The three-way football tie between Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth and Greely — which resulted in a coin flip to eliminate one team (in this case, Greely) — has been the talk of the weekend.

There were other ways to break the tie.

One undesirable tiebreaker is based on points scored and points allowed during the season, but that encourages running up the score, or not playing backups in games already decided.

Some states decide three- and four-way ties on the field. In Florida, for example, the teams meet on the Monday after the season and play the format used in overtime games. Each team lines up at the 10-yard line with four plays to score.

Each team would play each other. After one round, in one scenario, one team would be 2-0, another 1-1, and the eliminated team 0-2. If they were all 1-1, then a second round would be played.

It’s better than a coin flip.

 

WHILE MT. ARARAT did not win a state championship, the Eagles brought back an impressive display of hardware from the Class A state cross country meet, collecting second place in both the boys’ and girls’ races.

“We were hoping to beat Scarborough (in the boys’ race), and I know the girls wanted to beat Cheverus, but we knew it was a long shot,” said Andy Reifman-Packett, who finished second in the boys’ race.

“But we ran pretty well. We were excited to come out and show people that we are a threat.”

The Eagles placed six in the top 23 of the girls’ race — Emma Wood (fifth), Kate Spies (ninth), Emilia McGrath (13th), Cloe Emerson (20th), Emmie Cox (21st) and Lauren McNett (23rd). Only Spies and Emerson are seniors.

The Mt. Ararat boys have some rebuilding to do. Reifman-Packett is a junior, but the next four Eagles runners are seniors: Nick Parson, Jake Letourneau, Nick Demosthenes and Peter Burtt.

 

WANT TO KNOW the scary part about Cheverus’ dominant performance in the Class A girls’ race? All seven runners, including “bumpers” Lizzie Gwilym and Greta Niedermeyer, will be back next season.

 

MERRICONEAG, likewise, has no seniors on its girls’ team, so everyone will be back to defend the Class C title (including Nos. 6 and 7 runners Haydee Jacobs and Skyler Samuelson). Maybe by then Merriconeag will have a nickname. No. 1 runner Zoe Chace-Donahue said the runners talked about that and considered “Penguins.”

The running penguins?

 

WAYNFLETE’S GIRLS’ cross country team was dethroned by Merriconeag, but Flyers Coach Brian Gillespie wasn’t complaining. The girls took second place, and the boys’ finished third. “The girls ran well and I’m happy with my boys,” Gillespie said. “You come up and get a second and a third. Not a bad day.”

 

IN THE CLASS C boys’ race, Waynflete may by chasing North Yarmouth Academy again next year. Of NYA’s top seven, only No. 4 runner Elliot Daniels is a senior. Expected back are Cam Regan, Evan Kendall, Rudy Guliani, Grant McPherson, Brian Trelegan and Ian Moor.

Runner-up Freeport featured four seniors — Griffin Day, Bennett Wade, Elliott Daniels and Max Jennings.

 

MASSABESIC GOT one of its top girls’ runners back in time for the state meet, as sophomore Jocelyn Acheson returned to finish 12th (the Mustangs’ No. 2 runner behind Charlotte Pierce).

Acheson said she was diagnosed with tachycardia this fall.

“Don’t ask me what that means,” Acheson said with a smile.

All she knows is that the condition caused an erratic heartbeat. Once she was cleared to race, Acheson ran with a heart monitor as a precaution.

 

THERE WAS concern for Thornton Academy wide receiver James Ek after it looked like he had injured his neck just before halftime of Friday’s Western Class A football quarterfinal at Deering.

Ek went up for a pass before being hit. The training staffs of both schools treated Ek on the field, carefully securing his neck before medical personnel arrived, moved him onto a stretcher, and transported him to Maine Medical Center.

While it looked serious at the time, as it usually does, the good news is that Ek suffered a neck sprain and nothing more serious. The injury likely occurred from the whiplash motion of the tackle.

Ek felt good enough to attend Saturday’s girls’ soccer playoff game at Thornton Academy.

THE BIDDEFORD girls’ volleyball team celebrated its Class A state title over Falmouth by heading to Waterhouse Field to ring the bell, a tradition in school victories. The Tigers’ bus was escorted by two fire trucks.

Thirty minutes earlier, the scene wasn’t so joyous, as Biddeford fans watched the conclusion of their team’s 48-14 loss to Scarborough in the Western Class A football quarterfinals.

 

YORK HIGH’S field hockey players had to wait around for a while before the start of their Class B state championship game against Nokomis. The game was supposed to start at 4 p.m., but because the first game of the day, the Class C contest between North Yarmouth Academy and Foxcroft Academy, went long after three sets of overtime penalty corners, the schedule was pushed back by over an hour.

“We arrived and the girls looked out and said, ‘Look, the (second) game has already started,’ ” said Coach Barb Marois. “Then I realized, that’s not the Class A game, that’s still the Class C game.”

Marois refused to use the delay as a reason for York’s 2-0 loss.

“You can’t let that affect you,” she said. “If you’re going to let that affect you, you might as well not be here.”

It was York’s fifth loss in six state title games over seven years. When asked if this was like any of the other losses, Marois said, “They all stink, to put it bluntly.”

But the Wildcats weren’t devastated by the loss. While they had tears in their eyes, they were all smiling.

“I am so proud of our team, when you look at where we started,” said senior center midfielder Hannah Keating. “I have never felt this close to a team in my life. I can honestly say each one of these girls on this team is like my sister.”

 

CHEVERUS LOST IN its first bid for a Class A field hockey state championship, falling to perennial champion Skowhegan, 3-0. The Indians won for the ninth time in 10 years.

Cheverus Coach Amy McMullin, who played on the last Eastern Maine team to beat Skowhegan in an Eastern Class A final (Messalonskee, 2000), said the difference was easy to spot.

“They’re very skilled,” she said. “Each one of their players is very skilled and that’s the one thing we don’t have yet.”

But the Stags made a statement in just getting this far.

“We’re a new program trying to make our way,” said McMullin. “I think we showed that heart can go a long way.”

 

NORTH YARMOUTH ACADEMY won its second Class C field hockey state championship in three years, beating Foxcroft Academy 2-1 on the third set of overtime penalty corners.

NYA junior Katie Millett had high praise for Panthers goalie Mariah Farrell, saying she kept everyone calm when the game got tight.

“Our goalie was pepping us up on the corners,” said Millett. “She kept telling us that she trusts us no matter what. When all the pressure was on her she was talking about the pressure on us.

“That just shows all the support we had, throughout the field.”

 

— Staff Writers Kevin Thomas, Tom Chard and Mike Lowe contributed to this report.