At Camden Hills, a new challenge awaits the football team
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Camden Hills running back/safety Braden Beveridge, center in gray shirt, kneels alongside his teammates as they listen to coach Nate Walrath explain a play during practice on Monday in Rockport. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
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ROCKPORT — The Camden Hills football team barely had time to celebrate the Gold Ball it won last fall when the returning Windjammers learned they’d have a new challenge in 2026.
After defeating Spruce Mountain in the eight-man Large School championship game, and with participation growing, Camden Hills is moving back to the 11-man ranks this year. The Windjammers will play in Class B North, which features tough programs in Cony, Fryeburg Academy and Lawrence.
“I know they’ll be tough. It’s 11-man football. It’s never going to be easy,” said senior quarterback Ryder Lombardo. “It’s definitely a big adjustment but I think we’ve got the guys to do it.”
That’s cranking up the degree of difficulty a little. Give Camden Hills credit for seeing it had outgrown the eight-man game. The program was struggling when it moved to eight-man in 2021. First-year coach Nate Walrath had 45 players pick up equipment for this season. He had 35 players at Monday morning’s first practice, with the rest expected in the coming days.
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“I think winning the state championship helped a lot. You win, you’re going to bring new players in,” said Walrath, who previously was an assistant with Freeport, where he coached 11-man football, and Yarmouth, where he coached the eight-man game. “We have a bunch of kids that never played football before. But they’re athletes.”
There’s a blueprint. What the Windjammers are trying to accomplish, Greely just did. In 2024, Greely won the eight-man large school state title. With participation on the upswing, the Rangers moved back to 11-man football last fall and won the Class C title. There’s no doubt Camden Hills sees Greely’s experience as motivation.
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“They had a great squad and they were able to do it. We’re hoping we can follow in Greely’s footsteps,” said Braden Beveridge, a senior running back/safety.
Walrath hasn’t spoken to Greely coach Caleb King about what the transition was like, but King’s brain is one Walrath would love to pick. Greely’s success at both levels of high school football reinforced what proponents of eight-man football have said for years. If you’re running, blocking and tackling, you’re playing football, and it doesn’t matter how many players are on the field.
“They really set a high bar. I think it helped a lot in setting the standard, this can be done. A lot of people were like you can’t go from eight-man to 11-man football and win, and they just blew the doors off everything,” Walrath said.
It’s not a program-building season for Walrath, who knew the school’s plan to jump back to 11-man football during the interview process. Still, it’s a change and he knows he has some fundamentals to teach. He’s done it before. Walrath helped introduce the football program at Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, Vermont. Now the Bulldogs are a perennial contender in Vermont’s top division.
Camden Hills senior Cayden Dinneen listens as assistant coach Kenny Johndro explains 11-man football formations during practice Monday in Rockport. The Windjammers are moving from 8-man 11-man this fall. “It is very confusing. I’m trying to figure out where I’m supposed to be and relearn everything,” Dinneen said. “It is definitely a change. I feel like I’m starting from scratch.” (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
The Windjammers want to learn, Walrath said, and they’re fast studies. He credited former coach Chris Christie with laying a strong foundation. Because of that, Walrath isn’t starting from scratch. Mostly it’s getting his players up to speed with new playbook terminology and more defensive coverages.
“The first time we did 7-on-7, it was funny. We did trips (a formation with three receivers lined up on the same side of the line), and they were all bunched together,” Walrath said. “You have more field, you can spread out. Things like that you don’t think about.”
Last season wasn’t a sudden burst of success for the Windjammers. The team had been a contender in eight-man Large for a few seasons and building toward a state title. For veterans like Beveridge and Lombardo, going to 11-man football is the natural progression.
“When we were freshmen, the seniors, they were hoping to grow the program. It’s just kind of fulfilling their dream,” Beveridge said.
Camden Hills has preseason contests against Hampden Academy and Hermon, and opens the regular season Sept. 4 at Messalonskee. That’s just under three weeks. Plenty of time for more growth.
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Tagged: camden hills windjammers, Sports Columns, travis lazarczyk, varsity maine
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. More by Travis Lazarczyk
