Week 8 Thoughts on the Weekend

- It’s been a long time in a short while. Or is it short time in a long while? In any case here we at the end of the beginning. For all but Class A this was the final chance for wins and losses to affect the standings. Now that things are set in stone the path ahead is carved out for each and every one to see.

- While Class A will not be done until next week, there is some late season intrigue playing out in both regions. With Thornton Academy topping Sanford 48-0 on Thursday and Bonny Eagle defeating Noble 21-14 on Friday, Southern Class A now has three teams at 6-2. Thornton Academy has the stronger schedule compared to the other two. Thornton Academy plays 2-6 Scarborough, Bonny Eagle plays 3-5 Windham, and Noble plays 1-7 Sanford. On the Northern side of Class A, despite the 35-25 loss on Friday to Exeter, Portland has locked up first place. Behind them is a four-way battle for three playoff places and the races for them could not be any tighter. Bangor is currently on the outside looking in. They will be hosting a “win and you’re in” game against Oxford Hills, the current fourth place team. Lewiston travels across the Androscoggin River to play their rival Edward Little in the Battle of the Bridge while Windham has that aforementioned game at home against Bonny Eagle.

- After a mid-season slump where Lewiston dropped three straight games, they have bounced with back-to-back wins that solidified their position in the Northern Class A. Last week was a 34-29 win over Windham. Friday was a 51-0 win at home against Brunswick. However, beyond the snaps and the touchdowns and everything else one would associate with football was something much bigger than the game. Friday was the one-year anniversary of the loss of 18 lives in the Lewiston shootings. 18 pots of mums on the flag-side of Don Roux Field in remembrance.

- Creighty Dickson’s field goal as time expired not only gave Windham a 17-14 win, it also ensured playoff safety a week in advance. However, where they finish is another story. A win against Bonny Eagle could keep them in third place. A loss though, well that would put them into fourth.

- Not to be forgotten in the late-season races is South Portland. Easton Healy’s big five-touchdown night helped the Red Riots down Scarborough 39-20. The win snuffed out any lingering possibilities for Scarborough to sneak into the four-team regional playoff. The win gives South Portland some momentum as they prepare for the 109th Battle of the Bridge against their long-time rival Portland.

- Bonny Eagle’s Colin Moran ran for 63 of his 175 rushing yards when it counted the most, which was the game-winning drive that helped Bonny Eagle beat Noble 21-14. The score put a halt to a 14-point Knights rally that tied the game 14-all in the third quarter on a Tommy Gagnon touchdown run. The win is the fourth in a row and sixth out of seven for the Scots.

- Fryeburg Academy put on a dominating display of football in the regular season finale with a 48-6 victory at Gorham. Of note, two of the Raiders touchdowns came by way of returned fumbles. One was by Daniel Ruiz and the other was by Holden Edenbach. The win locked Fryeburg Academy into first in Southern Class C and a bye week. Gorham meanwhile was part of a four team 2-6 quagmire in Southern Class B. Even with a loss, their Crabtree numbers were enough to slide them into sixth ahead of Biddeford and Westbrook.

- It was a shootout at Keyes Field as Lawrence and Hampden Academy combined for 74 points. While Colton Carter had the lions share of the Bulldogs ground game (368 out of 499 rushing yards), the game-deciding play was when Preston Roy stripped the ball out of a Hampden Academy ball-career and then recovered the fumble in the final few minutes to preserve the 39-35 victory. The Lawrence ground game was in stark contrast to a Broncos game that saw Gavin Monyok throw for 340 yards on five touchdowns. It was mostly a back-and-forth game. Lawrence went up 20-7 in the first quarter, only for Hampden Academy to quickly respond in the second quarter with two quick touchdowns of their own to take a 21-20 lead. However, Lawrence quickly capitalized to lead at the half. While Hampden Academy scored twice in the second half, they still had to rely on the final, fateful drive for a potential game winner. One that Roy was very much involved in.

- Cony’s 47-21 win over Mt. Blue, and a slightly strong schedule, proved to be just enough for them to slip out in front of Lawrence for second place in Northern Class B and a quarterfinal bye. How exactly was it just enough? 3.125 Crabtree points was the margin. That is basically two wins difference between Cony’s opponents and Lawrence’s opponents.

- In our articles we talk about the celebration of milestones for teams. For some they are obvious. Others it is the achievement of things they have done multiple times. And for others it can be something taken for granted elsewhere. Whatever your stance is on this it is still a worthwhile celebration. The 14-year history of Hermon has had a series of ups and downs as a developing program. Friday was a first as they secured first place in Northern Class C with a 39-6 victory at Skowhegan. They were in a position once before for first place though. In 2018 the 7-1 Hawks finished alongside 7-1 Maine Central Institute for first place in the region. That year was the last of a two-year experiment of sorts where Heal Points was used as the ranking system. Hermon had 170 points while Maine Central Institute had 218. Hermon has a bye week and will wait for the victor of next week’s Oceanside and Hampden Academy game at Rockland.

- For the third time in five seasons the Massabesic Mustangs finished the regular season with a 6-2 record following their 42-27 victory over Marshwood. They win helped them hold off third place in Southern Class B from the Hawks. While the weekend results were not enough to help them slide into a quarterfinal bye, the Mustangs will get a playoff home game for the third consecutive year.

- Falmouth put their Friday night game against Messalonskee beyond reach with two fourth quarter touchdowns, one a Tres Walker to Giovanni Guerrette catch and run for a 67-yard touchdown and the other a Ben Robbins 66-yard punt return for a touchdown, that turned a 17-14 close-fought contest into the 31-14 Navigators victory. The win helped Falmouth lock in their first ever undefeated regular season in program history and their second regional first place finish in program history.

- As a sidenote, Falmouth finished with the season with only 54 points allowed. That is the fewest amount of points allowed in a full Class B season of play since Mountain Valley allowed 24 in 2010.

- Last week’s Northern Class C standings had Oceanside holding third place over Hampden Academy and Nokomis. In Monday’s Crabtree Q&A session we did say there was a scenario where Nokomis could leap into third place with a win coupled with losses by Hampden Academy and Medomak Valley and Oceanside loss. The first component that needed to happen did happen as the Warriors won on the road with a 22-6 victory over Brewer. While Medomak Valley won their game, Hampden Academy lost their game. The final part needed was an Oceanside defeat. That happened by way of a Gardiner 20-8 win. The series of events was enough for Nokomis to move into third for the first time since 2017.

- Despite Cape Elizabeth’s 33-18 home loss to Westbrook and Leavitt’s 34-0 win over York, depending on your perspective it was either enough for the Capers to hold onto second or it was too little – too late for the Hornets at the end of the regular season. In the five-team Southern Class C all teams make the playoffs. To make the brackets work the top three teams get a first round bye. We bring all this up because we will see a fourth consecutive playoff meeting between Cape Elizabeth and Leavitt. This is the first time in that span where a playoff game between the two will be at Cape Elizabeth’s Hannaford Field.

- After a sluggish 1-3 start by Freeport, the Falcons finished it strong by defeating Poland 28-6 to end the season with three straight wins and a forfeit victory. Teddy Peters had a solid night with three touchdowns on the artificial turf of Samuelson Track & Field. While Oak Hill picked up the forfeit win by way of Lisbon’s high school football program suspension, the Falcons had just enough in the Crabtree rankings to finish ahead of the Raiders. And what is Freeport’s reward for that? They will host the regional quarterfinal playoff game against Oak Hill.

- Wells went with what worked in their season final against Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale as quarterback Cal Moody passed for 224 yards and two touchdowns as the Warriors defeated the Ramblers 30-13. The last regular season battle of the unbeaten teams in Maine gave Wells their second consecutive regional top finish. The passing game contrasted drastically with a ground game that the Ramblers defense held to just 44 first-half rushing yards despite the 23-6 Wells lead. Defenses on both sides stepped up in the second half as scoring was limited to a single touchdown each for Wells’ Eli Potter and the Ramblers’ Carter Rivers.

- After looking over the Friday and Saturday finals and then checking out the Northern Class D rankings, you would be forgiven for scratching your head before making a puzzling inquiry for the rankings. Foxcroft Academy finishing in first was a foregone conclusion. The next five places was a crazy collection schedules. As hopefully you all know – provided you paid attention to our Crabtree primer at the start of the season – the strength of schedule component plays a part in the Crabtree rankings. We call it strength of schedule as it is determined by dividing all the wins of the opponents on a schedule against the total number of games they played. That is how Winslow, a 4-4 team with a 50% opposing strength of schedule win percentage, finished in first while Maine Central Institute, a 5-3 team with a 28.125% percentage, finished in fourth place behind a 4-4 John Bapst team that had a 46.785% percentage. Old Town, who had an percentage to John Bapst, finished in fifth due in part to their 3-5 record.

- Dirigo capped off their first season back in the 11 man ranks with a 50-13 win over Mattanawcook Academy to finish the regular season 6-1. The record is the best amongst the first teams (them, Mattanawcook Academy, Maranacook, Mountain Valley, and Brunswick) that made the return in the off-season. While playing one fewer game, they finished third in Southern Class D not only in rank by also in points scored.

- The scramble for the top places of the 8 man large school class was a treat in the past two weeks. Lake Region’s 42-20 loss to Orono and Greely’s 44-14 win over Morse put some separation in the 8 man large school Crabtree rankings between the Lakers and Rangers. Mt. Ararat’s win over Yarmouth put the Eagles into the top four competition. Gray-New Gloucester’s 38-0 shutout of Traip Academy had the Patriots solidify their playoff spot.

- There are plenty of candidates for this year’s best turnarounds of 2024, if such an award existed. One contender that may be overlooked is Spruce Mountain. In 2023 they finished 0-7 and withdrew from their playoff spot due to an already small roster further depleted by injuries to just 12 healthy bodies. Forward a year and the Phoenix finished the season 7-1 and in second place in the 8 man small school South. Their 44-12 win over Sacopee Valley at Hiram also decided who would host the regional semifinal game between the two teams. Griffin Field at Livermore Falls will host that contest next week.

- Camden Hills close-fought 24-22 win over Houlton locked the Windjammers into first place for a second straight year. With a quarterfinal bye, they will await the winner of Mt. Ararat and Gray-New Gloucester for their semifinal meeting in two weeks at Rockport. Meanwhile, despite ending the regular season with a loss, Houlton Shiretowners finished in a very strong position at second in the 8 man small school class North. They will host Orono next weekend.

- If there were any lingering doubts about where Stearns is at going into the playoffs, they shattered them Saturday with a 60-6 win over fellow 6-1 Ellsworth. The Minutemen needed about two minutes and four Eagles plays to steal possession away with an Emerson Michaud interception, and then six more plays to put the first points on the board by way of a Cam Atkinson touchdown pass to Sam Jacobs. Atkinson would score another early touchdown, this time on a 52-yard run, that helped them build a 24-0 lead at the end of the quarter. That Stearns lead only increased with two more touchdowns in the second quarter from an Atkinson scoring pass to Gavin Gagnon, their first of two scoring connections of the night, and a Cohen Raymond touchdown run. Atkinson and Raymond would get touchdowns again in the second half. While Stearns was racking up the yardage and points, they were also quite successful defensively on keeping Ellsworth’s Ripley Strout in check. Ripley’s the second leading rusher in the Little Ten Conference at 1,152 yards, was held to a paltry 47 yards.

- Like last year, Old Orchard Beach finished the regular season as the 8 man leader in points scored. They made this accomplishment with a 58-0 win against. Their 492 points is 62 better than Stearns, who have the second most at 430. It is also 150 more than Mt. Ararat’s 342, the most points scored in the 8 man large school class. Compared to last year’s 65.4 points per game, they finished the 2024 regular season with a 61.5 points per game. The Seagulls’ Trot Moody got onto the scoring sheet in three different ways. Along with his three touchdown passes to Riley Provencher, he also caught a touchdown pass from Wes Gallant and ran for a touchdown.

- How well a new MPA football program does is a great many varied things. Success is not always measured solely by wins or losses. Especially for programs dropped into the middle of tough classes. Consider it to be dropping a free fish into shark-infested waters. Camden Hills needed 17 games and Mount View needed 18 games before recording their first victory. Ellsworth took four years, or 25 games, before picking up their first football victory by defeating Washington Academy 22-8 in 2015. The longest run was Sacopee Valley. Dating from their inaugural game in 2009, the Hawks lost all 40 games through 2013 before going to a JV schedule for the next three years. They returned in 2017 to the developmental Class E and won their season opener 25-0 over Traip Academy. On the opposite side, some teams get their first win right away. Nokomis won their inaugural game over Old Town in 2007 by the score of 22-6. Medomak Valley also experienced first-game success in 2015 as they defeated Bucksport 14-13. On Saturday, October 26th, 2024, after 21 games, the Valley Mustangs picked up their very first program MPA win. The win was on the road, defeating Mount View 56-6 in Thorndyke. The win also ended the state’s longest active losing streak.

- Out of state tracker
Bedford defeated Nashua South 38-14 on Friday. The 8-0 Bulldogs will travel to 4-4 Keene on Friday.
Dover lost 41-33 to Spaulding on Friday. The 3-5 Green Wave will host 4-4 Winnacunnet on Friday.
Exeter defeated Portland 35-25 on Friday. The 8-0 Blue Hawks will host 6-2 Londonderry on Friday.
Hillsboro-Deering was idle this week. The 4-3 Hill-Cats will host 6-0 Raymond on Saturday.
Portsmouth-Oyster River lost 28-14 to Timberlane on Friday. The 0-8 ClipperCats will host 2-6 Spaulding on Friday.
Salem lost 25-13 to Winthrop on Friday. The 3-4 Witches will host 5-2 Swampscott on Friday.
Spaulding defeated Dover 41-33 on Friday. The 2-6 Red Raiders will travel to Portsmouth to play 0-8 Portsmouth-Oyster River on Friday.
Winnacunnet lost 37-7 to Manchester Memorial on Saturday. The 4-4 Warriors will travel to 3-5 Dover on Friday

- Quote of the week
"I told our guys to embrace the moment and live every moment brilliantly, because there are some folks out there that aren’t able to do that. We wanted to play and honor those that were victimized by the tragic shooting, and tell these guys to soak in the moment and appreciate and live brilliantly, bright for those who no longer can."
Jason Versey, Lewiston head coach

- Streak tracker
There are 5 unbeaten teams in Maine, down from 6 last week
4 teams had their winning streaks of 4 or more games snapped: Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale (7), Lake Region (5), Oxford Hills (4), and Portland (4)
The longest active winning streaks belong to Kennebunk (12), Wells (11), Falmouth (9), Foxcroft Academy (8), and Old Orchard Beach (8)
1 team ended their losing streak of 4 or more games: Mount View (21)
The longest active losing streaks belong to Mount View (21), Belfast (9), Waterville (9), Mt. Blue (7), and Telstar (7)

- First place teams after week eight
Class A North – Portland (no change)
Class A South – Thornton Academy (no change)
Class B North – Falmouth (no change)
Class B South – Kennebunk (no change)
Class C North – Hermon (no change)
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 nine
Oxford Hills at Bangor
Portland at South Portland
Hampden Academy at Oceanside
Oak Hill at Freeport
Orono at Houlton

What are your thoughts on the weekend?