Sanford quarterback Xavier Levine (4) surveys the field for an open receiver during a recent Spartans practice. The senior has made perfecting his pocket passing a focus of his final season playing at Sanford High before he moves on to a hopeful college playing career. (ANTHONY LOMBARDI/Journal Tribune)

SANFORD – Growing up, Xavier Levine would turn on the television every Sunday and watch in awe as former NFL quarterback Michael Vick rolled out of the pocket and ran circles around helpless defenders. 

The Sanford High senior, who starts at quarterback for the varsity team, doesn’t emulate his game around the former No. 1 overall pick. That wouldn’t be smart, he said, because Vick has his own style. But that doesn’t mean that every once in a while, Levine can’t feel like the Pro Bowler when he’s on the field. 

“Playing Thornton Academy (last Friday) was cool because I kind of felt like Vick a little bit,” Levine said. “When the play collapsed, they couldn’t contain me on the outside. I never made any breakaways but I feel like … as I progress, I’m only getting better. By the end of the season, I’m hoping to be the high school Mike Vick.” 

While Sanford lost to No. 1 Thornton Academy 27-13 in Week 1 of the high school football season, Levine and his fellow Spartans accomplished a feat that no team on the Golden Trojans’ schedule last year could: jump ahead of the defending champions at any point in the game.

Sanford led twice. 

On the first play from scrimmage, Levine connected with Ethan Shain on a 72-yard touchdown pass to put the Spartans on the scoreboard first and bring hope to the home crowd at Alumni Stadium. After Thornton tied the score, Levine put Sanford ahead again with a 25-yard touchdown pass to tight end Leyton Bickford. Levine finished 10-12 through the air for 111 yards and two touchdowns. He added another 77 yards on the ground on 14 attempts. 

The Golden Trojans rallied in the second half, but the Spartans felt like they showed the league and themselves the type of football they’re capable of playing under the Friday night lights. 

“We want to prove that we’re one of the better teams in the state of Maine, not just our conference,” Levine said. “We want to make our way into the ‘Big Three’ (with TA, Scarborough and Bonny Eagle) … and we want to be the top by the end of the season. That’s what we’re looking at. We’re all hungry.” 

The first time Sanford head coach Mike Fallon realized he had something special in Levine was during the third game of the season last year against tonight’s opponent in Oxford Hills.  

During one particular play, Levine scrambled to his left in an attempt to buy some time from the oncoming pass rush of the defensive front. As he rolled out of the pocket, around the 3-yard line, Levine caught a glimpse of running back Caleb Saucier breaking free from his defender. Levine threw the ball off of his back foot and delivered a strike to the 47. 

“Sometimes you need playmakers to make plays and that’s the thing (Xavier) does,” Fallon said. “When things break down – and they’re going to break down in high school football – the difference that he brings is that he can extend plays with his feet and with his arm.” 

When Levine started playing football in fifth grade, quarterback wasn’t his thing. The gridiron, in general, took a backseat to the hardwood, as the lanky Levine made his name on the basketball court before he ever took football seriously. He lights up as he recalls windmill slam dunks that he’s thrown down. Basketball was such a passion for Levine that he didn’t play football from eighth grade through his freshman season. 

That didn’t mean that Sanford’s football coach didn’t try. 

“I would see him in school and I would stop and ask him to play,” Fallon said. “I wasn’t sure where he’d play but I knew he was a talented athlete.” 

Levine decided a return to the turf was in order while he cheered on his classmates as a freshman from the home bleachers at a football game. He tried talking his way onto the team that season, he said, but too much time had passed and he had to wait another year. 

Even when he did put on his pads as a sophomore, the first position he went out for was as a wide receiver. One practice, Fallon tossed him a ball and asked him to throw it to one of the coaches. After Levine let it fly, Fallon said: “Perfect, you’re a quarterback.” 

Levine learned the position as a sophomore under then-senior Ethan Emard and junior Jordan Giroux. His first taste of varsity action came that season late in a playoff game that the Spartans trailed. He stepped into the starting role as a junior and finished the season 66-of-106 for 1,125 yards, 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Levine also ran for 391 yards and four scores on the ground while leading Sanford to a 5-3 regular-season record and a No. 4 seed in the Class A postseason. 

He did all of that while experiencing homelessness twice. 

“My whole high school career, poverty was a huge struggle,” Levine said. “My dad wasn’t around … As much as it hurts me and my sister and my mom, it brought us three together. Now … I want to help them out. That’s where my passion to go play in college comes from. I feel that if I can get behind the right set of coaches, then I can maybe make it to the next level and then really bring in a paycheck for them.” 

It was difficult getting out of bed, or more accurately a friend’s couch, every day, Levine said.

Completing a full day of school before practice became stressful and mentally straining, but Levine knew his family and teammates were depending on him. 

While picking up the playbook was easy — he has always been a smart kid — one of the hardest parts of his journey has been devoting his attention and energy to beneficial activities. 

“It would have been really easy for me to fall down the wrong path. I could not even be here. I stayed strong up here,” said Levine as he pointed to his head. “I just made sure I was doing the right things, and I was around the right people. I had to cut off a lot of people. I told them, ‘Look, you guys know what’s going on. You know where I want to be.’”

While circumstances in the proverbial home were often a challenge, Levine has always felt like he has something special at Sanford. Fallon always made sure Levine attended school and that he had someone to talk to if needed. Levine’s teammates also made their feelings for their teammate known at every opportunity. 

“This has always been my second family,” Levine said. “I love the kids I play with.” 

Levine is using his final season at Sanford High to improve on his pocket passing, a trait that a couple of Division I coaches told him they’d like to see him work on, he said. He hasn’t received an official scholarship offer yet, but Levine won’t let that knock him down. 

Why would it? He’s seen his mother, Christine Dionne, “go through hell and back just to make sure” he’s OK. Now it’s his hope that he can return the favor. 

“There are some very good quarterbacks in the conference and he knows that,” Fallon said. “Now, the big question is who is going to be the big dog. I think he’s driven by that … His road to where he is now has been very challenging outside of football. Probably more challenging than most kids, which makes it even more special that he’s here … I respect Xavier a lot for overcoming. We’re proud of him.”