> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Westbrook's Sam Johnson on Defending a Class B State Title
- URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/westbrooks-sam-johnson-on-defending-a-class-b-state-title/
- Published: 2026-09-03T01:36:04.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-03T01:36:04.000Z
- Author: Lucas McNelly
- Tags: The Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast

This week on the podcast I sat down with **Sam Johnson**, head coach of the **Westbrook Blue Blazes**, the defending Class B state football champions, ahead of Westbrook's season opener against Cheverus.

#### In this episode:

- How a senior-heavy roster and a brutal 0-6 start in 2023 laid the groundwork for Westbrook's title run
- Circling the state championship game on the calendar from year one — and why that approach evolved by year four
- Building "his own program" after inheriting a 15-game losing streak in 2022
- Working alongside his high school football coach, now his principal
- Early buy-in exercises — team community service, picking up campus trash — and the "little things" philosophy borrowed from college coaching clinics
- His playing days as a self-described "below-average receiver" (19 catches, senior year) and team captain
- Time at the Shrine Bowl, including quarterback **Giovanni Staples** volunteering to handle kicking duties
- Breaking down the 2025 season: the Week 1 win over Marshwood, a closer-than-it-looked loss to Falmouth, and the run through the playoffs
- Inside the game plan for the state championship upset over heavily favored Kennebunk — disguised coverages, forced turnovers, and Tony Bongeman's 87-yard pick-six
- Looking ahead to defending the title with a retooled roster, and Thursday's home opener honoring Westbrook's new scoreboard, donated by Arthur Gerrard and Eugene Waters

#### Also in the intro:

- A quick preview note on Westbrook opening tonight against Cheverus
- Lucas's take on the NBA's ruling in the Clippers/Kawhi Leonard salary-cap circumvention case — five forfeited first-round picks, a one-year suspension and $30M fine for Steve Ballmer, and Pablo Torre's reporting being vindicated over ESPN's earlier account
- A reminder that subscriptions and site features have expanded since spring, plus new team-page advertising options for local businesses

---

*Listen wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop throughout the season covering football and beyond.*