BREWER – Brunswick High baseball coach Peter Blake took a chance Saturday afternoon. He started soft-throwing senior Sam Feldman in the hope the lefthander might keep Brewer hitters off-balance. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner… Read More
BANGOR – Brennan Perry and the other seniors on the Hampden Academy baseball team had come up empty during four years of varsity competition against Bangor. But given one final opportunity during their Eastern A quarterfinal at Mansfield Stadium on Thursday, the Broncos ended that… Read More
BREWER – Just 10 days ago, Brewer’s Witches jumped on Edward Little pitching early, seized momentum, and never let it go. In Thursday afternoon’s rematch at the Eastern Maine Class A quarterfinal game on Heddericg Field, the top-seeded Witches scored twice in the first, but… Read More
A generation ago Bangor was the hub of the Eastern Maine Class A basketball world – with the likes of Presque Isle, Caribou, Houlton, Stearns of Millinocket, and Fort Kent battling the Rams and teams as far south as Gardiner for regional big-school supremacy. Demographic… Read More
Two of the state’s storied high school baseball programs meet today – but only one will come away a state champion. Bangor and Deering of Portland, two teams seen as preseason favorites to battle for the Class A state title, indeed play for that crown… Read More
AUGUSTA – In a season when offense has come relatively easy for the Bangor High School baseball team, it was pitching and defense that earned the Rams a return trip to the Class A state championship game. Righthanders Ian Edwards and Jordan Clarke combined to… Read More
BREWER – Jim Nicknair has pitched in both pain and frustration this spring, but the dawn of postseason play has brought out the best in the Brewer High School lefthander. Nicknair threw six innings of shutout relief Tuesday, enabling the sixth-ranked Witches to defeat No. Read More
OLD TOWN – Old Town High School’s Adam Fournier said he wasn’t thinking about hitting a home run in the seventh inning of Tuesday’s Eastern Maine Class A baseball prelim against Edward Little of Auburn. But the senior designated hitter picked a perfect time for… Read More
AUGUSTA – As the Bangor boys basketball team trailed by 11 points deep into the third quarter of Wednesday night’s Eastern Maine Class A semifinal against Mt. Blue of Farmington, an unpleasant reality set in for Ryan Weston – the notion that the season was moments away from… Read More
AUGUSTA – The Hampden Academy boys basketball team was ready for Messalonskee’s bevy of 3-point shooters. And the Broncos were ready to contend with 6-foot-4 Eagles’ center Eric Taylor. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner… Read More
A FIRST: BANGOR TRACK TAKES THE TITLE With two-hundredths of a second to spare, Bangor makes history
LEWISTON – It could be forever known as the most heart-stopping final 200 meters of a 2-mile race run by a member of a Bangor High School track and field team. With a state Class A championship hanging in the balance, the Bangor Rams up… Read More
You’d think the Eastern Maine Class A boys basketball tournament would be all about familiarity – all 19 teams are from the same league, the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference. But the top of the standings offer a sense of mystery, as the top two teams… Read More
STANDISH – For five innings Saturday, it just wasn’t Alex Gallant’s day. Twice he had been to the plate, and twice he had been fooled by the changing speeds of Portland lefthander Ian Boyle. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
STANDISH – This was supposed to be Portland’s year. Having played second fiddle to intracity rival Deering of Portland in recent baseball seasons, this year’s Bulldogs returned virtually intact the lineup that won the 2005 American Legion state championship for Andrews Post of Portland. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
An historic high school baseball rivalry will be renewed for the first time in 11 years Saturday when Bangor and Portland square off for the 2006 Class A state championship at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish. Both teams enter the noontime clash on a roll. Read More
AUGUSTA – It was a game that began with subtlety but ended with dominance – and an Eastern Maine Class A baseball championship – for the Bangor Rams. Subtlety came via a 10-pitch walk drawn by Bangor leadoff hitter Kyle Vanidestine to open the bottom… Read More
BANGOR – The Bangor Rams weren’t the most opportunistic baseball team during their regular-season meetings against Brewer – stranding 20 runners on base while splitting two games. But when the Witches provided Bangor extra outs Monday night with a berth in the Eastern Maine Class… Read More
BANGOR – Bangor High School senior second baseman Ryan Jones isn’t your typical No. 9 hitter. Jones came into Friday night’s Eastern Maine Class A quarterfinal against Cony of Augusta hitting .300 and he belted a run-scoring triple to key a nine-run sixth inning that… Read More
WATERVILLE – The Lewiston High School tennis team has perhaps the best feeder program in the state, with hundreds of kids playing the sport there during the summer months. It’s an effort that has produced talent and depth, both of which were on display Wednesday… Read More
PORTLAND – Whew, it’s finally over. A five-overtime marathon hockey game, called the longest ever for Maine high schools, ended Tuesday night with Lewiston slipping past Brunswick 2-1 for the Eastern Maine Class A championship. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]];… Read More
They’ve met only once before, but the Hampden Academy and Deering of Portland boys basketball teams are familiar foes. That’s because when a championship is at stake the scouting reports become even more detailed, and Hampden and Deering will be squaring off for the Class… Read More
AUGUSTA – Hampden Academy’s success in boys basketball the last two seasons has been based in no small part on an understanding of individual roles within the team concept. That reality proved too much for top-seeded Brunswick on Friday night, as some of the Broncos’… Read More
AUGUSTA – The Hampden Academy boys basketball team is serious about regaining the Class A state championship. Very serious. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length;… Read More
BANGOR – The Bangor boys basketball team played to its inside strength Wednesday night, and the reward was a berth in the Eastern Maine Class A tournament. The No. 7 Rams scored 31 points in the paint and outrebounded Brewer 31-14 to avenge two regular-season… Read More
Some of the big questions surrounding this year’s Eastern Maine Class A boys basketball tournament have little to do with the actual product on the floor. That’s because the floor itself is different in 2006, with the region’s final eight advancing to the quarterfinal at… Read More
Editor’s Note: With the Eastern Maine Class A tournament moving to the Augusta Civic Center next season, the BDN looks back on some of the top Eastern Maine high school basketball teams and players to play at the Bangor Auditorium. Part IV, Boys Players googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
BANGOR – Two teams seeking a first for their schools will meet Saturday in the last Class A boys basketball state final to be played at the Bangor Auditorium. Neither Eastern Maine champion Hampden Academy nor Western Maine titlist Deering of Portland has won a… Read More
HAMPDEN – Fifty years later, there are still only a couple degrees of separation between the first and last boys basketball state finals for Maine’s largest schools to be played at the Bangor Auditorium. Consider that 6-foot-10 center Jordan Cook, who will lead Hampden Academy… Read More
BANGOR – Deering High School of Portland was perceived to be a year away from state championship contention when the 2004-05 season began. The Rams had just one senior on its roster, and were coming off a 7-12 campaign that ended with a loss in… Read More
The biggest player in the Eastern Maine Class A boys basketball tournament came up with his biggest game while under the biggest spotlight. And for that effort and his overall presence throughout Hampden Academy’s run to its first Eastern A championship, 6-foot-10 junior center Jordan… Read More
BANGOR – Seven minutes, 10 seconds is a long time to play in a basketball game with four fouls. Especially when you’re the biggest guy on the floor. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner =… Read More
BANGOR – The Hampden Academy boys basketball team won its Eastern Maine Class A quarterfinal last weekend with its defense. On Friday night, the ninth-ranked Broncos brought the whole package in handling No. 13 Brewer 55-34 in a regional semifinal at the Bangor Auditorium. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
Anticipating the heavy snowfall predicted for today, the Maine Principals’ Association opted Friday to postpone state championship games in schoolboy hockey and regional finals in Class A boys and girls basketball until early next week. Under the revised schedule, the Eastern Maine Class A girls… Read More
BANGOR – You could almost sense the relief among the members of the Oxford Hills boys basketball team as the Vikings walked off the Bangor Auditorium court after their Eastern Maine Class A semifinal Friday night. After three years of struggles at the Auditorium, Oxford… Read More
BANGOR – The Gardiner boys basketball team arrived at the Bangor Auditorium on Friday afternoon with a considerable amount of young talent, but little in the way of postseason tradition. The Tigers hadn’t played here since 1997, and had just two tournament wins at the… Read More
FARMINGTON – The Hampden Academy boys basketball team made a 170-mile round trip Wednesday night to earn at least one more game next door. And the trip was a roaring success, as the No. 9 Broncos broke open a close game in the second half… Read More
Eastern Maine Class A basketball covers a wide geographic swath, from just north of Portland to the Canoe City, Old Town. But the bulls-eye within the division isn’t in the center of that area, but to the north – Bangor High School, a regional finalist… Read More
PORTLAND – As Mark Rogers left the mound midway through the fifth inning of Monday night’s Class A state championship game at Hadlock Field, it was the most serene moment of an otherwise historic evening for Maine high school baseball. A throng of more than… Read More
BANGOR – With an Eastern Maine Class A baseball championship at stake, the next Brewer was just too much for the team from Brewer. Senior righthander Mark Rogers, the No. 5 overall pick in Monday’s amateur draft by the Milwaukee Brewers, allowed just two scratch… Read More
BANGOR – Top-ranked Oxford Hills delivered a lesson in how to score off the center jump at the outset of Friday night’s Eastern Maine Class A boys basketball semifinal. For the rest of the game, however, it was the No. 4 Bangor Rams who presented… Read More
BANGOR – “Mims Week” ended at the Bangor Auditorium Friday night, but that’s fine with Brunswick’s boys basketball team. The second-seeded Dragons, who were called Ralph Mims’ team as often or more so than they were called Brunswick, showed they have a few other quality… Read More
BANGOR – The little team that could, did it again. Outsized for the umpteenth time, the Bangor boys basketball team proved that it’s the size of the heart that matters Saturday night at the Bangor Auditorium when the Rams beat Cheverus of Portland 48-43 in… Read More
When the spotlight came on Saturday night for the Eastern Maine Class A boys championship at the Bangor Auditorium, many had not so much shown up for a basketball game but a coronation. The Brunswick boys had won 44 games in a row, were the… Read More
Out on the Bangor Auditorium floor, moments after public address announcer Allan Snell had asked that spectators remain in the stands, hundreds of Bangor fans surrounded their boys basketball team in celebration. It was the second time Saturday night that a group of folks from… Read More
BANGOR – In the end, the defending Class A state champs and previously undefeated Brunswick boys basketball team was left stunned. Stunned at the defensive effort a much smaller Bangor lineup had delivered against the Dragons. Stunned at the play of a senior guard with… Read More
BANGOR – It has been a long time between Eastern Maine Class A tournament wins for the Brewer boys basketball team. The last time the Witches had success in the tourney was in 1996 when they reached the semifinals before losing to Old Town. Andy… Read More
BANGOR – The Bangor boys basketball team did everything right Saturday morning. The Rams played tough defense, took care of the ball and took advantage of their opponents mistakes when presented. The result was a 53-37 win over No. 7 Lawrence of Fairfield in the… Read More
Where’s the power in Eastern Maine Class A boys? Apparently it’s spread around. From three teams in the Big East Conference to maybe three or four teams in the Kennebec Valley Conference. It obviously begins in Brunswick where the Dragons return NEWS All-Maine Schoolboy team… Read More
BANGOR – In the 41 seasons since the Maine Principals’ Association reclassified high schools by enrollment from three to four classes in most sports, the only banners Brunswick’s basketball teams have been able to hang on the gym wall were for good sportsmanship. There are… Read More
ORONO – The Nokomis Warriors are accustomed to forcing their opponents deal with their speedy, guard-oriented team. During Friday’s Eastern Maine Class A basketball quarterfinal, Mt. Blue dictated the style of play. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes =… Read More
BANGOR – Forget the seedings, the division alignments, the fact the game wasn’t played in the Bangor Auditorium, and the new wacky playoff system in general. Wednesday night’s Eastern Maine Class A prelim playoff game at Bangor High was a semifinal playoff matchup in scope,… Read More
NEWPORT – John Bapst coach Jason Mills went into Wednesday night’s Class A preliminary playoff contest with three big problems. Their names: Ryan McLellan … Trenton Estes … and Luke Hayden. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = [];… Read More