A pair of Edward Little grads who played key roles in leading the Red Eddies to last year’s Class A championship game will put on the pads for Hebron Academy this fall.

Jeff Sloat and Derek Miller, defensive stalwarts for the 2002 Pine Tree Conference champions, are two of three post-grads on the Hebron roster. Jason Coleman, a quarterback from Orono, is the other.

Sloat and Miller are expected to play key roles on coach Moose Curtis’ defense, but could also see time on offense this season. Miller played nose tackle and Sloat linebacker for the Eddies last year.

“We’re feeling things out with what’s going to happen offensively,” said Curtis, whose team just started its preseason. “They’re both good, tough kids.”

Hebron has high hopes of improving on last year’s 1-7 record with a solid returning nucleus led by captains John Slattery of Minot and Matt Jellison. Slattery, a tight end/linebacker, and Jellison, a wide receiver/defensive back, top the depth chart at the team’s two deepest spots, receiver and defensive back.

The roster has more size and speed than in previous years, Curtis said, and expects the addition of two Canadian linemen, Brad Flynn and Simon Parent, will create more running room for tailback Brandon Bates, who collected over 1,000 total yards rushing and receiving last season.

“We’re pretty excited,” he said. “If we can keep kids healthy, with us being kind of a typical Hebron team where we don’t have a lot of kids, we should be in good shape.”

Hebron scrimmages Hyde at home on Sept. 13, then opens its regular season at home hosting Vermont Academy.

New face, old place

Winthrop coach Chris Kempton knows a lot has changed since he last roamed the Ramblers’ sideline eight years ago. But he’s happy to look across the field and see at least a couple of familiar faces.

“One of the things about coming back here that I was so looking forward to was coaching against guys like (Lisbon’s) Dick Mynahan and (Boothbay’s) Tim Rice again,” Kempton said. “We’ve got some great rivalries that go way, way back.”

Kempton doesn’t have too many familiar faces on his coaching staff, retaining only defensive coordinator Art Van Wart from Norm Thombs’ group of assistants. Former Lewiston head coach Darren Hartley takes over as offensive coordinator, while Mike Cammack and Mike Moran round out the staff.

Moran’s ties with Kempton go back to Colby, where Kempton was a defensive assistant for the last six years. Moran was a four-year starter at inside linebacker for the White Mules and left as the school’s all-time leading tackler.

“He was living in New Hampshire and he called me up this summer and said ‘I’d really love to move up to Waterville and coach with you at Winthrop,’ ” Kempton said. “Having him here has been a real boost of energy for the kids and it’s been a blast for me having someone I coached coach with me.”

Youth served in Lisbon

The good news for Lisbon football this year was that 56 kids are on the team’s roster. The not-so-good-news, if only for the immediate future, is that 45 of them are freshmen and sophomores.

“It’s probably the most kids we’ve ever had play football,” said coach Dick Mynahan.

Usually, having 40 players suit up is considered a luxury at Lisbon, so having this many players at their disposal has Mynahan’s coaching staff looking forward to the Greyhounds’ future.

The influx of young talent couldn’t have come at a better time, with only nine seniors, including one first-year senior, and two juniors on the roster. Nowhere did the Greyhounds lose more to graduation than along the offensive line, which traditionally has been a strength at Lisbon.

“We’ve never been in this position before, with our line made up of kids with no varsity experience last year,” Mynahan said. “We know our line is our weakness, so we’re going to have to be patient.”

rwhitehouse@sunjournal.com

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