosen up their defense a little, and then when we started running they didn’t know what to expect,” said Caparrelli.

Foxcroft’s defense limited Bucksport to 139 total yards and seven first downs.

“I just think because of our youth we’ve been a little passive, especially on the defensive side, where we were sitting back and not being very aggressive,” said Foxcroft coach Paul Withee of his team’s first-half play in an opening-night loss at Rockland and a win last week against Livermore Falls. “But the second half last weekend we really got after it, and I think something clicked.”

A 37-yard pass from Forrest to Catell set up the game’s first score, Forrest’s pass to an open McPhee in the left flat 6:09 in the game. But Bucksport capitalized on a Foxcroft fumble to drive 20 yards to take an 8-7 lead 11 seconds into the second quarter, as quarterback Chris Maguire scored on a 3-yard sweep and then rushed for the two-point conversion.

It took Foxcroft just 81 seconds to respond, with a 4-yard TD run by Adkins preceded by a 45-yard pass from Forrest to Shayne Croan. A 31-yard run by Caparrelli set up the Ponies’ final score of the half, a 24-yard Forrest-to-Catell connection with seven minutes left.

From there, Bucksport was left to play a futile game of catchup in this rematch of the 2004 Eastern C final won by the Golden Bucks en route to the state title.

“They played very well,” said Bucksport coach Joel Sankey of Foxcroft. “They executed well, threw the ball well and ran well. We had no answers.”

Caparrelli scored from 9 yards out on FA’s first possession of the second half, but a 50-yard pass from Maguire to Adam Tweedie helped Bucksport pull within 28-16 on a 4-yard run by Joe Robicheau (17 carries, 68 yards).

A pass interception by Chris Gray then gave Bucksport the ball near midfield, but the Golden Bucks couldn’t earn a first down as Maguire was sidelined by cramps after a third-down run and they came up two yards short on fourth-and-3 from the FA 47.

McPhee scored from 6 yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 35-16. The Ponies’ John MacFarlane recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Caparrelli scored from 29 yards out on the next play to put the game away.

PONIES 49, GOLDEN BUCKS 16

Bucksport (1-2) 0 8 8 0 – 16

Foxcroft (2-1) 7 14 7 21 – 49

F-McPhee 10 pass from Forrest (Bellemare kick)

B-Maguire 3 run (Maguire rush)

F-Adkins 4 run (Bellemare kick)

F-Catell 24 pass from Forrest (Bellemare kick)

F-Caparelli 9 run (Bellemare kick)

B-Robicheau 4 run (Tweedie pass from Maguire)

F-McPhee 6 run (Bellemare kick)

F-Caparelli 29 run (Bellemare kick)

F-Adkins 56 punt return (Caparelli kick)

Bucksport Foxcroft

First downs 7 21

Rushing att.-yards 34-87 43-314

Passing comp.-att. 2-9 6-10

Passing yards 52 141

Total yards 139 455

Punts-avg. 7-31.0 1-41

Fumbles-lost 3-1 3-2

Intercepted by 1 0

Penalties-yards 6-40 5-28

Rushing

Bucksport: Robicheau 17-68, Maguire 5-9, Allison 2-5, Gellerson 3-2, Eaton 4-2, Fish 1-1, Hopkins 2-0; Foxcroft: Caparelli 13-141, McPhee 11-88, Bellemare 3-55, Rideout 5-23, Adkins 5-8, Provost 2-7, Hanson 1-5, Witham 1-4, Forrest 1-(minus-7), Croan 1-(minus-10)

Passing

Bucksport: Maguire 2-8-0-52, Fish 0-1-0-0; Foxcroft: Forrest 6-9-1-141, Steinke 0-1-0-0

Receiving

Bucksport: Tweedie 1-50, Freeman 1-2; Foxcroft: Catell 2-61, Croan 2-50, McPhee 2-30

A-500 (est.)