Week 7 Thoughts on the Weekend

- After endless weeks of off-season preparation, two weeks of actual pre-season, and seven weeks of the regular season we are at the business end for much of the state. For the first time since 2019 the 8 man class has a regular season finish that is happening at the same time as everyone else but Class A. There are a lot of exciting races that will come down to the final stretch that is week eight. And we cannot wait!

- For the first time this season we had a two-day football week. That is a good thing considering the shortage of football officials in the state – which we should all be aware of. Especially after last week where a Friday game was played at 3 pm to help accommodate all but one official to be able to cover games later that night. So this is an unsolicited plug that if you want to make a difference please look into being an official. And if you are the type that thinks you know better than the refs, become one.

- Bangor has now gone two-for-two in their out-of-state games with a 28-27 win over Winnacunnet on Friday. The win was not always ensured though. For the first 47 minutes and 19 seconds the advantage was with the home-standing Warriors. That was when Bangor’s Kyle Johnson went in on a quarterback sneak that made the game a one-point 27-26 game. Instead of going for the PAT kick and the tie, Bangor opted for “no guts, no glory” with the two-point conversion. The play was for a quarterback keeper. While Winnacunnet stopped the initial attempt, Kyle’s second effort was enough to put him into the end zone. That put Bangor up 28-27 with 41 seconds remaining. The Rams defense held out to force a turnover on downs to take the comeback road victory.

- After a tough 0-3 start, Oxford Hills recorded their fourth consecutive victory with a 49-0 home win over Edward Little on Friday. Carter Wyman had a solid day with 262 passing yards and four touchdowns, while Cameron Pulkinen caught three of those touchdowns and returned a 57-yard punt for a fourth score. Wyman’s passing put him over 1,000 yards on the season while Pulkinen leads the team with eight touchdowns scored (6 receiving, 1 kickoff return, 1 punt return).

- Noble Knights quarterback Jamier Rose didn’t need to use his passing or running game on Friday. Instead, his biggest moments might have been on defense, as his two interceptions stopped South Portland when it was needed the most during the Knights’ 21-13 win on Friday. The Red Riots had the opportunity in the waning minutes of the game as their defense forced a Knights punt deep within their own half of the field, South Portland got extremely fortunate as the punt went out of bounds at the Noble 36 yard line with 18 seconds to go in the game. A 10-yard pass by Easton Healy and a defensive-pass interference gave South Portland their final chance from the Noble 13 with seconds left. Unfortunately their comeback was stopped through the hands of the Noble defense as a Healy pass was knocked aside.

- Bonny Eagle’s 40-8 victory over Sanford extended their winning streak to three straight. It also kept the Scots within the hunt for a regional semifinal home game as they travel to North Berwick for a battle with Noble next Friday. The Scots will hope that history is on their side. Counting their two victories of Noble last season, Bonny Eagle has won their last six games against Noble dating back to 2004.

- Lewiston’s season has been a series of ups and downs. With Friday’s 34-29 win over Windham they put an end to their three-game losing skid and also elevated themselves into a home regional semifinal game by a narrow 2.6 Crabtree point margin over third place Oxford Hills. Theirs was a come-from-behind victory as Lonnie Thomas caught his third touchdown pass of the game with less than a minute to go that put the Blue Devils ahead. The win was the first by a Lewiston football team at Windham going back to well before 2004.

- Another team that has turned it around is the Marshwood Hawks. After a 1-3 start to the season, they won their third straight game after a 41-13 win over Cheverus. Tyler Hussey scored three of his four touchdowns on the ground. He also scored those three touchdowns on four attempts as he got 73 yards in the process. For a Hawks team that was sitting in seventh place just two weeks ago, the Hawks have a chance to move further up the Southern Class B standings when their travel to Waterboro for a season finale against third place Massabesic.

- Westbrook did what they could to help their razor-small chance to make the Southern Class C playoffs as they defeated Biddeford 21-18. The team got lots of defensive help from Camillo Jones. He had three sacks, the third on Travis Edgerton as time expired helped clinch the game for the Blue Blazes. Jones also blocked a Biddeford PAT kick and scored on a 54-yard touchdown catch. Westbrook travels to Cape Elizabeth on Friday.

- It might not be that Falmouth defeated Lawrence on Friday that was a bit surprising. Instead it was the score. The Navigators celebrated at home following their 48-3 victory. The win was their fifth game where they allowed a single-digit score. It also further separated themselves from the pack for the state lead in fewest points allowed. Tres Walker threw four touchdown passes, connecting with Gio Guerrette, Joey Guerrette, Logan McVeigh, and Ben Robbins. The Navigators defense limited Lawrence to just 140 yards, a far cry for a team that came into the game averaging 35.5 points a game.

- The state’s longest rivalry was played out this Friday instead of a more traditional end of the season as Gardiner’s Hoch Field hosted the showdown between the Cony Rams and the Gardiner Tigers. While the timeframe may have been different, it was the same result as Cony took “The Boot” home for a sixth consecutive time with their 21-6 victory. The Rams lead the all-time series 78-58-10. After Gardiner clawed back to within a point following an Asher Nagy to Henry Gingras touchdown pass, Cony benefited from a penalty on fourth down deep in Gardiner territory that extended their drive. The Rams needed just one play to take a decisive advantage on a Parker Morin to Jordan Benedict touchdown as part of a 14-6 third quarter lead. Anderson Noyes helped Cony extend their lead with a goal line touchdown run. He also helped run out the clock following an onside kick for the Cony win.

- Cony’s win over Gardiner, coupled with Lawrence’s loss to Falmouth, moved Cony into third place in Northern Class B by 1.7 Crabtree points over Lawrence. Gardiner’s loss dropped them into fourth where they have a 1.7 Crabtree point lead over a Messalonskee Eagles team that defeated Mt. Blue 46-0.

- The top three spots of Southern Class B are much more linear, much more organized than its Northern B peers following Deering’s 42-6 win over Gorham and Kennebunk’s 49-7 win over Massabesic. 7-0 Kennebunk continues to hold onto first place in the region. 6-1 Deering remains firmly planted in second place. 5-2 Massabesic meanwhile dropped back to third place.

- The Wells Warriors fought back from multiple deficits during the middle point of their road game on the artificial turf field of Southern Class C-leading Fryeburg Academy. The Warriors then took a narrow 21-20 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter. In the final 15 minutes of the game the two teams each exchanged a turnover, one of which was a Wells interception shortly after a Fryeburg Academy touchdown was negated due to a holding penalty. The Warriors then held on for impressive, albeit close, road victory.

- The top half of Northern Class C got a shake-up at the end of the weekend. Hermon’s 31-6 victory over Oceanside, along with Medomak Valley’s 2-0 forfeit victory by Lisbon, bumped 5-2 Hermon from second into first, moved 5-2 Medomak Valley from third into second, and dropped 4-3 Oceanside from first into third. While the Hawks have a 10.7 Crabtree point lead on first over the Panthers, places second through fourth are much closer as just 5.3 Crabtree points separate them. In a weird season ending twist, the four teams involved in the home field playoff chase are not playing one-another. Hermon is at Skowhegan, Medomak Valley is at Belfast, Oceanside hosts Gardiner, and Hampden Academy is at Lawrence.

- A week after Dirigo gritted out a 10-0 victory over Maranacook, they triumphed in a 44-30 shootout battle over Poland. The Cougars win keeps them in third place in Southern Class D. However, that spot may not be solidified going into the end of the regular season. After winning their third straight game on Friday, Freeport is a little over 6 Crabtree points back of them in fourth place. Oak Hill is just 1.8 Crabtree points back of them. Next week’s season finale has Dirigo hosting Mattanawcook Academy, Freeport hosting Poland, and Oak Hill scheduled against Lisbon.

- While lots of attention is being placed upon the top of the 8 man large school class standings, there is a compelling race for the last playoff spot. The Yarmouth Clippers struggled with a tough first five games against opponents that are a combined 28-7. Since then the Clippers have hit their stride with wins over Waterville and Morse. 2-5 Yarmouth is sitting just 3.5 Crabtree points back of a 3-4 Mount Desert Island Trojans team that has lost their last three games. Yarmouth travels to 5-2 Mt. Ararat on Friday while Mount Desert Island travels to winless Waterville on Saturday.

- Spruce Mountain’s 52-12 win over Boothbay, combined with Sacopee Valley’s 60-12 loss to Lake Region, was enough to move the Phoenix over Sacopee Valley into second place in the 8 man small school class South. The win was a crucial one as Spruce Mountain could ill afford a loss. We don’t mean that in a generic sort of way. The reality is that the Phoenix’s schedule works against them in the standings. Their strength of schedule is 16 (opponents wins) out of 56 (total opponent games played). When you compare that to Sacopee Valley (29 wins) and Boothbay (27 wins), it gives Spruce Mountain a very small margin of error. For instance, had Spruce Mountain lost to Boothbay it would have moved them into fourth place behind Old Orchard Beach, Sacopee Valley, and Boothbay.

- Since Ellsworth got MPA sanctioning in football, there have been some opponents they have struggled mightily against. One of those opponents was Bucksport. In six previous meetings the Eagles are 0-6 against the Golden Bucks. There was the very first meeting between the two in 2012, Ellsworth’s first regular season home game, that ended with a 50-7 loss. Ellsworth’s last game in the 11 man ranks in 2018 saw them get shutout 46-0 by Bucksport. Then last year Ellsworth had their closest loss to Bucksport, a 48-34 regular season loss that was followed up by a 60-6 playoff drubbing. This time around the roles were reversed as Ellsworth scored first and scored often with a 66-14 victory. Ellsworth scored on each of their first half possessions as they rolled up on a 52-14 lead. Eagles running back Ripley Strout finished the night with 354 rushing yards while scoring seven of his eight touchdowns on the ground. The Eagles continue to hold onto third place heading into their season finale against top-ranked Stearns.

- One of the very first games we circled as can’t miss on the 2024 football calendar was the replay of the 2023 Class A state championship contenders’ Portland and Thornton Academy. Much was said and expected of both 5-1 teams. Both were regional leaders. So Saturday’s game was the opportunity for each team to showcase why they deserved the bragging rights. The game was as much as one could expect except a Gold Ball to be awarded. Once that opening kick was made that game was a straight-up slugfest (in a metaphorical sense mind you) to the final buzzer. After a scoreless first quarter that featured a Thornton Academy fumble at the Portland 3-yard line on the opening drive, Thornton Academy’s Wyatt Benoit helped give his team the initial lead after a 16-yard touchdown run. Portland had an opportunity to tie the contest following an Aidan McGowan kickoff return to the TA 8 yard line. However, the Golden Trojans defense stood fast to force a turnover on downs at their goal line with seven minutes in the half. The Bulldogs got a second chance after intercepting Benoit almost two minutes later. The Bulldogs would make good with their second opportunity as Louis Thruston scored on a quarterback keeper that ended up tying the game 7-7 at the end of the half. The second half was a battle of field position leading up to a big break for Portland as a Thornton Academy snap on fourth and five resulted in a turnover on downs at the Portland 38 with 3:15 remaining in the game. Three plays later, Carter Lucca hauled in a Thurston pass, broke free from a tackler, and ran it to the end zone for a 60-yard touchdown. On what would be Thornton Academy’s final drive of the game, a fumbled handoff was recovered by Portland. The Bulldogs would run out the rest of the clock for the 14-7 victory.

- Hampden Academy picked up a crucial late-season win on Saturday to have some degree of control over their playoff destiny. Their 28-22 victory over Brewer meant that the Broncos currently control home field in the regional quarterfinal. With a win next week and a little luck they could get a first round bye and a spot in the regional semifinals. Such an achievement would be significant for a program that hasn’t made it to the semis since 2011. During that season the 5-3 Broncos finished fifth in the 14-team Eastern Class B, getting a regional quarterfinal against 6-2 Brewer. Playing on the road, Hampden Academy left with a 22-21 victory. Unfortunately their season ended with a 47-22 regional semifinal loss to Leavitt. Hampden Academy would undoubtedly like to progress further, but getting into the regional semifinals would be a good achievement for starters.

- Despite a 22-12 halftime lead, Greely needed a fourth quarter rally and their tough Rangers defense to step up in a 30-26 victory in Topsham over Mt. Ararat. After only scoring two first half touchdowns, Mt. Ararat scored his third touchdown of the game and the Eagles got a late third quarter score from Nick Doughty that gave them the 26-22 lead. The Rangers, executing plays like a riverboat gamble, opted to not punt on fourth down at midfield only a few minutes into the fourth quarter. Luke Piper would fine Benjamin Kyles for a 48-yard touchdown. The two connected on the ensuing two-point conversion that put Greely into the lead. After an exchange of possessions, Greely’s Andrew Padgett picked off Mt. Ararat’s Trent Bailey that all but ended the game.

- The 48-6 Traip Academy victory over Mount View may not get onto many folks radar. When we looked over the Saturday scores however, it very much caught our attention. After 31 quarters of scoreless football, the longest such drought going back to 2024, the Mount View Mustangs finally got onto the scoreboard. Again, in the usually crass nature of social media commentary the Mustangs accomplishment will probably elicit more negatives than positives. However, we are extremely happy for the Mount View community. In tough seasons one must finds positives to build upon. For a team that resembles more of a JV bunch than a varsity squad, again, find the positives.

- For a third consecutive year we will don our crown as the King of Crabtree when we host our Crabtree Ranking Q & A session. This Monday will be the chance to figure out who can finish where, the scenarios a team needs, and what situations teams do not want to have happen.

- Sigh… So here is something I have been thinking long and hard about for the past 48 hours. Even now I have spent the last hour writing and deleting and re-writing this so that it comes out the way I want it to. This next section is important to me. Hopefully that will be readily apparent to all of you reading this.

We, or rather I (Andrew Hart) hate having to insert my personal side of things into the weekly recap. This is supposed to be about the football world and not about me. However, after seeing the comments made in the two Gameday Threads and getting a few private messages, I wanted to take the time to let you all to know that I am just fine. It is heartwarming to see the concern out there and it does not go unappreciated. And yet when things interfere with the content and coverage on this site I do feel it is owed to each and every one of you that like, follow, and read my material to know why. The reason why is quite simple. In my personal world I happen to have season tickets to the Maine Mariners (and prior to them the Portland Pirates). This is something I have had for almost as long as I have lived in Maine. This also happens to be the time of year when the hockey season begins. That means it causes an even more congested demand on my free time that other times of the year. In addition to the time I put into this site, there is also a financial investment and many lasting friendships I have cultivated through hockey. So this time of year I am extremely torn between the world I enjoy and the world I have created. Trust me, I heard it from both sides of my personal life this past weekend.

I do not want to ramble on any more than I already have. You are here to read about football and not my woe-is-me tale. I just want to let you all to know what happened this weekend. And, unfortunately, to tell you all that this will happen the next two weeks as well. I am working on a way to not miss next week’s Crabtree updates so that does not get missed out. Please bear with me!

- Out of state tracker
Bedford defeated Portsmouth-Oyster River 35-0 on Saturday. The 7-0 Bulldogs will host 7-0 Nashua South on Friday.
Dover lost 62-21 to Bishop Guertin on Saturday. The 3-4 Green Wave will travel to Rochester to play 1-6 Spaulding on Friday.
Exeter defeated Manchester Memorial 13-6 on Friday. The 7-0 Blue Hawks will travel to Portland to play the 6-1 Bulldogs on Friday.
Hillsboro-Deering defeated Farmington-Nute 58-8 on Saturday. The 4-3 HillCats have a bye this week.
Portsmouth-Oyster River lost 35-0 to Bedford on Saturday. The 0-7 ClipperCats will travel to Plaistow to play 1-6 Timberlane on Friday.
Salem lost 22-14 to KIPP Academy-Lynn Collegiate on Friday. The 3-3 Witches will host 3-3 Winthrop on Friday.
Spaulding lost 27-18 to Timberlane on Friday. The 1-6 Red Raiders will host 3-4 Dover on Friday.
Winnacunnet lost 28-27 to Bangor on Friday. The 4-3 Warriors will travel to Manchester to play 4-3 Manchester Memorial on Saturday

- Quote of the week
"It means a lot. It’s the best feeling in the world. The last time we saw them, we lost. We wanted to come down here and win on their homefield like they won on ours. The defense just played our technique and stayed sound and disciplined. That’s what won us the game. It’s a great feeling, but we know we’ll see them again."
Brody Viola, Portland wide receiver

- Streak tracker
There are 6 unbeaten teams in Maine, no change from last week
1 team had their winning streak of 4 or more games snapped: Thornton Academy (4)
The longest active winning streaks belong to Kennebunk (11), Wells (10), and Falmouth (8)
3 teams ended their losing streaks of 4 or more games: Westbrook (7), Scarborough (5), and Traip Academy (4)
The longest active losing streaks belong to Valley (21), Mount View (20), Belfast (8), and Waterville (8)

- First place teams after week seven
Class A North – Portland (no change)
Class A South – Noble (change from last week)
Class B North – Falmouth (no change)
Class B South – Kennebunk (no change)
Class C North – Hermon (change from last week)
Class C South – Fryeburg Academy (no change)
Class D North – Foxcroft Academy (no change)
Class D South – Wells (no change)
8 Man Large School – Camden Hills (no change) 
8 Man Small School North – Stearns (no change)
8 Man Small School South – Old Orchard Beach (no change)

- Five games of interest to us in week eight
Exeter at Portland
Bonny Eagle at Noble
Marshwood at Massabesic
Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale at Wells
Houlton at Camden Hills

What are your thoughts on the weekend?