While Colby head football coach Ed Mestieri wouldn't go into specifics, on Wednesday he said he hopes the new artificial turf soon to be installed at Seaverns Field will entice some of the area high schools to play a game on the Waterville campus.

"At some point, maybe the high schools can be involves," Mestieri said.

It's unlikely the Colby football team will play many games under the stadium's new lights. Travel in the New England Small College Athletic Conference is tough enough without starting a game after dark and getting home in the wee hours. But what if Waterville and Winslow wanted to play their annual rivalry game under the lights? Colby would be the perfect spot.

One of the interesting things discovered while going through the information that will be in the Winslow High School football history book due out this fall was how far back the school's nickname goes.

Winslow teams have been known as the Black Raiders since 1933. In 1932, thanks to someone at the Morning Sentinel, Winslow teams were dubbed the Orange Blossoms.

"That was the Sentinel sports department that called us that," longtime Winslow coach Jim Poulin said. "That was never anything official by the school."

Invitations have been made to seniors all over the state to play in the Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl football game in late July, and a number of central Maine players have been selected.

The Lobster Bowl is in its 19th year, and all proceeds from the game, which pits the top graduating seniors from Eastern Maine against their counterparts from the West, go to Shriner's Hospitals.

At least one player from every team in the state is invited to play in the game, and each school can have no more than three players selected.

Quarterback/safety Jack Hersom of Lawrence High School won the prestigious James J. Fitzpatrick Award today at the Holiday Inn By The Bay in Portland.

Gardiner Area High School quarterback/linebacker Kyle Stilphen and Lawrence High School quarterback Jack Hersom were both named finalists Friday for the James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy given annually to the top senior football player in the state.

There will be some folks in Pittsfield pulling for the University of Delaware in this weekend's 1-AA football national championship game. Johnathon Smith, a 2004 Maine Central Institute graduate, is a linebacker for the Blue Hens.

Delaware takes on two-time defending champion Appalachian State in the final.

Smith transferred to Delaware this year after three years at Connecticut. As a linebacker, Smith has 14 tackles for the Blue Hens. As a fullback, Smith has 12 carries for 68 yards, a 5.7 yards per carry average.

Neither Cony nor Gardiner's band played at the annual rivalry game on Friday, seriously detracting from an already lackuster atmosphere.

This is the week when memories of the Cony-Gardiner game flood conversations and newspaper stories. My most vivid recollection goes back to 1959 when I was just a young pup.

Remember Cony football?
It's been awhile — nearly a month — since the Rams last played a game (Oct. 26). They've spent the last few weeks practicing, scrimmaging and even playing some flag football. Oh, they've also paid close attention to Gardiner and its run through the postseason. Cony senior captain Cam O'Brien said Monday night, "We kept track of them, but we did our own thing."

Here's the final top 10 in Maine high school football for the 2007 season, as I see it.

1. Bonny Eagle
2. Lawrence
3. Bangor
4. Deering
5. Gardiner
6. Marshwood
7. Mountain Valley
8. Foxcroft Academy
9. Skowhegan
10. Cape Elizabeth

Gardiner Area High School leads the Class B state championship game, 14-0 at the half. Here are stats for the Tigers, called in by staff writer Bill Stewart.
Gardiner has rushed 28 times for 150 yards.
Brad Carleton leads the way with 11 carries for 85 yards, while Bass Chadwick has rushed nine times for 30 yards. Kyle Stilphen has rushed five times for 23 yards and completed one pass for 49 yards to Forrest Chadwick.

Brad Carleton has five rushes for 37 yards and a 10-yard touchdown run as the Gardiner Tigers jumped out to a 14-0 lead over Mountain Valley after the first quarter of the Class B state championship game.

The following report is from staff writer Bill Stewart, from Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.

The five Gardiner Area High School football players who were monitored for a potentially fatal skin disease made the trip to Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland Saturday and were expected to play in the Class B championship game according to principal Chad Kempton and coach Matt Brown.
"Everything is clear," Kempton said. "They are good to go."
Trainer Chris Sementelli checked every player for signs of MRSA staph, an infection that resist antiboitics, before anyone was allowed to board the bus at Gardiner Area High School this afternoon. The entire team was cleared to play.
Kempton said had any player showed signs of MRSA staff they would not have been allowed to play Saturday against defending Class B champ Mountain Valley.

Minutes before receiving the Gold Ball for winning the Class A state championship trophy, Bonny Eagle High School players unrolled a banner that read DYNASTY.

They have Lawrence High School in a place called Franklin, Maine, not Fairfield, but even with that error, you'll find a short paragraph previewing the Class A state championship game between Bonny Eagle and Lawrence in the Sports Illustrated cover dated Nov. 19.

The blurb, which features photos of Lawrence quarterback Jack Hersom and Bonny Eagle tailback Joh Ruby, can be found on page 125 of the issue, on the Inside High School Football page. It points out that this is a matchup between the last two Class A state champions and that both teams are undefeated. It also mentions stats and scores from each team's regional final win.

Lawrence fans plan to get up early. Gardiner fans plan to stay out a little bit late.

The Pine Tree Conference Class A doesn't give a Most Valuable Player Award for the playoffs, so I'm going to go ahead and give it to Lawrence quarterback Jack Hersom.

In three playoff games, Hersom completed 72.7 percent of his pass attempts (32 of 44) for 622 yards and four touchdowns. Hersom threw no interceptions.

Hersom's favorite target throughout the PTC playoffs was Nick Nelson, who caught 17 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns.

Three terrific local rivalries highlight the high school football regional finals this weekend.

Trucks and cars parked just outside the endzone. Fans ringing the field three or four deep. Bleacher full of screaming fans on both sides of the field.
Keyes Field on Friday nights has become the place to be in high school football.

I can't think of a high school football team in recent years that has been on more of a roll than the Lawrence Bulldogs are right now. Not only has Lawrence won 21 consecutive games, the Bulldogs have won their two playoffs games by a combined score of 92-0.

Lawrence knocked off Mt. Blue 42-0 last week, and on Friday, the Bulldogs took care of Skowhegan 50-0. In both games, the Bulldogs were as dominant as the score indicates.

They are among the most anonymous participants in sports, but offensive linemen are vital to a team's success, and one reason Gardiner is winning football games.

The Waterville Senior High School football is a threat in the Pine Tree Conference Class B playoffs.

There's still Gardiner to play, but the official season ended for the Cony High football team with Friday night's playoff loss to Lewiston. Cony fans had to like what they saw of their team this season.

If you're planning on going to the PTC Class B quarterfinal between No. 6 Mt. Desert Island and No. 3 Winslow on Saturday, leave a little early. Kickoff has been moved to noon.

The game is still at Winslow's Poulin Field, but the start time was moved up in anticipation of nasty weather later in the afternoon.

If the game time is moved again, we'll have the informaiton here.

Here's how I voted in this week media poll:

1. Lawrence
2. Bonny Eagle
3. Bangor
4. Gorham
5. Mountain Valley
6. Lewiston
7. Thornton Academy
8. Massabesic
9. Cape Elizabeth
10. Skowhegan

The Lawrence High School football team is dropped to 54th in the nation in this week's maxpreps.com national high school football rankings.

The Bulldogs were 26th last week, but fell 28 spots to 54 after defeating Messalonskee 29-14 on Friday night.

Saturday's Pine Tree Conference game between Nokomis and Maranacook got a little testy toward the end after Nokomis coach Dave Evans felt the Black Bears were rubbing it in with the score 41-0.

Wet conditions have hurt Gardiner's offense the past two weeks, but the defense has been rock solid.

With the regular season winding down, here is my top 10 for this week:

1. Lawrence
2. Bonny Eagle
3. Gorham
4. Bangor
5. Mountain Valley
6. Lewiston
7. Thornton Academy
8. Massabesic
9. Cape Elizabeth
10. Skowhegan

The Lawrence High School football is ranked the 26th best team in the nation, according to the folks at maxpreps.com and NFLHS.com.

According to the poll found at nflhs.com, the 7-0 Bulldogs moved up 10 spots this week. Lawrence is the highest-ranked team out of New England (Ansonia, Conn. is ranked 36, Everett, Mass. is 44, and Boston College High is 74).

Only Don Bosco Prep of Ramsey, N.J. was ranked higher than Lawrence out of the Northeast. Don Bosco is ranked 12.

I won't go through all 64 possible outcomes of this weekend's games in the Pine Tree Conference Class A. We also don't know who's playing who just yet in the first round. But we do know where the games are:

Gardiner High School football coach Matt Brown believes his Tigers can still secure the top spot in the playoffs with a win at Leavitt next week.

For years, the Pine Tree Conference has been known as a power football league. Teams pound away at each other with tough ground games every week.

The PTC is still home to plenty of smash mouth football, but this season, more teams have taken to the air than in any recent season.

Not much movement this week, at least on my ballot. Thornton is in, Winslow is out, and Massabesic moves down a few spots.

1. Lawrence
2. Bonny Eagle
3. Gorham
4. Bangor
5. Mountain Valley
6. Lewiston
7. Gardiner
8. Skowhegan
9. Thornton Academy
10. Massabesic

If we learned anything from Saturday's Gardiner-Winslow football game it is how far ahead Gardiner and Winslow are ahead of the rest of the conference.

Not only is the Lawrence leading the Pine Tree Conference in scoring at 46 points per game, the Bulldogs are doing it with balance, and they're getting a number of players involved.

Friday night's 56-7 win at Mt. Ararat is a good example. In the first half, before both teams went to the second team and junior varsity players, the Bulldogs racked up 330 yards of total offense. Lawrence gained 174 yards on the ground in the first half, and added another 156 through the air.

AUGUSTA — The Cony High School football team is happy to have its first winning streak in over three years, but wasn't very happy with how it played in a 24-23 overtime win over Brewer.

The Maranacook football team travels to Wales Saturday for a key Pine Tree Conference Class B playoff game. The winner of this game between 2-3 Maranacook and 1-4 Oak Hill puts itself into playoff contention.

Here is my ballot in the weekly media poll. Be sure to check Friday's paper for the complete poll.

1. Lawrence
2. Bonny Eagle
3. Gorham
4. Bangor
5. Mountain Valley
6. Lewiston
7. Gardiner
8. Massabesic
9. Skowhegan
10. Winslow

Now that Cony's 27-game losing streak is over, the Rams hope they can start a winning streak.

The most anticipated regular season game in the Pine Tree Conference Class B will be this Saturday, when undefeated Gardiner travels to Winslow’s Poulin Field to take on the undefeated Black Raiders. Barring any other setbacks, the winner has the inside track at home field throughout the playoffs.

Gardiner lead the league in points with 237 and is first in points allowed (36). Winslow is second in both categories, scoring 211 while surrendering 50. Gardiner has scored at least 46 points in each of its four games. Winslow hasn’t been held to less than 40 since Week 2 at Belfast.

Gardiner Area High School has been tested just once this fall, but the Tigers have plenty of competition amongst themselves to keep motivated.

It''s hard to watch a Winthrop/Boothbay football game, especially in Boothbay, and not remember The Catch.

I saw my first football game in Madison on Friday night and enjoyed it thoroughly. I've seen better games than Madison's 51-20 victory over Yarmouth, but I'm not talking about the game as much as the atmosphere.

As good as Lawrence High School was last season, it may be even better this fall. At least offensively.
The Bulldogs have become a much more pass oriented team, relying on quarterback Jack Hersom more and in different situations.

Cony High School welcomes back two key players for its Week 5 matchup with Edward Little. Tailback/linebacker Joey Record and tight end Eric Morang both return after missing two weeks with shoulder injuries.

Here is what my ballot looked like this week in the Morning Sentinel/Kennebec Journal/Press Herald high school football top 10. Did I get it right? Am I a fool for leaving your favorite team off? Discuss.

1. Lawrence
2. Bonny Eagle
3. Gorham
4. Skowhegan
5. Mountain Valley
6. Lewiston
7. Gardiner
8. Bangor
9. Massabesic
10. Winslow

Gardiner Area High School senior Brad Carleton normally plays the role of blocking back in the Tigers' offense and it is a role he plays rather well. Carleton has dished out some extremely punishing hits leading the way for tailback Bass Chadwick and quarterback Kyle Stilphen this fall.
He also has an uncanny ability to break off long touchdown runs.

The first half of the high school football season is complete, and the race for playoff spots in the Pine Tree Conference Class A division is tight.

Lawrence, Skowhegan and Lewiston are the league's remaining undefeated teams, and Bangor, Mt. Ararat and Oxford Hills each have one loss.

Two teams to watch in the second half of the season are Messalonskee and Cony. Although each team is 0-4, they've played the toughest schedules in the conference so far. Messalonskee's first four opponents — Bangor, Lewiston, Skowhegan and Oxford Hills — are a combined 14-2. Cony's first four opponents — Mt. Ararat, Lawrence, Lewiston and Skowhegan — are 15-1.

The Lawrence High School football extended its winning streak to 15 games against a tired opponent. The Bulldogs cruised to a 48-0 win over Brunswick High School on Saturday, just five days after the Dragons beat Edward Little 36-26.
Brunswick game with Edward Little was postponed until Monday because of a bomb scare at the school.

The schedule couldn't have worked out any better for a young Winthrop High School football team.

Bass Chadwick and his brother Forrest racked up 246 rushing yards in Gardiner Area High School's 24-8 win over Waterville on Friday night.

Hard to believe, but we are entering the halfway point of the high school football season as teams prepare for Week 4. With that in mind, here are a few things to watch for this weekend.

As I did last week, I'm posting how I voted in the Morning Sentinel/Kennebec Journal/Press Herald media poll. I'll try and do this throughout the entire season.

1. Lawrence
2. Bonny Eagle
3. Gorham
4. Skowhegan
5. Mountain Valley
6. Lewiston
7. Gardiner
8. Bangor
9. Massabesic
10. Thornton Academy

Check out Friday's paper for the complete poll.

Fresh off a big 26-20 win over Jay High School, Winthrop (3-0) is looking to the past to avoid a let down against 0-3 Madison this weekend.

Lawrence will play at Brunswick will play on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 2 p.m., rather than Friday night.

This gives the Dragons one more day to prepare for the Bulldogs. Lawrence is tied with Skowhegan for most points scored in the Pine Tree Conference, with 124 in three games.

This is not how you'd want to head into a game against the defending state champions. A bomb threat last Friday at Brunswick High School pushed the Dragons game against Edward Little to Monday night. Brunswick won, 36-26.

Now Brunswick has just three days of practice to prepare for Lawrence, a team riding a 15 game win streak.

Short weeks are nothing new in high school football. Just last year, both Waterville and Winslow played first round playoff games on a Monday after lousy weather made Saturday unplayable. The difference then was, Winslow and Waterville wins on Monday set them up to play each other the next Saturday. Both teams had short weeks of practice.

Oak Hill High School coach Bruce Nicholas joked that the Raiders last two games have taken "a few years off his life."

In each of Gardiner Area High School's first two football games, Kyle Stilphen returned a punt for a touchdown. He had a chance to extend the streak early in the first quarter of the Tigers game against Hampden Academy and nearly did so.

Filled with confidence from its 26-14 win over Hampden Academy last Saturday, the Maranacook Community School football team is convinced this year will be different. Before the 2007 season, Maranacook had won just two games since becoming a varsity team in 2003.

This is how I voted in this week's Morning Sentinel/Kennebec Journal/Press Herald media football poll:

1. Lawrence
2. Bonny Eagle
3. Bangor
4. Gorham
5. Mountain Valley
6. Lewiston
7. Gardiner
8. Massabesic
9. Skowhegan
10. Thornton Academy

Check out Friday's paper to see this week's complete poll.