Turning the corner to the start of his third decade as Lisbon High School coach, Dick Mynahan has enjoyed sweet success with football players who didn’t look like football players.

Two-way standouts Ryan Keys and Dave Wellington and linebackers Ryan Giusto and Jesse Moan have stood out over the years. None of them tipped the scales over 150 pounds, but each was a cornerstone of playoff and championship teams.

The sparkle in Mynahan’s eyes is undeniable when he talks about the Greyhounds’ latest and perhaps most unlikely little big man, sophomore linebacker Mike McNamara.

Listed at 5-foot-5 and 130, McNamara has emerged as one of Lisbon’s leading tacklers and most notorious hitters. He made nine stops Monday in Lisbon’s 21-14 victory over previously undefeated Old Orchard Beach.

“For a sophomore and for a guy who was basically playing his second game in there under fire, I think last week he led the team in defensive stats,” Mynahan said of McNamara, who made his first big splash in a home win over Boothbay.

Against OOB, McNamara twice made open-field tackles for a loss against 245-pound halfback Brandon Ouellette.

“I don’t know how he does it. He finds a way in, and he makes tackles on big guys,” Mynahan said. “He has a keen nose for the ball, and obviously he has no fear. I don’t know if he’s 130 pounds soaking wet.”

McNamara was one of three sophomores in Lisbon’s starting lineup against the Seagulls. Tobey Harrington accounted for more than 120 all-purpose yards and a touchdown, while John Crafts stood out as a two-way lineman.

Vikes start from scratch

Oxford Hills hopes this season’s September and October results are a complete reversal of last year.

The Vikings took advantage of a generous first-half schedule in 2007, beating Edward Little, Brewer and Messalonskee to start 3-1. Then the ship ran aground in the second segment, with the Vikings losing four straight games and missing the playoffs.

With the exception of EL’s dramatic improvement, the early slate looked just as favorable this fall. But the Vikings are 0-4, and three of the losses essentially have been a done deal at halftime.

“I don’t think it matters what they run,” said Oxford Hills coach Nate Danforth, whose team has faced a steady diet of the polar opposite spread and double wing offenses. “We’re having some blown assignments by seniors, kids that you’re going to count on to learn that throughout the week and not have mental breakdowns.”

Messalonskee threw three long touchdown passes and jumped out to a 20-0 lead in Saturday’s 49-13 win at the Vikings’ homecoming game. This weekend, Oxford Hills encounters another opponent better than its record. Brunswick (1-3) defeated Bangor, lost to EL by a point and has faced two-time defending Pine Tree Conference champion Lawrence.

Next in line for the Vikings are undefeated Skowhegan and Lewiston. The best chance for a win comes in the final week at Cony.

Hopes for improvement down the stretch rest in the hands of quarterback Jake Hall and running back Nate Dubois, both juniors.

“It’s a work in progress getting these kids to learn how I want them to play,” said Danforth, the Vikings’ third different coach in the last five years. “They’re just not used to me yet, I guess.”

Thank you, Mr. Schedule maker

But for one yard at the goal line and a potential two-point conversion in Bangor, Edward Little had a shot at starting the season 4-0.

Had it played out that way, exactly one-third of the teams in the league would have enjoyed a perfect record at halfway. Lawrence, Skowhegan and Lewiston remain unblemished.

“What are the chances of that?” Mt. Blue coach Gary Parlin wondered aloud last Friday.

Perhaps a better question is what were the odds of all four heavy hitters being on the Cougars’ eight-game schedule in a 12-team conference, and three of them on the road?

Mt. Blue started its season with the impossible task of a road trip to Fairfield and a date with two-time defending regional champion Lawrence in front of the four-deep Bulldog partisans surrounding the end zones at Keyes Field. The Cougars fell, 41-0.

The good news with that schedule is that thanks to the Crabtree point system, which heavily factors the strength of your opponents, Mt. Blue (1-3) is virtually assured a playoff spot if it gets to 3-5. Games against Brunswick and Messalonskee the next two weeks could swing the Cougars’ season one way or the other, with Bangor and Skowhegan providing the finishing kick.

Last week’s 26-6 home loss to Lewiston may come back to haunt the Cougars as a missed opportunity. Mt. Blue fumbled away the ball at the goal line and also gave up a Hail Mary touchdown on the final play of the first half. “It’s a game we really thought we would play a little bit better in,” Parlin said.

Knight stand

They’ve run the gauntlet of the Campbell Conference in the first half of the season, and while the Poland Knights know they can’t afford to take any opponent lightly, they certainly aren’t in for as tough a second half.

The Knights have put three conference playoff favorites, Greely, Mountain Valley and Cape Elizabeth, in the rearview mirror. Sometimes coaches believe they will find out a lot about their team after facing so many quality opponents early, but Poland coach Mark Soehren said his team’s 0-4 stretch left as many answers as questions.

“There’s no question it was a tough four weeks,” Soehren said. “I would say to (the players) I’m not sure where we’re at. Defensively, compared to last year, we’re giving up fewer points, but offensively, I can’t imagine we’re much ahead of where we were.It’s turnovers. It’s the fumbles. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The Knights fumbled the ball 10 times against Cape, losing four of them. One would normally conclude the very wet conditions contributed to that, but fumbles have been a chronic problem this season. They had seven in ideal conditions the week before against Mountain Valley.