For several years, the Richmond High School boys basketball team traveled the long road in the East-West Conference, with two-to three-hour bus trips to faraway schools like Rangeley, Searsport, Vinalhaven, Greenville and Forest Hills the norm.
With this change, Richmond traded long rides for better competition, with the deep MVC certainly to challenge the Bobcats this season.
“I believe we have the potential to be a good team, but the margin of error will have to be minimal,” said Richmond coach Phil Houdlette, who led the Bobcats to a 16-1 record last season before falling to Waynflete in the Class C South quarterfinals. “The MVC will be a challenge for us both physically and mentally. The reality of playing a Class C/B schedule will test our composure and our ability to persevere.”
Houdlette likes the veteran group, led by seniors Zach Small (guard/forward), Nate Kendrick (guard/forward), speedy Matt Rines (guard), Nick Ridenour (6- foot-3 center), Casey Gorman (6-foot-3 center) and Issac Cappen (forward).
“I really like this group of kids, and I’m proud of them for accepting the challenge. They have a tremendous work ethic and I would go to battle with them anywhere,” Houdlette said.
Junior Nick Adams (guard) also returns, with newcomers including juniors Danny Stewart (center/ forward) and Ben Young (forward), sophomores Kenny Bing (guard/forward) and Dakotah Gilpatrick (guard), and freshman Calob Densmore (center/forward).
“We have an athletic group of kids,” said Houdlette. “Our inexperience will be a major concern for us as well as our overall physical strength. We only had 17 kids come out, but they are committed to having two teams. Any injuries could be devastating for our program. As with any year, our expectations are to make the tournament.”
Here is a look at the rest of the area teams:
Brunswick
Dragons longtime head coach Todd Hanson watched a solid group of players graduate, but returns eight athletes to a team that finished 11-7 last season, claiming the No. 6 seed in Class A South. In a tight battle, Brunswick fell to Cape Elizabeth, 50-49 in overtime in the quarterfinals at the Portland Expo.
This year’s squad has 6- foot-6 Colby Bucknam in the post, with point guard Kyle Hanson leading the way, along with Jack Bates and Sam Sharpe.
“I’m very excited to get started with this group,” said coach Hanson, whose Dragons open at Morse tonight at 6:30 p.m. Our eight returning varsity players from last season put in a full spring, summer and fall of basketball, and this group is ready to make their mark. They won the Kennebec Valley YMCA Undergrad tourney last March, and competed with many AA teams in the SMCC Fall league. These guys have waited their turn, and I think they will be very competitive.”
Key newcomers include Noah Cox, post player Cam Dunton and swingman Aiden Glover.
As always, the Dragons feature a difficult schedule. Brunswick faces Falmouth, Lewiston and Biddeford, and later in the season, visits Greely and Cape Elizabeth.
“Another really challenging schedule awaits us,” said Todd Hanson. “In addition to the eight games in the KVAC South (Morse, Mt. Ararat, Leavitt, Lincoln Academy) two times each, we play AA teams Lewiston and EL once, KVAC North Medomak, Camden, Lawrence and Messalonskee once, and Class A South traditional powers Greely, Falmouth, Cape Elizabeth and Biddeford once. Every night in our league is going to be a battle.”
Mt. Ararat
The Eagles will be led by first-year coach Jeff Hogan, who arrives at Mt. Ararat after a stint as the boys freshman coach at Portland.
“I’ve wanted a varsity position since I left high school,” said the former South Portland standout. “I am very dedicated to teaching basketball, and I have always wanted to be a part of it. I have played and coached under those who will be in the Maine Hall of Fame.”
Hogan, who is married to Bobbi Jo and has three stepchildren and a 6-year-old son, will face a challenge in turning around the Eagles, who finished 4-14 last season and missed out on the playoffs. A six-game losing skid to end the season hurt Mt. Ararat in Steve Cox’s final year at the helm.
This year’s squad has a solid senior core, with Tanner Greenleaf (guard), Nick Merrill (guard) and Ryan Mello (guard/forward) expected to lead the way. Juniors Max Spelke (point guard), Jared Balser (6-foot-8 center) and Austin Damon (forward) also return.
“I am impressed with how quickly they are picking up my expectations,” said Hogan, whose Eagles play their first four games on the road, beginning tonight at Leavitt (6:30 p.m.). “Last season, they played a 2-3 zone and averaged just 44 points a game. This year, we are going to press the full court, run and gun. The kids are excited about it, and our practices have been smooth.”
Morse
It was a tough season for Brian Bennett’s Shipbuilders, who went 4-14 and missed out on the postseason thanks to a slow start (1- 5) and tough ending (lost seven of final eight contests).
With Brunswick visiting Bath Middle School tonight, Bennett feels his team is ready for action.
“We are very excited for tonight,” said Bennett, who talked about the rivalry with the Dragons. “I played in it, have coached in it, and it is a rivalry that continues to grow. We see them twice each year now, and that is exciting.”
A challenge early for Bennett is injuries, with the loss of two players.
“We lost two juniors that might have started for us. I felt a strength of ours was depth, but that has taken a big hit,” said the coach.
However, Bennett has a solid starting five, with seniors Parker Onorato (guard), Tyriek Foster (guard), Josh Doughty (forward) and Jack Harrington (guard), along with junior Tom Warren (forward) looking to get Morse off to a quick start.
“We will have to be free of turnovers and get fast-break points,” said Bennett. “Onorato is key for us, and we realize that four- to five-guys are going to have to score 10 points a night for us to have success. Everyone needs to pull their weight.”
Lisbon
Jake Gentle returns a solid core of players from a Greyhounds squad that went 9-9 last season and fell to Spruce Mountain in the Class B South quarterfinals in Portland.
A solid senior class is back, with Jonah Sautter (guard), Sean Scott (forward) and Brandon Keith-Williams (forward) looking to lead the way, along with returning juniors Henry Doyle (forward), Morgan Perron (guard) and Seth Tapley (forward).
Sophomore DJ Douglass (guard) will look to contribute more after a solid freshman campaign last season.
“The strengths of the team are in our returning players’ experience and leadership,” said Gentle, whose squad opens at Winthrop tonight at 7 p.m. “We have an excellent group of returning upperclassmen that give great effort and play as a team. We are always looking to improve on every aspect of the game. We are not tall, so a main focus throughout the season is in team rebounding. Our goals are to compete every night, improve throughout the season and qualify for the postseason.”
Newcomers are sophomores Issac Burnell (guard), Hunter Davis (guard) and Justin Violette (guard), along with freshman Neil LaRochelle (guard).
As always, the MVC slate will be a challenge, with Boothbay visiting Lisbon for its home opener on Monday.
“The rest of the MVC has several talented teams. Spruce Mountain, Hall Dale, Winthrop, Boothbay and Mountain Valley are returning several talented and experienced players from last season,” Gentle said. “It will be an exciting season in the MVC, with great games every night.”
Wiscasset
First-year coach Seth Farrington faces several challenges right out of the gate, including replacing 25-point a game scorer Ethan James, along with most of the roster from Dana Lawrence’s 9- 9 squad from 2016/17 that lost to Winthrop in the Class C South quarterfinals in Augusta.
The only returning player is center Zach Reed.
“With 11 of 12 new faces on the varsity team, our expectations on how we prepare and more importantly how we practice doesn’t change,” said Farrington, whose Wolverines open tonight at Carrabec (7 p.m.). “Tradition doesn’t graduate and it’s on us to continue the culture of winning basketball. We will play hard, smart and together this season and many more to come.”
Key newcomers include Ron Drake (shooting guard), Kobe Carrier (forward), Haiden Dunning (forward), Josh Gabriele (point guard) and Dylan Orr (shooting guard).
As far as taking over the Wiscasset program, “being the ‘new’ guy has been a fun new challenge,” said Farrington. “I’ve spent most of my time in the fall trying to build relationships with the community. I’ve spent a lot of time working and organizing how we teach basketball for our feeder system. The community has been really supportive and they have a real love of basketball. I’m excited for what the future holds.”
Wiscasset opens its home slate on Monday against Hall-Dale.
Pine Tree Academy
The Breakers are coming off a 7-11 regular season last year, followed by a Class D South quarterfinal loss to Greenville at the Augusta Civic Center.
Head coach Trevor Schlisner has 10 players out for this year’s squad, many he says are good athletes.
“We are a very young team, and I believe they will be better than last year’s squad,” said Schlisner, whose Breakers host Seacoast Christian on Saturday at 6 p.m. “Many of these guys don’t play summer ball, however they all work very hard. For many, we are starting over, and by the end we hope to be better entering the postseason.”
Schlisner has a solid starting five, led by his son Alex, a senior forward, and Billy Alcime, a player the coach says “can jump out of the gym.” Juniors Jared Tamalea’a and Evan Owen return, along with sophomore guard Chris Amisi look to give the Breakers some stability.
“Our goal is to be the best defensive team in Class D,” said coach Schlisner. “We are a small team, so we will have be scrappy to have success.”
Freeport
The Falcons made a bit of noise last season, picking five wins during a 5-13 regular season, just missing out on a playoff spot in Class B South after falling in four of their final five contests.
Head coach Bill Ridge has to replace four players from that roster, but returns a solid core of athletes.
“The past two seasons we have made modest improvements,” said Ridge, whose Falcons kick off the regular season tonight at home against Sacopee Valley (6:30 p.m.). “We hope to continue on the same trajectory this season. Freeport has not made the tournament in quite a while and this team is focused on ending that run. We have a few guys back that played quality minutes for us last year along with a few guys with little or no varsity experience expecting to make an impact.”
Returners are senior guard Ethan Sclar, senior forwards Nate Thomas and Colby Wagner, and juniors Toby Holt (forward) and Eriksen Shea (guard). Among the newcomers, look for junior forwards Kaleb Barrett, Shea Wagner and Charlie Ngoal, along with sophomore guard Gabe Wagner.
“Our practices are intense, we have 12 guys on our roster capable of pushing each other every day,” Ridge said. “That drive has been reflected in our preseason games. Players understand that if they don’t show up to practice ready to go, they are giving other players a real opportunity to go out and take minutes from them. With that depth we like to play fast, somewhat of a controlled chaos.”
The schedule is a bit different, with the Falcons taking on KVAC teams Morse and Mt. Ararat.
“We obviously are not as familiar with these teams, but welcome the more natural rivalries,” said Ridge. “The Mid-coast area has a lot of basketball talent, so it makes sense to me for us to stay in the area and compete against those towns.”
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