The cross country season will come to an end Saturday with the state final meet in Belfast, boys’ and girls’ soccer playoffs are heating up and the football postseason commences this weekend.

It’s been an exciting stretch in the Mid-Coast and here’s a glimpse:

Football

Brunswick and Morse’s football teams have qualified for the playoffs.

The Dragons finished their very successful 7-1 campaign last Saturday with a hard-fought 41-26 win at defending Western B champion Kennebunk. Brunswick earned the top seed for the Eastern B playoffs and a bye into the semifinals the weekend of Nov. 7-8 against either No. 4 Messalonskee (4-4) or fifth-ranked Mt. Blue (4-4). The Eagles handed the Dragons their lone loss this fall, 20-7, Oct. 10 in Oakland. Brunswick beat the visiting Cougars, 35-7, on Oct. 3.

Morse wound up 4-4 after last weekend’s 21-6 win at Mt. Ararat in the finale. The Shipbuilders are the No. 6 seed in Western B and go to No. 3 Falmouth (7-1) for a quarterfinal Friday night. On Sept. 12, Morse lost at the Yachtsmen, 55-14.

Mt. Ararat’s loss to Morse left it 1-7. The Eagles won’t take part in the postseason.

Boys’ soccer

Brunswick’s boys’ soccer team is the No. 2 seed in Eastern A after a 10-2-2 campaign, which was capped by a 4-1 home win over rival Mt. Ararat last Tuesday. The Dragons hosted No. 7 Messalonskee (5-7-2) in Tuesday’s quarterfinal round. Brunswick won the regular season meeting, 5-0, back on Sept. 16. If the Dragons advanced, as expected, they would host either No. 3 Hampden Academy (11-3), the defending regional champion, or sixth-ranked Edward Little (8-5-1) in Saturday’s semifinals. Brunswick lost at home to the Broncos, 2-1, in the opener Sept. 9, then won at Hampden, 2-1, Oct. 4.  The Dragons beat the visiting Red Eddies, 2-1, Sept. 23.

Mt. Ararat earned the fifth seed after an 8-4-2 campaign, which culminated with a 4-1 loss at Brunswick. The Eagles were at No. 4 Bangor (9-2-3) Tuesday in the quarterfinals. The teams played to a 1-1 draw Sept. 26 in Bangor. If Mt. Ararat sprung a mild upset, it would go to No. 1 Lewiston (13-0-1) or host No. 8 Mt. Blue (6-8-1) in Saturday’s semifinals. The Eagles lost at the Blue Devils (4-1, Sept. 8) and fell at home to Lewiston (2-1) on Oct. 7. Mt. Ararat won at the Cougars, 2-1, Sept. 12.

In Western B, Morse missed the playoffs with a 2-11-1 record, despite closing with a 3-2 home win over Medomak Valley.

Looking ahead, the Eastern A Final is Wednesday on the field of the highest remaining seed. The Class A Final is Saturday, Nov. 8, at Hampden Academy.

Girls’ soccer

On the girls’ side, all three local squads are in the playoffs.

In Eastern A, Brunswick is the No. 3 seed after going 9-3-2, finishing with a scoreless tie at Mt. Ararat. The Dragons welcomed No. 6 Messalonskee (7-5-2) in the quarterfinals Wednesday. On Sept. 16, Brunswick won at Oakland, 4-3. A victory either sends the Dragons to No. 2 Edward Little (10-1-3) or home to face No. 7 Lewiston (6-7-1) in the semifinals Saturday. Brunswick lost, 2-1, at the Red Eddies on Sept. 23. The Dragons won, 1-0, at the Blue Devils on Oct. 2.

Mt. Ararat was ranked fifth at 8-4-2 following its season ending 0-0 tie with Brunswick. The Eagles visited No. 4 Hampden Academy (9-4-1) Wednesday in the quarterfinals. On Oct. 17, Mt. Ararat lost at Hampden, 2-1. If the Eagles were able to reverse that result, they would visit No. 1 Bangor (12-0-2) or host ninth-ranked Mt. Blue (5-8-2) in Saturday’s semis. Mt. Ararat lost at home to the Rams, 2-1, on Sept. 25 and fell at home to the Cougars, 1-0, Sept. 13.

In Western B, Morse finished 9-3-2 after a 9-0 win at Medomak Valley in the regular season finale. The Shipbuilders took the No. 6 seed to third-ranked, defending state champion Cape Elizabeth (9-4-1) Wednesday. The teams didn’t play this year. If Morse sprung an upset, it would either visiting second-ranked Yarmouth (8-3-3) or host No. 10 Gray-New Gloucester (8-6-1) in Saturday’s semifinals. The Shipbuilders didn’t face either team this year.

Looking ahead, the Eastern A and Western B Finals are Wednesday on the fields of the highest remaining seeds. The Class A Final is Saturday, Nov. 8, at Hampden Academy. The Class B Final is the same day at Deering High School in Portland.

Cross country

The regional championships for cross country were held last Saturday.

At the Eastern A boys’ meet in Belfast, Brunswick’s boys were sixth and Mt. Ararat came in seventh (Hampden Academy was the champion). Both teams qualified for states. The Eagles were led by ninth-place individual Matt Gott (who completed the 5,000-meter course in 17 minutes, 25.60 seconds). John Murphy paced the Dragons with a 14th-place finish (17:54.62).

On the girls’ side, Brunswick, paced by individual champion Tessa Cassidy (19:29.63) was second to Hampden Academy, while Mt. Ararat finished fifth. Both teams qualified for states. The Dragons had two other top 10 runners: Tiffany Tanner (fourth, 20:27) and Ruth Van Kampen (sixth, 20:58.11). The Eagles were by third-place finisher, freshman Katherine Leckbee (20:20.41).

In the Western B girls’ race in Cumberland, Morse came in sixth and was the final team to qualify (Yarmouth won the title). The Shipbuilders were paced by Maris Silvestri, who came in 24th (22:02.42).

The Morse boys were 13th (York came in first) and did not qualify. Balt von Huene (54th, 19:57.03) was the fastest Shipbuilder.

Sidebar Elements

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Morse’s Maris Silvestri heads toward a 24th-place finish at Saturday’s Western Class B girls’ cross country regional championships. Silvestri helped the Shipbuilders come in sixth and qualify for states.