Noah Holden and the Nokomis football team will host Brewer in a Class C North football quarterfinal game on Saturday. Anna Chadwick / Morning Watch

After winning the regular season finale, the Nokomis football team began watching the scoreboard as games at Fairfield and Rockland would impact the Warriors’ Class C North playoff seeding.

Fortunately, Nokomis beat Brewer 22-6, and losses to Hampden Academy and Oceanside led to a big bump in the standings.

“We had an early kickoff at 6 o’clock and I knew from the math that if we won, we were going to skip whichever of those two lost and vice versa,” Nokomis head coach Jake Rogers said. “We had (the Lawrence game) on our phones on the way home because Epic Vue (Studios) is publishing it.”

Nokomis will host Brewer in the regional quarterfinal rematch. It wasn’t just the 4-4 Warriors who clinched byes or home playoff appearances on Friday and Saturday.

Leavitt, a two-time Class C champion, is 2-5 entering Friday’s matchup against York.

The Hornets went 34-0 and secured a first-round bye in the C South playoffs. C.Teacher Mike Hathaway said the team had its best week of practice all season.

“It was frustrating because we worked hard the last few weeks but we couldn’t get the winning games but there was a really good vibe this week,” he said. “We knew it was a big game and our kids were flying out there with extra zip and had a nice comeback.”

Other than Mason Henderson, who is still injured, Leavitt is relatively healthy with Noah Alexander returning to anchor the lines. A bye will give the Hornets (3-5) a chance to improve further ahead of the C South semifinal game in Cape Elizabeth in two weeks.

In the eight-man bracket, Camden Hills also earned a much-appreciated bye week by defeating Houlton 24-22 on Saturday to earn the Large School No. 1 seed. After dealing with some injuries in the win, the Windjammers defeated Mt. He will have the chance to rest before their semi-final against Ararat or Gray-New Gloucester.

“We are so thankful for the bye,” Camden Hills head coach Chris Christie said. “I think that’s the most important part. We’ve developed a lot of integrity and a lot of character through some tough games like this and now we’re happy to take a breather and sit back for a few days to recover and get our energy back.”

Just three weeks ago, Maine Central Institute was ranked seventh in the eight-team Class D North standings. Pressured by weak schedule strength, the Huskies finished 2-3 with losses to Winslow, John Bapst and Brewer by a combined 120 points.

Leavitt’s Mason Henderson (left) and Keegan Reny react after Reny saved a game at Turner on Sept. 28. Russ Dillingham/Sun Magazine

After winning three straight games to close out the regular season, MCI now has a play-off match at home to look forward to. Friday’s final 28-8 victory over Mountain Valley saw the Huskies stay in control all the way to a home quarterfinal matchup with Old Town.

“We needed to establish our running game, strengthen the defense and take care of the football, and we did those three things,” MCI co-coach Tom Bertrand said. “Old Town is not a team to take lightly, so it’s nice to be at home in the first round. Of course, we love being in Pittsfield.”

Although Massabesic beat Marshwood 42-27 to claim third place in the B South, fourth-year head coach Lucas Labbe said the focus is not on playoff seeding. The main thing was to avoid a two-game losing streak heading into the play-offs; That seemed likely after the Mustangs (6-2) fell behind 15-0 against the Hawks last week.‘Lost to Kennebunk 49-7.

“We knew it was for series 3 and 4, but we also knew we would be fielding either Cheverus or Gorham on home ice and we felt good about facing both of them,” Labbe said. “We were nervous in some ways coming off the worst game we’ve ever played and how we were going to bounce back and we had concerns about losing two games in a row and losing the momentum you’ve built up before getting into the play-offs. ”

LITTLE TEN CONFERENCE is preparing for an exciting four-team play-off.

Stearns (7-1), Houlton (6-2), Orono (5-3) and Ellsworth (6-2) enter the 8-man Small School North semifinals averaging over 40 points per game.

Ranked first in the LTC, Stearns is averaging 53.8 points per game. The Minutemen are strong on the field with quarterback Cam Atkinson and running back Caden Raymond, but at the heart of this rushing offense is the offensive line of Gavin Gagnon, David McGreevy, Lucas McDonald and Brady Brooker.

“I think all of our players will tell you that our success running the ball is due to our offensive line,” Stearns head coach Cody Herring said. “These four seniors up front are all difference makers for us. We’re only going to be as good as they let us be, and they’ve done an incredible job this year.

Stearns will face Ellsworth in the semifinals, a rematch of the Minutemen’s 60-6 win on Saturday. Led by running back Ripley Strout (1,199 yards, 17 touchdowns), the Eagles have already clinched the winningest season in program history under fourth-year head coach Dave Svec.

THE TWO BIGGEST Week 8 games were played in neighboring towns on Friday. Wells hosted Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale/Kents Hill in a battle of undefeated D South teams, while Noble hosted Bonny Eagle in an A South matchup with major implications.

Wells and Winthrop knew they would have a bye to the regional semifinals regardless of Friday’s result. The Warriors prevailed 30-13.

Wells struggled to establish the running game, drawing four personal foul penalties and giving up a fumble comeback field goal late in the second quarter when Dom Buxton was smothered by a group of Ramblers 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage and lost the ball.

“That’s where I got angry. “We could have thrown the half out and we could have been out of the game, but we made pure mental and physical mistakes on the block,” said Wells coach Tim Roche. “We’ve got to tighten those up and we’ve got time now which is great, but the best in Class D “We need to tighten these up to be a team because there are good teams in Class D.”

Just 12 miles west of North Berwick, Bonny Eagle made their mark in the A South race by beating Noble 21-14. This win moved the Scots to second place in the league.

The Bonny Eagle football team has thrown a wrench into the Class A South playoff race. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

The win means the Bonny Eagle (6-2) has the best record in Class A, with wins over two of the other three teams with that mark (Noble and Portland). If the Scots were never seen as serious Golden Ball contenders before, it’s hard not to include them in this conversation now.

“We dropped (our first game of the year) in Lewiston (and) I think after that, we kind of flew under the radar,” Bonny Eagle head coach Kevin Cooper said after Friday night’s win. “I think we’ve put together a pretty impressive resume.”

The Class A South is the home of dual-threat quarterbacks. Heading into the season, Noble’s Jamier Rose and Thornton Academy’s Wyatt Benoit were considered likely 1A and 1B based on their junior seasons. Rose rushed and threw for over 1,000 yards and Benoit led TA to the state championship. South Portland’s Easton Healy was another quality returning starter who continues to impress, as evidenced by his five TD effort (four rushing, one passing) against Scarborough on Friday night.

But over the past four weeks, none have performed better than Bonny Eagle freshman starter Colin Moran. In Friday’s win over Noble, Moran rushed 32 times for 223 yards and completed 7 of 12 passes for 93 yards. He scored the winning touchdown on a 2-yard fourth down run, had a 47-yard touchdown run and threw a 12-yard TD pass on a fourth-and-11 play.

GRAY-NEW GLOUCESTER They defeated Traip Academy 35-0 on Friday to finish the regular season at 5-3; The Patriots posted their best finish since the school began playing college football in 2005.

“The coaching staff is excited and we are excited to move on and hopefully be successful in the playoffs,” Gray-New Gloucester head coach Mike Caiazzo said.

Caiazzo said the upperclassmen are an integral part of the Patriots’ success. With 10 seniors on the roster, Gray-New Gloucester has established itself in a competitive nine-team league, and on Friday those veterans will have a chance to lead the Patriots to their first playoff win in program history.

“The leadership of our seniors like Kobi Conant and Isaac Ormberg; they are great leaders,” Caiazzo said. “And (junior) Brody Tracy, he’s our defensive spark. “So they keep the kids focused on training, and we’re doing a lot in training and getting better every day.”

KENNEBUNK’S POINT ARRIVED Their last four opponents are 188-37. Are there things the coaches need to improve in their bye week?

Yes, we do. Believe me,” Kennebunk head coach Keith Noel said.

Noel said the defending Class B champions will highlight improvement in details such as defensive gap integrity and stepping on the right foot on the block.

In this form, the renewed offensive line gave us a strong direction. Colin Qualey, Mason Binette and Cal Johnson (back from injury) join proven players Kaden Stevens and Charlie Majkowski.

“They did an admirable job opening up gaps and doing what they needed to do,” Noel said.

MASSABESIC ANNOUNCED A NEW PRODUCT offensive threat in a 42-27 win over Marshwood.

Trailing 15-7 at halftime, the Mustangs inserted sophomore Nolan Pomerleau into the backfield. The 190-pounder with good vision and balance starts at linebacker with the occasional carry. Pomerleau responded with 15 carries for 129 yards and a touchdown. This only helps strengthen the Mustangs’ run-pass option game, which quarterback Cam Bradbury executes well. Bradbury had three touchdown passes and another run against Marshwood.

Press Herald writer Steve Craig and Sun Journal writer Nathan Fournier contributed to this report.

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