March 29, 2024
SCHOOLBOY BASKETBALL

Panthers, Devils eye titles Both aiming to cap undefeated seasons

Two years ago the Calais and Central Aroostook of Mars Hills boys basketball team journeyed south to the Augusta Civic Center in search of state championship trophies.

It was a doubleheader that couldn’t have turned out better for the Eastern Maine representatives. Central Aroostook defeated Richmond 65-55 for the Class D title in the afternoon, and Calais topped Winthrop 56-49 in the evening to claim the Class C crown.

Two years later it’s the same teams facing the same opponents at the same place – and the Blue Devils and Panthers hope for the same results.

Originally the games were set for the same times as two years ago, until Mother Nature got in the way and forced postponements from Saturday’s original schedule. Instead, Central Aroostook and Richmond will meet for the Class D crown at 8 p.m. Monday, while Calais will face Winthrop for the Class C title at the same time Wednesday night.

Both Eastern Maine representatives will enter their final games of the season with unblemished records, Calais at 19-0 and Central Aroostook at 21-0.

But each will be facing an opponent with several familiar faces back from their 2006 meetings.

Winthrop (20-1) has two starters back, 6-foot-1 senior guard Sam Leclerc and 6-3 senior forward Tim Gingras. Leclerc, considered one of state’s top players regardless of class, averaged 21.8 points, eight rebounds, five assists and 3.5 steals per game during the regular season, then was named MVP of the Western C tournament as the second-ranked Ramblers edged No. 1 Dirigo of Dixfield 51-45 in the final.

Gingras is one of Winthrop’s key frontcourt players, along with 6-4 senior forward Larry Foster, while 5-11 senior Ezra Damm and 5-8 junior Zach Farrington join Leclerc in the backcourt.

“They can really spread out your defense because they’ve got four kids who can shoot it at any time,” said Calais coach Ed Leeman. “We don’t play a lot of zone, so we’ve got to do a lot of running.”

Calais has two players with experience from the 2006 final against Winthrop, senior guard Sam Bell and junior forward Cal Shorey.

But in senior forward Rod Tirrell, MVP of this year’s Eastern C tournament, junior guard Jordan Leeman and senior forward Nathan O’Neill, all of the Blue Devils’ starters this year have some state final experience from last year’s 70-66 victory over Boothbay.

Calais is attempting to become just the second Class C boys team to win three consecutive state championships, following Falmouth from 1997 to 1999, and just the seventh boys team to win at least three straight gold balls regardless of class.

In addition to Falmouth, Valley of Bingham won six Class D crowns between 1998 and 2003, Jonesport-Beals won five straight Class D titles between 1970 and 1975, Mount Desert won three straight in Class D from 1958 to 1960, Winslow won three straight in Class A from 1937 to 1939 and Morse of Bath won three straight Class A championships from 1987 to 1989.

“I think we’re where we need to be,” said Leeman. “Hopefully we’ll go out and play on our toes instead of on our heels.”

In Class D, Central Aroostook will try to improve its record in state championship games to 5-0, as the Panthers are seeking their third gold ball in the last four years and fifth in the last 15 years, with previous state titles in 1994, 1996, 2005 and 2006.

And that’s just part of the story of this program’s remarkable run. Since Central Aroostook went 8-10 in 1997, the Panthers have compiled a 192-37 record during the last 11 years – and 105-5 over the last five seasons including their unblemished 21-0 mark this winter.

The Panthers’ most recent state title came at the expense of Richmond, whose returning players from that game for Monday night’s rematch are led by 6-foot-10 senior center Marc Zaharchuk.

Zaharchuk battled foul trouble but scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as a sophomore in the 2006 final, and he enters Monday night’s game as the MVP of the Western D tournament after being sidelined with a broken arm for much of the regular season.

Two other key players on this year’s team, 6-1 senior guard Brandon Lancaster and 6-3 senior forward Sam Carter, also saw duty in the 2006 final. They will join Zaharchuk in the starting lineup for the rematch, along with 6-3 senior forward Walter Miller and 5-10 sophomore guard Eric Murrin.

Richmond, 19-1 this winter and 55-6 over the last three seasons, is seeking its first state championship since 1986.

As was the case in 2006, Central Aroostook will seek to counter the Bobcats’ size advantage with speed, quickness and defensive intensity.

“We want to try and up-tempo the game,” said eighth-year Central Aroostook coach Tim Brewer.

Three current Panthers, senior guard Cameron York, junior guard Manny Martinez and senior forward Logan McCarthy, saw playing time in the 2006 victory over Richmond, but all now play much more prominent roles.

York, a 5-11 senior, is a 1,000-point career scorer who was the 2008 Eastern D tournament MVP, while Martinez, a 5-11 junior, also made the all-tournament team. McCarthy, a 6-1 senior forward, earned honorable mention, as did sixth man Kasey Brewer, a 5-10 sophomore guard.

But the Panthers also have developed considerable depth this winter, with their rotation including 6-1 senior forward Blake McCarthy, 5-10 freshman guard Logan McLaughlin, 5-10 sophomore guard Mitch Folsom and 6-0 freshman guard Caleb Kelly.

“We don’t match up with them sizewise,” said Brewer, “but I’m not sure they can match up with our quickness, so it probably will be a matter of who can control the tempo.”

eclark@bangordailynews.net

990-8045


Have feedback? Want to know more? Send us ideas for follow-up stories.

comments for this post are closed

You may also like