MADISON — Racean Wood rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns to lead Waterville to a 42-20 win over Madison in a Pine Tree Conference Class B football game Friday night at Rudman Field.

Wood carried the ball 22 times in addition to spending time on the field defensively. At halftime, the senior had run for 116 yards. His two touchdowns in the fourth quarter helped Waterville (4-2) put the game out of reach.

“I like it when Coach goes to me a lot,” Wood said. “We have a number of good backs who can gain yardage, so I was lucky tonight to get the ball that many times.”

Wood took advantage of the Purple Panthers size up front, where the Waterville offensive line produced good sized holes to run through.

“Madison played a good game but our offensive line started to open up some big holes,” Wood said. “When it comes to a game like this, you just got to play.”

Madison (2-4) took a 6-0 lead just 52 seconds into the game when Chris Hayden grabbed a Purple Panther fumble on the second play of the game and raced 35 yards down the left sideline.

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“We played a sloppy game,” Waterville coach Frank Knight said. “We lost the ball three times on fumbles and that’s not characteristic of the way we play. Our defense definitely picked it up in the second half.”

Waterville recovered quickly, marching 73 yards in 11 plays on their next possession. Quarterback Aidan FitzGerald had three completions on the drive while Wood and Cameron Thomas added runs of 12 yards. Thomas finished off the drive powering in from 5 yards to tie the game at 6.

After forcing a Madison punt, the Purple Panthers were back on the attack, moving the ball 62 yards in five plays, including a 29-yard run by Wood. Once again, Thomas capped the drive with a 15-yard run around the left side. Wood added the two-point conversion on a run up the middle to give Waterville a 14-6 lead after one quarter.

A 64-yard pass play from Madison quarterback Cody Soucier to Dylan Price helped the Bulldogs cut the margin to 14-12 early in the second quarter. A pair of touchdown receptions by Jordhan Levine of 32 and 6 yards gave Waterville a 28-12 lead a halftime.

Waterville finished the game with 320 yards on the ground, while FitzGerald completed 7 of 10 for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Madison gained 23 yards rushing and Soucier completed 6 of 19 passes and 50 yards.

In a pregame ceremony, Madison honored former head coaches Art (1981-86) and Carl (1987-94) Rudman by naming the school’s football field after them. Art, coached the 1982 Class C state championship team, while Carl coached the Bulldogs to state titles in 1988, 89 and 94.

Madison alumni Tim Curtis, a member of the 1982 Bulldog Class C state championship team, introduced the coaches along with reading the dedication he had written. Members of the 1982 team were also introduced at halftime.


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