By Randy Whitehouse,Staff Writer

Rangeley is emerging as one of the surprises in Western Class D.

The Lakers are 7-2 and fourth in the latest Heal Points. Their only losses were at the hands of the top two teams in Western D, Valley and Richmond.

“We were right there with both of them,” said coach Tom Philbrick. “With Richmond, with three minutes left we were down eight points and with Valley we were down four at halftime and 10 at the end of the third. I feel we’re going to be competitive with them down the stretch.”

The Lakers host Richmond on Friday and meet Valley again next month in Bingham. Their only concern right now is getting some people back healthy. Justin Gallant, one of their top scorers, missed last weekend’s excursion to Vinalhaven with a foot problem, while the starting sophomore backcourt of Devin Sargent (wrist) and David Raymond (shoulder) suffered injuries on the island.

“We’re banged up right now, but the kids are working hard and hopefully those guys will be back right off,” Philbrick said.

Rangeley began the season with an experienced nucleus, led by Gallant, Alan Plog, David Jensen and Philbrick’s son, Aaron. But another key to its success has been their depth. Juniors Dom Cerminara, Travis Carrigan, Zeke Hall and Roy White and sophomores Ben Morton and Ken Madeira have provided valuable minutes.

Their secret weapon, though, may be one of Philbrick’s assistants – his father, Gib, who coached at Stevens High School in Rumford and was head coach at the University of Maine in the late 1960s and early 70s.

“We’re all learning from him every day,” Tom said.

Raiders’ road to respectability

Bruce Nicholas remembers how the Oak Hill varsity football program went from winning one or two games each year to perennial playoff contenders by taking small steps toward respectability.

Nicholas, who helped rebuild the football program over the course of the last 13 years, is hoping to lay the groundwork for a similar success story in this, his first year as varsity basketball coach.

“We’re getting there,” Nicholas said. “Unfortunately for our seniors, I think it’s going to be a little too late by the time we get to where we want to be.”

As Nicholas said, the winless Raiders are getting more and more competitive with each game. He just hopes the weight of the losses piling up doesn’t crush the players’ spirit.

“I told them our football team was at a point where we couldn’t win any games, either,” he said. “We just kept winning little battles, winning little battles, and eventually we got to a point where we won a couple or three games, and then the next year we won five or six. That’s what’s got to happen here.” With a number of players from the successful football and baseball programs on his roster, Nicholas hoped the recent success of those programs could carry over and give the basketball program a boost.

But despite having 11 seniors on the varsity roster, Oak Hill has one of the least experienced teams in KVAC B. Part of that is because the summer program hasn’t been emphasized, which means many of the seniors are 30 or 40 games behind their competitors when it comes to on-court experience. That can make a huge difference. Nicholas hopes dedication from his underclassmen during the offseason will translate into a basketball rebirth like the one football has experienced.

Showdown in Western C tonight

The first meeting between the top two teams in the Western C Heals, Winthrop and Boothbay, originally scheduled for Wednesday night was postponed due to the weather and rescheduled for tonight at 7 p.m.

The Ramblers stand atop the latest Heal standings and begin perhaps their toughest two-week stretch of the season tonight. Following Boothbay, they host Mt. Abram next Monday, travel to No. 3 Dirigo next Friday, then host Class B contender Lisbon on the 31st.