It took 7 1/2 minutes for the Wells football team to get a first down in the Class D football state championship game Saturday against Foxcroft Academy.
But once Wells got going, it couldn’t be stopped on its way to a 48-0 victory at Fitzpatrick Stadium, giving the Warriors back-to-back state championships in two different classes.
“They stuffed us, they were tough,” Wells Coach Tim Roche said of his team’s first two offensive series. “We started to get – not nervous – but we started to question, do we need to make adjustments?”
But Wells (12-0) found its groove late in the first quarter and went on to gain 415 yards while holding Foxcroft (8-3) to just 136. Quarterback Michael Wrigley rushed for 68 yards and three touchdowns – all in the second quarter – and was 4 of 6 passing for 53 yards and a touchdown. Nolan Potter rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.
It was the 16th straight win for Wells, which won the Class C championship last year. Wells also owns two Class B titles, most recently in 2011.
Foxcroft got off to a strong start when Hyatt Smith returned the opening kickoff 29 yards. But the Ponies couldn’t capitalize on the good field position near midfield and punted it away.
Wells went three-and-out on its first two possessions.
“We came out with a game plan and, like always, you (have) to come out and adjust and see what they do,” Wrigley said. “We came out and adjusted, and then in the second quarter, we really had things clicking.”
Tyler Bridge grabbed momentum for Wells when he pulled down a deep pass for an interception – the first of four interceptions for the Warriors. Three big plays later, Wells was on the board. Wrigley and Potter broke loose for runs of 27 and 24 yards before Potter scored from 30 yards – driving through tackles and stumbling into the end zone – with 3:42 left in the first quarter.
“We have a great whole pass defense,” Bridge said. “The interceptions, the good defense, and then once we got going with Nolan, we just kept going.”
A minute later, Dylan Whitney blocked a punt to set Wells up on the Ponies’ 21. From there, Wrigley connected with Bridge for a 21-yard touchdown that gave Wells a 14-0 lead.
Potter rushed for 45 yards on two carries on the next Wells drive, which was capped by Wrigley’s 5-yard run on the first play of the second quarter.
Down 21-0, Foxcroft finally got its initial first down when Nick Clawson connected with Jeremy Richard on two short passes. Hyatt Smith then turned a short pass into a 30-yard gain, and the Ponies reached the 4 before they were backed up by a penalty. Christian Saulnier ended the threat with an interception.
“Some people think we are susceptible to the pass, and we don’t really want that reputation, so we work on it extra in practice,” Wrigley said. “Limit their weapons – that’s what we like to do.”
An 18-yard pass from Wrigley to Ethan Marsh on third-and-10 launched another Wells touchdown drive. The Warriors then kept it on the ground for 10 straight plays that covered 70 yards, with Wrigley scoring on a 6-yard run.
Wells then got the ball back with enough time to score again. Two big runs by Bridge, for 32 and 18 yards, set up Wrigley’s 18-yard TD run that made it 34-0.
Wells opened the second half with another scoring drive, ending with Potter’s second TD from 15 yards. Potter then snared Wells’ fourth interception on the next series, setting up Chad Fitzpatrick’s 1-yard run that completed the scoring.
After losing 19 seniors from a team that defeated Mt. Desert Island 44-0 in last year’s Class C final, Roche wasn’t sure what to expect from his team this season.
“When you lose 19, you’re not really expecting this,” Roche said. “It comes down to what these kids want to do. They’re just a hard-working group, and they wanted to win.”
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