PITTSFIELD — The Maine Central Institute football team ran the football. And ran. And ran some more.
The Huskies rushed for 363 yards on the way to a 34-20 victory over Foxcroft Academy on Friday night at Alumni Field.
The Huskies (4-3) were led on the ground by Adam Bertrand, who had 179 yards on 34 carries.
Bertrand gave the credit of his success to his offensive line.
“(The holes) were perfect,” Bertrand said. “I got the most confidence in the world in our lineman. They were awesome.”
He was joined in the rushing attack by Seth Bussell (21 carries, 106 yards) and Pedro Matos (10 carries, 78 yards). Matos also had two receptions for 20 yards.
The Huskies jumped out to a 7-0 lead during the first drive of the contest. After a 50-yard run into Foxcroft territory, Matos scored MCI’s first touchdown with a 3-yard run. Will Russell’s extra point made it 7-0.
MCI marched 63 yards for its next score on the following drive, capped by a 4-yard touchdown run by Bertrand for the 14-0 lead.
Foxcroft (5-2) struck back on the next drive, going 60 yards before quarterback Nick Clawson scored on a 5-yard run up the middle. Levi Stedman’s extra point cut the lead to 14-7.
MCI answered with a 60-yard drive of its own, finished with an 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Friend to Matos. Russell’s extra point brought the lead to 21-7. The Huskies tallied one more score before halftime — a 4-yard run from Bussell — to make 28-7 in favor of MCI.
Foxcroft showed fight in the second half — particularly from Clawson — who ran for 118 yards on 14 carries, scoring two touchdowns. He also passed for 145 yards and a touchdown. But MCI’s rushing attack was simply too much, and the Huskies put the game away in the fourth quarter when Friend found David Young on a 21-yard touchdown pass for their final score.
“We knew (Foxcroft) ran a lot of spread (on offense),” Bertrand said. “They really don’t have any power football sense, so we really had to polish up our secondary. We knew they had a good quarterback and some good runners, so that’s where we’ve been focused all week.”
MCI has a big showdown in the regular season finale next week, when the Huskies meet Winslow.
“It’s going to take a lot (to beat Winslow),” Bertrand said. “They’re good, they’ve got a good tradition going. We’re going to be ready.”
Dave Dyer — 621-5640
ddyer@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @Dave_Dyer
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