Lewiston’s Mekhi Young tackles Brunswick’s Jimmy Cook during a game in Lewiston. Daryn Slover / Sun Journal
The days may seem long, but the years fly by. And so do high school sports seasons.
The 2024 fall sports season came to a close Saturday with the crowning of four football state champions.
Before we move on to the winter sports season, here’s a look at the top five high school sports moments (in no particular order) on the Midcoast this fall:
Brunswick’s last-minute touchdown completes comeback victory over York
Down 20-8 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Brunswick football team was not worried. The week prior, the Dragons had orchestrated a comeback win over Mt. Blue, so why not do the same against York on Sept. 29?
Quarterback Cam Beal (19 of 27, 270 yards) threw two touchdowns to Liam Scholl (9 catches for 171 yards) while on the run. The first, a 24-yard strike completed in stride to the corner of the end zone, came with 10:40 left in the game. The second, a 16-yard throw that was placed where only Scholl could grab it, came with 11.6 seconds left.
“I started scrambling around and I see this guy, ol’ reliable over here, just waving his big arms,” Beal said of Scholl. “I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, he’s wide (open), he’s wide (open).’ So I just let it go and put faith in him, and just trust the connection we have is pretty good.”
The Wildcats got the ball with one last opportunity, but the Dragons’ defense snuffed out the laterals and secured the 24-20 win.
Morse golf team wins Class B KVAC title
Talk about a turnaround.
The seniors on the Morse golf team didn’t win a match when they were freshmen. Now, the Shipbuilders can say they are KVAC Class B champs.
Senior Caleb Harvey (third from right) shot a 2-over 38 to help lead Morse to the KVAC Class B Shootout win at Rockland Golf Club on Oct. 2. Courtesy of Simon Elias
At the nine-hole conference shootout at Rockland Golf Course, Morse shot a team score of 165, two strokes better than defending champion Nokomis of Newport. Senior Caleb Harvey led the way with a 2-over-38. This was the seventh conference title in program history, and the first under head coach Mike Dutton.
In the 18-hole state championship at Natanis Golf Course, Morse finished in second with 359, 12 strokes behind Gardiner. Senior Tuck Walker tied for fifth with an 11-over-83.
Brunswick field hockey clinches playoff spot with win over Mt. Ararat
Heal point standings aren’t the easiest to calculate, but the Brunswick field hockey team knew that a win over cross-town rival Mt. Ararat in the regular season finale would secure a berth in the Class A North playoffs.
Although Mt. Ararat held an advantage in shots (16-2) and penalty corners (21-2), the Oct. 21 game remained scoreless until late in the fourth quarter. With 3:09 remaining, Brunswick senior Sadie Correa tapped in a rebound from Ava Wolverton’s initial shot on a penalty corner, giving the Dragons a 1-0 lead.
Brunswick’s Ava Wolverton, right, tries to dribble the ball up field while under pressure from Mt. Ararat’s Sarah Middleton during a game this season in Topsham. Cooper Sullivan / The Times Record
The Eagles had a few more chances to pull even, but as the clock expired the Dragons raced out to celebrate with senior goalie Ella Duchette, who saved 16 shots. With the win, Brunswick earned the No. 6 seed a year after missing the postseason entirely.
Mt. Ararat football avenges regular season loss to Camden Hills in eight-man semifinal
Mt. Ararat squandered a 24-point first half lead in a 36-30 loss at Camden Hills during the regular season. The rematch in Rockport on Nov. 8 would produce a much different outcome, as the Eagles rolled to a 48-12 victory in an eight-man Large School semifinal game.
Like Week 5, the Eagles took an early lead with touchdowns run in by Dash Farrell and Trent Bailey, but the Windjammers were just a step behind. A recovered fumble set up an Isaac Dutille touchdown catch, and a recovered onside kick placed the home team in solid field position to score again. Unlike Week 5, the Mt. Ararat defense held strong.
Mt. Ararat captains, from left, Kurt Coen, Dash Farrell, Aiden Christensen, Trent Bailey and Thomas Sandelin with the plaque the Eagles won for defeating Camden Hills in Friday’s 8-man Large School semifinal. Cooper Sullivan / The Times Record
Farrell (201 yards rushing, 3 TDs) and Aidan Ramsay (defensive touchdown) each had long interception returns that brought the visitors either near or in the end zone. Nick Doughty (126 yards rushing, 2 TDs) got a pair of scores as well, as Mt. Ararat clinched a spot in an eight-man title game for the first time since 2019.
Richmond wins Class D boys soccer final on last-minute goal
The Class D boys’ soccer championship between top-seeded Richmond and No. 3 Fort Fairfield was a nail-biter. For the majority of the Nov. 9 match, the Bobcats were in control and seemed to be cruising to their sixth title in program history behind the brace of senior Ben Fournier.
Richmond senior captain Brady Alexander lifts the Gold Ball after the Bobcats beat Fort Fairfield 3-2 in the Class D title game. Daryn Slover / Sun Journal
But the Tigers didn’t plan on making the near nine-hour round trip to Bath without putting up a fight, as senior Cayden Ala unleashed two impressive strikes in the 67th and 71st minutes to knot the score at 2-2. Just four days removed from beating defending champion Monmouth in penalty kicks, Richmond wanted to decide this game in regulation.
On the last offensive attack, Fournier collided with the Fort Fairfield goalkeeper, sending his shot off the crossbar. Senior Gavin Grover followed the shot, gathered the ball off the crossbar and tapped it in, while wearing his teammate’s cleats because Grover forgot his at home, to give the Richmond the 3-2 win.