While pitchers and catchers seemingly could begin preseason practices right now given the snow-free baseball fields around most of Maine, it’s still early winter and time to look at the state’s North region schoolboy basketball season as the Christmas mini-break arrives.
The new five-class format has been introduced quietly, thanks in large part to the cooperation of Mother Nature, which has made athletic directors statewide the happiest people of all with few if any postponements outside Aroostook County.
Here’s hoping for them and their teams that January won’t represent a meteorological makeup call of sorts.
Surprise teams are relatively few, though the undefeated starts of Oceanside of Rockland and Washington Academy of East Machias have slipped somewhat under the radar.
Oceanside has been the most successful of the former Class B teams now in Class A, with a signature win over defending Eastern B champion Medomak Valley of Waldoboro helping it to a second-place ranking in Class A North between fellow unbeatens Brewer and Hampden Academy, the reigning Class A state champion.
Hampden has merely picked up where it left off after defeating Portland by 20 points in last winter’s large-school state championship game. The Broncos have used their defensive intensity as an early season catalyst, yielding just 40.2 points per game.
Brewer, meanwhile, has featured the combination of seniors Matt Pushard and Carter Smith, who have averaged 46.1 points per game through the Witches’ 6-0 start.
Brewer and Hampden meet for the first time this season on Jan. 2 at Hampden, where the Broncos have not lost since Martin Luther King Day 2010.
Brewer has another challenging game in the interim, at home against Class AA Bangor next Wednesday.
Bangor was 1-4 heading into Wednesday’s game against Windham but the Rams have been competitive in virtually every game with an improving defense complementing an offense led by seniors Justin Smith and Ethan Dorman.
Meanwhile, Washington Academy and Orono, two of the Class C teams that moved up to B North under the five-class format, are the only unbeatens left in a deep division.
While Orono was expected to make a smooth transition with a returning cast of junior standouts as well as the addition of 6-foot-7 transfer Imao Woldring, WA was more of a mystery after graduating four starters.
But coach Barry Terrill’s Raiders have regrouped with a blend of returning players and transfers to get off to a 5-0 start highlighted by a 23-point win over another contender, Mount Desert Island of Bar Harbor. Stefan Milivojevic has averaged some 20 points per game for WA.
Yet there’s no room for WA or Orono to relax, with Big East Conference rivals MDI, Old Town and Ellsworth as well as Winslow from the Kennebec Valley Athletic all looming with one loss apiece entering Wednesday’s schedule.
While the Class B standings are congested, a strong No. 1 has emerged in Class C North.
George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill not only is off to a 7-0 start with victories over No. 2 Bucksport and No. 4 Lee Academy, but coach Dwayne Carter’s Eagles have outscored opponents by an average of 24.1 points per game while yielding just 44.6 points per outing
GSA’s toughest test to date may come at home Jan. 4 against Ellsworth.
Schenck of East Millinocket, Hodgdon and Penobscot Valley of Howland all have thrived in their moves from Class D to Class C, while Fort Kent and Dexter have won four of their first six games.
Then there’s Fort Fairfield, the defending Eastern D champion now in Class C. The Tigers got off to a frustrating start that included three consecutive three-point losses to Hodgdon, Fort Kent and Easton but rebounded in their most recent outing, a 57-45 win Monday over Class D contender Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook.
That game is one example of the compelling competition among the top small-school teams in The County.
Take the last week. Washburn’s Jarrett Olson hits a buzzer-beater from midcourt to defeat Southern Aroostook in an early battle of unbeatens. Then Easton, under first-year head coach Manny Martinez, whips Washburn by 26 points while Southern Aroostook falls to Fort Fairfield.
The competition among Washburn, Southern Aroostook and Easton alone sets up an entertaining race in Class D North, and the division’s Down East contingent led by Machias also figures to have a significant voice in who emerges as the region’s small-school champion come tournament time in February.
Maybe we’ll all have snow by then.
