Amero, Wing families to clash when Tigers, Mustangs> Amero, Wing families to clash when Tigers, Mustangs meet

When the Forest Hills and Monmouth girls and boys basketball teams meet in Jackman Friday and Saturday, more than the win-loss record will be contested. At stake is pride and family bragging rights.

See if you can keep this straight: new Forest Hills athletic director and boys coach, Anthony Amero, is a 1989 graduate of Monmouth Academy. Amero’s brother, Rick, coaches the Monmouth girls. The Monmouth boys coach, Scott Wing, was the best man at Anthony Amero’s wedding last June. Anthony Amero’s wife, Ami, is an assistant coach.

Scott Wing’s father, Ronald, is Wing’s assistant coach and coached Anthony and Scott through elementary school.

And, the Forest Hills girls upset Monmouth en route to the Class D state championship last season.

All of this should make for a contentious weekend for the Amero and Wing families.

“Oh my goodness, they’ll be no end to it if one team wins both games,” Anthony Amero said.

Anthony Amero and Wing have been scouting each other for the past two weeks, attending games and trading information about the teams – but not enough statistics to let on too much about the squads.

The Forest Hills boys are 4-1 after winning just four games in the past two years. Monmouth’s record is 2-2.

Anthony Amero said Monmouth is on the Tigers’ list of must-beat teams.

” has been hearing about this since day one,” he said. “They know that if there’s a team to beat, it’s this one.”

Also at Forest Hills, former University of Maine pitcher Mike LeBlanc has been named the varsity baseball coach and is volunteering as an assistant to Amero on the basketball team.

Jody Kenniston, a senior guard for the Old Town Indians, scored her 1,000th career point in her team’s overtime victory over Hampden Academy Wednesday night.

Kenniston, one of the team’s tri-captains, needed six points to hit the scoring plateau entering the game and finished with 17.