PARIS — Paris resident Wayne Aspinall has been promoted from receivers coach to head coach of the Maine Mayhem, the Portland-based semi-professional women’s tackle football team.

A lifelong resident of the Oxford Hills, Aspinall was a position coach with the Maine Rebels for five years before transitioning onto the staff of the newly created Maine Mayhem in 2015 and has been involved with the team since “day one.”

“I am extremely appreciative of the fact that they have chosen me to continue with the growth and success of the women’s football program in our state,” Aspinall said.

Aspinall played football in high school and has also coached for 12 years with the Oxford Hills youth football team.

The team competes against teams in the North East section of Division III, the third and largest division in the Women’s Football Alliance, which was founded in 2009. There are 60 active teams in the league from across the country.

This past season, which concluded with the National Championship at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio in July, the Mayhem fell one game short of the championship. The team hosted the Cincinnati Cougars in the Division III National Conference Championship last year and lost, one game away from reaching the championship.

During an interview on Oct. 24, Aspinall and three Mayhem players who live in the Oxford Hills all agreed that the goal for the team next season is to get to Canton.

Aspinall will be stressing fundamentals, going “back to the beginning,” especially since the team anticipates a handful of rookie players for next season, with five already signed up.

“That’s the ultimate goal, for everybody to be happy and confident while they’re getting the playing time and winning football games,” Aspinall said.

The Maine Mayhem holds open tryouts once a month from September to December every year for any woman who would like to try their hand at full-contact football. The rules are essentially the same as men’s college football, Aspinall said.

The next open tryout will be held at the Coastal Performance Training Facility at 14 Thomas Point Road in Brunswick from 9-11 a.m. on Nov. 16.

“The Maine Mayhem provides female athletes, who are 18 years or older, the opportunity to play full contact football in a positive environment where the expectation is that honesty, integrity, and sportsmanship are embraced by every participant.  No prior football experience is necessary to join the team,” the team’s website states.

Wide receiver Angie Sanchez-Dow has been playing for the Maine Mayhem for six years and said she has always liked football but was never really active in sports as a kid. Her “second family” at the Mayhem taught her a lot, particularly about football.

“As soon as I got there, the atmosphere was great,” she said. “Everyone was very welcoming.”

The team has about 35 players and many play both offense, defense, and even special teams, never getting a real break during a game.

“We come from all walks of life. We have nurses and teachers and daycare workers,” Sanchez-Dow said. “We have a lot of variety.”

Michele Bisbee, an Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School graduate and right tackle for the Mayhem, has followed football and been an athlete her entire life, but this past year was her first actually playing. She was named Rookie of the Year.

“I’ve always been a huge, huge fan of football,” Bisbee said. “Actually as a kid, I wanted to play, but my mother wouldn’t let me, so I ended up becoming a cheerleader instead. So at least it got me into all the football games for free.”

Bisbee said the team has so much fun playing football together, and even when “emotions are high because we’re frustrated, we still all come together.”

“It was probably the best experience of my life,” Bisbee said of joining the Mayhem. “It’s been absolutely amazing, the friendships I’ve made.”

Wide receiver Kelly Denlinger also graduated from Oxford Hills High School, has played for six years, and is nicknamed “The Playmaker.”

“Tackling is my favorite,” Denlinger said.

The Maine Mayhem also hosts a “Girls of Fall” program where they mentor young girls playing on mostly boys football teams in school. The team also hosts a fall clinic for the girls, where they participate in drills and get their pictures taken professionally to put on posters to hang at Mayhem home games.

“We mentor girls that play mostly on boys’ football teams,” Sanchez-Dow said. “We’ll write them letters every year and we’ll attend some of their football games in the hopes that when they turn 18, they will come join the Maine Mayhem and play for us.”

The Maine Mayhem will start practicing in January and the 2025 season starts in April.