With a veteran nucleus back led by the senior trio of Austin Darling, Noah Preble and Caulin Parker, Spruce Mountain coach Scott Bessey wanted to challenge his team in preseason, with the idea of setting a tone that will help the Phoenix advance beyond the B South quarterfinals for the first time since 2012.

“We scheduled up in preseason and played well,” said Bessey, whose exhibition slate included Class A teams Skowhegan, Lawrence and Messalonskee. “The results I didn’t really care about. The key for us this year will be mental toughness. The skill is there. We have the skill to be a championship-caliber team. We have the experience to be a championship-caliber team.”

While he wants his team’s unorthodox style to create chaos on the court, Bessey needs his players to play with poise and confidence for the system to work. He believes his team finally feels at home in its third year in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference and ready to assert itself as a factor in Class B South.

Darling, a three-year starter, leads the Phoenix run-and-gun offense from the point and has plenty of shooters to select from with Preble, Parker and junior Mason Shink. Sophomore Andrew Shaw will be counted on to provide an inside presence.

It would be understandable if Lisbon comes out of the gate a little slow to start the season, and not just because the Greyhounds have a tough schedule to start the season with Mountain Valley Conference and Class C South favorites Hall-Dale, Winthrop and Boothbay. The bulk of the roster consists of players from the regional champion football and regional finalist soccer teams coming off grueling and emotionally draining seasons.

The Greyhounds hope some of the fall success translates to this winter, and with much of the roster that led them to the B South quarterfinals last year, they should continue their winning ways.

Senior forward Tyrese Joseph and junior guard Jonah Sautter lead a versatile, athletic nucleus with a lot of interchangeable parts that should be able to find and exploit favorable matchups.

“We’re not short,” Lisbon coach Jake Gentle said. “We have a lot of guys who are all in that 6-foot range and most of those guys can play both on the perimeter and underneath.”

Poland lost some of its versatility in preseason when senior Greg Leighton went down with a knee injury. But the Knights still have a large senior class and plenty of athleticism to compete in the Western Maine Conference and make another tournament appearance.

Seniors Nathaniel Chouinard, Caleb Hodgkin, Quinn Callahan and Kurtis Leighton, Greg’s twin brother, are all returning rotational players who saw significant playing time last year.

“The seniors will set the tone for how tough we can be,” Poland coach Tyler Tracy said. “This team is athletic and has the potential to be a great defensive team.”

In contrast to Lisbon, Oak Hill had the rare luxury of having the core of its team rested and healthy for the start of preseason after literally dragging players off the gridiron the last three years.

Another change for coach Tom Smith is he graduated most of his scoring from last year. He still has some talent and athleticism to produce, led by senior Marcus Bailey and Evan Boston and juniors Cohen Donnell and Darryn Bailey. It’s a matter of how cohesive that talent will be.

“It’s just a question of how well they work together and where the leadership is coming from,” Smith said.

Oak Hill edged out MVC rival Mountain Valley for the final playoff spot in B South by mere percentage points. With that narrow margin of error in mind, Falcons coach Tom Danylik hopes to have his young team firing on all cylinders from the start.

“Last year, we couldn’t get that signature win, that win with the big Heal points, and we just missed the playoffs” he said. “It’s important that we win the games we should win and take that next step and beat someone else that people think maybe we shouldn’t.”

Danylik expects some growing pains from a strong sophomore class led by Jacob Blanchard and Keegan Davis. Seniors Zach Duguay, Parker Davis and Zack Burgess lend needed experience.

Optimism reigns at Gray-New Gloucester, which will be under the radar after a 2-16 campaign last year

“We like our balance overall with a mixture of shooting, speed and size,” Patriots coach Ryan Deschenes said. “We expect to surprise some people and should be a team with a chance to reach one of the last few playoff spots.

Deschenes expects returning starters senior John Henry Villanueva and sophomore John Martin to help smooth out the bumps for his promising young talent encounter this season.

Defending state champion Lake Region graduated most of its depth, so there will likely be a new state champion this year. Yarmouth, Wells, Orono and Old Town figure to be among the top contenders.

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