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With one week left in the regular season, playoff spots have started to firm up in the Pine Tree Conference and the LTC’s Class B and C divisions.
The first–place teams in each league are set. Lawrence of Fairfield in the PTC, Orono in LTC Class B, and Stearns of Millinocket in LTC Class C have clinched home-field advantage throughout their league (Eastern Maine) playoffs.
All three teams are unbeaten in divisional play.
Once you get past Lawrence, the PTC’s playoff possibilities are far from settled.
Lawrence – the PTC’s only unbeaten team at 8-0 – is the only certainty in the conference right now, although its Friday night home game with Waterville has playoff implications.
In fact Lawrence-Waterville is one of three PTC Friday games with playoff implications. The other key games are Mt. Blue of Farmington at Oxford Hills in South Paris and Skowhegan at Bangor.
Three games involving six teams will affect the fortunes of five teams competing for four playoff spots.
Bangor fans will be interested in knowing that Bangor makes the playoffs in seven of the eight possible playoff scenarios.
The only way the Rams will miss the playoffs is if they lose and both Mt. Blue and Waterville win. In that scenario, Bangor and Oxford Hills would finish with 4-3 divisional records, but the Vikings would gain the spot by virtue of their 27-14 win over the Rams two weeks ago.
The winner of the Oxford Hills-Mt. Blue game will be in the playoffs. Waterville will also make it if it wins. Ditto for Bangor.
PTC playoff criteria are as follows: first is league standings, second head-to-head results, third is overall record, fourth is Crabtree System points, and fifth is a coin flip.
Conversely, things are much more clear in LTC Class B.
Orono at 8-0 (6-0 in the division), Belfast at 7-1 (5-1), and Winslow at 6-2 (4-2) are the top three teams, respectively. This week’s results will not change their playoff order.
The question mark is on the fourth and final playoff spot, which has come down to two teams: Brewer and Old Town.
Brewer is 5-3 overall and 3-3 in the division. Old Town is 4-4, but also has a 3-3 divisional mark.
A Brewer win at home against Hampden Academy Friday or an Old Town loss clinches the spot for the Witches. But if Brewer loses and Old Town knocks off Orono at Orono Friday night, the Indians will grab it.
The LTC Class C race shakes out much the same way as its Class B counterpart.
Stearns is 7-1 overall and 6-0 against divisional foes. Right behind the Minutemen are the Foxcroft Academy Ponies at 5-3 (5-1 in Class C). Bucksport occupies the third spot at 4-4 overall and 4-2 in the division.
The battle for the final playoff spot couldn’t have been scripted much better as John Bapst hosts Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield for the right to travel to Millinocket.
Both teams are 3-5 overall and 3-3 in the division.
Saturday night’s game in Bangor is almost a repeat of last year’s, when the Crusaders had to beat MCI in the final week to take the fourth spot without help from any other teams. The only difference was MCI had already been eliminated from the playoff race in 1995.
LTC playoff criteria (B and C) is as follows: first is divisional record, second is head-to-head, third is standings based on Mealey Point System within division, fourth is Heal Point standings within division, fifth is overall Mealey points, sixth is overall Heal points, and seventh is a coin toss.
Woodland, Orono, Edward Little of Auburn and Noble of Berwick are the pilot sites for a new program to strengthen the relationship between athletics and academics.
“Sports, Schools and Learning Results” is designed to encourage coaches to use their skills and develop new ones to link athletic and academic goals.
Funded by a $60,000 UNUM Foundation grant, the project is sponsored by the Maine Center for Coaching Education and the University of Maine College of Education.
Schools were chosen in response to their proposals, based on criteria including project commitment, and cover diverse geographical locations and school sizes.
There are an increasing number of coaches outside school systems, which makes their connnection to the school’s academic mission more remote, said Keith Lancaster, the MCCE’s coordinator and former educator, coach and athletic director.
“Coaches and the public need to understand that coaching is teaching and that sports can, and should, support their school’s overall academic, social and personal growth goals for students,” he said.
Dates for the mandatory basketball coaches’ clinics are as follows: Oct. 30, Northern Maine Technical College, Presque Isle, 5 p.m.; Nov. 3, South Portland Middle School, 9 a.m.; Nov. 6, Machias High School, 5 p.m.; Nov. 13, Lawrence High School, Fairfield, 6:30 p.m.; Nov. 14, Brewer High School, 6:30 p.m.
Playoff races
With one week left in the regular season, the playoff picture is nearly set for high school football in the Pine Tree and LTC Classes B and C. The top four teams in each class make the playoffs. Those who have clinched spots, and those still in contention are listed below.
PINE TREE CONFERENCE
Ovrl. League
Team W L W L Pct.
Lawrence* 8 0 6 0 1.00
Oxford Hills 5 3 4 2 .667
Bangor 6 2 4 2 .667
Mt. Blue 6 2 4 2 .667
Waterville 5 3 4 2 .667
LTC CLASS B
Ovrl. League
Team W L W L Pct.
Orono* 8 0 6 0 1.00
Belfast* 7 1 5 1 .833
Winslow* 6 2 4 2 .667
Brewer 5 3 3 3 .500
Old Town 4 4 3 3 .500
LTC CLASS C
Ovrl. League
Team W L W L Pct.
Stearns* 7 1 6 0 1.00
Foxcroft* 5 3 5 1 .833
Bucksport* 4 4 4 2 .667
John Bapst 3 5 3 3 .500
MCI 3 5 3 3 .500
* -Clinched playoff spots.
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