HOULTON, Maine — The Houlton High School football team will have an extra week to get ready for the postseason thanks to a first-round bye.
Houlton (3-1) finished second in the Crabtree eight-man small school north division. On Friday, Oct. 29, the Shires host the winner of the No. 3 Dexter (3-2) versus No. 6 Orono (0-7) quarterfinal playoff. Houlton did not face Dexter during the regular season, but defeated Orono 46-0.
“Our goal at the beginning of the season was to finish in the top spots and earn a first round bye,” Houlton Coach Jon Solomon said. “After the loss to MA (Mattanawcook Academy), I figured we would be third and started preparing to play this coming Friday night.”
All that changed however after MA went on to beat Dexter Oct. 15, dropping Dexter to the third seed, and bumped the Shires back up to the second seed.
The first-round bye comes at an opportune time for the Shires as the team is nursing a couple of injuries from its final game.
“Having these two weeks off should be good for us to heal up,” Solomon said. “We are excited to be able to host a Northern Maine semifinal game and the opportunity to win our first playoff game in program history.”
