WATERVILLE — After a subpar defensive showing in its last game, the Waterville football team had two weeks to think it over.
Giving up 50 points to Spruce Mountain two weeks ago was far from what the Purple Panthers had hoped to do for their homecoming game under the lights. After two weeks of preparation, Waterville’s bitter desire to make amends for that loss showed in a 26-8 home win over Morse.
“We came into that bye week angry, and we really wanted to show what we could do,” said sophomore Dustan Hunter. “We were still No. 1 in the North after that loss, and we wanted to hold onto that. We were motivated, we had good practices, and we came ready to work.”
Waterville made that clear with a sound defensive performance, holding Morse without a touchdown until the fourth quarter. Hunter’s success throwing and running the ball provided the Panthers with all the points they needed offensively as Waterville stayed in the driver’s seat for that coveted top seed in the eight-man Large-School North division.
Hunter led Waterville (4-1) down the field on the opening drive and gave the home team a 6-0 lead with an 11-yard pass to Spencer Minihan after just two minutes of play. Although the Panthers would then get good field position after a Tyson Smith blocked punt, they would give the ball back on the ensuing possession after turning the ball over on downs.
On the very next play, though, Hunter intercepted Morse’s Calin Gould to set Waterville up in Shipbuilders territory. The Panthers would score six plays later on a 31-yard pass from Hunter to Smith that made it 14-0, which would be the score going into halftime after Waterville stopped a long drive by the Shipbuilders (3-3) at the 3-yard line.
Waterville Senior High School’s Tyson Smith (38) blocks a punt by Morse High School’s Calin Gould (1) in Waterville on Saturday. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel
“That was huge because it was 14-0 at that point, and that stop kept it that way,” said Waterville head coach Isaac LeBlanc. “We wanted to make them earn every yard, and we did that with some great, tough red-zone defense today. It was a huge momentum boost for us.”
Waterville began the second half with back-to-back three-and-outs before Hunter scored on a 4-yard run with 3:42 left in the first quarter. Morse would score on an 8-yard run from Gould with 9:50 left to play, but the Panthers answered right back as Hunter threw an 18-yard pass to Ben Foster on the next drive for the game’s final score.
Hunter completed 9 of 15 passes for 161 yards, three scores and an interception while adding 16 rushes for 146 yards on the ground and an interception on defense. Although the sophomore began the year as the No. 2 quarterback behind Wyatt Gradie, his dual-threat ability has since seen him take over Waterville’s starting role.
“He’s an athlete, he’s a competitor, and he’s a great kid with good instincts who just wants to win,” LeBlanc said of Hunter. “He’s a fiery guy, and with him being only a sophomore, he has a really bright future with us if he continues to learn and grow. He did a great job leading the offense.
Waterville also got four catches for 68 yards from Minihan, two receptions for 46 yards from Wyatt Gradie and 40 rushes on 12 attempts from Dawson Harrison. Foster had two catches for 26 yards on offense for the Panthers and added an interception on defense.
Waterville held Gould, Morse’s dual-threat quarterback, to 4 of 10 passing for 35 yards and two interceptions while limiting him to 16 rushes for 72 yards on the ground. The Shipbuilders were limited to 148 yards of total offense and had just 68 entering the fourth quarter.
Waterville Senior High SchoolÕ’s Dawson Harrison (22) rushes against Morse High School in Waterville on Saturday. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel
“The coaches wrote up some great plays and showed us what we need to do, and we just repped it over and over again,” Smith said of Waterville’s solid defensive showing. “We played really good defense, and I credit that to our coaches and the way we practice.”
Waterville saw some players return from the bye healthy, including Hunter, who left with a leg injury in the second half against Spruce Mountain. Yet other players, such as utility standout Gage Hubbard, offensive lineman Izaiah Brown and a good chunk of the front seven, were unable to go Saturday afternoon.
The Panthers, though, ultimately looked unfazed in cruising to a win in a rematch of last year’s Large School North title game. Smith said the team approached this week of practices with a “no-excuses” mentality, and those practices, his coach added, were some of the best the team has had all season.
“We were missing a lot of guys last week, so we used the bye to really focus more on individual skill work,” LeBlanc said. “When we came back this week, we had the mindset of, ‘We’ve really got to focus and lock in,’ and that’s exactly what we did.”
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