BOX SCORE

Wells 35 Freeport 28

W- 6 8 14 7- 35
F- 6 8 7 7- 28

First quarter
F- White 23 pass from Heath (kick failed)
W- Whitten 10 run (rush failed)

Second quarter
W- Whitten 3 run (Brickett rush)
F- Knighton 80 run (White rush)

Third quarter
W- Buxton 9 run (Lewinski kick)
W- DeMauro 7 interception return (Lewinski kick)
F- Knighton 2 run (Graver kick)

Fourth quarter
W- Brickett 3 run (Lewinski kick)
F- DeLois 10 run (Graver kick)

FREEPORT—At the conclusion of Saturday evening’s contest, you had to take a second glance at the scoreboard to make sure who won and who last.

That’s because the host Freeport Falcons left the turf acting like they were victorious, while the visiting Wells Warriors carried themselves as if they’d fallen short.

It was Bizzaro Evening at the Joan Benoit Samuelson Track and Field and the one thing for certain was that everyone on hand for this instant classic was the ultimate winner.

Freeport, a Class D contender, punching up in class on this evening, drew first blood when senior quarterback Aidan Heath connected with classmate Nick White for a 23-yard touchdown pass and a quick 6-0 lead.

But Wells, a longtime Class C contender, coming off an inspirational victory over reigning state champion Cape Elizabeth last weekend, used its huge size advantage to counter, pulling even on a 10-yard TD run from junior Conner Whitten, making the score 6-6 after one quarter.

In the second period, it appeared that the Warriors were on the brink of taking over, as Whitten scored again, from 3-yards out, and senior Griffin Brickett added the two-point conversion rush.

But with just seconds remaining before the break, Falcons senior standout Jordan Knighton electrified the huge crowd by racing 80-yards for a score and a two-point White conversion rush produced an improbable 14-14 tie.

Wells again threatened to pull away in the third quarter, as sophomore Dominic Buxton scored on a 9-yard run, then senior Sam DeMauro returned a deflected pass 7-yards to paydirt to make it 28-14.

But again, Freeport refused to buckle and late in the frame, Knighton scored on a 2-yard run to cut the Warriors’ lead to just seven heading for the fourth period.

There, Brickett pushed the lead back to two scores with a 3-yard TD run, but the Falcons rose off the deck once more, getting a 10-yard touchdown run from junior Cooper DeLois.

When Freeport managed, for one of the few times on the night, to get a defensive stop, it had an opportunity to tie or win late and the Falcons drove all the way to the Warriors’ 7 with just seconds remaining.

But Cinderella would not be fitted with a glass slipper on this evening, as Wells’ defense came up huge with the game on the line and the Warriors escaped with a palpitating 35-28 victory.

Wells improved to 3-0 on the season and in the process, dropped valiant Freeport to 2-1, even if you might have thought otherwise after the final horn.

“I looked at the kids after the game and I felt like we lost, but I told them, ‘We’re 3-0 now and enjoy the fact you won,'” said longtime Warriors coach Tim Roche.

“It was a fun game, wasn’t it?” said Falcons coach Paul St. Pierre. “Sometimes when you win, you lose and sometimes when you lose, you really win. We fought hard all game.”

Litmus test

Freeport, a state semifinalist in 2021, roared out of the gate this fall, beating visiting Lisbon (35-22) and host Madison (63-12).

Wells, meanwhile, opened with a 35-13 win at Westbrook, then avenged a 69-0 loss from last year with a dramatic 28-21 home victory over reigning Class C champion Cape Elizabeth last weekend.

The teams didn’t meet a year ago and hadn’t squared off since a 53-0 Warriors victory back on Sept. 9, 2016.

Saturday, on a comfortable mid-September evening (61 degrees at kickoff), the score was much, much closer, but Wells did just enough to prevail again.

The Falcons let everyone know from the get-go that they were going to be in the game, when they took the opening kickoff, started at their 21, then drove 79 yards in eight plays and 3 minutes, 31 seconds to strike first.

Heath gave his team immediate confidence by rushing for 16 yards on a keeper. He then threw a quick slant to sophomore Teddy Peters for 21 more and a first down at the Wells 42. After Knighton’s first carry gained just one yard and Heath was held to one, Knighton gained two, setting up fourth-and-6. Freeport was able to move the chains, however, as Heath’s pass was snared by White with one hand and he wasn’t brought down until he gained 15 yards to the 23. After senior Max Peters caught a pass for no gain, Heath launched a jump ball into the end zone and White came down with it with 8:22 remaining in the opening stanza for a 23-yard touchdown reception. Senior Alex Graver’s extra point attempt was no good, but the Falcons were on top, 6-0.

The Warriors then came right back with a score of their own as it became clear that their size advantage up front was going to pose problems.

Wells started at its 44 after a nice kickoff return from sophomore Riley Murphy and in nine plays and 4:45, marched down the field.

Senior Michael Lewinski set the tone on the first play, bulling through the defense for 17 yards to the Freeport 39. After Whitten ran for three yards, Lewinski gained five and Whitten was held to no gain, setting up fourth-and-2. The Falcons’ defense couldn’t get off the field, however, as Lewinski moved the chains with a seven-yard burst. After Whitten gained eight, a three-yard Lewinksi run set up first-and-10 from the 13. After Lewinski gained three more yards, Whitten did the rest, taking a handoff from junior quarterback Brooks Fox, sweeping right and crossing the goal line for a 10-yard score with 3:29 on the clock. After Freeport jumped offsides on the PAT, Roche decided to go for two instead, but a rush attempt from Lewinski was stopped short and the score remained tied, 6-6.

Knighton had a strong kickoff return of 28 yards to the 38 and the Falcons looked to march again, but after White gained five yards and Knighton picked up one, a first down run by White was negated by an illegal block, then after Heath hit Max Peters for five yards on third-and-16, the hosts had to punt.

Wells got the ball back for its second series at its 24 with a minute to go in the opening stanza. In a drive that spanned the end of the first period and the start of the second, the Warriors marched 76 yards in eight plays to take their first lead.

Brickett got things started with a 12-yard run. After Whitten gained 19, Brickett ran for five more on the final play of the first quarter (which saw Wells outgain Freeport, 92 yards to 78).

The Falcons jumped offsides to begin the second period inauspiciously and give the Warriors a first down at the 35 and Whitten followed with an 11-yard run. After Lewinski was dropped for a four-yard loss by sophomore Jacob Benjamin, Lewinski ran for five yards, then Buxton first made his presence felt by taking a short pass from Fox and fighting his way for 20 yards to set up first-and-goal from the 3. Whitten then took the ball and ran up the gut into the end zone for a 3-yard TD. This time, the two-point conversion rush worked, as Brickett scored to put Wells on top, 14-6, with 9:58 to play in the first half.

Freeport then embarked on a promising drive, but it would ultimately stall in Warriors’ territory.

The Falcons began at their 21 and after Heath kept the ball for three yards, Knighton broke free for 16 and a first down at the 40. Knighton gained just one yard on the next snap, but Heath hit Max Peters for 29 yards down the left sideline for a first down at the Wells 30. When Knighton found Teddy Peters for 11 more to the 19. Knighton ran for two yards, then Knighton lost two yards, setting up third-and-10. After a false start penalty, Knighton caught a Heath pass and broke tackles to gain 11 yards, but that set up fourth-and-4 where Heath threw incomplete, giving the Warriors the ball back at their 13 with 4:47 remaining in the half.

This time, Freeport’s defense would hold.

After Whitten ran for 13 yards and a first down, Lewinski was held to four yards and after an illegal motion penalty, Whitten’s 14-yard burst set up a first down at the 39. Junior James Coffin then held Whitten to a yard and Max Peters sacked Fox for a seven-yard loss. After Whitten was held to a one-yard gain by Heath and Coffin, Wells had to punt and Lewinski got a nice roll, pinning the Falcons at their 24 with just 1:18 to go before the break.

Freeport did pick up a first down, when Heath hit White for 12 yards, but Heath then missed on three straight attempts, forcing a punt.

The Warriors got the ball back at their 47 with 49 seconds to go, but couldn’t extend their lead.

Wells did a get a break when Fox threw incomplete, but a roughing the passer penalty was called, moving the ball to the Falcons’ 39. Fox then threw three straight incomplete passes with a false start penalty mixed in and Roche opted to punt and Lewinski kicked the ball into the end zone.

Freeport took over at its 20 with 18 seconds remaining and instead of being content to go into the half knowing it was the in the game, the Falcons put the ball in the hands of the incendiary Knighton, who swept left, found running run, then outraced the pursuit all the way to the end zone, completing the stunning 80-yard touchdown run with just 3.5 seconds showing.

White then added the two-point conversion rush and after the Warriors were content to take a knee, the game went to the break deadlocked, 14-14.

Knighton, who ran for 101 yards on eight carries in the first 24 minutes, helped Freeport hold a 236-161 advantage in first half yardage.

Wells quickly rebounded when it got the ball to start the second half and after senior Karter Crosby returned the kickoff to the 47, drove 53 yards in just six plays to go ahead for good.

Buxton ran for 26 yards to set the tone and after Fox was held to no gain on a broken play, Buxton ran for 12 yards to set up first down at the 15. Lewinski then ran twice for three yards each time, setting up third-and-4 at the 9, where Buxton did the rest, bursting up the middle into the end zone for a 9-yard score with 9:02 left in the third quarter. Lewinski added the extra point to make it 21-14.

The Falcons weren’t able to answer, as they started at their 30 and after Heath kept the ball for four yards, his pass was intercepted by a diving Brickett at the Freeport 47.

The Warriors had a great chance to add to their lead, but after Buxton gained 12 yards, Lewinski ran for five and Buxton picked up 22 to set up first-and-goal at the 8, a fumbled exchange was recovered by Heath at the Falcons’ 7.

But just as quickly as Freeport gained momentum, it went up in smoke, as Heath dropped back to pass only to have his attempt tipped by the big paw of senior Gavyn Petrie and DeMauro was waiting for the ball to come down and he caught it and strolled into the end zone from the 7 for a stunning touchdown. Lewinski added the PAT and with 7:25 left in the third, Wells’ lead was 14 points, 28-14.

After a touchback, the Warriors then forced a Falcons’ three-and-out, as White ran for three yards, White ran about 40 yards from side to side to avoid a loss and get back to the line of scrimmage and a Heath pass to Max Peters was good for just one yard, necessitating a punt.

Fortune then smiled on Freeport, as Buxton couldn’t corral a bounce on Knighton’s punt and Max Peters pounced on the ball and before he was tackled, he pitched to Teddy Peters, who was brought down at the Wells 25, putting the Falcons in business.

Freeport would then need six plays and 2:27 to get back in it.

After Knighton ran for seven yards, White moved the chains with a three-yard run. Knighton then did the rest, twice running for four yards, picking up five to set up first-and-goal, then scoring from the 2 with 2:51 on the clock. Graver delivered the extra point and the Falcons trailed 28-21.

The Warriors got the ball back at their 32 with 2:43 to go and in a drive that ate up the rest of the third quarter and the first 2:52 of the fourth, they marched 68 yards in 11 plays to again go up by two scores.

Buxton gained a yard on first down, but Brickett moved the chains with a 12-yard pickup. After Lewinski ran for five yards, Brickett picked up 11 more for a first down at Freeport’s 39. On the final play of the third period, Buxton ran for two yards and on the opening play of the final stanza, Buxton gained three more. The Falcons had a chance to get a stop, but on third-and-5, Brickett ran for 14 and a first down at the 20. Buxton then bulled his way to the 4 and after Lewinski was held to no gain and Buxton picked up just one yard, on third-and-goal, out of a timeout, Brickett got the ball and he bulled in from the 3 and when Lewinski added the PAT, Wells had a seemingly safe 35-21 advantage with 9:08 to play.

But Freeport still refused to go quietly.

Knighton sparked the next drive with a 25-yard kickoff return to the 43 and in six plays and 2:33, the Falcons scored their final TD.

Afte DeLois ran for 16 yards to the Warriors’ 41, Heath hit White for 11, then connected with Knighton for six more. Knighton then ran for eight more down the left sideline, but on the tackle (which the Freeport sideline felt was a horse-collar which should have been penalized), Knighton stayed down on the turf. Max Peters picked up the first down with a six-yard run and DeLois did the rest, scoring on a 10-yard rush up the middle with 6:26 on the clock.

Graver’s extra point pulled the Falcons back within seven, 35-28.

That’s how the game would conclude, but there was ample drama still to come.

Wells hoped to run out the clock or add to its lead when it got a 64-yard kickoff return by Brickett to the Freeport 32, but was able to do neither.

After Lewinski ran for six yards, a holding penalty backed the Warriors up to the 39. Buxton ran for two yards and Lewinski gained four, setting up fourth-and-11, where Fox was sacked by Max Peters, who blitzed from the blind side.

That gave the Falcons one final chance, as they started from their 40 with 3:36 to go.

Freeport’s final drive didn’t begin as hoped, as DeLois was held to no gain and Heath threw incomplete, but after Knighton (who had returned to the game on the previous defensive series) fought for nine yards, setting up fourth-and-1, White broke tackles and raced all the way to the Warriors’ 22. After Knighton was held to a one-yard gain, Heath hit Max Peters for 10 and a first down at the 11. Knighton was then dropped for a two-yard loss before Buxton held him to no gain. St. Pierre then called his final timeout with 29 seconds on the clock. On the ensuing play, Heath threw incomplete into the end zone, as junior Calvin Chase knocked the ball away from Knighton at the last second, but pass interference was called on Chase.

The ball was moved half the distance to the goal, to the 7, but it wasn’t an automatic first down. Instead, the Falcons repeated third down and Heath threw incomplete with 20 seconds to play.

Freeport had one last chance and Heath threw into the end zone again, but the ball was knocked away and the upset dream had finally been dashed.

“Maybe we could have called something else,” said St. Pierre, who admitted after the game he would have gone for two points and the victory had the Falcons scored a touchdown in the final seconds. “We’ll watch film and see if there was something else we could have done, but I’m proud of our team, because if we made that play, we’d look like heroes.”

Wells took over at its 7 with 16 seconds remaining and Fox took a knee to run out the clock and the Warriors were able to hold on for the 35-28 victory.

“Freeport’s a good team and we knew that going in,” said Roche. “We prepared for them. We did some things well, they did some things well and we shot ourselves in the foot a few times. All week long, we talked about avoiding a letdown and I don’t think there was a letdown. We wanted to play Freeport and we had to get up for it. We made the plays when we needed to.”

Wells finished with 313 yards of offense and overcame two turnovers and five penalties for 39 yards.

Buxton, who didn’t carry the ball until replacing the injured Whitten in the second half, finished with 106 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. He also caught a pass for 20 yards.

Whitten wound up with 83 yards and two TDs on 11 rushes in limited action.

Lewinski ran 13 times for 60 yards.

Brickett had six carries and picked up 57 yards with a touchdown.

Fox went 1-of-5 passing for 20 yards.

“We ran the ball well,” said Roche. “Whitten went down and the Buxton came in and did a great job for us. I love that we faced a lot of adversity all year and we’ve come back. We were down 13-0 our first game, then against Cape it was back-and-forth the whole game, and tonight, we were resilient.”

Statement made

Freeport gained 380 yards of offense, turned the ball over twice and was penalized five times for 37 yards.

Knighton excelled with 139 yards on 17 carries and a pair of touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 17 yards.

“Jordan Knighton is one of the best players, if not the best player in Class D and he showed it,” said St. Pierre. “That was all character, heart, determination and passion and he brings it every week.”

Heath completed 13-of-22 passes for 153 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He also ran four times for 24 yards.

White had four catches for 59 yards and a score and ran five times for 41 yards.

Max Peters had five catches for 45 yards and Teddy Peters caught two balls for 32 yards.

DeLois finished with 26 yards and a touchdown on three carries.

“I give credit to Wells,” said St. Pierre. “They made the plays when they needed to, but this is kind of game we need. I told the guys you can bend, but don’t break. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. I don’t care about height or weight, we have experience, we have technique and we have heart.

“Our goal is to 3-0 in November. In order to do that, you need to build character and get stronger every week. These are the types of the games that will make us stronger. Right now, these kids believe they can go toe-to-toe with anybody and that’s what I want from them.

“Wells hasn’t stepped down, we have stepped up. That’s the difference. Our players and coaches have stepped it up and we’ll get better, I’ll assure you that.”

Eyeing November

Wells returns home Friday to face another stern test, as undefeated Leavitt (3-0), now the Class C favorite, pays a visit.

“We hope to improve every week,” Roche said. “Leavitt’s good. They could be a Class A school.”

Freeport hopes to bounce back when it welcomes 3-0 Medomak Valley next Saturday.

“The way we played (tonight) is how we can build toward our ultimate goal and that’s winning in November,” said St. Pierre. “We’ll build on what we have and clean up and continue to get better. These guys are ready to go next week and we sent a message to everyone tonight that we’re going to play right to the end and go toe-to-toe with everybody.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

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