Some high school football programs have to wait decades for a chance to compete in a state championship game.
That’s certainly not the case for Wells High School as the Warriors have made the trip to the Gold Ball game an annual occurrence in recent years — and this season is no different.
The Class D South champions from Wells (11-0) will head to the University of Maine in Orono tonight to take on the North champs from Foxcroft Academy (10-0). A win at Morse Field would give the Warriors their 28th straight victory and their third state championship in a row.
The Warriors, who rolled to a 48-0 win over Foxcroft in the 2017 title game, have made sure the distractions that come with state week didn’t hinder their preparation.
“We learned from the past seniors how to deal with the adversity and all the outside distractions during the week,” said senior Tyler Bridge, who has tried to help the younger players this week. “We all say just to stay focused and give it your all for two or three hours every day, just dedicated to football.”
“Obviously there’s a lot of distractions this week,” said sophomore linebacker Jonah Potter. “(The seniors have) just been saying you’ve got to keep your eyes on the prize. Keep looking forward and play the game like it’s any other game.”
Longtime Wells head coach Tim Roche was focused on keeping this week’s practice schedule the same as every other week of the season.
“I hate to say it because it’s just coach speak I guess, but we’ve said from August 14 to now, we’re going to do the same thing every week and we do,” Roche said. “We have the same kind of schedule for everybody. We try not to change anything. It was nice Biddeford offered us to practice on their field if we wanted to, but I just believe in trying to keep things the same so it doesn’t seem any different. It’s important for them to have a routine that they stick to and I think they’ve pretty much done that the whole year.”
The Warriors have been putting up huge offensive numbers all season — led by Bridge’s 2,132 rushing yards and 37 scores — but they have really started clicking in recent weeks. The added firepower has come from junior Payton MacKay, who was moved into the fullback spot back in the last week of the regular season.
MacKay, who ran for 269 yards and three touchdowns in the regional final, has made sure opposing defenses can’t just focus on stopping Bridge.
“They made a move to put me at fullback because of an injury and the line has just been doing their job and I’m seeing the holes,” said MacKay, who is enjoying the expanded role. “I love it. It’s a lot better, but whatever helps the team win.”
“It’s tough to stop us with both of them going,” said Roche, who knows now he probably should have given MacKay a shot earlier in the year. “Dumb coaching, right? Where has he been for the first (seven weeks)? When (fullback Matt) Tufts went down, Tufts and Jonah (Potter) were splitting time at fullback and I just didn’t want to give Jonah the full load. I didn’t know Payton would be as good as he was. I knew he was good and I knew he was next year’s feature back, but not as good as he was.”
The Warriors know they will be in for a fight tonight — especially when it comes to stopping Foxcroft’s talented offense.
“They’re fast. They have a lot of good team speed and that’s tough to defend sometimes — speed kills, you know what I mean. We look at ways to stop them from getting outside and doing some things,” said Roche.
“They’re a great team. You just have to read your keys, play smart and hopefully we can stop that offense,” added Potter.
One thing that will be different for the Warriors this year is the location of the championship game. Wells won the last two titles at Portland’s Fitzpatrick Stadium and this year’s contest will be another two-plus hours north.
“It’s a longer drive. It’s going to take a little bit of a toll on us, but I think it’s going to be awesome playing on that turf and experience that,” said senior lineman Morgan Welch-Thompson.
Despite the longer drive, the Warriors are expecting to see a sea of Warrior red in Orono.
“I hope they all come. I know it’s a ride, I get it, but for the most part our people show up. I remember last year in Bangor for both baseball and basketball, we had giant crowds compared to other schools,” said Roche. “I fully expect our fans to come because they love this and love what we do. They are big time supporters. If we need something they are there for us … or if we just need them to cheer us on, they are always there for us.”
Fans of Wells sports have become used to celebrating championships — from the football and wrestling squads capturing state gold to the baseball and basketball teams winning regional crowns — and this group of Warriors wants to continue that streak.
“It would be pretty special to win three in a row. It’s crazy how successful Wells is. People always tell us that we don’t even realize how crazy it is to go to this many state finals — not only football, but other sports,” said Bridge.
“The (goal) is to just go out there and take the Gold Ball … it’s trophy season,” added Welch-Thompson.
— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 780-9017. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.