Portland’s Hunter Temple, left, fist-bumps teammate Reegan Buck during an East team practice for the Lobster Bowl on Monday in Dover-Foxcroft. The two hope to play big roles in the annual all-star game on Saturday in Lewiston. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

DOVER-FOXCROFT — It was all so sudden for Reegan Buck.

He and his Portland High football teammates were having a great season, headed toward 5-0 in the competitive Class A North division. Buck, a two-way starter who played slot, running back and quarterback on offense and safety on defense, was in the thick of everything.

Then came a routine jet sweep in the third quarter of the fifth game. With Windham tacklers wrapping up his arms, Buck couldn’t brace his fall, and all the weight of collective bodies went to his shoulder. His collarbone broke in three places.

“I didn’t think I’d ever play football again,” Buck said. “I had already committed to play baseball in college (at the University of Southern Maine). I knew football was going to come to an end, but I didn’t expect it to come to an end so abruptly. I just didn’t think I’d ever get the chance to play again.

“And then I got selected for the Lobster Bowl.”

Even better, Buck’s Portland teammate, Hunter Temple, is also on the East squad that will take the field at 4 p.m. Saturday for the 34th Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic all-star football game at Lewiston High. Temple took on many of Buck’s offensive roles to finish the season.

The Lobster Bowl teams are at Foxcroft Academy for training camp in preparation for the charity game. Buck and Temple said Tuesday they expect to be starting on defense for the East. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound Buck will be at safety, while the 5-8, 160-pound Temple will play cornerback like he did at Portland.

Prior to his injury, Buck was one of the top players in the state. In a season-opening win at Thornton Academy, he scored three touchdowns, including the winner with 48 seconds to play on a 31-yard over-the-shoulder reception while tight-roping the sideline. He entered the Windham game with six touchdowns through three games. Portland’s fourth win was a forfeit.

Portland’s Hunter Temple, left, and teammate Reegan Buck are dialed in during an East team practice for the Lobster Bowl on Monday in Dover-Foxcroft. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Temple was also making his mark, including a couple of breakaway runs in a Week 2 rout of Edward Little, but his primary role was to play man-to-man defense on the opponents’ best receiver and take them out of the game.

“I was being recruited for corner,” said Temple, who will be playing this fall at the University of New England. “I wasn’t really being recruited for offense. So defense was where I was focused on, with how I was helping the team.”

Temple added, “Obviously, with Reegan out, I had to step up.”

By season’s end, both Temple and sophomore Cordell Jones had become multi-faceted threats. Jones took on the role of quarterback in a wildcat formation, while Temple became more involved in the passing game. In the Class A state final, a 24-14 loss to Thornton, Temple scored both Portland touchdowns on 59- and 58-yard pass plays.

Come Saturday, the Portland duo will be trying to prevent those big plays while going against Fitzpatrick Trophy-winning West quarterback Noah Carpenter of Leavitt.

East Coach Dan O’Connell (John Bapst) said they can do the job, noting that Buck and Temple have demonstrated the “disposition in the game of football the way you want it to be.”

“They take it serious when it’s time, but they’re also having fun,” O’Connell said. “First rep to the 80th rep, they’ve got a smile on their face.”

Temple has impressed O’Connell.

“There’s nothing he can’t do well. He can get in a birdcage and get in a fight in a small space, and he can cover the whole field,” O’Connell said, adding that he expects Carpenter to look to throw downfield. “(Temple) is going to help us take that away.”