Six teams are still standing for the 2005 high school football season. All six will share the spotlight at Portland’s Fitzpatrick Stadium this weekend and, if they had their druthers, all six would like to be playing at the same time.
Fitzpatrick can only accomodate two at a time, however, so four of the teams have been slotted for the less ideal game times.
The Maine Principals Association met with coaches and school administrators Monday to lay out the schedule for Saturday’s state championship football games, which has been set as follows:
•PTC champion Mt. Blue will meet SMAA champion Bonny Eagle for the Class A title at 11 a.m.
•PTC Class B champion Brewer will square off with Campbell Conference winner York at 2:30 p.m.
•LTC champion Foxcroft Academy and Campbell Conference Class C champion Lisbon will meet at 6 p.m. to decide the Class C champion for the second time in three years.
All things considered, most teams would probably prefer the middle time slot, but traveling distances for all of the teams and their fans had to be considered.
“We’d rather play at 2:30, but we also understand that Brewer and Dover’s (Foxcroft) commutes are longer,” said Mt. Blue coach Gary Parlin. “I think the kids are going to be excited no matter what time we play. And I sleep on the bus all the time anyway.”
“We’d prefer the middle game,” said Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan, whose teams played in the middle game the last time they played Foxcroft. “Playing under the lights probably puts a little more of an advantage (Foxcroft’s) way because we don’t have lights on our home field and they do. But we’re just happy to be there.”
Teams are given the option of traveling to Portland once during the week to practice on the artificial surface at Fitzpatrick. Lisbon, which got an early look at the stadium two years ago, will not be able to practice there because Foxcroft declined its invitation.
Mynahan said he was disappointed, not just because his team won’t get a chance to practice on the unfamiliar turf, but because the trip was one of the highlights of a festive week for the team.
“I thought it’d be good for the kids to go down there and get a feel for the place,” he said. “It’s a big week for the kids, and it’s exciting for them to go down there.”
Mt. Blue, which is making its first state championship appearance since 1987, will be taking the bus to Portland today, weather permitting, and will practice under the lights beginning at 5:30.
“I talked to a couple of coaches and they highly recommended it,” Parlin said. “We’ve got some country bumpkins on our team who spend more time hunting and fishing than going out to the mall, so it will be good for them to find out what the atmosphere is like down there.”
Tickets are $7 for adults and $4 for students and are available at each of the participating schools. One ticket is good for all three games, provided the spectator doesn’t leave the stadium.
Comments are no longer available on this story