- Here it is folks. The journey that began with Midnight Madness at the stroke of midnight on Monday, August 19th, reached its fever pitch yesterday with Gold Ball Saturday. 2024 had its share of stories, highlights, and lowlights. We saw turnarounds, fall-downs, and everything in between as 79 teams began the season with the goal of lifting a Gold Ball aloft as the champions of their respective classes. And so we sit here collecting our thoughts for a state championship that left plenty of indelible memories. While we are going to enjoy a well-deserved vacation for awhile, it is never to late to remember that the 2025 fall practices begin in 267 days.

- 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 (221) over Portland (210)
Class B – Kennebunk (222) over Falmouth (96)
Class C – Fryeburg Academy (303) over Hermon (296)
Class D – Wells (250) over Foxcroft Academy (88)

- Like 2023, the Class A through D state championships were split between two locations. Portland’s venerable Fitzpatrick Stadium hosted the Class A and Class B games while Lewiston High School’s Don Roux Field hosted the Class C and Class D games.

- Unlike last week’s 8 man state championships, the weather on Saturday was definitely not sunny and slightly above seasonal. Fortunately the rain forecasted in the morning passed by in the middle of the night. That still left a windy and raw feeling going into the afternoon game. It did create a noticeable dip in attendance for the Class A team.

- Our first game was that Class A title game between the Portland Bulldogs and the Thornton Academy Golden Trojans. Both came in sporting identical 9-2 records. Portland beat Thornton Academy 14-7 back on October 19th. Portland was looking to get their first state title win since 2002, after falling short five times since that point. Thornton Academy was in their sixth consecutive state title game, seeking back-to-back title victories for the third time in their MPA history.

- Portland would get onto the scoreboard first, doing so during the game’s opening drive. The score happened when Louis Thurston scored on a 28-yard quarterback keeper on 4th and one in the Thornton Academy half of the field. The touchdown was helped in large part by a Lisandro Rodrigues block that helped open up the hole on the right side of the Portland line that Thurston ran through. With a PAT kick that was wide right, Portland had the initial 6-0 lead. Both sides would have opportunities during the rest of the first half, but both had drives that stalled out leading to halftime.

- At halftime there was a very special award ceremony conducted. Presented on behalf of the Southwestern Maine Board of Football Officials, Nancy Fontaine, wife to the late Robert “Bear” J. Fontaine Jr, was posthumously awarded the Joe Crozier Award. The Crozier Award is given for dedication and contribution to high school football in football. Family and friends of Bear, along with over a dozen referees who had served alongside Bear were present at midfield for the ceremony. In addition to the award, Nancy was presented a white hat, a symbolic gift that is worn by the head official at a football game.

- Thornton Academy received the ball to start the second half but was not able to advance beyond their 38-yard line. They would get three breaks over the next two minutes. The first was a 60-yard wind-aided punt that was downed at the Portland 2-yard line. The Thornton Academy defense managed to force Portland to go three-and-out with a punt from their own 5-yard line. The second was when a Golden Trojans defender managed to block the Portland punt, with the ball recovered in the end zone by Connor Ayoob for the Thornton Academy touchdown. With a successful PAT kick, Thornton Academy held a 7-6 lead. The third break was on the ensuing kickoff. The ball was kept low and on the ground where it took a crazy hop off the turf, slipped between the legs of two Portland players, and was scooped up by Thornton Academy’s Ryan Camire.

- With Portland holding Thornton Academy to a three-and-out, the Bulldogs offense defense stepped up in the third quarter. Thurston would score an 81-yard touchdown run, and following the Golden Trojans third turnover on downs to that point, Thurston found Aidan McGowan in full stride behind the Thornton Academy secondary for a 61-yard touchdown. With a successful two-point conversion and a good PAT kick, Portland held a 21-7 lead.

- Portland gained possession on the kickoff, as their intended onside kick bounced off a Thornton Academy player, rolled into open space, and was converged on by a pile of players from each side. As the officials removed players off the pile, it was Portland’s Colin Haigh that had possession of the ball in Thornton Academy territory. In the final seconds of the third period, in a sequence of events that would have earned itself a spot on Randy Moss’s Monday Night Football segment “You Got Mossed”, Portland’s Cordell Jones jumped up for a Thurston pass, hauling it in over the arms and helmet of a Golden Trojans defender, for the 20-yard touchdown. With the successful PAT kick, Portland had scored three touchdowns in six minutes and about ten seconds of the third quarter to take a 28-7 lead.

- In the fourth quarter Thornton Academy and Portland exchanged touchdowns from Mauricio Sunderland and Cordell Jones getting scoring runs. Both sides exchanged possessions to the final buzzer with Portland celebrating the 35-7 victory.

- Louis Thurston finished the game with four touchdowns (two rushing, two passing) and 272 yards of offense. Thornton Academy moved the ball much more effectively in the second half, where they accumulated 186 of their 226 yards on offense. However, it was the three-touchdown third quarter that seemed to put them too far behind the eight-ball to be able to rally against Portland’s defense that created three turnovers on downs.

- It is tough to think that the Class A football title is only the fourth for Portland in the MPA era. Portland also ended the state’s longest title game losing streak at five games. The new holder of the longest streak is Lawrence and Waterville at four straight title game losses. On the other side of the ball if you are looking for next year’s title contender and you haven’t the foggiest who it could be, the simple trend says you should consider Thornton Academy. They have alternated wins and losses in the last six Class A championship games: 2018 – win, 2019 – loss, 2021 – win, 2022 – loss, 2023 – win, and 2024 – loss. Patterns say that in 2025 they should be winning a Class A championship.

- The first game of the day in Lewiston was the Class C title game between the Hermon Hawks and the Fryeburg Academy Raiders. Both had matching 8-2 records, although neither team lost an in-region game. These two teams did not play each other in the regular season. Hermon was playing in their first ever state football championship after coming up short in the 2018, 2021, and 2022 Northern Class C regional finals. Fryeburg Academy was back in the state championships for the first time since 2018 while seeking their first football title since the creation of the Pillsbury Dough Boy, The Northeast Blackout, and the Battle of Ia Drang (of which the book “We Were Soldiers Once… And Young” was written). That is November of 1965 if you didn’t do an Internet search by now.

- While Hermon took the opening possession, it was Fryeburg Academy that made the initial big play with a blocked Hermon punt that the Raiders recovered on the Hermon 37-yard line. A minute and a second later Ty Boone scored the first of two touchdowns on the day from 20-yards out, the last few yards with a Hawks defender draped all over him, with the successful PAT kick giving Fryeburg Academy a 7-0 lead. Hermon would try to seize the momentum with a little trickery from a punt, however the play resulted in a further loss of five yards with Fryeburg Academy getting another drive deep in Hermon territory. A little over two minutes later Boone scored his second touchdown, with the successful PAT kick given the Raiders a 14-0 lead.

- While the Hawks went three-and-out, they would gain possession following a Fryeburg Academy fumble at their own 35-yard line. They would suffer a turnover on downs. The sides would exchange possessions, with Hermon got their best opportunity to score late in the second quarter on a lengthy drive. While they recovered their own fumble with 1:03 left in the first half, the Raiders Daniel Ruiz picked off an Ethan Curtis pass and returned almost 40 yards to safety, away from the Raiders end zone. Hermon’s Bruce Coulter would pick off Ty Boone, with a kneel-down ending the first half with Fryeburg Academy up 14-0.

- Fryeburg opened the second half with a 62-yard, 4:48-long drive that was punctuated by a Daniel Ruiz touchdown run from four yards out. With the PAT kick, Fryeburg Academy’s lead increased to 21-0. Hermon’s advancement on the first drive of the half was minimal, forcing them to punt. The Raiders drive would take them through the end of the third quarter, with Malik Sow scoring from five yards out on 4th and 1. The 4:45 drive, with the successful PAT kick, gave the Raiders a massive 28-0 lead and left less than twelve minutes to go in the game. The Hawks would drive the length of the field in four minutes. However, Fryeburg Academy, with their backs against the goal line wall (so to speak) would not yield as they forced the turnover on downs to retake possession at their own 14-yard line with a little under eight minutes to go.

- The Raiders would chew up the rest of the clock with kneel downs bringing the game to a close and a 28-0 Fryeburg Academy victory.

- For those teams that have won a title both pre and post state championship eras in the respective classes, Fryeburg Academy’s win ended the longest success title drought at 59 years. The longest current title droughts belong to Morse (1972), Telstar (1973), Traip Academy (1973), Messalonskee (1975), and Edward Little (1977). For only the second time since 2004, a team finished their playoff run without allowing a single point. Fryeburg Academy outscored the opposition 114-0 in three playoff games. The only other team to accomplish this was the 2021 Cheverus Stags. Meanwhile, Hermon was unable to buck the recent trend of Northern Class C teams falling in the state championship. Since Nokomis defeated Fryeburg Academy in the 2018 Class C state championship, the teams of Maine Central Institute (2019), Winslow (2021), Medomak Valley (2022), Oceanside (2023), and Hermon (2024) have fallen to their southern regional peers.

- Of the two afternoon games, the contest in Lewiston ended first so we will focus on that contest. The Class D title game was between the Foxcroft Academy Ponies and the Wells Warriors. The Ponies came in with an 11-0 record, while the Warriors had a 10-0 record. These two teams did not play each other in the regular season. The two teams met in the 2023 Class D state championship, a game that Wells scored 22 unanswered points in the second half, to include the game-winning two-point touchdown pass from Brooks Fox to Conner Whitten, to win the title.

- While Foxcroft Academy got the opening drive of the game, it did not end as they hoped. They were forced into a three-and-out, with their punt being initially fumbled by the Warriors returner before it was recovered at the Wells 26-yard line. 5:21 and 74 yards later, Wells got onto the scoreboard first as Eli Potter scored from a yard out. With the successful PAT kick, the Warriors led 7-0. Potter’s name would come up three and a half minutes later as he picked off a Foxcroft Academy Griffin Caruso pass, with the ball being spotted at the Wells 41. The Ponies would get their first major break as Landon Smith picked off a Wells Cal Moody pass. However, their drive sputtered through a three-and-out with Wells receiving the punt and taking over at their 28-yard line. From there, the Warriors went on another field-long drive. This one lasted almost four minutes and ended with a Dom Buxton 8-yard touchdown. Like Potter did in the first quarter, Buxton would pick off a Caruso pass, returning it 85 yards for a touchdown. However, a holding call on Wells brought the ball back but still gave Wells possession. Another touchdown on the drive, a Moody pass to Riley Murphy, would get called back for an illegal shift. However, with 25 seconds in the half Dominic Carbonneau would score on a 17-yard reverse. With the PAT lead, Wells would take a 21-0 lead into the half.

- Much like they did on their first drive of the first half, Wells did more of the same on the opening drive of the second half as they went 65 yards in 5:22, picking up first downs on third and one and fourth and three on the drive, with Potter scoring his second touchdown of the game on a 9-yard run. While the PAT kick was not success, Wells held a commanding 27-0 lead. The Ponies ensuing drive suffered a bit setback when the Warriors Claudio Watson sacked Caruso in the backfield, forcing a Foxcroft Academy put from a 4th and 18. With the ball being downed on the Wells 5-yard line, the Warriors went on another time-eating drive. This time they went 95 yards, a drive lasting 7:36, with Carbonneau getting his second touchdown of the game on a 3-yard run. With the PAT kick good, Wells increased their lead to 34-0. The Ponies drive, looking to salvage some pride in the final minutes of the game, resulting in a batted-down pass by a Wells defender on fourth and 10, giving Wells the ball with 4:36 remaining. Much to the same of their prior drives, Wells ran out the clock for the 34-0 victory.

- The state title victory is the seventh consecutive championship for Wells, tying them with Bonny Eagle for the longest such current run. The six state championship wins (with a Maine team) for head coach Tim Roche ties him with Marshwood’s Alex Rotsko for second amongst active head coaches, one behind Bonny Eagle’s Kevin Cooper. Despite the loss, Foxcroft Academy will graduate a group of seniors that have played in a state championship game ever year of their high school career. The championship appearance was the eighth of Danny White’s coaching career. This ties him with Leavitt’s Mike Hathaway for second most active title appearances by a coach, one behind Thornton Academy’s Kevin Kezal.

- The other afternoon game, the last game to go to a finish, was the Class B title game between the Falmouth Navigators and the Kennebunk Rams. Both teams entered with identical 10-0 records. These two teams did not play each other in the regular season. Kennebunk entered as the defending Class B champion and owner of the state’s longest active winning streak. Falmouth, going from a 2023 season filled with turmoil to an unanticipated undefeated title run, was seeking their first football Gold Ball in their first football state championship game.

- Falmouth had the opening possession of the game. And while it was slow-moving at first, it was a methodical pace downfield. However, they very nearly suffered a bad early set-back when a Kennebunk player stripped the ball out of the hands of Falmouth quarterback Tres Walker. However, and rather fortunately, a Falmouth player recovered the ball. On the very next play, Walker launched a pass that went behind the Kennebunk secondary and into the hands of a running Abram Wintersteen for a 38-yard touchdown. Kennebunk’s drive started out rough as a fumbled exchange led quarterback Sam Haley to dive onto the ball. They would end up being forced to eventually punt, which rolled into the end zone and gave the Navigators the ball at their own 20-yard line. From there, they drove the 80 yards in 3:18, with Indi Backman rushing into the Rams end zone from three yards out. With the PAT kick good, Falmouth was up 14-0. This lead held to the end of the first quarter.

- Midway through the second quarter the two teams had a crazy back-and-forth turnover exchange. Falmouth’s Luke Roy picked off a Haley pass. On the following play, a Walker shovel pass ended up in the hands of Kennebunk’s Calvin Johnson, who returned it 29 yards for a Rams touchdown. With the PAT kick going wide left and no good, Falmouth held a 14-6 lead. Falmouth would drive into the Kennebunk red zone but got halted by a Rams defense and back-to-back illegal procedure penalties. Falmouth kicked Peter Kearns would successfully boot a 35-yard field goal. The Navigators would get the ball back almost two minutes later with a Logan McVeigh interception, but got no further at the end of the first half.

- Kennebunk would walk away empty on the first drive of the second quarter as they were held up by the Falmouth defense, followed by a 33-yard field goal attempt by Max Andrews that went wide left. Falmouth would drive deep downfield, but another Kennebunk defensive stop led to a 35-yard Kearns kick that was good, giving Falmouth a 20-6 lead. The Rams had a momentary ray of fortune shining on them as Jaiden Homa took the Kearns kickoff 88 yards for the touchdown. With the successful PAT kick, the Rams were closing the deficit at 20-13 Falmouth. Following the kick return, Falmouth’s Gio Guerrette would escape two would-be tacklers before running down the Falmouth sidelines for an 80-yard touchdown. With a blocked PAT kick, Falmouth upped their lead to 26-13 with 4:52 left in the third quarter. This held to the end of the quarter.

- Kennebunk would turn the ball over on downs twice in the fourth quarter, going for broke out of sheer necessity with them being down by two touchdowns. By the time Falmouth gets the ball back with 2:48 at the Kennebunk 15 yard line, they needed to just pick up the first down and then kneel down the ball to run out the clock and send the Falmouth sidelines into pandemonium.

- Much will be written in the days, weeks, and years to come back the one-year turnaround of the Falmouth Navigators. The power of belief from one year to the next was readily obvious. From 2-6 and mandated out of the playoffs in 2023, to a nine-win improvement with an undefeated season and a state championship, magical may not begin to describe this season. There have been other year-to-year turnarounds of note. Two other teams since 2004 that have experienced nine-win changes were the 2022 Yarmouth Clippers under Jim Hartman and the 2021 Portland Bulldogs under Jason McLeod. The loss for Kennebunk will sting given their undefeated regular season. However, it is not the only time they were on the losing end of the state championship game after coming in with an undefeated regular season. In 2013 the 11-0 Kennebunk Rams would fall to Cony at the University of Maine. In 2016 the 11-0 Kennebunk Rams fell to the undefeated Brunswick Dragons at the University of Maine.

- Back in August we put the question out there to the people on who they thought would win the state champions. Nobody picked all six champions. The closest was three correct picks made by Ray Bell. Here is the breakdown of the state champions and the names of people who selected them.
Portland – Austin Schmidt
Falmouth – None
Fryeburg Academy – Ray Bell, Ron Kennedy, Thomas Noble
Wells – Brent Albright, Bob Beatham Jr, Ray Bell, Eric French, Ryan McLaughlin, Paul Santamore, Traci Bryant Waterman
Greely – None
Old Orchard Beach – Bob Beatham Jr, Ray Bell, Rob Kennedy, Paul Santamore

- Quote of the week #1
"It’s awesome. We talk about going 1-0, being present, having a maniacal sense of urgency and our guys came out and did that on every play. Our guys responded and did a tremendous job. I’m a very small piece of this puzzle. I have a tremendous coaching staff. We have tremendous Boosters. I have awesome support from (administration), these players and their families."
Sean Green, Portland head coach

- Quote of the week #2
"I told the boys the second day of (double sessions), ‘We’re the best kept secret in Maine'. No one knew how good we were but us. We used it all as fuel. We’re competitors and we made it happen."
Spencer Emerson, Falmouth head coach

- Quote of the week #3
"We’ve got some speed, we’ve got some athleticism, but we’re also very, very physical,’’. That doesn’t happen during the season, that happens in the off season."
David Turner, Fryeburg Academy head coach

- Quote of the week #4
"Every (state championship) is special. When people ask, every (title) is special ... It means everything. This is a special community. I love Wells, everyone knows that, and I love what we do. The kids buy into the culture, but the community has bought into that culture, too, and they love it."
Tim Roche, Wells head coach

- Streak tracker
3 teams finished the season undefeated
4 teams had their winning streaks of 4 or more games snapped: Kennebunk (14), Foxcroft Academy (11), Hermon (5), and Thornton Academy (4)
The longest active winning streaks belong to Wells (14), Falmouth (12), Old Orchard Beach (11)

- While the season has come to an end, there are still several events on the high school football calendar:
* The 112th Maine Thanksgiving Day Turkey Bowl between Deering and Portland
* The 53rd James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy presentation
* The 39th Gatorade Maine Football Player of the Year announcement
* The 14th Frank J. Gaziano Memorial Offensive and Defensive Lineman Awards announcement

- In December we will also be releasing the following:
* 2024 Fans Star of the Season and the ten selected players
* The Champions of New England, highlighting the state title winners from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont
* The 7th 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 2024

So for one final time in 2024, what are your thoughts on the weekend?