WATERVILLE — A game that was wild in the first half returned to a little bit of normalcy in the third quarter when the Waterville Senior High School football team did what it does best: Pound the rock.

The Panthers put together an 18-play, 91-yard drive that ended on the first play of the fourth quarter of their Pine Tree Conference Class B game against Madison on Saturday at Drummond Field. Waterville took a 28-point lead on Derek LaChance’s 3-yard run and held on in a frantic fourth quarter to beat the Bulldogs 55-36.

“That felt good because we wasted a lot of time getting a lot of first downs,” Waterville running back/linebacker J.T. Whitten said. “Then to score at the end of it, that was good.”

Waterville (4-2) scored 41 points in the first half, but the lead never quite felt comfortable because Madison (2-4) moved the ball well out of its spread offense and scored 20 points.

However, the Bulldogs only had two possessions in the third quarter and were forced to punt both times. After their second possession, Waterville put together its clock-killing drive and made the lead a little bit more comfortable.

Whitten sparked the drive with 40 yards on five carries but shared the load with LaChance (10 yards on the drive) and Evan Greatorex (24 yards on the drive).

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“It was timely because I think we needed to get a break from defense and give our defense a rest,” Waterville coach Frank Knight said. “Again, when you drive the field and punch it in, that is a positive thing for the offense.”

To call the first half wild would be a bit of an understatement. Waterville went up 7-0 when Wood scored from 18 yards on the Panthers first possession. Whitten scored three plays later, after an interception by Devin Burgess gave the Panthers the ball at the Madison 12.

Madison answered right back with a 51-yard TD run by Cody Couturier and recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff. However, the Bulldogs drive ended when Whitten picked off a pass by Madison quarterback Danny Moreshead and returned it 70 yards for a score.

The Panthers tacked on seven more when Nick Danner recovered a fumble in the end zone on the Bulldogs first play from scrimmage after the interception return.

Madison responded with a 4-yard TD pass from Moreshead to Kyle Williams late in the first and a 15-yard pass from Moreshead to Stephen Cusson early in the second.

Waterville answered with a pair of rushing touchdowns, one by Wood for 33 yards and a 1-yard run by Whitten, which followed a Madison interception.

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Moreshead, making his first start at quarterback, added a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. He finished 19 for 32 passing for 199 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions.

“We came out this week and we said we were going to throw the football,” Madison coach Matt Friedman said. “We made a change at quarterback and Danny Moreshead made some mistakes, but he is going to learn from them.”

Whitten finished with 113 yards rushing for the Panthers. Woods added 98 yards rushing, while Greatorex ran for 67 and LaChance 25.

Scott Martin — 621-5618
smartin@centralmaine.com


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