Week 12 Thoughts on the Weekend

- After twelve fast weeks of football, two weeks of pre-season, countless amounts of time in the field, in the locker rooms, on the streets, in camps, and doing everything to prepare as an individual, as a unit, and as a team, this was the culmination of all that work. This was the showcase time for those successful few who put in the effort to desire their spot for the summit of the football mountain. For 79 teams that started the season, only 12 made it to the championship. And when Saturday came to a close it carried with it the reality that only six teams, six groupings of players and coaches, will know what it felt like to lift our sport’s ultimate prize into the air with the acknowledgement of being champions.

- This was year four of the Maine Principals’ Association move to split the football state championships between two sites. Two games at 11 am and two games at 2:30 pm. However, it was observed that the Lewiston-based 11 am game was able to proceed at a quicker pace. Whether it was because the Portland-based game started slightly later will not be known. We did not check out our watch as to what kickoff took place. It was noticed that the 2:30 pm Portland game did not start until around 2:40 pm.

- At the beginning of last week we published a series of polls asking you to pick the teams that you felt would win their respective state championship games. Here are the vote totals:
Class A – Thornton Academy (438) over Portland (153)
Class B – Cony (298) over Westbrook (78)
Class C – Leavitt (261) over Greely (191)
Class D – Winslow (441) over Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale (287)

- The Class A championship game was the third consecutive state championship match between Portland and Thornton Academy. To say that is a historic accomplishment in Class A is a bit of an understatement. Since 1967, covering 58 years of history of a state championship title game, we have only seen one back-to-back meeting. That was when Biddeford and Waterville played for the Class A title in 1993 and 1994. That covers multiple playoff formats from the past all the way to the present.

- The early stage of the game was largely one of scoreless chances. Portland’s first drive, one that lasted seven minutes, resulted in a 29-yard field goal attempt by Justin Bouchard that went wide left of the uprights. The field goal opportunity would not have happened were it not for a short gain by Cordell Jones on a fourth and one a minute and a half prior to the field goal. But Thornton Academy’s defense refused to budge the closer Portland got to the end zone. Thornton Academy would go on a drive of their own, getting down field to the Portland 22 in four and a half minutes. Facing their own fourth down situation with a long ten yards to go, the Golden Trojans opted to go for it. However, Noah Fullerton’s pass was just out of reach of his intended target in the end zone. Portland would go back the other way. However, their drive would stall out almost two minutes later at the Thornton Academy 29 after Jones’ pass was incomplete on fourth and 25. On the ensuing drive, Thornton Academy gained a lot of yardage in a hurry when Fullerton’s screen pass to Quinn Cook resulted in a 57-yard gain to the Portland 20. However, Thornton Academy’s drive would end in another turnover on downs when Cook was unable to get the 17 yards needed for a first down. Turnovers would play a significant part in the tone of the first half. At 8:51 of the second half, Thornton Academy’s Brennan Tabor would jump in front of a pass from Jones to Alex Martin. Three minutes later, Thornton Academy’s drive from the Portland 21 yard line would end with a Connor Ayoob touchdown run to go up 7-0. Seven and a half minutes later, Jones would be picked off again as his deep pass to Alex McKusick would be picked off by Carter Cormier at the Thornton Academy 3 yard line. Thornton Academy was able to escape from their own doorstep in the last minute of the first half before taking a kneel-down to end the first half.

- Portland’s first big break would happen on the opening drive of the game. Thornton Academy was able to get all the way to the Portland five-yard line. Connor Ayoob took the hand off to his left side. In the process of being wrapped up he lost control of the ball and it popped out, being recovered by Jake Johnson. However, they were unable to capitalize on the opportunity and ended up punting after going three-and-out. A short punt put Thornton Academy at the Portland 31 yard line. Just 2:39 later, Connor Ayoob atoned for the earlier fumble with a nine-yard touchdown run off the left side to double Thornton Academy’s lead to 14-0. Depending on your perspective, things either got worse for Portland or better for Thornton Academy. On the ensuing kickoff Alex Martin was brought down along the Portland sideline. However, before he was brought down the ball popped loose and was recovered by Thornton Academy. Portland’s defense would hold Thornton Academy yet again, forcing a three-and-out. Being pinned in at their own 9-yard line following the Thornton Academy punt, there was a slight tone of importance to the Portland drive being down 14-0 with 3:25 remaining in the third quarter. Portland would get as far as the Thornton Academy 36. Facing a fourth and one, the Bulldogs opted to pass. Johnson was able to get past the Golden Trojans secondary. However, Jones’ pass was just out of the reach of the intended target. Thornton Academy’s drive would sputter out, but shortly afterwards Carter Cormier picked off his second interception of the day to end Portland’s drove on the Thornton Academy 13-yard line. Carrying over into the fourth quarter, and following another three-and-out for Thornton Academy, Portland’s drive lasted almost two minutes before Jones was sacked in the backfield on fourth and 11 for a turnover on downs. In the final half of the fourth quarter Ayoob would run for two more two touchdowns, sandwiching a Brayden Hooper interception of Jones, that put the game out of reach until its final score of 28-0.

- The victory for Thornton Academy head coach Kevin Kezal was his 200th career win. As we mentioned last week, Kevin's 100th career win came all the way back on September 26th, 2014. That was a 48-7 win over Sanford in the fourth week of the regular season. At the time it was his 138th game coached. It is quite the accomplishment that he achieved 100 more wins in just 118 games coached. And that he reached this milestone in his 26th year of coaching is extraordinary. Saturday was also the punctuation on the high school career for Connor Ayoob. He finished the game with 231 yards on 34 carries, scoring all four of Thornton Academy’s touchdowns. At game’s end he had a poster indicating that he was the recipient of the 2025 Gatorade Maine Football Player of the Year award. It should be noted that at this time Gatorade has not formally made their announcement. While Portland was held off the scoreboard, it was not like they did not have opportunities. This was acknowledged by Portland’s head coach Nick Cliche in the post-game interview regarding opportunities as well as giving momentum to Thornton Academy.

- The Class C championship game featured one defending champion from another class playing against a team that has recently been there multiple times. For Greely, they were in the 2024 8 man large school championship a little over a year ago. That was a game they won 58-20 against Mt. Ararat. They also appeared in the 2023 8 man large school state championship. During that game they lost 28-0 to Mount Desert Island. Several months later they were approved to make the move to Class C. For Leavitt, this would be their third state championship appearance in four years. They defeated Oceanside 71-12 in 2023 and defeated Medomak Valley 46-6 in 2022. It is also their ninth title game appearance in the past 25 years.

- After receiving the opening kickoff, Greely wasted little time getting onto the scoreboard. In fact it was just 1:22 off the clock from kickoff to Jackson Justice’s four-yard touchdown run that gave the Rangers a very early 7-0 lead. Leavitt would get no further than midfield before punting it away, putting Greely at their own 13-yard line a little under four minutes into the game. Almost eight minutes later, and one high snap over quarterback Luke Piper’s head that gave the Rangers a third and 30, Piper would call his own number and end the 87-yard drive with a six yard touchdown to give Greely a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Leavitt’s Mason Henderson would figure prominently for the Hornets on the ensuing drive which ended with his 34-yard touchdown run with 7:25 remaining in the first half. The 75-yard drive put Leavitt on the scoreboard, although Justice would literally have a hand in blocking the PAT kick to put the score at 14-6. The Rangers would go on another long-sustained drive, this time covering 73 yards in seven minutes before Noah Allen scored for his first score of the game. By the end of the half it was Greely up 21-6.

- While Leavitt would receive the opening kickoff of the second half, their drive would end in a painfully quick manner as the Rangers Jackson Justice recovered a fumbled snap. Just 50 seconds into the second half and Greely would take over at the Leavitt 37 yard line. Almost two and a half minutes later Justice would get his second touchdown of the game off an 11-yard run. With the successful PAT the Greely lead grew to 28-6. Leavitt’s best opportunity to get back into the game saw them get all the way down to the Greely five-yard line in almost four minutes. While Leavitt was able to covert a fourth down earlier in the drive off a Mason Henderson catch, they were unable to convert the fourth down when it counted the most at the Rangers goal line. Started out at their own five-yard line in the third quarter, Greely went on another clock-killing drive. 95 yards later and 7:35 later Luke Piper threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Noah Allen for their second touchdowns of the game. Noah would find the end zone five and a half minutes later. Following Greely interception of Leavitt’s Landon Marquis by his quarterback counterpart Piper, they would only need 2:46 before Allen ran in the 13-yard touchdown to put the score at 41-6 and put the game into running time. The final 4:29 on the clock would tick off in a rather uneventful way before the game came to a close.

- Greely scored a touchdown on all six of their drives. Noah Allen and Luke Piper each finished the game with three touchdowns. Allen ran for two and caught one, while Piper threw two and ran for one. In the last 20 years, Greely joins Wells and Maine Central Institute as teams that went to back-to-back-back state championships with a change in class. Greely is the first to do so after transitioning from 8 man to 11 man. For Greely’s Caleb King, he has been to three state championships in his four years as head coach. It is quite the accomplishment when you realize that five years ago they were in a co-op with Falmouth due to lack of numbers, and four years ago they went winless. For Leavitt, it is a bitter pill after having the late-season run they did winning their last five games along with wins in seven of their last eight games. Along with Greely, they both are one of six teams in 2020s to have been in three or more state championships, standing alongside Foxcroft Academy, Old Orchard Beach, Portland, and Thornton Academy.

- The next game in chronological order to take place was the Class D game in Lewiston. On one side, Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale was playing in just their fourth state title game in the past 25 years to win their first title since 2000. That same Ramblers team came into the game with an unblemished 10-0 record and the state’s fewest points allowed (66). They were opposed by a Winslow team playing in their 17th state football championship (the second most by any school) which had the most points scored by any 11 man team in the state (503). Could we say it was akin to the unmovable object meeting the irresistible force? How would the best offense fare against the best defense?

- Winslow wasted little time getting onto the scoreboard and fielding the game’s opening kickoff. Starting out from their own 15-yard line, the Black Raiders offense needed just 2:39 into the game before Hassan Hobbi took a toss out of the backfield, found a seem, and ran the 60-yards to the end zone for the 7-0 lead. After three kickoff attempts (yes, you read that right), Winthrop’s Ben Porter took the fourth kickoff attempt all the way to the Winslow 40 yard line. Helped out by a Winslow offside penalty, the drive concluded with Porter catching a 27-yard pass from Jacob Feith that would lead to a tied 7-7 score. Winslow’s next drive would get as far as midfield, but a third down pass from Liem Fortin was just outside of the hands of Noah Harding. The Black Raiders punt would be downed at the Winthrop 8. Carrying over from the first quarter into the second quarter, the Ramblers would go 92 yards in 4:06. This was capped off by Carter Rand’s 4-yard touchdown run to put the Ramblers up 13-7 following a blocked PAT kick. Winslow’s opportunity to tie the game literally slipped out of their fingers when Michael Loubier last control of the ball. The Winthrop defense quickly pounced upon the ball at the Raiders 35, giving them excellent field position and an opportunity to extend their lead. And Winthrop capitalized on its minutes later when Rand on a halfback option threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Porter on fourth and goal to put the Ramblers up 20-7. After a Winslow punt on their drive, Winthrop would go 80 yards over the next four minutes. This included a Winslow offside penalty on the Ramblers fourth down that extended their drive. With 36 seconds remaining in the first half, Feith’s pass split two Winslow defenders and found the hands of Lucas Rice for another Winthrop touchdown. As the game hit halftime, it was Winthrop enjoying a 27-7 lead.

- Winslow’s defense had a big defensive stop on Winthrop’s opening drive. The punt and the Winslow return gave them solid midfield positioning to start their opening drive of the second half. That opportunity was short lived as Michael Loubier suffered his second fumble of the game, giving Winthrop possession at their 46-yard line. Four minutes later and a fourth and inches conversion earlier in the drive, Carter Rand would pick up his second rushing touchdown and third score of the game. With the successful PAT kick, Winthrop was up 34-7. Two minutes later Winthrop would force another turnover, this time it was Ben Porter picking off a Liem Fortin pass in the end zone. Carrying over from the third quarter into the fourth quarter, Winthrop went on yet another long-field drive. This one went 80 yards over four and a half minutes before Rand ran from five yards for his third touchdown of the game. Up 41-7, Winthrop would pick off another Fortin pass on the following drive, this time it was Mason Fish that grabbed and held onto the ball. Winslow would get the final touchdown of the game with a 31-yard touchdown run by Loubier. During the final three and a half minutes the two sides would exchange a possession before the final buzzer sounded to end the game 41-14 in favor of Winthrop.

- Two of Jacob Feith’s four completions went for touchdowns. The team got another passing touchdown from running back Carter Rand. Rand only ran for 38 yards and 13 carries, but the important thing was the three touchdowns he scored. His backfield partner Ross Fichthorn ran for 143 yards. Ben Porter had two receiving touchdowns to go along with his third quarter interception. For Ramblers coach Joel Stoneton, the championship may ease the painful memory of his last championship appearance. That was back in 2008 when his undefeated Ramblers fell 21-14 to John Bapst in the Class C championship. Winslow was able to get 215 rushing yards from the backfield duo of Hassan Hobbi and Michael Loubier. The two also had a touchdown apiece. For Winslow, the loss extends a sort of title drought. It has been 10 years since the last Black Raiders championship. That is the third longest span in team history after going 13 years from 2001 to 2014 and 16 years from 1960 to 1976.

- The last game of the weekend to start pitted two teams with a definitive lack of title game experience. Between Cony and Westbrook, the limited football extent consisted of Cony’s 2013 Class B state title and a pre-MPA title in 1932 along with Westbrook’s 1964 league championship. However, titles have a way of changing the fortunes of a school’s football team. When Cony won in 2013 it was big news. Signal-caller Ben Lucas helped lead a second place Rams team past Messalonskee, Brunswick, and finally Kennebunk in a 30-23 thriller at the University of Maine for their first Gold Ball. Lucas was awarded the James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy as Maine’s football senior high school football player. Since that time Cony has been one of Class B’s more successful teams. Their aerial attack is consistently one of the best in the state. For Westbrook, their fortunes have been mixed since falling below the Class A enrollment cutoff in 2011. They new scenarios were initially favorable as they advanced to the Western/Southern Class B regional semifinals from 2011 to 2015. After a series of struggling years they returned to the Southern regional semifinals in 2023, but that remained their glass ceiling. Until this year, that is. After finishing in first place in Southern Class B, they won by narrow margins over tough teams from Marshwood (15-12) and Kennebunk (34-27) to reach their first ever football state championship.

- The first quarter between Cony and Westbrook was mostly a battle of field positioning and turnovers. Cony had the opening possession, only for it to end in the Westbrook end zone as Parker Morin’s pass to the back of the end zone was instead caught on the bobble by Westbrook’s Lucas Roberson. Westbrook’s opening drive ended on a turnover on downs as Giovanni Staples’ pass on fourth and six was incomplete. The game’s first touchdown would happen on the defensive side of the ball. Just a minute into the second quarter, Westbrook’s Tony Bongomin would pick off Morin and run it 87 yards the other way for a touchdown. Morin would avenge the turnovers with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Clark. With a successful PAT kick, they would take a 7-6 lead as Westbrook’s PAT attempt on the prior score was no good. It didn’t take long for Westbrook to reclaim that lead. Just a minute later Staples completed a pass to Dimitri Lubin, who then ran 71 yards to the end zone that would put Westbrook up 13-7 with the successful PAT kick. Roberson would come up big again in the second quarter as he stepped in front of Morin’s pass to Ben Hanke for the interception with 3:35 left in the first half. The two teams would have possessions ending in punts, with Cony’s punt being the last play of the half.

- Westbrook didn’t waste any time extended their lead in the second half. After the receiving the kickoff, they got two big plays by Giovanni Staples. The first was a 59-yard run along with Cony sideline before being knocked out of bounds at the Cony 6-yard line. On the following play he completed a short pass to Andrew Hicks III on the left side. Hicks would covered the short distance for the touchdown. The PAT was not successful so the Blue Blazes lead was only 19-7. The next two drives ended in turnovers as Cony’s fourth down run from the punt formation was stopped two yards shy of the first down. A minute later Cooper Clark would pick off a Staples pass at the Rams 28 yard line. A minute and a half after that it was Westbrook’s Andrew McNeill picking off Parker Morin and bringing the ball to the Cony 34-yard line. On the Westbrook possession it was a Cole Tanner run and a successful two-point conversion that put the Blue Blazes up 27-7. Cony tried to narrow the gap as Anderson Noyes barreled into the end zone with 1:19 left for a touchdown. Despite the PAT kick going wide left, the Rams were only down 27-13 and still in striking distance. Cony would force Westbrook to punt on the next possession. Starting out of their half of the field, Cony would begin their attempted comeback. They would even convert on fourth down when Morin gained just enough for the first down. However, faced with a fourth and 13 that was insurmountable, they opted to punt with 10 minutes left in the game. Four minutes later Westbrook struck again with a drive capitalized by a Staples touchdown run. After a comically bad attempt by the PAT team to get rid of the bad, the Blue Blazes took a 33-13 lead. Two minutes later and in a hurry-up offense, Cony scored on a Morin to Landen Perry short pass for a touchdown that brought the Rams to within 13 at 33-20. However, after a Westbrook drive that was marred by multiple personal foul penalties on both sides of the ball, one of which involving a post-play situation that resulted in a Cony player being ejected from the game, Westbrook regained their 20-point advantage with 2:49 left in the game when Cole Tanner ran the ball up the middle of the field for a short-yardage touchdown. Cony would make a last stand, but it was all for naught as the final buzzer sounded and the Westbrook sidelines and stands erupted in pandemonium.

- While Cony outgained Westbrook in total yards, it was the four-to-one turnover difference and the 14 points off turnovers that swung the game decisively in Westbrook’s favor. Those points came from Tony Bongomin’s 87-yard interception for a touchdown and Cole Tanner’s touchdown run following Andrew McNeil’s interception. In both situations Cony was deep into the Westbrook size of the field. The Rams also had success on the ground as running back Anderson Noyes had 152 rushing yards. However, Westbrook’s number five Giovanni Staples was a difference maker with his 270 combined yards that extended many drives on third and fourth downs. That, and his four touchdowns (two passing and two rushing) helped add points onto the board and Cony was unable to counter. With Westbrook and Camden Hills state championship victories, it is the second straight year that first time football titles have been won. Last year it was northern Cumberland County neighbors Falmouth and Greely that lifted their first titles.

- Here is a state championship rundown for each of the six winners.

Class A - Thornton Academy Golden Trojans
Total titles: 1954 (A), 1955 (A), 1962 (A), 1986 (A), 1988 (A), 2012 (A), 2014 (A), 2015 (A), 2018 (A), 2021 (A), 2023 (A), 2025 (A)
State championship game record: 9-4

Class B Westbrook Blue Blazes
Total titles: 2025 (B)
State championship game record: 1-0

Class C - Greely Rangers
Total titles: 2024 (8 Man Large), 2025 (C)
State championship game record: 2-1

Class D – Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale Ramblers
Total titles: 1957 (C), 1959 (C), 1968 (C), 1970 (C), 1975 (C), 2000 (C), 2025 (D)
State championship game record: 2-4

8 Man Large School Class – Camden Hills Windjammers
Total titles: 2025 (8 Man Large)
State championship game record: 1-0

8 Man Small School Class – Stearns Minutemen
Total titles: 1964 (D), 1974 (C), 1975 (C), 1982 (Class C North), 1984 (Class C North), 1987 (B), 1991 (C), 1992 (C), 1995 (C), 1998 (C), 2025 (8 Man Small)
State championship game record: 8-5

- Out of state tracker
Bedford defeated Nashua South 35-21 Friday. The Bulldogs will play Pinkerton Academy in the Division I finals this Saturday at Stellos Stadium in Nashua.
Laconia lost to Gilford 20-6 in the Division III championship on Saturday at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

- Class A championship quote of the week
"The timing has been unbelievable, but I’m so blessed to be where I am. To be at Thornton Academy, it’s a phenomenal school, phenomenal community support. We’ve got great coaches, great support staff, it makes it easy. Most of all, we have great kids that just come and work hard and try to get a little better every day."
Kevin Kezal, Thornton Academy head coach

- Class B championship quote of the week
"It’s unreal. I cannot believe it. We all wanted to do it for this city, and to bring a title to Westbrook, it means the world to all of us."
Tony Bongomin, Westbrook linebacker

- Class C championship quote of the week
"Electric. It’s great to come out here and win another one. Back-to-back is crazy. Just showing everybody what Greely football is, and just coming out here and competing, it just feels great to put all the puzzle pieces together. ... It all clicked today."
Luke Piper, Greely quarterback

- Class D championship quote of the week
"It just establishes these guys and their march in the program. We’ve had some guys play for us in the perennial (contender years). This championship is as much for them as it is for us. We’re a family and we’re a family for life, and we tell the kids that. For us to accomplish that, I hope they feel it’s something that they put in place. That, to me, is the real monkey off our back. We all worked hard for this."
Joel Stoneton, Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale head coach

- Streak tracker
There are 2 unbeaten teams in Maine, down from 3 last week
4 teams ended their winning streak of 4 or more games: Cony (10), Winslow (6), Leavitt (5), and Portland (5)
The longest active winning streaks belong to Greely (20), Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale (11), Westbrook (9), Thornton Academy (9), Camden Hills (5), and Stearns (4)

- While the season has come to an end, there are still several events on the high school football calendar:
* The 113th Maine Thanksgiving Day Turkey Bowl between Deering and Portland
* The 54th James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy announcement
* The 40th Gatorade Maine Football Player of the Year announcement
* The 15th Frank J. Gaziano Memorial Offensive and Defensive Lineman Awards announcement

- In December we will also be releasing the following:
* 2025 Fans Star of the Season and the ten selected players up for consideration
* The Champions of New England, highlighting the state title winners from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont
* The 8th annual New England Top 50, courtesy of the rankings at MaxPreps, to recognize the top 50 football teams in New England
* The top 25 most viewed posts of 2025

So for one final time in 2025, what are your thoughts on the weekend?

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