It is mid-term week for Maine high schools, which means there is a bit of a lull in the high school sports schedule, giving student/athletes a chance to catch up on their studies before the insane pace of the last few weeks of the regular season.
Just like mid-terms, this gives sports fans, athletes and coaches a chance to reflect, think about the successes and setbacks, seeing if everyone has learned something through this point of the season.
Starting Friday, the pace certainly picks up, with playoff spots up for grabs and teams jockeying for position.
For now, let’s take a look at where your team resides in the standings and what lies ahead:
One of the great turnarounds this season has certainly been Sam Farrell’s Brunswick Dragons.
Just when Dragon fans thought things were lost for this season, back came Brunswick. Led by the likes of Madeline Suhr, Sabrina Armstrong, Emily Black, Adrianna White and Charlotte MacMillan, along with a solid bench, the Dragons have reeled off eight straight wins and currently sit fourth in Class A South.
“We just started executing better,” said Farrell, whose Dragons face a pair of tests, visiting Biddeford on Friday (6 p.m.) and Edward Little (11-2) on Saturday (7 p.m.). The Red Eddies handed Brunswick its last loss, 47-42 on Dec. 15 in Brunswick.
The remaining schedule isn’t easy, with Brunswick hosting Cony (Tuesday) and Leavitt (Jan. 28) before ending the season at Mt. Ararat (Jan. 30) and Lewiston (Feb. 2).
If the playoffs began today, the Portland Expo would likely be loud as Morse and Brunswick would face-off in the Class A South quarterfinals.
The Shipbuilders are currently in the No. 5 position with a 7-6 record. Lately, Becky Roak’s team has been up and down, falling to Brunswick (44-30) and Oceanside (39-28) and defeating Leavitt (42-38).
Morse visits Lewiston Friday night (7 p.m.). After that, the Shipbuilders are home to Erskine Academy (Tuesday) and Waterville (Feb. 2). Road trips take Morse to Medomak Valley (Jan. 28) and Winslow (Feb. 4).
Finishing out Class A South, it has been a struggle for Mt. Ararat, which hosts Camden Hills (3-10) on Friday looking for its second win.
On that note, Eagle fans need to come out Friday and give out one last “thank you” to departing athletic director Todd Sampson. Since taking the job after his stint at Westbrook, Sampson has truly been a go-to guy when it comes to everything Eagles. He will be sorely missed as he heads to Edward Little High School as the school’s new vice principal.
Over in Class B South, Mike Hart has turned the Freeport Falcons around. Yes, the team has struggled a bit lately, dropping four of its last five contests, but Freeport is currently in the eighth spot with a 7-6 mark. The top nine teams advance to the postseason.
Freeport will need to find its footing, with a road tilt at Kennebunk on Friday (7 p.m.). The Falcons are home for three of their final four games, including a big one with Poland on Tuesday. The Knights are six points behind Freeport, and if the playoffs began today, the Falcons would be home against Poland for a preliminary.
Julie Petrie’s Lisbon Greyhounds have gone cold — ice cold. Offense has been an issue all season, with the Greyhounds putting up 50 points just once all year (a 50- 32 victory over Telstar). Yes, the defense is solid, but as Petrie said, “defense only takes you so far. You have to put the ball in the basket.”
Lisbon is currently 6-7 and sitting 11th in Class B South, just eight points behind Poland for the final spot. Lisbon visits Hall-Dale on Friday (5:30 p.m.), and also has big home contests coming up, with Carrabec (Tuesday), Oak Hill (Feb. 2) and St. Dom’s (Feb. 4).
Class C South is up for grabs. An amazing 14 teams make the playoff field.
Richmond, sitting at 9-2, is fourth, with Hyde (4-7) currently 11th and Wiscasset (3-10) 17th, just four points out of spot No. 14.
Wiscasset has some winnable games coming up, visiting Winthrop (Friday, 5:30 p.m.) and hosting St. Dom’s (Jan. 28). The Wolverines will need a win, however, against a top team. With home matchups against Madison (Feb. 2) and Monmouth (Feb. 3) to close the regular season, a win in either of those games might just do the trick.
Richmond has seven games to play by Feb. 3, so life will be busy for the Bobcats, while the Phoenix are back in action at home Friday and Saturday.
Lastly in girls basketball, Pine Tree Academy of Freeport is fifth in Class D South with a 7-4 mark. The top eight head to the quarterfinals at the Augusta Civic Center.
Boys basketball
The talk of the town to start the season was Wiscasset, which reeled off eight straight wins to begin the season, including victories over Boothbay and Lisbon.
Then the Wolverines hit a slump, falling on the road to Monmouth, Dirigo and Carrabec before rebounding with wins over Lisbon and St. Dom’s for a 10-3 mark. Wiscasset is currently fifth in Class C South.
The Wolverines will need to figure out their road woes, with visits to Winthrop (Friday, 7 p.m.) and Boothbay (Monday, 5:30 p.m.). After that it is three home contests with St. Dom’s (Jan. 28), Madison (Feb. 1) and Monmouth (Feb. 3).
Also in Class C South, Richmond is 6-3 and ninth in the standings. The top 12 make the postseason.
The Bobcats have a busy few weeks ahead, starting tonight at Sacopee Valley (7 p.m.). The toughest part of the schedule comes at the end, with home contests with Machias (Jan. 27) and Old Orchard Beach (Jan. 29) before heading to Vinalhaven (Feb. 1-2) and Valley (Feb. 3).
Todd Hanson’s Brunswick Dragons have been steady from the start. Heading into Friday’s home contest with Biddeford (7 p.m.), the Dragons are 8-4 and fourth in Class A South.
The schedule is challenging, with Edward Little in town on Saturday (2 p.m.), followed by road games at Cony (Tuesday), Leavitt (Jan. 28) and Mt. Ararat (Jan. 30). Brunswick finishes the season at home against Lewiston Feb. 2. The Blue Devils handed the Dragons a 62-57 setback on Dec. 30.
Fans are excited in Topsham. The Eagles head to Camden Hills on Friday (6:30 p.m.) with a 9-3 record and the No. 5 spot in Class A South.
Steve Cox’s team will likely be challenged next week, hosting Oceanside (Tuesday), visiting Lewiston (Jan. 28) and entertaining the Dragons. Plus, Mt. Ararat visits Medomak Valley (Feb. 2) and hosts Lewiston (Feb. 4).
It has been a struggle for Morse in Brian Bennett’s first season at the helm. The Shipbuilders host Lewiston on Friday (7 p.m.) with a 3-10 record, having dropped eight of their last nine games. Still, Morse is just one spot out of a playoff spot, and closes the season with road tilts at Erskine Academy (Tuesday) and Waterville (Feb. 2), along with home matchups against Medomak Valley (Jan. 28) and Winslow (Feb. 4).
In Class B South, the top nine advance, and Jake Gentle’s Lisbon Greyhounds are sitting seventh with a 6-7 mark. Lisbon needs to figure things out quickly, starting Friday at Hall-Dale (7 p.m.).
The Greyhounds have home contests with Carrabec (Monday), Oak Hill (Feb. 1) and St. Dom’s (Feb. 3), along with a road tilt at Mt. Abram (Jan. 28).
Freeport, after winning two games early in the season, has fallen on hard times. The Falcons host Kennebunk on Friday (7 p.m.) riding a seven-game losing skid.
However, there is some good news. Despite sitting in 12th in Class B South, the Falcons are only one point out of the postseason spot as the top nine get in. The Falcons face a key three-game road swing, visiting Poland (Tuesday), Wells (Jan. 28) and Gray-New Gloucester (Feb. 2), before hosting Lake Region (Feb. 4) to finish out the regular season.
Look out for Pine Tree Academy. The Breakers are second in Class D South with an 8-3 mark and appear a safe bet to compete in Augusta come tournament time.
Hockey
There is no hotter team in Class B South right now than Bill Bodwell’s Brunswick Dragons.
After wins over top-tier teams Yarmouth and York, Brunswick has climbed to 7- 5-1 and into the No. 1 spot in the region.
The key for the Dragons has been an increase in goal scoring. In its five losses, Brunswick has scored one goal three times and was shut out twice. In each of their wins, the Dragons have tallied at least four goals.
Brunswick is in the midst of a long break in the schedule. After defeating York on Monday (6-5), the Dragons return to action on Jan. 30, a 12-day lay-off, against Kennebunk at Sidney J. Watson Arena (7:30 p.m.).
The Dragons have key road tilts at Gardiner (Feb. 2) and Yarmouth (Feb. 6) before hosting Gorham (Feb. 12) and visiting Greely (Feb. 17).
AJ Kavanaugh’s Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse squad has played well as of late.
The Eagles are coming off a 9-4 rout of Lawrence/ Skowhegan on Monday, and host Lake Region/Fryeburg Academy/Oxford Hills today at 5:30 p.m. at Watson Arena.
Kavanaugh, in his first season, has led the Eagles to a 5-4 mark and two straight wins. Over the next 28 days, the squad plays nine games (seven on the road), plenty of chances to improve on its current seventh-place standing. The top six teams head to the playoffs in Class A North.
Also, the co-op team of South Portland/Freeport/ Waynflete has a mark of 3-7-1, good for ninth in Class A South. The top eight advance to the postseason.
In girls hockey, Dave Boucher’s Dragons are fifth in the North with a 7-8-1 mark. Brunswick has a tough test at 12-1 St. Dom’s on Saturday (4:10 p.m.) before visiting Winslow/Erskine Academy on Wednesday to finish out the regular season.
The postseason in girls hockey begins a bit earlier than the boys. The quarterfinals begin Feb. 3. The top six get in.
Yarmouth/Freeport/Gray- New Gloucester is in that sixth spot, sporting a 5-8 record, with five games remaining on the Clippers’ schedule.
It has been a tough year for the Mt. Ararat/Morse girls, which hosts Lewiston tonight at 7:45 p.m. The Eagles have lost 14 straight games since opening with a 4-2 win over Gorham/Bonny Eagle/Massabesic back in November.
Mt. Ararat/Morse ends the season with a game against undefeated Greely (Friday at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston) and Winslow/Erskine Academy (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. at Watson Arena).
Unified Basketball
Season two of Unified Basketball begins on Friday as Brunswick visits Lewiston (3:30 p.m.) and Lisbon is at home against Yarmouth (3:30 p.m.).
This new venture of the Maine Principals’ Association, quite frankly, is awesome! Combining athletes with special needs with their student-helpers has given great joy to all involved. From the coaches, the fans and yes, even hardcharging sports reporters, Unified Basketball has brought a smile to just about everyone’s face.
Good job MPA, and good luck to the teams. Hopefully, we will have another great season. Last year, which finished with a buzzer-beating win for Hampden Academy over Lisbon, couldn’t have gone any better.
Last thoughts
On Sunday, the New England Patriots face the Denver Broncos in the AFC title game, and the Arizona Cardinals head to Carolina to take on Cam Newton’s Panthers in the NFC matchup.
Two things here. First off, what is up with all of the commercials? It is taking nearly four hours to watch a game. Extra point kick — a commercial. The kick-off — another commercial.
We all know that the NFL has to sell their ads, and commercials pay the bills. But, how about giving us a product that has some flow to it?
The final thing … this sports reporter will be cheering for the Patriots. No, I haven’t suddenly turned in my “Terrible Towel” for Patriots red, white and blue. But, I want to see NFL commissioner Roger Goodell forced to present the Lombardi Trophy to Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft and the game’s MVP award to quarterback Tom Brady. After the “Deflategate” mess, wouldn’t that be justice? I think so!
As I said back in September, the Super Bowl will pit the Patriots against the Panthers. I am sticking with it. Why not? It isn’t often that the right predictions come from here. Just check out my NFL picks. Dreadful!
BOB CONN is The Times Record sports editor. He can be reached at bconn@timesrecord.com.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less