thumbs down

THUMBS UP to the Cony High School football team for winning its first state championship game last Friday.

The Rams trailed Kennebunk 6-0 at the half and 16-0 with just less than five minutes left in the third quarter before storming back to win 30-23 and take the Class B state crown at Alfond Stadium in Orono.

Quarterback Ben Lucas completed a record-breaking career by completing 24 of 46 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns, giving him a record 89 in his career. Cony finished the year 9-2.

Not to be outdone, Oak Hill beat previously unbeaten Bucksport 42-35 on Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland to win the state championship in Class D, which was just reinstated this season. The Raiders, who finished the year with a record of 10-2, brought the school its first state football trophy since 1982 as they stopped the Bucks late in the game and deep inside their own territory to secure the win. Kyle Flaherty rushed for 217 yards and three touchdowns on 42 carries, then celebrated by hoisting the Gold Ball high in the air.

Winslow wasn’t quite as fortunate, falling 47-18 to undefeated Leavitt on Saturday in the Class C title game in Portland. Dylan Hapworth had 132 yards rushing and a touchdown while Zack Guptill added 99 and a score for the Black Raiders, who finished 9-2 and as the Class C runner-up for the second straight year.

Congratulations to these teams, and to all the high school competitors who worked and sacrificed throughout the fall season.

THUMBS UP to Sean Maguire, an officer at the Somerset County Jail, for taking a comment from one of the inmates and turning it beneficial program.

Inmates at the jail have been painting murals depicting Somerset County towns. When one of the inmates asked for copies of her artwork, Maguire made the copies, then noticed something he liked. Now the jail has launched a program to turn the murals into postcards as part of a jail industry program.

Other Maine correctional facilities have similar programs, in which the inmates do woodwork, raise vegetables, complete projects in the community, or even make signs for the Department of Transportation. The work keeps them focused on something productive, and they get a small wage that can go toward restitution. Any proceeds raised from selling the items also can help support the programs. It is an added bonus that the postcards depict images from the communities into which the jails are trying to reintegrate the inmates.