Westbrook's Sam Johnson on Defending a Class B State Title

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.