Semipro football league hits Maine> NEFL says Bangor expansion a possiblity

When high school seniors walk off the football field for the last time, many of them realize that they won’t be putting the pads on ever again.

The 32-year-old Eastern Football League has offered players a chance to continue their football careers but there is another league with a Maine franchise in it.

The Southern Maine Spartans will begin play in the three-year-old New England Football League this fall and Tom Torrisi, the assistant president and the director of marketing, said the league would like to expand to the Bangor area sometime within the next several years.

“We’ve love to eventually set up a Northern New England division,” said Torrisi. “We went from four teams in our first year to six teams last year and we’re going to have 12 this fall. Never in a million years did we expect to be where we are this year.”

Torrisi played in the EFL for eight years and he and some friends decided to form the NEFL three years ago.

He said the talent level is better in the EFL but the NEFL is more of a “working-class league.”

He pointed out that the EFL plays its schedule primarily during the summer but the NEFL will play its eight-game schedule in the fall.

The NEFL will have rosters with a 30-player maximum “to ensure that everybody gets playing time.” He said the EFL rosters have up to 49 players and some players don’t get the playing time they desire.

The NEFL teams practice once or twice a week compared to the EFL’s three per week.

There are a few modified rules in the NEFL, according to Torrisi. Punt returners are allowed a 5-yard cushion; they use the in-the-grasp rule pertaining to a quarterback sack; there’s no downfield blocking below the waist and a player is automatically down if his knee touches the ground.

Sponsors supply pants, shirts, game socks and decals for the helmets but the players have to supply all the pads and the helmet.

He said the league has a deal with a company in Somerville, Mass., that will supply the pads and helmet for $200 per player.

There will be a northern and southern division to reduce the amount of travel and there will be a tryout and draft for first-year players on May 18. The time and site have yet to be determined.

There will be 10 teams based in Massachusetts, one in New Hampshire, and one in southern Maine.

What can a player get out of the NEFL?

“You get a chance to play football with your buddies, the guys you played high school ball with, instead of just sitting around and talking about high school memories,” said Torrisi. “And we try to ensure that everybody has fun.”

He said the players must be at least 18 years old and most are 24-32.

The top two teams in each division will qualify for the playoffs.

Torrisi said further information can be obtained by calling him at 508-794-9256.