High School Sports blog

BASKETBALL: Cony interviewing candidates

Tony Ronzio — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:30:47 GMT

Applications for the Cony High School girls and boys basketball coaching jobs have closed according to Athletic Director Paul Vachon. There were several applicants for the boys position while Vachon said the number of applicants for the girls job were a “little light.”
The girls applicants will begin interviews with a selection committee on Monday while the boys interviews will begin Wednesday,. There is no timetable yet when final decisions will be made.
Cony girls coach Karen Magnusson stepped down this spring after five years on the job because she is pregnant and wants to spend time raising her newborn child. She plans to return to coaching. Boys coach Tim Bonsant also resigned after five years at Cony and plans to retire from coaching.

BASEBALL: Gardiner sharp in opener

Tony Ronzio — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:39 GMT

A few observations from Gardiner’s 11-1 season-opening win against Lincoln Academy.

• It’s been a couple of years since senior starter Dennis Meehan has thrown as many innings (5) and pitches (69) as he did against Lincoln. Last season, he was the team’s closer and threw sparingly during American Legion last summer. Nonetheless, the right-hander looked sharp, carving up the strike zone with fastballs.

“I threw probably five curve balls at the most,” said Meehan, who got two of his nine strikeouts on curves. “I’ve got two fastballs, a curve ball and I’m working on my chanegup.”

• Lincoln catcher Tim Farrar twisted his right knee while swinging at the first pitch he saw and left the game in the second inning. He was replaced by left-fielder Wally Morris.

• Gardiner’s Nate Somes picked up an unlikely RBI when he hit a foul popup to first base in the third inning. Lincoln’s Devin Sherer fell as he caught the ball and none of his teammates seemed to notice Ian Lane tagging up at third base. Lane scored well before a throw arrived, prompting Lincoln coach Ryan Ball to call time to chew out his team for the mental error.

• The Tigers collected nine hits, including doubles from Ian Lane and Jensen Orewiler, and also drew five walks.
“I told them before the game, throw strikes, hit strikes and play defense and we’ll be fine.” Gardiner coach Chris McLaughlin said. “That’s exactly what Dennis did. He struck out nine of 15. That will be good for his confidence.”

• After a quick start last season, the Tigers fell off in the second half and finished at 9-9. With 10 returning players, they expect to contend this season in the Class B division of the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference.
“We have 11 seniors and a lot of talent,” senior leadoff hitter Frank Chepke said. “We’ve all been here before. We’ve all seen good pitching and we’ve all seen good teams. I think we can go far.”

• The Tigers are off Friday but host a tough opponent Monday in Winslow. McLaughlin hasn’t decided yet who will pitch, but he hasn’t ruled out coming back with Meehan.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” McLaughlin said. “We play them twice. I’ve got to see where we play them later on in the season. It’s one of those things, how much to we want to show them. We may see them in the playoffs. I’ve got four or five days to think about it. I also want to go up there on Friday and see who they throw (against Waterville).”

Winslow school board meeting turns contentious

Betty Adams — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:16:31 GMT

The page “Save Mr. Cyr” on Facebook had 695 “likes” as of Monday evening. It refers to Andrew Cyr, a former boys hockey coach at Winslow High School.

The last post, on Saturday, reads, “WINSLOW SCHOOL BOARD MEETING is 3/25 at 6pm at the Winslow Jr. High Library! Everyone please show up and show your support!”

Around 30 to 40 adults and students packed into the library, listening to more than an hour of budget and policy discussions and other school-related matters. When the board tried to go into executive session, Cyr’s supporters tried to speak on his behalf.

Cyr was not present at the meeting, and Eric Haley, the superintendent for Alternative Organizational Structure 92, explained that the board could not entertain a public debate under the law, unless Cyr himself requested a public hearing.

This frustrated the audience, and adults rhetorically asked Haley why he thought there was such a big crowd.

“Nobody told me why you were all here,” Haley said.

“You should have been smart enough to ask why everyone was here!” yelled resident Darrin Cates.

The mood got more contentious. One resident said to Haley, “Maybe something else needs to be initiated, like the AD.”

Johnny Lagasse missed the regional wrestling championships and a chance to qualify for states because of a mistake in his class’s grade calculations. Haley apologized for this incident, and assured the audience that steps were being taken to prevent the same thing from happening to another student.

The meeting degenerated into a venting session about athletic director Carrie Larrabee, who was in the audience and did not speak or look at those criticizing her. One resident asked what the process was for reporting complaints about a school official. Haley replied that he hoped they would talk to the person first.

“That’s been done,” a member of the audience said. “That goes nowhere.”

Haley then explained that someone having a complaint should talk to the person’s immediate supervisor, and if that didn’t yield satisfactory results, there is an appeals process.

“Why not have an AD for the high school, and an AD for the junior high?” one resident said. “Instead of one person doing six grades and she’s got six different people doing her job.”

Two residents then suggested that the board could also examine whether the current AD “is pulling her weight.”

“I will definitely take that under advisement,” Haley said.

BOYS HOCKEY: Greely, Messalonskee set for showdown

Betty Adams — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 00:57:05 GMT

The Messalonskee hockey team will face Greely in the Class B state championship game for a second consecutive season.

The Eagles and Rangers will play at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston.
Greely cruised to a 6-2 victory in the title game last season.

Here’s a few notes in advance of the rematch.

• Thanks to Camden National Bank, about 200 Messalonskee students will attend the game for free Saturday. The bank bought the tickets and school officials were handing them out Thursday and Friday.

“It’s a really nice gesture to support the students,” Messalonskee coach Mike Latendresse said.

• Messalonskee’s top line of Chase Cunningham, Jared Cunningham and Josh Towle has combined for 184 points. Greely’s top line of Ted Hart, Mitchel Donovan and Reid Howland has combined for 117.

But what makes Greely dangerous is that it receives ample production from a third line.

Hart, a junior center, said he hopes depth will be a factor.

“We want to make them skate around a lot in their end,” he said. “We have the depth. We’ve been going with three lines and that helps us.”

Latendresse said he, too, can skate three lines.

“We have three lines that we can put out there,” he said.

• Messalonskee goalie Ben Weeks was primarily a spectator last season as a backup to Nate DelGiudice.

“I learned a lot from Nate,” Weeks said. “He’s still a big help.”
DelGiudice is playing with the Lake George (N.Y.) Fighting Spirit in the Northern States Junior Hockey League. He’s putting up impressive numbers — 18-0-0 with a 2.11 goals against average.

Weeks said he’s still in constant communication with DelGiudice.

“He texts me before and after each game,” Weeks said. “He’s always wishing me luck and helping me out.”

• Greely seeks its second straight Class B state title and third in the last five years. Messalonskee has never won a state title in hockey.

The Rangers have won the last three meetings against Messalonskee, outscoring it 17-7 in those games.

HOCKEY: Ex-Lawrence goalie gets into coaching

Betty Adams — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 04:06:47 GMT

WINSLOW — Brad MacKenzie is seeing hockey from a different perspective after graduating from Lawrence High School in 2012.

MacKenzie, a solid goalie/defenseman for the Bulldogs his junior and senior seasons, enrolled at Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle and the fall.

The 18-year-old Fairfield resident joined a men’s league team, where he plays with Presque Isle coach Carl Flynn.

“He asked me if I wanted to help out, to volunteer,” MacKenzie said. “So I did. It was a little weird at first going from Lawrence right to Presque Isle, but it was pretty good.”

MacKenzie works with the PI goalies and returned to familiar Sukee Arena for the Eastern B semifinals Saturday.

No. 6 Presque Isle (9-10-1) dropped a 5-1 decision to No. 2 John Bapst.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” said MacKenzie, who is studying diesel hydraulics at NMCC. “There isn’t a lot to do in Presque Isle, so this is good.”

MacKenzie says he gets to at least two practices a week to work with goalies Jillian Flynn and Oliver Gerrish, who are both freshmen.

“I’ve definitely gained an appreciation for what coaches do,” MacKenzie said.

MacKenzie added he hopes to return to PI on a volunteer basis next season.

BOYS HOCKEY: Start times changed for Eastern B semis

Betty Adams — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 21:38:20 GMT

The Messalonskee hockey team will play Hampden Academy at 4:45 p.m. Saturday afternoon in Sukee Arena in an Eastern B semifinal game.

The game was originally scheduled for 8 p.m., but was moved because the Hampden boys basketball team is playing in the Class A state championship game Saturday night against South Portland in Augusta.

Michael Burnham, Maine Principals’ Association assistant executive director, said Hampden asked to switch the hockey start times.

Start times for the hockey semifinals are typically determined by teams’ travel time. The team that must travel the farthest typically plays the first semifinal.

Presque Isle is playing John Bapst in the other Eastern B semifinal, which was originally scheduled for 5 p.m. That game will now be played at 7:15.

Messalonskee coach Mike Latendresse said he was pleased with the switch.

“It’s better for us mentally,” he said.

BASKETBALL: Worster, Carey, Lee finalists for Mr., Miss Maine

Tony Ronzio — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:24:23 GMT

Minutes after helping Forest Hills earn a Western D semifinal win over A.R. Gould, senior Evan Worster heard some more good news. Worster, who set Forest Hills’ career scoring record earlier this season, was named a semifinalist for Mr. Basketball.

“I’m very honored. It’s an award not just for me, but for the team,” Worster said.

Spencer Carey of Lawrence also is a semifinalist for Mr. Basketball. Josie Lee of Cony was named a semifinalist for Miss Basketball.

Joining Worster and Carey are Anthony DiMauro (Boothbay), Quin Leary (Edward Little), Charlie Fay (Falmouth), Garet Beal (Jonesport-Beals), John Murray (Medomak Valley), Garrett Libby (Old Town), Mitchell Worcester (Washburn) and Aaron Todd (York).

Joining Lee as semifinalists for Miss Basketball are Jordan Knowlton (Camden Hills), Lauren Crane (Dexter), Kristin Ross (Gorham), Sydney Hancock (Lake Region), Kristen Anderson (Leavitt), Jillian Woodward (Orono), Chandler Guerrette (Presque Isle), Martha Veroneau (Waynflete), and Emily Campbell (York).

Three finalists for each award will be named after the high school tournaments are complete. The winners will be announced at the annual Maine McDonald’s High School Senior All-Star banquet at Husson University in Bangor on March 8.

BOYS BASKETBALL: Belanger comes through for Valley

Tony Ronzio — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 18:05:25 GMT

Dylan Belanger did not score a point in Valley's quarterfinal win over Greenville on Saturday. He was scoreless for first 31 minutes, 50 seconds of the the Cavaliers' Western D semifinal game against Hyde on Wednesday.

Then he made the biggest field goal of the game.

Belanger took a pass from a driving Carrington Miller and layed it in with 10 seconds left to tie the game. Valley won 55-53 after a Hyde turnover on an inbound play with 5.1 seconds left and a pair of foul shots by Miller to advance to its first regional final since 2008.

Belanger struggled against Greenville, missing a few layups on similar plays to his big shot. Due to his struggles, Belanger asked coach Wade Morrill for some help after practice this week.

"All season I've been cutting behind guys and making that shot, but lately, I don't know what's been going on," Belanger, a junior, said. "Yesterday in practice, Coach took the pad and was bumping me and we've been doing drills to finish."

Morrill said he spent about 20 minutes after practice working with Belanger, at the request of Belanger. Morrill used a pad to bump Belanger as he tried to make layups, with passes from Miller.

"The last two practices we've been hitting him with that pad when he's shooting layups and throwing him bad passes to make sure he's catching them," Miller said. "He made a big shot for us tonight."

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Defense lifts Hyde by Valley

Tony Ronzio — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 17:57:20 GMT

The Hyde girls took advance of 32 Valley turnovers in a 48-28 win over the Cavaliers in a Western D quarterfinal Monday morning.

It was a tough ending to the season for the No. 6 Cavaliers (5-14), who played the Phoenix tough in a regular season meeting.

Hyde defeated Valley 52-42 at the end of January in Bingham.

Hyde coach Richard Polgar said the team was without injured 5-foot-10 forward Diamond Brown, which forced him to change the game plan against the Cavaliers.

“We were a little light in the post so we went with a 3-2 defense,” he said. “The offside guard had to get to the paint on the shot, and for the most part it worked.”

The Phoenix also played tough defense on Valley guard Teagan Laweryson.

The junior guard, despite finishing with a team-high 15 points, was often double-teamed and struggled to get good looks.

“We shadowed her,” Polgar said. “we played good pressure defense on the perimeter. We had to make sure we knew where (Laweryson) was on the court at all times.”

BASKETBALL: Gillespies play key roll for Valley

Tony Ronzio — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 16:29:13 GMT

AUGUSTA -- Greenville guard Henry Hersey started the second quarter of the Lakers Western D quarterfinal vs. Valley by scoring four quick points . Valley coach Wade Morrill didn't hesitate to go to his bench, sending Devon Gillespie in for his brother Jordan Gillespie.

Hersey didn't score in stretch he was guarded by Devon Gillespie and the Cavaliers held onto a four-point lead on their way to a 62-56 win.

"Hersey went right at Devon when he first came in and you could see with Devon's length he got his hand in his face and obstructed his view of the rim a little bit more," Morrill said. "For a shooter, that is critical."

The Gillespie twins had the task of guarding Hersey for much of the game and while the sharp-shooting guard scored 20 points, he didn't get many easy looks. He scored nine of his points from behind the 3-point line and three more from the foul line.

“Jordan (Gillespie) and Devon have worked really hard on their defense game, they don’t get involved in the offense as much as some of us do," Valley's Carrington Miller said. "Henry is a great player player and can shoot really well, but they did a great job on him.”

Morrill pointed out a few differences between the twins beside the obvious difference in hairstyles (Devon has a flat top, while Jordan's is trimmed in a tighter crew cut). First and foremost is their height. Devon is 5-9, while Jordan is 5-6.

The duo honed their defensive skills playing against teammates. Morrill credited Devon's game's of 1-on-1 with the 6-2 Miller as a key to his improvement on the defensive end of the floor.

"Those two boys, the improvement they've had ..." Morrill said. "Jordan is a gym rat and Devon is a guy who is known for his defense. He has worked hard all year."