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DOVER-FOXCROFT — It’s located in the geographic heart of Maine — and on Tuesday, this town was the heart of the Maine sports world in the buildup to one of the state’s great summer sporting traditions.

Football players and coaches from the East and West teams gathered in the Foxcroft Academy gym Tuesday for media day ahead of Saturday’s Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl at Lewiston High School. Here are five takeaways:

TOP FUNDRAISERS

Lewiston’s Jeffrey Randall and Kennebunk’s Charles Majkowski were the top fundraisers for the East and West teams. Randall raised just under $5,000 for Shriners Hospitals for Children, while Majkowski raised a little over $7,000.

Majkowski put on three fundraising events in support of his late grandmother, Janet, who had looked forward to seeing him play in the Lobster Bowl but passed away in November.

“I really wanted to put my heart and soul into this game and dedicate my fundraising and my performance to her,” Majkowski said. “She was really looking forward to this game, so I’m doing it to represent her.”

COOPER LEGACY CONTINUES

Thirty-five years ago when the Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl made its debut, Lawrence’s Earl “Pete” Cooper was the East’s head coach, with fellow Maine coaching legend Rod Wotton of Marshwood directing the West.

Pete Cooper was the East head coach again in 1992 and 1997 and an assistant in 1994. His son, Kevin Cooper, the head coach at Bonny Eagle, was the West head coach in 2010 and this year is an assistant for a fifth time.

Kevin’s son, CJ Cooper, is one of the West’s wide receivers. The 6-foot-3 multi-sport athlete said he’s been thinking a lot about his grandfather. Pete Cooper died Feb. 9, 2024, at the age of 83.

“Playing in this game was something I definitely talked about with him,” CJ Cooper said. “I wish he was still here to be able to come up to practices and see me, but right now, I just play for him. That’s what I’m going to be thinking the rest of the week and on Saturday, just play for him. Like he’s watching me.”

FROM FOES TO TEAMMATES

One of the special parts of the Lobster Bowl is that it turns players who were opponents for most of their high school careers into teammates. Players and coaches generally put their rivalries aside for the good of the team — but that doesn’t mean there isn’t poking fun.

Two East coaches, Hermon’s Kyle Gallant and Messalonskee’s Blair Doucette, have gone back-and-forth about their 2024 matchup, won by Messalonskee in overtime. Majkowski said he’s bonded with many of the West players. For Winslow’s Seth Bard, though, some of his team’s losses still sting.

“We get everyone’s stickers, but there’s some I won’t give mine to, and I don’t want theirs, either,” Bard said. “I just can’t get Foxcroft (which beat Winslow twice last year), even though I respect (Silas Topolski); he’s a good guy.”

SCHOOLS OF ALL SIZES

There’s no hierarchy here. Whether players and coaches represent Class A powers or some of the smallest eight-man schools, everyone at the Lobster Bowl is front and center, both in the bleachers and on the field.

In the North, players from Stearns (enrollment 123) and Dexter (272) were right there with those from Lewiston (1,505). Fitzpatrick Trophy finalist Riley Provencher of Old Orchard Beach (193), meanwhile, is happy to represent the South alongside players from schools such as Thornton Academy (1,345).

“It’s really exciting because you don’t really get opportunities to play against guys from those schools,” Provencher said. “That’s something I’ve been looking forward to, and I’m really excited for it.”

BIG TARGETS

Both teams expect to throw the ball a lot. Quarterbacks Jamier Rose of Noble and Pete Martin of York for the West, and the East’s Louis Thurston from Class A champion Portland and Caleb Kennedy of MCI will have plenty of big and talented targets.

“They’re a good group. There’s a lot of skill in that group. I think all eight of them are fantastic,” Thurston said of the East receivers that include 6-3 Will Francis of Orono, 6-6 Gabe Lash of Medomak Valley and 6-5 Andrew Henaghen of Hampden Academy, along with Oceanside’s Zeb Foster, who is headed to UMaine as a preferred walk-on to play free safety.

The West has Cooper; Provencher; 6-5, 235-pound Trevor Gerrish of Brunswick; 6-3, 220-pound Wyatt Gawtry of Yarmouth at tight end; Thornton speedster Jackson Paradis; and Kennebunk’s Max Andrews, a versatile 6-2 playmaker.

“I always haven’t had the best wide receivers around me, so it’s kind of fun to have a big group. We’ve got big guys on the outside, little guys inside, some speed guys,” Gerrish said. “There’s guys running right next to me with just the same skill level, so they can’t double both of us. It’s nice to have that 1-on-1 coverage.”