NORTHERN MAINE CHAMPIONS: MDI FOOTBALL AND CROSS-COUNTRY
FOOTBALL TEAM HEADS FOR STATES THIS WEEKEND and Amelia VanDongen races to New Englands
BAR HARBOR—The Mount Desert Island High School’s Football season is coming to an end on Saturday, November 11 with the State Championship Football at Cameron Stadium in Bangor where MDI will play Greely for the Trojans’ second appearance in school history for a state championship in football. Kickoff is at 11:00 a.m.
“All the fall teams had an outstanding season with cross-country and football being Northern Maine Champions. The cross-country team also were Penobscot Valley champions, and at the state meet the boys finished in seventh place overall and the girls finished in sixth place. Both teams were the top Northern team in each race,” said MDI High School Athletic Director Bunky Dow.
FOOTBALL
The Mount Desert Island High School athletes had a lot to cheer about last weekend as MDI’s #3 eight-man large football team defeated top-ranked Camden Hills 26-6 to win the 2023 Maine Principal’s Association Championship
MDI smashed to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter with two touchdowns with less than eight minutes remaining. The Trojans capped it with a two-point rush conversion.
Camden Hills rallied in the second quarter with William Haslam’s one-yard rushing touchdown, but it wasn’t enough. MDI kept Camden Hills scoreless in the second half, while bringing in a touchdown each in the third and forth quarters. Spencer Laurendeau led MDI’s offense with 44 carries and his multiple touchdowns. Cal Hodgdon brought in two interceptions in a game where the Trojans compelled Camden Hills to give up turn-over after turn-over. Jacob Shields and Lincoln Gray also carried. Jarren Biekert, Laurendeau, and Lincoln Gray led the stats for receiving.
MDI’s last regional football championship was in 2016
The 8-1 Trojans meet the 6-3 Greely Rangers on Saturday, November 11 at the Maine State Finals at Cameron Stadium in Bangor. Again, kickoff is at 11 a.m. If you can’t attend, it will be live on AM1370 WDEA or WDEA Internet Radio.
To buy tickets, you must do so online. Head over here.
CROSS-COUNTRY
MDI’s Amelia VanDongen raced to second at the Class B State Cross-Country Championship at Troy Middle School in Belfast with a time of 18:51.
VanDongen’s time this weekend at the State championships qualified her for the New England Championship on November 11. This will also be in Belfast. She was crowned the Class B North individual champion in the last weekend of October. At that same event, the MDI girls’ cross-country team swept the competition and became Class B North Champions. The MDI boys team also took the regional cross-country crown.
GOLF
MDI’s Shep Brown and Caden Braun both earned spots on the 2023 Penobscot Valley Class B All-Conference Golf Team. Braun, Kasch Warner, Joey Wellman-Clouse, Jameson Weir, Bayley Baldridge, Evan Beals, Nolan Sawyer, and Owen Kelly all earned spots on the PVC All-Academics team.
The golf team was runner-up in the Penobscot Valley Championship and qualified for the state championships where the team finished eighth overall in Class B.
SOCCER AND VOLLEYBALL
The soccer teams’ and volleyball team’s seasons have also ended with words of pride from Dow.
“The boy's soccer team qualified for the tournament and went to Erskine Academy where they won the contest and had to play at Ellsworth in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs, which they lost to a very good team in Ellsworth,” Dow said.
“The volleyball team and girls' soccer teams played a tough schedule and missed the playoffs for the first time in several years,” Dow said. “Both teams have many returning players that saw valuable playing time which should be very helpful for next season.”
For soccer, Miles Burr (first), Corin Baker (second) were named to the PVC all-conference team. Ason Munro, Riley Donahue, Sig Reinholdt, Miles Burr, Kaden Sweet, Daniel Freudig, Elle Yarborough, Aleksandra Hanley and Sophia Murphy were named to the PVC all-academic team.Riley Donahue and Mia Shaw received the PVC spirit of the game award.
For volleyball, the Penobscot Valley Athletic Conference also released its 2023 All-Conference and All-Academic Volleyball Teams. Congratulations to all! Hailey Vogel was selected for the second team all-conference team. Lauren Davis and Sharyn Lipski were selected for third team. Molly Redgate, Denali Wagstaff, Sharyn Lipski, Maya Watson and Hailey Vogell were placed on the all-academic team.
“I'm extremely proud of all the fall teams, coaches, parents, and fans for their continuous support of our student-athletes and programs,” Dow said. “I feel very fortunate to work for a great community that understands and supports the lessons and values that extra and co-curricular activities provide.”