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Daniel Batstone scored four touchdowns Friday night as undefeated Exeter, New Hampshire, earned a 35-25 victory against Portland in an interstate football game at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
In a game between state title contenders, Batstone scored from 30 yards in the first quarter, dragging tacklers into the end zone, and from 3 yards in the second. He added scoring runs from 4 and 3 yards in the third quarter for the Blue Hawks (8-0).
Until Friday night, Exeter had not allowed more than 12 points in a game.
Portland (6-2) hung tough, pulling within 14-12 at the half on two second-quarter touchdowns, by Cordell Jones from the 1 and Aidan McGowan on a 41-yard pass from Louis Thurston.
But Exeter’s line opened large holes throughout, and Batstone took advantage to score his two third-quarter touchdowns. Jack Kavanaugh added another from the 1 in the fourth.
Portland collected touchdowns from Brady Viola on a 13-yard pass from Thurston in the third quarter and Lisandro Rodrigues, who scooped up a fumble at the 2 and reached the end zone with 2:26 to play.
KENNEBUNK 56, BIDDEFORD 20: Brady Stone opened the scoring with a 60-yard run, then broke the game open with two more touchdown runs in the third quarter, and the Rams (8-0) wrapped up an undefeated regular season by defeating the Tigers (1-7) in Biddeford.
Austin West added two touchdowns, including a screen pass that went for a 49-yard TD. Quarterback Sam Haley rushed for a touchdown in addition to his passing TD to West. The Rams also scoring runs from Ethan Burr and Theo Adams.
Biddeford’s Travis Edgerton passed for two touchdowns – 32 yards to Julius Searles and 6 yards to Owen Sylvain – and rushed for a score.
FREEPORT 28, POLAND 6: Teddy Peters rushed for three touchdowns as the Falcons (5-3) ended their regular season with a win over the Knights (1-7) at Freeport.
Peters scored on a 5-yard run in the first quarter, a 9-yard run in the second and an 8-yard run in the third. Ben Bolduc added a 6-yard scoring run later in the third quarter for a 28-0 lead.
Poland’s Shawn West caught a 37-yard TD pass from Damon Martin in the fourth quarter.
LEAVITT 34, YORK 0: Keegan Reny plunged in from the 1 to cap a 17-play, 95-yard drive late in the first quarter, starting the Hornets (3-5) on their way to a win over the Wildcats (2-5) at York.
Reny added a 4-yard scoring run, Josh Blais also had a rushing touchdown, and Brock Poulin threw touchdown passes to Brody Poland and Landon Daigle as Leavitt snapped a three-game losing streak.
FRYEBURG ACADEMY 48, GORHAM 6: Daniel Ruiz scored three touchdowns, including a fumble return and an 84-yard run, as the Raiders (6-2) rolled past the Rams (2-6) in Gorham.
Fryeburg, which will be the No. 1 seed in the Class C South playoffs, also got a fumble return touchdown from Holden Edenbach after a botched fake punt. Ty Boone, Malik Sow and Gabriel Souza each added a TD run.
Jack Karlonas took a short pass from Garrett Poulin 60 yards for Gorham’s only touchdown, late in the third quarter.
ORONO 42, LAKE REGION 20: Kason Bailey ran for two touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass, and the Red Riots (5-3) cruised to a win over the Lakers (6-2) in Orono.
Jack Brewer threw two touchdown passes for Orono. Logan Williams added a 3-yard rushing touchdown.
Brayden Wilson caught a touchdown pass from Brock Gibbons, Sean Murphy scored on a 59-yard run and Jaiden Meehan scored on a 71-yard run for Lake Region.
WESTBROOK 33, CAPE ELIZABETH 18: Gio Staples was involved in four touchdowns as the Blue Blazes (2-6) defeated the Capers (4-4) in Cape Elizabeth.
After Westbrook’s Cole Tanner opened the scoring with a 51-yard TD run and added the extra point, Staples returned a kickoff 78 yards for a TD to make it 13-6, then added a 71-yard TD run in the second quarter. Staples followed with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Camillo Jones for a 25-6 lead before scoring on a 2-yard run in the third.
Cape Elizabeth scored in the first quarter when quarterback Brady Inman’s pass went off the hands of defensive back Andre Hicks to Eli Smith, who ran it in for a 58-yard TD. Inman added a 4-yard keeper just before halftime, and a 55-yard TD pass to Smith in the fourth quarter.
SOUTH PORTLAND 29, SCARBOROUGH 20: Easton Healy scored five touchdowns to lead the Red Riots (5-3) past the Red Storm (2-6) at Scarborough.
After Kevin Collins scored on a 61-yard fumble return for Scarborough – the only points of the first quarter – Healy had touchdown runs of 31 and 3 yards, and Connor Gerard added a 32-yard run to give the Red Riots a 20-6 halftime lead.
Healey added scoring runs of 3 and 5 yards and caught a 16-yard TD pass in the second half.
Kingston Griffiths scored on a 48-yard pass in the third quarter and Collins caught a 3-yard TD pass for Scarborough in the fourth.
FIELD HOCKEY
WINDHAM 1, SOUTH PORTLAND/WESTBROOK 0: Abby Trainor broke a scoreless tie with 12:09 to play as the seventh-seeded Eagles (9-6) edged the 10th-seeded Red Riots (6-8-1) in a Class A South prelim at Windham.
Vivian Lolar made 12 saves for South Portland/Westbrook. Windham’s Olivia McPherson stopped two shots.
The Eagles next face second-seeded Biddeford in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
GIRLS’ SOCCER
FALMOUTH 4, DEERING 0: The fifth-seeded Navigators (10-3-2) scored twice in each half and blanked the No. 12 Rams (4-9-2) in a Class A South prelim in Falmouth.
The Navigators advance to meet No. 4 Cheverus in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Margo Hesson gave Falmouth the lead in the eighth minute. Hadley Perry then struck in the 16th minute.
Gwen Long added a goal with 22 minutes to go and Hesson’s second goal, with 10 minutes remaining, accounted for the final margin.
The Rams got 11 saves from Annabelle Price.
KENNEBUNK 3, SANFORD 2: The eighth-seeded Rams (6-4-4) beat the ninth-seeded Spartans (6-6-3) in penalty kicks as they won a Class A South prelim at Kennebunk.
Natalie Elia and Kendall Therrien were the goal scorers for Kennebunk.
Sanford’s Annalise Stimmell tied the game with four seconds left in regulation. Isabella McCall also scored for Sanford.
The Rams next face top-seeded Windham in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
THORNTON ACADEMY 4, BONNY EAGLE 0: Quincy Thibault tallied three goals, including a penalty kick in the second half, to pace the sixth-seeded Golden Trojans (8-4-3) past the 11th-seeded Scots (6-8-1) in a Class A South prelim at Saco.
Malia Collins opened the scoring with an assist from Charlotte Belanger in the 13th minute.
Kenna Ingram stopped 11 shots for Bonny Eagle, while Ava Lomax recorded three saves for the Trojans.
Thornton Academy faces third-seeded Gorham on Tuesday in the quarterfinals.
WELLS 1, YORK 0: The eighth-seeded Warriors (7-8) emerged from an extended penalty kick tiebreaker, winning 11-10 after playing to a scoreless deadlock against the ninth-seeded Wildcats (4-10-1) in a Class B South prelim at Wells.
The Warriors advance to play No. 1 Greely in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
BOYS’ SOCCER
SOUTH PORTLAND 4, KENNEBUNK 1: Ben Morin set up a first-half goal by Christiana Jundo, then scored twice in the second half as the ninth-seeded Red Riots (8-6-1) ousted the No. 8 Rams (8-6-1) in a Class A South prelim at Kennebunk.
Lamed Khelendende headed in a corner kick from Jackson Houlette to make it 2-0 early in the second half.
Kennebunk averted a shutout when Blake Dallara scored on a pass from Cooper Thompson with four minutes left.
Michael Zaccaria made seven saves for South Portland, which plays No. 1 Windham in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Kennebunk’s Caleb Auriemma stopped six shots.
Local News
After nearly four decades, a man whose skull was discovered in the New Hampshire woods has been identified.
Warren Kuchinsky was born in 1952 and was last known to be alive in the mid-1970s, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella and New Hampshire State Police Colonel Mark Hall said in a statement. In 1986, his skull was found in a wooded area in the town of Bristol.
At the time, investigators weren’t able to identify whose skull it was, according to officials. Last year, however, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner partnered with the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit organization, to solve the case using forensic genetic genealogy techniques.
Kuchinsky’s identity was confirmed through DNA testing of a surviving family member, according to officials. There is no evidence that his death was caused by foul play, according to the statement.
Founded in 2017, the DNA Doe Project partners with law enforcement, medical examiners, and volunteer genealogists to apply investigative genealogy to John and Jane Doe cases. By analyzing DNA profiles and building family trees from publicly available genetic databases and historical records, the organization has helped solve more than 250 cases nationwide.
“We are honored to have partnered with the State of New Hampshire on this case,” DNA Doe Project Team Leader Lisa Ivany said in the statement. “Through the power of investigative genetic genealogy and the dedication of our volunteer genealogists, we were able to develop a critical lead in less than 24 hours. We truly hope that this identification brings long-awaited answers to Mr. Kuchinsky’s family.”
Initial DNA testing turned up only distant matches, so the DNA Doe Project selected the case to be worked on at a virtual retreat in May 2025, according to the organization’s case profile. Over the course of a weekend, more than 40 genealogists from the U.S., Canada, England, and Scotland collaborated virtually to work on the case.
Within hours, the team discovered that the unidentified man had roots in New Hampshire and Quebec, according to the profile. They later zeroed in on Kuchinsky, who had attended school in Plymouth, N.H., but had no official proof of life past 1970.
“This identification reflects the power of partnership and scientific advancement,” Formella said in the statement. “The dedication of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the investigative support of the New Hampshire State Police, and the extraordinary work of the DNA Doe Project have restored a name to an individual who had been unidentified for nearly 40 years. We are grateful for their professionalism and commitment.”
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The proposal would fine transgender people up to $5,000 for using bathrooms aligned with their gender identity.
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Bathroom bans targeting transgender people have been spreading rapidly across the United States. In previous years, adult bathroom bans in public buildings were limited to a handful of states with extreme laws. This year, they have become one of the primary vehicles for anti-trans legislation nationwide. Kansas was the first to act, passing a bathroom bounty hunter system and invalidating transgender people’s IDs. Idaho and Missouri began advancing their own bills. Now, the New Hampshire House of Representatives has passed its own version — one of the most extreme in the United States, which states that a trans person using the bathroom of their gender identity is a crime under the state civil rights act, violations of which carries hefty penalties. The bill passed 181-164 on Wednesday night, just weeks after Governor Kelly Ayotte vetoed a separate bathroom ban. Republicans are now sending her something far more aggressive — raising the question of whether they are trying to move the goalposts or simply daring her to veto again.
“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, with the exception of RSA 21:3, RSA 21:54, and paragraph II below, all multi-user facilities, including bathrooms, restrooms, and locker rooms located in buildings owned, leased, or operated by any municipality shall be used based on the individual’s biological sex,” reads the new bill. This prohibition is expansive: it applies to parks, rest stops, airports, civic buildings, and more, and could leave transgender people struggling to find a public place to use the restroom across the state.
The bill contains a novel enforcement mechanism not seen in any other state. It declares that a transgender person “asserting” that their gender identity allows them to use the bathroom is against the law under the state civil rights act, turning civil rights protections that were meant to be protective of transgender people into a weapon against them. “It shall be unlawful for any person to assert that their gender identity is a sex other than that defined in RSA 21:3 for the purposes of accessing places or services restricted on the basis of sex,” reads the bill. Such violations could result in fines of up to $5,000 per incident and even jail time if a person violates a resulting court injunction by continuing to use the restroom.
The bill also contains provisions for private businesses. It permits any owner or operator of a “place of public accommodation” — a category that under New Hampshire law includes hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores, bars, and concert venues — to restrict bathrooms by assigned sex at birth. The bill then immunizes those businesses from discrimination claims: “Adoption or enforcement of a policy pursuant to this section shall not be deemed discrimination under RSA 354-A or any other state law,” it reads.
A separate bill, HB 1217, also passed on Wednesday. That bill permits governmental buildings and businesses to classify bathrooms and locker rooms by assigned sex at birth — similar to the bathroom bans Ayotte has already vetoed. It passed by an even wider margin, 187-163. It contains no enforcement mechanism, but rather, states that bathroom bans and sports bans are not discriminatory towards transgender people under New Hampshire law.
The bills are part of a larger movement towards bathroom bans for transgender people. Just last month, Kansas passed a bathroom ban that allows every citizen in the state to become a bounty hunter, where reporting transgender people in bathrooms can net them $1,000 per trans person caught. This law also invalidated trans people’s drivers licenses in the state. Meanwhile, Idaho and Missouri are both advancing extreme anti-trans bathroom bans of their own, with Idaho’s ban even applying to private businesses, making it against the law for a private business to allow a trans person to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity.
The bills are substantially more extreme than the one vetoed by Governor Ayotte just weeks ago. In a veto statement of a bathroom ban last month, Ayotte stated, “I believe there are important and legitimate privacy and safety concerns raised by biological males using places such as female locker rooms and being placed in female correctional facilities… At the same time, I see that House Bill 148 is overly broad and impractical to enforce, potentially creating an exclusionary environment for some of our citizens.”
It remains unclear why Republicans are pushing an even more extreme version of a bill their own governor has already vetoed three times. The bill still needs to pass the New Hampshire Senate and be signed by Ayotte to become law. One possibility is that the more extreme HB 1442 is designed as cover for HB 1217 — making that bill appear moderate by comparison and improving its chances of earning a signature. Another is that Republicans believe they can pressure Ayotte into signing, or are simply laying the groundwork for an override attempt down the line. Regardless, HB 1442 is one of the most extreme bathroom bans moving through any state legislature in the country, and transgender people across New England will be watching closely as it advances to the Senate.
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