A major league baseball coach, a surgeon and some of the most respected teacher-coaches in Maine are among the inaugural class to be inducted into the Orono High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Ceremonies are scheduled during halftime of Friday night’s LTC football game against Stearns of Millinocket.
Members of the Class of 2008 are the following:
. The late Fred Burpee, a 1934 graduate who was a four-year letterman in football and played on the Riots’ unbeaten, unscored upon 1932 team.
An award named in Burpee’s honor is presented annually to a junior male or female athlete based on sportsmanship, character and leadership.
. Brian Butterfield (Class of ’75) earned 11 letters in football, basketball and baseball. He played point guard on two Eastern Maine Class B championship teams, including the 1973 state title squad. He also led the Red Riots’ baseball team to EM crowns in 1973 and 1974.
He continued his athletic career at the University of Maine and later at Florida Southern. Butterfield is in his 12th year as a major league baseball coach, now with Toronto, where he serves as bench coach.
. Cliff McCormick, who spent three decades as a teacher and coach at Orono, and is considered one of the top track and field coaches in state history.
His outdoor track teams won 13 regional titles and nine state crowns from 1968 to 1986, and he also coached Red Riots indoor track and cross country teams to state titles.
McCormick was one of three coaches who developed the Eastern Maine Indoor Track League in 1971, and is a four-time Maine High School Outdoor Track Coach of the Year.
. The late Donald “Joe” Paul was a teacher, coach, athletic administrator and assistant principal at Orono from 1974 to 1990.
As a head coach in softball and assistant in football and boys basketball, Paul was part of more than 25 state championship teams during his tenure.
. Dr. Fred Radke, a 1969 graduate, earned 11 varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball. He was a two-time All-LTC choice at both fullback and linebacker.
Radke also was an All-Maine basketball player who helped Orono win two EM titles.
The Dartmouth College graduate is the senior attending surgeon at Maine Medical Center in Portland and chief of surgery at Mercy Hospital.
. Julie Treadwell (Class of ’80), earned 14 letters in field hockey, volleyball, basketball and softball, captaining all four teams as a junior and senior.
She played basketball at the University of Maine and spent 24 years as a teacher, coach and athletic administrator at Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield.
Treadwell is now the director of physical education and athletics at the Holton Arms School in Bethesda, Md.
Orono athletic administrator Mike Archer developed the idea for the hall of fame two years ago.
“Obviously when we decided to put this together there would be a lot of people deserving to be in this first class,” said Archer.
“This is a way to recognize those people, and also to connect them with the kids now at Orono High to help aspire them to high achievement.”
A hall of fame display at the school will feature pictures and biographies of the inductees.
Katahdin off to fast start
Perhaps the most dominant schoolboy soccer team in Eastern Maine so far this season is Katahdin of Stacyville, which is 10-0 after Monday’s 4-2 victory over Lee Academy.
“I knew going in this team had a lot of ability,” said fifth-year coach Matt Lindsay. “We only graduated one senior last year, so I knew we had the ability to start off 10-0, but all it takes is one bad game or an injury to make the difference.”
The Cougars are outscoring their collective opposition by a whopping 63-8.
“We’ve done a good job of playing controlled soccer, and we’ve been finishing our shots very well,” said Lindsay. “Most of our practices center on controlling the ball, because if you control the ball then the other team can’t score.”
The Cougars feature two sharpshooters in strikers Marshall Davis and Ethan Qualey. Each has scored 24 goals through 10 games and Davis also leads the team in assists.
“We knew Marshall would get marked a lot, a lot of times with double-teams, which leaves Ethan open,” said Lindsay. “Marshall is very fast and he’s got a good touch, and Ethan does a good job reading the situations and is able to make run-throughs at the right time and Marshall is able to put the ball right on his foot.”
Davis and Qualey are flanked by wings Billy Duffy and Kolby Gallagher, with Rich Qualey, Mickey Savage and Cole Birmingham controlling midfield.
Lindsay also has been impressed by his team’s defense, which includes sweeper Jesse Rodgerson, stopper Matt Kay and wing fullbacks Kaleb Gallagher and Micah Rodgerson all working in front of goalkeepers Matt Tarr and Jesse McNally.
“We have an incredible defense this year,” said Lindsay. “They have speed, they react to the ball real well, they know when to pick up the extra man and they do a good job of playing the angles.”
Katahdin has a three-point lead over Easton in the latest Class D Heal Points, and while a first-ever EM title may be the program’s long-term goal, the short-term goal is to continue to build on its momentum.
“Right now I tell the kids that you can’t let 10-0 get to your heads or you’re going to lose,” said Lindsay. “We’ve got to be careful about letting up or getting lazy. We just need to continue playing the way we’ve been playing.”
eclark@bangordailynews.net
990-8045
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