AUBURN — Dave Morin almost missed the recognition of his 49 years of coaching at the Auburn-Lewiston Sports Hall of Fame luncheon Friday at Gipper’s Sports Grill.

As Bim Gibson, the event’s emcee, listed Morin’s accolades and accomplishments, such as his 258 wins as coach of the Edward Little’s boys soccer team, Morin walked into the room and said, “That’s me.”

Morin is not coaching this year, after 49 years spent at Edward Little, Leavitt and Winthrop, but he is still busy.

“Now I am working at RSU 38 which is Maranacook in the food services,” Morin said. “I got stuck today, we were delivering all sorts of food so that they have it there for Monday, and it turned into a nightmare. I got here and he’s talking and I’m saying, ‘I think he’s talking about me.’”

Morin is the only coach of the five inductees in the 2019 A-L Hall of Fame class. Also being inducted on Sunday, April 28, are Mark Ballard, Maureen Berube, Mark Theriault and Jared Turcotte.

Morin is excited to be recognized for nearly a half-century of coaching.

“I got a call from Fern Masse saying that Dan Deshaies nominated me,” Morin said. “I figured there’s four athletes and one coach so I didn’t have any competition. I mean, when you’ve done something for 49 years, it’s nice to know that people appreciated what you did. In coaching, you don’t last 49 if you weren’t doing something right.”

Morin started the Edward Little boys soccer program in 1978 and always made sure those teams were stout defensively.

After Edward Little, Morin joined Leavitt and became the varsity baseball coach in 1994. In 1996 the Hornets won a Class B state title with an 8-0 win over Winslow.

The final seven years of his coaching career were spent at Winthrop High School as the boys soccer and baseball coach.

“We didn’t win a ton of championships, but I thought our kids played the game the right way and it makes you feel pretty good,” Morin said.

Turcotte was the only other inductee in attendance Friday.

Turcotte was one of the top football players in Lewiston High School, and probably also the state’s history.

While he hasn’t had much contact with football since his time at the University of Maine — his final game was in October 2009 — Turcotte is happy to receive recognition after dedicating his early life to the sport.

“It’s just nice to be recognized for something that I spent so much time trying to be good at,” Turcotte said. “I was moderately good, I guess, so it’s nice to be recognized after so many years being away from the game. It’s nice, for sure.”

Turcotte racked up 4,562 yards of total offense in just three seasons at Lewiston while amassing 554 tackles on defense. After winning the Fitzpatrick Award and being named Gatorade Player of the Year, Turcotte then enrolled at the University of Maine.

As a Black Bear, Turcotte was named to the All-Colonial Conference first team and second-team All-America by Sports Net National.

Turcotte has now started a medical marijuana business with his brother, Nate, called The Healing Company. He has no immediate plans to coach right now as his kids are starting to get into sports and extracurricular activities.

The three other inductees currently reside in Maine or Massachusetts.

Berube was a standout swimmer and multiple-time state champion at Edward Little. Mark Theriault attended St. Dom’s and Hebron and is currently the lacrosse coach at Keene State College. Mark Ballard was a member of Edward Little’s 1989 state championship-winning baseball team.

The Auburn-Lewiston Hall of Fame banquet will take place at The Ramada Hotel and Conference Center by Wyndham in Lewiston on Sunday, April 28, at noon.

Tickets are available at the LA Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce in Lewiston or online at www.lamtetrochamber.com.

In addition to the inductees, the Hall of Fame will honor a number of other local athletes and teams:

• The “Flashback to Fame Team Award” will honor the 1989 Edward Little High School state baseball championship team.

• The Hall of Fame Pioneer Award will honor the late Samuel Michael for his work in boxing and entertainment.

The following high school coaches and high school and college athletes will receive the chamber of commerce president’s awards for outstanding achievements over the past year:

• Coaches — Jodd Bowles, Mike McGraw, Andrew Morong, Robert Parker and Peter Steenstra.

• College — Isaiah Harris, Ian Mileikis, Olivia Paione and Brooke Reynolds.

• High school — Henok Citenga, Brooke Cloutier, Paige Cote, Lauren DeBlois, Grace Fontaine, Isabelle Frenette, Avery Goulding, Alexandra Hammerton, Hunter Landry, Avery Lutrzkowski, Wol Maiwen, Jade Perry, Jillian Richardson, Alex Rivet and Emma Theriault.

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