Tough games could pay off for Houlton

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Saturday’s schoolboy basketball game between Lee Academy and Houlton not only matched two of the top six teams in Eastern Maine Class C rankings but also probably the teams with the toughest schedules in the division.

Lee Academy’s 65-53 victory left the Pandas with a 7-1 record good for second place in the division behind two-time defending state champion Calais. Calais is the only team to defeat Lee this season, 62-56 at Lee on opening night in December.

Lee has played seven different schools so far this season – the Pandas have defeated Houlton twice – and those seven schools began the week with a combined 42-29 record, a 59.1 winning percentage.

But even more challenging than Lee’s strength of schedule is Houlton’s slate to date. The Shiretowners are ranked sixth in the latest Heal point ratings despite a 5-5 record, thanks to the fact the seven different schools they have played boast a combined record of 46-23, a .667 winning percentage.

Coach Mike Fogarty’s club has played three games against Class B foes, losing once to 9-1 Caribou and splitting with 9-2 Presque Isle. Houlton also has played Class C rivals Madawaska and Lee twice apiece.

“I still think these games are going to be beneficial down the road for us,” said Fogarty, after Saturday’s loss at Lee. “Our record’s 5-5, and I truly feel that we have one of the strongest schedules. We still have Calais twice, Caribou and Schenck, and those are all big points games for us.”

Indeed, the schedule doesn’t get any easier for either Houlton or Lee. Houlton visited 6-4 Stearns of Millinocket on Tuesday night, then was set to face 9-2 Schenck of East Millinocket on Thursday and Calais on Saturday.

Lee, meanwhile, was set to play defending Class D state champion Deer Isle-Stonington (10-0) on Tuesday night before visiting 2007 Eastern B runner-up Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln (7-2) on Thursday.

Unbeaten ranks dwindling

The list of undefeated teams in the schoolboy basketball ranks is shrinking, with just five left in Eastern Maine and nine statewide.

The Eastern Maine contingent is led by Calais, which is 8-0 this season and winner of its last 52 games overall. The Blue Devils, who played at 7-3 Narraguagus on Tuesday night, haven’t lost since Feb. 22, 2005, when they fell to Penquis of Milo 52-32 in an Eastern Maine Class C quarterfinal.

After squaring off against Narraguagus, the two-time defending Class C state champions are idle for a week before hosting Lee Academy on Jan. 22. These teams met in a mutual season opener at Lee, where Calais rallied in the fourth quarter for its 62-56 victory.

Another team that entered Tuesday night’s play with a long winning streak was Deer Isle-Stonington. The Mariners, 10-0 this season after Saturday’s 36-31 victory at Shead of Eastport, had won 32 straight overall before facing its toughest test of the season at Lee Academy on Tuesday night. Deer Isle-Stonington follows up that game with another Class C opponent Thursday night, when it hosts 6-4 George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill.

The third 2007 state champion yet to lose this winter is Class A Bangor, 11-0 this year and 21-0 since its last loss at Mt. Blue of Farmington on Jan. 20, 2007. The Rams, 32-1 since the start of the 2006-07 campaign, are idle until a road test at Lewiston on Friday.

Coach Roger Reed’s top-ranked team then faces a pair of tough challenges next week, at No. 5 Lawrence of Fairfield on Monday and home against No. 2 Edward Little of Auburn on Jan. 25.

Bangor defeated Lawrence 42-28 earlier this season and edged Edward Little 56-53 at Auburn on Dec. 28. Those two games represent the closest contests the Rams have had this season.

Central Aroostook of Mars Hill has gone unbeaten in 10 games this winter by an average of 20.4 points per game, with no victories by single digits and just three by fewer than 20 points.

Coach Tim Brewer’s Panthers return to action Friday at Ashland, a team they defeated 67-50 on Jan. 5.

Maranacook staked its claim to regular-season supremacy within the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B ranks with a 76-67 victory at previously unbeaten Camden Hills of Rockport on Jan. 8.

The Black Bears (10-0) followed that with pointworthy wins against Rockland and Belfast, and were set to play Mount View of Thorndike on Tuesday night before visiting Medomak Valley at Waldoboro on Friday.

Unbeaten Western Maine teams entering Tuesday night’s play were Class A Cheverus of Portland (10-0), Class C Winthrop (10-0) and Traip Academy of Kittery (8-0) and Class D Richmond (10-0).

MDI video comes up short

A video featuring Mount Desert Island defensive back Terrence Jones returning an interception for a touchdown was not among the grand prize winners in the UPS Delivery Intercept Challenge Video Contest.

The nationwide contest was a search for the best all-time interceptions in amateur football. Fans could view the eight national finalists, including the MDI play – and vote for their favorite online from Dec. 17 through Jan. 4.

Voters picked a video of a one-handed interception by Flora (Ill.) High School linebacker Jordan Luttrell as the grand prize winner.

Luttrell’s uncle, Robert Boose, submitted the grand prize video and will receive $25,000 in cash and a $10,000 donation to the amateur football team of his choice, which he plans to steer to the Flora High football program.

Second- and third-prize winners from Holton, Mich., and Keller, Texas, also received major cash awards, while submitters of the remaining five finalists – from among 176 entries nationwide – will receive $750 each and a $250 donation to the amateur teams of their choice.

The MDI video had been submitted by Trojans’ freshman football coach and varsity assistant Duane Crawford of Lamoine.

The play came during the second quarter of the Trojans’ 38-18 victory over Oak Hill of Sabattus on Sept. 29, as Jones intercepted a pass and went across the field before racing down the right sideline 57 yards for a touchdown.

Fitzy banquet time moved up

The wait is almost over for Jack Hersom of Lawrence of Fairfield, Kyle Stilphen of Gardiner and Justin Villacci of Gorham.

One of the three will be named this year’s recipient of the James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy during a banquet in Portland on Sunday.

But the event, usually held early in the evening, has been moved up to a noon start at the Holiday Inn by the Bay.

Reasons cited for the time change included allowing more daytiime travel time for those wanting to attend the banquet, as well as to provide the hotel more time to prepare for a Martin Luther King Day banquet scheduled the next day.

Plans call for the time change to be permanent, according to chairman Jack Dawson of Portland.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

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