Telstar High of Bethel elected not to participate in Saturday’s Western Class D football playoff game against top-ranked Lisbon.

“It was a decision based on numbers and safety,” said Coach Tim O’Connor. Telstar’s players, coaches and school administrators made the decision, he said.

Telstar’s only victory was a forfeit over Traip Academy. Traip beat the Rebels 40-6 on Oct. 11, but had to forfeit that win and two others when the school discovered that it had used an ineligible player.

The Maine Principals Association’s postseason tournaments are regarded as invitational, which means teams have the option of participating or not.

“It’s well within their rights to do so,” said Dick Durost, executive director of the MPA, of Telstar’s decision.

“It’s not a forfeit. Postseason is a different category. When we had the open tournaments a few years ago, there were two or three teams with 1-17 or 0-18 records which didn’t want to travel halfway across the state to play a 17-1 or 18-0 team,” he said.

However, Durost said a team declining to play in the tournament doesn’t happen often.

Lisbon (6-1) will now await the winner of Friday night’s quarterfinal between Winthrop and Old Orchard Beach. The Greyhounds will host the winner on Nov. 8.

New coaches AT FREEPORT

Freeport High hired two new varsity coaches Tuesday, according to Athletic Director Craig Sickels.

Sickels announced that Mike Hart, who previously coached at Fryeburg Academy and Morse, will be the Falcons new girls’ basketball coach.

Sickels also announced that Marcia Wood, the Falcons’ field hockey coach, will be Freeport’s girls’ lacrosse coach. Wood recently resigned after 10 years at Scarborough, where she led the Red Storm to four Class A state championships and 112 wins.

Hart had a record of 87-47 in seven years of coaching, three at Fryeburg, four at Morse. His teams qualified for the playoffs in five of those winters. He last coached in the 2011-12 school year before going into private business.

“For the timing, I was surprised at the quality of candidates and number of candidates we got for the position,” said Sickels. “We are fortunate that Mike is in a place in his career and family life where he felt it was a good time to jump back into coaching.”

Wood, who teaches math at the school, has been Freeport’s field hockey coach for two years, leading the Falcons to two playoff appearances. As girls’ lacrosse coach at Scarborough, she was regarded as one of the state’s best coaches, with a record of 112-34 and six appearances in the regional championship game.

– Tom Chard and Mike Lowe contributed to this report.

Copy the Story Link