Boothbay Region High School may field a varsity football team this fall if a proposed fifth class is approved by the Maine Principals Association. Boothbay would join five other struggling programs: Camden Hills, Telstar, Maranacook, Sacopee Valley and Old Orchard Beach, in the new Class E.

Of the six, only two, Maranacook and Old Orchard Beach, fielded varsity teams last year. However, Maranacook may not compete in Class D South next year, according to MPA Assistant Executive Director Mike Burnham. The others either didn’t have a team or played games as an independent outside the MPA’s jurisdiction.

Class E eligibility wouldn’t be based on enrollment. Camden Hills (667) and Maranacook (421) would be the two largest teams in the division. The four other schools have significantly smaller enrollments: Boothbay (195), Sacopee Valley (332), Telstar (212), and Old Orchard Beach (251).

“Eligibility is based on ability to compete, not enrollment,” said Burnham.

Last August, Boothbay Region school officials cancelled the varsity sport and opted to play for the first time as a club team. The decision came down to player safety. Two weeks prior to the first game, Boothbay’s roster had only 30 players, 18 of whom coach Bryan Dionne considered varsity-ready. 

But under the proposal developed by the MPA’s Football Committee, Boothbay and other schools struggling with small rosters and lacking experienced players would compete against Class E, and possibly Class D opponents next fall. The games would all count in the standings toward qualifying for the postseason playoffs.

Schools in Classes A-D would compete for a Gold Ball. The six Class E teams not would compete for a state championship, Class E teams would compete for a championship below what is recognized as a state champion, according to the MPA.

Boothbay football officials welcome the opportunity to return as a varsity sport, but they believe the MPA’s proposal doesn’t go far enough for the state’s small enrollment schools. Boothbay’s prospects for a growing enrollment aren’t good, according to Dionne. He prefers a proposal supported by a majority of the state’s 78 high school head football coaches which creates a fifth class with two regions in each. All classes would compete for a state championship.

Dionne believes the proposal drafted by Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway is the best for Maine’s large and small high school football programs. Under the current four-class system, critics complain about too many non-competitive contests. If Boothbay opted to play Class D football next fall it would have the smallest high school enrollment in the state. Boothbay would play much larger schools in Class D South like Winthrop/Monmouth (469), Poland (462), and Madison/Carrabec (446).

“The current cut-off for Class D would have us playing several schools with two-plus times our enrollment. The fifth class would still include several teams significantly larger than us, but there’s a better chance for more competitive games. I don’t think the MPA proposal goes far enough to really benefit schools the size of Boothbay.”

The MPA Football Committee will consider the Class E option at its next meeting in mid-February. The committee probably won’t consider Leavitt’s proposal. The MPA described Leavitt’s plan as coming too late for consideration this season. Leavitt’s plan was unveiled last month the night before coaches met at a statewide meeting in Augusta.

“It came too late and hasn’t been properly vetted,” Burnham said. “The coaches only saw it the night before and the athletic directors and school administrators hadn’t looked at it either. So the Football Committee’s proposal is likely the only one up for consideration.”

Boothbay Region Athletic Director Allan Crocker is a member of the MPA’s Classification Committee which will review any proposed MPA changes in March. Crocker hopes the Football Committee considers Leavitt’s plan in February before submitting any recommendations to his committee.

“Obviously I prefer the coaches’ plan,” he said. “But Boothbay wants to get back to playing MPA football so that is the good news and this proposal would do that,” Crocker said.

Burnham believes the coaches’ proposal has a major flaw: Class D South would have Boothbay, Sacopee Valley, Telstar and Camden Hills — all programs which didn’t compete in varsity football last year — and Maranacook, which may not field a varsity team next year.

“To have five schools make up a region which didn’t have a varsity program doesn’t make sense to have them all competing for a state championship the following year,” Burnham said.

The MPA membership will vote on proposals put forth by the Football and Classifications committees during its April meeting. If Class E is approved, it would result in creative scheduling for all five classes, according to Burnham. The fifth class may result in inter-class play. Under the current format, most high school athletic conferences prohibit inter-class games. High school football standings are based on Crabtree points which don’t  factor classification into the point system.

Burnham said if the fifth class is approved, the MPA would need to create a new format for basing team standings for post-season eligibility.