UMaine offensive linemen Jack Boutaugh, left, and Nathan Lopez work through a drill during a July 31 practice in Orono. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

ORONO — There’s never a lot of native Mainers on the University of Maine football team. With fewer than 80 high school football programs in the state, there just aren’t enough players who are capable of competing at the Football Championship Subdivision level.

This season, for example, only eight Mainers on the Black Bears’ roster. Nearly half of those eight are from Leavitt Area High School, a Class C program in Turner that dominated Maine high school football last fall.

Jack Boutaugh, a redshirt sophomore offensive lineman; Noah Carpenter, a freshman quarterback; and Jace Negley, a freshman defensive lineman, are all playing for head coach Jordan Stevens.

“Each year, we have someone we’re actively recruiting from Leavitt,” Stevens said after a recent practice. “Just the character of the guys there, they have a great program. They’re well-coached, and they have some great continuity in their staff there, which has shown in their ability to play up levels and win games.”

Maine last carried three players from the same high school in 2019, when Scarborough alumni Zoltan Panyi (quarterback), Anthony Griffin (offensive lineman) and Zachary Reed (offensive lineman) made the roster. Those three players accounted for 18% of the Mainers on that team. In 2017, Maine had four players from Thornton Academy: linebacker Owen Elliott, fullback Michael Laverriere, kicker Brandon Briggs, and defensive end Dakota Tarbox.

Scarborough and Thornton Academy are among the largest schools in the state.

According to the Maine Principals’ Association, Leavitt’s enrollment is 572, which is about middle of the pack for the 79 football programs in the state (including the combined enrollments of co-op programs).

That hasn’t stopped Coach Mike Hathaway from building one of the most consistently excellent football programs in the state. Last season, the Hornets featured one of the best teams in state history, going undefeated season for the second straight year, with wins over Class A champion Thornton Academy and two other Class A schools, plus Class B runner-up Lawrence. The Hornets beat previously undefeated Oceanside, 71-12, in the Class C final.

“We play pretty long seasons. These guys get a lot of extra practices,” Hathaway said. “These guys worked pretty hard, too… We try to create a love for the game. If you don’t love it, you can’t be successful at that (Division I) level.”

Leavitt’s trio of Black Bears credit Hathaway and his assistant coaches for helping them prepare for Division I football. Boutaugh noted that his line coach at Leavitt, Dave Bochtler, played defensive line at Maine in the 1980s.

“Coach Hathaway and all the coaches do a great job getting guys ready for the next chapter. We’ve had a lot of guys come out of Leavitt and go play collegiate ball. The last couple of years, with me, Jack and Jace, the coaches knew what they had. They knew they could get us ready,” said Carpenter, who won the Fitzpatrick Trophy as the top high school senior in the state last season.

Stevens said that Carpenter (6-foot-1, 210 pounds) and Negley (6-3, 275) committed to the weight room when they arrived on campus.

“They’re physically more developed than most (first-year players). They can function on the field, because physically they have the development. They’re embracing the grind of camp,” Stevens said.

Of the three, Boutaugh is most likely to see significant playing time this season. The 6-4, 300-pound offensive lineman played in eight games last season, including four starts at left guard over the final month of the season. Boutaugh, who balances football with his mechanical engineering technology major, said the offensive line is deeper this season, and competition in camp for playing time has been intense.

“He’s such a down-to-earth, hard-working young man. We’re really proud of his progress here. He’s going to play a lot of football for us,” Stevens said of Boutaugh. “He’s getting every opportunity every day. He’s getting a lot of reps, and he’s really earned that.”

When Maine began recruiting Negley, the winner of the Gaziano Award as the top defensive lineman in the state last season, he reached out to Boutaugh to get the scoop on playing football at Maine. When he made his visit, Negley felt right at home.

“I showed up, and I met the guys and I met the coaches. There was a brotherhood. There was a strong bond between everyone. It was a lot like what I had at Leavitt. I couldn’t turn that down. That’s what I was looking for when I was looking for a school,” said Negley, who is Carpenter’s roommate.

Negley and Boutaugh said they hope to line up against each other in practice soon. Negley said as a sophomore in high school, he would try to get as many reps as possible against Boutaugh, a senior, in order to improve.

When he was first added to the Maine roster, Carpenter’s position was listed as “athlete.” Since camp opened, he’s been working with the quarterbacks. Whether he stays there or not is to be determined. At Leavitt, Carpenter was a force on offense, defense and special teams. Along with being the top quarterback in the state, Carpenter was considered the best punter and safety as well.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever met a player, as a first-year, who has connected with more of his teammates in such a short amount of time as (Carpenter) has. He definitely has that ‘it’ factor. He fit in right away with the guys and he’s a competitor. It’s really fun to see,” Stevens said. “He’s with the quarterbacks right now. He can punt. I’m excited that he’s on our team, because he’s going to be a great guy here, now and in the future, just culture-wise. He loves it, and that’s infectious. He’s such an easy kid to coach. He’s doing something with a football before every practice.”

Carpenter said he enjoys working with the other quarterbacks and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mikahael Waters. That said, he’ll play wherever he’s asked.

“I couldn’t be happier in making my decision to come up here,” Carpenter said. “They were like, we know you can play football. We’re just not sure where you’ll fit in. Later on in my recruiting process, they did end up saying they wanted me at quarterback.”

A Mt. Blue graduate and Temple native, Stevens played for the Black Bears from 2006 through 2009 and was an all-conference defensive end. Arguably the most accomplished Maine native to wear the Black Bears’ helmet over the last 20 years, Stevens said he does see a little of himself in each of the Maine natives who play for the Black Bears.

“I do see myself in them in terms of the work ethic. That’s something we pride ourselves on here at Maine,” Stevens said. “If we can get a great player from Maine, we can develop who works hard, that’s a great fit for us.”