Foxcroft takes down Freeport, Dexter awaits Orono, and more in Week 8 of football

By Adam Robinson, Bangor Daily News Staff

Nokomis Regional High School of Newport is one of the hottest football teams in Class C North right now.

Nokomis is 5-3 and has won four of its last five games, including last Friday’s 32-20 victory over John Bapst, averaging 31.6 points per game during that span. 

Nokomis earned the fourth seed in the region and will host Winslow in the quarterfinal round on Friday. 

Winslow (3-5) has lost four in a row heading into the playoffs, averaging just 10.25 points a game. 

That was just one of the games that headlined Week 8 of the Maine high school football season, which was the final week of the regular season for Classes B and C and the eight-player large school divisions. 

Class C North was highlighted by the battle for first place between the top two teams in the region, Hermon and Medomak Valley. 

Medomak came out on top 14-12, securing the top seed in the region. The Panthers will have a bye into the semifinals, while No. 2 Hermon (5-3) will take on No. 7 Hampden Academy (2-6), a team that the Hawks defeated 59-12 earlier in the year. 

In Class D, Foxcroft is playing some of its best football heading into the last game of the regular season against Oak Hill. 

Last Friday, Foxcroft took down Freeport 24-10 with star receiver Caden Crocker scoring three touchdowns for the Ponies. 

But it was role players that stepped up on the road against Freeport (4-3), the second-ranked team in the Crabtree standings. 

Hunter McSorley and DJ Scheel, both offensive and defensive linemen, had big games for Foxcroft. 

“They both have had their moments of dominance along the line of scrimmage, which has done the job,” Foxcroft coach Dan White said. “We kind of controlled the line of scrimmage and that certainly helped matters, and when you’re not dealing with things in the backfield you’re able to get your plays off and give your skill kids opportunities to make plays. When you do that often you’re going to be more able to play mistake-free football.”

Foxcroft, after its lone loss of the season to Lisbon in Week 3, circled the Freeport game on the schedule. 

“We saw our schedule and we knew the Freeport game would arguably be the biggest game of the year,” White said. “They had handedly beat the only team we lost to. We understood and the kids accepted that challenge and showed up.”

Brewer defeated Brunswick on Friday 42-14 to secure a spot in the Class B North playoffs. 

The No. 7 Witches will travel to No. 2 Skowhegan (6-2) on Friday for the playoff quarterfinals. The two teams played in Week 2 with Skowhegan winning 35-0. 

Skowhegan has lost two games in a row to Thornton Academy and Windham. 

In the eight-player small school North playoffs, Orono won a thriller against Bucksport, 51-46, to set up a rematch with top-seeded Dexter on Saturday. 

In Week 5, Dexter came back and beat Orono 38-34 in the final two minutes of the game. 

Orono coach Bob Sinclair knows what to expect this weekend. 

“We gave them everything we had earlier in the year,” Sinclair said. “We scored with 1:35 left but they beat us. We didn’t lose the game. They’re going to be a handful.”

On Friday, quarterback Jack Brewer and receiver Will Francis connected for seven catches, 239 yards and seven touchdowns. Everything the duo tried worked and the Red Riots held on for the victory. 

“We have been best friends since sixth grade,” Brewer said. “I know if I throw it up there, he’s going to go get it.” 

Dexter had a bye week last week so coach Andrew Levensalor said he gave his players an extra couple of days to rest up and then got ready for either Orono or Bucksport. 

“Orono is well-coached and we have a lot of respect for Bob [Sinclair],” Levensalor said. “They’ll game plan as much as we will. It will be good. We have to prepare on defense the most.”

Dexter will try to beat Orono for a second time, and while that’s a difficult task, the players are embracing the challenge. 

“The kids are ready, they’re excited,” Levensalor said. “Usually when you play a good team twice, it’s tough to beat them twice, but these guys said, ‘We didn’t play well last time.’ They want to prove they’re better. Energy is high and we have a good set of leaders. … They’re not taking anything for granted.” 

No. 3 Mattanawcook and No. 2 Stearns will face off in the other eight-player small school North semifinal playoff game.