Year in review- 2011

With 2011 coming to an end lets take a look at the top stories in the past year covered by the Eastern Maine Sports Blog and the Eastern Maine High School Sports Examiner.
January
The Sumner Tigers took the top spot in the PVC cheering regionals.
The Leavitt Hornets defeated the Nokomis Warriors in what turned out to be a state championship preview.
The Sumner Tigers boys basketball team get 10th win of the season.
Hannah Pray of Central gets 1000 career point.
Chris Braley of Nokomis gets 1000 career point as a junior.  
February
Bekah Campbell of Central gets 1000 career point.
Emily Lane to play soccer at Vermont
Dexter girls basketball clinch a tourney spot
State cheering results
State wrestling results
Dexter Tigers earn trip to Auditorium.
Braley puts on a show but Ellsworth advances
Balance attack ssends Nokomis to semi-finals
Murray sends Winslow to semi-finals
Jonesport-Beals escapes with quarterfinal victory
McCloskey, Jones lead PVHS over Washington Academy
Dexter earns way to semi-finals
Nokomis rebounds way to win over Presque Isle
Washington Academy advances to EM Final for third straight year
Keezer sends Orono to EM Final
Sumner advances to EM Final
Lee goes to EM Final
Washburn comes back to capture EM title
Nokomis wins second straight EM title
March
Washington Academy captures first Eastern Maine championship
Lee rolls to Eastern Maine championship
Campbell powers Washburn to state title
Central Aroostook holds off Richmond for state title
Hall Dale wins class C state title
McCloskey gets 38 in all-star game
McFarland wins Mr. Basketball
Tanner House signs with Oilers
Joe McCloskey will play college basketball at UMF
Maine fires Cindy Blodgett
Plenty of cause to fire Blodgett
April
Brian Flynn and Will O'Neill named captains
Josh Jones throws three hitter in PVHS victory
Jesse Provost throws one hitter in Foxcroft victory
May
Yeo leads Bucksport to victory
Cody Caruso throws no-hitter for Central
Ponies extend baseball winning streak to 22
Tigers softball roar to another victory
Husson baseball eliminated from NCAA tourney
Ponies roll to 28th straight regular season win
Riordan leads Winslow to 6-0 victory over Nokomis
Ponies extend win streak to 30
June
Ponies finish regular season as only undefeated team in the state
Tigers win regular season finale behind Kain's one hitter
Perez leads Pandas to quarterfinal victory
Kain and Gustin lead Dexter to quarterfinal victory
Ponies cruise to quarterfinal victory
Caribou's magical ride continues
Dexter softball will take the field looking to raise awareness of domestic abuse
Dexter wins Eastern Maine championship
Robinson sparks Katahdin to Eastern Maine championship
Bucksport wins Eastern Maine championship
Kayla Merrill leads Telstar to back to back state championships
July
Lobster bowl rosters
Black Bears football player killed in crash
Bangor stays alive with 10-0 victory over Hamdpen
August
Senior league world series news and notes
Cheerleader, Cassidy Foster goes for Miss Maine Teen USA
The "Beast of the East" open with 15-2 victory at the SLWS
Italy walks off with 7-6 victory over Brewer at the SLWS
Talbot City rolls to 7-4 victory over Brewer
Gibson sparks Tyler, Texas to 10-0 victory
Tyler, Texas savances to world championship game
Hilo, Hawaii earn spot in championship game
Amy, Coty, Minica memorial race/walk to raise awareness for Domestic abuse
Hilo captures second championship in Bangor
Maine field hockey shocks Boston College
September
Orono football make a statement in season opener
Fogarty leads Dexter football to first win since 2009
Rebar has "special night" in Ponies victory over MCI
Shaw leads Nokomis to 1-0 victory
Jordyn Bells gets two goals in Tigers 2-1 victory
Tilton sisters power John Bapst to 5-3 victory
October
Bucksport gets by John Bapst to remain undefeated
Maine makes a statement in win over Delaware
John Bapst goes to Foxcroft and gets a win
Video- Chris Treister's great play gets on ESPN's top play and gets Maine a victory
Nytell powers Dexter to win number ten
Penquis turns up the defense in 3-0 victory over Orono
Bucks get 22-8 victory over Foxcroft to stay undefeated
Grindle, Skolfield power Central to quarterfinal victory
PCHS advances to quarterfinals
Eastman sends Dexter to regional final
Ponies shut out Mattanawcook in regular season finale
Bess gets overtime goal to knock out defending champs
Jordan Pellerin named to all-rookie team
Central gets 3-1 victory to earn trip to Eastern Maine championship game
Romain leads Crusaders to playoff victory
Riley Masters wins second straight conference championship
Husson to D-league is the goal for Josh Jones
November
Brownell sends Central to state championship game
Josh Jones gets drafted
Bucks hold off Ponies in semifinal game
Orono advances to championship game
Bucks capture LTC championship game
Overhaug leads Yarmouth in rout of Bucksport
Goodrich puts on a show to lead Stags to second straight state title
Black Bears lose regular season finale to UNH
December
Maine advances to quarterfinals with 34-12 victory
Maine sweeps weekend from Vermont
Irish hold off Black Bears
Nokomis girls cruise to victory in season opener
Hampden over Bangor in season opener
Cartwright, Pearl spark Nokomis to win over Waterville
Lawerence topples Brunswick
Pirates turn up the pressure in 52-42 victory over Stearns
Gustin has monster game in Tigers 54-51 victory over Central
Haslam leads Ellsworth to 68-39 victory over Foxcroft
Skolfield gets 21 to lead Central past Orono
Hampden wins thriller at Lawrence
Bucks have huge fourth quarter in 54-38 victory over Dexter
Red Riots lead from start to finish in 51-34 victory over Dexter
Sophomore duo power Penquis to 68-33 victory
Pirates make a statement in 35-25 victory

The Bucksport Bucks football team were quite a story during the fall of 2011

Credits: 

Christina Garvin Darveau

Girls basketball- PCHS 35 Dexter 25

Guilford, Me--- When people talk about class C girls basketball, they talk about teams like Dexter and Orono who both advanced deep in the tourney last year. They talk about Central and Calais who are expected to be powerhouse teams again. They talk about Mattanawcook and Bucksport moving down from class B and being tough to beat. Some may talk about Stearns having the best player in class C. It is about time for the Piscataquis Community High School (PCHS) Pirates to get talked about.

Abby Burdin put in 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Pirates to a 35-25 victory over the Dexter Tigers on Thursday evening. The Pirates improved to 5-0 including heal point worthy victories over Stearns and Dexter.

"We are not going to sneak up on anyone anymore. With wins over Stearns who is a quality team and Dexter now," Pirates coach Brian Gaw said. "It will be fun to have the target on our back for a change. We will take it."

Click here for full story and stats from this game

Boys basketball- Penquis 68 PCHS 33

Guilford, Me----Isaiah Bess scored 16 of his game high 22 points in the second half to lead the Penquis Patriots to a 68-33 victory over the Piscataquis Community high school (PCHS) Pirates.

Bess nailed a three pointer with 6:40 left in the first quarter. That gave the Patriots a 3-2 lead and started a 9-0 run in front of a packed house in Guilford on Tuesday evening.

Bess committed his second foul with 5:52 remaining in the first quarter. Penquis did not lose a step thanks to Trevor Lyford.  He put in 11 of his 15 points in the first quarter to help the Patriots jump out to a 21-7 lead.
Bess and Lyford are a dynamic duo and they are only sophomores. That could be a scary thing for the rest of class C while it is a promising thing for this year and years to come for Penquis Coach Tony Hamlin.

"They are both really good players for sophomores. Trevor had a excellent first half. Isaiah was upset but he played better in the second half.  When he gets the notion to get to the rim he is pretty tough to stop," Hamlin said. "We have four starters coming back so we should be just as good next year, I hope."

Full recap and  game stats

Boys basketball- Houlton 63 Stearns 42

 Stats provided by John Kedderis

Houlton Boys (2-3) 63:
Kyle Bouchard - 29
Elijah Crockett - 12
Dan Swallow - 8
Dan Howe - 6
Jacob Drew - 4
Isaiah Straubel & Kole Buzzeo - 2 each

Stearns (1-6) 42
Marc Morneault & Riley Whitney - 16 points each
Seth Brown & Kacey McVey - 4 points each
Tyson Girsa - 2

Score By Quarters:
Houlton - 18 35 48 63
Stearns -- 7 17 25 42
JV: Houlton 46, Stearns 30.

Girls basketball- Stearns 56 Houlton 38

 Stats provided by John Kedderis

Stearns Girls (5-1) 56:
Sigrid Koizar - 30
Alex Mooney - 8
Ashley Rollins & Taylor Pelkey - 7 points each
Emily Wark & Lilly Dow - 2 points each

Houlton (2-2) 38:
Amanda Fogarty - 11
Victoria Hanson - 10
Marina Cameron - 5
Makala Flolsom, Brianna Longstaff & Samantha Keegan - 2 points each.

Score By Quarters:
Stearns - 14 23 38 56
Houlton - 9 17 28 38
JV: Houlton 40, Stearns 20.

Red Riots Lead From Start To Finish, Hand Tigers First Loss.

 By Sean Stackhouse

Orono, ME--- Basketball fans at Orono High School expected a close contest between potential State Championship contenders in Eastern Maine Class C. Basketball players at Orono High School had other plans. Orono opened the game on a 7-0 run and held the Dexter Tigers behind the half court line for almost two minutes before Dexter was able to break the full court pressure. The quarter was nearly halfway finished before Dexter freshman Michaela White scored to get the Tigers on the board.

White scored the first six Dexter points and was the only Tiger with points until the final minute of the opening period. While the rest of the Tigers were held scoreless, Orono had held a steady lead by forcing ten Dexter turnovers. It started when Orono senior Laura Triandafillou hit a three almost immediately after the opening tip. Just a minute into the game, Dexter Head Coach Jody Grant had to call a timeout to settle the team down.
Orono continued to score and force turnovers for the first few minutes before White stepped up. Dexter also battled foul trouble as junior Jordyn Bell spent time on the bench with two fouls. The Tigers managed to get the deficit down to five before Orono senior Leah Bryant banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Orono a 17-9 lead.

Dexter was down but not out. The Tigers rallied back to within a point early in the second quarter with a 7-0 run. But Orono pulled away again. Orono kept forcing turnovers and getting to the free throw line. The Red Riots made six of 12 free throws in the quarter, while Dexter only attempted two foul shots in each of the first two quarters. No single player stood out for Orono in any given quarter. While junior Jillian Woodward grabbed numerous rebounds, others made solid contributions as part of a 13-3 run to finish out the quarter. Defensively, the Red Riots made White a non-factor, holding the Dexter freshman scoreless in the second quarter. As if that wasn't troubling enough, Bell had picked up her third and fourth fouls and had to sit out the final two minutes of the half. The end result was a 32-19 halftime lead for Orono.

While Orono's offensive output declined after each quarter, so too did Dexter's. After scoring 17 and 15 points in the first two quarters, Orono added 12 in the third quarter. But Dexter couldn't respond and chip away at the large deficit, and in fact fell further behind only scoring eight points. Only one player made more than one shot from the field in either of the final two quarters - Leah Bryant. The Orono senior had five points in the quarter to lead all scorers. Orono's lead was 44-27. That 17 point lead would hold through the fourth quarter, as the Red Riots cruised to a 51-34 victory at home, and handed Dexter its first loss of the season.

Orono was led by 10 points each from Bryant and Triandafillou, all coming in the first three quarters. Jillian Woodward added 9 for the Red Riots who improved to 3-2 on the season. Orono's next game is after the calendar flips over to 2012, when the Red Riots host Old Town.

Dexter falls to 4-1 despite 10 points from freshman Michaela White, and 9 from senior Maicee Gustin. Dexter's next challenge is after Christmas on December 29 when the Tigers travel to Guilford to battle currently-undefeated Piscataquis Community High School.

Girls basketball- Stearns 40 Mattanawcook 27

 Info provided by John Kedderis

Stearns (4-1) 40:
Sigrid Koizar - 16
Alex Mooney - 12
Taylor Pelkey - 10
Emily Wark - 2

Mattanawcook (3-2) 27:
Taylor Hawkins - 10
Taylor Blood - 6
Katie Krapf - 5
Jenna Brown, Ashley Libby & Morgan Russell - 2 each

Score By Quarters:
Stearns --------- 7 18 30 40
Mattanawcook - 6 15 23 27
JV: Mattanawcook 40, Stearns 22..

Boys basketball- Bucksport 54 Dexter 38

Mike Cummings (24) goes up for two of his 14 points. Bucksport defeated Dexter 54-38 on Thursday evening. Photo by Terry Robichaud/Moments n life photography

Dexter, Me--- You might know Mike Cummings from his play on the football field. You might want to get to know Cummings for his play on the basketball court.

Cummings was the quarterback for the Bucksport Bucks who represented Eastern Maine in the state championship game. Cummings was named little ten conference (LTC) player of the year.

Cummings proved on Thursday evening that he is also capable of doing it all on the basketball court. He finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and three steals to lead the Bucks to a 54-38 victory over the Dexter Tigers. Whatever Cummings does on offense is a bonus for Bucksport coach Josh Tripp.

"Mike is our lock-down defender. He always gets the other teams best player.  I always tell him if you score points it is a bonus as far as I am concerned," Tripp said. "When you can take the other teams best player out of the game that is a huge asset. He was just all over the place. He is always one of the best athletes on the court no matter who we are playing.  He has to just let his athleticism take over and he does that very well." 

Click here for full story from this game

Slideshow from this game

Hampden Wins Thriller

FAIRFIELD- Hampden overcame a nine point deficit in the 4th quarter and stormed back with a 14 point run to down Lawrence, 49-47 in a KVAC thriller at Folsom Gymnasium Tuesday night.

Lawrence took its biggest lead of the game, 34-25, into the final 8 minutes, but costly turnovers to start the final period of play cost the Bulldogs who played their toughest competition of the season in the Broncos. Hampden hit two huge three pointers and was 8 for 12 from the line down the stretch. Lawrence rallied back from a five point deficit and tied the score at 47 on a Spencer Carey 3 point shot with 12 seconds to go. Carey had a chance to put Lawrence ahead with 5 seconds to play, but missed both of his foul shots.

Lawrence falls to 3-1 while Hamdpen improves to 4-0. Carey had a game high 17 points, but was just 3-10 at the the line. The Bulldogs as a team struggled with foul shots and it proved costly. Lawrence was 7-17 in foul shots while Hampden converted 14 of 22 chances.

Alex Leathers had 11 points for Lawrence before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Logan Poirier lead the Broncos with 11 and Christian McCue had nine.

Girls basketball- Central 38 Orono 32

Click here to view photo gallery from this game


Corinth, ME-- Brianna Skolfield is only going to get better and that may be scary for the opponents of the Central Red Devils.

Skolfield put in 17 of her game high 21 points in the second half to lead Central to a 38-32 victory over the Orono Red Riots on Monday evening. Skolfield shot 10-19 from the field and also pulled down 11 rebounds.

"Brianna (Skolfield) is coming into her own. She is a freshman, she just turned 15," Red Devils Diane Rollins said. "She is just understanding the game more. When she was in junior high she would just catch it and do what she wanted to do. She is understanding her role and her importance. I can't wait to see her as the season progresses."

Click here for the full story from this game

Central's Brianna Skolfield looks to the basket while being defended closely by Orono's Katie Smith in a Class C game in Corinth Monday night. Orono's Jillian Woodward watches the play. Central won the game 38-32
Photo by Skip Hawkes/Maine Sports Report

Sigrid Koizar scores 59 points in three games to earn athlete of the week

Sigrid Koizar shoots a three pointer. Koizar scored 59 points in three games to help Stearns go 2-1. Photo by Mark Jandreau.

Each week during the high school sports season the Eastern Maine High School Sports Examiner and the Eastern Maine Sports Blog will announce a female and male athlete of the week. You can send your nominations to Marc @ easternmainesportsblog@yahoo.com. When you send your nominations include the athlete, name of the school, stats for the week of the nomination.  The male and female winner will each receive a t shirt.

Previous winners

Winter season- Week 1- December 9th- December 17th 

Female Athlete of the week

Sigrid Koizar- Stearns- Basketball-  Koizar has led Stearns to a 2-1 start to the 2011/2012 basketball season. She had 29 points in 59-27 victory over Lee. Had 15 points in 58-24 victory over Searsport. She scored 15 in a 38-36 loss to PCHS. Koizar comes to Stearns from Austria. She was on the Austria U18 national team. She averaged 8.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in nine game at the U18 European championship.

Click here to see all the nominations

Kyle Alexander captures athlete of the week

Kyle Alexander scored 10 goals and had five assists to earn the first athlete of the week of the winter sports season. Photo by Kristi Alexander

Each week during the high school sports season the Eastern Maine High School Sports Examiner and the Eastern Maine Sports Blog will announce a female and male athlete of the week. You can send your nominations to Marc @ easternmainesportsblog@yahoo.com. When you send your nominations include the athlete, name of the school, stats for the week of the nomination.  The male and female winner will each receive a t shirt.
Previous winners

Winter season- Week 1- December 9th- December 17th 


Male Athlete of the week


Kyle Alexander- Brewer- Hockey- Scored 10 goals and five assists in three victories. Scored three goals and had three assists in 12-3 victory over Houlton. Scored three goals and had two assists in 7-5 victory over Messalonskee. Scored four goals in 8-6 victory over Falmouth.

Click here to see all the nominations

Boys basketball- Ellsworth 68 Foxcroft 39

Dover-Foxcroft, Me--- The Ellsworth Eagles knew they needed to pick up the defensive pressure in the second half. The Eagles did just that and went on a 11-0 run in the third quarter and cruised to a 68-39 victory over the Foxcroft Ponies on Saturday evening.


The Eagles overcame a first half where they struggled defensively and only held a 30-27 halftime lead. The Ponies shot 11-17 from the field in the first half including 7-8 from two point range.

"Our defense wasn't there, we were not really boxing out in the first half," Ellsworth forward Kyle Haslam said. "They made all their shots. I think they (Foxcroft) went 6-6 in the paint which means there was not much pressure."

Click here for the full story

Bulldogs Maul Eagles

OAKLAND-- A 16-0 run to start the game and 14 Messalonskee turnovers in the first half helped propel the Lawrence Bulldogs to a 57-31 victory Friday night in Oakland. Lawrence, 3-0, dominated the game from the opening tip. Messalonskee played very sloppy from the get go. The Eagles, winless on the season, coughed up the ball 8 times in the first quarter.

Lawrence came out shooting. Senior tri- captain Alex Leathers hit three 3 pointers in the first half. Senior guard Tim Dudley led all scorers with 10 points. Lawrence's smothering defense pressured the Eagles leading to many of the Messalonskee turnovers and held their offense to just 16 points at the half.

A banged up Bulldog squad built up a 30 point lead by the end of the third quarter and pulled its starters. Lawrence's second unit scored just eight points in the fourth quarter. Messalonskee scored 10 points in the second quarter and nine in the final period of play.

Riley Wentworth and Carl Smith each five points for the Eagles. Ten Lawrence players had at least two points Friday night.

Lawrence faces its toughest opponent this season when they host top seed Hampden at Folsom Gymnasium Tuesday night. Messalonskee will travel to Brewer to take on the 0-3 Witches.

Girls basketball- Dexter 54 Central 51

Dexter, Me---Maicee Gustin is known as the key defensive player for the Dexter Tigers. On Thursday night, Gustin was known as the player that did everything.

Gustin scored 19 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and had five steals to lead the Tigers to a 54-51 girls basketball victory the Central Red Devils. It was a performance Tigers coach Jody Grant called "A herculean like effort."

"How many kids get 19,13 and five in a high school basketball game? Not a lot. I am very, very, very proud of her," Grant said. "I told her (Gustin) a couple of weeks ago in preseason that it was the best game she played since she has been here. Tonight I told her I had to take that back because tonight was the best game she played since she has been in this high school."

Click here for full story

Stearns get win over Lee to improve to 2-0

 Stearns 59 Lee 27- Girls basketball

Stats provided by John Kedderis

Stearns (2-0) 59:
Sigrid Koizar - 29
Alex Mooney - 12
Emily Wark - 6
Taylor Pelkey - 5
Whitney Guy, Baileigh Studer & Mikayla Glidden - 2 points each
Lilly Dow - 1

Lee (0-2) 27:
Alaina Hamilton - 17
Jenna Cowan - 6
McKenzie Pelletier & Abbie Glidden - 2 points each

Score By Quarter:
Stearns -- 10 29 51 59
Lee ------ 5 9 13 27
JV Score: Lee 30, Stearns 28.

Girls basketball- Orono 49 John Bapst 44

Orono's Leya Bryant brings the ball upcourt during the first half of the girls varsity game in Orono Thursday night. Bryant scored 16 points to lead the Red Riots to a 49-44 win over John Bapst. Photo by Skip Hawkes/Maine Sports Report

By Skip Hawkes/Maine Sports Report

ORONO – Thursday night Leya Bryant and Jillian Woodward each scored in double digits
and the Red Riots bounced back from a late deficit to knock off the John Bapst Crusaders
49-44 at Orono High School.

The game was a back and forth contest over the first three quarters with each period ending
with a one point lead. Orono led 8-7 after the first quarter, and 23-22 at the half time break.
The Crusaders held the edge at the end of the third quarter 38-37.

John Bapst went up by five points (44-39) in the final period with 4:39 left in the game,
but the Red Riots turned up the defense a notch and ran off 10 unanswered points
for the 49-44 lead and eventual winning score.

Bryant scored a game high 16 points on five 3-point baskets to pace Orono.
Woodward added 14 points and on the defensive side of the ball held
John Bapst’s Abby Pyne to single digit scoring. Katie Sypher scored six points
and Laura Triandafillou added five points. Caleigh Paul and Elea kass each
scored three points, and Kate Berry chipped in with two points.

Orono had seven 3-point baskets, five by Bryant and one each by
Paul and Triandafillou, and they went 6-for-17 (35%) from the charity stripe.

Taylor True scored 14 points and E$mily Tilton had 10 points to lead John Bapst.
Abby Pyne scored nine points, Darby Paul added eight points, Allison Higgins
scored two points, and Paige Martin added one point.

The Crusaders had three 3-point baskets, two by Paul and one by Pyne,
and they went 11-for-14 (79%) from the free throw line.

BAPST (1-1) 7 15 16 6 — 44
ORONO (2-1) 8 15 14 12 — 49

Click Here to view photos from the Varsity game

Boys basketball- PCHS 52 Stearns 42

Guilford, Me--- The Piscataquis Community High School (PCHS) Pirates went on a 17-2 run in the third quarter to over come a 23-18 halftime deficit against the Stearns Minutemen.

Trevor Duby gave the Pirates a 27-26 lead when he put in a jumper with 5:00 remaining in the third quarter. PCHS would build the lead to 37-30 by the end of the third quarter. Duby and Nick Schmiedlehner hit key free throws down the stretch and the Pirates earned a 52-42 victory on Wednesday evening.

The Pirates needed to come out in the second half with more energy. Coach David Pepin switched up his defense and the players did the rest.

"We started out zone, we know most of their game is interior. Going to man to man full court was the turning point of the game,"Pepin said. "We got into some foul trouble in the first half so we stayed in zone and tried to keep it close and we did. I didn't really want to show that until the second half if I could. If we got down eight or nine we would of had to go to man. You know me, I like to change up defenses. I just thought we needed more energy. We picked it up when we went to full court man."

Click here for the full story and game stats

Lawrence holds off Brunswick

Info provided by Jessica Laliberte

Fairfield, Me---- The Lawrence Bulldogs built a 13 point first half lead and held off the Brunswick Dragons for a 59-53 boys basketball victory on Tuesday evening.

Spencer Carey led the Bulldogs with 15 points. Keith Chesley scored 13 points while Alex Leathers chipped in with nine points. 

Lawrence (2-0) will play at Messalonskee on Friday, December 16th. Mitchell Black led the Dragons with 15 points. Bradford Smith and Trent Anderson put in eight points each.  Brunswick (1-1) will host Edward Little on Friday, December 16th.

Boys basketball- Nokomis 55 Waterville 43

Newport, Me---Andrew Cartwright scored 14 first half points to lead the Nokomis Warriors to a 55-43 victory over the Waterville Panthers in a class B boys basketball game on Tuesday evening.
Ethan Pearl converted a three point play early in the second quarter to give Nokomis a 17-16 lead. That would be a lead the Warriors would hold the rest of the way.

Pearl is a 6'2' guard but he was playing like a 6'6' power forward. He finished  with 11 points and a game high nine rebounds.

"Ethan (Pearl) has been solid all preseason and into the regular season," Nokomis Coach Carl Parker said. "Ethan goes after balls. Ethan is playing possessed. He knows as a senior this is his last hurrah. He wants to participate in every play."

Click here for full story and stats

Loring hits shot in final seconds to lead Red Riots

Info proved by Matt Schilmoeller

Photos

Orono, Me--- Tyler Eddy scored 11 points in the second half and Cortland Loring hit a shot with three seconds remaining to lead the Orono Red Riots to a 40-38 victory over the Mattnawcook Lynx.

Eddy helped Orono come back from a 22-17 halftime deficit.  He finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Eddy has scored 49 points to help the Red Riots start the season 2-0. Loring finished with 14 points.

Matt Voisine led Mattanawcook with 13 points and six assists.  Nick L'italien finished with 11 points and five rebounds.

The Red Riots who won only two games last season will try to get their third win of this season when they travel to Bucksport on December 17th.

Mattanawcook (0-2) will play their home opener on Friday, December 16th against Searsport.

Orono's Cortland Loring (34) goes up for the game winning jumper in front of Mattanawcook's Timmy Cummings in the closing seconds of the high school game in Orono Monday night. Orono won the game 40-38. Photo by Skip Hawkes

Boys basketball- Dexter 34 PVHS 31

Dexter, Me-- Trevor Fogarty made three free throws in the final minute to lead the Dexter Tigers to a 34-31 victory over the Penobscot Valley (PVHS) Howlers on Monday evening.

"Crowd was going wild," Fogarty said. "I knew I had to make them.".

The Tigers were happy to get the victory but they were not happy with the way they played. The Tigers were able to get in position for good shots most of the night. Matt Crane was the only Dexter player able to make those shots. Crane shot 8-11 from the field. The rest of the team shot 5-26 from the field.

"I am guessing most of our shots were within six feet. Not a lot of them went in," Tigers Coach Peter Murray said, "If we could finish a small fraction of those shots this is a 10 point win rather then right down to the last minute."

Click here for full story and game stats

Ellsworth rolls to victory in season opener

 Info provided by Matt Schilmoeller

Old Town-- Thomas Sawyer scored 22 points to lead Ellsworth to a 64-40 victory over Old Town on Saturday evening. Sawyer hit 4 three pointers. Nick Holt chipped in with 18 points for Ellsworth as Sawyer and Holt combined for the same number of points that the Old Town team got for a total.

Kyle Haslam (13) and Brandon Braley (10) also finished in double figures for Ellsworth who never trailed in the game. Braley also finished with five assists.

Garrett Libby led Old Town with 12 points. Gabe Melmed added seven points while Bryan Guay chipped in with six points.

Old Town (0-1) will next play on Tuesday, December 13th at MDI. Ellsworth (1-0) will next play on Monday, December 12th when they host Bucksport.

Boys basketball- Old Town 61 Presque Isle 39

 Info provided by Matt Schilmoeller


Old Town, Me---Matt Eager scored 18 points to lead the Presque Isle Wildcats to a 61-39 victory over the Old Town Coyotes on Saturday afternoon.

The Wildcats have won their first three games of the season by an average of 22 points.Andrew Kofstad (17) and Tyler Brooks (13) also finished in double figures for Presque Isle. The Wildcats outscored Old Town 29-19 in the first half and 32-20 in the second half.

Cam Archer led the Coyotes with nine points. Tyler Lynch finished with eight while Gabe Melmed chipped in with seven. Old Town (0-3)  will travel to Washington Academy for a 7 PM game on Tuesday, December 20th.

Presque Isle (3-0) will next play on Friday, December 23rd when they travel John Bapst.












Today The Boys were trying to get their first win after losing to MDI big on Wednesday night. But ended up falling to Presque Isle 61-39. Leading the Coyotes was Cam Archer who finished with 9 points followed by Tyler Lynch who finished with 8 points and Gabe Melmed who finished with 7 points. Old town also had scoring from Matt Melanson (6 points) , Garvey Melmed (5 points ) Garrett Libby who got hurt in the first half but ended up not coming back into the game later in the 2nd half finishing up with 4 points. However Old town was able to keep it close mostly in the 2nd qtr only allowing the Wildcats from Presque Isle to score 13 of their 29 points near the end of the first half getting the score to be 29-19 at the half. They couldn’t stop the wildcats’ three top scorers Matt Eager who finished with 18 points, Andrew Kofstad who finished with 17 points and Tyler Brooks who finished with 13 points. Finishing up the scoring for the Wildcats was Wilder York who finished with 9 points and two more Wildcat players who finished with 2 points. Old town falls to 0-3 their next game will be Tuesday when they head to Washington Academy.
1 2 3 4 Final
Old town 6 19 25 39 39
PI 16 29 45 61 61

Girls basketball- Nokomis 60 Winslow 23

Newport, Me--- The Nokomis Warriors have created their offense from their defense for the past few years. That was no different in the 2011/2012 season opener on Friday night.

Kori Dionne's team put a full court pressure on the the Winslow Black Raiders and jumped out to a 37-11 halftime lead. The Warriors outscored Winslow 19-10 in the third quarter and cruised to a 60-23 girls basketball victory.

"Getting our offense from our defense is something we have concentrated on for at least the last two or three years," Dionne said. "We have the athletes to do it. We go deep in our bench if foul trouble was an issue. We have said for a while that we let our defense dictate our offense.  It is important for us to get off to a good start with our press. That sets the tone for the rest of the game."

The Warriors held a 33-13 rebounding edge including a 24-3 offensive rebounding edge. Marissa Shaw did most of the damage on the boards for Nokomis. Shaw finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds including nine offensive rebounds. 

"We knew coming in that Elizabeth Ferry and (Mariah) Chenard were their bigs. We heard they go to the boards strong so we knew we had to box out," Dionne said. "Offensively it is a matter of will. Marissa (Shaw) and Anna (Mackenzie) and a number of players on our team, especially those two are animals going to the offensive glass.  They see where the ball is going and they are there. They are not sitting and waiting for the ball to come to them."

Click here for the full story

Boys Basketball- Lawrence 80 Brewer 57

Nick Noiles (21) takes a shot. Noiles scored 10 points to help Lawrence get a 80-57 season opening victory over Brewer. Photo by Lynn Noiles

FAIRFIELD- Spencer Carey had 27 points and lead the Lawrence Bulldogs to an 80-57 victory Friday night before a packed house at Folsom Gymnasium. The Bulldogs(1-0) outscored the Witches 25-9 in the first quarter and never trailed in the game. Brewer played sloppy early in the game turning the ball over nine times in the first quarter.

The Witches put up 20 points in the second quarter. Brewer players made it to the foul line 16 times in the first half and sunk half of them. Lawrence senior guard Steele Savage drained one of his 3 three pointers at the buzz making it 43-29 at the half.

Matt Cuskelly put up 12 points in the first half for Brewer, but got into foul trouble and scored just 4 points in the second half. Brendan Newcomb add 13 for the Witches (0-1). Guards Shaun Carroll and Tim Dudley each chipped in 8 for Lawrence and Nick Noiles had 10 points.

Lawrence plays Brunswick Tuesday. Brewer will host Mt. Blue also on Tuesday.

Eastern Maine Sports Blog to provide live stats for high school basketball games

Eastern Maine Sports Blog and the Eastern Maine High School Sports Examiner will be providing stats using Iscore. Photo from Emsportsblog.com

During the 2011/2012 high school basketball season the Eastern Maine Sports Blog and the Eastern Maine Sports Examiner will be providing live stats for select games.

The first regular season game that we will be covering is the Winslow @ Nokomis girls basketball game on Friday, December 9th.  The following are the games  that will be covered through December 17th.

Friday, December 9th- Winslow @ Nokomis- girls basketball - 7 PM
Monday, December 12th- PVHS @ Dexter- boys basketball- 7 PM
Tuesday, December 13th- Waterville @ Nokomis- boys basketball- 7 PM
Wednesday, December 14th- PCHS @ Stearns- boys basketball- 7 PM
Saturday, December 17th- Ellsworth @ Foxcroft- boys basketball- 7 PM

To follow the game(s) you want to follow just go here. The game should be listed around one hour prior to game time.  You can find the upcoming games by going to the Eastern Maine Sports Blog. The games for the upcoming week will be updated each Saturday starting on December 17th. 

EMCC sweeps Unity

By Skip Hawkes

BANGOR – Wednesday night in Bangor, the Eastern Maine Community College men’s and women’s basketball teams had to much talent for Unity College as both teams unloaded for 80 plus points to defeat the Rams at Johnston Gymnasium.

In the first game of the night, the Golden Eagles men got double digit scoring from four players for the game and cruised to an 83-43 victory over the Rams in a non-conference. Kyle Pluchino had a game high 16 points, and Stephen Eskau, John Caputo, and Thelbert Green each added 12 points to lead the Eagles.

EMCC put the game away early jumping out to a 17-0 lead in the first six minutes, and took a 45-19 lead into half time. The Eagles shot 63 per cent from the floor in the opening half, and had a 16-7 edge in rebounds.
Also scoring for the Eagles was John Knowles with nine points and three assists and Brian Bolduc with eight points, six rebounds and two blocked shots. Michael Baltimore added six points (8 rebounds), Edson Pierre had four points (4 steals), Jared Young scored two points, and Donnie Downs added one point.

EMCC went 31-for-60 (52%) from the floor with 28 rebounds, 13 turnovers, and committed 11 fouls.
John Crowe scored 11 points and Logan Morin added 10 points to pace Unity in scoring. Neil D’Aclerno
scored nine points, Zach Babin added five points, and Josh Perkins had four points. Ben Bouchard and Nijel Jones each chipped in with two points.

The Rams went 16-for-38 (42%) from the floor with 18 rebounds, 20 turnovers, and committed 14 personal fouls.

UNITY 19 24 — 43
EMCC 45 38 — 83
Click Here to view photos from the Men’s game

In the nightcap, Dani Ross scored a game high 25 points to lead the Golden Eagles to a 98-38 victory over Unity College. Ashley Thayer (16 points), Caroline Weymouth (15), and Victoria Davenport (10) also scored in double digits.

EMCC took a 49-24 half time lead shooting 52% from the floor as Ross scored 14 points while Weymouth added 11 points and Thayer 10 points.

Also scoring for the Eagles were Emma Johnson with nine points (4 rebounds), Whitney Holmes with seven points (5 assists), and Caroline Bess six points (6 rebounds). Ashley Rackliff and Rebecca Redding each added five points.

The Eagles went 42-for-80 (52.5%) from the floor including 8-for-19 (42%) from behind the arc. They pulled down 34 rebounds, had 10 turnovers, and committed just eight personal fouls in the game.

Sierra Marchacos scored 13 points to pace the Rams and Ashley Kuplin added eight points. Paige Bikodeau, Ashley Sutton (7 rebounds), and Chelsea Walsh each scored four points. Ashley Crocker added three points and Candace Robinson chipped in with two points (7 rebounds).

Unity shot 16-for-48 (33%) from the floor with 28 rebounds, 24 turnovers and they committed 11 personal fouls.

UNITY 24 14 — 38
EMCC 49 49 — 98
Click Here to view photos from the Women’s game

Eastern Maine High School Sports: Dec 5-Dec 11

Here is a look at the week ahead in the world of high school sports in Eastern Maine.
December 5th-December 11th.


Tuesday- December 6th-
The last full night of preseason high school basketball action features Hampden and Lawrence boys basketball teams playing at Westbrook high school in the East/West challenge.


Brewer travels to Nokomis in a interesting girls/boys varsity basketball doubleheader. MCI and Dexter will also play a girls/boys varsity doubleheader. Central will host Searsport in a preseason varsity boys basketball clash.

Friday- December 9th- 
The winter sports season opens in full force. Boys basketball has the most action for the night with 24 games. The highlight of the night will be the Bangor boys basketball team traveling to Hampden for a 7 PM game. Hampden came in number one and Bangor number three in the Eastern Maine Sports Blog/Eastern Maine Sports Examiner preseason poll, 


Other boys basketball highlights include Washington Academy hosting MDI in a game that can be heard on WDEA 1370 AM and online here.  Number two Mt. Blue will host Skowhegan. Mount View will play at Camden Hills in a class B clash.

If you are interested in going to a girls basketball game, you can find 17 of those around Eastern Maine.  Number one Edward Little plays host to Mt. Ararat. Winslow plays at number two Nokomis in a class B battle.


Dexter and Foxcroft wrestling will be participating in a meet at Dirigo.


Mt. Ararat @ Camden Hills, Edward Little @ Waterville and Brunswick @ Belfast are the three Eastern Maine swim meets that will be taking place around Eastern Maine. 



Saturday, December 10th-
The Hermon Hawks will take the trip north to take on Presque Isle in a girls/boys varsity basketball doubleheader. Girls game starts at 3 and will be followed by the boys game. 

Caribou and John Bapst basketball teams will play  at the University of Maine. Girls and Boys J.V. and Varsity will all play on Saturday afternoon.

Washington Academy girls basketball team will travel to MDI for a 7 PM tip. That game can be heard on WDEA 1370 AM and online here.

Ellsworth will open their season at Old Town. The game will start at 7 PM and can be heard live here.  


Many of the class C girls basketball teams start their season. The highlight game features Mattanawcook traveling to Orono for a 7 PM game. Class D Penobscot Valley will travel to Guilford to take on Class C PCHS.


Erskine, MCI and Nokomis will be participating in a wrestling tourney at Skowhegan.

Old Town boys basketball splits

 By Matt Schilmoeller

 Old Town, Me--- The Old Town boys basketball team split two games on Saturday. They dropped a close one to Mattanawcook Academy 62-61. Old Town led 36-14 in the first half. The Lynx put up 48 second half points to earn the comeback victory.

Matt Voisine led the Lynx with 21 points and four rebounds. Chase Vicaire finished with 17 points, five rebounds and three steals.

Garrett Libby led the Coyotes with 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Cam Archer finished with 15 points, five steals and four assists. Matt Melanson chipped in with 14 points and three assists.

Archer scored 16 points to lead Old Town to a 79-45 victory over Schenck high school of East Millinocket in the final game of the day. The Coyotes had four players including Archer that scored in double figures. Garvey Melmed put in 12 points. Libby and Melanson each put in 10 points and dished out four assists.

Nathan Cram led Schenck with 20 points and five rebounds.

Eastern Maine high school basketball predictions 2011/2012

The 2011/2012 high school basketball season gets underway with 41 games in Eastern Maine on December 9th. Here is a look at predictions for the upcoming season.

Class A

Boys

1.Hampden

2. Bangor

3. Mt. Blue

4. Lawrence

Girls

1. Edward Little

2. Cony

3. Messalonskee

4. Skowhegan

Class B

Boys

1. Medomak 

2. Camden Hills

3. Ellsworth

4. Oceanside

Girls

1. Nokomis

2. Presque Isle

3. Medomak

4. John Bapst

Class C

Boys

1. Lee

2. Penquis

3. Houlton

4. Sumner

Girls

1. Mattanawcook

2. Calais

3. Dexter

4. Orono

Class D

1. Central Aroostook

2. Jonesport-Beals

3. Washburn

4. Fort Fairfield

Girls

1. Washburn

2. Fort Fairfield

3. Woodland

4. Schenck