It’s been a roller coaster of emotions for Bill County and his Lewiston Blue Devils for the last week.
The Devils were happy to come out of their toughest stretch of the season with a 2-1 record, with the only blemish a one-point loss to unbeaten Mt. Blue. But they were also on pins and needles awaiting word on injuries suffered by their two offensive catalysts, tailback Jared Turcotte and QB Chris Ford, during last Saturday night’s 22-20 win over Skowhegan.
The news isn’t all bad on both fronts. It certainly could have been worse. Turcotte, who rushed for 720 yards in the first three games, limped off the field at the end of the third quarter with a sprain or slight tear to the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, while Ford was sidelined shortly after replacing Turcotte at tailback when he aggravated a bone bruise inside his knee.
The Devils got the word on Turcotte earlier this week. He will be out two to four weeks, County said.
“He started rehabbing (Wednesday) night and he feels a lot better,” he said. “Obviously, we have to get through tonight (against Lawrence) without him, but we have a bye the week after that and then Mt. Ararat, and then we’ll go from there. We’re not going to push it. The worst case scenario is that we have him for the last three games of the season.”
Ford was cleared to play Thursday, and while County would like to say he’s not going to use the senior, Ford will be suited up and available to play.
If Ford does play, County said, it will probably be at tailback, where he was effective filling in for Turcotte before aggravating the bone bruise. Junior Garett Preston, who was originally a tailback but has been starting at fullback, will likely get the nod at tailback, with fellow junior Ryan Lagasse replacing him at fullback.
Sophomore Matt Letourneau will also see some time in the backfield.
Senior tight end/defensive end Tobey Poirier, who suffered a mild concussion last Saturday, was also cleared to play. County wasn’t sure how much, if any, time Poirier will see tonight given that he hasn’t practiced all week.
Pingree on the mend
Mt. Blue has had some good news on the injury front, too. Senior fullback/linebacker Hazen Pingree has sprained ligaments in his right knee, not a tear as originally feared when he injured it in preseason.
Coach Gary Parlin said the Cougars hope to get Pingree back Oct. 14 against Messalonskee, which is the week following their bye.
“One of the luxuries we have is getting him back when he’s 100 percent,” Parlin said. “Then we have a big decision to make of where to play him (defensively). We can drop him down at nose, we can play him at linebacker. Obviously he can run the ball.”
“What a shot in the arm it will be when he comes back, ” he added, “because we end the season with Messalonskee, Bangor and Skowhegan, which is definitely the toughest part of our schedule.”
Vikings on vacation
The consensus in the Pine Tree Conference is that nobody loves a bye week, but Oxford Hills is enjoying its 15-day hiatus significantly more than it would have if last week’s game at Lawrence had ended after the third quarter.
Oxford Hills needed late heroics from senior tailback Jim Bower, who exploded for an 80-yard touchdown run in the waning moments to give the Vikings a gritty, 14-9 victory over the Bulldogs.
Hit with a one-two combination out of the gate by Mt. Blue and Skowhegan, Oxford Hills suspected that it would have been on the business end of a technical knockout if Lawrence had dished out a third defeat.
“If you drop to 0-3 this year, it’s probably over,” said Oxford Hills coach Bob Austin, who celebrated his first varsity head coaching victory.
Now the Vikings are in the odd position of rooting for Mt. Blue and Skowhegan to win as many as games as possible. That could give Oxford Hills a strength-of-schedule advantage if it winds up in a Crabtree point index tie for the fourth and final playoff berth.
The Vikings will try to continue their push in next Saturday’s Homecoming game against Brunswick. Other crucial second-half games include a trip to Lewiston and a home battle with Bangor on the final Saturday of the regular season.
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