Skowhegan looked sharp on both sides of the ball in a 35-6 exhibition game victory at Hampden Academy on Friday, coach Matt Friedman said.

Offensively, Friedman was pleased with the play of quarterback Garrett McSweeney, tight end Sam Baker, and back Luke Bolster, as well as the entire offensive line. Defensively, Kam Doucette had a pair of interceptions for the Indians, while Bradyn Fitzmaurice led the team in tackles.

“We played aggressive up front and defended the pass well,” Friedman said.

Skowhegan opens the season on Friday night at home against old rival Lawrence, a team it hasn’t faced since the 2012 season.

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The Madison football program welcomed nine players from nearby Carrabec High School to the team this season. That’s a strong improvement from the three that joined the Bulldogs last season, but still not close to the high of close to 20 players in the early years of the co-op football program.

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Carrabec students have been allowed to play on the Madison football team since 2009, when dwindling participation numbers threatened football’s future at Madison.

There was some discussion in the offseason about ending the cooperative football partnership between the schools, with Madison dropping to Class D, where it would play if just its enrollment was counted, but that was dismissed. With Carrabec’s student population combined with Madison’s, the Bulldogs play in Class C.

Madison head coach Scott Franzose said the Carrabec players have become strong contributors to the Madison football program.

“There’s a commitment there,” Franzose said. “They come all the way through the feeder program, and turn into impact players.”

Madison opens the season at home on Friday night against Oceanside, which joins the Big Ten Conference after spending the last two seasons in the Campbell Conference Class B division.

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Maine Central Instute looked very strong in Saturday’s 56-0 exhibition win at Waterville, but coach Tom Bertrand cautioned that the Huskies are looking for wins in November, not August.

“Lots of bright spots but it is early and there is lots of work to do,” Bertrand said.

The Huskies scored a pair of touchdowns in the game’s first one minute and six seconds. Junior runnig back Willie Moss broke a long touchdown run down the left sideline on MCI’s first play from scrimmage. After a Waterville turnover on the Purple Panthers’ first play, MCI put together a quick scoring drive, culminating with a touchdown pass from Greg Vigue to Braden Monteyro.

“We came out and played the physical game defensively that we knew we needed to in order to beat a good football team like Waterville,” Bertrand said. “Offensively, we executed well and were able to get the ball in a lot of kids’ hands and they made plays, which was one of our goals.”

The Huskies open the season on Friday night at home against Washington Academy.

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Around the state: There are 13 new head coaches around the state this season. The region with the most coaching turnover is the Northern Class D Little Ten Conference, with four new coaches, five if you count Medomak Valley’s first-year as a varsity program. Southern Class B and Northern Class C each had no coaching turnover…. After decades as a Class A power, Biddeford will play its first game in Class B on Friday, when the Tigers play at defending state champion Marshwood… An injury has one of the top players in the state sidelined indefinitely. Foxcroft Academy senior quarterback Hunter Smith suffered a dislocated hip in Friday’s exhibition game against Orono, and may miss the entire season.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM


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