Lewiston is starting to heal, one touchdown at a time

The Battle of the Bridge is the biggest football game of the year in Lewiston and Auburn, towns separated by a river in Maine.

The high schools – Lewiston High and Edward Little – are bitter rivals. On the eve of the game, the last of the year, seniors burn a pair of cleats during a locomotion ceremony. Players wear ties to class. There is a parade. It’s like coming home, squared.

But Wednesday night was different. The kickoff, at 6 p.m., came almost exactly a week after a gunman went on a shooting spree that left 18 people dead and 13 others injured. And in the two-day lockdown that followed, Lewiston High became a command center. Helicopters landed on the lawns and police officers converged on the school buildings to plan their search for the shooter.

The game, originally scheduled for last week, was a return to routine for the cities after the state’s deadliest mass shooting. It was a chance to celebrate in the open air after being sheltered for days during a terrifying manhunt.

“Long after this game is over, no one will remember the score,” Lewiston football coach Jason Versey said. “People will remember that we came together.”

As the players from both teams stretched and dabbed their cheeks black, they thought about more than just football. They played hard, as always. But they didn’t just play to win.

“It’s definitely more than a game,” said Jeffrey Randall, 16, Lewiston’s starting quarterback. “I see it as a community coming together.”

As the sun set behind the Lewiston stands and the field glowed orange, team parents grilled hot dogs while groups of girls teased each other about their crushes. There were pompoms and pep talks as fans shouted themselves hoarse from the stands. From a distance: a normal football game, on a normal fall evening in Maine.

But players on both teams knew people who had been shot or had family who had spent the week on ventilators. Players’ parents lost friends. Everyone knew someone – or knew someone who knew someone. It’s that kind of place.

“I don’t know what normal will look like in the future,” Lewiston athletic director Jason Fuller said as he choked back tears. “But this is a step.”

Usually the players are the stars and are the first to enter the field. But this time they lined up along a walkway — Lewiston on one side, Edward Little on the other — as first responders walked through. Police department after police department marched with firefighters and medical personnel as players and their fans clapped and clapped, cheering for friends.

After a ceremony honoring first responders and recognizing those who died, James Taylor, the Boston-born, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, walked to center field with his guitar. He sang the national anthem as the players from both teams stood shoulder to shoulder.

An American flag flew at half-mast. Fans removed their Patriot hats, their eyes wet, their hands on their hearts, their community around them.

Posters with the names of those who died hung on a fence behind the end zone.

“We have nothing to oppose, but we have to unite,” said Brian DuBois, 53, as he watched his 16-year-old son, Ben DuBois, make catch after catch for Edward Little.

Despite the weight of the past week, both teams wanted to win the match. A win would send Lewiston to the playoffs, and Edward Little hadn’t won a game all year.

At half time Edward Little led 12 to 6. The teams regrouped, strategized and warmed up. Within minutes, Lewiston scored in the third quarter. Then Lewiston scored again. The cheerleaders picked up their spirits as the student section, dressed entirely in blue, took to the stands to shout.

“Bringing everyone together gave everyone a push to heal,” said Allie Pineau, 16, a cheerleader from Lewiston, as she held hand warmers under her pom-poms.

Her father, the deputy fire chief in nearby Topsham, spent that first tense night helping colleagues respond to the shootings. She’s still finding her feet – confetti poppers confused her.

“This is not something that will just pass by,” Ms. Pineau said. But going back to school, going back to work, is important, she said. “Getting back to routine can really help people heal.”

Torey Weldon, the cheer coach, knows that fear firsthand. Her husband is a firefighter. Last Wednesday, he texted her to tell her there was an active shooter. ‘Please lock the doors. Love you.” Seven days later, she looked at her team on the sidelines.

“This is their way of saying, ‘You’re not killing us,’” said Ms. Weldon, 28, adding: “It’s somehow the universe knew our cities needed this.”

In the final few minutes of the game, Lewiston led by 16 points, too far for Edward Little to catch up. In the last few seconds, Mr. Randall, the quarterback, got down on his knee. He wanted to run the clock without trying to run up the score.

He fell at the 18-yard line, in front of the 18 victims, as Lewiston fans cheered around him.