Week 7 Overreactions (with Lee Horton)

On this week's podcast (presented by Vertical Raise), Varsity Maine editor Lee Horton joined me to overreact to Week 7's football games. Lee has a unique angle on the games around the state in that he has to oversee all of Varsity Maine's coverage, so while he's not going to games, he's watching streams and collecting scores and reading all the game stories and so on.

He's also in charge of their new text message service, which I highly recommend.

We talk about the genesis of the text messages and then do the usual tour around the state. Lee came loaded with takes and my hair was not cooperating.

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Transcript (auto-generated)

Welcome to The Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast.I'm your host, basketball data nerd, Lucas Mcnelly.This episode of The Maine Basketball Rankings podcast is brought to you by Vertical Raise, one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country.Now proudly helping teams, clubs and programs across Maine.

0:18

With Vertical Raise, your program can raise more money and less time.No selling, no collecting, just results.From new uniforms and better equipment to tournament trips and every fundraising need in between, Vertical Rays has a variety of campaigns to make it happen.Your main reps, Chris Christie and Dave Chase, are both coaches who know what it takes to run a great program at any sport, club or grade level, and they understand how important fundraising is to make it happen.

0:43

It's worth 10 minutes of your time to learn more.Schedule a call or e-mail us today to see how Vertical Rays can take your fundraising to the next level.OK, it's overreactions time.I've been getting emails asking me where the Overreactions Podcast is this week.Here it is.

0:59

I've had an energy drink.I just had an hour and a half conversation, as you can see from the time code on your phone or your podcasting device.And The Mavericks game tips off in 2 minutes.So we're going to do the intro really, really quickly.

1:15

I went to two games this week.I went to Falmouth and saw Falmouth absolutely destroy Freiburg.That was a bit of a surprise.Some really great defense from Falmouth.They held Freiburg to something like 46 yards total yards on the game according to jaredrichmondofwhou.com.

1:34

Then I also on Saturday went to Dexter for the T-Mobile game and that was a crazy event.I'll throw up some video from that.As I'm talking, T-Mobile hosted a home, a home game for them.There was magenta everywhere, There was a bounce house, there was decorated vehicles, all sorts of stuff.

1:54

And then there was a football game, which Dexter absolutely dominated. 50 to 8, I believe was the final really weird situation for everybody.Really cool situation, but I just imagine being that Holton team, having to take that long bus ride and then you're walking into this situation.

2:12

And then also the Dexter kids, how do you stay focused?How do you keep them from getting distracted with everything that's going on?And so after the game, I talked to Dexter's head coach about them.Coach 50 to 8 is the final over Holton.

2:27

How does it feel?Feels great, feels great.They're they're a good team, tough up front.So our our boys really played well so.A lot of coaches always worry about keeping kids focused and on football on a normal week.Yeah, so that's what we kept preaching all week was there's a lot of distractions.

2:44

But end of the day, end of the day, we got to play football on Saturday.I mean, there couldn't have been more distractions.I I imagine there was there was a lot.You know, TikTok videos we're making where we got the crowd decorations, we got a lot of going on and, and the kids did it all.

3:02

Do you think, do you think maybe having it been so many and like over the top, did that help them focus?No, no, no, I, I, we could preach it as much as we want throughout the but you know, they, they showed up today, which is just what we wanted them to.

3:17

But all week they were stretching every direction, including Ossie and I coaches and and all the fans.They were just stretching every direction.So hopefully next week will be a little bit slower and, and have another a senior game here.So.Kimball and Cooper were pretty much dominant from from the snap here.

3:33

What talk about their play?We were a little.Surprised how they played us with a three and they shaded over with that our wing set.So we we said, well, Cody's going to carry the ball 10 times until he tried to stop and stop that and they they stopped that.So we went back to Bryce.

3:49

So they're two good players.Really enjoy having them both because they kind of feed off each other.If both of them get going, we're a tough team to stop.Do you think you T-Mobile should be giving bonus points for every touchdown you score in this game?

4:04

That'd be cool.Absolutely.All right, So give real quick, give people the pitch you, I'm sure you've practiced it, the Vodexter pitch, Vodexter dot.Com.All right.Thanks a bunch.Thank you.OK, So they're third in the in the contest last I checked.

4:20

So they're probably not going to win it, but this is, I think, really easily going to dovetail into some sort of fundraising event to get them some upgrades.The press box, sketchy, very sketchy.There's a ladder that seemed kind of scary.I went up the ladder, don't like ladders and I definitely didn't like this ladder.

4:38

So there's certainly things that could be improved.The fields not in great shape.I've seen worse, but not many and not much worse than that one.And someone shared on social media thing from last year maybe, or earlier this year or some point where an ambulance got stuck on that field.

4:56

And, you know, if the ambulance is getting stuck on your field, you need a new field.OK, so Lee Horton is here to overreact to the past weekends of game games.Lee is the varsity main editor for the Main Trust for local news.He sits at command central.

5:12

It's kind of like the red zone for Maine newspapers or for varsity Maine.And he sees everything, so he's got a really good handle on what's happening all across the varsity Maine coverage area, which is most of the football coverage area.So I thought he would be a good person to have come in and do the overreactions.

5:31

With one week left in the season, a lot of ways Crabtrees can shake out.If you're wondering where your team can land in the Crabtrees, Andrew Hart has a great post on Facebook for Maine high school football that sort of details nearly every team of how high they can go, how low they can go, what sort of help they might need.

5:50

So I would definitely encourage you to go find that.I'll try to put that in the show notes.But without further ado, let's go to my conversation with Lee Horton.My guest today is the varsity main editor for the Main Trust for Local News.Lee Horton, thanks for joining me.

6:06

Yeah, thanks for having me.Is it still the main trust for local news?I feel like that's changed a couple times since it got all started.No, it is the main trust for local news.OK.Ever since, yeah, for the last couple years, two and two years and four months, I think it's been the main truth.

6:23

OK, yeah.So one reason I wanted to have you on is we were talking off air is that you have the, the overview, being the editor, you're not at games, but you're getting all the stuff in.You're watching streams, you're looking at box scores.So you have maybe better than a lot of people, a sense of most of the state or at least your coverage area for Varsity Maine, which is most of the state.

6:46

So I, I thought, well, this will be a good fit because it's week, you know, we got one week left and the, you know, this is where the rubber meets the road.Yeah.And it's, yeah, it's been kind of a fun season.But yeah, I'm just, I've been jumping around like every every Friday night we do live updates for Varsity Maine, which is The Sun Journal, The Press, Portland Press Herald Central Maine, which is Kennebec Journal in the Morning Sentinel.

7:16

So all those coverage areas and I just tried to find like the best live streams and the best games and follow them until they get like the games get out of control and I'll just have a couple going at a time.So I do keep, I do keep up with it with it pretty good.

7:33

And then the reporters are always sending me live updates that I add to our our live blog that.So yeah, I'm keeping, I'm keeping up with it pretty good the last couple years.You're you're plugged in.Without me there in person, yeah.Yeah, and so one thing you guys have been doing this year that I've really enjoyed is the text messages.

7:52

And so if people don't know about that, they can sign up for a text message service.And I was expecting it to just be like, here's a link to a thing or whatever, but they're but they're quite fun.And so I'm going to throw one up here on the screen.This is the last one.

8:08

And you're talking about how the Noah Carpenter, Jamir Rose rule, where if you're Jimmy Rose, you got to have a really good game because you're, you know, BB minus game is better than everybody else's game.Yeah, yeah.And those two guys, yeah, it was like every week they could have been on the varsity main honor roll.

8:27

So, you know, they had to have incredible games to get on there.There's been a few other players like Eli Soren and even this year there's actually a few Connor Ayub from Thornton Academy, Parker Moran from Coney is another one.

8:43

Austin W kind of luck.I feel like there might be one more, but yeah, it's it's just to spread the love a little bit.So it's not the same thing every week, but yeah.I have a similar thing with the newsletter where I we'll have like a summary of the previous nights and it's like, OK, Jamir, yeah, you had 15 and eight.

8:59

OK yeah, let's mention somebody else.Let's.Yeah, like 15 and eight to hit is like, oh, OK, that's that's a pretty good game.But like.It's like a first half.Yeah, yeah.It's not like a stand out game.Yeah.So yeah, that's that's the rule I invented it's.A good rule.

9:15

Yeah, those are the guys that were at the time, they were like the ones who were under that rule because just incredible seasons.So I'm always interested in when newspapers, especially any media outlet, but especially newspapers, because I think it's safe to say or fair to say that the newspaper industry is in transition or as a whole, not just you guys, like everybody from the New York Times to the Quadi Times up in Eastport are all sort of trying to figure out, well, how do we make this work?

9:49

And so I'm always interested when they try something new like this e-mail or this text message thing Is it?Has it been working?Yeah, I think so.It's so this is like, this wasn't my idea.It was one of our audience engagement people.She she brought that to me in the in the summertime.

10:07

And I'm not the first person to do it.We do.There's somebody else that does it for like concerts and other events that are coming on, like what to do?OK.Aimzol.I can't remember her last name.It's Ponty I think.Ponte, Yeah.Ponte yeah, but, and I hope I'm saying it correctly so she was doing it they brought it to us to try it with sports and I was like yeah, that's cool because it's I mean it's fun to do something a little bit different I think.

10:35

Well, and I want to say this, I think it's kind of, and I said this to them, but it's kind of interesting how like text messages, it's almost like going backwards to like like all these different things with text messages.That was like 15 years ago, like he was using that.But but it's like kind of a newer text messages have survived all these changes to technology.

10:58

So and it's been fun, just like trying to have a little bit of personality and like a certain amount of characters, which I can't Remember Remember what it is now.And the cool thing about the this varsity main one that we have the football 1 is that people can respond to.

11:15

Oh, OK.And I haven't had too many responses, but there's been like people like, Oh yeah, I'm, I live in Washington state and I'm retired and just following along that way.So I've had contacts with people like that, people who are very cool.How's Coney doing or whatever.And it's, yeah, it's been kind of fun.

11:31

And it's the hard part is just like fitting all that.So if you do want to link to the stories, let them know what we're what we're doing.So like fitting the character limit and you know, getting in all the good stuff is the challenge.And then having enough room to just sort of do a little bit of riffing and have a little bit of personality and voice to it.

11:51

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but not, but not too much like I, I keep track of like when people dis they unsubscribe and it seems like if I get too like silly, like I, I always lose 1.Like if I'm like trying to be like, yeah, be a fact cocky or like quote Taylor Swift, there's somebody's going to, somebody's going to bail.

12:14

But yeah, I think you asked how's it going?I think it is successful.It's when we started doing it, it wasn't so much something that we were going to thought we were going to connect with like, you know, thousands of people.It's just like a pretty simple way to connect with like right now I think there's almost 200 people.

12:34

And so I think trying like there's a lot of stuff like that.We're not like trying to get a little bit of time and just kind of hopefully that becomes they connect with us more, but it's also just kind of showing our creativity in all the different ways that we can reach out to people.

12:50

And sometimes it might blow up and be bigger than we expected.And you know, in a way, in a way, we all went to social media thinking that was going to save us.And then the algorithms turns out are not our friends.So, you know, the text message, there's no algorithm there.

13:07

It's just on your coming to your phone.Like I'm at work and it pops up on my phone.I'm like, oh, Barson, you mean.Yeah.Thing I forgot to check the stories, I forgot to check the, the highlights or whatever this week and see who they had as the top performers.Or, you know, did they remember to have my guy in the top performers 'cause he had a really good game?

13:27

I hope they know that.And it's the same way with e-mail, with newsletters.I think that's why newsletters are working because it's in your inbox and there's a tiny bit of algorithm work there with whether or not it gets sent to spam.But it's it's old school in a way.

13:43

Yeah, yeah.Like those like inbox and the text messages are the things that have survived, I think inboxes for me.I don't look at mine too much.My personal emails, which I've kind of gotten off of that, which is bad.But if you, if you like, have your your work, your work emails up all day long, like at most jobs.

14:05

And so, yeah, it's kind of a cool way to do it.And then people can just kind of leave it unread and then get back to it, get to it when they want to or when they have time.And so it's yeah, it's really cool.And we have a newsletter too.I don't write for that anymore.We but I was for a while.But it's another way.Like every morning, you'll get some all of our high school sports stories in your inbox.

14:25

I'm pretty sure I'm on that one.I'm on the Bangor Daily News 1.I know that for sure because I've gotten about 15 emails about Cooper flag this week.OK, Yeah, yeah, big time.Yeah, this is the week.I don't know how many of them are from you guys, how many of them are from the Bangor Daily News?I don't know where they're coming from.

14:41

It's just a lot of Cooper flag emails.Some are from the NBA.I don't know.Yeah, I think that, yeah, we've had a few.We haven't had a ton of Cooper Flex stories, but we had like Drew Bonafont wrote a pretty good one yesterday and went up and but yeah, so it might not be us, but yeah, it's, yeah.

15:01

I mean, that's just, that's basketball.That's just, it's a cool thing.I should, I should mention we're recording this before the season debut.We're it's recording it's like 2 hours before that game.So we have no knowledge of what happened in that game.Yeah, so if he if he pulls like a Gordon Hayward and gets injured for the season.

15:18

Oh, and like.Knock on wood.Yeah.We have no idea.Yeah, we don't know what's happening in the Celtics game.We don't know anything and we hope it's going great.For everybody involved, yeah, I feel terrible even bringing it up like.Well, I knocked on wood for you so.

15:35

Please don't.Yeah, yeah.You Can you imagine the hordes of the masses with pitchforks that would be at the at your office tomorrow morning?Yeah, yeah, I can't and I but it'd be, it'd be your fault for it's your podcast.

15:51

That's true It it would be my I get blamed for things anyway I got blamed for standing on the sidelines 2 weeks ago so.Oh really?Yeah.At Levitt it was a whole thing.They somebody, some like retired guy, thought that there was a rule that the reporters couldn't be on the sideline.

16:08

And so Mandela and I are standing there going, what are you talking about?That's I've never heard of that.And it turns out there's not a rule.Yeah, I know.I mean, I've I've never encountered that.Yeah, it's very weird.Yeah.All right, so let's go through the state.

16:24

This is the Overreactions podcast.So if you're new here, every week, myself and a media member, we overreact to the week's games.It's a little less overreacting now because we're seven games deep, so we should have a pretty good idea of what's going on.

16:41

Week 1 it's a little more wild because who knows?Yeah, yeah, but but I'm ready to overreact.It's great.That's perfect.All right.Where do you want to start?Which?Which class?I really don't care.We can start from the top.

16:58

All right, starting a I'm bringing up Andrew Hart's site main high school football because his standings are so easy to read.All right, let's go.This everyone's talking about this is the game of the day.Bonnie Eagle and Thornton Academy this week like this is going to be a barn burner, hopefully.

17:18

Yeah, it's going to be.I think it's going to be awesome.And like we'd, we'd pick the games in our coverage areas.And this one was like 5050 for me because both teams are good at good at defense.

17:36

Both teams can just let have like big play offense.So it's it's going to be hard to it's going to be kind of hard to, it was hard for me to pick it, I'm sure.What did your computer say?My computer has Bonnie Eagle one overall and so it's always going to pick one overall in a head to head.

17:54

So it's got them by 10 I think because they've sort of separated a little bit.And the problem is that New Hampshire game makes everything screwy for Thornton Academy because it's I'm not building an entire model for Thornton for New Hampshire for these like 8 games or whatever it is like no.

18:13

Yeah, no, that might be impossible.That would be worth the effort.But yeah.But I also was thinking that maybe that New Hampshire game might be the difference for Thornton because they've been in a game where they've had to really, like, grind for everything they get.And they were in that game, right?

18:30

Yeah, I was, I watched the stream of that one and I was I think through like 3/4 or maybe in the third quarters when it got a little bit crazy when it got out of control.But I think they even LED at halftime and they put it pretty solid.I mean, they had some fumbles, but they were able to stop Bedford, Bedford pretty good in that game.

18:51

And so, but like on the other side, you have like Colin Moran and Colby McCormick, Drew Gervais, Lucas Klein, and then there's also like the Cooper kid.

19:07

I don't know if is it CJ?Is he CJ?Off the top of my head, I don't know.But he, I mean, he's a big player.He's got some, he has some big plays too.So it's I it's kind of a hard game to pick.For me, it is a hard game to.And the other thing is Bonnie Eagle's been blowing everybody out.

19:25

They finally gave up like some points this past week against, I think it was Massabesic maybe.Was it?Yeah, Massabesic and Thornton Academy's been pretty much blowing everybody out.I saw them against Portland and that was not even close.

19:40

Yeah, yeah.That was like, I was surprised, like everyone I think I talked to beforehand thought Thornton Academy would win, but I don't think anyone thought it would be by that much and it would be that dominant.And over by the end of the first quarter.Oh yeah, it was.It was rough.

19:55

Yeah.That was probably one of the streams you clicked off of pretty quickly.Yeah, yeah.I was like, oh, this, yeah.I thought I was going to be settling in for the night there, but it was, yeah, I moved on to something else.It was a long drive for a very short game.Yeah.Oh, that's right.Because you've been from where?Damerskotta.Damerskotta, yeah.

20:11

Yeah, yeah, that was not worth it for you.But yeah, it was.It was just so weird how, I mean, they just had short fields.It's like, I don't even know what you can take away from that game about, especially about Thornton.I don't know if you can take much away.That's the thing.

20:27

You get those short fields and like the game's over before it starts and it was like a shanked punt and like a fumble and they missed on 4th and what, 4th and short?I mean, you swing one or two of those and maybe the game comes out differently.

20:44

Yeah, like, yeah, Portland, like you don't demoralize them early on.They can stick.They could, you know, stick around.So, but yeah.So it's just really hard to tell with with both Bonnie Eagle and Thornton, Like who would who's going to win?I, I picked Thornton because I've been voting them #1 in the poll for a few weeks.

21:04

I just I stuck with that, but I'm not confident in that pick at all.Those are and yeah, those are two teams where they haven't like for my models purposes, they haven't really been tested by a known quantity.So it's like like Bon Eagle blowing everybody out every week.

21:19

You're like, OK, but how good are these teams that they're blowing out every week?You know, it's exactly always.It's one of the great dilemmas of.Trying.They blew out Portland, but Portland didn't have Cordell Jones, right?

21:36

That's the game he missed, right?He, yeah, he missed something.He missed a game.I'm pretty sure it was that game, but yeah, so you can't tell.I mean, even that game you can't, that was their chance to be tested and they haven't been tested.So it's, yeah, it's kind of tough to know for sure, but I think it's they're both going to be, they're both really good teams, really well coached, veteran players.

21:59

They've, you know, been there before.Yeah, this.Classic programs.Yeah, there's like nothing you can say that's like that.This either team doesn't have.Right.And it's the it's the pedigrees where you're just, it's not some team out of nowhere where you're like, I don't know about these guys.

22:14

Yeah, you're like, well, it's Bond, Eagle, Thornton Academy.Sure.Of course they're there.Yeah.And I think both of them, it's, I know that like Thornton has been like the program for the last like 10 years or so, but if anybody's going to beat them, usually it's Bonnie Eagle.

22:32

Yeah.That's I mean, he also had a couple years that they were the team, but like, you know, Bonnie Eagles.Portland last year.Yeah, the consistent foe.And then looking lower here, it looks like Noble's good that it looks like they're going to settle in as the three seed.

22:48

And then we've got do we think, do you think Scarborough can catch South Portland for that final playoff spot?No, I don't think so.I think South Portland is, I think they're a good four and three team and I think they also blew out Scarborough recently.

23:10

And so I don't, I think that South Portland's probably going to be I mean, this isn't the last week.So they have they had, they both play.In two weeks, yeah.Yeah.So I think Portland, South Portland plays Portland next week.That sounds right.Which would which would cut it, you know, possibly bring them back to like A5, you know, could if they lose this week under 500.

23:31

But South Portland, they they actually, they were the team that a lot of people have thought were going to be really good coming into the season, like maybe even the favorite because of how much talent they had.And it just kind of didn't, hasn't worked out that way for whatever reason.

23:47

And they did, they did lose one of their players to prep school.So but yeah, and I think they've come, they've kind of come on lately too.So I, I don't, I think that South Portland is going to be the a solid #4 there.OK.

24:03

And then on the other side, Portland's going to be the one, I think.And then you've got Bangor at 2 and Portland blew out Bangor right early in the year, like week two or something.Yeah.And I think it got close towards the end, but it was, it was like 49 to 26 or something like that.

24:22

But it was before it was, it was out of control before that.Before, yeah.And so then you've got Oxford Hills, Deering and Wyndham all fighting for two spots because I'm assuming Edward Little and Lewiston are done.Yeah, they're.On to basketball season.Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't.I don't.Yeah, I don't think even mathematically they have a chance.

24:39

I don't think so.Yeah.And I so that's tough.I think port it's going to be Portland.I think, I really think it's going to be hard for port anybody but Portland to be win that region.So I think the first seed probably isn't isn't locked up technically, but it could be.

25:02

I do know that people are mad that Portland isn't in the top ten in the rankings and I was like, well you did lose 70 to 7 in two games, so there was your opportunity to be top ten in the rankings.Yeah.And I, I mean, I still, I still rank them third, but I know a lot of our lot of the voters in the varsity main polls are not as high on them.

25:22

But I just think I just don't think that the other teams can are, is going to be as good as them.I think I even like if like Cordell Jones didn't play, I still kind of wonder if like Portland would still win that region.Bangor, I was watching their stream.They played a New Hampshire team last week.

25:38

Win a something.Yeah, yeah.And I didn't watch the first half or the first quarter even.I think I watched like the last three quarters off and on, but Kyle Johnson was not playing quarterback for them.Right.

25:54

I did hear that, yeah.And so I don't know if he got hurt in the game or he missed the entire game, but let that's kind of a big a big thing for them because they play they finished the season against Oxford Hills.Next week they play Edward Little Lamar or yeah, this week.But that Oxford Hills game could be like a big one.

26:14

That could be a big one, especially for Oxford Hills, you know, to try to, to try to stay in the tournament.And I always have the problem 'cause I'm so wired to think about heel points and I'm like, well, that'd be a big heel point win for Oxford Hills if they could get Bangor.And then I have to remember that that doesn't matter.

26:30

Yeah, it's Crabtree.Yeah, I know.And I, I even sometimes I'll, I'll write like I'll like add something to somebody's story and I write heels.And halfway through the season I realize it's not heels, it's Crabtrees.But yeah, but it.Yeah, so and I think Oxford Hills plays Wyndham this week.

26:49

Yes, at Wyndham.And Wyndham has, I think they they have, they were playing a lot of young guys last week against Edward Little and they've, they've struggled and they'd only be Edward Little 15 to 6.They've had a weird season just from the outside, like it's a lot of like close losses to good teams and then I think there's one bad loss in there.

27:13

Yeah, I think they played Portland for 3/4 early this season, yeah.And so I don't know if it's injuries or what that have kind of.Maybe they're just young.Yeah.And I mean, sometimes you're just like a step below the teams and you know, you're maybe the third best team in your region and you played the top 2 very close and you lost them both because they're a little bit better than you.

27:38

And then people go, oh, they're O and two, they're no good.And like, well, we're O and two, but we lost by the two top teams in the to the two top teams in the region and we were in the game.So maybe we're pretty good.And it could also be they they might have played a tougher schedule, they might have played some of the other big teams too.So that's kind of a another thing that can be kind of can kind of confuse, like confuse you when you look at the the standings.

28:07

And I think Deering Deering beat Oxford Hills last week.And I thought that was a game that Oxford Hills probably should win, probably needed to win.And they had like a three touchdown lead, two or three touchdown lead.And then I think it may be just two, but Deering came back and then they had like a nice back and forth the rest of the game and they and Deering pulled it out.

28:25

And I thought that was kind of a surprise to me.Deering probably needed it more than Oxford Hills did.That.Might be this might be an instance of like, they're desperate.That's maybe their season.Yeah, that's true.'Cause I think they were probably on the outside looking in, I mean, they have a negative point differential and even with that win them and Wyndham both have a negative point differential at 4:00 and 5:00.

28:49

That's right, I got.Some which is not ideal.Yeah, yeah.So, yeah.And I think with Dearing, they gave up.They gave up so much.They gave up a lot of points to Portland.They give a lot of points to Edward Little too this season.

29:05

So it's kind of it's really kind of hard to know what that what kind of what they are actually.I mean, it's like like, I think all three of those teams, Oxford Hills, Deering and Windham, it's like any, any one of those teams might miss the playoffs.And you it's hard to tell who's going to get the third seed.

29:22

I mean Oxford still Hills still has a chance at the second seed 2.Yeah, they can get to 2.Yeah.And I'll mention that Andrew Hart on his Facebook has all these scenarios, and it's a really, really, really long, oh, really post.Yeah.

29:37

And it's all like, if this team beats this team and this team wins and this team loses, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.And then they can get up to here, but or they could fall down to here.And it's just, it's dizzying the amount of information there.Oh yeah, you just.You look at it and you go, yeah, OK, All right.

29:53

So we've got a chance.You're telling me we've got a chance?Yeah, well, he's doing the Lord's work for all of us to do that.Yeah, I'm like, I don't want to figure this out.I figured this out for basketball and it's it's enough for that.Yeah.And then, yeah.And then there's like all these other sports that we have to do it for too.

30:11

Yeah.Like so I don't have time for that, but yeah.So I think, yeah, Class 8 N is kind of a kind of a kind of a mess.It is.It is all right.In a strange way.

30:27

Speaking of messes, let's go to B South.Yeah, yeah, I love.That, because holy crap.Yeah.You've got Westbrook at six and one, Cannabunk at 6:00 and 1:00, then Falmouth and Marshwood at 4:00 and 3:00, and then Shevers is four and three and they're fifth.

30:44

Yeah.And then you've got Gorham and Biddeford.And Yikes, Falmouth and Chevres play this week and so one of those he was going to be 4 and 4.Which is crazy.Yeah.Yeah, I saw Falmouth this week and they looked awesome.Did they?

31:00

Yeah, they looked really good.Against who was it?Freiburg?Freiburg, OK.Freiburg had something like, according to Jared Richmond from WHOU, had something like 46 yards in the game.Really.Oh wow.Yeah, their defense was just everywhere.

31:16

OK.And they were pretty much getting whatever they wanted on offense.And I think they've had a few games like that, Yeah, season.They're very in, They're very banged up.I know that they're missing like 7 starters to injury.Oh, OK.

31:32

So that's probably why, OK.Because I think they've they haven't been a disappointment so much, but they've been, they've been kind of they've been losing the the big games against those.They actually beat Westbrook pretty good.They lost.They lost to Kennebunk.They lost to Marshwood, who was the third loss to.

31:49

Greeley.Greeley Oh yeah, yeah.And nobody would be.Greeley So that's three quality losses.Yeah.That are close games.So they're one of the teams like it's hard to know exactly what they are, so it's weird thinking that they could be going to 500 this week if they don't win.And the model's really high on them.

32:07

The computer loves them.Oh really?They're top five.They've been top five the entire year, even when they were like 1 and 2 or whatever.OK, yeah, I I've been very having them too.My yeah, when I've been voting them like I haven't, there's been a few times I've taken them out of our top ten, but like they've had some tough losses, but like to good teams to really good teams.

32:29

Yeah.And part of it is that the the computer factors in last year.It starts with last year as a starting point because otherwise you can't make any predictions for week 1.Oh, OK.You know, you got to have something.You got to have something to go with and it's like, OK, yeah, you're they're losing these games, but they're close games to good teams, so OK.

32:50

Yeah.And I think, yeah, they haven't lost anybody that they should have beaten so far.And yeah, I think they held, they held Westbrook to I think less than 10 points.I think just a touchdown.It was, I think it was 14 to 10.

33:07

Or Westbrook.No, Westbrook.Yeah, I'm thinking of Counterbunk.Sorry.Yeah.Yeah, Westbrook was really close.And so and yeah.And then so, yeah, Falmouth is like the one I'm always watching.Like, what are they going to do?And they've, yeah, they've given up 99 points this year is all then.

33:24

But Westbrook is like the story of the year.Yeah.Because that's how how?High.Were you on them at the beginning of the year?Like how on your radar?Like they weren't even on my radar.Like I, I, I didn't really pay attention to them coming into this.

33:40

It was like Falmouth and Kennamonk Marshwood.And I heard people talk about chevrus.But yeah, Westbrook is like, and I like Westbrook.The first football game I ever covered in Maine was Westbrook at Levitt.

33:58

And Westbrook won.I think it was like Levitt's only losing season since I've been in Maine.Yeah, yeah, I was.Like all over the Yeah, I was like, we entered the sidelines covered so, but yeah.I'm joking because I've heard from the Levitt coaches and they're think the whole thing is hilarious.

34:16

Oh, really?Oh, OK.Yeah, yeah, no, it yeah.Like, I mean, they do have a lot of coaches on that sideline.But it's a lot of coaches.But yeah, no problems there.But yeah, they, they and also like their nickname is the Blue Blazes.So I'm always like, I don't know what.That's a cool nickname.Yeah, it's just.

34:31

Different.I also don't know what that means, but it's cool.But so and I yeah, so I'm always like, those are the teams I like, see, see, do well, the ones that don't do it very well.And then they have weird nicknames.So but they weren't on my radar at all.And they just keep, I mean, they beat, they started the season by beating or they want the ones that beat Wells right off the bat.

34:50

Or is that Herman?That was Herman.Herman had Wells and Foxcroft the first two weeks.That's right.Who did Westbrook beat in the first game?Do you remember?I can bring it up.Let me see very professional podcasting here.

35:12

Yeah.Football.Well, I asked you so I wouldn't have to do it.Yeah, perfect.They beat Marshwood 27 to 16.That's right.And then they lost a film with 26 to 7.And everyone went, I remember I was at another game, and that game was, I guess they went up maybe 7, nothing.

35:29

And that came across Twitter and everyone's like, Oh my gosh.And then the final came in and everyone went OK, all right.Yeah, it made sense.Like.Oh yeah, and they haven't lost sense.Yeah.And so that was like, yeah, 25 to 7, they lost to Falmouth.So I was like, oh, you know, it's just maybe Marshall isn't very good or whatever, but like.

35:48

And then they beat Biddeford, Edward Little in Poland and all of those.You go, OK.And then I think the eye opener was when they shut out Kennebunk.Yeah. 2020, nothing.And everyone.That's where I think everyone sort of sat up and went, OK, this might be for real.Yeah.And then they then they follow that up with like a win over Chevris, which is, you know, I mean, poor Chevris has had like a bunch of close, close games.

36:11

I think Kennebunk went down to the wire.They've had they lost to Kennebunk by one, they lost to Marshwood by one.Yeah, and they lost to Westbrook by 6.Yeah.And so, yeah, they've had a lot of close games.But yeah, just the the way that Westbrook has, I did it.

36:28

Oh, I touched my, I touched my computer.I'll bring it back while we're talking.But yeah, just, I mean, Westbrook, all right, the way they've just keep winning, it's it's pretty impressive.I keep waiting for them to come back-to-back to Earth.

36:45

Yeah, I almost wonder if they're this year's Falmouth, in a sense.Yeah.Oh, that's a good point.Yeah, that's really good because Falmouth wasn't, you know, expected to do.On anyone's radar at all, yeah.I think, I think BL Lippert knew they'd be good because he saw how like, how much talent they had.

37:02

But like, yeah, and I think Westbrook's the same way.And like Gio Staples and yeah, could.Yeah, I'm, yeah.You had to with Falmouth last year.I think you had to either like, have seen them in the preseason or like knew Spencer Emerson and be enough to be like, this guy's the real deal.

37:19

Yeah, yeah.And it's yeah.And like he's, and he, I mean, I've, I've said this before, like we had an article about his brother, Jared Turcotte, one of the best football players that Maine's ever had.And like, we had a story about him and he it was basically like he was born to play football.

37:37

And so about Spencer, I say like, well, he was born to coach football because I mean, he went to Poland and for it was only a couple years, but just like immediately elevated that program.Then he went to college, a few a few college stops.And then Falmouth just took them from like, you know, they might have been the best team in the state last year and undefeated.

37:59

And yeah, he just knows what he's doing.And I've stood on his sideline of two or three Times Now and you can just tell he's the command he has of that sideline.And like he's coaching like small stuff mid game, like turning around, taking the headset off, talking to a guy about a small thing.

38:21

Like, see, This is why we don't get a penalty here, blah, blah, blah, blah.And you're like, OK, there's, there's like a real attention to detail.There.That's very impressive.And then he has the personality to relate to the kids.And yeah, just, yeah, he he does a great job.

38:38

Like it.I was surprised that Falmouth did as well as they did last year.But like, I wasn't surprised, Like Spencer, like quickly made an impact on that, that program.Sure, sure, sure.

38:54

All right, so let's move over to the north where it's, I mean, this is all Kony.Kony's been incredible.Yeah, yeah.And I don't think it's I'm, yeah, that's, it's not even like a question.They're, they're probably, I mean, I, I would be shocked if they don't win, if they don't play for a state championship.

39:15

Win the region or win the whole?Thing win the region and play for a state championship, OK, They just have been and it's cool because they kind of, I think they they had a difficult season last year.It wasn't what they hoped it would be.And I and Mike Mandel from the Morning Sentinel Rose story before the season about how they weren't as tough as they wanted to be.

39:36

And then also, but also like even their offense wasn't what it was, what they were expecting.It wasn't, you know, as high-powered as it was supposed to be with Parker Moran coming back.But then this year, like, everything's been good.Like Parker Moran's been just like seems like almost 300 yards every game, 4 touchdowns in the game.

39:57

The offensive line is being great.Blocking the defense has done well.Is he Jameer Rosed now for the for the standout players?Oh yeah, he.Definitely on the left he, I mean he's still, I think he still has been honored like 3 times.But like, yeah, he's had to really earn it to get there.

40:17

I remember talking to Mandel in the preseason, I think at Coney League, and I think it was at Coney League, and he said that they were a little more dialed in, yeah, than they had been in the previous year.I think that's who told me that.And so I wasn't shocked when they started hot.

40:34

Yeah, let's say.But it's just been like dominating week after week.Like I don't know if have they even had like AI Don't think they've.Had I don't think they've been tested.Yeah.And I it's anyway, it is kind of a strange region because Lawrence has had some weird losses and then Mesolotsky's been, they've been kind of up and down.

41:04

Kony's won close game 39 to 34 at Oxford Hills.Oh yeah, that's right, that's right.And Oxford Hills had to come back.Yeah, they were down, but it was like like 3 touchdown lead.But otherwise, they haven't really been test.

41:21

I mean, yeah, it's in like Freiburg is not like they were, they were like four and oh, and I think they've lost three in a row or three of the last four.They've kind of struggled and it's yeah, it's just been all Coney and it's I just don't see it not being all Coney unless Freiburg is missing some players or something and they can like come back and compete.

41:41

Or I mean, also, like, you can't really count Lauren Lawrence out just because, you know?Because it's Lawrence.Yeah, their program and their coach and everything, but I would say, yeah, Kony's just they they seem like they have that one locked down.And then they have Gardner in that rivalry game.

41:58

Yeah, this week, which will be.There will be a lot of people there, I think.Yeah, and it's. 7 and O and 6:00 and 1:00.Yep, and this is the Mike Mandel has a couple stories about this, but this is the the best records they've ever had in there.This is it's the longest rivalry in the state.

42:16

Oh, really?OK.And this is the best combined records the teams have ever had in the rivalry.Oh, and that's.Oh yeah, so 140 games, all of Augusta and all of Gardner will be there, is what you're saying?Yeah, yeah, it's, it's huge.Yeah.It's the one of the biggest games.

42:32

And I think I, I mean, I'm interested to see how Gardner does because they they are what's 6 in one.Six and one, with the one loss being to Levitt.And they got just like crowded by smoked.

42:50

Yeah.And so, so, so the yeah.I mean, when we get to Class C, it's like there's a lot of teams in Class C where you don't really know what to expect from.Them Let's go to Class C Yeah, but this is everybody's favorite class.Yeah, and it's really fun.It's like it's just chaos.

43:06

I mean, Greeley keeps beating everybody and they, I mean, they finish, I think they finished the season with their two easiest opponents, which is Oceanside and Hampton.And, and so they're, I mean, they're going to win the region.And what a great shift from 8 man football to 11 man.

43:27

That's incredible.I I mean, I didn't expect it because they lost some players last year, some key players, which isn't, I mean, and everybody does, but when you're going from 8:00 man, losing a couple players to 11 man, so you're already like you're kind of already starting down three players.

43:43

Would he do that?I mean, you're in eight man for a reason.Yeah.And and then, yeah, I mean it just that they were they used eight man to build their program and they didn't, they didn't just build to win A state championship.They've built it to go beyond that.Luke Piper is only a junior.

43:59

He's he's a great corner.He's awesome, I've seen him twice and he's been really good in both games.Yeah, and, and then Noah Allen, great running back and they've had kind of a, they've had an interesting season, though, because every, almost every game has been close.

44:17

They they were, I think they had a pretty big lead on Levitt, but then Levitt came back and Greeley won by two points.That was an incredible game.Yeah, and then the same thing with Falmouth.They had a big lead and then Falmouth came back in the fourth quarter on them, I believe went to overtime, but Greeley won.

44:36

Yeah, the Foxcroft Green I, I've started watching that and it was close until late in the third quarter and then Greeley scored a couple quick touchdowns.The Wells game was tied at 14 at one.No, they were down 14, seven I think.Yeah, yeah.And so they've, they've played a lot of close games, which is could that be concerning or the fact that they've won it, could that also show that they've, you know.

45:00

The the son of a coach in me likes that a lot that they've been down in games and they've had, you know, their backs against the walls a couple of times and always come out with a win.Like my father would always say, I never want to take a team into the tournament that's undefeated because, you know, you get a little full of yourself.

45:23

And so if I had to pick between Greeley's situation and say, Bonnie Eagle's situation, I would rather have Greeley's situation because I've been down in games and I've had to come back and do stuff like that.And you kind of know what's wrong with your team when you're blowing everybody out.You can kind of say like, oh, well, I think that we, you know, don't play out your good man to man defense or whatever man defense.

45:46

But like, do you really?Believe that proved us.Wrong.Believe that.That's the big thing.Do your players believe that?Yeah.And so, but I think but the thing with Greeley, though, is that they've also put themselves in those situations where they had big leads and and lost them.

46:03

But I mean, they're pretty loaded.I mean, yeah, Noah, Noah, Allen, Luke Piper, Ben Kyles, the two Justice kids, Sean and Jackson, I think.But yeah, they're just like they're going to be tough to beat, yeah.

46:21

And did you, did you see the the heartwarming thing with their manager?Yes, where he scored the touchdown.Yes, that was pretty.Cool.That was very cool.That was very cool.Yeah, and they.Did they keep the touchdown on the scoreboard or did they take it off the scoreboard?It was.It was, I think it was like before the game technically.

46:39

Oh, OK.And then they started playing after that.But yeah, yeah, that was kind of.Imagine it'd be hard to agree to that.Be like no no, we'll spot you 7 points.Yeah, yeah.Especially, especially Hampton.Not like basketball.We're like, yeah, two points short.Why not?Yeah.And Hampton's like, yeah, are we even going to score points?

46:56

We're not going to.We're not going to give you any, you know.Yeah.We might be drawing Dead 7 Nothing.And so, but it was, yeah, it was kind of a cool moment that they did that.Yeah.And I was, I, I was watching the stream afterwards because it was like it started at 8:00 that game, dude.

47:12

So I just had it going in the background while I was working.I looked over and they were like doing the handshake line.And I think it was him who was like leading them through the handshake line and just like he was just like fired up like after the.Game.That's so cool, yeah.And yeah, really, really excited about it.All right, so the rest of C, which is a mess.

47:29

So top six get a buy.Yeah, which you always want the buy if you can get a buy.Herman's been awesome, too.This year, they've only given up 64 points.They're 7.And OI feel like they're the team in C that no one's talking about because they're sort of over here.Yeah, up by up, you know, geographically.

47:47

Yeah, but they're coming.They're coming here to Turner like this, you know, on.Friday.So I'm.Trying to figure out which game to go to and that's on the short.List, yeah.And I think that's that's a pretty big game for both teams.But like Herman, they be They started off by beating Wells in in Foxcroft, and this might be their first big test since then.

48:11

They had.They didn't agree this year.Yeah, they had Oceanside, Hamden, Skowhegan, Brewer, Nokomis.So yeah, they haven't really been tested since since Week 2.Yeah, and Nokomis did play them kind of close last week, 27 to 20.

48:29

Nikomis is a team I can't get a read on.Yeah, but so.But Herman.Yeah.So it's like this could be.And this might be Herman's biggest test of the season, coming to Turner to play Levitt.And Levitt looks really good.Levitt's been a.

48:45

Lot great against Gardner.Yeah.And they, yeah, they've just been, I mean, they have a young team and they have a sophomore quarterback, but they really have seemed to find a bunch of weapons like obviously Marshall Henderson.

49:01

No, not Marshall Henderson.Randon Hutchinson.No.Mason Henderson.Mason Henderson.And he got hurt last year, but like, he was kind of their big play guy.Like they relayed a lot, I mean, on him last year.But this year they haven't had to rely on him as much because of Randon, Randon Hutchinson and the Poland kids made some plays.

49:23

Nick Mellon, yeah.So they they're coming along and they, I mean, they're going to be a tough team to play in the playoffs, but I still don't know what to expect out of them yet.I've seen them three times and they were better in each of the games.

49:42

OK, so I would.I'm pretty high on them.OK, yeah.So yeah, I'm interested to see like, what happens on Friday.That's like how good is Herman?I mean, and they won, they won class CN last year.

49:57

So they know.I mean they.They're a known entity.Yeah, this isn't like a new situation for them, but yeah, but coming to love it, that's not, I mean, that's not a easy place to play.And I mean, Mike Hathaway always puts his players in the best position to win games.

50:15

So I mean, yeah, I'm really excited about that one because I don't it's hard.It's hard to know exactly what those two teams are, but then there's also like, behind them, it's like Gardner, Howard.Are they Wells?I mean, Wells beat Levitt.And it sounds like.

50:31

Yeah.So Wells, I mean Wells is always tough and you can't count them out.They've had a weird season too, where they've bet a lot of close games.Yeah, and they've won some and they've lost some and, and, and they're also like they're moving up from Class D where they dominated to, you know, compete, having to compete every week, not just, you know, that one week and the.

50:54

But what's interesting is that they were in D and dominating, but they were also beating the crap out of any Class C team they played while they were in D, they would come up to C and they would just not blow someone out.And then someone and you'd get the whole thing like, well, I'm glad they're in D.Yeah.But I think the deal, I think Class C hasn't been that good the last few years.

51:15

There's like the top teams I remember, like even like Winthrop and all those Class DS teams, they'd play like Class C North and South teams and just destroy them.I mean, they weren't playing Levitt, they weren't playing Levitt, they weren't playing Herman, but like they were playing some of those other teams.

51:30

And just like, yeah, just.Because Levitt was playing Thornton Academy.Yeah, Yeah, exactly.And so I think but but Class C is like this year it's, I mean, Greeley is good.The the new teams they added have been really made Class C pretty good.

51:47

Greeley, Foxcroft, Wells, Gardner dropped down, right?They were.They were B last year, right?Gardner was B It reminds me of in basketball when a N had Hamden and Madomic in it and Oceanside and it was just like an absolutely loaded region, yeah, where you're like a good team is not making the playoffs.

52:08

Yeah, yeah.Which is fun.I mean, obvious, that's way more fun.And so, Oh yeah, it's really hard to.It's really, I mean, I could see any of the, I mean, there's like 5 teams that I could see winning that region.I still think, I mean, Greeley's pretty loaded and they've proven it.

52:25

So I think they're they'd be my favorite right now.But let's see what Herman?'S and So what we also have here is a battle for the final.It looks like the final by is Nakomis Foxcroft and Madomic in the running for that.

52:41

And Nakomis is playing Madomic this week, which might swing that.And Madomic is a different team.They've been the last, like for the rest of the season, 'cause they got their best player back, right?So Jayden Ruiz missed the first three games of the season with he had like a ton of stitches in his hand and then came back for Gardner and Levitt, which they got blown out of both of those games.

53:05

But what sort of game shape are you in?And then he had five touchdowns last two weeks ago and six touchdowns and like 300 yards and LED them in tackles this week against Oceanside, who's not very good.

53:21

But yeah, 6 touchdowns and six touchdowns.Yeah, he's making up for the last time He's, Yeah, getting getting his stats in.Yeah.So I mean, that's, and that could definitely be.I don't know who Foxcroft is playing this week, but yeah, Madonna could jump all the way up to #6.

53:37

They could jump to 6.With a with a.Win.That's the one thing, one thing at being a madomic guy.That's one thing I remember from Andrew Hart's long summary.As I Scroll down to there, I'm like, can we still get to 6?I need to know if we can still get to 6.And we can.

53:53

Foxcroft finishes with Brewer.OK.So they should they they, they'll probably move up well.Well, it's the question of if they beat Brewer, but Brewer is 2 and 5.And then I think it's probably going to be like Heels.

54:10

I think it's going to come down to what everybody else does.OK.And your help points, you know like.Yeah.You can get like if Levitt, like Levitt played madomic and not Nokomis.So if Levitt wins, that helps madomic.

54:25

If Levitt loses, that helps Nokomis.OK, That sort of thing.OK.And then you've got Old Town and York and maybe Brewer fighting for that last spot and there's no like an Oceanside get that 10th spot.

54:44

They're pretty close.They might.They would have to win, I think.Yeah, they'd have to be Greeley.I mean, if they'd be Greeley, yeah, they probably, they probably can, but.They deserve it.Yeah, so how far can Levitt fall if they lose?That I didn't check, but just looking at it I don't think they could fall to 6.

55:05

OK.Maybe if maybe if Nokomis won and got help they could drop to 6.I don't they're not dropping to 7th.No, it seems like.They I don't think.No, but it seems like Wells Foxcroft could maybe jump ahead of them.

55:24

Maybe.Herman's probably locked into #2 well, if if Gardner wins, but.If Gardner loses, they're locked.I would think they'd be locked into two.Geez.They're only in the Crabtree Classic they're tied, and in the weekly they're up by two.

55:42

And they're only two behind Greeley in the Crabtree Classic.So I mean in theory maybe Herman can get to 1.Yeah.It's gonna be a mess, I.Didn't even think about that.Yeah, so and.Yeah, I love this region.This is region is so much fun.It's like you just have no idea what's gonna how this is all gonna play.

56:01

Out I love I love the chaos it's yeah, I mean it would if you were like a fan of the team I I can see why it'd be stressful, but as somebody just.It's really stressful.Yeah, as a casual observer, not so casual observer.I'm like, yes, let's yeah, let's get crazy.

56:19

Let's go nuts, yeah?Do you think the other classes should do this?Because it seems to be a hit.I've heard no complaints.Yeah, I don't know.I kind of, I kind of didn't like it when Class A did it, but I wish they were doing it this year just because then we could have Thornton and Bonnie Eagle in this, you know, we'd have that potential.

56:40

In the state game, yeah.But but then there's there's me like underestimating Portland, I guess.But I don't know, it's it's kind of cool to have a region champion too.Yeah.But I guess I don't have strong feelings about it.

56:58

I I didn't really like it when Class D did it either.It just I don't know.I mean, you could always, if you wanted to have region champions and you wanted to have a one class system, you could once you see that, see the bracket, you could say this half is this region and this side of the bracket is this region.

57:16

And then if you win that, if you get to the state game, you've won your region well.They kind of do that in, I think, hockey.OK, yeah, I know nothing about hockey.And I think one of the spring sports might do it too, maybe maybe lacrosse.

57:34

And they have.So they call it like, so when you make it to the state semifinals, they call it like a division champion, OK, And I'm fine with that.I think it's cool.But like a lot of people in the media don't like that.And so but I'm like, I think it's cool.

57:50

I think it's like, why not?I mean, it's a chance to hang a banner, right?Yeah, and I think they, I think they earned it.And I mean, if you make the state championship game, like I think you deserve some kind of a banner, you should call it something.And if you get a plaque for that, I'm totally cool.I I think it's fine.

58:05

I don't think anybody in 20 years is going to be like, well, that wasn't a real thing we accomplished because we only got to the state championship game.Yeah.And whatever you can be like, we played in the state championship game.That's that's cool.Yeah.And just saying like, it just makes it easier to say like, we were state champ, we were regional champions, instead of like we won, we made it to the state championship game.

58:28

Yeah, and then you can very quickly pivot to and here's why we got screwed in the state championship game and why we should have won the whole thing.Yeah, but all three Raspberry graduates of the other school and.Yeah, so.Yeah.Completely biased.

58:44

Yeah.Terrible call.Yeah, and, and, and it rained that day and we never played on a grass field.Whatever.Yeah, but.Freezing rain.We were all sick and someone stubbed his toe.Yeah, our quarterback was yeah, whatever.

59:02

He was the coach's son and they.Yeah, he shouldn't have been playing.Yeah, I should have been playing.I should have been the quarterback.Yeah, let me tell you, he's trying.To get him a scholarship or whatever.But yeah, so yeah, I don't, I don't have strong feelings about it.I kind of like the regions, but I mean there's class CS has been so and class even class CN has been kind of weak because Levitt was they struggled last year and they lost their best player like early in the season and they still made it to the regional final.

59:34

Yeah, that's your bad year for Levitt is regional final.Yeah, which and they and which is like still like kind of show that they they were, they stuck with it and they showed some improvement over the season.They got over some bad losses and you know, but it was it wasn't like a normal Levitt team.

59:50

And so it's kind of nice to have, you know, we don't have that this year.So I mean, I don't have that stronger feelings really about it.I think it, I mean this year in Class C, it's made the region very cool because otherwise I don't know how they would break it up, but you'd have probably have Gardner in the north and be a Gardner in.

1:00:12

Herman.Herman and Nicomas and Foxcroft, I guess, which wouldn't be that bad.But you'd have Greeley and Levitt in the South, yeah?With Wells and Wells and you know, and maybe Gardner actually would be N would be South in this situation, but.This would be the year.

1:00:28

It would be kind of balanced.Yeah, but.Ironically.Yeah.So I think, I think it's, yeah.I don't have strong feelings about it really.All right, let's go to D.Yeah.Where this looks like a collision course and has kind of looked like a collision course all year from of Winthrop and BAPS.

1:00:50

Yeah, yeah.I'd say Class D is like the most boring classification of all of them.But so Winthrop, I think that there there's just no chance like they're not going to win that region and good for them because they are like the model of consistency.

1:01:10

They're always like one of the best teams in Class DS.But I think they've only made it to 1 state championship since I've been here for 9:00.I've been here for 9.Yeah.And they lost to Foxcroft.I think it was during during one of the Class D years when it was like a statewide class.

1:01:30

I'm pretty sure that's correct because like Lisbon, like just came out of nowhere in like 2019, I think was it 22?They did that as well and when they won the region, they went to the state championship game.Who else has done it?

1:01:47

Well, they've had to deal with Wells.Then they had to deal with Wells all those other years.And so, yeah, I mean, it's kind of like they finally, they kind of finally have like an easy path to the state.How happy are they that Wells is in C?Yeah, I think they're pretty stoked, but I think they also, they were getting kind of kind of close.

1:02:09

Oh yeah, they almost, they almost beat him.Yeah, like 2 years ago, right?Yeah, and.Last year, maybe it.Might have been last year and I think nobody was really no, it wasn't last year.I think they got beat pretty good last year.But yeah, nobody in Class D was able to really even compete with them.

1:02:27

And so they, I mean, and I, you know, they were coming, they were getting towards it, but you know, Dirgo looked like they were going to be a challenger and then they lost their best player.And I think some people, probably maybe even the best player in Class D, they lost him.

1:02:44

And so, but they still want, I mean, they, they keep winning, but you know, they're going to, I don't think they're going to beat Winthrop.Who's only given up 39 points this year?Yeah, and they just have nuts really been, I don't think they've been tested at all.

1:03:03

I don't think even close.And like Poland, like yeah, Poland was, is good, but Winthrop took care of them and.Winthrop's closest game was 13 to 7 at Mount Blue.

1:03:22

Oh yeah, that was last week.Yeah, Yep.And Mount, Mount Blue is a sneaky good defensive team.They've had some low scoring, they haven't scored a lot of points.They had some low scoring and that's also a Class B school.But then over in DN, Babst and Winslow.

1:03:41

I mean, I know Babst already beat Winslow, but.Handily.Yeah, which was kind of surprised, but Winslow runs the ball like they averaged like 400 yards, more than 400 yards because they had yeah, they went into the last week averaging four O 5 and they ran for like 380 in the first half or something like that.

1:04:01

They did play a close game against Oak Hill this week last week.Who did?Baps.Oh yeah, that's right.And I think it, yeah, it was like a one point game, right?Yeah, unlike I think it was a Saturday night game.Yeah, and I I think they might have, I think they might have even been like some late game heroics needed for that one.

1:04:21

I might be.Thinking of a different game, so I think so.I know some people were going.I was at the Dexter game for the T-Mobile thing and some people were talking about going over there afterwards.Yeah.And so, yeah.And so I think I'm actually looking forward, the thing I'm looking forward to the most in Class D right now is the DN final between Babst and Winslow, assuming that both teams make it.

1:04:45

But I think it's pretty.Yeah, it's got to be.It's going to be unless Madison, unless last week wasn't what Madison really is.I think it's going to be those two teams and it's going to be Winslow and Babst, which could be a fun game.

1:05:03

All right, let's go to 8 man.Yeah, this one's cool.Yeah, it's which I'm assuming you mean 8 man South.Oh.Jeez, I can't believe I just did that.Yes, I did.All right, so I temporarily lost Lee all.

1:05:19

Right, sorry about that.Bring him back.All right?He's back.OK, Spruce Mountain is in first place at 5:00 and 1:00, then Mount Ararat at six and one, Yarmouth at six and one, Lake Region at 4 and 3G and G at three and four.And one of those teams isn't making.

1:05:35

The house and it might be Lake Region, Is it Camden Hills?They could play Camden Hills and I believe Green Gloucester plays Waterville.So I mean, they would have they're probably going to finish with the same record, but Lake Region did beat Gray New Veloster last week, but.

1:06:02

Which is a tiebreaker.And but great.I don't know, Gray.Gray beat Camden Hills a couple weeks ago and I was Camden missing somebody.So, so the short version of what happened there is Camden, if you remember last year had all sorts of injuries in the playoffs and got bounced and they sort of looked at the standings and went, we don't really need to win this game and sat a bunch of people and they went deep into the bench and kept everybody's minutes down and GNG.

1:06:36

Took advantage, yeah, that's I mean, that's still like a pretty big win for great New Gloucester.We.We.Would be would be a big.Deal we went.We went back after that win and we looked at the history because great New Gloucester's football history only goes back like 20 years.

1:06:53

And I think that they have now thirty wins in program history.Maybe it's 31 and like 15 of those are since I switched to 8 man football.Yeah.

1:07:10

So it was it was a huge win for them.And I will Kramlich, our former Co worker, he went to he was on the first great New Gloucester football team.And so I was like texting him after that, I'm like that's is that is that the biggest win in in creating Gloucester football history?He's like, it's one of them.

1:07:25

I'm like, no, I need I need you to confirm this.I need a hard confirmation, but he wouldn't do it.But.Maybe a quote?Yeah.Would be good, but it was I mean, it was no matter what it was, it was definitely one of their biggest ones because they beat a team with a really good record and and so good for them and they have a lot of weapons this year and I don't I don't know.

1:07:46

I don't know.I mean, they lost by a lot to Spruce Mountain.They I think Yarmouth beat them by a lot.Lake region beat them by a lot.So I think they're going to be they probably will be the odd person, the odd team out, but they do have that win over Camden Hills.That's going to boost their but it looks like they're yeah, trailing great new lake region by a lot in the Crabtree Classic.

1:08:12

But any but the anyways, those those other three teams, who knows?Because Spruce.So they beat Stearns last week, 28 to 24.That was a big game and.They played Dexter this.Week and they played Dexter this week and Yarmouth dropped 70 on water.

1:08:31

Ball and Yarmouth is really good.I think they lost to Mount era era early in the season pretty by a lot, like well, three touchdowns.But they've been really good since and they were, they're down by a couple touchdowns to Spruce Mountain in the first half and then they just dominated the second-half.

1:08:51

And it was I was watching a lot of that game and they were just really impressive.Their quarterback, Iggy McGrath, just like in control, he always throws like 5 or 6 touchdown passes.They've got some some good runners, some good receivers, some good, I think a good receiver out of the backfield who catches a lot of the touchdown passes.

1:09:09

Like they're a good team and they I think I kind of think they might win.But then again, Spruce Mountain is loaded with like every year, like Spruce Mountain seems to have like one or two, just like super talented players.

1:09:26

And they've got like three of them this year.And it's 8 MEC football.Their quarterback, Dylan Jewett.Jewett.Who is a basketball player and.Then Austin Armande, I think also a basketball player and Owen Kelvey and they might actually be another one that I'm forgetting.

1:09:45

Oh, then like Levi Richards, Levi Richards.Anyway, Levi the receiver is they've had some big plays there too.Him and Jewett, they're kind of loaded.I, I don't know, I, I mean Mount Ararat, it's hard to say with them, but they, you know, they lost to Camden Hills, but.

1:10:05

I was at that game.Yeah, we're up at the half and Camden pulled away in the second-half.But I mean, it was a.Close game and so I think Ararat's pretty good this year, so I'm interested to see how that one's going to play out, those three teams at the top.

1:10:22

And is Lake Region going to make a, you know.People are some people.Ryan McLaughlin is high on Lake Region, so yeah, I mean, they're four and three.They lost three in a row, which whenever A-Team loses three in a row, you think maybe someone was hurt.

1:10:43

But one of those was 60 to 54 at OOB.Oh, that's right, That was the third game.Was that the third loss of the three?That was the third loss.So they really lost like two in a row because like playing OOB that close.

1:10:58

OOB doesn't count I.Mean that's, I guess that's a loss, but like, yeah, that's a good loss.Yeah, that's not a bad game at all.That just shows how good they are really.Well, they lose to.They lost to Yarmouth, right?They lost to Yarmouth and Mount Ararat.

1:11:15

Yeah, they lost.Yarmouth was they lost by 14 and Mount Ararat they lost 58 to 22.Yeah, so those, Yeah, so they what was the score of the Mount Ararat game?

1:11:35

Mount Ararat was there at Lake Region 58 to 22.Yeah, they kind of dominated them.So yeah, it seems like maybe Lake Region might be below those teams, but I.Don't know, but not by a lot I don't think.And they they have some good players, too.Yeah, I mean enough where I would think, you know, they could pull off an upset.

1:11:54

Yeah.Oh, for sure.Yeah.I think Jaden Meehan is one of them, and Cody is on the team as well.Something Cody, But yeah, that's going to be a fun one.I think the north is probably Camden Hills I.Think that's going to be Camden, Yeah.They've, I mean, they've beaten everybody except for.

1:12:15

That one, that one game, yeah.And I mean, the rest of the games haven't really been very close.Yeah.So I think, yeah, that's probably going to be them because none of those other teams really stand out.MDI Holton.I saw Holton this week and they won their best game, but that was a weird game to try to play and so that T-Mobile game.

1:12:40

Oh yeah.Was insane, like more magenta than you've ever seen in your life.Oh great.And more, more than you will ever see in your life, I think.And I think, I think Dexter just came out super hyped.And that's a long bus ride to walk into a situation like that and then try to get hyped up for a game.

1:13:02

Yeah.So I don't know how much you can say about Holton based on that game.OK, yeah, that'd be that's a tough situation and and I guess that's what Spruce Mountain's walking into as well this week.Yeah.Well, I don't think it'll be as Magenta Y because that was the one that T-Mobile hosted.

1:13:21

Where?Where they were like blaring music and playing cornhole and handing out the $25,000 check.That's right, 'cause they sponsored the, they sponsored the homecoming.That's right.So it was just sheer chaos.Yeah, OK, OK, cool.

1:13:37

Well, still, I mean, that's, that's a tough game for Spruce.It's tough for spruce, yeah, but it could be a let down game for Dexter.Yeah, yeah.And I and Spruce is really good.I mean, they've, they did lose that one game to Yarmouth, but they they were leading for the first half.

1:13:53

It was just the second-half where they couldn't, they couldn't quite they made a mistake.So they couldn't quite convert on 4th down and Yarmouth could.So yeah, it looks like that's going to be a dogfight on one side, and Camden probably will be there waiting for the winner.

1:14:10

Yeah, Yep, which will be fun.Yeah, All right, let's go to the South.Where?Or the eight man small in the South?Oh, it's all OOB.This is their region.Like they just dominated this region for so long.And then you've got Telstar, Sycopy Valley and Booth Bay.

1:14:27

Looks like Booth Bay's gonna end up with the four, and for the second year in a row, they'll get to drive down to OOB.Yeah, which is like, yeah, congratulations, yeah.It's too cold to go to the beach afterwards.

1:14:45

Yeah, yeah, OOBS is so good.Yeah, they should.They they could probably move up to.To the large.School.And I yeah, I wouldn't imagine compete.I would imagine they could.Compete better at least.But yeah, I tell, I mean, Telstar is like they're four and two and so good for them, that's all.

1:15:07

I mean that's they're one of the teams that like needs, they need to have play 8 men football and they probably always, always will.Telstar.Yeah, they were every year it was kind of like are they going to be able to have even start the season?

1:15:23

Will they be able to finish it?You know some of those other schools they could survive their football program could survive if they IF8 men football went away.But Telstar is probably not one of those.I think Booth base another one like.That.So it's always, I mean, they might not ever be able to be up there with old Old Orchard Beach, but yeah, I mean, 4 and 2 is pretty impressive by them.

1:15:48

And they had an 86 to nothing game this year so.Yeah, yeah.And it was Mountain View but like, I don't know I mean.Still, it's 86 points.It was like, how do you get that many possessions?Yeah, you just keep you.Know.

1:16:04

Probably a lot of turnovers and.A lot of yeah, fumble kickoffs.Yeah.So that, yeah.And but on the other side, I guess it seems like it's Stearns, but.And Stearns played OOB close for 1/2.

1:16:20

Yeah.And this is the region where, though only let me double check this, only two teams have a positive point differential, Dexter in 3rd place and Stearns in second.In first place and 2nd place, Orno has a negative point differential.

1:16:39

Oh wow, by a lot.At 5:00 and 2:00, which that's really hard to do.Yeah, they, they probably played at OOB, didn't they?I.Think so?That's one way to do it.Yeah.Is you get blown out by OOB?

1:16:54

And maybe they got blown out by Stearns as well.So yeah, it seems like Stearns kind of has that one locked down, unless Dexter has something.Orno lost 60 to 18 to Old Orchard Beach and 60 to 22 to Stearns.

1:17:12

And then that was the first two games of the year.So have fun, kids.First games and then they've been fun.Digging, digging out of that hole.They beat Dexter 46 to 40.That's that was probably a lot of fun.And they just beat Washington Academy last week 28 to 21.

1:17:31

These games have all been kind of close other than the other than the first two.Holton was 50 to 44, Trape was 42 to 26, MDI 34 to 22.So they've been in all these games.Yeah, Yep.

1:17:48

And that's so.But yeah, it seems like at Stearns, Stearns and OB again, and that might be the most that actually might be more boring than Class D.It might be.

1:18:04

As far as it seems kind of set there in Class D, you at least have Babson Winslow.Yeah, and that's at least something.Yeah.So, yeah, I mean, and I feel bad kind of bad for OOB because I just don't it's hard for them to schedule like play anybody.

1:18:23

Yeah.Yeah, that's one of the issues they've had with the rankings.Not that they care, but is they've the rest of the South has been so soft the last couple years.That's like, I call it the Oceanside problem in basketball where they would play Belfast like seemingly 4 * a year in the in December and they'd win all those games by 50 and then you're like, well, why aren't we ranked higher?

1:18:46

It's like, well, you're supposed to beat them by 50.Like what do you want?Yeah, you didn't surprise anybody.Yeah.Yeah.It's like, yeah.And then once the schedule gets a little harder, but for OOB, the schedule just didn't get harder because there weren't any teams there.Yeah, I think, yeah, I remember last year looking at a close like they like I think for almost the entire year, their strength of schedule was the worst in the entire like in any, in any region.

1:19:15

But they mean they tried.I mean, this year they've, they've played up a little bit, haven't they?They've, I think they've played up a little.They've played Stearns.I mean, that's a long drive to Stearns.Yeah.And but then yeah, they they played, then they played the people in the they played Orono, but then then it was like everybody in the South Boothbay, Telstar, Sackopee, Oh, they played Lake Region as well.

1:19:38

And then Trape.And then they finished with Cape Elizabeth, so too bad.It's kind of too bad for them.Really the only it'd be interesting you couldn't do this, but if they could play like some of the 11 man schools, but I don't even know how you would even begin to do that.

1:19:57

But then you get some more competition.Yeah.Well, when I was in Washington state, there's a lot of eight man football there and there is this really good team that was our coverage area and they would they started doing that like they're.Non league games they started scheduling like 811 man teams.

1:20:14

Really.Yeah, and they would.They'd win those ones pretty easily too, just because.That's got to be tricky to adapt on the fly.That's what I thought too.But but, and I think it might be a little bit different here, but they grew up playing eleven man football, like their youth leagues were all 11 man.

1:20:31

They just, it's just like when they got to high school, they didn't have, as you know, they had a smaller school and so it wasn't that big of a deal.And I think I don't think they ever lost one of those 11 man games.They weren't.Playing the next games but that's crazy.Yeah, I was just like just dominating those teams too.

1:20:48

And so so they could do it.I mean it would be different but and I I think the other thing with Washington is they play 8 man football in a normal sized field.Oh, interesting.They don't bring in the the sidelines at all and so.That's allowed.

1:21:05

Yeah.And and so that means that like the games can get kind of out of hand, like, you know, like someone certain teams, like 100 points is not out of the question when some teams play.It doesn't happen that often, but but it also it makes like the state championship games more exciting because like every play could be like the back break, you know, like right, right.

1:21:25

Everyone could go for like a long, you know.Like 80 yards is always in play.Yeah.And so, yeah.So when 2 good teams are playing, it's pretty fun because anything can happen.Tackling skill is like the most important part of it.You have to be able.

1:21:41

To like, really an open field tackle, yeah.Yeah, yeah, and not choose the team that wins, but so I mean, it could have, I mean there's ways that it could happen and I think it seems like a lot I've a lot of teams here, the eight man teams they they play 8 man in their youth leagues or.

1:21:57

I think so, I know OOB it's like 8 man is their thing.Yeah.Like I don't think they're playing eight man in order to rebuild the program to get to a back to 11 man.I think they're an 8 man for good.Yeah, yeah.And they yeah and they've been there since the beginning.

1:22:12

In fact, they played the first game, first eight man game was between them and.Is it Dean Plant like the big proponent of it?I think he's one of them.Yeah.I think Travis Lethargic wrote a column last week last year that called him the godfather of eight man football.

1:22:29

But yeah, I think like he was one of the big proponents because he was also the athletic director.He's the football coach of one of the small schools.And so I don't think their their situation was as dire as like Telstar and Boothbay, but I don't I also don't think they were competing much with in class DS.

1:22:49

Right, right.Oak Hill and Winthrop and Dirgo and Lisbon.So yeah.But yeah, it seems like they're there to stay.But yeah, it would be kind of fun to see them go up to 8 man large and just see what they can do.See what they can do, see if they can hang.

1:23:05

But I don't.I don't know what they have coming back after this year 'cause they lost Plant and proven Provencher last year.Is that his name?But then initially they they have a Gallant and Trot Moody who are probably seniors.

1:23:24

So I don't know if they're going to be as dominant.I don't know.I don't know, I don't know.What they You always wonder what the team that's been that good for that long.They're like it's just a system and there's a new wave coming in every year.Yeah, yeah.Kind of like what Levitt usually has.

1:23:43

And every once in a while they kind of come down.But yeah, it's kind of seems like that.I mean, when you're going, ain't no every year it's a lot easier to convince kids to come out for football.Yeah.It's like, hey, we're going to play for the state championship like every year.Yeah.And you get your your backup quarterback and play like half the game.

1:24:02

That's true, You get a lot of minutes for the JVS.Yeah.And so they're they're a little bit more experienced when it comes like when it their time, you know, like when they sure they've only played against like, you know, the lesser teams, but you know, they still got some good experience game.

1:24:18

Experience.There's still some of the starters in there against them, probably.Yeah.And I think especially that first quarter they play, I don't think the team like plays off the gas too much.They still, you know, try to score some points, but it's so they do have it that gives them the opportunity to build for the future.

1:24:35

It kind of stinks for the seniors because they only get to play like half of their senior year, but Yep.But yeah.And then?You get that in basketball too, where a team's dominant and it's like, yeah, I would have scored 1000 points in my career, but I only played in the first half.

1:24:51

Yeah.Yeah, every game.Yeah, we were so good that it was yeah or yeah.It kind of makes it hard, but man, I can't wait for basketball season.But yeah, it's it's kind of hard.I I feel bad.

1:25:06

Like I remember that Levitt team two years ago.They like they had an awesome season and everything was cool, but I was, I was kind of felt bad for like those kids because they didn't get to play the full game hardly at all.Sure.And then when they play the full game in the championship game, they went, they went.

1:25:23

All the way 60 to nothing or something like that.Yeah, I think.It was like 70 to 12 was the final score, but I felt bad because like, but I think that was like, this is our, I mean.This is what, yeah.Our last game and we've been like, we've been taking it easy on everybody else except for, you know, Oxford Hills and Thornton.

1:25:41

And like this, this is our last chance.And this is a state championship game.Yeah, but God.'S strong and then, you know, Oceanside got their revenge in basketball season, so yeah, they put up like 106 on them in basketball.Season.That's right.

1:25:56

Yeah, Yeah.Yeah, that's right.Yeah.And I think they, from what I've heard, made it known that that was on purpose.Oh, really?That was that was that was revenge scoring for for the football championship game.That's what I heard some chatter in that.

1:26:13

I don't know if that was the official line or the official strategy, but that's some some some chirping I heard.OK, well, I mean, I guess if you yeah, whatever you want to do, you can.I mean, Levitt doesn't need, Yeah.They're fine they.Don't need your sympathy.

1:26:29

I mean, most of those kids, not a lot of those kids, not every kid was on the football team, but like.Yeah, I am always a fan of cross sport, trash talking and rivalry and things like that.That's like, it's interesting to me.I don't know, it's fun.Yeah, yeah, When you, yeah, when it's relevant like that, I mean.

1:26:48

And they were, I mean, the Oceanside team had the best basketball player.The best?They were.That was an incredible.Team and I think not.You can't really say the same about Levitt, but still.I mean, there was still enough of those kids.There's some crossover.Yeah, there was a little bit of crossover.

1:27:05

There's that same coach.Yeah.And the same coach too.Yeah.So it might be more, it might have been more towards that, I don't know.But I don't think their feelings are that hurt by it.They're fine.They're they're, they'll get over it.Yeah.So Speaking of basketball, are we doing the text message?

1:27:21

Bring it, Bringing it all back here.Are we doing the text messaging for basketball season 2?Yes, we are.Yeah, we talked about.Yeah, we've had a meeting about it.Does a little icon change on my phone when it comes When the text message comes in?Yeah.It's going to be, it's going to be a new sign up.Oh, OK.

1:27:36

Just because there's going to be some people on the football that don't want the basketball and.You don't want to lose them from the football thing.Yeah, I used to.I mean you just don't want to like annoy them like.Sure.I didn't, you know, you don't want.Yeah, it's like, I don't think you want to make somebody force somebody to unsubscribe.

1:27:56

It just seems like.That's a challenge I have covering.You just don't like, I don't know, it just seems like, it just seems uncool to like we had you sign up and now we're going to make you unsubscribe.I don't know, uncool.I I've found that I haven't had that problem doing football.

1:28:15

Like I haven't had newsletter people say I'm out because you're doing football.They just don't open the emails.Oh, yeah.And yeah.And that's the, I think that might be easier in an inbox than than text messages, especially when I send a text message at like 9:30 at night on Friday nights for the scores.

1:28:34

But yeah, it's we're going to do that.It's going to be, we're going to, we're still trying to figure out like exactly what we're going to do.Football's kind of easy because it's like games at the end of the week.So you're like, right, you build up throughout the week.And then I text the scores on Friday nights.But basketball, it's like every day of the week, and I don't, we don't know if we're gonna send a text message.

1:28:54

We're not gonna send a text message every night at 9:30.Yeah.So we're.Yeah, yeah.So we're kind of figuring out 10:00 on a what?We're gonna do, but I want this text message.Keep doing it.Nope.I feel like you froze.I did freeze for a minute there, OK.

1:29:11

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we are gonna.Yeah, we're gonna do it.Awesome awesome.I'm looking for how do people sign up if they still want to sign up for the for the text messages.Yeah, for football.Season because they're still in the playoffs.We're still accepting subscribers.If you go to any of the, if you go to thesunjournal.com/highschool Sports, pressherald.com/highschool Sports or centralmaine.com/highschoolsports, it's going to be one of the top stories that it's up there.

1:29:39

It's been just kind of there the entire time.It's like a banner, right?Or something.Yeah, and there's also banners throughout the site, but there's like a little like off to the, if you're on the desktop, it's off to the right, little green, little green logo, click that and you sign up.

1:29:55

And that's great.I mean, it's just a great time.It's, it's I, I mean, I don't want to hype it up too much, but it's might be the highlight of your week.Plus you can reply to it, which is new information I have.

1:30:10

Yeah, you can reply.Yeah.And I, I prefer if you don't reply about what we're not covering.But I mean, it's, it's your text.Me.Seriously, nobody's done that so far, which I appreciate.Why aren't you covering this Holton at Valley game?Yeah, Mike Mandel can drive up to Holton.

1:30:28

What?Yeah, why not?Yeah, so, but yeah, you can reply and like, you know, let me know like whatever.Like I don't, I don't really tell people what the scores are except for someone person asked me about like Kony games all the time and.

1:30:45

There's always those, there's always those people who want to think which you have every score right at your fingertip.And I don't mind that, but I don't want to do that.I don't want everybody to ask me what the score is because I also, well, I don't have it up during games and so I'm not going to respond till after, after the game.

1:31:02

So don't.I mean, you can actually score, but yeah.I have the alternative to that where people will like DM me scores because they know I'm always looking for scores.And there's always the challenge that there's always like at least once a week someone sends me a score and I'm looking at the, the little profile picture or whatever, and I'm like, which team are you?

1:31:25

Yeah, 'cause it'll be like, we won 50 to 45.Yeah.And I'm like, great.Yeah.Who Who won 50 to 45?Who did you play?Or the they'll do something like LHS 1 and I'm like, well, that's could be Lewiston, that could be Lawrence, that could be lots of things.

1:31:45

So or they do my favor is when they go with Lincoln beat like like beat Penobscot Valley and I'm like Lincoln Academy played Penobscot Valley.What when?And they're like, no, no, no, that's the town of Lincoln.

1:32:00

The school in the town of Lincoln might be Pascadios or something.Oh yeah, like Jackman.Yeah, yeah, Jackman and Forest Hills.Forest Hills is Jackman, yeah.Yeah, yeah.And I was thinking, I was thinking about maybe even this week, like, hey, send me your scores if you're out of the games.

1:32:16

And but it's also like.That's not the worst idea.Yeah, but then I'd have, I'd have to, I'd have to watch that.I don't know.I guess it's not the worst.Idea Well then, because sometimes the scores don't come in very quickly.So that's like, that's how because I have the scoreboard on my site and people enter the scores there and that's more accurate than the A DS and quicker.

1:32:38

Yeah, yeah.Because it's parents doing it.Yeah, yeah, you're right.And it also because I spent a lot of time like from 9:00 to like 9:30, I'm just trying to find every score I can because I sent out a text message just like about 9:30.He was, he was like 940, but I wouldn't have as many scores right off the bat as I can.

1:32:59

In basketball season, I'm always trying to get every score by 10:00 PM That's my goal.And there's like a scramble of like, Ben Barr is trying to get them and everybody's trying to get the scores.And so it's like this big crowdsourcing.Project to find like yeah face fight like the.

1:33:17

Streams and you're like does anyone have the Jonesport Beal score?For the love of God, does anyone know?Did they even play?Yeah.No one knows.Yeah, and in this football season, I'm like, why?Like like this games?I'm like, why can't I find the score?

1:33:35

And then I found out that it was changed to Saturday.There were a couple of those last week where I was like why am I missing like 4 scores, this is crazy.And then they were all moved to Saturday.Yeah.And so, and that happens, but it's a yeah, it's a scramble just to find.I mean, basketball just sounds impossible because it's like boys and girls.

1:33:52

Boys and girls, it's sheer chaos.Yeah.But people are really good with the scoreboard and like if I do a game, like if I go to like last year I went to Found with Wyndham in Falmouth and by the time I got home I think I was only missing like 3 scores, boys and girls of people just putting them in and then going oh OK great.

1:34:14

So that's saved me so much time because when I started this it would be I'd be up till midnight and I'd have 75% of them.Oh, wow.OK.And so that's a lot faster, Yeah.Do you ever get like wrong scores like that's?

1:34:29

Every so often, 'cause I'll get every, I'll get fewer wrong scores from the scoreboard of people putting them in than if I grab the scores from the MP as website, 'cause there's more mistakes on the MP as website than people putting them in.

1:34:48

Cause I've seen things where they'll send it, like they'll send it to you guys and they'll send it to the MPA.And I'm like, OK, but I saw them tweet a picture of the scoreboard at the final and that score doesn't match what they sent to Varsity Maine and the MPA.

1:35:06

So I'm going to go with the picture of the scoreboard.Yeah.And sometimes, yeah, sometimes even the coach will send it like they'll the.Coaches don't forget it.Yeah.They'll be like, we went, I don't know, by 10 I think it was.Two, it was 4:00 to 1:00 and you're.Like 60.We, I think we had 60 and they had 50.I don't know.I'm counting five goals here, and you said you scored four.

1:35:23

Oh yeah, sorry about that.And.Yeah, yeah.All right.All right.Well, I should let you go.Yeah.They sign up for the text messages, they're super fun, and they also remind you that you didn't check to see who was the players of The Who had the big performances this past week and that you completely forgot 'cause you got bogged down with something else.

1:35:44

So it's a great reminder.And.Highlights, highlights.The video highlights are are fun and yeah, thanks for thanks Elise.Great coverage.Do a You do a fantastic job over there.Thank you.Yeah.And I, I want to plug a few things.We got a lot going on right now.

1:36:01

Like you can all sign up for our our newsletter, the Varsity Main newsletter.But like we have our games of the week up for all three coverage areas, Tony Gardner.And we chose that as the varsity main game of the week.That's the Central Maine and Varsity Maine game of the week.

1:36:18

And then we have Thornton and Bonnie Eagle and then Levitt and Herman.So there's some good stuff about that, our storylines.And then man, Mike Mandel's written like some good.He wrote a really good story yesterday about the five most anticipated Gardner Kony matchups in history.

1:36:34

Oh, that's fun.So he went to the archives for that one.So there's some really good stuff on our websites, this, this right now for these games and also our football picks, which I'm pretty sure I'm still winning.Oh nice.And so, yeah, so you definitely want to check out while I'm still winning.Ignore if it falls apart later.

1:36:52

Yeah, yeah, yeah.Before it falls apart.It was a bad call, you know, the refs were totally in the in the tank for the other team.Yeah, yeah, the refs.The refs hate that team as much as your computer hates the team.My computer hates all the teams equally.

1:37:07

Yeah, yeah, yeah.All right.Thanks again.Thanks so much.Yep, thanks a lot.OK, that's the show.Thanks again to Lee.I'm not going to do a movie corner because The Mavericks game is about to start and I'm obviously going to go watch that.

1:37:24

This has been a production of Maine basketballrankings.com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball from Ashland to York and everywhere in between.This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcast and a bunch of places you don't.If you enjoyed this, please leave a nice review because it really does help out with algorithms.

1:37:42

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