The 2015 season started inauspiciously for the Greely High football team.

The Rangers lost starting quarterback Matt Pisini to a season-ending knee injury in a scrimmage. Pisini, coming off an outstanding junior season, was considered one of the top quarterbacks in Class B South.

Joe Esposito of Portland was sandwiched between Isaac Dunn, left, and Justin Johnson of Cheverus early this month, but it didn’t happen often. He was second in rushing in Class A North and led in touchdowns. Gabe Souza/Staff Photographer)

PRESS HERALD/ FIFTH QUARTER POLL

Here are the top 10 football teams in Maine, based on voting from Press Herald Staff Writer Tom Chard, Lee Goldberg of WCSH-6 and two coaches from each of the four classes.

(With total points, and first-place votes in parentheses)

1. Portland (5) 95

1. Thornton Academy (5) 95

3. Windham 73

4. Brunswick 60

5. Deering 50

6. Cheverus 42

7. Bonny Eagle 35

8. Falmouth 30

9. Yarmouth 20

10. Winslow 15

Not surprisingly, Greely lost its first three games. The Rangers fought back to win their next two, then gave powerful Leavitt a battle in a 20-14 loss.

Just when the Rangers thought they had righted the ship, they suffered another blow. After beating Mt. Ararat 20-7 on Oct. 16, Greely discovered it had used an ineligible player and had to forfeit the game.

To make the playoffs, the Rangers would need to beat undefeated Falmouth in the regular-season finale. And that’s just what they did, defeating the Yachtsmen 16-6 last week.

Seventh-seeded Greely (3-5) will play at second-ranked Leavitt (6-2) in the regional quarterfinals Friday night.

Greely Athletic Director David Shapiro said he learned of the player’s ineligibility two days before the Falmouth game.

“It was an oversight on my part. The player should have never been in the game,” said Shapiro, who would not disclose the student’s name. “We sent a letter to the Maine Principals’ Association and I notified (Athletic Director) Todd Sampson at Mt. Ararat.”

Having to beat top-ranked Falmouth was a daunting task, but the Rangers are accustomed to springing upsets. Two years ago they beat eventual state champion Cony in the regular season.

“It was a very emotional week,” said Coach Dave Higgins. “Having to forfeit a game and drop out of the playoffs, the players knew what they had to do. They were very focused and didn’t make any mistakes.”

Greely had to revamp its offense when Pisini went down. The team also had to deal with inexperience and assorted injuries during the season.

“The football gods were on our side last Friday night,” Higgins said. “I feel we were vindicated with what happened. We have gone through a lot of adversity, which has brought the team closer.”

Senior tailback Sam Peck is Greely’s go-to player.

“Sam is the guy we ride,” said Higgins. “He wants the ball all the time and tells me he’ll get the yardage.”

Peck has carried 210 times for more than 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns. He carried 51 times in one game. He returns kickoffs and punts, and is the Rangers’ leading tackler. Evan McCarthy, Austin Roy, Paul Buchanan, Nolan Anderson, Ian Cameron and Tim Coyle have done the job on the line. The Rangers have two freshmen who start.

“We have a lot of guys who didn’t play much last year,” said Higgins.

Falmouth was missing three starters in the loss to Greely – Brandon Martin, a running back/linebacker; Cole Wyse, an offensive guard/defensive tackle; and Zach Muller, a center/defensive tackle. While their absences hurt, it wasn’t the reason Falmouth lost, said Coach John Fitzsimmons.

“We lost because Greely outplayed us,” he said. “We started very slowly. We fumbled on our first possession and our second ended with an interception. We had two drives stall inside the 10.

“It’s a great wake-up call and a reminder that the playoffs can be one-and-done.”

Falmouth (7-1) plays No. 8 Morse (3-5) in the Class B quarterfinals Friday night. Falmouth beat Morse 31-0 on Oct. 9.

Cape Elizabeth quarterback Jack O’Rourke didn’t play in last week’s loss to Wells and there’s a question if he’ll play Friday night when the No. 2 Capers host No. 7 Gray-New Gloucester in the Class C South quarterfinals.

“It’s late in the season and he’s banged up a bit,” said Coach Aaron Filieo. “We want to make sure he’s 100 percent.”

Filieo said O’Rourke will be in uniform against Gray-New Gloucester but doesn’t know how much he’ll play.

O’Rourke, a senior, is playing high school football for the first time this season. He played in grammar school but gave it up to concentrate on basketball until this season. He’s given the offense a real boost with his playmaking ability. He has a strong arm but also can run. Without O’Rourke last week, Cape lost to Wells, 15-0.

Portland High players were prominent in the final release of the Class A North statistics. After eight regular-season games, Joe Esposito finished second to Dane Johnson of Bangor in rushing. Esposito gained 1,057 yards to Johnson’s 1,092, although Esposito had 19 fewer rushes. Esposito’s 16 rushing touchdowns led Class A North. Esposito, who plays linebacker on defense, was the leading tackler with 93. Teammate Nick Archambault was third in tackles with 91.

Dylan Bolduc of Portland led Class A North in kickoff returns. He had nine returns for 271 yards and a 30.1 average. He returned one for a touchdown. John Williams of the Bulldogs was the league’s top kicker. making 33 of 38 PATs and 4 of 6 field-goal attempts.

Matt Verrill of Edward Little was the league’s top passer, throwing for 1,306 yards and 11 touchdowns. He completed 92 of 166 passes. Not surprisingly, the Red Eddies had the four top receivers, based on yards receiving. Quarterbacks Issiah Bachelder of Portland, Isaac Dunn of Cheverus and Desmond Leslie of Windham ranked fourth through sixth in passing. Bachelder led the two other Greater Portland players by throwing for 498 yards and nine touchdowns.

Justin Johnston of Cheverus was the leading punt returner in Class A North with eight returns for 98 yards and a 12.25 yard per return average. Johnston had one return for a touchdown. Cheverus’ Dunn was the leading punter with an impressive 41.55 average (20 punts, 831 yards).

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