BANGOR, Maine — Has high school football in Maine peaked?
Certainly the 2016 season begins Friday night with a measure of uncertainty.
Three schools that began the 2015 season with varsity teams — Camden Hills of Rockport, Telstar of Bethel and Boothbay — are attempting to resurrect their programs at the club or subvarsity level this fall, while several other programs are coping with declining roster sizes of 30 or fewer players.
The reasons are myriad, among them a declining student enrollment statewide, increased competition from other fall sports, and safety concerns including the trickle-down effect of concussion talk at the professional level.
There are exceptions. According to a recent report in fosters.com, the 30 players who turned out for football practices at Class D Traip Academy represented the largest preseason roster of head coach Ron Ross’ 15-year tenure at the Kittery school.
Traip is not alone in roster growth. Medomak Valley of Waldoboro, a second-year varsity program that won’t be eligible to qualify for postseason play until it moves up to Class C by enrollment in 2017, has more than 50 players suited up in the aftermath of its 6-2 debut season in Class D last fall.
But statewide numbers for recent seasons compiled by the National Federation of State High School Associations indicate that the downward trend in player participation in Maine is real, with 3,487 participants on 11-player football teams representing 79 schools during the 2014 season compared with 4,148 players from 78 schools in 2009.
Those in Maine who continue to play the nation’s most popular boys sport at the high school level — with 1,083,617 participants in 2014 — will embark on a new championship quest beginning Friday night.
Let the games begin.
Bangor Rams vs. Edward Little Red Eddies, 7 p.m. Friday at Auburn: These teams split two games a year ago. Edward Little opened the season by rallying from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit for a 22-19 victory on a last-minute touchdown, then Bangor extracted revenge with a 54-21 win in the opening round of the Class A North playoffs. The stunning Week 1 loss a year ago was part of an 0-4 start Bangor coach Alan Mosca and his club are determined not to repeat.
Foxcroft Academy Ponies vs. Mount Desert Island Trojans, 7 p.m. Friday at Bar Harbor: Two teams that hope to challenge Winslow’s recent dominance of Class C North meet on the island, and play in the trenches will be pivotal as both teams look to make up for graduation losses along the line of scrimmage to support talented skill-position tandems.
Brunswick Dragons at Hampden Academy Broncos, 7 p.m. Friday: Fred Lower makes his head coaching debut at Hampden, but the opponent couldn’t be more challenging as Brunswick is the two-time defending Class B North champion and the preseason favorite to win the division again in 2016. This game will be streamed live on bangordailynews.com.
Belfast Lions at Winslow Black Raiders, 1 p.m. Saturday: Coach Chris Bartlett’s Belfast club begins a grueling first three weeks of its schedule — against three of the top four seeds in last year’s C North playoffs — at Poulin Field against the two-time defending state champion Black Raiders. Belfast follows this test with its home opener against MDI on Sept. 10, followed by a trip to Madison-Carrabec in Week 3.
Brewer Witches vs. Nokomis Warriors, 1 p.m. Saturday at Newport: Brewer, a Class B North finalist in 2015, plays its only day game on its schedule against a Nokomis team kicking off its second season of Class B competition. The Warriors’ challenge will be formidable, namely to contain Brewer’s strong line play while contending with a contingent of power running backs led by senior Trey Wood.
Orono Red Riots vs. Mount View Mustangs, 1 p.m. Saturday at Thorndike: These teams both reached the LTC semifinals in 2015, but that task becomes more difficult this year as the playoff field in Class D North has been whittled from six schools to four. Mount View is coming off the best year in program history under LTC coach of the year Haggie Pratt, but the Mustangs must contain a talented Orono senior class that includes All-LTC quarterback Jackson Coutts, Keenan Collett, Josiah Grace and Matt Fowler.
Houlton Shiretowners at Dexter Tigers, 1 p.m. Saturday: This is another important Class D North game given the reduced playoff field in the division. Dexter finished fifth and Houlton sixth in the LTC a year ago to earn the final playoff berths — berths that aren’t available under the new four-school postseason format. Dexter returns a solid senior class from last year’s postseason run, while Houlton counters with good size up front and some capable playmakers in quarterback Jared Fox and running back Austin Brown.
