Week 2 Thoughts on the Weekend

- Now that we are out of the gate and through the first turn of the regular season, storylines are abound for 2025. People will often say, “It is too early for things to matter”. Unlike other sports with longer seasons, the margin for error in the football regular season is much narrower. A loss here or there, a crushing defeat from a rival, it will have ramifications down the line. We tend to forget these early-season impacts in favor of a “now it matters” approach in the final week or two.

- After somewhat slow starts during their Thursday contest, Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale and John Bapst had little problem finishing their games with very telling wins over Mountain Valley and Maine Central Institute. The two teams combined for five second half touchdowns after taking 27-0 (Ramblers) and 41-6 (Crusaders) leads into the half. While their offenses have been prolific this season, their defenses have been as equally dominant. If not more so. In Class D the Ramblers and Crusaders are ranked 1^st – 2^nd in fewest points allowed, with the Ramblers tied for fourth and the Crusaders ninth in Classes A through D in that category.

- Deering and Marshwood raced out to overwhelming leads in their early Friday night games against Edward Little and Biddeford. The two teams combined for a 64-7 advantage late in the second quarters. In the second half Edward Little and Biddeford scored 52 combined points to make their respective games look a little closer. However, at the final buzzer Deering picked up the 54-31 win and Marshwood had a 48-28 win. Those two teams moved to 1-1 on the second after losses last week and both teams are fourth in their respective regions.

- After a slow 0-0 start, Oxford Hills took a 15-0 halftime lead and didn’t look back as the Vikings shut out Massabesic 36-0 on Friday. While defensively holding the Mustangs to just 41 yards and a one-for-nine conversion on third down, offensively the Vikings only setback was a fumble while scoring six touchdowns after the first 12 minutes. Dylan Truman went 13 for 20 with 191 yards and two touchdowns and Cameron Pulkkinen ran for a touchdown, caught a touchdown pass, scored a two-point conversion, and had a sack while also getting four PAT kicks. Oxford Hills win moved their into third place in Northern Class A. The loss dropped Massabesic to fourth in Southern Class A.

- The Bangor Rams got plenty of rightly deserved pre-season attention. Their squad boasts a large senior-heavy contingent on both sides of the ball. Their quarterback Kyle Johnson looks trimmed down and much tougher than last year. After handling Deering 21-0 last week, there was a fair degree of comments regarding their game with Thornton Academy. Their response to Thornton Academy’s early lead with a 13-play, 59-yard drive showed that they were capable of playing tough-nosed football. That was when the Golden Trojans defense appeared to take that early Bangor touchdown personally. They stopped the Rams throughout the first half while getting second-half interceptions on Johnson, both leading to Thornton Academy touchdowns that increased their lead to 29-7 and 42-7 respectively. Thornton Academy has won their last five games against Bangor by a combined score of 282-27. This includes the 84-13 shellacking in 2021. We’re unsure if Bangor has beaten Thornton Academy in football. If it has, it is well outside of our records.

- With wins by Bonny Eagle and Noble on Friday, there are three teams in Southern Class A that boast a 2-0 start. The difference in first, second, and third place comes down to their strength of schedule. Thornton Academy opponents have won 11 of their 18 games. Bonny Eagle opponents have won 9 of their 18 games. And Noble opponents have won 8 of their 18 games.

- Windham held a 14-10 lead on Portland towards the end of halftime in their Friday game, two Eagles scores by running back Parker Sperrey. The Bulldogs would rally in the second half to tie and take the eventual lead on Cordell Jones fourth rushing touchdown of the contest. He also had a key interception in the second quarter that stopped Windham from taking an early lead when the game was tied 7-7. The win gives Portland a 2-0 record and puts them in sole possession of first place in Northern Class A. The loss drops Windham to 0-2 and a fall to sixth place.

- Fryeburg Academy’s defense has recorded four shutouts in their last five games following their 15-0 victory at Farmington against Mt. Blue. The Raiders win puts them in second in Northern Class B and extends their unbeaten streak to six games.

- The high-powered Cony Rams are enjoying one of their best starts in recent memory after their 55-6 win over Brunswick. Their 2-0 start, a start where they have allowed just one touchdown, stands in stark contrast to a start 19 years when the 2006 Rams were shutout in their two opening contests. Only Winslow (117) in Classes A through D along with 8 man teams Old Orchard Beach (120) and Stearns (110) have scored more points than Cony (102).

- Gorham’s Wyatt Washburn was well acquainted with the end zone during the Rams 38-6 win over Lewiston. In addition to catching two touchdown passes, he also returned an interception for a 35-yard touchdown and returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. The win helped Gorham keep pace in a very competitive Southern Class B. While they are 1-1, they are in sixth place our of seven teams as their strength of schedule has them well below the other 1-1 teams Falmouth, Marshwood, and Westbrook.

- Skowhegan’s recovery of two on-side kick attempts in the second half helped them to get their lead, and then to preserve it during their 14-13 win over Lawrence. The second recovery could be considered an extension of the excitement and energy that carried over following the defense’s two-point conversion stop of the Bulldogs’ Keegan Littlefield. Had Keegan scored, we would be talking about a Lawrence 15-14 win. Instead, it was that stop and the on-side kick recovery that helped them preserve their 14-13 win. Since 2010, the Skowhegan win is their seventh in 17 games against Lawrence and only their third victory since 2019.

- Hermon served notice to the state with an eye-catching 22-16 win over Wells on Friday. Despite an auspicious start to the game when the Hawks turned over the ball on the game’s opening drive, they were the recipient of a fortunate break when a Wells snap sailed over the head of the Wells punter and out of the end zone for a safety and a 2-0 Hermon lead. Hawks quarterback Ethan Curtis would twice find Sam Hopkins for touchdowns to extend the Hawks lead to 15-0 at the half. Wells would twice find the end zone to get onto the board. However, a third Curtis to Hopkins touchdown pass and a Jacob Murzyn hit on Warriors quarterback Noah McDonough that led to a Dylan Yeo interception late in the game was enough to send the Pottle Field crowd into a celebratory frenzy with the win. The loss ended Wells’ 15 game winning streak, the longest active streak in the state.

- Dogged determination seems to be a trait for the Greely Rangers. During the Rangers first run of play they were a team always low on numbers in Class B but ultra-high on competitiveness. After having to dissolve their varsity team and co-op with Falmouth, the Rangers returned in 2022 as an 8 man team. After a winless season, the following year they turned a three-game losing skid into a five-game unbeaten run and a loss in the 8 man large school championship to Mount Desert Island. A year later they put it all together with a 10-1 season and a 58-20 win over Mt. Ararat for the 8 man large school championship. This season they returned as a Greely team to the 11 man ranks for the first time in seven years. This week the program had the daunting task of hosting Leavitt. With that dogged determination, coupled with a riverboat gambler mentality, they walked away with a 28-26 victory.

One could look at the Rangers first two touchdowns to that gambler mentality. Both happened with Greely on fourth down. With four yards to go from the Leavitt 30, Greely quarterback Luke Piper found a seam and eventually the end zone. The next one came with the Rangers starring down a fourth and very long situation at the Leavitt 48. Piper found Ben Kyles in stride for the completed pass and the eventual touchdown. Even after Leavitt came back in the second half 20-20, Greely was not done, nor did they let the moment shake their collective confidence. Following a Noah Allen 71-yard touchdown, Leavitt marched back the other way and found the end zone. However, an unsuccessful conversion kept the Rangers up by two with three and a half minutes remaining. The riverboat mentality that served them well in the first quarter was called upon in a fourth and 8 at midfield. The attempt was not successful and the Rangers did something that convention wisdom screams against – given Leavitt the ball in a short field with the game on the line. However, convention wisdom does not factor in the dogged Greely determination that held Leavitt back and came up with the stop on fourth and three that was the catalyst for a victory that forced the state to take notice.

- What team is at the top of Class C, tied for the fewest points allowed in the state, and is enjoying only their second 2-0 start in the last ten years? That’s right, it is the Gardiner Tigers. It is the sort of start would make the late John Wolfgram, a former Gardiner coach we might add, very proud. After shutting out Oceanside a week ago, they played Old Town tight and close all game long to grind out a 21-6 win. The start has them sitting at the top of the Class C mountain. Their time to enjoy the scenery will be brief as they host 1-1 Wells on Friday.

- After Medomak Valley took an 8-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, their game in Freeport against the Falcons featured three lead changes. The first saw the Falcons score twice to go into halftime up 13-8. Medomak Valley pulled back ahead with a 14-13 lead at the end of the third quarter. That final touchdown, the one that would either preserve the Panthers victory or would send the home crowd at Samuelson Track & Field into a celebratory frenzy, was at the hands of Freeport. Their touchdown and two-point conversion, with a stout-defensive effort to close the contest out, gave Freeport the 21-14 win. The 2-0 Falcons start is their fifth in the last six seasons.

- The black and orange of Winslow finished the week with yet another high-scoring offensive demonstration with their 63-22 win in Belfast. The victory puts the Black Raiders in first place in Northern Class D. Their 117 points scored is second only to that of 8 man Old Orchard Beach 120’s points of offense. Winslow is back at home Saturday as they host Freeport in a meeting of the Class D first place teams.

- 290 passing yards, 9 passing touchdowns, 445 rushing yards, 4 rushing touchdowns, 12 tackles, an interception, and a fumble recovery. No, these are not the stats from my last Madden game against my niece. She is usually much to busy on her phone to want to play a game of foosball with her uncle on the Playstation. No, these are the 2025 stats by Dirigo’s Hudson Lufkin. He added five touchdowns through the air and one on the ground, with a 383-yard combined offensive effort, to help the Cougars beat Poland 39-14. While Dirigo is only in second by a Heal-points tiebreaker with Freeport, they are right up their at the top of the Class D standings with Hudson near the top of the state’s offensive statistical categories.

- The last game to end on Friday ended up being the most capitalizing between Bucksport and Washington Academy at Carmichael Field in Bucksport. The finish was not exactly how many would have envisioned it given the start. The Raiders took a 24-6 lead into the end of the first quarter, spurred on by four Golden Bucks fumbles. Bucksport defense, as well as the rest of the team, would recover as the defense did not concede another other points. This, coupled with three Bucksport touchdowns, eventually led to the 24-24 regulation final and the forcing of overtime. The Raiders would take the opening possession. However, their possession ended in a painful manner as Bucksport’s Jake Haselhoff tackled the Washington Academy’s quarterback while he was in the process of throwing the ball. The forced fumble was recovered by Bucksport and gave them possession. They would not squander the opportunity as Nick Debeck found the end zone for the third and final time to give the Golden Bucks the 30-24 overtime win.

- Like last week the Orono Red Riots were able to keep up with their competition for a period of time. Last Friday it was Old Orchard Beach. This Friday is was Stearns. After talking the early 8-0 first quarter lead, Orono and Stearns exchanged touchdowns with the Minutemen taking a 30-22 lead into the half. And yes, like last week, Orono was unable to keep pace in the second half. This time it was Stearns that scored twice in the third quarter and twice more in the fourth quarter for a 60-22 victory. The Minutemen have a 2-0 start for the second consecutive year, while Orono is 0-2 for the first time since 2021.

- Cheverus’ 48-21 win over Messalonskee puts the Stags at 2-0 and the Eagles at 0-2. For the Eagles, the loss moves them into a tie for fifth place in Northern Class B. The Stags win lifted them into a tie with Kennebunk for first place in Southern Class B. At the end of the week it was Cheverus sliding into first and Kennebunk falling into second. So how exactly did that happen? We had to resort to the fourth tiebreaker - Heal Points. For that we had to look at the schedules and who they defeated. The Stags beat 1-1 Gorham and 0-2 Messalonskee. Kennebunk beat 1-1 Falmouth and 0-2 Scarborough. Because winless teams only carry a 1 point preliminary index, we went to the 1-1 teams. Gorham beat Class A Lewiston this week. That victory carries with it a football Class A value of 70 points. Falmouth beat Class B Westbrook this week. That victory carries a football Class B point value of 60 points. So take each number, divide them by 8 (the number of games in each team’s schedules to determine their preliminary index value), add it with 1, then divide each of those numbers with 8 once again to determine the tournament index value. And voila, Cheverus is ahead of Kennebunk at the end of the week.

- Last week we talked about Sanford playing their game against Biddeford in the memory of Jony Hunter, who had passed away over the summer. In Sabattus, Oak Hill’s game against Morse was similar in that regard as the Raiders remembered Isaac "Iggy" Graham, who passed away around the same time as Jony. Emotions were strong before and during the game. And like last week’s game for Sanford, the Raiders had a happy finish to the game with their 32-6 win.

- After a back-and-forth start on Saturday between undefeated Camden Hills and Mt. Ararat, one could look on the score sheet as the half in which the Windjammers pulled away. However, you may need to add a few seconds onto that narrative as it was Braden Beveridge’s interception brought the first half to a close and began building the momentum. At the start of the third quarter Camden Hills quarterback Hollis Schwalm found Beveridge over the middle on a looping pass that turned into a 35-yard touchdown run and an 18-14 Windjammers lead. Following a Mt. Ararat fumble, Beveridge found the end zone for a second time that give Camden Hills a 24-14 lead. The two sides exchanged a touchdown with the Eagles unable to do any more at the end. The 30-20 win gives Camden Hills their third consecutive 2-0 start.

- Lost in the ledgers was the showing of sportsmanship that happened in Thorndike between Mount View and Traip Academy. The Raiders, their lead well in hand, cheered along as the Mustangs’ Cody Robinson ran his way through the middle of the field and into the end zone on the final play of the game. This touchdown, combined with a touchdown and two-point conversion by Aaron Hartley minutes earlier, ended the game with a 52-16 score. The showing of sportsmanship on that last play helped the Mustangs exceed their points scored total in all of 2024. In case you aren’t aware, Mount View last year was an incredibly underclassmen-heavy team. How heavy? Of the 18 registered players on MaxPreps in 2024, nine were sophomores and nine were freshmen. Let that sink in. While some might view all this with the derogatory term “participation trophy”, given where the Mustangs were at and where they are now, we see these steps as positive steps forward on the build towards program sustainability.

- For the last few years we have used the “Maine Cool Department Travel Tracker” as our way to help illustrate the travel experienced by all the football teams under the MPA umbrella. Yet there is one team, a team outside that umbrella, that has a travel schedule that would make administrators, coaches, players, and parents collectively shudder. That team is the Aroostook Huskies. They are a club team based in the Presque Isle area that plays in the Maine Independent Football League. While separate from the MPA, they hold their own fundraisers to pay for their equipment and operational costs. They play at a lighted field they have developed and improved which is all their own – a place called Lisa’s Boneyard.

Because they play outside the MPA, they have a very unique travel schedule. One that makes those experienced by the Valley Mustangs look mild in comparison – that is saying something! Last week they experienced a travel schedule that is normally reserved by those prep teams that you see playing on ESPN or mentioned in the fancy websites. Teams like Bishop Gorman, IMG Academy, St. John Bosco, St. Frances Academy, or Bergen Catholic. Teams that boast all sorts of 5-star athletes who committed to the fancy FBS programs that we only see on TV. For the Aroostook Huskies, their travel schedule takes them to China. No, not the nation but the central Maine city. They also play a team from Berlin. No, not the Germany city but the Northern New Hampshire community. Last week they undertook the most ambitious trips in their 23-year history. And that is saying something. They went to Pottstown, Pennsylvania to play Coventry Christian School.

If your knowledge of the Keystone State is lacking, we’ll help you out. This school is on the eastern outskirts of Pottstown. Where is that exactly? For starters it is in Eastern Pennsylvania. If you go northwest out of Philadelphia on Interstate 76 and then pick up Route 422 at the interchange on the south side of King of Prussia, it’ll lead you right to the sprawling community. They are a 38-mile drive into the lovely Eastern PA suburban countryside. How many hours that takes obviously depends on traffic, accidents, and just how many times you get cut off by a PA driver. So how far is it from Presque Isle? Using Google Maps, if you don’t mind going through Trenton, New Jersey it is an 11 hour, 721 mile one-way trip. However, if you want to avoid Trenton (and I personally don’t blame you there), you can go through Patterson and Morristown on Interstate 287 for a 12 and a half hour trip at 714 miles.

Harkening back to the Maine Cool Department Travel Tracker from the summer, we are going to make a few references to it in order to help you understand just how long of a trip this was. The trip was longer than the combined miles travel by the football teams of Cheverus, Falmouth, Gorham, Kennebunk, Marshwood, Noble, Sanford, South Portland, and Westbrook in their away game schedules. Only Valley and their round-trip road schedule to Millinocket, Dexter, Bucksport, and Thorndike exceeds the Huskies three-day two-night trip. For those keeping track at home this is not the Valley high school in Bingham that we are referring to. Rather the football co-operative of Fort Kent, Madawaska, and Saint Agatha.

While the Huskies lost 80-32 playing 8 man football, their memories made from this trip, the unique experience far from home, will be something the football playing folks elsewhere in the state will only be able to dream about.

And to reciprocate the good will, Coventry Christian School will be making the trek to Presque Isle in 2026.

- Out of state tracker
Bedford defeated Nashua South 34-14 on Friday. The 2-0 Bulldogs will host 2-0 Thornton Academy on Friday.
Exeter defeated Portsmouth/Oyster River 42-34 on Friday. The 2-0 Blue Hawks will travel to 1-1 Londonderry on Friday.
Keene lost to Spaulding 29-21 on Saturday. The 1-1 Blackbirds will host 2-0 Bishop Guertin on Friday.
Laconia beat Gilford 15-14 on Thursday. The 1-1 Sachems will travel to 2-0 Fryeburg Academy on Friday. 
Monadnock defeated Lebanon 30-6 on Friday. The 2-0 Huskies will travel to 0-1 Newport on Saturday.
Winnacunnet defeated Timberlane 19-7 on Friday. The 2-0 Warriors will host 0-2 Dover on Friday.

- Quote of the week
 "Not necessarily a statement, but a great gauge of where we’re at. Leavitt’s a perennial contender, a great program. For us to come in and win tonight, it shows us where we’re at and what we’re capable of."
Caleb King, Greely head coach

- Streak tracker
There are 24 unbeaten teams in Maine, down from 40 last week
1 team had their winning streak of 4 or more games snapped: Wells (15)
The longest active winning streaks belong to Old Orchard Beach (13), Greely (11), Fryeburg Academy (6), Portland (6), and Dexter (3)
4 teams ended their losing streaks of 4 or more games: Mattanawcook Academy (7), Madison (5), Gorham (5), and Skowhegan (4)
The longest active losing streaks belong to Mount View (22), Belfast (12), Waterville (11), Mt. Blue (9), and Washington Academy (8)

- First place teams after week two
Class A North – Portland (changed from last week)
Class A South – Thornton Academy (same from last week)
Class B North – Cony (changed from last week)
Class B South – Cheverus (changed from last week)
Class C – Gardiner (changed from last week)
Class D North – Winslow (changed from last week)
Class D South – Freeport (changed from last week)
8 Man Large School North – Camden Hills (same from last week)
8 Man Large School South – Spruce Mountain (changed from last week)
8 Man Small School North – Stearns (same from last week)
8 Man Small School South – Old Orchard Beach (changed from last week)

- Five games of interest to us in week three
Thornton Academy at Bedford, New Hampshire 
Wells at Gardiner
Old Orchard Beach at Stearns
Kennebunk at Cheverus
Falmouth at Greely

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