When Piscataquis of Guilford boys basketball coach Jamie Russell met with the parents of his players before the start of the season, he suggested the Pirates might get off to a slow start, say 1-4 by Christmas.

“They were like, ‘Right, you say that every year,'” he said.

But with only two seniors and nine sophomores comprising the bulk of the roster and an imposing early schedule that began with losses to Dexter and Foxcroft Academy – currently a combined 17-1 – PCHS indeed took a 1-4 record into Christmas.

The team’s low point may have come just before the holiday, when it allowed Penobscot Valley of Howland to score the last nine points of the game to rally for a 41-39 victory.

But the Pirates have regrouped, winning their last six games to improve to 7-4 and reach the No. 2 spot in the latest Eastern Maine Class C Heal point ratings.

Perhaps the biggest sign of improved fortunes came Tuesday night in Bingham, where the Pirates off perennial Class D power Valley High 54-45 to send the Cavaliers to their first home loss since the 1996-97 season.

During the last 71/2 seasons, Valley is 154-3 overall with six state championships. One loss came to Calvary Chapel of Orrington in the 2004 state final.

The other two defeats both came to PCHS. The Pirates ended Valley’s state-record 101-game winning streak with an 80-75 overtime victory at Guilford on Feb. 5, 2002.

“We knew what the deal was going into the gym,” said Russell of Tuesday’s 54-45 victory, “but the kids really kept their composure and we were able to keep them from making a big run late in the game.”

The Pirates were led by 5-foot-10 senior guard Ryan Yeo, who shook off foul trouble to score a game-high 24 points.

Yeo has teamed with sophomore Mike Wharff to give PCHS quality backcourt play, which combined with solid defense has sparked the Pirates’ rise.

“Defensively we’re really playing very well,” Russell said. “We’ve been able to stop teams even when we haven’t been scoring ourselves.

PCHS also has improved its rebounding, an effort led by 6-4 sophomore Roy Burdin.

“When we were 1-4 we were a very poor rebounding team at both ends, and the way we shoot that wasn’t a good thing,” Russell said. “But we addressed it.”

The Pirates recent run began with a double-overtime win at Penquis of Milo and also included a victory against Mattanawcook of Lincoln that preceded the Valley victory.

A rugged schedule remains, including rematches against Dexter, Foxcroft, Mattanawcook, Penquis, and Central of Corinth, but the wins already achieved have the Pirates in good stead for a postseason berth.

“We’re ahead of schedule,” said Russell. “Our goal at the beginning of the year was just to make the playoffs, get a road game, and try to knock someone off.”

Wolverines destined for ‘D’

Class C was very good to Schenck High athletics.

During its Class C heyday of the late 1980s and early 1990s, the East Millinocket school was a constant presence near the top of the Heal point ratings, and championships followed.

In boys soccer, Schenck won Eastern C titles in 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1993. In girls soccer, the Wolverines were state Class C champions in 1988, 1989, 1991, and 1993.

Similar success came in basketball, where Schenck won the Class C gold ball in girls basketball in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, and 1995, while the boys won the 1994 Class C state championship.

But as the state’s population has migrated south, so, too, has the enrollment at many northern schools such as Schenck, which is down to a most recent count of 216.

“It’s not something that’s happening just in this area,” said Schenck athletic director Bob Marquis. “It’s a statewide trend.”

It’s a reality that led the local school board this week by a 4-0 vote to drop Schenck’s athletic program to Class D beginning with the 2005-06 academic year, Marquis said.

Schenck fields teams in boys and girls soccer, cross country, boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, and boys and girls tennis.

The Wolverines’ cross country team already competes in Class D, because the Maine Principals’ Association current enrollment cutoff in that sport is 299, compared to 229 in the other sports.

“It’s a four-year commitment to play up,” Marquis said, “and while we will stay around 216 for the next couple of years, in three years we project another drop, so it made sense to go to Class D.”

Schenck will remain a Class C team in tennis, because the MPA sponsors only three classes in that sport.

Marquis expects the Wolverines to maintain most of its rivalries, though its Penobscot Valley Conference schedule will change somewhat because current opponent Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln is expected to move from Class C to Class B next year while PVC members Orono and Fort Kent are expected to drop from Class B to Class C.

Greely star earns volleyball honor

Bethany Carle of Greely High of Cumberland Center has been named the 2004 Maine Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year.

A 5-foot-10 senior outside hitter, Carle converted 94 percent of her serves (111 of 118) and had 17 aces and 24 digs while leading the Rangers to their second straight state championship.

“Bethany isn’t flashy, but she’s a strong, consistent all-around player who anticipates on the court,” said Greely coach Kelvin Hasch. “She’s been our co-captain for the past two years and was always the player we went to when we needed points.”