The inaugural year of varsity football at Houlton High School came to an end in November, but the accolades followed into this month.
On Dec. 7, the Little Ten Conference held its annual end-of-season awards banquet at Jeff’s Catering in Brewer, with several players on the Houlton football team receiving kudos.
Senior Jake Drew was named as a First Team LTC running back, as he amassed 1,245 yards and 15 touchdowns, while leading the Shiretowners’ offense in Class D East. Drew was also selected by the LTC coaches as a Second Team line backer on defense.
“In addition, Jake was Houlton’s nominee as LTC Player of the Year for the 2014 season, which was won by Bucksport senior quarterback Matthew Stewart,” Houlton coach Brian Reynolds noted.
Recognized on the All-Academic Team were Dakota Gramour and Danielle Provost for Houlton.
“All-Academic are those players who excel on the field of play and in the classroom carrying a cumulative grade point average of 90 or better,” Reynolds explained.
Other Houlton players recognized with Honorable Mention status were: senior offensive tackle Anthony Bonilla, senior defensive end Gramour, junior defensive tackle Gary Tucker and sophomore safety Austin Brown.
Along with garnering individual awards, the Houlton team was recognized by the Maine Principals’ Association with the Class D East Football Good Sportsmanship Award.
“I think that [winning the sportsmanship award] speaks to the character of our players, both on and off the football field” said Reynolds. “Our coaching staff always tries to emphasize the importance of good sportsmanship while playing the great game of football. Too often, we as fans, see in college and pro football on TV, examples of poor sportsmanship. I always want our program, and more importantly our school to be known for good clean football and fine sportsmanship.”
The Sportsmanship banner was presented to Reynolds, assistant coaches Vernon Upton and Sam St. John, along with captains Drew, Josh Upton and Anthony Bonilla on behalf of the school and team during halftime of the Class C state championship game held at the University of Maine Orono on Nov. 21.
“I think receiving this award in our first year of competition is a testament that shows other teams, fans, and more importantly MPA officials are aware of how our players and coaching staff carry themselves during the course of competition,” said Reynolds. “More importantly, it validates our program. Having a banner hanging in the gym means a lot to our players. Anytime anybody enters the gym from now on, they will see that Houlton plays football and that we play it the right way.”
The Shiretowners felt they achieved success and were not looked upon as a typical first-year team.
“We were competitive in all our games except one and I think that was good for our program,” Reynolds said. “We had a strong senior class and have a lot of holes to fill in the coming season.”
Senior Jake Drew led the team in rushing (1,245 yards and 15 touchdowns) and the Shires will have to fill along the “O-Line” with the graduation of seniors Bonilla, Nick Hagan and Sabastian Walton. Defensively, the team will miss senior nose guard Jacob Jones and defensive ends Ryan Heath and Dakota Gramour. Linebacker Caleb Murdock and safety Danielle Provost will also be lost to graduation.
“We have many returning players coming back that should help us rebuild and stay strong for many years to come,” added Reynolds. “I think we will continue to improve every year for the foreseeable future. We won’t be the same team and will have to alter some of our schemes, but we will be competitive and in the LTC.”
The Houlton football team finished 2-5 in its first year of competition.
“There is a lot of parity in our league so there is a lot for us to look forward to and be excited about during the off season,” Reynolds said.
