HOULTON, Maine — After a tough two-game road stretch to start its season, the Houlton football team finally had its first home game Friday evening, playing before a large crowd at the Maliseet Athletic Complex.
Houlton (2-1) put on a good show for the hometown faithful as the Shires nearly doubled Ellsworth’s touchdown total with a 32-18 victory.
“It was good to get back home after being on the road for two weeks to open the season,” Houlton coach Brian Reynolds said. “There was big crowd for the game and the large turnout inspired the team.”
Shire senior quarterback Jared Fox completed two of six passes for 58 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 20 yards on nine carries for two additional scores.
Junior running back Seth Holston continued his dominant scoring as he rumbled for 89 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown. He also caught a 28-yard touchdown from Fox and scored on a 77-yard kick return.
“Seth Holston did it again for us on special teams returning a kickoff for a touchdown for the second week in a row,” coach Reynolds said. “Contributions like that on special teams can’t go unnoticed. He had another great night.”
Zach Hagan converted two of five extra point attempts and Austin Brown led the team in tackles with six, including a sack and a fumble recovery.
“Getting Austin Brown back from a hamstring injury was a big boost for us,” the coach said. “We are coming into the meat of our schedule with some very tough games coming up and we need to be healthy.”
Houlton gave up 164 yards rushing to Ellsworth and allowed 103 yards passing and three touchdowns via the air.
“I thought we played well overall, but there is room for improvement,” coach Reynolds said. “Defensively we played well with Damon Reynolds, Austin Brown, Nick Botting and Jacob Fox leading the defense. I was particularly happy to see our linebackers step up and have a good game.”
At 2-1, the Shires are right where the coaching staff hoped they would be at this point in the season.
“When the schedule came out we hoped to be 3-0 or 2-1 at this point,” Reynolds said. “After a lackluster effort in Dexter we have been building. We were a bit better at Washington Academy last week, and brought it up another notch this week versus a very tough Ellsworth team. They have some very good players and it made for an entertaining game for the fans.”
The Shires return to action Friday evening with their second straight home contest as they battle Mt. View, the team that knocked Houlton out of the playoffs last season.
“With Mt. View coming in this week we will be battling for a playoff spot,” coach Reynolds said. “They are also 2-1 and we are tied for fourth place in our conference. A win this week will go a long way towards securing a playoff spot. They beat us pretty handily down in Thorndike in the playoffs last year so we hope to return the favor on our home turf.”
Hou 13 6 13 0 – 32
Ells 6 6 6 0 – 18
