In a close contest, mistakes, penalties and miscues make all the difference, and in Boothbay’s Sept. 23 homecoming football game, they each played a factor in the 14-12 loss to Dirigo. A defensive score was wiped after a block-in-the-back penalty on a fumble recovery, a potential scoring opportunity stalled after consecutive bad shotgun snaps and a Dirigo possession was extended after a taunting penalty on fourth down. 

Senior Drew Meader played a significant role in the team’s successful play by leading the team with 9.5 tackles and delivering a 33-yard touchdown pass to Kayden Ames trimming Dirigo’s lead to 14-12 with 4:13 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Boothbay didn’t have many miscues in the eight-man contest, but enough to cost the team a victory. “We lost this one ourselves,” Meader said. “We played a helluva game but too many mistakes. We had a block-in-the-back we didn’t need and too many other mistakes which cost us.”

The Seahawks returned home to Sherman Field at a good time. Boothbay had lost consecutive road games to Maranacook, 54-28, and Old Orchard Beach, 46-13. On a cold autumn night, Boothbay received a warm reception from the homecoming crowd and scored the game’s first score on a Kayden Ames rushing touchdown. But Dirigo responded with two touchdowns in the first half giving the visitors a 14-6 lead. Boothbay recovered a fumble for an apparent second quarter touchdown until a penalty flag ended the team’s premature celebration.

Dirigo improves to 3-1 and is one of the best teams in the Eight-Man Small Conference Southern Division. But Coach Ed Crocker believes his team should have won the game. “There is no reason why we shouldn’t have won tonight. We played much better tonight, but made mistakes which really hurt us,” he said. Even with the costly mistakes, Crocker saw significant improvement in the Seahawks’ play. After  consecutive losses, he asked his team to focus on better coverage in the defensive secondary, and on reducing the number of penalties and turnovers. “And one other thing. Stop shooting ourselves in the foot,” Crocker said. 

Boothbay responded by limiting the number of penalties and turnovers and slowing down the Cougars’ potent rushing and passing attack. Boothbay had a second near scoring opportunity later in the second half. But the drive stalled more by Seahawk errors than Cougar tackles. The Seahawks drove to Dirigo’s 19-yard line through a strong rushing attack. Ames rushed for 137 yards on 30 rushing attempts.

Meader had another good passing game, connecting on six of 13 passes and one touchdown. For Meader, the quarterback and receiver are building a strong chemistry in the passing attack. “It was nice how that worked out. Kayden and I communicate really well,” he said. “We’re on the same page and figure things out even when we don’t huddle.”

Senior Dylan Plummer had another standout performance, making 8.5 tackles. “Every game, he plays hard for us and is a force on every play,” Crocker said. 

Boothbay (1-3) hosts Telstar (2-2) at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30.