After reading the Sept. 12 article by Michael Hoffer on the Spruce Mountain-Freeport Class C football game, I felt the need to induce a fact check that was missing from the “bizarre finish” as stated in The Forecaster.

It is disappointing that The Forecaster would print an article that smears the Freeport football program without first contacting the Freeport coach to get a balanced position. Freeport has a struggling football program that had 21 players available compared to about 40 Spruce Mountain players. Freeport’s shortage of players requires sophomores and freshman to play both varsity and junior varsity. While we are all thankful that the injured player will recover, the followup to the injury was that “a Freeport player pushed a Spruce Mountain player, who retaliated.” What I saw was a Freeport player on his back at the bottom of a pile of Spruce Mountain players getting punched in the throat while another Spruce Mountain player ripped off his helmet. Did he retaliate at that point? Likely, and a scuffle ensued. After that did the Spruce Mountain coach see Freeport starters on the field? Yes, but these same JV players had been playing since halftime and this was nothing new.

It was Spruce Mountain that threw in their starting lineup of seniors and juniors, presumably for the sole intention to retaliate and hurt Freeport’s JV players. That is the part of the story that The Forecaster should have investigated.

Tim Doughty
Freeport

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