The Pine Tree Conference’s Class B football teams finally have a schedule for this fall, and it’s remarkably similar to the 2007 schedule.

But one major difference has Camden Hills of Rockport replacing Old Town to fill out the 12-team conference, though the fledgling Windjammers will be playing a schedule of exhibition games against PTC foes in preparation for its anticipated ascension to the varsity ranks in 2009.

“It’s going to be quite a challenge,” said Camden Hills coach Linwood Downs, whose two-year-old high school program competed as a private entity in 2006 before playing an eight-game schedule against fellow developmental teams and junior varsity squads under school auspices last fall.

“We felt we were about a year or a half-year away, so playing exhibition games against these teams will be a good step and the kids are looking forward to the challenge.”

The PTC was forced to revise the second year of its current two-year schedule after Old Town elected to drop to the LTC Class C ranks in an effort to build up its struggling program.

That left the PTC Class B with 11 teams, a number that not only could have forced teams to have a bye week, but also may have necessitated a reduction in its playoff field from eight to four teams.

But Camden Hills, which plays in the same league [Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference] as most of the other PTC schools in other sports and squared off against several PTC junior varsity football squads last year, agreed to step in as the league’s 12th team on an exhibition basis to fulfill its second year of Maine Principals’ Association-sanctioned developmental play before it could apply to move up to the varsity ranks.

“This is a great step for our program to take toward achieving varsity status,” said Camden Hills athletic administrator Bill Hughes. “By taking Old Town’s spot we can help the league out, and this gives us a chance to play a schedule of exhibition games against varsity teams as we prepare to take the next step.”

Camden Hills is expected to seek school board approval for its program to attain varsity status next year.

“We’ve tried to develop the program in a diligent and thoughtful manner,” said Downs. “We haven’t wanted to rush the process, but we’re headed in that [varsity] direction.”

Under the new 2008 PTC Class B schedule approved by the league’s coaches and athletic administrators, eight schools – Belfast, Hampden Academy, Mount Desert Island, Gardiner, Morse of Bath, Maranacook of Readfield, Nokomis of Newport and Waterville – will play a seven-game regular-season schedule, plus an exhibition game against Camden Hills.

Three teams that originally were not scheduled to face Old Town next season, Winslow, Oak Hill of Sabattus and Leavitt of Turner Center, will play an eight-game regular-season schedule.

The schedule preserves an eight-team playoff format for the conference, with seedings determined by Crabtree points.

“The coaches in particular felt that they did not want to see us go to a four-team format,” said Winslow athletic administrator Sean Keenan. “The league should be very, very balanced and ultra-competitive next year.”

As for Camden Hills, officials hope the chance to compete against varsity opponents a year ahead of schedule will boost interest in the program among high school student-athletes.

While the local youth and middle-school programs are strong, the Windjammers began last season with more than 30 high school players but finished the season in the 20s.

“This will certainly get the attention of some kids that were on the fence about playing football,” Downs said.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

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