A preseason prognosticator on the semipro New England Football League’s Web site needed just three words to describe the newest addition to the league, the Central Maine Shockers.

Well, one word actually. The other two just drive the point home.

“Tough, Tough, Tough,” the author says while ranking the Shockers second in the “A” division.

Steve Coleman and Zach Stewart’s dream of forming a semipro football team in Lewiston has finally come to fruition. Twenty-eight players from this region have been gathering to practice as much as three times a week in preparation for their regular-season debut on Aug. 2 at Lewiston Athletic Park.

The Shockers will play an eight-game, regular-season schedule, with four home dates at LAP (all on Saturdays at 1 p.m.), in August and September. They’re starting at the Single-A level, the lowest of three NEFL divisions (Triple-A is the highest), but hope it will be a short stay.

“We’d really like to move up to Triple-A next season,” Stewart said.

To do that, the Shockers will have to be successful on the field and impress league officials. They took a big step in that direction recently, putting on an impressive performance at a preseason “jamboree” against more established clubs.

The team has drawn some top-notch local talent to fill out its roster. Coleman and Stewart played at Oak Hill, as did teammate Jason Cyr. Former Mt. Blue receiver Jon McCabe and Scott Poirier, a holdover from Lewiston’s last semipro franchise, the L.A. Warriors, are also on the team.

“Central Maine is just loaded with football players,” said Coleman, the team’s quarterback.

“We’re really coming along as a team since we started.”

The Shockers’ biggest addition, however, may be former Lewiston running back Marvin Langley, who starred in Div. III football at Western New England College and last year was the top offensive threat for the Southern Maine Raging Bulls, a Triple-A team based in Portland.

“We’re stocked everywhere on the board, including defense,” Coleman said. “They’re practicing against Marvin, so I think they’re ready.”

The team is still two players short of the 30-man roster limit, but Stewart said it’s not just looking for anyone to complete the roster.

“If there’s an experienced lineman that came along and wanted to play, we’d settle for that,” he said.

Since the team didn’t really begin to

take shape until three months ago, Coleman and Stewart had to scramble to try to reach their goal of raising $14,000 to cover costs such as league fees, travel and equipment.

Fund-raising didn’t go quite as well as they’d hoped, Stewart said, but the team is on solid enough ground to focus on football for the next two months.

“We’re getting by this year in terms of financial sponsorship,” he said. “Next year, if we do get to the Triple-A level, we’re going to have to work more on that.”

Community support could flood in as word spreads that the Shockers have put a winning and entertaining team on the field.

“We really want to start to become a community event, because we’re in it for the long haul,” Stewart said.

Copy the Story Link