Gagne more than an athlete

HEBRON — There could be many ways to describe Biddeford High School graduate Nick Gagne.

One of those words would absolutely be athlete.

Gagne was part of two state championship hockey teams with the Tigers. He was one of the best hitters on a team that came one game short of winning its first state title in baseball since 1984.

And Gagne was also the featured weapon for a football team that turned the tide from disappointment to playoff team in the 2010 season.

As a result, Gagne will play in the 22nd Annual Lobster Bowl Classic on Saturday. He will be the lone representative for the Tigers, and gets to play his final high school game at his own home field, Waterhouse Field.

“It’s an honor to be selected to represent Biddeford,” Gagne said. “Since the game’s in Biddeford, there’s going to be a lot of people there supporting me. It’s going to be a fun game.”

Gagne amassed 1,074 total yards (973 rushing, 101 receiving) as the starting fullback for the Tigers in 2010. He also made 40 tackles and led Biddeford with 13 sacks as a defensive end. For his efforts, Gagne was selected as a semifinalist for the Fitzpatrick Trophy, given out to the best senior football player in the state. His play helped the Tigers in the record books as well, as the Tigers went 7-2 during the season and beat Thornton Academy 27-22 in the annual Battle of the Bridge game.

“It was definitely cool to see that, because football was going away a little bit,” Gagne said. “Biddeford has always been a football town. Attendance was going down a little bit, and there weren’t as many people. My senior year, so many people came, especially that Thornton Academy game, it was crazy. Football is definitely back in Biddeford.”

But football might not even be Gagne’s best sport. He led the Tigers baseball team with a .381 batting average and a .460 on-base percentage. He was also third on the team in RBIs with 11. He was selected as a member of the All-SMAA team. Gagne was also on the Biddeford roster during its run for a Class A state championship last year, when the Tigers lost 1-0 in the title game to Oxford Hills.

If you ask what his favorite sports memory at Biddeford is, however, he will tell you it was the first state championship he won as a member of the Biddeford hockey team back in 2008.

“I got to play with (Boston College defenseman and Carolina Hurricanes draft pick) Brian Dumoulin, and that’s really exciting,” Gagne said. “We went undefeated, and that was probably my best high school experience so far.”

Gagne won another state title with the hockey team in 2010. This past winter, Gagne scored four goals and added nine assists.

Gagne is looking at possibly trying out for the hockey team when he attends Clarkson University in New York beginning this fall. But Gagne is proving he is far from a run-of-the-mill jock, as he will major in mechanical engineering.

Why? He wants to design roller coasters.

“A bunch of my family members are mechanical engineers,” Gagne said. “My uncles, cousins. Just talking to them got me interested and I looked into it more. I really want to do something with amusement parks, design roller coasters. There’s not many companies that do it, but if I could get myself into it, that would be really cool.”

An idea man, Gagne already has a vision for his first roller coaster design.

“I want to do something where you’re laying down on a roller coaster, and you’re just on a platform and it straps you in,” Gagne said. “It tilts you forward and you’re flying through the air. Something like that would be really cool.”

Saturday will be Gagne’s last time on a football field, but said he’s looking forward to ending it at home.

“I used to always go to the games when I was younger every year,” Gagne said. “I always wanted to go out there and represent Biddeford High School, and here I am today.”

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