Tymoczko adjusting to new role Big line gives Bucks’ back new way to run

HEBRON – Nick Tymoczko couldn’t have dreamed up the season he had last fall while leading Bucksport High School to an undefeated record and the Class C football state championship.

He rushed for 2,741 yards and 40 touchdowns in 12 games en route to becoming only the second Class C player to win the Fitzpatrick Trophy symbolic of the state’s top senior on the gridiron.

But football is a sport requiring constant adjustment, particularly as a player adjusts to a new team – and the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Tymoczko is no exception.

That’s no problem for the Springfield University-bound running back this week as he adjusts to his role on the East team that will square off against the West in the 16th annual Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic on Friday night at Waterhouse Field in Biddeford.

That’s because the line that will be blocking for him averages 243 pounds per man.

“A lot of the offense is new stuff to me,” said Tymoczko during a break in the Lobster Bowl training camp schedule at Hebron Academy. “At Bucksport we did a lot of toss, a lot of outside stuff, but this is more a ‘pound the rock,’ inside-game offense, and I like it, I like it a lot.

“Our line’s sick this year. It’s really going to be something to reckon with.”

That line includes two Bangor High standouts, 6-8, 270-pound Andrew Trundy and 6-4, 260-pound Kyle Oliver, as well as guard Chad Szylvian of Brewer.

“We’re huge up front,” said Oliver, who will attend Bates College of Lewiston in the fall, “but we can’t underestimate the West either, because we lost the state game [to Bonny Eagle of Standish], and we were a lot bigger than they were, too.”

The West leads the East 13-2 in the series, including a come-from-behind 15-14 victory last year. But the East to a player is optimistic about this year’s game, in part because of the early camaraderie developed as the 42 players from schools throughout the region acclimate themselves not only to a different system, but to each other.

“You’ve got take it one step at a time, and you’ve got to be open to a lot of coaching,” said Tymoczko, who begins preseason practices at Springfield on Aug. 20. “You’ve got to be willing to work as a team, because these are all guys you haven’t met before, guys coming from all different types of offenses, and you’ve just got to not get frustrated while you’re picking things up.”

One thing is fairly certain. While the players come from different programs, they have similar goals.

“I want to meet as many people as I can,” Tymoczko said. “I want to have as much fun as I can, and I want to beat the West.”

Foxcroft’s Gilbert sidelined

Foxcroft Academy football star Bobby Gilbert, a Fitzpatrick Trophy finalist after the 2004 season, will watch the Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic from the sidelines Friday night as he recuperates from a lower back injury.

“What I’ve done is irritate the muscles in my lower back so much that when I run, it spasms out on me, and when I get up to full tilt, it’s just painful,” said the 5-10, 210-pound Gilbert, who was in attendance at the East team’s training camp at Hebron Academy on Tuesday.

“Bobby sustained an injury and came into camp hoping to play, and he definitely aggravated it and can’t move,” added East head coach Butch Richards of Belfast. “He’s hoping to have some more football ahead of him in his college days, so it’s not worth taking the risk at this point.”

Gilbert attributed his injury to overtraining as he prepares to join the University of Maine football program next month as a recruited walk-on.

“I overworked myself during the offseason and my parents are kind of upset because they know I pushed myself too hard,” he said. “About two weeks ago, I was doing my sprints, and I just wasn’t able to get up to full gear without it tensing up. When I got down here, I couldn’t run, and I wasn’t able to do the things that I want to be able to do when I get to UMaine.

“It’s been tough, especially mentally, because I’ve been out here watching the guys practice for the last two days and I want to be out there helping them out.”

Gilbert’s been told that rest is the key to his recuperation, particularly as he gets ready to report to Maine on Aug. 7.

“What I haven’t done is just take some time off and relax,” said Gilbert, who plans to return home before attending the Lobster Bowl in Biddeford on Friday. “I’ve got about three weeks to heal up and I’ve got to be ready to go.”

Gilbert rushed for school-record totals of 1,971 yards and 37 touchdowns last fall to spark Foxcroft to a 9-2 record, and he also led the Ponies with 105 tackles as a linebacker and safety. He was slated to play strong safety in the Lobster Bowl, according to Richards.