The Luke Piper Show

As my stint this year doing color for LCTV's broadcasts of Medomak Valley games, I worked the Greely/Medomak game. There wasn't a ton of question as to who would probably win, but that's why they play the games, right?

In the pregame, I made the point that the Panthers would have to find a way to contain Greely QB Luke Piper (who I think is one of the 5 best quarterbacks in the state) if they were going to have a chance to pull the upset.

And then on the second play from scrimmage he ripped off a 50-yard TD run. It's always nice on a broadcast to sound like you know what you're talking about. Then, on Medomak's second drive, the Panthers had a 4th down in the red zone. Jaydiin Ruiz rolled out to pass but his receiver fell down, forcing him to throw up a prayer as he was hit. Piper pulled it out of the air and raced 93 yards for his second score. In the second half, he broke off a touchdown run of 60 yards and added another 12 yard run to go with a TD pass to Rocky Axelsen. He gained 129 yards on 5 carries.

Ruiz rushed for 167 yards for the Panthers.

The win moves the Rangers into third in the Crabtree standings for the very deep class C.

Elsewhere

Portland hung with TA for the first half before the Trojans pulled away. Brennan Tabor scored 3 unanswered touchdowns to finish the job...Isaac Vail scored the go-ahead TD with 30 seconds left, then followed it up with a game-sealing pick as Gorham knocked off Cheverus.

Which brings us to the Week 5 Overreactions Podcast. The gimmick for the overreactions podcasts is that I invite a media member, but I twisted the definition a little this week and welcomed former Falmouth coach Spencer Emerson. Spencer joined Rob Kennedy and Jarod Richmond in the booth for the state championship games last fall, so I think that counts.

Spencer really brought it here with an inside look at B South and what it's like for a coach of a team that's gone from the hunter to the hunted after a State Championship. Plus we take the usual tour around the state and cover Portland/TA, Yarmouth's crazy offense, Spencer's hot take about B North, and a whole lot more.

As always, it's available on YouTube or wherever you consume podcasts.

If you haven't downloaded the Maine Basketball Rankings App for iOS, what are you waiting for?

If you haven't seen it already, our own Teigan Pelletier had a highlight play for the ages in Harvard's win over Colgate.

Of course, this is not Pelletier's first game winning play.

Or even his second one.

Remember the year everyone pretended to wear masks during the games? Crazy times.

The Maine Marathon was Sunday, with a record number of finishers for Maine's signature road race that isn't Beach 2 Beacon.

Portland's own Dylan Stoltzfus broke the tape in 2:23:59. JP Flavin from Michigan broke the record for the half marathon with a time of 1:03 flat.

Former cross-country state champ (and podcast guest) Connor Daigle put up a 1:05:40 in his half marathon debut, which is one of the fastest halfs by a Mainer on record.

Maine Marathon winners soak in atmosphere, experience

Mainer claims men’s marathon title, while other race winners hail from New York, Michigan

The Portland Press HeraldJimmy JamesStaff Writer

In other running news, Scarborough's Atticus Merriam and Falmouth's Georgia Moon won the Festival of Champions in Belfast.

Maine runners from Scarborough, Falmouth win titles at Festival of Champions

Atticus Merriam edges William Morris of Dirigo for the boys crown and Georgia Moon holds on for girls title.

Centralmaine.comDave DyerStaff Writer

Chris Christie, the coach who led Camden to the 8-man title last year before stepping away, has launched a new podcast focused on interviewing coaches.

Episode 2 features Aaron Filieo from South Portland.

Check it out!

There's 2 pretty good boys soccer games on the schedule for today. The first, Cape/Greely has lots of seeding implications in a cluttered B South, but that gets edged out in the Stax Index by Orono and Presque Isle.

PI appears to have a bye sewn up in B North and can still get to the 1 seed.

Meanwhile, Orono is trying to hold off GSA and Fort Kent in C North, but has struggled head-to-head with them, playing Fort Kent to a draw and losing 1-0 to GSA in their last 3 games.

These teams met all the way back in early September, with Orono walking away with a 2-1 result up in the County.

The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump.