BANGOR – It didn’t count on the judges’ scoring sheets, but for Ashley Daigle and Madawaska’s varsity cheering squad, Saturday afternoon’s encore performance was invaluable.

For Daigle and her Owls teammates, performing together at the Eastern Maine Class C regional cheering championship in the Bangor Auditorium was already a dicey proposition – not because they hadn’t qualified, but because Daigle had to take her Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-II) at Madawaska High School that same morning.

It looked as though fortune would favor Daigle as the regional competition began about a half-hour late. Unfortunately for her, her exam was delayed 45 minutes as teachers waited for several students to arrive at the school. Madawaska’s plight was hurt somewhat more by their randomly-drawn placement in the performance order: fourth out of 13 Class C teams and 18th out of 27 (B-C) overall.

As the morning progressed, the Owls became more nervous. By the time it was their turn to perform, Daigle still hadn’t arrived.

But despite the absence of one of their primary stunt performers and the team’s lone senior, the Owls took the floor anyway.

“She wasn’t able to get here so we just did what we had to do,” said first-year coach Darcelle Morin. “We said we’d go out and cheer and do what we could from the heart. If we couldn’t do stunts, we wouldn’t do them.”

So instead of doing two horizontal lifts, the Owls did one with the seven girls they had on hand. They also had to simplify some other parts of their routine. A couple girls were visibly upset as they left the floor. Shortly after, Daigle arrived to find she was too late and had to be consoled by Morin.

“We hit every single red light on the way down,” said Daigle. “I was sprinting through every hallway and door … I even took the test in my uniform.”

Daigle, her teammates, and coaches were devastated.

“She’s our only senior and since this was her last year, I thought they deserved a chance to redeem themselves and show what they could do,” Morin said. “Her absence really affected our stunts.”

So Morin approached one of the event directors to ask if her team could perform again, whether it was scored again or not. The judges OK’d it as long as it was exhibition (non-scored) only.

“We just wanted to show everyone what we could do,” Morin said.

So the Owls went back out, performed their full routine, and were given a standing ovation by every other cheering squad as they left the floor.

“That definitely helped a lot. The other teams were behind us 100 percent,” Morin said. “I’m so proud of my girls.”

McConnell hits milestone

Lubec’s Sara McConnell scored her 1,200th career point in her team’s victory over Houlton Christian Friday night when she received belated honors for passing the 1,000-point mark.

McConnell had actually passed 1,000 points earlier this season, but a coaching change and a delay in new coach David Rice receiving scoring statistics from former coach Terry Woodruff combined to keep her milestone unnoticed.

Rice recently received the scorebooks, totaled the numbers and discovered McConnell had recorded 929 points in three seasons: freshman, 340 points; sophomore, 305; and junior, 284.

McConnell, a 5-foot-11 center, has helped the Hornets gain a 6-7 record with her consistent play, Rice said.

“She plays hard every night. This year she especially uses both sides of the floor very well,” Rice said. “She’s a coachable kid and an excellent foul shooter.”