The Lisbon High football field is tucked down a hill, out of sight from the school, save for the lights that make it a beacon on fall Friday nights.
Out of sight, but never out of mind.
Those lights went dark midseason last year when the school’s administration ended the season in drips, week by week, after four games while an investigation into hazing in the program was conducted.
Friday night, the football team was back on the field. Fans started arriving an hour before the 7 p.m. kickoff. Many set up their folding lawn chairs in front of the two sets of bleachers, a little closer to the action and more comfortable than aluminum benches. Some even were allowed to drive their car or truck down the gravel driveway from the parking lot, enabling them to almost tailgate as they watched the game.
The pregame soundtrack included “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones, which was apt because Lisbon fans are determined to paint over 2024, or shove it in a drawer and forget about it.
Numerous fans declined to talk when asked to comment about the return of Greyhounds football, not even to express gratitude for the program’s return, or to acknowledge mistakes were made and the school is trying its hardest to correct them.
Maybe talking about the return would have meant an uncomfortable acknowledgment that something did happen. Maybe talking about it would be an invitation for something to happen again. Maybe the decision in Lisbon, spoken or in the collective consciousness, is to move on by collectively wiping the 2024 high school football season from memory. It’s there, and it’s always going to be there, but for the sake of letting the 2025 Greyhounds forge a new identity under a new coach, let’s leave it be.
Not talking about it is fine. It’s not easy to talk about painful memories. But forgetting would be a mistake. Pretending it didn’t would be even worse. When you forget mistakes, eventually you repeat them. Nobody wants that.
The game itself started well for the Greyhounds. On Lisbon’s first play, Maleek Beauimer caught a short pass from Mason Wagner and went 67 yards for a touchdown.
On Dirigo’s first possession, Lisbon’s Jeff Tuplin intercepted a pass.
Dirigo began to assert itself after that, however, and pulled away for a 46-18 win. For the Greyhounds, simply playing a game was a turning of the page.
“It’s great just to be out here. The kids we’ve got, they practice so hard. They give all the effort they’ve got, and as a coach, that’s all you can ask for,” said Lisbon coach Walter Polky, who was hired this summer to essentially rebuild the Greyhounds.
Lisbon had 18 eligible players dressed for Friday’s game, with more on the way as soon as they’re eligible, either academically or with enough allotted practice time. School administrators have already dismissed five players for violating team rules, Polky said, adding he’s not sure if they’ll be allowed to come back. The school is serious about not letting what led to the abrupt end to last season happen again, and that’s a good thing.
The remaining Greyhounds are just thankful to play.
Senior left tackle Hunter Ladd, a co-captain with Beauimer, led Lisbon’s march to and onto the field. Ladd carried the team’s flag, black with a script L. He waved the flag as the team ran to midfield, where he planted it with authority.
“Doing that with the people I practiced with for months definitely felt relieving,” Ladd said after the game. “It felt great to be back. The energy was there. I’ve been looking to play football for about six months. I’m very glad to be back.”
Last year was last year. Lisbon is moving on, but moving on shouldn’t mean forgetting.
