Oak Hill will play its first state championship game in 29 years on Saturday afternoon, while Leavitt will make its fourth state title appearance in five years on Saturday night. The Maine Principals’ Association on Monday announced the starting times for the three state championship games to be played Saturday at Portland’s Fitzpatrick Stadium. “Super […]
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The Hot Corner: A Saturday afternoon 31 autumns in the making
WALES — Oak Hill hadn’t won a football championship of any kind since Rambo ruled the box office, a duet involving Joe Cocker was the No. 1 song in America, and current coach Stacen Doucette was eight years old. You didn’t think spinning history in a new direction would be easy, did you? The Raiders […]
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Western Class D Football Championship: Oak Hill edges Dirigo, 16-14; wins first regional in 29 years
Maine’s fourth high school football class returned this year, and Oak Hill is returning to the state title game. Facing much the same grinding schedule they faced last year in Class C, the second-seeded Raiders completed their near three-decade odyssey to the third state title game in school history with a 16-14 victory over No. […]
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Western Class D Football Championship: Oak Hill’s Asselin prepared for anything
WALES — One of the luxuries Stacen Doucette was thankful to have when he took over as head coach at Oak Hill last year was a junior quarterback who already had two years of varsity experience under his belt. Doucette had heard how Parker Asselin, who has also been a fixture on the Oak Hill […]
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Western Class C Football Championship: Leavitt comes back for thirds, strikes down Spruce Mountain
TURNER — Leavitt opened the first half Friday night with a sputter and finished it with a cough. Still, the Hornets were up by a touchdown. Still, they had umpteen seniors motivated by the indignity of a stunning playoff loss on Libby Field a year ago. Still, they were in supreme command. “I told those […]
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Huddle Up: Leavitt’s offensive line paves the way to Portland
Matt Powell finally caught Leavitt offensive line coach Dave Bochtler’s attention after the siren signaling the end of a lopsided third quarter sounded. Powell, Leavitt’s 6-foot-7, 280-pound tackle/defensive tackle, was winded and clearly needed a break. Thirty-six minutes of being a human bulldozer will do that. In the box score, Powell and the rest of […]
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Western Class D Football Championship: Cats out of the bag
DIXFIELD — Aside from a trick play or an injury-related switch there, not many championship football teams fundamentally change who they are at this time of year. Almost never will spectators see a regional semifinalist suddenly shift gears from two of the gridiron’s most time-honored offensive attacks to the gadget approach du jour … and […]
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Huddle Up: Top 10 games of the year
While we’re all looking forward to what should be some unforgettable regional final games this weekend, this is a good time to look back on the season that was, with the top 10 local games. This is just one man’s list. I didn’t attend all of these games, but if that were the criteria, this […]
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Weekend Blitz: Prepping for the best high school football has to offer
Class A West No. 2 Thornton Academy (7-2) at No. 1 Bonny Eagle (8-1) Friday, 7 p.m. Livermore Falls native Kevin Kezal’s Golden Trojans have been as resilient as any team in the state, as the Scots can attest from a 30-21 loss Oct. 19 loss in Saco. The Scots are hoping the defense that […]
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H.S. Football Top 10: Iron meets iron in regional finals
1. Cheverus (9-0) Stags will play in their fifth consecutive regional final on Saturday. That experience, plus a little extra motivation from the outcome of last year’s final, will be invaluable against their biggest obstacle. 2. Portland (8-1) Bulldogs looking for first regional title in a dozen years. It’s probably felt like that long since […]