The Cony football team received a scare Friday night when junior wide receiver/linebacker Tayler Carrier suffered a right ankle injury that forced him out of the Homecoming victory over visiting Lawrence.

Carrier was taken for X-rays, and the Rams breathed a collective sigh of relief when the results came back negative.

“There is no break and no fracture,” Cony coach Robby Vachon said. “They will put him in an aircast for a few days and go from there. He’s going to be an end-of-the-week decision for us. The trainers will work with him and we’ll see if he can go.”

Carrier came into the showdown with Lawrence with 22 receptions for 285 yards and four touchdowns, which was good for second in Pine Tree Conference Class B.

He suffered the injury when he was tackled close to the sideline during a punt return.

His loss would’ve been a big blow for the Rams and their spread offense.

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“The doctor on the sideline initially thought it didn’t look good,” Vachon said. “This could’ve been really bad. We didn’t have him for the second half and it hurt us. He’s a big piece to what we do. We were nervous.”

The Rams (3-1) will play at Skowhegan (2-2) on Friday night in another game with playoff implications.

“We got a good win over Lawrence,” Vachon said. “We haven’t beaten them in a decade, so that was good. Skowhegan will be a challenge, too. They can really come at you.”

• • •

Winthrop/Monmouth is the only undefeated team left in Western D Campbell Conference after its 18-13 victory over Oak Hill last Saturday.

Not only are the Ramblers (4-0) off to their best start in three years, they’ve done so against formidable competition. They’ve defeated Lisbon (3-1), Oak Hill (3-1), Dirigo (2-2) and Old Orchard Beach (2-2).

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“The kids have showed us they can play physical football,” Winthrop/Monmouth coach Joel Stoneton said. “We’re getting better every week.”

The road to the No. 1 seed gets decidedly easier for Winthrop/Monmouth, whose final four regular-season games are against teams that are a combined 5-11.

The Ramblers play at Telstar (0-4) at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Starting running back Zach Glazier, who rushed for a key touchdown late in the game against Oak Hill, will likely not play as he recovers from an ankle injury.

• • •

Oak Hill coach Stacen Doucette likes what he sees from his team at the midway point of the regular season.

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The Raiders (3-1) are coming off a tough loss to Winthrop/Monmouth, but are tied with Lisbon for second place in Crabtree points, which determine playoff seeding.

“I like where we’re at,” Doucette said. “Our defense is sound. We’re keeping it simple and we’re doing a good job. Each week we add a little bit more offensively just to keep our opponents honest.”

The Raiders played the bulk of their game Saturday without starting tailback Alex Mace, who suffered a shoulder/arm injury. Senior quarterback Parker Asselin was also banged up in the loss to the Ramblers (4-0).

Doucette said he hopes both players will be available Friday night, when Oak Hill visits Old Orchard Beach (2-2) for a 5 p.m. game.

“A lot of it was precautionary,” said Doucette, “so we hope they’ll be available to play. I’m pretty sure they can go but we’ll have to see how the week goes.”

• • •

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Maranacook rebounded from a tough loss to Oak Hill with a 38-0 victory over Sacopee last Friday. It was the first victory at Ricky Gibson Field of Dreams for Maranacook (2-2) this season.

“We needed it to get back on track,” Maranacook coach Joe Emery said. “We needed to get going in the right direction again. We didn’t do anything complicated.”

The Black Bears have been banged up in recent weeks, with key players A.J. Stevens (shoulder) and Michael Antanavich (hand), among others, dealing with injuries.

As a result, Emery is constantly moving players around. Jake Gibson, Zach Bessette and Simon Davis have seen time at defensive end and linebacker as Emery tries to find the combinations.

Offensively, with Stevens — who plays wing — ailing, freshman Isaiah Weston could see more time on the field as well.

“He’ll see more time at wing,” Emery said. “He’s a good athlete so we’ll get him some carries. We’re mixing and matching a little bit.”

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• • •

First-year Kents Hill coach Steve Shukie acted on instinct and decided to switch Oakland’s Tom Dugal from defensive end to middle linebacker last weekend against the Dexter School.

The move paid off as Dugal recorded six tackles in a 34-14 loss.

“He’ll probably stay there the rest of the season,” Shukie said. “He had a nice game.”

Dugal, who transferred this fall to Kents Hill from Messalonskee with his brother Mike and cousin Chandler, also started at tight end and caught two passes for 75 yards.

“He had a pretty good game,” Shukie said. “He’s an important player for us.”

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Mike and Chandler Dugal are also seeing significant playing time for the Huskies (0-3), as a long snapper and lineman.

Starting tight end Nelkas Kwemo, who is out with a leg injury, could return as early as this week, but Shukie said Tom Dugal has earned more playing time.

“We’ll probably go with some two tight end sets when Kwemo returns,” Shukie said. “We want our best players on the field.”

Kents Hill hosts Portsmouth Abbey on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Bill Stewart — 621-5640

bstewart@centralmaine.com


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