ELLSWORTH — Friday night football is coming to Ellsworth.

The Regional School Unit 24 Board of Directors last week approved football as a varsity sport for students at Ellsworth and Sumner Memorial high schools.

With the arrival of the fall season, the Ellsworth-Sumner team will step into the Class C Little Ten Conference to replace Calais-Woodland, which will not field a team.

As a new incoming team, Ellsworth-Sumner will have the option of playing in Class C for a year, then deciding whether to move up to its appropriate enrollment level (Class B) or remain in Class C for two more years, said Ellsworth Athletic Administrator Jay Brown.

While in Class C, the team will play a complete regular season schedule but cannot compete in post-season tournament play.

The program will continue to be privately funded, with the RSU funding only those components that are used for multiple sports, said Brown.

The high school team played a schedule of junior varsity games last fall, and coach Duane Crawford, who helped establish the Ellsworth Football League four years ago, believes it’s a good time to take the next step.

“Jayvee teams frown upon using our seniors,” he said, “and we have nine coming back on the team this year.

“This will give us the chance to play one year at Class C and see how we make out, then decide whether to stay two more years in Class C.”

Crawford believes the move to varsity level can only help with fund raising for the program.

“If you just take the home game nights and factor in the snack shack and admission fees, that could easily add another $10,000 in revenues we haven’t had,” he said.

The football league program has introduced the sport to players from third grade on up, and some of those players have now reached the high school level.

With four age groups, well over 100 kids have been involved, said Brown, but so far,  football has not drawn significantly from other school sports.

“We’ve been attracting kids who have never played a varsity sport,” he said. “All of a sudden, they’re playing and it gives them a sense of pride in becoming part of a team.”

An eight-game Friday night schedule is planned for the fall, with the first home game on Sept. 7 a cross-county matchup with the Bucksport Golden Bucks.

“Most developmental teams that go into a varsity schedule struggle for their first couple of years,” said Crawford. “It takes a while to catch up.”

But Crawford and assistant coaches George “Toogie” McKay and Tony Rolf bring more than 60 years of combined experience to the Ellsworth-Sumner team.

And with a host of young players now coming on the high school scene with previous experience, there’s good reason for optimism.

For more sports news, pick up a copy of The Ellsworth American.