WINSLOW — The way the Foxcroft Academy football team began its first two games of the season was not something it could afford to do in this one.

The Ponies had a sluggish first quarter in their opener against Belfast before running away with it followed by a two-score early deficit against Oceanside prevailing there, too. It was precisely what couldn’t happen against Winslow on Saturday — and didn’t as the Ponies scored two early touchdowns en route to a 35-3 victory.

“Going up 14-0 today was everything,” said Foxcroft’s Aiden Harvey, who rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown and notched a fumble recovery on defense in the win. “It was a good comparison to last week, when we were down 14-0 and still came back. We just knew we were going to play through it all.”

Griffin Caruso completed 9 of 12 passes for three touchdowns and 171 yards for Foxcroft with Lucas Sands catching three of those passes for 115 yards and two scores. Finn Holmes added 99 rush yards and a score for the Ponies, who earned a key Class D North win against the only other unbeaten in the region.

Foxcroft Academy’s Finn Holmes runs with the ball as Winslow’s Liem Fortin attempts to tackle him during a football game Saturday in Winslow. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Foxcroft (3-0) scored almost immediately, taking a 7-0 lead on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Caruso to Sands just 57 seconds after kickoff. After forcing a Winslow punt, the Ponies went 76 yards on 16 plays to take a 14-0 lead with four seconds left in the quarter on a 16-yard toss from Caruso to Silas Topolski.

“For seven days, we talked about, ‘Hey, let’s flip the script this week and start a little bit faster,’” said Foxcroft head coach Danny White. “To come out right away and be able to execute through the air, that was big for us. To respond like that early, for a team that doesn’t have a lot of seniors, that was growth.”

Winslow (2-1) then turned the ball over on downs twice on the edge of the red zone in the second quarter, first after embarking on a long drive and again after recovering a Foxcroft fumble. After the Black Raiders’ second failure, the Ponies made it 20-0 on a 64-yard pass from Caruso to Sands with 18 seconds left.

Winslow finally got on the board midway through the third quarter on a 26-yard Hassan Hobbi field goal, but Foxcroft answered immediately as Holmes sprinted 75 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-3. Harvey then provided the final points of the game on a 24-yard run with 9:07 left to play.

The game wasn’t a bloodbath in terms of total yardage with Foxcroft outgaining Winslow 325-218. Yet while Winslow moved the ball at times, it couldn’t capitalize with four possessions inside the Ponies’ 25-yard line merely resulting in the lone field goal.

“We were all out of sorts, it seemed like,” said Winslow head coach Wes Littlefield. “If things were going to go wrong today, it seemed like they just kind of did. … I was hoping we’d be a little bit more into the game, but hey, credit to Foxcroft; they’re a great football team.”

The win once again highlighted Foxcroft’s status as the top dog in Class D North. The Ponies have won this region the last three times it’s been contested and have been to six of the past seven Class D finals, and this year’s team, despite returning just four starters on offense and defense, could be set to do the same.

“It just shows you the kind of program that we are and the talent we have,” Harvey said. “We have a great program, we all come out and work hard every day, and we start them up young. We’re coming for you in November.”

Broddik Bimpson had 70 yards on eight carries to lead Winslow, which got 57 on 17 carries from Hobbi and 53 on 11 from Liem Fortin. Tucker Pomerleau completed 3 of 13 passes for 38 yards and an interception.