GARDINER — Thirteen years without a 3-0 start or a winning season has felt like ages for the Gardiner football program.

The Tigers ended one of those droughts Friday and got closer to snapping another — and the dramatic way they did it couldn’t have kicked off a better start to Homecoming weekend.

Gardiner stormed back from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to claim a 28-26 overtime victory against Wells at Hoch Field. The Tigers were determined to make a statement against a perennial championship contender and did so as they remained atop the statewide Class C standings.

“I don’t really know (how we did it), to be honest,” said Gardiner junior Chase McGrane. “We’re just that type of team that’s always going to come out and keep working as hard as we can and never give up.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Brady Godin scored on a 1-yard run for Wells (1-2) on the fourth play of the game, Brayden Elliott took the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. Godin then scored again for the Warriors with 6:29 left in the first half and added a third touchdown early in the third quarter to make it 20-6.

• Gardiner (3-0) got back within 20-12 with 7:51 left in the game on a 1-yard run by Justin Doody. Then McGrane took over, intercepting a Noah McDonough pass and taking it to the Wells 30 before catching a 6-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal with 3:22 remaining.

• Gardiner’s successful 2-point try on McGrane’s third touchdown forced overtime. Owen Chadwick ran in a 6-yard touchdown and 2-point conversion for the Tigers to make it 28-20, and after Mason Miles scored for Wells, Gardiner stuffed him on the 2-point attempt.

“Where I was down on the ground, I knew he would have to get past me to score, and (I knew we’d done it) when he didn’t come across my face,” said Gardiner’s Justin Doody. “In front of all these fans on Homecoming night, it’s just amazing. I’ll be banged up for the dance tomorrow, but it’s all good.”

WHAT IT MEANS

• Gardiner opened the season with wins over Oceanside and Old Town but faced a much tougher opponent in Wells.

“We challenged them this week that we were kind of being downplayed a little bit because our first two wins might not have been against stronger teams, and like we said to them, you’re not going to find a stronger team than Wells,” Gardiner coach Pat Munzing said. “We’re just trying to stack the wins as they come, and it’s a great start.”

• After winning back-to-back state championships in Class D, life in Class C is proving much tougher for Wells. The Warriors had won 15 straight games dating back to 2023 prior to last week’s 22-16 loss to Hermon.

NOTABLE QUOTABLES

“We’ve been talking a lot about resiliency and getting to that championship level of being able to win football games, and that’s something they showed tonight. We knew we were going to have to earn every yard, and they never backed down. Even when we got down, there was no panic in these kids.” — Pat Munzing

“Offensively, (starting slow but then picking up the pace) is usually how it goes for me. It takes me a while to really read their defense, but once I figure it out, I get going. … (Defensively), I really caught onto a couple things they were doing.” — Justin Doody

STAT LEADERS

• Wells: Dom Carbonneau (22 carries, 123 yards), Brady Godin (15 carries, 70 yards, three touchdowns; two sacks)

• Gardiner: Justin Doody (12 carries, 92 yards, touchdown), Isaac Madore (6 of 11, 46 passing yards, touchdown; eight carries, 80 yards)

UP NEXT

• Wells: vs. Oceanside (0-3), 6:30 p.m. Sept. 26

• Gardiner: at Brewer (1-2), 7 p.m. Sept. 26