Longtime Oxford Hills coach Mark Soren retires

Oxford Hills coach Mark Soren talks to his players after the Vikings' 42-27 loss to Thornton Academy in the 2021 Class A football state championship game. The Vikings won the championship in 2022 by defeating Thornton Academy 21-7. Photo by Brewster Barnes

Mark Soren, who built the Oxford Hills High School football program from a Class A underdog to state champions, has stepped down as the school's varsity football coach.

Soren, 54, said he made the decision last Monday but announced it on Twitter on Tuesday.

“It just felt like time passed,” Soren said. “It was about the same amount of work every year and I felt like I wasn't putting in the time that I should have, and I felt like it was a disservice to the kids and the program.”

“Now it's a great opportunity for someone else to come in and leave their mark.”

Soren has been the head coach at Oxford Hills for the past 12 seasons, taking over in 2012 after serving as an assistant coach for one year. He is 58-48 during his tenure and 27-5 over his final three seasons. The Vikings are in contention for the Class A title in 2022.

Soeren previously coached at Poland Regional for eight seasons, the last three as head coach. The Vikings had a combined record of 2-22 during his three years there prior to his first season. The team had not made the playoffs or had a winning season since 2005.

But success didn't come immediately. After a year in the old Pine Tree Conference, which served as Class A East, Class A reranked in 2013, moving the state from Class 3 to Class 4. With traditional PTC teams moving to Class B, Portland, Cheveras, Windham and Deering were placed in Class A East (renamed Class A North in 2015).

“I remember that 68-0 loss to Portland on Homecoming very clearly. I remember that Saturday afternoon on Homecoming very well,” Soren said. “We felt like, yeah, we have to get better, we have to play faster and have higher expectations.”

By 2019, Oxford Hills was on a roll. The Vikings went 7-3 in 2018 and made the playoffs, then had a 6-5 season in 2019 and won the playoffs again, but lost to Thornton Academy in the semifinals.

However, Class A became an eight-team league, with traditional Class A teams Portland, Deering, Cheveras, South Portland, Windham and Massabesic moving to Class B. This reclassification occurred at least in part because some schools dropped out of Class A, claiming they could not compete with powerhouses Thornton Academy and Bonny Eagle.

“Once we started making ourselves known, it felt like every team that was beating us had to rebuild somewhere else,” Soren said. “We lost to Portland a bunch of times, but by the time we beat Portland, they'd dropped down to Class B, so it was frustrating.”

After the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19, Oxford Hills reached the state finals in 2021, its first final appearance since 1999. The Vikings lost to Thornton Academy, 42-27.

Prior to the 2021 season, Soren was diagnosed with Stage 2 colon cancer. During the season, he underwent surgery and chemotherapy, causing him to miss two games.

“After all that I've been through, football has been a godsend,” said Soren, who now feels better and has had clean tests and scans. “I could go[to practice]for two hours and not think about the horrifying possibility of cancer.”

The following season, with his son Eli at quarterback, Soren's team rose to the pinnacle of Maine high school football by defeating Thornton, 21-7, in a rematch of the state finals.

Last season, when Class A returned to 12 teams and was again split into two regions, Oxford Hills reached the North Regional final before losing to Portland, 29-22. The Vikings, who had new starters at 17 positions, finished with an 8-3 record overall.

“We, and I take a lot of pride in what we accomplished. We didn't run from anything. We sat there, we endured the pain and we got better. That 68-0 game, every player came back the next day and the next year we were in the playoffs for the first time in years,” Soren said.

Soren added that he seriously considered stepping down as head coach before the 2023 season but was persuaded by several people not to do so. He will continue to teach physics and chemistry at Oxford Hills.

“I don't know if my football journey is over, but the head coaching job is over for now,” Soren said.

Soren and his wife, Kate, have three children, all of whom will be attending college next year. Their oldest son, Atticus, is a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania and competes in the javelin on the track team. Eli Soren is a freshman at Colby College and plays football. Their daughter, McKinley, is finishing up her senior year at Oxford Hills and plans to attend Pennsylvania State University.

Soren, who grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, and played at the University of South Dakota, will not be coaching football this fall for the first time in 21 seasons.

Soren said he plans to use his free time to travel more with Kate, play more golf and hone his novice fly-fishing skills.

“I'm going to miss those relationships with the kids and the coaches,” Soren said, “I'm going to miss sitting in the coach's office and, of course, running out under the lights on Friday nights. It's going to be tough going to games and watching those guys run out.”

Copy story link

” previous