3 takeaways from Maine's high school football state championships

The Maine Principal's Association (MPA) state title games took place on Saturday and we give you three takeaways from the day

Falmouth won the Class B Gold Cup state championship on Saturday evening / Falmouth High School

The 2024 Maine high school football season concluded on Saturday, culminating with four state champions being crowned in the Maine Principal's Association (MPA) state championships.

With the new state champions brought plenty to chew on from each respective contest and High School On SI Maine gives you three takeaways from the Saturday filled with football.

1. From worst to first; Falmouth wins their first ever state title

Falmouth Football/Facebook

It's been well documented since last year what's gone on at Falmouth and the aftermath of it all turned into a fairy tale-like ending. Last year, 22 kids from Falmouth's 2023 team petitioned out then-head coach John Fitzsimmons. Thoughts around the state were who could come and bring stability to such a program that's gone through the ringer when it came to criticism of the situation? Enter Spencer Emerson, who returned to his home state and delivered the Navigators the goods. Emerson, a former collegiate assistant, led the squad to a 11-0 record, ending with a 26-13 win over Kennebunk. The Navigators have gone through a lot of adversity just to get to the Class B Gold Cup championship game and to win it all was the cherry on top to a perfect season when so many thought there was plenty of imperfections surrounding the program before the 2024 campaign.

2. Portland dominates Thornton Academy for Class A crown

Portland Bulldogs walking up at the 2023 Maine high school football state championships. / Mainehighschoolfootball.com

Portland and Thornton Academy all season long have been on a collision course to play one another for the Class A state championship and it ended Saturday in decisive fashion. The Bulldogs stopped the Trojans from winning a 38th state championship with an impressive 35-14 victory. All season long it was a question mark who the best team in the Pine Tree State was, but Sean Green's crew put a huge exclamation point behind its win over Thornton Academy. The only lead the Trojans held all day is when the game was 7-6, but from there, the Bulldogs dominated the rest of the way. Portland would up scoring 29 of the game's 36 remaining points that would be scored en route to the championship. Now, the debate is over on who the top club is in Maine, at least in our opinion.

3. Wells cruises past Foxcroft for Class D title; Fryeburg romps in Class C championship

🏈🏆 CONGRATS!! CLASS D STATE CHAMPIONS!! pic.twitter.com/DXREIQySV4

— Wells AD (@wellshsAD) November 23, 2024

Looking at the other two state championships that took place in Class C and Class D, both were a little less climatic then the two aforementioned games. Fryeburg cruised to a 28-0 victory over Hermon for the C championship and Wells won handily, 34-0, over Foxcroft Academy in the D title game. Both teams displayed dominance throughout their respective championship wins, leaving little doubt of where they stand at the end of the season.

Falmouth (Maine) has gone from turmoil to state championship contender

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi