WELLS — After winning the Class C state title last season, the Wells football team will have a chance to take home the Class D Gold Ball as it cruised to a 34-12 win over visiting Madison/Carrabec in the Class D South final on Saturday.

The two teams met earlier this season, and the Bulldogs jumped out to a big lead early on. However, the Warriors stormed back in the second half to complete the comeback.

Things were different this time around, as Wells quickly jumped ahead 14-0 at half on two Nolan Potter touchdown runs in the second quarter to set the tone early.

“We made some mistakes early (the first time) that were hard to come back from so we wanted to make sure we took them right from the beginning and just kept pounding,” said Potter after the win.

Things got off to a shaky start in the third quarter, as the Warriors turned the ball over by fumbling the opening kickoff. The Bulldogs took advantage moments later when Sean Whalen hauled in a 47-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-6.

Wells stayed with it, and Tyler Bridge scored from eight yards out before the end of the third to make it 21-6 heading into the fourth. Potter would rush for his third touchdown in the opening minute of the fourth to make it 28-6 and to put the Bulldogs in a hole late.

Madison/Carrabec’s Eric Wescott would grab a 1-yard pass with 5:50 remaining to make it 28-12, but Potter scored once again to finish off the Bulldogs and secure the 34-12 win.

Saturday’s victory was a typical Wells win, which included the ground and pound on offense and playing tight defense. Potter finished with 138 yards on the ground to go with Bridge’s 90.

“The biggest thing was coming out and eliminating the big plays,” said Wells quarterback Michael Wrigley, who also added an interception on defense in the third quarter. “As for our gameplan, (Wells) Coach (Tim) Roche doesn’t like to change things up, so we wanted to run our stuff and bring it to them.”

“We make minor adjustments week to week but in general this is what we do, this is Warriors football. We go after them, we run the ball and play good defense and it shows, it worked out,” added Potter.

Roche was proud of his team’s effort, and was impressed with his players considering the team lost 19 seniors from the season before.

“I was in tears at the end of the game because these kids believed. We lose 19 kids, are you kidding me? For them to put in the work to make sure that we got back to where we are, that’s unreal,” said Roche. “Our kids are so tough, you can make all the adjustments in the world and you can scheme all you want but at the end of the day it comes down to who’s going to block and tackle better and that’s what we did.”

The Warriors will move on to face Class D North champ Foxcroft Academy on Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium. Potter feels that experience will be key for the Warriors heading into the final.

“I felt like we could do it from the beginning. This is a really tight group of kids and I knew we could do it,” said Potter. “It’s going to be a tough game but we’ve been there before which is an advantage for us. We were just in it last year so we know the feeling and the nerves, we know how to handle ourselves.”

— Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller can be reached at [email protected] or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.