When Woody Moore joined the football coaching staff at Rockland District High School five years ago, helping to preserve the struggling program was the immediate goal.

Now, as Moore takes over the Tigers as their varsity head coach, the team’s motto is “chasing perfection.”

“That’s our motto in every facet of the game,” said Moore, who was elevated to his new post late last week. “We want to utilize the personnel we have and put people in the right places for them to have success and have some fun.”

Moore replaces Daryle Weiss, who resigned as Rockland’s football coach and athletic director earlier this spring and recently was named head football coach at Westbrook High School.

“It was something I had thought about,” said Moore of becoming a head coach, “but I hadn’t planned for it because coach Weiss’s announcement came unexpectedly.”

Moore, who most recently served as the Tigers’ special teams coordinator, assistant defensive coordinator and strength coach, takes over a program with a strong feeder system. Rockland is home to the two-time defending state peewee championship team.

The high school varsity has finished with a 5-4 record each of the last four years, the Tigers’ first winning seasons since the late 1980s, and last fall dressed 51 players, up from as few as 19 several years ago.

“I feel fortunate because pretty much everything is in place for me,” said Moore, the school district’s health coordinator. “We’ve got a tremendous staff, especially [former LaSalle head coach] Archie Stalcup, whose reputation goes without saying, and the rest of the coaches have done a great job.”

“The feeder system is extremely strong, and the parents and community members are very supportive. It’s not like I have to build the foundation.”

The recent growth of the program has not been without some frustration, because despite the winning records the Tigers have yet to return to the LTC Class C playoffs.

“The last two years have been pretty significant, because we went into the last game of the year against Bucksport and a win would have put us in the playoffs,” Moore said. “That was a little frustrating, but one of the things I’m stressing is that everything is new this year.”

That includes new uniforms, some new coaching assignments, and some changes to the offensive and defensive philosophies, said Moore, who added that Rockland will continue to run the spread offense.

Rockland will return some key veterans this fall led by senior Andrew Weiss, an All-LTC quarterback who has passed for nearly 4,000 yards and rushed for more than 2,100 yards during his first three years as the Tigers’ starting signalcaller.

“I’m not one of those guys who’s going to play psychological games with other coaches in the paper,” said Moore, a former athletic standout at Skowhegan Area High who counts his former basketball coach, current Morse of Bath coach Mike Nelson, and longtime Skowhegan assistant Al Wilson among his coaching mentors.

“But I think we have a strong corps of kids coming back, and our chances are as good or better as any team in the league to be successful.”

Tigers taming opponents

The Shead of Eastport baseball team is back among the leaders in Eastern Maine Class D – but that’s really nothing new.

With their 9-0 start this spring before Wednesday’s home game against Machias, the Tigers have a .723 winning percentage during the last seven years with a 73-28 record since the program’s last losing campaign in 2000.

That run is highlighted by back-to-back trips to the Eastern Maine final in 2004 and 2005.

Now coach Ron Sullivan’s club is again threatening a deep run into postseason play, dominating its opponents within the Downeast Athletic Conference en route to its undefeated start.

The Tigers – along with Class A Bangor the only remaining unbeatens in Eastern Maine – have played only three full seven-inning games. Their closest victory was last Saturday’s 10-1 decision over Woodland, a game played at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor.

“It’s been pitching and hitting,” said Sullivan, whose team has outscored its opposition 117-15 after Monday’s 21-6 victory against East Grand of Danforth. “We’re not a great defensive team, but we probably have two of the top three pitchers in the county, and this might be the best hitting team I’ve had here in quite a while.”

The fast start has landed Shead in first place in the latest Heal Point ratings. That Shead is among the top contenders shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, however, given the program’s recent history and the number of experienced players back from the 2006 team, which finished 9-6.

“I thought we’d be decent because we didn’t lose anybody from last year,” said Sullivan, who also regained the services of two players who contributed two years ago but did not play baseball last spring.

The Tigers are led by senior Aaron Sullivan, a four-year starter who pitches, plays shortstop and catcher, and bats cleanup. The coach’s son, who plans to attend Husson College in Bangor this fall, began the week hitting .500 with three home runs and 21 RBIs.

Sullivan teams with another righthander, hard-throwing sophomore Justin Lewey, to give Shead a potent 1-2 punch on the mound. That duo also shares the shortstop duties.

Other key players include sophomore catcher Tommy Pottle, senior center fielder Chris Hastings, sophomore third baseman Tim Reed – who hit three home runs in a game against Machias – and junior Mike Cummings, who pitched a no-hitter against Jonesport-Beals.

The DAC has not produced an Eastern Maine baseball champ since Jonesport-Beals won the Class D crown in 2000.

Shead would like nothing better than to bring a regional title back to Washington County this spring, but much of the regular season still remains to be played, not to mention a rugged slate of playoff rivals that will include the likes of Deer Isle-Stonington and Katahdin of Stacyville.

“Our first goal is the DAC championship,” said Sullivan. “We’ve won three of the last four, and then we’ll go from there.

“If our pitching holds up and we keep hitting,” he added, “I’m hoping for good things.”