HEBRON — Football is the focus of this week’s training camp at Hebron Academy, but players and coaches always have the real purpose of the Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic in the back of their minds.

Each player earned a spot in the all-star game because they had outstanding senior seasons, but they weren’t officially a part of it until they raised at least $300. All of the net proceeds from the game go to the 22 Shrine Hospitals for Children in North America.

Playing in the game means the world to the players, many of whom will be putting on their helmets and shoulder pads for the last time. But they are still well aware of how important the game is to the Shriners.

“I know it means the world to them,” George Turner of Oxford Hills said. “They raise a lot of money and it all goes right to the Children’s Hospital. It’s a great cause and I’m really proud to be a part of this game.”

To get the players oriented to the game and motivated for the cause, the Shriners hold their annual spring meeting in Lewiston. The highlight of every meeting is the guest speaker the Shriners bring in to talk to the players about the work the hospitals do for children.

Last April, the featured speaker was Eddie Warren of Sacopee Valley, who played in last year’s Lobster Bowl on two prosthetic legs given to him by the Shrine Hospital.

Warren’s message of the impact the Shriners and the Lobster Bowl had on his life still resonates with the players.

“It was pretty touching … hearing about how they helped him out,” said Matt Lancaster of Jay.

The coaches frequently remind the players of the game’s meaning during the six-day training camp, and the Shriners reinforce it on the eve of the game.

“Usually the banquet on Friday is a pretty good reminder for the kids and the coaches of what it’s all about,” Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway said.

Last of their kind

Lancaster and Livermore Falls’ Alex Rose have the distinction of being the last Lobster Bowl representatives from their respective schools.

“It’s pretty big. It’s awesome. A lot of people have told me about that,” Lancaster said.

Jay and Livermore Falls will be merging sports teams this fall, a precursor to consolidation of the school systems. Next year, Jay and/or Livermore Falls will be sending representatives to the Lobster Bowl under a new name — Spruce Mountain.

Lancaster is honored to be the last to wear a black-and-orange Jay helmet on the gridiron, but he’s not too sentimental about the end of the rivalry brought on by the merger.

“I think they should have done it a long time ago,” he said.

Western B wild card

Lancaster isn’t the only one welcoming Spruce Mountain to the high school football world.

“I think that’s awesome,” said Mountain Valley coach Jim Aylward, who lives in Jay. “That community is 20 years behind what it should have done. We did it 23 years ago (at Mountain Valley). Rumford/Mexico and Jay/Livermore are the same. I don’t even know which town I’m in half the time.”

Rumford and Mexico merged to open Mountain Valley High School in 1989 and the Falcons have been one of the dominant football powers in Class B ever since. Aylward thinks Spruce Mountain will be a wild card team in the revamped Campbell Conference, which also includes Westbrook and Marshwood moving down from Class A.

“It’s going to be great for the league,” said Aylward, who is head coach of the West squad. “We look at our schedule and, uh, we may lose some games this year. But that’s cool. It’s exciting.”

While the Maine Principals’ Association’s new enrollment cutoffs allowed some schools such as Poland to move down to Class C for next season, Mountain Valley and Wells petitioned to remain in Class B.

“I thought that was best for football, (Class) B and C football,” Aylward said. “I didn’t think the Sacopee Valleys and Freeports needed Mountain Valley and Wells to come down and demoralize their programs. I’m not saying they’re not capable of standing toe-to-toe with us.”

Aylward lamented the failure of plans for a four-class system to make it past the preliminary stage during the off-season after a few schools objected.

“There’s got to be a solution after this year,” he said. “We had this four-class thing and 85 percent of the schools want it and then all of a sudden 15 percent complain and it’s gone. We’ve got to do something that’s best for all of us.”

Unless something is done, he added, Mountain Valley, with its declining enrollment, and other schools will suffer on the field because of the widening school population gaps.

“Long-term, as our enrollment keeps getting closer to 350, we’ve got to have a solution for Mountain Valley and Wells, because they’re in the same boat,” he said. “We’re now playing Marshwood and Westbrook, who have 740 kids. And that’s fine. Don’t shed tears for Mountain Valley. A couple of years from now, you are going to notice.”

Tickets still available

The Lobster Bowl kicks off at 4 p.m. Saturday at Biddeford’s Waterhouse Field. Tickets are $10 reserved and $8 general admission and will be available at the gate or before the game at the Kora Shrine Center at 11 Sabattus St. in Lewiston or from any Shriner.

Gates open at 10 a.m. for the NFL Punt, Pass and Kick competition presented by the Maine Games. That will be followed at noon by the Lobster Bowl Legends Flag Football Game, which features Lobster Bowl alumni. A pre-game concert begins at 2 p.m., leading up to pre-game ceremonies at 3 p.m.