The Dexter Regional High School boys cross country team finished in fourth place among 12 Class C schools at the 2019 Penobscot Valley Conference championships on October 19 at Searsport District High School. The Tigers ended the meet with a score of 152 points.

In a game featuring plenty of offense -- the two teams combined for a dozen trips to the endzone -- Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln scored three times in the fourth quarter to retake the lead and hold off Foxcroft 47-35 in a Class D North/Little Ten Conference matchup on Friday, October 18 at Oakes Field.

Difficulty: Moderate. Out and back, the hike is about 3 miles. The trail climbs gradually but steadily. Watch your step for exposed tree roots and rocks. Footing is especially tricky near the East Spur Overlook. Take your time traveling over the exposed bedrock.

Every game at the end of the season becomes crucial for teams battling to get into the playoffs. An Oct. 11 contest at Hermon HIgh School was no exception for the Foxcroft Academy boys soccer team looking to make the postseason this year. The Ponies sit in ninth place in the Class B North standings, where only the top 10 teams make the playoffs.

The Dexter Regional High School cross country concluded the regular season by taking part in the Pendale Invitational on Oct. 12 at Hermon High School. The Tiger boys scored 59 points to finish third of three teams, just behind the 56 points for Presque Isle High School. Host Hermon came in first with 18 points.

On a more regional level, the Dexter Tigers ended a 31-year, 25-game losing streak against neighboring rival Foxcroft Academy on Saturday, outlasting the visiting Ponies 27-21 in overtime.

A quarterback sneak and interception in the endzone helped give Dexter Regional High School a 27-21 overtime victory vs. Foxcroft in a Class D North/Little Ten Conference contest on the afternoon Oct. 12. The win is the first for the Tigers over the team’s neighbor to the north since the Reagan administration.

In the last competition before Saturday’s Penobscot Valley Conference championships in Searsport, four members of the Foxcroft Academy cross country team ran in three separate races at the Red Riot Challenge on Oct. 12 at Orono High School. Each race covered 2.48 miles

Come Monday morning, Oct. 14 another herd of hunters, along with their friends and family members, will embark on special hunts as the second major week of moose season gets underway across the state.

Northern Maine Media Inc., the home of WHOU 100.1 FM, has been awarded the exclusive contract from the Maine Principals’ Association to video stream the five state football finals and the 60 games of the basketball regional semifinals and finals. All broadcasts can be seen live, online at www.whoufm.com.

As the season whines down every game becomes crucial for a playoff spot. In an October 5 matchup of Class B North teams, the sixth-ranked MCI Huskies of Pittsfield came to play the upset minded No. 9 Ponies. Foxcroft came out on full force and met the challenge, coming out with a 6-1 win.

Brett Almasi, 39 of Dover-Foxcroft and a member of the social studies faculty at Foxcroft Academy, placed 32nd at the 28th Gorham Savings Bank Maine Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 6 in Cumberland County.

The Dexter Regional High School and Foxcroft Academy cross country teams ran with some of the top teams from Maine and beyond at the 2019 Maine Cross Country Festival of Champions on Oct. 5 at Troy Howard Middle School.

Next to being in the woods during the deer season, I most enjoy reading books about how to hunt these wary animals. In fact, the stand beside my bed is a repository for dozens of books, most of which promise to show me the way to bag that trophy buck. As the nights cool and November draws near, my bed-stand collection gets more and more attention.

Come September, many Mainers expect to see a steady parade of pickup trucks heading into the northern forest as hunters take part in the state’s moose hunt. That’s not always been the case, however.

When the Piscataquis Community High School and Penquis Valley High School boys soccer teams played on Sept. 24 in Milo the final score was a 2-2 tie. The rematch in Guilford on Thursday, Oct. 3 featured a different result as the host Pirates scored all three of the game’s goals in the last 18-plus minutes of the second half to win 3-0.

On Saturday, Sept. 28 a buddy and I loaded way too much gear into his truck, set far too few actual goals, and headed for Greenville and points west in search of birds, or trout, or moose.

Difficulty: Strenuous. The hike is 5.6 miles, out and back, and features long stretches of steady climbing, a few steep scrambles and very uneven, rocky footing. The hike does not include much hand-over-foot climbing.