WESTBROOK – Two years ago, the Westbrook High School football team dropped down from Class A to Class B. The turnaround has been stunning.

The Blue Blazes, an also-ran in Class A football for years, made the playoffs with a 4-4 record in their first season in Class B, and this year, they have taken the league by storm, running off an impressive 6-2 record, and entering the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the West.

Now, the school, which plays in the Class A Southwestern Maine Activities Association for most other sports (ice hockey plays a Class B schedule, as well), is considering moving down to the Class B Western Maine Conference for all sports.

Athletic Director Marc Sawyer will discuss the potential move at a public forum on Thursday, Nov. 1, at 6 p.m., in the Westbrook High School Cafeteria.

School Superintendent Marc Gousse said the move, which would have to be approved by the Westbrook School Committee, isn’t a certainty, but the impetus behind the switch was driven by a falling student population, not wins and losses on the field.

“We are making the recommendation that (the school) apply to (be a member of) the Western Maine Conference,” Gousse said, “which would put all of our programs in Class B.”

“It all comes down to population. We just want to put our kids in positive situations,” he said. “If you have a school with 700 kids, does it make sense going up against schools of 1,200 or 1,300?”

Gousse said the population of the high school is a little more than 700 students, which is “well below” the Class A level set by the Maine Principals’ Association.

Sawyer said Westbrook currently ranks 15th in student population in the SMAA and the school wouldn’t even be the biggest in the Western Maine Conference – it would be the fourth or fifth biggest school.

Sawyer agreed with Gousse that the drive to drop down was not based on success on the field or the court, but by an interest to put the Blue Blazes’ athletes in a situation where they are competing against schools of similar size.

“I think it’s important for the kids, the community and all of us to take a step back and say, ‘Who are we?’” Sawyer said.

Despite the population disparity, Westbrook has fielded some competitive Class A teams, particularly in field hockey, basketball and baseball.

“Certainly, there’s been an argument that we’ve been competitive in Class A,” Sawyer said.

But, Sawyer added, Westbrook hasn’t fielded a team state champion in boys sports since the golf team claimed the title in 1989 and the girls swim team won the school’s last team state championship in 1999.

Sawyer said that while there can be an argument to keep some of Westbrook’s teams in Class A, he feels that it is in the best interest of the school and the students to put them in a position where they are going up against schools of similar size.

“My job is to look more globally,” he said.