The Lewiston football team takes the field before Friday’s game against Brunswick. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

It’s been a rough week for people in my hometown. On Friday, Lewiston marked the one-year anniversary of the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history. Nearly 1,000 people gathered at The Colisèe for a ceremony honoring the 18 victims and many others who were affected by that night of senseless violence.

Across town, the Lewiston High football team turned in one of its best performances in recent memory with a 30-point second quarter in a 51-0 victory over Brunswick.

Lewiston High School’s sports teams have done an incredible job lifting spirits in a city that has faced unimaginable trauma over the past year. Last November, boys soccer team celebrates overtime win in Class A state championship game less than three weeks after the shooting. The competition applause and boys ice hockey teams they soon followed with championships of their own.

“The athletes here at Lewiston High have shown a drive and resilience that has been inspiring to watch,” said Lewiston Athletic Director Jason Fuller.

These events “gave our community something to celebrate, even in our darkest hours,” he added. “All our teams tried to honor the victims and injured with their effort and success on the field.”

I’ve seen the power of sports to lift people up time and time again. In Boston, we will always remember what the 2013 World Series title meant in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings earlier that summer.

The power of sport is real. And it’s on display again in Lewiston this fall.

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It’s long been debated when the Patriots should have started rookie quarterback Drake Maye, and on Sunday we were reminded why many thought it would be better to keep him on the bench.

Shortly after running for a 17-yard touchdown against the Jets, Maye was hit in the head by Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood. It was the last play of the day for Maye, who was ruled out with a concussion.

That was always the concern: a young, injury-prone quarterback with a bright future playing for a struggling team.

Maye’s injury wasn’t the result of poor play along the offensive line. He was fighting for a first goal when he was injured in a clear helmet-to-helmet tackle by Sherwood that somehow went unpunished.

The The Patriots eventually won the game when Jacoby Brissett led a fourth-quarter rally. But the loss of Maye could be far more important to this team than the outcome of any game.

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The Red Sox hot stove was ice cold until October, but that should change soon. Players become free agents the day after the last game of the World Series, but cannot sign until five days later. The Red Sox can talk to players and their representatives, but this five-day window is meant for teams to have an exclusive period to retain their potentially departing players.

Teams can also extend a qualifying offer to any pending free agent, a one-year deal that tops $21.05 million this year. If the player does not sign, the team receives draft pick compensation if he signs with another team.

The Sox could make such an offer to outfielder Tyler O’Neill. The right-hander O’Neill was one of President of Baseball Operations Craig Breslow’s best acquisitions last winter, leading the team with 31 homers and posting an .847 OPS in 113 games.

O’Neill missed 49 games, first with a concussion and then a foot infection, yet played more games than he has in a season since 2021. He will turn 30 next season, but has the kind of right-handed pulling power that plays. good at Fenway Park.

Breslow will have to make a tough decision on O’Neill in the coming days. It will be the first of many he will face this winter.

Tom Caron is the studio host for the Red Sox on NESN.

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