It wasn’t even close during the final weeks of the 49th Bangor Daily News Football Forecast. Ernie Clark put the finishing touches on his sixth staff prognosticating title, closing out the campaign with a 15-5 record that secured a five-game victory over late-charging runner-up John Holyoke, who went 16-4.
Clark, who annexed the staff title in 2012, 2009, 2005, 2004 and 2003 and also took top honors as a guest in 2003, finished the 10-week season with a 161-38 record, an .809 clip.
Holyoke finished up at 156-43 (.784), while Joe McLaughlin (153-46), Larry Mahoney (152-47) and Ryan McLaughlin (151-48) rounded out the top five. Season-long guest Matt Boutwell wound up 142-57, while Pete Warner (138-61) brought up the rear in the staff race.
There were some subtle changes for a few people after we figured in three early-season forfeits by Traip Academy of Kittery. That meant an additional correct guess for guest Lester Cowan of Old Town, along with Holyoke and Joe McLaughlin.
The guest championship is shared by Brandon Portwine of Bangor and Cowan, both of whom had 16-4 weeks. Cowan’s tally improved by one game because of the aforementioned forfeit.
The rest of the 2014 guest lineup performed as follows: Jason Brooks, Chris Popper and Dan Decker 15-5, Travis Gass 14-6, Chris Binder and Ryan Jones 12-8, Don Shields 11-9, and Matt Dunlap 10-10.
We hope you enjoyed matching wits with our staff members and guests. Be sure to tune in again next August for the kickoff of the 50th edition of the BDN Football Forecast.