On one hand, there’s the Skowhegan Area High School football team. A three-game losing streak at midseason put the Indians playoffs chances in jeopardy. Still, Skowhegan went out and played hard to the end, winning its last two regular season games in a season that would end with no playoff berth.

Skowhegan players, coaches and fans can hold their heads high knowing that although the outcome wasn’t the one they desired, they played hard and never quit.

On the other hand, there’s the Telstar High School football team. Telstar struggled all season, but had a Western D Campbell Conference playoff spot fall in its lap when Traip Academy was forced to forfeit three wins for using an ineligible player. Winless Telstar was awarded a win over Traip, and with it the No. 8 seed in the playoffs.

Rather than take on top seed Lisbon this weekend, Telstar said thanks, but no thanks. Rather than at least try, Telstar forfeited the game to Lisbon. The Greyhounds moved on to the regional semifinals without so much as painting lines on the field.

Coach Tim O’Connor said the decision was based on low participation numbers and safety.

It’s Telstar’s right to decline the playoff spot. Players, coaches and school officials were involved in making the decision.

All Maine Principals’ Association postseason tournaments are invitationals. You never have to play. There are plenty of legitimate reasons a school could decline a playoff spot; community tragedy or widespread code of conduct violations, to name two.

That doesn’t make it right. Safety is the crutch word used too often to justify a lack of effort. Especially in a sport like football, where the object of the game is to knock the opponent down, and safety is difficult to quantify.

It’s an almost certainty that Lisbon would have defeated Telstar in a game that was not close. Any chance of Telstar playing well, of at least ending the season knowing it tried, was lost when the Rebels decided to slink into the offseason rather than put in any effort.

Blowouts, unfortunately, are as much a part of high school football as first downs. A glance at scores from around the state’s first round playoff games this weekend proves that. Marshwood 61, Fryeburg 0. Falmouth 48, Morse 6. Leavitt 60, Lake Region 28. Not including Saturday night’s Eastern C game between Mt. Desert Island and Foxcroft Academy, nine of the 19 playoff games played were decided by 20 or more points. It’s a safe bet a Telstar-Lisbon game would have been the 10th game decided by 20 or more points, but again, who knows because Telstar quit.

This incident is another black eye for Maine high school football. Before the season began, Sacopee Valley announced it would not field a varsity team this season, citing low participation. The decision came too late for the Campbell Conference to adjust the schedule, leaving most teams in the league with just seven games.

Schools like Telstar and Sacopee Valley have to make this decision: Do we have a football program or don’t we? Dropping out just before the season or refusing a playoff spot, no matter how that spot was earned, would make the answer to that question “No.”

There is such a thing as losing with grace, even when the score is lopsided. Telstar could have used the playoff spot it received through Traip’s error as a chance to play. There are teams all over the state that just missed the playoffs that would have gladly taken a chance at a postseason game, even if it meant a lopsided loss.

Instead, Telstar didn’t even try, and that’s worse than a blowout.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM

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