PTC coaches, ADs meeting to discuss scheduling issue

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Coaches and athletic directors of Pine Tree Conference football teams will meet in Augusta today to discuss a potential scheduling problem in the 2003 season.

Mount Ararat High School of Topsham is making the move from Class B to Class A and will join the PTC next season.

“That means we’ll have 13 teams in the PTC next year which will create a void in the schedule,” Stephen Ouellette, Pine Tree Conference chairman said Tuesday.

Should the PTC play a conference-only schedule, with 13 teams, one team would be forced to have a bye each week.

Ouellette said that the problem was discussed last week at the league’s all-conference meeting but that nothing was finalized.

“Nobody wants a bye. It would be nice if a team such as Windham would want to join the Pine Tree Conference for football,” Ouellette said.

However, Windham, along with Kennebunk and Class B state champion Scarborough are all moving to Class A and have applied for membership in the Southwest Maine Activities Association.

The addition of three teams will give the SMAA 15 teams which puts that league in a similar situation.

“The obvious [answer] is the cross-over situation. I’ve had discussions with Dick Agresti, the [athletic director] at Thornton Academy and we discussed that possibility and that’s one of our options,” Ouellette said.

LTC Class B teams have played cross-over games with Western Maine teams for the past several years.

Ouellette also said that a look will be given to restructuring high school football in the state. He said Mt. Blue of Farmington football coach Gary Parlin has been working on a plan that would divide the state’s 64 schools that play football into four equal divisions.

“The last time the [Maine Principals’ Association] had a thought about restructuring football in the state was a long time ago. We’re looking at bringing [Parlin’s plan] to the MPA,” Ouellette said.

Parenteau surpasses 5,000 yards

Not that Belfast’s Jeff Parenteau was counting or anything. The senior running back was more interested in trying to win a state championship. But even in a heartbreaking 14-12 loss to Scarborough in the state Class B championship game, something exceptional can happen. And it did when Parenteau surpassed the 5,000-yard rushing mark for his career at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.

Under normal circumstances, the game would have been stopped and Parenteau would have been given the game ball or another momento to mark the moment.

However, Parenteau’s 99th yard of the game, which put him over 5,000 for the season, came late in the game as the Lions drove toward the Red Storm goal. The drive would end when Parenteau was stopped one yard short of the goal line on a fourth-down play with just under 1:30 left in the game.

Parenteau was honored by his teammates, coaches, family and friends the following day when he was presented with a ball at the high school.

“Actually it was a little depressing at first because … I thought it should have been gold [a state championship ball],” Parenteau said.

The humble Parenteau is a National Honor Society student and carries a 91 average.

“It’s not my own personal accomplishment,” he said of surpassing 5,000 yards. “It’s the whole team. All the other players that were in my line. The quarterbacks. I felt it was as much their ball as mine.”

At 5-foot-5 and 155 pounds, Parenteau knows that his football playing days beyond high school are limited. He said he is interested in Florida State, “but not for football,” he quickly added with a laugh. Rhode Island is another possibility. The two schools offer marine archeology programs.

Parenteau’s talents aren’t limited to the gridiron. He placed third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.37 seconds at last spring’s outdoor state championships. He also ran a leg of Belfast’s 4 by 100 state-championship relay.

Gregg coaching PI hockey team

Matt Gregg is the new hockey coach at Presque Isle High School.

Gregg was an assistant last year under Nate Straez, who left due to his job and lack of time to commit to the program.

The 26-year-old Gregg said that he has been coaching hockey since he was a sophomore in high school, when he worked with youth teams in the city’s recreation league.

Gregg has watched the Presque Isle program develop over the past decade.

“The program at Presque Isle is getting better and better every year. It’s good to see it grow and good to be a part of it,” Gregg said.

The coach said that while some teams struggle to have numbers, Presque Isle has reached its roster limit with 21 players, including three goalies.

“We had seven openings this year and we took four freshmen and three others who had tried out before,” Gregg said.

Gregg and his Wildcats recently hosted a Thanksgiving tournament that included Orono, Hampden Academy, Foxcroft Academy and Houlton-Hodgdon. Presque Isle lost to Hampden Academy 3-2 in the final.

Former Presque Isle player Jamie Brewer will assist Gregg. Brewer has been playing hockey in Canada in what Gregg described as a “competitive, checking league.”

Don Perryman can be reached at 990-8045, 1-800-310-8600 or dperryman@bangordailynews.net