Lisbon 20 – Foxcroft 26

By Ben Smith – Poulin

Lisbon High School

Saturday the 22nd of November a football game was played between the Class C, Western champion Lisbon Greyhounds (11-1), and the Class C Eastern champion Foxcroft Academy Ponies (12-0) in front of 3,500 people at Fitzpatrick stadium in Portland. The winner of the game would be crowned with the Class C state title. It was the Ponies second consecutive trip to the state game, following a loss to Boothbay last year. Lisbon led the stats category in first-downs, yardage, and time of possession. But four turnovers really hurt them.

The Ponies scored first but Lisbon would answer. However, it seemed the fates were not with the Greyhounds; whenever Lisbon scored and got closer to the lead, the Ponies would score another one. A touchdown pass to Jon Tefft by Chris Kates brought them closer. After the kickoff Bobby Gilbert of the Ponies returned the kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown.

It was a very close game. There were a couple questionable calls that could have turned the tide of the game. At one point in the game, a “catch” by Tefft in the end zone which was ruled an incomplete pass would have given the Greyhounds the ball on the one or two yard line with first and 10. Another questionable call was on the kickoff return for a touchdown by Gilbert, he was running down the side line and stepped out of bounds but the referee didn’t see it.

The final score of the game was 26-20. Even though they fell short of the top prize, the Greyhounds season was an overall success. An 11-2 record is something to be very proud of. The returning players next year should help Lisbon to another strong showing in Class C Football.