WATERBORO – Amid dirty, sweating players running on and off the field, as well as focused coaches shouting out instructions, a number of people were tending to various tasks on the Bonny Eagle sideline at Saturday’s western Maine football final at Massabesic.

Kristen Bailey, the Scots athletic trainer, made sure that minor injuries were addressed so that players could return to action. At one point she taped an ankle and several times she helped lineman Brett Cartwright work out some leg cramps.

“It’s very exciting to be on the sideline,” said Bailey, in her first year as the school’s trainer. “You have to take care of things and get them back out there as quickly as possible.”

Behind the players, never far from their water bottle trays, a pair of Bonny Eagle juniors handled manager duties for the team. Among their responsibilities, Katie Way and Katie Chaisson make sure that the team has things like footballs and erasable whiteboards on the bench at game time.

And of course, during the game, whenever a player is thirsty, the duo is ready to hand them a squeeze bottle or to take water onto the field during time outs.

“I like the family-feel of the team,” says Way, who was on the sideline last season as well. “The ‘thank-yous’ I get from the guys are beyond any money I could take.”

Another student, Casey Jones, had the task of keeping the football clean and dry. The sophomore, not dressed for the game because of an injury, would get the ball out onto the field whenever the Scots had possession. When Massabesic took over the Mustangs would use their ball and the Bonny Eagle ball came back to Jones, who scraped off mud and dried slippery spots.

One of the busiest squads on the sideline was the foursome holding the down markers – commonly referred to as “the chain gang” – but they enjoy being on the field and close to the action.

“You can feel the tempo of the game, unlike in the stands where you’re just an observer,” said Tom Breton of Shapleigh.

Breton and his cohorts ran up and down the Scots sideline throughout the contest. At times, when the defense was holding steady, the gang moved very little, but after a big gainer or a change of possession, the quartet needed to instantly shift to where the ball ended up.

Kris Bear handled the yard marker Saturday. The Waterboro resident has been working the chains at Massabesic home games for four years, and she’s also part of the chain gang for the town’s youth football league and for the Cobras, a semi-pro team in Alfred.

“Being able to help out is a lot of fun,” Bear said. “I love being right there. Last week when (Massabesic) held Deering on fourth down I was the closest person to it.”

Breton held one end of the first-down chains, while Alfred resident Scott Holland held the other. Both have sons who play for the Mustangs.

“I get to watch the game right on the sideline,” said Holland, in his second year on the job. “That’s the best part. You get right on the goal line to see if they really did make it or they didn’t.”

Holland’s son Alex, a freshman, was the fourth member of the group.

Because there are dozens of players on a given sideline – not to mention coaches, trainers, managers and photographers – and because the gang must sometimes quickly relocate down the field, there are occasions when the chain will get wrapped around someone.

“You just got to be awake. Sometimes you get players coming off the field who get hooked up in the chain,” said Breton. “Some teams get out of your way, some don’t care.”

Another reason to stay awake is that every once in a while a ball carrier will come sprinting toward the sideline pursued by a swarm of tacklers. Chain gang protocol is to drop the marker where it is and get out of the way. No sense in getting flattened by a half-dozen 200-pound athletes.

Weather conditions can also present a problem. Rain can cause the field to get slippery and the heavily traveled sidelines can get quite muddy. Running with the chains could be a precarious task.

“We’ve had some really wet games and the big thing is not to go down on the sideline in front of everybody,” said Breton, who was also part of the crew last season.

Saturday, however, was a beautiful autumn day. It was the visiting Scots that dampened the home crowd’s spirits, and the four locals working the chains, though they weren’t allowed to cheer while on duty, were pulling for the home team.

Still, it was a great season and the chain gang got to see much of it up close.

“Best seats in the house,” said Breton.