SACO — Two decades after the original Maine Sabers battled on the high school gridirons of York County, the reincarnated version of the team is following suit.
The present-day Sabers, in their first year in the New England Football League after playing two seasons in the Eastern Football League, played at Thornton Academy’s Hill Stadium on Sunday, and will play there two more times this season.
The Sabers will also play a game later this season at Waterhouse Field in Biddeford, one of the places the original Sabers called home.
The Sabers from a generation ago started play in 1992, with its inaugural game in the Continental Interstate Football League at Sanford’s Cobb Stadium. The Sabers made it to the league semifinals in their first year ”“ just as the new Sabers did in the EFL two years ago.
While the Sabers were successful in their short existence, the team stopped playing by the middle of the decade before it could fall on hard times.
“It was not because of lack of interest,” said Sabers owner and player Steve Goodrich.
Goodrich, a player and administrator on the original Sabers, said he didn’t think new leadership for the old team would have maintained the level of commitment and excellence that the team had when it started.
“We decided that we would shut it down and end on a high note,” he said.
When Goodrich started up the new Sabers in 2011, with then-head coach Jason McLeod, he looked to bring the new franchise back to its old stomping grounds. But that plan didn’t work out.
“We had actually inquired about playing games at Waterhouse and Cobb Stadium in 2011, but weren’t able to work it out with those municipalities and school departments,” said Goodrich.
The team played in Portland the past two years, but had to move out of the city when it moved to the NEFL this year, as the Southern Maine Raging Bulls lay claim to the city’s limits. So the Sabers have been searching for a new home this season, and may have finally settled back in York County.
The Sabers played their home opener at Scarborough High School before heading south to Hill Stadium last Sunday against the Metro-West Colonials. The Sabers play their next two home games in Saco ”“ including a clash with the Raging Bulls ”“ before playing the Boston Bandits in their home finale at Waterhouse Field.
“I think that playing at those facilities, where there is such a rich football tradition, we are looking forward to hopefully being embraced by communities that are obviously very into football,” said Goodrich.
They’ve only played one game in York County, but Goodrich said he thinks the team can already call the area its new home.
“That’s been our home base this season. It’s really great to back (here),” said Goodrich. “We’re looking forward to reaching back to old Sabers, and hopefully meeting some new ones.”
The Sabers are currently undefeated and ranked in the top 20 in the nation by American Football News Today under first-year head coach Jim Walsh, who is a former assistant football and baseball coach at Sanford and former assistant principal at Old Orchard Beach.
— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.
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