FAIRFIELD — Eleven years between state championship game appearances probably wouldn’t be an usual for your average football program. For the Lawrence Bulldogs, though, it’s an eternity.

The gap of 11 years between Lawrence state title game appearances that ended Saturday was the longest since the Bulldogs made their first appearance in a state final in 1973. Since then, their longest gap had been a 10-year stretch between 1996 and 2006.

The 27-7 Class B North championship game win over Cony, then, ends a stretch of oh-so-nears for a Lawrence team that had stumbled at this hurdle frequently over the past decade-plus. After watching the other teams in the area play for state titles, it’s now the Bulldogs turn to compete for a Gold Ball.

Lawrence (8-2), the top seed in Class B North, will face Kennebunk (9-1), the top seed in the South, for the state title at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland. The Bulldogs are seeking their first Gold Ball since 2006, while the Rams are looking for their first since 1991.

After Lawrence beat Cony to win the Class A title in 2012, the Bulldogs moved down to Class B the following year as Maine high school football went from three classes to four. Since then, Cony, Brunswick, Skowhegan and Windham had all claimed B East/North crowns with Lawrence falling short.

“Certainly, some of the other teams in the conference have had our number a little bit,” Lawrence head coach John Hersom said. “We’ve gone to a few of these games but haven’t been successful — it certainly wasn’t for a lack of effort — but this year, we were able to come here and get it done.”

Yes, five times in the previous nine seasons, Lawrence was denied with a regional title on the line. The Bulldogs lost to Brunswick in the 2014, 2018 and 2019 regional championship games, Skowhegan in the 2017 Class B North final and Windham in overtime of the 2021 Northern Maine title tilt.

In this game, though, a Lawrence win was never really in doubt. Sure, the Bulldogs could have been a bit more opportunistic after going up 14-0 in the first quarter, but Cony never cut the lead any closer than that as Lawrence outgained the Rams 483-215 in yet another lopsided league win.

It has the Pine Tree Conference on the verge of winning back-to-back state championships after Skowhegan won it all last year. The conference last won two straight in 2012 and 2013 with Mt. Blue topping Marshwood 44-42 in the 2012 game and Cony beating Kennebunk 30-23 the following year.

“It’s a tough league, and it’s hard to win any championship, but we have a great group of kids, and we’re fortunate that we’ve stayed healthy,” Hersom said. “I know the kids and the community are excited that they get to go down for one more game, and we’ll be ready to give our best effort.”

 

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On the unfortunate end of Saturday’s game was a Cony team that few people expected to be in this spot as recently as late September. The Rams had started 1-3 and had a rash of injuries that sidelined some of their top players.

It was, despite the loss, a good season for a Rams team that had won six straight games just to reach the Class B North championship stage. An eerily similar turnaround season came to an end for another central Maine team last week as Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale fell 35-6 to Wells in Friday’s D South final.

Both teams did it with rosters comprised heavily of young players that had to grow up fast in the face of adversity. Although the regional title game losses will certainly sting, the Rams and Ramblers can both turn the page to 2024 with plenty of optimism after turning what could have been losing seasons into deep playoff runs.

Cony’s last loss prior to Saturday came in a 40-7 defeat to Lawrence back in Week 4. That game came a week after a 39-21 loss to Messalonskee that saw the Bulldogs lose running back Conner Heidle, wide receiver Rocco Napolitano and elite linebacker Tyler Pelletier to season-ending injuries.

“We certainly didn’t have visions of playing in (a regional title) game,” said Cony head coach B.L. Lippert. “We were worried about the state of our program, whether we were good enough or tough enough. We weren’t playing to the standard we’ve set here, but we challenged the kids, and they turned it around.”

Cony (7-3) started six sophomores on offense and four on defense over the course of their six-game winning streak. It’s a sign that a bright future is ahead for a team that will bring back a nucleus of players that includes Heidle, quarterback Parker Morin and receivers Ethan Demmons and Cooper Clark, among others.

Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale had a similar season to Cony right down to a T. Like the Rams, the Ramblers were young, returning just one offensive starter and two defensive starters from 2022. Yet they, like Cony, racked up six straight wins after a 1-3 start, claiming the No. 3 seed in the playoffs and finishing 7-4.

Like Lippert, Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale head coach Dave St. Hilaire had worries about his team after a tough start to the year. Still, the Ramblers turned it around and kept winning even in the face of off-field adversity that saw the team’s field unavailable for more than a month and the community hit hard by the tragedy in Lewiston.

“We had times where we didn’t know we were going to practice and where we were gonna play the next day, and we had times where we were 1-3 and wondering if we were going to win another game,” St. Hilaire said. “These guys really embraced the idea of, ‘Don’t worry about anything around you and just go play football.’”

 

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While Saturday’s Class B state championship game between Lawrence and Kennebunk is a clash of No. 1 seeds, it’s far from the only one. In fact, all eight of the squads competing for Gold Balls this weekend are the top-ranked teams in their respective regions.

Prior to the 2:30 Class B game, Fitzpatrick Stadium is set to host the Class A battle between Portland (10-0) out of the North and Thornton Academy from the South (7-4) at 11 a.m. The Bulldogs are looking for their first state title in 21 years, while the Trojans are seeking their fifth in the last nine seasons.

Elsewhere at 11, South champion Leavitt (10-0) and North champ Oceanside (10-0) will meet in a battle of unbeaten teams in the Class C final at Lewiston High School. A Leavitt win would give the Hornets their second straight unbeaten season and state title, whereas Oceanside is looking for its first-ever Gold Ball.

After the Class C battle in Lewiston, North champ Foxcroft (10-0) will face off against South champion Wells (7-3) for the Class D state title. The Ponies are seeking their third straight state championship with the Warriors looking for their first since claiming three straight from 2016-18.

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