The Pine Tree Conference teams will band together tonight to help support Skowhegan assistant coach Al Wilson. The longtime Indians coach was recently diagnosed with leukemia and began treatments this week. Proceeds from all 50/50 raffles in the PTC games tonight will go to Wilson.

It is a gesture that follows a wonderful moment at Lewiston last week when the Blue Devils hosted the Indians. At halftime, Jason Fuller, the Lewiston athletic director, presented Wilson a check for $450, the proceeds from the 50/50. Wilson was greeted at midfield by the entire Skowhegan team. The winner of the 50/50 also donated that share to Wilson.

“It was kind of a no-brainer to me,” said Fuller. “When I had a house fire, all the KVAC basketball guys across the state did it for me. To me, I think you kind of look out for one of your own, and take care of him. Al’s a great guy. He’s been coaching for a long time.”

Skowhegan coach Mike Marston raved about the amount of class shown by the Lewiston team and community while holding back his emotions following the 54-26 loss.

“Coach Wilson is a very close friend of mine,” said Marston. “He’s one of the reasons I went to Skowhegan in the first place. He loves football and loves the kids. He knows what football is all about. It’s great to see the support not only from our community but also the other teams.”

Fuller had hoped to raise $100 or so and was thrilled with the final result. With all the PTC communities chipping in tonight, similar generosity could go a long way.

“To me, it’s what you’re supposed to do,” said Fuller. “It was the right thing to do, and I’m glad it worked out.”

Vikings take voyage north seriously

The game won’t count in the standings, and there’s a good chance many Oxford Hills football fans won’t even bother to make the trip when the Vikings travel to Newport on Saturday afternoon for an exhibition against upstart Nokomis.

Still, there’s an unspoken vibe around the Oxford Hills camp that this out-of-conference experience might be one of the biggest games of the year.

“Their coaches asked us if we planned to play our twos (reserves), and I said we’re going to play our ones at least for a little while,” said Oxford Hills coach Bob Austin. “Those guys need to have some success. We’re going up there to try and win a game.”

Oxford Hills’ faithful is accustomed to contending for the Pine Tree Conference playoffs almost every year, dating back to Jeremy Tardiff’s Fitzpatrick Trophy season in 1994. But they’ll be asked to exercise patience this year and probably next.

Not only were the Vikings hammered by graduation, but quarterback Justin Frechette, tight end Dan Millett and tackle Ian Monzo were the only non-seniors in the starting offense last Friday night. Millett played one series before leaving with a dislocated elbow, and Oxford Hills struggled mightily to run and to stop the run in a 35-7 loss to Lawrence.

Two of the Vikings’ three touchdowns to date have been the result of a special teams or defensive play.

“We’ve got a lot of people back this year, but we’re still down in numbers,” Austin said. “We have a lot of people going both ways, and teams just wear us down in the second half.”

The Vikings, who earned a trip to the Pine Tree Conference semifinals last October, don’t play Cony, the other team in Eastern A that seems to be in a similar rebuilding mode.

After its encounter with Nokomis, which plans to play a Class B schedule in 2007 before ultimately moving into the PTC, Oxford Hills’ best chance for an official win might come at Mt. Ararat on Oct. 21.

Andies reach turning point

Livermore Falls entered last year’s Western Class C playoffs as the second-hottest team behind eventual state champion Lisbon.

This season, the Andies are even a game ahead of schedule.

Last year’s turning point was probably a 34-32 overtime loss at home to Boothbay, one that sank Livermore Falls to 0-3 but gave the Andies the confidence to roll off six straight wins and make the postseason cut. As an encore, after another frustrating two-game skid to open the season, Livermore Falls made the endless trek to Boothbay last Friday night and walked away with a stunning 28-14 victory over the previously undefeated and preseason favorite Seahawks.

Not everyone in the Campbell Conference was surprised.

“We kind of thought after we played them that they might go undefeated the rest of the way,” said Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan, whose Greyhounds tripped the Andies, 13-7, in a defensive tussle on opening night.

Livermore Falls kept its offensive line intact from last season’s playoff run, and Mark O’Shea is off to a flying start as the heir to Brad Bryant and Ryan Webster as fullback in the Wing-T. The Andies visit Winthrop tonight in a critical contest, with the loser slipping to 1-3 and significantly hampering its hopes of a regional playoff berth.