Friday, November 20, 2009 in Lewiston, Maine
Welcome to the Sun Journal's live coverage of the Class B state football championship between the Leavitt Hornets and Cape Elizabeth Capers.We'll be broadcasting live starting at 5:30 p.m.on Saturday.
Can't make it to the game? No problem, we've got you covered. Click below and join in the conversation!
Welcome to the Sun Journal's live coverage of the Class C state football championship between the Dirigo Cougars and the Foxcroft Academy Ponies.We'll be broadcasting live starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Can't make it to the game? We've got you covered. Click below to join in the conversation!
AUBURN — Sophomore center Tyler Smithgall canned a team-high 20, including 14 in the first half, to lead Central Maine Community College in a 65-55 Yankee Small College Conference victory over New Hampshire Technical Institute on Thursday.
The Mustangs (3-2) held a 33-29 advantage at the break and were led by Matt Sceviour's 12 points in the second half. Sceviour, who couldn't buy a basket in the first half, was responsible for 10 straight Mustang points including a pair of treys.
The Huskies open their season this weekend with a pair of home games. The Huskies will host Saint Michael's College at the USM Ice Arena on Friday night (7 p.m.), then entertain nationally-ranked Norwich University on Saturday (4 p.m.).
TURNER — In the season opener against Hampden Academy, the Leavitt defense went into the locker room at halftime feeling embarrassed about a modest 15-7 deficit at the half.
The Hornets' chagrin wasn't so much about the score as the poor tackling and the missed assignments that had allowed the score to be what it was. They returned to the field for the second half determined not to make the same mistakes ever again.
For the most part, they haven't.
AUBURN — Nine months ago, Josh Titus held the Edward Little High School gymnasium in the palm of his hand.
Thursday night in the same gym, he held some sweaty towels. And he couldn't have been happier.
On his first night as the Maine Red Claws' team manager, Titus, 19, looked right at home. Not just because he was back to doing what he had done last winter for the Edward Little boys' varsity basketball team.
PERU — Not one Dirigo High School football player is likely to forget the crispness of the autumn air cascading through his facemask, the light squish of FieldTurf beneath his cleats, or the dull roar of a bipartisan crowd echoing in his ears when the ball is booted into the air to start Saturday's Class C football championship.
AUBURN — Kyle Brown approached Tony Bobbitt with a pen and paper and an unusual request.
"Can I have your phone number? I want to invite you to my birthday," said Brown, of Bowdoin, who will turn 11 next week.
Brown had to settle for giving Bobbitt his mother, Darci's phone number, in case the Maine Red Claws guard could take time out of his busy schedule for cake and ice cream and maybe a present.
Maine NCAA Division III basketball preview
Men
Players to watch
Brock Bradford, Sr. G, Husson
Isaiah Brathwaite, Jr., G/F, Thomas
Kadare Brown, Jr. G, UNE
Adam Choice, Sr. F, Colby
Andrew Duncanson, Jr. G, Thomas
Ray Eatmon, Sr. F, St. Joe's
Will Hanley, Soph. G/F, Bowdoin
Cortez Isaac, Jr. G, USM
Tyler Kelley, Jr. F, St. Joe's
Matt MacKenzie, Sr. F, Husson
Mark Phillips, Sr. C, Bowdoin
John Sewall, Jr. G, USM
Whitehouse
Class A
Bangor 20, Windham 16
Look, I'll be honest, I haven't seen either of these teams play. So I'm basing this mostly on what I think of both towns. Bangor is an underrated city. Nice, clean streets. Nice neighborhoods. Nice restaurants. Nice parks. Fairly nice people. Decent traffic. The only thing I'd change about Bangor is the Auditorium, which I would change with a wrecking ball.
Saturday may be the most exciting day of the high school football season, but there were plenty of exciting games played leading up to then. Here are the top 10 in the Sun Journal coverage area:
AUBURN — Basketball fans will get their first chance to see the Maine Red Claws in action Thursday when the new NBA Development League team holds an intrasquad scrimmage at Edward Little High School.
The scrimmage, which will benefit Edward Little and Lewiston high school athletics, tips off at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 each and are available at Edward Little and Lewiston high schools and will be sold at the gate, which opens at 5:30 p.m.
LEWISTON — As Bobby Burns walked onto the court in the late stages of his match, the freshman couldn't help but recognize the opportunity before him.
Burns and his Bates College men's squash team were playing Trinity College last year. The Bantams are the most dominant team in all of college sports, and Burns had a chance to beat one of them.
LEWISTON — It would be easy for Bates College to get lost in the shuffle of both Maine women's college basketball and its increasingly brutal conference.
Competition within a two-hour radius has never been stronger. The University of Southern Maine and Bowdoin College are ranked in the NCAA Division III top 25 every year. And look no further that the University of New England's 15-point win over USM on Tuesday night to get a glimpse of the field's depth.
High School Football Top 10
1. Bangor (11-0)
Hard to believe it's been five years since the last time the Rams played for a Gold Ball.
2. Windham (10-1)
They took out some of the challengers on their own (Deering, Portland, Bonny Eagle, Cheverus) and got some help on some others (Thornton Academy), but the Eagles were easily the most consistent team in Western A from Week 1.
3. Cheverus (8-3)
