By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

WELLS — There was no secret who was getting the ball — #34 or #35.

The how to stop Wells’ dual bulldozers — 6-foot, 200 pounder Payton MacKay and 6-foot 210-pounder Matt Tufts — was easier said than done last Friday night in the opening round of the Class C South football playoffs.

While the third-seeded Warriors failed to complete a pass all night, the double power threat of MacKay and Tufts ground out 268 yards rushing the ball to lead Wells to a 34-14 win to advance to the semifinals.

MacKay rushed for 92 yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown, while Tufts rumbled to 137 yards on 18 carries and scored twice. If tackling these two wasn’t tough enough, a stout Raider front line had to deal with the likes of 6-foot-5, 295-pound senior lineman Evan Leach and Co.

Needless to say, the Raiders had their hands full.

“There are guys up front blocking for them. They’re tough to bring down. It’s easy to figure out what they’re doing and who is going to get the ball in most situations, but it’s hard getting those guys down. They have enough guys in that backfield that cause you problems. You can’t key on just one guy, and they’re just so tough up front. They’re efficient at what they do,” Fryeburg Academy Coach David Turner said. “It’s hard to make a stop when you’re coming off a block, and then suddenly trying to get down low to make a hit is hard. It’s not as easy as it seems.”

Giving up good field position was a bad trend for the Raiders to start the game.

Unable to move the ball on their opening drive, FA punted. MacKay returned the kick 23 yards to the FA-32. The battering rams went to work. MacKay for 12 yards. Tufts for 11 yards. MacKay finishes the drive with a sweep run to the left for a 9-yard score, and he added the 2-point conversion.

Raider senior quarterback Calvin Southwick quieted the Wells crowd with an electric 27-yard run on third down, following blocks inside then cutting back for a big gain. The drive stalled when a pass bounced off the chest of wideout Armel Maloji, and on fourth down, Southwick and Maloji weren’t on the same page on a deep pass route resulting in an incompletion.

The Raider D stood their ground as Eddie Thurston and Gabe Rogers dumped MacKay for a yard loss, and end Charlie Stokes and Southwick stayed home on a counter-play, allowing just a yard pickup. Wells punted.

Fryeburg gift-wrapped a score for Wells when they were whistled for a hold during the punt return. The penalty was assessed at the point Fryeburg’s returner caught the ball, which moved the pigskin to the FA-4.

“I’m not sure they (the officials) got that right,” Coach Turner said after the game.

The first snap sailed over Southwick’s head and Wells recovered in the end zone for a touchdown with 3:29 left in the quarter. The point-after rush was stopped by FA’s Bobby Hallam.

Two delay of game penalties and a misfire by Southwick forced a punt.

Fryeburg needed a defensive stop, and corner Isaak McKenney delivered. The junior intercepted a sideline pass, giving the Raiders the ball at their own 41. FA found some success rushing the ball, moving into Wells’ territory. But again, Southwick and his receivers were not in tune, wideout Gabe Rogers going one way and the pass the other (it was the sixth straight incompletion).

Bad luck struck again. Raider punter Jack Campbell bent down to scoop up a low snap, and his knee touched the turf, stopping the play at the FA-43. Six rushing plays later, Wells scored as Tufts followed behind senior tackle Braeden MacNeill (6-foot, 245) for a 4-yard score. Michael Lewinski booted the extra point to put Wells up 21-0.

With seven minutes to work with, Fryeburg gave Wells a dose of their own medicine, turning to their own smash-mouth approach with Southwick and Bryce Micklon banging ahead between the tackles. The drive started at the FA-27, and seven straight rushes pushed the ball to the W-43. Southwick ended a 0-for-7 passing streak with a 10-yard completion down the sideline to Rogers. He found Dawson Jones on a similar pattern for another 9 yards. The Raider QB then broke loose for 10 yards — FA was rolling.

Southwick later connected with Jones on a quick hitter, but the FA senior was unable to slip a tackle, and gained just 4 yards. After a timeout with 21 seconds left in the half and facing fourth down, Southwick bulled ahead for 2 yards — but he needed 3 as the drive stalled at the W-5.

With 14 seconds, Wells went to the hammer (Tufts), and the burly back gained five to end the half.

“I thought we had the first down, but we still would have had to score and there’s no guarantee that would have happened. If we had punched it in at the end of the half, it would have taken away a little bit of the sting,” Coach Turner said. “We felt that we controlled the second period, had some opportunities but didn’t score. Our guys kept playing for four quarters. They (Wells) are big, physical and they wear you down. We hung in there.”

If the Raiders were going to try to climb back into the game, it was imperative that the FA defense stopped Wells on the opening drive.

Tufts set the tone, smashing through the line and charging ahead for 40 yards before Maloji tied him up long enough for other help to arrive. Linebacker Eddie Thurston delivered a big hit on MacKay, stopping him for no gain. Campbell and Eli Mahan combined to hold MacKay to a modest 2-yard gain on third down. But, FA cut Wells a big break when they were whistled for defensive encroachment on fourth down, giving the Warriors a first down. Tufts followed blocks up the middle for a touchdown from 5-yards out. QB Brady Fox’s 2-point pass was incomplete.

“You just can’t make those kind of mistakes against a power-running offense like that. Those plays put us in a big hole,” Coach Turner said. “It’s tough to play behind against these guys.”

Showing some grit, the Raiders answered Wells’ score with a 12-play, 67-yard drive capped with a beautiful over-the-shoulder catch in the left corner of the end zone on a fourth-down play by McKenney.

Jones also made an acrobatic catch, winning a contested ball thrown his way, pulling it away from a Wells defender for a 32-yard gain. Jones made another catch right after, and picked up 8 yards near the sideline. FA could have had 15 yards tacked onto the play when Jones was clearly hit a couple of yards out of bounds, but there would be no yellow flag on the Wells defender.

Thurston booted the extra point to make it 27-7 with 4:33 left in the third quarter.

Unfortunately for FA, they had two chances to end Wells’ next drive but failed to make a play on two fourth down situations. One, MacKay gained 3 yards despite good hits by Stokes and Mahan — he needed 2 yards. Then, on a fourth down needing five yards, Wells was gifted once more with a FA offside penalty. Four plays later, Tufts scored from 3 yards. Lewinski booted the extra point.

There was no quit in the Raiders as they found pay dirt again with 6:48 left as Southwick scored from a yard out. The drive covered 68 yards. The big plays were a Southwick scramble and touch pass to Bryce Micklon for 18 yards, and a 47-yard bomb to McKenney.

Thurston booted the extra point.

Just as they started the game, Wells stuck with the power game, this time handing off to reserves like 5-foot-10, 195-pound junior back Jonah Potter, who rumbled for 5 and 15 yards. Wells started the drive from their own 13, and moved the ball to the FA-21 to run out the clock.

As the Raiders gathered as a group, the reality of high school football careers had ended struck the seniors. Several received hugs and a few words from Coach Turner as they headed to the sideline.

“For the seniors, they’ve won a lot of games (including playoffs) over their four years. They’ve worked extremely hard, and when it is suddenly over, it’s tough. Those guys care,” Coach Turner said. “Hopefully, our younger guys will learn from them and maybe we can go a step further next year.”

The Seniors included: Dawson Jones, Calvin Southwick, Charlie Stokes, Ethan Burk, Jack Campbell, Weijia “Gary” Gao and Janik Glave.