Golden Ball drought ends in state championships

Falmouth’s Gio Guerrette breaks away for an 80-yard touchdown run for a 26-13 lead in the third quarter. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

Seeing the Wells Warriors win another state football championship was nothing new. As for the other 11-member teams that took home the Gold Balls on Saturday? It had taken a long time.

Portland (Class A) and Fryeburg Academy (Class C) ended their 22 and 59 state title droughts with their respective championship games. In Class B, Falmouth defeated Kennebunk 26-13 to win the first Ballon d’Or in program history.

“The ability to bring the first Golden Ball to Falmouth, it just feels incredible,” Spencer Emerson, the Navigators’ first-year head coach, said Monday. “I think it’s starting to sink in a little bit, but it’s still pretty surreal. I’m just really proud of our guys and what they’ve accomplished.”

Fryeburg’s 28-0 shutout of Hermon in the Class C title game marked the Raiders’ first state championship since winning two in three years in 1963 and 1965, when state titles were decided by regular season records.

Portland’s drought may pale in comparison to Falmouth’s and Fryeburg’s, but the Bulldogs’ 35-14 victory over Thornton Academy in Class A was still the first title since the birth of the current players. It also ended the state championship losing streak of five straight (2015, ’16, ’18, ’22, ’23).

“It means the world to these guys,” Portland coach Sean Green said. “It was tough (losing to Thornton in the state championship game) last year – we felt we were the best team in the state – but this group was a little different this year; they had that ‘it’ factor to them.”

Unlike the other Gold Ball winners, however, Saturday’s victory did not mark the end of Portland’s season. The Bulldogs will be back at Fitzpatrick Stadium on Thursday to take on Deering (8-2) in the 112th edition of the traditional Thanksgiving Day rivalry game. Portland leads the all-time series 62-42-7.

“It’s unique in Maine, and it’s a game that these guys look forward to and expect every year,” Green said. “(Deering) has a great football team, and they will be a challenge. … I know we’re excited to play together as a team one last time.

ONE OF THE YOUNGEST players on Portland’s defense Saturday afternoon was also one of the most impactful.

Portland’s Alex Martin will take on Thornton Academy’s Wyatt Benoit in Saturday’s Class A state title game. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

Sophomore outside linebacker Alex Martin wreaked havoc against Thornton Academy, flying to the ball, blowing up the play in the backfield and helping prevent the Golden Trojans from finding an offensive rhythm in the Class A final.

In the second quarter, with the Bulldogs leading 6–0, Martin Mauricio helped Sunderland for a loss of 2 yards on a second-and-10 carry from the Portland 13, then took down quarterback Wyatt Benoit on a goalie for a loss from 2 yards to force a fourth-and-long that the Trojans were unable to convert.

Martin wasn’t done yet, adding a sack of Benoit on third-and-4 from the Portland 18 in the third quarter, setting the stage for another turnover on downs. Early in the fourth, he brought down Sunderland for a loss of 3 yards, and later in that same drive he sacked Benoit for a loss of 14 yards.

“It’s the whole team. We just run the practice, coach makes the big plays and writes down everything we need,” Martin said. “I knew I was going to be a big player. I had to help the team where I could. It worked.”

Green praised Martin’s work ethic for making him the disruptive player he was in the biggest game of the season.

“Alex Martin is a great footballer,” he said. “He’s a two-way starter for us, he plays on all the special teams units, and he’s just a kid that shows up every day and does his job – he certainly did that today. Kids who work as hard as he does, you want to see it pay off for them, and it certainly did.”

Eddie Yin, left, and Anton Kravchuk of Fryeburg Acadmy celebrate after the Raiders defeated Hermon 28-0 in the Class C state championship game on Saturday in Lewiston. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

EVERY LIST FROM THE TOP postseason runs in Maine high school football history should include the 2024 Fryeburg Raiders.

Saturday’s win over Hermon at Lewiston High School completed a stretch of three straight games postseason shutouts for the Raiders. They joined Cheverus in 2021 as the only two teams since 1982 Winslow in the Pine Tree Conference Class A (now B) to hold foes scoreless in multiple playoff games.

Fryeburg (9-2) did that by focusing on Hermon’s ground game. Max Hopkins gained just 42 rushing yards on 16 carries for the Hawks (8-3), and Bruce Coulter, one of Class C’s top backs, was held to 24 yards on nine carries.

“We stopped the flight; we knew they were going to do it, and we stopped it,” said Fryeburg junior Ty Boone. “We practiced all week – we were prepared all week – and we just came out here and executed.”

Fryeburg, the top seed in Class C South, opened the playoffs with a 48-0 win over York in the regional semifinal. The Raiders then defeated Leavitt 38-0 in the Southern Maine title game, avenging a 2023 C South final loss in which they led by multiple scores late before the Hornets pulled off a 36-32 victory that Fryeburg for the next 12 months.

“I dreamed of that day for a year,” Fryeburg senior Daniel Ruiz said. “I had in mind that we were going to come back here – that I was going to work my ass off and that we were going to come here to win.”

Wells’ Eli Potter carries the ball behind Keegan Roberge’s block during the Class D state championship game against Foxcroft Academy. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

IT WAS APPROPRIATE for Wells to follow Fryeburg’s Class C win with a 34-0 victory over Foxcroft on the same field in the Class D title game. After all, the Warriors’ only close game all year was a 21-20 win against Fryeburg on October 18. (Fryeburg’s only other setback was a 15-14 loss to Class B champion Falmouth on September 27.)

Like the Raiders, Saturday’s victory capped an impressive postseason run for Wells (11-0). The Warriors defeated Oak Hill 55-14 in the D South semifinal and Winthrop 35-7 in the regional title game before claiming their second consecutive Gold Ball and extending their winning streak to 22 games.

Foxcroft entered the Class C finals undefeated and had it gave up an average of just 7.7 points per game and held foes to one score or less in eight of 11 games. Wells collapsed that stingy defense as Eli Potter (185) and Dom Buxton (144) combined for 329 rushing yards.

“Our O-line was incredible,” Potter said. “They worked hard and I would say this was our best performance all year. They opened up the holes, and all we have to do is run hard and get our feet going and we’ll get through it.”

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