BATH

12 a.m. As the clock turned to midnight and the calendar flipped to Monday morning, August 13th, the Maine high school fall sports season was officially underway.

While most of the area athletes were in bed, resting up for that first day of intense practices and tryouts, the Morse High School football and cheering teams hit the turf under the lights at McMann field as the clock struck midnight to begin the 2018 season.

“It’s an energy thing, to build excitement,” football head coach Jason Darling said. “We bill it as we want to be the first on the field and the last off. We want to jump on our opponent anyway we can, so if they’re going to let us practice at midnight, we’re going to go out there at midnight.”

“I haven’t heard of anyone else in any other sport willing to stay up until midnight and go be the first on the field,” said senior Thomas Trundy. “It was something different, I think it helped our team get motivated and do well last year.”

This is the second season the team has put on a short practice session in the wee-hours of the morning in the darkness, with the McMann Field Complex lights shining brightly.

“Wayne Richards our defensive coordinator did it a couple of times up in Bucksport while he was there,” Darling said. “He brought it down with him, we (coaches) loved it, the kids loved it, so (we) decided to roll with it again.”

“I was really impressed with the support we had last year, just that the community was behind it, so having it again was absolutely a no brainer,” added athletic director Nate Priest.

Before the team hit the field, Darling and his staff handed out equipment that included shiny white helmets and bright blue jerseys with Morse on the front.

“We have right around 40 kids. I have a couple of kids starting late and you always get a player or two once school starts,” Darling said, entering his ninth season as the Shipbuilder head coach.

Morse went 6-2 last season, finishing fifth in Class C South and traveling to Gardiner for a quarterfinal match against the fourth-seeded Tigers. Gardiner came from behind late and held off a Shipbuilder charge in the final minutes to advance. Players have been waiting to get back on the field since, including senior Lukas Osterhout.

“I’ve been thinking about this since last winter. I’ve been texting coach Darling, ‘are we going to do Midnight Madness?’” Osterhout said. “I think this is going to be a great tradition for Morse football. It’s a lot of fun and it brings everyone together.”

“It’s a great team bonding (activity) to come out here at midnight and go on the football field and all bond,” said senior Reid Barabe. “That’s what it’s all about, meet all the new faces, the new freshman, we’re all here.”

For the seniors, it’s bittersweet, knowing this will be the last football season of their high school years.

“Midnight Madness is very exciting, but also emotional. It’s our last chance to set the record for Morse,” senior Austin Baltazar said.

Not only did some fans show up for support, but so did the Morse High School All-Boosters Club by opening the snack shack, offering blueberry turnovers with ice cream as well as nachos, coffee and hot chocolate among other game-time snacks.

After the horn blew on the scoreboard as the clock wound down to midnight, the team went into full pregame stretch mode, donning jerseys, shorts and helmets. The offensive and defensive teams split into their respective groups, and after continuing to warm up, they ran a few plays in front of the fans who endured the late hours before calling it a night.

“They have fun, they love coming out. Anything unique like this they get behind,” added Darling.

“It’s a real unique event and it’s a great way to kick off the fall sports season,” said Priest.

The Shipbuilders return to the field later today for double sessions of practice beginning at 3 p.m.