A capsule look at Week 1 games in central Maine
Travis Lazarczyk
Columnist
Travis Lazarczyk has covered sports for the Portland Press Herald since 2021. A Vermont native, he graduated from the University of Maine in 1995 with a BA in English. After a few years working as a sports information director and in the ski industry, he began his journalism career at the Berlin (N.H.) Reporter in 1999. Prior to joining the Press Herald, Lazarczyk spent 20 years covering sports in central Maine at the Morning Sentinel and Kennebec Journal. He's been twice honored as the Maine Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association.
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COLLEGE CROSS COUNTRY: A strong team in very strong conference
WATERVILLE — For the first time in a long time, the Colby College men’s cross country team enters the season ranked in the top 10 in New England. The Mules are ranked ninth in the region, which is overflowing with talented Division III cross country teams.
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HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Plenty of quality games to see this season
Before we look at some of the big games on the high school football schedule this season, let’s tip our caps to a pair of games we won’t see. Scheduling an eight-game season in Class B, with nine teams in the East and 11 teams in the West, led to some quirks. For instance, longtime rivals Lawrence and Skowhegan will not play each other, although their fields are approximately 16 miles apart. Mt. Blue and Cony, two team considered to be among the best in Class B, won’t play each other either, unless it’s in the playoffs.
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HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: East C will be tough
Eastern Class B has been getting a lot of recognition as a tough league in the state’s new four class format for high school football, and deservedly so. But don’t overlook Eastern Class C, which has the potential to be a very competitive league.
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HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Mt. Blue prepares for new challenge
When the Mt. Blue High School football team reported for preseason last year, the vibe around the team was all about unfinished business. The Cougars lost the Pine Tree Conference Class B championship game in overtime to Leavitt in 2011, so 2012 was about taking the next step.
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HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS: Back to work
The high school sports season opened Monday, beginning a fall that brings the biggest change to Maine high school sports since the open tournament experiment in 2000. High school football expanded from three classes to four. With that expansion, comes the formation of a football league that promises to provide marquee matchups every week.
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HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK: Tigers expecting successful season
After a few seasons with low participation numbers, the Gardiner Area High School field hockey team will have more players out when it begins practice this morning for the upcoming season.
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HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK: Panthers ready to take on B teams
The Waterville girls and boys soccer teams will play in Class B this season after playing up a class in Class A for eight years.
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TRAVIS LAZARCZYK: Even at the fair, we all want to win
Everybody, meet Tom. A carny for 18 years, Tom is telling me how easy this game is. All I have to do is bounce the ball off of the picture of Ben Franklin and into the bin that sits directly below the picture. The ball is plastic, the size of a baseball, and full of holes, like a cheap, knockoff Wiffleball.
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HARNESS RACING: Real Special win
SKOWHEGAN — Real Special was already having a good season on the harness racing circuit. It got a little better Saturday with a win in the Walter H. Hight Memorial Pace at the Skowhegan State Fair.