Week 4 Thoughts on the Weekend

- Every year, right around this time of fall, there is that one last hurrah of summer. That unseasonably warm, not hot but warm, day that has you dreading the decision to wear pants and a long sleeve shirt when a short-sleeve and shorts would have been much more comfortable. Still, any football that can be played in these sort of conditions will be more appealing than in a frigid 50-some degree night where you can see your breath and that cup of coffee, hot chocolate, or tea just isn’t going to indefinitely keep your hands warm.

- For everyone but Class A, this was the midway point of the season. A time to evaluate one’s start to the season and set new goals for the second half. In a state with an all-too-forgiving playoff system, it may not seem valuable discussing rankings so soon in advance. Still, the benefit of a bye week, coupled with playoff match-ups, is enough to get everyone thinking about what can be done and what needs to be done to get where teams want to go.

- Last week we forgot to mention that Mt. Ararat’s Frank True coached his 100th football game. He is the 20th active coach to reach the century mark for games led. He has the opportunity to record his 50th victory on Friday when his Eagles travel to Naples to play Lake Region.

- A quick 62-yard touchdown by Portland’s Alex McKusick almost two minutes into the game, combined with two inopportune turnovers by Bangor that led to Portland touchdowns, gave the Bulldogs a strong 21-0 start by the end of the first quarter of their Friday contest. However, it wasn’t going to be that easy in the end between the two Northern Class A teams. By the time Portland took a 28-7 lead going into the fourth quarter, the Rams would rally for three touchdowns. One was from a pass by Kyle Johnson to Gavin Glanville-True, while the other two by Johnson were on quarterback keepers. That run would be too little – too late as Portland’s Cordell Jones ran for his third touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter, combined with an Alex Martin touchdown run, that gave Portland a 42-26.

- In a game where Giovanni Staples account for five touchdowns, as well as being a game that got quite “chippy” towards the end with multiple penalties being issued other several consecutive plays, it was Westbrook that came out on top by the score of 47-15 during their Friday night game in Auburn against Edward Little. For Westbrook, the Blue Blazes are enjoying a 3-1 start. It is their best beginning to a season since 2012 when they also started out 3-1. They will square off at home against 3-1 Poland.

- After Scarborough started off the season with the unenviable opening of Thornton Academy and Kennebunk, the Red Storm have turned things around with back-to-back wins to turn an 0-2 start into a 2-2 midway record. After defeating Lewiston last week by the score of 20-0, Scarborough put together a winning streak with their 18-6 victory over Sanford 18-6. The win was their first home victory since beating Lewiston 10-9 on Friday, September 29^th, 2023. The win was not apparent early on as it was the Spartans who took the early 6-0 lead when Drew McGrath returned the opening kickoff of the third quarter 85 yards for a touchdown. Scarborough would score 18 consecutive points with two Logan O’Keefe touchdown passes and a pick-six by Aiden Carpenter. Scarborough, who now sit in fourth place in Southern Class A, will take on a 1-3 Massabesic opponent who occupied that spot last week before falling to Kennebunk on Saturday.

- The top two ranked teams, undefeated teams at that, in Southern Class A met up on Friday when Bonny Eagle hosted Noble. The Scots once again showed that their defensive won’t even bend to an opponent as they dispatched the Knights by a score of 18-0. The win was their second shutout in as many weeks. While the Bonny Eagle defense held Noble to just 68 rushing yards, quarterback Colin Moran ran for almost triple that number (166) on almost an identical number of carries (27 for Colin to 22 for Noble) with two touchdowns. The shutout win has a bit of significance to us. Sure, Bonny Eagle now leads the state with the fewest points against with 12. They also achieved a distinctive statistic by allowing the fewest points by the fourth week of the Class A season since 2004. Prior to Friday, the fewest points allowed at this point was 13, achieved twice by Lawrence in 2006 and 2010 and Thornton Academy in 2009 and 2014.

- After a shaky start to 2025 by Marshwood, losing their home opener to Westbrook and falling to the Blue Blazes for the first time since 2016, the Hawks have been flying high on a three-game winning streak. This win was their closest contest of the season, and yet it was no doubt a bigger shot of confidence. Down 22-16 with less than two minutes to go, it was a touchdown pass from Michael Sbrizza to Brady Isabella, followed by a successful point-after kick by Isabella, which put the Hawks up for good by the final score of 23-22. The win was the second time they had to rally from a deficit, doing the same thing last week against Gorham.

- Like that comeback in South Berwick, another comeback occurred in Fairfield as the Deering Rams overcame a 14-0 deficit to defeat Lawrence 22-21. The start was certainly interesting as Deering’s opening drive brought them all the way to the Lawrence one-yard line. That drive was stuffed, resulting in a turnover on downs and giving the Bulldogs the ball. From their, the proceeded to march downfield and scored on their opportunity, a to take an early 7-0 lead. While Deering tied things up about four minutes later, Lawrence built up a 21-7 lead near the end of the third quarter. Almost two minutes into the fourth quarter, a touchdown catch by Corbin Burke brought the Rams to within seven points. Several drives later Deering would score another touchdown. Then, lining up to kick the PAT, the Rams opted to have the hold pitch the snap to kicker Zade Smith. Smith ran to an open left side of the field for the two-point score that put Deering up by a point. Deering’s defense would hold strong on the ensuing Lawrence possession, forcing a turnover on downs deep in Rams territory that allowed them to ice out the clock. For Lawrence, this was their second one-point loss this season. For Deering, the win allowed them to keep up with fellow 2-2 teams Bangor and Oxford Hills.

- The Lawrence loss, combined with Skowhegan losing 29-15 to Biddeford, Messalonskee losing to Fryeburg 37-20, and Mt. Blue picking up a 20-8 win over Brunswick, gives up four 1-3 teams in Northern Class B that all sit before 4-0 Cony and Fryeburg Academy. Through the tiebreakers, Messalonskee holds a narrow advantage over Skowhegan (head-to-head win) and Mt. Blue (Heal Points). Lawrence is 3.125 Crabtree points back of Mt. Blue in sixth place. These two teams will play next Friday while Messalonskee hosts 0-4 Brunswick and Skowhegan travels to 4-0 Hermon.

- A week removed from the wild 28-26 win over Wells, the Gardiner defense was all over the hometown Brewer Witches during their 32-0 win on Friday. With the Tigers defense forcing three first-half turnovers, the offense did their job by converting them to 19 points by the half for a 26-0 advantage – two Owen Chadwick touchdown runs and a leaping touchdown grab by Chase McGrane from Isaac Madore. Gardiner Crabtree number (153.125) remains significantly higher than that of second place Hermon (140.625) and third place Greely (137.500), who picked up wins this weekend to also remain 4-0 alongside Gardiner.

- Teams that saw vertical movement in the Class C ranks was Wells and Old Town. The Warriors, fresh off back-to-back late-game losses to undefeated Hermon and Gardiner, rolled over Oceanside 44-14. The wins moved their from ninth into sixth in Class C. The Coyotes meanwhile picked up their first win of 2025 with a 59-27 win over Maine Central Institute to snap a four-game losing streak. The win propelled Old Town out of the thirteenth and final spot of the class to tenth place. Both teams will be in action on Friday as Wells hosts 3-1 Leavitt and Old Town hosts 0-4 Hampden Academy.

- With Dirigo’s Hudson Lufkin out for the rest of the season due to an injury, it was a tough go-around for the Cougars as they fell 28-0 to Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale on Friday. The match-up was a battle of unbeaten teams in Southern Class D. With the Ramblers defense holding Dirigo to just 119 yards of offense, the Ramblers offense kept up a relentless press all game long with touchdowns coming from Ross Fichthorn two on the ground and Jacob Feith scores through the air to Brody Adams and Ben Porter. The win moved Winthrop into first place in Southern Class D. Despite Poland’s 55-0 victory over Lisbon, Dirigo continues to maintain a Crabtree point advantage over them for second place.

- Since Poland went into the MPA varsity ranks in 2004, struggles have been a near constant for the problem. Last year they went 1-7 while giving up an average of 30.5 points and allowing roughly 353 yards a game. This season has witnessed a marked improvement, as the Knights are 3-1 following their 55-0 win over Lisbon on Friday. The win was the largest margin of victory in the program’s history. After four games they have allowed an average of 13.5 points and around 206 yards per game. That improvement will be tested over the next two weeks when they travel to 3-1 Westbrook on Friday and host 4-0 Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale next Friday.

- With Madison’s 21-14 road win over Maranacook, the Bulldogs are enjoying their best mid-season record and longest winning streak since 2017 when they started out 3-1 and went on a six game unbeaten run. They are holding a streak third place position in Northern Class D and sit only 3.125 Crabtree Points back of second place Winslow at week’s end. They also hold a commanding 31.250 Crabtree point advantage over fourth place Mattanawcook Academy. The Lynx moved up from sixth place into fourth with their 50-40 win over Belfast combined with Maine Central Institute’s 59-27 loss to Old Town.

- Friday night results caused quite a shake-up of Maine’s most competitive region this season – the 8 man large school south. While Yarmouth’s 36-22 win over Lake Region was not enough to knock the Lakers out of first place, it was enough to drag the Clippers up from fifth place into fourth place. This was helped in no small part because of Spruce Mountain’s 58-24 win over Gray-New Gloucester, which caused the Patriots to fall from second place down to fifth place. Spruce Mountain’s win helped them hold onto third place. However, Mt. Ararat’s 28-0 shutout of Mount Desert Island leap-frogged the Eagles over the Phoenix from fourth place into second.

- Staring down the longest losing streak in over 20 years, if not their program’s entire existence, the Cape Elizabeth Capers picked up their first 8 man victory and their first win of the season with an emphatic 60-42 home victory over Sacopee Valley. The win was their first in the past six games for the Capers. Quarterback Rosco Hampton had a game to remember as he threw four touchdowns to River Duffy, a touchdown to Liam Brown, and ran in a touchdown for a half-dozen trips to the end zone.

- With a 14-2 deficit going into the fourth quarter, winless Boothbay was able to score two touchdowns to tie the game against Traip Academy. In overtime, after exchanging touchdowns in their first round of possessions, Boothbay scored another touchdown and a two-point conversion to go up 28-20 while stopping the Ranger’s two point attempt following their touchdown to celebrate the 28-26 overtime victory. While the win did not change Traip Academy’s fourth place position or Boothbay’s fifth place position in the 8 man small school south region, it does put fourth place within reach of Boothbay.

- Cony watched their early lead dissipate following five Oxford Hills touchdowns that changed an early 21-0 rout to a close-fought 34-33 game in the fourth quarter. With injuries testing the Rams offensive depth, sophomore and third-string running back Kolton Colby was put into the game and helped carry the offensive load with 48 rushing yards and a crucial fourth down reception that culminated in the lead-taking 10-yard touchdown run from quarterback Parker Morin. With a defense that held strong to the very end, even after conceding a first down on fourth and 20, the Rams preserved their perfect start and held onto first place in Northern Class B.

- Thornton Academy shook off any lingering memories of last week’s loss to Bedford with 20 unanswered points that turned the tides against South Portland in the 34-13 Golden Trojans win. The two teams exchanged touchdowns during the first two quarters before Thornton Academy took the final for good. Connor Ayoob had a solid performance out of the backfield as he ran for 233 yards and three touchdowns.

- Perhaps the Greely Rangers games should have a sign saying, “our games are not for the faint of heart”. After they beat York 42-0 in week one, there was a game that came down to a fourth and three (against Leavitt) and a missed two-point conversion pass in the end zone (Falmouth). You can now add a game where they scored 20 unanswered points after being down 14-0 at the half and 14-6 going into the fourth quarter against Nokomis. The Rangers were able to complete the comeback to win 20-14. The win keeps them perfect to start the season and in third place behind Gardiner and Hermon.

- The Saturday night game between John Bapst and Winslow at Cameron Stadium in Bangor had that big of a main event feel. Broadcasted on WABI and WHOU, with the lights shining brightly, it was a perfect setting for a game between the top two teams in the region. If we use the relatively small sample size that is our State of Maine Football Pick’Ems, it was almost a 5-to-1 margin thinking Winslow was going to win. And after the first quarter that popular prediction was holding as Winslow led 7-6. That lead wouldn’t last for long as an Aiden Ouellette fourth down pass found Malcolm Butler for a touchdown. Then on the ensuing kickoff a ball that looked like it was going to take a hop out of bounds instead took a John Bapst-friend bounce on the artificial turf and was promptly recovered by the Crusaders’ Thomas Curtis. Several plays later Curtis would catch an Ouellette pass in stride for a touchdown to give John Bapst a 20-7 lead that lasted into the half. The teams exchanged a touchdown with the John Bapst’s offense chewing up the final 7:58 of the game that led to their 27-14 victory.

- With the two different ways that we calculate Crabtree points it allows us to do some cool things with evaluating things like strength of schedule. We can also do things like evaluate whose schedule should be getting easier or harder simply be figuring the different between the calculations.

Teams with the toughest first half schedule
81.250 (13 opponent wins in 16 games) – Oceanside (0-4)
75.000 (12 opponent wins in 16 games) – Falmouth (2-2)
75.000 (12 opponent wins in 16 games) – York (0-4)

Teams with the weakest first half schedule
23.076 (3 opponent wins in 13 games) – Dexter (3-1)
25.000 (4 opponent wins in 16 games) – Cony (4-0)
31.250 (5 opponent wins in 16 games) – Camden Hills (4-0), Fryeburg Academy (4-0), Lewiston (0-4), Poland (3-1), Sacopee Valley (2-2), Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale (4-0)

Teams that should have an easier second half schedule
-24.727 – Valley (0-3)
-21.875 – Lisbon (0-4), Oak Hill (2-2)
-18.750 – John Bapst (4-0), Messalonskee (1-3)

Teams that should have a tougher second half schedule
+21.875 – Gardiner (4-0)
+20.000 – Traip Academy (1-3)
+18.750 – Bonny Eagle (4-0), Cony (4-0), Lake Region (3-1), Mt. Ararat (3-1)

- Out of state tracker
Bedford defeated Goffstown 42-3 on Friday. The 4-0 Bulldogs will host 3-1 Exeter on Friday.
Exeter lost to Winnacunnet 31-21 on Saturday. The 3-1 Blue Hawks will travel to 4-0 Bedford on Friday.
Keene lost to Windham 17-0 on Saturday. The 1-3 Blackbirds will host 3-1 Nashua South on Friday.
Laconia defeated Kearsarge 28-14 on Saturday. The 2-2 Sachems will travel to 2-1 Epping-Newmarket on Saturday
Monadnock defeated Sanborn 45-6 on Saturday. The 4-0 Huskies will host 0-4 Kearsarge on Friday.
Winnacunnet defeated Exeter 31-21 on Saturday. The 4-0 Warriors will travel to 1-3 Portsmouth-Oyster River on Friday.

- Quote of the week
"We talk about football being America's game and football and Homecoming are married. They're one. We've got people coming back to Ellsworth from all over the country. It's a special thing to have Homecoming football at Ellsworth."
Dave Svec, Ellsworth head coach

- Streak tracker
There are 12 unbeaten teams in Maine, down from 17 last week
1 team ended their winning streak of 4 or more games: Dexter (4)
The longest active winning streaks belong to Old Orchard Beach (15), Greely (13), Fryeburg Academy (8), and Portland (8)
8 teams ended their losing streaks of 4 or more games: Mt. Blue (10), Washington Academy (8), Biddeford (6), Cape Elizabeth (5), Ellsworth (5), Windham (5), Boothbay (4), and Old Town (4)
The longest active losing streaks belong to Mount View (24), Belfast (14), Waterville (13), Brunswick (9), Lisbon (8), and Mountain Valley (8)

- First place teams after week four
Class A North – Portland (same from last week)
Class A South – Bonny Eagle (same from last week)
Class B North – Cony (same from last week)
Class B South – Kennebunk (same from last week)
Class C – Gardiner (same from last week)
Class D North – John Bapst (changed from last week)
Class D South – Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale (changed from last week)
8 Man Large School North – Camden Hills (same from last week)
8 Man Large School South – Lake Region (same from last week)
8 Man Small School North – Stearns (changed from last week)
8 Man Small School South – Old Orchard Beach (same from last week)

- Five games of interest to us in week five
Thornton Academy at Portland
Bonny Eagle at Oxford Hills
Fryeburg Academy at Cony
Greely at Foxcroft Academy
Mt. Ararat at Lake Region

What are your thoughts on the weekend?