Forgive Chase Carmichael if he takes just a second as he runs onto the field for Bucksport High School’s Class D North football semifinal against Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln on Friday night to consider something other than the immediate task at hand.
Barring an upset in either LTC contest this weekend — top-ranked Foxcroft Academy hosts No. 4 Dexter in the other semifinal — the game will mark the final time the Golden Bucks’ senior quarterback will play on the gridiron named after his grandfather.
“It definitely has not set in yet but I know it will once I get on the field,” said Carmichael, whose grandfather Bob Carmichael guided Bucksport to a 96-39-2 record and two conference championships while serving as head coach from 1961 through 1977.
“It’ll be kind of like Senior Night was, but that wasn’t as big because I knew it wasn’t going to be my last game on that field. But I know once I step on that field Friday night I’m going to be full of emotion.”
While his grandfather — who held the school record for football coaching victories until being surpassed by current Bucksport coach Joel Sankey — will be foremost in Carmichael’s mind during that moment of reflection, the emotion also will encompass two other generations of his family that have bled Purple and Gold on the same field over the last five decades.
First were Bob’s sons Robbie (Chase’s father), Jon and Jeff who were Golden Bucks throughout the 1970s and now the latest generation that have represented Bucksport since the turn of the century — Joey, Sam and now Chase.
“Yeah, there’s pressure, but I’d say it was a good pressure and it’s helped me,” said Carmichael of his contribution to the family’s football heritage. “It’s definitely been more positive than negative. I have a lot to live up to so it pushes me to perform my best.”
The latest Carmichael’s best has been pretty good.
A third-year starter at quarterback, he broke the LTC record for passing yardage this fall while leading Bucksport to a 5-3 regular-season record and the No. 2 seed for the conference playoffs.
Carmichael has completed 97 of 162 passes (60 percent) for 1,573 yards, eclipsing the single-season mark of 1,500 yards set by former Orono High School standout Jackson Coutts last fall. He’s also directed Bucksport to a league-best 374.6 yards of total offense per game, including 199.6 yards per game through the air.
“There’s no doubt, he’s one of the better quarterbacks I’ve ever coached,” said Sankey. “I’d put him in the same class as Bubba Lichtenberg, who I coached when I was at Bangor. Bubba was pretty damned good, and so is Chase.”
Carmichael also has thrown 20 touchdown passes and just four interceptions this fall and now has accounted for more than 5,000 passing yards and 50 touchdowns during his high school career.
“I’d say the big thing for me since last year is confidence,” said Carmichael. “Last year if you looked at some of my throws I was a little hesitant and not stepping into a lot of them until after I really worked on it. Now I feel a lot more confident to make the read and step up and throw.”
Much of his increased confidence has come from his ability to understand opposing defenses and call audibles at the line of scrimmage based on what he sees.
“He’s got a very sharp mind, he’s a very sharp student and also a student of football,” said Sankey. “Plus he comes from a good background, he’s been around the game all his life.
“He just gotten better and better every year he’s played.”
Carmichael credits much of that growth to a receiving corps featuring senior Keigan Riccard (18 catches, 363 yards), junior Carter Tolmasoff (17-302), freshman Logan Stanley (14-197) and junior Tyson Gray, who returned to the lineup for team’s regular-season finale after missing much of the schedule due to a back injury.
“Most of my receivers have been starting together for at least two years, they’re experienced and really work well together,” said Carmichael. “We play a lot of seven-on-seven in the summer and we’ve really developed a good quarterback-wide receiver relationship that’s helped us be as successful as we have been.”
Bucksport, which earned a first-round playoff bye last week, enters Friday’s game against No. 3 Mattanawcook Academy (6-3) riding a four-game winning streak after a grueling first half of its schedule that included a triple-overtime victory at Mattanawcook and nonconference setbacks against 2016 Class C North champion Mount Desert Island and Class D South champion Lisbon-Saint Dominic.
“Definitely these last four games have boosted everyone’s confidence as well as beating (Mattanawcook) the first time knowing how good of a team they are and doing it up there,” said Carmichael.
“The first part of the season was tough, but the chemistry on this team has allowed us to play the way we have. There’s no negativity on this team, everyone’s close and it’s really helped us.
Carmichael is uncertain about playing football beyond high school, having applied at such schools as Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut and the University of Maine with an eye toward studying chemical engineering.
But before Carmichael considers any future pursuits, there’s as many as three more weekends of high school football to engage his focus — and perhaps one more moment to consider his contribution to his family’s football legacy.
“It’s really crazy to think about all my past family members who have played on that field,” he said. “There’s so much tradition and I’m glad that hopefully I can finish on a good note.”
