Most nights you’ll find Big East Conference Class A basketball games to be pretty competitive affairs. But Wednesday night’s matchup between the Hampden and Old Town girls has turned into a friendly rivalry for two of the coaches involved.

The 7 p.m. game at Old Town is the first time Hampden girls basketball coach Ben Greenlaw will face former Hampden freshman coach – and close friend – Justin Page, who is in his first season coaching the Old Town girls varsity.

The two are still friends, but coaching on opposing teams has naturally changed the dynamic. They’ve been looking forward to the matchup all season.

“Other coaches at Hampden give me a hard time about it, but it’s going to fun,” Greenlaw said with a smile. “The kids will play the game and I think Justin and I will have a good time.”

“We’re friends, so we just have to put everything aside and go at it,” Page said, grinning.

It will also be a wistful evening for the friends, and also for Bill Reynolds, who coached the Hampden junior varsity girls last year and is now the Hermon Middle School athletic director and assistant/junior varsity boys coach at Hermon High. Reynolds won’t be at the game – he has a game of his own to coach that night – but the three friends admitted they were sad to see the group split up after working together so closely last year.

Greenlaw, a former Mattanawcook of Lincoln standout, Schenck of East Millinocket graduate Page, and Reynolds, who attended Wiscasset High and played basketball at the University of Maine, still talk frequently and see each other socially when they can.

“It was sad to see it break up because we did have a good time for the last couple of years on the bench,” Greenlaw said.

Cheerleading meets on tap

After weeks of cheering for everyone else, several cheerleading squads in Eastern Maine finally will get a chance to cheer for each other and compete for themselves as the competitive season kicks off this weekend.

The Penobscot Valley Conference Classes C and D cheerleading squads will compete Saturday morning at Stearns High in Millinocket, while the Big East Conference championship meet will be held later that day at the Bangor Auditorium.

Saturday starts with the PVC small schools at 11 a.m., when powerhouse Houlton will try to defend its title from last year. Other teams involved are Penquis of Milo, Bangor Christian, Mattanawcook of Lincoln, Central of Corinth, Schenck of East Millinocket, host Stearns, Orono, Sumner of East Sullivan, Dexter and Katahdin of Sherman Station.

Admission for the PVC small schools will be $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors.

The Big East meet will actually start with a junior varsity competition at 4 p.m. The varsity teams will take the floor immediately after, at about 6 or 6:30.

Teams competing are defending champ Bangor, Brewer, Hampden, John Bapst of Bangor, Nokomis of Newport, Old Town, Bucksport, Caribou, Ellsworth, Foxcroft, Hermon, Mount Desert Island and Presque Isle.

Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for students and includes both the JV and varsity competitions.

The PVC competition for schools in Classes A and B will be Jan. 15 at MDI High.

Fogarty heading to Maine

The most prolific scorer in Maine high school field hockey history is heading to the University of Maine to play for coach Terry Kix’s Black Bears next fall.

Dexter’s Meagan Fogarty, who set the state record for career goals this season, said the proximity to home was the big reason she wanted to attend UMaine.

Fogarty already has been accepted and has had a chance to meet the Black Bears in Orono. She already knew some of the team members.

“I know a couple of them and I’ve played against some of them in high school,” Fogarty said. “There are a lot of Maine girls.”

One of her teammates next year will likely be Erica Dorso, a former St. Dominic of Lewiston standout. Fogarty helped Dexter beat Dorso’s Saints in the 2003 Class C state title game.

In October Fogarty broke a record of 102 career goals set by former Dexter standout Kristy Veazie, who played for the Tigers from 1998 to 2001.

Last year Fogarty set the state mark for goals in a season, a record also previously held by Veazie.

Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193, 1-800-310-8600 or jbloch@bangordailynews.net.