Foxcroft Academy Sports Update: Football wins 62-16, Field hockey still undefeated, Bozzelli qualifies for golf state championship

football sports update (fullish)

Full-team effort leads Football to 62-16 win in front of Homecoming crowd

Foxcroft Academy Homecoming week came to a close Friday night under the lights of Oakes Field as the Pony football team took on the Hermon Hawks in the week’s culminating event. The Foxcroft football team did not disappoint, stifling Hermon’s offense and exploding for 62 points.

During a week when school spirit and teamwork were emphasized, the Foxcroft football team put Pony pride, team unity, and unselfishness on display as 8 players contributed points, and more than 20 players registered a tackle during the team’s dominant win.

Brandon Brock rushed for two touchdowns on three attempts, Nick Clawson added rushing and passing scores, Zach Caron rushed for a touchdown and returned a punt for a score, Nick Dyer caught a 17-yard touchdown reception, David Salley rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown, Joe Villavicencio returned a punt 48 yards to the house, Matt Spooner punched the ball into the end zone for 6, and Nate Church converted 8 of 9 extra points for the Ponies.

Defensive contributions were just as balanced for Foxcroft as 22 Ponies tallied a tackle in a relentless defensive showing that limited the Hermon Hawks to less than 200 yards.

Brandon Brock led the Pony defense once again with 10 tackles. Tanner Strout was also formidable, registering 6 tackles and 2 sacks. Billy Brock, James Smith, and David Salley also tallied 5 tackles on the night, and freshman Jeremy Richard had his first career interception.

“It was good for many of our guys, who have been putting in the work, to have the opportunity to play under the lights in a varsity game and have success,” said Coach White, who emphasized the great number of players that contributed to the Homecoming win Friday night.

The Ponies’ next test will be Saturday, October 10, in Winslow at 1 pm.

Click here to see more of Angelina Buzzelli and Ali Desmarais’ great photos from Friday night.

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Field hockey wins two more, now 11-0

The Foxcroft field hockey team kicked off homecoming week with a 2-0 win over Central High School. Alli Bourget got the Ponies on the scoreboard in the first half with a strike assisted by Becca Anderson, and Abbi Bourget extended the lead in the second half with a goal assisted by Jillian Annis.

Alli Bourget was instrumental once again for the Ponies when they faced Mattanawcook in Lincoln on Friday. The Ponies won 3-0 thanks to three Alli Bourget goals. Alli’s hat trick on Friday was her second of the season.

Alli and Abbi Bourget have been linchpins in the Pony offense all season, but Coach Smith was especially impressed by the play of her defense over the last week. “Our defense has been very tough,” said Coach Smith, who emphasized Avery Carroll’s leadership in the back line and the strong contributions of Becca Anderson, Lexi Raymond, Cailin Seavey, and goalie Madison Chadbourne.

The Ponies are now 11-0 but have a tough road ahead as they face off against rival Dexter at home on Wednesday, Orono at home on Saturday, and 8-2 Old Town next Wednesday.

“We have some tough match-ups in the next three games,” said Coach Smith. “There will be no room for mediocre play. They know it, and I think they are up for the challenge!”

Click here to see more of Kirio Yu and Ali Desmarais’ great photos from the game against Central.

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Boys soccer demonstrates powerful offense in game against John Bapst and stout defense in game against Presque Isle

Senior Antonio Ayala entered his final Homecoming boys soccer game against John Bapst with ferocity, scoring Foxcroft’s first goal 8 minutes into the game and assisting the Ponies’ next two goals to lead Foxcroft to a 3-0 start. Nate Church added a fourth goal to give FA a 4-1 advantage at half.

The second half began, and Ayala was not done, scoring and assisting again. Ayala’s 2 goal, 3 assist effort made for a memorable final homecoming game and a 8-5 Pony victory. Church added another goal, and Ryan Cary, Tobias Hogfeldt (2 goals), and Chandler Rockwell rounded out the scoring.

For their second game of the week, the boys soccer team travelled to Presque Isle to face the team they dramatically beat in the final 30 seconds of double overtime earlier this season.

The teams were evenly matched once again. At half, both teams had six shots on goal, but the score remained tied 0-0. The Foxcroft attack was limited in the second half, and Presque Isle came out shooting. The Foxcroft back line stayed true, however, forcing Presque Isle to settle for outside shots. Things looked dire when Presque Isle drew a penalty kick late in the second half, but the Wildcat player was unable to convert on goalie Logan Butera, and ultimately, the teams battled to a 0-0 tie.

“We were very lucky to come out of there with a tie today,” said Coach Ayala. “We did not play our best offensive game, but our defense stepped up and saved the day for us. Logan Butera, Josh Reed, Nate Church, Cooper Nelson, Cameron Plourde, and Dylan Harmon-Weeks all deserve a game ball for their outstanding efforts today!”

At the midpoint of the season, the boys soccer team is 7-1-1 and is 7th-ranked in Class B North. Tobias Hogfeldt leads the team with 14 goals and 7 assists. Nate Church (11 goals, 6 assists), Chandler Rockwell (7 goals), and Antonio Ayala (3 goals, 8 assists) also lead the Pony offense.

Next on the schedule, the boys soccer team will travel to PCHS on Thursday and Dexter on Saturday.

Erika Chadbourne and Camille Bozzelli braved the rain to take photos of the John Bapst game. Click here to see more.

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Golf team shoots season best at Hermon, Racquel Bozzelli qualifies for State Tournament

The Foxcroft golf team travelled to Hermon Meadows Golf Course on Monday for their final regular-season match of the season. It was their best. Akira Tanabe (41) and Michael Wang (45) both shot career bests, and Henry Chase (46) and Racquel Bozzelli (52) also had outstanding scores. The team’s combined 184 strokes was their best of the season.

After their great performance in Hermon, Coach Peter Caruso’s team looked sharp heading into the PVC Championship match at Jato Highlands Golf Course in Lincoln, and the Ponies did not disappoint, finishing a solid 4th.

While the team’s 4th-place finish was one spot out of qualifying for states, Racquel Bozzelli’s great individual score was among the best girl scores in the Penquis Valley Conference. Her score of was well under the 110 stroke cutoff for 18 holes, qualifying her for the Girls Individual State Tournament, punctuating a great season for the senior Pony.

Bozzelli will travel to Natanis Golf Club in Vasselboro on October 17, to tee off with the state’s best.

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Cross country runs well at Festival of Champions

10 Foxcroft runners were among 1446 runners–from Canada, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and 67 Maine schools–who converged at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast for the Festival of Champions cross country meet on Saturday, October 3.

“You can enter a meet of this size two ways,” said Coach Pearsall. “You can either be intimidated, or you can be excited. We entered with excitement, and it showed.”

Jen Clawson led the Pony girls team, placing 94th out 623 runners in a time of 21:22. Virginia Macomber (27:07) was 478th, and Su Kim (28:24) was 537th.

In the boys race, Gabe Piquette led the way for the Ponies, running an outstanding 18:24 for 120th place out of 823 runners. Nick Daneman was also impressive for the boys, running 19:40 in the Freshman race and 283rd overall. Liam Casey (19:53) for 326th, Hunter Giacomuzzi (20:43) for 421st, and Ethan Poland (21:32) for 519th made up the scorers for the shorthanded Ponies that still managed to place 49th out of more than 70 teams.

“Our team faced some of the best competition in New England and held its own,” said Coach Pearsall. “We got out hard, put ourselves in a position to do well early, and gutted it out for some really good times and places. I was very impressed. Good things are coming.”

The cross country team will travel to Orono on Friday for the 4-kilometer Riot Challenge.

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Girls soccer still in playoff hunt

Sickness and injuries slowed the girls soccer team last week in contests against John Bapst and Presque Isle, but Coach Wesley remains optimistic heading forward. “The team is still in the playoff race,” said Wesley. “We have two big games at the end of this week at PCHS on Friday and at Dexter on Saturday, which will go a long way towards determining the end of our season. I have total belief that we can turn it around and get back on the winning side.”

Coach Wesley attributes “flat starts” to many of the team’s woes and will look for his team to come out with more energy and determination in their next games. He is impressed by the team’s ability to “turn it up” in the second halves of games and fight hard to the end, but he realizes that many times the tempo and outcome of a game are determined in the first minutes of a contest, so he and his squad will look to start their game at PCHS with fire.

The game in PCHS on Friday begins at 4 pm, and their game in Dexter is set to start at 9 am.

Click here to see more of Nick Phan’s great photos from the John Bapst game.

Toby Nelson

About Toby Nelson

I am the Director of Communications at Foxcroft Academy.