A point of emphasis for Coach Ed Crocker's 8-man football squad is his players "play hard for all four quarters." And that's what happened Sept. 26 at Sherman Field. Boothbay trailed Traip 14-2 late in the fourth quarter, but overcame the deficit and defeated Traip, 28-26, in overtime. 

Boothbay started off on the "wrong foot" as Traip won the coin toss, elected to receive and scored on the opening kickoff for an 8-0 lead. Defense was king during regulation as Boothbay's only first half points came on a defensive safety when linebacker Shawn Gamage tackled the Traip ball carrier in the end zone.

"They sent me in there on a blitz, and I made the tackle," Gamage said. If the safety was the first half highlight then the low-light also happened in the second quarter. With Boothbay trailing 8-0, the offensive unit illegally aided a runner into the end zone using the play known as the "Tush Push" where teammates push the pile along with the runner. Boothbay was penalized five yards and failed to score with the ball on the Traip one-yard line.

In the second half, both defenses continued their dominance until a missed assignment in the Boothbay secondary resulted in a Traip 84-yard touchdown pass. "Defensively, we played a dominant game except for that one play," Crocker said. "We gave up a touchdown on the kickoff probably because we didn't have the right personnel on field, and the second on a busted play."

Boothbay's fortune turned with less than five minutes remaining in regulations when Boothbay forced two turnovers inside the Traip 5-yard line. A fumbled exchange between Traip quarterback Max Jordan and running back Ben Martine was recovered by the Boothbay defense. 

A couple plays later, running back Peyton Barter ran for paydirt. "I saw a hole and ran for it," he said. Later in the fourth quarter, Traip botched a snap on the punt which resulted in another touchdown, tying the score.  Despite having lost its first three games and trailing by two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter in their fourth, Boothbay continued to play hard and fought for victory. 

"We stayed positive and kept competing. We never thought we were going to lose," said defensive end Griffin Yereance. 

Crocker describe the victory as one the "biggest" in his football coaching career. "This was a big one for us. We played a team which might be a playoff team. It was a satisfying win, but also a stressful one, too," he said.

Boothbay improves to 1-2 and Traip falls to 1-2. Boothbay is in fifth place in the 8-man Small Conference South standings. Traip is in fourth. Boothbay hosts Washington Academy of East Machias on Friday, Oct. 3 as their Homecoming opponent. Washington Academy is 1-2 with its lone victory against Mount View of Thorndike, 54-14.