Jeff Guerette’s career as a football player ended suddenly, with a compound fracture of his right leg during his senior year as an offensive lineman and defensive end at Bangor High School in 1996.

His new career as a varsity coach also is beginning somewhat suddenly, as the 29-year-old Guerette has been named to lead the Westbrook High School football program, replacing Daryle Weiss who left after one year to become an assistant coach at Bates College in Lewiston.

“Coach Weiss had a great opportunity to coach at the college level,” said Guerette, who had been an assistant coach at Westbrook for the last four years. “But when the opportunity presented itself I thought the timing was right because I knew I wanted to be a head coach at some point. I knew I wanted to take on this challenge.”

Guerette will be the Blue Blazes’ fourth football coach in the last five years, following the late Mike Landry, Jason McLeod and Weiss.

“I’m excited,” he said. “It’s important to have some stability and continuity, and I want this to be a program that has that through the entire system, right down to the youth level.”

Westbrook finished 3-5 last fall, an improvement on its combined 3-13 record the previous two seasons in Western Maine Class A.

Guerette said this year’s team will continue to run the spread offense introduced to the program by Weiss – the former Rockland head coach – last year, for he believes it’s the type of offensive approach that’s most exciting to young players.

In seeking to rebuild the Westbrook program at the varsity level, Guerette will draw upon his playing experiences as a football and basketball standout at Bangor.

“One of the big things is having a winning attitude, and that’s something we always had at Bangor,” said Guerette, who also teaches social studies and coaches freshman basketball at Westbrook. “We felt going into each game that we were going to win, and that comes from winning.”

That winning feeling may be aided by an influx of talented young athletes at Westbrook High School.

The Blue Blazes’ baseball team recently reached this year’s Western Maine Class A final before dropping a 3-2 decision to eventual state champion Deering of Portland, and much of that team reached the Little League World Series as 12-year-olds in 2005.

A number of those successful baseball players also are in the Westbrook football program, Guerette said.

Guerette coached the offensive line and linebackers at Westbrook last fall after three seasons as the Blue Blazes’ freshman football coach.

Before arriving at Westbrook, Guerette was an assistant coach at Husson College for two years under his high school football coach at Bangor, Gabby Price.

“He’s probably the biggest reason I’m in this position,” said Guerette.

While at Bangor, Guerette was an All-Pine Tree Conference lineman on the football team and as a junior in 1995 helped Bangor win the PTC championship, its first since joining that conference in 1987.

In basketball, Guerette was a starting center-forward who helped Bangor win the 1996 Maine Class A championship – ironically defeating Westbrook in the state final.

Guerette graduated from Colby College in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in economics, and earned his master’s in social studies education from the University of Maine in 2004.

“I had great teachers and coaches when I was at Bangor, and that led me in this direction,” said Guerette of his career path as a teacher and a coach. “I just thought it was a natural fit for me.”

Dubay to be honored

Carlin Dubay of Caribou will be honored Saturday as Maine’s high school wrestler of the year during the Maine Amateur Wrestling Alliance’s annual awards banquet to be at the Nasson Community Center in Springvale.

Dubay, who wrestled at 103 pounds throughout career with the Vikings, was a three-time Class B state champion who went undefeated against in-state competition during his final three seasons.

He capped off his high school career with an undefeated senior season, as Dubay went 54-0 and won not only another state championship, but also the New England championship in his weight class.

Dubay became the first Caribou wrestler to surpass 100 career victories, finishing his four years with the Vikings with a 162-12 record.

Earlier this year, Dubay was recognized as an honorable mention All-American by Wrestling USA magazine.

Dubay will join an elite group as a recipient of the Carahimalis Award symbolic of the state’s top wrestler. Previous winners are Jeremiah Barkac of Dexter (2007), Josh Pelletier of Foxcroft Academy (2006), Chris Barkac of Dexter (2005), Decota Cotton of Noble of North Berwick and Chris Remsen of Camden Hills of Rockport (2004), Chris Tracy of Westbrook (2003), Ben Goulette of Morse of Bath (2002), Dan Whelan of Marshwood of South Berwick (2001), and Daryl Butrick of Marshwood (2000).

eclark@bangordailynews.net

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