By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

FRYEBURG — Raider lineman Will Hallam nearly had two game-saving plays Saturday, but both efforts came up a little short.

The towering junior sacked Wells quarterback Brady Fox for a 3-yard loss forcing a fourth down with 8 minutes left in the game and Fryeburg Academy holding an 8-0 lead.

Wells planned to punt, but when the Raiders were whistled for an illegal substitution, Coach Tim Roche reversed field. Despite on their own 38, Wells went for it on fourth down. Fox faked a handoff inside, and broke free for six yards to keep the drive alive.

Wells tied the game with 3;02 left as Colby Bolduc scored from three yards out, and Fox added the two-point conversion.

Hallam nearly saved the day for the Raiders with 13.8 ticks on the clock when junior kicker Michael Lewinski attempted a field goal. With the ball at the FA-2, Lewinski put a solid drive on the ball, and Hallam — who was lined up to the right, since a player is not allowed to be positioned over the center for safety reasons — nearly got a hand on the ball as it started its climb.

The kick, however, was good.

Wells escaped with an 11-8 victory as both teams reached the 2-2 mark.

“Wells is a well-coached team and will give you everything they have. To beat a team like that, you can’t make mistakes,” Fryeburg Academy Coach David Turner said. “The kids have given great effort. But, execution at times hasn’t been there. You have to pay attention to the details. We didn’t do a good job at that today. Things and plays we should have done, we just didn’t make. Football is all about trust — trusting your assignment, trusting your teammates and trusting what your coaches are asking of you. Hopefully, we get better and learn from this.”

Although there were several big plays made through the air by both teams, defense ruled the day. Yards were tough to come by on the ground once either team reached the red zone.

Wells knocked on the door first. Fryeburg coughed up the ball on its first possession as Caleb Micklon fought for extra yardage, only to have the ball squirt free and recovered by Wells’ Sam DeMauro at the FA-43.

Wells pounded the inside of the FA defense with Brody Maxon and then tested the Raider perimeter with sweep plays to senior Colby Bolduc, who proved to be a menace in both the running (16 carries, 75 yards) and passing (5 catches 118 yards) games.

With the ball sitting on the one-yard line, Bolduc was smothered by linemen Will Hallam and Jackson Witchley along with end Bobby Hallam for a yard loss.

FA dug out of the hole when receiver Owen Galligan pulled a high toss out of the air along the sideline for a 13-yard gain on third down. Behind some power runs by Micklon and Hayden Fox, the Raiders moved the ball out to the FA-41.

But Wells senior Nathan Coleman dropped a runner for a five-yard loss and then a holding penalty stopped the Raiders cold as the first quarter ended.

Fryeburg engineered a nice drive over the final seven minutes of the half as sophomore quarterback Gunnar Saunders hooked up with Gabe McKenney for a quick sideline toss, that after shaking a tackle, the FA junior scampered 36 yards into Wells’ territory. Saunders completed back-to-back passes to Micklon for 12 and 13 yards, moving the ball to the W-10 with 1:34 left until intermission.

FA came up empty again as Wells senior defensive end Brayden Fazzina sacked Saunders for a 9-yard loss. Micklon had a shot at a TD, but was unable to handle a pass that he tried to come back to near the goal line.

Wells dodged a bullet when a defensive back reached out and grabbed Micklon, who had beaten the coverage and was open in the end zone. The flag, however, gave FA nine yards to place the ball at the W-9, but the Raiders still faced fourth down. Fazzina and Lewinski sacked Saunders for a 12-yard loss to stymie the FA drive.

Scoreless at the half.

Miscues hurt Raiders

Preparing for Wells in practice last week, the coaching staff impressed upon their defensive backs to beware of thinking run and failing to account for Wells’ players headed down the field.

Brady Fox made the FA defense pay to start the third quarter, sending a deep bomb down the middle of the field to Bolduc, who was wide open. He made the catch, good for 40 yards, before being stopped by Galligan.

Wells pounded the ball, earning a first-and-goal. Fox appeared to score on a fake inside handoff and run left, but the 5-yard TD was erased by a holding penalty.

FA stiffened with Jordan Zerner delivering a big hit on third down, forcing Wells to attempt a field goal. Lewinski’s 30-yard attempt sailed wide right.

Starting at their own 10, Saunders zipped a pass to sophomore end Jordan Dutton, who rumbled 29 yards down the sideline. After Saunders loss 11 yards due to a high snap from center, the FA quarterback showed good vision down the field, lofting a pass to a wide-open Dutton, good for 51 yards to the W-17.

With a good push by the guys in the trenches, Saunders gained 11 to the W-5. On third down, Saunders cut left behind blocks from Hallam and Witchley and scored from 3-yards out. A Saunders-to-Dutton pass was good for the PAT, putting FA up 8-0 with 1:38 left in the third quarter.

With 8:49 left in the game, Wells looked to tie the game by challenging the Raiders to stop their run game.

FA answered that challenge as Liam Quinn and Bobby Hallam stuffed Bolduc for a 2-yard loss on a sweep. Will Hallam came up with a sack on third down for a 3-yard loss.

Then, FA made a critical mistake. On fourth-and-nine, Wells looked to punt. FA was whistled for an illegal substitution. The five-yard giveback put the ball at the W-38. Coach Tim Roche, who is in his 30th year, rolled the dice and won. Fox ran right and picked up six yards. Fazzina later broke free for 29 yards before senior linebacker Tyler Day came up with a tackle. Bolduc ripped off 11 yards on a counter-play, and then scored from 3 yards out with 3;02 left. Quarterback Fox faked inside and went outside for the 2-point try.

Game tied.

The Raiders were unable to get anything going offensively as Saunders was sacked on third down by Fazzina for a nine-yard loss, placing the ball back to the FA-10. Under pressure, Cam Johnson got the punt off, but the ball only reached the FA-34. 

Facing a 3rd-and-6 at the FA-30 with 36.5 seconds left, Bolduc delivered the biggest run of the game, scampering 24 yards on a counter play to the FA-6 before being stopped by Zerner.

Bolduc moved the ball closer on first down, gaining four before Job Fox lowered the boom. On second down, Roche signaled for the field goal and Lewinski delivered the game-winner.

The loss was certainly deflating for the Raiders after a big win a week ago against Westbrook.

“It is what we expected in terms of the game. They took it to us. They were more physical, and they played tougher than we did. I didn’t think it was a lack of effort necessarily, but we just had too many breakdowns. We overcome a lot of them, but there were just too many,” FA Coach David Turner said. “You watch them, they are a lot like us. If we had played our best, we would have felt good about things. They ran what we thought they would run. Their pass plays were what we thought they would throw. They won a lot of those one-on-one battles that we were winning before.”

Coach Turner said the fourth quarter penalty that kept the Wells drive alive proved very costly.

“It was a huge play. Someone went on before they were supposed to go on,” he said. “The fourth down play changed the complexion of things. We were tired. Unfortunately, we got beat when we had fresh legs in there too. Had we not made some of those mistakes, we would have been fine. That’s how football goes.”

The message he gave his club as they gathered near the end zone, smarting from a game they felt was theirs only to give it up late, was simple — how will you respond?

“Every week, the question is what do you do next. We tell guys it’s an eight-game season, and you can’t get too high on a win and you can’t get too low on a loss. You have to go through the same grind and look to get better,” Coach Turner said. “You can’t feel sorry for yourself. Now, you get ready for Gardiner.”

Yes, it’s on to Gardiner.