Other than perhaps a little extra spring in the steps of the football players as they made their way through Hampden Academy’s corridors Monday morning, it was hard to discern any lingering euphoria from the Broncos’ emotional victory Friday over Orono.

“Other than the fact there were a lot of congratulations and handshakes, we didn’t have any special celebration or anything,” said Hampden coach Bob Sinclair, who also teaches physical education at the academy.

Either that’s because the significance of the win is still sinking into the Hampden community or it’s because the Broncos are refusing to get too caught up in it and neglect the rest of their season.

“We’ve got to get ready for Old Town,” said Sinclair. “We can’t afford to dwell on Orono.”

Friday’s come-from-behind 30-28 win was Hampden’s first over the perennial Class B playoff contender Orono since 1986.

“When it was 22-0 Orono, I remember I was just wondering if the guys were thinking about packing it in or whether they were going to make a game of it,” said Broncos tailback Ben Preston. “I think it’s obvious what they decided.”

Sinclair said the win gave his team two things: confidence and a payoff for all the hard work put in during the summer and preseason.

“The kids gained confidence in themselves, their ability to come back, and their ability to compete with the big boys,” he explained. “We’ve told them they can compete with anybody and this win obviously reinforces that.”

Hampden’s offensive line should be a lot more confident. After running Preston primarily to the left behind tackle Chad O’Leary and guard Josh Gopan, the Broncs switched the load to fullback Jordan Marden in the second half, who ran behind right guard Ryan Thomas and tackle Jared Tyler.

“It definitely gives us a better feeling going into Old Town. For me, it gives me a little more confidence in my ability,” said Marden, who carried the ball 23 times for 133 yards, two touchdowns, and a two-point conversion.

The series has special meaning to Sinclair, who played football for the Riots from 1968 to 1971, the same year the Broncos notched their first-ever win over Orono. To make matters worse, Hampden won that 1971 game on Nov. 6, Sinclair’s birthday.

“And they tied us the year before that, so I was beginning to think our class was cursed or something,” he said.

Friday night’s win, which snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Riots, was the Broncos’ second in 15 years against the Riots, and only Hampden’s fourth win over Orono in the history of the series.

Although the win was akin to beating Bangor in baseball for quarterback Matt Gilbert, who also pitches for the baseball team, he refused to dwell on personal goals and glory.

“It’s definitely a high point in my career,” said Gilbert.

As almost any coach will tell you, every win is a big win, but Friday’s victory over Madison took on a little more significance for Stearns of Millinocket football coach Art Greenlaw.

It was Greenlaw’s 96th LTC regular-season coaching victory, which tied him with former Bucksport coach Bob Carmichael as the conference’s all-time winningest coach.

“I didn’t know anything about it until Friday afternoon, so it was kind of a surprise,” said Greenlaw. “Bob Carmichael was obviously a great coach and it’s nice to be in the same company.”

Greenlaw, who said the team’s postgame celebration was low key, joked about what the honor meant to him.

“It tells me I’ve been doing this a long time,” he said with a laugh. “No, I think it’s obviously very nice and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to coach here as long as I have with the type of kids I’ve had to work with.”