Week 10 Thoughts on the Weekend

- The playoffs are now in full swing with the addition of the Class A teams. We got to watch, follow, and track 20 playoff games across all phases of the playoff spectrum. 57 teams come to the playoff party, 6 go home with prizes. With that in mind it has dawn upon us that we’re nearing the end of the season. A time that seemed such a long, long ways away during Midnight Madness on August 18th.

- Whether it was by intent or not, we liked how the games were lined up. Look at the schedules. Class A, B, and C games were all on Friday night. Southern Class D games were Friday and Northern Class D games were Saturday. The 8 man small school regional finals were Friday night and the 8 man large school regional finals were Saturday afternoon. We’re sure it did not make things easy for coaches wanting to scout their opponents in person. Then again, the time-honored (but often denied) habit of scoreboard watching would have been in vogue.

- One would think that city rivals Portland and Deering would have played one-another more often in the playoffs than they have. In the last twenty years, their Friday game was just the second time they have met in the playoffs. That pales in comparison to the five times that Cheverus has played Deering and Portland in the playoffs. That is not to say there is a lack of familiarity between the two. This goes beyond things like the annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Bowl game. A city as big as Portland is still small enough that Rams and Bulldogs players, coaches, students, and fans know one-another on each side of the field. It is that which can create a little more animosity than usual for a playoff game – if that is possible. Portland took a quick two-touchdown lead when Cordell found Jake Johnson for a touchdown pass, followed minutes later by a 53-yard fumble recovery and touchdown run by Alex Martin. Martin and Jones helped Portland double their lead in the second quarter to 28-0 with a touchdown run each. Deering would find the scoreboard twice in the second half with touchdown runs by Jordan DiBiase and Zade Smith, sandwiching a touchdown by Jones, for the final score of 35-14. Counting Thanksgiving Day Turkey Bowl contests, the win was the seventh consecutive victory for Portland over Deering.

- Last week Bangor scored first, but then allowed 34 unanswered points in their regular season finale loss to Oxford Hill. This time around the Rams scored first, then scored again, and again, and again. By the time Oxford Hills got onto the scoreboard the game was well out of hand with Bangor picked up the 35-6 victory and a measure of revenge for the loss the prior week on the same Gouin Complex field. The game’s opening score happened on the very first play, a 72-yard touchdown on a quarterback keeper from Kyle Johnson. A high Oxford Hills snap went out of bounds for a safety minutes later. Focusing on the run, Johnson and Eli Marsh added three more rushing touchdowns over the next two quarters to put the Rams up 28-0. The last Rams points came on a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown by Hayden Summerlin. The Vikings lone points of the game came on a Dylan Truman touchdown pass to Jackson Stack.

- Northern Class A will see a rematch between Portland and Bangor in the regional final. The two teams met in 2024, a 54-14 Bulldogs victory. Portland will be in its fifth consecutive regional finale.

- Thornton Academy’s breakout against South Portland in the third quarter came from the most unexpected of people in the most unexpected of situations. However, points are points for the Golden Trojans that helped propel them over the Red Riots 35-12 on Friday. Up 14-6 in the third quarter, Brayden Hooper picked off a Parker Reny pass and returned it the short 15 yards to the end zone to put Thornton Academy up 28-6. On the ensuing possession, South Portland drove deep into Golden Trojan territory before Hooper picked off his second pass of the game. Thornton Academy would drive the length of the field with Ayoob scoring his second touchdown of the night. Quarterbacks Noah Fullerton of Thornton Academy and Reny of South Portland each threw two touchdown passes on the night. The win was Thornton Academy’s tenth consecutive victory over South Portland. The last Red Riots win between the two was in 2013.

- Revenge is a powerful motivator. You can ask Bangor about it. You could also ask Bonny Eagle too. Last year’s regional semifinal loss might have lingered in the heads of Bonny Eagle’s seniors and juniors as they lined up against a Noble team who knocked them out in 2024. After a missed Noble field goal, Bonny Eagle put their statement on the game with a running game that Noble had few answers for during their 27-12 victory. Led by Colby McCormack, the Scots ran for 241 with a touchdown each by McCormack, Colin Moran, and Lucas Klehn. The Scots other touchdown came from a Moran screen pass to Drew Gervais, who broke away from the Knights defenders for a 71-yard touchdown. While Noble’s first points came from a Michael Richardson goal line touchdown run, they were never able to get their running game established. Forced to take to the air, an opportunistic Bonny Eagles secondary picked off quarterback Mark Lapointe three times while also forcing a fumble. Lapointe would account for the final points of the game with a 26-yard touchdown, which happened to account for 40% of the aforementioned Knights rushing game.

- Bonny Eagle and Thornton Academy will meet for just the fourth time in the past ten years. The Scots won in 2019 for the Class A title, while Thornton Academy won in the 2017 regional semifinal and the 2023 regional final. Thornton Academy are appearing in their eighth consecutive regional final/state semifinal and 13th such game in 14 seasons, the longest run by any Maine football team. Bonny Eagle will be in their fifth regional final/state semifinal game in six seasons.

- It goes without saying that people would expect a significant offensive effort from a Cony team that averaged a shade over 50 points scored this season. There was plenty of offense during the Rams Northern Class B semifinal meeting against Messalonskee. That was not the only thing on display during Cony’s 59-0 victory on Friday. Sure, there was the air attack from Parker Morin, who completed 83% of his passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns. There was a ground game effort by Anderson Noyes, who had 92 of the team’s 178 rushing yards and four of the team’s six rushing touchdowns. The defense held Messalonskee quarterback Tatum Doucette to just 61 passing yards, while also limiting the Eagle’s ground game to only 63 yards. The shutout win is the second by Cony over Messalonskee. They also won 47-0 during the first week of the regular season.

- When Fryeburg last played Lawrence, they would fall 47-35 during the midst of a three-game losing skid. Lawrence meanwhile went on to win four of their next five games. Unlike that week six game, the Class B North regional semifinal was the exact opposite as Fryeburg Academy won 34-13. At the focal point of the Raiders effort was running back Ty Boone. After an Evan Bowers quarterback keeper on the opening drive of the game which give Lawrence a 7-0 lead, Boone run for a touchdown and caught a pass for a touchdown to put Fryeburg Academy up 13-7. The touchdown run, a 65-yard score, happened on the ensuing drive. Merrick Iacozilli and Boone increased the lead to 27-7 by the end of the third quarter. Boone would pick up his fourth touchdown of the night following a Keegan Littlefield touchdown pass from Bowers for the final points of the game.

- For Fryeburg Academy, this is their third consecutive regional finals appearance. They split wins with Leavitt in 2023 and 2024. Cony meanwhile is only appearing in their third regional final in the last 13 years. They beat Brunswick 48-38 in 2013, while losing 27-7 to Lawrence in 2023. Cony enters the game just a point back of Winslow for the state 11 man lead in points scored over the season at 461. Only Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale and Hermon have allowed fewer points than Cony’s 83.

- After trailing for most of the game, Westbrook did what had to be done in the final few minutes to take the lead and hold it for the 15-12 victory and possibly their first ever regional finals game in football. After Giovanni Staples’ touchdown run in the first quarter, Marshwood took a 12-7 lead on touchdown passes from Michael Sbrizza to Brady Isabelle in the second quarter. Neither side could take the all-deciding touchdown in the third quarter as they exchanged possessions. Marshwood’s defense did an especially terrific job as they stopped several Westbrook drives that got into their red zone. With less than two minutes to go and the ball on the Marshwood 25 with the Hawks on fourth and three, Westbrook’s defense came up with a crucial stop that forced the turnover on downs and gave the Blue Blazes excellent field position. Several plays later Staples calls his own number, runs left, finds a seem, and runs in the five-yard touchdown with 22 seconds remaining. The successful two-point conversion put Westbrook up 15-12 and the home stands in a frenzy of screaming excitement. The Hawks would have an opportunity to play spoiler, but with seconds left a downfield pass by Sbrizza was picked off by Andrew McNeil to bring the game to a conclusion.

- In a game of key moments, none was more crucial than the routine matter of a point after try kick. But that is football, much like life. In the end it was Kennebunk getting the 21-20 victory and some degree of revenge. The revenge came in as the Rams knocked out of the playoffs the same team that beat them almost a year ago for the Class B state title. The Rams took a commanding 14-0 lead early in the first half with a touchdown run by Austin West, followed by a five-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Jaiden Homa to quarterback Sam Matthews, on a play that started with a direct snap to West. Falmouth would eventually tie the game early in the fourth quarter with the second touchdown pass from Tres Walker to Ben Robbins. On the following drive that lasted almost five and half minutes, West would get his second rushing touchdown. With the successful PAT kick, the Rams would reclaimed a 21-14 less with less than six minutes to go. Falmouth’s ensuing drive had plenty of excitement as Walker completed three crucial passes for first downs, passes that gave the Navigators life as they moved downfield. With Walker taking the ball in for a touchdown from a yard out on the goal line, it set the all-important next decision. Would head coach Spencer Emerson go for the PAT kick from Peter Kearns, who was successful on the prior two PAT kicks earlier in the game, to tie the game or would he opt for the two-point conversion. The decision was made to go for the PAT kick, which ended up going wide of the right-most uprights. With no alternative left other than to go for the onside kick, Falmouth tried in desperation only to watch the ball take a hop or two before going out of bounds. This left Kennebunk with the task of taking a kneel-down to bring the game to a close.

- While Kennebunk and Westbrook are Southern Maine teams, the history between them is both limited and mostly one-sided. In 20 years they have only played 9 times with Kennebunk winning 7 of those games. Westbrook’s only two wins were back in week six of this season and a 42-14 victory in week seven of the 2014 season. Kennebunk is playing in their third consecutive regional final. For Westbrook, they are likely in their first ever regional final.

- It was a slow start in Cumberland for the Greely Rangers, but they kept putting points on the board while keeping Medomak Valley out of their end zone until the last quarter in a 36-8 victory. The Rangers scored first in the first quarter, with two more touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 21-0 halftime lead. By the time Medomak Valley got their touchdown late in the game with a touchdown and a two-point conversion, Greely had added third and fourth quarter touchdowns. With 315 points as of Friday night, the Rangers lead Class C in most points scored.

- Wells reversed a narrow regular season loss to Gardiner with a narrow 14-12 victory over those same Tigers to advance to the Class C playoffs semifinals. The game looked to be a defensive battle on paper and it certainly lived up to that billing. Both teams spent most of the first half struggling to get any sort of deep advancement into the other’s half of the field. With three and a half minutes left until halftime it was Gardiner that got the first points on the scoreboard on a Justin Doody touchdown run. Wells would get into the scoreboard as well in the final seconds of the half as Nathan DeMauro hauled in a 19-yard touchdown pass from Noah McDonough. With the successful PAT Wells would take a 7-6 lead into the half. They extended that lead on the opening drive of the second half with a short touchdown run from Colin Moody to go up 14-6. Gardiner would respond less than a minute later with Doody getting his second touchdown of the night. Opting to tie the game up, Gardiner went for the two-point conversion and putting the ball back into Doody’s hands. However, the Wells defense came up with the stop to hold a two-point lead that carried into the fourth quarter. The Tigers had a golden opportunity in the final minutes of the game to retake the lead. However, first they suffered a sack that dropped them back after starting out the play on the Wells 9 yard line. Then the Warriors’ Robert Bates stripped the ball from a Gardiner ball carrier, where it was recovered by Liam Perkins.

- When Wells defeated Greely 9-7 in the 2012 Western Class B regional quarterfinal, few would have envisioned this being the last game the two long-time Campbell Conference rivals would play for over a decade. Even fewer would have imaged that their next game would have Greely being an undefeated state champion and Wells being a fifth-seeded team. During week six Greely defeated Wells 35-14.

- The Leavitt Hornets made Foxcroft Academy pay for their early turnovers with four consecutive touchdowns during their 34-3 victory on Friday. A field goal by Leo De La Poza in the second quarter was Foxcroft Academy’s only points. At the time it was 6-3, a fairly narrow deficit. However, in the second quarter Cooper Morin picked off two Ponies passes. With a stout defense and those picks, Leavitt got a rushing and receiving touchdown from Mason Henderson along with rushing touchdowns by Nathan Karkos and Randan Hutchinson to go up 26-3 at halftime. A Landon Marquis touchdown pass to Nick Mellon, which was originally intended for Karkos before being initially bouncing out of his hands and snatched up by Mellon, would be the only points of the second half and the final points of the game.

- Hermon proved right off the bat that they were willing to take their chances against Nokomis in their Class C quarterfinal game. The recovered on-side kick and subsequent Sam Hopkins touchdown, one of two on the night, were part of the Hawks 30-6 victory over the Warriors. Hermon followed up the Hopkins touchdown on their opening drive with Ethan Curtis to Tyler Corson touchdowns on their next two drives. By the time Nokomis had finally got things going on offense, a 47-yard Gabe Leighton to Seth Bowden got them onto the scoreboard, Hopkins quickly brought a close to any momentum by returning the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown and a 27-6 score. Nokomis would have opportunities in the second half. Kobey Almeida was able to hold onto a tipped ball for a Warriors interception. They also held Hermon to an Ethan Garner field goal. However, Hermon had several time-consuming drives to keep the ball out of the Warriors hands. This, combined with a ball strip by Jacob Murzyn, proved to be enough for the Hawks to celebrate the win.

- It was only three weeks ago that these two teams met in a very narrow 12-7 Leavitt victory. Fans may remember the touchdown that may not have been a touchdown. Coaches may remember the three pivotal interceptions thrown by Hermon’s Ethan Curtis and Sam Hopkins. Hermon will be appearing in their second consecutive regional final/state semifinal and their fifth such game in eight years. Leavitt meanwhile is playing in their seventh such game, second only to Thornton Academy for the longest such run of finals appearances. Hermon is 1-3 in these games. Leavitt is 3-3.

- Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale came into the playoffs allowing the fewest points of any team in the state. Of those 45 points allowed, 12 came from long-time rival Oak Hill during their season opener. The sequel was similar to the original as Winthrop defeated Oak Hill 28-13 to advance to the Southern Class D regional final. There were other parallels. Similar to week one, Winthrop’s jumped out to an early lead and Oak Hill drew even as Jacob Feith’s touchdown pass to Brody Adams was equaled out by Colton Burnham. From there the Ramblers took a commanding 28-7 lead with touchdowns by Ross Fichthorn (run), Feith to Ben Porter (pass), and Feith (run). Burnham scored his second touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. However, Winthrop would run out the remainder of the game for the win.

- For a second straight week it was Morse that emerged victorious, this time around knocking off the second seeded Dirigo Cougars 28-22. By halftime the Shipbuilders had a 14-6 lead. However, things would get crazy in the third quarter. After Morse expanded that lead with another touchdown, Dirigo answered with two touchdowns and two two-point conversions of their own take a 22-20 lead. On the final drive for Morse, with less than two minutes to go, Junuh Hays scored his third touchdown of the game and then scored on the two-point conversion to put the Shipbuilders up 28-22. With the last possession Dirigo was unable to muster one last scoring run as their playoff trip ended and Morse’s continued.

- For Winthrop, they are making their sixth consecutive regional final/state semifinal trip. However, they have only been to one state championship in that span. For Morse, their opportunities have been far fewer. In 20 years they were in regional finals in 2021 (8 man large school class North) and 2008 (Eastern Class B). They too went to one state championship. During the regular season Winthrop defeated Morse 35-8 in week five.

- By the time snow started falling onto the grass at Arthur D. Greenlaw Alumni Field in Millinocket, Stearns was poised to go into halftime with a commanding 50-8 advantage. The scoring by the Minutemen did slow down in the second half. Unlike the snow, which left a few inches on the field at the final buzzer. By that point it was Stearns that celebrated the 64-8 victory. The win was their second consecutive regional finals victory in their fifth consecutive regional final. The five finals is the longest streak by any 8 man team.

- Trot Moody put Old Orchard Beach into the end zone six times on Friday, helping them to clinch their ticket to a fourth consecutive state championship with a 74-28 win over Telstar. Like their peers in the north, there was no absence of point production by the Seagulls as they took leads of 32-6 and 66-20 at the end of the first and second quarter. Telstar’s Alex Dougherty ran for four touchdowns, two of which went over 50 yards each. However, with the rain falling onto Joe Regina Football Field and the Seagulls up by a commanding lead, the two teams exchanged only a touchdown each in the second half until the end of the game. The 74 points are tied for the fifth most points scored and the 102 combined points are tied for the eighth most combined points in an 8 man game.

- The path to the state championship seemed like an eventuality for these two teams. Few teams in Maine have had as dominating a run in regional play as Old Orchard Beach and Stearns. The Seagulls are winners of 27 consecutive regional games since losing 48-20 to Mountain Valley in 2022. Stearns have won 15 consecutive regional games, dating back to the 58-40 loss to Orono in the 2023 8 man small school north regional final. These two will play in the first championship rematch of 8 man teams in its six-year history in Maine.

- When the first quarter came to a close in Winslow, there was going to be much, much more Black Raiders touchdowns scored during their 68-7 rout of Madison on Saturday afternoon during the Northern Class D regional semifinal. After a slow 7-0 start, Winslow erupted with 28 points in the second quarter. Even with running time to start the second half Winslow got 15 points to go up 50-0. In the final quarter they got three more touchdowns for the final score. The team stats were nowhere close as Winslow out gained Madison 389 yards to 95. Hassan Hobby and Patrick Lobier combined for 258 yards and five touchdowns on 24 carries. Defensively Winslow forced and recovered several turnovers. One was an interception return for a touchdown and another was a fumble recovery that led to a touchdown.

- The other Northern Class D regional semifinal happened later in the evening. The time might have been different but it too was a rout as John Bapst defeated Maranacook 40-12 to advance to their second regional final in three years. John Bapst built an early 14-0 first quarter lead. This increased to 34-0 at halftime. While Maranacook found the end zone twice, a John Bapst touchdown in the second half ensured that the game would not get any closer before the game came to its conclusion. Malcolm Butler finished the night with two rushing touchdowns and a reception for a touchdown. Sam Curtis had for a touchdown on offense as well as on a kickoff return.

- John Bapst and Winslow are no strangers to regional finals. Since 2004, Winslow has been to 12 of them. John Bapst meanwhile has been to 7. However, they have only been to a combined 7 finals in the last ten years. These two were no such strangers in the past. From 2012 to 2016 Winslow appeared in five straight finals. John Bapst meanwhile went to four consecutive finals from 2007 to 2010.

- Camden Hills approached the game in a slow, methodical approach that led to their 35-0 victory over Mount Desert Island for their first ever regional final and state championship trip in football. After an even first half where the Windjammers held a narrow 14-0 lead, they slowly pulled away in the second half between a combination of methodical play downfield, turnovers by the Trojans, and eight minutes of running time in the fourth quarter. Hollis Schwalm completed touchdown passes to Brayden Beveridge and Justin Batty. Beveridge would also run in a touchdown along with two touchdowns from Ben Hoffman. Lincoln Gray for Mount Desert Island would run for 98 yards, but turnovers killed several opportunities the Trojans had both early on and later in the game.

- After seeing several dramatic finishes on Friday, we got one more memorable finish on Saturday as Spruce Mountain’s Dylan Jewett scored his third and deciding touchdown, preceded by and also followed by fourth down stops by the Phoenix defense, to defeat Mt. Ararat 20-14 and book their first state championship trip under the Phoenix name. The Phoenix and Eagles exchanged leads for most of the game. Mt. Ararat’s Avery O’Connor hauled in a Will Davis pass and ran it in for a touchdown. Following an Eagles turnover later in the second quarter, Jewett scored his first touchdown and then completed a pass to Owen Kelvey for the two point conversion and a Spruce Mountain 8-6 lead going into the half. The two teams exchanged touchdowns – Jewett’s second touchdown on the second half’s opening drive, following by a Nick Doughty touchdown and two-point conversion for Mt. Ararat – that tied the game 14-14 going into the fourth quarter. Spruce Mountain defense would force a turnover on downs midway through the final quarter, leading to Jewett’s third touchdown and the eventual game-winning points. Mt. Ararat received the kickoff and made their way downfield. However, they got bogged down just inside the Spruce Mountain half of the field. Staring down a fourth and ten with a little over two minutes to go, Will Davis’ pass was just out of the reach of his intended recipient. With 2:06 to go Spruce Mountain would get a first down and then take the kneel downs for the win.

- The seniors on Spruce Mountain were not even a twinkle in their parents’ eyes when Jay went to the 2004 state championship. Never mind about Camden Hills and their very first trip to the state championship. The game will pit two of the top offenses and defenses in the 8 man large school class against one-another. Camden Hills has scored 374 points and allowed 156. Spruce Mountain has scored 390 points and allowed 144. There have been six shutouts during the 2025 playoffs. Two of them belong to Camden Hills. For a fifth year, the 8 man large school class will see a different state champion. After Mt. Ararat won the inaugural state 8 man title in 2019, Cheverus won in 2021, Yarmouth won in 2022, Mount Desert Island won in 2023, and Greely won in 2024.

- On Saturday, The University of Maine’s Alfond Stadium was the scene of the 2025 Maine Independent Football League’s state championship game between the Aroostook Huskies and the Central Maine Eagles. With the Eagles leading 32-30 midfield through the fourth quarter Damien Kennedy atoned for a mistake earlier in the quarter when he fumbled a ball near the goal that wiped out a potential touchdown. Following a Huskies defensive stop, the offense started at midfield and quickly drove downfield. Four plays later and with 9 seconds to go, Kennedy found the end zone for the game-winning touchdown and the 36-32 victory for Central Aroostook. The victory gave them their second consecutive league title.

- Out of state tracker
Winnacunnet defeated Exeter 34-14 on Friday. The Warriors will travel to Bedford in the Division I quarterfinal this upcoming Friday.
Monadnock defeated Somersworth 20-14 on Saturday. The Huskies will host Gilford in the Division III semifinal this upcoming Saturday.
Laconia defeated Newport 21-6 on Saturday. The Sachems will host Inter-Lakes-Moultonborough in the Division III semifinal this upcoming Saturday.

- Quote of the week
"Our motto the whole entire week was they ended our season last year, it’s time for us to end their season this year."
Austin West, Kennebunk running back

- Streak tracker
There are 5 unbeaten teams in Maine, which is unchanged from last week
1 team ended their winning streak of 4 or more games: Mt. Ararat (7) 
The longest active winning streaks belong to Old Orchard Beach (20), Greely (18), Cony (9), John Bapst (9), and Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale (9)

What are your thoughts on the weekend?

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