ORONO — Knowing that this was going to be the last time he would put on a Wells High football jersey, senior halfback Tyler Bridge wanted to do something memorable.
And in a command performance, Bridge lifted the Warriors to another football state championship.
Bridge rushed for 206 yards and five touchdowns, and threw a touchdown pass as Wells defeated Foxcroft Academy 55-20 for the Class D title Saturday night at Alfond Stadium.
It was Wells 28th consecutive victory and third consecutive state championship, including a 48-0 win over the Ponies last year. Wells also won the Class C title in 2016. Wells finished 12-0 while the Ponies finished 10-1.
“It’s crazy,” said Bridge. “I don’t know any other words to describe it. It’s just crazy.”
“It means a lot to us,” said senior lineman Morgan Welch-Thompson. “We worked so hard for it all season long, lifting and running. We just deserve it.”
Payton MacKay rushed for 171 yards and scored two touchdowns. He caught Bridge’s touchdown pass, a 42-yarder in the second quarter that made it 26-0.
Wells scored the game’s first 34 points.
“They’re the three-time champs for a reason,” said Foxcroft Coach Danny White. “They’re very good across the board. We knew we had to be very good and they were better. They’re as good as we’ve seen and maybe as good as I’ve ever seen two years in a row.”
It was a close game for one quarter. Wells struggled early, leading just 7-0 after one. But then the Warriors scored three touchdowns in a span of 3:27 at the start of the second quarter to break it open.
Bridge scored on a 1-yard run with 11:14 left in the second, set up by a 38-yard run by MacKay.
After forcing a Foxcroft punt, the Warriors struck again on a 58-yard run by Bridge down the right sideline. That made it 20-0 with 8:29 left in the second.
Then Brian Roberts intercepted a Matt Spooner pass and Wells had the ball at the Ponies’ 42. On first down, Bridge took a handoff but pulled up and threw a long pass to MacKay, who shook off a tackle at the 5 and went in to make it 26-0 with 7:57 left in the second.
“I thought we struggled trying to figure out what we wanted to do,” said Wells Coach Tim Roche. “Then we made a slight adjustment, either by an assistant coach or the kids, I don’t remember – take the wing and block him down on the end instead of the tight end trying to take the end – then, bang, Tyler is gone. And we just figured it out from there.”
And the touchdowns kept coming. Bridge scored his third touchdown on a 60-yard run to make it 34-0 with 3:13 left in the half.
Devin Chace scored on a 21-yard run in the third quarter, then Bridge scored on runs of 32 and 4 in the fourth.
“Our offensive line (Dylan Whitney, Nate Curtis, Welch-Thompson, Cam Barker and Matt Ouellette) doesn’t get enough credit,” said Roche. “When you rush for 4,000-something yards, you have to have a decent offensive line. We do. We’ve got kids who want to go out and smack you. I thought we took it to them.”
And won another championship.
“Wow, it’s awesome,” said Roche, watching as his players celebrated with their fans. “We have the support of the community, we have the people around us … I’m at a loss for words, which doesn’t happen very often.”
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