Scott paints picture for football fans

It is known as the postgame interview. I can’t remember when I was so moved by such a television segment as last Saturday following Waterville’s victory over Oxford Hills of South Paris for the Eastern Maine Class A football title.

After the game, the sportscaster looks for people to interview. It may be the coach, a star player or two, perhaps the captains. It should be those who can hold the attention of viewers about to switch channels or turn off the sets.

Saturday, WABI-TV sportscaster Tim Throckmorton found that person in Waterville quarterback Brian Scott. In one beautiful sound bite, I discovered more depth and artistry than I ever imagined.

When the game ends, my attention wanders. There is work to do. I turn up the volume so I can hear the interviews, and start puttering. I’m listening, not watching.

However, the pattern of my postgame activity was changed Saturday. Tim chose his subjects well. He kept my attention to the end.

I listened to Tim talk with two gracious young men who were happy and proud of what their team accomplished this day. It must be the thrill of a lifetime to be a senior, win your second straight regional title, and have the opportunity – for the first time in 20 years – to place a gold football in the trophy case.

After the second interview, I figured Tim was about done, so I grabbed the remote, ready to turn off the set.

But Tim wasn’t finished with this game story, and neither was I. There, on the screen, was one big, impressive-looking football player. Hot, sweaty, a little battered and bruised, naturally jubilant.

Tim asked this young man what the game plan was, coming into the championship. What had the coach done to prepare this team for this day?

After listening to his answer, I became a Brian Scott fan forever.

“Coach is like an artist painting a picture,” he said. “He used a little bit of red, a little of Chad (Bissonette), a dab of Lucas (Adams), and a smidgen of Kevin (Browne).”

I couldn’t believe it. What a beautiful analogy. Comparing his coach to an artist. Wherever did that come from? Is Brian an artist? Where did he find the phraseology, comparing creating a painting to creating a victory?

I found out Wednesday. It came from Brian, that’s all.

“I just thought a good artist would use a lot of colors,” he told me during a phone interview from school. “I was going to say a little red, a little bit of blue and then, it just came that way.”

But how did he know how to string that thought together so correctly? “I just assumed,” he replied.

“I think I heard something once about a baseball game being like a painting, and I said to myself, gee, coached used a little bit of everything like that, too. I just remember I was pretty nervous and I was talking pretty fast.”

Nervous? Fast? No, Brian. You were thoughtful, meticulous, and creative.

I asked a few gentlemen to tell me about Brian. To a man, they came up with the same description: “He’s a coach on the field.”

Ted Moccia of Oxford Hills said, “What that means is when there is a problem, or whenever a player comes in, Brian knows all the assignments and he gets them going, and makes them believe they are going to do the right thing at the right time. He’s a great leader.”

Off the field, said his coach Frank Knight, he’s quiet. A shy student of the game who doesn’t want to make mistakes, which accounts for his throwing only two interceptions in 93 passes, and two school records in a row for 11-win seasons.

He is humble, Knight said. A softspoken young man who “becomes the general on the field.”

“He understands the nature of the game of football like a coach on the field.” That from Waterville atheltic director Chris Downing.

From Bangor’s Gabby Price: “The highest compliment I could give a player is that I have never seen a kid lead like he has. He’s a coach on the field. I can’t tell you how much respect my high school has for Brian Scott. He’s tremendous.”

And there’s something else: Brian cares about everyone. He is particularly attentive to students with special needs. He encourages them to come to the games, always acknowledging each and every one.

Brian Scott has one high school game left. He doesn’t like to think about it. “I love these guys,” he said. “I don’t want it to be over.”