That statement can be used for both Brunswick and Lisbon high school football teams, two squads that have earned the right to rest up this week as the high school football playoffs begin tonight and Saturday throughout Maine.
Sound familiar? For those of us who might have thought that, we were so wrong.
Brunswick has put up an amazing 423 points in its eight games, a clip of nearly 53 points per contest. Wow! No wonder the Dragons are a perfect 8-0.
This season has been one to remember, from the amazing play of that backfield — Jesse Devereaux, Ben Palizay, Hunter Garrett and quarterback Christian Jensen. The offensive line has simply blown opponents off the line of scrimmage from game one, and Jackson Gordon and Corban Teel have become the modern day New England Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett in making big plays down the field.
We can’t forget about the defense. Yes, the Dragons allowed 42 points against Skowhegan, a potential semifinal opponent if the Indians beat rival Messalonskee tonight. That brought the overall points total against to 115. To put that into perspective, the first team defense of the Dragons has been Purple People Eaters, Steel Curtain, Doomsday Defense or whatever other name you want to give this unit, often departing games with a 40-something to nothing lead.
Quite frankly, Brunswick has done it all this season, and not to put too much pressure on these young men, a championship this year after two near misses has to be the end game here.
Mark it down — Friday night, November 18, 2016, at University of Maine in Orono, Brunswick representing Class B North against ???
Those ??? are for Class B South, where any one of five teams will likely win out, including two-time defending Class B State champion Marshwood, the No. 4 seed. Kennebunk, Biddeford, Falmouth, Marshwood and Westbrook might just be the opponent for the Dragons in Orono.
Greyhounds
If this is longtime Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan’s last season leading the Greyhounds, he certainly has saved one of his best for last.
No doubt, those of us who watch high school sports day-in and day-out tend to over-react.
Take the opener between Winthrop/Monmouth at Lisbon way back on Sept. 3. The Ramblers came to Thompson Field and handed the Greyhounds a 31-12 drubbing. Honestly, it was just that. Winthrop/Monmouth, the No. 1 seed in Class D South, showed a lot that day, and the Greyhound fans likely departed thinking this was going to be a down year for the perennial contenders.
Think again! Lisbon is perhaps the hottest team heading into the postseason in the region, having reeled off six straight wins in dominating fashion.
Over these last six contests, the Greyhounds have outscored their opponents 218-26. The Lisbon defense has pitched four shutouts, and the offense, led by the likes of Tyler Halls, Noah Francis and company has averaged 36 points per contest in that stretch.
A major obstacle for Lisbon will likely by a semifinal with old playoff nemesis Oak Hill. Stacen Doucette’s group of Raiders was due for a down season after three straight Class D championships, but if you call a 5-2 campaign a down year, then you’re a tough nut.
Oak Hill opens at home on Saturday against sixth-seeded Traip Academy, and a likely win sets up another Oak Hill-Lisbon semifinal on Nov. 5 at Thompson Field.
Lisbon ended an eight-game losing streak against Oak Hill with a 36-14 win back on Oct. 8, a game the Raiders led 14-7 at the half before Lisbon reeled off 29 second-half points.
Freeport
The Falcons of Freeport were winless last season in Paul St. Pierre’s first season at the helm.
This year? A much different story for the coach and his team, which won its final two games to go 4-4 and claim the No. 5 seed in Class C South.
Tonight, Freeport heads to Livermore Falls to challenge fourth-seeded Spruce Mountain (7 p.m.).
This contest will be a big challenge for St. Pierre’s Falcons, but win or lose tonight, the coach will have many positive things to say about this unit that has never quit or backed down from tough challenges this season.
Soccer
The semifinals for area teams are scheduled this weekend.
Actually, one semifinal took place on Thursday, with top-seeded Richmond rolling to a win over No. 5 Islesboro.
The reason for the earlier start — today’s rain forecast. Didn’t we just go through this last weekend?
As of now, the Lisbon boys are scheduled to host Waynflete in a Class C South clash at 3 p.m. today (12:30 p.m. rain date on Saturday), while defending Class D State champ Richmond entertains East-West Conference rival Rangeley in a girls Class D South matchup Saturday at 10 a.m.
On Saturday, the third-seeded Brunswick girls soccer team, coming off a chart-topping 4-3 double-overtime come-from-behind win over Messalonskee on Wednesday, travels to No. 2 Camden Hills on Saturday at 1 p.m., while in boys Class A North play, No. 3 Mt. Ararat hits the road to face No. 2 Bangor on Saturday at 4 p.m.
In earlier matchups, the Richmond girls had no issues with the Lakers, capturing 12-0 and 7-0 victories this season, while Brunswick had a ton of trouble with the Windjammers, falling 9-3 back on Sept. 6.
Mt. Ararat had a 10-game winning streak when it hosted Bangor. The Rams put an end to that with a 3-1 win, thus earning the points to finish one spot ahead of the Eagles.
Lisbon and Waynflete, from different conferences, did not meet this season, but both have scouted each other. The Greyhounds are playing well and are still fired up after a 1-0 overtime win over Telstar in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Notes
The Lewiston boys soccer team suffered a 1-0 quarterfinal loss to Camden Hills on Tuesday.
It was a tough loss for sure, but what the Blue Devils have accomplished over these past few years need to be applauded. This was a group of mostly Somalian descent young men coming together for a common goal, to win a state title, something that happened last year when Lewiston downed Scarborough.
Throughout this season, Class A North boys soccer has been solid, with no fewer than seven teams capable of running the table.
Bangor knocked off Mark Roma’s Brunswick team on Wednesday, 2-0, but it took a monumental effort from the Rams to crack the tough Dragon defense.
At Freeport, it was a solid season of soccer, with Joe Heathco’s boys winning a preliminary contest at Lincoln Academy before falling to the ultra-talented Maranacook Black Bears in the quarterfinals.
Elayna Girardin’s Freeport girls also won a playoff tilt, knocking off Maranacook in the rain last Saturday before coming up a bit short in a 3-1 loss to second seeded Greely.
At Lisbon, Brian Dube’s first season leading the girls ended on Wednesday with a 2-0 loss to Waynflete. The Greyhounds struggled to score, netting just 18 goals in 15 contests. But, the defense was solid and allowed Lisbon to claim the No. 4 seed.
And, at Wiscasset, both the boys and girls saw their seasons come to an end in the quarterfinals, with the girls falling to Monmouth on Wednesday and the Wolverine boys dropping a heartbreaker to Waynflete.
Still, both squads had solid campaigns and return a bevy of young talent next season.
Not to forget about field hockey, Julie Petrie’s Lisbon team battled hard this season, but just couldn’t get past that Oak Hill team, which will compete for a state title on Saturday at McMann Field in Bath.
All three state championship contests will be played on the McMann Field turf, showing just how much that new field over these past seasons has meant to the community.
Cross country
Lastly, the Regional Cross Country and State Cross Country Championships were pushed back a week due to last week’s heavy rain.
Northern regional runners head to Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast on Saturday, while southern competitors are in Cumberland at Twin Brook Recreational Center (check Goings On located on B4 for times).
On Nov. 5, state championship competition will be back in Belfast.
Good luck to all the runners this weekend.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less