Jay spoils Buckfield/Dirigo’s debut on the gridiron with a 56-18 victory.
By Randy Whitehouse
Staff Writer

DIXFIELD – Football’s back in Dixfield. But the players from Jay and their counterparts from the upstart Buckfield/Dirigo program will probably have very different memories of their 2003 Campbell Conference season opener.

Buckfield/Dirigo, unofficially known as the Cougars, will probably remember how they hung tough against, even outplayed, a very good Jay team in the first quarter at a festive Harlow Park on an 80-degree Saturday afternoon.

Jay will probably forget the look of shock on their faces after Buckfield/Dirigo took a 6-0 lead just three plays into the game. The Tigers will instead recall how Justin Wells and Marc Kelvey took over the first half and led them to eight unanswered touchdowns on their way to a 56-18 win.

Wells passed for 188 yards and five touchdowns in the first half, including three scoring strikes to Kelvey, to spoil Buckfield/Dirigo’s varsity debut.

“We wanted to run the ball to start the game, but their run defense I thought played really good,” said Wells, who was able to sit out most of the second half after helping his team build a comfortable 49-6 lead early in the third quarter. “Then we came out passing, and their secondary seemed confused on a lot of those plays.”

Early confusion in the Jay defensive backfield led to the first touchdown in Dixfield in 14 years. The Cougars came out running on their first two plays, drawing the Tiger safeties up for run support. Then on third and four, running back Scott Wetherell snuck behind the Jay defense and was wide open at the Jay 40. Freshman QB Jamie Henderson delivered a perfect strike and Wetherell turned and outraced the secondary for a 73-yard score.

“I thought we had a pretty good chance (at a big play) because their safeties were playing pretty shallow,” said Wetherell, who was the leading rusher on the day with 109 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown. “It’s pretty cool (scoring the first touchdown in team history), but I’m not really worried about it. I’m just trying to help the team out.”

Jay regrouped quickly and used the deep ball to get on the scoreboard three plays into its first possession. On third and eight from the B/D-43, Wells connected with Kelvey (110 yards receiving) along the left sideline and the 6-3 receiver broke a tackle at the 20 before sprinting into the end zone to tie it.

“We expected they were going to be ready to play from the beginning. We were hoping we were going to be able to weather their first little flurry,” said Jay coach Mark Bonnevie.

The Buckfield/Dirigo defense held firm following the first of three straight. That helped the Cougars, who moved the ball effectively on the ground behind Wetherell and Craig Langervin (13 rushes, 74 yards, one TD), outdistance the Tigers in total yards in the first quarter, 106-60.

But the Jay defense stiffened in the second quarter, allowing Wells to go back to work. The junior QB connected with Kelvey again on fourth and eight for a 28-yard TD that made it 14-6, then hooked up with him one last time for a 11-yard scoring pass. Wells combined with Ryan Dipompo for two more passing TDs to end the half.

“Defensively, after that first series, I thought we played really well,” Bonnevie said.

“I think our kids got worn out,” said Buckfield/Dirigo coach Jim Wetherell. “I was very happy with the way they played. I think we did all right.”

Turnovers continued to plague the Cougars in the second half, starting with a fumble that Craig Jacques recovered and scampered 47 yards for a touchdown. Kyle Richards and Steve Nelson closed out the Jay scoring with touchdown runs.

With the Jay second string on the field and some of their own mixed in, the Cougars went back to the ground for two more scores on hard runs by Wetherell and Langervin in the fourth quarter to reward the enthusiastic B/D fans who stuck around.

“Weren’t the fans great?” Jim Wetherell said. “There were a lot of people here that didn’t even have kids on the team. This was very exciting, regardless of the score.”