PORTLAND, Maine — The Mount Desert Island football team used its advantage in time of possession as a pivotal weapon during its run to the school’s first regional football championship.
The Trojans experienced the downside of losing that same statistical category Saturday afternoon, as Wells dominated the clock and the scoreboard while defeating MDI 44-0 in the Class C state championship game at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
The title was the first since 2011 for Wells, which finish its season at 11-1.
“We were told not to take them for granted, but all of us together knew we were going to come out here and dominate these guys,” said Wells senior running back Evan Whitten, who combined with backfield mate Riley Dempsey for 347 of Wells’ 351 rushing yards. We said all week that the North is nothing like the South and it showed — 44-0.”
MDI capped off the best season in school history with a 9-2 record.
“We’re disappointed with the score,” said 14th-year MDI head coach Mark Shields. “I really felt like we could have played closer with this team, but hats off to them, they outplayed us and they deserve to be the state champions.”
MDI managed just 63 yards of total offense and three first downs, with the lone first down before intermission coming via penalty. The Wells defense also forced three turnovers, one a 39-yard interception return for a touchdown by Michael Wrigley that gave the Warriors a 21-0 halftime lead.
“We couldn’t get anything going offensively, it’s that simple,” said Shields. “They have strong back, they have great depth, they have multiple guys they can put into the game, and up front they’re just strong. It’s a simple games sometimes. If you’re bigger and stronger than your opponent, you’re probably going to win the football game.”
Wells’ offense, meanwhile, capitalized on the good field position its defense supplied to score on drives of 49, 57, 64 and 51 yards.
Whitten rushed for 196 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries, while Dempsey added 151 yards and a score on 21 rushes behind strong line play that featured David Ouelette, Courtland Austin, Alex Holmes Staples, Cody Brassard and Deandre Woods.
“We’ve always competed for yards,” said Whitten. “In eighth grade we’d do hitting drills and we’d always go against each other to see who could hit harder. It’s been like that since we were little, seeing who could beat who. I don’t want to say I was better today, but time showed.”
Fullback Graham Good led MDI with 33 rushing yards on nine carries, but the Trojans’ run-oriented offense generated just 25 rushing attempts compared to 50 for Wells.
The Class C South champions threatened on their second possession after a 19-yard MDI punt gave them the ball at the Trojans’ 49.
Dempsey and Whitten accounted for nearly all of the offense on the ground as Wells marched deep into MDI territory. But when quarterback Owen Berry went to the air on 4th-and-6 from the 8, cornerback James Carroll intercepted the pass in the end zone with 4:51 left in the opening quarter.
Wells got the ball back after forcing MDI into a quick punt and drove 57 yards to take a 7-0 lead on a 10-yard run by Whitten one minute into the second period. Whitten rushed four times for 35 yards during the march, including a 15-yard sprint up the middle inside the MDI 20.
Again MDI came up empty on offense, and this time Wells drove 55 yards in nine plays to extend its lead to 14-0 on a 1-yard run by fullback Nolan Potter.
MDI’s defense nearly made a goal-line stand after Dempsey cut back for a 12-yard gain to the Trojans’ 1.
Twice junior defensive lineman Micah Hallett came up big for the MDI defense as Wells was unable to get into the end zone on three straight runs, but Potter leaned into the end zone behind his offensive line on a fourth-down run to the left with 3:22 left until intermission.
Wells then added the back-breaking touchdown with 20.6 seconds to go, when Wrigley stepped in front of Drew Rich’s halfback option pass into the left flat to quarterback Andrew Phelps and raced uncontested into the end zone.
Keegan Reidy added his third extra-point kick of the half, and the Warriors went into the locker room with a three-touchdown cushion.
Whitten pushed the Wells advantage to 28-0 on the Warriors’ third offensive play of the second half, ripping off a 40-yard scoring run down the right sideline to cap a 49-yard march.
Wells added a safety when an MDI punt snap sailed out of the end zone late in the period, and the Warriors followed that with a 64-yard drive after receiving the ensuing free kick, with Dempsey scoring from 32 yards out to make it 37-0 and put the contest into running-time mode.
Whitten added his longest run of the night, a 45-yard touchdown run, with 6:44 left in the game.
