For Travis Tardiff and Shawn Demarey, the game is an opportunity to prove themselves and enjoy their friendship.
WATERVILLE – The Lobster Bowl is recognized for its ability to gather high school football players, who had adversarial relationships on the gridiron in the past, onto one field for a common good. Many of those players form friendships while others strengthen those bonds that already exist.
This year’s installment will serve as something of the opposite for two best friends who played together for four years at Livermore Falls High School.
Travis Tardiff, a 6-foot-5-inch, 260-pound tackle, and Shawn Demarey, a 6-foot-2-inch, 225-pound tackle on the Andies’ football team last fall, will play their final game together Friday night in the 14th Annual Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic.
“We’re both starting at tackle on offense this week,” said Demarey. “We have one more chance to be the ‘twin towers’ as teammates and prove that we belong here despite being from a Class C school.”
Not that there was any doubt about the two linemen. Both were recruited heavily by the University of Maine to play football. The catch: Demarey will wear the blue and white next season, although most likely as a red-shirt, while Tardiff decided instead to attend the University of New Hampshire. Two best friends, teammates and linemates will now be a part of a college culture that feeds on rivalry.
“We had the opportunity to keep it going, to both go to Maine,” said Tardiff. “I turned it down. I went for a visit and decided I didn’t like it all that much. I had great reviews from UNH and like their track facilities a lot, so I opted to go there.”
The Maine decision
Shawn Demarey had his doubts at first. He was a star player at Livermore Falls and in Maine Class C, but stepping onto the field at a Division 1-AA school is an entirely different story.
“I was worried a bit,” said Demarey. “It was a big decision. Coach (Bob) Wilder at Maine is from Madison, and he went to Maine and had to deal with the same thing, so he helped me to realize that it is possible to do it, but I have to work really hard at it. It’s going to be a whole different class of athletes.”
Even though he was recruited, Demarey will likely sit out a year as a red shirt, leaving him four years of eligibility. By the time he is a sophomore, the majority of the line at Maine will graduate, leaving potential openings for him to fill.
Wildcat country
Travis Tardiff loves football, but sometimes so much of a good thing can be too much.
“I’m just tired of it a little,” said Tardiff. “I talked a lot with Shawn and knew how the workouts were and how much work it would be, and I’m not sure I was ready for that will a full course load in college.”
Tardiff will take a year off from football this year but continue to work out for outdoor track as a throwing specialist, something he has also done at Livermore Falls.
“It will definitely help me stay in shape by doing track,” said Tardiff. “If I miss it, I’m going to try and make it back, so there is still the possibility that I play against Shawn down the line.”
Regardless of the fact that the two players will attend the most bitter rivals in the Atlantic 10 Conference, they maintain that their friendship will only drive them forward.
“If we do end up meeting face to face, or even on different teams down the road, we’re still good friends,” said Demarey. “If anything that would make us play harder, hit each other harder.”
Comments are no longer available on this story