The Track to Victory

By: Addy Waning and Quinn Bird

On Thursday, February 8th, 2024, the Hermon Hawks Indoor Track Team traveled to the University of Maine New Balance Field House. It was a big night for all the teams involved, as it was a PVC meet, or Penobscot Valley Conference Meet. 

18 teams were present at this meet, including large schools like Bangor and Hampden. Overall, the Hermon Boys team placed eighth, and the Hermon Girls placed eighth as well. This may not seem like a huge feat, but the Hermon Indoor Track team has done nothing but grow since the program began. With a team of 18 athletes, the Hawks are constantly earning points and placing records for the team. 

Natalie Tardie, a sophomore sprinter, who is also a captain, placed sixth in both the preliminary and final rounds in the Girl’s 55 Meter Dash. In the Boys 55 Meter Dash, Jack Somes, who is a junior, placed sixth in the preliminary round, but fourth in the finals. Hannah Waning, a freshman captain, ran in the 55 55-meter hurdles and placed 8th. Lukas Modrusan, a senior distance runner, and Fletcher Oxley, a sophomore, both ran impressive times in the two-mile run, with times of 11.56 and 12.03, respectively. The boys 4×800 relay team placed fourth, with a time of 9.16. Lastly, the boy’s 4×200 relay team also placed fourth, running the race in a total of one minute and 44 seconds. 

Many athletes on the Hermon Indoor Track team will be competing in the State Meet at Bates College on Monday, February 19th. Go Hawks!

By: Cooper Stanley

Old Town Tracks Down the Soaring Hawks

The undefeated Coyotes of Old Town visited the Hawks of Hermon in the Hawks Nest on Thursday, January 11. The Coyotes currently sit at the top of an extremely loaded and competitive Class B North conference with a 10-0 record. Old Town was projected to dominate the Hawks, but Hermon who currently holds the sixth seed in Class B North with a record of 5-4, was looking to prove something to everyone by possibly pulling off an upset of the top dawg.

Based on how the game started you may have thought that both of these teams sat at either the top or bottom of B North. The scoring of the contest was never out of hand as the first quarter ended deadlocked. Hermon 3 to Old Town’s 3. The second quarter is really where the Hawks showed they could hang with the powerhouses. In the second quarter Hermon would hit their stride with a surge of offensive and defensive prowess. Scoring 21 points on efficient offensive performances by everybody across the board as well as lockdown defense only allowed the Coyotes to amass a mere 8 points. We talked to junior center Maddox Kinney, and here’s what he had to say about their success, “The team clicked, players came off the bench to fill in roles, we made shots played good defense and everything went right for us.”
At halftime Hermon’s fans’ hopes were riding high as Hermon was sitting pretty over the Coyotes with a 24-11 lead. Coming into the second half the boys were sitting pretty as they looked to keep up what they started, hoping for a dominant rest of the game. These hopes couldn’t be any further from what would ultimately happen in this lopsided half of basketball.
Old Town came out of halftime ready to go, and ready to prove why they were undefeated and owned the 1 seed. Right out of the half you could the intensity of the game had picked up. Old Town had begun the press, this press flustered the Hawks who ultimately struggled throughout the entire second half. Especially in the third quarter as Hermon could only manage to score eight points with the ramped-up defense. Whereas Old Town, who was able to force multiple turnovers would capitalize scoring 22 points and ending the quarter with a one-point lead. 33-32 in favor of Old Town. “Things didn’t click we had turnovers that weren’t smart defense wasn’t great had players in foul trouble and just couldn’t make many shots.” Said Kinney.
Then came the fourth quarter, it all came down to this. Both teams clawing back and forth at one another. But the claws of the Coyotes would be too much for the talons of the Hawks as Old Town would come out on top of the Hawks outsourcing them 10-8 in the final quarter of play. Crushing the dreams of Hawks fans. Hermon now 5-5 would travel to face off against the Presque Isle Wildcats on Saturday, January 13. And the Coyotes who are now 10-0 wait to face off against the two seeded Ellsworth Eagles on Tuesday, January 16.

Hawk’s Claw Away vs. Old Town

By: James Boudreau

Hermon knew they had to win this game, and that’s just what they did, taking home a massive win at Pottle Field Friday night against the Old Town Coyotes, winning 34-6. 

The first play of the game saw Bruce “Bud” Coulter run through Old Town’s defensive line untouched, scoring a 64-yard rushing touchdown, to set the tone early for the beat up Hawks squad: “I did tell the coach on the first play I was gonna score a touchdown and that’s what happened” stated Coulter, who had 96 rushing yards for the game. 

The first quarter the Hawks stunned the Coyotes with an avalanche of points. It started with Coulter’s 64-yard rushing touchdown; he also earned himself the second touchdown with a 1-yard rushing touchdown at the goal line. The third touchdown of the first quarter was put up by senior Running Back Damon Kimball with a 41-yard rushing touchdown.

During the second quarter of the game the scoring pace tended to slow down for the Hawks while Old Town was able to pick up a 7-yard rushing touchdown by their running back. The scoring drive by Old Town was over 9 and ½ minutes long leaving roughly 3 minutes for the Hawks to try and score, which they failed to do.

The Hawks came out of halftime with a great mindset. They were able to pick up a solid 8 points with only 3 minutes into the 3rd. Despite a lack of confidence, junior quarterback Bruce Coulter dimed up WR Owen Lang with a 38-yard touchdown: “I’m not that good at passing, that’s something I need to work on”, Coulter stated. They were able to pick up an extra 2 points completing the 2 point conversion bringing the game 28-6. 

With 1:35 left they were able to pick just one more touchdown to seal the deal. When they lined up in a trickery of a formation, Hawks snapped the ball to set the play off with a pitch to Coulter which he threw a 20-yard pass to Owen Lang once again to bring the lead 34-6.

During the 4th with both teams gassed and still putting on a defensive show, they held each other to 0 touchdowns to put an end to the game. Next week, Hermon(3-5) faces Hampden Academy (4-3) in Hampden, while Old Town (0-5) faces Madison/Carrabec/Valley(0-6).

Hermon’s Tie Proves Big

By: Braelynn Wilcox 

After having a reputation to uphold, the hawks hit a bump in the road mid season, battling against a 3 game losing streak. In dire need of a win in order to have a shot at playoffs, the Hawks from Hermon traveled up to Old Town to face the Coyotes for a rematch on Saturday, September 30, after falling to them 2 – 4 earlier in the season. They prove big and surpass the Coyotes in the heel point standings after a perplexing performance coming back from a 2-0 deficit. In which was concluded in a double overtime tie.                                                           

The Hawks knew it was going to be a challenging game as the Coyotes have always been one of their toughest opponents. But having MJ Ball, considered to be an exceptional coach by their side, going into game day unprepared is never a problem for them. “Our main strategies going into the game was to stay calm, have confidence and to keep possession of the ball. We really needed to come into the game headstrong” experienced senior captain Saige Lang stated. 

The sun wasn’t to be found at the time of kick off and you could say the same spark wasn’t there for the Hawks either. With a flat start they fell behind when Karina Dumond fired into the net at 24:54 just outside the 18. And again when senior Saige Evans passed over the heads of the Hawks to find senior Alexis DeGrass who placed it into the goal at 31:17. 

While the hawks would not find the net in the first half they knew they had to adjust. “They are a very intense team and they came out with a lot of energy which was definitely challenging to match…We just had to adapt to their fast pace which we are able to do because we also play fast pace” Junior captain Brooke Gallop stated. And adapt is exactly what they did going into the second half. When head coach Ball made subs, Hermons pace of play shocked the Coyotes while the new faces would change the flow of the game. “I think it definitely gave us some fresh legs, especially subbing our outside mids because they have a lot of running with the formation we play, so it definitely added some new intensity when they came in ” Gallop emphasizes while giving her opinion of the change.

Hermon’s defense would put on a show throughout the second half not allowing the Coyotes to score again, giving their teammates an opportunity to bring themselves back in the game. With mainly seniority on the back line, Sophomore Erin Selleck has risen above to make a number of her own contributions as a center back this season. Her fellow teammates could not be more grateful to have her on the field. “She played a decent amount last year as a freshman and during last year’s state game she replaced Ellie as she got an injury and really stepped up.” midfielder Brooke Gallop voiced. “I simply love Erin. She is very determined, talented, and extremely important to our team…One thing about her is that she is always very encouraging to the team and is never negative. In this game she never gave up and worked her butt off.” Added Lang. 

Hermon still trailed with 8 minutes left in the 2nd half. Feeling the pressure as they needed to find a way to score, not once but twice, and fast. However, no daunting task is too difficult for the Hawks. At 7:20 remaining senior transfer Samantha Grover would settle a bouncing ball from sophomore Maddison Stewart and find the net before colliding with Old Towns Goalie. “Sam’s goal was the last push that we had in order to win this. Once we get one goal, the rest just starts to flow. So the only block we were really facing was scoring that first goal” expressed Gallop. With a feeling of relief the hawks could settle in to try to find the net once more.  

As they had more energy going into the last few minutes, the hawks would continue to hold the Coyotes at 2 goals for the game. As well as breaking through their defense for the second time to tie the match at 2-2 with 2:56 left in regulation. Maddison Stewart would gain her second assist of the day when she found Sophomore Natalie Tardie on a corner kick. Tardie settled the ball before firing into the upper left hand corner of the goal. “Nats goal was really well. Corners are our strong suit and we get alot of goals off them, so when we got a corner with 3 minutes left we knew we had to finish because that would most likely be our last chance being that close…Nats goal was perfect placement making it hard for the goalie to reach.” Gallop stated after the game. The crowd rose to their feet and the girls jumped with excitement as a few more minutes were going to be added to the clock.

While both teams fought hard through 2 overtime periods neither would come out on top. However it would feel like a win in Hemon’s book as they will gain a significant amount of heal points for a running at home field advantage in the first playoff round. 

Old Town is now 6-2-1 and will host Ellsworth on Wednesday October 4th at 6:00 pm.

Hermon is now 5-3-1 and will host Presque Isle on Tuesday October 3rd with kick off scheduled for 5 pm. 

Goals 

Time	Scored By	Assisted By
31:17	Alexis DeGrass	Saige Evans
24:54	Karina Dumond	N/A
7:20 remaining in second half	Samantha Grover	Maddison Stewart
2:56 remaining in second half	Natalie Tardie	Maddison Stewart

The Hawks Persevere   

By: Quinn Bird 

Hermon, Maine- On Saturday, October 7th, 2023, the girls soccer team at Hermon High School faced the John Bapst Crusaders on Hermon’s Pottle Field. The Hermon team has played a total of 12 games, 6 of which have been played at home, on the recently built turf at Pottle Field. They are currently 8-3-1, only tying their game against the Old Town Coyotes. Meanwhile, John Bapst season has lead them to a total of 4 wins and 7 losses. 

       The weather was cold and dreary, in October fashion, and the players started lining up. With a whistle, the game was off to a quick start, John Bapst with the ball. After passing the ball back and fourth, the ball was kicked to Hermon Sophomore Natalie Tardie, one of the starting varsity strikers, who passed across the field from the bottom right corner, popping it in the air and across the field to Madison Stewart who hit the ball off the side of her head, making the ball fly over the John Bapst goalie to make the first goal. 

Brooke Gallop, the star midfielder of the Hermon Hawks said that the first goal was the turning point in the game because “We’ve been getting down a lot and we have been having to track back, so definitely our first goal [was important].” After the first goal, the teams exchanged passes and the ball was worked up and down the field, until the half had 8 minutes left, and Natalie Tardie got the second goal. With a throw-in from Freshman Rebecca Balmas, Tardie got the ball, and unfortunately kicked it out, but made it up when the ball was back into play. She made a quick shot on goal. The John Bapst goalie made a dive for the ball, and managed to hit the ball, but blindly knocked the ball into the their own goal. This move caused Natalie to have another goal under her belt as one of the top scores for the Hermon Hawks. 

After half time, and most likely intense talks from the coaches of both teams, the tension was palpable. John Bapst was noticeably getting more confident on the field, with some players playing harsher than others. Throughout the half, the Hawks had to endure some unwarranted physicality from the Crusaders. 

Natalie Taride was one of the players who struggled through the game, but persevered nevertheless. She said, “It definitely is frustrating to play against players like this, but there isn’t really anything we can do to stop them, so we just have to learn to deal with it. Honestly, I think it makes me a better player both mentally and physically. Being called names and talked about will get in your head, but if you can learn to use that as motivation nothing will be able to stop you.”

 From the pressure of the game and the force coming from the opposing team, the Hawks got another goal within ten minutes of the second half. A kick in from the bottom right corner all the way to Senior Captain Brooke Gallop, led to her hitting the ball on the top of her head, and sending the ball into the left hand side of the goal, with the goalie reaching but falling short. 

The score now 3-0, as the teams set up again and were ready to play the last half hour of the game. Spirits were high and multiple cow bells ringing from the Hawks side of the bleachers. There were 26 minutes left on the board, and the ball was down by the John Bapst goalie. One of the Bapst players got hold of the ball and was able to weave passes to carry the ball down to the Hawks side. Erin Selleck, a Hawk defense-player tried to kick the ball down field, but it ricocheted off of a Crusader, who was able to pass up to their own player, and get the first goal of the game for John Bapst. 

The game continued with the ball traveling up and down the field, burning the time down to 3 minutes when the next goal was scored. With it travelled down the field and a quick strike to the ball, and John Bapst got their second goal. The game carried on, and an almost goal from John Bapst with under a minute left on the clock, but Hermon star senior goalie, Bella Bowden, was able to get one last save to preserve the victory for the Hawks.

Next, John Bapst travels to plays again on October 9th, against the Caribou Vikings, at Caribou High School. 

Hermon, also playing on October 9th, will go up against the Mount Desert Island Trojans, the game taking place at Hermon High School.

Weakened Hawks Struggle Against Coyotes

By: Cooper Stanley

On a bright sunny day in Old Town the Hawks from Hermon traveled to play against the Coyotes, who would take advantage of the weakened Hawks and would win big 6-2, moving the Coyotes to 2-6-1, and the Hawks to 2-8. 

The Coyotes, the 12-seed whom hold the final playoff spot in Class B North Boys Soccer, and the Hawks the 14-seed are looking to make a push for the playoffs: “Losing that game put us farther out of the playoff picture because it was a game that we should’ve won with all of our players, Old Town is the team right in front of us in the standings, and if we won we could’ve taken their spot,” said Hermon Sophomore wing Tommy Meserve. 

The game was tightly fought from the start with each team putting shots on both keepers, but Old Town would open up the scoring barrage with a goal from Senior Captain Grayson Thibeault in the 15th minute of the first half. He’d score again 3 minutes later on a corner. 

The Hawks who bested the Coyotes in their last meeting would struggle as they were missing 5 of their starters. One because of injury, and the others due to school complications: “I felt that there were a few problems caused by the players that were missing. I think the biggest one was the loss of our best players and the struggle to play as a team.  We had players that had never played varsity before playing a lot of minutes,” said Meserve. 

Hermon would try to climb back with a goal in the 21st minute from Senior Captain Zac Allen, setting the score at 2-1 in favor of Old Town. Allen had been a consistent factor in the game being everywhere on the field. Old Town would retaliate by scoring on a deep strike in the 28th minute bringing the score to 3-1 Coyotes with 18 minutes remaining in the first half.

The game, which was spent mostly on Hermon’s defensive end, would put stress on Hermon’s defense which was already missing one of their starters, causing a lack of offensive strength: “With the defense having to work quite hard to stop Old Town it took some of our player’s focus off our offensive system which impacted how our offense had to play,” said Senior Captain Zac Allen. 

This fatigue would show later in the first half as Old Town would capitalize again, scoring with 7 minutes to play in the first half when Junior Tyler Michaud would cross the ball to Thibeault again solidifying his hat trick and putting Old Town up 4-1.

Hermon, who has consistently had to work back in games, would score when Hermon’s Senior Captain Zac Allen would run through the Old Town defense and tap it in to put the score at 4-2, with 26 minutes remaining in the game.

The Coyotes, clearly having the edge over Hermon, would score not even ten minutes later from Grayson Thibeault. His fourth goal of the game. They’d strike again with ten minutes left when Old Town Junior Tyler Michaud dribbled past Hermons defense and shot top right over Hermon keeper Koda Allen. Finalizing the score at 6-2 Old Town on top.

Hermon (2-8) will now travel back home to battle the visiting Presque Isle Wildcats (2-5-1) on October 4th at 5:30 pm. And Old Town (2-6-1) will stay home and wait to battle the Ellsworth Eagles (8-2) on October 3 at 6:00 pm. 

Photo Credits

Photo of Tommy-Mariah Photo (Mariah Coon)

Photo of Zac-HHS Yearbook

M.A. Squeaks By Hermon In A Pitchers Duel

By: Danny Fowler

Both teams were strong on the bump this past Sunday. Gavin Scripture got the start for Hermon and recorded 3 outs giving up the only two runs scored. Mattanawcook Academy got the bats started early in the bottom of the first after Haney singled, and Colin Sullivan doubled, each scoring one run.

For Mattanawcook Academy Jay Haney got the start pitching a strong 4 innings allowing two hits while striking out seven and walking two. Anthony Crisafulli pitched four innings in relief for Hermon. The right-hander gave up one hit and zero runs while striking out nine and walking none. Scripture took the loss for Hermon. The southpaw went one inning giving up two runs on three hits, striking out one and walking one. Issac Ritche earned the save.

Crisafulli led Hermon going 2-3 from the lead off position. Danny Fowler and Geo Socolov both also recorded a hit.

Haney and Sullivan were a tough matchup batting back-to-back in the lineup as each drove in one run for M.A. Haney, Sullivan, Owen Harper, and Jacoby Savage each collected one hit for M.A.

After the loss Hermon fell to 3-3 looking to their next game against the Central Maine Roundups who are 2-2. Mattanawcook picking up their second win of the season now sits at 2-6 looking to strike at Sluggers next Sunday as they split with them in their last 2 game series.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
HRMN	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	2
M.A.	2	0	0	0	0	X	2	4	0

Hawks on the Hunt

By: Addy Waning

The Hermon Hawks Field Hockey Team triumphed over the Mattanawcook Lynx on Saturday, September 23rd at Mattanawcook Academy. 

With the game scoreless in the first quarter, Delaney Carr got a goal assisted by Josephine Jordan for the Hawks to start the second quarter off strong. Nearing the end of the first half, Karli Spinney scored for Mattanawcook. Molly Simcox struck back by scoring another goal, with another assist by Josephine Jordan, to end the half 2-1 Hermon. To start off the third quarter, Addy Waning scored the Hawks’ third goal on a stroke. While the game remained scoreless for the bulk of the third quarter, there were multiple penalty corners and shots on-goal from both teams. Delaney Carr scored an unassisted goal with five minutes left in the third quarter. Within the next few minutes, Emma Hyotle scored another goal for the Lynx. After the end of the third quarter, the game didn’t see another goal until six minutes before the end. Molly Simcox scored the final goal, with an assist from Delaney Carr. When the last buzzer rang, the Hawks defeated the Lynx, with a final score of 5-2.

Leading scorers for the Hawks were Molly Simcox and Delaney Carr, each with two goals each. Karli Spinney and Emma Hyotle scored one of the two Lynx goals. Josephine Jordan led the Hawks in assists with two, followed by one from Delaney Carr. The Lynx had no assists. 

The Hermon Hawks face the PCHS at Pottle Field on Monday, September 25th, 2023. 

Scores:	Quarter 1	Quarter Two	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Total
Hawks	0	2	2	1	5
Lynx	0	1	1	0	2

Photo Credits: Sideline Photography