Cape Elizabeth won the Class C football state championship in 2021, and reached the regional final again in 2022. After graduation a large senior class for the second straight year and finishing 4-4, the Capers plan to play in eight-man football because of a lack of numbers. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

Cape Elizabeth High’s football team will move to the eight-man game in 2025, while Morse and likely Greely will go in the opposite direction and return to the 11-man ranks.

Last season, Cape Elizabeth competed in Class C South with between 16 and 21 players available for games. It will graduate a large senior class for a second consecutive year after a 4-4 regular season and regional semifinal loss to Leavitt. Cape won the Class C state title in 2021 and reached the regional final in 2022.

“It’s 100 percent based on numbers and trying to get the program moving in the right direction,” said coach Peter Cekutis, who took over in 2023. “Right now we’re looking at similar or less numbers for next year with most of those being underclassmen.”

Cekutis said he expects the stay in eight-man will be temporary. In his two years at the helm, Cape has restarted its youth tackle football program that had been dormant since the COVID-19 shutdown. The middle school played an eight-man schedule the past two seasons. This past fall the grades 5-6 tackle program returned and played 11-man football

“That youth program is back and looks like it’s on pretty secure footing, and we hope we can get the momentum back,” Cekutis said.

While Cape moves to eight-man, Morse High – and in all likelihood Greely – will head back to 11-man football.

Morse, which moved to eight-man for the 2021 season, made its commitment to playing 11-man clear back in November. The Shipbuilders were 1-7 last season in the Large School division but felt the time was right because they expect a roster in the mid-40s with a large junior class and good numbers in the lower grades.

“We’re not moving back to 11-man because of our record,” said athletic director Andrew Pelletier. “We have enough to play 11-man and the kids want to play 11-man, and the coaches want to coach 11-man.”

Coach Jason Darling said he appreciates that playing eight-man allowed his program to get past a few years when participation was lean, and he believes the time is right.

Morse, a Class C-sized school, has asked to play in Class D in its return.

Defending eight-man Large School champion Greely also indicated its intention to return to 11-man, said Mike Burnham, the Maine Principals’ Association executive director, but athletic director David Shapiro said that’s different than making a decision.

“Until we find out what the classifications are, we are mum on the subject,” Shapiro said. “I want to make sure we know what we’re getting into.”

Like Morse, Greely has an enrollment hovering around 600. That would put the schools in Class C, assuming the enrollment breaks are similar to what was used in 2024 (0-499 for Class D; 500-649 for Class C; 650-899 for B; 900+ for A). Shapiro said Greely would play at its enrollment level, which would likely mean it would be in C South.

Football classification details are likely to be clearer after the MPA’s classification committee meets Tuesday.

With 34 players capable of returning from its 45-player postseason roster, Greely appears ready to return to the 11-man game. Greely shelved its own football program after the 2018 season. Less than 10 Greely students per season played on a co-op team with Falmouth from 2019-2021.

In 2022, Greely returned as a stand-alone eight-man team. The Rangers did not win a game in 2022 but participation increased, and the Rangers reached the Large School championship game in 2023. Greely won the 2024 eight-man Large School championship, beating Mt. Ararat, 58-20.