Coaching Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Let's just start with the drama bomb that rocked the state late yesterday afternoon.

I had heard the Parker story and was attempting to confirm it with someone at Brewer (update: can confirm!), but the Bryant part of it completely caught me by surprise.

Parker resigned Tuesday morning for "personal reasons", according to an email from Assistant Principal Mary Saunders, and last night's game was coached by volunteer assistant Aaron Newcomb, who has been elevated to "Interim Boys Varsity Basketball Head Coach".

Of course, Parker isn't a young man, so it's not hard to imagine a number of reasons he might step down and I'm sure everyone around the state hopes it isn't anything serious.

What threw everyone was the Chris Bryant part of it. Two Bangor-area coaches stepping down 5 days into the season? It's weird. Undeniably weird. That's what everyone kept saying. Weird. Were they connected in some way? The mind races.

Bryant's post on Facebook seems to have clarified things.

Parental complaints sure makes a lot of sense. It was the reason given behind Wiscasset's firing of their girls coach last year. So I don't think the two resignations are connected, but I'll keep my ear to the ground. For now, it's just weird.

Let's go to the House That Cindy Built for the Game of the Day and this one was a classic. Miss Basketball favorite Maddie Provost (29 points) and freshman phenom Olivia Breen (20 & 8) traded blows into overtime, until Provost's steal and bucket sealed the win for the Bulldogs.

Mike Mandell was there with a write-up.

Lawrence girls basketball tops Oceanside in OT thriller

Maddie Provost shines for Lawrence, while touted Oceanside freshman Olivia Breen shows flashes of greatness in a battle of expected Class B contenders.

Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer

On Tuesdays, I can really only make it to a game that's a half hour or so from my house (Tuesday afternoons are crazy at work), so I opted for Yarmouth @ Medomak Valley, a game that for a little while there, was a fantastic instant rivalry. I'd heard mixed things about Yarmouth this year and it seemed like the best chance I'd have to see them in person, so I headed to Waldoboro.

This was all Medomak. They led 16-5 after one and 34-18 at the half with Micah Fagonde ending each quarter with a second-chance bucket.

And then Mason Nguyen took over.

Nguyen (who I thought would get taken in the Mr/Miss Basketball Draft) finished with 21, Kollin Donlin added 12 & 12, the JVs finished the game, and the Panthers moved to 2-0 on the year.

Elsewhere

Dylan Gendron went off for 30 as Sanford pulled off a double-digit comeback against Windham. Colin Janvrin had 18 & 13 for the champs...Nolan Ames dropped 25 & 11 in a win over Hampden...Jack Fontaine had 23 in Maranacook's win over Monmouth...Kienna Morse had 21 & 9 to get the Erskine girls in the win column...Jackson Kay had 24 and Parker Morin 23 in Cony's win over Mt. Ararat...Max Bouchard's 17 led Bonny Eagle by Deering...Silas Nielsen had 27 points, 14 boards, and 5 blocks in Sacopee Valley's win over Lisbon...Adam Fitzgerald had 22 in Scarborough's win over Cheverus. Khaelon Watkins had 26 for the Stags...Bryson Saucier had 13 and Skowhegan has already doubled their win total from last year...Fisher Tewksbury (25) and Levi Short (21) paced Valley by Pine Tree...Thornton Academy Brayden Hooper sank two clutch free throws to send the game to overtime. The Trojans beat Gorham in the extra period. Hooper had 14 of his 16 in the second half...Wells' Darion Lemont dropped 25 on Traip...Gio Staples had 22 and Westbrook used a huge 2nd quarter to beat Falmouth...Reece MacDonald's 26 led all scorers in York's win over Edward Little...Avery Clark scored 18 of her 29 in the first quarter and Bangor cruised by Messo...The Silva twins combined for 22 points and Biddeford shut out Kennebunk in the first quarter to get their first win of the year...Buckfield's Chloee Bennett (24) out-dueled Carrabec's Ava Welch (23) to get the win...Kylie Lamson had 18 in Cheverus' win over Scarborough...Angelina Keo had 14 in Deering's win over Bonny Eagle...Dirigo got 24 from Emma Witas in a blowout of Richmond...Logan Doughty's 19 led the way in Gorham's win over TA...Abbey Steele had 17 as GNG doubled up Cape...Gabby Smith's 20 fueled Leavitt's come-from-behind win over Poland...Lisbon used a 15-1 4th quarter to rally past Sacopee Valley...Natalie Lathrop (20 points, 8 rebounds, 9 steals) flirted with a triple-double in Marshwood's blowout over Noble...Mt. Ararat had 4 starters in double-figured in a win over Cony...Mollie Puffer's 4 3s and 19 points helped Sanford survive against Windham...Valley's Kirsten Bigelow dropped 21 on Pine Tree...The Wells girls went on a 32-0 run against Traip. Megyn Mertens led the way with 22...Kylee Savage scored 20 of the game's 60 total points in Winthrop's win over Mountain Valley...Gavin Fanjoy's 17 fueled Erskine's 20-3 fourth quarter against Winslow...Quentin Warrick's 18 led GNG against Cape...Darren Flagg's 8 3s and 24 points got Leavitt to overtime against Poland, but then Damon Martin scored all 8 of his points in OT to shut the door...Cayden Ala had 20 in Fort Fairfield's win over Easton.

In this, the Year of the Freshmen, it's easy to forget that Madawaska's Quinn Pelletier is one of the freshmen. And a battle between him and Central Aroostook's Jahleel Joseph would indeed be a fantastic showdown, only Joseph has gone prep. The Model doesn't know this, so take this with a grain of salt.

I would probably take Madawaska.

The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump.