RUMFORD – Some lucky stiff who’s pulling in $50K a year at ESPN for his earth-trembling research will super glue my likeness to a voodoo doll for saying so, but here goes: There are only three streaks in the history of sports that mean a bloody thing.

There was Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game stretch of reporting to work and never failing to slap the baseball through the hole between first and second base. You had Cal Ripken’s career of reporting to work, period. And, lest we forget, Wilt Chamberlain’s indefinite number of consecutive road trips without requiring a dating service.

That’s a wrap. You’ll notice that none of those magic numbers are connected to football, nor are any of them remotely related to youth sports.

So let’s dismiss the notion that York High School’s 16-14 victory over Mountain Valley High School for the Western Class B football championship Saturday was the end of anything other than a splendid season, a collective dream and a tough afternoon at the office, OK?

Mountain Valley doesn’t deserve any additional agony and never should have been subjected to extra pressure in the first place.

This is high school football, where last week typically is an anomaly. It follows, then, that “last year” should be completely irrelevant. The term itself ought to be forcibly expunged from the vocabulary of any sportswriter, parent or hanger-on within earshot of a team.

Jim Aylward tried to warn me almost a week ago. I overheard the Falcons’ head coach exhorting his team’s toughness at the end of practice, punctuating the pep talk with, “That’s how you guys have won 21 games in a row.”

So, Coach, all those wins without a hiccup must be an incredible source of pride for anybody who owns a shred of cobalt blue and silver gear, eh?

“It doesn’t mean much to me, to tell you the truth,” Aylward said that afternoon. “I don’t know how the kids feel. We always expect to be successful. There will probably be some tears if it ends, but I’ll tell you what, it’s been a great ride and I’m going to enjoy it, because this kind of thing only happens once in a lifetime.”

Tear ducts got a rare workout behind facemasks on this crisp, cloudless second Saturday of November between the modest snow banks at immaculately groomed Hosmer Field.

Mountain Valley simply committed too many penalties (seven), turnovers (two) and errant snaps on punts deep in its own territory (one, leading to a safety) to prevent York from being the bread in this school-record sandwich of success.

York was the last team to stymie Mountain Valley, in September 2004. After knocking off the reigning state champions, the Wildcats wield their own whopping winning streak headed into next Saturday’s state final: Two games.

You say two isn’t much? Well, these were a big two by a total of nine points over Wells and Mountain Valley, both teams that throttled York during the regular season.

“We didn’t think we could beat them the last time we came up here, and it showed,” said York senior quarterback Chris Knox. “It was just a matter of believing. We stepped on the field believing we would win this time.”

Both finalists were a walking, blocking testament to why streaks are more overrated in sports than moral victories. After Mountain Valley eliminated York from the sectional semifinals last year, York bid farewell to 20 of its 22 starters. Ten members of the Falcons’ state championship squad were last seen wearing a cap and gown and trying not to smudge the ink on their diplomas.

Football is a funny game. By the time most adolescent boys are physically and mentally equipped to play it properly, they’re already seniors. Any similarity between one year’s team and the next is purely coincidental.

Unbeaten streaks, in other words, should start over in September, with no exceptions.

What Mountain Valley accomplished this season by running the table, winning the regular-season title by two games, earning home field advantage and racking up ridiculous numbers along the way should stand on its own, not as an extension of what transpired in 2004.

The Falcons were a new team with a first-year starting quarterback, a retooled offensive line and an overhauled defense. Even the staff saw a seismic shift with longtime assistant Ryan Casey moving on to the world of school administration and leaving coaching behind.

Mountain Valley won 10 in a row against a league that was miles better than advertised from top to bottom.

Said senior fullback and linebacker Travis Fergola, whose time was severely limited after he sprained his left ankle while tackling York’s Alexander Quinn four minutes into the game: “It was a good season.”

Exactly, a season that doesn’t need year-old embellishment.

Kalle Oakes is a staff writer. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].