New Brunswick High School baseball coach Craig Rogers addresses his team inside the high school gymnasium last April. Rogers returned to the dugout over a decade after leading Mt. Ararat to success. (Bob Conn / The Times Record)

BRUNSWICK — My mother used to tell me that as she aged, the years seemed to go by faster and faster.

Moms always seem to be right, and with a blink of eye, 2018 has turned into 2019. It seemed like only yesterday that we were watching the New England Patriots fall to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 52, Alabama knock off SEC rival Georgia for the NCAA Football championship and the Boston Red Sox lift the World Series trophy in Los Angeles.

There were certainly ups and downs in 2018. From triumphs to tragedies, this was a year that will be remembered.

Let’s take a look:

Local scene

The high school basketball season was in full swing when Brunswick’s Marley Groat stepped back and canned a 3-pointer to lift the Dragons to a thrilling 65-63 girls basketball win over Greely.

Sam Farrell’s squad went 18-0 during the regular season, but in the rematch with the Rangers at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, Greely earned its revenge over the Dragons.

By the by, these same two teams met on Friday at the Portland Expo and the Rangers won. Two years ago, Greely also defeated the Dragons in the regular season, but Brunswick made its way to the state final. Maybe there is a trend here. Farrell and his Dragons certainly hopes so.

There were winter milestones — Lisbon’s Jonah Sautter becoming the all-time leading scorer at the school in boys basketball … Bowdoin’s Jack Simonds eclipsing 1,000 career points … Lisbon cheering winning the Class C South regional title … Morse boys swimming, Mt. Ararat girls indoor track and Brunswick boys track winning KVAC titles … the Freeport boys basketball team making the postseason for the first time in 11 years … Mt. Ararat wrestler Ben Laurence and Morse/Wiscasset grappler Sam Strozier finishing second in the state … and the Freeport girls basketball team taking us all on a fun ride with postseason wins over Wells and Poland before falling to Lake Region in the Class B South regional final.

Thinking of great rides, the Bowdoin College women’s hoops squad had one for sure. The Polar Bears advanced all the way to the Division III National Championship game in Rochester, Minnesota, behind the play of Kate Kerrigan, Brunswick native Lydia Caputi, Abby Kelly, and many, many others. The dream of a national title ended at the hands of talented NESCAC rival Amherst, 65-45, but it was a season to remember for Adrienne Shibles’ squad.

Bowdoin College guard Kate Kerrigan drives to the basket in an NCAA Division III women’s basketball game inside Morrell Gymnasium in March. Kerrigan led the Polar Bears to the national title game. (Bob Conn / The Times Record)

Another group of athletes that just keep finding success is the Long Reach Swim Club out of the Bath Area Family YMCA. Year after year, 28 straight and climbing, Jay Morissette’s successful program just rolls on. Morse standout Olivia Harper went to YMCA nationals and came home with a national title, winning the 100 backstroke. Look for more great things from our area swimmers, who are starring at Brunswick, Morse, Mt. Ararat and several other Maine schools.

As we moved into spring, we had the long thaw as three big snowstorms buried us up to here. Still, the season was ready to go come late April, with much thanks to the ground maintenance crews.

Back in the fold was Brunswick first-year baseball coach Craig Rogers. We all remember the times he manned the dugout and third-base coaching bag at Mt. Ararat, coaching his talented son Mark Rogers, who assisted his dad for the Dragons in 2018. It was a great thing to see Craig in a dugout again.

At Freeport, the new turf field officially opened, and the Falcons used this advantage in putting together solid seasons (read below).

Up at Richmond, where softball success has been a given for many years even after Rick Coughlin stepped down and Tony Martin took over, the 2018 season was another successful one for the Bobcats. However, there were some long runs ended as well, with Sacopee Valley putting an end to Richmond’s 74-game home winning streak. Later, Buckfield came to Richmond for a Class D South semifinal and put an end to the Bobcats’ eight-year Class D South regional title run.

Some other milestones included … Bowdoin men’s tennis coming within an eyelash of winning the D-III national title, falling to Middlebury, 5-3, in the title match in California … Lisbon boys track capturing a 13th straight MVC title … the Freeport boys tennis team going on a run to remember as the Falcons downed Yarmouth and Cape Elizabeth to advance to the State Class B championship. The Falcons fell to Caribou, 3-2, but there is reason to be excited as Jay Harper’s squad returns nearly everyone in 2019 … Mt. Ararat’s Lisandro Berry-Gaviria kept it going, winning the 1,600 and 3,200 state titles for the second straight year. Brunswick’s Sam Cenescar was tops in the Class A high jump, while Freeport’s Lily Horne (two titles) and Wiscasset’s Matt Chapman (110 hurdles) were crowned state champions … the Morse softball team surprised many, downing top-ranked Wells, 3-2, to advance to the B South regional final.

Don Glover’s Brunswick Dragons kept fans on the edge of their seats. After a thrilling, 14-13 overtime victory over Yarmouth in the B South final, the Dragons worked overtime against Greely in the State B final. Once again, hearts pounded hard as Brunswick found a way with another 14-13 win.

The Richmond baseball team also captured a state championship. After finally putting Searsport away in the regional final after years of frustrating losses to the Vikings, the Bobcats rolled to an 11-0 win in the State D championship in Bangor over Fort Fairfield.

As the temperatures warmed into our summer slumber, we found ourselves at Belgrade Lakes Golf Club as South Freeport’s Jack Wyman captured his second straight Maine Golf Amateur.

The Lobster Bowl was cookin’ in Saco as Brunswick football coach Dan Cooper matched wits with former Lisbon leader Dick Mynahan. Cooper’s East charges found the going easy with a 40-14 win over Mynahan’s West squad, but it sure seemed natural seeing the longtime Greyhound leader back on the sidelines.

Construction began in Topsham as the new Mt. Ararat High School project saw the athletic fields disappear. I feel for athletic director Geoff Godo, who has worked tirelessly to make sure his Eagles have athletic fields to play on. He seems to be doing this easily, which is a credit to him.

The fall sports season began with high hopes for area teams, especially Mt. Ararat golfers. The Eagles and coach Gerry Caron felt this was the year,  and they were right on as Mt. Ararat won everything in site, including the school’s first State Class A team golf championship.

Class E football, in its last season before 8-man football begins in the fall of 2019, crowned a state champ as Freeport rolled past Dirigo, 28-13. Paul St. Pierre’s program grew a lot this year, and the hopes are the Falcons will return to Class C in 2019. We will have to wait and see.

Other big events from the fall were … the Brunswick football team seemed to be dead in the water after a regular-season closing 30-6 loss to Cony. No one told Cooper’s team, as the Dragons reeled off wins over Brewer, Cony and Lawrence to advance to the State Class B title game in Portland. Marshwood ended the run, 49-0, in the final, but what a run it was … Richmond girls soccer saw its eight-year regional title reign end at the hands of North Yarmouth Academy … Freeport field hockey advanced to the Class B South final before falling to York, 1-0 … Freeport boys soccer saw its run ended in the wind in the State B final in a 3-2 overtime setback to Presque Isle … Bowdoin football ended its 24-game losing skid with a 31-14 rout of rival Bates as the Polar Bears were cheered on by just about everyone in Brunswick … Berry-Gaviria was at it once again, rolling to the KVAC, Class A North regional and State Class A cross country titles.

As players prepared for another winter season, a legend was back on the court as Tom Maines returned to Morse as the boys basketball coach. Like Rogers, Maines is another good guy that brings the best out of his athletes. Now, just to fix the voicebox, which has been strained so far. Still, I have no doubt Tommy will have his Shipbuilders performing at a high level sooner rather than later.

National

The Boston Red Sox … Need I say more?

Alex Cora, in his first year as Red Sox manager, led his team to an unprecedented season. Leaders pretty much all season in the AL East, the Red Sox ripped through the hated New York Yankees in four games, including a 16-1 win at New York where Brock Holt, the “Brock Star” hit for the cycle.

Then came a 4-1 demolition of the defending World Series champion Houston Astros, followed by a 4-1 World Series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cora pushed all right buttons. Additions like World Series MVP Steve Pearce and fireballer Nathan Eovaldi did the job, along with a solid bullpen and big bats.

Soon, the memory of that win will be washed away as the Red Sox head south to Fort Myers, Florida, for spring training, and all the doubters will again question every move Cora and his team makes. Ah, life as a Red Sox fan.

The Patriots kept things going as Bill Belichick’s squad advanced to another Super Bowl. But, Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles ended the hopes for a sixth Super Bowl win, 41-33, despite Tom Brady’s amazing 505 passing yards. Now, the Pats are the No. 2 seed and have a first-round bye. Um, sounds familiar, doesn’t it!

PGA golf courses were filled when excitement when one Tiger Woods stepped to the tee. Whether you like Tiger or not, we must all give him his due as the top drawing golfer of all time. I loved Jack, Tom Watson, Arnie, but Tiger has an appeal that is nearly impossible to measure.

Professional hockey returned to Portland as the Maine Mariners took the ice at Cross Insurance Arena. So far so good for Mariners, who had won six straight before Monday’s loss at Manchester. Now fans need to start coming down to Portland to watch this squad.

The Winter Olympics were held in Korea, with thrills and chills highlighting the more than two-week event. For me, the Winter Olympics are my favorite, from downhill skiing to men’s and women’s hockey to curling, yes curling. I love it all.

The World Cup of Soccer came to Russia. I found it difficult to get excited about it this time around, well with the U.S. and Italy failing to qualify and the constant diving of what many call the greatest athletes in the world. Congrats to France for winning it though.

Saying good-bye

For me, 2018 was a tough year, where those close to me suffered losses.

I am thankful as always for my family. Recently, my son was in a car accident. He walked away without a scratch. I can replace the car, not my son.

It is always hard to see someone go through the pains of losing a son, a mother, father, a friend.

To those who are suffering, I wish you healing, that you will remember the good times with your loved ones over the bad. Remember their laugh, their smile, the hugs, the times when you were down and when they were there to pick you up off the ground, dust you off and move you forward into a better place.

My wish is for 2019 to be the best year of our lives.

Happy New Year to our Times Record readers.

BOB CONN is The Times Record sports editor. He can be reached at bconn@timesrecord.com.