Until recently, the Maine Rebels were the state’s only women’s semi-professional football team, but that squad has been sold off – it’s moving to New Hampshire – and in its place is springing up the Maine Mayhem.

At the head of the new organization is Alicia Jeffords. “Going forward we are no longer the Rebels,” she says; “we are the Maine Mayhem, and we will make women’s football successful in Maine.”

The Rebels were successful in their own right, having altered the culture surrounding women’s football in Maine. But Jeffords is determined to take the Mayhem to even higher heights, to make them an even greater influence.

The Rebels dissolved when owner Ruth Murphy opted to sell the team for personal reasons; it will return to life soon enough in New Hampshire, and under a new moniker, the Garnet Gray Wolves. That shift in the landscape left a void that needed filling. Enter the Mayhem.

A five-person board of directors will run the team: Chairwoman Alicia Jeffords – also a force on the field itself; Vice Chairman Jeremiah Rohner, also the Mayhem’s head coach; Secretary Paula Beaulieu, a player alongside Jeffords; Treasurer Kate Archambault, a retired player; and Fundraising Coordinator Frankie Curtis, another player.

Jeffords seems quite happy that the Gray Wolves will join the Independent Women’s Football League, or IWFL, alongside the Mayhem next season. That will, after all, lessen the number of hours and miles the Mayhem have to spend on the road.

“Having a New Hampshire team will be a big positive for our new team,” Jeffords says. “Last year, our travel schedule was Montreal, Philadelphia and Detroit. “Having a team in New Hampshire will definitely help our travel schedule.”

The other concern an effective splitting of one team into two might raise is a diffusion of skill; a growing sport like women’s football hasn’t discovered all the nimble bodies it will eventually discover. Jeffords is happy with the direction the game is taking in this part of the country, though.

“As far as (New Hampshire) absorbing talent, we are not worried about that,” she says. “We have an amazing recruiting team and have already picked up some great new rookies.”

One of this year’s rookies is recent Bonny Eagle graduate Jaimee Gammon, of Limington. Gammon is 17 now, but turns 18 on Aug. 21 – in plenty of time for the Mayhem’s cutoff. Players must be 18 by the start of the season in spring 2016.

Gammon is both a devoted athlete and a longtime football fan.

“I’ve played sports my whole life and absolutely love them,” she says. “I played on a boys football team when I was in fifth grade, but never stuck with it.”

Gammon played field hockey and softball and participated in indoor track during her tenure as a Scot. Her father coaches middle school football and her brother is a member of the Bonny Eagle squad.

“Football has always been there,” Gammon says, “but Alicia really got me interested in women’s football. Alicia is my best friend’s step-mom, and I got invited to a fundraiser.

“I think it’s amazing how there are opportunities for women to play regular tackle football and a lot of people are amazed when they find out that it is a legit thing.”

Starting a new semi-pro football team involves jumping through some administrative hurdles – and, more importantly, covering some expenses. As such, the Mayhem have been raising funds and courting sponsors in the month since their inception.

Applied Motion Systems, a motion and industrial control company that operates across the Northeast, owns the distinction of being the team’s first sponsor, though Jeffords says others are lining up.

She adds that the team members are actively helping get the team fiscally aloft: “Our players are very involved in all of our fundraising.”

The Mayhem will retain many of the same personnel – players and coaches – that they had as the Rebels. Nevertheless, they’re still actively recruiting in all areas, and a feeling of change still pervades their activities.

“Being a brand new team in Maine gives us a fresh start,” says Jeffords. “The members of our board are determined to make this team a success in Maine.”

Even someone as new to the outfit as Gammon is already fully invested in taking the Mayhem to the next level.

“I see that this team has a lot of potential,” she says, “and that they are very organized and well put-together. I am very excited to be playing on a football team with all of these wonderful ladies and to kick some butt.”

The Mayhem are online at http://mainemayhemfootball.com; they’re on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mayhemfootball2016.

Members of the Maine Mayhem Frankie Curtis (65), Alicia Jeffords (82) and Sam Sargent (30) hold a banner at the recent IWFL All-Star game, in which they played for the East. The game was held in Rock Hill, S.C., on the weekend of July 25, and the East defeated the West 29-12.Photo courtesy of Jes Quesada