BATH — Gavin Grover forgot his cleats at his house Saturday morning. The senior forward still found a way to give Richmond the Class D championship-winning goal later that afternoon.
With 24.5 seconds left, teammate Ben Fournier was flipped upside down by Fort Fairfield goalkeeper Brett Senal. Grover followed the shot, gathered the ball off the crossbar and tapped it in to give the Richmond the 3-2 win.
“The first game in my high school history I forgot my cleats, because they were drying from last night’s practice in hail,” Grover said. “I ask my father to bring them, he brought my middle school brother’s cleats. One of the sophomores, Braden McKenzie, loaned me his cleats. … I thank him a lot for that.”
Grover’s last-second heroics gave the Bobcats its sixth Class D title in program history, the second under head coach Peter Gardner and first since 2014.
After a scoreless first half in which top-seeded Richmond (16-1) stayed in control of possession and scoring chances, it seemed that two goals from Fournier in the 50th and 58th minutes all but decided the game early. However, third-seeded Fort Fairfield (14-3-1) was not going to make the nine-hour round trip without putting up a fight.
Junior striker Cayden Ala ignited the Tigers’ comeback in the 67th minute with a top-shelf rocket from in front of his own bench. Less than four minutes later, Ala scored again. This time, from right in front of Richmond goalkeeper David Edwards, who then called his team into a huddle before play resumed.
“We just needed to pick it up,” Fournier said of the pep talk. “We can do this. We’re like brothers out there on the field, so we’re close. We gotta pick it up, put one in the goal. We’ve been in close games before, we just gotta finish this one off.”
Richmond advanced to the state final after beating defending champion Monmouth in the regional final on penalty kicks. The Bobcats did not want a repeat of Tuesday night’s stress, Grover especially.
“There’s always that seed of doubt, but the way we play is, if you give up, you failed,” Grover said. “If you lose the game, but you didn’t give up, you haven’t failed. You only fail once you give up. That’s why we play. That’s why we play that way. I was like, ‘I’m not coming back to play for defense. Let’s take this to OT.’ No. I’m thinking, ‘Score.’ Jacob, on the sideline, (Richmond defender) Jacob Gay, he’s thinking the same thing. I heard him saying to me, one kid told him, ‘Hey, it’s over. You don’t gotta worry anymore.’ And then he said, ‘No, it’s not.’”
Richmond outshot Fort Fairfield 13-6, and attempted three corners to none. Senal saved 11 shots for the Tigers, while Edwards saved four shots for the Bobcats.
Fort Fairfield head coach John Ala was incredibly proud of his team’s second-half effort, especially given the heartbreaking finish.
“To be able to battle back like that down 2-nothing, they really could have packed it in and just called it a day,” John Ala said. “They’re very resilient and hungry and get back after it, and they made it a really close one. Really, really great game and, totally, hats off to Richmond. They did a fantastic job throughout the game, and that was a great finish at the end. Good for them.”
The last time Richmond won the Class D championship was during Gardner’s first year as head coach, 10 years ago. Across his 50-year career, he has led eight teams to a state title.
“Not at all,” Gardner said when asked if the winning feeling loses any thrill. “Not at all. But you know, the bottom line is the kids. I just love to be around the kids and to do what we do. So yeah, it doesn’t get old.”