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LEWISTON — A couple hundred miles to the East and 30 years later, Owen Bombardier is following in his father’s footsteps.

The center on the offensive line that plowed the way to Falmouth’s first state title last fall, Bombardier was snapping the ball for the East squad in Saturday’s Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl at Don Roux Field. This has been Bombardier’s goal for years, since he started playing football, since he started studying his father’s old equipment in the family’s attic. There, Owen picked up Kurt Bombardier’s green jersey and put on the gold helmet.

“I’d always look at that stuff, all those awards. Making it to (the Lobster Bowl)… Going there, I had to. Just to follow in his footsteps. To be just as good or better than he was,” Owen said.

A running back and outside linebacker at Mount St. Joseph Academy in Rutland, Vermont, Kurt played for Vermont in the 1995 Maple Sugar Bowl against his counterparts from New Hampshire. The game was at Dartmouth College in mid-August. New Hampshire won, 27-21.

“We started off strong. It was pretty neck-and-neck throughout the game,” Kurt said. “We held our own until the third quarter.”

Kurt remembers a few plays from the game, and how amped up he was to represent MSJ and Vermont. What he really remembers is the trip his team took to the Shriners hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts. Meeting the children the hospital helps was so much more motivation to play well than any interstate rivalry that begins when you cross the Connecticut River.

“I keep trying to tell (Owen), when he meets those children, how much of an eye-opener it will be,” he said.

Unfortunately, due to medical privacy laws, Lobster Bowl players and cheerleaders no longer make the trip to the hospital. That doesn’t mean Owen took the field Saturday without an appreciation of for what he was playing. Players and cheerleaders are asked to raise $500 to participate. Owen raised $810.

“We heard a couple stories, and those were really nice to hear because you don’t really know much. You hear all-star football team, and it’s nice to play football, but it was nice to hear some stories,” he said. “The things we’re doing here, the money we’re raising here, is doing something really special. It feels really good to be a part of.

“He said it was the biggest game he was ever a part of. His heart was full because of the cause and what it meant to him. I’m super excited that I get to contribute to that as well. It means a lot that I’m able to raise money, all of us raised money. He said he made some of his best memories there, and I’m excited to keep making good memories.”

After the initial team meeting at the Kora Temple in Lewiston, Owen and Kurt went home, dusted off the VCR and popped in the VHS tape of Kurt’s Maple Sugar Bowl game. Owen watched his father, 18 years old, making tackles for Vermont, then looked at his father now, the memories hitting him the way he hit a New Hampshire ball carrier. Hard, with emphasis.

“My dad doesn’t talk too much about football, but I’ve seen him jump up. ‘Owen, did you see that play?’ Getting all excited like he used to about football. It’s really nice,” Owen said. “Now, with digital media, I’ll be able to pull that up for my kids one day. Show them that play.”

Owen plays completely different positions than his father, who as a running back Owen compared to Indi Backman, his Falmouth High and Lobster Bowl teammate. A lower the shoulder and gain every inch you can, make the defender question his life choices kind of runner. His father was the kind of running back Owen loves to blow open holes for, like human dynamite. What they have in common, both said, is a work ethic that led them to success on the field.

“We’ve been talking about this, because (the Lobster Bowl) has been one of his goals,” Kurt said. “He’s always been all-in with football. There’s really not much of an offseason.”

In a couple weeks, Owen will head to Vermont State University Castleton to begin his college football career. The school is just a 20-minute drive from Rutland, where his parents grew up, where he was born, and where he still has a lot of family.

“You play the game, and you’re trying to get recruited and whatnot, but I knew since Day 1. I was telling my folks I’m going to go to Castleton. I’ve been around the school,” Owen said. “It means a lot to be around family. All my family’s in Vermont, some in New York …  I already have family buying tailgating passes for the year.”

Kurt and his wife, Tara, watched the pregame introductions from their spot behind the end zone. Leaning against the iron fence, they gave a quick, polite clap when their son was announced. No loud cheers, no bombast, just a clap for the hard work and determination it took to get there.

Was Kurt nervous? A little. He thought of his introduction at Dartmouth 30 years ago.

“It brings back memories,” he said. “Butterflies.”