WESTBROOK – Generally by November, the focus of Westbrook High School sports fans is on the upcoming winter season.
But that’s not the case this November.
Thanks to a magical run by the Westbrook football team, the school and the city had something to root for deep into the fall. And while the Blazes’ run came to an end last Friday night with a loss to top-ranked and undefeated Wells in a Class B semifinal game, players that have been with the team while it struggled over the last several years know this is a season to be treasured.
The climb out of the cellar started for Westbrook not on the football field, but in an office. Last year, the school administration started the work to move the team from a Class A schedule to a Class B schedule, where the Blazes would be playing schools of similar size instead of larger schools like former Class A opponents Cheverus and Bonny Eagle.
The move quickly paid off.
The Blazes wrapped up their first season as a Class B team with a 5-5 record and combining that record with the fact that the Blazes also won their first playoff game in recent memory (last week against Falmouth), means that this group of Westbrook players has seen success on the field that generations of Westbrook football players could only dream of.
“It feels good,” said Jeff Guerette, who just wrapped up his fourth year as the Blazes’ head coach. “We won some of the close games that we hadn’t won in years past, so I think that was a big difference. Certainly the playoff win was a big moment for the program, to win a game of that magnitude (was a big step).”
Westbrook senior quarterback Terry Webber agreed with his coach, saying that this season was “a lot better than previous seasons.”
“Obviously, winning games was new for us,” Webber continued. “And for me personally, it was one of my favorite seasons.”
“It was a completely different (experience) that what we were used to,” agreed fellow senior Graham Strondak. “From my first year playing varsity, (when we had) a one-win season, to having a two-win season my junior year and this year coming around and getting five wins was just great.”
Having a new schedule certainly played a major role in the Blazes’ turnaround this fall. Webber said it was a good feeling going into games knowing that the team had a solid chance to come away with a victory.
“It was definitely a big change,” Webber said. “But I think it was a good change, because instead of going in and playing Cheverus and not thinking you’re going to have a chance, you’re playing these new teams that you feel confident that you can get a win against.”
But even the new schedule didn’t help the Blue Blazes at the beginning of the season, as the team stumbled out of the gate, going 0-3 with losses against Mountain Valley, Wells and Greely to start the year. But Webber said the team got its focus back during a rainy practice after the tough start. “I think that practice made us all come together closely as a team and we didn’t want to lose again as a team,” he said. “And we knew if we wanted to make the playoffs, we had to start winning games.”
Sure enough, the wins started to come. The Blazes traveled to Fryeburg Academy on Sept. 24 and came away with a 22-6 win. The next week, Westbrook hosted Cape Elizabeth and lost a close 14-13 decision. But that was the last time the Blazes would lose in the regular season.
The next week, Westbrook traveled to York and won a decisive 34-15 game to move to 2-4. The Blazes hosted Falmouth on Oct. 15 and beat the Yachtsmen 28-25 and then evened their record in the regular season finale with a 26-14 home win over Marshwood on Oct. 21.
That win moved the Blazes into unfamiliar territory, the playoffs.
For their first postseason game, the No. 5 Blazes had to travel to No. 4 Falmouth and try to beat the Yachtsmen on their home field. The game was close the whole way through, and Westbrook showed its toughness when the team was forced to complete a long drive to win the game after Falmouth pulled ahead late in the fourth quarter. The Blazes didn’t blink, and at the end of the game, Westbrook was dancing in the end zone with a 12-7 win.
Both Webber and Strondak agreed that the playoff win was one of the biggest in the team’s history. “It was huge,” Strondak said. “To make it to the playoffs was a big goal for us, but to win a playoff game against a higher seed, that was great.”
“It’s almost unexplainable to know that you’ve won a playoff game,” Webber said.
“We did something that Westbrook hasn’t done in a long time and that’s a really great thing,” Strondak said, adding that the enthusiasm was evident in the school and the city.
“I felt like the town had a new sense of pride,” he said. “The teachers were congratulating us and you could just tell that people were excited about something that we haven’t done in a long time.”
While the season ended with a loss the next week, the Blazes know that they could look back on this season knowing that they gave it everything they had and the result was a turnaround that could springboard the program from a tradition of losing to one of winning far into the future.
Guerette said the entire team should be happy with the results of this season, but he was especially happy for the seniors who stuck with the program after suffering through years of tough seasons.
“I think they were really proud of their efforts this year,” Guerette said. “They were excited about football. They saw that having a winning team can create enthusiasm in school and the community and I think they were excited to be a part of that.”
“It feels really good,” Webber said. “It’s nice to know that you did something beneficial for the program and that what you’ve done in your four years is going to carry on for the next 40.”
Strondak, who will wrestle for the Blazes this winter, said this was the first time he left the football season with a feeling of satisfaction. ”The years before, I didn’t feel too happy about the way the season went and I was looking forward to wrestling, because we always win in wrestling,” Strondak said with a grin. “Finally this year, I was actually happy I was still playing football.”
While they will be leaving the program behind, both Strondak and Webber say that they think the team will be in good hands as the underclassmen move into leadership roles next fall. “I think they are (going to be able to carry on the success),” Webber said. “We have underclassmen coming up that will be able to keep it going.”
Strondak added that he thinks that having a winning team will attract even more players to the team in the coming seasons.
“It’s great,” Strondak said. “Because no one wants to join a team that’s known for losing. But now that we’ve made the playoffs, won a playoff game and came out even, I’m just hoping that kids will want to join the team and get excited about playing Westbrook football.”
Westbrook’s Magnes Lewis (7) leaps on top of a pack of hisSend questions/comments to the editors.
