WATERVILLE – Saturday’s loss to Hampden Academy was the third straight for the Waterville High football team, and it may go down as the most gut-wrenching of the season.
Down 14 points in the second half, Waterville was on the verge of tying it with 5:21 left. But Kyle Bishop’s extra-point kick went wide left and a turnover in Hampden’s territory with under two minutes left sealed a 21-20 loss in an Eastern Class B game.
“As a team, I’m proud of the way we fought back. But like I told them, we dug a hole,” Waterville Coach Frank Knight said.
The Panthers (3-4) will close the regular season Saturday at Winslow. Hampden (6-1) clinched a top-four seed in the playoffs.
With the score 7-7 at the half, Hampden scored on its first two possessions of the third quarter to make it 21-7. Logan Steward scored on a 60-yard run on the second play of the third quarter. Just over five minutes later, quarterback Jon Haws snuck in to the end zone from 2 yards.
Waterville answered with a nine-play, 64 yard drive, scoring on a 10-yard J.T. Whitten touchdown run, cutting Hampden’s lead to 21-14 with 2:56 left in the third quarter.
Waterville had a chance to tie the game early in the fourth, but Whitten fumbled at the Hampden 1. The Broncos recovered in the end zone for a touchback.
After forcing another Hampden punt, Waterville moved the ball again. Bishop’s 1-yard touchdown run on a quarterback keeper made the score 21-20, but the extra point went wide.
“We had a great drive that ended in a fumble, but we recovered from that. We had a great drive and just missed the PAT,” Knight said.
“It was just a series of things. The effort’s there. But little things that have to do with football, against a good team like Hampden, you’ve got to have your act together all the time, and it just didn’t happen.”
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