The Winslow High School football team opens the season with a 22-game win streak. If the Black Raiders defeat Belfast on Saturday and John Bapst in Week 2, they will tie the 24-game win streak made by the school’s 2000-2002 teams. To break the school record for consecutive wins, however, the Black Raiders need to go 11-0 for a third straight season.

Winslow’s consecutive wins record is 32 games. It began in Week 1 of the 1992 season and ended in the final week of the 1994 season with a loss to Messalonskee.

Of course, none of that means a thing to anyone involved with the Winslow football program.

“It could be the next game,” head coach Mike Siviski said about the possible end of the streak. “We don’t talk about that much. The kids know that everybody is after us.”

Should the Black Raiders win the conference again this season, they’ll achieve another milestone. A glance at the Maine Principals’ Association football past champions web page shows no Maine high school football team has played in five straight state championship games. Prior to winning state titles in 2014 and 2015, Winslow was Class C runner-up in 2012 and 2013.

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Last season, Lawrence dropped its first four games before rallying to win four straight and make the playoffs. While head coach John Hersom doesn’t want to see his team get off to another slow start, the experience was ultimately a good one for the Bulldogs.

“We could’ve easily gotten down on ourselves and quit,” Hersom said. “It’s a testament to the kids and our program that we kept fighting.”

Lawrence faces another tough schedule to start the season this year. After opening at home on Friday against rival Skowhegan, Lawrence plays at two-time defending Pine Tree Conference Class B champion Brunswick in Week 2. Brunswick and Skowhegan finished one-two in the regular season in 2015, and both are among the conference favorites again this season.

“We’re going to be really tested early,” Hersom said.

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Last season, Nokomis made the jump from Class C to Class B, and the Warriors struggled. Nokomis went 0-8 in its first season in the extremely competitive Pine Tree Conference. The size, speed and strength of their new opponents caught the Warriors off guard.

“It was a new thing, and we were shocked,” senior Tyler Provencher said at a recent Nokomis practice.

Head coach Matt O’Connell said the team is looking back at 2015 as a learning season. Now, the Warriors know what to expect, and are ready to play for the full 48 minutes.

“I think it’s consistency we were lacking,” O’Connell said. “We ran out of gas.”

Senior Cody Walker said he’s noticed a more focused and determined attitude from his teammates this season.

“It feels different this year, more right. Nobody wants to repeat that (0-8) this year,” Walker said.

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In the preseason, Messalonskee head coach Brad Bishop raved about freshman kicker Kyle Burger-Roy.

“He’s going to be a good one,” Bishop said.

As it turns out, Burger-Roy didn’t waste any time showing off his leg. In the season-opening junior varsity game on Monday afternoon, Burger-Roy made a 40-yard field goal as time expired to help the Eagles take a 9-7 win over Lawrence.

Burger-Roy will get his chance to make a field goal in a varsity game soon. Messalonskee opens the season Friday night at home against Gardiner.

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Around the state: Defending Class A state champ Thornton Academy opens the season on Friday against Sanford… Defending Class B state champion Marshwood takes on Biddeford in Friday’s season opener… With only four teams making the playoffs in the Little Ten Conference this season, Saturday’s game between Mount View and Orono could end up having big postseason implications. Both teams should be in contention, and the game could be a huge tiebreaker for the winner… With teams in the Campbell Conference Class D getting a bye week this season, some won’t play their first game until next weekend. Traip Academy is off this week, and will open the season on Sept. 10 against Winthrop/Monmouth. Old Orchard also is off this week.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM