Xavier Lewis has been to Keyes Field. He’s seen the fans, lined up two, sometimes three deep along the rope that surrounds the field. He’s heard the fans heckle opponents. If he ran out of bounds, those fans would be close enough to whisper in his ear. They’re so close, you can tell if they had onions on their pregame pizza at Sonny’s.
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.
Posted inSports
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Mt. Blue keeps rolling
Mt. Blue returned just four starters from an offense that averaged 47 points per game in 2011, but in their season opener at Brewer on Friday night, the Cougars didn’t miss a beat.
advertisement
Posted inSports
TRAVIS LAZARCZYK: Mother Nature messes with routine
There is nothing like playing a football game. Before each game, you practice and plan for a week. Details are studied, then they’re studied again. From the second you step off the field at the end of one game, you’re slowly building yourself back up for the next one.
Posted inSports
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Lawrence wins delayed opener
Lawrence was scheduled to take on Edward Little on Friday night at Walton Field, but a thunderstorm shortly before kickoff forced the delay of the game to Saturday afternoon. No matter. Led by a typically stingy defense, the Bulldogs rolled to a 39-16 victory over the Red Eddies, in the season opener for both teams.
Posted inSports
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Messalonskee holds off Cony
OAKLAND — Neither the Messalonskee nor the Cony high school football teams are going to look back at Friday night’s season opener as a masterpiece. Each team came away knowing it has things to improve. But a defensive stand late in the fourth quarter, followed by a big fourth down conversion, gave Messalonskee a 21-19 win at Veterans Field.
Posted inSports
COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: McCabe on comeback trail
Winslow native John McCabe, a redshirt freshman linebacker at the University of Maine, had surgery to repair a torn meniscus on Wednesday.
Posted inSports
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: A guide of games to watch
Your Friday nights are valuable. You don’t want to drive all over central Maine, only to watch a bad high school football game. That happens, all you have for your trouble is a long drive home and a soggy hot dog burning a hole in your stomach.
Posted inSports
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Plenty to like for Waterville
Waterville Senior High School head coach Frank Knight saw a lot to like in his team’s 64-14 win over Winslow on Saturday.
Posted inSports
TRAVIS LAZARCZYK: It happened quick, but it had to happen
Wow. This blockbuster went from rumor to done deal so quickly, we haven’t time to let it soak in. With many trades, the rumors circulate for so long, when it finally happens it’s like easing into a warm bath. The megadeal pulled off by the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend is like jumping off a dock into cold water on a hot summer day. Abrupt, yet refreshing.
Posted inSports
HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY: McAllister wins Laliberte
AUGUSTA — Lawrence High School junior Jilli McAllister is a newcomer to cross country, but don’t call her win in the Scot Laliberte Invitational beginner’s luck.