Opening night jitters were not a problem for the Boothbay Region High School Seahawks football team as they scored on the team’s third play from scrimmage and posted a 30-6 victory at Sacopee Valley September 6.

An unsuccessful attempt at recovering an onsides kick by the host Hawks gave the Seahawks great field position at the team’s own 48-yard line. Julian Aponte rushed for six yards, followed by a three yard pickup by Jude Alamo before Jason Maddocks went the final 44 yards for the touchdown. A pass attempt failed on the conversion.

Sacopee Valley answered with a nine-play drive that moved the ball deep into Seahawk territory before turning the ball over on downs. The Seahawks are back to running the double wing offense this season. That strategy again paid immediate dividends as Maddocks bolted 80 yards on first down for his second touchdown and a 12-0 Seahawk lead with 5:42 remaining in the first period.

After the great start, the Seahawks’ team spirit was delivered a blow as one of its leaders, senior Shawn Simmons, suffered a knee injury that will likely end his season with less than one period played.

“It's a very tough loss for us,” said coach Bryan Dionne. “But the kids responded well, looking to do anything they could to help in Shawn’s absence. It was a real good team approach and shows how important our depth is.”

After two possessions without scoring, the Seahawks took over at the team’s own 40-yard line, setting up a 50-yard touchdown run by Aponte with under a minute to play in the first half. The two-point conversion failed for the third time on the night.

The Valley opened the second half with an impressive 14-play drive that consumed almost eight minutes and resulted in a two-yard touchdown plunge by River Bailey, cutting the Seahawk lead to 18-6.

The Seahawks were unable to pick up a first down and punted the ball back to Sacopee and the complexion of the game had changed. But on the first play, the Seahawk defense came up big.

A hit on Bailey along the sideline caused a fumble that Seahawk Killian Miller snagged out of the air and raced to the end zone for the touchdown with 11:50 left in the game. Miller also ended Sacopee's next possession with an interception.

Three plays later, Aponte scored on a seven-yard run for his second of the day as he finished with 89 yards rushing.  Maddocks finished the day with 141 yards on the ground.

“It was a big win for us and I am very proud of the kids,” said Dionne, who has a whole new staff backing him up. New to the coaching staff this season are assistants Brad Drummond and Dan Bryer. Jesse Peters is also helping out along with Dionne's younger brother, Cori Dionne.

The Seahawks open at Sherman Field on Friday, Sept. 13 as they host the Telstar Rebels. The Rebels scored 29 points in a week one loss to Oak Hill.