Western Class B will bid farewell to one of its most dominant denizens this year. Can Falmouth, Mountain Valley or a darkhorse make it a tearful goodbye?
Gorham, winners of 10 regional titles and four of the last five, is moving up to Class A next year. Once again, the Rams find themselves among the favorites, but they’re not alone. Top-seeded Falmouth is the hottest team heading into the tournament and undefeated Mountain Valley (with one unofficial loss in last Monday’s MVC title game) has a tournament-tested nucleus.
While Gorham is hoping for a grand finale in Augusta, Poland plans on making an equally grand entrance with the first Augusta Civic Center appearance in school history. Throw in potential spoilers such as Greely, Cape Elizabeth, Wells and Fryeburg and it’s not hard to picture someone stealing the show and sending the Rams off to their new class empty-handed.
Favorites: Falmouth, Gorham and Mountain Valley. It may be a bit crowded at the top, but who are you going to leave out of this group? Gorham is looking to add to its legacy before moving up. Falmouth beat Gorham twice during the regular season and has won 15 straight behind the top scorer in the Western Maine Conference Class B, Bryant Barr. Mountain Valley has the most depth and still has several players remaining from the squad that beat Gorham and won the regional two years ago.
Darkhorses: Cape Elizabeth and Wells. Cape handed Falmouth one of its two losses. Few teams will take the ACC floor with more pure athleticism than the Capers, with Joe Geoghegan and freshman Shaine Burks capable of changing games at either end of the floor. Wells has seven seniors and good size on its roster. Whoever wins their quarterfinal matchup has a chance to pull off a couple of upsets in the later rounds.
Players to watch: Falmouth: Bryant Barr (Jr. guard/forward), Jayson Loranger (Sr. guard); Gorham: Ben Thayer (Sr. forward), Jeff Manchester, (Jr. guard); Mountain Valley: Jarod Oldham (Sr. center), Zach Fergola (Sr. guard); Cape Elizabeth: Joe Geoghegan (Jr. center); Wells: Brandon Hodsdon, (Sr. forward); Greely: Jon Alley (Sr. center), Caleb Jordan (Soph. forward); Fryeburg: Ryan Wallace (Sr. guard), Aaron Kasprak (Soph. forward); Poland: Max Levine (Sr. forward), Jon Lecznar (Jr. center).
Best quarterfinal: No. 4 Cape Elizabeth vs. No. 5 Wells. The Warriors won their only regular season meeting, 56-47, back on Jan. 22, but the Capers were playing without injured starting forward Liam O’Shea, who’s back healthy. Hodsdon, a four-year starter, and Ryan Walker scored 14 points apiece to lead the Warriors.
Overview: Each of the favorites has a little extra incentive this year. Falmouth was also the top seed last year but was upset in the quarterfinals by No. 8 Cape Elizabeth in one of the most emotional games in recent ACC history. If the Yachtsmen take care of business in the first round this year, Cape could be waiting for them again in the semifinals, and a little momentum could be just what Falmouth needs to overcome its underachieving ways in recent tournaments.
While some see Mountain Valley’s MVC schedule as a weakness, the Falcons always take pride in proving the doubters wrong. They would also have to go through Greely and possibly Gorham to get to the finals, two teams with whom they’ve developed quite a postseason rivalry over recent years.
Gorham, meanwhile, has one last chance to add to its trophy case in Class B before making the leap to A. While the Yachtsmen are still unproven and the Falcons are a little banged up, the Rams are experienced, balanced and hungry. It would seem only fitting for them to go out on top.
Prediction: Gorham.
Comments are no longer available on this story