The groundwork for a third Mountain Valley-Telstar rendezvous this season was laid when the two teams had their last regular season meeting, but Telstar coach Alec Newell didn’t want to jinx his team by sealing the deal.
“I told Ryan (Falcons coach Ryan Casey) I wasn’t agreeing to anything until the final Heals came out,” Newell said.
The final Heals came out Sunday, and sure enough, the Mountain Valley Conference rivals earned byes in their respective classes. The Falcons and Rebels will scrimmage each other some time during the week to stay sharp for their quarterfinal games, which will be played next Saturday and Monday, respectively, at least a week after their regular season finales.
Mountain Valley, which plays Hall-Dale for the MVC championship tonight, earned the No. 3 seed by virtue of its 18-0 record. The Falcons also finished 18-0 last year but were the No. 2 seed heading into that tournament.
“It’s disappointing to be 18-0 and to fall down to third, but we can only control so much,” Casey said.
A number of factors, including No. 1 Falmouth completing a sweep of No. 2 Gorham over the weekend, dropped the Falcons down to third and set up a rematch with last year’s quarterfinal opponent, No. 6 Greely (11-7). If the Falcons beat the Rangers again, it will set up yet another rematch in the semifinals with Gorham.
While the Falcons are somewhat familiar with the Rangers having played them last year, finishing first or second in the Heals would have been ideal because it would have given them a chance to scout their quarterfinal opponent in a prelim. They don’t have that advantage, however, because only the top 10 teams in Western B reach the tourney, making it necessary for the top six to earn a bye.
The two B prelims match No. 8 Fryeburg against No. 9 Freeport and No. 10 Poland versus No. 7 York. All preliminaries are scheduled for Wednesday.
Unlike Mountain Valley, Telstar will be able to familiarize itself with its quarterfinal opponent. The fourth-seeded Rebels will meet the winner of the prelim between No. 12 St. Dom’s and No. 8 Traip.
“I know a couple of guys in the league that I can call who have played Traip or St. Dom’s in Christmas tournaments or scrimmages, but it will be good to go down to Kittery and see those two teams,” Newell said.
Hall-Dale is the top seed, while Wiscasset and Boothbay also earned first-round byes. Hall-Dale will face the winner of the 8-9 prelim in which Dirigo will host Jay. Boothbay will meet the winner of the 6-11 prelim between Winthrop and Lisbon and Wiscasset will take on the victor of the 7-10 matchup between Madison and Georges Valley.
In Class D, Pine Tree Academy earned the top seed, followed by North Yarmouth Academy. Defending regional champion Valley slipped down to No. 3 for the first time since the first term of the Clinton administration but still earned a bye and will await the winner of the prelim pitting No. 11 Waynflete against No. 6 Buckfield.
In Eastern Maine, the top seeds are Camden Hills in Class B, Dexter in Class C and Lee Academy in Class D.
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