Maine
Football: 2024 Varsity Maine All-State team
OFFENSE
Jamier Rose, Noble senior quarterback: An All-State pick as a defensive back as a junior and this year’s Varsity Maine Player of the Year, Rose excelled as a dual-threat quarterback, leading Noble to its first regional final since 1997. He completed 105 of 169 passes for 1,518 yards and 19 touchdowns against three interceptions and ran for 938 yards and 13 touchdowns on 116 carries. At free safety, he was Noble’s defensive signal caller and made 34 solo tackles, including four for loss, and intercepted four passes.
Louis Thurston, Portland senior quarterback: In his second season as the starting quarterback, Thurston guided Portland to its first Class A title since 2002, leading the team in rushing (108 carries, 1,027 yards, 8 TDs) while completing 97 of 154 passes for 1,465 yards and another 20 touchdowns. He also played defensive back, making 28 solo tackles, with three interceptions.
Dash Farrell, Mt. Ararat senior running back: Voted the player of the year in the eight-man Large School ranks, Farrell did it all for the Eagles, who lost in the state championship game. He ran for 2,144 rushing yards (218 carries) and 40 touchdowns, including 698 yards and 13 TDs in three playoff games; returned punts and kicks for another 773 yards and six scores; was the long-snapper on punts; and as a linebacker led the team with 73 tackles.
Daniel Ruiz, Fryeburg Academy senior running back: The Class C South Player of the Year, Ruiz was a dominant two-way player for the Class C state champions. He rushed for over 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns while often sitting out in the second half. He was also the Raiders’ leading tackler and intercepted three passes, returning one for a touchdown, and returned two strip fumbles for touchdowns.
Anthony Tavares, Portland senior offensive lineman: Tavares, a two-way tackle, is a two-time Varsity Maine All-State selection. For the second straight season, he did not allow even a quarterback pressure, according to Portland Coach Sean Green. He was also pivotal in the Portland ground game, which averaged 262 yards per game. On defense, Tavares consistently took on double teams and was in on 39 tackles, three for loss.
Henry Mahoney, Thornton Academy senior offensive lineman: Mahoney was selected as the Gerry Raymond Class A South Lineman of the Year as a two-way starting tackle. He did not allow a quarterback sack and anchored the offensive line as Thornton averaged 383 yards and 38 points per game. He also made 21 solo tackles (4 for loss).
Charles Majkowski, Kennebunk senior offensive lineman: At 6-5, 290 pounds, Majkowski came into his own this season as the leader of an offensive line that paved the way for the B South champions to rush for over 2,900 yards. He was also a starter at defensive tackle.
DeShawn LaMour, Deering senior offensive lineman: LaMour as voted the B South Offensive Lineman of the Year, leading the way up front for the 8-2 Rams. LaMour was also a force as a defensive tackle.
Thomas Gale, Falmouth junior offensive lineman: At 6-foot-4, 265 pounds, Gale was the leader of the offensive line for a diverse, explosive offense that saw quarterback Tres Walker complete 70 percent of his passes (117 of 167), while the running game was effective both inside and on the perimeter.
Cordell Jones, Portland junior wide receiver: Jones was Portland’s Mr. Everything, lining up at every skill position during the course of a game. He caught 26 passes for 533 yards and eight touchdowns. As a wildcat quarterback and taking handoffs on jet sweeps, he rushed for 971 yards and 16 touchdowns. On defense, he had 29 solo tackles, three tackles for loss, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Brady Plante, Old Orchard Beach senior utility: Plante was a four-year starter at quarterback for the Seagulls’ eight-man team, and this year led them to their second Small School state championship in three years. Seldom playing beyond halftime because of lopsided scores and missing two games because of minor injuries, Plante completed 80 of 115 passes (69.6%) for 2,393 yards and 35 touchdowns against two interceptions, ran for 492 yards (14.5 yards per carry) and nine TDs, and accounted for 21 2-point conversions (seven rushing, 14 passing).
DEFENSE
Anton Kravchuk, Fryeburg Academy senior defensive tackle: At 6-foot-5 and 295 pounds, Kravchuk had the agility to play center on offense, “He’s the best lineman we’ve played in years,” said Gorham Coach Sam Morrison. Leavitt’s Mike Hathaway called Kravchuk “the most impactful defensive player in Maine.” A two-time all-conference pick on both sides of the ball, Kravchuk signed with the University of Maine on Wednesday, projected as an offensive lineman.
Colin Kelly, Portland senior defensive tackle: Like Tavares, Kelly was a two-way starting tackle and a key to Portland’s offense, allowing one QB sack. But it was on defense where he shined as a run-stopper who could also pressure the quarterback, with 55 total tackles (26 solo), five sacks, and 12 tackles for loss.
Eli Bush, Falmouth junior defensive end: As he demonstrated in Falmouth’s Class B championship win against Kennebunk, the 6-foot-4, 230-pounder was a disruptive force on the edge of Falmouth’s stingy defense, recording 25 tackles for loss, including 10 sacks, among his 39 solo tackles. He also blocked a punt that he returned for a touchdown. As a blocking tight end, he was often the lead blocker on explosive outside runs.
Shane Waterman, Marshwood senior defensive end: A four-year starter and two-year captain who played tenaciously regardless of the score, Waterman was voted the B South defensive lineman of the year. He was in on 70 tackles, with 13 quarterback pressures, two forced fumbles and two blocked kicks. He was also a starter at offensive guard.
Eli Potter, Wells senior linebacker: The defensive leader for the Class D champion Warriors, Potter has “great instincts, tackles well, and runs our defense,” said Wells Coach Tim Roche. He made 52 solo tackles and also rushed for 1,400 yards, at 8.7 yards per carry, with 22 touchdowns at fullback.
Indi Backman, Falmouth senior linebacker: The linchpin of a Falmouth defense that allowed 59 points in 11 games, Backman made 56 solo tackles with 25 for loss, including three sacks. As the Class B primary running back for the Class B champions, he gained over 1,000 yards, with 12 touchdowns
Ben McCarron, Greely senior linebacker: It wasn’t just McCarron’s 12 solo tackles, three interceptions and two pick-sixes in the eight-man Large School championship game that earned him his All-State spot. But that effort clearly demonstrated his ability to read an offense and make the play. McCarron made 128 total tackles (70 solo), forced two fumbles, recovered two fumbles, and averaged 6.3 yards per carry with four touchdowns as a running back.
Easton Healy, South Portland senior defensive back: As a safety, Healy was a tenacious tackler, getting in on 60 tackles and also intercepting two passes. As a dual-threat quarterback, he rushed for 537 yards and 14 touchdowns and completed 67 of 117 passes for 1,073 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Riley Provencher, Old Orchard Beach defensive back: An outstanding all-around player, the 5-11, 185-pounder made 56 tackles, intercepted two passes, caused two fumbles, and scored two defensive touchdowns and three TDs on punt returns. As a wide receiver, he caught 40 passes for 1,121 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushed for 120 yards and three scores on 13 carries. In the eight-man Small School state championship game, he had three touchdown catches, a kick-return touchdown and an interception.
Tavian Lauture, Deering senior defensive back: The B South Player of the Year impacted every facet of Deering’s 8-2 season. On defense, he intercepted five passes and was an aggressive tackler. In the kicking game, he made two field goals beyond 40 yards. His kickoffs usually resulted in touchbacks or Lauture making the tackle. His greatest value was as a quarterback with leadership skills, throwing for 825 yards and nine touchdowns in a run-first offense and rushing for 934 yards and 13 TDs.
Colton Carter, Lawrence senior utility: Carter was the top all-around performer for B North runner-up Lawrence. On defense, he played a combo linebacker/defensive end position and made 27 tackles. His greatest value was as a running back who needed to be gang-tackled and could bust a big play, gaining 1,537 yards with 22 touchdowns while averaging 8.4 yards per carry. He also caught three touchdown passes.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Spencer Emerson, Falmouth
In his first season with the Navigators, Emerson increased participation significantly by convincing top athletes to return to football, then led the team to an undefeated 11-0 season and its first football championship, featuring a relentless defense that was a strength from the opening game while developing a balanced and diverse offense that improved throughout the season.
Dressed in a fuzzy chicken costume, a then-2-year-old girl — accompanied by her parents dressed as farmers — walked around their new neighborhood ringing doorbells and asking for candy. It was July.
That is how the Westbrook community first met and fell in love with Lucy Hanson five years ago.
Everyone in Lucy’s neighborhood is close, Sue Salisbury, her neighbor, said, but it’s particularly hard not to love Lucy. She trick-or-treats year round. She jumps into her neighbors’ piles of leaves as they’re raking. She rides around the neighborhood on a seat on her dad’s bike with a speaker playing music attached in the back.
“She’s got the whole neighborhood wrapped around her finger,” Joe Salisbury, Sue’s husband, said.
So when Lucy was diagnosed with cancer at the end of October, the neighborhood decided to flood her with love as she spends the next nine months, holidays included, in the hospital for chemotherapy treatment.
Friends, neighbors, strangers and even people from other countries have sent Lucy a deluge of holiday cards, donations, gifts and meals.
Lucy’s aunt, Juna Ferguson, shared Lucy’s story on social media and asked for donations and meals to help. She also submitted Lucy’s name to The Angel Card Project, an online charity that requests greeting cards for people in need, so Lucy would feel as much love as possible during the holiday season.
In just a few weeks, Lucy has received hundreds and hundreds of cards, letters and packages, including some from as far as Germany and Australia. On Meal Train — a website that facilitates meal giving to families in hard times — people have donated almost $22,000 for the Hanson family and sent dozens of meals. Lucy’s wish list sold out within five minutes — three separate times.
The Hanson family
In many ways, Lucy is just like any other 7-year-old girl from Westbrook.
She loves Harry Potter (she’s in Gryffindor, of course). She’s reading “Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix,” but it’s a little scary for her. She just became a Brownie in the Girl Scouts. She wants to be a music teacher when she grows up. She loves to draw and sing and dance and do gymnastics and musical theatre. She has a best friend named Mallory who she has known since she was 6 months old. She’ll cry if there’s a snow day and she can’t go to school and see Mallory.
She’s witty and kind and bubbly and fun.
But in other ways, Lucy’s life doesn’t resemble that of other kids.
Last month, she spent more time in the hospital than at home. If she’s in the hospital, she has a robot she can drive around school to participate in her classes. (She dressed up the robot with a jacket, a hat and a sparkly backpack to make it look more like her).
Lucy is much smaller than most girls her age, as a genetic condition slows her growth. And she knows a lot more about cancer than most children.
She’s used to doctors and nurses and hospitals.
A few months after she was born in July 2018, she developed a rash on her face, which eventually spread to other parts of her body. After visiting three dermatologists and ruling out eczema, Lucy ultimately was diagnosed with Rothmund-Thomson syndrome type 2, a rare genetic condition that primarily affects her skin and bones and increases her chances of developing several types of cancer. Lucy is one of about 500 documented cases of RTS in the world.
For six years, Lucy was healthy. But in October, while she was attending a conference for families affected by RTS in Salt Lake City, she started to limp. She seemed to get better after a while, but a week and a half later, she couldn’t put any weight on her foot.
That’s when she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her right tibia. The doctors said Lucy will need nine months of chemotherapy and a below-the-knee amputation in February of 2026.
“How will we navigate the rest of Lucy’s life?” Staci Hanson, Lucy’s mom, thought.
Even though their lives had flipped upside down, Staci and her husband Jason decided to live as normally as possible.
They make sure Lucy does school work and takes walks. A school teacher checks in with her at the hospital and a child life specialist comes to play with her. Last week, they made slime together.
The nurses and doctors at MaineHealth Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, where Lucy is receiving her chemotherapy treatments, have made magic in a very nonmagical situation, Staci said. In the hospital, Lucy got to pick out her own Christmas tree and ornaments for her room and even made a gingerbread house.
In the past month, the Hansons have spent just five days at home. Staci and Jason take shifts at the hospital. One night, mom stays with Lucy, the next it’s dad. They only live 15 minutes from the hospital, so it’s not a long drive to come home to get new things or do laundry, Jason said.
“It feels like a long time,” Lucy protested.
Her parents are honest with her about RTS, osteosarcoma and her approaching amputation in February.
“We try to lift her up and tell her, ‘Yeah, your world is going to look a little bit different, but you can still live a super normal life even with a prosthetic,’” Staci said. “So we’ve shown her lots of videos of people doing gymnastics and dance and just living fulfilling lives even though they have a prosthetic.”
Rallying around
Since Lucy met Joe and Sue Salisbury while trick-or-treating in the summer years ago, she has become part of their family.
“It’s like having a grandchild,” Joe said.
Lucy will often randomly call the Salisburys to invite them over for a movie night. No matter what they’re doing, even if they’re in the middle of dinner, they always accept.
“You don’t say no to her,” Sue said.
So they will stop what they’re doing, walk across the road in their slippers, and cuddle up with Lucy on the couch to watch whatever movie she wants.
Now, Sue and Joe hold on to those memories of her until they can resume that tradition.
In the meantime, the community is doing everything it can to help the family. The less the Hansons have to worry about, the more they can focus on Lucy and themselves.
Joe and Sue volunteered to receive the letters for Lucy, since the Hansons are rarely home to check their mail.
“This is Lucy’s fan following,” Joe said, pointing to two packages and a bag stuffed with letters.
The Salisburys collected at least 400 cards for her in three weeks. They go to the hospital about once a week to visit Lucy and give her the letters. They would like to see her more, but the visits are limited due to Lucy’s compromised immune system.
The Salisburys own the Daily Grind, a coffee shop in Westbrook. Customers come through all the time to drop off packages and cards for Lucy and ask about her.
Neighbors pick up the Hansons’ mail and plow their driveway.
Joe isn’t surprised by the response from the community. In Westbrook, people have always helped each other out.
“I think it’s just another example of how great the Westbrook community is that everybody is pulling together for Lucy,” Sue said.
The Hanson family has received so many letters and donations, it’s impossible to write enough thank you cards, Staci said. They are saving most of the cards to give to Lucy later, because she still has many more months in the hospital.
“I don’t know how we’ll ever repay our community for the love that we’ve received,” Staci said.
Lucy’s favorite card so far has a drawing of two ducks sitting in a yellow bowl of tomato soup with some crackers on the side.
“Thought some soup and quackers might make you feel better,” Lucy read from the card.
In another package, Lucy received fake snowballs. So Lucy did what any other kid would do —started a snowball fight in her hospital room with her doctors and nurses.
Those interested in sending gifts and cards or signing up to give a meal can visit mealtrain.com/trains/w4lwd0. The RTS Foundation accepts donations at rtsplace.org/. People can also join “The Lucy League” by buying merchandise at bonfire.com/store/bravelikelucy/. All profits go to the Hanson family.
Now that deer season has wrapped up, hunters across Maine are returning to their usual off-season routine: processing meat, watching football and passionately debating the “right” way to hunt and fish.
Anyone who spends time in the woods knows opinions run deep.
So, what’s your hunting hot take? Is camo really necessary, or do deer not care what you’re wearing? Can they really smell a Swisher Sweet on your clothing? Should hunting licenses be harder to get, or should crossbows be classified as firearms?
It’s not just about laws, either — it’s about ethics, tradition and your personal style.
Your hot take might spark a friendly debate — or a fiery one — but either way, we want to hear it.
Share your thoughts in the comments or email Outdoors editors Susan Bard at sbard@bangordailynews.com.
Portland’s skyline is changing.
First, the iconic B&M Baked Beans brick smokestack came down. Then the 190-foot Casco building went up. And soon, the city will add a sweeping new Roux Institute campus and an “architecturally significant” expansion of the Portland Museum of Art.
But perhaps no change will have as much visual impact as the 30-story, nearly 400-foot tower the planning board approved earlier this month.
The proposal has ruffled feathers, with many bemoaning what they say sticks out like a sore thumb (or middle finger) on the city’s idyllic skyline. They fear if more high-rises pop up across the city, Portland might slowly morph into a northern version of Boston.
So will this project usher in an era of skyscrapers for Maine’s largest city?
Experts say that’s unlikely.
“We’re not expecting a windfall of 30-story buildings,” said Kevin Kraft, the city’s director of planning and urban development.
Under new zoning laws, only a small section of downtown along Temple, Federal and Union streets allow buildings as tall as the tower. That means even if there was an appetite for more high-rises, there simply isn’t much undeveloped space.
Furthermore, much of Portland ‘s peninsula is covered in historic districts, and “contributing buildings” can’t be torn down, Kraft noted.
Chapter 14 Land Use Code – Revised 12-3-2025 (PDF)-Pages by julia
GROWING UP
Vertical development, experts say, is a sustainable way to squeeze more housing into a smaller footprint, something cities have been doing for decades. And Portland needs housing in spades.
Last year, city leaders updated its zoning laws with the goal of allowing growth while preserving character. The overhaul included an increased maximum height for buildings in some of the city’s major corridors, permitting buildings up to 380 feet in a section of downtown.
That part of the city has always allowed the tallest buildings, but until last year’s recode, the maximum height was 250 feet. And that height cap was in place for nearly 30 years before it was even remotely tested when Redfern Properties built the 190-foot Casco in 2023, currently the tallest building in Maine.
The new proposal from Portland developer East Brown Cow Management LLC, tentatively called Old Port Square tower, would be twice that tall. It would include more than 70 residential units, commercial space, an 88-room hotel and a restaurant at the top, and is just one piece of a development project that could fill an entire city block.
Whether any other developers follow suit with similar proposals could depend more on market conditions than Portland’s updating zoning.
“People aren’t going to build speculative high-rises,” Kraft said.
If the building ends up being successful, though, it could be an important “proof of concept” for other developers in the area, said Tim Love, assistant director of the Master in Real Estate Program at Harvard University.
Love is generally supportive of the project, which he said is in a great location.
“A lot of these proposals don’t happen because at the end of the day, the financing doesn’t work or the numbers that were plugged in for rents aren’t supported by the underwriting,” he said. “So I think it would be good for Portland if this project is a success,” because it could lead to additional residential development downtown.”
And more people living downtown is exactly what the city needs, he said.
“I hope this is a model for more residential mixed-use development at densities that can extend the kind of not 24/7 but 18/7 life of the city all the way to the museum,” he said.
If Portland is going to get an influx of high-rises, it won’t be for some time, said Jeff Levine, a former planner for the city of Portland who now divides his time consulting and teaching urban studies and planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“I don’t think you get instant results in anything,” he said.
Real estate is complicated. Beyond just zoning changes, there are building regulations, financial restrictions and even simply individual personalities that impact whether a building will go up, Levine said.
FEAR OF CHANGE
Nancy Smith, CEO of GrowSmart Maine, a nonprofit that helps communities grow in sustainable ways, says the Old Port Square tower will certainly be symbolic for the city, but it’s not a “game-changer.”
Game-changers, she said, were the Franklin Arterial and the demolition of Union Station — projects that transformed the city (though arguably not for the better) and made a statement about what Portland wanted to be in the future.
But some feel like the tower could do that, too. It just might take time.
“We’re not (just) trying to capture the current moment, we want to anticipate the growth we could see in the next 15, 20, 30 years,” Kraft said. “We want to accommodate that growth (and) be more proactive than reactionary.”
Cities are constantly changing and evolving, he said. At one point, the Time and Temperature building on Congress Street seemed to dwarf those around it, including the Fidelity Trust building, which was once known as Maine’s “first skyscraper.” Now, they blend in.
Additionally, Smith said, the uses intended for the proposed tower area already commonplace downtown: a hotel, restaurant, apartments and shops.
Still, a big element of early opposition to the tall tower is fear of change, and that’s natural, she said.
“The challenge is moving beyond that deeply personal response to actually consider what you’re looking at,” she said. “This building has a lot of symbolic value. Portland is changing, but stopping the building isn’t going to stop that change.”
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