Yarmouth dominating, and other Maine high school football storylines for Week 7
Wells defensive back Samuel Heigelmann tries to grab Leavitt's Landon Reny during their game Sept. 26 in Lewiston. Reny is one of many playmakers on the Hornets offense, while Heigelmann and the Warriors have been rebounding since their 42-0 loss to the Hornets. (Joe Phelan/Staff Photographer)
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As we head into Week 7 and creep toward the end of the Maine high school football regular season, some teams have emerged as state title contenders, while others still have work to do.
Thornton Academy (6-0) and Bonny Eagle (6-0) have all but secured Class A South postseason berths, but can a team like Noble, which is currently on the outside of the playoff picture, find a way to win out and make a postseason run? To do so, the first step for the Knights is getting past South Portland on Friday.
Lawrence and Cony appear to be the favorites in Class B North, but can Skowhegan and Messalonskee make some headway in the division in their final two weeks of the regular season?
Here are three storylines to follow heading into Week 7:
DOMINATION STATION IN YARMOUTH
Yarmouth has been nothing short of dominant this season.
The Clippers (6-0) have outscored their opponents 354-54, tallying 60 points exactly in their last three games and averaging 59 points per game.
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They’re first in the Large School South eight-man Crabtree standings and have trounced the other top contenders in the division — Spruce Mountain (4-2), whom they defeated 48-0 on Sept. 12, and Cape Elizabeth (4-2), whom they defeated 82-40 on Sept. 19.
“We’re super excited about this group,” said coach Nick Orsi. “We knew coming into the season it was going to be pretty special. We had a lot of players returning on the offensive side of the ball, including our quarterback, all our wide receivers. We added our running back, Stephen Connolly (54 carries, 940 yards, 14 touchdowns), to the mix this year. He’s a junior from NYA. He’s part of our co-op.”
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The Clippers’ passing game is especially prolific, led by senior quarterback Iggy McGrath, who has thrown for 1,227 yards and 21 TDs and has yet to have a pass intercepted.
Even with such a high-performing offense, Orsi believes Yarmouth’s defense is the biggest difference-maker this year. Taking away the game against Cape Elizabeth, the Clippers have only allowed 14 points. Three of their games have been shutouts.
“We’re actually holding opponents to about 150 yards a game in total offense,” Orsi said. “That’s pretty remarkable in eight-man football — there’s so much space on the field, it typically tends to be higher-scoring games. We had a really rough first half against Cape Elizabeth and we gave up an opening-drive touchdown against Lake Region, but outside of that, the starting defense has been virtually flawless.”
On both sides of the ball, Yarmouth has proven itself a contender to win the eight-man Large School state championship for the first time since 2022.
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Before then, the Clippers will close out their regular season with games against Orono (3-3) on Friday and Gray-New Gloucester (4-1) on Oct. 23.
HAS WELLS TURNED THE CORNER?
After Leavitt defeated Wells 42-0 on Sept. 26, coach Tim Roche knew his team was at a crossroads, sitting at 2-2 in a competitive Class C division.
“I just said to them, ‘We either step up to this challenge in the next five games, or we just say, ‘Oh … we’re not very good,’” Roche said. “I think we’re good.”
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The Warriors (4-2) have won their last two games, defeating Gardiner 47-31 on Oct. 2 and Freeport 28-24 on Oct. 8. With three games remaining, Wells may be on its way to rejoining the field of Class C contenders alongside Leavitt, Greely, Foxcroft Academy and Hermon. Eight teams make the Class C postseason, and the top four host quarterfinals. Wells is currently ranked fifth but could move up if it wins its next three. The Warriors finish the regular season with games against York (2-4) on Saturday, Nokomis (2-4) on Oct. 24 and Hampden Academy (0-6) on Oct. 30.
HIGH-OCTANE HORNETS
Leavitt coach Michael Hathaway said it best after his team’s season-opening 39-8 win over Medomak Valley on Sept. 4: The Hornets don’t want to be reliant on only one component of their offense.
“Really, we just want to spread the ball around,” Hathaway said. “Whether it’s run or pass or whatever, we don’t want to be relying on any one thing. So I think you saw it tonight … a lot of different guys touching the ball.”
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With three games to go in the Class C regular season, it’s safe to say Hathaway’s vision for the season has been realized. Leavitt (6-0), No. 1 in the Crabtree standings, is averaging 42 points per game and has had different players step up to play leading roles.
Darren Flagg, for example, scored five touchdowns across the team’s first two games against Medomak Valley and Greely. Then, Landen Reny and Jeremiah McKenzie combined for five touchdowns in a Week 4 win against Wells.
Against Gardiner last week, Flagg was back at the forefront, reaching the end zone five times while exemplifying Leavitt’s quest for versatility: he scored twice on runs, twice on receptions and once on an interception return.
Leavitt plays Nokomis at 7 p.m. Thursday.
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Tagged: leavitt hornets, wells warriors, yarmouth clippers
Jimmy covers sports for the Sun Journal, primarily contributing to the Varsity Maine team. He is from Hagerstown, Maryland, and graduated from the University of Richmond in May of 2025 with a B.A. in journalism. More by Jimmy James
