# Maine Basketball Rankings > The most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball anywhere. With Power Rankings, Heal Point standings, Live Tournament coverage, and more. Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### About this site URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/about/ Last updated: 2026-08-20T21:50:27.000Z **Contact email:** mainebasketballrankings@gmail.com #### **What is this?​** This is a website that stores a ranking system for Maine high school basketball. There’s a lot of math. So much math. But, don’t worry. You can use your calculator. In a state as large as Maine with such a range in school sizes (and driving distances!), you aren’t going to be able to play a balanced schedule within your division. Enter the Heal Points, which are a vast improvement over a simple Won-Loss record.​ The thing is, they don’t go nearly far enough.​ So I tore them down and rebuilt them on the same framework, only with newer features, like adjustments for where the game was played. For a primer on how Heals work, go here: [http://www.bangornorth.com/how-to-calculating-those-mysterious-heal-points/](http://www.bangornorth.com/how-to-calculating-those-mysterious-heal-points/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There’s a very important rule for anything related to the model: We won’t use anything that can’t be equally applied to every team in the state. The old Preliminary Index system (PI) is the biggest flaw of the Heals. The points are solely based on the class of the team you beat, which is essentially the same thing as basing it on the price of gas in that town. There’s not a single basketball reason for your PI. Yes, you get points for a win, but you get the same number of points for beating the best team in your class as you do for beating the worst. That’s absurd. Luckily, it doesn’t directly affect your final rating, so that allows some liberties. The new, 5-class system has a weight of 2 points between classes, but we’re keeping the old 5 point difference, with a twist. Each team is placed on a 10-point range, based on their overall ranking (it’s a bit circular, I know, but since it doesn’t directly affect that rating, it more or less works and it’s the best system I’ve come up with). It looks a little like this: - AA: 40-50 - A: 35-45 - B: 30-40 - C: 25-35 - D: 20-30 So the best team in Class A is worth the same as an average AA school. The worst team in B is worth the same as the best team in class D. And so on. This is the part that slows down the Excel file the most. To that we then apply a [Pythagorean Expectation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean%5Fexpectation?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), which was invented by [Bill James](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill%5FJames?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and adapted for basketball by [Daryl Morey](https://twitter.com/dmorey?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). It’s used by a lot of rating systems in a lot of sports. Win% = (Points Scored)^x / ((Points Scored)^x + (Points Allowed)^x) So if you play a team in Class B with a weight of 33 (to pick a random number) and you get a Win% of 82%, your PI will be credited 27.06\. Beat a better team (say, 37) and you get 30.34\. Then that is added all together and divided by the number of games on the schedule. That’s your mPI. #### **You adjust for Home Court Advantage?** The model also adjusts each game for a home court advantage. There’s a lot of theories on how much weight HCA has, and it probably varies from location to location. Some gyms are just harder to play in than others and some fan bases travel much better than others. But, since the 2014-15 season, Home Court was equivalent to, on average, a 5% bump in your Win Expectation state-wide. At the outer ends of the ranges of Win%, the 5% bump starts to disappear. Simply put, you can’t get a Win% of 105% just because you blew someone out on the road. For games played at neutral locations, there is no home court advantage. #### **​What about travel time?** We’ve started tracking travel time to see if it has an impact on winning, but haven’t come up with anything conclusive yet. We’ve also started tracking the relative rest of each team to see if that has an impact. As soon as we can work that in, we’ll do it. #### **We?** *Pluralis modestiae*. #### **Moving on.** Let’s look at a sample game. In the opening game of the 2018-19 season, the Scarborough girls beat the Sanford girls 41-38 at home. First, we calculate the Win% for Scarborough, which on a neutral floor would have equated to 64.7%, meaning that based on only the score and location of this one game, we would assume that Scarborough would win a re-match 64.7% of the time. But they were at home, so this adjusts down to 59.7%. Naturally, Sanford gets the remaining 40.3%. So as the season progressed, each team continued to get credit for that percentage of the value of that opponent, plus a bonus for Sanford for playing on the road. This ended up looking like this - Scarborough earns 59.7% of Sanford’s 14.723 (8.796) - Sanford earns 40.3% of Scarborough’s 34.508 (13.891) So despite losing, this game actually is worth more for Sanford, and it should be. Losing by 3 points on the road to the eventual state runner-up is nothing to sneeze at. The line for this game was Scarborough by 17.9 on game day and 16.3 at the end of the year. #### **Line?** So the model also creates a prediction of each game, translating it to a percentage. In the Scarborough/Sanford example, we expect Scarborough to win that game 87.6% of the time. The model then takes that percentage, adjusts for the number of points each team is expected to score, and creates a standard point spread. YOU SHOULD NOT BET ON THIS POINT SPREAD. You also shouldn’t bet against it. It is very rarely wrong. In 2018-19 girls games where the model had a projection of 80% or higher, the favored team went 453-5\. That means it was right 98.9% of the time. That’s been pretty consistent over the life of the model. #### **Is this really that accurate?** Yes. It’s actually *too* accurate, but I haven’t figured out how to fix it. Generally speaking, if a model says you should win 80% of the time, 20% of the time you should lose. But when the model says you should win 80% of the time, you win \~99% of the time. It’s too humble, which is certainly better than being wrong all the time. You know, like pundits on TV. #### **I saw something about Tourney Odds?** We then use those projections to predict the final standings. Using a number of Monte Carlo simulations, we simulate the rest of the season hundreds of times and create a range of possible outcomes. As the season progresses, this range tightens until you get locked into a certain final spot in the standings. Once again, this is very, very accurate. In the 2018-19 season, the model started projecting the tournament field with a month left in the season. It got 94.9% of them right. #### **That’s really accurate, right?** It’s the most accurate projection model I’ve ever found, in any sport. At any level. If you find a more accurate one, let me know. During the COVID bubble, I made a version of this for the NBA and it out-performed Nate Silver's model by a pretty wide margin. #### **What about Player Stats?** Oh man, would I love to include that. Again, the rule here is that I have to be able to apply something to all teams equally. So I’d need full, reliable stats from every team in the state. Some schools are not super-honest in their stat tracking. Others can’t even be bothered to report scores in an accurate manner. So player stats would probably have to come from a neutral third party and I’m not sure I see that happening any time soon. But! We do a little bit of player stats for the tournament and it’s fascinating to see how ill-informed the narratives of those games are, even though everyone in the state is sitting and watching the same games. Even something as simple as the MVP of a region is often hilariously wrong. #### **But what if you could?** Let’s say that happened. We could have advanced stats here for every player in the state, which would certainly help the players who have aspirations of playing at the next level. We could also factor in things like pace into the Power Rankings, which would make them even more accurate. We could actually factor in injuries! #### **Injuries?** Right now, we can’t include injuries because we don’t know exactly how important a player is. Sure, if the eventual Mr. Basketball misses a game, that’s pretty big, but how big? Is he worth 20 points a game? 22? More? How big is the drop-off from him to his backup? What about the 6th man on the other team who missed the game with the flu? How much is he worth? It very quickly becomes a rabbit hole. But with a complete box score from every game, we could do it. It’d take some work, but it’d be doable. #### **This is really a whole thing.** Trust me. I’m aware. #### **I also go to a lot of games and would like to help provide information** Shoot me an email: mainebasketballrankings@gmail.com #### **What’s your math background?​** None! Well, I took AP Calculus back in high school, so I’m not entirely without education, but I’m self-taught. I’ve never taken a Stats class. I taught myself Excel in Windows 3.1 in order to win a fantasy baseball league. I don’t play video games. I don’t work on cars. I think of problems like, “who’s better, a team from the county or one of the midcoast KVAC teams?” And then I try to figure it out. ​ Actually, this started back in the 4 class system with me listening to the debates over whether or not a then-undefeated Old Town team was better than Winslow, Medomak Valley, and Gardiner teams that had 1 or 2 losses, but had seemingly played tougher schedules. I figured it would take me an hour. It was a little more complicated than that. And just like those guys who constantly tweak their cars to get that extra little bit of performance out of it, I keep coming up with new ideas, which usually means teaching myself a new trick in Excel. ​ #### **What’s your angle?​** I like data. I want high school basketball to be better. I also think that a night of high school basketball is a better entertainment value than a night at the movies. I have a firm belief that Maine High School sports are in dire need of information and transparency, things that are sorely lacking from schools and the Maine Principal’s Association. I think the powers-that-be in Maine have retarded the development and progress of high school sports, often with mistruths and lazy narratives. Sometimes with flat-out lies. We owe it to our student athletes to do so much better. That belief drives the vast majority of this site’s editorial content. #### **Who are you?​** I come from a basketball family. I won a state title in high school and did play-by-play for a college team. I covered a National Championship game. But I’m just a guy who has no problem leaving work early in order to make it in time for the freshman game. I watch a LOT of basketball. Maybe too much basketball. My wife is very understanding. ​ I’ve written for numerous national publications. My work has been seen by hundreds of millions of people and featured in places like *The Washington Post*, *The Daily Beast*, *Buzzfeed News*, the *Portland Press Herald*, *The Huffington Post*, the *Bangor Daily News*, and a bunch of other places I’ve since forgotten. ​I write this under a pseudonym. I definitely root for my hometown team, but I keep that to myself, as it has zero impact on the model. I’ll often root for the model to be wrong, but it usually isn’t. ​ #### **Can I advertise on your site? ​** Sure. If I wanted to reach the type of Mainers who love high school basketball for my business, I’d advertise here. The people who read this site are obsessed like you’d never believe. Email me: mainebasketballrankings@gmail.com ​ #### **I work for a newspaper/TV Station/etc and would like to use the numbers I find here and/or on your social media pages without giving you any credit. Is that ok?​** Please stop.​ If you’d like to use data found here, please credit MaineBasketballRankings.com. #### **Didn’t you used to be on that forum?​** Yeah. I totally did. And it created tens of thousands of page views for that site. [Funny story](https://web.archive.org/web/20210510191146/https://mainebasketballrankings.com/goodbye-mbr/)…​ #### **Can I help?​** Sure! Tell your friends. If you have something you want to talk about that’s math-related, let me know and we’ll do a guest post thing. ​ #### **Will you add football/baseball/etc?​** I’ve toyed with the idea of football. If there’s enough interest, I might do it. Baseball and softball are trickier. The pitcher is such an important factor in a team’s Win Expectation that we’d probably need that information in order to get reliable numbers, and I’m not sure that’s going to be forthcoming. #### **Are you on the Facebook?​** [Yes.](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings/) ### Power Rankings URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/ Last updated: 2026-06-12T21:44:30.000Z Maine high school sports power rankings using the DIRIGO rating system. Rankings cover basketball, baseball, softball, lacrosse, soccer, football, field hockey, and volleyball across all classes and regions. ### Heal Points URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/ Last updated: 2026-06-13T15:41:52.000Z [How do Heal Points work?](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/how-are-heal-points-calculated/) Maine high school sports Heal Points standings and strength of schedule ratings for all sports. Heal Points measure team quality based on opponent strength, updated continuously throughout the season. _This page is for paying subscribers only._ ### Tourney Odds URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/ Last updated: 2026-01-18T02:00:46.000Z How will the Heal Points shake out? This uses a [Monte Carlo simulation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte%5FCarlo%5Fmethod?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) to come up with 10,000 scenarios for how the season might play out and the likelihood that your team will make the tournament. Then it uses a different simulation that treats every game as a coin flip to come up with outlandish scenarios that determine whether or not a team has clinched a playoff berth. [Upgrade to Paid](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/signup) I should point out that the desktop version of this is far superior. _This page is for paying subscribers only._ ### Every Game URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/every-game/ Last updated: 2024-02-04T20:20:04.000Z Below, for Varsity members, you'll see the database with every game and the Model's picks, Win%, how the game impacts the Power Rankings, and more. _This page is for subscribers on the Varsity tier only._ ### Welcome to the Team! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/welcome-to-the-team/ Last updated: 2022-10-31T02:17:03.000Z You now have access to more information to this coming season of high school basketball than you could (probably) ever want. Every game day during the season, you'll get the Model's predictions for every game in the state. It'll look something like this: #70 Lake Region @ #58 Cape Elizabeth (Cape Elizabeth +3.6) \[69.2\] In this, of course, Cape is favored by 3.6 points. The number in brackets is the [Stax Index](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-stax-index/), a number that tells you how good the game should be. Beyond that, you'll have access to a plethora of data. If you have any questions about it, feel free to email me: mainebasketballrankings \[at\] gmail \[dot\] com. And thank you for helping make this type of unique independent journalism possible! ### NFL Heal Points URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/nfl-heal-points-2/ Last updated: 2022-11-30T02:58:10.000Z One of the best things about Maine High School Basketball is the Heal Points system that creates maximum chaos as the season winds down. But what if it was applied to the NFL? Updated through games on November 28nd. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-29-at-9.57.03-PM.png) ### Football Rankings URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/ Last updated: 2024-09-27T03:19:33.000Z _No content available._ ### Logos URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/logos/ Last updated: 2022-11-13T19:23:49.000Z Here's something for you to bookmark. I was trying some things out in the data visualization software I use and I figured out how to include a team's logo when you hover over them, like so. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-13-at-9.06.35-AM.png) So of course, I have to do that now, which means I had to find logos for every school in the state. Which took some doing and quite a bit of cleanup in photoshop. --- *Basketball* *season is nearly here and Maine Basketball Rankings is back with the most comprehensive coverage in the state. Subscribe to stay in the know.* [Subscribe](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/signup/free) --- Turns out there's very little correlation between school size and quality of logo design. Funny how that works. Some favorites of mine: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Bonny-Eagle.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Carrabec.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Easton.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Greenville.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Leavitt.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/winthrop.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Wisdom.png) Anyway, I uploaded them all to a Google Drive, so if you need a logo, that's where they are. I think I have everyone. [GET LOGOS](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16bkXjOSx88q1Ia7pHOp7XgmqtqUQ9rAA?usp=sharing&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I also left it pretty open, so you should be able to add logos if you have a better version than what I was able to find. Or you can email them to me and I'll do it. mainebasketballrankings \[at\] gmail \[dot\] com Keep in mind that these logos are all the property of the schools themselves or, in some cases, the professional sports franchises they stole them from. ### Today's Games URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchups/ Last updated: 2026-05-23T03:32:20.000Z _This page is for paying subscribers only._ ### Merch URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/merch/ Last updated: 2026-02-05T06:12:31.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/unisex-staple-t-shirt-heather-forest-front-638d717da10ea.png) #### Maine Basketball Rankings Logo Shirt [Purchase](https://mebballrankings.gumroad.com/l/logoshirt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/kiss-cut-stickers-4x4-default-638d7cd577bed.png) #### I Knew sticker You knew before everyone else knew and while this isn't a badge of honor, it's the next best thing. [Purchase](https://mebballrankings.gumroad.com/l/IKnew?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### LIVE Stats URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/ Last updated: 2026-02-19T16:33:53.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Live-stats-banner-25-with-mpa-1.png) [Game Reports (Box Scores & Shot Charts)](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Lb5J2EJ6nqLXNlhttFO0MsBEDqsga-bt?usp=sharing&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ### Streams URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/streams/ Last updated: 2023-02-08T20:50:27.000Z Looking for a game? This is a list of where team's home games can usually be found. Let me know if you find any others: mainebasketballrankings \[at\] gmail \[dot\] com. 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[YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@lhsbluedevilsathletics7179/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Lincoln Academy - [LCTV](https://www.youtube.com/@lincolncountytelevision8228/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Machias - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@machiassports9217/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Madawaska - [WOWL](https://www.youtube.com/@MrMadtownman/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Maranacook - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@maranacookstudentservices3277/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Marshwood - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@marshwoodathletics4156/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Massabesic - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@mhsactivities760/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) MCI - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@MCIAthletics/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) MDI - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@MDIHSTrojanTV/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Hudl](https://www.team1sports.com/highschool/me/?S=mditrojans&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Medomak Valley - [LCTV](https://www.youtube.com/@lincolncountytelevision8228/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Mt. Blue - [MBTV](https://www.facebook.com/MBTV11/) Monmouth - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@rsu2monmouthmedia177/featured?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Morse - [BCTV](https://www.cityofbath.com/bctv-on-demand?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Mount View - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@mountviewrsu3athletics135/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Narraguagus - [NFHS](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/schools/narraguagus-high-school-harrington-me?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Noble - [NFHS](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/schools/noble-high-school-berwick-me?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Nokomis - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@RSU19MaineOfficialVideoChannel/streams?app=desktop&fbclid=IwAR03GHEA25lWJx-jhz5upfX5C1qSVKDej%5Fc178t1XM4bn9BsEGMXMgcZBlQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) NYA - [Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/northyarmouthacademy?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Oceanside - [Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/rsu13?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Old Orchard Beach - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@deanplante3119/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Pine Tree - [NFHS](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/schools/pine-tree-academy-freeport-me?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Portland - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@PortlandHighSchoolAthletics/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Presque Isle - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@presqueislehighschoolathle9169/featured?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Sacopee Valley - [Sacopee TV](https://www.youtube.com/@SacopeeTv/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Sanford - [WSSRTV](https://www.youtube.com/@WSSRTV/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Scarborough - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@scarboroughredstormtv2432/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Seacoast Christian - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@scsguardianathletics2102/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Searsport - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@searsportathletics9348/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) South Portland - [NFHS](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/schools/south-portland-high-school-south-portland-me?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Southern Aroostook - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@southernaroostook?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Spruce Mountain - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/c/RSU73?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Finley Sports](https://www.facebook.com/finleysportsME) | NFHS Skowhegan - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@EpicVueStudio2?app=desktop&fbclid=IwAR0Z0qp0b%5FKVnqaGnIuWex309jLk6sclIRcMvSA7m%5FqZkn4cWtEymV4HtCU&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Telstar - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@westernhillsaccesstelevisi3029/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Temple - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/TempleAcademyAthletics/videos) Thornton Academy - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@ThorntonAcademyTrojans/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Vinalhaven - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@vinalhavenschoolmedia4560/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Washington Academy - [NFHS](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/schools/washington-academy-east-machias-me?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Waterville - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@watervilleathletics3369/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Waynflete - [Hudl](https://www.team1sports.com/highschool/me/?S=waynfleteflyers&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Winslow - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@winslowathletics3921/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Winthrop - [NFHS](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/schools/winthrop-high-school-winthrop-me?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Wiscasset - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@user-cn3sg6fs9s/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Woodland - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@bsdb-baileyvilleschooldepa5904/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Yarmouth - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@yarmouthathletics5640/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) York - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs1jDFxuoNePhHCIO6wLYqg/featured?app=desktop&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Scoreboard URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/ Last updated: 2026-06-12T21:47:02.000Z Maine high school sports scores and results updated in real time. Covers all sports and classes including basketball, baseball, softball, lacrosse, soccer, football, field hockey, and volleyball. ### NBA URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/nba/ Last updated: 2023-01-30T23:15:04.000Z What happens when we apply the Model to the Association? ### Tourney Guide URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-guide/ Last updated: 2026-02-26T04:17:36.000Z All the data ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-07-at-11.04.47---PM.png) The Media Guide will give you this for every single team in the state, boys and girls. There will also be a guide to explain what all this means. If you're a paid subscriber, you can get it now. [Subscribe Today](#/portal/account/plans) Currently uploaded: Gold Ball Edition _This page is for paying subscribers only._ ### All-State Teams URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/all-state/ Last updated: 2024-02-15T15:11:23.000Z The Maine Basketball Rankings All-State team doesn't care how often you were on TV or what they said about you in the newspaper or your social media clout. All it cares about is your stats. Submit the stats below. I'll turn it into a EFF stat and adjust that based on the schedule you played and that's it. Loading… ### Gold Ball Odds URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/ Last updated: 2026-09-08T01:39:52.000Z *This simulates the rest of the season 10,000 times using a Monte Carlo simulation to see if your team will make the playoffs...and where they'll be seeded.* Live Maine high school tournament odds and bracket projections updated every 15 minutes using Monte Carlo simulation. Covers baseball, softball, boys lacrosse, and girls lacrosse across all classes. Powered by the DIRIGO rating system. _This page is for paying subscribers only._ ### Spring Heal Points URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring-heal-points/ Last updated: 2024-04-18T03:03:51.000Z Our Heal Points interface is a superior experience (and updates much, much faster). [Upgrade to Paid](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/signup) _This page is for paying subscribers only._ ### Fall Sports Rankings URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/ Last updated: 2025-11-03T01:46:55.000Z _No content available._ ## Posts ### Week 1 in the books URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/week-1-in-the-books/ Last updated: 2026-09-08T11:00:40.000Z Saturday's football schedule was light on surprises, but we still got a couple of notable results. Mainly, a couple of teams that we all thought were pretty good made a statement that they very well might be really good. Josh Crosby rushed for 204 yards and 4 scores on only 10 carries as Maranacook set an early high water mark for scoring with a 60-14 win over Traip. Maranacook spent last season in 11-man, losing to Bapst in the second round after going 2-6 in the regular season, but there's a lot of early buzz on them in 8-man. Could they make a run at OOB's dominance in 8-Man Small South? The Gulls blew out Sacopee Valley on the road to remind everyone that they aren't going anywhere. They'll play on October 17th at the Beach. Mike Mandell of Varsity Maine and I discussed Maranacook's impressive win and a whole lot more on this week's overreactions podcast. If you haven't watched an overreactions podcast yet, the premise is simple: each week during football season a Maine media person joins me to go class-by-class around the state and overreact to that week's results. Week 1 features all that, plus Mike talks about the bumper crop of young quarterbacks in the Central Maine region and we hit on a little bit of a basketball preview. [Subscribe on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- One of the bigger stories from last fall was Dexter's campaign to add lights to their football field. And while they didn't win the T-Mobile competition, they did reach their ultimate goal of adding lights and Friday was the debut of their Friday Night Lights. [Dexter lights up the field for first Friday night football gameWith the flick of a switch, the Dexter Regional High School football field was illuminated near dusk for the school’s first ever night game on Sept 4\. Thanks to the efforts of many across the community and $75,000 awarded by T-Mobile, the Tigers were able to open the 2026 season in primetime in Dexter against longtime rival Stearns High School of Millinocket.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-PO-336d9639-4ae2-42da-92e7-22393e58feb9.png)Piscataquis ObserverStuart Hedstrom![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/PO-spdexgudroe-37-26-640x400-0d871455-5659-4614-b757-a94272a59e7c.jpg)](https://observer-me.com/2026/09/06/featured/dexter-lights-up-the-field-for-first-friday-night-football-game/?fbclid=IwY2xjawUMW3NwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR6Wn231BVrEhDIs9Dhk-Sqr0F00AvPx1uqZeDKnLiF37tDj5MXSGTsuvRyuCQ%5Faem%5FZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- One of the most popular basketball features is now available (and live) for fall sports. Tourney Odds used a [Monte Carlo simulation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte%5FCarlo%5Fmethod?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) to play out the rest of the season 10,000 times. The short version is it uses a random number generator to simulate games and the 10K simulations are essentially looking for combinations like a 1 seed losing 5 straight or a winless team pulling off a big upset. The volume of those simulations creates a bell curve for each team. Kennebunk, for example, goes undefeated in 3.6% of simulations, 7-1 in 17.1%, and so on. It looks like they're a lock to make the playoffs at 4-4 (or 3-5 with a tiny bit of help). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-07-at-10.16.05---PM.png) You can then see the larger B South. Six of the 7 teams get in, so that's not compelling, but seeding certainly is. As games go final, these ranges will get tighter and tighter. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-07-at-10.12.05---PM.png) I will add the caveat that this is the first time I've run this for football and Crabtree. It should handle it fine, but you never know. Obviously, this is a paid feature. So subscribe! [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Upgrade now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **Ashland coach Peter Belskis notched his [500th soccer victory](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid0274iwVzS7znz8KB7gjZw8nwEMDafBBMRMxXarMWw3qjBXN6tAxMeMebZbGQsV3hMNl&id=100064346785865) on Monday.** **### Elsewhere** **Hailey Plant scored twice and added an assist in Presque Isle's win over Orono...Adriana Lombardi had 4 goals in Winslow's win over Morse...Parker Richardson scored his second goal in the final minutes to give Lake Region a win over Poland...Lexi Sweeney's 3 goals and 2 dimes (do they call assists "dimes" in soccer?) paced OOB by Sacopee Valley.** **---** **On Saturday, I tested the scoring app with a field hockey game. I've been working on this all summer, but it's always good to test on a real game. It went well!** **You can score any game, either via the app that's in beta testing or by clicking the "Score this Game Live" button in the Scoreboard.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-06-at-8.19.17---PM.png)** **You'll want to [load in the rosters](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/submit-your-roster/) ahead of time. Once you've scored the game, it'll generate a game report that's useful for sending to the newspaper or parents.** [GARD-LA-reportGARD-LA-report.pdf34 MBdownload-circle](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/content/files/2026/09/GARD-LA-report.pdf "Download") Plus, it'll give you a live view for people who can't make the game and generate a [box score](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/game/?id=839f8de5-3815-4014-855a-d91233c70d79). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-08-at-1.12.18---AM.png) It's free to score a game. --- As data nerd who ran cross-country in high school (to get in shape for basketball season, naturally), there's a new website that absolutely grabbed my attention. And not because I've known the guy who made it since we were kids. The Maine XC Index aims to bring a degree of mathematical clarity to running through the woods. It's fascinating stuff and even with a smallish sample size, it's doing impressive things. > Trained on September 2025 and asked to predict the Festival of Champions, this model called **92.1% of 444,627 head-to-head matchups** across the boys and girls races, and 17 of its 20 predicted top-ten places finished in the top ten. Error is far tighter at the front of the field than at the back: the leaders were predicted to within 8 to 17 seconds, the back of the field to within 55 to 75. There's a lot of stuff here. Each runner has a profile. Here's Maranacook's Gage Mattson. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-06-at-9.54.53---PM.png) You can compare runners and do a whole lot more. Check it out! [Maine XC Index 2026Maine XC Index: course-adjusted ratings for every high school cross country runner in Maine, with stated uncertainty.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Maine XC](https://mainexcindex.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) You don't need a fancy spreadsheet to tell you that Camden's soccer team heading up to Don Roux Field in Lewiston has Game of the Day potential. The early book on A North is that Camden and Lewiston should be fighting for the top seed along with Brunswick. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-07-at-11.33.54---PM-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) After that, there's a bit of a gap, so the winner today will have an early leg up and a quality win that'll provide Heal Points all season long. They'll play again on October 1st and then maybe a third time when the temps turn colder? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-07-at-11.23.29---PM-1.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchup/) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Week 1 Overreactions: Football is Back, with Mike Mandell URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/week-1-overreactions-football-is-back-with-mike-mandell/ Last updated: 2026-09-07T04:17:42.000Z It's the return of a season tradition: each week during the football season, I bring on a member of Maine's high school football media to wildly overreact to that week's results — with the standing disclaimer that some of these takes will look very wrong in three weeks. This week's guest is **Mike Mandell** of Varsity Maine / Central Maine / Maine Trust for Local News, breaking down a jam-packed Week 1 slate. #### In this episode: - Why Week 1 power rankings are inherently wonky — Thornton Academy's 56-0 win over a not-good Scarborough team, and the tension between rewarding results and predicting future performance - **Belfast** snaps a 20-game losing streak with an overtime win over Brewer - **Gardiner** dominates Nokomis behind a big game from Connor Bernard and a strong defensive performance - A trio of statement wins: **Greely** blows out York, **Leavitt** pulls away from Mt. Ararat, **Lawrence** throttles Gorham 48-0 in a game that lasted five minutes - The "young star quarterback" theme sweeping central Maine — Isaac Medor, Drew Lindquist, Devin Giroux, Austin Lancaster — and comparisons to the Parker Moran/Tatum Doucette class of a few years back - A rundown of the class-by-class landscape: Class A (Thornton Academy, Bonny Eagle, Noble over Dover NH), Class B (Falmouth vs. Kennebunk's classic rivalry continues, Edward Little as a potential surprise team, Westbrook's title defense begins with a loss to Cheverus), Class C (Camden Hills' move up from 8-man), Class D (Madison, Winthrop, Freeport), and 8-man football (Yarmouth, Old Town, Maranacook, Stearns) - Reflections on injuries already piling up around the state (Anderson Noyes at Cony, Kollin Donlin at Medomak, and others) - A detour into the Michigan–Wisconsin clock controversy, since Mike's a diehard Michigan fan working through the stages of grief - Early-season basketball buzz for both boys and girls across central Maine, including Valley's girls team and the Greely boys - Mike's travel schedule as a reminder of just how much ground high school sports media covers in a single week #### Also in the intro: - A reminder that our live-scoring tools are free to use for any game in the state — as long as rosters are uploaded — and that Lucas used the field hockey scorer himself for Saturday's Gardiner–Lincoln Academy game, complete with an auto-generated PDF report ready to send to parents or local papers - A plug for site subscriptions and the t-shirt lineup --- *Listen wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes continue throughout the football and basketball seasons.* ### Belfast snaps a losing streak URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/belfast-snaps-a-losing-streak/ Last updated: 2026-09-05T11:00:37.000Z A losing streak can be demoralizing and there's a special level to it in football where you've only got 8 games a year. In basketball, with 18, it's easier to squeak out a win, although the Wiscasset girls recently went 8 years in-between wins, but with football, it's easier for a losing streak to turn into a multi-year saga. Much like Odysseus, a short trip can quickly spiral into an albatross. Enter the Belfast football team. They'd lost 20 straight entering tonight's game against Brewer, but in three of their final 5 last year, they'd been within two scores. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-05-at-12.51.34---AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/team/?id=473c9629-82b8-4409-8aa8-74aa0d549615) worth noting here that the site archives last year's data, unlike other places. The Model actually had them [favored in this one](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchup/?id=280321c0-9460-44b6-93e1-da05c4520e8b) at home, but it took them an extra period to get it done. Noah Parenteau scored in the first OT for Belfast and they converted to make it 28-20\. Brewer answered with a Carter Smith score, but the Lions held up on the 2-point try to snap that 20-game losing streak. > FINAL: Belfast snaps 20-game losing streak with a 28-26 overtime win against Brewer. [#MESports](https://x.com/hashtag/MESports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/3c9cuZjIk3](https://t.co/3c9cuZjIk3?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rob (@RobGNBH) [September 5, 2026](https://x.com/RobGNBH/status/2096059186928816423?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They'll travel to Oak Hill next week to try and put together a winning streak. --- In Fryeburg, Cony was on the ropes late. With Parker Morin gone, the defending B North champs have a new quarterback this year and there's nothing like a late game test in a real game to see what they've got under center. Well, Drew Lindquist threw a strike to Oliver Odom with 2.9 seconds left to finish the rally and lift Cony to a come-from-behind win over Fryeburg. The Rams might be ok. --- I went to Gardiner/Nokomis, which on paper had the look of a classic. It was ugly, full of penalties, but the highlight came at the end of the first half. Gardiner led by 2 scores and I remarked to the Lilly, the Varsity Maine photographer, that with 2 minutes left, the Warriors desperately just needed to get to halftime and regroup. Instead, Gardiner got a stop and got the ball back, [Isaac Madore connected with Chase McGrane](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BnPBazFHt/) for the second time to make it 20-0 with 22.4 seconds left. Surely, now Nokomis would just take it to halftime and I was so sure of it, I posted it as the halftime score. Well, they decided to run a play. Evan Bullock blew it up and sophomore Connor Berard scooped it up and rumbled to the end zone and effectively put the game out of reach. Obviously, that's who I wanted to talk to after the game. --- The Stax Index said the game to go to was in Wells and it wasn't wrong. The Warriors got two long touchdowns from Brady Godin and led 14-7 in the final minutes against Winslow. But Winslow was able to convert on 4th and goal in the final minute to pull within 1 and despite kicking a PAT on their first score, they opted to go for the win on the road. Wells stopped them on the conversion to seal the win. --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Upgrade now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **### Elsewhere** **Lucas Klehn rushed for 2 TDs in Bonny Eagle's win over SoPo....Logan Stout rushed for 3 TDs as Edward Little blew out Deering...Landon Marquis tossed 4 scores as Leavitt scored 25 unanswered to put away Medomak...Caden Wells took a blocked punt 35 yards to the house to give Morse a win over Mountain Valley...Toby Oufiero had 3 total TDs in Oxford Hills' win over Windham...Austin Lancaster threw 3 scores and had a game-sealing pick in the end zone as Skowhegan survived Mount Blue...TA scored 48 first half points to crush Scarborough...Kyle Normand's 2 goals led Bonny Eagle over Biddeford...Rowen Reed had a goal and assist as Gorham shut out SoPo...Luke Goucher's overtime goal gave Monmouth a win over Hall-Dale...Mia Mariello scored 4 goals in Biddeford's 2OT win over Sanford in field hockey...Helen Zimmerman's overtime goal gave Greely a win over York.** **---** **The NY Times has a nice interview with Pablo Torre as he continues his victory lap from his coverage of the Kawhi Leonard saga and cap circumvention with the Clippers.** **The whole thing is fascinating on several levels, including the importance of independent journalism, especially in this hellscape of a society we're being forced to live in where the ultra-rich essentially get to do whatever they want, seemingly without any consequences. Elon Musk can spend obscene amounts of money in violation of election laws and the only negative thing that happens is he gets [embarrassed by Chess.com](https://x.com/PathfinderFacts/status/2095931647166226435?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) (that's a real thing that happened).** **But Torre makes the point that the NBA's punishment of Ballmer suggests that thanks to independent journalism, the good guys can actually win.** **> That maybe a collection of documentary evidence and human sources who are brave enough to talk to a journalist, and months of research that have been vetted legally and otherwise, can combine to create something like consequences at a time at which those extraordinarily wealthy people seem to be able to avoid them.** **> I think that we have the ability to do something that the rest of our culture is yearning for, which is make people who are too rich to care about anything resembling the public interest worry that maybe they need to tell us the truth.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg)** **We head to the County, where Presque Isle might be the last County team to start their season. They'll host an Orono team that went 13-0-1 last year and is hoping to finish better than last year's double-overtime loss in the Gold Ball game to Hall-Dale.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-05-at-1.41.29---AM-1-1.png)** [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchup/) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Westbrook's Championship Defense URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/westbrooks-championship-defense/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T11:00:54.000Z For the opening night of the football season, it seemed like the obvious choice was to head to Westbrook to see if the Class B champs could continue their winning ways in a new season (with a new quarterback) against a Cheverus team considered by some to be a contender in B South. Steve Craig pegged them as a potential Cinderella in B South. [What does it take for a rapid rise to the top in Maine high school football?Westbrook last season and Falmouth in 2024 proved it’s possible to go from also-ran to champion in one season. Which team can do it in 2026?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-d30e431e-bb87-41a6-9b05-63c7b5afe02a.png)Centralmaine.comSteve CraigStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43762589_20260827_Cheverus-HS-Football_1-6a767f28-696c-44cf-bfd8-47df3e6eee3d.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/09/02/what-does-it-take-for-a-rapid-rise-to-the-top-in-maine-high-school-football/?utm%5Fsource=facebook&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fcampaign=NewBot%5FvarsityMaine&fbclid=IwY2xjawUGX1VwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR4N-yIbRvG08XXjmXkXN3HWsPu740PTP%5FLHeO1j5n0Vp4nhG2VUzgLST3OHuA%5Faem%5FSt0%5FeADWTj6CPogMRlJzuA) It was my first trip to Westbrook and here is where I remind you to listen to the podcast episode to Blue Blazes head coach Sam Johnson. Westbrook's defense came out amped. They forced a bad throw on Cheverus' first drive that Andre Hicks III was [able to pick off](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19KzVgVNaj/). He scored on a run to finish off the drive and give Westbrook a 6-0 lead they took into the half. But it should have been more. [Lucas Roberson returned a fumble for a TD,](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BhWGEuPJ3/) but the return was negated by a blocking penalty. The Blazes forced three turnovers in that first half and the question at the break was if they'd scored enough. Surely the Stags wouldn't be blanked. They made their run in the second half. [Will Baker's rushing TD](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BHAiSRVTL/) tied the game at 6 and when Cheverus took the lead on a Jackson Holmes field goal, it looked like they had all the momentum. It probably didn't help that Westbrook had faked a punt on two straight possessions and they had both failed. Westbrook got the momentum back with rush-heavy drive, capped by a [Hunter Hall score](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1CDt5n7rVy/) and had a chance to put the game away with a 1st and goal late, but Cheverus' defense held, giving them one last chance with 1:18 to go. Then Westbrook [dialed up the defense](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DgxSp3qWK/). They forced the easiest intentional grounding call you'll ever see, followed by a safety to shut the door and start the year with a statement win. Michael Hoffer was there. [Westbrook opens title defense with narrow win over CheverusWESTBROOK—The stardust has carried over. Westbrook’s football team, which penned an unforgettable, inspirational storybook tale like no other a year ago, began a new title quest Thursday night at Olmsted Field. Where once again, the Blue Blazes faced adversity and had to make big plays with the game![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-52c111fe-dbce-4e18-ab01-7d28d4e55e9b.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260903_180432-1-65252f8a-f08c-4181-9699-69a4f77f10fa.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/westbrook-opens-title-defense-with-narrow-win-over-cheverus/?ref=hoffers-high-school-sports-the-way-game-stories-should-be-newsletter) --- A little further south was the other marquee game of the day. Kennebunk and Falmouth have had a couple of nice matchups the last 2 years and last night was no different. > Ethan White's running and a goal-line stand help Kennebunk past Falmouth in opener.[#BLitz](https://x.com/hashtag/BLitz?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 8 [pic.twitter.com/JLm99edXxx](https://t.co/JLm99edXxx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [September 4, 2026](https://x.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/2095716085714567545?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We've got a full football slate today with 28 games and a bunch of communities are going to get their first real look at their new coach in action. There's 18 new coaches this year across the state. [Meet Maine’s 18 new high school football coachesNearly 23 percent of the state’s varsity programs have a new boss in 2026.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-7d6a35c4-486e-4f82-8cb3-14a3026a07ec.png)The Portland Press HeraldSteve CraigStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/26581749_SJ.SPTfootballMtBlueLewP.092621-28-ee152c1c-bf7d-4484-85ab-c98c1ae7830f.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/09/02/meet-maines-18-new-high-school-football-coaches/?utm%5Fsource=facebook&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fcampaign=NewBot%5FvarsityMaine&fbclid=IwY2xjawUGRx9wZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAGJyaWQRMWM5Y3RwWXN3R1VjaWhqYzlzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEewtlohfpg5Uq5XXaaf5NIAX-Jk1Lql7HXXI-VIjWU2vdUR3bx3mpLQDWfxEc%5Faem%5F4yme19JarqIley0tdrqbsw) --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Upgrade now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- If you thought last year was bad at UNC under Bill Belichick's leadership, year 2 is looking to be much, much worse. > *Lawyers hired to conduct the investigation are also questioning people about whether defensive coordinator Steve Belichick used drugs on the job or provided drugs to at least one player — and, separately, about whether a member of UNC's recruiting staff had a sexual relationship with a player, people familiar with the investigation told WRAL. They also asked about possible sexual relationships between assistant coaches and recruiting staff, the people said.* Yikes. [UNC’s Michael Lombardi resigns as investigation reportedly includes questions about Steve BelichickLombardi had been on paid leave since July. Investigators are reportedly asking questions about accusations of drug use by Belichick, as well as inquiring about inappropriate relationships in the football program.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon_y24_48x48-f1a1e057-5abe-4a90-a41e-cccc68cd300e.png)Yahoo! SportsNick Bromberg![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fd29szjachogqwa.cloudfront-b1e432fe-d35d-4fca-aa77-62692caccdae.net%2Fimages%2F2026-07%2F3eddfa69-431f-4c8a-8f5f-0bd62115f3d7)](https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/breaking-news/article/north-carolina-gm-michael-lombardi-resigns-as-uncs-investigation-reportedly-includes-questions-about-steve-belichick-210208183.html?guccounter=1&guce%5Freferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly90LmNvLw&guce%5Freferrer%5Fsig=AQAAALIJL7pugmxyu8ad2dApsAM2-LYbilxA3U0ac99XIWfN3cWhvx0O6OGvXEAVmu8KiUtoC1IgbHRdS4W9dgAMgY2bdo5obvANnew8ETOUtx3I1j-qqFwTkhL-paPo16JjyNFCMj%5FBHBmHseVxtRz2p0S8NhNake7S3qGcKlL2Tzdt&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Next time someone tells you a small team can't compete, show them this. > Wall HS has just 370 students > > La Joya HS has more than 2,200 > > That means La Joya is nearly SIX TIMES the size of Wall > > Final score: Wall 55, La Joya 14 > > Absolutely bonkers > > — Texas Football Life (@txfblife) [September 4, 2026](https://x.com/txfblife/status/2095711725928456576?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Once again, the Game of the Day comes from soccer. Could be worth a trip to Falmouth! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-04-at-1.54.32---AM-1.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchup/) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Kicking Off the 26-27 Season URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/kicking-off-the-26-27-season/ Last updated: 2026-09-03T11:00:37.000Z Football season is here! The bulk of the teams around the state kick off football season on Friday, but there's a couple of games today. Falmouth and Kennebunk face off in a rematch of a classic from last year and the defending B champs from Westbrook start their title defense against Cheverus. Westbrook's title, much like Falmouth's before them, came as a surprise to anyone who wasn't bleeding Blazes blue, so I invited coach Sam Johnson on the podcast to talk about their meteoric rise and the groundwork that was laid years before. It looks like the rain might clear up before the game today. I'm probably heading down (weather permitting). --- I didn't really have enough for a full newsletter earlier this week, so I'm a little behind on plugging the podcasts. Hopefully, you've been staying caught up, but if you haven't, Jay Baines and I went over the way-too-early basketball preseason polls. We recorded this in May and since it wasn't super timely, I held on to it (maybe too long!) The downside of it is stuff has happened between now and then that would absolutely swing the polling, but those are the breaks. As always, be sure to subscribe on YouTube. [Subscribe on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Upgrade now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- The schedules are all pulled and hopefully accurate (ha!) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-03-at-12.15.25---AM-1.png) [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) You can check your team's schedule on their team page. Here, for example, is [Cape soccer](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/team/?id=9b496a96-154d-43b1-93a4-303d6f14c4a0). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-03-at-12.01.41---AM-1.png) If you're a local business (or super fan), I'm making ads available on team pages. Your business banner ad can sit on the top of all of the team pages for a specific school for the entire school year. It's a great way to reach people in your community and support this website. A win-win! [AdvertiseGet your business in front of the most engaged basketball fans in Maine![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-2d0a490c-f3f4-4d9d-ab1c-cdd83fe7ec22.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/advertise-75d26881-16da-445b-ab52-854ebbbd1d2f.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/advertise/) --- The NBA finally finished their investigation of the Clippers and, much to the surprise of almost anyone, the League hammered the team. The Clippers lost 5 first round picks, Steve Ballmer got a 1 year suspension, Uncle Dennis was banned for 5 years. It's a massive penalty and a huge loss for ESPN's "reporting" just a couple of weeks ago that the League had found nothing wrong. Turns out when you fire all your real journalists and give the money to a punter, you get embarrassed. [Clippers Punishment Puts Disputed ESPN Report Under SpotlightThe NBA’s punishments in the Clippers-Kawhi Leonard saga put a recently disputed ESPN report back in the spotlight.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-FOS_Icon_Black-1-ab7d40da-3b52-4a61-832e-02678c8e4df6.png)Front Office SportsRyan Glasspiegel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/2024-09-30T223853Z_1130618849_MT1USATODAY24368170_RTRMADP_3_NBA-LOS-ANGELES-CLIPPERS-MEDIA-DAY-scaled-e1788387481220-d5bb7c1a-3872-4dda-8be7-80eeb9d0b661.jpg)](https://frontofficesports.com/article/clippers-kawhi-leonard-steve-ballmer-punishment-spotlight/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They'll learn nothing from this, I'm sure. The Clippers are beyond screwed. This is being called a "Death Penalty" across the League and it's entirely their fault. All Kawhi had to do was plant a couple trees! Do an Instagram post! An interesting side impact of this punishment is that while the Clippers figure to be very bad for quite a long time, the Celtics have their 2028 first round pick from the Jaylen trade and that is suddenly looking like a very, very good pick. [Clippers’ NBA penalty hands Celtics a franchise-altering dilemmaAdam Silver’s massive punishment against LA turns Boston’s 2028 pick swap into the NBA’s premier trade chip. Should Brad Stevens use it or trade it?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon_2_-1--ea70e808ebb92b8475e4efc33f7b77f2-9967c805-10f8-44d3-bc1c-4d81ac64e6de.ico)Hardwood HoudiniBen Handler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/01m1j4v8380800fzgvqx-0c399897-3ab4-4ab2-9ee9-7fe5f8563170.jpg)](https://hardwoodhoudini.com/clippers-nba-penalty-hands-celtics-franchise-altering-dilemma?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Aden Jeffers is in the running to be the subject of an ad in Sports Illustrated, but he needs your vote. Voting ends today. [Vote for Aden to be featured in a 3BRAND ad in Sports Illustrated and win $25,000!Aden Lives In The Gym. He Is Dedicated To His Craft! Works Out 3 Times Daily And Has Led His Hs Team To Their 1st State Championship Ever.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-4d61618f-9f14-429d-a68d-d150ea458838.png)Sports Illustrated![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/3a7582d4b8504dd172eddaf429c6fc78-d96a3222-b123-47c4-8309-557957521693.jpg)](https://athleteoftheyear.org/2026/aden-5170?fbclid=IwY2xjawUFjKVwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR7bItJ8leloHRc5l6GjboDDPmQLePtGwTxeuF0JhcZWMdsAqhRg8oy2Kfnkww%5Faem%5FVcCwWzsKe2VvMuIUX6v0XA&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The start of the season means it's time for season previews and Michael Hoffer has a series of novellas you can check out at the indispensable [Hoffer's High School Sports](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) (subscribe!). [Hoffer’s High School Sports’ 2026 Football Preview...TA leads the way...againThree local teams, Thornton Academy (Class A), Westbrook (Class B) and Greely (Class C), brought home Gold Balls in 2025\. Not too shabby. This autumn, there are an abundance of squads from the area who entertain championship dreams in what should be another thrilling, triumphant campaign. Here’s an in-![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-8362f7e6-e770-4718-b7c1-c3625d3bef5c.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/TAchamps-9e544c67-a3a4-4564-8408-bfd9252029c6.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/hoffers-high-school-sports-2026-football-preview-ta-leads-the-way-again/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- [ ![](//a.impactradius-go.com/display-ad/10661-3217736)](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/c/5077352/3217736/10661?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)![](https://imp.pxf.io/i/5077352/3217736/10661) Front Office Sports has an interesting article about the rise of the content creators on the high school sports sidelines. > “Basically anyone with a cellphone” can now identify themselves as media and find a way onto the field at some schools, says Matt Stepp, a Texas high school football journalist of two decades. He began noticing an uptick in nontraditional media at games in 2021, when COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on sideline access were lifted, and NIL went into effect at the NCAA level. > In Arizona, the trend has become so pronounced that Seth Polansky, director of media services at the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA), tells FOS he and his colleagues have coined a term for it: the “pajama paparazzi.” First off, "pajama paparazzi" is an objectively funny term. There's a couple of ways to look at this. People have made the point that it's a great way to get real world filming experience, but there's a million ways to do that and you don't need to be at a game. You could do it really anywhere or at any level. There is undoubtedly an influx of people on the sidelines who aren't traditional media. And I realize that some would consider me part of the problem here, so we can just acknowledge that and set it aside. For every Brady King there's a dozen kids who are...not Brady King and don't exactly know what they're doing out there and do things like walk on the field or court during timeouts. It's not great. What you're going to see, starting now, is schools codifying some rules and guidelines. The MPA has already tightened their guidelines for Tourney Week and I wouldn't be surprised if they go further. [High School Football Sidelines Are Clogged With Content CreatorsHigh school sports have become fertile ground for young creators, and leaders are trying to keep the influx from becoming a free-for-all.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-FOS_Icon_Black-1-19eea296-cd61-409b-8b6a-81b6ccadc5be.png)Front Office SportsEllyn Briggs![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/FOS_HS-Sidelines_Content_Story-Header_V2-scaled-19703d7c-8acd-4d31-8fdd-0c025f8c2dfd.jpg)](https://frontofficesports.com/article/high-school-football-sidelines-clogged-with-creators/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Troy Barnies has signed on for year 16 of his pro career. > Year 16! > > …and what better place than in my second home, Norway 🇳🇴🏀🦁 [pic.twitter.com/qRB2tH8qre](https://t.co/qRB2tH8qre?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Troy Barnies (@TroyBarnies) [September 1, 2026](https://x.com/TroyBarnies/status/2094883572427419737?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) There's spreads for every game tomorrow, with the usual caveat that all of the information is entirely based on last year's numbers. So take that with a grain of salt. Anyway, this is just to give you an idea of what it'll look like going forward. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-02-at-10.13.28---PM-1.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchup/) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Westbrook's Sam Johnson on Defending a Class B State Title URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/westbrooks-sam-johnson-on-defending-a-class-b-state-title/ Last updated: 2026-09-03T01:36:04.000Z This week on the podcast I sat down with **Sam Johnson**, head coach of the **Westbrook Blue Blazes**, the defending Class B state football champions, ahead of Westbrook's season opener against Cheverus. #### In this episode: - How a senior-heavy roster and a brutal 0-6 start in 2023 laid the groundwork for Westbrook's title run - Circling the state championship game on the calendar from year one — and why that approach evolved by year four - Building "his own program" after inheriting a 15-game losing streak in 2022 - Working alongside his high school football coach, now his principal - Early buy-in exercises — team community service, picking up campus trash — and the "little things" philosophy borrowed from college coaching clinics - His playing days as a self-described "below-average receiver" (19 catches, senior year) and team captain - Time at the Shrine Bowl, including quarterback **Giovanni Staples** volunteering to handle kicking duties - Breaking down the 2025 season: the Week 1 win over Marshwood, a closer-than-it-looked loss to Falmouth, and the run through the playoffs - Inside the game plan for the state championship upset over heavily favored Kennebunk — disguised coverages, forced turnovers, and Tony Bongeman's 87-yard pick-six - Looking ahead to defending the title with a retooled roster, and Thursday's home opener honoring Westbrook's new scoreboard, donated by Arthur Gerrard and Eugene Waters #### Also in the intro: - A quick preview note on Westbrook opening tonight against Cheverus - Lucas's take on the NBA's ruling in the Clippers/Kawhi Leonard salary-cap circumvention case — five forfeited first-round picks, a one-year suspension and $30M fine for Steve Ballmer, and Pablo Torre's reporting being vindicated over ESPN's earlier account - A reminder that subscriptions and site features have expanded since spring, plus new team-page advertising options for local businesses --- *Listen wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop throughout the season covering football and beyond.* ### The Harvest Games URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-harvest-games/ Last updated: 2026-08-21T11:02:29.000Z The Fall Sports season kicked off Wednesday night with the first of the harvest games and just like the NFL, we started with the reigning champions kicking off their title defense. When last we saw the Fort Fairfield boys soccer team, they were besting Monmouth 2-1 for the Class D title. This year, their season started with a trip to Easton and a rematch of the 2023 Regional Final. Easton came away with the win in this one, 2-0, to hand Fort Fairfield their first loss. If you're wondering, yes they still do the harvest schedule. And if you're wondering what that even means, a long time ago, they decided to give the teams in Aroostook County a break in the schedule to get the potato harvest in. This is back when technology was less prevalent, but a number of teams still do it. The kids are probably not still as urgently needed for the harvest as they were in 1970, but the tradition has survived. Then again, it's not like AI can pick potatoes. Anyway, Easton moves up to 42nd in the Power Rankings. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-20-at-10.49.38---PM.png)](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/team%5Fembed.html?team%5Fid=f74b3c4e-a401-46ca-84f4-57542b18e1b0&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you skipped the Spring Sports season, that's a look at the newfangled version of the rankings. The website has been completely overhauled since the end of basketball season and there's a LOT of new stuff for you to check out. And more coming very, very soon. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Upgrade now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- A couple of weeks ago I posted on the Facebook page about the Biddeford ICE tragedy and, rather predictably, got some blowback. Some Maine Wire-adjacent page promised I'd lost tons of follows (spoiler: nope), because how dare I have an opinion and politics should be kept out of sports. Never mind that some coaches aren't sure if their players will show up to practice if ICE happens to be in their neighborhood. I'm pretty sure that's a situation where politics is definitely inserting itself into sports, but what do I know? So rather than kowtow to the pressure of people who probably don't even follow the Facebook page, much less read this newsletter, I figured I'd zag. So Mike Shepherd, the politics editor of the Bangor Daily News, joined the podcast this week to talk about the paper's political coverage--especially in this very, very charged climate--the Collins/Jackson race, the legacy of Olympia Snowe, and why you can't really stick to sports because politics infests everything we do. This was a fascinating conversation and not just because Mike took the conversation to dunk technicals, as is standard practice for the podcast. I'm aware that there's people who will react with "I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BASKETBALL SITE", even though it's been more than that for a long time, but I don't really care. My north star has always been to do things that I find interesting and if people follow, that's great. And if not, well there's going to be something that's more their speed right around the corner. Feel free to put your two cents in the comments. I'm also thinking of bumping the podcast to twice a week. We'll try it out. And if you enjoy the podcast, make sure you subscribe on YouTube or wherever you podcast. [Subscribe on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Thornton Academy's Cody Bowker made his AA debut for the Phillies last night and, as luck would have it, they were in Portland to face the Sea Dogs and Roman Anthony. He delivered. [Thornton graduate Cody Bowker shines in Double-A debut in front of family and friendsThe Bowdoinham resident took the mound for the Reading Phillies against the Portland Sea Dogs Thursday night.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-c80274f7-80ed-4c66-a9a8-9ad676056222.png)Centralmaine.comTravis LazarczykColumnist![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43755901_20260820_Bowker_08-9182c991-60ca-4d16-978a-4e262e759354.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/08/20/thornton-graduate-cody-bowker-shines-in-double-a-debut-in-front-of-family-and-friends/?utm%5Fcampaign=NewBot%5FvarsityMaine&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawT0o-NwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5TDLlSYhrLn8e7qB5MpPL34Q-A0UE6FSfUVuNgBcO7JJ04DRQoDKR5MBfjHw%5Faem%5FMyCvrDiqssFlGtpl5Mi2qQ) Joe Bailey was there after the game to get Bowker's reaction to his AA debut. > After the game Cody Bowker talked about facing Anthony, plus hear what Anthony has to say about facing Bowker [@TATrojanSports](https://x.com/TATrojanSports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/9kwixtlKT3](https://t.co/9kwixtlKT3?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [August 21, 2026](https://x.com/joebaileysports/status/2090622975925960714?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- With the Fall Sports season ramping up, now is a perfect time to get your business ahead of the highly engaged people who spend a LOT of time on the site on a daily basis, either checking out their team or the other teams in their region or (more crucially) their rivals. There's a lot of options for advertising. You could sponsor the podcast or your school's team page or this newsletter. It's a great deal. [AdvertiseGet your business in front of the most engaged basketball fans in Maine![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-d2dd8080-fb7f-4561-8508-53c42dee3245.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/advertise-09b23fba-16cb-4f3c-aa0f-ebf2510806ae.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/advertise/) --- Also: if you've got your roster, don't forget to upload it to the site so it'll show up when people try to use the new scoring app. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-21-at-12.17.54---AM.png) [Submit your roster](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/submit-your-roster/) --- John Karalis has thoughts on how the Celtics can use Paul George. [What the Boston Celtics Can Expect From Paul GeorgeThis is the next installment in a series of pieces examining what the Boston Celtics can expect from each of their players this season. Others in the series: Th![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/ON_SI-Favicon_B_96x96_3-a3d99d9d-5962-487b-8ddc-433d15ff1981.ico)Inside The CelticsJohn Karalis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/01m0d965ystaa1x1xdks-7bad977e-2e4a-43c3-a70f-f8fd48725cf3.jpg)](https://www.si.com/nba/celtics/onsi/what-the-boston-celtics-can-expect-from-paul-george-01m0d8tks3yv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) We're still in the County, but with twice the games as Wednesday. Easton heads to Central Aroostook for a boys/girls doubleheader and Van Buren hosts Wisdom and Washburn, respectively. But the Game of the Day is the Easton/Central Aroostook girls game. The site is already kicking out predictions (1-1 so far), but there's the usual caveat that it's really, really early and it'll take a couple of games for the Model to figure out the season. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-20-at-11.32.11---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchup/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Where Sports Meets Politics: Mike Shepherd Joins the Podcast URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/where-sports-meets-politics-mike-shepherd-joins-the-podcast/ Last updated: 2026-08-20T04:05:50.000Z The 2026-27 season is already underway — Easton and Fort Fairfield kicked things off up in Aroostook County this week, continuing a tradition that dates back generations, when the County's harvest schedule forced an early start so student-athletes could help bring in the potato crop before falling behind on games. The rest of the state follows suit in earnest on September 3rd, and schedules are already live on the site (though a few programs — looking at you, John Bapst — still need to get their full slate into the MPA system). But this episode isn't really about the season opener. It's about something Maine Basketball Rankings doesn't usually wade into: politics. ## The Backstory After a Facebook post about the ICE situation in Biddeford drew some heated pushback — including the now-familiar "shut up and dribble" refrain — it seemed like the right moment to bring on someone who thinks about the intersection of sports and civic life for a living: **Mike Shepherd**, Politics and Investigations Editor at the *Bangor Daily News* and the 2023 Maine Press Association Journalist of the Year. Shepherd, a Hall-Dale grad who once played basketball there, talked about how he nearly went the sports-journalism route before getting pulled into politics during the 2010 gubernatorial cycle — and how a memorable eighth-grade social studies class run by legendary Maine broadcaster Rob Kennedy (complete with a homemade basketball simulation league) helped set him on that path. ## How Political Coverage Mirrors Sports Coverage A big chunk of the conversation focused on how newsrooms decide what to cover — and how that process isn't so different from ranking basketball teams. Shepherd broke down how his desk prioritizes stories: what's genuinely new, what readers care about, and what a paper can add to a story that others haven't already covered. Polls, debates, and fundraising numbers become the "games" of a campaign season, standing in for the box scores and point differentials that drive rankings on this site. He also touched on some famous Maine polling misses — the 2020 Collins-Gideon Senate race chief among them — and how, just like a team that looks unbeatable in October can fade by February (or vice versa), political predictions carry real uncertainty even with good data. ## Graham Platner, Janet Mills, and the Chaos of 2025-26 The conversation dug into last year's Democratic Senate primary chaos — Graham Platner's meteoric and messy rise, Janet Mills' underwhelming campaign launch, and Troy Jackson's surprisingly quick and well-organized consolidation of support heading into what many expected to be a contested convention. Shepherd's read: Jackson's labor-organizing background gave him an edge in exactly the kind of grassroots, delegate-by-delegate organizing that decided the race — a reminder that, in politics as in sports, how a team (or campaign) prepares often predicts how it performs. ## Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, and the "Halo Effect" A personal theory got some airtime too: that Susan Collins benefits from an "Olympia Snowe halo effect," with casual observers conflating the two moderate Maine women senators despite very different governing styles and voting records. Shepherd pushed back gently, noting Collins has always been more willing to work inside the system — chairing Appropriations, being the go-to senator when Maine needs something — which puts her in the spotlight (and the crosshairs) far more often than Snowe or Angus King ever were. ## Where This Actually Ties Back to Maine Sports The most relevant part of the conversation, for regular readers of this site, was the discussion of how demographics and local politics directly shape high school athletics in Maine: - Declining enrollment (Hall-Dale's graduating classes have shrunk significantly since the '90s) is forcing more cooperative teams and conference realignment. - Rural communities losing schools — like the recent closure in Topsfield — have real consequences for sports participation, not just academics. - The MPA, while technically a private entity, is functionally a quasi-public organization funded indirectly through the public school system it governs — which means it can't fully separate itself from politics, whether the topic is transgender athlete policy or ICE activity affecting attendance at practice in communities like Portland, Biddeford, and Lewiston. Shepherd's take: the MPA tends to be conservative in the small-c sense — incremental, consensus-driven, reluctant to set its own agenda — which has helped it avoid the kind of splintering seen with programs like NYA or Hyde, but also means big decisions often get pushed back to individual schools and school boards. ## The Pitch: A 16-Team Super Tournament Buried near the end is a genuinely fun idea worth floating to readers: a postseason "champions tournament" — the 10 regional champs plus 6 at-large teams — played the week after the state tournament wraps up, sponsored by a company like L.L. Bean, with proceeds benefiting booster clubs statewide. Given the five-week gap between winter tournament and spring sports, and the appetite Maine fans have shown for cross-class matchups (see: the Kennebec Summer League), it's hard to argue the demand isn't there. --- *Full episode available wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks to Mike Shepherd for joining the show.* ### Midnight Madness at Morse URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/midnight-madness-at-morse/ Last updated: 2026-08-17T11:00:06.000Z Hopefully you crammed as much sun and chill time as humanly possible into the hands-off period, because Fall Sports are now officially here!!! For the second year in a row, Andrew Hart and I went live from Morse's Midnight Madness event. Andrew streamed live on Facebook and I've got a recording as a podcast. The wind started to pick up after we started, so the audio isn't amazing, but there's fun stuff in there as we kick off the Fall Sports season. [Subscribe on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Ace and Cooper held their annual camp for the kids of Maine this weekend, with hundreds of kids getting a chance to play against their heroes and (probably) get their shot sent 4 rows deep. But beyond that, the camp functions as a fundraiser. > Proceeds from their camp go to the Donovan Kurt Memorial Cancer Foundation. Kurt was a former high school teammate of the third Flagg brother, Hunter. Kurt died of brain cancer in November 2022, and Cooper wore the number 2 at Duke in honor of Kurt, who wore it at Nokomis. [Flagg twins give back to Maine’s youngsters through basketball camp in Orono“We want them to soak it all in,” Cooper Flagg said. “When I was young, I didn’t have a chance to have this kind of experience or exposure to players like this.”![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-4550226f-18e8-4cf1-a885-0c64a402b112.png)Bangor Daily NewsLarry Mahoney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/562A6953-1-scaled-e8d75b7c-a282-4cdb-b5f6-d7abdb8d86ee.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/08/15/sports/professional-sports/flagg-twins-give-back-to-maines-youngsters-through-basketball-camp-in-orono/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The scoring app is here and up and running on TestFlight for your beta testing needs! You can score a game in basketball, football, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, baseball, and softball – either a MPA game pulled from the schedule or a different game at any level, anything from youth basketball to professional soccer. There's 2 test teams built in to the app that already have rosters because I got tired of typing in dumb rosters, so if you use ZZ Test North or ZZ Test South, it'll save you a bunch of setup time when you really just want to click around and see what happens. [Join the Sport ScoreKeepers betaAvailable on iOS![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-fd58b7f0-41b2-447c-84fb-26b8c484e24f.ico)Apple![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/1920x1080ia-80-16084cfa-e920-49fd-a082-fe76939cade0.png)](https://testflight.apple.com/join/mU9MCqBv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Test the App!](https://testflight.apple.com/join/mU9MCqBv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Maine Basketball HOF inducted their 2026 class on Sunday The 2026 class, if you're wondering, has the usual mix of players, coaches, and other contributors. Dave Ames Bobby Campbell Nik Caner-Medley Gregg Cooper Bob Davies Nick DePatsy Carrie Goodhue Ritchie Nina Houghton Brown Lynne McGouldrick Hasson Kristi Royer Ouellette. Congratulations to this year's inductees. [Maine Basketball Hall of Fame holds Class of 2026 induction ceremonyCross Insurance Center![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-48x48-7b8d17c5-c245-4b52-87fa-04201c2a36ae.png)WABIBen Barr![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/QKB4ONDQV5HVVCANSCSHS7B2BM-329d0877-4db2-4e2b-8acb-ed2b28cc2096.png)](https://www.wabi.tv/2026/08/16/maine-basketball-hall-fame-holds-class-2026-induction-ceremony/?fbclid=IwY2xjawTvI9dwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMU1kNnFWa1JBNU5sQ2o4RUFzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeGZe7kQoNieoPKO5udYfE4G3TVxw66Y%5Fq46I6OV6nT9NN2ldGrkoEHe6dPw8%5Faem%5FdDxGSF51IpS58gqvhKcdew&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If your high school cross country team is short on cash (and who isn't?), Brooks has a grant program you might be eligible for. > Future Run Team Grants support underserved high school cross country and track programs with performance running gear and financial assistance. Grants are awarded twice a year prior to cross country and track & field seasons. You can get shoes and apparel for up to 50 runners, but you've got to act quickly because the deadline is August 18th. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/08/image.png) [Brooks Team Grant](https://www.brooksrunning.com/en%5Fus/programs/team-grants/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Anthropic, the company behind Claude, is including a watermark on material generated by their AI robots and people are freaking out. > “Who will get caught? You. The student who used Claude to reorganize a paragraph. The journalist who asked the AI to summarize a two-hundred-page transcript. The writer who had creative block and asked for synonyms,” visionode wrote. “Those guys come out of the process with a digital tattoo on their forehead.” The writer in me finds this hilarious. Not only is this entirely avoidable (you could just write the thing yourself, you know, like in olden days), but the histrionic "OMG a Scarlet Letter!!!" response is, well, entirely predictable. My feelings on this are kind of simple: AI tools aren't entirely wrong, but you shouldn't use it on something you wouldn't be willing to stand behind as being created with the help of a robot. Like, don't pretend you wrote that essay when ChatGPT did most of the work and you took all of the credit. The book I'm [currently reading](https://amzn.to/4gAeLXN?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) is a novel about an author who builds his entire career on the shoulders of other people's work. He would absolutely use ChatGPT to write a novel (maybe he does...I've got about 80 pages left), but the point is he's absolutely the villain of the book because people like this have always existed, people who want to add their 2 cents and call it a dollar. You may have also noticed that there's a bunch of new website features over these last couple months and, yes, I used Claude to make them. And I have no problem with people knowing that (watermark away!) because I don't know how to code and I'm not about to learn, so I'm fine using the robot. But I will add that for as smart as the robot can be, it is also very, very dumb and will make the same mistake over and over and over again, if you aren't watching it like a hawk. It's a wild, wild time and this is only going to get weirder. Just don't use AI to do your homework. You'll absolutely get caught. > “Because the watermark is part of the text, it will travel with the text when it’s copied and pasted elsewhere, and may persist through some editing. Watermarking will be applied at the model level, which means it will be present no matter which Claude product or surface the text comes from,” the support page reads. [People Horrified That They’ll Be Busted Now That Anthropic Is Watermarking AI ContentAnthropics said it will watermark text generated by its Claude AI chatbot, sending people who wanted to sneakily use the tech into meltdown.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-0e50d142-1f0b-4f1b-90a0-6792e7980428.png)FuturismFrank Landymore![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/horrified-busted-anthropic-watermaking-ai-56c08c17-eb58-4033-bc02-4ba55d27dc0f.jpg)](https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/people-horrified-busted-anthropic-watermark?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Again, it can be really, really dumb. [@heyzus.bsky.socialI googled that new end of oak Street movie to look for show times and was told by Gemini that it wasn’t a real movie.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32-26b6cdcf-e187-4692-8c15-bf58a850afa2.png)Bluesky Socialheyzus.bsky.social![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/bafkreihbdohhlfpaexyxb4wtz7aiucm7gajfbtjn5kcybrjjbpy5hd4hre-4f2e791b-0967-45eb-8a42-2bbd25c576fc)](https://bsky.app/profile/heyzus.bsky.social/post/3mt7kwzewp22w?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [*The End of Oak Street*](https://letterboxd.com/film/the-end-of-oak-street/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) is pretty good, by the way, even if it doesn't land the ending. Speaking of seeing movies in theaters, there's a fundraiser to save the Eveningstar Cinema in Brunswick. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/08/image-1.png) [Donate!](https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-eveningstar-cinemas-future?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link.](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### The Hands-Off Period URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-hands-off-period/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T11:00:55.000Z So how's your summer going? For obvious reasons the newsletter slows down considerably during the summer, but let's go through some stuff that's piled up since the last one, including a couple of new things you'll want to know about. Spoiler: this got long. Sorry, not sorry. --- The Lobster Bowl was a massive success, blowing away the record for fundraising set the year before, both for an individual (Medomak's Logan Vigue raised $26,592) and overall ($318,889). The weather wasn't perfect and you got a little wet if you were in the stands, but considering their was toxic wildfire smoke from Canada in play and it can always be a humid 95 degrees in July, we got lucky. Maine Public's broadcast of the game was also stellar. Rob Kennedy and Rob Munzing did their usual fantastic job on the call, with Jack Webb killing it on the sideline. It was a top-notch production from top to bottom. If you watched the broadcast, you'll notice the inclusion of stats. There were team stats and the usual down and distance. ALL of that came, in real time, from the football scoring app I've been working on. For years, the white whale has been how to incorporate the live stats from tourney week into the TV and streaming broadcasts for Maine Public and WHOU. The hurdle has always been a technology missing from from the app I used, so this off-season I took it upon myself to build my own app using Claude. I've been testing it all spring for baseball and softball, which was a challenge. The Lobster Bowl was the first test of both the football functionality and the broadcast integration and it passed with flying colors. Maine Public was able to pull in real time the down & distance from the app with the only delay being how quickly I could figure out where the ball was being spotted. It fed live stats you could follow in real time on your phone or computer (I needed a spotter for tackles) and generated a pdf game report. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-09-at-11.44.49---AM-1-1.png) I find this pretty cool and if you subscribe to this newsletter, I'm guessing you might as well. And...there's more. I've been hitting this pretty hard and I can now tell you with quite a bit of confidence (call it 95%) that there's going to be an app. ## An App??? Yes! An app! I'm dotting the i's and crossing the t's on an iPad app that will allow you to score any Maine high school game in basketball, football, soccer, field hockey, baseball, softball, and lacrosse. All in the same app. It will sync with the MPA schedule so you can bring up the day's matchups, find the game you want, and be ready to roll. It'll pull rosters from the site, will feed the scoreboard, and update a live page (so grandma can follow along from Florida) in real time then generate stats and a PDF you can send to the newspaper/TV and the team. It'll also automatically generate a stat feed that a streamer can use to sync their broadcast (provided their software can handle a XML feed). It's going to be a pretty killer app. I haven't landed on pricing yet, but it'll be offered at a considerable discount for subscribers to the website. It will also let you score non-MPA games. As in, **it'll let you score any game at any level**. It can score your AAU game or your youth football game or you can take it to Fenway and score the Red Sox or the Hearts of Pine at Fitzy. You name it. I'm pretty sure it'll be available for beta testing in TestFlight (that's Apple's testing thing) by the end of the week. If you'd like to try it out before it goes wide in the App Store, email me \[mainebasketballrankings at gmail dot com\]. There's also going to be a browser version you can just use on your laptop in the press box or the bleachers. Perfect for an assistant coach or team manager or parent who yells at the refs too much and needs something to do. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/08/my-collage-1.png) --- You've undoubtedly heard a million takes about the Jaylen Brown trade by now, many of them terrible. As always with Celtics news, Jon Duke came on the podcast to sort it all out. We go into the trade, the overall Celtics offseason and what the second apron has done to Brad Stevens' plans. And, of course, we talk about next season in high school basketball, why the Ringer needs to hire an editor for their podcast network, the state of sports media and how it's all kind of broken. And a whole lot more. Check out the complete episode on YouTube or [wherever you podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). More to come! --- ## Subscriber Information In some housekeeping news, prices have gone up on subscriber plans. When I initially priced this at $6/month, it was kind of a guess and I apparently guessed below the market. Whoops! But the prices of everything are going up--from Hannaford to Streamyard to everything in-between--and the costs of the new website features like the app and how you can now log a score as the buzzer sounds and the Heal Points will be updated before the teams even make it to the handshake line and not nothing and, well, it was time to raise prices. So it goes. BUT! There's a couple hundred people who have been here from the beginning--the OGs--and I didn't want to raise prices on them, so if you were in the club on August 1st, you're grandfathered in at $6/month. Now, if you cancel and re-up you'll lose the old pricing. So, that's a math problem for you to figure out. I've also finally added an annual plan and from now until the end of the hands-off period, there's a sale of 10% off the annual plan. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-06-at-10.45.11---AM-1-1.png) Get 10% off an annual plan before practices kick off. [Hands Off Offer](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/hands-off-offer) --- ## Join the Peter Webb All-Stars There's always a need for officials. As far as part-time jobs go, you could do a lot worse. It's a great way to stay involved in the game after you've hung it up and you'll quickly find yourself in a community of like-minded officials, coaches, ADs, and media folk. Plus you get a front row seat to some of the best athletes in the state. There's football courses starting in Bangor. [Football officiating courses starting this month in BangorThurs. Aug. 20 at 6 p.m. at William S. Cohen School![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-48x48-45a00950-29b5-4bd2-9374-f4db1af5c65d.png)WABIBen Barr![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/V7MZRT5CW5CMXITYFWCZSRQSWY-8ac7a258-3ead-4519-b303-5a47e0f3583d.png)](https://www.wabi.tv/2026/08/06/football-officiating-courses-starting-this-month-bangor/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And basketball courses for high school students. [2026 Fall Jr. IAABO Class RegistrationThis course is intended for 15, 16, or 17-year-old mature young adults. If you are 14 or younger, please have your parent contact me for exception approval, which will be a case-by-case basis. Online Training & Rules Curriculum Interactive class via Google Meets, 30 unique modules, with videos, open debate, discussion, and also include quizzes and final exam. Finally, everyone must attend a mandatory in person MECHANICS training on Friday Nov 13th at the Waldo County YMCA in Belfast starting at 6:00 pm. Mechanics training is where you physically start applying all you have learned! This is also where uniforms and whistles will be handed out. Online Class schedule: Monday Nov 9th 6:00-8:00pm Tuesday Nov 10th 6:00-8:00pm Wednesday Nov 11th 6:00-8:00pm Thursday Nov 12th 6:00-8:00pm Cost $60 per student, which includes uniform, whistle, and online login. Payable via Venmo @Scott-Cournoyer-5 (my cellphone ends 7789). Payment is due by October 31st, or your registration will be removed. If you live near Belfast and want to work games, I assign: Youth basketball games, pay per game, ranges from $30-$45/game (depends on your abilities and experience). If you officiate for anyone else besides me, you will need to communicate with them for details about pay per game and how you are paid. If additional questions or concerns, please email Scott at cournoyerscott@gmail.com Registration will close on Friday October 30th at 11:59pm. This is so I can give a final list to have logins setup and order uniforms and have them arrive on time to hand them out Nov 13th.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/android_192_v2-07818337-1e3b-4509-b4ff-f216b9c57b03.png)Google Docs![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/3AdWE2submMIZb8uB3OOsc-QgaPdr4vxnnUUZsEnuex6o1I_4ApLKb7U2v6y7idL6bz8-zxOA6lNhBw-w1200-h630-p-e1e49c6e-f8dc-4b09-9107-0f4df322fe8e)](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf0kqq8LNj%5FZqICFJoYIz4gGa1iwqw0DTjO%5FedMuhBh1MNRpA/viewform?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's $60 for the basketball classes, but you can make that back almost immediately once you get assigned games. --- One of the bigger summer ball events every year is the Cony Summer League. They get 18 teams from A down to S for a regular season and playoffs and while summer ball has the obvious caveats (it's anyone's guess which player is on family vacation or playing with their AAU team or whatever), doing well in the Cony League is usually a good indicator of regular season success. Last year, Gardiner and Camden met in the title game and both of those teams had pretty, pretty good years. Everyone has Maranacook on their Gold Ball shortlist. They reached the title game with a win over Medomak Valley, but ran into an Erskine team that beat Mount Blue in the semis, then shot the lights out in the first half and pulled away down the stretch to grab the crown. Not bad for a 7 seed! Time to add Erskine to your teams to watch in B North. --- Hearts of Pine is eyeing a new home. [Hearts of Pine Stadium Project at Cassidy Point - Hearts of PineHearts of Pine has announced the long-term vision of building a 9,000–11,000 seat soccer-specific stadium to act as permanent home for the club.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-HoP_Dirigo_Burst_color-cac8e722-4c7d-4191-bf88-8471fd0aca61.png)Hearts of PineHearts of Pine Staff![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/260730-Renderings1-e1785783085708-d9711ce9-7697-49ce-9e26-a58bbee2f5d5.jpg)](https://www.heartsofpine.com/cassidypoint/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Do you want to see the worst tech you've seen in a long time? > This was the play during which Caitlin Clark received her 8th technical of the season, triggering a 1-game suspension unless it is rescinded:[pic.twitter.com/k2uorN8mUR](https://t.co/k2uorN8mUR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) [August 8, 2026](https://x.com/UnderdogWNBA/status/2086198570324021375?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The WNBA rescinded this almost immediately. The ref will probably get a State game. --- Speaking of State games...mark your calendars. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-09-at-1.39.18---PM-1.png) If it were up to me, I'd stretch this out a little. Instead of 1 game on Friday and 4 on Saturday, let's move a game to Thursday and one to Monday so we avoid having two games going on at once. Most kids will only play once for a Gold Ball and we should do what we can to give them the full spotlight. --- Finally, a movie recommendation. *The Odyssey* is quite good and *Hail Mary* is impressive, but for me the [film of the year so far](https://letterboxd.com/lmcnelly/list/top-10-of-2026/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) is a little indie from Canada. I tend to lean indie anyway, but [*Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie*](https://letterboxd.com/film/nirvanna-the-band-the-show-the-movie/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) is my favorite film of 2026\. Two guys in Toronto who have a band called Nirvanna the Band are trying to get a show at a club where you can probably get a show with a phone call and in the process accidentally time travel back to 2008\. Much of the film takes places on the streets of Toronto with people who clearly have no idea what's going on. They don't appear to have permits or permission of any kind and the whole thing is kind of bonkers. It's also really, really funny and has 5 or 6 "wait, how did they do that?" moments. It's an extension of a show (*Nirvanna the Band the Show*, obviously) but you don't need to see any of it going in (I hadn't). It's streaming on Hulu. The show is also a lot of fun. Also on Hulu. That's it. Midnight Madness is next week! **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link.](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### Lobster Bowl Recap, the Jaylen Brown Trade, and a Camden Hills Preview with Jon Duke URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/lobster-bowl-recap-the-jaylen-brown-trade-and-a-camden-hills-preview-with-jon-duke/ Last updated: 2026-07-23T14:08:10.000Z We needed a few days to breathe before this one. Host Lucas McNelly sat down with Jon Duke to finally process the Jaylen Brown trade — the recording got pushed twice, once for the World Cup and once for Lobster Bowl week — and the conversation ranges from Shriners fundraising numbers to shot clocks to a very important review of the new Minions movie. ## In This Episode **The Lobster Bowl was a big win.** The weather cooperated, the Maine Public broadcast crew (Rob Kennedy, Rob Munzing, and sideline reporter Jack Webb) delivered a strong show, and the event raised more than $317,000 for the Shriners before day-of donations were even counted. Medomak Valley's Logan Vigue led all fundraisers with over $26,000. **Heads up on subscription pricing.** Prices are going up soon. Current subscribers get grandfathered in at their existing rate — but only if the subscription stays active. If you're someone who typically pauses for the offseason, renew before the increase to lock in the lower price. **Behind the scenes on the new scoring app.** What started as a baseball scoring tool has now been ported to football, with basketball next in line — meaning a single, shared engine now powers live stats across multiple sports for Maine broadcasts, feeding real-time data (down and distance, halftime stats, and more) directly into productions like the Lobster Bowl broadcast. **Then the main event: the Jaylen Brown trade.** Jon and Lucas dig into: - Why the deal likely came down to a looming max extension rather than any single bad month - The gap between Jaylen's counting stats and how he graded out on facilitation and off-ball defense — and why that gap seems to matter more to front offices than to fans - Whether Boston's roster-building philosophy is shifting toward the OKC/Knicks model of one true star plus a deep, well-paid supporting cast - A trip back to the Woj-bomb era and a not-entirely-serious theory on why NBA trade rumors are mostly noise until they aren't **Also covered:** the state of Maine's broadcasting talent (it's better than it has any right to be), the ongoing case for a high school shot clock, frustration with NFHS carrying tournament broadcasts instead of a statewide outlet, whether east-west or regional tournament brackets make more sense than north-south, and a full scouting report on Camden Hills heading into a rebuilding year — including a new crop of guards to watch. **Season-ending crossover event:** Lucas's son Rhys makes his usual appearance at the end of the show to talk Minecraft and give a review of the new Minions movie. Verdict: recommended. --- *Maine Basketball Rankings is your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school sports — basketball, baseball, softball, lacrosse, soccer, field hockey, football, and volleyball. Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts, and if you enjoy it, a review helps more than you'd think.* ### Lobster Bowl Week URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/lobster-bowl-week/ Last updated: 2026-07-13T11:00:15.000Z Welcome to Lobster Bowl Week, the week every summer where newly-graduated seniors pull on the pads one last time for a great cause. I'll be there again this year to cover the game in some capacity (haven't exactly figured that out yet), but in the meantime I had the man in charge, Joe Hersom, on the podcast to talk about the game, the awesome amount of fundraising they do for a fantastic cause, and a whole lot more. Plus we get into Shriners, whether or not they [rig Oscar night](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI4bRqjobbw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), and if I could drive one of the small cars. No on both, sadly. That's the sort of hard-hitting journalism you get on the Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast. But if you can get to Lewiston on Saturday for the game, I highly recommend it. Or you can watch the game on Maine Public. [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/behind-the-lobster-bowl-with-joe-hersom/id1675940033?i=1000776093340&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We're all working through the [Stages of Grief](https://www.prevention.com/health/mental-health/a44912770/five-stages-of-grief/?utm%5Fsource=google&utm%5Fmedium=cpc&utm%5Fcampaign=mgu%5Fga%5Fpre%5Fmd%5Fpmx%5Fprog%5Forg%5Fus%5F20739785489&gad%5Fsource=1&gad%5Fcampaignid=20733447543&gbraid=0AAAAADA2LlLgplcasySdpQAGN9ZeVot7n&gclid=CjwKCAjw9szSBhBNEiwAC57Sq4qsUDymEHltFwCX00j6Ck9bUsZoCwN7TD4id%5FVqLgF3QaJJk5WfHRoC%5FEwQAvD%5FBwE) when it comes to the Jaylen Brown trade. Now, I'm not sure where "listening to a bunch of podcasts" slots into the stages, but I've been doing a lot of that (as I'm guessing you might have as well) and answering questions at Hannaford (again, not sure which stage that is). --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Upgrade now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- There's two elements to this trade. There's the Jaylen Brown of it all, where an intelligent, outspoken young man of his skin color is always going to be discounted by a certain subset of people and reviled by a another subset (and don't even get me started on where that Venn diagram converges). > Jaylen Brown has gotten more criticism from the media for being intelligent than Miles Bridges did for being an abuser > > — Whole Lotta Celtics☘️ (@WholeLottaCelts) [July 3, 2026](https://x.com/WholeLottaCelts/status/2073103502134464925?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There are also people who don't like the Twitch stream. And some of those people could very well be in the Celtics front office. It's not hard to imagine that having your second best player going on Twitch all the time is just a headache that isn't worth having. I don't know how you then trade that for a guy who has his own podcast, but therein lies the great mystery of this trade. Speaking of the Twitch stream. > Jaylen Brown on his Twitch stream, about “anonymous sources”: > > ‘I’m tired of these damn anonymous sources, like, anonymous executive — Colin Cowherd, Bobby Marks, Stephen A. Smith — I think yall are the sources” [pic.twitter.com/nuPvJ1FJPk](https://t.co/nuPvJ1FJPk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — philip lewis (@Phil\_Lewis\_) [July 3, 2026](https://x.com/Phil%5FLewis%5F/status/2072842788148838452?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) He's not wrong here. One of the many, many issues with the current media ecosystem is there's a group of pundits who are paid a lot of money to speculate. That is literally their job--to make things up and get people talking. Sometimes they have sources. But a lot of times they're guessing. They don't hide this. They'll make up fake trades or talk about what they think people should do. By itself that would be fine. Fake trades are fun. But then there's another ecosystem of people who don't create things--not even fake trades--they just take what other people have done and aggregate it either on their website or on Instagram or wherever. They throw a filter and their logo on someone's else's work and hope it takes off on social media and that's how they make their money. They're parasites, plain and simple. When you combine those two things, it quickly becomes "reporting" that such and such team is shopping this player or that. And it's nonsense. Look no further than the Jaylen Brown trade. Everyone said they had sources! But did a single one of them mention the Sixers? Nope. Zero. None. Don't you think that if these "experts" had the sources and access they claim to have at least one of them would have heard about a Jaylen to Philly trade before it happened? And yet, nada. There's also the salary cap element to this. It's becoming clear that you can't be a contender if you've got 2 supermax guys on your roster. We all kind of knew this could be an issue, but one thing that made it worse was because of the decline of regional sports networks (among other things), the cap isn't meeting expectations. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/07/image.png) So a deal like Jaylen's becomes less financially viable if you want to contend for a title and your role players like Pritchard and Hugo become more valuable. Again, I'm not convinced trading for a guy who makes the same money helps *that* much. [The unexpected NBA Development That Might Have Cost the Boston Celtics Jaylen BrownBrad Stevens summed up his rationale for trading Jaylen Brown pretty simply. “The path looked a little bit more challenging with 70% of our cap and such a high![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/ON_SI-Favicon_B_96x96_3-dae15baf-b4be-424c-9382-9727874dbd2b.ico)Inside The CelticsJohn Karalis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/01kx1xp0ysccmaa4wrkp-8f616666-881f-447d-a07c-aae2df64e84a.jpg)](https://www.si.com/nba/celtics/onsi/the-unexpected-nba-development-that-might-have-cost-the-boston-celtics-jaylen-brown-01kx1x4jvck1?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's a plan to do a podcast on the Jaylen trade where we get into this more, so [make sure you subscribe](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)! --- In big news, NYA is largely leaving the MPA for NEPSAC. > More to come in the following weeks! Excited for this next step for our NYA student-athletes! [pic.twitter.com/Lz06DNyopZ](https://t.co/Lz06DNyopZ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NYA Athletics (@NYAPanthers) [July 11, 2026](https://x.com/NYAPanthers/status/2075768756920271313?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Would your business like to reach the kind of dedicated and knowledgable (and good-looking) Mainers who read this newsletter and religiously refresh the Tourney Odds 6 times a day? Of course you do! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/07/image-1.png) I'm opening up limited advertising slots. Think "Power Rankings presented by \[YOUR BUSINESS\]" By advertising here, you reach customers who know ball and I can spend more time covering ball. It's a win-win. For example, as I write this, I'm testing a live scoring app for soccer. [Advertise!](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/advertise/) --- I would like to co-sign this. > In Maine the hands off period should be now. Not two weeks in August . My opinion and mine only . Most kids and parents take vacation around this time. Last week of June until after the fourth. > > — tim roche (@redtidepride) [July 3, 2026](https://x.com/redtidepride/status/2073069088142660066?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The summer stuff starts literally before the spring sports are even done--hands off period be damned--and really what's the point of trying to schedule stuff around the 4th of July anyway? Block out a couple of weeks in July and let everyone chill at the beach. And, really, it's only mostly about the kids. The kids will find a way to enjoy their summer. It's the parents who are coaching and/or driving kids to things all while holding down full-time jobs. Give us old folks a break! --- One of the fun things about the World Cup is you get to learn a lot about people. > My son plays Club Soccer and I have never understood offsides calls > > After 3 weeks of intensely watching The World Cup, I still don’t understand offsides calls > > — Amy Nixon (@texasrunnerDFW) [July 3, 2026](https://x.com/texasrunnerDFW/status/2073144832269123972?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm not sure I would tell people that after three weeks (and several years of watching your kid) I can't figure out something as simple as offsides, especially if I was an "Economic Analyst", but that's me. Would you hire an economic analyst who can't figure out offsides? It's not a complicated rule. > "But a goal will not count if a player is offsides." > > "When is a player offsides?" > > "Whenever anything exciting happens." [pic.twitter.com/ldUYe5D8LP](https://t.co/ldUYe5D8LP?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) [July 3, 2026](https://x.com/jimgeraghty/status/2072837181568152031?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- After Dusty May left to take the Mavs' job, it was fair to wonder if J.P. Estrella would decide to stay at Michigan. Well, he's staying with the defending champs. > NEWS: Michigan transfer big-man J.P. Estrella is going to remain with the Wolverines, he told ESPN, as he quickly bonded with interim coach Mike Boynton and his teammates after arriving on campus nearly two weeks ago. [pic.twitter.com/TTrdjLJB6R](https://t.co/TTrdjLJB6R?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) [July 2, 2026](https://x.com/PeteThamel/status/2072691090654675406?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- In this week's edition of "Why Can't We Have Nice Things?" [Netflix Among Parties in Early Talks to Buy Letterboxd: ReportLetterboxd has reportedly held exploratory sales talks with Netflix, Paramount, Sony Pictures and other parties.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/icon-144x144-b79852b2-5176-493f-aebc-b2a7f80a8ed9.png)VarietyTodd Spangler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/letterboxd-logo-c64f25a6-9b73-4d9b-90e8-867f8c56bc1e.png)](https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/letterboxd-sales-talks-netflix-sony-paramount-1236806379/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Would it be terrible if there was just one thing that didn't have to be optimized to death for a profit margin? It can't just be cool? Because Letterboxd is so very cool. And it's clearly doing well if they're talking about selling their stake for 5x what they put in! Anyway, don't ruin it, you blood-sucking ghouls. **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link.](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### Golden Spring URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/golden-spring/ Last updated: 2026-06-23T11:00:24.000Z Let's wrap up spring sports! After a successful [Waldoboro Day 5K](https://runsignup.com/Race/Results/47717/?eventId=1141862&resultSetId=664208&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#resultSetId-664213;perpage:100) (I'm the race director), I headed immediately to Standish to catch the B and D state games. How immediately? The turn-by-turn signs are still up around town, like a candidate who flamed out in the primary. St. Joseph's was an event on Saturday. Besides the state games, the town was lousy with bikers for the [Trek Across Maine](https://cycleforair.lung.org/trekacrossmaine?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and there was apparently a wedding on campus. Traffic was fun. --- Up first was Medomak and Gardiner in the B softball game. The regular season meeting between the two, a 17-16 win by Gardiner, was one of the great outliers of the regular season and I'm not sure you could have found anyone who thought the game would get into double digits, even for a total. But when Molly Takatsu doubled off Sidney Nicholls with one out, you might wonder if we were in for a high-scoring game. But like she's done with every other (rare) runner she's allowed all playoffs, Nicholls stranded Takatsu. Medomak's bats then went to work. The Panthers scored in each of the first 3 innings as Nicholls pitched around some walks while she [worked through a back injury](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/06/20/medomak-valley-softball-rolls-to-class-b-title-repeat/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and then broke it open in the 4th with RBI doubles from Jennika Schumann and freshman Mckenna Hertel. Nicholls finished with 9 strikeouts against 5 hits allowed as she posted a shutout for the entire playoffs. Freshman leadoff hitter Rheanne Simmons went 3-for-3 with a [Willie Mays web gem](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjQQL9uhAYM&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) she didn't fully appreciate the history of. The Panthers won 7-0 to go back-to-back. And between Nicholls only being a junior and Gardiner being, by all accounts, a year ahead of schedule, it's not impossible that we could get this same matchup next year. --- In Class A, Addison DeRoche struck out 15 Hampden batters and had seemingly shut the door on a 7th inning rally when the umpires ruled Piper Parker out at second base. Cheverus began their celebration, only to have the umps confer and determine that Parker was safe at second, actually, because of obstruction. Cheverus stopped the celebration, picked up their gloves and whatever off the ground, and DeRoche struck out batter number 15 to end the game again and clinch the Stags' undefeated season. [Cheverus softball edges Hampden Academy to complete undefeated seasonThe Stags survive the Broncos’ final threat in the seventh inning to win their second Class A title in three years.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-8710f5fd-0a95-43e7-aa02-a31c7031c8a6.png)The Portland Press HeraldDrew BonifantStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43658567_ph_classAsoftball_06213-4cb51c86-ab49-45b3-b8b2-436f7d2ac82e.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/20/cheverus-softball-edges-hampden-academy-to-complete-undefeated-season/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- For the consensus top team in the entire state, Gorham's playoffs have been...an adventure, to say the least. Naturally, they couldn't just win a Gold Ball. No...that would be too easy. They had to make it difficult. The Rams outlasted Bangor in 11 innings to claim their first title in 21 years. [Gorham caps one-of-a-kind championship run with extra inning victory over BangorAfter waiting 21 years to reach the mountaintop, needing four additional innings to beat Bangor in the Class A state final didn’t faze Gorham’s baseball team in the slightest Saturday afternoon at Morton Field in Augusta. And the end result was a coronation and celebration which won’t![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-844a02a9-bdb8-463b-a5d5-ee685ef93500.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/730503070_1670706137490341_9021302673860916626_n-114b7cc5-a380-4335-93aa-c55b351aab5d.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/gorham-caps-one-of-a-kind-championship-run-with-extra-inning-victory-over-bangor/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Back at St. Joe's for the B Baseball game, Cony got off to a great start. Anderson Noyes and Parker Morin led off the game with a double and a single, respectively, and the Rams raced out to a 2-0 lead. But Fryeburg answered. Noah Day hit a 2-out single and scored on David Rosales' double. Then Brady Chappell homered to left and suddenly Fryeburg led 3-2\. It's a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Oliver Dean settled down on the mound. At one point he retired 11 straight before a 2-out error in the 7th put the tying run on base. But he got [Noyes to line out to left](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DJPuVxRBJ/) to give Fryeburg their first baseball title in 43 years. After the game I caught up with the winning pitcher. The scene after a school snaps a long title drought is always fantastic. --- In C, Monmouth rallied in the 7th to beat Washington Academy for the second year in a row. Levi Laverdiere went the distance and scored the winning run. [Monmouth Academy baseball repeats in Class C with 7th-inning rallyThe Mustangs knock off Washington Academy in a rematch of last year’s title game.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-94b6baf3-8d9c-4164-9792-2a365ce89de5.png)The Portland Press HeraldCooper SullivanStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/0620_class_C_baseball-10-25886e8b-63a2-4e06-940f-8a3af3656d22.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/20/monmouth-academy-baseball-repeats-in-class-c-with-7th-inning-rally/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And in D, Fort Fairfield won the first baseball title for a County team since 1999 (Southern Aroostook). --- OOB's Jason Webber joined me on this week's podcast to talk about coaching football and softball, his work with WHOU, the Knicks, pier fries, which of the courses at Pirate's Cove is the best one, and a bunch more. This was a really good one. Jason brought the energy and then some. [Subscribe on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Finally, the white smoke. > BLOCKBUSTER: The Milwaukee Bucks are trading franchise icon Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, 3 first-round picks (including No. 13), 1 pick swap and 1 second-rounder, sources tell ESPN. [pic.twitter.com/NQT5ZhdJU9](https://t.co/NQT5ZhdJU9?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) [June 23, 2026](https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/2069266716551508221?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) So quick 12:30am thoughts: this is a lot of stuff, none of it great. But apparently the Bucks' owner was the deciding factor and he's definitely earned the benefit of the doubt from (checks notes) owning the Browns. I wasn't a fan of any of the Jaylen Brown for Giannis trade theories floating around the internet, especially the Hugo González ones. And maybe the last couple of playoffs flameouts have colored my thinking on Giannis, but I'm not sure adding him was a great idea for the Celtics. I'd rather have Jaylen. --- New this year, thanks to the revamped scoreboard, I'll be tracking summer basketball scores and schedules. Well, at least some of them. It's not going to be as exhaustive as the regular season, obviously. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-9.47.19---PM.png) [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) But I'm hoping to get the bigger summer leagues on there, as well as tournaments that bring in teams from around the state If you go to a team's page (this is the champs from Gardiner), you can get a summary of their select summer ball results. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-22-at-10.01.43---PM-1.png) There's obvious caveats here: summer ball isn't the regular season. Everyone approaches it differently. You don't know who wasn't there because they couldn't get off work or is on a family trip to Springfield or whatever. But, hey, it's not nothing. And it's a fun thing to keep an eye on in advance of next season. I'm working on adding schedules as I get them and I'd rather not spend the summer hunting down scores. So enter your scores! Or at least send them to me. --- Cooper's got a new head coach...at the expense of J.P. Estrella. Dusty May takes over from Jason Kidd weeks after luring J.P. to Michigan in the transfer portal. > Dusty May is finalizing a deal to take the Mavericks head coaching job, sources tell [@ShamsCharania](https://x.com/ShamsCharania?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), [@AdamSchefter](https://x.com/AdamSchefter?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and [@PeteThamel](https://x.com/PeteThamel?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). > > May led Michigan to a 64-13 record over his two seasons in Ann Arbor and won the 2026 national championship. [pic.twitter.com/3Yx5DB960T](https://t.co/3Yx5DB960T?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) [June 22, 2026](https://x.com/ESPNNBA/status/2069067495864963532?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- My good friend Malcolm Bedell has a nice piece on his blog about proliferation of AI slop masquerading as marketing. > Sure, they may look more professional than similar graphics that you’ve dreamt up in Canva or using a pen and paper, but they say absolutely nothing about the character of the business or the people running it, other than, “This restaurant is aware that ChatGPT exists.” > A flyer that you design yourself, or that your sister’s kid who’s in his first year at RISD creates, or that you paid someone $10 to create on Fiverr, still says SOMETHING. It says “somebody made this.” Most often, an A.I. flyer screams “nobody made this,” and that’s not an association you want for your business. Malcolm is talking about restaurants here (that's his trade, after all), but the same can be said for marketing anything else. Athletic events, for example. If you follow as many teams as I do on social media, you very quickly realize that everyone is using the same couple of tools now to produce all of their promotional graphics and they all look exactly the same and they all look terrible. [Your A.I.-Generated Photography is Making Your Restaurant Look Like Trash – Malcolm Needs a Snack![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Malcolm Bedell![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/aigibberish-1024x683-aa06ad49-1685-478a-b0fc-6faf0a646df3.jpg)](https://malcolmneedsasnack.com/your-a-i-generated-photography-is-making-your-restaurant-look-like-trash/?fbclid=IwY2xjawSmoj9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeel8t8nHzAEz910BxLt5ZtnWnnS4qbWU4DsXlQdke8g5wieRm79KO7vpOGvE%5Faem%5F30rBH9cCNtlOmJ2KSenN%5Fw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And if you're in Thomaston, check out Malcolm's restaurant. [Honey’s Fried Chicken PalaceProbably the best damned fried chicken sandwiches in the county. Scratch-made tendies, too. With like a million sauces. Now open in Thomaston, Maine.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/default-favicon-d7232898-56e9-4791-99cf-c34b3fc1f1e1.ico)Honey's Fried Chicken Palace0![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/honeys-llight-trans-48c720e0-34cf-404a-9898-5b375eecbfe0.png)](https://www.gethoneys.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- One of the greats is retiring. > Linda Cohn, who has anchored more editions of SportsCenter than anyone in ESPN history, will be retiring from ESPN on June 30\. Cohn, who was honored in 2016 for hosting her 5,000th edition of SportsCenter, will make her final appearances on ESPN during the 6 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11… [pic.twitter.com/zPlmT7c9m9](https://t.co/zPlmT7c9m9?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) [June 22, 2026](https://x.com/AdamSchefter/status/2069124710911111237?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And we're on to basketball. **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link.](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### Football and Softball and Pier Fries URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-and-softball/ Last updated: 2026-06-23T06:26:54.000Z Spring sports are officially in the books, and to close out the season we brought on Old Orchard Beach assistant football coach and softball head coach Jason Weber. If you've ever seen Jason on a sideline, you know exactly what you're getting. If you haven't — just know that Lucas hit record mid-conversation because he couldn't wait. **Spring Sports Recap** Before Jason took over, we hit the highlights from Saturday's championship games. Medomak Valley won back-to-back in softball behind another strong performance from Sidney Nicholls, who gutted out a win despite being less than 100%. We got into the obstruction call in the Cheverus game — the right call, just in the wrong order — and Cat Facchini's two-way performance that kept the Cheverus lineup off-balance all day. On the baseball side, Fryeburg won their first state title in 43 years, and Bangor and Gorham went to 11 innings. **Coaching Both Sides** The heart of the conversation was Jason breaking down what it's actually like to coach football and softball with the same intensity level — and why that works. His approach: he doesn't coach boys or girls, he coaches athletes. The adjustment isn't the energy, it's the explanation. Girls ask *why*, and he's learned to love giving them an answer. That patience, he says, has made him a better football coach. He also has a firm policy of telling athletes the truth — about playing time, about what they need to improve, about where they stand. Parents are welcome to come watch practice anytime. If they ask why their kid isn't playing, the kid already knows why, and the parent-coach conversation happens with the kid in the room. **The State Game** Jason talked about OOB's football state championship loss — Stearns came in and executed. Hats off to them. More memorable than the game itself was the moment after, watching his own son keep his helmet on because he knew taking it off meant it was over. There's nothing you can say in that moment. You just be there. **The 2% Club** One of the best segments of the episode: Jason's softball team discovered tournament odds during the season. They were excited to see a 50/50 shot against Telstar — then one of his sharper players noticed the state championship odds were at 2%. Jason's response: look at the teams with nothing on that side of the decimal. Any number means you're alive. They won that game. The number went up. Not much. Dargo was really good. **One Change as MPA Commissioner** Shot clock. No hesitation. As a certified basketball official, Jason's been waiting on this one. His implementation plan — turn them on for tournament sites that already have them, make it optional for the regular season — is genuinely hard to argue with. Any school with playoff aspirations would find the money fast. **Also covered:** Giannis trade takes (recorded Monday, so who knows), a Mr. T movie that apparently involves a youth center and a wall, Hannah Weber's senior season (200 strikeouts, Western Maine Conference Player of the Year), OOB's softball outlook for next year, blowout game philosophy, teams that forfeit playoff games, WHOU, Yankee curtains, Crocs, and why October is the best time to visit Old Orchard Beach. ### Diamond Finale URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/diamond-finale/ Last updated: 2026-06-20T11:00:55.000Z I'm scrambling to get [ready for this 5K](https://runsignup.com/Race/ME/Waldoboro/WaldoboroDay5K?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), so let's make this quick. There's nothing quite like winning your program's first championship and you can see the pure jubilation in Marshwood's celebration last night. > Marshwood boys win first championship, 8-7, over York. More state game agony for Wildcats [pic.twitter.com/SAxFKoSMtA](https://t.co/SAxFKoSMtA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Michael Hoffer (@foresports) [June 20, 2026](https://x.com/foresports/status/2068137052600689150?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It begs the question: what's the bigger joy? Is it that first title or is it title after a long drought, like the Caribou boys a couple of years ago? For the players, it's the same thing. But for a community, I wonder what it would be? In the girls game, Freshman Makenna Seaver came up huge on the biggest stage, scoring 4 goals and Greely needed them to take out Freeport 7-4 for their 4th Gold Ball in the last 5 seasons. [Greely girls lacrosse uses strong second half to win Class B titleFreshman Makenna Seaver notches four goals and the Rangers win their 4th state crown since 2022.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-fa7dabd6-c8bf-4093-a8fb-ee99255e461c.png)Centralmaine.comDave DyerStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43662746_20260619_GLAXCLASSB_16-d7339868-d674-4b6c-aab5-a402915e21bc.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/06/19/greely-girls-lacrosse-uses-strong-second-half-to-win-class-b-title/?utm%5Fcampaign=NewBot%5FvarsityMaine&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawSi1mdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeoFqIxv3tf10nHhohLZD%5FYkLBiLb2JRRAILxPEYp%5FyMHaMugt4x8TxgsJJwc%5Faem%5Fz05LcT10LaR4dAQWqW-nNg) We finish out the Spring Sports season today with a raft of games at 6 different locations around the state. If you can't make it to one of the state games today, you can watch them on NFHS (I know, I know). [NFHS Network - Watch High School Sports Online - Stream Live & On DemandWatch high school sports and events nationwide, live and on demand, via the NFHS Network. Stream regular season and playoffs online from anywhere.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Stream Live & On Demand![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/NFHS_share_16x9-821e540d-b4d2-4281-9f58-092b7b88357c.jpg)](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/9LgYA4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you're just interested in following the scores, these have been updating in real time throughout the playoffs and I believe a couple of them will have live stats. I'll probably have live stats for the Class B games at St. Joe's. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-20-at-1.02.07---AM.png) [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) --- The defending champs of class C have a new coach in assistant Dom Rossignol, who is quick to point out that they're not the same team and therefore, not technically the defending champs. But, you know, they've still got Aden Jeffers. Cedric Derecho has an interview for WAGM. [INTERVIEW: Dom Rossignol Named Fort Kent Boys Basketball CoachDom Rossignol, who was named the new head coach of the boys basketball team at Fort Kent High School, spoke to WAGM about the opportunity to take over the reins of the defending Class C state champs.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-0a1f025d-90f9-4c04-89a5-c612f069aaa9.png)WAGMCedric Derecho![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/XEBKSCTECRCKXAP6CHVYDIDJPY-041709f1-37bc-49af-8e02-9b26f626c6e9.png)](https://www.wagmtv.com/2026/06/19/interview-dom-rossignol-named-fort-kent-boys-basketball-coach/?fbclid=IwY2xjawSi8EBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeri9K2tsTuEHqaVCIDHpcyBpxJYz6ZTnlJiTorebh7WoauTdxupJTKf-EZS8%5Faem%5FghoYhQsZPcHAgFnsEvSP1w&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I'm really, really sick of the Giannis/Jaylen trade rumors. I'm sure 99% of them are just websites and podcasts trolling for content and making nonsense up to generate clicks and controversy and I don't for one second think the Celtics are leaking a thing. Having said all that, this is the dumbest rumor of them all. > The Bucks want the Celtics to add up to 3 future firsts (!!) in the deal on top of Jaylen Brown, per [@sam\_amick](https://x.com/sam%5Famick?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). > > What in the world… 🤯 [pic.twitter.com/8d9dOvc1Za](https://t.co/8d9dOvc1Za?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Polymarket Hoops (@PolymarketHoops) [June 19, 2026](https://x.com/PolymarketHoops/status/2067970133780467806?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- One of the big winners of the World Cup, other than the USMNT, has been the love affair between Boston and the Tartan Army (a.k.a. the Scottish fans who have invaded). Somehow, Boston has run out of beer, something I didn't think was possible, and Massachusetts even "legalized" haggis, sort of. [In elaborate joke, Governor Healey appears to legalize Scotland’s national dish in Mass. - The Boston GlobeHaggis has been considered illegal in the United States since 1971.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-a7080eaa-f7fe-478f-9113-94e1628b3955.png)The Boston GlobePrint this Article View Comments![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/C2RCCSSNHJNS3AWSXRMFIGKFKY-252d56e4-eb57-454c-b672-eb1ba84231cf.JPG)](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/18/lifestyle/maura-healey-legalizes-haggis-world-cup/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Despite their 1-0 loss yesterday to Morocco, they Scots are having too much fun to go home. > [#Scotland](https://x.com/hashtag/Scotland?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) fans turned around at Logan because they don’t want to go home 🍻 [#TartanArmy](https://x.com/hashtag/TartanArmy?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)[@boston25](https://x.com/boston25?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/uLEkujGtII](https://t.co/uLEkujGtII?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Michael Raimondi (@mraimonditv) [June 19, 2026](https://x.com/mraimonditv/status/2068083472762105925?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- One of the all-time greats has left us. Jimmy Burrows, who directed over 1,000 episodes of TV, including basically every episode of *Cheers* and *Will & Grace*, passed away. You cannot possibly overstate his impact on television. [James Burrows, ‘Cheers’ Co-Creator and Prolific TV Director, Dies at 85James Burrows, the prolific director who reigned as television’s preeminent sitcom helmer for more than 30 years, has died. He was 85.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-bf72b3f2-2b02-4526-901b-0be524e219d2.png)VarietyCynthia Littleton![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/james-burrows-8fdac3c0-a7fb-4f0b-a1b2-81ca1747de0e.jpg)](https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/james-burrows-dead-cheers-taxi-will-and-grace-1236786130/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Finally, some good news. [The Sun may not engulf Earth after all, scientists sayScientists say the Earth may not be engulfed by the expanding fireball of the dying Sun, which has long been assumed to be our planet’s ultimate fate.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-02fee410-51ae-461b-b56b-943d4a1382a2.ico)RTÉRTÉ News![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/00248c7b-1600-206633fa-ff9e-499d-927c-5607755903ce.jpg)](https://www.rte.ie/news/newslens/2026/0619/1579351-sun-earth/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) A lot of people have had this game circled since the beginning of the year, so I guess it's fitting to have it as the final Game of the Day. Washington Academy led the state in point differential on the strength of ranking second in scoring offense and third in defense. Monmouth's defense was right there at 4th in the state, so this could be a low-scoring affair in Bangor ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-20-at-12.33.08---AM-1.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchups/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Yarmouth Knocks off TA URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/yarmouth-knocks-off-ta/ Last updated: 2026-06-19T11:00:24.000Z Let's start with the Game of the Day where Yarmouth, the 2-time defending champs (but in B), made their biggest statement of the year by upsetting the defending A champs from Thornton Academy. > Yarmouth boys upset TA, 13-12 [pic.twitter.com/ZhGYlrnwlj](https://t.co/ZhGYlrnwlj?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Michael Hoffer (@foresports) [June 18, 2026](https://x.com/foresports/status/2067415707365572934?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They'll take on an unbeaten Falmouth team that handled Deering 16-6\. Over in C, #3 Maranacook upset Gardiner to set a date with #1 NYA. That'll be the same matchup on the girls side, only with the seedings flipped. In Class A, Cheverus put a scare into #1 Kennebunk, but Anna McCarron's goal in overtime punched the ticket to the title game for the Rams. They'll take on TA, who knocked off Windham. [TA girls end Windham’s reign, advance to states for first timeSACO—The future is now for the Thornton Academy girls’ lacrosse team. A team that many thought was a year away, instead is now just one win away from the biggest prize of all. Wednesday evening at Hill Stadium, the second-ranked Golden Trojans took on No. 3 Windham, the![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-11aa9dab-43d3-4d4c-9f5b-b23052f41172.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260617_182219-afa4554d-b531-4015-b982-e71bdc38f59a.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/ta-girls-end-windhams-reign-advance-to-states-for-first-time/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Varsity Maine has a couple of articles giving you a paragraph preview of each of the state games--pretty handy if you're helicoptering into the State Game and want to have an idea of what to expect. There's the usual storylines: Addison DeRoche probably isn't giving up any runs. Bangor coach Dave Morris is retiring. Medomak and Gardiner scored a million runs when they met earlier this year. Gorham has been dodging bullets, *Matrix*\-style, all playoffs. Monmouth and WA are a rematch. The basics. [The Maine baseball finals are Saturday. Here’s something to know about each gameVarsity Maine reporters dish on the four championship matchups.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-37026fdd-d259-4ff7-b2a5-bf9c5e32e412.png)Centralmaine.comSteve CraigStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43653054_20260616_BNorthBaseballFinal_2803-a97f4148-c6dd-4ce1-a17c-ba58e92e500d.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/06/18/the-maine-baseball-finals-are-saturday-heres-something-to-know-about-each-game/?utm%5Fcampaign=NewBot%5FvarsityMaine&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawShYm9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeiLydNvLaAM-tNVSCydwKL6dZA2ELGKwD0ffnOZk95L4pIOOzVUIC2-8HU0Q%5Faem%5FmffFURPBJtpYzc8HAeIakg) And you would think such an article wouldn't be controversial, but can I introduce you to social media in 2026? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/PNG-image-1-1.png) I guess they're mad that the article mentions Gorham's lucky break of the rainout against Falmouth, but you can't tell the story of the Class A tournament without that tidbit. It was kind of a big deal. Regardless, it's the newspaper, not an Instagram account that only exists to hype your team. Their job is to be a neutral party that covers the high school baseball tournament, not make you feel good about the path your team took to the title game. [Here’s the important things to know about the Maine softball finalsVarsity Maine reporters throw strikes about the 4 championship matchups.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-271f5ba2-c736-4d3b-a0f1-624a61d3807c.png)Centralmaine.comDrew BonifantStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43653104_20260616_C-softball_3-837861ef-0a83-47e0-9c8e-385fa9ff95da.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/06/18/heres-the-important-things-to-know-about-the-maine-softball-finals/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Friend of the podcast Toby Nelson has a new job as the Director of Athletics and Alumni Affairs for Foxcroft Academy, as [announced on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1503661091805436&set=a.576273514544203). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/image-6.png) Photo via Foxcroft Academy's Facebook page. This is a great move for Foxcroft and if you'd like to know more about Toby, check out his appearance on the podcast a couple of weeks ago! [Toby Nelson on the Podcast](https://youtu.be/FJiEwfSXouQ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The NY Gaming Commission reported that for the week ending June 14th (that'd be the Finals), they lost $48,515,979 in online gambling. Forty eight million dollars! In one week! I hadn't really thought of it at the time, but the Knicks winning is kind of a perfect storm for a sports book. In the preseason, the Knicks were +900 to win the whole thing, 4th best odds. That's not crazy in and of itself. The Nuggets were +1800 the year they won. But, the Nuggets aren't in the same category of draw, obviously. Knicks fans have long been untethered to reality, normally to comedic effects, but that also means they bet a lot of money on their team to win. [The key reason sportsbooks are rooting against the Knicks in the NBA FinalsSportsbooks were rooting for the Knicks before the NBA Finals. Not anymore.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-icon-144x144-85087912-f502-4d6f-91b7-8757334d27c0.png)New York PostMalik Smith![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/newspress-collage-ppgflkjrg-1780861934959-1c280419-5187-4d09-8702-cfd572048ae1.jpg)](https://nypost.com/2026/06/07/betting/the-key-reason-sportsbooks-are-rooting-against-the-knicks-in-the-nba-finals/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- In what seems like a perplexing proposal on the surface, Major League Baseball is looking to make some large changes. > The league’s proposed framework would be a significant drawdown of the way the draft has operated for years. High school players would no longer be eligible to be selected. In fact, anyone under 20 years old by September 1st of the draft year would not be eligible, so that would take many college and junior college players off the table as well. So this is the big one. Taking away the eligibility of high school players means no more phenoms making the bigs at 18 (or [Joe Nuxhall](https://www.mlb.com/news/joe-nuxhall-youngest-player-in-al-nl-history?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)), which is a shame. I always thought one of the benefits of having MLB's minor league system was that you had time to really develop players you could draft as high schoolers and teach them to be professionals as they rode buses with no AC through the American South. If you take all those high schoolers out of the minor league equation, that has to change the dynamic of low-A. Really, it has to severely damage the minor leagues as a whole, which feels like a short-sighted move. There's more, like an international draft and the ability to trade draft picks, so it's not completely terrible, but I have to think the Player's Union is going to push back pretty hard on all of this. [MLB Proposes Significant Changes To Amateur DraftThe league wants to cut costs anywhere they can, including in the draft.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-3035787d-78ee-4855-9db2-71f4743fc5a6.png)MLB Trade RumorsDarragh McDonald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Rob_Manfred-copy-3-1024x683-e972a050-9449-45f9-bdd9-2ee4221a9a21.jpg)](https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/06/mlb-proposes-significant-changes-to-amateur-draft.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The annual [Waldoboro Day 5K](https://runsignup.com/Race/ME/Waldoboro/WaldoboroDay5K?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) is Saturday morning, organized by yours truly. It's a small race in the Waldoboro Village that features hills and is probably the only 5K you'll ever run that has a whoopie pie aid station (courtesy of Moody's Diner). I'll be leaving there and going immediately to St. Joe's for the title games. Come hang out and run (or walk)! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/image-5.png) [Waldoboro Day 5K](https://runsignup.com/Race/ME/Waldoboro/WaldoboroDay5K?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Finally, Mexico really needed a save late last night against Korea. And they got one for the ages. > Raul Rangel with one of the greatest saves you will ever see 🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽 [pic.twitter.com/hAsthNCptM](https://t.co/hAsthNCptM?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Banter FC (@FCBanter\_) [June 19, 2026](https://x.com/FCBanter%5F/status/2067803135842673025?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) There's only 2 games on the schedule today, both Class B lacrosse title games. On the boys side, we have #3 York against #4 Marshwood. It's not often you get 3 vs 4 in a title game, but here we are. Marshwood knocked off #1 Greely 11-10 to reach the title game and are showing that they're better than their schedule allowed them to show during a regular season in which they were largely dominant. York had a tougher path during the regular season and dropped 5 games, but if you look at those 5 games, it's not hard to see why. They lost to a quite good Cape team early, then lost to the teams ranked #1 (Falmouth), #2 (Yarmouth, twice), and #3 (TA). That's an absolutely brutal schedule for a Class B team. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-9.42.16---PM-1.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchups/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A 17K No-No URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/a-17k-no-no/ Last updated: 2026-06-17T11:00:32.000Z With 16 Regional Finals around the state (plus a couple of Lacrosse games!), it was a full day, so let's just go class-by-class and hit the highlights and then we'll have a more normal newsletter tomorrow with the light lacrosse schedule. ### Class A The story of the A South tournament has been Gorham and the, uh, lucky breaks they've gotten so far, and #10 Noble's run to a Regional Final. If you've watched enough sports movies, you knew how this could go: Noble could continue their miracle run and end Gorham's semi-charmed life. But not everything is a movie and Gorham found the groove that earned them the number 1 overall seed with a 7-2 win over the Knights. Hunter Finck got out of a bases-loaded jam in the 6th inning to go the distance. Gorham will face Bangor, who knocked off the top-seeded Oxford Hills. The Rams scored all 5 of their runs with 2 outs and all but one of them in the final two innings to rally past the Vikings. --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Upgrade now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **In softball, Addison DeRoche and friends led Cheverus back to the state championship game. Leah Story broke up DeRoche's perfect game in the seventh inning with a single, but by that point Bonny Eagle trailed 5-0 and there's probably no way you're scoring 5 runs on DeRoche in the 7th inning unless she decides for some reason to give up softball mid-game. After all, Cheverus has only given up 4 runs all year and never more than 1 in a game. DeRoche finished with 15 strikeouts and a 1-hitter. I haven't run the numbers yet, but the Stags will be heavy favorites against Hampden, who won the north thanks to Cat Facchini's RBI double and complete game shutout. The win, 1-0 over Lewiston, avenged an earlier loss for the Broncos and gave them their first Regional Title in program history.** **### Class B** **It's impossible to tell the story of the 2025-26 school year without a paragraph or two about Parker Morin of Cony. Back in the fall, it seemed possible that Morin could graduate with 3 Gold Balls and while he's gotten close in football and basketball, he hasn't quite been able to get over the hump. So when Hermon loaded the bases in the first inning against him, it seemed like he might go 0-3\. But he minimized the damage in the first, then hit a go-ahead triple in the 5th inning to give Cony the lead for good. The Rams overcame a 10-strikeout outing from Mason Kinney to keep their Gold Ball hopes alive. They'll face a Fryeburg team that reversed last year's 4-3 loss to Greely with a 4-3 outcome of their own. They scored 4 in the first 2 innings and held on for the win.** **[Cony baseball beats Hermon to win Class B North titleParker Morin smacks three hits, Ben Allen shines in relief, and the Rams advance to face Fryeburg Academy in state final on Saturday.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-1bc30034-19ba-42f6-964a-915ffe99299c.png)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43653054_20260616_BNorthBaseballFinal_2736-f62800aa-6be0-44b5-a9b5-e2eeef3ed023.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/06/16/cony-baseball-beats-hermon-to-win-class-b-north-title/?utm%5Fcampaign=NewBot%5FvarsityMaine&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawSe7nJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFxR0VrYjZxWnpTdGdVWWQzc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHqXUrbI9ig3m16imbINlocxJnxUma-d11b9gzqcmeap0rGYyGeXQHrtDBq08%5Faem%5Feogd6DSpllSiAdsTmH-xew)** **One of the weirdest outlier results of this season has been Gardiner's 17-16 win over Medomak Valley. If you take that result out, the teams allowed 3.8 (Gardiner) and 0.7 (Medomak) runs a game, respectively. So to have a game with 33 runs total was a surprise and no one was more surprised than Rob Munzing on the Munzing Media broadcast who clearly thought he would be calling something like a 3-2 game, or even the 4-3 win Gardiner got in the Regional Final over Old Town thanks to Molly Takatsu's sacrifice fly in bottom of the 7th inning. She also tossed a complete game in the circle to set a rematch with Medomak Valley. The Panthers got an absolute [gem of a performance](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EfQ2kqZb6/) from Sidney Nicholls.** **Nicholls has been on an absolute tear in these playoffs and saved her best performance for the Regional Final against Lake Region. She threw a no-hitter with 17 strikeouts and I think only one ball even got past her, a grounder to short that freshman Rheanne Simmons took care off (she also laced a 2-out triple to the fence that broke open some scoring). Nicholls has given up 2 hits in the playoffs to go with 32 strikeouts. So if we're setting the Gardiner/Medomak over/under at 32.5 runs, I'll take the under.** **But how will the Bleacher Creatures adapt to a softball field? That's the big question** **### Class C** **At 16-2 with a win over the top-seeded Monmouth, Maranacook had to feel pretty good about their chances last night. Six outs and 13 batters later, they were trailing 9-0 and starting to get ready for summer basketball. Monmouth added 3 in the fifth to end the game early. They'll take on Washington Academy who avenged their only loss of the year with a 4-0 win over Mattanawcook.** **---** ***Have you checked out this week's podcast yet?*** **---** **In softball, Dirigo broke out for 3 runs in the 4th inning to prevent Monmouth from taking both teams to the state game. They'll be underdogs against a Bucksport team that's won 18 in a row.** **[Dirigo softball finishes the job in Class C South final against MonmouthAfter letting a lead slip away late last year, the Cougars take down the Mustangs to reach their first state final since 2012.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-sj-default-52fd0a63-89a8-4870-8c38-b4cb16e85c8a.png)Lewiston Sun JournalDrew BonifantStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43653104_20260616_C-softball_1-5d7b4418-d39a-489b-87bc-5bf7b8c83f9b.jpg)](https://www.sunjournal.com/2026/06/16/dirigo-softball-finishes-the-job-in-class-c-south-final-against-monmouth/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **### Class D** **While we were watching the B South softball final at St. Joseph's, there was a lot of yelling across the way on the baseball field because just a short while after losing to them 8-2, Telstar erupted for 12 runs against Richmond to romp to a 12-1 win in the D South final. It's a stunning result for a Richmond team that hadn't given more than 3 runs in a game all year and had the 5th best scoring defense in the state. Telstar, for their part, had gotten to double-digits a couple of times this year, but never against one of the better teams on their schedule. This is why we play the games. Richmond didn't help themselves by committing 11 errors, which is the sort of thing that gives coaches ulcers.** **In softball, Penobscot Valley punched a return ticket to the title game with a 5-2 win over Katahdin. They'll take on NYA and Lily Fortin. Fortin took a no-hitter into the 7th inning.** **Remember, if you can't get to the games on Saturday, they'll be on NFHS.** **[ ![](//a.impactradius-go.com/display-ad/10661-3217736)](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/c/5077352/3217736/10661?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)![](https://imp.pxf.io/i/5077352/3217736/10661)** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg)** **There's a couple of lacrosse games on the schedule today.** **Let's go to Class A boys, where the top 4 seeds are somehow all still alive.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-17-at-1.19.15---AM.png)** [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) TA beat Yarmouth 12-8 a couple of weeks ago and should have the advantage here in this battle to (likely) take on Falmouth for the Gold Ball. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-17-at-1.09.50---AM-1.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchups/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Regional Finals Preview w/ Marc Calnan of Eastern Maine Sports URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/regional-finals-preview-w-marc-calnan-of-eastern-maine-sports/ Last updated: 2026-06-17T03:29:13.000Z *Spring tournament season is hitting its peak so I brought in Marc Calnan from Eastern Maine Sports to break down the baseball and softball regional finals — with a distinctly northern Maine lens.* --- **Quick Hits** - Eastern Maine Sports has launched a new podcast: **Open Mic with Eastern Maine Sports** — subscribe wherever you listen - Marc covered a whirlwind Saturday: Corinth (9:30am!), then multiple other sites — including a 13-12, 8-inning Bangor Christian/Katahdin game he called "one of the wildest I've ever seen" - Eastern Maine Sports Card Show: **August 1st at Dexter High School cafeteria** — $1 admission, $30 vendor tables, all proceeds go to the Dexter Athletic Department (lights and eventual turf project). Organized by Colton Coro and his dad. --- **Show Notes** **Softball** The biggest surprises of the semifinals were the exits of Class C #2 Mattanawcook and #3 Washington Academy — both knocked out in the quarterfinals by Houlton and Central respectively. Meanwhile, #1 Bucksport had to survive an absolute barn burner against Winslow just to get through. Marc's pick to watch: **Bucksport** is the clear favorite, with the program's trademark depth and experience — "they don't rebuild, they reload." But he gave Central real credit, noting pitcher Spack has come into her own and the team is hitting well. A tossup, he said — though he wouldn't bet against Bucksport coach Rich. On Cheverus: DeRoche is something else. Marc described watching her pitch and then seeing the other team's pitcher by comparison feeling "like slow pitch softball." She took a pitch to the head in her first at bat, struck out seven straight batters afterward, then homered. Lucas's summary: "It ticked her off." Hampden's win over Oxford Hills was a highlight — 10-8 in 11 innings. They knocked off the team most people had penciled in to represent the North. **Baseball** Washington Academy baseball was Marc's pick as the most dominant team he's seen up north. Their only loss was to Isaac Richie of Mattanawcook — a junior who Marc said could compete with anyone in the state. Unfortunately for Mattanawcook, Richie isn't available for the regional final against Washington, and their #2 pitcher is on crutches. Washington Academy (17-1) should be a heavy favorite. Noble Baseball's run as a 10-seed — beating the 2, and presumably the 3, to reach the regional final — drew some incoming complaints that Lucas had them unranked. His response: the regular season did happen. The Gorham conversation: they're the #1 overall seed in A South, but needed a weather-shortened game to escape one opponent and then survived what looked like a controversial call against Thornton Academy in the semis. A dominant team that has twice barely survived tournament chaos. **The pitch count / rainout rule debate**: when a game is suspended and resumed the next day, pitch counts carry over but innings don't — so a pitcher who hit their limit in a game that gets wiped out loses their availability for no reason. Both Mark and Lucas noted the umpires they've talked to hate this rule too. **Football preview teasers** - Herman football is on Marc's radar — Kyle Gallant doing a good job - Winslow's got a young running back (freshman last year) that Marc thinks makes them a D contender - Dexter is getting lights in July — first night games ever, huge deal for the community - Lucas is determined to get to Fort Kent this winter to see Aiden Jeffers, who he considers a Mr. Basketball frontrunner --- *Open Mic with Eastern Maine Sports is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, iHeart Radio, and wherever else you listen. Recent episodes: Lana Cummings (new Penobscot Valley girls soccer coach), and Anna Lang (pitcher, Husson) coming this Sunday.* *Maine Basketball Rankings is available wherever you listen to podcasts. Leave a review, subscribe, and tell your enemies.* ### Livin' on a Prayer URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/li/ Last updated: 2026-06-16T11:00:19.000Z They say sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, especially in single-elimination tournament play. Some very, very good teams have had a ball bounce the wrong way in single-elimination play and the only real guarantee of success is to [have Bill Russell on your team](https://x.com/celtics/status/1951292236685029777?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). But Gorham might have the next best thing: the luck of the Baseball Gods. The quarterfinal win was well-documented, how Falmouth's 6-0 lead was [wiped out by rain](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/second-chance-at-the-ballpark/), and they got another break in the semis. With a 4-2 Gorham lead, Thornton Academy was threatening and I'll let Joe Bailey take it from here. > Key play in tonight's Gorham win over Thornton Academy. > > Thornton Academy down 4-2 in the 7th...bases loaded nobody out.. > > Looks like they tie it on an error..but runner ruled out for running on wrong side of line.. > > And in the end, the ump was right as you will see [pic.twitter.com/nRn4Wjrsfe](https://t.co/nRn4Wjrsfe?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [June 13, 2026](https://x.com/joebaileysports/status/2065940471394824199?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Thornton Academy runner was ruled out for being in fair territory on his way to first base, which he was. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-15-at-10.55.33---PM-1.png) Still from Joe Bailey's Tweet [Rule 8-4-1](https://baseballrulesacademy.com/official-rule/nfhs/rule-8-section-4-runner-is-out/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) states that "The batter-runner is out when:" ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-15-at-11.02.31---PM.png) You already know the rest. The TA faithful think it was the worst call of all-time. Gorham fans think it's a great call. The Twitter experts want to know what color the ump's underwear is and if he's ever spent more than 20 minutes in Saco on purpose. I'd love to see a view from, say, the third base dugout, but I've watched this 20 times or so in slow-motion. The runner is clearly in fair territory and fails to touch the half of the double bag that's in foul territory. From where the catcher sets up to make the throw to how the first basemen attempts to catch it, it's hard for me to imagine the runner wasn't at least inconveniencing the play at first. I kind of think this is the right call? I generally fall to the side of "let the players decide", but there's some calls that have to be made and this might be one of them. Again, I'd like another angle, but it seems like they got it right. Michael Hoffer was there. [Gorham keeps finding a way; Rams reach regional final after holding off Thornton AcademyGORHAM—The top-ranked Gorham baseball team is heading to the regional final. But the story goes much, much deeper than that. Truth is, the Rams’ road to their first Class A South Final in eight years was unlike any other, one which came with no shortage of good fortune.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-6a616e81-bb99-42ad-842d-4c26a423a0c1.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/AR500189-60bf3c54-3c2a-493f-abc3-2b608708c976.JPG)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/gorham-keeps-finding-a-way-rams-reach-regional-final-after-holding-off-thornton-academy/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Gorham will play #10 Noble, who pulled off another upset, this time over #3 Cheverus. Despite giving up an 8-0 lead, Noble is now in their first Regional Final since 2002. --- I had a chance to knock the rust off my color commentary skills, thanks to LCTV, who needed a sub for Medomak Valley's semifinal against Poland. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/image-4.png) The Panthers got a 2-hitter from Sidney Nicholls and will face Lake Region at St. Joseph's. The Lakers got a 4-hitter from Haley Hamlin, who struck out 11 York batters. I'll be at the Medomak/Lake Region Regional Final with LIVE STATS [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-16-at-12.56.57---AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) --- In one of the crazier semifinal games you'll ever see, Hampden outlasted Oxford Hills in extra innings. [Hampden Academy softball outlasts Oxford Hills in A North semifinalThe Broncos scores four times in the 11th inning to take down the top-seeded Vikings.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-sj-default-a321255a-8f4e-418c-9425-8f4bff65bbd6.png)Lewiston Sun JournalNathan FournierStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43502146_20260323_FirstDayPitchersCatchers-1-a5df4a0b-0468-4956-973e-9184f66259fa.jpg)](https://www.sunjournal.com/2026/06/13/hampden-academy-softball-outlasts-oxford-hills-in-a-north-semifinal/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Elsewhere Owen Beaton's walk-off in the 10th inning gave Telstar a win over Buckfield...Fryeburg scored twice in the 7th inning to rally past Cape Elizabeth...Cony needed every bit of Landen Perry's 10 strikeout gem to get by MDI...Harlee Gasser's 10 strikeouts got Lewiston past Skowhegan...Lily Regan homered and drove in 5 runs to lead Bonny Eagle to their first Regional Final in 30 years...Gardiner scored 3 in the 6th to rally past Belfast...Lily Fortin homered and struck out 14 Forest Hills batters in NYA's win...Addison DeRoche struck out 10 in a shutout of Gorham. --- This week on the podcast, Marc Calnan of Eastern Maine Sports is back to preview today's regional finals and talk about their new podcast, [Subscribe on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Check out Open Mic with Eastern Maine Sports on Spotify --- Scarborough's Finn Coburn is the boys soccer Gatorade Player of the Year, which for some reason we're doing in June. The girls winner will be announced in a couple of days [Finn Coburn Gatorade 2025 - 2026: Player of the Year Boys Soccer - Maine PLAYER OF THE YEARFinn won the 2025 - 2026 Gatorade Player of the Year in Maine for Boys Soccer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-499d6ca1-5eac-440c-92ef-c6dfae176b40.ico)Maine PLAYER OF THE YEAR![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/logo-f35c2d24-5cc3-4deb-aa41-9542693ddd10.svg)](https://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/winner/Finn-Coburn/41650?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- My Scottish co-worker warned me this would happen. > Supporting my bagpipe brothers 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 [pic.twitter.com/c6zhoQx68M](https://t.co/c6zhoQx68M?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Wally (@Wally97) [June 15, 2026](https://x.com/Wally97/status/2066310029834154449?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) The options for Game of the Day are always good for the Regional Finals, usually better overall than the Gold Ball games (more games to choose from and all that), so it's no surprise that we've got a bunch of great options, but the Game of the Day is a real humdinger (as my father would say). Oxford Hills and Bangor are #2 and #3, respectively, in the baseball Power Rankings. They're 4th and 6th in the state in scoring offense. They're 4th and 12th in scoring differential. And the Model has this as a true 50/50 toss-up. This is exactly what the Stax Index is designed to highlight. Oxford Hills is 17-1 on the season, with the lone loss coming in Bangor to the Rams. Bangor is 15-3 with stumbles against Mt. Ararat, Hermon, and Hampden--all quality losses. Even factoring in the tweak I made to the formula, 97.2 might be the highest Stax Index of all-time. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-15-at-10.34.25---PM-1.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchups/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Second Chance at the Ballpark URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/second-chance-at-the-ballpark/ Last updated: 2026-06-13T11:00:06.000Z There's no [denying the drama](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/false-starting/) in Gorham and Falmouth's 1/8 quarterfinal on Friday. Falmouth, the 8 seed, led 6-0 when the skies opened and wiped out their prime opportunity for a massive upset. According to the rules of high school baseball, they had to start the game over, much to the chagrin of the Falmouth faithful. They understandably weren't thrilled and who can blame them? But at the rematch (moved to the Ballpark in OOB because the field was still unplayable), Cooper Whitehead put Gorham on the board in the first and that was all Miles Brenner needed. He tossed a complete game shutout and Gorham took advantage of their mulligan to survive and advance. They'll take on TA today in the semifinal. [Gorham baseball gets 2nd chance, beats Falmouth in A South quarterfinalsThe Rams, who trailed the Navigators by six before Thursday’s contest was suspended, Gorham starts fast and wins the makeup game on Friday.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-3829fb0b-4558-46ed-8ca1-4ead67ec9e29.png)The Portland Press HeraldSteve CraigStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_7333-724d349f-26bc-4918-b847-4ff79919978f.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/12/gorham-baseball-gets-2nd-chance-beats-falmouth-in-a-south-quarterfinals/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- You don't often get two schools playing each other in both the boys and girls games in the tournament, and it's even rarer to have the schedule work out for a natural doubleheader. But even rarer than that has to be what Maranacook did to Lincoln Academy yesterday in lacrosse. Maranacook beat the Eagles by a combined 43-2 and while the Lincoln boys were reportedly short-handed, 43-2 is as dominant a performance as a school could hope for. [Maranacook/Winthrop boys, girls lacrosse advance to semifinalsThe Hawks and Black Bears both start fast and never trail in Class C quarterfinal wins over Lincoln Academy.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-e41c5cbf-1472-4afa-b925-bc8e0ce7f31e.png)Centralmaine.comJimmy JamesStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43649582_20260612_sj.MaranacookWinthropboysgirlslax.0613_0y126-50579ac1-8343-4250-a02a-ff323a60900d.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/06/12/maranacook-winthrop-boys-girls-lacrosse-advance-to-semifinals/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Elsewhere David Edwards homered to lead Richmond in a rout of Valley...Buckfield erupted for 6 runs in the 5 to put away Vinalhaven...Bella McBrady's 2 RBI and 7 strikeouts helped Gorham eliminate the reigning champs from Windham...Eben Whalen's 7 goals led Gardiner to a rout of Erskine...Abby Trainor added 7 more goals as Windham cruised past Cape. --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Upgrade now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- We've got our finalists for the Winkin Award, baseball's version of Mr. Basketball. This is a senior award, so your favorite junior didn't actually get snubbed. > \[SoPo's Hudson Iacuessa and Cony's Parker Morin\] are joined by Fryeburg Academy shortstop Alex Allain, Old Orchard Beach shortstop Trot Moody, Messalonskee first baseman Denny Martin, Mt. Desert Island shortstop Collin Sullivan, Ellsworth first baseman Jackson Barry, Dexter/Piscataquis shortstop Brady Gaw and Katahdin shortstop Calvin Richardson. [Nine baseball players named as finalists for Winkin AwardHudson Iacuessa of South Portland and Parker Morin of Cony are among the players in the running for the award given to the state’s top senior.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-34230460-b9a7-4aaa-a5b8-d90ba93d5801.png)Centralmaine.comStaff report![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43591474_20260513_hudsoniacuessa_2-3d83a529-366c-4603-af3f-49a4935c1fbd.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/06/12/nine-baseball-players-named-as-finalists-for-winkin-award/?utm%5Fcampaign=NewBot%5FvarsityMaine&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawSZkcBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFXT0hFNnY4Y0ZJMW4xMGo5c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHmabL6QBFymx4cWmxDB7UHyl1HAIl-P1BIA1b8YrFjdAJy4PvWHq9K2gmXIE%5Faem%5F3iBzFmvJP%5FIwfCPqKN8C0w) --- The World Cup is here and with it, the every 4 years challenge of how to present the beautiful game to middle America. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-13-at-12.08.14---AM.png) You could do a lot worse than Cookie Monster. The US kicked off their World Cup with a dominant performance, maybe the most dominant performance by an American team in the history of the World Cup. They routed Paraguay 4-1 in a match that could have been even more lopsided. > [#USMNT](https://x.com/hashtag/USMNT?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) had 71% possession in the first half, its most in the first half of a World Cup game in the modern era. [pic.twitter.com/74Plf0IXD9](https://t.co/74Plf0IXD9?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Paul Carr (@PaulCarr) [June 13, 2026](https://x.com/PaulCarr/status/2065615341154144443?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This immediately made me wonder: are we that good or does Paraguay just suck? The USMNT was a half goal favorite on DraftKings. [The Ringer](https://www.theringer.com/2026/06/11/world-cup/ranking-all-48-teams-in-the-world-cup?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) had them ranked 22nd in the field on account of their defense with the US ranked 18th. It's hard to read the result as anything short of encouraging. Everyone is very calm and reasonable about it so far. > WE ARE GONNA WIN THE WHOLE THING > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [June 13, 2026](https://x.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/2065613715806757323?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Here's a record you might not be aware even exists. > Jacob Misiorowski breaks the record for most strikeouts in a Maddux. > > Misiorowski vs. Phillies: > 9 IP (career-high) > 0 ER > 15 K (career-high) > 1 H > 0 BB > 26 Whiffs > 95 Pitches[pic.twitter.com/Y0QpLjPjD9](https://t.co/Y0QpLjPjD9?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) [June 13, 2026](https://x.com/UnderdogMLB/status/2065611851837415523?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) What, you might ask, is a Maddux? Well, a Maddux is when a pitcher throws a complete game shutout on fewer than 100 pitches. If you remember Greg Maddux's career, it's a logical stat. Even more fitting is that Maddux has the most "Maddux" stat lines since 1988 with 13\. Misiorowski allowed 1 hit and threw 74 of his 95 pitches for strikes to lower his ERA to 1.34 on the year. And because I never miss an opportunity to put a random internet deep dive in the newsletter, here's Greg Maddux (and Tom Glavine) in a legendary Nike commercial. --- It's the end of an era in film criticism. [Gene Shalit, Longtime ‘Today Show’ Film Critic, Dies at 100Gene Shalit, the bushy-haired mustachioed television personality who reviewed books and movies on “The Today Show” for 40 years, has died at 100.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-ee94526a-8ada-4b02-8c58-bed4c51e210d.png)VarietyPat Saperstein![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/TCDTOSH_EC346-16a74472-b44f-4941-9bf7-bfb76dccf9c4.jpg)](https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/gene-shalit-dead-today-show-film-critic-1236780366/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Shalit wasn't exactly the best critic, but he had a gimmick and he executed that gimmick flawlessly. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) There's been a lot of upsets in the playoffs so far, but a number of regions have stayed chalk, including A North baseball. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-13-at-12.50.52---AM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) In today's 2/3 semifinal, #2 Mt. Ararat hosts #3 Bangor for a trip to the Regional Final. The stat profiles of the two teams are similar: Mt. Ararat has allowed fewer runs. Bangor has played a slightly tougher schedule. The Eagles have the better %Perfect. The Rams have a more prolific offense. But overall they're very close. Mt. Ararat won the regular season matchup 7-4 back in April. The Model thinks the home field will give them the edge today. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-13-at-12.49.30---AM-1.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchups/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### False Starting URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/false-starting/ Last updated: 2026-06-12T11:17:47.000Z I think we're going to bump the newsletter up to daily for the playoffs, so can I encourage you to upgrade/restart your subscription? [Upgrade](#/portal/account/plans) The beauty of one-and-done tournament play is that anything can happen in a single elimination game. Your best player can have a terrible day and your second baseman can turn into [Mark Lemke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark%5FLemke?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) when you least expect it. You just never know! So when #8 Falmouth chased Gorham ace and Gatorade POTY Hunter Finck from their quaterfinal matchup with the team widely considered to be the best in the state, they had to feel amazing. They led 6-0 in the fourth inning and then the baseball gods spoke. > Weather plays a factor... > #8 Falmouth leads #1 Gorham 6-0 when rain makes the field unplayable and forces a new game on Friday at 4:30 [pic.twitter.com/CPef03i1Xy](https://t.co/CPef03i1Xy?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [June 12, 2026](https://x.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/2065228447132061933?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) As Travis summarized, the skies opened (I think I drove through that when it came up the coast) and the lightning sent everyone for cover. When the rain finally let up, the field was unplayable and the game was unable to resume. If this was a MLB game (or a game where the [umps screwed up](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ghost-world/)), they would just pick up the game from where they left off, with Falmouth leading 6-0, but that's not the rule in high school...for some reason. They have to restart from the beginning at 0-0, which is a mulligan for Gorham and an absolutely brutal turn of events for Falmouth. They'll start it all over today at 4:30 at Gorham. The good news for Falmouth, if you can call it that, is that the pitches Finck threw in the non-game still count. So he won't be available today for Gorham. Michael Hoffer was there...or was he? [Top-ranked Gorham gets an assist from Mother Nature as big deficit to Falmouth wiped out due to thunderstormGORHAM—The top-ranked Gorham baseball team was on life support Thursday afternoon against No. 8 Falmouth in a Class A South quarterfinal round playoff game and needed a miracle to continue its season. And with all appearing lost, Mother Nature did the Rams a solid. Leaving the Navigators exasperated![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-399b7bd5-6fd7-4ebd-b524-5107d8838f68.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260611_181645-92ff93c1-2b88-4e61-9755-39ff3b51d6b4.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/torham-baseball-falmouth/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It was a bad day to be one of the top teams in Class A. South Portland, #2 in both the Varsity Maine poll *and* the Power Rankings, faced a Noble team they beat 5-0 all the way back in April. Noble struggled down the stretch, losing 3 of their final 4 before besting Massabesic in the prelim, so it seemed reasonable that SoPo would be able to handle them. And if I told you that the Red Riots got a 14-strikeout 3-hitter from Hudson Iacuessa, you'd pencil them into the semifinals. But Sean Sullivan went the distance for Noble on 97 pitches and drove in the only run of the game in 8th inning to give the Knights a 1-0 win in extras. The 10 seed will take on Cheverus in the semis after the Stags needed a RBI single in the 8th from Grady Hughes to get by Sanford. In short, A South had a Day. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-11-at-11.37.17---PM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Upgrade now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **I went to Waldoboro for the start of Medomak Valley's softball title defense against Greely. After a 1-4 start, Greely had won 12 of their last 13 to grab the 8 seed and a shot at the champs. Unlike Falmouth, Greely was unable to chase Medomak's ace, as Sidney Nicholls struck out Sophie Smith to lead off the 2nd for her 400th career strikeout. She then proceeded to strike out 9 straight hitters (she finished with 15Ks). But Greely was able to stay close and when Medomak loaded the bases with 1 out in the 3rd and their 4/5/6 hitters up and only got 1 run out of it, Greely had to be smelling an upset. But that was the only run Nicholls needed. She didn't allow the ball to leave the infield and the Panthers strung together 5 hits in the 4th to give her a cushion.** **Nicholls had retired the first 12 when Smith hit a dribbler down the 1st base line. Medomak's first baseman tried to pick the ball up with her glove and came up empty, then grabbed it with her hand and tagged Smith with an empty glove. Smith went WIDE to avoid the tag (like, half-way to Thomaston wide, past Wemby's wingspan wide, wider than the strike zone, even) and ran past first base without touching the bag. As she doubled back, Medomak tossed to first and she was called safe.** **I'm working on getting a good video angle of it, but there's been some question as to the rule, so I reached out to a baseball ump for clarification on what happens when a runner completely misses the base.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-11-at-10.29.58---PM-1.png)** **So without the benefit of seeing the actual video, it seems that Medomak would have to appeal the play, but the ump I spoke to felt that the act of throwing to first would probably constitute an appeal, pending a look at the actual video, of course.** **It was the only Greely batter to reach base, so Nicholls will have to settle for a no-hitter, but...you know. Perfect is always better.** **At least Nicholls got the no-hitter, even if it was reported elsewhere as a hit (it wasn't even close to a hit).** **---** **This is where I plug a new feature of the website. If you upload the stats of a game, it'll give you a game summary (click one of the numbers in the scoreboard or just go [here](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/game/?id=1dddb6a5-daba-4bcc-b2ef-6675e98fc756)) with the predicted result, how it compares to the actual result, and the stats of the game.** **This will come in very handy during basketball season, I suspect.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-11-at-11.16.20---PM-1.png)** **[Find Your Game](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/game/?id=1dddb6a5-daba-4bcc-b2ef-6675e98fc756)** **### Elsewhere** **Reagan Partridge hit 2 inside-the-park homers as OOB out-slugged 13-11 in 8 innings...Telstar's Brennan Walker struck out 13 in a shutout of Madison...Oxford Hills' Kyeria Morse struck out 12 and homered in a win over Bangor...Addison DeRoche struck out 18 in a 1-hitter of Biddeford...Maddie Fitzgerald homered and drove in 4 runs as York made short work of Mountain Valley...Waynflete scored 3 runs in the top of the 7th to rally past Sacopee Valley...Brady Chappell's 1-hitter led Fryeburg over York...Bangor's Matt Turcotte struck out 11 in a 1-hitter of Mount Blue...Kyle Soule's 3-run dinger led Greely over Yarmouth...Maranacook put up a 7-run 4th inning and held on to beat Lisbon...Poland scored 5 runs in the top of the 10th to knock out Leavitt...Lake Region's Haley Hamlin struck out 13, but Erskine scored twice on wild pitches in the 7th to advance...Robyn Babbidge homered and hit 2 doubles as Oak Hill mercied Lisbon...Lana Waite had 15 strikeouts in Dirigo's win over Sacopee Valley...#14 Woodland nearly kept their Cinderella run going, falling 11-10 to Machias...Lily Fortin notched her 300th strikeout in NYA's win over Richmond...Lauren Veino set Penobscot Valley's school record with 715Ks.** **---** **Cooper made Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in sports.** **> Perhaps the most well-rounded American prospect since James, Flagg has lived up to the hype–and has softened the blow for Mavericks fans still upset by the unpopular trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. A basketball battleground is brewing in the Lone Star State. Over the next two decades, Flagg and [Victor Wembanyama](https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/victor-wembanyama/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) of the San Antonio Spurs may be fighting for hoops supremacy.** **[TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026: Cooper FlaggFind out why Cooper Flagg is on the list![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/android-chrome-192x192-fc2634bc-bcc1-4383-957d-5f26c706df70.png)TimeSean Gregory![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Cooper-Flagg-3b7e7ac2-7cbf-4765-80ed-b8604a78e033.jpg)](https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/cooper-flagg/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **---** **With the World Cup kicking off it's always fun to see just how insane FIFA can be.** **> One of my favorite anecdotes from the build-up to this World Cup, which reveals so much about the collision between FIFA and U.S. cities.** **>** **> The day a FIFA exec told Los Angeles that LA needed to be “put on the map.”[@TheAthleticFC](https://x.com/TheAthleticFC?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/coyxKz3snh](https://t.co/coyxKz3snh?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **>** **> — Adam Crafton (@AdamCrafton\_) [June 11, 2026](https://x.com/AdamCrafton%5F/status/2065083010890764511?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Imagine thinking LA needs help with marketing.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg)** **Yesterday's Game of the Day was the other rained out game, so we'll skip past that and head to girls lacrosse, where TA will host Yarmouth.** **TA won the regular season matchup, 12-6 and should be favored here.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-12.38.07---AM.png)** [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) Honestly, I'm not sure why the Stax Index is so high here. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-12-at-12.35.20---AM-1.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchups/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Victory Cigars URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/victory-cigars/ Last updated: 2026-06-11T11:00:39.000Z We're through the prelims, but first there's a story out of Salem, Mass of a lacrosse team having to forfeit a playoff game because a bunch of kids were allegedly smoking cigars. Right on cue, the Facebook experts were on top of it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-7.17.11---PM-1-1.png) The rule on the Massachusetts books reads like so: > *During the entire academic year, a student shall not, regardless of the quantity, use or consume, possess, buy/sell or give away any beverage containing alcohol; any tobacco product; marijuana; steroids; or any controlled substance. It is not a violation for a student to be in possession of a legally defined drug specifically prescribed for the student’s own use by his/her doctor. The year begins with the first day of fall practice*. I think we can all agree the rule comes from a good place. High school kids shouldn't be consuming alcohol anyway and certainly not if they're an athlete, but adults have been trying to legislate that for decades. Although, back in the 70's it was a little more voluntary... But that's just the first glance look at this story: dumb kids do dumb things and break a clear-cut rule...right? Well... > But Gianakakis and his friends knew they could not smoke real cigars. On Tuesday, their varsity lacrosse team was set to play Cohasset High School in the MIAA Division 4 Boys Lacrosse semifinal game. The student athletics organization has rules against tobacco use, which Gianakakis said he did not want to run afoul of. With the help of their parents, they went to great lengths to *not* smoke cigars. They tried to get fake cigars and when that failed, their parents rolled their own fake cigars and they "smoked" those for the traditional post-graduation photo. It sounds like they didn't actually break the rule? And yet, the school district (and not the MIAA), opted to suspend the graduated seniors, which left the team without enough players for their playoff game. It's also a curious decision by the school district. They didn't seem to break a rule and unless the kids floated after being thrown in the water (as is the custom in Salem), it seems like they could have just let the kids play? If later it's determined they shouldn't have, they could have forfeited after the fact. There's also the question of when the academic year ends. If it starts on the first day of fall practice, I suppose it would end with the conclusion of the final game in the spring. Regardless, they weren't cigars and weren't tobacco products. > They found one and brought it back to show school leaders. Upon receiving the evidence, Principal Jonathan Mitchell personally assured Gianakakis and his father that the students who smoked the cigars would be able to play on Tuesday, Gianakakis said. And yet, they were suspended. It's a mess. There's more to this story to come. That much seems obvious. [‘Devastating’: Ipswich lacrosse team forced to forfeit semifinal over fake graduation cigars, teen saysDespite reassurances from the principal, one Ipswich player said the superintendent chose to bar nine recently-graduated seniors from playing in the state semifinal game.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDC_Logo_2020_Social_WhiteBG-609c79a967eee-200x200-feb09954-9293-42b5-8330-da3dee0217a3.png)Boston.comRoss Cristantiello![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/DSC_0217-2-6a29908be8f70-768x432-520b2488-52a6-4b7d-8e87-b0e39da1eedb.jpeg)](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2026/06/10/ipswich-lacrosse-fake-cigars-forfeit/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But this particular brand of witch hunt wasn't isolated to Salem. It spread to Edward Little, where several boys lacrosse players had to sit out EL's prelim game against Bonny Eagle for a "similar incident", a game the #12 seeded Scots won in an upset. I was unable to get a comment from Edward Little, as my email late last night went unanswered (as expected), but the newsletter marches on. You don't want to play the game of "well, they would have obviously won" because you just never know who steps into the void of a missing player and who just might have a bad game, but two people I spoke to with knowledge of the matchup were pretty confident the suspended players could have made an impact in an 8-7 final score. But you never know! But back to the rule. It's a good rule. You don't need your point guard drunk at some *Superbad* party during the playoffs. Also they're underage kids and yadda yadda yadda. But a cigar at graduation? What are we doing here? Are we going to suspend a kid for having a little wine at Thanksgiving? Or a glass of champagne at their sister's wedding? Or a cigar when their little brother is born? (Do fathers still bring cigars to the hospital when a kid is born?) There's so many rules that are great in theory, but fall apart when tested in the real world and I suspect this is one of them. Or maybe we can just use a little common sense. ### Elsewhere Fisher Tewksbury's 1-hitter helped Valley advance over Forest Hills. He struck out 12...Noble needed an extra inning to put away Massabesic...Kayson Cyr drove in Cam Dean in the bottom of the 7th to give Scarborough a 3-2 win over Marshwood...Falmouth's Cooper Bucci shutout Bonny Eagle...#10 Gardiner scored twice in the top of the 7th to eliminate #7 Lawrence...Tyler Emerson's 3-hitter helped Yarmouth squeak by Poland...Kya Douin's 2-run homer helped Cony rally past Nokomis...Kelsie Dunn's 2-hitter gave Erskine a shutout of Spruce...Adrianna Lombardi had 5 hits as Winslow won a 21-13 barnburner over Sumner...#14 Woodland stunned #3 Wisdom with a 14-5 win on the road...#4 Fort Fairfield held on for a 16-15 win in a wild D North softball...Quinn Simpson's homer helped Greely beat Yarmouth...Abby Trainor scored 7 goals as Windham cruised...Daisy Vining threw a 1-hitter as Buckfield knocked off Temple...Janessa Moffitt homered and struck out 15 from the circle in Forest Hills' win over Valley. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- The first half of Game 4 was pretty, pretty, pretty ugly if you're a Knicks fan. > Larry David and John McEnroe watching the Knicks lose to the Spurs [pic.twitter.com/ko80zkOhu2](https://t.co/ko80zkOhu2?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Lunar Surfer (@TheLunarSurfer) [June 11, 2026](https://x.com/TheLunarSurfer/status/2064878760466244051?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This is where it helps to bring some [reading material](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk1uoZX8Y1k&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) to the game. If you went to bed at halftime...that turned out to be a bad idea. The Knicks stormed back down 29 when the Spurs went ice cold in the second half. > Boston radio getting ready to blame Mazzulla for this. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [June 11, 2026](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings/status/2064909165714088001?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Spurs had a couple of chances where it looked like they had held on after Stephon Castle's hit 2 free throws to give them a lead. And then. > O ₘ G > > (📼: [@NBA](https://x.com/NBA?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) [pic.twitter.com/slgfN2qPs7](https://t.co/slgfN2qPs7?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — RingerNBA (@ringernba) [June 11, 2026](https://x.com/ringernba/status/2064914761230512515?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This series has been incredible. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) When Ethan Snow was [on the podcast](https://youtu.be/kM95WAjBe10?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), he remarked that Windham wasn't exactly used to being this low in the standings, but they are used to being in big games. Today's 4/5 quarterfinal isn't big by Windham standards, but the Model thinks it'll be worth the trip. They'll take on a Gorham team that beat them 10-5 back in mid-May. As for Gorham, they'd won 8 in a row before falling to Bonny Eagle in the season finale. The winner very likely gets a date with Cheverus. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.48.58---PM-1.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchups/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Hunting for Heal Points URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/hunting-for-heal-points/ Last updated: 2026-06-09T11:00:04.000Z Thanks to Heal Points, the stretch run of a Maine high school sports regular season is a thing unique in sports. Not only do you need to win your games and hope the teams you're chasing and/or holding off lose, but you also need to hope that other games scattered around the state go your way. They might be 5 hours away and in a different class than yours, but a game between two teams playing out the string can determine if you make the playoffs. Some call this a flaw. I call it a feature. This of course leads to strange bedfellows--Caribou needing a win from Presque Isle, South Portland rooting for Portland, Maranacook silently pulling for Spruce Mountain--you get the idea. Like any system of seeding, teams will pull out all the stops down the stretch, hoping to eek out that last playoff spot and pull blood from a stone to get a couple of extra help points. So when word came across my DMs on Friday that Fort Kent's baseball team was forfeiting a win over Lee Academy on June 2nd for a pitch count violation, the motives seemed like they'd be pretty clear: obviously they were hoping to win a must-win game in order to sneak into the playoffs...right? Except Fort Kent was eliminated on May 30 with a loss to Stearns, so there's no motivation to push their luck. Either way, it's on to summer basketball for the champs. So obviously, Lee Academy is the squeaky wheel here...right? Nope. They're also out. So I did a little digging and confirmed with the MPA that the pitch count issue was brought to their attention by a third party. So what happened is Fort Kent blew out Lee Academy in the final game of the season and in doing so, employed a pitcher who was over their pitch count limit. We're not sure why. I was unable to get a statement from Fort Kent. But they probably were just getting ready for summer and didn't put a lot of thought into it. And the losing team didn't say anything. But someone else, someone who needed the help points from a Lee Academy win, was lurking on GameChanger and found the pitch count violation. And like a dude with too much time on his hands who [calls the PGA tour](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial%5Fby%5Ftelevision%5Fin%5Fgolf%5Ftournaments?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) because he noticed a rule violation on TV, he contacted the MPA with his folder of evidence to get his team a couple more Heal Points. Because, hey, Heal Points are a valuable commodity, especially in the final week of the season. Time to start the playoffs! --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- I spent the weekend making sure everything was ready for the tournament in the Spring Sports spreadsheet and I think it's all working. Here's the Gold Ball Odds for boys Class B Lacrosse ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-09-at-12.13.06---AM-1.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- Yesterday, Toby Nelson joined me on the podcast. Toby introduced himself to me at the state games in Augusta this year, which was weird because of course I knew Toby Nelson already, but it turns out we hadn't actually met before So it was great to have him on to talk about the old Bangor Auditorium, Foxcroft Academy and the celebration of the anniversary of their only basketball title in 1975, Toby's quest to keep the legacy of Monson Academy alive, and so much more. Plus, my kid joined me to talk about the [weird movie he dragged me to](https://letterboxd.com/film/the-amazing-digital-circus-the-last-act/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Thanks to everyone who's been saying nice things about the episodes lately and if you haven't already, don't forget to subscribe on YouTube! | Maine Basketball Rankings is 556 subscribers from YouTube monetization If you watch on YouTube, hitting subscribe makes a real difference. 444 / 1,000 [Subscribe](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | You can also listen on Apple Podcasts, if that's your thing. [The King of Foxcroft Academy — with Toby NelsonPodcast Episode · The Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast · June 8 · 1h 7m![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-180-e8508d38-ba5c-4996-8d74-a606fe2598f5.png)Apple Podcasts![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/1200x1200bf-60-03d78b96-356a-4a01-a4c9-25d2ae8ce94f.jpg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-king-of-foxcroft-academy-with-toby-nelson/id1675940033?i=1000771652785&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- After extra security added hours to the wait time to get into MSG and canceled the watch party outside the stadium, New Yorkers showed their displeasure in the least surprising way possible last night. [Donald Trump Booed at NBA Finals in New York CityDonald Trump was booed by the Madison Square Garden crowd at Game 3 of the NBA Finals.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-776cd983-b6c7-40db-b91b-cbb2231708bd.png)VarietyJack Dunn![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/GettyImages-2280581876-6158852f-e584-406c-989a-491f6d29dd0e.jpg)](https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/donald-trump-booed-nba-finals-new-york-knicks-spurs-1236769899/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Without getting political, the vibes on this Knicks team has been off the charts and they lost last night at home. If the Knicks were to become the first team in NBA history to lose after going 2-0 on the road to start the series because James Dolan invited a [very unpopular politician](https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/trump-approval-stays-near-record-low-most-americans-expect-higher-gas-prices-2026-06-08/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) friend of his to Game 3...well that would kind of be a perfect Knicks thing. It's a borderline Jets move. Having said that... [Chad Finn (@chadfinn.bsky.social)I don’t know, I think they lost because Jeter was there, honestly.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-c07c817f-53de-436e-927e-35414382d585.png)Bluesky SocialChad Finn![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/bafkreic5kbs2bxifrtvpis5nii3ozmiv4hs3au5zppqxjivh25kiuspjhq-f578fe7e-4937-47ea-b70c-70a65ae68075)](https://bsky.app/profile/chadfinn.bsky.social/post/3mntblmxxzk2k?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Addison DeRoche is your softball Gatorade Player of the Year for the third year in a row. Three straight Gatorade POTY awards might be a first in the state. Terion Moss won it two years in a row, as did Maddie Fitzpatrick, but I'm having trouble thinking of anyone who's done it three times. She'll be the overwhelming favorite to make it a clean sweep next year, assuming she doesn't go prep out of state prior to heading to Florida State. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/image-3.png) --- The Sea Dogs found themselves as a clue on Jeopardy! > .[@Jeopardy](https://x.com/Jeopardy?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) knows that for a good time you call 207-879-9500 for Sea Dogs tickets [pic.twitter.com/LpGl2eRMaf](https://t.co/LpGl2eRMaf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Portland Sea Dogs (@PortlandSeaDogs) [June 6, 2026](https://x.com/PortlandSeaDogs/status/2063257453446213951?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Here's a fun twist in the upcoming battle of humans vs AI: Chicago Pope has entered the arena. Taking a break from spinning *Yankee Hotel Foxtrot* on repeat, the Pope wrote a [43,000-word encyclical](https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) on Artificial Intelligence. > In the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human. Full disclosure: I've been using Claude and some other AI tools to do stuff like code the new data visualizations and come up with podcast show notes--boring stuff like that--but never to, say, write this newsletter. This is all me (and caffeine). But what's fascinating is because the Pope got involved, a coder was able to use that to claim a religious exemption from being forced to use AI in her job. Good for her. And if you're a sportswriter who doesn't want their outlet to make them use AI to write stupid gamers like MaxPreps and GameChanger flood my inbox with, it's not too late to convert to Catholicism. [She won an exemption from using AI at her tech job. The Pope’s remarks could fuel similar appeals.Legal experts say employers must take AI-related religious objections seriously, as a 2023 ruling raised the bar for denying such accommodations.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-b086d7f1-efab-4541-955e-f3d8b7939ea5.png)Business InsiderSarah E. Needleman![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/6a20a6852e5a80cfe050344a-708f53fb-48a7-4edd-b131-2fd8e840c5df)](https://www.businessinsider.com/worker-got-religious-exemption-using-ai-at-work-2026-6?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And because of course this led me down a Chicago rabbit hole, this is pretty great. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Even the secretary in your March Madness office pool knows that you have to pick at least one 12 seed to knock off a 5 in the first round, so perhaps it's fitting that our prelim Game of the Day features #12 Bonny Eagle and #5 Edward Little. The two teams met back on May 14th with the Eddies prevailing 11-9 on the road. Bonny Eagle followed that up with a blowout loss to TA, but since then they've won 4 straight. Can they make it 5 and punch their ticket to the quarterfinals? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-08-at-11.52.59---PM-1.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchups/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The King of Foxcroft Academy URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-king-of-foxcroft-academy/ Last updated: 2026-06-12T21:58:28.000Z If you've been following Maine high school basketball for the last 30 years, you've no doubt seen Toby Nelson. Whether it's promoting Foxcroft Academy, doing radio, or broadcasting as part of Maine Public's state championship coverage, Toby has done it all. He joins the podcast to talk about the 50th anniversary of Foxcroft's title, the legacy of Monson Academy, digging into video archives, and so much more. Also: Rhys reviews \*The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act\*. --- ### Show Notes **Toby Nelson** has been broadcasting Maine high school sports for 30 years, including 20 years with Maine Public Television calling state championship games. He got his start at the Bangor Auditorium in 2007 — literally walking past the broadcast table, hearing a producer say someone had called out sick, and running home to grab a shirt and tie. The rest is history. Beyond broadcasting, Toby is Foxcroft Academy's unofficial historian, spearheading the **50th anniversary celebration of the 1975 state championship** — the school's only basketball gold ball. He tracked down the coach's original scorebook, game-by-game newspaper clippings, photos, and artifacts, then posted daily historical updates aligned to the exact anniversary dates of each game. His deeper passion project: **Monson Academy**, the small-town school that closed in 1969 and sent its students to Foxcroft. In 1968, just one year before closing, Monson's eight-player squad won the Class S state championship. Toby found a reel-to-reel audio recording of the title game, digitized it at a radio station, and put it online — where it's since drawn hundreds of thousands of views. He also tracked down actual game footage through Northeast Historic Films in Bucksport. Now he's planning a **Monson Academy Slaters merchandise line** — t-shirts, stickers, and more — with proceeds going toward a new roof on the Monson gymnasium, the last remaining piece of the old academy. --- ### Links & Resources - **Northeast Historic Films:** [oldfilms.org](https://oldfilms.org/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) - [**Monson Academy Slaters Facebook Page**](https://www.facebook.com/slatersforever) - **Eastern Maine Sports:** follow on Facebook/YouTube for live streams and coverage - [*Last One Out of Town, Turn Out the Lights*](https://amzn.to/4uWeymJ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) — Dave Albee's book on Foxcroft/Monson basketball history --- ### Key Quotes > "The sport that means the most to the most people in Maine is basketball. It just is." > "For $10, you get your ticket, your popcorn, nachos, a bottle of Gatorade — that's pretty cheap entertainment for a night." > "You'd walk home and feel dirty afterwards — in a fun way. The atmosphere in the Bangor Auditorium made you feel that way." > "None of the players had ever seen \[the footage\]. I was happy to be able to share that." ### Ghost World URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ghost-world/ Last updated: 2026-06-04T11:00:46.000Z It's not often that we have to take a result off the board, but that's the word that came down Wednesday afternoon from Hermon. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/image-2.png) Hermon lost in the 8th inning when Hampden's ghost runner scored the only run of the game on a bases-loaded bunt. Only, they weren't supposed to have a ghost runner in the 8th inning. The ghost runner doesn't kick in until the 10th inning (also: why are we doing a ghost runner at all?) and so somewhere between everyone leaving the game Tuesday night with the knowledge Hampden won and about 1:30 Wednesday afternoon, the MPA determined the game needs to be replayed from the 8th inning on. Does this impact who makes the tournament? Nope. So the next question is: if this mistake impacted both teams equally, why do we need to replay the game from the error? It's a fair question. There's precedent from earlier this year. the Medomak and Leavitt girls had to [replay the last couple minutes of a game](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/down-goes-cheverus/) because of a clock issue, even though the result was essentially determined. But essentially determined is different from actually determined and this game was actually determined. The umps walked off the field and everyone went home. From the bulletin: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-04-at-12.11.32---AM.png) It wasn't brought up before the resumption of play. We know that because the Ticket would have noticed that as they were broadcasting the game and they didn't. So I'm not really sure why we're replaying a result that went final. But we are! Even beyond the extra ghost runner, the officials didn't do themselves any favors. That's a rough look. You've gotta pick safe or out and stick with it. You can't waffle on a walk-off squeeze play, especially after you screwed up something as simple as which inning to start using the ghost runner. It's no wonder they're using different officials to finish out the game. The win moved Hampden to the 5 seed in A North, but now we're back to where we started. Hampden will be the 7 seed with a loss or the 5 seed with a win. Hermon, I believe, stays at 1 regardless, but I also keep finding missing games (Bapst, I'm begging you to figure out how to report your schedules). [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) ### Elsewhere Lyla Dunphe's overtime goal was the difference in Westbrook's win over Deering...Brooke Brunelle's 6 goals and 7 assists led Cheverus over TA...Arianna Sproul's homer helped Medomak hold off a late Leavitt rally. Sidney Nicholls struck out 15...Skylar Booker's walk-off single gave Lisbon a win over Spruce...Mariah Villandry had 5 RBIs as Biddeford broke open a close one against Windham...Gavin Glanville-True drove in 5 of Bangor's 17 runs against Camden...Breydan Ridlon tossed a 1-hitter in Buckfield's win over Vinalhaven...Anderson Noyes homered and drove in 5 runs in Cony's win over Gardiner...Maddox Cuddy's 2-hitter led Forest Hills over Valley...Wyatt Washburn threw a 5-inning 1-hitter as Gorham mercied Windham...Cam Pulkkinen's bases-loaded triple led Oxford Hills to a win over Skow...SoPo's Nate Masters struck out 10 in a shutout of Massabesic...Bella Hanson homered and tossed a shutout in Bonny Eagle's 2-0 win over Gorham...Ada Tassinari went yard twice in Massabesic's win of Sanford...Max Kimble threw a no-hitter in EL's win over Lewiston. --- It's not often that an athlete does something that's never been done before, but it's believed Windham's Abby Trainor did just that when she notched her 400th career point earlier this week To put it in a basketball context, Cindy Blodgett leads everyone with 2,565 points, so I guess it would be like if someone got to 2,600 in basketball...or maybe even more? She's also 7 goals shy of 300\. Between the season finale today and at least one playoff game, it's certainly in range. [Windham’s Abby Trainor breaks new ground with 400th career pointThe Eagles’ star senior became the first girls lacrosse player to reach the milestone, recording seven goals and five assists in a victory over Portland.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-f139df81-ff43-4554-b766-115101b29219.png)The Portland Press HeraldDrew BonifantStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43625891_20260602_Windham-Trainor_1-0b1fc104-66e4-4a30-bce6-ea8476cd7c5c.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/02/windhams-abby-trainor-breaks-new-ground-with-400th-career-point/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Agreed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-03-at-11.51.27---PM.png) --- There's a new game to get sucked into while you're supposed to be working. 82-0 has a simple premise: can you build a lineup from NBA history that would go 82-0? The game randomly picks a franchise and a decade for each player in your lineup (i.e. Houston in the 2010's). Select a player and it randomly gives you a different team and decade. There's 2 versions: HoopIQ, where the stats are hidden and you have to know ball, and Classic, where they give you the stats and that is obviously cheating. [82-0Build the ultimate NBA all-time team and see if you can go 82-0![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32-5a0caea2-47ea-4bb1-a25b-9e08ac398806.png)82-0![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/logo-256-2578eba7-ea3f-4aa3-b822-b44802345e40.png)](https://www.82-0.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Dr. Buckets broke another record. > Congratulations to former Maranacook star Ryan Martin who set a new world record for made NBA 3’s over a 24 hour span! His final tally 11115! [#nba](https://x.com/hashtag/nba?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/p3qjV40fpN](https://t.co/p3qjV40fpN?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) [June 1, 2026](https://x.com/DaveEidWGME/status/2061462427082850368?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) I believe we've got 2 playoff tickets to hand out on this, the bonus day of the Spring sports regular season. In B South Baseball, Mountain Valley is trying to hold off GNG for the last spot. They both play today. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-03-at-11.31.05---PM.png) Class A Boys LAX is a little more complicated. Portland and Cape are in. Hampden is mostly in. Bonny Eagle is likely safe. And SoPo is the most at risk. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-03-at-11.35.02---PM-1.png) Really it depends on Windham. If they can beat Scarborough (the Model says they're 1 goal underdogs) and get a little help, they can sneak in. [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) Conveniently, that's the Game of the Day! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-03-at-11.48.03---PM-1.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchups/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Double No-Hitters URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/double-no-hitters/ Last updated: 2026-06-01T11:00:36.000Z We kind of had a mini-washout this weekend, as a chunk of games got postponed into this, the final week of the season. But not before Oxford Hills pulled off the rare double no-hitter on Friday. In the girls game, Kyeria Morse threw a mercy rule gem with 9 strikeouts to improve Oxford Hills to 13-2\. Then, in the boys game (which was the Game of the Day!), Carter Davis threw a no-no with a much smaller margin for error. The Vikings manufactured a run in the fourth inning and it had to hold up in a 1-0 win over Mt. Ararat. That'll give Oxford Hills the 1 seed in A North. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-05-31-at-11.51.27---PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) [High schools Friday: Oxford Hills softball, baseball pitch no-hittersKyeria Morse leads the softball team while Carter Davis lifts the baseball team.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-sj-default-db99b4bd9cdbe3f1000042e0eb02d706d6419db04694f435c073a1954af4116f.png)Lewiston Sun JournalStaff report![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/2026-05-29_OHCHS_Softball_Senior_game-163-c1917f75c5d2cde2bc68d264e8153b66c78de40edc4749b23c9be84c39dd0130.jpg)](https://www.sunjournal.com/2026/05/29/high-schools-friday-oxford-hills-softball-baseball-pitch-no-hitters/?utm%5Fcampaign=NewBot%5FvarsityMaine&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawSHJD9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeryr-d8bjO7L7DBF3uUi8gnCkV3HXAJCevRXJ%5FK%5Fi6p02JPKmFlEBiHU7ES4%5Faem%5F4Pc108k0L9C%5FDDCKFTeEmw) --- This week on the podcast: Cliff Urquhart built a dynasty in Dyer Brook with a Southern Aroostook girls team he led to 5 state titles and one of the more dominant runs any program in the state has seen over the last decade. But earlier this spring, he stepped off the sidelines to take an administrative job even further north at Fort Fairfield. He joined the podcast to talk about that, his time at Southern Aroostook, an unforgettable closed scrimmage with Caribou, and so much more. [Subscribe to YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Is that auto-generated thumbnail a little creepy? Yes. Am I too busy to make my own? Also yes. --- Late last week, Mike Mandell published an awesome story about the quirks of the various fields around Maine. > MVC fields, Dube said, have some other quirks that force teams to adjust. Spruce’s field has a lip at third base that keeps players at the hot corner on their toes. Mountain Valley’s has a noticeably high mound, which gives ace pitchers an advantage hurling downhill, as well as a funky inward curve in the fence in left-center, resulting from its proximity to the Hosmer Field track. Dirigo has historically had fast grass and a stone mix in the infield. There's so many of these around the state. Some are subtle and some are [really weird](https://davehrus.myportfolio.com/baseball?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/image-1.png) I'm a big fan of stories like this and would love to get to more gyms this winter to see more of the home court advantages various teams are working with, but you should absolutely read Mandell's story. He clearly put a lot of work into it and it's a fascinating read. [How Maine’s many different high school baseball fields change the gameFrom short porches to deep gaps to massive foul territory, the specificities of each park can alter how coaches and players approach the sport.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43543841_20260413__kjms.skowbaseballbackhome.0415__0y076-50b679eb95b4314b128daec6f8afc347401c916a05a3b893b0a07a08c6ec9554.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/05/30/how-maines-many-different-high-school-baseball-fields-change-the-game/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This story immediately reminded me of Kirk Goldsberry's idea in [Sprawlball](https://amzn.to/4x2jSWZ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com): what if NBA teams could customize their playing surfaces like baseball teams do? What would be the NBA equivalent of the Green Monster? > The NBA already allows teams to alter uniforms and chose how they [paint the court](http://grantland.com/features/nba-court-design-power-rankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), Goldsberry argues. Why not let them create a home-court advantage in which each team is familiar with the line at home, but constantly adjusting on the road? "I think it would be interesting to consider what the NBA would look like if there was a 36-foot line in Indiana and a 22-foot line in some other place," said Goldsberry. > Such an approach would see teams draw a line that suits their roster while combating opponents' strengths. The Warriors could set the line further back and capitalize on its sharpshooting, for example, while the Miami Heat—who made [1,112 fewer](http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA%5F2016.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#all%5Fteam%5Fstats) attempts this season—could move the line in, increasing their odds of sinking threes. [Three Ideas for Remaking the Three-Point ShotKirk Goldsberry’s presentation at the 2016 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in March offered three ways to change the rising dependence on the shot.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-67755dda169221cbf7325e71348ce17ae87d6a8a7c68b3a8c50d7589e7da664c.ico)WIREDKevin McFarland![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Court-177039934-908f5dfe1598e7c68604dbe92b9704a75189433e7bf6b7dc16f5fafb03be8509.jpg)](https://www.wired.com/2016/06/three-ideas-remaking-three-point-shot/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) To get an idea, Goldsberry mocked up a couple of courts in [his book](https://amzn.to/4x2jSWZ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) (which you should read). Keep in mind this Celtics court is from the backcourt of IT and Avery Bradley. They shot 26.1 threes a game, as opposed to the current rate of 42.1\. Ah, how times have changed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/image.png) Image from Goldsberry's Sprawlball --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- You've probably seen this already, but in case you haven't. > On Saturday May 2, 2026, during what should have been just another thrilling basketball game, tragedy struck. Anthony Russo, \[Son of Donna & Joe Russo (Portland High School Boys Basketball Coach)\], a dedicated young referee known for his passion for the game and commitment to fair play, suffered from a debilitating left sided hemorrhagic stroke. This left Anthony with full right-sided speech & physical paralysis. In an instant, his life was turned upside down. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/image-6.png) There's more at the GoFundMe link. [GoFundMe](https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-anthony-russo-our-basketball-community-friend?utm%5Fid=97758%5Fv0%5Fs00%5Fe227%5Ftv4%5Ftp1%5Fa1den1nh4xs86z&fbclid=IwY2xjawSHMFpleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFtSFdmVUhBRzBGTFJidmFTc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHkPllnhD%5F634fxwcMxA3ZIfc5Cnlra9MskWUUf15f4o64g5Y7igUhwXzmvOy%5Faem%5FvMKS1qBriba%5FnqJDHyQkSw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I don't know what those nuns did to Luke Kornet, but it sure worked. In Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, with Spurs clinging to a 6-point lead in the 4th quarter as they simultaneously tried to buy themselves some Wemby bench minutes and keep him from fouling out, Luke Kornet came through with the biggest "[Kornet Kontest](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/%5F/id/35240700/luke-kornet-contest-effective-boston-celtics?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)" of his career. > Great view of the Kornet block[pic.twitter.com/5ZbDlZK3jW](https://t.co/5ZbDlZK3jW?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [May 31, 2026](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings/status/2061139432053301554?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Kornet (and those other guys) will take on the Knicks in the Finals and the NBA has finally listened to the people and brought back the Finals courts we all want. > The NBA released the official NBA Finals court featuring the Larry O’Brien trophy 🔥 > > IT'S HAPPENING 😮‍💨 > > (via [@NBA](https://x.com/NBA?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) [pic.twitter.com/mtiF3yas7X](https://t.co/mtiF3yas7X?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) [June 1, 2026](https://x.com/ESPNNBA/status/2061241388763660673?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But that might just be because Adam Silver spends way too much time on NBA Twitter. [Adam Silver Goes to WarThe mild-mannered NBA commissioner has overseen a time of peace and prosperity for his league. Until now.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-152x152-aafde20dd981a38fcd549b29b2b3b785-be51ae18a8eef2024d43939444d387d010b94cb958609dfe265de46cee3fbaa3.png)The AtlanticTim Alberta![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/original-ad726f3491056a1532385e6914e86f16a242e8c6bbd2176bff575c55bf1571e5.jpg)](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/05/adam-silver-nba-playoffs-tanking/686918/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Major League Baseball's ABS challenge system has been a wild success, but this isn't a great look. > If MLB is going to have the ABS Challenge system, this simply cannot occur. > > This is actually a disgrace and someone needs to be held accountable. [pic.twitter.com/fWhtmNryAo](https://t.co/fWhtmNryAo?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dan Clark (@DanClarkSports) [May 31, 2026](https://x.com/DanClarkSports/status/2061078943088931005?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Let's go back to girls lacrosse, where Falmouth and Scarborough are angling for seeding in Class A. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-01-at-12.12.09---AM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) This could be a good one in a crowded middle of the Class A pack. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-05-31-at-9.58.58---PM-1.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchups/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### He Won Five State Titles at Southern Aroostook. Then He Moved Even Further North. URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/he-won-five-state-titles-at-southern-aroostook-then-he-moved-even-further-north/ Last updated: 2026-06-01T04:53:43.000Z Cliff Urquhart built a dynasty in Dyer Brook with a Southern Aroostook girls team he led to 5 state titles and one of the more dominant runs any program in the state has seen over the last decade. But earlier this spring, he stepped off the sidelines to take an administrative job even further north at Fort Fairfield. He joined the podcast to talk about that, his time at Southern Aroostook, an unforgettable closed scrimmage with Caribou, and so much more. --- ### You'll want to hear this episode if... - **You've ever wondered how Southern Aroostook kept winning.** Cliff is refreshingly honest about it: it wasn't just him. It was the Shields family, the Russells, the Burpees — basketball families whose kids showed up already knowing how to play. He just had to not mess it up. - **You want to know what it's actually like to be your own AD.** Spoiler: you can't complain about the AD. There is no AD. Every bad scheduling decision is yours. - **You've ever coached a team that lost by 100 one year and went 13-5 the next.** Cliff had the youngest team in Maine basketball history — four eighth graders, three freshmen — finish as the one seed. That group became the 2018 and 2019 state champions. - **You were at that Caribou scrimmage.** The closed pre-tournament game that went to overtime, finished 94-91, and featured a performance from Caribou's star that Cliff estimates at around 49 points. The funnest game no one got to see. - **You've ever sat on a committee and immediately regretted it.** Cliff's been on the MPA classification committee. He has thoughts. --- ### Show Notes **Why Fort Fairfield?** After nearly 20 years in the classroom, Cliff was ready for a change. The Fort Fairfield job is a combined assistant principal and athletic director role — still in sports, out of the classroom, and yes, even further north than Southern Aroostook. He's the first to admit he never saw that coming. **Being your own AD.** The upside is real — you schedule who you want, when you want, where you want. The downside is there's no one to blame when something goes sideways. No excuses. Cliff is blunt about it: it's advantageous, and he can't pretend otherwise. **What Fort Fairfield's coaches don't need to worry about.** Cody Clawson and Mark Weekes run the programs. Cliff is there to support them, not second-guess them. He made the Brad Stevens comparison himself. **How Cliff got into coaching.** It started with Dr. John Wink's baseball program at Husson — a coach whose practice schedules were detailed to the second, with no standing around, no lines, every minute accounted for. Cliff helped run Husson's summer camp for three years, fell in love with it, and the rest followed naturally when he started teaching phys ed. **The time he almost quit after two years.** He hadn't developed what he calls "alligator skin" yet. Parent complaints, playing time politics — it wasn't worth it. He turned in his resignation. Then Phil Faulkner called from Katahdin needing an emergency boys coach, and Cliff went to run the scoreclock that night in a preseason scrimmage and saw a 5'11 point guard named Billy Lisby running the floor like a coach in a player's uniform. He called Faulkner after the game and took the job. Billy Lisby is now the head coach at Spurgeon College in Kansas City — he took over a 2-23 program and turned it into a 23-2 program. **Leaving Billy behind at the bus.** On a trip to Mars Hill, Lisby missed the bus. His parents drove him an hour. Cliff didn't play him. Not a minute. His parents came down after the game and said it was a life lesson. Cliff has softened since then. A little. **The 2021 co-championship.** COVID scrambled everything, but Southern Aroostook and Presque Isle met for the Aroostook County Championship. The problem: Southern Aroostook had lost to Presque Isle by nearly 30 in the regular season. Before the rematch, assistant coach Brandon McCarthy's bag of gum got hidden in the ceiling tiles of Presque Isle's locker room. The message was clear: the only way to get it back was to come back and win. They did. Cliff ran dribble drive for the first time ever, got penetration and kick-outs, and pulled off what he describes as a Hoosiers moment. He still thinks they would have competed for a state title that year. **The youngest team in Maine basketball history.** After a 3-15 season with six players — including a game in Van Buren where four kids showed up and Cliff had to negotiate a fifth into coming by promising to pay her what she'd make shoveling roofs — the roster turned over. Four eighth graders. Three freshmen. 13-5 record. One seed. A quarterfinal overtime win that had 13 and 14-year-olds sprinting off the floor like they'd won a state title. Larry Mahoney of the Bangor Daily News called them the youngest team in the history of Maine basketball. That group won state championships in 2018 and 2019. **Coaching girls vs. coaching boys.** The X's and O's shift some — girls have a harder time creating their own shot, so sets and actions matter more — but the biggest adjustment for Cliff was the bus ride. He was the guy who put headphones in his bag with no music just so no one would talk to him on the way to games. His girls were laughing and having fun. It took him a few years to realize that wasn't a problem. **The injury years.** In 2025, Ally Shields — whose family has more names on the Southern Aroostook thousand-point banner than anyone — tore her ACL in soccer and then finished the tear in the first practice of basketball season. Hannah McGary missed 10-12 games with a foot injury that never got a clear diagnosis. Southern Aroostook started basically five new players, won a prelim game against a team that had beaten them twice, and had a halftime lead on one-seed Bangor Christian in the quarters. This past season, Shields came back, McGary tore her ACL and missed her senior year, and they drew a motivated Penobscot Valley team as a five seed. Penobscot Valley went on to have a great tournament run. Cliff's description of that matchup: "We ran into a buzzsaw." **The Caribou scrimmage.** Pre-tournament, closed scrimmage. Southern Aroostook in class D, Caribou in class B, the year before Caribou won it all. They're running scout team offense for each other, nobody's in their base defense, and somehow the game goes to overtime and finishes 94-91 Caribou. Cliff estimates the Caribou star finished around 49 points. Parents from both sides came down afterward saying it was the most fun they'd had watching a basketball game. Cliff says it's the best game no one got to see. **The classification committee.** Cliff has served on the MPA classification committee and will readily tell you it is harder than it looks from the outside. Every team you move affects six other teams. You have to separate what's good for Southern Aroostook from what's good for Maine basketball. He thinks Class S is here to stay — schools aren't getting bigger, small schools are getting smaller, and eventually there will be more teams in it, not fewer. He terms out next year. **What he'd change about MPA basketball.** His answer: timeout advancement to halfcourt in the girls game, like the college rule. So teams don't have to throw 80-foot passes with two seconds left. They can run a set and get a real shot off. He thinks a shot clock is coming eventually too — just not next year. Lucas's counter-proposal — burning a timeout to send the other team to the bonus and skip the intentional foul parade — did not get an immediate endorsement, but Cliff acknowledged the safety argument. --- *Recorded May 31, 2026\.* ### A County No-No URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/a-county-no-no/ Last updated: 2026-05-29T11:00:17.000Z There's a lot of great pitching performances around the state, seemingly on a daily basis, but it's not often that we get something that hasn't happened since 2010\. But that's exactly what happened in Houlton on Wednesday when Amelia Matwyko threw the [first 7 inning no-hitter](https://www.facebook.com/jono79/posts/pfbid0kRBGkE3qvQn2rzMpSjFA4GBXbpkWHgRPj5oD5x1ax7N2LrCLfcrctAKqz1xjPFPGl) by a County softball pitcher since in 16 years! Matwyko struck out 14 Presque Isle Wildcats in a 2-0 victory. Caribou's Emily Staples was the last to pull that off from the circle. ### Elsewhere Marshwood outlasted Biddeford 1-0 in an 11-inning classic...Spruce's Rylee Turner struck out 19 in winning both halves of a doubleheader...Boothbay's Casey Phelps struck out 10 in a shutout...SoPo's Ben Morin struck out 14 in a 2-hitter...Erskine's Kelsie Dunn struck out 8 in a shutout of Morse...Sarah Orso homered twice and drove in 8 runs in York's blowout of Wells...Anna McCarron had 6 goals in Kennebunk's win over Massabesic...Maranacook's Grady Hreben struck out 14 in a 1-hitter of Winthrop...Robbie Hanscom hit 2 dingers and a triple en route to 6 RBI's in York's rout of Traip...Chloe Maberry’s walk-off single gave Mount Blue a win over Oak Hill...Wyatt Aceto came through with a bases-loaded single in the 8th inning to give Brunswick an upset over Edward Little...Emily Poulin's grand Slam led EL over Brunswick...Casey Monson scored her 100th goal in Cony's win over Mount Blue. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- In the latest episode of the podcast, WHOU's Ethan Snow joined me to talk about why WHOU broadcasts from the schools they broadcast from (the answer probably won't surprise you), which teams are the true contenders in baseball and softball this year, and which AD is using the MPA's website to shame an opposing coach who got tossed. As always, Ethan brought it. Check it out on YouTube or wherever it is you podcast. [Subscribe on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | Maine Basketball Rankings is 561 subscribers from YouTube monetization If you watch on YouTube, hitting subscribe makes a real difference. 439 / 1,000 [Subscribe](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --- Mike Mandell has a nice feature on Cony's Parker Morin. Morin has been on an epic run in this, his senior season. He led Cony to a state title game in football and was a finalist for the Fitzy award. This winter he was a Mr. Basketball semifinalist as part of a team that lost to eventual champion Gardiner in the B North Regional Final. And baseball is his best sport. Can the Rams grab that elusive Gold Ball next month? They're currently [second in B North](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) at 12-2 after a big win over Messalonskee yesterday in which Morin went 3-3 from the plate and picked up the W on mound. [‘He’s an all-time great’: Parker Morin’s remarkable ride at Cony nears an endThe senior is in the home stretch for the Cony baseball team as Act III of a year in which he has dominated and adapted.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-404ef6e9dff765a96276ade786d19ebe325f08402deb8c9be211bfba45fd8a5c.png)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43605275_20260521_ParkerMorin_9332-cd0275df09f43f3fd280a4f2a1362c147d8e195e2b967c8e35453d239ef7344a.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/05/26/hes-an-all-time-great-parker-morins-remarkable-ride-at-cony-nears-an-end/?utm%5Fcampaign=NewBot%5FvarsityMaine&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawSDErZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEey-32zH-86Z9KtTvocpYI9La1aMrqr%5FhOzLCFrDDTsNb8sZTI-f-RRZSrllc%5Faem%5FXwoRNvjBeL0Z0g6hWdHLgQ) --- Old Friend Luke Kornet hasn't had the best playoffs in his first year with the Spurs, but he got a little extra help before Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals from an unlikely source--a couple of San Antonio nuns. [Everything We Know About the Salesian Sisters, the Nuns Cheering for the SpursThe four nuns who attended Game 4 of the Spurs–Thunder series went viral for blessing Luke Kornet before the game.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/SI-f87ae31620c381274a85426b5c4f1341-80dc216751b7e46166f77036297a8d868adb94b185d29d49f2a94826e4d004ac.ico)Sports IllustratedMadison Williams![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/01ksga2g5kak5gdysf5b-f704d74dbd7358acc0cdf7aab9976b2d0a773f265ff766f97057c8efa2c30c8e.jpg)](https://www.si.com/nba/spurs/everything-we-know-salesian-sisters-nuns-cheering?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Hopefully they can give him a little extra blessing before Game 7. --- If you're looking for a summer camp for your kid to work on their ball skills, there's no shortage of them. Nearly every school has summer basketball. And a lot of your kid's favorite basketball stars from the last couple of years are hosting their own camps. For example, Pliable is hosting one with [Mr. Basketball Cash McClure and Ryan Martin](https://pliablecamps.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/image-5.png) --- One of my favorite recurring stories is the "well, now that basketball is over, it'd be fun to come back to baseball/softball", but this year's version has a bit of a twist. Maddie Provost, the reigning Miss Basketball, made a deal with her teammate Ashley Shores before the year that they'd each join the other in their "other" sport--Shores in soccer and Provost in softball, which she hadn't played since middle school. > “I hadn’t played softball in a while, but it wasn’t very hard to pick up,” said Provost, who is borrowing a glove from a teammate for the season. “The only real difference is playing at the high school level. It’s a bit more serious. It’s super fun. I think we’ve got a great group and it’s nice to be outside.” Shores, by the way, had never played soccer. [Lawrence seniors Maddie Provost, Ashley Shores fulfilling a pactProvost is playing softball for the first time since middle school after Shores played soccer for the first time in the fall. In between, the duo helped the Bulldogs win the Class B girls basketball title.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Centralmaine.comDave DyerStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43586233_20260526_ProvostShoresDeal_486-c3105db8e588785b6fb48952fe270048df6b1f056219e89bae286990764c373f.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/05/27/lawrence-seniors-maddie-provost-ashley-shores-make-deal-to-try-new-sports/?utm%5Fcampaign=NewBot%5FvarsityMaine&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawSEXgFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe0iFYCiZhLHDU%5FEhqUXFj9I9FtpWfTgC35j6Oo0XL0VY8skU%5Fd40Zl%5Fh5AKA%5Faem%5F-vZpyGZDSUJN%5FnVdFvKibQ) --- If you're an athletic trainer, you expect to deal with injuries on a daily basis--a lot of sprained ankles and cramping muscles and bloody noses. You might get a concussion every so often or maybe a kid who's overheating and needs to be cooled down during a September football game. But the changes have to be slim that you'd ever have to deal with a life or death situation and hopefully you never have to use that part of your training, just like you never want to use the masks that fall from the ceiling in an airplane. But Winslow's Lindsey Perkins came through in the clutch to save the life of umpire Phil Alley when he had a heart attack while working the plate of a softball game. [Winslow athletic trainer saved this umpire’s lifeLindsey Perkins knew exactly what to do when Phil Alley was having a heart attack and needed help.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Centralmaine.comTravis LazarczykColumnist![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43619380_20260528_08ump_-5c0cc11aa073cd6d48be9ad75483668044a3c9c4e442713fb5e4490a2aeeffce.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/05/28/winslow-athletic-trainers-training-saved-this-umpires-life/?utm%5Fcampaign=NewBot%5FvarsityMaine&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawSFr2RleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETE0ZEVadHhGYWl3T2hVR2V2c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHnjEfjyLvts4rEQMVEHdneJC22w0kxQe3pjNvqKC2zTL8Dq5vcQ3W-qKJs1h%5Faem%5FwbSrLgr22C9rnwNYtg8sLg) --- I'll just leave this here, as I imagine a lot of people reading this can relate. > We talked to nearly 100 people about youth sports in New Jersey and found a predatory industry that is leaving parents broke, exhausted and wondering how the games of their childhood took over their adult lives. Our six-month investigation: [https://t.co/plE3w618qt](https://t.co/plE3w618qt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Steve Politi (@StevePoliti) [May 28, 2026](https://x.com/StevePoliti/status/2059954102923047226?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- My friend Alonso who lives in Mexico City sent me this cool video about the World Cup that matters. --- If you're looking for a fun 5K to run next month, can I interest you in the Waldoboro Day 5K? Yours truly is the race director and it's a super chill race that is also pretty hard, but in a fun way. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/waldoboro-day-logo-2026-temp-1-1.png) [Waldoboro Day 5K](https://runsignup.com/Race/ME/Waldoboro/WaldoboroDay5K?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) We go to A North baseball, where Oxford Hills and Mt. Ararat are in a 3-way race with Bangor for the top seed ahead of the tourney. The Heal Points are razor-thin. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-28-at-11.53.32---PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Oxford Hills has the slight edge and that expands when you look at the Tourney odds for the very simple reason that they've got one more game to play than Bangor and Mt. Ararat. Bangor has the edge over Mt. Ararat thanks to an easier schedule (they don't have to play Oxford Hills, who they beat earlier this month). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-28-at-11.55.37---PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) Obviously, the winner today has a big leg up on the 1 seed, but it's not a lock. They'd still need to pick up another win (or get help). Either way, it's shaping up to be a fun playoffs. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-28-at-11.51.33---PM-1.png) [Today's Matchups](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchup.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### DeRoche Tries to Hit it in the Bay URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/deroche-tries-to-hit-it-in-the-bay/ Last updated: 2026-05-25T11:00:55.000Z Let's start with the Game of the Day between Falmouth and Yarmouth in boys lax. Falmouth got off to a 5-1 start after 1 and led 8-3 in the third on the way to an 11-7 win. Michael Hoffer was there. [Falmouth boys down Yarmouth for biggest win to dateFALMOUTH—Falmouth’s boys’ lacrosse team not only got its biggest test of the season Friday evening when it played host to Yarmouth. The Navigators also produced the fast start that coach Dave Barton has long been preaching.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260522_181010-da216d03d1d5f543ee7d9ab7bce4829c6680af7009c337e8ca49c9d5db6af7b4.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/falmouth-boys-down-yarmouth-for-biggest-win-to-date/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Saturday, I had just barely enough time after a 5K to get to Portland for the Marshwood @ Cheverus softball game and my first in-person look at Addison DeRoche (I know, I know). It was also my first time at a Cheverus game that wasn't in the gym and while I guess I understood the layout, I was surprised [at the view](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1507534194500952). It's a nice spot! DeRoche gave up a single in the first and you've never seen someone so excited to hit a 2-out bloop single in the first inning of a regular season game. Then, after taking a pitch to the helmet in the bottom of the first, DeRoche settled down. She struck out 7 straight and homered in her second at bat. She was as dominant as you'd expect. I'm not sure how anyone gets a bat on that fastball when she's pumping it in there, much less makes solid contact. She gave up a hit to Laurali Shisler to lead off the 4th and then struck out the next 8 straight. The Cheverus offense in three different innings loaded the bases with zero outs, only to have little to show for it as Marshwood 4 times made a play at the plate to prevent a run. But it wasn't enough. Cheverus won by mercy rule, 10-0 in 6 to improve to 13-0\. DeRoche finished with 16K against 2 hits. ### Elsewhere Ben Robbins' 2-run single was the winner for Falmouth over Bonny Eagle...Hudson Iacuessa struck out 12 in the first 7 innings and SoPo erupted for 5 runs in the 10th to outlast Scarborough...Lewiston's Harley Gasser struck out 10 in a 2-hit shutout of Hampden...OOB's Hannah Webber notched her 200th strikeout in the first game of a doubleheader split with Mount View...Haley Hamlin had 5 RBIs and 8Ks in Lake Region's win over Wells...Brewer's Sara Young shutout Edward Little on 3 hits....Medomak's Arianna Sproul picked up her [100th hit](https://www.facebook.com/reel/949554281180524) in a win over Erskine. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- One of the long-range goals of the spring sports season for yours truly has been to 1) revamp the website and 2) rethink the ways that we can do live stats. The first has gone pretty well, although you might notice that I've moved everything from the app.mainebasketballrankings subdomain back into the normal structure as I found a way to embed the new stuff in the old system in a way that's more stable. If you've been having issues logging in or staying logged in, this should solve all of that. If you've been using the web app on your phone, there's been fewer issues. Anyway, both systems work and I'd like to still work toward making a full-on iPhone/Android app--like a real one in the app store--but it was causing problems on the website and yadda yadda yadda it should work better now. The live stats has been an even more complicated project this spring as I work toward a live stats app that talks to everything else and will make for a much, much better live stats experience during the tourney. The baseball/softball version, which I thought would be much easier to build, has finally turned a corner where it has passed a couple tests in a row without screwing up. I think this is version 11? I've been doing the baseball version as a stress test in anticipation of basketball, but also because GameChanger sucks and it shouldn't cost $10/month just to see a box score. That's insane. So if you're interested in trying out the live scorer, I wrote up a primer. I'm going to throw another test at it today, weather permitting. [How to Score a Baseball/Softball GameLive stats!![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/52226-1-299488e00be7787e1b0b8ac33e52fe5ec549a6384d97dd241940c2d557718887.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/how-to-score-a-baseball-softball-game/) --- The All-NBA teams are out. Jaylen Brown made the second team (and just missed the first team) and Cooper Flagg got a single third place vote from a very wise member of the voting body. I haven't yet seen who that was. [Havlicek Stole the Pod (@havlicekstoleit.bsky.social)JB makes Second Team, Derrick White makes the voting returns![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-eb14a7ed3cead85c71ac878fcff399abd445d8d998ab76953f23fdecc02e90f5.png)Bluesky SocialHavlicek Stole the Pod![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/bafkreig6nseqde34bvrzm3wqermbj53pao3ctuujifgakv55hqbyiuvyp4-96ecf10c056537283467b0859f54859d6fc8aef46cd34e60a4e5e3313ec991ea)](https://bsky.app/profile/havlicekstoleit.bsky.social/post/3mmn4fw7ql22k?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Maine Public has added the Lobster Bowl to their live sports offerings. [Maine Public to broadcast Maine Shrine Lobster BowlThe Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic has announced a new partnership with Maine Public to broadcast the 2026 Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic on July 18 from Don Roux Field in Lewiston. Under the agreement, Maine Public will provide live television and online broadcasting.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-PO-f7766c4512d9484fc9ea6aec70242844f9ba2973aeb9bee91505cb0ac33bd04b.png)Piscataquis ObserverStaff, Piscataquis Observer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Lobster-Bowl-logo-233afee4c45908dfe08a8309462729cc4ea0663a7be9d3a6c345cef8fc3e69de.png)](https://observer-me.com/2026/05/20/sports/maine-public-to-broadcast-maine-shrine-lobster-bowl/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Graham Platner, who I'm sure you have an opinion on already, put out a new ad criticizing the Red Sox ownership for being terrible billionaires. We won't get into the politics of it all here, even though he's right. They're terrible billionaires. Just the worst. Sell the team. What's interesting is that NESN pulled the ad in the middle of a game. [Platner says Red Sox station owner pulled political ad claiming private equity was ‘destroying’ teamThe 15-second spot played on fan frustration that Sox owner John Henry has prioritized cost-cutting over investing in the team’s success.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Bangor Daily NewsCallie Ferguson![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/PlatnerSoxAd-21acb6bfbb26870ec7096187520e04dc0f6ef9f1539ad472c6c63d33800ea076.png)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/05/23/politics/elections/platner-says-red-sox-station-pulled-critical-ad/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) NESN, which is owned by the Red Sox, said the ad "included unauthorized use of third-party intellectual property and did not comply with NESN’s advertising standards", which is the sort of thing you say when your boss makes you do something. I've watched the ad a couple of times and while there's some very quick shots of Fenway and certain parts of the park are covered under copyright and trademark law (like the shade of green on the Monster), the architecture of the park itself is in the public domain (because it's so old). The obvious culprit is the font Platner uses in the ad, which based on a Google search is very likely the free [BoSox font](https://www.dafont.com/bosox.charmap?f=3&text=RED+SOX&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). That's the first thing that comes up on Google. It's a free font without any restrictions listed I can find. And that's almost definitely what a campaign staffer would use for this ad. The first Google result is a lookalike font that's free with no copyright restrictions on DaFont? Perfect. Use that, intern. If you rotate the R in the Red Sox logo and put it next to the font in Platner's ad, there's clear differences. I'm no copyright lawyer, but that looks like a different font to me. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-8.27.20---PM-1.png) It's also worth noting that there's no small number of people outside Fenway selling t-shirts and other such merch with this exact font and John Henry and company are perfectly happy to let them do it. This is less about the Red Sox protecting their Intellectual Property and more about silencing criticism of their ownership, even if that ownership sucks, which it does. I also miss Mookie Betts. --- One of the great innovations of the data revolution is that we can finally get real answers to previously unknown things like, "does the 2-time MVP fall down too much or do people just think he's a flopper?" In the olden days, we had no way of knowing such things. All we could do is argue about them endlessly in bars. Eventually we moved on to forums and the comment sections of blogs and then Twitter before Elon ruined it. But Tom Haberstroh has done the work. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/image-4.png) This is some really important journalism and worth your time. [Flop or not: Does Shai Gilgeous-Alexander really fall more than his peers?As we head into Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, the Thunder star’s perceived flopping is undoubtedly a talking point.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon_y24_48x48-c071d8c9eb6a9348ffc29f6f49260f1ef642580f532eb133eb97418fbc69563e.svg)Yahoo SportsTom Haberstroh![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/d3e51fa9-1895-439e-93e5-788c419650f3-83b4daaa7945f7135f1af718503884e438182a31b321973e094a333581acc879)](https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/flop-or-not-does-shai-gilgeous-alexander-really-fall-more-than-his-peers-134022010.html?guccounter=1&guce%5Freferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly90LmNvLw&guce%5Freferrer%5Fsig=AQAAALIJL7pugmxyu8ad2dApsAM2-LYbilxA3U0ac99XIWfN3cWhvx0O6OGvXEAVmu8KiUtoC1IgbHRdS4W9dgAMgY2bdo5obvANnew8ETOUtx3I1j-qqFwTkhL-paPo16JjyNFCMj%5FBHBmHseVxtRz2p0S8NhNake7S3qGcKlL2Tzdt&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) With the holiday, today is a light schedule and the rain promises to knock some of it out, but we've got a pretty interesting lax matchup. The Erskine boys are 8-3 and fifth in the state in scoring differential (+72), but they've only played 2 games against the Top 25, splitting with #15 Morse. They've faced the easiest schedule in the state and it isn't even that close. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-11.37.54---PM.png) [Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) As for Maranacook, they're 5-5 with a profile that says they're probably a 6-4 team (they're 1-1 in close games) and while they don't have a best schedule, they have as 12-3 win over a winless Oak Hill team Erskine beat twice (9-5 and 7-4). But if you just glance at it, 8-3 Erskine has to be better than 5-5 Maranacook, right? Not necessarily. Paula Roberts of the Lincoln County News tells a story of when she coached Lincoln Academy's field hockey team and had to call the entire team to inform them that despite their record (something like 11-3), they had missed the tournament because there just weren't any Heal Points in their wins. These things can happen in the smaller sports. Erskine has a chance to make their case today. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-11.36.49---PM-1.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchups/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### How to Score a Baseball/Softball Game URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/how-to-score-a-baseball-softball-game/ Last updated: 2026-05-24T22:55:24.000Z So you're interesting in scoring a game. Maybe you're keeping stats for a team where the parents don't want to pay whatever ungodly sum GameChanger is charging this year or maybe you're keeping stats for a broadcaster or maybe you're just the kind of person who always brings their own scorebook to Fenway Park. You don't have to be an official representative of a team, either. Literally anyone can use this. Either way, I've built a live scoring app that's customized for Maine high school sports. It's a trial run for the larger project of a customized live scoring app for basketball and my goal of a much, much easier to read live stats view for the tournament. I might also make a football version. Here's a quick primer. ### Pre Game First, check a team's roster is on their [team page](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/team%5Fembed.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). If it's correct, you're good to go! If there's nothing there or needs players added, you can do that easily here: [Submit a Roster](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/submit-your-roster/) If the game is on the schedule, you should be able to select it. Here's your settings, which you probably don't need to worry about. You could score only one team, but I'm not sure why you'd want to. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.11.30---PM.png) If the roster is there, it should auto-populate when you pick the game from the list. But for these purposes, I'll use a Marshwood/Cheverus game, because I'm writing this on a day with no games on the schedule. If the schedule loads, it'll look something like this. Click on the +LU to add a player to the lineup. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.26.45---PM-1.png) Like so: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.32.08---PM.png) Pretty self-explanatory. If you want the pitcher to not hit (or if you've got a softball flex player who won't hit), you can mark them as "DNB" (Does Not Bat). Here Tempy Lovejoy is the flex. In softball, you can also designate a courtesy runner for the pitcher and catcher. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.31.20---PM.png) I've turned on test mode for this, which you can also do if you'd like to play around with it the scoring (recommended). If you do a game for real, it'll show up on the scoreboard for all to see (more on that later). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.14.46---PM.png) And away we go! ### The Game Here in a couple of different places you'll see confirmation that this is a test game. It'll also tell you if you've successfully linked to the game in the schedule. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.35.35---PM.png) The rest of this is easy to figure out. You've got your leadoff hitter, pitcher, and you can see who's who in the field. Below that, you've got your primary menu of actions. Ball and strikes and foul balls. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.37.23---PM.png) You'll see the balls and strikes update below the batter. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.38.33---PM.png) Cameron Gagnon singled in this game, so we bring up the "IN PLAY" menu. You can do a lot here. Single/Double/Triple/Home Run is easy to figure out. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.40.20---PM.png) If she had, say, grounded out to the shortstop, you can designate that. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.41.47---PM-1.png) But she singled, so we'll put her on first. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.43.07---PM.png) She then stole second, so we bring up the runners menu. It auto-selects Gagnon, since she's the lone runner. Here you can have her steal. You can have her caught stealing. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.44.02---PM.png) She stole second and then went to third on an error. So we hit SB --> 2nd. Normally you'd be done, but we've gotta send her to third, so we click on her on 2nd. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.45.51---PM.png) And send her to third on an error. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.46.41---PM.png) Which we can then assign. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.47.35---PM.png) I'm going to deviate from here and make up my own game. Addison DeRoche is the next batter and let's have her get intentionally walked (for very good reasons) and bring up Hailey Lamontagne with runners on the corners. I'm going to have her single, which brings up the runner advancement menu. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.50.55---PM.png) This will tell you the name and uniform number of each of the runners and which base they started on. You can hold them where they are or move them where they end up (and if you need to, say, move DeRoche to 2nd and then to 3rd on an error, you can do the second part in the runner menu. If you want to check the sequence, you can see that below. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-5.59.32---PM-1.png) And the next time Hailey Lamontagne comes up, we'll see a handy stat summary and her previous at bats. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-6.05.29---PM-1.png) You can also see the pitcher's stat line. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-6.08.52---PM.png) One thing this scoring app does that GameChanger does not is sync with the scoreboard so you can see what's happening in the game at a glance from the [scoreboard on the website](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/image-3-1.png) It'll also tell you the Stax Index and a probable link to wherever the game might be streaming. You can also click on LIVE and it'll give a GameCast-type view that'll look something like this: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-04-19-at-7.49.18---PM-1.png) Back to the game. You can bring up the box score mid-game if you want to check something. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-6.10.55---PM.png) And it all kind of stems from there. If you need to pinch hit, that's easy enough. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-6.14.23---PM.png) And if the pinch hitter isn't in the roster you started with, you can add them. It'll default to the position of the player you're pinch hitting for. Once you've created the player, they'll be added to the list of available subs. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-6.15.30---PM.png) Of course, you can also make a defensive substitution. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-6.17.24---PM.png) This is also how you change a pitcher. And then there's the inevitable shuffle of subs and position shifts and since there's no big scoreboard showing all the changes (who's that out in center field???), you do your best. We went back and forth on all the rules of how the game should end--mercy rules and all that--until we realized it was easier to just add a button called "End Game". It might be raining, after all. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-24-at-6.24.34---PM.png) It'll create a Game Report you can send to the newspaper or whoever and there you go. The final score will then immediately show up in the [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/). Simple as that! ### Memorial Days URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/memorial-days/ Last updated: 2026-05-22T11:00:06.000Z Fair warning: somehow this is pushing 1,800 words and I didn't even go to a game this week for multiple different work reasons. Let's just get to it. ### Elsewhere Cheverus' Colton Jewett had 14 strikeouts in a 1-hitter against Massabesic...Medomak softball coach Richard Vannah won his 200th game, a 15-0 mercy rule win over Oceanside...Hermon's Mikelle Verrill struck out 16 Old Town batters en route to a 3-1 victory...Bapst's Meredith Walsh no-hit Foxcroft...Noble's Wesley Turnbull tossed an 11-strikeout 1-hitter against Westbrook...Westbrook softball put up 16 runs in the first inning and coasted to a win over Sanford...Reese Bryant drove in 5 runs and tossed a 2-hitter in Bonny Eagle's win over Sanford...Greely's Katie Wallace went yard twice against Cape...Harlee Gasser struck out 12 as Lewiston knocked Oxford Hills from the ranks of the unbeaten...Sarah Orso drove in 4 runs in York's win over Poland. --- We're starting to come down the stretch of the spring sports season and with the usual washouts and muddy fields and whatnot, there's surely a missing game or two. If you can check your team's schedule and let me know if I'm missing something (or a score was reported incorrectly), it'd be a big help. [Team Details](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/team.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- One of the early trailblazers in this land of sports data nerds was Nate Silver. You probably know him as the guy behind FiveThirtyEight who hasn't done great on social media in his pundit era, but before that, he was the guy who built a model that nailed the Obama/Clinton primaries and continued a victory lap for the entirety of the 2008 and 2012 elections. But before that, he was the guy who made [PECOTA for Baseball Prospectus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PECOTA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). (Fun fact: I once pitched a series of web commercials for Baseball Prospectus that might have been a couple of years before their time.) And before that, he was a guy on a poker forum talking about movies and $10/$20 limit strategy. Anyway, news came down today that the archives of FiveThirtyEight, which Silver sold to Disney, had been deleted by the Mouse. Hours and hours of work gone. No warning. Just gone. It's a terrifying idea. And maybe it's more terrifying if you're a movie junkie who used to play online poker for a living and then started an anonymous blog where you started using a complicated Excel spreadsheet to predict stuff in a niche and then ended up having to go public with your identity. That old cliche. Silver wrote a kind of post-mortem about the ordeal, which is pretty long. PECOTA is still [alive and kicking](https://www.baseballprospectus.com/pecota-projections/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) years after he sold it to BP, which is the ideal outcome when you sell your sweat equity and entrust its care to someone else. But sometimes you sell and the large corporation doesn't care so much. Seller beware. FiveThirtyEight was initially licensed to the New York Times before selling the brand to Disney (via ESPN in the Grantland era) and maybe he shouldn't have sold the brand outright, but that's easy to say as a Monday morning quarterback. [Disney erased FiveThirtyEightNothing on the internet lasts forever. But Disney’s 10-year mismanagement of FiveThirtyEight is its own story.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F3a96995a-b40b-47b0-aabd-7468d96daa27-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-f4a578dde13c2b4b6ec554b4f874e9d1815a3c2df24eb54b02390fc58c221788.png)Silver BulletinNate Silver![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F15fb1215-5721-4a31-8ba2-c5508fd5be7e_800x433-15e5696cac22ddc3cf92c8fe5e9230ed16886db8e104aad3093e3e2f8dca5ab0.gif)](https://www.natesilver.net/p/disney-erased-fivethirtyeight?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Do you have a friend who would enjoy a subscription to Maine Basketball Rankings but they're just too damn cheap to buy one themselves? Or maybe they need to see it in action to be convinced? Or maybe their team isn't doing as well as yours and you'd like to rub it in? Well ghost now supports [gift subscriptions](https://ghost.org/help/gift-subscriptions/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)! [Gift a Subscription](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/gift) --- Apparently it's a big week for independent sports journalism. Craig Calcaterra, who writes the [Cup of Coffee newsletter](https://www.cupofcoffeenews.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) (imagine if this newsletter was even more liable to go off on non-sports tangents, was better written, and had the average length of a Michael Hoffer gamer), was on the podcast So Many Questions... Calcaterra, who recently moved from SubStack to [ghost](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), has always been one of the North Star examples of what's possible in this space, so it's fascinating to hear his thoughts. [Episode 0007: Craig CalcaterraCraig Calcaterra of Cup of Coffee on leaving law for baseball writing, the sabermetrics revolution, and finding contentment in an uncertain world.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-0ba0b72d2adab29e4b2a919b294847adb06ed844f046046996d2ac9ae8f57683.png)So Many Questions...![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/smq0007-img-58a8c1e416b27013499b9f18598d5f4a3ce105ded90038fe65fbd08029454538.png)](https://somanyquestions.show/episodes/ep0007-craig-calcaterra/?utm%5Fsource=bluesky&utm%5Fmedium=social) --- Stephen A. Smith has decided to pick a fight with Jaylen Brown. Smith has forgotten the [lesson of Ben Fong-Torres](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181875/characters/nm0155389/?item=qt0450348&ref%5F=ext%5Fshr%5Flnk&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and mistaken himself as part of the story. He's not. He's paid a lot of money to foment rage on television because I guess people like that sort of thing? But it has no actual value beyond what advertising ESPN can sell in the same way that political talking heads don't actually contribute anything of value to our political ecosystem. They're just noise. Stephen A. Smith could go away tomorrow and the sports world would be a better place. Clay Travis could go away tomorrow and the sports world would be a better place. The same could be said of Ben Shapiro. And Kendrick Perkins. And Hasan Piker. And Tucker Carlson. They don't do reporting. They don't do analysis. They don't create *anything*. They just piss people off. > You want me to be quiet and stop streaming. Well, I want you to be quiet and get off these networks because you’re not using your platform to do real journalism. You’re using your platform to use clickbait. Put me down as Team Jaylen. [Jaylen Brown’s gripe with ‘clickbait’ speaks to a larger crisis in sports mediaThe Jaylen Brown-Stephen A. Smith feud best highlights everything wrong with the current sports media landscape.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/logo-celticsblog-5a149aa75dbbedbc3bf5ddd70c76dbb515ef0c9c8b7bc4b0db41b86c68d5d200.png)CelticsBlogGio Rivera![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/gettyimages-2241011861-0daf769331847575dadefecbce28f12d38f952a0a5ebd04298636d08962a2028.jpg)](https://www.celticsblog.com/celtics-analysis/140885/jaylen-browns-gripe-with-clickbait-speaks-to-a-larger-crisis-in-sports-media?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Longtime Maine Basketball Commissioner Peter Webb passed away on Thursday. Webb was in charge of officiating in Maine for 27 years and there's a long list of accolades in his obituary. I didn't agree with Webb on...nearly anything...but it's impossible to discount his impact on basketball in the state of Maine. RIP. [Obituary: Peter Webb oversaw basketball officiating in Maine for 27 yearsWebb was recognized across the country and even internationally as a master clinician who emphasized uniform and accurate applications of the rules.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-dd478440c26e6f751b5b7db8e6a47174cfa9bdf9e9e9ba28c9e2beb2a65564f9.png)The Portland Press HeraldSteve CraigStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_20260521_171504-dabc221a6b6b50657388ca048d5265f4fcb3629615b2b7461a02de3aa3a5c4a8.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/05/21/obituary-peter-webb-oversaw-basketball-officiating-in-maine-for-27-years/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Mackenzie Holmes had a big WNBA offseason abroad (or maybe she was inspired by her trip to the Expo for Tourney Week) and has turned that into production in the early days of the WNBA season. > A career-high at the half? That's tuff 😤 > > Mackenzie Holmes logged 14 PTS (career-high), 4 REB & 2 BLK in the 1H! Tune into League Pass to watch her work! > > CON-SEA | League Pass > Tap to watch: [https://t.co/YSArzWv71g](https://t.co/YSArzWv71g?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/5qAIL3I3db](https://t.co/5qAIL3I3db?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — WNBA (@WNBA) [May 21, 2026](https://twitter.com/WNBA/status/2057296900177715360?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Holmes finished with 18 points and 6 boards. --- Mike Schur, creator of *The Good Place*, was on Pablo Torre Finds Out and had this great bit of the importance of sports fandom that I've never heard anyone talk about before. You have to check it out. I could recap it, but I won't do it justice. > "I'm not kidding when I say every time, for the rest of my life, I see Payton Pritchard's half-court buzzer-beater in Game 2 of the Finals, I will think about my son. I will cry." > > —Mike Schur on why sports make us cry [pic.twitter.com/aR6unWflmy](https://t.co/aR6unWflmy?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) [May 21, 2026](https://twitter.com/pablofindsout/status/2057598863322513446?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- As the Knicks go up 2-0 on the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals, there's an interesting study on the impact of rust in the NBA playoffs. > If rust was a concern, then teams returning from an extended break should struggle—particularly in Game 1s, before regaining their footing—but that’s not the case. The better-rested teams, as previously defined, have gone 42-23 in Game 1s with an average point differential of +6.8—nearly identical to their 44-21 record with an average margin of +5.5 in Game 2s of those same series. This came out prior to the start of the series. It's holding up pretty well. [Rest vs. Rust: Will the Knicks’ Week Off Hurt?New York Knicks fans are worried the team may lose momentum after a week-plus off, but similarly rested playoff teams have historically fared well.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f6abf1ed3301eb5164e43ff44e5daf9585b2ebd71d7410767570ec023f3e7125.png)Sportico.comLev Akabas![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/KNICKS-REST-29e771f89d526941985114dc7166e4c5b70e1491126cfc6eb63dda93d304b7b6.png)](https://www.sportico.com/leagues/basketball/2026/new-york-knicks-nba-playoffs-rest-1234899535/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I know this isn't basketball-related, but it's my newsletter, dammit. The Strand in Rockland is hosting their annual Summer Bash and this year's event is a must-attend if you're a film nerd like me. TCM's Eddie Muller, host of Noir Alley, will be in town for a reception and screening of the noir classic *Woman on the Run*. [Strand Summer Bash: A Film Noir Cocktail Party Fundraiser - Strand Theatre | Live Music & Performance Events, Movies & HD Broadcasts in Rockland, MainePremiere entertainment venue for Live Music & Performance Events, Movies & HD Broadcasts in Rockland, Maine![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-favicon-1-270x270-82dbd41bd78dec1b4321a0c9b7f22bd4aa0cec57ad9e1903f1ebad59f6fa46bd.png)Strand Theatre | Live Music & Performance Events, Movies & HD Broadcasts in Rockland, Maine![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/2026.bash_.featurecard.v1-copy-f425b3da8ca9aac9871fc9f0136db00e6d958a04752bc283333270e65daa465b.jpg)](https://www.rocklandstrand.com/event/strand-summer-bash-a-film-noir-cocktail-party-fundraiser/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you haven't seen this one, it's pretty awesome. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Oh man. The Stax Index, the formula I came up with to determine what should be the most entertaining game of the day, is essentially looking for a close, high-scoring game between two really good teams who will score a lot of points. So let's go to Falmouth, where the boys' lax team will host Yarmouth in a game with a Stax Index of 94.9\. That might be the highest number I've ever seen. It makes sense. #2 vs. #3 in the rankings. A projected margin of victory of under a goal. And two of the top 10 scoring offenses in the state. It's almost a perfect storm. And there's seeding implications! According to the Tourney Odds, it's basically a crapshoot between Falmouth, Yarmouth, and #1 Thornton Academy for the 1 seed in Class A. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-21-at-11.57.41---PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You want to get the 1 seed here for all the obvious reasons, but 4/5 will probably be Edward Little and Deering. EL doesn't play any of the top 3 teams somehow and Deering went 0-3 against them with a margin of -6 goals/game. So you'd love to get the winner of those two teams in the semifinals instead of the alternative. The winner here will get a leg up. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-21-at-11.53.08---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchup.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Top 5 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/top-5/ Last updated: 2026-05-18T11:00:51.000Z Friday's Game of the Day got pushed to Saturday--a beautiful, if windy, day and kind of first really nice day of the Spring. If you've been reading this newsletter long enough, you know that I'll head to the Game of the Day if it's within 45 minutes or so of my house, so Leavitt @ Medomak was a no-brainer. The wind was blowing in, which made things...adventurous...for Leavitt's right fielder Mallory Cunningham. A couple of fly balls got above the tree line and really started to move on her, but she kept making plays. On the other side, Medomak's ace Sidney Nicholls got your standard 8-3 double play and through 6 and a half had faced one more than the minimum. It was 1-0 Medomak and the Game of the Day had lived up to the hype. Then in the bottom of the 6th, Peyon Eaton reached on an error and Arianna Sproul hit a line drive the wind couldn't knock down before it found the trees to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead. Nicholls finished off the no-hitter (she added 13Ks) and Medomak put themselves in the driver's seat for the 1 seed in B South, but Leavitt will get a rematch on their field on May 29th. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-17-at-9.58.57---PM.png) If you haven't noticed, Tourney Odds are available for baseball, softball, and lacrosse, updated daily. You want to make sure your subscription is up-to-date as we come down the stretch run. [Tourney Odds](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Hopefully this works. It was being buggy last night. ### Elsewhere EL's Max Kimble struck out 10 Hampden Broncos...Madeline Andrews' walk-off single in the 10th gave Lewiston a win over Skowhegan...Abby Farley had 7 RBIs in Penobscot Valley's win over Schenck...Trot Moody struck out 11 in 6 hitless innings against Madison...Cameron Gagnon's 3-run homer and Addison DeRoche's 13 Ks paced Cheverus past Windham...EL's Chloe LeBlanc struck out 12 in a 1-hitter...Madison's Jillian Linkletter K'ed 13 OOB batters in a double-header split. --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Yesterday was the first-ever MPA sanctioned sporting events held on a Sunday, as tennis got pushed thanks to last week's rain. This is a new thing that's been in talks for a while. Last year, a vote passed to allow Sunday postseason games in extenuating circumstances. You might remember a couple of years ago when we got absolutely hammered with snow during Tourney Week and there were a lot of discussions about how to reschedule games. There was all sorts of options proposed, but we couldn't go to Sunday, even though Sunday made the most sense. In the end, the B State Games were held at the Expo (remember that?) where Ellsworth held off a late rally from Spruce Mountain and Orono beat Oceanside. I don't know if that was the impetus to make this move possible, but it didn't hurt. And now, the precedent has been set. So if we get another Saturday blizzard, expect Sunday to be in play. [Maine high school postseason sporting events can finally be held on SundaysThe MPA has scheduled its first-ever Sunday event for this weekend when 18 matches will be held at the state tennis championships at Bates College.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-51.png)Bangor Daily NewsLarry Mahoney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/PVC-EMITL-Championship-Track-Meet-7.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/05/15/sports/maine-high-school-postseason-sporting-events-can-now-be-held-on-sundays/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you know a student who's aspiring to a career as a sportswriter, the Will McDonough Sports Writing Contest is accepting submissions from students in New England. It's a great opportunity. [2026 Will McDonough Sports Writing ContestGuidelines: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. To enter, complete this form between May 13, 2026, at 11:59 PM and May 27, 2026, at 11:59 PM. If you are under 18 years old, please have an adult (18+) complete this form on your behalf. Limit one entry per person. See Official Rules here for additional information Students may submit one (1) entry, following these guidelines: \* Student must be in Grades 9, 10, 11, or 12, as of May 1, 2026 \* Student must reside in a New England state (Conn., Maine, Mass., N.H., R.I., or Vt.) \* Entry must have sports as a central element \* Entry must be nonfiction (i.e. all true) \* Entry may be written in first person or third person \* All content must be wholly created by the student \* Entry can be new, or previously published after Aug. 15, 2025 \* Maximum word count: 700 words (Note: Bibliographies and essay titles do not count toward word totals.) \* Entries must be submitted to Mcdonoughcontest@globe.com before May 27, 2026 \* This entry form must also be submitted before May 27, 2026 \* Judging will be complete June 8, 2026 \* Winners will be annouced June 9, 2026 \* The decisions of the judges are final. \* Entrant gives the Boston Globe permission to publish the entry on any/all platforms JUDGING CRITERIA Entries will be judged on how well they express and support ideas, opinions, and claims, with sports as a central element. Essays will also be judged on their reporting and proper use of journalism tenets, and how well they hold the readers’ attention. Students may use primary and secondary sources in their essays. Please include a bibliography and documentation if needed. For more information, please contact McDonoughcontest@globe.com Thank you for your support of journalism, and best of luck! By submitting an entry, you agree to the contest guidelines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/android_192.png)Google Docs![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/zQxFMYbLVl_G63TefWfLxntQpCrE_zSBaIi_ZYLq5vUV4TMxpPvylm9f1ev71cMgTxQNrauqb4gaQVE-w1200-h630-p)](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfKq8S7mz02MWN1uPue872PIBUS1w9G51vkMA3rdiSHAilwoA/viewform?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Team Maine is crushing it on the Made Hoops circuit, featuring some of our brightest young talents. > One of the most talented teams in the building regardless of age group this weekend is [@teammainehoops](https://twitter.com/teammainehoops?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Led by a trio of potential national-level recruits in Oli Higgins, Khaelon Watkins, and Carter Brathwaite, they’ve been force on the 16U level. Coaches, get in early. [pic.twitter.com/R2LWnnzHkA](https://t.co/R2LWnnzHkA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Brian Flinn (@BflinnHoops) [May 12, 2026](https://twitter.com/BflinnHoops/status/2054193661039034860?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- You might have seen this making the rounds, but the Joe Mazzulla's brother went a little bit viral for his, uh, approach to the media in a mid-game interview. > Joe Mazzulla’s brother, Justin, who coaches the Ottawa Blackjacks of the CEBL, with a very blunt response when asked about his team giving up 10 offensive rebounds. > > 😭😭😭 > > 🎥: CBC [pic.twitter.com/KWmM66JpRR](https://t.co/KWmM66JpRR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) [May 16, 2026](https://twitter.com/OmerOsman200/status/2055473638300844512?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) How much would you pay to be a fly on the wall of that Thanksgiving dinner? I have so many questions about how that family functions. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) We're back in softball for the Game of the Day with another battle of top 5 teams, this time it's Edward Little heading to Oxford Hills for an A North battle. In today's rankings, Oxford Hills is 2nd and Edward Little 4th. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-17-at-8.50.17---PM.png) [Rankings](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Top 5 matchups aren't super common, so to get them in consecutive days and in the same sport is unusual, to say the least. If we look at the tourney odds, Oxford Hills has a pretty strong hold on the 1-seed, but Edward Little is live to go and grab it. They're probably going to need to win this game and the rematch on May 26th to do it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-17-at-7.49.59---PM.png) The bigger question is if EL can hold off Lewiston for the 2 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-17-at-7.45.38---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchup.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Ides of May URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-ides-of-may/ Last updated: 2026-05-15T11:00:22.000Z It's another rainy mid-week, which is a vast improvement over last year's string of miserable weekends. A lot of games have been rained out or moved around this week. One nice feature of the new scoreboard is it flags postponements easily and you can enter in a new date when it's announced. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-14-at-7.19.18---PM-1.png) [Scoreboard](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/index.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Addison DeRoche, Cheverus' softball ace, has announced her college plans and will be heading the Florida State. [Cheverus softball ace Addison DeRoche relaxed, motivated following college decisionSince committing to Florida State, the Cheverus standout is feeling refocused and dialed in to trying to deliver another championship for the Stags.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-39.png)The Portland Press HeraldDrew BonifantStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43574991_20260504_ChevWind_1.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/05/12/cheverus-softball-ace-addison-deroche-relaxed-motivated-following-college-decision/?utm%5Fcampaign=NewBot%5FvarsityMaine&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawRwmnNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeP9bEUvXb45xy8-H2Z4JAjEnVXYciqcU3wA%5F5imco0GM4oQdkV6MQOcZqaUQ%5Faem%5F7t0YIuvYi8c2x4rTwQnzsw) DeRoche's Stags lead the state in scoring defense at 0.3 runs/game and earlier this week she posted a 20K stat line with a homer. ### Elsewhere Olivia French's grand slam led Oak Hill over Monmouth...Stephen Connolly scored 6 goals in NYA's win over Traip...Max Hayward struck out 12 in Cape's win over Freeport...Kaylin Hamilton's single walked off Woodland against Bangor Christian...Colton Jewett had 13 Ks in Cheverus' shutout of Windham...Lake Region's Dylan Blair doubled to break a tie against York...Vylet Robbins' 6th inning dinger gave Lake Region a win over York...Sidney Nicholls struck out 13 in a complete game shutout for Medomak over Erskine...Deering's Miles Lawrence hit an inside-the-park homer and struck out 16 in a shutout of Westbrook...Caiden Barnes drove in 5 runs in Noble's win over Windham...Sanford's Brody Baron's 3-run shot led the way over Bonny Eagle...Neve Ledbetter had 5 goals in Windham's win over Marshwood...Mountain Valley's Kegan Jordan tossed a 2-hit shutout of Boothbay with 7Ks...Lake's Haley Hamlin struck out 16 Fryeburg hitters...Brewer's Simon Harriman found the back of the net in double-overtime to seal a win over Lawrence. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- Toby Nelson found this gem and posted it on Facebook: the Monson and Casco state championship game from 1968\. He put the full audio feed on YouTube. And, even better, there's some archival video. From Toby's Facebook post: > Last year, I did a ton of research for Foxcroft Academy with the 1975 championship team celebrating their 50th anniversary, but that came to an end. I needed something else to keep the flame burning. Well, the other Maine school I have a deep love for is one I never attended. In fact, it closed nearly a decade before I was born, but it still has meaning because I spent my first ten years growing up in the small town. That school is Monson Academy. Yes, the old orange-and-black on Route 15 in Monson. A year before the school closed for good in 1969, the 1968 Monson Academy Boys Basketball team won the Class S State Championship. > Thanks to the dedicated team at Northeast Historic Films in Bucksport, I have discovered some video footage of the Class S Quarterfinals from 1968 at the Bangor Auditorium. This matchup features Monson Academy (14-4) and its Upper Kennebec Valley League (UKVL) rival, Harmony High School (7-8). The footage, sourced from the WABI TV 5 news archives, is in remarkably good condition for being nearly 60 years old. Although there is no sound, the video is definitely worth watching. I am still searching for additional materials, but for now, this will suffice. And Monson won this game, 61-55\. [Archival video](https://www.facebook.com/reel/2183257769128498) If you've never been to [Historic Films in Bucksport](https://oldfilm.org/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), they do the Lord's work of film preservation. It's an amazing resource. --- It's really easy to sit in the bleachers and comment that someone's jump shot is broken and there's no shortage of people ready with well-meaning suggestions, but what if you could really, truly fix a jump shot? What if you could hack it? > As Buffi and others in the field are quick to point out, though, the secret sauce isn’t identifying the ideal characteristics of a shot; it’s figuring out how to translate and apply that information to human beings. And even with great capture mechanisms available, jumper-hackers throughout the sector caution that we’re at the very beginning of what could be a long and winding road. This is a very cool (and very long) article. In short: you need a lot of cameras and motion tracking and HawkEye and all that jazz that they probably aren't going to be bringing to a high school gym anytime soon. So don't expect this to translate to your kid hitting a big shot at the ACC in February of 2027\. It's early stages. Still, it's cool! [Can The Jumper Be Hacked? Inside Basketball’s Next Arms Race | DefectorIn the summer of 2024, during the WNBA’s Olympic break, several Atlanta Dream players who weren’t competing in Paris had gathered for a midseason training camp of sorts. Anyone watching would have seen what looked like a typical 3-on-3 scrimmage. In reality, it was anything but. The Dream weren’t playing in any ordinary gym, but…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-defector-circle_avatar512-1.png)DefectorBen Dowsett![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/jumper.jpg)](https://defector.com/can-the-jumper-be-hacked-inside-basketballs-next-arms-race?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The basketball community lost a trailblazer this week when Jason Collins succumbed to cancer. Collins was a journeyman who played for 6 different franchises (including the Celtics) and averaged 3.6 points a game across 13 seasons. But his impact was larger than stats. Collins was the first openly gay player to play in one of the 4 major American sports when he came out in 2013\. He wrote about it in Sports Illustrated at the time: > *“I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay. I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, ‘I’m different.’ If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.”* If you show this to kids today, it probably seems weird to them that an openly gay player in the NBA was such a big deal (and it very much was), but maybe not as weird as the idea of using Sports Illustrated to announce it. In a lot of ways, we've come a long way as a society and in a lot of other ways...not so much. Collins was undoubtedly not the first gay player in the NBA. He very likely wasn't even the first gay player to come out to his teammates. But he was the first to come out publicly and there's a level of bravery to that we shouldn't diminish because...have you met people lately? [Jason Collins, 13-year NBA veteran and first player to come out as gay while playing, has died at 47Collins, who had served as a league ambassador after his playing days, was battling brain cancer.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-16.png)NBC SportsKurt Helin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/90)](https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/jason-collins-13-year-nba-veteran-and-first-player-to-come-out-as-gay-while-playing-has-died-at-47?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you've been watching the NBA playoffs (or at least paying attention while you mourn the end of the Celtics season), you undoubtedly saw Wemby's "record" 12 blocks against the Timberwolves. Turns out it's only kind of the record. Blocks weren't an official stat until the 1973-74 season, so some work has been done to recreate some of the gaudy numbers of Wilt and Bill Russell. [Victor Wembanyama vs. Wilt Chamberlain: Who’s the real NBA block leader?A mystery looms above the game’s preeminent shot-blocker and the sport at large.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon_y24_48x48-2.svg)Yahoo SportsTom Haberstroh![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/ed-051326-wemby-vs-wilt-prestige_0359.jpg)](https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/victor-wembanyama-vs-wilt-chamberlain-whos-the-real-nba-block-leader-190329831.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- IT is back! > New: According to sources, former Celtics superstar Isaiah Thomas is back with the franchise after being hired as a pro and college scout. [https://t.co/YZRDT0q1Dq](https://t.co/YZRDT0q1Dq?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) [May 14, 2026](https://twitter.com/AdamHimmelsbach/status/2055035441892511805?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Patriots' schedule is out. Spoiler: it's harder than last year. > Please keep your hands, arms & legs inside the vehicle at all times 🎢 > > 2026 New England Patriots Schedule Release [pic.twitter.com/gX8v5OpGFW](https://t.co/gX8v5OpGFW?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — New England Patriots (@Patriots) [May 14, 2026](https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/2055068140581880275?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) What's your early thoughts on the schedule? If you're wondering, DraftKings has the line at 9.5 wins. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) So I found a small glitch in the Stax Index, so if you've been watching the Stax Indexes, you'll notice the [numbers jumped this week](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/spreads.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Long story short, it had an artifact from getting ported over from basketball. Weather permitting, the Game of the Day takes us to Waldoboro where the defending Class B softball champs will be hosting Leavitt. Medomak, behind Sidney Nicholls, is second in the state in scoring defense at 0.4 runs a game (just a tick behind Cheverus) and 8th in scoring offense. Leavitt doesn't have the same gaudy numbers, but they've faced a much tougher schedule. They've faced three teams in the top 15 of the Power Rankings (Oxford Hills, Edward Little, and Lake Region), whereas Medomak has faced one (Poland). So it's the classic dilemma of bigger stats versus a harder schedule. If we go to the [tourney odds](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), we can see it's essentially a coin flip between Leavitt and Medomak for the 1 seed in B South. They'll play again later this season, but the winner today (weather permitting!) will have the inside track on the 1 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-14-at-10.46.40---PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) LCTV might have the stream. I'll be there with live stats. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-14-at-10.40.48---PM-1.png) [Today's Matchups](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchup.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Back to Basketball URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/back-to-basketball/ Last updated: 2026-05-11T11:00:31.000Z Remember last spring when it rained for like 13 straight weekends? It's just something to keep in mind as we face another stretch of mid-week rain that threatens to wipe out a day or two of games (and further muddy up the fields). Anyway, we've got a clear slate for today. Thursday...not so much. ### Elsewhere Becca Balmas tossed a 12 strikeout perfect game in Hermon's win over Foxcroft...Wyatt Washburn struck out 9 in Gorham's shutout of Kennebunk...Wade Givens drove in 2 runs and Monmouth used a 7-run inning to beat Madison...Colby Dolley's walk-off triple gave Poland a win over GNG...Braiden Croteau's 1-hitter led Sacopee Valley over Buckfield...Mt. Ararat's Chloe LeBlanc no-hit Edward Little...Reagan Partridge scored 4 runs in OOB's win over Winthrop...Maddy Brown went yard in Mountain Valley's win over Spruce...SoPo's Emma Anderson struck out 9 in a three-hitter against Noble...Maddy Poitras had 6 goals and 6 assists and Mashwood blew out Sanford...Vivienne Corriveau scored 5 times in Yarmouth's win over Windham... --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- After a slight delay, the podcast is back! I've actually got 3 episodes ready to go, so with a little bit of luck I can stay on a weekly schedule for a while. Maybe even all summer until fall sports kicks off! Today's episode feature Travis Magnusson, head coach of the Maranacook boys and the 12th highest scoring player in Maine high school basketball history (according to Frank Spanky). Travis talks about the state game with Fort Kent, that epic Regional Final finish against Spruce Mountain, the AAU team he's coaching, a camp this summer at the Augusta Civic Center, and a whole lot more. Note: there's a weird audio slip on Travis' audio that only shows up after I export and I cannot, for the life of me, fix it. I've spent 2 hours searching for the cause adn have exported it at least 6 times. I give up. If you're wondering, I'm wearing the Maine Ballers shirt. You can get one for yourself! [Maine Ballers Unisex Softstyle T-Shirt - $30.00 - Maine Basketball RankingsBuy this product for only $30.00![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Store of Maine Basketball Rankings.![](https://images-api.printify.com/mockup/67e9fb6251f1644fe2040cbd/63300/97992/maine-ballers-unisex-softstyle-t-shirt.jpg?camera_label=front&revision=1772218527075)](https://maine-basketball-rankings.printify.me/product/19201165/maine-ballers-unisex-softstyle-t-shirt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you haven't yet, make sure you subscribe to the podcast on YouTube. More to come! | Maine Basketball Rankings is 567 subscribers from YouTube monetization If you watch on YouTube, hitting subscribe makes a real difference. 433 / 1,000 [Subscribe](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | You can sign up for the camp at the ACC with Paul Vachon(!!!) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/image-2.png) [Register](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfseh4RLaAP2MPir-LdVLEzgIc6rVasINYzVEFgOthnKP93sQ/viewform?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- One of my goals is to create a place where all the player stats can live in the same place--basketball, baseball, softball, football, and so on. It'd be great to be able to just look up a team or a region and look that up. It shouldn't be so hard to find, you know? This would be awesome for fans, for parents, for broadcasters, for journalists. For everyone, really. To that end, you can now import a single boxscore into the database. I've tried it on GameChanger and a couple others. It should be able to parse the data on a pdf (sure, AI is going to kill the planet, but we can at least have this before the world burns). [Box Score Import](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/boxscore-import.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Pick a team and it'll pull up their schedule. From there you can see if a game has already been uploaded. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-10-at-10.57.50---PM.png) Add the pdf and it'll show a preview. If a team's roster has [already been loaded](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/roster-submit?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), it'll match based on the team and uniform number. If there's a match, it'll be green. If not, there will be a yellow tag that says new. Maybe the uniform number is wrong or they're not in the original roster. Either way, in that scenario it'll add a new player to the roster. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-09-at-2.15.13---PM-1.png) You can also edit any of these fields, if needed. Once the stats are loaded in, you'll be able to see a little stat icon that shows which games are uploaded. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-10-at-10.44.57---PM-1.png) And if you click on that link, it'll bring up this new page, which shows a lot of game information, including the game prediction and result (spread and Win%), box score, and more. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-10-at-10.47.17---PM.png) You can also get to this page from the scoreboard if you click on the scores of a completed game (and from there you could also upload a box score). In the queue is a larger stat page that has full stats, much like the [tourney stats page](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/tournament.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). But we need stats first. Let me know if you have any issues. --- The Verge has an article about writers (finally) abandoning Substack for ghost, which is what this newsletter has been on since the beginning. A lot of people have left the platform over the years because they like to platform Nazis, but if that isn't enough (that should really be enough, but ok), turns out there's another reason: they charge you an arm and a leg. [Writers are fleeing the Substack TaxMoney is another reason to leave Substack.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)The VergeEmma Roth![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/STKB391_SUBSTACK_A.jpg)](https://www.theverge.com/tech/927294/substack-tax-ghost-beehiiv?utm%5Fcontent=buffer7dbcb&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=bsky.app&utm%5Fcampaign=verge%5Fsocial) Use [ghost](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)! --- Cony's Jackson Kay is heading to Kents Hill. > [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DYI9FPVDkYe/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by JKAY (@jacksonkay3)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DYI9FPVDkYe/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) We go to softball, where Brewer and Skowhegan are fighting for the 4 seed in A North. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-11-at-1.18.50---AM.png) [Heal Points](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Partly it's because of the extra game, but the Model thinks Brewer will leap-frog Edward Little and get to the three seed, but it's tight. If you look at the distribution, seeds 2-5 are essentially up for grabs with Mount Blue and Hampden hoping to play spoilers. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-11-at-1.23.06---AM-1.png) [Tourney Odds](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) A big determining factor here is today's Game of the Day, which the Model has as a toss-up. That 50% is actually 50.5%. And just look how close their profiles are. Brewer has slightly better numbers against a slightly tougher schedule, but the game's in SkowVegas, which gives the River Hawks the edge. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-11-at-1.16.09---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchup.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Game 7 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/game-7/ Last updated: 2026-05-08T11:00:38.000Z It's been a little bit of a strange week. A lot of Wednesday's schedule got wiped out by the rain, so when my buddy Ben from [The Maine Hockey Report](https://www.youtube.com/@themainehockeyreport?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) told me I really should check out the Mariners' series with Adirondack, Wednesday made a lot of sense. It didn't hurt that it was Game 7\. It took roughly 10 seconds after I picked up my press pass for a stranger to inform me that this wouldn't be a basketball game. It was a great crowd at the hockey rink and when Nick Anderson [broke a 1-1 tie with 3:50 to go in the 3rd period](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18i4n6VJwG/), the place went nuts. It was the first series win for the Mariners. They don't count the Pirates history as their own, because they're not desperate to claim someone else's success as their own like the Lakers are. After the game, coach Rick Kowalsky spoke to the media. I had a great time and thanks to the Mariners for letting me hang out. --- It feels like there's been a big coaching story every couple of days since the end of the season and here's another one. [Southern Aroostook girls basketball’s 5-time state champion coach is stepping downCliff Urquhart’s teams earned 15 tournament berths in his 17 seasons on the bench.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Bangor Daily NewsLarry Mahoney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/D-Girls-Quarter-SA-F-LCO.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/05/07/sports/high-school-basketball/southern-aroostook-girls-basketball-coach-stepping-down/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Urquhart's Southern Aroostook program was an absolute juggernaut very recently > “This is an opportunity to take a full-time administration job. I can get out of the classroom and focus my full attention on helping kids in a different way,” said the 41-year-old Eastport native. “I’m going to miss coaching incredibly, but, with that being said, if you ask any varsity basketball coach, they will tell you it isn’t exactly good for your mental health.” --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- If you were in Maine in the 90's, there were a couple of semi-mythical names in the basketball community. There was Cindy, of course, but you also kept hearing the name Andy Bedard as a guy to watch. That hype paid dividends, of course. There was the state title game against Camden Hills and the [Hall of Fame career](https://www.sunjournal.com/2019/05/17/andy-bedard-hears-maine-sports-hall-of-fames-call-and-reflects-on-legendary-career/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Then, he was back in the news as a key player in the Maine United story, [coaching Cooper Flagg and friends](https://www.theringer.com/2025/06/25/nba/cooper-flagg-maine-nba-draft?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) for a couple of years as they took AAU by storm, nearly winning Peach Jam. Key to that run was the play of his son Kaden, maybe the most Maine basketball talent to not play Maine high school basketball. Please submit other nominations in the comments. Well now he's headed to Orono to join Ace Flagg on a Black Bears roster still looking for their first trip to March Madness. > [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DYAMmINjodI/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by Kb (@kaden\_bedard)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DYAMmINjodI/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) That path theoretically got a little bit easier this week as the NCAA voted to expand the tournament field for reasons that remain...money. They did it for money. And because we can't have nice things. Dickie V is not a fan. [ESPN’s Dick Vitale blasts NCAA for college basketball tournament expansionThe NCAA formally announced May 7 it would expand the men’s college basketball field from 68 to 76 teams beginning in 2027\. Dick Vitale is not a fan. MORE: Legendary coach, broadcaster Dick Vitale reveals health update ESPN’s longest-tenured television…![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Yahoo SportsJ.P. Hoornstra![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/6bb3a27a3cb40cd8b9eda9c9d94d28c8)](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/espn-dick-vitale-blasts-ncaa-233059015.html?guccounter=1&guce%5Freferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce%5Freferrer%5Fsig=AQAAADBzraJ26HRGH5kQwimNbL8fVqMv263FP%5F%5FrDSR-EvQ3KK8UAf9KdpayZRIB2exgNlcVo6rzHPa%5FlWN4goGACHBF3otARTBjnrkBP5sFTpNZCOIeFPkWrMl7K1x6kbceOm-yhgNh7RReUzMIw929EH%5F2WlaAJNQ1H1lrRlyzUoll&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you're looking for an opportunity to catch JP Estrella next season with his new Michigan teammates, you might be in luck. [UConn, Michigan working to finalize agreement to play on November 6th at TD Garden in BostonUConn and Michigan are working to finalize an agreement to play a neutral site game on Nov. 6th at TD Garden in Boston, a source told College Hoops Today. There is no timetable on an official announcement. The matchup is a rematch of last season’s national title game, which the Wolverines won 69-63\. Both teams \[…\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-college-hoops-today-favicon-270x270.png)College Hoops TodayJon Rothstein![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/DH-UCONN.jpeg)](https://collegehoopstoday.net/rothstein-files/uconn-michigan-working-to-finalize-agreement-to-play-on-november-6th-at-td-garden-in-boston/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- CMCC has found their next coach after Andrew Morong's departure: Paul True, currently of Lake Region. > CMCC is proud to appoint Paul True as the next head coach of the Women's Basketball program! 🐴🏀[#cmmustangs](https://twitter.com/hashtag/cmmustangs?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#horsepower](https://twitter.com/hashtag/horsepower?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#basketball](https://twitter.com/hashtag/basketball?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > Release: [https://t.co/Be2gntPGOv](https://t.co/Be2gntPGOv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/eVIDllANE7](https://t.co/eVIDllANE7?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — CMCC Athletics (@CMCCMustangs) [May 7, 2026](https://twitter.com/CMCCMustangs/status/2052389931666837700?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you missed it, Andrew Morong was on the podcast to talk about his run at CMCC. I will say that the feedback on this episode has been stronger and more positive than most, which is always nice to hear. Speaking of the podcast, I recorded 3 more episodes in the last couple of days, so keep an eye out for those and make sure you subscribe to the podcast on YouTube to make sure you get it first. [Subscribe to YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Nationally, we have some shot clock news. New Jersey is the latest state to adopt a shot clock, in a razor-thin vote. They're the 33rd state to see the light. [Shot clock coming to NJ high school basketball after surprising voteAt the NJSIAA full membership meeting May 4, a ballot measure to introduce a shot clock for basketball beginning in the 2027-28 season passed narrowly![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Yahoo SportsDarren Cooper, NorthJersey.com![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/082b589849cc4e2e93387717e61176b9)](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/shot-clock-coming-nj-high-171411086.html?guccounter=1&guce%5Freferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce%5Freferrer%5Fsig=AQAAADBzraJ26HRGH5kQwimNbL8fVqMv263FP%5F%5FrDSR-EvQ3KK8UAf9KdpayZRIB2exgNlcVo6rzHPa%5FlWN4goGACHBF3otARTBjnrkBP5sFTpNZCOIeFPkWrMl7K1x6kbceOm-yhgNh7RReUzMIw929EH%5F2WlaAJNQ1H1lrRlyzUoll&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They also overwhelmingly voted in favor of adding girls flag football. I would be ok with us following New Jersey's lead on both of those things and I can't believe I just said we should take a cue from New Jersey on...anything. However, Indiana declined to join them. > BREAKING: The proposal for a 35-second shot clock in Indiana high school basketball failed to pass. > > IHSAA commissioner Paul Neidig shares with WISH-TV his thoughts on the decision: > > "Tradition certainly carries a lot here in Indiana. Maybe more than other states." [pic.twitter.com/L82EahUKAs](https://t.co/L82EahUKAs?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — WISH-TV News (@WISHNews8) [May 4, 2026](https://twitter.com/WISHNews8/status/2051406047663767724?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) People are going to say that Indiana is the hotbed of high school basketball and if they don't want a shot clock, why should anyone? But, they very recently decided to get rid of their iconic tournament and no one was trying to follow their lead there. So...you know. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Edward Little has been up and down in the early part of the season. They've played a pretty rough schedule, with 6 games against teams the Model currently has in the Top 25\. They're 4-3, but they're got 2 close losses to very good teams (Messo and Bangor), a very good win over 4-1 Greely. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-07-at-11.27.24---PM.png) They'll head to the coast to take on a Mt. Ararat team that hasn't played as difficult of a schedule, but has a very nice win over Bangor. At a glance, I thought the Model was too high on Edward Little and maybe it is, but I see where the math is coming from. This is the point in the season where the rankings really start to click in. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-07-at-11.25.51---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchup.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Private Blowout URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/private-blowout/ Last updated: 2026-05-04T11:00:43.000Z Yeah, I definitely don't want to talk about *that* Celtics game. --- Edward Little started their new field on the right note when Jayda Clark's RBI in the 10th inning broke a tie with Skowhegan. [Edward Little softball edges Skowhegan in 10 inningsJayda Clark drives in the game-winning run for the Red Eddies in a Class A North showdown.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Centralmaine.comDave DyerStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43573218_20260430_PlatnerPresser_ELSkowSoftball-14.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/05/01/edward-little-softball-edges-skowhegan-in-10-innings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- You probably saw this score on social media, which people were obviously very cool and chill about. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/image-1.png) Regardless of the sport, people love to freak out over a blowout, especially if they didn't watch the game. And of course, almost no one watched the game before commenting on social media (to be fair, neither did I). Part of this is the Cheverus of it all. People kind of lose their minds when private school is involved and has anything that even remotely resembles some sort of outsized success. But it's not like they've been blowing the doors off everyone all season. They're 4-0, but the other three games were close and they've yet to play a team that's currently ranked inside the top 30 in the [Power Rankings](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Hell, they had to rally down 5-0 to beat Noble the next day. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-03-at-10.24.07---PM-1-1.png) [Cheverus team page](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/team.html?team%5Fid=ef95c918-7946-4c5b-8ebe-fe0cfb7723f8&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Sure, the score gets people mad. You'll have that. But it's not like basketball where you can run the clock. People have to hit. You have to get people out. Of course, the whole public vs private debate has been a thing for a while now. People get mad when a private school does well--how dare they!--but are silent when that same private school misses the playoffs entirely. I like to think of it as a variant of the enrollment question. Incredibly unfair when the big school wins, but conveniently ignored when they lose. --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **There has been a movement in a number of states to split out public and private schools into separate tournaments so the public schools don't have to compete with the privates. There was a protest in Nevada over a football powerhouse. And Pennsylvania has started the process of splitting out their private schools.** **> By a resounding margin of 178-23, the House passed Bill 41 that allows the PIAA to establish separate playoffs in Pennsylvania for boundary and non-boundary schools. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration and a possible vote. A Senate vote could potentially happen in June.** **> Boundary schools are public schools that can only take students from a defined geographic area. Non-boundary schools (Catholic, private and charter) can draw students from anywhere, even out of state. The boundary schools have complained for years that the non-boundary schools have an unfair advantage in sports, but the complaints have been more and louder in the past two decades since the PIAA took in the Philadelphia Catholic League and Public League teams.** **[State House passes bill that allows PIAA to conduct separate playoffs for public and private schoolsThe state House spoke loud and clear Wednesday on the high school sports issue of public vs. private, Catholic and charter schools. By a resounding margin…![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Pittsburgh Post-Gazette![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260320mf-sewickley06_1777547266.jpg)](https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/highschool/2026/04/29/public-private-school-separate-playoffs-piaa-pennsylvania/stories/202604290083?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **I don't think this would work here. I don't think we have enough schools. But I'm sure it'll give people some ideas, or at least something to complain about on Facebook. And, really, that's the priority. Just no one tell them Cheverus was outscored 28-4 in their first 2 boys lacrosse games.** **### Elsewhere** **Trent Goss tossed a complete game shutout in Bucksport's win over GSA...Emily Carroll's 3-run triple fueled GNG's win at Morse...Brewer's Sara Young tossed a 3-hitter against Bangor...Medomak's Sidney Nicholls struck out 11 Freeport batters in a 1-hitter...Messo overcame Cape in overtime in boys lacrosse...Matthew Hebert scored 4 runs and drove in 3 more as Sanford got their offense going...Tenny Tibbetts scored 9 goals as Cony blew out Houlton...Payton Maxon's 4 goals and 3 assists paced Wells against Lake Region.** **Don't forget to put notable performances in the scoreboard.** [Scoreboard](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/index.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- This was a lovely thing to get in the mail this weekend. --- The parents are once again acting up. Thankfully, this wasn't in Maine. You can tell by how many leaves are on all the trees already. > This just makes me really sad. How do we stop this type of thing from happening? > > Parents. Please. Think about your kids. They are watching everything you do and say. > > This guy should never be allowed on a field again let alone coaching young athletes. [pic.twitter.com/apJETuivqu](https://t.co/apJETuivqu?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — The Hitting Vault (@TheHittingVault) [May 1, 2026](https://twitter.com/TheHittingVault/status/2050047660992713122?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Anyway, don't be that guy. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Bangor is 5-1 on the early season with impressive wins over Edward Little and Messo, but stumbled at home against Mt. Ararat on Friday. In 6 games, they've already won by at least 13 runs three times and they're +51 already, or +8.5/game, 11th best in the state. They'll head to Hampden for the first game in that rivalry. Hampden started the season with a loss to what appears to be a dominant Oxford Hills team and have won three straight since then. The Broncos are only +2 on the season so far, thanks to Oxford Hills and the 2nd hardest Strength of Schedule in the state. I'm assuming the Ticket will be streaming this one. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-03-at-9.47.20---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchup.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### April Showers URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/april-showers/ Last updated: 2026-05-01T11:00:52.000Z Let's agree to not talk about that Celtics game, shall we? --- Spring sports are off to a good start and it'll help if the weather will cooperate. I will say I wore more layers for a game than I did to drive to most basketball games this winter. Down south, York's softball team is in mid-season form, thanks to a 3-run homer from Nya Avery. [Maine softball: York rallies from 8 down in sixth to win opener. Here’s howNya Avery’s game-winning, three-run homer in the sixth rallied the York High School softball team to an 11-10 season-opening win over Greely.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Portsmouth Herald, Portsmouth Herald![](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2026/04/28/NPOH/89830014007-york-sb-2.jpg?auto=webp&crop=759,427,x0,y113&format=pjpg&width=1200)](https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/sports/high-school/2026/04/28/maine-softball-york-rallies-from-8-down-in-sixth-to-win-opener-avery-homer/89817847007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=undefined&gca-ft=0&gca-ds=sophi&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Rallying down 8 in the sixth is a great start to the season, but I'm a little disappointed that we're just now coming up with the nickname "Nya Natural" for Nya Avery. Where has this been the last couple of years? There's been a couple of rallies in the early going where a game could have easily turned into a mercy rule result, which leads to my point that the mercy rules have too quick of a trigger. There's certainly games where the mercy rule is warranted. There was a 27-0 game the other day. No one needs more of that. But 10 runs in the 5th isn't impossible. My theory on mercy rules is they have nothing to do with the players or sportsmanship or anything like that. It's because the bleachers are cold. If it's a 15-0 game and it's sunny and 70 degrees, everyone's happy to be there. But if it's 7-0 and it's 40 degrees with some wind? Maybe add some humidity and it's a miserable experience in bleachers. I think mercy rules have nothing to do with sportsmanship. I think they're 100% about the parents. ### Elsewhere (I'm almost entirely pulling these from the notes left by people on the scoreboard) Hampden's Rogan Lord scampered home on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 7th to break a tie with Messo...Casey Phelps' complete game, 13K performance led Boothbay by Hall-Dale...Isaac Ritchie struck out 16 Dexter Tigers in Mattanawcook's 6-0 win...Stearns blew open a game with 6 in the 8th to put away Schenck...Freeport freshman Bryson Jack struck out 11 in a complete game debut...Brady Chappell's 1-hitter with 7K's led Fryeburg to a shutout over Wells...Wes Gallant scored 5 runs in OOB's blowout over Traip...Mile Taylor's game-winning single in the 8th gave Waterville a W over Gardiner...Dominic Dumais hit a dinger and drove in 5 as Edward Little mercy ruled Lewiston...Sidney Nicholls' 5-inning 14K no-hitter led Medomak over Morse...Belfast's Katience Parenteau went deep to walk off Foxcroft...Reese Bryant's grand slam highlighted Bonny Eagle's statement win over Windham...Addison DeRoche was perfect through 4 with 12Ks against Biddeford...Liam Sellinger scored 4 goals in Scarborough's win over Kennebunk...Audrey Ingersoll's 3 goals and 2 dimes led Greely over York. --- One great feature of the new website features is...tourney odds are now available for baseball, softball, and lacrosse! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-04-30-at-9.33.49---PM.png) I'm sure you remember this from basketball season. This uses a Monte Carlo simulation to simulate the rest of the season 10,000 times and distributes every team based on where they fall in each of the simulations. It'll determine a team is either IN/OUT or a ??? This isn't a mathematical call. With Heal Points that's kind of impossible. If you're OUT, that simply means you didn't make the playoffs in any of the 10,000 simulations. As I'm sure you remember, this is a paid feature. [Tourney Odds](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you click on a team, it'll break down their results by record. As you can see, it finds scenarios where Cheverus softball finishes 9-7, so it'll get pretty deep into the outlier scenarios. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-04-30-at-9.51.16---PM.png) This will update daily. [Tourney Odds](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Colby has a new basketball coach. [McLaughlin to Lead Colby Men’s Basketball Program - Colby CollegeWaterville, Maine – Colby College is pleased to announce that the men’s basketball program will be led by David McLaughlin, a dynamic leader with coaching success![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Colby CollegeColby College![](https://images.sidearmdev.com/fit?url=https%3a%2f%2fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2fgocolbymules.com%2fimages%2f2026%2f4%2f30%2fmbb_mclaughlin_graphic.jpg&height=450&width=800&type=jpeg)](https://colbyathletics.com/news/2026/4/30/mens-basketball-mclaughlin-to-lead-colby-mens-basketball-program.aspx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Originally from Mass, David McLaughlin played at Colby in the 90's before a coaching career that, most recently, had him at Dartmouth for the past 10 seasons. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Let's go to girls lacrosse. Windham is unbeaten so far in the early going and is third in the state in scoring offense at 16 goals a game, including a 20-0 shellacking of Oxford Hills and a nice road win over Cheverus to open the year. They're third in the state at scoring differential at +11.7/game. They'll head to Saco to take on Thornton Academy, who's only blemish came at the hands of #1 Kennebunk (also #1 in [Varsity Maine's poll](https://www.varsitymaine.com/varsity-maine-polls?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), just ahead of...Windham). [Tourney Odds](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) have them slotting in at 4/5, but it's way too early to get caught up in that. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-04-30-at-10.58.44---PM.png) This will be a nice early test for both of them. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-04-30-at-10.46.29---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchup.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Kicking Off the Cheverus Revenge Tour URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/kicking-off-the-cheveru/ Last updated: 2026-04-27T11:00:25.000Z Last year, Cheverus entered the tournament undefeated, but fell in the Regional Final to Windham, 1-0, despite 14 strikeouts from Addison DeRoche. The Stags are on a revenge tour in, this, DeRoche's junior season and kicked off Saturday with Thornton Academy. DeRoche was ready. She struck out 12 in a 5-inning no hitter to move Cheverus to 1-0 on the season. Michael Hoffer was there. [DeRoche, Cheverus open in style with shutout of TAPORTLAND—There isn’t an easy out in the lineup of the Cheverus softball team and the Stags’ hitting prowess was on display in Saturday morning’s regular season opener at Shea Field versus Thornton Academy. And if that wasn’t enough for the Golden Trojans to contend with, oh by the way,![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260425_100725.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/deroche-cheverus-open-in-style-with-shutout-of-ta/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- On Friday, I went to Medomak Valley to test out the scoring app in person as the Panthers hosted Poland in softball. The app held up pretty well, overall, as Medomak put up 8 in the first inning and coasted to a 15-0 mercy rule win. Sidney Nichols struck out 8 in a 4-inning 1-hitter. Freshman Rheanne Simmons went 3-4 with 3 RBI from the leadoff spot. And I found a couple of issues with the app I was able to clean up. Nothing like testing in real life. Speaking of testing, I added a test feature to the baseball scorer, so you can try it out without impacting a real game. A couple of people mentioned that they'd like to play with it first, which is a thing I've done with the dozens of scoring apps I've tried out of the years. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-7.17.04---PM-1.png) [Baseball scorer](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/baseball%5Fscorer?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Elsewhere Ryan Shugars, Liam Vines and Cam Dean threw a combined no-hitter with 17K in Scarborough's win over Deering...Dan Blaisdell's 8K no-hitter led Wells over Sacopee Valley...Watson Paradis drove in 4 runs in Poland's win over Medomak...Hannah Murray struck out 11 in Fryeburg's win over GNG...Lake Region's Haley Hamlin struck out 12 in a 5-inning no-hitter...Lily Fortin drove in 4 runs and struck out 9 as NYA handled Carrabec...Gavin Thomas' 5 goals paced NYA over Gardiner...Kennebunk's Camdyn Keenan had 3 goals and 2 assists in a win over TA...Elle Clark's 5 goals led Falmouth over Marshwood...Solveig Ledwick found the back of the net 5 times in Brunswick's win against Cony...Greely's boys LAX teams scored twice in the final 2 minutes to stun Freeport....Wells outlasted NYA in triple overtime. --- But the big story from Friday was in Augusta where the Cony/Winslow games were interrupted after a threat of violence. > At about 2:30 p.m., as the baseball and softball teams were warming up at their respective fields prior to their 3 p.m. contests, Cony Athletic Director T.J. Maines said he was told by School Resource Officer Nick Sterling of a “credible threat to cause harm” at the games. Players, coaches and fans were immediately evacuated from the Cony High softball field and Morton Field at the Piggery Road baseball complex in Augusta. YIKES. Obviously this is a terrifying thing. I'm not even sure what you can say in this situation. The safety of players and fans is of the utmost importance and hopefully the Augusta police department can get to the bottom of this. The games were postponed. Mike Mandell has more. [Threat of violence forces evacuation at Cony baseball, softball fieldsPlayers were pulled off the fields at Cony High and Morton Field in Augusta at about 2:30 p.m. following a ‘credible threat to cause harm.’![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260424_morton-field_2.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/04/24/threat-of-violence-forces-evacuation-at-cony-baseball-softball-fields/?utm%5Fcampaign=NewBot%5FvarsityMaine&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawRY5uBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFlWXg5TVo2NXI2U29PUDVXc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHr22ohJGeKPzkLHOg7QBFgCgefnDUtrpkGFB1PnGQOLihL-lLq7fIpvZEwMT%5Faem%5FOMmsA7m2g1xvBRiOKKZ-cw) --- I saw a stat the other day that essentially said Peyton Pritchard is the best end of shot clock shooter in the league, but as we all know, he's even better at the end of halves and quarters. Last night he did it again. > PRITCHARD BEATS THE Q1 BUZZER 🎯 > > OFF ONE LEG FROM DEEP. > > 22-5 RUN BY BOSTON TO END THE QUARTER! [pic.twitter.com/ePZmc7eTR4](https://t.co/ePZmc7eTR4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA (@NBA) [April 26, 2026](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/2048547561003176077?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The day after the Red Sox fired Alex Cora and friends and shook up the organization, the Sea Dogs got their 9th no-hitter in franchise history. [Three pitchers combine for no-hitter in Kyle Sasala’s debut as Sea Dogs managerSasala replaced Chad Epperson, who was promoted to Boston’s third base coach Saturday night.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)The Portland Press HeraldTravis LazarczykColumnist![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43565333_20260426_seadogsmanager_10.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/26/three-pitchers-combine-for-no-hitter-in-kyle-sasalas-debut-as-sea-dogs-manager/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- A couple of weeks ago, the marathon world was rocked by a record-breaking performance at Boston. But that was nothing compared to yesterday. > OMG. > > 🇰🇪 Sabastian Sawe becomes the first man ever to break 2 hours in a marathon (legal conditions) in 1:59:30 at the London Marathon! > > Yomif Kejelcha 🇪🇹 runs 1:59:41 in his DEBUT. > > Jacob Kiplimo 🇺🇬 takes third in 2:00:28 > > All under the previous WR. [pic.twitter.com/gckgmac5Hd](https://t.co/gckgmac5Hd?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) [April 26, 2026](https://twitter.com/ChrisChavez/status/2048357328894759363?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The 2-hour marathon is the equivalent of the 4 minute mile. For decades, it was an open question of whether or not it was humanly possible. It had been [done once before](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ineos%5F1:59%5FChallenge?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) by Eliud Kipchoge in a stunt event with rotating pacers in an optimized environment meant to create absolutely perfect, impossible to replicate in a race conditions. But in a real race? That's a different story. I never really bought into the impossible thing. People thought the 4 minute mile was impossible and that record is down to 3:43\. Two hours is just a round number and people like round numbers. [The 2 hour barrier has been smashed.Mind blowing performances at the London Marathon![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Steve MagnessSteve Magness![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F193c7ebe-674a-4b81-93cc-e4a351e52f08_808x564.png)](https://stevemagness.substack.com/p/the-2-hour-barrier-has-been-smashed) What's more interesting is that Sawe ran a negative split with a 59:01 in the second half and that would have been the American half marathon record. He took a minute and 5 seconds off the previous world record. Bonkers. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Messalonskee and Bangor's baseball teams are off to a strong start to their regular seasons. Both struggled against Edward Little (who is a really strong 0-2) and have obliterated everyone else, especially Bangor, who leads Class A in scoring thanks to a 23-2 win over Lewiston. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-10.53.52---PM.png) [Heal Points](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model thinks this is a toss-up. First pitch at 4pm. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-11.35.24---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchup.html?game%5Fid=e55cc3f2-f819-4999-ad1d-0a39c8270d9e&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Spring in Full Bloom URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring-in-full-bloom/ Last updated: 2026-04-24T11:00:55.000Z First off, thanks to everyone who's been updating scores on the new-fangled scoreboard. It's quite nice to check your phone at work and see 4 or 5 games getting updated inning-by-inning from around the state. Heal Points are updating, thanks to those scoring updates. [Heal Points — Maine Basketball RankingsThe most comprehensive strength of schedule rankings for Maine high school sports.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Maine Basketball Rankings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Heal_points_opdhqh.jpg)](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Let's tour the early action. ### Elsewhere Trot Moody thew 10Ks in 4.2 innings and drove in 4 runs as OOB started their season with a win at the Ballpark...Mya St. Pierre had 7 goals as Maranacook scored 18 again in girls LAX...Spencer Young K'ed 10 in GSA's win over Orono...Chloe LeBlanc had a 16 strikeout 1-hitter as EL blanked Messo...Madi Roy threw a 3-hitter in Biddeford's win over Kennebunk...Kallie Stone's NO HITTER led Dexter to a win over Piscataquis...Sidney Nicholls struck out 10 in a mercy rule 1-hitter as Medomak Valley kicked off their title defense with a shutout of Belfast...Oceanna LaMarre had 6 goals in TA's win over Freeport...Abby Trainor had 7 goals in Windham's win over Oxford Hills. And now let's get to the news. > 🚨 BREAKING 🚨 Burn Farris (Mt View) will be Hampden’s next boys soccer coach. Farris was 41-8-2 at Mt View > > — [Maine Basketball Rankings (@mainebasketballrankings.com)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rxc4dkus4nfuyonvilyznixx?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2026-04-24T01:31:49.751Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rxc4dkus4nfuyonvilyznixx/post/3mk7exdnkas2w?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Farris went 41-8-2 at Mt. View as a head coach and took them to 2 regional finals in the past 3 seasons. He'll head east on 202 to take over the Broncos. The move, from Hampden's side of it, is not without...drama. Lost in the excitement of the basketball tournament was this story of Hampden "not renewing" previous coach Gerald Cushing. Ben Barr had the story and I'll leave it to him to wrap up what has to be a number of loose ends. [Hampden Academy boys soccer players petition for reinstatement of their head coachGerald Cushing learned from Hampden Academy administrators in December that his contract as head boys soccer coach was not being renewed![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)WABIBen Barr![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/TR5DGOXP3BDX5JM6MRVH5D4RCE.png)](https://www.wabi.tv/2026/03/04/hampden-academy-boys-soccer-players-petition-reinstatement-their-head-coach/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRXpYBleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFvMWYwbUU1enJraVc3ZDBoc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPNTE0NzcxNTY5MjI4MDYxAAEeF4YH-D3Erz6zmg200OGJ8lOQ1RJJZQpeYSH78Y4i53TrsSsxkYNFVmmN2uo%5Faem%5FG6iitp7JdL9DY7Q1c3W6eg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That isn't the easiest situation to walk into as the new coach, but Farris has a strong enough track record that he should be able to succeed. Farris was kind enough to provide a quote on his new opportunity. > I’m thrilled to begin this new chapter with the Hampden Academy boys soccer program. Their returning group, the outstanding facilities, and the support from the school and community make it a special place to coach. At the same time, saying goodbye to the Mount View players was one of the hardest parts of this transition. Those young men will always be part of my story, and the memories we built together will stay with me forever. This was part of a busy news day. --- Some basketball news, as one of the best players I saw in the tournament this year is taking her talents over the border. > Some news that impacts high school basketball next year.[@SanfordSpartans](https://twitter.com/SanfordSpartans?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Mollie Puffer has announced she is leaving the state to play at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. > > With Puffer Sanford was in a group of favorites in Class A > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [April 22, 2026](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/2047081237911630020?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And Joe wasn't done. > Another Maine high school basketball player on the move...Brewer's Oli Higgins will attend the Newman School in Boston and reclassify to Class of 2029 > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [April 24, 2026](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/2047490896401224013?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Diing Maiwen is heading to Fairleigh Dickinson. > [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DXeiZM3AWIM/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by FDU Men’s Basketball (@fduknightsmbb)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DXeiZM3AWIM/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) --- The big stupid news of the week is the Vrabel news, which is looking more and more like an affair by the hour. I don't care if Vrabel is having an affair. The Dianna Russini angle is more interesting, as there's a question of what integrity in the job. It's a double-standard that transcends gender. Is Russini judged in a different way than Vrabel because she's a woman? Yes. But is she also judged differently because an affair impacts how she does her job in a way it doesn't for Vrabel? Also yes. It's complicated. The Press Box covered really well a couple of days ago. The landscape of the story has changed since then, but their approach is still worth your time. [Dianna Russini Resigns From The Athletic - The RingerBryan is joined by Joel Anderson and Nora Princiotti to give their reactions to Dianna Russini’s resignation from The Athletic and discuss what they think could be next for Russini. Before the news broke, the trio recorded a whole other podcast about their thoughts on the Vrabel-Russini story, and they discussed what it’s like being a woman in sports media.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)The Ringer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/cropped-Press-Box-website-Thumbnail-4.jpg)](https://www.theringer.com/podcasts/the-press-box/2026/04/14/dianna-russini-resigns-from-the-athletic?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Like I said, I don't care who's sleeping with who. But I have a working theory that how you handle things like this is informative in how you'll do your actual job. A great example is someone running for political office. How they campaign can tell you a lot how about how effective they'll be in office. At least that's my theory. So the fact that Vrabel and the Pats haven't exactly been putting on a Crisis Management masterclass is...worrisome. --- Maine's own Timothy Simons (from *Veep* and Maranacook) was on *Celebrity Jeopardy!* lately and broke down his appearance on Pablo Torre Finds Out. I just have one question: what's with the Dodgers hat? Did we lose Tim in the Mookie Betts trade and no one said anything? --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- I spotted this [piece of art](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings/posts/pfbid02WzGdfCTYhDLMd9P9kBecHYDitvh6E1BqqxAosU9GK2VHC4URh9dF7hZNr2JsyaJnl) in the background of a BDN article yesterday. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-23-at-2.42.48---PM-1.png) So there's this, the Greenville logo, the Carrabec Cobra, and a ton more that aren't coming to mind at the moment of fantastic retro logo works of art on gym walls around the state and these schools really should start selling them as t-shirts. I know I would wear a bunch of them. I'm guessing I'm not alone. [ ![](//a.impactradius-go.com/display-ad/10661-3217736)](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/c/5077352/3217736/10661?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)![](https://imp.pxf.io/i/5077352/3217736/10661) --- The Blazer have a new owner and he seems to be allergic to spending money, which isn't a great look for a billionaire. [Trail Blazers reportedly cutting costs on player travel, hotel checkouts in Tom Dundon’s first month as ownerDundon spearheaded a purchase of the Blazers. Since that sale was approved by the NBA on March 30, he’s been quick to slash expenses.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Yahoo SportsAndy Backstrom![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/70c8eddf-fa01-4398-a1f3-1b3eabbeee84)](https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/trail-blazers-reportedly-cutting-costs-on-player-travel-hotel-checkouts-in-tom-dundons-first-month-as-owner-211553266.html?guccounter=1&guce%5Freferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce%5Freferrer%5Fsig=AQAAADBzraJ26HRGH5kQwimNbL8fVqMv263FP%5F%5FrDSR-EvQ3KK8UAf9KdpayZRIB2exgNlcVo6rzHPa%5FlWN4goGACHBF3otARTBjnrkBP5sFTpNZCOIeFPkWrMl7K1x6kbceOm-yhgNh7RReUzMIw929EH%5F2WlaAJNQ1H1lrRlyzUoll&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you want a counter-point, he [did the same thing](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7213935/2026/04/21/blazers-tom-dundon-nba-owner-expenses-money-cheap/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) with the Carolina Hurricanes and that's gone well. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) I count 96 games on today's schedule and it's not supposed to rain. Maybe spring is finally here? It's early going, of course, but the Kennebunk girls are 2-0 already, with convincing wins over Freeport and Greely. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-23-at-10.43.22---PM-1.png) They'll host Thornton Academy, who also has a win over Freeport, but only 15-5, so common opponents and all that. (Also not a fun start for Freeport) The Model has Kennebunk as a slight favorite. This will [probably be on Hudl](https://fan.hudl.com/usa/me/kennebunk/organization/10518/kennebunk-high-school/schedule?date=2026-04-19T04%3A00%3A00.000Z&range=Week&s=U2NoZWR1bGVFbnRyeVB1YmxpY1N1bW1hcnk2OWQzZWFmODdjM2M2NDE0OTc4MmQ0OTQ%3D&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-23-at-11.09.18---PM.png) *\[Matchup note: if you haven't played a game yet, it says you score and allow 21 ppg. It's a long story.\]* [Today's Matchups](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/matchup.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Left on Boylston URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/left-on-boylston/ Last updated: 2026-04-21T11:00:27.000Z And we're off and running with spring sports (sort of). The first couple days of spring sports are a little weird. There's spring break and a bunch of fields fit the definition of a wetland and it's probably going to rain, so the first couple of days are light. They kind of remind me of how the County teams start their soccer season early for harvest (sorry, *hahvest*). The good news is it let me see the website changes on their feet and I was able to fix a couple of small issues. Other than that, it worked really well. People were entering scores in, mid-game, which was nice to see in action. Today we start to ramp up a little. It really kicks into high gear on Friday. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-20-at-8.46.30---PM.png) [Scoreboard](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/index.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The baseball and softball scorer appears to be working now. I've tested it a LOT, but if there's one thing I've learned with writing screenplays, it's that it doesn't matter how many times you proofread a script. You can print it out and pore over it with a red pen. You can have 6 different friends read it. You can stage a table read with your friends. It doesn't matter how cross-eyed you get trying to perfect it. The second you email it to someone important, you'll find a typo. Guaranteed. So you can score a game now! Hopefully! It's basically similar to GameChanger, iScore, and a bunch of other similar apps with one key difference: it isn't a massive hassle (or expense) for people to follow the game. They can just follow along on the scoreboard, like so (from a test game): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-11-at-7.14.53---PM-1.png) Or open up the Live view (also from a test game...there's been a lot of test games) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-20-at-8.55.13---PM.png) I won't promise it's ready for prime time, but it's ready to be stress-tested, so check it out. First, you'll need to [upload a roster](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/roster-submit?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) (I've uploaded a bunch of KVAC and WMC already). Then, it should populate the rosters when you follow the link from the scoreboard and you can build the starting lineups. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-20-at-9.09.22---PM.png) If not (and maybe have a nerdy parent test it out), let me know what it's doing and I'll troubleshoot it. Will it be perfect right away? No! But it's pretty close. --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **When the game goes final, it will automatically update the new Heal Points page (here's boys LAX)** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-20-at-9.14.24---PM.png)** **[Heal Points](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **---** **In-between the many dump runs we all do on the weekends in April and a screening of [*Fantastic Planet*](https://letterboxd.com/film/fantastic-planet/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), I caught my first-ever Lacrosse game.** **You can hear Mic LeBel of the Lincoln County News (and former LAX coach) explain some of the nuances of the game. The Eagles beat Houlton 10-4\.** **### Elsewhere** **AJ Pelletier tossed a 10K, 3-hit shutout in Wells' win over Freeport...Keegan Day struck out 12 as Sacopee Valley mercied Traip...Janessa Moffitt drove in 4 runs and K'ed 9 Carrabec batters in Forest Hills' Opening Day win...Adelaide Strout tied the game with a double and scored the winning run as Yarmouth rallied to beat Greely...Grace McKay's overtime goal gave Messo a win over Cony...Izzie Camp had 4 goals and an assist in Falmouth's win over Gorham...Collin Michaud had 3 goals and 4 dimes in Lewiston's 11-10 win over Hampden...Darling Rogenes scored 4 goals in NYA's win over SoPo.** **---** **| Maine Basketball Rankings is 573 subscribers from YouTube monetization If you watch on YouTube, hitting subscribe makes a real difference. 427 / 1,000 [Subscribe](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) |** **| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |** **If you were standing on the starting line of the Boston Marathon yesterday, you had to feel pretty good about your chances for a good time. The temperature was in the 40s with sunny skies and a slight tailwind--absolutely perfect running weather--and the elites answered the call. Three(!) runners beat the course record (imagine beating the course record at the Boston Marathon and finishing THIRD). The American men's record fell, as did the women's.** **[Unreal! John Korir Destroys 15-Year-Old Boston Marathon Course Record, Running 2:01:52The Kenyan defended his title from 2025, winning by nearly a minute.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon.7c41e8e.ico)Runner's WorldScott Douglas![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/3b980875-ff10-4c9c-99e3-477b4c28d120.jpg)](https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a71052837/2026-boston-marathon-winner-john-korir/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **In previous years, you could sort the BAA results by state so you could more easily find people, but that's no longer an option, so I'm not sure who the fastest Mainer was, but Facebook seems to think it's Samuel Bradbury of Kittery (via NH), who ran it in 2:19:07\.** **---** **The Celtics home opener went as well as one could hope it could, but the Bruins did...less well in Game 1\.** **Buffalo scored 4 goals in the third period to steal a win and my old friend Ben Kennedy had post-game thoughts on his hockey podcast The Maine Hockey Report.** **He's been crushing it lately--way better than me on YouTube--so [you should subscribe](https://www.youtube.com/@themainehockeyreport?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and hopefully Game 2 goes better.** **---** **It's about to be the 10th year of the Maine Elite Passing Camp.** **> Year ten shirts are in for the summer of 2026!** **>** **> Sign-up today and pay later. Trying to get a rough head count for both camps. Still plenty of time to get signed up and join the Maine Elite family.** **>** **> The BEST football camp in Maine. [https://t.co/EVeZ41qjg4](https://t.co/EVeZ41qjg4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/HyZ48ROAkk](https://t.co/HyZ48ROAkk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **>** **> — Maine Elite Passing Camp (@EliteMaine) [April 15, 2026](https://twitter.com/EliteMaine/status/2044562438931042518?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg)** **Last year, Hampden and Oxford Hills each went 10-6 with the Vikings winning the regular season matchup 9-8 and the 4/5 quarterfinal 4-2 before falling to Mt. Ararat in the semis. So why is Hampden favored today in their opener? Well, they were the 4 seed, so there's that. And they were ranked higher last year, so there's also that. But it's a new season. So we'll see.** **It says Hudl has the stream, but that doesn't seem to be the case.** [Today's spreads](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/spreads.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Spring Sports! (Weather Permitting) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring-sports-weather-permitting/ Last updated: 2026-04-16T11:00:58.000Z Ok, after a winter that simply would not quit (the last snow left my yard yesterday, knock on wood), it's time for spring sports. When it comes to the Model, spring sports have often been the ugly stepchild. I've tracked heal points and some rankings in the past couple seasons, but rather passively, and mostly just heal points. But, with the new website, spring sports is the first opportunity to test things out and see if they really work. I've been using the break since we cut down the nets to revamp the website using Claude AI. It's been...interesting. At first, it seemed like it would be a quick process. I got 90% of it done in, like, a week. But that last 10% has been an adventure. The AI robot is really, really good at a lot of things and really, really dumb at a lot of other things. I can't even tell you how many times I've had to explain to it how to calculate heal points. Let's go through some highlights. First: you can make it into a web app on your phone. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/IMG_9699.jpg) If you go to app.mainebasketballrankings.com, click share, view more, and add to home screen and viola! It'll act like an app, mostly. The plan is to make this a proper iPhone app over the summer. I know I've mentioned most of this before, but if there's one thing I've learned it's that you have to repeat yourself to get things to sink in. ### Live Scoring So my big test of the break has been if I could make my own version of the live stats we use for the tournament that's customizable with a number of features I've long wanted (roster import via csv, for example) and that went so well that I went ahead and made a version for baseball and softball that *almost* ready. I've got a couple more things to test (just fixed a bug where it was awarding a RBI if you hit into a double-play and scored a run). But it will really, really benefit from a roster, which you can submit. [Submit a roster](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/roster-submit?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm working on adding a feature where you can add game stats. --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **### Heal Points** **This is the big one. I've revamped the [Heal Points page](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Gone is the tableau public data visualization and in it's place, this (let's use basketball as an example):** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-9.27.23---PM.png)** **You can see a team's schedule at a glance. The green/red bar tells you at a glance how the game went and underneath the bar, you can see the Preliminary Index for each opponent (i.e. what they're worth).** **If you go to the new [scoreboard](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), you can report a score in a number of ways. You can report a final score, or a score of a game in-progress, or (very soon) live score a baseball or softball game.** **Here you can see a streaming link (very likely the basketball link right now), the Stax Index, and the time and location of the game. You can report a PPD in case, say, the field is a mess. And if you hit submit, it'll drop down a menu.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-10.19.17---PM.png)** **There's a couple of benefits here. If people are updating games, then we all know what the scores are around the state, obviously, and this will come in very handy late in the season. Imagine scoreboard watching and you know that Cony is up 1 in the 4th quarter of the game you need them to win. It's not ground-breaking stuff, but it is for Maine high school sports where very often you're waiting for an AD to report a score the next morning (or later).** **When you update a score as final, it'll update the heal points immediately. No waiting for the AD. No waiting for a coach. You don't even have to wait for me to get back to my computer! You can see the change to the heal points before you even leave the bleachers.** [Heal Points](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Let's round up some news. Falmouth's Spencer Emerson is on the move. > Major Announcement 🚨🚨🚨[@BrooksSchool](https://twitter.com/BrooksSchool?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@BrooksFb](https://twitter.com/BrooksFb?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/AkMrTfU6gL](https://t.co/AkMrTfU6gL?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Spencer Emerson (@SpenceEmerson6) [April 9, 2026](https://twitter.com/SpenceEmerson6/status/2042323764189258085?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) As is JP Estrella, who was one of the most sought after bigs in the transfer portal and will be joining the champs. > NEWS: Tennessee big-man J.P. Estrella has committed to Michigan, he tells ESPN, delivering the Wolverines one of the most coveted big-men in the portal.He continues the lineage of high-end transfer big men at Michigan, as they played an outsized line-up to win the national title. [pic.twitter.com/iy1XGA9QRK](https://t.co/iy1XGA9QRK?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) [April 9, 2026](https://twitter.com/PeteThamel/status/2042326490214240291?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Meanwhile, in another timeline, Cooper might be in the portal, but he's just wrapped up his rookie year in the NBA and is locked in one of the righter ROY votes in a while. > Year one in the books for Cooper Flagg, what a year it was. Oh, and he should be finishing up his freshman year of college. [pic.twitter.com/nPzZtwjmtn](https://t.co/nPzZtwjmtn?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [April 13, 2026](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/2043817191200436439?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Back to spring sports. Varsity Maine has their usual roundup of players and teams to watch. [Meet the 10 central Maine baseball players to watch in 2026Two standout seniors and a host of strong juniors highlight this list of potential top players in the region.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/41900446_20250423_ConyMessBaseball_7505.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/04/13/meet-the-10-central-maine-baseball-players-to-watch-in-2026/?utm%5Fcampaign=NewBot%5FvarsityMaine&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawRNK5FleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe4uUUBakpEtEZNDmve9wNXJ4d2yveDWGC%5F3zNlem5skRlFlzpbSmjMehiHz0%5Faem%5F0SpmDv4rlLQkgCh8tkkw9Q) ### Game of the Day This is where I normally do the Game of the Day and there's no point, but if you're curious, the York/Freeport boys LAX game has the highest Stax Index with 83.1, for what it's worth. ### Spreads Also, the spreads page is much improved. During basketball season it was anyone's guess if I remembered to update it at 2am before I crashed, but with the new website, this updates automatically. So it should always work! And it'll keep track of how the Model did, like so: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-10.12.56---PM.png) Check it out. Keep in mind that the picks are currently 100% based on last year's regular season stats. [Daily Picks — Maine Basketball RankingsDaily game picks and spreads for Maine high school sports.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Maine Basketball Rankings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Spreads_ac1h9m.jpg)](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/spreads.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 45/9/8 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/45-9-8/ Last updated: 2026-04-06T11:00:04.000Z With the long gap between basketball and spring sports, there hasn't been a lot going on, outside of [epic Elite Eight collapses](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCCPHNKURVk&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and whatever the Red Sox are doing (apparently tanking for AJ Dybantsa?). Bu it's been a busy week for Cooper Flagg. A couple of days after becoming the youngest player to ever score 50 points in a NBA game, Cooper became the first rookie since Allen Iverson to have back-to-back 40+ games with a 45/8/9 line agains the Lakers on National TV. The 96 in two games is the most by a rookie since Wilt. Wilt. Kalshi now has Cooper as a [slight favorite](https://kalshi.com/markets/kxnbaroy/pro-basketball-rookie-of-the-year/kxnbaroy-26?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) for Rookie of the Year. The Mavs put out a fun video that has some familiar faces in it. And our man will be at Hadlock (one presumes) on August 12th for a Bobblehead Day. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/image.png)](https://www.milb.com/portland/news/portland-sea-dogs-to-giveaway-cooper-flagg-bobblehead-on-august-12?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Stay tuned for next week's outlandish Cooper Flagg stat! --- There's a tragic story this week from the Greely football community. Ryan Jennings, who was active in the Greely youth program, died while rescuing his children from a rip tide while on vacation in Florida. [Maine man drowns while saving children from rip currentRyan Jennings, 46, died while holding his daughter above the water as a rip current pulled them away from the shore, according to his wife, who is pregnant with their fourth child.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-38.png)The Portland Press HeraldDylan TusinskiStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/RyanJennings1.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/03/north-yarmouth-man-drowns-while-saving-his-children-from-rip-current-in-florida-2/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's hard to fathom something like this. It's a small thing, but if you'd like to help out, there's a [GoFundMe campaign](https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-emily-jennings-family?attribution%5Fid=sl:39f71d75-1c69-484c-8d9b-0daf1dc4a7a7&lang=en%5FUS&ts=1775171799&utm%5Fcampaign=fp%5Fsharesheet&utm%5Fcontent=amp17%5Fta-amp20%5Fcontrol&utm%5Fmedium=customer&utm%5Fsource=copy%5Flink) set up for the family. [GoFundMe Campaign](https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-emily-jennings-family?attribution%5Fid=sl:39f71d75-1c69-484c-8d9b-0daf1dc4a7a7&lang=en%5FUS&ts=1775171799&utm%5Fcampaign=fp%5Fsharesheet&utm%5Fcontent=amp17%5Fta-amp20%5Fcontrol&utm%5Fmedium=customer&utm%5Fsource=copy%5Flink) --- After a short delay (thanks to some scheduling issues and whatnot), the podcast is back with CMCC women's coach Andrew Morong, who retired in March after 15 seasons and 4 National Championships. This was a great conversation about what it takes to build a perennial contender and what athletes need to do to excel at the next level. Check it out! And make sure you subscribe on YouTube! | Maine Basketball Rankings is 575 subscribers from YouTube monetization If you watch on YouTube, hitting subscribe makes a real difference. 425 / 1,000 [Subscribe](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- So I'm working on a new thing for spring sports. You know how we have live stats for the tournament? Well, I've been making a customized version of it that includes some features I've long wanted to add (more on that in the fall) and it's gone well enough that I *also* made a version for baseball and softball. First: the new [scoreboard](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) has some features. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-05-at-12.10.34---PM.png) If you click on that "Submit" button, it'll give you some options. You can enter the final score (that will automatically update the [Heal Points](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)\--which also has last season's Heals, in case you need it). Or you can enter a score mid-game. OR you can score the entire game, pitch-by-pitch. If you do that (and you can play with it [here](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/baseball%5Fscorer?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)), it'll update the scoreboard in mostly real time. It refreshes every couple of seconds. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-05-at-12.04.02---PM.png) And there will be a live view that's like the live stats for the tournament, but a lot easier to read (the basketball version will also be a LOT easier to read/follow). These are all screenshots of [dummy data](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/live?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). You get the idea. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-05-at-5.47.49---PM.png) Think of this spring as a stress test for future things. It already works pretty well, but you never know with stuff like this until you get it on its feet. This will track pitch counts and stats for everyone and will pull from the rosters uploaded to the site and update player stats for everyone. You can score any game on the schedule. My longer-term goal is to have as many player stats as possible on the site for at least basketball, baseball, softball, and football. You know how much people love it when the conferences update their stats with leaders? There's really no reason we couldn't have that all season long. You can upload a roster for any sport. [Roster Upload](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/roster-submit?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Here, for example, is Mt. Ararat's baseball roster from last season. Pronunciations! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-05-at-8.24.08---PM.png) For baseball, teams are required to use GameChanger for pitch count reasons and softball is more free to do what they want. This will do that and export a box score that's a little bit better than that GameChanger gives you, plus there's the added benefit of your parents not having to pay $14.99/month to see updates. This is also not wholly dependent on the team manager or whoever. It could be a parent in the stands or the play-by-play person doing the streaming or whoever. So use of GameChanger doesn't preclude using this. Anyway, check it out. See if you like it. [Game Scorer](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/baseball%5Fscorer.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- There's a new shirt in the [merch store](https://maine-basketball-rankings.printify.me/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), for those who remember games at the Mecca in Bangor. [Bangor Auditorium Unisex Softstyle T-Shirt - $30.00 - Maine Basketball RankingsBuy this product for only $30.00![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Store of Maine Basketball Rankings.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/bangor-auditorium-unisex-softstyle-t-shirt.jpg)](https://maine-basketball-rankings.printify.me/product/27738554/bangor-auditorium-unisex-softstyle-t-shirt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I ordered a couple shirts for myself and they came out well and showed up pretty quickly. I was pleased! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-05-at-11.29.52---PM.png) [Merch](https://maine-basketball-rankings.printify.me/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I can't say I've ever seen this before. > All THREE of Jo Adell's home run robberies from tonight ... Yes, you read that right 😮 > > — [MLB (@mlbbot.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:a5yrzxyiufeqxf24sda5sebx?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2026-04-05T04:15:43.000Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:a5yrzxyiufeqxf24sda5sebx/post/3mipvlfuaxm2j?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link.](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter (always)](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### PODCAST: Andrew Morong Goes Out on Top URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/podcast-andrew-morong-goes-out-on-top/ Last updated: 2026-04-05T16:02:00.000Z This week on the podcast, I sat down with retiring CMCC women's basketball coach Andrew Morong fresh off his fourth national title to talk about what it actually takes to build a dynasty in central Maine. Topics this episode: - How Andrew evaluates recruits in the first 5 minutes of warm-ups - Why parents are now a bigger red flag than the players themselves - The "Junkyard Dog" role and building a blue-collar culture - Josie Friend — the Australian freshman he knew would transcend the program - The case for a high school shot clock - Why the mid-range jumper might be a D1 scholarship hiding in plain sight - What retirement looks like when basketball has been your life for 15 years Plus Rhys reviews Hoppers and the Mario Galaxy movie. I don't know how I feel about this thumbnail either. [Subscribe on YouTube](Four national championships. 87.2% winning percentage. Retirement on his terms. Lucas sits down with retiring CMCC women's basketball coach Andrew Morang fresh off his fourth national title to talk about what it actually takes to build a dynasty in central Maine. Topics this episode: How Andrew evaluates recruits in the first 5 minutes of warm-ups Why parents are now a bigger red flag than the players themselves The "Junkyard Dog" role and building a blue-collar culture Josie Friend — the Australian freshman he knew would transcend the program The case for a high school shot clock Why the mid-range jumper might be a D1 scholarship hiding in plain sight What retirement looks like when basketball has been your life for 15 years Plus Lucas's son Reese reviews Hoppers and the Mario Galaxy movie.) | Maine Basketball Rankings is 575 subscribers from YouTube monetization If you watch on YouTube, hitting subscribe makes a real difference. 425 / 1,000 [Subscribe](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Thanks to Gardiner for the Bleacher Creatures shirt! ### Transcript (AI generated) *Welcome to the Maine Basketball Rankings podcast.I'm your host, basketball data nerd, Lucas Mcnelly.And today we're talking about national championships with four time national championship coach Andrew Morong. Rhys is here because later he's going to talk about some movies he saw and he wanted to be in the introduction.* ### *0:19* *Say hello.Hello.OK, he is, he's nine years old and he's wearing his Slam Dunk shirt.I am wearing my Bleacher Creature shirt, brand new shirt from the good folks at Gardner Area High School.They sent myself and Jay some Bleacher Creature gear, which I have to forward then to Jay.* ### *0:38* *He's going to come on pretty soon here and do a podcast about something.We haven't figured that part out yet.We just know that he's got a Bleacher Creature shirt coming in the mail.And thank you to everyone at Gardner for who made that possible.I happened to meet Charlotte.* ### *0:54* *Do you remember Charlotte from the viral video of a little girl yelling at someone shooting free throws?Do you remember that?OK, He does not remember that.That was Charlotte Gardner's number one fan.I met her at the KVAC All Star game.She was very quiet and very nice and like, you know, like all the great ones, you can't leave it.* ### *1:14* *You can't burn all your energy when the game's not being played.So this is an All Star game.So she was just there to soak in the vibes and not wreak havoc on the other team because it's just an exhibition game and she's saving her energy for the game that matter.I did also see her at the state championship game, which Gardner won.* ### *1:32* *And Reese, did you know this is the first podcast since the all the state championship games happened a couple weeks ago?Did you know that?No, you're not really bringing a lot to this, are you?No.OK, so a couple things have been going on.* ### *1:50* *Mostly what's been happening is I've been revamping the website in preparation for spring sports.There's new heel points, there's new team pages, there's a new schedule, there's all sorts of fun stuff and there is more coming.So if you haven't, if you haven't checked out the new website, go check out the new website.* ### *2:10* *Throw some images, images here to give you an idea.But if you did pause your subscription for the end of basketball season, you might want to bring that back up because there's going to be a lot of cool stuff with spring sports if you're at all involved with spring sports.* ### *2:28* *And I think that will about do it.Do you have anything you want to add in this part?No, he does not.All right, so with that, let's go to my conversation with CMCC retired, now retired coach Andrew Morong.* ### *2:44* *My guest today is the four time national champion coach of the CMCC girls, Andrew Morong.Thanks for joining.Thanks for having me.I'm looking forward to, you know, chatting and recapping the season and what was my career.So I have to start with that.* ### *3:01* *So you announced, I've been meaning to have you on the show for a while, and then you announced that you're retiring after 15 seasons.Let's say I have your stats here, an 87.2% winning percentage at 4 national titles.So I have to ask, is this a situation where Andrew wept or not?* ### *3:17* *Andrew or Alexander wept because there were no more worlds to conquer.Or should we expect you to take the North Carolina job next week?Yeah, that would be pretty cool, right?No, actually, I mean.I mean, I don't think anyone be mad about that decision.Back in January and you know, met with President Libya at the college and kind of just spoke about what the transition plan was going to be and when the right time to notify anyone.* ### *3:41* *Obviously, I didn't want it to be a distraction during the season to take away from, you know, our student athletes experience.And I didn't want to want to make it about me.I want to just enjoy the moment with them and then, you know, we end up winning.It was just kind of icing on the cake.* ### *3:58* *And then we got back and I didn't, you know, we had a week before spring break and I didn't, the girls were on cloud 9.I didn't think it was appropriate to announce it then to kind of strip away that, you know, those feelings in that moment for them.And then spring break happened.So it seemed a little bit delayed and it seems like the decision was made after the season.* ### *4:15* *But with this was, I would probably say a couple years in the making that we it was either going to be this year or next year, you know, and it just seemed like the right time to go out with the right group of kids.Is there a situation where you like have the you get eliminated like the way Duke got eliminated or something crazy and you're like, well.* ### *4:40* *Yeah, no, for sure.When I when I commit to something, you know, I commit to it.So I knew no matter what how this season ended, this was going to be my last year and I was OK with that and I was at peace with it.I think obviously a lot of coaches struggle sometimes with stepping away and some, you know, Klingon too, too long and and their program suffers because of that.* ### *5:00* *And I didn't want that for our program.You know, 15 years, 14 seasons, you put a lot of time, literal blood, sweat and tears into the program.And a lot of people have.For me to hang on too long would not have been fair to anyone who has dedicated an ounce of time to this program.* ### *5:18* *So really for me, this is about preserving the program.And as soon as I made the decision and started talking to the alumni about it and everything like that, it was just very clear that it was the right decision to make.Because you've built a pretty impressive program there.* ### *5:34* *I remember, you know, when I started doing this, you were what, probably five years in and you know, you would, I think you hadn't won 1 yet.And then there was the first one was like, Oh my gosh, the local team won a national championship.And now it's just like, oh, did they win another national championship?It must be that time of year.* ### *5:50* *So like what?Take me through the building of that program because it's not I, I spoke to Steve Carey, who was one assistant up there.And it's not the easiest place to convince kids to come.It's not, you know, Boston.It's not even Portland places like that.* ### *6:06* *Yeah.So I, I'm very lucky that we've had a lot of continuity within the women's basketball program at the college.There's only been two coaches, Mike Bridges and myself, you know.So Coach Bridges did it for, you know, over a decade.Yeah.Through the late, you know, late, late 90s into, through the 2000s, you know, so just more than a decade.* ### *6:23* *And he did a great job establishing it, you know, regionally and locally.And when I came in, there wasn't a lot of there, there wasn't a lot of returning players.And, you know, obviously I had never coached in college.I was coming from high school, but I was young and dumb enough, naive enough to realize like I, I, there's not a certain kid I should go for.* ### *6:44* *And I think a lot, especially when I first started, there was a lot of stigma surrounding community colleges.And I would, I just didn't even no way, you know, I, I don't care how good of a coach you are, if you're coach K, Pat Summit, Don Staley, whoever, you're only as good as the players in your program.* ### *7:02* *And end of story, you know, So I, I, we started going after the, some of the top kids in the state of Maine and let's make them say no, let's make them and their family say no, let's get them to campus.And that's always been my mindset.So through the years, those Nos, there's been less Nos and more yeses, right?I think at the beginning of this, you know, we had to recruit 20 kids to get one, you know, so if I had to bring in 10, I was talking to 200 kids.* ### *7:25* *They filled those 10 spots.Now it's almost, we get who we want, you know, by the end of it, you know, truly, you know, and we might miss out on a few kids.But really, we are very, very, very dedicated to the recruiting process and the relationship building.* ### *7:41* *And I think that's what makes our program what it is, is having the right student athletes in the program.I don't care if you can score 30 points of a game, if you're a spoiled Brad, you're a bad person.I don't want you anywhere near our program.End of story.I can't tell you how many times I've gone to high school games and 5 minutes into warmups cross kids off, you know, based on how they're interacting with their teammates or coaches.* ### *8:05* *So we just put an emphasis, have always put an emphasis on recruiting the right kids.I'd rather have a kid who can score 10 points a game is going to buy in than a kid that's only going to dip their toe in the water.So I think that's what really brought us to that.That next, that next level, probably a quite a few levels from when I first started, is just recruiting the right kids.* ### *8:27* *I want to circle back to the crossing kids off in warmups because I think that's important, but is part of it figuring out who you're going to get and who's going to be and who did not go after be like, because obviously you're not going to get Mackenzie Holmes or someone like that because that's just not going to happen.* ### *8:45* *You're not going to get Cooper flag.You're not going to get, you know, but you can.But the kids you can you can try.I mean, it's worth a shot, but is part of it Like the more you get into recruiting, the more you go, OK, this is sort of this is my wheelhouse and this is a player, not only a player who's going to do well in this program, but this is a player who's going to be receptive to what we're doing.* ### *9:08* *And are you able to better target those?Yeah.So our our system really dictates our recruiting.So we play very fast.We press for 40 minutes a game.Typically we average over 90 points per game.I'm pretty sure that we are the highest scoring team in New England at any level this year.You know, we'd like to get up and down and that is a very fun style to play.* ### *9:28* *As you know, there's not a lot of high schools out there that play that way, you know, where it's a race to 40 points, right?So you got to look at it's like, can this player play at this, you know, if they're surrounded by other kids because high school, it's so tough because I, I look at it and I God bless high school coaches.* ### *9:46* *I don't know how they do it because they can't recruit right.Most of them can't recruit right.And it's.Yeah.What are you saying?Are you saying that this?You know, and it's like, you know, so they have every high school has maybe two or three kids that are dedicated and go above and beyond.* ### *10:02* *The coach doesn't even need to ask them.And then if they're lucky, they have another two or three kids that are dedicated and will do everything that the coach asks.And then everybody else is just there because their friends are doing it or it's because what they've always done, right?So you got to take a kid that's living in that environment and plug them, you know, into an environment where everyone was the best player on their high school or club team, everyone was either Allstate or all conference or team MVP, whatever it is, right.* ### *10:29* *And in that environment, are they going to rise to the occasion or they going to they're not going to be able to handle it.So I think that's like the biggest conflict, you know, So we, you know, we talked to obviously coaches and we talked to teachers, guidance counselors, parents.Obviously we are huge in building relationships with the family just to try to figure out if that kid can can.* ### *10:49* *You know, our program is not like a lot of programs in the state of Maine on the men's or women's basketball side of things.We've had players obviously transferred D1D2, you know, D3, high academic and IA, full scholarships and things like that.* ### *11:05* *Every single one of them, including the kids that go high level D2 and D1.They say the commitment level in our program is just as tough, if not tougher than the pro, the commitment level at their next program.So in today's day and age, you know, recruiting young people is very difficult because them committing to something and just trying to find kids that can be relentless in that sort of environment isn't a lot harder than it used to be.* ### *11:30* *You know, that blue collar mentality is more of a rare commodity and I treat it as a skill set, just like I treat a jump shot as a skill set.You know, so when we find those blue collar kids, man, we just fall right in love with them because they're not a dime a dozen anymore.* ### *11:48* *That that used to be the norm.Now they're they're the rare, you know, they're the they're the rare ones.So I think when we find those blue collar kids, we just gravitate towards them.And we have no better example than Abilene Corson from Dexter.You know, our starting point guard this year, cap freshman captain, I mean, was a state championship captain for for Dexter and coach Grant, you know, you talk about blue collar.* ### *12:09* *I mean, that's that's Dexter, right?You know Dexter, Maine and.Can't get more blue.Collar of that town and that community and she represents them exactly how you think someone from there would represent and that's those are the kind of kids we go after.* ### *12:25* *You're not going to there's no amount of adversity that you're going to dump on a kid like that that's going to overwhelm them.They're going to roll up their sleeves and just work harder.So it's it's really easy to find.It's easier to find those kids in Maine for sure, although they are harder to find.It's a little bit tricky when we go outside of Maine, especially outside of the country to find those kids because cultures are just different.* ### *12:46* *But you know, I, I think that's what we go for is those blue collar kids that are just going to, hey, you might beat me on the scoreboard, but I'm going to, I'm going to kick your ass.Do you find and I should have checked this out.It seems like your roster's gotten more main centric over the years than it has early them did.* ### *13:07* *Early on, there were more like students from around, from away, you know, And it seems like that's a stronger main contingency where now it's almost like a pipeline.Like I see a person going, oh, of course we're going to see him.Yeah.All right.Sure.Like Tatum French is around here.I'm like, yeah, that makes sense.OK, Yeah.Yeah, that's especially this this recruiting and so are the recruiting class that are wrapping up their freshman year right now and this incoming recruiting class.* ### *13:32* *That was a huge point of emphasis for us.We really wanted to get back to our main roots.And although we, I mean, we've always obviously had a handful of Mainers on the team and you know, we had people keep telling me, well, you got you can't do what you do with, you know, mostly Mainers or just Mainers.* ### *13:50* *So that's, you know, as soon as you tell me I we can't do something that is.It's like, you know what?So.You know, to, to, I mean, we, I think we started, we started 3 Mainers on our national championship team this year.You know, I think ten of our players, if I'm not mistaken, we're from Maine, which is the most I think we've had since 2019.* ### *14:10* *So yeah, we, we put a huge emphasis on it this year.But again, it was about getting the right Mainers, you know, from the right programs.We can coach hard either at the club or, and, or their high school level.And so they could come in and make an immediate impact.And, and many of them, you know, I had relationships with prior to them showing up through club basketball and, and stuff like that and summer camps and whatnot.* ### *14:33* *So it just makes it that much more special when you can compete at a high level representing your state with with Mainers on the roster in important roles.Sure.Do you find the whole thing about it resonated with me, the idea of like being the the one kid who's like really into it and it's sort of dragging everybody else through basketball season of the casuals who are like, well, I guess, yeah, you guys need we need people.* ### *15:01* *Do you find that the the kids that really excel in your program are the kids who that when they get there, they go, wait, there's other people who are as insane as I am like.Yeah, for sure.I think we'd like first practice every year.It's kind of tradition.* ### *15:16* *We just have everyone stand on the sideline and we say, you know, if you were the best player on your high school or club team, close your eyes, you know, if, if you're the best player in your high school or club team, take a step forward, you know, and then open your eyes.And then everyone kind of looks around and it's like, oh, crap, OK.You know, but in our recruiting, we emphasize recruiting competitors, you know, so when you bring competitors in and around other competitors, it's just you're just adding fuel to this vicious fire, you know, that's not going to go out.* ### *15:45* *So yeah, these kids, they, they, they love that.I I think it is eye opening.I think, you know, you brought up Tatum.I think that's, I think her obviously it'll be different with a different coach, you know, when she arrives in August.But, you know, we could tell that, you know, Tatum fits way we do.* ### *16:01* *She's got some, you know, she has some skill sets that she needs to improve on, but men, the mentality is there and she's going to just get so much better competing every day against players that are better than her where that's not something she can do at Booth Bay, where she was the best player on the team.* ### *16:17* *You know, especially these small schools they don't have like if you're 6 feet tall, you know you're it.There's not another six footer on your roster that's going to make you better every day in practice.And you might not play another against another.Yeah, so.If you look, I mean you look behind me in my background there, there's 123456, maybe maybe 7-6 footers in that raw, you know, on that roster.* ### *16:38* *So they're going against that every single day in practice and they just love it because they didn't get that in high school.So yeah, they just, they soak it all up for sure.And some of these people, like some of these players that there's different with AAU, but like, depending on where they are, you know, you might have a situation where it's two schools close together or you're like in southern Maine and there's a bunch of schools in the area.* ### *17:02* *But if you're in Aroostook County or something, there might not be another good player for 40 miles.Yeah, I'm it's, it's big.So you're just not playing against anybody?And it's tricky.And I think sometimes those kids do struggle, even though they're great competitors, right?* ### *17:18* *They come in and they struggle because the level of competition, no matter how many times I I tell them, you know, they just, you don't know until you know, you know, and they, they get in there and they think they're going to be OK because they were OK, you know, back in playing for Katade.And, you know, Hunter Hartsgrove is, is a great example of that.* ### *17:35* *Hunter, I don't think she's I think she made one layup as a freshman in her first five games games.And it was like, we all know you can do it.And she was just, I mean, wide open, could not make anything.And here she was a prolific score at Katan and you know, and I just hunt her.* ### *17:53* *We just pulled her aside and we said once one goes in, the lid will be off and you'll remember that this is just basketball, you know.And then sure enough, I mean, before her season ending injury in in January of her freshman year, I mean, she about five games and just just took off and was on pace for an All American season before her injury.* ### *18:13* *So it does take some time for, you know, the adjustment for sure.Well, I mean, you can't.You can be as confident as you want to be, but you get punched in the mouth a couple times at a new level and somewhere in your head, regardless of the sport, you know, it could be Major League Baseball, it could be basketball, football, whatever.* ### *18:32* *Party's going to go.Am I really good enough to play at this level?Because we've all seen players who weren't quite good enough to play at the level they rose to and fell back.You're your quadruple a player in baseball being an example.And so just like, what are there things they're tricks to get people that confidence other than just saying, hey, that's going to go in, It's going to go in.* ### *18:54* *Yeah, I think it's a delicate balance for sure.I think with many athletes today, male or female, confidence is one of the it's, it just makes or break so many of them.Obviously my experience is on the on the female athlete side.So I've, you know, I've really had to adjust my style of coaching and really go from when I first started transactional relationships to transformational relationships.* ### *19:21* *And that, that seems bigger than confidence.But that is like the foundation of, of, of everything that we do in our program.If they don't have, if I don't have a transformational relationship with every single player on that team, they're, they can question, you know, oh, he's just saying that, you know, but if we have that relationship and that foundation, they're, they're just going to, they're going to do it.* ### *19:43* *You know, they're going to follow, you know, follow the lead and they're going to figure it out.But we do a lot of stuff and I think some people think that they are more than they are or they don't think they are as good as they are, you know, So we were very direct when it comes to role establishing roles.* ### *20:01* *You know, we we do a team exercise at the beginning of every season, about a month in.So everyone's kind of used to everyone.And we say, all right, what are the four or five offensive rules we have on our team?You know, and that they get to pick the name of the role.So our shooters might be called snipers.You know, they assign people to those roles.* ### *20:17* *And some people say like, oh, I want to be this.And the team says, well, that's great.But if we're going to be successful, we need you to be this.And so we have that on the offensive side, and then we have that on the intangible side sort of thing.So every player has two roles.* ### *20:33* *And then you just focus in you just lock in on doing your job.You know, And I know that sounds like, you know, Bill Belichick and the Patriots way and all that stuff, which is just kind of a yucky thing right now.But, you know, we'd say that all the time.Just do your job.* ### *20:49* *Like keep it simple.Don't go out there and invent.We you're not an inventor.That's not your job.You know, we have girls whose job is to do that.That's one of you know, that's one of the roles.That's not your job.Keep it simple.You know, close out with two hands high dive on the floor for a loose ball.You know, take your shot when, you know, when you're open and you got to get them really to buy into that.* ### *21:09* *When you tie it to the end of when you when you engage the individual and tie their role to the team's success, they buy into that role even more.A great example of that is Caitlin McCoy played at Levitt.Prolific 3 point shooter.Ridiculous.* ### *21:24* *OK.Oh yeah.I mean, she, she had a great tournament All American, great freshman campaign, second team all.Americans seen her go off in games.You know, but she's the type and she's had some great coaching, especially on the club side that really helped her with that confidence.* ### *21:39* *I, I feel like, but even her, you know, who's arguably the best shooter in the state at any level, you know, she'll go and she'll miss, you know, five in a row.And you know, we'll just remind her like, if you don't take the shot we expect you to take, it's, it's more than just you not taking that shot.* ### *21:59* *Now, our rebounders can't anticipate right now, our defense, our transition from offense to defense can't anticipate and we press.So we need to get in that press quickly.So if Caitlin has the ball and she's open, we expect her to shoot.And that impacts about five other things down the line.* ### *22:15* *I think that's what a lot of kids miss.So explaining that and showing them that in film, I think is really, really important.So once they get that, then they just do their job and they work on expanding it, of course.But we just say just do your job.And we just focus on the little things like, man, you can have a bad shooting night, but you should never have a bad night communicating or you know, get in touch as high fives, you know, and things like that.* ### *22:37* *So we just try to get them focusing on the positive stuff.And I think a big thing this year especially was our coaching staff.We had the best coaching staff I've ever been involved with.Just so many different skill sets on it.* ### *22:53* *And so they were hitting every single girl from different wavelengths.And it was just great because the girls got constant and consistent feedback.But sometimes they just need you need to hear it in a different voice in a different way.So I think when you wrap all that together, I think you end up with some really confident athletes.* ### *23:12* *So it's a little bit of Caitlin, if you don't take this shot, then everybody else is expecting it to happen and you screw up the works for the whole thing and the whole thing falls apart because you didn't take the shot.And so we don't even care if it goes in because it's worse for you to miss, it's worse for you to not take the shot than to miss the shot because of all the exact.* ### *23:32* *Factors.Yeah, that, yeah, I can see that that would that would help with the confidence like well, I guess, yeah.Especially for us when especially when it comes to shooting, like ours is a possession game.We want we want more possessions.So I don't care if we miss ten in a row, like whatever, we're just going up and down gas that other team.* ### *23:48* *So it's less important to us than the teams that walk the ball up and down the court and set 85 screens every time down and everyone's a robot.We just don't play like that.So I might as well just ask you the question now, how important is would a shot clock be toward your players transitioning to college basketball?* ### *24:11* *Because it sounds like you would be.Very much so.I think it's, you know, I've been to, I'm recruiting and I've recruit or recruited.I got to start talking to the past tense now, right?Yeah.So I've recruited in states.Until that North Carolina job happened.Yeah, I've recruited in states with a shot clock and most of them can't get it right.* ### *24:30* *The person operating it just doesn't do it right.But even that is better than no shot clock, All right?I honestly think that it's going to make the game better because it's going to increase the possessions, right?* ### *24:45* *No one gets better by holding on the ball for a minute and 1/2.No one gets better doing that.I don't care.You're not getting better doing that, OK.And so, you know, shot clock forces the issue a little bit.* ### *25:01* *And everyone says, well, it's going to it's going to help.The better teams are just going to win by more.I don't think that's necessarily the case to be quite honest.I would just love to see it happen.Like let's bring it into Christmas tournaments or something like let's tease it a little bit.Let's bring it into preseason games and for a year or two.* ### *25:19* *And, and, and then see, or you do what NCA, you know NCAA does when they when they bring something in, they bring it in at the Division One level first and then the next year gets down to D2D3.Maybe we could do something like that, start it in the Class A and then, you know, you work your way down from there.* ### *25:35* *I don't know.But I think there's a million ways to do it.I think it would be great for high school basketball.You ask our international players, they think we're crazy.They have it when they start like at the rec league levels over in Australia and all the Fever rules, like they have it when they're 10 years old, you know.* ### *25:54* *So to them, like not having it in high school is absolutely crazy.And yeah, I agree.I think especially with our style of play, the the kids, the Mainers tend to be a little bit, they catch up really quick.But it is a they are behind for sure their international counterparts.* ### *26:14* *So my pitch for the shot clock implantation to fix, I think it would fix everything and they would never do it is they just say, OK, so we're going to turn on the shot clock for the tournament and you can have it in your home games if you want, but you don't have to.But it's going to be on for the tournament.* ### *26:31* *And then I think the teams that think they have any chance at all of doing well in the tournament would find the money within two weeks and have and have shot clocks ready to go for opening.Day.Yeah, you know.And then, you know, some schools would not like you're N Havens would be like, yeah, we're good.Yeah, I think there you could go about it a bunch of different ways, but I think it needs to happen.* ### *26:50* *I think it's inevitable.It's more exciting.It makes the game faster pace, it's more exciting.It's people get more shots up.That can't be a bad thing, you know.So, yeah, I'd love to, I'd love to see it.I'd love to see him just follow Fever rules, honestly.* ### *27:05* *And I wish they would do that at the college level too.It's just fully adopt Fever rules.You know, that would be a, you know, 24 second shot clock reset, a 14 second on offensive rebound, 8 second backcourt, you know, no inbounding into the backcourt, 5 fouls clear them at the quarter, which they do now, but only sub before or after, not in the middle, you know, advance the ball under a minute in the game on a timeout.* ### *27:31* *You know, I think all of that stuff is I mean that's, that's the global, that's the global game.Why would we not want to to match that and be working towards that?Well, because this is America and, and we have our own systems and we like our feet and our inches and screw your metric system.* ### *27:55* *So let's circle back to the, the crossing off kids.So I've heard multiple coaches say this, that like, you know, there's a level of I don't care how good you are, you seem like you're a pain in the ass to deal with.So like talk about that.Like I'm assuming you're not just watching someone in warm ups and be like, Nope, off because, you know, maybe they had a bad day.* ### *28:16* *Maybe, you know, they failed a test earlier that day.People have bad days.Like, but that's on.That's a thing.You file away right where you're going.OK, maybe not on this kid.Yeah, I think it's, I really think it depends on the program.You know, if you're a young coach and you haven't won and you're trying to establish your program, I think you're going to take risks, you know, and bring on those kids.* ### *28:40* *And like I did when I first started, you know, I think that's you need talent and you and when you're young and naive, you think talent wins, you know, helps you win when it's just destroying your culture from underneath you.And you got to learn that, right?* ### *28:55* *And that's part of growing up as a coach.I feel like, and I, I, I look at it as, you know, I'm going there, I watch a game and I, I'm sitting there and doing my research.You know, it's very easy to tell who's mom and dad that, you know, so is this kid acting like this?* ### *29:11* *And then mom and dad 2 rows behind me are, you know, complaining about the coach of the entire time yelling at the refs, you know, the their daughter checks out of the game, doesn't give anyone a high 5, sits on the end of the bench with her head in her hands or, you know, kicked back with her feet up.* ### *29:27* *Not engage in the game.That's a red flag, right?So I think what you do, what you're allowed to do in high school, you're going to try to get away with in college just instinctively.That's, that's at the subconscious level, you know, if you're not held accountable, you're going to struggle with accountability, you know, so, yeah, I see that stuff and I, I, I, I cross, I'm, I'm definitely more on the conservative side when it comes to protecting the program.* ### *29:52* *So, you know, I'm, I'm probably quick to, to, to cross kids off.I'm also the first person to give a kid a second chance to.I think anyone who's ever been in our program would tell you that.I, I would say I, I haven't seen a lot of bad kids out there.* ### *30:08* *I have more, I would say over the last five years.It's some of the parents, you know, it's like, do I really want that person in our gym?You know, like we have a reputation to uphold.Like is that person going to be doing that sitting in our gym?Oh my gosh, that's embarrassing.* ### *30:24* *You know, I don't want to have to address that without the game because I would, you know, so that happens all the time.Or like through the recruiting process, the parents just sit there and they just bash the high school coach.I'm like, what, what are we doing?Like, why are you, why are you putting me in that position?* ### *30:40* *You know, where I have a ton of respect for that person, you know, so those are the some of the things that, you know, happened from time to time that that cross kids off.I think another thing that you know, really crosses get some kids cross off is their social media.And you know, I think now they've navigated away from Instagram.* ### *30:56* *So at first everyone was on Facebook and then it went to Instagram.Now they've navigated as the parents navigate from Facebook to Instagram.The kids are just now on Snapchat, Tiktok, right?So anything, you know, creates separation between them and their families.So it used to be really easy to go on, I don't know, that kid kind of acting.* ### *31:15* *I'm not sure.I'm not, I'm not in love with that kid.I'm gonna go check her, you know, I'm gonna check out the Instagram while I'm there at the game.And then I see stuff on Instagram like, well, this all makes sense, you know, And then then that would get the cross.So now it's a little bit harder to do because they're a little bit smarter about what they put on social media or where they put it on social media.* ### *31:33* *So, but that, that is definitely checked as well.You know, I have a young family and my family was super involved in the program.You know, I have an 8 year old, A5 year old, you know, my wife, we live about 20 minutes away from the campus.The, the girls are at our house for different events and, and things like that.* ### *31:49* *And my kids are at every game and in the high five line sitting behind the bench.I have to be very kids.Like do I want someone like that influencing my son or daughter?You know, that that's what it comes down to for me.So that makes my decision really easy.* ### *32:04* *When you word it, when you think about it like that, that's, it's super simple, you know, and I think this year is, you know, we have, there's like 4 girls for, for the women on our team where like if my daughter grows up to be half the person that they are right now at 19, then I know I'm would have been a successful father, you know, So like those are the kind of kids we want in our program.* ### *32:28* *And the fact that my kids get to learn from people that don't look like them, don't sound like them, maybe have different beliefs than them, I think is super important.So that's why I'm so protective about who we bring into our program.And really now if it's on social media and it's problematic, that's even maybe more of a cross off because like, are you really that stupid that you can't even hide it?* ### *32:51* *Yeah, you know.Like like how bright is this person if they're like have dumb crap on social?Media.Yep, that is.Where you can.Find it, it happens.It's you'd.You'd be shocked.I mean, I wouldn't be shocked because I've had my Facebook page so I can, I can imagine, but I can also imagine the parents being maybe a stronger cross off than the kids more often than not.* ### *33:17* *Yeah, that's a, that's a tricky 1.I, I would say 90% of the, the families that we interact with, probably 95% are salt of the earth, you know, just great, great, great, great people and, and are just as much of the program as their daughters are, you know, but that's not always the case.* ### *33:35* *And we do run into them and they're really easy to spot, you know, in a gym.And when they're screaming at refs or the the coach are screaming at their daughter in the middle of a game, like, come on, she didn't like try to miss that layup, you know, and or you don't need to be coaching her from five rows up in the bleachers because you're not doing that when she comes to Kirk Hall.* ### *33:56* *So, you know, yeah.You know, that's easy to find.And then you see stuff on social parents, social media, you know, that's probably where we learn probably more than we want to, you know, is when when you look at that.So that's all stuff we do to protect the program though, you know?* ### *34:11* *But not everyone does it that way.Sure, sure.OK, so who was?Can you give me an example of a kid?So every you bring in a kid and there's somewhere you go, this kid is going to be our starting point guard from day one.And this is, you know, going to be the best player in the program.* ### *34:28* *And there's somewhere you're like, I don't know, I could see this working out for him, but you know, we'll see.Is there a kid who like exceeded all of your expectations where like from when they stepped in the door to when they left, you're like, holy crap.But maybe you wouldn't tell them to their at at the time, but then later maybe you would.* ### *34:47* *Yeah, that, that's a good question.This definitely happened over the years.I think it, it's a, it's a timing Things like Abilene, we recruited her to be our starting point guard, but she had to earn it.* ### *35:06* *You know, she had, we had a point guard returning.She had to knock them off and it took about half a year, actually an injury, you know, and then she established herself.She may be one of my favorite point guards we've ever had here.You know, I just, I just love that kid.* ### *35:23* *I just, Oh my gosh, you know, I, I, I think she got so much better.She had a great high school coach, Jody Grant, but they played very different than we did.You know, Dexter is coach Grant.* ### *35:39* *I love him, but he's going to walk that ball up and down.He's going to limit the possessions you know, you know, against.Yeah, you know.Against the MAS and PVHSS and stuff like that, you got to do that right?So she really struggled with going from hanging out, being on a team that's won a lot but probably scored 3540 points a game to a team who averages 90 points per game.* ### *36:03* *That's that's a big leap.I do think there's one kid who came in and really just and doesn't get any credit at all is Josie Friend.So she's a six foot two forward guard from Melbourne, Australia.* ### *36:20* *And the day she committed was the day I knew we were going to win the national championship this year because you just don't, you just don't have like no one else is going to have that at our level, you know, and because she, she was just so good on film and, and everything like that.* ### *36:38* *And then she came in and she really, I don't say she struggled, but she was just trying to find her way, you know, and just she just turned into this just tremendous leader.And you know, at 6 foot 2, being able to guard all 5 positions on the floor is something so rare.* ### *36:56* *And it's probably going to be the reason why she's going to be a Division One basketball player after she after next year, you know, if she stays healthy and everything.But she just got better and better and more confident offensively.And she started hitting threes at the end of the year.* ### *37:12* *And just being this, it's really hard for freshmen to be leaders, even though we only have two year players, you know, freshmen, they don't know what they don't know.And we remind them of that every day.But she really just grew into her role and just grew up in front of our eyes, like as a, as a person, as a player.* ### *37:31* *I, I said back in I think November to our, our captains, I said may not happen this year, but she's going to transcend our program.You know, she's just, you can just see it's going to happen.But to actually watch it happen and then a national championship game, I think she went for like 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, 5 blocks.* ### *37:48* *You know, you know, something ridiculous stat lines, all of our tournament games, including the Yankee tournament, just she was playing her best basketball and just seeing that start to come to fruition, it's just so special.What's the environment like at these national championships?* ### *38:07* *Yeah, well, for us, they're home games, you know, because we travel so well.You know, we've traveled well every year, but this year was so special.I, when I, I, I just like, I had my wife and kids there.My parents were there, you know, and I probably had the average amount of family support there.* ### *38:28* *The, all these kids had multiple people there.We had families from New Zealand and Australia there from Wisconsin.It was just, we had families fly in from Switzerland.It's just, it was easy.And the other teams didn't have many, you know, fans and stuff there.* ### *38:44* *You know, they would have 10/15/20.Meanwhile, we have 60 plus, you know, so the environments are what you make it.And you know, it's funny, we go into these tournaments and usually number one, number two, number three, you know, and there's usually some other main teams there, whether it's on the men's side or the women's side or whatever.* ### *39:03* *And you know, they don't necessarily want us to win, right?So even though we're there supporting them, you know, we don't get any claps.And oftentimes in the past it's happened multiple times where teams from our own conference were, you know, openly cheering against us.* ### *39:21* *But that just adds to the environment.Like our is that just the fire, right.So, you know, our our players love that.But yeah, I know all the, you know, all the teams come to all the games, you know, you get a good, good crowd.And we, we just had so much support this year.It made it that that much more special for for us.* ### *39:42* *What do they play these?What was this year at?Least this year we were in Buffalo, NY.So we played them at the Burt Flickinger Center at the on the campus of Erie Community College and then at Villa Maria College in in Buffalo as well.So and then before it's been at Virginia State University and at Penn State Fayette.* ### *40:02* *So it kind of rotates every three to five years or so.So Buffalo early March rather be in.Been to Buffalo it early March they should have.Kept in Virginia as far as I'm concerned, you know, 70° the last year we were there, so.Do you make a side trip to the Niagara Falls or is it just?* ### *40:20* *Yeah, no, we did this year and it was so it was, it was rainy a little bit.It wasn't too cold, but it was just one of those days where there's a lot of fog.So you couldn't even see half of them last year when we went, we tried to do like all kinds of educational stuff because we're there for a full week, if not more.So we we always do that.* ### *40:36* *We're doing a bunch of team building and, and things like that.So yeah, we try to stay busy and routine.I think a lot of teams show up and a couple of them said it on their interviews and stuff like that during the tournaments.Like they treat it like vacation, you know, and we have a good time when we're there.* ### *40:53* *And I don't want to say it's a business trip, but for us it's very much routine.So we've been there, we've done it.We know we want to keep their routine that they have at home here, you know, at the tournament.So we have study halls and activities and stuff like that that they would normally have, you know, at home when they're, you know, living on campus and stuff like that.* ### *41:12* *So ours is very regimented and it were really works for us.You know it really it really helps.Because there's not a lot of things to go see in Buffalo anyway.No, not really, you know.A couple.Trying to catch like a University of Buffalo game or maybe a Sabres game or something like that.* ### *41:29* *But it just never really worked out.And if you're not can't do that and you can't go to casinos.And as rainy, you know, there's not there wasn't a lot to do in Buffalo.But yeah.So we we made the most of it though, for sure.What's?* ### *41:48* *I don't know if this is a weird question or not, so let's try it.What's a skill that you think a player needs to excel in high school that maybe is not going to help them in college and vice versa?Does that make sense?Yeah.Like the high school level, like there's things that you need to do at the high school level to do well, but that might not help you at all in college.* ### *42:08* *And then I think you know, probably the reverse is also true.Yeah, that's a, that's a great question.One skill, man, that is that's tricky.* ### *42:23* *So one thing I, I think within our program is 1 skill that I see in high school that's just not necessarily relevant to, to us is I guess I would look at it as a team concept more than a skill is, you know, sitting in his own, you know, I think a lot of teams need to do that to be competitive.* ### *42:44* *And that's just not college basketball.Even if you're not in our program, you know, if you went through your entire high school career playing very little man to man and not being taught those concepts, first of all, you weren't playing a good zone if you're not great at man to man, right?* ### *43:00* *And second, you know, even if you're even if you're a college team does play zone, you know, if you do, it's not like it is in high school because any given time you probably have 3, 35%, three-point shooters out on the floor, if not 4.* ### *43:17* *You know, we're in high school.There might be one in the entire gym, right?So, yeah, I think that's that's more of a concept than a skill.And then I think one thing that we use a lot and then it's never in high school is the mid range jumper.* ### *43:34* *And I know all the analytics people are going to, you know, freak out about that, but no, I don't, you know, that mid range, no one knows how to defend it because no one does it.So it's just like this.I mean, Emily Strong, who played for us for two years from Lewiston, who went to Cal State Fullerton on Division One, she got that Division One scholarship because of her mid range jump shot because because, well, the.* ### *43:59* *And the analytics, if you've only got 1 kid shooting 35% from 3, the analytics don't support not shooting the mid range jumper because the whole point of the analytics is that you're shooting 35% from three.But if you're shooting 25% from 3 then you should be shooting a mid range jumper that you can make because making a shot is better than missing a shot.* ### *44:18* *Yeah, for sure.And I think that, you know, that 15 foot 13 to 17 foot range is just so underutilized.And at the high school level, I think some kid could really make, you know, a name for themselves if they were got really, really good at that Man.That's that's a way to, you know, bump up from hey, I'm a mid level player.* ### *44:36* *No one's really looking at me to oh, now I got some eyes on me.Especially if you do it on the baseline.If you could do a 10 to 15 footer on the baseline and just be money at that, then you know you'll you'll.Get done all that absolutely.But if we're talking intangibles, kind of skills that I very I rarely see in high school that you need, at least in our program is you're a willingness to compete.* ### *45:00* *If you're not willing to just compete relentlessly, you wouldn't survive in our program.So not a lot of kids have that today.So if you can be that person and to me, like that's a choice, like I think it's a habit.You got to build it over time, But it's a light switch thing for me.* ### *45:16* *You can flip that on, you know, if you can go out there and be that I, who cares if you can make a three or a mid range jumper, You're going to be rarer than any of those positions, you know.So you know, if you can make, if you can do that, you are going to play at the college level.* ### *45:34* *Yeah, if you can dive on the floor and get a loose ball, then every coach in the world will have you.No questions.Minutes.What's up, dude?Hey.Hey Reese, how we doing all?Right.Come in here.He can't hear you.He likes to photobomb these.* ### *45:50* *All right, Reese, what do you do?You have any questions?You didn't prepare at all for this, did you?No.OK, you had a prep.If you're going to be asking questions, he's probably wants me to do a Mario World that.* ### *46:10* *He oh very nice.We're very big into Mario.We're we're building Mario levels.Can you build a fire?I'll build a fire later, yeah.Nice, we're going to.My son was sick with a strep throat right now.We would probably be at the Super Mario Galaxy movie, so we went.* ### *46:28* *Yesterday it was he really liked it.I had the worst movie experience of my life because they were we went to the three D1 and they were out of the 3D glasses for adults.And so it's just these little glasses and I have a big head.* ### *46:44* *And so like I got a headache 30 seconds into the movie and just I still feel a little nauseous today from the movie.And it was so I don't even know how good if the movie is any good or not.I shut my eyes for stretches up.That's good.Yeah.* ### *47:00* *All right.So, all right.Where were we?Yeah.So like, what's the thing, that whole competing thing, Like, what's the thing?I know it's a choice.And, you know, like, what's the thing a kid can do or a parent can do to sort of instill that in their kid because the kid who dives on the floor, it just seems to me that that's inherent in the in the person.* ### *47:22* *Yeah.I do think it's this thing they can learn because taking an offensive foul is something you can learn because that's a staple of our program.And no kids really do that at the high school level, at least the right way, you know?So I, I think, I absolutely think you can, I think you got to kick it back to daycare days or kindergarten days.* ### *47:43* *And what I mean by that, and we do this in our program and this is so stupid but it works, is, you know, back, you know, had a good day in kindergarten, you got a Gold Star, right?You know, there was a chart.Well, we do charge charts, you know, and we keep track.We count charge.You get a basketball sticker next to your name and it's a competition to see who can get the most our bigs who we don't want taking charges.* ### *48:06* *We want them blocking and being physical and walling up and stuff like that.We count, they get a sticker every time they get more than 8 rebounds in a game, you know, so you got to find those things that you want more of and you got to reward them, you know, and you got to make them an emphasis.* ### *48:22* *It's it's, you just got to make it an emphasis, you know?So like I'll Julie Doris, you know, from Belfast is she's, she's this kid who, you know, we have on our team, who I told her at the beginning of the what they're in the recruiting process.I said, Julie, you're a very hard worker.* ### *48:39* *You know, you're not you're not the most skilled player in the world, but you're you're you work so hard that I, I want, I would like you to come here and play for us.But you got to understand you're probably never going to get in a game, you know, And if that you don't want that, I understand.* ### *48:55* *All right, that makes sense.But if you're willing to come in here, you come in here, you can be a part of this program and then you can earn.You're going to get whatever you earn, you know, And, you know, she ended up starting a game for us this year on the road, played some pivotal minutes if you ask her and most of the girls, she had the play of the national tournament blocking someone off a backboard and in a fast break.* ### *49:16* *But she's the type of kid who just realize, OK, I mean, she was always a heart blue collar kid, you know, Belfast kid.But she realized, oh, if I just double down on this, if I if I dive on the floor more, I get even scrappier on defense.* ### *49:34* *If I play even more physical, if I'm willing to take charges, I'm going to get time, you know, So she just found ways to earn playing time.And I think, OK, they just see that, you know, but you gotta reward it and you gotta you gotta call that out, too.* ### *49:50* *I think in the locker room, our coaching staff did a great job, you know, just never acknowledging the player who had 20 points.Like, we don't even care who cares the score.It's like who did the best job hedging screens today, you know, and call that person out in the locker room in front of the entire team, you know, or you know who had who dove on the floor, who made the play of the game that had nothing to do with putting the ball in the basket.* ### *50:13* *So I think if you want your, you know, if you as a player, you want to do that more, you got to make the choice.But if you're a coach or a parent and you want your players to do that more, you want your child to do that more, you got a reward when they do the correct behavior, you know, and I think they'll just double down on it.* ### *50:29* *But I mean, that's how it works in our program.But it is easier for me dealing with 18 and 1920 year olds than it is dealing with a 14 or 15 year old, freshman, sophomore.There's just a lot of development that hasn't happened at that level.Maturity hasn't happened yet quite yet.So sure, might be a little bit different at that level.* ### *50:47* *And it's rare that the best player on the team is like in the high school, like if you're got a collection of kids that were the best player on their team, when you're the best player on the team, no one's asking you to dive on the floor for a loose ball and take charges and things like that because they're expecting you to score 2025 points.* ### *51:03* *So it's not as much of A priority because there's other kids on the team who are doing that.Yeah, and I always say to this when I go and talk to teams or at camps and stuff like that, like if you are the best player on your team and you're not doing that stuff, shame on you.Because if you want your team more help from your team, you go do that stuff.* ### *51:21* *If they see you do it, they won't even think about it.They'll do it too, you know.So, you know, I, I think everyone's got to do it.But yeah, there's some people that got to make it that their thing, you know, if they want to see the floor, and we call that that for that's one of our intangible roles.It's called junkyard dog.* ### *51:37* *You know, you got to protect us.You got to do you.You got to be foaming at the mouth.You got to be doing some of the things that maybe other players think twice about.They got to be automatic for you, you know, So most of our players asked to be in that role, you know, because that's the type of kid we recruit.* ### *51:55* *But not necessarily everyone fits into that for us.But I think a high school team made-up of players like that, they're going to win a lot of games, you know, or they're going to have a lot of fun in the way.Here on the here on the coast, I refer to that as a clam digger player, you know, who's just on the floor all the time and doing all The Dirty work and like elbowing you in the ribs when you're not paying, when the ref's not paying attention and all of the little things.* ### *52:20* *But, you know, I don't know in the history of basketball if anyone's ever gotten less time for after being scrappy and like working hard defensively and getting on the floor like no one's ever, no coach has ever gone.I don't know if we need to be playing this kid as much as we were.Yeah, that's that's a fact.* ### *52:37* *And I think depending on the levels, at the college level, you know, there's sometimes where we have, you know, like Julie would go in and for 30 seconds, a minute, whatever that rotation was, and go and do exactly what we need her to do.And then she sits out for 15 straight minutes, which was weird.* ### *52:53* *While she did exactly what you wanted her to do and asked her to do.Why is she now sitting?I was like, well, she did her job and now we don't need her to do her job right now.But I think at the high school level, it's very different.You have to be far more delicate then we are at our level.* ### *53:08* *But I think transparent communication, you know, at our level is, is crucial.I, I think there should be no guesswork.You know, the players should know exactly where they stand in any given moment.I'm not sure that's necessarily possible or smart, you know, at at the high school level at least in some programs based on politics and things like that.* ### *53:31* *Yeah, right.That's a good way to get the.Parents for sure.So now that you're retired, until the North Carolina people call and and offer you that job, do you?Are you now the unofficial scout of CMCC floating around the state like what's what's next?* ### *53:49* *Basketball season?When when next basketball season comes along and you're like, oh, crap coaching to do?What are you going to?Where are you going?To find yourself definitely nervous about that.I actually said it's my wife last night.We were talking about the transition, you know, happening and I said I don't think we're going to know until October when I'm used to going to practice seven days a week and then it's not there.* ### *54:12* *So I don't know what that looks like.I want to travel a little bit around Maine and get to some gyms that I haven't been in yet.For sure.I want to do that.I also want to get into the gyms and give back.Like I want to go and you know, if if Levitt or Buckfield or Holton or someone wants me to come in and help them put in a press or talk to their kids or the people in their program about championship culture and stuff like that.* ### *54:36* *Like I want to give back and and and be involved.So I'm going to find ways find ways to do that for for sure.And I think so many communities have have been a part of our program and it taken such good care of us.And now that I can't necessarily directly impact the game of basketball in the state of Maine, I still want to find ways to to grow the game of, of women's and girls basketball.* ### *55:00* *So going to be always looking for those opportunities, unofficial opportunities to go and and make a positive impact for for our female athletes in our state.Well, I think they're probably a number of programs around the state who would be more than happy to have you come in and teach them how to run a press or implement something.* ### *55:20* *Because I mean, that seems like a pretty much pretty much a no brainer of an added an additive thing.Yeah, I hope so.You know, I want to get out there and I want, like I said, I want to give back.And I know us coaches can be, you know, a little protective sometimes or egotistical, you know, but really, I think that I've always prided our, you know, myself and what in our program is that let's surround us with people that know more than than we do, you know.* ### *55:48* *And you know, we had like Nate Pelletier, former Oxford Hill, the state championship Oxford Hills coach, you know, him and his coaching staff would come in and teach us, our coaches and our players how to run their 131.You know, they're 1/3, they're patented 131 press, they're half court, trap and defense and stuff like that.* ### *56:07* *So we've had other coaches, you know, Mike Hart, former coach at Freeport and Morse and Freiburg come in and teach us his, you know, 221.You know, that's, that's just all that's how we grow, you know, I think as individuals.So we definitely look forward to that opportunity.* ### *56:23* *You know, even on I've done it for men's coaches too.And on the on the boys high school side, I just want the game of basketball to be better in the state of Maine.And I want to get it to a point where we all remember that it's a tool to help these kids grow.So let's use the tool the most effective and efficient way possible to to do that.* ### *56:45* *Yeah.And and if there's one thing I've learned in talking to coaches who have taken time off is that your wife will tell you you need to get back out there before you will realize it.Because you'd be like, I've been used to you not being here as much and it's enough already.Go, go.Yeah, Amber's, you know, she's been a basketball widow for many, many, many, many years.* ### *57:05* *So.But I bet by the time we hit November 1st, she's going to be like, all right, we got to find something for you to do.Yeah.Mike and Artie.See that coming?You're driving me crazy.All right, well, thank you so much for doing this.I've got to go build a fire.Apparently I didn't realize we were doing that today.* ### *57:22* *And yeah, enjoy the the Mario movie and maybe you'll have better.Thank you so much.I appreciate you having me on.All right, thank you to Andrew once again for doing and looking forward to seeing him at a gym later this year.Reese is back.Reese let's talk about two movies you saw recently #1 Hoppers.* ### *57:44* *Yes, so this the people, these scientists are trying to talk to the animals and they've made like a Beaver, Beaver robot suit and like what is this helmet that makes them control the fever and have the vision of the Beaver and make them understand the animals?* ### *58:06* *Yeah.Was it cool?Yeah.What was your favorite part of Hoppers?The part where the animals talked about the noise in the tree and then they just screamed.When the noise of the tree is just a speaker.* ### *58:23* *Yeah.In the tree.Yeah.Yeah.And then you said to me in the movie, during the movie, you said this is a lot like the wild robot.Yes.Yeah.Was it too much like the wild robot?Yes, it was a little bit too much like the wild robot.So Pixar people, if you're paying attention too similar to the Wild robot for this guy right here.* ### *58:44* *And then the other one we saw last night, we saw what was the movie?Who was that movie about?It's me, Mario.Mario, We saw the Mario movie.Tell people about the Mario movie.There's a lot in the Mario movie.Yeah, so Mario.Mario.* ### *59:00* *Mario and Luigi.Mario and Luigi, Did we like them?And then Mario got a present for Peach, right?That was her pair as well.OK, did you like the Mario movie?Mario 2 or whatever it's called.Ma yes.I like the.Mario Galaxy movie.* ### *59:16* *And we saw it in 3D.Was the 3D cool?Yes.It was terrible for me.But did you like it?Yes.OK, the.Glasses were not small for.Me.Yeah.And they fit you and didn't give you a massive headache, right.OK.What are you doing?* ### *59:32* *OK.All right, So should people go see Hoppers?Yes, yes.Should people go see Mario?Whatever it's called, please don't knock down the green screen Mario Galaxy movie, OK?Are there any other movies coming up that people should be getting watching?* ### *59:51* *Minions and monsters.When's that like?Some of.June, OK, somewhere in June, we'll we'll come back to that.All right, I think that is gonna do it for the show.Yes.* ### *1:00:07* *This has been a production of Maine basketballrankings.com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball from Ashland to York and everywhere in between.Do you know where Ashland and York are?No.No idea.OK, I wanna.Ask.Them you wanna ask?Yeah, I wanna add.Something what do you wanna add?* ### *1:00:23* *I will be in some future videos so stay tuned for that.OK.And what should they do?Like and subscribed.Like and subscribe yes, you heard it here first.This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts and a bunch of places you don't.* ### *1:00:40* *If you enjoy this, please leave a nice review.Why Reese?Why should they leave a review?OK, cuz it really helps out with the algorithms.Tell your friends, tell your enemies.Thanks for watching say bye.Why enemies?Because the enemies, maybe the enemies want to see it too.* ### *1:00:58* *They shouldn't just limit to their friends.Their enemies also want to watch it.We want more subscribers.We're not limiting just because people don't get along.They can rally around a shared liking of this podcast.Stand up so people can see a stand.They can rally around a shared listening and viewing of this podcast, whether they get along or not.* ### *1:01:17* *So Oceanside and Madomic people can agree on one thing and one thing only.You in this podcast?Sure.All right.I think that's gonna do it.Thanks a bunch.Until next time, say bye.Bye.* ### Introducing the New Website URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/introducing-the-new-website/ Last updated: 2026-03-25T11:00:34.000Z If you've been on the "Spreadsheet that Hates Your Team" ride from the beginning, you might remember the various versions of things. There was the posts on the old man forum. Then there was a [Tumblr page](https://mainebasketballrankings-blog.tumblr.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) (holy shit, it's still there). From there, it was a Wix page, then a Wordpress site (that was a dark time), then the current ghost.org configuration with this newsletter you're reading right now. And now, it's time for Version 6 (Six? Geez). Let's go over some of the basics. ghost (and the newsletter) isn't going away. It's kind of two websites in one--the standard ghost newsletter, blog, etc stuff and all the data stuff, which is now in an app subdomain that will eventually be an app on your phone (far easier to read in the bleachers during the JV game!). What's new? Kind of a lot! ### Schedule You'll remember the scoreboard page from last season. This is that on steroids. Let's look at a date from this past basketball season as an example. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-9.58.35---PM.png) Pretty self-explanatory. You'll see the teams, a link to where you can find it streaming in the corner, and the Stax Index. Here's the fun part: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-10.00.59---PM.png) Each of the day's games has a submit button (these are dummy games) where you can submit a final score or a score of a game in-progress. Maybe a halftime score or maybe for football season an update after each touchdown. People can do whatever. For each sport, it'll have a slightly different input (baseball has innings instead of quarters) and you can put notable stuff in there, like who scored more recently. This will be great for scoreboard watching late. Once a final score is entered, it'll automatically update the [Heal Points](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). You don't even have to wait until the AD enters the score tomorrow or until I can get home and update the spreadsheets. You'll have updated Heal Points before you even leave the bleachers. And if other games are also being entered, you get the idea. ### Heal Points The Heal Points have long been a favorite feature and now they're better. Expand the heals and you'll get details. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-10.07.50---PM.png) The green bar is the Win% that you might recognize from the Tourney Guide. It'll show you how strong (or weak) a team's performance was in a given game. This is a paywall feature and will be available for Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse, Soccer, Field Hockey, and Football (and maybe Volleyball). ### Team Page The arrow next to a team name will take you to a [team page](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/team.html?team%5Fid=c255ed27-fa3a-467d-91a9-215e97e1a54a&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), which has a summary. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-10.14.23---PM.png) It'll also show you what each team's Tourney Odds looked like with a day left in the regular season (so I can see what it'd look like). There's a fun feature where it tells you just how many Heal Points a win was worth. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-10.15.49---PM.png) You might want to keep your subscription going. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more ### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- And a team's roster with stats. There's even a spot for Pronunciation! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-24-at-11.36.59---PM.png) This is pulling the tourney stats from this past season, which you can find in full here: [Tourney Stats](https://app.mainebasketballrankings.com/tournament.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I've been dialing this is pretty hard to set up a scenario where a lot of team and player stats can live in one place along with Heal Points, schedules, and streaming links. This can handle regular season stats for a number of sports, all the schedules--including things like the Cony League schedule in the summer--and a bunch more stuff that I either haven't locked down yet or you'll discover when spring sports go live. Poke around and you'll find some stuff. If this streamlines things on my backend as much as I think it will, I should be able to do a full stat breakdown for spring sports, including Tourney Odds! Stay tuned. | Maine Basketball Rankings is 582 subscribers from YouTube monetization If you watch on YouTube, hitting subscribe makes a real difference. 420 / 1,000 [Subscribe](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --- ### On George Hale You've probably seen the George Hale news by now. [How WVOM handled Bangor radio legend George Hale’s firing on the airGeorge Hale, who turned 94 this year, has been on the media scene for more than 70 years, a rare length for a career here or anywhere else.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-50.png)Bangor Daily NewsMichael Shepherd![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Hale010714-2.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/03/24/politics/state-politics/bangor-maine-wvom-blueberry-broadcasting-george-hale-firing/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Bruce Biette, vice president and chief operating officer for Blueberry Broadcasting, went on the air to inform listeners that Hale had been let go. By phone. While on vacation. On Facebook, I called this cowardly and I stand by that. You can't have grown up in Maine without knowing the work and voice of George Hale. He's a legend in the state, having been on the air for 70-something years, and regardless of really anything, that sort of track record deserves a certain level of respect. Instead, they called him on his vacation to let him go over the phone. This couldn't have come to a surprise to Hale. He's 94 years old, after all. There had to have been conversations about retirement, but you still owe the man the decency of waiting until he gets back from vacation. Actually, I'll expand that: you owe any of your employees the basic human decency of not firing them over the phone while they're on vacation. That's the sort of classless, chickenshit behavior that invites everything karma can deliver in your direction. And if you're in middle management at a small station in a dying medium, maybe don't test it? Full disclosure: I worked for Blueberry Broadcasting back in the day. But I had the decency to quit in person. Like an adult. Apparently WVOM has "offered Hale a tribute show down the road", which is a strange choice for someone who is 94 years old. It's like telling a graduating senior that you'll handle something in a couple of weeks or so. It's the sort of promise you have zero intention of honoring. Hopefully Hale sticks around long enough to see Biette join him in the unemployment line. --- Speaking of classless business decisions, the Ringer laid off some talented people. Guess that Netflix deal wasn't as lucrative as we thought. [Spotify Layoffs in Podcast Group Cut 3% of Headcount, With Staffers Let Go From The Ringer and Spotify StudiosMore job cuts have come in Spotify’s podcast group, including layoffs at The Ringer, Spotify’s podcast network and sports and pop culture site.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-15.png)VarietyTodd Spangler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Spotify-The-Ringer.png)](https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/spotify-podcast-layoffs-the-ringer-spotify-studios-1236697019/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Brewer's Matt Pushard made it to the bigs with the Cardinals. [Brewer’s Matt Pushard reaches Major League Baseball with St. Louis CardinalsFormer Witches and UMaine pitcher reacts to making ‘The Show’![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-21.png)WABIBen Barr![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Z7W66VDWC5A4DKJUBU457A645U.png)](https://www.wabi.tv/2026/03/24/brewers-matt-pushard-reaches-major-league-baseball-with-st-louis-cardinals/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Hoffer has an all-star team out. [Hoffer’s High School Sports girls’ basketball all-star teamWelcome to the first annual Hoffer’s High School Sports girls’ basketball all-star team, which is comprised of schools from Cumberland County, as well as Thornton Academy. The 2025-26 season saw dynamic individual performances, unforgettable games and ultimately one team, Cheverus, capturing a Gold Ball. Our coverage area had no shortage![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-28.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_7520-2.JPG)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/hoffers-high-school-sports-girls-basketball-all-star-team/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- That's enough for now. Check out the new website updates. I think you're really going to like them. **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link.](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter (always)](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### One Newsletter After Another URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/one-newsletter-after-another/ Last updated: 2026-03-16T11:00:19.000Z Putting the Oscars and Selection Sunday and the WBC Semifinal on the same night is maybe too much for one evening. As you might imagine, every year I crash and go into a little bit of a coma after the [state title games](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-saturday/). Sometimes I remember to update everything first. Sometimes I don't! This year has been slightly different. We'll get to that later. But first, I started a bracket pool with a bit of a twist--it's free for paid subscribers. Test your mettle against people as deep in the high school basketball weeds as you are. Some of them are very dialed in to the college scene. Others (me) start paying attention around now. You can join it on ESPN. [Join a groupYou’ve been invited to join a group and play ESPN’s Men’s Tournament Challenge![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/b085a9c3-afee-4aee-a77b-bf816b79e21a.vnd.microsoft.icon)ESPN![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/a461a1ea-352b-45a6-b1d6-5695f74ab30f.jpeg)](https://fantasy.espn.com/games/tournament-challenge-bracket-2026/group?id=f84b6f71-e64e-4822-a8bb-a445896b7d89&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You'll need a password and for that you need to be subscriber. It should show up below here for varsity subscribers. The winner gets street cred, of course, but also your choice of any t-shirt in the [merch store](https://maine-basketball-rankings.printify.me/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I finally got re-posted. Don't put it past me to add a design or two before the tourney is over. [Discover Our Exclusive Range at Maine Basketball RankingsStore of Maine Basketball Rankings.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-33.ico)Store of Maine Basketball Rankings.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43f28e16-fa5d-452a-b6ef-3884ccdca401-1)](https://maine-basketball-rankings.printify.me/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Like this oldie (but goodie): [301 Miles Unisex Softstyle T-Shirt - $30.00 - Maine Basketball RankingsBuy this product for only $30.00![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Store of Maine Basketball Rankings.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/301-miles-unisex-softstyle-t-shirt.jpg)](https://maine-basketball-rankings.printify.me/product/19195612/301-miles-unisex-softstyle-t-shirt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you missed it, Nolan Ames and Maddie Provost are your Mr and Miss Basketball winners. They were the favorites in the preseason and backed it up with monster senior years. Ames led Camden to the A North Regional Title and finished as Camden's all-time leading scorer (which is not one of the easier schools to achieve that mark). Provost won bookend titles for Lawrence--one her freshman year and another this year. She will not graduate as Lawrence's all-time leader scorer, for obvious reasons. So now we have to start looking at the 2026-27 Senior class. Put some potential candidates in the comments. Provost also won the Gatorade POTY award. [Maddie Provost Gatorade 2025 - 2026: Player of the Year Girls Basketball - Maine PLAYER OF THE YEARMaddie won the 2025 - 2026 Gatorade Player of the Year in Maine for Girls Basketball![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-34.ico)Maine PLAYER OF THE YEAR![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/logo.svg)](https://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/winner/maddie-provost/41448?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The boys announcement is later this week. --- This year in the post-tourney coma, I didn't just sleep a lot and catch up on Oscar nominees (although I did both of those things). I also started working on a revamp of the website that's gotten really, really, really positive feedback from the people I've shown it to. If it all goes well, it'll have a completely new design for rankings, Tourney Odds, Gold Ball Odds, Heal Points, team pages, and more. It promises to streamline things significantly on the backend in a way that should allow me to bring a bunch of basketball-only features to spring and fall sports. You might want to keep your subscription going, is what I'm saying. It also has a new scoreboard, which currently looks like this: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-15-at-11.38.16---PM.png) Yes, that does have tabs for baseball, softball, lax, soccer, field hockey, football, and volleyball. Yes, you can filter by class. And yes, those streaming icons in the corner will take you to that school's streaming site. Stick around! --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- [Harbor House](https://www.facebook.com/GreatHarborShootOut) was this weekend and while it isn't perfectly predictable (coaches can't be there, because of hands-off) for next season, it is an early indicator of something. Teams that do well at Harbor House tend to have solid seasons the following year. Hampden beat Oceanside in the high school girls final and MDI beat Presque Isle in the boys high school final. Of the four finalists, PI is probably the biggest surprise and that moves them firmly into the column of teams we should keep an eye on. --- To that end, I've got a way-too-early preseason poll that you can vote in before anyone gets in the transfer portal. [Boys](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/boys-pre-season-poll/) [Girls](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/girls-pre-season-poll/) I'll probably reveal the results in a podcast prior to the start of the spring sports season. As for the newsletter, I think we're going to go weekly for a bit, at least until the spring season gets underway and we'll see from there. --- What a terrible call to send the Dominican Republic home. > The Dominican Republic could have really used the ABS. > > The USA hangs on and advances to the WBC Final!⚾️👮‍♂️ [#WBC](https://twitter.com/hashtag/WBC?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/hSpOdjS7Ec](https://t.co/hSpOdjS7Ec?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) [March 16, 2026](https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/2033379323424710848?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link.](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter (always)](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### Gold Ball Saturday URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-saturday/ Last updated: 2026-03-02T11:57:02.000Z Oh boy. There's going to be a lot of video in this one, because it's a big day and you should hear from the winners. Also, I'm tired. First, on Saturday morning Jay Baines and I carpooled from Bangor to Augusta after the B games Friday night. And if we were going to be in the car for an hour, well why not make a podcast out of it? We even fit in a Vertical Raise logo. Augusta was full of energy when we got there, even for the S games. The Valley crowd was out in force for a potential sweep and the Wisdom crowd made the nearly 5 hour trip. Apparently the team left at something like 4:30 in the morning? And they brought an awesome band. It's your standard pep band, but with a dude who's rocking an electric guitar with a leather jacket and is way cooler than you or I could ever be. As for Wisdom, they were up against it. The Valley girls were the biggest pre-tournament favorite of them all and absolutely dominated the south regional. They'd be a contender in D. They scrimmaged an A school. They raced out to a 21-7 lead, but they didn't run away with it. Wisdom stayed with them and if you just promoted the Valley girls to D, Wisdom is probably holding a Gold Ball right now. But they're in S. Ava Lerman led all scorers with 20\. Delia Hill led Valley with 13 points. Liana Hartwell had 10/5/6\. And Valley won their second straight title, 48-30\. The Easton boys did not fare as well, even though they had a bear on their team. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/03/image.png) Valley scored 24 points in the first quarter and the Cavaliers ran away with it, as is their custom. Mason Pelletier tried to keep Easton in it. He had 26 points and 15 rebounds, but it takes more than that to take down Valley. Harry Louis had 27 points and 6 steals. Fisher Tewksbury had 17 & 14\. After the game, I spoke to Harry Louis. --- In D Girls, Penobscot Valley came into the game as the defending champions and one of the toughest 4 seeds you'll see. They had 5 losses on the season--3 to Bangor Christian, who they upset in the semifinals, and undefeated Mattanawcook. They are not your standard 4 seed. 56 seconds into the game they picked up a technical. So by rule this is a technical foul, because the ball is dead from when it goes through the hoop until it's taken out of bounds. In this small window, the Penobscot Valley player turns to go up court and finds an opponent in her way. There's marginal contact, but nothing you haven't done yourself a thousand times on a basketball court. That's not a foul in a pickup game. That's not a foul at any level of basketball. It's an "Excuse me" and play on. But, if you call that a foul (it isn't), the ball is dead so you have to make it a dead ball foul and that's a technical. 56 seconds into a Gold Ball game. You can't make this stuff up. It was a 1 point game at halftime. In the third quarter, the Howlers used a 10-2 run to break it open and that's when I left for Portland. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-02-at-12.04.32---AM-1.png) If you're going to stall (and I get it, Gold Ball on the line), I appreciate waiting until I leave. Penobscot Valley held on and the Howlers became the second team on the day to go back-to-back. Jenna Osgood's 13 & 13 paced Mt. Abram. Lila Cummings scored 15 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and added 4 steals and 3 blocked shots to lead Penobscot Valley. In the D Boys game, Monmouth opened up an 18-point lead in the third quarter behind hot shooting from Levi Laverdiere, who scored his 1,000th point point in the third quarter (he was 7/14 from deep en route to 33 points), but when standout big Jacob Harmon the Mustangs had to go small to hold off Machias. The Bulldogs got it all the way down to 2 on a Liam O'Connor free throw, but couldn't quite get over the hump. Monmouth hit 9 of 10 free throws in the final minutes to pull away for the win. Mike Mandell was there. [Monmouth boys basketball fends off Machias to win Class D titleLevi Laverdiere scores 33 points as the Mustangs earn their second state championship in three years.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-18.png)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43458923_20260228_classDboysfinall_5986.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/02/28/monmouth-boys-basketball-fends-off-machias-to-win-class-d-title/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Down in Portland for the A games, Hampden was hyped pre-game. And for all the talk of not being able to practice on the hockey rink floor, it didn't seem to bother Hampden's shooters. And by didn't seem to bother them, it might have given them super powers. They hit their first 5(!) threes and shot 72% from the floor in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Cheverus' strategy of going right at Grace LaBree and getting her in foul trouble wasn't working. LaBree blocked 5 shots in the first half. Hampden kept cooking in the second quarter. > Hampden is 11/16 from the floor and Cheverus blocked 2 of them. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 28, 2026](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/2027889930525909040?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's 79% on the unblocked shots, which is nuts. At the half, they had an eFG% of 91% and led by 17\. At the half, I told Michael Hoffer that if I was that ridiculously hot, I'd want to lead by more than 17, because no one can maintain that level of shooting and Cheverus had already proven they can rally in the second half, even if Kylie Lamson was 2/10 from the floor and had 3 fouls. With about 6 minutes left in the third quarter, Aubrey Shaw found Katelyn Adams for a bucket to stretch the lead to 19\. Lamson hit Cheverus' first three of the game about 30 seconds later. They were 1/14 from deep in the first 3 quarters. Freshman Kristen King put together a 15-point third quarter and the Stag's defense had 7 steals in the third to get Cheverus on track. Lamson had 11 in the third quarter, but when she picked up her fourth foul with 2 minutes left in the third and LaBree hit both free throws to stretch the lead to 12, it didn't look great. And then, in the fourth quarter, Hampden decided to stall. I am firmly on record as hating a stall. It's bad basketball and painful to watch and I like to think the Basketball Gods don't like it. And that's when you've got the ball handlers to do it. But when you've turned the ball over 18 times in the first three quarters because your opponent has 15 steals? Then stalling is a terrible idea. It's borderline insane. The whole point is you have to take care of the ball. Sure enough, Cheverus added 9(!) steals in the fourth quarter. The combination of Cheverus' stifling defense and the Hampden stall meant the Broncos only took 3 shots in the fourth quarter, which seems like a bad idea when you're shooting 60%. And it's not like Cheverus got hot from the three or anything. > Thou shalt not anger the Basketball Gods with a stall. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [March 1, 2026](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/2027917427493814769?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They just had 9 steals. You get that many steals you don't have to shoot well to rally. They shot 30% in the fourth quarter. Let's go to the [final seconds](https://www.facebook.com/reel/885531720935961). That's Kylie Lamson to send it to overtime. Abby Kelly's free throw gave Cheverus their first lead of the game in overtime, then Kristin King hit Cheverus' 2nd three of the game to give them a 4-point lead. Shaw and LaBree scored to tie it up. Turns out when they stopped stalling they could score again. Weird. King scored again, then added two free throws after a Lamson steal. Shaw hit a three to cut it to 1, but Hampden couldn't get any closer and Cheverus pulled off the epic comeback. Hampden shot 58% from the floor and 57% from three and held Cheverus to 34%/10%, but Cheverus' 27-1 advantage in steals made up the difference. Kristin King finished with 24 in what has to be the game of her life. Addison Jordan had 7 steals to lead 6 different Stags who had at least 3 steals. Lamson added 21\. LaBree had 15 points, 8 rebounds, and blocked 7 shots. Eve Wiles led the Broncos with 17\. Michael Hoffer had a writeup. [Cheverus digs out of 19-point hole, shocks Hampden Academy in OT to win state titlePORTLAND—Do you believe in miracles? Cheverus’ girls’ basketball team absolutely does. After winning a Gold Ball game like no other. Thanks to a comeback victory that all future wins will be measured against. Saturday evening, in the Class A state final, at the Cross Insurance Arena, the Stags were![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-26.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_7423.JPG)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/cheverus-digs-out-of-19-point-hole-shocks-hampden-academy-in-ot-to-win-state-title/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) As someone in the MPA said after the game, Hampden wins if there's a shot clock. --- Back in Augusta in the Game of the Day, Mattanawcook opened up a 14-3 lead over Spruce after one quarter, thanks to a 9 & 7 quarter from Addison Cyr. Natasha McDonald got Spruce back in it with an 8-point second quarter to cut the lead to 4 at the half and her bucket off a Maddie Grimaldi assist got it down to 1 late in the third quarter. And then Addison Cyr took over. She had 8 points in the final quarter as the Lynx pulled away to win their first-ever Gold Ball. Cyr had a monster performance, scoring 25 points and hauling down 23 boards (11 offensive). McDonald led the Phoenix with 20\. --- The big question of the A boys game was who would win the battle between Nolan Ames and Portland's vaunted defense and it turns out the answer was...yes? Portland came out hot. Cordell Jones hit a couple of threes early as the Bulldogs scored 19 points in the first quarter to open up a 7-point lead. And then Nolan Ames got going. He scored 10 straight Camden points (including several highlight reel plays) and Hollis Schwalm drained a three from the corner to give Camden a 4-point lead, but Portland answered and led at the half. > Nolan Ames is as good as advertised, scoring 20 first half points, but at the half, Portland leads Camden Hills, 39-36 > > — Michael Hoffer (@foresports) [March 1, 2026](https://twitter.com/foresports/status/2027926977831661979?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm always worried when a player with a reputation like Ames (or Aden Jeffers from Fort Kent) shows up in a Gold Ball game where a bunch of media folk haven't seen them before. Because if you have a B- game, which happens, but people have seen you have a great game before, the B- game is excused, but if that's all they've seen...you know. People are skeptical. Nolan Ames did not have that problem on Saturday. He was awesome, dropping 30 & 8 on a tenacious Portland defense, but Portland just found a groove at exactly the right time and they pulled away in the second half for a 76-60 win. Lucas LeGage scored 19 to lead Portland. Cordell Jones had 18 & 4\. Benilson Lumani had 12 rebounds and blocked 3 shots. Michael Hoffer, again. [Portland boys surge past Camden Hills to win Gold BallPORTLAND—Take that, all of you doubters. The Portland Bulldogs are the Class A boys’ basketball state champions. Defying the odds by beating a series of talented opponents en route to the most unexpected and arguably delicious Gold Ball in the storied program’s history. Saturday evening at the Cross Insurance![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-27.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_8116-1-1.JPG)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/portland-boys-surge-past-camden-hills-to-win-gold-ball/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Speaking of Aden Jeffers, he went off for 30 points and 10 rebounds to lead Fort Kent to their first-ever Gold Ball. Fort Kent led 23-7 after 1 quarter. Maranacook worked their way back. Jack Fontaine's 3 with two minutes left cut the lead to 1, but Fort Kent answered with a 7-0 run to put it away. Fontaine finished with 28\. Gage Mattson added 21 and 11, but Fort Kent would not be denied. [The Fort Kent Warriors are a team of destiny. And now they’re state champions.The Fort Kent boys basketball team traveled over four hours to Augusta and made school history by winning their first state title.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-49.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/D85_1589-scaled.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/02/28/sports/tourney-time/fort-kent-warriors-state-champions/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Whew. There's more to get to, but we're well over 2,000 words, so I'll leave you with the rosters for the KVAC All-Star game today at Cony. Girls at 5:30\. Boys at 7. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-01-at-10.11.11---PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-01-at-10.13.09---PM.png) I'll do a bit more of a wrap-up in a day or so. Time for some sleep. **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link.](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter (always)](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### The Maddie Provost Revenge Tour URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-maddie-provost-revenge-tour/ Last updated: 2026-02-28T12:01:55.000Z When the Oceanside girls hit 4 of their first 5 threes in the Class B State Championship game, the Lawrence bench had to be thinking they were in for a long night. After all, the Mariners had just shot 63% in the Regional Final against GNG and have a habit of getting hot from deep and staying hot from deep. But they had also started the game 1/6 from inside the arc and only led by 5 after 1\. So Lawrence was in it, despite the hot start. Then Ashley Shores and Jaycie Elkins hit back-to-back threes and suddenly Lawrence had a lead. But Oceanside responded. They went 6/8 from 2 in the fourth quarter and maintained that 5-point lead at the half. Lawrence opened the second half on an 12-0 to take command of the game. Ashley Shores played great defense on Olivia Breen and when Lawrence sent a double, they rotated fast enough to get back out on the shooters. Meanwhile, Maddie Provost was able to slow down Renee Ripley, holding her scoreless in the second half. She also did a fantastic job on the defensive glass, limiting Oceanside's second chance points with 12 defensive rebounds (she had 14 total) to go with 4 blocked shots, and Lawrence pulled away late to complete the Maddie Provost Revenge Tour with Lawrence's 7th Gold Ball. Provost finished with 19/14/5a/4b. Ashley Shores added 19 points and 4 rebounds to complete her fantastic tournament run. Olivia Breen led Oceanside with 17 & 8. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- In the boy's game, Gardiner was looking for their first Gold Ball and in their first trip to the big game since 2012 when their current coach Aaron Toman was on the floor instead of the bench. The Gardiner rebuilding project has been years in the making since Toman took over a program that was in pretty rough shape. This summer, Mike Mandell mentioned them as a team to watch while we we hanging out at Cony League--although he didn't take them in the Wins Draft--and they made some waves with a 97-90 win over Cony at the ACC, but still I feel like they've been flying under the radar. Not anymore. Gardiner went on a 9-1 run spanning the first and second quarter to take a lead and then Isaac Marquis hit [back-to-back threes](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1CLfjNKpxU/) to end the half and give the Gardiner Area Tigers an 11-point halftime lead. As expected, Yarmouth didn't go away. They whittled away at the lead and cut it to 2 on a Matthew LeBlanc three. Along the way we had a [flop technical](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DSbgRmvzB/). I didn't go back and grind the tape, but I'm rather sure Gardiner didn't attempt to take a charge after the flop technical. That's not the first time we've seen that in these playoffs. It makes sense. There's enough risk involved with a flop/charge call, but if you add a not-small chance of a technical in a close playoff game? It makes it hard to play defense. Anyway...Gardiner responded, but Yarmouth battled back and cut it to 3 on an Evan Oranellas bucket with under a minute to go. They couldn't force a turnover and had to foul. Trace Moody calmly hit all 4 of his free throws in the final minute to put it away. After the game, I talked to Trace Moody, who led the way with 20 points. And to coach Aaron Toman about what it took to get his team to such great heights. Congratulations to Gardiner on a well-deserved. Obviously we have to hear from Mike Mandell. [Gardiner boys basketball beats Yarmouth to win 1st state titleThe Tigers hold off a comeback bid by the Clippers in the Class B final.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-37.png)The Portland Press HeraldMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43458653_20260227_ClassBBOYs_5270.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/02/27/gardiner-boys-basketball-beats-yarmouth-to-win-1st-state-title/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- So there's a rule in the MPA bulletin that each of the visiting teams in the state games (i.e. the team that didn't play their Regional Final on that floor) get the opportunity to practice on the floor before the game. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-27-at-11.38.09---PM.png) This has been a thing for as long as I can remember. Sometimes teams don't bother. I don't know if Caribou made the 301 mile trip each way just to practice. Maybe they got in some time on the floor the night before if they stayed in hotels. Word came in earlier this week that Camden's opportunities to practice on the hockey rink's floor would be, uh, limited because the Cross had already pulled up the floor for last night's UMaine hockey game, which meant that Camden would only be able to practice on the floor with 15 3-point lines this morning. That's...not ideal. I'm not sure why the Cross Arena felt like they had to pull up the floor so early in the week, but it's not like this is a new policy or a surprise addition to the schedule, so it's weird that this is even an issue. So Camden got creative. They aren't the first to do this. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-28-at-12.08.56---AM.png) But it shouldn't come to this. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) There's a lot of great options today, as you'd expect from Gold Ball Saturday. Fort Kent attempts to go for their first ever Gold Ball against Maranacook. Valley goes for a sweep. Penobscot Valley attempts to go back-to-back, but as the 4 seed. Hampden tries to slow down Kylie Lamson and Cheverus. Monmouth's top-10 defense tries to shut down the high-flying Machias Bulldogs. And Portland tests their defense against Nolan Ames and Camden. But the no doubt about it choice is the C Girls game between Spruce Mountain and Mattanawcook. The Phoenix and Lynx have lost a combined 1 game. They're first and second in class C in scoring, point differential, %Perfect (where the Lynx are #1 in the state at 93.7%), and they're top 3 in scoring defense. Simply put, they're two of the most dominant teams in the state. This is so razor-thin, we have a recommendation. 0:00 /1:42 1× I've been told they can't do this. I tried. Jay and I have an idea cooked up for tomorrow that potentially involves being live on YouTube prior to the S State Games, so make sure you're subscribed to the YouTube channel. [Subscribe to YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But this should be awesome. Two great teams with great players and programs hungry for their first Gold Ball. Someone's going home with one. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-27-at-11.07.09---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Buzzer Beaters URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/buzzer-beaters/ Last updated: 2026-02-27T11:55:19.000Z If you've been here all season, you've probably noticed that there's been a newsletter at 7am-ish every day there's a game. So Saturday nights, since there's no Sunday game, I go to bed as soon as the scores are all in and try and catch up on my sleep. And after Tourney Week, I *really* collapsed and took 2 whole days off, so here we are. If, for some reason, you missed the last 10 minutes of Regional Final Saturday, it was one of the best stretches of time in recent tourney history. We were in Portland, wrapping up a rather mild Both A South Regional Final. Drew Bonifant and I recapped the Regional Finals from Portland. All the while, we had the [Live Stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) up and it was apparent that the games in Augusta might just go down to the wire. Let's go to Augusta, where Spruce Mountain and Maranacook are tied with 4.8 seconds in a game everyone expected to be very close. . Rob Kennedy and Jarod Richmond are on the call and we're all huddled around a laptop on media row in an otherwise empty hockey rink. 0:00 /1:07 1× That's obviously a massive win for Maranacook and, if you're Ethan Chilton, imagine hitting a game-winner to send your team to a state championship as your only bucket of the game. After a quiet first 2 games of the tourney, Grady Hreben erupted to go 7/11 from three for a game high 21 (and C South MVP honors). Jack Fontaine added 16\. For Spruce, Caden Frazier had 16 in the losing effort. Cai Dougher added 10 & 7\. As Rob said, no one's going to forget that. And a lot of people noticed the unfortunate incident of a Spruce player getting knocked down and there's people going crazy on Facebook (shocking, I know) with frame-by-frame analysis of how people were terrible to him, but I think that's all overblown. It's terrible he got knocked down, but I can't imagine anyone was trying to hurt him. Back at the Hockey Rink, we continued to pack up, but that didn't last, because about 4 minutes later in real time, Fort Kent had the ball down 1 against Caribou with 5.8 seconds left. Steve Carmichael and Bobby Russell on the call for WHOU. So let's go to Bangor where everyone in the building knows who's getting the ball. 0:00 /0:49 1× courtesy of WHOU That's Aden Jeffers with one of the more difficult game-winners in the paint you'll ever see to dethrone last year's B Champs AND give Fort Kent their first-ever Regional Title. Here's another angle. Jeffers finished with an efficient 24 (especially efficient if the shots looks like that) and Tobias Naranja added 14\. Owen Corrigan had 20 & 6 for Caribou. What a finish to the Regionals. ### Elsewhere After 3 points in the first 2 games of the regional, Lucas LeGage exploded for 17 as Portland's defense locked down Cheverus...Megan House had 17 and Addison Cyr added 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots as Mattanawcook kept their perfect season alive...They face Maddie Grimaldi and Spruce Mountain. Grimaldi had 21 & 9 to lead the Phoenix over Wells...Kylie Lamson's 19 led Cheverus over SoPo...Mickey Fitzsimmons scored 20 to help Machias hold off a rally from Quinn Pelletier and Madawaska. He had 28...Monmouth got 18 from Levi Laverdiere and 15 & 10 from Rory Foyt to knock off Mt. Abram...Brooklynn Raymond had 19 points and 4 steals as Penobscot Valley won their second straight Regional Title...Stella Peterson's double-double got Mt. Abram by Buckfield...Jonesport-Beals held Mason Pelletier to 11/6/4, but Raiden Cochran scored 16 to lead Easton to a Regional Title. The Royals led by 11 in the first quarter...Harry Louis dropped 27/8/8 on Forest Hills. Jaxson Desjardins had 22...Ava Lerman had 21 points and 6 steals in Wisdom's win over Katahdin...Liana Hartwell continued her dominant regional with a 20/16/11 triple-double. She's a sophomore! --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- With the Regionals done, obviously Jay Baines and I had to see how well we did at picking Cinderellas (spoiler: pretty good!) and then we previewed the 10 Gold Ball games and made some predictions. Also: my kid Rhys crashed the party. Presented by Vertical Raise! If you like these (or love to hate watch them), [make sure you subscribe](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- The Gold Ball Edition of the Tourney Guide is out and has a LOT of new data, thanks to the Live Stats collaboration with the MPA. Here's the Mattanawcook girls: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-25-at-10.17.41---PM.png) This includes all the teams still playing and is available for free for paid subscribers. [Tourney GuideAll the data![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-71.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/media-guide-bann-5.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-guide/) --- In "Controversies that are completely overblown for $200, Alex", we have this story of the Brunswick students who tried to live stream playoff games. [The Brunswick High Sports Network is embroiled in a broadcast brouhaha with MPAThe YouTube page run by group of Brunswick students pushes the envelope on the MPA’s tournament streaming rules.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-36.png)The Portland Press HeraldTravis LazarczykColumnist![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43436899_20260220_ANorthboysfinal_2818.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/02/21/the-brunswick-high-sports-network-is-embroiled-in-a-broadcast-brouhaha-with-mpa/?utm%5Fcampaign=newbot-pressherald.com%5Fcombined&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawQOC8hleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFZVmlXNzJHQm5ZUkpNUXlJc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHp0L9KSj8Y5IEWo84vzwWITvN9o2cVNNTbKJ0od0U8u35fScSXDutx4TdE27%5Faem%5F5x0L7seuDkcF%5F00t1uNWwg) This is really simple, even if a [bunch of people on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaineHSBasketball/posts/2350588248779789/?comment%5Fid=2353011775204103&reply%5Fcomment%5Fid=2353748065130474¬if%5Fid=1771791537179183¬if%5Ft=group%5Fcomment%5Fmention) don't understand it. These Brunswick students streamed games online for free all year. That's good! But then they tried to stream playoff basketball games, which is bad. According to Travis Lazarczyk's column, they tried to do this last year and got shut down. Then tried to do it this year (presumably with a press pass they didn't have last year? That doesn't really matter) and got shut down again. But when you apply for a press pass, the [policies are clear](https://mpa.fpsports.org/TenantHTML.aspx?D=About%20Us&F=MPA%20Media.html&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-27-at-12.45.19---AM.png) WHOU, Maine Public, and NFHS pay money for the exclusive rights to broadcast the live video from these games and the MPA is obligated to make sure those rights are protected. And you can think that some exemption should be set up for students to learn. There is. They can do an audio-only stream (like 92.9 the Ticket does...with permission to include the live stats) Or they can do it live to tape, like the NBA Finals in the 70's. But they can't just do it because they want to. As Rob Kennedy said, part of learning about broadcasting is learning how media rights work and this is how they work. Maybe the reaction to this pisses me off because I've just heard 15-20 people a week since December ask--*nay, insist*\--I give them content for free and I'm tired of it. Also, don't do that. It isn't putting across the message you think it is. You can think it won't hurt to let the Brunswick kids do their thing, but then it's the TA kids. And the Nokomis kids. And the Brewer kids. And the Gorham kids. And the 20 different groups of kids pretending to be ESPN at the games and suddenly the math doesn't work for WHOU to do the games anymore and we lose a fantastic service. Because those people working the WHOU games aren't putting in 12 hour days getting you the broadcast so you can watch from Florida for free. They're professionals with kids who want to eat and a mortgage to pay. Complaining that you should be able to consume their hard work for free is insulting. Stop it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Well, well, well. Look what we have here. Lawrence and Oceanside split in their regular season series, including an overtime game way back on December 9th. That was Oceanside's last loss and no one got within 15 points of them in the B South Regional, so naturally they didn't win the tournament MVP, despite shooting 47.5% from three as a team. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-27-at-1.27.48---AM.png) They shot 63% in the Regional Final and if they do that again, I like their chances. If not, Maddie Provost and Ashley Shores could complete the revenge tour. And they were great in the B North Regional. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-27-at-1.30.27---AM.png) This might come down to depth and role players. Provost will probably win Miss Basketball, but Shores had the best regional statistically with an [EFF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efficiency%5F%28basketball%29?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) of 29.0 (next highest: Renee Ripley at 20.7 and Provost at 20.0). Olivia Breen is a matchup problem down low. Those 4 could easily cancel each other out. If so, does someone like Abby Stackpole or Payton Cole step and make the difference? Maine Public takes over the rest of the way. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-26-at-9.37.44---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### MVP? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/mvp/ Last updated: 2026-02-21T12:03:50.000Z We had our first set of Regional Finals yesterday and apologies because I'm in a mood. You'll see. First, let's go to the Expo for B South. In the girls game, Abby Stackpole hit a three on the first play of the game. It was a sign. The Oceanside girls get hot from behind the line sometimes. It's kind of their thing. Part of what makes them so hard to beat is that all 5 of them are legitimate threats from deep and they can punish you if you try and double Olivia Breen. Yesterday they got white-hot from three. They went 12/19 from behind the arc for a ridiculous 63.2%. You're not going to lose many basketball games shooting 62% from three. Stackpole and Addie Poland combined to go 7/8\. The 12 3's is a new B single game record and they broke the record for a team in a B regional in a convincing 68-51 win. So, naturally, the MVP of the tournament went to GNG's Abbey Steele who poured in 33 points in the losing effort. Not to denigrate Steele, who I'm sure would much rather have won the game, but huh? You'll sometimes see a MVP coming from the losing team. You know how it goes. One person puts up huge numbers to drag their team to the last game and the winning team has a balanced box score. So let's look at the Efficiency leaders for the regional. EFF isn't a perfect stat, but it's a good all-in-one stat. **(PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK − Missed FG − Missed FT − TO) / GP** That's most of the things you want to include. Here's the B South girls leaders. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-20-at-3.31.13---PM.png) [Tourney Player Stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-stats/) Poland was 9/15 from 3, which is how she's up there. Ripley put up big numbers in the first two games and really should have won it. I was workshopping a "how do you not give it to Ripley?" take in the second half and I'm just thrown by this choice. It killed my take. Renee Ripley was the best player in this tournament and I don't think it's that close. I suspect the voters aren't looking at advanced stats, but the eye test isn't that complicated. The advanced stats are not close. And here I am back at "how do you not give it to Ripley?" --- Oceanside will play Lawrence in the State Game, a team they split with during the regular season. Maddie Provost scored 9 of her 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs were able to pull away from Gardiner. Lawrence held Gardiner to an effective FG% of 26%. Contrast that with their own 62% and that's how you win a playoff game. Before you ask, Oceanside's eFG% was 64%. Ashley Shores led all scorers with 29 points on 12 shot attempts. We'll keep a theme going. Here's the EFF leaders for B North. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-20-at-8.43.20---PM.png) --- Let's go back to the Expo and the boys B South final between Yarmouth and Medomak Valley. Yarmouth shot 63% in the first half thanks to stellar play from Ian Lawrence and Adam Maxwell and were able to hold Medomak to 2/12 from three. Yarmouth pushed an 8-point lead at the half to 12 at the end of three. Then Mason Nguyen opened the 4th quarter with a three and because no one can hold a lead in the Expo, Medomak cut it to 5\. Yarmouth got it back out to 12 before Medomak made a push and cut it to 2 on a Carter Jackson bucket. Yarmouth went 7/10 from the line down the stretch and had a 6 point lead with 11 seconds left. 0:00 /0:15 1× video courtesy of WHOU Nguyen raced down the floor and drilled a three from about 4 feet behind the NBA line and Medomak called time with 5 seconds left, down 3\. Couple things here. If you don't already know, I've been a Medomak guy my entire life. I rode my bike every day to summer ball and we'd all sit around the court at the end of the day and watch Josh Nash play 1-on-1 against whoever. I think most people reading this already know that. So for that reason, I hate the call. Obviously. But if you've been reading this newsletter since [at least yesterday](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-curse-of-the-double-digit-lead/), you know that I absolutely abhor calls that decide games in situations like this. It is my biggest pet peeve other than dunk technicals. There is no surer way to get written up in this newsletter. You could not come up with a better application to be a Peter Webb All-Star if you tried. I'll slow it down for you. 0:00 /0:16 1× video on the left: me. video on the right: WHOU Is there a foul there? Sure. I think you can make a case that they're both engaging. You want to call this in the third quarter, go for it. But with 5 seconds left there's no coming back from that. Game over. I've asked a number of neutral parties and the consensus is that it's a ticky tack call. But it's a ticky tack call that ended someone's season. I hated it yesterday when it [ended Sanford's season](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-curse-of-the-double-digit-lead/). I would have hated the call had it ended Yarmouth's season. I hated it [last year in a Regional Final](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/t/). And I'll hate the next one, hopefully not today. It might be the worst call at the Expo and that's saying something, because the officiating at the Expo has been pretty bad. Time and score. All that is to say that Yarmouth had a great tournament and 100% deserved to win. Ian Lawrence and Adam Maxwell had 18 each and they shot 67% from the floor as a team. 67%! Mason Nguyen had 30 for Medomak. Kollin Donlin had 10/8/4/3s. Michael Hoffer was there (and is not mad about it like I am). [Yarmouth boys down Medomak Valley, advance to state finalPORTLAND—Connor Hasson has felt all along that his Yarmouth boys’ basketball team’s ceiling was a state championship. And the Clippers are now one away from proving their first-year coach right. Friday afternoon at the Portland Exposition Building, fourth-ranked Yarmouth completed its stirring run through the Class B South field![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-25.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_20260220_210436.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/yarmouth-boys-down-medomak-valley-advance-to-state-final/?fbclid=IwY2xjawQGFwxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeNx3obgb-y1pHT94L7zMuoLPlZyM-9Ryv3BfLllM3OmCLpM65ZQvSY2GV%5FmM%5Faem%5FqcQj3rjRmSkFN1fIHet3%5Fw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Looking at the B South leaders. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-20-at-5.29.30---PM.png) So obviously the same people who gave Steele the MVP, selected Nguyen? Nope. Ian Lawrence, as they should. I dunno. --- The two things I heard over and over again at the Expo yesterday were "are your guys gonna get it done?" (Nope) and "Gardiner by 8 over Cony? Really?" I was courtside for Gardiner's 97-90 win over Cony at the ACC, so I knew they could beat Cony, but they also split the season series, so there's that. Brady Atwater had 19 points in the first half on 7/8 shooting and Carter Braithwaite had 22 as Gardiner led 47-35 at the break. Cony made some pushes in the second half (and Atwater cooled off a bit), but they were unable to get it under 7 and Gardiner beat their bitter rivals by 9\. So Gardiner by 8? Yup. Carter Braithwaite ended up with 32/7/6\. Not back for a freshman in a Regional Final. Parker Morin added 16/7\. Brady Atwater led Gardiner with 27 on an 88% eFG% and had 6 boards and 4 assists. Brayden Elliott dished out 10 assists. Here's your B North leaders ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-20-at-8.43.52---PM.png) I'm not sure who won the MVPs in Bangor, but I'm guessing Atwater? Mike Mandell, who told me in July that Gardiner was going to have a big year, was there. [Gardiner boys basketball tops rival Cony to win Class B NorthThe Tigers earn just their second regional crown ever and advance to next Friday’s state final against Yarmouth.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-34.png)The Portland Press HeraldMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43436929_20250220__kjms.Bnorthbboysfinal.0221_0y098.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/02/20/gardiner-boys-basketball-tops-rival-cony-to-win-class-b-north/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Over in Augusta, Mt. Ararat was arguably the biggest favorite of the day. After all, the defending champs were deep and very good and had just beaten Hampden by 17 at the end of the regular season. So when the Eagles opened up with an 8-0 lead, it had to feel like it might be a wrap. Hampden didn't think so. Aubrey Shaw scored 5 points in a 7-0 Broncos run to get back in it. In the second half, the Hampden defense took over. They held the potent Mt. Ararat offense (9th in the state) to 15% from the floor and 0/5 from three. The only Mt. Ararat player to score from the floor in the half was Julianna Allen and she needed 22 shots to score 15 points in the game. Most of that was because of Grace LaBree, who only scored 1 point, but had 11 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. The Eagles' low scoring mark on the season was 47\. Hampden held them to 26 in a huge upset. Cooper Sullivan was there. [Hampden Academy girls basketball gets revenge over Mt. Ararat in A North finalThe second-seeded Broncos win a rematch of last year’s state championship game, holding the top-seeded Eagles to a season-low point total.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-35.png)The Portland Press HeraldCooper SullivanStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43436875_20260220_PrintGirlsANorthFinal-3.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/02/20/hampden-academy-girls-basketball-gets-revenge-over-mt-ararat-in-a-north-final/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Aubrey Shaw was the tourney MVP. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-20-at-8.42.44---PM.png) --- A lot of people had penciled Camden in as regional champs at the beginning of the tournament, but as I wrote in the Game of the Day preview, Brunswick had a much better chance than people thought. And for a while, they hung with the Windjammers. Neither team led by more than 3 until Camden went on an 8-0 run near the end of the first half. But there's an asterisk. > Brunswick's Rylan Ley just picked up his 3rd foul then got T'd up for arguing, so he has 4 fouls with 2:24 left in the 2nd quarter > Camden Hills 24 > Brunswick 19[@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [February 21, 2026](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/2025005879721164831?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) From what I've heard, the technical was legit. Still, you hate to see it. Brunswick couldn't put a dent in Camden's lead in the second half and the lead got as high as 19\. Nolan Ames scored 21 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, handed out 11 dimes, and swiped 4 steals. Owen McGrath led Brunswick with 19 & 8\. Ames was the tournament MVP. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-20-at-8.42.08---PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) The Madawaska emergence has been one of the fun stories of the last 2 seasons. You know all about Quinn Pelletier, but it's not just him. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-21-at-1.12.20---AM.png) Machias is led by 1,000 point scorer Mickey Fitzsimmons, who has struggled shooting in this tourney. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-21-at-1.14.25---AM.png) He had 5 in the quarterfinals, when they didn't really need him, Machias is 6th in scoring offense and leads the state in scoring differential, even higher than Valley (+540). Both teams have a top 10 scoring defense. Both can score in bunches. This could be in the 70s. It could be in the 30s. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-20-at-11.24.36---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Curse of the Double-Digit Lead URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-curse-of-the-double-digit-lead/ Last updated: 2026-02-20T16:49:28.000Z I wrote yesterday about how leads [weren't safe in the Expo](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/call-it-a-comeback-2/) and that trend continued on Thursday. Let's get started with the Game of the Day, a showdown between Sanford's sophomore standout Mollie Puffer and SoPo's standout junior Annie Whitmore. SoPo won the tip and Mollie Puffer promptly blocked Annie Whitmore's shot on the first possession. Then, a couple of minutes later, Whitmore blocked Puffer's shot. It seemed like a good sign for the Game of the Day, but early it was all SoPo. They raced out to a 10-0 lead before Jaslinn Johnson got Sanford on the board. They stretched the lead out to 19 as Whitmore refused to give Puffer any room to operate. But, you can't have a big lead at the Expo this week. Sanford went on a 16-2 run to get back in the game. Ava Hudson's 3 in the final minute cut it to 2\. Whitmore made 1 of 2 free throws and Puffer's NBA range 3 to tie it came up short. Lucille Healy made two free throws to make the margin 5\. Then Puffer was fouled with 3.7 seconds left. She made both and then... 0:00 /0:12 1× video courtesy of WHOU I hate this so much. Everyone in the building knows Sanford is going to foul. Even the people taking tickets out front who can't see what's happening know Sanford is going to foul. So when Ave Hudson grabs Annie Whitmore, do they call it? Nope. They wait until Puffer has to extend her arm to foul. Whitmore falls and the refs make it an intentional foul--Puffer's 5th--and the game is over. Time and score! But, it's also a safety issue. Call the foul! Annie Whitmore finished with 13 points and 4 assists and was fantastic on defense the entire game. Mollie Puffer led all scorers with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. In the other half of the Semifinal of Death, Biddeford raced out to a 12-2 lead over Cheverus on the strength of a couple of Gabriella Silva 3's and some tenacious team defense. In the first quarter, they forced 7 turnovers. Olivia Hunter's three pushed Biddeford's lead to 11 with around 3 minutes to play in the third quarter. And then Kylie Lamson took over. The presumptive Miss Basketball Finalist scored 15 points in a 26-9 Cheverus rally, including a clutch 3 that gave Cheverus the lead for good. She finished with 26 points. Biddeford got their own clutch three in the quarterfinals, but couldn't find one against the Stags. They missed their final 10 attempts from deep. That made 6 consecutive games at the Expo where a double-digit lead vanished. > Everyone knows it's a good idea to have a big lead, but what this week at the Expo presupposes is, maybe it isn't? [pic.twitter.com/v4mn3fouuq](https://t.co/v4mn3fouuq?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 19, 2026](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/2024580231172947969?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In the next session, Portland opened the game with a 12-0 run as Cordell Jones scored the first 7 points of the game. Obviously this was bad news for the Bulldogs. Sanford rallied in the third quarter to cut the lead to 3, but Portland promptly went on an 8-0 run to regain control. Sanford rallied again to cut it to 5 and Portland again answered with a run of their own to slam the door. Cordell Jones finished with 15\. Carter Giroux had 17 for Sanford. But it turns out the curse of the big lead had spread. Up in Augusta, Maranacook had a 19-point lead over Hall-Dale at the end of the third quarter. And then the Bulldogs got hot. Hall-Dale hit 7 threes in the fourth quarter and got the Maranacook lead shrunk all the way down to 1 after Austin Ferry connected from deep. Freshman Gage Mattson stopped the bleeding temporarily, but then Jack Fontaine fouled out with Maranacook up 68-65\. Hall-Dale wouldn't score again and Mattson hit 4 free throws and grabbed a couple rebounds to close out the game. He had 32 & 13 (he's a freshman!). Fontaine had 26 before he exited early. Davis Madore led Hall-Dale with 18\. Dave Dyer was there. [Maranacook boys basketball holds off Hall-Dale’s frantic comebackThe Bulldogs nearly overcome a 19-point deficit in a Class C South semifinal, but Gage Mattson (32 points, 11 rebounds) helps seal the win for the Black Bears.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-17.png)Centralmaine.comDave DyerStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43436602_20260219__kjms.Csouthboyssemifinal.0220_0y052.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/02/19/maranacook-boys-basketball-holds-off-hall-dales-frantic-comeback/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Mattanawcook and Fort Kent played two instant classics in the regular season, so their C North semifinal was circled by people in Bangor as a game to watch. Mattanawcook led by 10 late in the first half (it's spreading!), but Aden Jeffers took over in the second half, scoring 18 of his 23 after halftime. He also hauled in 10 rebounds and dealt 5 assists as Fort Kent pulled away. Matt Junker was there. [Another Fort Kent-Mattanawcook barnburner ends with comeback win for WarriorsThe back-and-forth between the Fort Kent Warriors and the Mattanawcook Academy Lynx made for another classic tourney battle.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-48.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/MA-Fort-Kent-Boys-Semi-A-LCO.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/02/19/sports/tourney-time/fort-kent-wins-mattanawcook-class-c-boys-north-semifinal-tournament/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The stands were packed for the final game of Thursday's Expo slate between Cheverus and Scarborough. The addition of the former AA schools to A South has made for an electric atmosphere at the Expo for the entire tourney week and last night was the largest crowd yet. They got what they came for at the end of the first quarter. 0:00 /0:12 1× video courtesy of WHOU If you haven't seen Cheverus freshman Khaelon Watkins yet, you really should do something about that. Watkins also beat the halftime buzzer. And hit 2 massive threes down the stretch. He finished with 19 & 10\. Scarborough led by 1 twice in the first quarter, but never after that. Cheverus learned the lesson of the rest of the semifinals and didn't lead by 10 until the final two minutes. But Scarborough even took that 10-point lead down to 4 with 51.6 seconds left when coach Phil Conley called his final timeout. Flashback to the second quarter when he called time to save a possession a split second before his player figured it out himself and scored. You've seen that happen a bunch of times. A coach calls time and almost instantly regrets it (or the coach lucks out when the ref can't hear him). Anyway, the bucket didn't count. I was sitting next to a coach who, when Conley called the timeout, said "oh he might need that later". I don't think it's that simple--there's a butterfly effect of how a game would play out--but using your final timeout with 51.6 seconds left down 4 is a lot different than having one left down 2\. Cheverus scored the next 5 points to put it away. Colton Jewett scored 21 for the Stags. Carter Blanche led all scorers with 25\. ### Elsewhere Owen Corrigan went off for 30 points and 8 assists as Caribou easily handled Washington Academy...Quinn Pelletier went for 18 & 8 as Madawaska pulled away from Fort Fairfield late...Sare Devoe's 9 & 10 led Buckfield over Madison...Stella Peterson's 20 points and 9 rebounds led Mount Abram to a blowout of Monmouth...Payton Fazzina scored 23 points on 9 shot attempts to lead Wells over Maranacook...Megan House had 16/7/8 in Mattanawcook's win over Caribou...Spruce's Owen Kelvey dropped 20 on Mount View...Nola Mason's 16 & 9 led Foxcroft to a win over GSA...Maddie Grimaldi scored 19 points and Spruce held Winthrop to 3 points in the second half...Mickey Fitzsimmons scored 16 points and grabbed 9 rebounds as #1 Machias survived a scare from #5 Hodgdon --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- As part of a continuing collaboration with Varsity Maine, I sat down with Drew Bonifant to recap the semifinal action from the Expo, while Mike Mandell and Dave Dyer covered Augusta (and some of Bangor). I don't know what it is about the idea of reporters still being in the gym long after everyone has gone home that I like, but it's fun. --- Over on the Live Stats page, if you scroll down you'll see a button that links to a Google Drive folder that has a Game Report for every game that's been played so far. The PDF includes a box score and shot charts for individual players, like so: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-19-at-5.37.25---PM-1.png) [Game Reports](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Lb5J2EJ6nqLXNlhttFO0MsBEDqsga-bt?usp=sharing&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Here's your EFF leaderboard for today's Regional Finals. I'm combining boys and girls. EFF is an all-in-one stat that combines scoring, rebounding, assists, and shooting efficiency. B South ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-20-at-3.52.06---AM.png) B North ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-20-at-3.55.03---AM.png) A North ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-20-at-3.56.16---AM.png) [Tourney Player Stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-stats/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) The Nolan Ames Experience has not disappointed in the playoffs. He's tied with Medomak's Mason Nguyen in EFF for classes A & B with 29.0 and is scoring 25 a game while pulling down 8.5 rebounds. You should, at minimum, make sure you watch him play on WHOU before he graduates. Brunswick's scoring has been more balanced. They have 4 players averaging between 8.5 and 12.5 PPG in the first two games. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-20-at-4.05.19---AM.png) Other than Logan Gray's double dunk technical, I think the Dragons have been flying under the radar a little bit all year. They lost to Camden by 3 in Rockport in the only regular season meeting. This is not the slam dunk (technical) for Camden that people assume it'll be. Brunswick can win this, but if Nolan Ames goes off that'll be very, very hard. This has been moved up to hopefully beat the snow. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-20-at-2.12.36---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Call it a Comeback URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/call-it-a-comeback-2/ Last updated: 2026-02-19T12:00:22.000Z Now that we're on to the semifinals, not only are we done with NFHS (thank goodness), we can use replay for buzzer-beaters. Why can't we use replay for the quarterfinals? Because NFHS can't handle it with their technology. But what are the chances we'd actually need to use it? Let's go to Bangor! With time running out in the first half and #1 Cony trailing #5 Ellsworth by 1, Parker Morin's attempt at the buzzer was, well, see for yourself. 0:00 /0:49 1× video courtesy of WHOU I'm pretty sure that's Peter Murray doing color for WHOU. And, yeah, that's as close as you can get. It's also late. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-18-at-11.50.26---PM.png) via Facebook The game came down to the wire. Carter Braithwaite scored to break a tie at 62 and Ellsworth had a couple of shots to either send the game into OT or win it at the buzzer, including a very open look from three, but they couldn't convert and Cony escaped with a 66-64 win. Cony will face their rivals from Gardiner in the Regional Final and, yes, they'll both drive past the Augusta Civic Center--a perfectly good tournament venue--to play the game in Bangor. There's a couple of things about this. On the face of things, it's a little strange to not play this game in Augusta. The crowd would certainly be larger at the ACC than it will be in Bangor, although I suspect Cony and Gardiner will both travel well. Those are dedicated fan bases. Add in that Cony hasn't won a Gold Ball since 1978 and Gardiner has never won one and they'll be hyped. And it's not that bad of a drive. It's almost entirely highway. It has been suggested--and I have long advocated for it--that the schedules could, in this era where everything is digital and we have super computers in our pockets that show us the live stats in Bangor as we watch the game in Portland, be less set in stone. Maybe we move the Cony/Gardiner Regional Final to Augusta? While in theory, this is a great idea, you'd probably have to move the Gardiner/Lawrence Regional Final too and there's not an obvious game to swap it with, unless you want to send Mt. Ararat and Brunswick to Bangor. What makes a lot more sense is shuffling the schedule within a site. This year we had the Gardiner girls play Cony in a quarterfinal that started at 8:30pm in Bangor. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-19-at-12.19.07---AM-1.png) We can't shuffle these around? Maybe put Presque Isle/Hermon first, then Cony/PI, Gardiner/Cony, and finish with MDI/Ellsworth? Or avoid the situation where a school has the late game Friday evening and the first game Saturday morning? There's potential! We don't have to rely on schedules in the newspaper anymore. Then again, I saw about 500 comments on Facebook today wondering why the semifinals aren't on NFHS. --- Back to the games. They say in football that it's hard to beat a good team three times, so it must be even harder to beat a good team four times. This year, the Bangor Christian and Penobscot Valley girls played at each other's home courts, plus a neutral site game at the Pit. BC won all three. In the semifinal matchup, the Howlers jumped out to a 6-0 lead and survived 18 points from Mary Allen and used a 16-3 third quarter to advance to the D North Regional Final, 52-37\. Lila Cummings led the way with 12\. It can be really hard to win in tournament play. You can't slip up, especially against a team as good as Penobscot Valley. And sometimes the most important thing in tourney play is to not have some fluke injury that, say, sends you to the dentist in the middle of the game. [Early blow to face sends Maine basketball player to dentist during tournament gameThe top-ranked Bangor Christian girls basketball team lost one of its key players early on during its semifinal face off against PVHS.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-47.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker, Larry Mahoney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/BC-PVHS-Girls-Semi-C-LCO-1.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/02/18/sports/tourney-time/allie-allen-tooth-injury-penobscot-valley-win-bangor-christian-class-d-girls-tournament/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Penobscot Valley will continue their title defense against Machias. The second seeded Bulldogs pulled away from Central Aroostook late. Aubrey Wood scored 18 in the win. --- The York boys had their fluke injury in the quarterfinals when center Callan Forbes' knee buckled on him as he went up for a dunk. There was a real question of whether or not he'd be able to play and the way he was running up and down the floor at times, I suspect he would not have played if it were a regular season game. He made his presence known with a blocked shot in the first minute of the game and with a line of 9 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots, he gave the Wildcats more than they could have hoped for. And when York went on a 20-2 run in the third quarter, it looked like they'd be headed for their second straight regional final. But Yarmouth righted the ship. They got the lead down to 11 after 3, then they shot 67% from the floor in the 4th quarter, went 8/12 from the line, and held York to 28%. When Reece MacDonald's 3 came up short in the final seconds, it appeared they had won it in regulation, but York had 0.9 seconds for a miracle. 0:00 /0:11 1× video courtesy of WHOU That's Ronin Avery with the shot to send the game to overtime, but it was a temporary reprieve. Yarmouth won it in overtime, 77-72, and will face Medomak Valley in a rematch of the 2022 Regional Final. Adam Maxwell had 25\. Ian Lawrence went for 19 & 12\. Reece MacDonald had 22 for York on 35(!) shots. To say Medomak had a good first half is an understatement. Mason Nguyen's second three of the game gave the Panthers a 24-7 lead and they led by 23 at the half behind a monster effort from Kollin Donlin. Medomak out-rebounded Poland 30-7 in the half and had as many assists as the Knights had rebounds. The Medomak lead was 20 when Shawn West hit a three with a little over 6 minutes to play and then, much like you see sometimes in the NBA, a team with a big lead took their foot off the gas a little bit and the other team got hot. Poland hit 5 of their next 6 threes to cut the lead to 3 and the Poland crowd was going absolutely wild the entire time, doing everything they could to will their team to victory. With under a minute to go, Nick Jamo missed a deep three that would have tied it. Donlin got the rebound and made one of two free throws, but Mason Nguyen pulled down the offensive board, Luke Cheesman hit one of two free throws. On the other end, Donlin blocked Damon Martin's layup attempt, collected the rebound, and Medomak iced the Poland comeback attempt at the line to advance to their third Regional Final in 5 years. Donlin had a breakout game with 26 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. Mason Nguyen added 18 & 11\. Nick Jamo's 17 fueled the Poland rally. Poland got so hot they wore out the net. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/image-5.png) --- Nolan Ames added his own buzzer-beater in Camden's win over Bangor. It wasn't as good as the 2 he hit on Senior Night, but it wasn't bad. > Nolan Ames at the buzzer! > Camden Hills 27 > Bangor 21 > Halftime [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/jr5z2BhZav](https://t.co/jr5z2BhZav?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [February 19, 2026](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/2024308345306325334?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Ames finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Windjammers reached their first Regional Final since 2011\. They'll face Brunswick, who pulled away from Edward Little late. --- In another big comeback, Ellsworth put together a 19-4 run in the third quarter, but Lawrence held on and the Maddie Provost Revenge Tour continued. Provost had 21\. Ashley Shores added 14 & 10\. ### Elsewhere Trace Moody scored 14 and Brady Atwater had 12 as Gardiner used a 26-5 fourth quarter to pull away from Hermon...Kayleigh Wagg scored 19 points and Mt. Ararat shot 8/16 from three in a convincing win over Edward Little...Maddie McMahon led a balanced Gardiner attack with 11 & 5...Abbey Steele's 16 points and Bryn Gilmore's 15 & 8 helped GNG pull away from Marshwood...The Oceanside girls erased a 9-point deficit in the 2nd quarter and pulled away in the second half to eliminate York. Olivia Breen led all scorers with 22 points and Renee Ripley had 11 & 13...Tyler Day had 16 points and Monmouth overcame a 26-10 free throw disadvantage...Grace LaBree's blocked shot snuffed out Camden's potential game-winner. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Gold Ball Odds are updated ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-19-at-2.03.35---AM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- And let's take a look at the player stats from Girls B North. Are we not talking about Ashley Shores enough? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-19-at-2.13.34---AM.png) [Player Stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-stats/) --- Don't look now, but Mother Nature might be inserting herself into the Regional Final schedule. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/IMG_9171-1.jpg) This year Sunday is available as a back-up day for the tournament. It doesn't look like we'll need it, but it's there if we do. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) It's no surprise that the Game of the Day would come from the girls A South semifinals. South Portland has the top defense in A South and put the clamps on Westbrook in the second half in the quarterfinals. They also just happen to be the defending state champs in a region with 3 Regional Champions from last season. The one team left standing who isn't a Regional Champion is Sanford, who haven't won a region in 20 years. But they've got sophomore Mollie Puffer, who had the best quarterfinal stat line in A South--boys or girls. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-19-at-2.19.04---AM.png) It's Annie Whitmore and Mollie Puffer to kick off what promises to be a very fun day at the Expo. Get there early. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-19-at-1.54.25---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Trust the Process URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/trust-the-process/ Last updated: 2026-02-18T12:00:37.000Z The consensus around the state was that while A South girls had strong Region of Death vibes, that wouldn't really kick in until the semifinals. With three Regional Champs from last year who all return their stars, plus an emerging Sanford team, it was easy to pencil in the top 4 into the semis where the real fireworks would begin. But someone forgot to tell the bottom 4 seeds they were supposed to roll over. It started with the first game. Down early, #6 Westbrook used a 20-7 first half run to put the AA State Champs from SoPo on the ropes at the half. I don't know what happened at halftime. Maybe South Portland figured something out on defense, but they held Westbrook to 1/15 from the floor in the third while going on an 18-2 run to reclaim the lead and survive a scare. Annie Whitmore led the way with 19. --- When we went through A South in the [Cinderella podcast](https://youtu.be/DC7b6-3TWTU?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), Jay asked if I was discounting Sanford because I hadn't seen them in person. I've now seen them. > Sanford is wearing shirts that say "Trust the Process" [pic.twitter.com/38JUvVLLXU](https://t.co/38JUvVLLXU?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 17, 2026](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/2023844885850394807?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Going in, I knew the name Mollie Puffer. She'd show up from time to time in the newsletter for big scoring nights, but I didn't really know much more than that. I'm now a big fan. It takes about 30 seconds to realize the girl can flat-out play. She's a high-IQ player who impacts the game on both ends, passes well, has a jumper that looks like it was built by grinding Jimmy Chitwood tape, and had several plays on defense that got a reflexive "wow" out of me. She had 19 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, a blocked shot, and zero turnovers according to my stat keeping. Oh, and she's a sophomore. Sanford easily handled a Thornton Academy team that could be very good over the next couple of years. Puffer will go head-to-head with Whitmore in the semifinals. That alone will be worth the price of admission. --- The Model had Biddeford/Windham as the Game of the Day, which I [publicly questioned in yesterday's newsletter](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-double-life-of-technicals/). I was wrong. In one of the best games we've had at the Expo so far, Biddeford's swarming defense kept them in the game while they struggled shooting. At one points, Windham was out-shooting Biddeford 42% to 19% and losing. This was close the whole way, but when Biddeford went on an 11-2 run at the end of the third quarter to open up their biggest lead of the game (5), it seemed like they might run away with it. But Carly Franzoni found Chloe Delewski for a long 2, then hit a three herself to regain the lead. Then Biddeford found their shooting touch. Gabriella Silva hit a three to tie the game. Mackenzie Delewski answered with one of her own. Then Natalia Silva drilled one to tie it back up. Let's go to the final seconds with Windham up 2\. That's Natalia Silva with the game winner. She had 10 of her 14 in the final minutes. Biddeford wins a thriller to set up the Semifinals of Death. Trust the Process. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-18-at-2.08.10---AM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) Michael Hoffer was there. [Biddeford survives Windham in down-to-the-wire quarterfinalPORTLAND—Biddeford’s girls’ basketball team didn’t just face a two-point deficit when it took a timeout with under a minute remaining in Tuesday evening’s palpitating Class A South quarterfinal versus Windham at the Portland Exposition Building The fourth-ranked Tigers also carried with them the weight of history and the possibility![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-24.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260217_170119.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/biddeford-survives-windham-in-down-to-the-wire-quarterfinal/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- As part of my collaboration with Varsity Maine, I jumped on the camera with Lee Horton to recap the quarterfinals from the Expo, while Mike Mandell and Jimmy James chimed in from Augusta. Mandell dressed up! More to come! --- Speaking of Biddeford and playoff games, Caribou's Quinn Corrigan played the hero role again for the Vikings. She scored 17 of her 22 points in the second half and overtime as Caribou rallied down 9 in the second half to get by Dexter. [Quinn Corrigan is the hero again for Caribou girlsCaribou trailed by as many as nine in the first half but Quinn Corrigan rallied the Vikings in the second half.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-46.png)Bangor Daily NewsLarry Mahoney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Dexter-Caribou-Girls-Quarterfinal-A-LCO.jpg.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/02/17/sports/tourney-time/quinn-corrigan-caribou-wins-dexter-class-c-girls-north-tournament/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Over in Augusta, the 5th seeded Winthrop girls found themselves down 16 to #4 Oak Hill. They then closed on a 29-11 run to shock Oak Hill 41-39 and set a date with Spruce Mountain. --- Forest Hills and Pine Tree were knotted at 60 when Maddox Cuddy drained a [three from NBA range](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DqYCDNveE/) to help the boys from Jackman advance. Jaxson Desjardins and Aaden Nadeau each scored 23\. Rhett Tyson had 26 in the losing effort. ### Elsewhere Mason Pelletier went off for 34 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, and 7 steals and Easton beat Katahdin...Harry Louis scored 19 points and Levi Short chipped in with 18 & 10 as Valley beat Islesboro...Natasha McDonald's 21 led Spruce over Mount View...Abby Luczynski's 20 points wasn't enough to overcome Maranacook's balanced attack. Celia Bergdahl had 14 & 11.Jonesport-Beals got 16 points from Anderson Alley and handled Shead...Wells' Megyn Mertens scored 18 points in a win over Winslow...Liana Hartwell was 1 assist shy of her second triple-double of the tournament as Valley rolled over Temple. She finished with 18 points, 10 steals, and 9 assists...Down 10 early, the Forest Hills girls ripped off a 27-7 run to take control against Vinalhaven and advance to the S South Regional Final...Cheverus overcame a dreadful shooting stretch to beat Gorham. At one point they were shooting 8%. Kylie Lamson led the way with 13...Washington Academy closed on a 23-5 run to shock Foxcroft...Ava Lerman scored 17 points and nabbed 6 steals in Wisdom's win over Ashland...Emily McNally (no relation) went for 17 & 7 and Katahdin beat Jonesport-Beals...Owen Corrigan had 26 and according to my Mother, there was a technical for dunking in warmups in Caribou's win over Calais...Addison Cyr capped off the night with 25 & 12 as Mattanawcook doubled up Orono. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Every tournament week, you see a handful of plays you could go years before you see it again...like a player control foul on a half-court heave. I'm pretty sure that's Wells' Payton Fazzina stepping in to take the hit with a heads-up play. Sometimes you'll see a defender block a half-court shot, but you almost never see this. That's whatever our equivalent of a Tommy Point is, for sure. --- Tourney Player stats are updated for all of the quarterfinal games. [Tourney StatsEvery player. Every game.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-69.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/tourney-stats-1-5.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-stats/) --- Don't forget! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-18-at-1.30.39---AM.png) With the quarterfinals over, we're on to WHOU for the semis and regionals, then Maine Public for the State Championship games. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) We're on to the semifinals, which means if my math is right, there's 72 teams still alive. Akol Maiwen and Edward Little take on Logan Gray and Brunswick in an A North semifinal in Augusta. These are two teams with dynamic potential. Maiwen, of course, comes from a family great players and had 26 points in the quarterfinals. Gray, you might remember, got that ridiculous 1-game suspension for 2 dunk technicals in a day. Edward Little swept the season series, but as we've already learned this week, that isn't a guarantee of anything. Everyone I've talked to thinks this could go either way. The Model agrees. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-17-at-11.22.08---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Double Life of Technicals URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-double-life-of-technicals/ Last updated: 2026-02-17T12:00:27.000Z While Monday's action had a couple of mild upsets, there were only a couple of games that finished with a single-digit deficit and only 1 of the 20 finished as a 2-possession game. So let's go there. The Lake Region boys swept Poland during the regular season, winning by 11 and 12 points, so they had to feel confident going into their quarterfinal matchup. But Poland had won 7 of their final 8 and the Model had them ranked ever-so-slightly higher than the Lakers during the second half of the year. It's worth noting that this game had 2 of the 3 officials from Saturday's Windham/Scarborough game--the previous game played at the Expo. That did not escape anyone's attention. Lake Region started out well and Shawn West kept Poland around with a couple of threes from the corner. The game was kind of messy, with both teams kicking the ball around a little bit. There were 24 combined turnovers in the first half. Then, midway through the second, Poland picked up a flop technical. [Clip from 2026 MPA B South Boys Basketball Quarters #1 (Portland) Lake Region vs Poland - 02/16/2026 | Live & On DemandWatch the 2026 MPA B South Boys Basketball Quarters #1 (Portland) Lake Region vs Poland - 02/16/2026 live and on demand online on the NFHS Network![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-20.png)NFHS logo![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/gam26f3cb1870_1770999939610.png)](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/clips/ucl4d2e80ffe21771310595976?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It didn't look like a flop from my angle. On the broadcast it looks a little worse. It was, of course, discussed by everyone at halftime and there wasn't a clear consensus, which I think you need for a flop technical in a playoff game, you know? These things should be clearly a violation and if not, let's all move on with our lives. Lake led 28-24 at the half. In the third quarter, Poland came alive. Jacob Jamo fueled a 11-2 run that gave Poland the lead. Cooper Smith scored to re-take the lead for Lake and then Poland's assistant coach got a technical for some real-time feedback that looked really soft. > The last time Poland got calls this bad Kieslowski was snubbed from Best Foreign Language FIlm > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 16, 2026](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/2023472130789425352?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) \[[context](https://variety.com/1995/film/features/miramax-to-urge-acad-to-see-red-as-swiss-99125344/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)\] Poland took a lead into the 4th quarter and that's when Damon Martin took over. He scored 10 points in the final 8 minutes and didn't miss a shot in the process. Poland shot 73% from the floor as a team down the stretch and led by as many as 14 before Lake Region's went on a 14-5 run to make it interesting. > The officials who couldn't call fouls on the correct player in Windham/Scarborough are attempting to call a foul on someone who isn't on Poland's roster > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 16, 2026](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/2023478720548553181?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It was one of those games. The official called a foul on 30\. Poland doesn't have a 30 on the roster. The table asked for clarification and the official confirmed that, yes, the foul is on #30\. Then they had to bring him back over. It was a whole thing. After Saturday, it wasn't reassuring. Poland advanced behind 19 from Martin and 15 from Jacob Jamo. The Knights shot 42.9% from deep. They'll face Medomak Valley in the semis after Mason Nguyen (27 points on 70.6% shooting) and Kollin Donlin (21/5r/2b) made short work of a Lincoln Academy team that graduated their entire starting lineup 2 years in a row and still found their way to the Expo. > Medomak Valley and [@PRKnightNation](https://twitter.com/PRKnightNation?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) boys advance in Southern B boys [pic.twitter.com/KKQOuEPOfk](https://t.co/KKQOuEPOfk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [February 17, 2026](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/2023630500649198066?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Mattanawcook boys got hot from deep last night, led by Andrew Oliver, who went 7/11 from three en route to 27 points. [These sharpshooters from northern Maine just set a new basketball tournament recordMattanawcook used a historically-good night of 3-point shooting to get past perennial powerhouse Orono 70-57 on Monday night.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-44.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/MA-Orono_Boys-Quarterfinal-D2-LCO.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/02/16/sports/tourney-time/mattanawcook-maine-new-basketball-tournament-record/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- And Mary Allen was on fire for Bangor Christian. [Mary Allen pours in 42 points as Bangor Christian cruises past SchenckThe 19-0 Patriots will now look to beat fourth seed and defending state Class C champ Penobscot Valley of Howland on Wednesday.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-45.png)Bangor Daily NewsLarry Mahoney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/BC-Schenck-Girls-Quarterfinal-A-LCO.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/02/16/sports/tourney-time/bangor-christian-beats-schenck/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The games weren't close in Bangor, but the performances were pretty undeniable. ### Elsewhere Aden Jeffers went off for 37 & 9 in Fort Kent's win over Sumner...Penobscot Valley ripped off a 39-0 run against Southern Aroostook. Rylee Moulton led the way with 21...Henry Mirick's 21 led York past a pesky GNG team, but York lost center with a knee injury late. Hopefully he can return for the semifinals against Yarmouth...Speaking of the Clippers, Evan Oranellas scored 14 and they overcame 23 from Colin Schlobohm and a furious Leavitt rally. The Hornets shot 14% from deep in the first 3 quarters, then proceeded to hit 4 of 5 to make a run...The 6th seeded Madison girls had a 16-4 run to take the lead in the first half and held on to upset #3 Carrabec...Mt. View flipped on their Tourney Week switch and knocked off Sacopee Valley...Gage Mattson and Jack Fontaine each had 28 as Maranacook blew out Waynflete...the Mount Abram girls opened on a 15-0 run and never looked back to put away NYA...Chloee Bennett's 18 led Buckfield over Boothbay...Dylan Jewett scored 30 points on 19 shots as Spruce rolled...Tayshaun Cleveland's 12 & 18 led Hall-Dale over Dirigo...Kassidy Lebel's 17 & 13 helped Foxcroft beat Calais...Machias got 17 from Liam O'Connor to beat Central Aroostook...Cyran Ciarleglio had 23 & 12 as Central Aroostook upset Bangor Christian. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- We can now look at the B South boys quarterfinals leaders. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-16-at-8.17.47---PM.png) Boys C South ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-17-at-2.52.17---AM.png) Boys D North ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-17-at-2.53.33---AM.png) Girls D North ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-17-at-2.54.20---AM.png) You get the idea. [Tourney Player Stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-stats/) And don't forget to check out the live stats. People like them! [LIVE StatsLive stats of selected games![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-68.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/LIVE-STATS-6.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) A South girls kicks off today and while the region looks like it'll be one of the best of the tournament, that probably won't kick in until the semifinals. What could be interesting is Windham and Biddeford in the 4/5 game. Biddeford did win their matchup earlier in the year by a bunch, Windham did manage to go 12-6 with a scoring differential of +182\. I think the Model's a little off here (then again, I'm a huge fan of the Biddeford girls) and there might be more of a gap between the top 4 of A South and everyone else than the Model sees. If you want to look elsewhere, the S South semifinal between Pine Tree and Forest Hills should be fun. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-17-at-1.07.37---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Scarborough Eliminates Windham URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scarborough-eliminates-windham/ Last updated: 2026-02-16T12:00:44.000Z Day 4 of the tournament meant that it was time for the A South boys to take the stage. For the last couple of years, the biggest schools in the state had played their quarterfinal round at the higher seeds, like a prelim. But with the new classification moving those teams into Class A, they got to play their quarterfinals on a neutral site. There was some question of how that would work at the Expo. Turns out really, really well. The Expo was electric all day, even when South Portland was struggling to get a clean look against Portland's defense in the opener. It was the polar opposite of the S quarterfinals from earlier in the week that were a mess. But the A South quarterfinals were great. We had three games come down to the final seconds and the fourth was a nice statement performance with some rim-rattling dunks by Max Bouchard. In the opener, Portland's defense stifled SoPo thanks to a great performance in the middle by Benilson Lumani. They held a SoPo that averaged 61 during the regular season to 6 points in the first half. Leonel Despacho got the offense going in the second half, but also struggled to get good looks down the stretch and Portland pulled off a mild upset Sanford has been on a heater all year under new coach John Morgan, but it was fair to wonder how they would perform on the big stage. They did just fine. Dylan Gendron scored 20 points with a True Shooting % of 67.2%. Sanford shot 7/13 from deep and advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 1996\. Cheverus led by 13 at the half thanks to a big first half by Khaelon Watkins (he had 8 of his 18 in the first half) and a 24-5 rebounding advantage. Thornton Academy didn't rebound much better in the second half, but they shot the lights out, going 9/14 (64.3%) from three. There's no better way to get back in a basketball game. Brayden Hooper's 5th three of the game cut the Cheverus lead to 61-60 with 18.7 to go. Cheverus then missed 2 free throws, got the offensive rebound and a foul, then missed *those* 2 free throws, but TA couldn't get the game winner to fall and the Stags escaped. De'Shaun Alston led the Trojans with 22. As wild as the Cheverus/TA finish was, it was only the appetizer for the main course. You'd have to live under a rock to be unaware of Windham's success the last 2 years. They've won the last 2 AA titles and as the 1 seed in A South were the favorites to three-peat. They started slowly against Scarborough. They had 9 turnovers and 6 fouls in the first quarter as they dug themselves into a 16-9 hole. But they'd been digging themselves holes all year and had reliably rallied in the end. I'd just seen them do it late in the year against Cheverus. It got a little worrisome when AJ Moody picked up his third foul in the second quarter. In the second half, Layton Garriepy's 3-point play gave Scarborough a 43-34 lead. Then Sean LeBel scored 6 points and took a charge in a 12-2 run to give Windham a 46-45 lead and everyone assumed it was the end of the road for Scarborough. But no one told Scarborough. Adam Fitzgerald's 3 capped off a 10-0 Scarborough run to answer. Windham responded with their own 8-0 to get back in it. But within all that chaos, was [this chaos](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1232277302327950). This came a play after the officials gave a foul to the wrong player and it wasn't hard to tell who committed the foul, as he was the player on the floor in a block/charge call and not the person standing all by himself in the corner. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-16-at-2.48.27---AM.png) Back to the game. AJ Moody hit a deeeeep three to tie it ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-16-at-2.52.26---AM.png) Tyrie James had a chance to win it in regulation, but couldn't get a shot off and we went to overtime. The overtime was kind of an advertisement for a shot clock, as Scarborough got a lead and bled the clock. Scarborough made their free throws and Windham had a couple of chances that they just couldn't convert into buckets and Scarborough ended the dream of the three-peat. > Finally getting around to watching back last nights games! Here is the final moments of [@redstorm\_sports](https://twitter.com/redstorm%5Fsports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) upset win over the 2x defending champs from myself and Abi David’s on the [@NFHSNetwork](https://twitter.com/NFHSNetwork?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/6nYpr0hzXk](https://t.co/6nYpr0hzXk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [February 16, 2026](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/2023185854215377210?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Colin Janvrin led the Eagles with 18/4r/2b. Moody added 16\. And Tyrie James had 11\. Scarborough was led by Layton Garriepy's 19 points on only 11 shots. Adam Fitzgerald added 16\. ### Elsewhere Nolan Ames had 26 & 6 as Camden took care of business...Akol Maiwen's 26 & 8 led Edward Little over Hampden...Logan Gray scored 16 as Brunswick cruised...Brennan Mitchell went off for 27 points and 18 boards in Mount Abram's win...Colton Scheve exploded for 32 points and 8 steals in Carrabec's win over Wiscasset...Parker Morin's 21 led Cony over Presque Isle...Jackson Barry's 13 & 13 led Ellsworth over MDI...the Monmouth boys went 21/30 from the line to outlast Telstar...Madison got 19 from Finn Haynie to beat Buckfield...Nate Grunkemeyer had 17 in Bangor's win over Lewiston...Machias got 27 points on a 90.7% TS% from Loretta Richardson in a win over 'Guag. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Because we're not busy enough, Jon Duke and I got on a podcast to talk about the first 4 days of the tournament (among other things). You can, of course, listen to this on your podcast platform of choice. --- We had a buzzer-beater in the Camden/Skowhegan game that was, um, a little late. I don't share this to put ref (and past podcast guest) Chris Barstow on blast (well, maybe a little), but let's clarify a couple of things. First, let's quote Jim Baines via Facebook: > Here is the NFHS interpretation: Officials must be certain that the shot was late, in order to disallow it. If there's any doubt whatsoever, count it. So that's the first thing. Err on the side of a made bucket. Makes sense. Second, we could review this if NFHS didn't suck. And this will be reviewable once WHOU takes over, but since NFHS can't handle the technology, it's not fixable. The sooner we get rid of NFHS, the better. WHOU has the semifinals, even though they're basically doing the quarterfinals for NFHS. It's dumb. It's like having the ACC available for tourney games and saying, "what if we played in the WalMart parking lot instead?" --- This was a nice surprise. > God bless whoever at Hannaford put the meal kits on sale for tourney week > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 15, 2026](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/2023168364655391016?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you're working the tournament, it's a lot of long days and it's easier to just tell the family to not worry about you for dinner and if there's leftovers when you get home, that's a bonus. Enter a $5 meal kit of salmon and vegetables you can throw in the oven. I'm a big fan. Now I need a sale on energy drinks. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Walking around the Expo, it doesn't take long to find someone who's got the Leavitt/Yarmouth quarterfinal circled, so it was no surprise to see it show up as the Game of the Day. B South has a wider range of opinions than in the last couple of years, where most people felt like the region had 1 or 2 clear favorites. This year, that number is maybe 5 and one of them isn't guaranteed to go home today when Leavitt and Yarmouth play the 4/5 quarterfinal. Leavitt lost 3 of their last 4, but I think we can forgive them. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-16-at-1.19.41---AM.png) these rankings are old, but you get the idea That's a brutal finishing stretch with two pretty good losses at the end of it. When I saw Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway in the middle of it, he remarked that they'd certainly be tested and ready for the tournament. They went 11-7 and played an extra game's worth of overtime periods against the hardest schedule in the region. Yarmouth started the year 1-2 and when they got healthy, rolled off 12 out of 13 with quality wins over York and Lake Region before tripping up against Cape Elizabeth. Can they get a date with York in the semifinals and a potential rubber match? Or will Leavitt reach the semifinals for the first time since 1969? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-16-at-1.13.27---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Marshwood at the Buzzer URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/marshwood-at-the-buzzer-2/ Last updated: 2026-02-14T15:38:04.000Z After a class S appetizer that [maybe should have been sent back to the kitchen](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-s-quarterfinals-didnt-work/), the tourney kicked off with everyone else on the traditional Friday afternoon slate from all three venues. So what did Day 3 bring us? A preview of how great the tournament will be. It looks like we had 3 games that came down to the wire. Let's start in Portland. The York girls are no stranger to the tournament--this was their 22nd consecutive trip to a neutral floor--and are hoping to make some noise this year as the 3 seed in B South. They squared off against a Poland team hoping to win their first quarterfinal game in 8 years. And at first, it looked like they might. They used a 7-0 run in the first quarter to raise the upset red flags, but York stormed back. A 20-4 second quarter gave the Wildcats the lead at the break. Poland had cut a 13 point deficit down to 3 when York attempted to check Sophie Coite back into the game, only to learn she had 5 and the officials assessed them a technical. This led to some confusion. York did not appear to think Coite had 5 fouls. I didn't think she had 5 fouls. I went back and watched the broadcast. She picked up that final foul with 5:22 left in the game. You can watch the clip for yourself. [Clip from 2026 MPA B South Girls Basketball Quarters #1 (Portland) York vs Poland - 02/13/2026 | Live & On DemandWatch the 2026 MPA B South Girls Basketball Quarters #1 (Portland) York vs Poland - 02/13/2026 live and on demand online on the NFHS Network![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-19.png)NFHS logo![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/gam6f9345a7d6_1770479952357.png)](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/clips/ucl4d2e80ffe21771051431335?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That doesn't look like a player who just fouled out of a playoff game, you know? But apparently they announced it over the PA. It's hard to hear on the broadcast. I don't know. I'm just not convinced she actually fouled out. In the end, it didn't matter. Poland never got closer than 2 and York went 11/14 from the line in the fourth quarter to escape with a win. Nya Avery led the way with 17\. --- Ethan Snow reminded me after the York/Poland game that we traditionally get an overtime game on Friday at the Expo and lamented the missed opportunity of York hitting their free throws down the stretch. Well... Let's jump to the 4/5 game. Much like York, Marshwood started slowly and used a big second quarter to get back in the game. Greely led by as many as 8 before Marshwood closed the half on a 12-2 run to take a 6-point lead. Greely immediately wiped that out to start the second half. Marshwood nursed a 2 to 6 point lead for most of the half until Avery Bush tied the game at 43 with just over 2 minutes left. We traded missed threes and then... > Greely just burned their final timeout in a tie game with 1:31 to go > > Just noting that in case > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 14, 2026](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/2022487848084214262?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I don't think that changed the outcome of the game, but it felt risky at the time. Greely burned a bunch of clock but gave it away when Jolie Folger came up with her first steal of the game with 35.1 seconds left. Marshwood held for the final shot, but Renee St. Pierre lost control of it with 6 seconds left, which led to... That's Natalie Lathrop with the banked-in three to win it at the buzzer (I do not believe she called bank) and Marshwood advanced to the semifinals. Lathrop led all scorers with 17 and was 3/6 from deep. Isabelle Tice added 14\. Hannah Hussey and Avery Bush led Greely with 11 each. That's [not her first buzzer-beater](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/marshwood-at-the-buzzer/). Michael Hoffer was there. [Greely girls stunned by Marshwood’s buzzer-beater in quarterfinalsPORTLAND—Natalie Lathrop’s prayer was answered. And with it, Greely’s dream of reaching the semifinals was dashed. In the most painful way possible.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-23.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260213_193804.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/greely-girls-stunned-by-marshwoods-buzzer-beater-in-quarterfinals/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We finish in Bangor, where Ellsworth pulled off the upset of the tournament so far. At one point, Old Town led by 9 in the first half, but Ellsworth came back. They led by 3 with 6 seconds left. And then. > [@easternmainesport](https://www.tiktok.com/@easternmainesport?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "@easternmainesport") > > Offensive foul ball back to Ellsworth with 6 seconds left [#tourney26](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tourney26?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "tourney26") > > [♬ original sound - 🍓](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7502540227991358251?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "♬ original sound - 🍓") That looks like a charge from that angle and a gutsy move by the defender to stand in there and take it. #7 Ellsworth advances behind 18 points from Kaylee Bagley. Emma Ketch led Old Town with 17\. ### Elsewhere Mt. Ararat hit a class A record 11 threes and got their usual balanced scoring. Cali LeClair made 4 of them. Jenna Jensen had 12 & 7...Freshman Bryn Gilmore had 15 points, 10 boards, and 4 steals as GNG eliminated a pesky Freeport, who got perhaps the most impactful zero point performance (8 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 blocked shot) I've seen in a long time from Ky Kennedy...Maddie Provost had 26\. Ashley Shores went for 22 & 8 and Lawrence advanced...Hope Fontaine's 12 & 9 led Edward Little over Bangor...Aubrey Shaw scored 16 and Hampden out-rebounded Lewiston 42-24...Renee Ripley scored 21 points, pulled down 6 rebounds, had 7 dimes and 4 steals and controlled the game as Oceanside cruised. Olivia Breen added 22 and the Mariners also hit 11 3's...Hermon opened a big lead early over Belfast. Carter Wiggin led the way with 21...Leah Jones stuffed the stat sheet with 17/4r/2a/2s/2b and Camden rolled over Brunswick...Brady Atwater's 14/10/6 led Gardiner over Erskine. --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **Let's take a look at a region-by-region EFF leaderboard, thanks to the Live Stats doing in collaboration with the MPA.** **### A North** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-14-at-2.30.44---AM.png)** **### B North** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-14-at-2.32.35---AM.png)** **### B South** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-14-at-2.33.25---AM.png)** **You can find stats from every game played so far on the Tourney Player Stats page, which lets you filter by region, gender, or team.** **[Tourney StatsEvery player. Every game.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-66.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/tourney-stats-1-3.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-stats/)** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg)** **There's a lot of good options today. There's Gardiner/Cony girls, which would be a massive draw in Augusta. In Bangor? We'll see. There's Cheverus/TA and pretty much all of A South at the Expo. The entire A South slate has Game of the Day numbers.** **But we're going back to MDI/Ellsworth. I have a rule that we don't repeat matchups for Game of the Day, but I think that should only apply to the regular season. They just did this on the final day of the regular season, with both teams locked into their seed and nothing to play for, and Ellsworth won a thriller at home 71-69\.** **What more do you need to know?** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-14-at-1.13.13---AM.png)** [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The S Quarterfinals Didn't Work URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-s-quarterfinals-didnt-work/ Last updated: 2026-02-13T11:58:54.000Z Most years, the Thursday of prelim week was quiet. You might have a prelim game or two, but there didn't tend to be much going on. Last year it was completely quiet. The night before Christmas and all that. Not this year! This year we had the Class S quarterfinals in Bangor and Augusta, plus 4 prelim games. Let's start in Calais! > [@easternmainesport](https://www.tiktok.com/@easternmainesport?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "@easternmainesport") > > Frank Miliano with the game winning dunk for Calais in prelim win over Dexter [#tourney26](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tourney26?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "tourney26") [#boysbasketball](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/boysbasketball?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "boysbasketball") [#easternmainesports](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/easternmainesports?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "easternmainesports") > > [♬ The Ferb by Maxevasion - Maxevasion](https://www.tiktok.com/music/The-Ferb-by-Maxevasion-7442912522305456952?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "♬ The Ferb by Maxevasion - Maxevasion") What a way to punch your ticket to Bangor! --- Much further south (in the Game of the Day), GNG rallied at Cape in the B South 8/9 prelim. > GNG closes third quarter on a 14-2 run, leads Cape Elizabeth, 43-36 [pic.twitter.com/tTUh991X7V](https://t.co/tTUh991X7V?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Michael Hoffer (@foresports) [February 13, 2026](https://twitter.com/foresports/status/2022099375548510602?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But Cape would answer. They took the lead with under 3 to play on a Joshua Rosen three. GNG tied it up on a Isaiah Portas layup, took the lead with the and 1 and held on for the win, but not before quite a lot of complaining from Media Row at the Civic Center that Cape's stream didn't show the clock. There were a lot of people wondering how much time was left in the game, is all I'm saying. Seems like a preventable issue! Michael Hoffer was there. [Gray-New Gloucester boys oust Cape Elizabeth in prelimCAPE ELIZABETH—Gray New Gloucester’s boys’ basketball team has had no margin for error for weeks, so when the Patriots found themselves trailing late in Thursday evening’s Class B South preliminary round tournament game, they didn’t panic. Instead, they had host Cape Elizabeth right where they wanted. And with the![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-22.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260212_180444.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/gray-new-gloucester-boys-oust-cape-elizabeth-in-prelim/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The quarterfinal games were...less good. I've said for years that one of the issues with 5 classes is the math doesn't really work out to have at least 12 teams in each region, or at least it's quite difficult. That matters when you get to the quarterfinals because you inevitably have a handful of teams in the quarterfinals who are not, uh, playoff quality opponents and should be getting ready for spring sports. If you have 12, the bottom 4 don't make it and if you look at the regions around the state, the bottom 4 are usually weak. That's perfectly normal. With 8, they end up having to play Valley. It's not a problem unique to Class S. We had the same problem with AA, but we played those games at the schools, so no one paid much attention to the SoPo girls beating Noble 66-12\. But play that game under the bright lights and suddenly it's a problem. The problem is the game shouldn't happen in the first place. We did have an upset. > Upset of the tournament: someone in the Vinalhaven section has a horn and the MPA hasn't removed it yet. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 12, 2026](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/2022082957876638032?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Anyway, we played 16 quarterfinal games and in 7 of them the winner doubled up their opponent...or much worse. We did have some big performances. - Ava Lerman went off for 40 in Wisdom's win over Easton. - Mason Pelletier topped that with 42 in Easton's win over Wisdom. - Pine Tree's Rhett Tyson had 29, 7 rebounds, and 8 steals against Rangeley. - Calvin Richardson scored 26 points and pulled down 11 boards in Katahdin's win. - Vinalhaven's Lydia Wentworth scored 17 point and grabbed a whopping 19 rebounds. - Harper Conover notched 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 steals as Islesboro set a date with Valley. - Pine Tree junior Chantal Mbonimpa scored her 1,000th point Dave Dyer had a write-up for Varsity Maine. [Island basketball showcased, and more Augusta tourney takeawaysNorth Haven, Vinalhaven and Islesboro get chances to shine on the state’s biggest stage.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-33.png)The Portland Press HeraldDave DyerStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43425949_20260212_ClassSFeature_9087.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/02/12/island-basketball-showcased-and-more-augusta-tourney-takeaways/?utm%5Fcampaign=NewBot%5FvarsityMaine&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawP7mdlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETJwckthN0pscTFqcVY0RHJFc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHlLs7ogT1XqG-ixXe%5FQ1LITTu15FhVLI%5FTPcG9hBvhfz-ESqZE4IPeNAj6J3%5Faem%5F5sRnTDKQ6UPmCQrgcBPW9w) --- One of the nice benefits of getting stats from all three tournament venues is we have a lot of data to play with. Hopefully we'll be able to generate some reports and leader boards and stuff like that, but for now, I've got a master report that's been updating after every game (roughly depending on my access to the internet when the game goes final). As of now, you can see stats for every game from Bangor and Augusta and you can filter it by region, gender, or team. [Tourney Stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-stats/) Here's the top 10 in [EFF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efficiency%5F%28basketball%29?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) (or Efficiency Rating) for the Class S quarterfinals. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-12-at-10.52.45---PM.png) --- Monday, I posted the girls half of the annual [Let's Pick a Cinderella!](https://youtu.be/DC7b6-3TWTU?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) podcast episode and now it's time for the boys half. You know the drill: Jay Baines and I go region-by-region. We can't pick the favorite, we can't pick our teams (Medomak and Old Town, respectively), and people get mad when we don't pick them. [Subscribe to YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I also recorded the intro and outro from the Civic Center. I'm not sure if I like that, visually. I think it could work. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) When we get to the quarterfinals, it's almost guaranteed that the Game of the Day will be a 4/5 matchup. They're 4th and 5th for a reason. Today is no different. The Edward Little girls finished 14-4 with three of the losses coming in a rough stretch late. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-13-at-2.06.54---AM-1.png) The Mt. Ararat loss makes sense, but the three in a row of it all is a red flag. Normally, if a team goes 14-4 and loses three straight, something happened in those three losses--an injury, maybe, or a shooting funk. But, with just 1 game on the other side of it, it's hard to say if the issue has been resolved. If it has, I think you have to mentally adjust that 1-point road loss to Bangor in EL's favor. And if it hasn't, a 1-point loss on the road makes EL a slight favorite on a neutral floor. This, and the rest of the quarterfinals, will be on NFHS. [Stream the Quarterfinals](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/PyLXJR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-12-at-10.51.28---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Valleys URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/valleys/ Last updated: 2026-02-12T11:57:19.000Z The S South tournament kicked off last night in Augusta with Valley, Forest Hills, and Greenville all playing a double header. It was great to be back in the ACC in playoff mode, even if the games were all pretty much a dud, competitively-speaking. But there were moments. Jaxson Desjardins continued the family tradition of putting up big scoring numbers at the ACC, going off for 36 & 10 against Temple, but it was the two points he didn't score that had everyone talking. [Clip from 2026 MPA S South Boys Basketball Quarterfinals #1 (Augusta) Forest Hills vs Temple - 02/11/2026 | Live & On DemandWatch the 2026 MPA S South Boys Basketball Quarterfinals #1 (Augusta) Forest Hills vs Temple - 02/11/2026 live and on demand online on the NFHS Network![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-18.png)NFHS logo![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/gam2dd7b32db6_1770477416672.png)](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/clips/ucl4d2e80ffe21770867369039?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Desjardins took a rebound coast-to-coast for an easy layup, but before the ball can go through the net, his teammate grabbed the rim. Even my hatred of dunk technicals couldn't find a way for it to not be a technical. But since the ball wasn't through yet, they also waived off the basket, giving us a basket interference technical. And in Class S! What are the odds? Forest Hills rolled. The Forest Hills girls also rolled behind 25 points from Janessa Moffit and 20 rebounds from Morgan Petrucci (who might be Daigle). Forest Hills will play the winner of Vinalhaven and Pine Tree. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-12-at-1.37.49---AM.png) [Brackets](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dIUqf9-aPeicGSCX2ms3olUDki8QVivnpiVXOZNI%5FwM/edit?gid=1894028799&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#gid=1894028799) Then it was Valley's turn and oh boy was it Valley's turn. The Valley boys were up first and they were up to the task. The defense was swarming. They had 11 steals in the first half and it felt like a million. They just came in waves. Valley pulled the starters early. Fisher Tewksbury only played 15 minutes. He still scored 12 points and had 10 boards. Harry Louis had 19 to go with 7 assists. They went on a 39-0 run between Greenville's first and second bucket. They put in four 8th graders in the second unit and then they had to pull them. Eventually it was Valley's third string against 3 of Greenville's starters and Valley still won the 4th quarter and rolled to a 70-16 win. The Rangeley girls returned to varsity basketball this year for the first time in 3 years. They won 2 games this year, which probably exceeded expectations, and as a reward, they got an hour and 45 minute drive each way to face a Valley team who spent the preseason scrimmaging a 13-5 class A team for fun. After the first quarter, it was 34-1\. The Lakers had no answer for Kirsten Bigelow and Liana Hartwell. Bigelow had 29 points and 7 steals in 17 minutes. Hartwell had a 17 minute triple-double (13 points, 10 assists, and 12 steals). They were +65 and +60, respectively. It was 53-1 before Rangeley hit their second free throw. It's not a pleasant experience to get smoked by a buzzsaw like Valley, but rebuilding a program takes time and when you're as young as Rangeley Lakes is (the program said they started a 6th grader?), the experience is valuable, regardless of the score. Mike Mandell wrote about the first day of the S South tourney. [Takeaways from Augusta’s opening day of Class S tourney actionMaine’s smallest schools tipped off at the Augusta Civic Center a little earlier this year.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-31.png)The Portland Press HeraldMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43424118_20260211_ClassSFeature_8836-copy.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/02/11/takeaways-from-augustas-opening-day-of-class-s-tourney-action/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- As you might imagine, people weren't totally locked in to the second half of the Valley girls game. Oceanside and Lincoln Academy played an instant classic for a ticket to Portland. Oceanside and LA have played a couple of these in the last couple of years. Oceanside swept the season series and when they led 44-36 with 6 minutes left, it looked like they'd win that tricky third game, but Lincoln Academy came roaring back. They went on a 10-0 run. Aidyn Herring hit a three and Chase Ober's three gave the Eagles the lead. He finished with 21\. Lincoln Academy held Oceanside to 2 points in the 4th quarter to force overtime. Brody Day's layup off a James Hanley steal was the winner and the Eagles advanced. They'll play Medomak Valley in the quarterfinals. ### Elsewhere Max Bouchard's 14 points led #10 Bonny Eagle to a slight upset of #7 Westbrook...Dirigo's Brady Philbrick hit 5 shots from deep en route to 18 points as the #7 Cougars eliminated #10 Winslow...Sienna Eldred had 19 points in #7 Thornton Academy's win over #10 Kennebunk....Braden New's 23 points wasn't enough for #8 Oak Hill to advance over #9 Wells. They'll play Spruce Mountain in the quarterfinals. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- I've got tourney stats up and running. This should be able to update rather quickly, so I might be able to get this updated during all the session breaks. You can take the larger view or filter by gender, team, and region. Say, if you wanted to know who's had the best tourney in each region (or overall!) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-12-at-1.33.09---AM.png) [Tourney Player Stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-stats/) --- You may have heard the story of the Portland hockey coach who pulled his team off the ice after 10 minutes because he didn't agree with a couple of calls. [In refusing to complete a game, the coach of the Portland boys hockey co-op raises questions | ColumnDisagreeing with a ref’s call is never grounds for pulling the plug.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-32.png)The Portland Press HeraldTravis LazarczykColumnist![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20240316_mainehockey_0y31.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/02/09/in-refusing-to-complete-a-game-the-portland-boys-hockey-co-op-coach-raises-questions-that-need-to-be-answered/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's a weird story, because who does that? And you have to suspect there's more to the story. Yesterday, another shoe dropped as Portland, by rule, was forced to forfeit the remainder of their season. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/image-4-1-1.png) The forfeit comes with a 2 year ban on playing, although I wonder if Portland's appeal will be successful if they replace their coach. This doesn't seem to be a systemic issue and could just be a one-off mistake. Stay tuned. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) We're back in Augusta and Bangor today to finish off the S quarterfinals, but there's a couple more prelims scattered around the state. Cape Elizabeth started the season 2-7 and were ranked 103rd in the first half of the season, but they turned it around. They nearly beat Lake Region and then they actually beat Yarmouth to find themselves in the play-in. They'll face GNG. The Patriots won their first 2 (including a win over Cape), then lost 10 of 11 before shocking Lake Region to sneak in over Morse. Winner gets a date with York. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-11-at-11.00.16---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### S North URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/s-north/ Last updated: 2026-02-11T12:19:46.000Z Yesterday, the S North tournament started without a hitch and with it, the live stats from all three venues. [LIVE StatsLive stats of selected games![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-64.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/LIVE-STATS-5.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) They'll be going today in Augusta and I should have leaderboards up pretty soon, assuming the new system I've got set up works without any issues. --- At the end of January, Erskine made a statement with a 65-42 win over Cony (in the Game of the Day). Last night, Cony got their revenge. The Rams led early before Erskine used a 22-9 run to take a lead into the locker room. But Cony rallied in the second half behind big games from Kya Douin game (22 & 9) and Gabby Vachon (14 & 11) to punch their ticket to Bangor (that still sounds weird) and a date with rival Gardiner. Mike Mandell was there. [Cony girls basketball dominates late for prelim win over ErskineThe Rams advance to take on rival Gardiner in a Class B North quarterfinals on Saturday at the Cross Insurance Center.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-16.png)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43424104_20260210_ConyErskineGBB_8389.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/02/10/cony-girls-basketball-dominates-late-for-prelim-win-over-erskine/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- As part of his tourney history project, Jay Baines has started tracking how many years in a row each team has made it to a neutral tournament floor. The open tournament years, the AA years where everyone got in, and the weirdness that was 2021 make it tricky so he's using the neutral floor as the dividing line. Anyway, it'll be no surprise that the Falmouth boys were tied for the second-longest streak in the state among boys programs with 13 (Valley will get their 42nd in a row today). That streak was on the line last night in a prelim against Portland. The Bulldogs raced out to a 20-2 lead, but Falmouth would rally. They got as close as 6 before Portland put them away to advance to the quarterfinals against South Portland. The loss ends Falmouth's streak. 4th and 5th on the list were Greely (12) and Southern Aroostook (11), who both missed the tourney entirely this year. Big year for upheaval on the list. I'm going to go ahead and assume nothing will prevent the teams on this list from checking the 2026 box, so here's the new leaderboard: **Boys** 1\. Valley – 42 2\. Spruce Mountain – 14 3\. Medomak Valley – 11 3\. Schenck – 11 5\. Thornton Academy – 10 5\. York – 10 You'd think these numbers should be higher, but it's just so easy to have an off year where you lose a dumb prelim or something. I know Medomak lost a home prelim to Ellsworth or else they'd be in the 20s. We'll see if Gorham can win their prelim and stay on the girls leaderboard. ### Elsewhere Adam Fitzgerald scored 20 as Scarborough punched their ticket to the quarterfinals with a win over Kennebunk. Chris Thompson had 22 in the losing effort...Mari Ambila and Emily Groves each had 17 points in Freeport's win over Yarmouth in the B South 8/9 prelim...Dirigo had 4 players in double figures as they took care of Traip....the Ashland girls pitched a 2nd quarter shutout to pull away from Deer Isle-Stonington...Koben Robinson had 19 points and 5 steals as Jonesport-Beals blew out Deer Isle-Stonington...Grayson Harkins had 21 and Isaiah Lawrence's double-double got Shead a win over Washburn in the 4/5 quarterfinal...Mia Mills had 26 points and 9 boards as Jonesport-Beals pulled away from Shead late. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- With our first tourney results, we have our first update of the Gold Ball Odds. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-11-at-1.13.46---AM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- I try to get the Tourney Guides done every year before the prelims kick off, but I was a little late this year. The whole S Quarters starting early threw off my timing, but they're all ready to go now. Fingers crossed there's no issues with them. [Tourney GuideAll the data![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-63.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/media-guide-bann-4.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-guide/) --- Falmouth has a new football coach with big shoes to fill. > Brandon Dorsett will be the next head coach of the Navigators varsity football program. A familiar face in the community, he brings strong playing and coaching experience and will lead the team into the 2026 season. [pic.twitter.com/lAx8FIxydn](https://t.co/lAx8FIxydn?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — James Coffey (@FalmouthAD) [February 9, 2026](https://twitter.com/FalmouthAD/status/2020941324262965377?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Will the real Bonny Eagle please stand up? The Bonny Eagle boys have been all over the place this year. They went 10-8 and lost to the 11 seed Falmouth and 8 seeded Scarborough, but also beat Windham. They're going to try and make a run at the quarterfinals as the 11 seed in a deep A South. They'll head to Westbrook to face the stingiest scoring defense in all of class A. Westbrook is 13-5, but it's a weird schedule. They played the 3rd hardest schedule in the state in the first half and started 5-4, then went 8-1 down the stretch against a considerably easier slate. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-11-at-1.50.03---AM-1-1.png) from the Tourney Guide The bottom of A South is quite soft. Still, Westbrook closed strong and Bonny Eagle didn't, except they beat Windham on January 27th and the team that beat Windham is in there somewhere. But also, the team that lost to Falmouth and Portland is in there. Maybe the team that beat Windham shows up. And if they do, Westbrook has that football title to fall back on. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-11-at-1.41.05---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### It's Tourney Time* URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/its-tourney-time/ Last updated: 2026-02-10T12:00:39.000Z The Tournament is here!!! We made it through the wilderness and now we embark on the best time of the year, only this year we're starting a couple of days early with the Class S (schools under 100 students) in Bangor. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-09-at-8.55.57---PM.png) You can get your tickets here: [GoFan - The largest high school ticketing solution in the U.S.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-32.ico)The largest high school ticketing solution in the U.S.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/gofan-link-preview.png)](https://gofan.co/app/school/MPA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Tomorrow, Augusta will tip off S South. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-09-at-8.58.01---PM.png) And then on Thursday, Bangor and Augusta will finish off the S quarterfinals and we'll start in earnest at all three venues. We also have the vast majority of the girls prelims today. It's gonna be epic. --- Every year, going all the way back to when this was just a Tumblr account, I've done a gimmick called "Let's Pick a Cinderella!" It's a simple gimmick: you go region-by-region and try and figure out who could win the region if the favorite faltered. The last couple of years, Jay Baines has done it with me, which has really taken it to the next level. Up first: the girls. The boys will be in a day or 2\. I'm trying to figure out what the podcast component of the tourney coverage will be, but it'll be something, so make sure you subscribe on YouTube for whatever I come up with. [Subscribe to YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Speaking of Jay, his best-in-class brackets are out. They're a lifesaver. [TOURNEY 2026![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/spreadsheets_2023q4.ico)Google Docs![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/AHkbwyIqHyZhzYayOAcPBNCrJJgN99AFSrbKkzp8jR-IYHqLUMXYPV-HCre0fcJa7xk0pX8vSRwCa-subnBJr4w-TKbf608mqDfugY7cCi06H1VmclTaxUjD-w1200-h630-p)](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dIUqf9-aPeicGSCX2ms3olUDki8QVivnpiVXOZNI%5FwM/edit?gid=651564611&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#gid=651564611) --- No one covers basketball in the County better than Steve Carmichael and the folks at WHOU, so they're exactly who you want to have preview the Bangor tournaments for you. Luckily, they did just that. --- Once again, you'll be able to follow along from home with LIVE stats from Augusta, Bangor, and Portland, courtesy of a collaboration between yours truly and the MPA. [LIVE StatsLive stats of selected games![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-61.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/LIVE-STATS-4.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) --- The Tourney Guides are starting to roll out. If you're new here, the Tourney Guide is an overwhelming amount of information about every team in the state--their season at a glance, their stat rankings, tourney history, and so much more--for every single team in the state. It looks like this: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-07-at-11.04.47---PM-1.png) The Tourney Guide is available for paid subscribers and it's rolling out region-by-region as I get them done. As of the writing of this, S North and South are done. By the time you read this, there should be more. [Tourney Guides](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-guide/) --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- It's officially "how do I watch the games?" season. Here's a reference you can share with the people in your life who will ask you 15 times. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/image-3.png) NFHS has the quarterfinals (ugh). If you aren't already subscribed to NFHS, here's a handy affiliate link: [Subscribe to NFHS](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/9LgYA4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) One of these days, NFHS will be behind us, but not today. Then we move to WHOU for the semifinals and regionals. Maine Public has the state games. --- Over at Varsity Maine, I broke down the favorites in each region. It's about as nerdy as you'd expect. > Nolan Ames and friends have been the favorites since they beat Edward Little at the buzzer on opening night. The Windjammers led the region in scoring, point differential, and %Perfect, a stat that measures how dominant you are against your schedule. Edward Little (18%) and Brunswick (10.9%) have pushed the Windjammers and could play spoiler. The Eddies were third in the region in point differential (+186) against the third-hardest schedule. But after Ames hit not one, but two buzzer-beaters in Camden’s final regular season game, it’s hard to argue that this isn’t the Windjammers’ year to win their first regional final since 2011. [The Maine high school basketball tournament is here. Here’s who can win Gold BallsThe data shows many top seeds have a good shot to reach state finals, but there’s a few other teams lurking that could play big spoiler roles.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-15.png)Centralmaine.commodify your screen name here![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43300190_20251204_CamdenHillsElBBall-10.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/02/09/the-maine-high-school-basketball-tournament-is-here-heres-who-can-win-gold-balls/?utm%5Fcampaign=NewBot%5FvarsityMaine&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawP3c%5F1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEenMhPHPJlgaIpKVog465jBDT5c3xAuuhuE3lfjqJ3gXqBFZ6QQGT5DUn0%5FrQ%5Faem%5FUBxyVhy9G3tqtjiSJqc4RA) --- Our man Cooper sat down with Dirk Nowitzki. --- And with the Winter Olympics back, it's time for curling!!! > DO YOU BELIEVE IN (CURLING) MIRACLES?! 🤯 > > Team USA defeats reigning gold medalists Italy to reach their first-ever mixed doubles GOLD MEDAL GAME. [#WinterOlympics](https://twitter.com/hashtag/WinterOlympics?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/j7xSg0kA5p](https://t.co/j7xSg0kA5p?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) [February 9, 2026](https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/2020943666542510176?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) We kick off the S North tournament today in Bangor and while we might get a blowout or 2, the 4/5 games look pretty interesting. Ashland and Deer Isle-Stonington didn't play in the regular season (that'd be a 3 hour and 43 minute drive each way, in case you're wondering). Unless I'm missing something, they only had one opponent in common--East Grand--and they both handled them easily. These teams are pretty close to each other, statistically, so the Model has this as a toss-up, but who knows? This will be on NFHS. [Subscribe to NFHS](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/9LgYA4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-09-at-8.10.02---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Gardiner's Not a 4-Point Play URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gardiners-not-a-4-point-play/ Last updated: 2026-02-07T16:28:44.000Z Well, we did it. Games are all final. The scores are all in. The Heal Points are set (assuming I didn't type a score in wrong). And I got a little bit of sleep. Let's wrap up the regular season. I thought about going to the Gardiner/Medomak game, but I'd seen both teams several times, the Lincoln/Winslow game looked interesting, and it meant I could update the Heal Points on the final day an hour earlier, which I thought people would appreciate. Luckily, Jeff Miles was there. Love this. > Really cool senior night thing! > As the Gardiner seniors got announced for pregame intros they each did their handshake routines with their moms! [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [February 5, 2026](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/2019561434703884741?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And when this notification popped up, it seemed like I had made a good decision. > Boys Basketball > Medomak Valley 21 > Gardiner 5 > End of 1 [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [February 6, 2026](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/2019562991323345396?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I did not make a good decision. Gardiner used a 10-0 run to come roaring back from down 14 with 6 minutes left. Then down 3 with 23 seconds left, this happened, which I've grabbed from [Munzing Media's YouTube stream](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvHJv3DHON8&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) (with permission, of course). Jump to about 2:21:00 on YouTube if you want to watch the full sequence. 0:00 /0:07 1× video courtesy of Munzing Media This is a great angle by the Munzing Media crew (who did their usual stellar job) of Trace Moody having the presence of mind to throw up an absolute prayer and actually making it. The only problem is the officials apparently didn't get a good look at his feet. You can see on the clip the trail official, who doesn't have a great angle of the feet, makes the call and the official to the side appears to be blocked by 2 defenders. Moody also lands nearly at the block, so he's nowhere near the 3-point line at the end of the play. You can see how they could think the shot was a 2\. If you watch it at full speed on the main broadcast angle it's a tough call to get right. Only, they didn't get it right. It should have been a 3\. Moody made the free throw to tie the game and Medomak answered with a Kollin Donlin bucket to retake the lead and escape with a 59-56 win. Donlin finished with 20 & 10\. Gardiner has a real gripe here because that's a huge call, but it doesn't materially change how either team is going to approach the next possession--down 1 or tied Medomak needs to score either way and Gardiner needs to get a stop. It's not exactly the same, but it's not like they should have been up 3 instead of 2 with 18 seconds left and then the decisions are different. As Rob Munzing said on the broadcast, this will get you ready for the tournament. And I think that's really what you're looking for here. If you're Gardiner, you dug deep and rallied down big against a contender and nearly stole a win. If you're Medomak, you survived a furious rally from a contender and pulled out a win on the road. Neither team needed the win, really. You've gotta love a pressure test in your final game. --- The Medomak win put them within range of York for the 1 seed in B South and they could get there with help from their good friends from Lincoln Academy, who was hosting Winslow on Senior Night. Lincoln Academy was in, according to the Tourney Odds and Winslow needed to win to get in and get some help. It was a close game throughout. I don't think it was ever more than a 2-possession game. We had the ultra-rare technical for [too many players on the court](https://www.facebook.com/reel/908698675019085). And Chase Ober's nice blocked shot was waived off for a traveling call. > [@mainebasketballrankings1](https://www.tiktok.com/@mainebasketballrankings1?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "@mainebasketballrankings1") > > Nothing worse than having your awesome blocked shot not count because of a travel. [#basketball](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/basketball?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "basketball") > > [♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings - Maine Basketball Rankings](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-Maine-Basketball-Rankings-7603784320108595982?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings - Maine Basketball Rankings") This should be a stat--blocked shots that don't count. You should get it for plays like this and plays where your teammate commits a shooting foul and you get the helpside rejection. If you think about it, in that case the basket would count if you didn't block the shot. During the game, several Lincoln Academy fans asked me if they were still in if they lost or if they needed help, which confused me because in the Tourney Odds, they had been in for at least a couple days, but enough people asked that I started to second guess it, so during timeouts I was looking at the Heal Points and doing quick math on my phone calculator. The worry was that Morse could pass them with a win and, in theory they could, but Lincoln would stay ahead with the help points they'd get from beating Morse twice. Heal Points! Jack Flaherty hit a 3 to give Winslow the lead for good with 45 seconds left. Winslow hit their free throws in the final minute and won 58-52 to knock Lisbon out of the post-season. They'll head to Dirigo for a 7/10 prelim. With the loss, Lincoln Academy fell to 10 and will play Oceanside in a prelim. They also kept Medomak from the 1 seed. --- Erskine's Gavin Fanjoy's steal and dunk in overtime was the game winner over Lawrence...and then the students stormed the court. --- In the Game of the Day, the Cheverus girls built a 14-point lead, then let it slip away, but Cheverus held on, helped by these 2 free throws by Addie Jordon. Cheverus grabs the 1 seed. South Portland dropped to 3rd after Sanford beat Biddeford. Michael Hoffer was there. [Cheverus girls return to form, edge South Portland in thrilling regular season finaleSOUTH PORTLAND—What a difference 48 hours made for Cheverus’ girls’ basketball team. The Stags, who suffered their first loss of the season, in decisive fashion, Tuesday at Biddeford, regrouped in practice Wednesday, then Thursday evening, put their new-and-improved show on the court at Beal Gymnasium in the regular season![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-21.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260205_184900.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/cheverus-girls-return-to-form-edge-south-portland-in-thrilling-regular-season-finale/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Nolan Ames closed out the regular season in style with not one, but two buzzer beaters. I highly recommend watching these, because one of them is unreal. > [@NolanAmes35](https://twitter.com/NolanAmes35?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ends the first and second quarters on Senior Night with half court buzzer beaters! [pic.twitter.com/etTkOzKrvh](https://t.co/etTkOzKrvh?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — CamdenHillsBasketball (@CamdenHillsBB) [February 6, 2026](https://twitter.com/CamdenHillsBB/status/2019572096079458552?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Ames finished with 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 steals in Camden's win over Brewer. They'll be the 1 seed in A North. --- Speaking of buzzer-beaters, E.J. Herrick hit one with style. > Check out Scarborough's E.J. Herrick's no-look buzzer beater! [@redstorm\_sports](https://twitter.com/redstorm%5Fsports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/QbAUQLikqd](https://t.co/QbAUQLikqd?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) [February 6, 2026](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME/status/2019582783325368667?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Herrick finished with 21 in Scarborough's win. ### Elsewhere Maddie Provost went off for 30 & 11 as Lawrence beat Erskine and grabbed the 3 seed. Ashley Shores added 22 & 12...Tyrie James dropped 31 and Colin Janvrin chipped in 16 & 10 and Windham beat TA to clinch the 1 and the program's first ever SMAA title...Colin Schlobohm's 24 wasn't enough for Leavitt to survive Cony's fourth quarter surge. Jackson Kay led the Rams with 20...Dylan Gendron's 15 led Sanford over Biddeford...Lucas LeGage had 15 in Portland's win over Deering...Gio Staples had 14 to lead Westbrook's balanced attack over Massabesic...Cooper Abell hit 5 3's in Mount Blue's win over Oxford Hills...Dylan Myhal had 16 in Kennebunk's win over Marshwood...Kylie Cole had 19 as Bonny Eagle doubled up Falmouth...Edward Little got 17 from Elizabeth Galway as they beat Lewiston...Reese Darling's 19 led Morse over Waterville...Lawino Bendasta scored 15 in Portland's come-from-behind win over Deering...Dirigo's Abby Luczynski dropped 21 on Mountain Valley...Lily Bellerose went off for 32 in Spruce's blowout of Lisbon...Mollie Puffer went off for 29 as Sanford beat Biddeford to grab the 2 seed...Zoe Dellinger had 15 in Gorham's win over Scarborough...EL's Akol Maiwen scored 19 in a win over Lewiston... --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more ### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Gold Ball Odds are up! Let's take our first look at the ultra-competitive B North girls. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-06-at-10.37.41---PM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) As usual, there's more information if you hover/click. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-06-at-10.41.34---PM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) The S Quarterfinal schedules are set. So, we've known the schedules for the other classes for a couple weeks. For example: we've known that the A South Boys 1 seed will play at 6:45pm at the Expo. But the S schedule has been a mystery. And now we know it. ### Augusta ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-06-at-12.07.44---AM-1.png) ### Bangor ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-06-at-12.07.34---AM-1.png) I have no actual information about this, but it's hard to not notice that schools are playing their boys and girls games in back-to-back slots in almost every situation. That has to be intentional. And I think it's fascinating. I don't think the MPA would have done this 10 years ago. I've long said we should tweak the schedule to avoid situations where the boys team plays the Friday late game and the girls team plays in the first Saturday morning slot or have the last game in the block be the teams that are the closest to the tournament site. Because, you know, driving. --- You can listen to the Maine Calling radio episode I did with Bill Green, Peter Murray, and special guest Andy Bedard(!) on your favorite podcast platform. --- Cooper doing Cooper things. > Cooper Flagg with a one handed pass behind the back of Victor Wembanyama and a dime to Caleb Martin. > > Martin drains a 3\. [pic.twitter.com/lG0mNwaWcK](https://t.co/lG0mNwaWcK?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Abby Jones (@\_abigaiiiil) [February 6, 2026](https://twitter.com/%5Fabigaiiiil/status/2019606812660486583?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you missed it, Mike Vrabel won the NFL Coach of the Year award. > Mike Vrabel is the 2025 NFL Coach of the Year after leading the Patriots to a 14-3 record in his first season as head coach 👏 > > It's Vrabel's second time taking home the honor, having won it with the Titans in 2021\. [pic.twitter.com/IFoxu7MuPu](https://t.co/IFoxu7MuPu?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) [February 6, 2026](https://twitter.com/NBCSBoston/status/2019604676937674976?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Up next: I'm cleaning up the Media Guide. It should be up sometime this weekend, assuming I don't run into any issues (knock on wood). Here's a reminder of what last year's looked like ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2025-02-12-at-9.36.59---PM.png) Rest up! **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link.](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter (always)](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### Ellsworth at the Buzzer URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ellsworth-at-the-buzzer/ Last updated: 2026-02-05T12:00:16.000Z The Game of the Day lived up to the hype and then some. MDI headed to Ellsworth for a quarterfinal preview. Down 17 in the third, Ellsworth rallied behind a career-high 21 points from Bryce Hart. He did everything down the stretch except hit the game winner, but when his deep three came up short (or was it a pass???), Colby Eaton was there to clean up the miss and score the [putback at the buzzer](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DeooLwX8Q/). [Ryan McLaughlin was there](https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/sports/flair-for-the-dramatic-eatons-winning-layup-finishes-off-ellsworth-comeback-win-over-mdi/article%5Fbb698820-62d4-40fb-b19b-2564eda7d04f.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- Caden Frazier (seen in the clip below) was one of 4 Spruce Mountain players in double figures as the Phoenix pulled away from Mount Abram late in a 1 vs 1 Tourney Preview. It's like one of those cross-class scrimmages coaches schedule for prelim week, only it counts. > Spruce is on a 17-4 run! > Spruce Mountain 56 > Mt. Abram 43 > 3:30 left![@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/u1045rxBvq](https://t.co/u1045rxBvq?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [February 5, 2026](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/2019210771163673061?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Jimmy James [was there](https://www.sunjournal.com/2026/02/04/spruce-mountain-boys-basketball-downs-mt-abram-in-regular-season-finale?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- The Leavitt and Medomak girls finished the game from Tuesday they were unable to complete because of a power outage. Play resumed with 4:01 left in the 4th quarter and the Hornets up 21\. There was no rally, so Medomak drove 2 hours and 58 minutes round-trip to play 4 minutes and 1 second of basketball. The win punches Leavitt's ticket to the post-season and Medomak will need a win against Gardiner in a...I guess it's not really a back-to-back-to-back or even a back-to-back? It's just weird. According a Facebook comment I saw and didn't bother to verify, Leavitt AD Ryan LaRoche dug out a storage shed during Tuesday's portion of the game in order to [have a clock ](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/down-goes-cheverus/)after the scoreboard went out. There's always something new. Gabby Smith led the Hornets with 16 & 11. --- Add Wells' Megyn Mertens to the 1K club. She needed 28, got it in the first half(!), and finished with 34\. > 🏀 Congratulations to Megyn Mertens for scoring her 1000th point tonight!! [pic.twitter.com/BYNdJfWZWj](https://t.co/BYNdJfWZWj?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Wells AD (@wellshsAD) [February 4, 2026](https://twitter.com/wellshsAD/status/2019193617190121643?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Elsewhere Monmouth's Kaitlyn Frost scored her 1,000th point against Telstar. She finished with 28...Harliegh Allen went off for 27 as Central Aroostook tied a school record with a 17-1 season...Gage Mattson had 21 and Jack Fontaine kicked in 18 in Maranacook's win over Winthrop. The Ramblers got 23 from Graham Huri...Jack Kern scored 15 and Traip closed on an 18-5 run to put away OOB...Reece MacDonald had 25\. Robbie Hanscom added 23 and York rolled over Cape...The Poland girls beat Freeport in overtime behind Charlotte Grenier’s 12\. Abby Giroux had 17 for Freeport...Addison Valente's 26 wasn't enough for Fryeburg against Yarmouth, who was led by Rory Tompkins' 16...Jake Jamo scored 18 and Poland finished out their regular season with a 31-point final quarter against Freeport...Isaiah Portis had 20 and GNG punched their ticket with a win over Greely...Kason Bua's 24 wasn't enough for Presque Isle to beat Caribou. The Vikings were led by 19 from Owen Corrigan...Freshman Tyler Day scored 22 in Monmouth's win over Oak Hill...Kevin Bolduc's 18 led Wells over Sacopee Valley...Ethan Walsh had 20 in Fort Fairfield's win over Central Aroostook. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- I'll be on [Maine Calling](https://www.mainepublic.org/show/maine-calling?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) on Maine Public Radio tomorrow to talk about the upcoming tournament live at 11am. Apparently [you can call in?](https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14XxcWMcTcX/) --- The BDN's Tourney Guide is out. [Tourney Time 2026Tourney Time 2026 - https://issuu.com/bdnsections/docs/tourney\_time\_2025-26?fr=xKAE9\_zMzMw![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-43.png)Bangor Daily News![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/TourneyTimeBanner2026.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/tourney-time-2026/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPxBClleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETExMGtJb3ZVR1J1QVhPeWk0c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHq6w33lbMd-e8rSiKqcLsXK98R9NsScxZFar9dRTuEWzpFIyi2Zs0dIG3H1u%5Faem%5FG7pxCarUw2g9SL746dG0Yw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- You know, they really should stop the game and make him a banner. > Neemias Queta scored his 1,000th career point during the 3rd quarter of tonight's game in Houston. > > — Celtics Stats (@celtics\_stats) [February 5, 2026](https://twitter.com/celtics%5Fstats/status/2019243878805819631?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Cooper made an appearance on Bill Simmons' annual Trade Value list. He was pretty high. > “This guy’s an elite offensive player already.”[@BillSimmons](https://twitter.com/BillSimmons?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) can’t believe the moves that Cooper Flagg already has in his arsenal as a rookie. [pic.twitter.com/Ij8VGpgN9T](https://t.co/Ij8VGpgN9T?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — The Ringer (@ringer) [February 4, 2026](https://twitter.com/ringer/status/2019147529418621034?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) He's 19! --- A programming note. After today's games, there's a pretty mad scramble to turn around everything fast enough for the tournament, especially with the S quarterfinals starting on Tuesday. The Gold Ball odds should be able to go live sometime Friday. The Media Guide will probably come out in chunks with S first. Here's a reminder of what last year's [Media Guide](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/media-guide/) looked like: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2025-02-11-at-10.04.50---PM.png) That's the Oceanside boys. I make one of these for every team in the state and it's free for paid subscribers. So upgrade already, if you haven't already. [Upgrade](#/portal/account/plans) And then it's Tourney Time! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) There's a lot of really good games on today's schedule, but the Game of the Day one has been circled on the calendar since early December. Back on opening night, the Cheverus girls [rallied to beat South Portland](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/cheverus-gi/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) in a thriller in front of a packed crowd, 51-46\. South Portland recovered nicely--the defending champs have won 15 in a row behind the top scoring defense in A South. Cheverus has the top scoring offense in class A, but are coming off their first loss of the season on Tuesday to Biddeford. This is pretty simple: winner gets the 1 seed. Also: Biddeford is playing Sanford in a game that would be the Game of the Day on any other day. Sanford can get to the 2 with a South Portland loss and Biddeford can get to the 3 with a win. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-04-at-11.38.26---PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) This is also a boys/girls doubleheader and the first matchup was also a thriller. In that one, Cheverus is still holding out hope of a bye and South Portland is hoping to get to the 2 seed. If you want to go a little further north, Gardiner and Medomak can each move up a seed line with a win and some help. And if you're in the Bangor area, the Bangor and Hampden boys are teeing off in a rivalry matchup where Hampden could hop up to 6\. Bangor is locked into the 4/5 game with Lewiston. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-04-at-9.47.09---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Down Goes Cheverus URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/down-goes-cheverus/ Last updated: 2026-02-04T12:00:06.000Z So...last night was a lot. Let's get started. I went to the Leavitt and Medomak boys game. The Leavitt boys have been no stranger to close games this year. They went triple overtime against Poland and went to just one overtime period in their other Poland game and also against GNG and Lincoln Academy. Why mention that? [Oh no reason](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/14TuPCrxjAW/). In a back-and-forth defensive struggle, Medomak seemed to be in control in the final minute, but they struggled from the free throw line and Leavitt capitalized. They traded buckets in the overtime period. But let's go to final seconds of overtime with the [score tied at 43](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DZjq5xCWp/). There's a couple of things here. First, I don't love the foul call. There's definitely contact on the play, but I think you swallow the whistle and let the game go to double overtime because why play only one overtime when you can play two? But there's also a strange sequence with a second left where Leavitt is trying to pull off a buzzer-beater. Colin Schlobohm catches the pass from Trent Holst juuuuust out-of-bounds. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-11.38.38---PM.png) The refs huddle and give Medomak the ball on the sideline with no time coming off the clock, which was confusing, because everyone I spoke to assumed the ball would either return to the baseline or 0.3 would have to come off the clock. But apparently not. I talked to a couple of different refs who went to the rule book for clarification. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/image.png) If the ball had just gone into the stands, it would have been a throw-in violation and the ball would have returned to the baseline. But since the ball touched a player who was out-of-bounds, the throw-in ended and it became an out-of-bounds violation and the ball went to the sideline. And since the ball wasn't touched in-bounds, the clock never should have started. They got it right. At least that part. Medomak survived 44-43\. Kollin Donlin led all scorers with 20\. Colin Schlobohm had 18 for Leavitt and they all seemed to be clutch. At halftime, I checked in with [Buzz Media](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMT1sSzpiSU&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) to get a score from the girls game and...oh boy. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/image-1.png) When I checked in later, they had a different clock. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-10.59.33---PM.png) And then the score didn't get reported because they lost power entirely and didn't finish the game. The scoreboard went out in the second quarter and the power went out twice before failing for good and forcing them to call it. From what I've heard they will resume it this afternoon. You're not going to believe this, but there's a [difference of opinion](https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14XpRE1D4at/) as to where they should resume play. Back to the rule book! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/image-2.png) --- In the Game of the Day, the Biddeford girls took down unbeaten Cheverus in a huge statement win for the Tigers. Biddeford got 20 points from Natalia Silva and 17 & 9 from Jordyn Crump as their cold shooting night woke up in an explosive third quarter to take control. Drew Bonifant was there. [Biddeford girls basketball takes down undefeated CheverusThe Tigers rally in the third quarter and close it out in the fourth to topple Class A South’s top team in their second-to-last game of the regular season.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-30.png)The Portland Press HeraldDrew BonifantStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43405428_20260203_-Chev-Bidd-GBB_13.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/02/03/biddeford-girls-basketball-takes-down-undefeated-cheverus/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Biddeford's win sets up an epic final day of the season. Cheverus will face South Portland for the 1 seed and Biddeford will take on Sanford for the 3 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-04-at-1.02.10---AM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- The consensus this year has been that Miss Basketball is Maddie Provost's award to lose and while Kylie Lamson has been making a strong case for consideration, I think Provost is still the leader. Especially after last night. Against Belfast she drilled 11 3's and erupted for a career-high 49 points. --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **---** **Up North, Quinn Pelletier and Aden Jeffers faced off in a battle between two of the best players north of Bangor (or anywhere in the state). Fort Kent won the matchup at their place in early January by 3 and last night, Madawaska got their revenge in front of a packed house.** **Quinn Pelletier scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half and the Owls won 57-53\. They'll be the 2 seed in D North. Fort Kent will be the 3 in C North.** **WHOU has the [highlights](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1FY6DAGfdv/).** **### Elsewhere** **Tyrie James went for 28 and Colin Janvrin added 27 as Windham blew out Deering...Sierra Gibbons went off for 34 in Hall-Dale's upset of Dirigo...Brendan Shaw had 18 in Brunswick's win over Oxford Hills...Nolan Ames had 17 & 8 as Camden blew out Messo...Jack Coutts went off for 30 and fueled a 28-13 quarter as Erskine came from behind to beat Lincoln Academy. The Eagles got 21 from Deklan DiMauro...Cheverus used a 34-3 run and 6 Joe Iaccarino threes to blow out Biddeford...Trenton Haskell's 15 helped Buckfield beat Richmond...Noble's Evan Ballard went off for 33 against Massabesic...Fisher Tewksbury went for 29 and Harry Louis added 25 in Valley's win over a short-handed Pine Tree...Julianna Allen's 13 led a balanced attack as Mt. Ararat doubled up Edward Little...Mollie Puffer had 16 in Sanford's win over Kennebunk...Lyla Dunphe scored 16 as Westbrook beat Falmouth...Wisdom held Washburn scoreless until 6 minutes left in the game. They held on for the W...Winthrop got 17 from Evelyn Mortimer as they cruised by Boothbay...SoPo's Darius Johnson dropped 27 on Scarborough...John Cubahiro's 16 led Westbrook over Falmouth...Portland's Lucas LeGage dropped 20 on Bonny Eagle...Gorham's Preston Brown dropped 25 on Marshwood...Grayson Bernard had 19 in Lewiston's win over Mount Blue...Kylie Cole's 22 led Bonny Eagle over Portland...Brunswick's Grace Roak went for 20 against Oxford Hills...Jaelyn Rich scored 17 in Madison's win over Mountain Valley...Marshwood's Isabelle Tice dropped 23 on Gorham...Reid Robishaw and Connor Kingsbury each scored 23 in Oceanside's win over Winslow...Olivia Childs had 20 in Erskine's win over Lincoln Academy...The Morse girls beat MCI in double overtime to keep their season alive...Thea Laukka had 22 & 7 in Camden's win over Messo.** **---** **The Celtics made their move and traded Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vucevic.** **> Boston Celtics cap situation after trading Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vucevic:** **>** **> They open up more trade flexibility by getting under the first apron.** **>** **> They reduce their tax penalty from $39.5 million to $17.7 million.** **>** **> They have four second-round picks left to help duck the tax. [pic.twitter.com/JBuRNoE9kr](https://t.co/JBuRNoE9kr?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **>** **> — Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) [February 3, 2026](https://twitter.com/YossiGozlan/status/2018792182963134950?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **---** **Cooper had 36/9/6 in his first game against the Celtics. He's really been on a tear the last couple of games. You could even say a historic tear.** **> Cooper Flagg has produced three straight 30-point games, becoming the first teenager in NBA history to accomplish the feat. Flagg is averaging 39.7 points (.577 FG%, .462 3FG%, .852 FT%), 10.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.3 blocks per game over his last three games. [pic.twitter.com/sJ4Y6MjD09](https://t.co/sJ4Y6MjD09?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **>** **> — Mavs PR (@MavsPR) [February 4, 2026](https://twitter.com/MavsPR/status/2018903972057100700?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg)** **This is the first Game of the Day where both teams are locked into their seeding. Should that disqualify it from consideration? Maybe! Counterpoint: it's a really good matchup that's also a quarterfinal preview.** **MDI will be the 4 seed and Ellsworth will be the 5, which brings up my favorite thought experiment: if you're playing a team in a game that doesn't really count and you know you're playing them in the playoffs, how do you approach the game? The opportunity for gamesmanship is high.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-04-at-12.38.39---AM.png)** [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Cape Comes Alive URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/cape-comes-alive/ Last updated: 2026-02-03T12:00:12.000Z At this point yesterday, the Yarmouth boys were riding a 9-game winning streak and has aspirations of maybe grabbing the 2 seed. Not bad for a team that started 1-2\. With a final game against winless Fryeburg, they needed to take care of business against Cape Elizabeth and it felt like a good bet. They'd already beaten Cape by 9 on the road. And they had to feel even better up 43-33 in the third quarter. But Cape came alive, closing the game on a 23-9 run to stun Yarmouth and put themselves in position to get a home prelim game (there's work to do still...or at least bullets to dodge). > Cape Elizabeth boys shock Yarmouth 56-52 [pic.twitter.com/roSxNmCuWa](https://t.co/roSxNmCuWa?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Michael Hoffer (@foresports) [February 3, 2026](https://twitter.com/foresports/status/2018494470904271343?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The loss likely drops Yarmouth into the 4/5 game. They can still get into the 3 seed, but it's wholly outside their control. Michael Hoffer was there. [Cape boys stun Yarmouth with late surgeYARMOUTH—There’s hasn’t been a ton of attention paid to Cape Elizabeth’s boys’ basketball team this winter. That’s about to change. After the Capers’ went to red-hot Yarmouth Monday night and produced their biggest win to date.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-20.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260202_201901.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/cape-boys-stun-yarmouth-with-late-surge/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) With Greely's loss to Lake Region, the Rangers' streak of 33 consecutive tournament appearances will come to an end. If that's not the longest current streak, it's got to be close. What a run. We nearly know the field for B South. Lincoln Academy is at 99.7% to get in. I think we can call that one and kudos to a team I very much doubted in the pre-season after all the talent they graduated (and boy did I hear about *that* in Hannaford!). The final spot will come down to Morse and GNG. Morse has a slight lead, an extra game left, and more total Heal Points left on their schedule, so they're the favorites. GNG basically needs to win and hope for a Morse split. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-12.19.25---AM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- But that's not all Cape pulled off last night. Their girls completed the sweep with a 37-18 domination of Yarmouth to keep their slim playoff chances alive. They were actually favored in this game by the Model, which seemed strange yesterday, but makes sense now. It also makes sense when you realize Cape has 4 losses by either 1 or 2 points. The Model thinks they're the 8th best team in B South and Yarmouth is 10th. It's not often a team that's 8th in the standings is an underdog to a team that's 14th, but there's a first time for everything. --- There's more! Over in C South boys, we had a tie for first place and a 3-way battle for the top seed. And then Dirigo went ahead and beat Hall-Dale. That, along with Spruce Mountain's win, means the Phoenix have locked up the 1 seed. Hall-Dale will still have the inside track for the 2 seed, as the Bulldogs and Maranacook each have a game left and Hall-Dale's potential win is roughly worth 3 times as much. But that only matters if you win the game. As for Dirigo, the win locks up a home prelim and puts them in the running for a bye [directly to the ACC](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). ### Elsewhere Aaden Nadeau exploded for 40 in Forest Hills' win over Vinalhaven...Drew Pound had 17 in Freeport's come-from-behind win against GNG...Wyatt Bennett had 20 and Ethan Cunningham added 19 as Mount View rolled over Waterville...York got 17 from Reese MacDonald in a blowout of Traip...Megyn Mertens went off for 34 & 9 as Wells doubled up Fryeburg...Corinne Androkitis scored 20 and OOB hit 13 3's against Sacopee Valley...GNG freshman Bryn Gilmore dropped 26 on Freeport...Kelsey Rancourt's 23 led Forest Hills over North Haven...Josiah Leighton had 18 in Wells' win over Fryeburg...Cai Dougher's 17 led Spruce over Oak Hill...Trot Moody went off for 33 but it wasn't enough to overcome 25 points and 21 rebounds from Silas Nielsen and Sacopee Valley beat OOB...Finn Haynie's 16 led Madison over Mountain Valley...Levi Laverdiere went off for 32 in Monmouth's win over Lisbon...Avery Jordan had 22 in Mattanawcook's win over Sumner...Foxcroft's Lennon McAfee dropped 26 on Orono...Mary Allen had 25 as Bangor Christian finished their 18-0 season against Jonesport Beals. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Yesterday, I made my debut in the Varsity Maine journalistic universe with a bird's eye view of how the Heal Points should shake out over this final week. I hit all the regions that include teams in their coverage area, so apologies to the North. [Think your Maine boys basketball team is in the tourney? Here’s what the data says.Entering the final week of the regular season, there’s still 72 high school basketball teams out there that have work to do.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-28.png)The Portland Press Heraldmodify your screen name here![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43290295_20251129_WindELBB_08.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/02/02/think-your-maine-boys-basketball-team-is-in-the-tourney-heres-what-the-data-says/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They split it up between boys and girls, because apparently it was too long. It was pretty long. [Can your Maine girls basketball team make the tourney? Here’s what the data says.Entering final week of the regular season, there’s still 72 high school basketball teams out there that have work to do.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-29.png)The Portland Press Heraldmodify your screen name here![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43364294_20260116_Bang-MtA-GBB_7.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/02/02/can-your-maine-girls-basketball-team-make-the-tourney-heres-what-the-data-says/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There are now 59 teams who don't know if they're in the tourney. Keep an eye out. There's more to come. --- Love this idea. One fewer team in the East that could potentially beat the Celtics in a playoff series. > Just into [@SportsCenter](https://twitter.com/SportsCenter?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) \-- Clippers and James Harden working on finding a trade by Thursday's deadline, with the Cleveland Cavaliers as one of the teams expressing serious interest: [pic.twitter.com/Bx6qj11SOX](https://t.co/Bx6qj11SOX?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) [February 3, 2026](https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/2018559476773609753?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) As projected, the top of A South girls has been loaded with talent. The top 4 is pretty, pretty, pretty good. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-1.25.05---AM.png) [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) Cheverus has been a wagon. 69% of their games have been wins of 20 points or more. They lead class A in scoring defense, are second in point differential, and first in %Perfect (91.45%). They're actually third in the state in %Perfect, which is an insane thing to do in the largest class. If you want to quibble with their strength of schedule, ok, but they don't have to play Cheverus and everyone else does. They're the favorites to get the 1 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-02-at-11.12.36---PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Biddeford is no slouch. The reigning B South champs are second in A South in scoring, defense, and point differential. They're 3rd in %Perfect. Oh, and they still only have 1 senior. If Cheverus is the team of this season, Biddeford feels like the team of next season. But they could be ahead of schedule. No one's been within 15 points of them since before Christmas. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-02-at-11.10.42---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Down the Stretch We Come URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/down-the-stretch-we-come/ Last updated: 2026-02-02T12:00:53.000Z In Saturday's Game of the Day, Fort Kent led by 14 in the second half before Mattanawcook ripped off a 13-0 run. Kooper McCarthy scored 12 of his 19 in the fourth quarter and the Lynx closed with a 27-11 edge to stun Fort Kent, 65-63\. Mattanawcook and Fort Kent are going to go 2 and 3 in some order, which could set up a must-see Regional Semifinal. --- Brewer won at the buzzer as they attempt to once again make the tourney after the Model left them for dead. They're 4.2% to get in. Don't count them out! > JACK. > ROBERTSON. > BUZZER. BEATER. GAME. WINNER. > > The junior puts in a runner in the lane as the game clock expires, breaking a 48-48 deadlock. > > Freshman Caleb Campbell with 22! [pic.twitter.com/5HKq6PfLrm](https://t.co/5HKq6PfLrm?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Brewer Witches (@BrewerWitches) [January 31, 2026](https://twitter.com/BrewerWitches/status/2017701577515999528?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Southern Aroostook's Ally Shields is the latest member of the 1K club. ### Elsewhere Levi Laverdiere had 19 as Monmouth beat Telstar...Gio Staples' 24 led Westbrook over Scarborough...Reece MacDonald scored 24 in York's victory over Poland...Lily Bellerose had 23 and Spruce held off a late charge from Mount View...Hattie Clark forced overtime then scored 4 of her 16 in OT and Westbrook beat Scarborough...Mount Abram's Jenna Osgood dropped 25 on Dirigo...Kaitlyn Frost had 24 in Monmouth's win over Madison. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Searsport celebrated the 50th anniversary of their 1976 Eastern Maine champs. I think a couple of those guys could still get a bucket. --- Tourney Odds are updated with a small note. There was a bug where each teams Best-Case Scenario and Worst-Case Scenario Heal Points were reporting as far too high. It appears to be fixed now and I don't think it was impacting anything else. Seedings, odds of making the tournament, etc, all appear to be the same (whew). [Tourney OddsWill your team make the tournament?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-59.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/tourney-odds-1-4.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- Check out this highlight real blocked shot from AJ Moody. He came out of nowhere. --- Power Rankings are updated. Here's the girls. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-02-at-1.13.14---AM.png) [Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) --- Let's update the Wins Draft standings. It's so close between Tyler and Mike. In good news, I might have the first pick next year. It's a good thing Greenville has such a good logo. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-02-at-12.53.12---AM.png) --- Cooper's 49-point performance caught the eye of Weekend Update. > Saturday Night Live on Cooper Flagg's 49-point performance: > > "Not a great start to black history month.” 🤣 > > (h/t [@ohnohedidnt24](https://twitter.com/ohnohedidnt24?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) > > [pic.twitter.com/RzYMjpRnCF](https://t.co/RzYMjpRnCF?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) [February 1, 2026](https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/2017845340356198790?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) I'll be honest with you. This is not the best slate of games we've gotten this year. I'd like to believe this is the calm before the storm of the next couple of days. The Stax Index has Sumner @ Mattanawcook boys as the Game of the Day, but we just did Mattanawcook, so I'm going to pivot to the top girls game. The old iteration of girls C North was a perennial Region of Death candidate, but that doesn't seem to be the case with this current collection of teams. Mattanawcook will be the clear favorite when we get to Bangor. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-01-at-10.39.42---PM.png) [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) George Stevens will be the 2 seed when the tourney starts--that's a lock. Dexter has wrapped up a bye and will go directly to Bangor. They're probably in the 4/5 game. That's their floor. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-01-at-10.43.23---PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) But if they can beat GSA today and beat Foxcroft on Wednesday, they can get to the 3 seed, where they would probably get Calais or Caribou, which is who they'll probably get in the 4/5 game. They haven't played either team this year. But if they can get to 3, they'll get out of Mattanawcook's side of the bracket. Only 4 teams have stayed within 20 points of the Lynx this year and Dexter has done it twice. George Stevens has lost twice this year, both times to Mattanawcook, but besides them, they've only played one team in the top 50 this year and that's Dexter. They're blowing everyone else out. 76% of their games have been double-digit wins and they haven't played a close game in over a month. It's been a real feast or famine. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-01-at-11.09.13---PM.png) From the upcoming Media Guide! Back on December 27th, Dexter lost to GSA in Blue Hill 29-25\. Can they finish the job at home? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-01-at-10.33.11---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Windham Rallies to Beat Cheverus URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/windham-rallies-to-beat-cheverus/ Last updated: 2026-01-31T12:00:50.000Z As I get deeper into doing...whatever this is I'm doing here, I'm trying to make a point of seeing as many different teams as I realistically can, especially if they're good. So on a night where Medomak Valley was in Rockland to play Oceanside, I went south to Portland to get eyes on Sanford, the highest-ranked boys team I hadn't seen yet. I'll get to the County eventually, I swear. In John Morgan's first year after the move from Noble, he's got the Spartans fighting for a top seed in A South and it didn't take long to see why. They're balanced, they defend, and they get out and run. I was only able to catch the first half, but they look legit. They had 4 players in double-figures in a win over Portland. Steve Craig was there. [Sanford boys have the answers at Portland​The Spartans score in a variety of ways to improve to 15-1 in Class A South with a key win at the tournament venue.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-27.png)The Portland Press HeraldSteve CraigStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43388647_20260130_Port-Sanford-BB-_5.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/30/sanford-boys-basketball-has-answers-at-portland/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- At halftime, I headed over to Cheverus for the second game in a boys/girls doubleheader with Windham. It was also Cheverus' Senior Night and the place was packed. I would guess Windham made up 35% of the crowd and both schools had an amped-up student section. ESPN was struggling to maintain their neutrality, but that seems to be an on-going issue at the network. > [@mainebasketballrankings1](https://www.tiktok.com/@mainebasketballrankings1?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "@mainebasketballrankings1") > > I don't think ESPN is supposed to be actively cheering for one team. [#highschoolbasketball](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/highschoolbasketball?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "highschoolbasketball") [#basketball](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/basketball?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "basketball") > > [♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings - Maine Basketball Rankings](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-Maine-Basketball-Rankings-7601419727319206670?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings - Maine Basketball Rankings") Just over two minutes into the game, [Jameson Fitzpatrick noticed we were playing with a women's ball](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18rFLgkbLY/). Fitzpatrick had a 6-0 solo run after they gave him the correct ball, then Joseph Iaccarino hit 3 shots from deep in the second quarter, and Cheverus had a 28-21 lead at the half. They extended the lead in the third quarter, as Khaelon Watkins got going. He had 8 in the quarter, including a putback with 3:43 in the third that made it 42-28\. But Windham isn't the 2-time defending champs for nothing. They've been coming back from double-digit deficits all season and you knew they'd make a run. Just maybe not as fast as they did. Windham ripped off a 17-2 run over two minutes, capped by a t[hree-point play by AJ Moody](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1441205040697344) to give the Eagles the lead. Tyrie James scored 10 of his 24 points in that third quarter after going scoreless in the first half. The fourth quarter and overtime was a heavyweight fight. James and Moody vs. Fitzpatrick (6 in OT) and Watkins. Let's go to the final minute of overtime with Windham up 1, thanks to a deep AJ Moody 3. The video is worth watching for the drama of the call, but also to get a sense of how awesome the atmosphere was. That ends up being a big call. I obviously have a terrible angle (Travis Lee has a great angle) and kudos to the refs for getting together, but this is one of those situations where replay would be nice. That's a hard call to make live. The foul is Colton Jewett's 5th. Boston Krainis makes both free throws to give Windham a 75-72 lead. Fitzpatrick scores and is fouled, but the free throw is no good. Watkins grabs the offensive board. After the timeout, Sean LeBel steals the entry pass to Fitzpatrick. Cheverus fouls Tyrie James, who makes both free throws. Windham fouls AJ Lauture, who matches. LeBel makes two free throws with 6.7 left to make the lead 3 and Cheverus needs a miracle. When you need a three to force double-overtime, there's no better time to break out the [Lord's Prayer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord%27s%5FPrayer?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). I'm pretty sure if Cheverus had won the game that student section was going to charge the floor. They were HYPED. Windham hangs on in a thriller. Michael Hoffer was there. [Windham boys rally to beat Cheverus in OT instant classicPORTLAND—Keegan Gymnasium was stuffed to the gills Friday evening and those on hand, whether they were cheering for the host Cheverus Stags, or for visiting Windham, got their money’s worth in a late-season showdown. A contest which featured a little of everything. And one which required more than 32![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-19.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260130_194048.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/windham-boys-rally-to-beat-cheverus-in-ot-instant-classic/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The A South tourney is going to be awesome. --- Hodgdon's Cyran Ciarleglio is the latest member of the 1,000 point club with a [layup last night](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1462597402534859). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/image-5.png) photo credit: Ashley Wheeler ### Elsewhere Kylie Lamson hit 7 3's and scored 25 points in Cheverus' win over Windham...Brooklyn Decker had a triple-double (29 points, 16 rebounds, 10 blocks) in Penquis' win over Stearns...Kollin Donlin's 14 & 18 led Medomak over Oceanside...Austin Armandi had 13 as Spruce beat Mount View...Delia Hill led Valley's balanced attack against Carrabec with 18\. Liana Hartwell had 17/15/9...Hall-Dale's Tayshaun Cleveland dropped 25 on Mountain Valley...Isaac Tarring hit 5 3's as Kennebunk rallied past Biddeford in the second half...Chase Ober's 15 led Lincoln Academy over Waterville...Bonny Eagle ran away from Massabesic. Tyson Warren led the way with 15...Logan Gray was a rebound shy of a double-double in Brunswick's win over Mount Blue...Biddeford's Natalia Silva dropped 27 on Deering...Kelsie Dunn's 17 & 6 led Erskine to a 23-point win over Cony. Kya Douin led the Rams with 20...Janessa Moffitt had 18 in Forest Hills' win over Islesboro...Emily Groves scored 19 points as Greely outlasted Freeport...Ashley Shores went for 28 and Maddie Provost added 21 in Lawrence's win over Messo...Kendall Therrien scored 19 as Kennebunk handled Noble...Mt. Abram's Jenna Osgood dropped 21 on Boothbay...Megyn Mertens had 17 in Wells' win over OOB...Caleigh Corcoran had 20 and SoPo led 30-2 after one quarter against Falmouth...Zoe Dellinger's late 3 forced OT but Brooke Bodnar (18) and TA prevailed over Gorham in the extra time...Blanca Sanchez-Aviles had 16 in Winslow's win over Winthrop...Gabe Jackson and Darius Johnson each scored 17 as SoPo got by Falmouth...Liam Hamilton's 17 led TA past Gorham...Fisher Tewksbury went off for 24 points and 17 boards in Valley's win over Carrabec...Abe Medrano's double-double (15 & 12) helped Wells double up OOB...Winslow's Carter Calvo dropped 26 on Winthrop...Darren Flagg's 21 and Colin Schlobohm's 19 & 10 gave Leavitt a win over Morse...Jacob Linkletter's 22 wasn't enough to overcome the combo of Levi Laverdiere's 17 and Jacob Harmon's double-double as Monmouth beat Madison...Braden New had 20 as Oak Hill cruised by Lisbon...Ava Lerman's 25 led Wisdom over Katahdin...Ava Toussaint scored 19 as Madawaska beat Hodgdon in double overtime. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Friend of the podcast Dylan Rottkov has a new gig. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/image-4.png) --- As someone who went to college with one of LeBron's high school teammates, I'm just going to walk into the ocean now. > LeBron was in the NBA before the Wizards current roster was born 💀 > > (h/t [@BrickCenter\_](https://twitter.com/BrickCenter%5F?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) [pic.twitter.com/f7CwHr6ixR](https://t.co/f7CwHr6ixR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — LeBron History 🏀 (@bronhistory) [January 31, 2026](https://twitter.com/bronhistory/status/2017418989161345116?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) The scenarios are starting to get easier. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-31-at-1.06.01---AM.png) For Kent has a lead in the Heal Points and a win today would I think wrap up the 2 seed. They're a massive favorite over Houlton (99.3%), so there's virtually no scenarios (0.3%) where they lose out, so pencil in 12-6 at a minimum. I think it's safe to assume the 4.9% where they finish 13-5 and are the 3 seed are scenarios where they lose to Mattanawcook and beat Hodgdon. If they win out, they can still get the 1, but they would need a lot of help. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-31-at-1.19.15---AM.png) It looks like Mattanawcook needs to win out to get to 2\. As for the game itself, Fort Kent won the earlier meeting 70-69 in a thriller. Aden Jeffers scored 36 points (including the game winner) and added 11 rebounds. Regardless of how this game turns out, these two teams seem to be a collision course for a regional semifinal. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-31-at-12.56.58---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Down Goes Machias URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/down-goes-machias/ Last updated: 2026-01-30T12:00:54.000Z We've lost our final unbeaten boys team. With Kayden Carter out with an injury, Aden Jeffers took over, scoring 22 of his 32 in the second half to lead Fort Kent to a 67-61 win over Machias one day after losing to Presque Isle. Mickey Fitzsimmons had 25 for Machias and left the game with an injury. Other than ending the dream of 22-0, the loss doesn't impact Machias' seeding. They'll be the 1 in D North. Fort Kent will be either the 2 or the 3 in C North. It's similar to Cony's win over Camden the other day. Fort Kent gets a huge win over an unbeaten team and Machias gets pushed to the limit right before the tourney. --- So I'm watching the end of the Woodland/Shead boys game on mute (as I do) while I'm looking for scores. Down 8 with under a minute to go, Shead hits a three and I switch tabs for a minute. When I come back, Evan Monk is shooting free throws all by himself. So now I have to rewind (and turn on the sound). Here's a clip of the broadcast on YouTube (it should start at 1:55:00) First of all: I love the Woodland court. It's awesome. I have no notes. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-29-at-10.32.16---PM.png) Shead hits a three to cut the lead to 49-44 with 15 seconds left. Obviously Shead needs a steal on the inbounds and if that doesn't work, they have to foul. The defender closest to the ball doesn't seem to realize that and his teammate has to rush over from beyond the 3 point line to give the foul. He wraps the Woodland player up with a perfunctory reach towards the ball. You've seen this play a million times. Only this time, it's called an intentional foul. I think we can all agree that if you're down 5 without the ball, your odds of winning are slim. Plug it into a calculator and you'll get something like 1.5% to 2%. It's not impossible. You've seen it happen. I've seen it happen. You need some missed free throws, sure. But it's doable. But down 7 without the ball? That's less doable. If you're at all familiar with this newsletter, you know I hate this call. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Time and score isn't just for the players. You know what this kid is trying to do. Someone on the Shead team must have shared my opinion of the call because the officials quickly added a technical foul. So now it's 4 free throws and the ball. Now we're talking [Reggie Miller territory](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1KtXPhouRQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Woodland hits 3 of the 4 free throws and the game is over. Thankfully, Shead's season won't be impacted by this. They're very likely going to play in the 4/5 game, but there was a scenario where they run the table and get to 3, but that's gone now. You can't say the refs cost Shead the game, because they very likely lose not matter what, but they 100% ended the game early. But, hey, maybe they needed to run errands after the game. --- In the Game of the Day, Mt. Ararat started slowly, but rode a big second half from Julianna Allen to a 54-37 win over Hampden in a rematch of last year's Gold Ball game. Allen finished with 16, 12 of them in the second half. Jaelyn Jensen added a double-double (10 & 11). Hampden got 10 & 7 from Grace LaBree. With the win, Mt. Ararat picked up enough to vault to first in the Power Rankings. [Power RankingsThis spreadsheet hates your team.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-58.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/power-rankings-4.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) We get a little more clarity at the top of A North girls. Nothing is settled, but I feel confident Mt. Ararat will be the 1 seed and Bangor will be the 5\. Edward Little, Camden, and Hampden all play either Lewiston or Bangor (or both!), so there's Heal Points to be won. All three are coming off a loss. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-30-at-12.26.48---AM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Cooper Sullivan was there. [Mt. Ararat girls basketball beats Hampden AcademyJulianna Allen’s second half helps the rematch of last year’s Class A state championship game end in a similar fashion.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-26.png)The Portland Press HeraldCooper SullivanStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/41382875_20250228_A_GirlsBasketball_10-1740794836.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/29/mt-ararat-girls-basketball-beats-hampden-academy/?utm%5Fcampaign=varsity%5Fmaine%5Fbot&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawPpEupleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeqRhtWokvyO7dNCa6One9yQfIRhP5aeK-wly64AaiMQnhM5lmFIvsXU1WPZM%5Faem%5FLmrDa3MIlhClkD5cdBYuXQ) ### Elsewhere Ian Lawrence went off for 29 points as Yarmouth handled GNG...Nick Jamo had 18 in Poland's win over Cape...Aaden Nadeau channeled his inner Wilt with 38 points, 24 rebounds and 5 blocked shots in Forest Hills' win over Temple...Natalie Lathrop and Renee St. Pierre each had 18 as Marshwood held off Westbrook and punched their ticket to the postseason...Ella Kenney and Abbey Steele each had 16 in GNG's win over Yarmouth...Forest Hills' Janessa Moffitt dropped 25 on Temple...Kaitlyn Frost's 23 led Monmouth to a road win over Mountain Valley...Payton Rose hit 4 threes and Poland put Cape's season on life support...Sanford's Mollie Puffer outscored Portland all by herself, 20-18...Sacopee's Travis Brassard dropped 22 on Telstar...Rocky Axelsen scored 22 points to keep Greely's playoff hopes alive....Landon Belanger's 15 led 5 players in double figures as Caribou rolled over Houlton...Aubrey Wood and Loretta Richardson each had 25 in Machias' win over Fort Kent. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Scarborough's Phil Conley won his 200th game. > 📣MILESTONE📣 > > Head Boys Basketball Coach, Phil Conley, recently achieved his 200th career win!![#GOSTORM](https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOSTORM?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#STORMBASKETBALL](https://twitter.com/hashtag/STORMBASKETBALL?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/ExORTtYEth](https://t.co/ExORTtYEth?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Scarborough Red Storm (@redstorm\_sports) [January 29, 2026](https://twitter.com/redstorm%5Fsports/status/2016927231268790373?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you went to bed early (or don't have League Pass), you missed a fantastic game between Dallas and Charlotte. > The former college roommates delivered an EPIC DUEL in Dallas 🤯 > > Cooper Flagg: 49 PTS (career-high, most-ever by a teen), 10 REB, 20-29 FGM > > Kon Knueppel: 34 PTS (career-high), 4 REB, 8 3PM (new franchise rookie record), 10-16 FGM [pic.twitter.com/J081u6J6os](https://t.co/J081u6J6os?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA (@NBA) [January 30, 2026](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/2017101989419606353?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Cooper is now the first rookie to have a 49+ points and 10 rebounds game since Michael Jordan and the youngest ever to score 45+ in a game. Just a kid from Maine. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) There's a number of interesting games on the schedule (Windham/Cheverus! Medomak/Oceanside! Bangor/EL! Wisdom/Katahdin! Morse/Leavitt girls!) but the Stax Index is sending us to Erskine Academy. We know the entire tournament field for girls B North. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-30-at-1.29.29---AM.png) This is the early leader for Region of Death. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-30-at-1.14.04---AM.png) Bapst is OUT with 2 games to play at 49th in the Power Rankings. To put that in perspective, in B South Marshwood is probably going to get a bye at 47th. In A South, Kennebunk is IN at 72nd. In A North, Brunswick is probably going to be the 7 seed at 59th. They might be the best team to miss the tourney since the spreadsheet that hates your team started. Which is just to say B North is really, really hard. As for this game, both Cony and Erskine have an outside shot at getting a bye, but if not, this could be a preview of a prelim game. If you look at this at a glance (you know, like the Facebook comments), you see an Erskine team that's 12-3 vs a Cony team that's 9-7 and how could they possibly be in 9th??? Heal Points are so confusing! Well, it's the schedule. Erskine has played the 78th hardest schedule in the state (against which they're +269), but Cony has played the 6th hardest (-16). It's a little strange considering they're 13 miles from each other and play in the same conference and region, but Erskine plays MCI, Winslow, and Waterville twice and Cony does not. Cony has been very up and down. They got crushed by Gardiner in December and then nearly won at Gardiner last week. The lost to Lawrence by 15 and then beat them by 11 a week later. This could be a Cony win by 20, an Erskine win by 20, or a game that comes down to the final minute and everything in-between. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-29-at-11.24.48---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Fontaine Stole the Ball! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/f/ Last updated: 2026-01-29T12:03:20.000Z First: a correction. In [yesterday's newsletter](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/dirigo-drops-50-100/), I wrote that Nolan Ames had broken Camden's all-time scoring record. That was only partially true. He broke the boys record. Still left to chase is the overall record, held by Jordan Jones (Knowlton). She scored 1,532\. I regret the error. But also, if podcast ombudsman Jon Duke had posted the graphic before I published the newsletter, this never would have happened. --- In the Game of the Day--a rematch of a December triple overtime thriller--Hermon beat MDI in regulation to move into first place in B North. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-29-at-12.40.34---AM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) They probably won't stay there long. Heal Points! --- Let's go to Farmingdale, where Maranacook and Hall-Dale played a big Heal Point game in C South. This was a game of mini runs. Maranacook would build a small lead and Hall-Dale would answer. Then Hall-Dale flipped the script in the 4th quarter, going on an 8-0 run to take the lead. But Maranacook answered with an 11-4 run. Cut to: 12 seconds left. Gage Mattson gets fouled up 1 and makes 1 of 2 free throws, leaving Hall-Dale one last chance: That's Jack Fontaine with the steal and layup to seal the W. Fontaine finished with 17\. Freshman Gage Mattson exploded for 27\. The win keeps Maranacook's dream of a 1 seed ever slightly alive, but it primarily cleans up the back-end scenarios. We know the Top 3\. We just don't know the order. What it really did was turn the 1 seed into essentially a coin flip between Spruce and Hall-Dale, with the Maranacook option where the coin comes to rest on its side. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-28-at-10.30.28---PM.png) With the caveat that coming out of the 4/5 game could be Mount View and there's a bunch of C North teams that have horror stories about Tourney Week Mount View, you really want to grab that 1 seed so the other 2 of this trio will beat up on each other in a semi-final. [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Mike Mandell was there. [Maranacook boys basketball edges Hall-Dale in back-and-forth C South battleJack Fontaine’s steal and layup in the final seconds seals another thrilling win for the Black Bears.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-14.png)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43388205_20260128__kjms.cookHDboys.0129_0y168.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/01/28/maranacook-boys-basketball-edges-hall-dale-in-back-and-forth-c-south-battle/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I've been doing Tourney Odds for a long time and the number of times a team has rallied when under 10% to make the tourney I can count on one hand. I call it "pulling a Brewer". Well the Morse girls might be pulling a Brewer. I'm not even sure what their Tourney Odds were at three days ago, but they've beaten a 9 win Winslow team on back to back days to revive their playoff chances. They were at 12% yesterday and are at 47% today and a number of B South teams are freaking out. ### Elsewhere Cyran Cairleglio exploded for 25 points and 25 boards, but it wasn't enough for Hodgdon. They were upset by Central Aroostook, who got 21 from Kellen McCrum. Cairleglio is 8 from 1K...Freshman Emma Michaud had 16 points as Brunswick gave 13-1 Edward Little their second loss of the year...Jack Flaherty scored 15 as Winslow held off Morse...Owen Kelvey (14) led a balanced Spruce Mountain attack over Lisbon...Kirsten Bigelow's 16 led Valley's win over OOB...Chloee Bennett had 15 and Buckfield posted a 22-0 first quarter over Pine Tree...Jacob Linkletter's 17 led Madison over Winthrop...Monmouth's Levi Laverdiere dropped 22 on Mountain Valley...Braden New went off for 30 in Oak Hill's win over Dirigo...Lily Bell had 15 in Caribou's win over Houlton...Ethan Walsh had 18 in Fort Fairfield's win over Washburn...Presque Isle's Kason Bua dropped 26 on Fort Kent...Lilly Burtt had 24 in Central Aroostook's win over Hodgdon... --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- In a passing of the Mikes, Mike Burnham announced his retirement as Executive Director of the MPA. Mike Bisson will be elevated to the position for the 2026-27 school year. > During Burnham’s time as assistant executive director and executive director, the MPA ushered in the inclusion of Unified sports, eight-player football and soccer and girls hockey. Unified sports are designed for the benefit of students with intellectual disabilities who compete with student partners, promoting inclusion in a school activity. Under Burnham's leadership, the MPA has also navigated several thorny issues more deftly than you might expect. And we'll leave it at that. In the early days of this spreadsheet that hates your team, my interactions with the MPA were...not great. For a number of reasons, that changed when Mike Burnham took over and both he and Mike Bisson have been great to communicate with and, in the upset of the decade, work with. I've always enjoyed talking to Burnham at games and I hope his future travel plans don't happen during Tourney Week. But...why would you ever leave Maine during Tourney Week? [Mike Burnham, Maine Principals’ Association executive director, to retireBurnham, who has headed the group that oversees interscholastic athletics for seven years, will be succeeded by his assistant, Mike Bisson.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-25.png)The Portland Press HeraldSteve CraigStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/28835960_20220208_Mike_Burnham_MPA_1223378.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/28/mpa-executive-director-mike-burnham-to-retire/?utm%5Fcampaign=varsity%5Fmaine%5Fbot&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawPnhm9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeOsZ4VatCvM1QeMMMtU5aG6NZXLH3lG8G2pbDoUmsLx%5FCejYRk9skZ4MnFWA%5Faem%5FS3%5FuhPAh9wF9Ir0elqN9Hw) --- I'm guessing they're going to be changing the Football HOF voting procedure soon. > The Pro Football Hall of Fame released a statement today that it could remove voters who violated bylaws: [pic.twitter.com/zrbOI0ugUP](https://t.co/zrbOI0ugUP?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) [January 28, 2026](https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/2016652629632340405?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) We're back in A North girls. After Mt. Ararat took care of Camden the other day, let's get an updated look at where the top 4 seeds stand in the [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-28-at-11.51.51---PM.png) Mt. Ararat now has a pretty good handle on the 1 seed, especially with Edward Little losing to Brunswick last night. Hampden's distribution is pretty even across the top 4 seeds, which is unusual this late in the season. I covered this a little last time, but Mt. Ararat's dominance is impressive. Top 10 in the state in scoring offense, scoring defense, point differential, and %Perfect. If we take an early look at the Media Guide (coming soon and I haven't updated the "Last Gold Ball" part yet), they're just obliterating everyone. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-28-at-11.58.21---PM.png) The quibble is the Strength of Schedule, but they're also the second best team in the state against teams in the Top 25, so I think I'm done worrying about that. As for Hampden, they're not so bad either. A point differential of +18.67 per game in Class A is pretty awesome. They've also done well against the good teams on their schedule, but have struggled against Camden and Edward Little. They do, however, have 8 games against the top 25 (they're 5-3 in those games). I think the edge here has to go to Mt. Ararat, especially at home. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-28-at-11.00.26---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Dirigo Drops 50/100 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/dirigo-drops-50-100/ Last updated: 2026-01-28T12:00:59.000Z Let's start with the headline performance...from Boothbay Harbor. Dirigo's Abby Luczynski hit 6 threes and exploded for 50(!) points, Emma Witas added 19\. Tatum French had 21 for Boothbay and Dirigo won 103-46\. That's the second 50-point performance of the year--both of them girls. --- When you're scrolling the scores, every so often there's a score that elicits an audible response and we had one of those last night when Bonny Eagle beat Windham 83-75 in overtime. But there's more. Bonny Eagle beat Windham on a night they got 41 points from Tyrie James and needed a rally to come back down 11 in the 4th quarter and force overtime. And then they still won in overtime. It's a huge win for Bonny Eagle, who was led by Max Bouchard's 18 points. They had 5 players in double figures. --- I went to Medomak Valley's 9th Annual "Paws for the Cause", the Panthers' version of a pink uniform game, with the fundraising to benefit the Lincoln Health Breast Care Program. It's a fun event with a varsity doubleheader against a rival, this time Lincoln Academy. In the boys game, Lincoln Academy built a 13-point lead in the first half as Medomak couldn't make a shot. Then, the Panthers proceeded to erase that deficit with a 15-2 run to close the half, punctuated by this [Kollin Donlin tip in](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AuSv9S1SB/) at the buzzer. Donlin finished with 19 & 8\. They extended the run to 23-4 in the second half before Lincoln Academy stopped the bleeding. Medomak held on for a 58-51 win. Mason Nguyen led all scorers with 20\. In-between the games, there was a touching moment of silence for breast cancer victims. In the first matchup, the girls game was a sloppy mess that got exciting at the end as Medomak rallied down 10 in the fourth. The rematch was...a sloppy mess that got exciting at the end. And because people asked, the Misery Rating (turnovers + fouls) was...100 (61 turnovers + 39 fouls). Only this time, Medomak's comeback came up short. Rowan Coffin hit 2 clutch threes down the stretch (she led everyone with 12) and Lillian Labrie went 4-4 from the line as the Eagles kept their playoff hopes alive. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-28-at-12.59.21---AM.png) I think we can write Marshwood, Freeport, and Yarmouth in Sharpie. That leaves, realistically, Medomak, Lake Region, and Leavitt for 2 spots with Cape, Lincoln, and Morse hoping to play spoiler. [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- Last night's Edward Little and Brunswick game was largely a battle for seeding, with the Eddies and Dragons essentially locked in the 2/3 range (with some disaster scenarios where they could fall to 4). There's probably not a huge difference between 2 and 3 in the seeding, unless you like your quarterfinal matchup better one way or the other. You could look at is as a potential regional semifinal preview and if that's the case, things are promising. Akol Maiwen scored 25 points and Edward Little put the game away at the free throw line, outlasting Brunswick 65-61 in overtime and sweeping the season series. Jimmy James (not from [NewsRadio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3v68jeo10w&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) was there. [Edward Little boys basketball outlasts Brunswick in overtime thrillerThe Red Eddies clinch the game at the free-throw line, taking down the Dragons for the second time this season.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-24.png)The Portland Press HeraldJimmy JamesStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43388088_20260127_ELBrunswickBBBall-16.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/27/edward-little-boys-basketball-outlasts-brunswick-in-overtime-thriller/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Staying in A North boys, Nolan Ames scored 19 points in Camden's win over Mt. Ararat, which would normally be relegated to the "Elsewhere" section below, except that he entered the game needed a mere 9 points to pass Tyler McFarland as Camden's all-time leading scorer (1,403). So congratulations to Nolan. I think we also need an updated list of each school's record holder (and number). We could have a school leaderboard. ### Elsewhere Cyran Cairleglio went off for 41 as Hodgdon crushed Ashland...Trace Moody dropped 25 in Gardiner's win over Leavitt...Harrison Fitzpatrick's 23 led Bangor over Mt. Blue...Owen Beaureguard had 19 in Cape's win over Waynflete...Gavin Fanjoy scored 7 of his 17 in a big third quarter rally for Erskine over Mt. View...Nick Jamo's 19 led Poland over Wells...Gabe Jackson had 25 and Darius Johnson added 19 & 11 as SoPo rolled in the second half over Kennebunk...Owen Oranellas' 17 led Yarmouth to a big Heal Point win over Lake Region...Kylie Lamson dropped 23 on Portland...Logan Doughty led a balanced Gorham attack with 15 against Falmouth...OOB's Corinne Androkitis dropped 20 on NYA...Quinn Pelletier had 18 in a win over Easton...Annie Whitmore's 15 led SoPo over Kennebunk...Jakobe Gagne had 11 & 7 as Waterville beat MCI...Oak Hill's Jillian Smith dropped 20 on Monmouth...Spruce got 21 from Lily Bellerose in a blowout of Mountain Valley...Rory Tompkins' 17 led Yarmouth over Lake Region...Nya Avery went for 20 in York's overtime win over Greely...Amaya Thomas had 17 as Temple beat Richmond...Maranacook's Alice Ferran went for 20 against Madison...Cape nearly pitched a first half shutout against Waynflete. Sadie Raffaele led the way with 15...Dexter nearly pitched a complete game shutout against Penquis...David Edwards' 23 & 12 led Richmond past Temple...Adam Fitzgerald's 17 led a balanced scoring attack for Scarborough over Marshwood...Silas Nielsen had 21 points, 12 boards, and 7 blocked shots in Sacopee Valley's win over Traip. Jack Kern scored 35 in the losing effort...Cai Dougher went off for 28 and Spruce had a 31 point third quarter to get by Mountain Valley...Simon Gellis had 18 as TA beat Noble...Jameson Fitzpatrick and Khaelon Watkins each scored 16 as Cheverus squeaked by Portland...Joao Samba had 17 as Lewiston blew out Oxford Hills...Emily Groves scored 21 as Freeport beat Fryeburg...Isabelle Tice's 18 led Marshwood by Scarborough...Megyn Mertens' 20 & 11 helped Wells get by Poland...Sadie Trams had 21 in Ashland's win over Hodgdon. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- You've probably seen the report that Bill Belichick won't be a first ballot Hall of Famer, because of spite. > From the ESPN report: Bill Polian was a vocal figure in the Hall of Fame deliberations involving Bill Belichick, with Spygate and Deflategate coming up among voters during discussions. > > Per a voter who spoke anonymously, Polian — the former Bills and Colts GM and longtime… [https://t.co/enMtYnPxaY](https://t.co/enMtYnPxaY?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/HDUDJQRosU](https://t.co/HDUDJQRosU?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) [January 27, 2026](https://twitter.com/MySportsUpdate/status/2016279222164095145?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This is obviously stupid and petty and a terrible look for the NFL. But it's also a bad look for the Colts. Maybe they can [hang a "We Made Belichick Wait a Year for the Hall" banner](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/colts-hang-afc-finalist-banner-at-stadium-internet-laughs-at-them/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- Jayson Tatum gave an interesting interview about his injury, recovery, and concerns about how he might fit in to the Celtics if/when he returns this season. > “One day I felt like Superman and the next, I felt like the smallest man on earth.” [@jaytatum0](https://twitter.com/jaytatum0?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > In one of the most open and vulnerable conversations, Jayson’s transparency on his mental, his family, his basketball journey as well as delicate situations throughout his life,… [pic.twitter.com/eXTvVo9QJu](https://t.co/eXTvVo9QJu?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Pivot Podcast (@thepivot) [January 27, 2026](https://twitter.com/thepivot/status/2016194135124738291?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) We're heading to boys B North, where MDI is heading to Hermon. Hermon won the first matchup of the year, 92-84 in triple overtime. That's an unrealistic expectation. MDI has one of the best offenses in the state. They're 6th in scoring at 72.4 ppg and 6th in %Perfect at 80.7%. They'll face one of the best defensive teams in the state in Hermon. They're 11th (1st in B) in scoring defense and 8th in the state in %Perfect at 77.5%. As for the Tourney Odds, MDI needs to win out (or lose to Bapst and get help) to move up from the 4\. Hermon has a lot more range. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-28-at-1.51.37---AM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Would one overtime be too much to ask for? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-28-at-1.26.09---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Two Games in the County URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/two-games-in-the-county/ Last updated: 2026-01-27T12:00:32.000Z I knew someone would find a way to get a game in. It's almost never a complete washout of the schedule. Fort Fairfield and Wisdom met up for a boys/girls doubleheader. Neither game was close. In the girls game, Wisdom coasted to improve their record to 15-1 on the year. Ava Lerman had 32 points, 7 steals, and 6 boards. In the boys game, Fort Fairfield drained 15 threes as they cruised to their 11th win of the year. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- Since we don't have any high school basketball to talk about, let's do a quick roundup of old friends. First up: Skowhegan's Jaycie Christopher was named LEC Player of the Week. Christopher averaged 19.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game over the 3 games. It's her third POTW award this year. [Jaycie Christopher Named LEC Player of the Week - University of Southern MaineGORHAM, Maine – For the third time this season, senior Jaycie Christopher (Skowhegan, Maine) of the University of Southern Maine Huskies’ women’s basketball team![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/site-8.png)University of Southern MaineUniversity of Southern Maine![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/fit-3)](https://southernmainehuskies.com/news/2026/1/26/womens-basketball-jaycie-christopher-named-lec-player-of-the-week.aspx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Over on the men's side, Medomak's Gabe Lash was LEC Rookie of the Week. Lash averaged 16.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 steals and joins Oceanside's Carter Galley in winning the Rookie of the Week award for USM. [Southern Maine’s Gabe Lash Named Little East Rookie of the Week - University of Southern MaineGORHAM, Maine - Freshman Gabe Lash (Waldoboro, Maine/Medomak Valley) of the Unviersity of Southern Maine Huskies’ men’s basketball team has been named the Little![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/site-7.png)University of Southern MaineUniversity of Southern Maine![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/fit-2)](https://southernmainehuskies.com/news/2026/1/26/mens-basketball-southern-maines-gabe-lash-named-little-east-rookie-of-the-week.aspx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Jason Reynolds (Winslow) picked up his 7th NAC Defensive Player of the Week award for UMF. He had a 21 rebound game. [Reynolds Named NAC Defensive Player of the Week for the 7th Time - University of Maine at FarmingtonWATERVILLE, Maine – For the seventh time this season, University of Maine at Farmington junior forward Jason Reynolds (Winslow, Maine) has been named the North Atlantic![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/site-9.png)University of Maine at FarmingtonUniversity of Maine at Farmington![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/fit-4)](https://goumfbeavers.com/news/2026/1/26/mens-basketball-reynolds-named-nac-defensive-player-of-the-week-for-the-7th-time.aspx?fbclid=IwY2xjawPk8Y9leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE0SlBmcHBLaXQ3UDlvbTF4c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHvov71LIb3DD7Oh%5FZIyOeOiq-taFQYGmSovxtfs2mUH34EStVT2uyv%5FqCMZA%5Faem%5F4S7qnBta44TyRLc%5FTlcV2Q&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Over at CMCC, Camden's Will Duke put on a show with a career-high 30 points as the Mustangs blew out Washington County. > Men's Basketball put up its best performance of the season to beat Washington County by 39! Will Duke had a career high 30 points for the #5 ranked Mustangs. 🐴🏀[#cmmustangs](https://twitter.com/hashtag/cmmustangs?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#horsepower](https://twitter.com/hashtag/horsepower?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#basketball](https://twitter.com/hashtag/basketball?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/0UrjqoLMSn](https://t.co/0UrjqoLMSn?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — CMCC Athletics (@CMCCMustangs) [January 24, 2026](https://twitter.com/CMCCMustangs/status/2015175861943615746?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Finally, Ace Flagg is the America East Rookie of the Week. Ace averaged 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists. [Ace Flagg Named America East Rookie of the Week - University of Maine AthleticsThe America East Conference announced on Monday morning that Ace Flagg of the University of Maine men’s basketball program was named the Rookie of the Week for the![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/site-10.png)University of Maine AthleticsUniversity of Maine Athletics![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/fit-5)](https://goblackbears.com/news/2026/1/26/mens-basketball-ace-flagg-named-america-east-rookie-of-the-week.aspx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm sure I'm missing a lot more. --- Speaking of UMaine... Jon Gruden got a box of swag from UMaine and took some time to shout out some Black Bears. Because everyone loves getting swag. I should have done this the other day when [Mt. Ararat sent me a shirt](https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GDkQny8Rd/). > We got a box all the way from Orono, Maine! > > It's the Maine Black Bears and some of my FAVORITE people in all of sports went here! > > Thank you to Coach Stevens and [@BlackBearsFB](https://twitter.com/BlackBearsFB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) for sending us this great box, let's go BLACK BEARS!!! [pic.twitter.com/wf3PGwqEaj](https://t.co/wf3PGwqEaj?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jon Gruden (@BarstoolGruden) [January 26, 2026](https://twitter.com/BarstoolGruden/status/2015850909423620203?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Colby is accepting signups for their [summer basketball camps](https://www.mulesbasketballcamps.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/IMG_8290.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/IMG_7983.JPG) --- No surprise here. > The 2026 Rising Stars roster has arrived ⭐️ > > — [The Athletic (@theathletic.com)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:b2kutgxqlltwc6lhs724cfwr?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2026-01-27T00:25:14.911Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:b2kutgxqlltwc6lhs724cfwr/post/3mdeio6wofp2i?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- "Wedgie Board" is a new one for me. I'm not too proud to admit that I still have areas for growth and learning. > The Certified Wedgie Board™ can confirm that this is indeed a wedgie aka a block wedgie aka a bledgie. Props to Robert Williams III for Wedgie No. 39 on the season. > > — [J.E. Skeets (@jeskeets.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:v6xd7qcm4tsgb4ndo547vh4n?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2026-01-27T02:14:47.063Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:v6xd7qcm4tsgb4ndo547vh4n/post/3mdeos2hljk2h?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) By my count, there are 92 games on the schedule tonight. A North girls has been a gauntlet so far this year (and is shaping up to be a very competitive tournament). Four teams have separated from the pack--5 if you want to count Bangor, who's a step below but still is 10-4. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-7.26.07---PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Camden is currently in first and Mt. Ararat is in 4th, but the Tourney Odds think this is a complete toss-up, like a 3-way who the hell knows with Hampden hoping to play spoiler. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-7.24.35---PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Edward Little, Camden, and Mt. Ararat all pretty much have the same odds across the board for the top 4, except that Mt. Ararat is slightly more likely to finish 4th. But, geez, this could finish in a lot of different combinations. As for the teams, Mt. Ararat's been awesome this year in their title defense. They've got a top 10 offense (second in Class A), a top 5 defense (first in A), and they're 5th in point differential. They're 5th in the state in %Perfect. In short, they've been dominant. When I saw them, they blew the doors off York. As for Camden, they've got a top 20 offense, the 5th best scoring defense in A, and the third best scoring differential in A North. So why are they favored here? Well they're at home, for one. That helps. And they've played a tougher schedule. Camden has played 5 teams that have a Preliminary Index of 20 or higher vs 3 for Mt. Ararat. But, the Eagles have three in a row, starting tonight, which is how they can get to 1...or fall to 4\. [Charlie Crockett and MaineCoastTV](https://www.mainecoast.tv/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) will stream this one. I would absolutely go, but I'll be at Medomak Valley's [Paws for the Cause](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpdiXM%5Fc8JM&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) doubleheader with Lincoln Academy. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-7.17.18---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The 1,000 Point Club URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-1-000-point-club/ Last updated: 2026-01-26T12:00:31.000Z In [Saturday's newsletter](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/camdens-back-to-back/), I wrote that Camden had a unique (and difficult) back-to-back with Brunswick and Cony. They won the first game, but could they get the sweep against a very talented Cony team? It was a packed house in Rockport. I saw a number of players and fans from other and why not? An unbeaten team with the probable Mr. Basketball against a high-scoring team that's led by one of the best freshmen in the state. Plus, it's Saturday night and it's zero degrees outside. Cony raced out to an early lead, thanks to Carter Braithwaite's ability to [push the pace](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/16u6fJ6mMP/). During the half, while Cony was getting whatever they wanted on offense, I was thinking of how Cony has a senior in Parker Morin who was one of the 3 or 4 best quarterbacks in the state and is a very good basketball player, but a freshman is the point guard on the basketball team. That's how good Carter Braithwaite is. As for Camden, they looked like a team on the second night of a back-to-back. They were a little flat in the first quarter and seemingly every shot was just a little bit short. Still, there were [flashes](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DMBj3pKKM/). Cony led 43-28 at the half. Jackson Kay had 15 of his 19 in the first half. Camden came out better in the first half, erupting for a [15-2 run](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1C4skzChDg/) to get back in the game. Nolan Ames had 9 of his 28 in the third. But, he picked up his fourth foul on a, uh, questionable call (and by that I mean terrible), which limited how aggressive Ames could be on the defensive end, and Cony was able to make enough buckets down the stretch to rebuild a bit of their lead. Parker Morin had 8 of his 18 in the fourth, mostly in the paint, and Rams went 5 of 7 from the line to clinch it, 70-61\. The win moved Cony to first place in B North. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-25-at-9.46.49---PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) They are also now the favorites for the [1 seed in the Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). It's a huge win for Cony and a perfectly unique test for Camden. You obviously want to win every game, but losing the second night in a back-to-back in late January against a team you won't have to play again in a game where you came back after getting punched in the mouth? That's kind of ideal for your long-term prospects. --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **---** **I had considered going to the Cape Elizabeth @ Lake Region boys game instead. Cape is fighting for one of the play-in spots and Lake Region is in contention for one of the top seeds in B South. But Naples is 2 hours from my house on back roads that might or might not have cell reception and it's zero degrees out? Eh.** **Maybe I should have, because [Cooper Smith won it at the buzzer.](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DT6lpXtiWSF/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fweb%5Fcopy%5Flink&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)** **> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DT6lpXtiWSF/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)** **>** **> [A post shared by JoJo Deschenes (@jojo.deschenes.mp4)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DT6lpXtiWSF/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)** **The win would have essentially punched Cape's ticket, but they'll have more chances. Their last 4 games are all against teams with plenty of Heal Points to earn.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-25-at-10.01.15---PM-1.png)** **---** **Karleigh Smith is Woodland's new all-time scoring leader, beating Ashley Marble's record of 1,311\.** **Ready for your new members of the 1,000 point club?** **\[cracks knuckles\]** **MDI's James Witham scored his 1,000th point in Saturday's win over Presque Isle. Witham is the first MDI player to score his 1,000th point as a junior** **Mattanawcook's Andrew Oliver scored his 1,000th point in a win over GSA.** **Shead's Jonathan Andrews got to 1K on Senior Night against Deer Isle-Stonington.** **And Woodland's Evan Monk got his 1,000th point in a win over Schenck.** **As we come down the stretch, we'll start to see a bunch more of these. Send them my way and I'll share them in all the places.** **### Elsewhere** **Maddie Provost had 24 as Lawrence picked up a big win over Hermon...Nick Jamo scored 24 points, Nick Jamo added 23, and Poland blew out Traip...Daicey Speirs had 14 in NYA's win at Sacopee Valley...Charlotte Grenier's 14 led Poland over Traip...Silas Nielsen had 13 points, 11 boards, and 6 blocked shots in a win over NYA...Jaxson Sockberson had 14 in Bapst's win over Waterville...Bangor Christian's Mary Allen dropped 27 on Hodgdon. Jessie Brooker went for 29 in the boys game as BC swept.** **---** **The Patriots' win in the AFC Championship Game last night means our long regional nightmare is over.** **> When the Patriots play Super Bowl LX, it will have been 601 days since the Celtics won their latest world championship. It will be Boston’s seventh longest stretch between championship appearances among the four major professional sports since 2002\. (21 appearances total.)** **>** **> 1.…** **>** **> — Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) [January 25, 2026](https://twitter.com/jeffphowe/status/2015560903656157407?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **They'll play the Seahawks, who have divine intervention on their side.** **> The last 2 times a new Pope has been elected, the Seahawks have clinched the 1 seed and made it to the Super Bowl [pic.twitter.com/fdA0WNQIc5](https://t.co/fdA0WNQIc5?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **>** **> — NFL Memes (@NFLMemes) [January 4, 2026](https://twitter.com/NFLMemes/status/2007710974896398662?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **I'm not sure why the Chicago Pope is helping the Seahawks and not the Bears, but ok.** **---** **The first Stevie Award is out.** **---** **Let's update the Wins Draft standings. Greenville is killing me.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-25-at-10.07.45---PM.png)** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg)** **I have zero confidence that any of the games on today's schedule are actually happening, but I'll keep going because two of these teams will take snowmobiles or sled dogs or something and find a way to get a game in.** **Both Southern Aroostook and Central Aroostook have locked up a bye directly to Bangor. Bangor Christian has locked up the 1 seed and Machias has the inside track on the 2 seed, but after that, it's pretty wide-open. Both Central Aroostook and Southern Aroostook could get to the all-important 3 seed that avoids Bangor Christian until the Regional Final.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-25-at-10.42.33---PM.png)** [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Central Aroostook is 13-1 with the lone loss coming to a Wisdom team they just beat on Friday. They have the 4th stingiest defense in the state. They've held 6 opponents this season to under 20 points. They'll take on Southern Aroostook and the 8th best scoring offense in the state. Their season low is 40 in a loss to Central Aroostook way back in early December. Can they score enough against Central Aroostook's defense to get a big W? If this is happening, you'll be able to watch it on WHOU. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-25-at-10.12.20---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Camden's Back-to-Back URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/camdens-back-to-back/ Last updated: 2026-01-24T20:15:18.000Z In the Game of the Day, the Edward Little girls used a 34-14 stretch to erase a 7 point deficit and pull away for a 53-35 win over Hampden. The Eddies held Grace LaBree to 8 points and got 14 from Elizabeth Galway to move to 13-1\. --- A couple of weeks ago, Brunswick's Logan Gray made headlines when he picked up two dunk technicals in the same game, which of course ended his night and earned him a 1-game suspension. Last night, he didn't take long to get up and [throw one down](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EDCJtoTCX/). Thankfully, there was no technical and we played on. Did the refs later call a technical because a kid clapped too loud? They sure did. This was a physical, back and forth game in a playoff-like atmosphere. Both schools had a rowdy student section, which is always fun. And there was singing. > [@mainebasketballrankings1](https://www.tiktok.com/@mainebasketballrankings1?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "@mainebasketballrankings1") > > I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m down. [#highschollbasketball](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/highschollbasketball?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "highschollbasketball") [#studentsection](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/studentsection?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "studentsection") > > [♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings - Maine Basketball Rankings](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-Maine-Basketball-Rankings-7598803473664084750?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings - Maine Basketball Rankings") It was a frenetic battle. By my count, there were 4 stoppages for blood. In the second half, Camden started to pull away a little bit and Nolan Ames turned some tough defense into an [emphatic dunk](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1SXRn7YBRT/). But Brunswick wouldn't go away. They kept it a 2 possession game for the entire game, minus a minute where Camden led by 7\. A Rylan Lew 3-point play with 2:30 left got them within 1, but they wouldn't score again, despite getting a bunch of pretty good looks, and Camden held on for a 55-52 win to stay unbeaten. Nolan Ames had 30 for the Windjammers, who have Cony tonight on a back-to-back. Logan Gray gave Brunswick 18\. I'll just say that a back-to-back of Brunswick and Cony is a much bigger thing than it was 2 months go If that's a Regional Final preview, it could be a hell of a Regional Final. --- Things didn't look great for the Maranacook boys last night. One of their fans got thrown out by their Athletic Director for, uh, too much job performance feedback for the officials. And, worse, they were down 20 at halftime to Mount View. Sometimes, a coach will get a technical to try and snap his team out of a funk. That could be what the fan was thinking: get himself tossed as a sacrificial lamb to rally the troops. You can't argue with results. Maranacook turned a 41-19 deficit into a 63-60 win. Gage Mattson led the way with 17\. The win moves them into second place in the Heal Points, but they very likely won't stay there. The Tourney Odds have them at [87.7% to finish third](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). They've played two more games than Spruce Mountain, who is currently in third. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-24-at-2.08.18---AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) They don't actually control their own destiny for the 2 seed. They'll need help. Mike Mandell was there. [Maranacook boys basketball storms back to beat Mount ViewThe Black Bears overcome a 22-point deficit to earn a key Class C South win over the Mustangs.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-13.png)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43374883_20260123__kjms.mvmaranacook.0124_0y122.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/01/23/maranacook-boys-basketball-storms-back-to-beat-mount-view/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Fisher Tewksbury entered last night's game needing only 9 points to become Valley's all-time leading scorer. Early in the third quarter, he got there. Tewksbury finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds as Valley pulled off the rare double cross-class win, beating Hall-Dale 58-49 to even the season series. Tayshaun Cleveland had 27 for the Bulldogs. --- In a rematch of last year's state title game, Windham once again beat South Portland. Tyrie James (17 & 8) was his usual stellar self, but Windham got a huge contribution from sophomore Boston Krainis, who came off the bench to knock down 3 threes. The win--Windham's 12th in a row--vaults the Eagles to the top of A South and virtually assures they'll be the 1 seed when the Tourney starts. South Portland will very likely be the 3 seed, which means if they were to meet again, it'd be in a Regional Final. > "It was a great test for us," \[Windham coach Chad\] Pulkkinen added. "We just worry about the next possession and our guys stick together. They talk to each other and trust each other. When we do that, the next play is available and we take advantage. Closing games and keeping leads has been a nemesis. If we get good possessions, we'll have more points on the scoreboard." Michael Hoffer was there with his usual excellent gamer (and they have video now!) [Windham boys again stymie South PortlandSOUTH PORTLAND—As the 2025-26 high school basketball season progresses, it looks more and more like history could repeat. The Windham boys, the back-to-back big class champions, keep getting pushed, but do the Eagles ever push back and Friday evening at a raucous Beal Gymnasium, host South Portland once again![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-18.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260123_190305-1.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/w-boys-windham/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Mt. Ararat's Cali LeClair set a school record with 8 3-pointers and went off for 32 points in the Eagles' win over Messo. The win, coupled with Edward Little's win over Hampden, shakes up A North Girls. Man, is that close. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-23-at-11.47.07---PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- The Madawaska girls won their first game of the season and they made it worth the wait with a thrilling, [59-58 win over Fort Fairfield](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1YofHhb4UT/). Congratulations! ### Elsewhere Carter Calvo had 18 in Winslow's win over Nokomis...Adam Maxwell scored 16 in Yarmouth's win over Greely...Dylan Gendron went off for 31 and Sanford withstood Deering's furious rally down 19\. Rayan Mohamed led Deering with 24...Jacob Linkletter's double-double (22 & 11) led Madison over Telstar...Darren Flagg hit 7 threes and dropped 25 in Leavitt's win over Oak Hill...Kylie Lamson scored 17 in Cheverus' win over TA...Dirigo's Abby Luczynski dropped 23 on Buckfield...Silas Nielsen had 20 & 17 in Sacopee Valley's win over OOB...Bryson Saucier went for 28 in Skow's win over Oxford Hills. Cam Pulkkinen had 26 for the Vikings...Wells got 18 from Josiah Leighton against Waynflete...Adam Fitzgerald went off for 28 in Scarborough's victory over Bonny Eagle...Micah Fagonde drilled 6 3's and scored 21 in Medomak's win over Erskine...Cooper Abell had 17 in Mt. Blue's win over Brewer...Owen Hurd went off for 30 in Lisbon's win over NYA...Kennebunk got 21 from Kendall Therrien in their win over Falmouth...Helena Sheldrick's 17 led Lake Region against Cape...Marshwood's Natalie Lathrop dropped 20 on Massabesic...OOB's Corinne Androkitis went for 20 against Sacopee Valley...Mollie Puffer scored 17 as Sanford rolled over Deering...Megyn Mertens' 23 & 12 paced Wells past Waynflete...Valley's Kirsten Bigelow dropped 26 on Hall-Dale...Mike Giordano won his 350th game in Scarborough's come-from-behind victory over Bonny Eagle...Chris Thompson had 22 in Kennebunk's win over Falmouth...Ben Albertini had 18 as Freeport turned away Lincoln Academy...Cheverus' Khaelon Watkins dropped 23 on TA...Will Whited went off for 31 in Central Aroostook's win over Wisdom...Quin Pelletier had 18 in Madawaska's win over Fort Fairfield. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- **And now, a special message from Ethan Snow:** 🎤 If you are a former female player or a former/current basketball coach and feel comfortable on a microphone, we are looking for you to join our Portland Tournament coverage on NFHS & WHOU.live. Former broadcast experience isn’t necessary! Just bring your knowledge of the game and some knowledge on the teams. Pay is per game(I’m not sure on the NFHS rates yet). If this sounds like you! Reach out to Ethan Snow at ethan@whoufm.com! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Let's head to the B North girls gauntlet, where Hermon is hosting Lawrence. Hermon has won 4 in a row and currently sits in third place in the Heal Points, despite being 9th in the region in point differential at +34\. How? Well, they swept Old Town, who's in second place and beat Ellsworth and there's a lot of heal points in those three wins. Lawrence is 4th in point differential at +167, but is currently tied with Ellsworth in 5th. But whereas Hermon has 3 wins against teams in the Top 25, Lawrence only has 1--an opening night win over Oceanside. The winner gets the inside track on the 3 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-24-at-1.32.15---AM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-24-at-1.05.33---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Cony Gets Some Revenge URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/cony-gets-some-revenge/ Last updated: 2026-01-23T11:59:26.000Z In the Game of the Day, Caribou outlasted Fort Kent 70-66\. Tourney Odds are still running, but Caribou was 88% to get the 1 seed before the game and that'll almost certainly be a wrap. Fort Kent will either be the 2 or the 3\. --- Let's head south to what would have been the Game of the Day, had I remembered to put the date change in my spreadsheets--the Gardiner boys at Cony. The first matchup was one of the signature results of the season, a 97-90 Gardiner win at the ACC. Initially it looked like Gardiner might make a run at 97 points again. Parker Morin picked up his second foul early in the game and the Tigers led 21-16 after 1 quarter. Then Carter Braithwaite got going. He scored 20 of his 29 points in the first half and added 13 rebounds. With Morin in foul trouble, Ian Lasselle gave Cony a spark with 14 off the bench. Cony led 71-61 with 2:07 left when Brady Peacock hit a jumper in the paint that sparked an 8-0 Gardiner run that ended with a Peacock floater with 52 seconds left. But they couldn't get over the hump and Cony hit their free throws in the final minute to escape with a 75-69 win that moves them to third in the Heal Points. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-22-at-9.21.53---PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Mike Mandell caught up with Ian Lasselle and Carter Braithwaite after the game (and got some sick highlights). Also: if you're not already subscribed to [Varsity Maine on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@VarsityMaine/videos?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), I'm not sure what you're doing. It's free! ### Elsewhere Carrabec's Colton Scheve dropped 23 and led a second half comeback over Forest Hills...Lucas LeGage had 22 as Portland trounced Biddeford...Carter Corson had 2o points as GNG put away Fryeburg...Alexa Quintana's double-double (12 & 10) helped Gardiner overcome 21 from Cony's Kya Douin...Cooper Morgan dropped 20 in Telstar's win over Wiscasset...Ava Welch had 16 as Carrabec knocked off Forest Hills...Abby Steele scored 19 and Bryn Gilmore and Ella Kenney each added 17 as GNG blew out Fryeburg. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Steve Craig has a nice story about the coaches around the state gearing up for late-season challenges to test their mettle before the Tournament. > If the current A North seeds hold through the tournament, Camden Hills and Brunswick would play again in the regional final. So, will \[Joel\] Gabriele hold something back Friday? Maybe keep a special inbounds play or new defense under wraps? > “That comes into mind as you’re preparing for a game as a coach,” Gabriele said. “Certainly, if we need an out-of-bounds play, I’m not using it in the first half.” This is a question I've always wondered: if you know your seed (and Camden knows their seed) and you're playing a team you're likely to meet in the Tournament, how do you play it? You obviously play to win, but I doubt you show all your cards. Or maybe you do. Maybe you play an exotic defense for a couple of possessions and give them something to prep for that you're never going to use in the Tourney. There's a lot of ways you can play it. [Maine boys basketball teams want to be testedAs the playoffs near, top clubs like South Portland, Camden Hills and Gardiner are looking ahead toward competitive games that can hone their preparation.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-23.png)The Portland Press HeraldSteve CraigStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43300190_20251204_CamdenHillsElBBall-22.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/22/maine-boys-basketball-teams-want-to-be-tested/?utm%5Fcampaign=varsity%5Fmaine%5Fbot&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawPfmvtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeDYpcTFNLiMi-i9hq3MCvJsDarZnPtnClGL77NyOZvYw9ccdYn6JYB1LaVaY%5Faem%5FMxtJU7CWXXvHT2Cq26vyeQ) --- Yesterday, Andrew Hart of MaineHighSchoolFootball.com reported that [Chris Christie has stepped down as the football coach at Camden Hills](https://www.facebook.com/MaineHighSchoolFootball/posts/pfbid026uRSp6H5wTd5F3DNeEadhUh4U7CnxLZZ9XATCAqpNU7dsNJvKNh8dZQz4M4Bbuvsl). Christie, of course, led the Windjammers to the first football title in school history this fall. --- For some reason, a goaltend isn't reviewable in the NBA. > Tyrese Maxey goes for the game-winner > > Blocked by Kevin Durant > > Goaltend couldn’t be reviewed > > Overtime[pic.twitter.com/7Zm1MnPIdv](https://t.co/7Zm1MnPIdv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) [January 23, 2026](https://twitter.com/UnderdogNBA/status/2014524987521085881?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- After a career-high 11 rebounds in last night's win over Golden State, Cooper Flagg is tied with Kon Knueppel for most 20/10 games by a rookie this season. Oh, and: > Cooper Flagg is the only player this season leading their team in PTS, REB, AST, & STL. [pic.twitter.com/JA4Ta6n42J](https://t.co/JA4Ta6n42J?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Real App (@realapp) [January 23, 2026](https://twitter.com/realapp/status/2014537069335339314?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) *Note: Sometimes on a short schedule, I'll write this part before we get scores all in. So the spreads and some of these numbers might be slightly off.* When we last saw the Hampden girls, they were on the wrong end of a 44-30 result against Camden, a loss that snapped a 10-game winning streak. Despite the loss. they're still in first place in A North and .... The Broncos will head to Edward Little to take on a team that's 12-1, but sitting in 4th place in the [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-22-at-9.52.23---PM.png) But how are they 4th at 12-1? Well, Mt. Ararat, Camden, and Hampden all have pretty good records themselves and the Eddies have played the easiest schedule in A North, which naturally limits the Heal Point opportunities. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-22-at-9.54.32---PM.png) But they've got the 2nd hardest schedule in the state the rest of the way, so they can move up. They can get all the way to 1 if they run the table and according to the W-L record breakdown, it appears they control their own destiny. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-22-at-9.59.03---PM.png) Edward Little Tourney Odds [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) This will be [streamed on Hudl](https://fan.hudl.com/usa/me/auburn/organization/29509/edward-little-high-school?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-22-at-7.20.01---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Medomak Stuns Lincoln URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/medomak-stuns-lincoln/ Last updated: 2026-01-22T12:00:23.000Z In the Game of the Day, Hermon pulled away in the 2nd and 3rd quarters behind Abbie Bradstreet to post a 48-32 win over Ellsworth to split the season series. Ryan McLaughlin was there. [Ellsworth American](https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/sports/girls-basketball-hermon-pulls-away-to-defeat-ellsworth/article%5F3b51d215-a41d-44c4-b6ad-008adbc3c3ef.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Hermon is now third in that loaded B North. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-22-at-1.14.51---AM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Gardiner has the 1 seed locked up, but there's a ton of possibilities beyond that as we go down the stretch run. [Tourney OddsWill your team make the tournament?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-57.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/tourney-odds-1-3.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- I went to the Medomak @ Lincoln Academy boys/girls doubleheader (more boys/girls doubleheaders, please), two games with playoff implications for all 4 teams. The first half of the Lincoln Academy/Medomak Valley girls game would probably best be described, regardless of your fandom, as "awful". There were turnovers of all shapes and sizes. You name the type of turnover and it happened–several times. It was ugly, ugly basketball. Medomak led by 17-14 at the half and I'm not sure how they scored that many points. At the end of the third, Rowan Coffin fueled a Lincoln Academy run. The run stretched into the 4th quarter and just like that, Lincoln Academy had a 33-23 lead before Sienna Lee stopped the bleeding with a jumper in the paint with 4:37 to play. Medomak got a little closer as the game got more frenetic. Paula Roberts of the [Lincoln County News](https://lcnme.com/author/paula-roberts/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) had 59 total turnovers on her stats. That feels low. I think the Misery Rating (fouls + turnovers) had to be close to 100\. Lincoln tried to bleed some clock, but struggled to hold on to the ball and Medomak struggled to convert turnovers into points (and hold on to the ball). As the clock ticked past 2 minutes, I had the feeling the Panthers would get the ball enough to close the gap, but could they actually score? It seemed dire for the Panthers. Cut to: 1;37 to go with Lincoln up 6: Medomak figured it out and in talking to people post-game, the consensus was that the situation was so dire they couldn't think about it. They had to just go. That's Rachel Barbour with the game winner with 7 seconds left. Lincoln was unable to get a shot off. Medomak escaped with a 37-35 win, ending the game on a 14-2 run. Medomak was favored by...1.8. The win takes Medomak's odds of making the postseason from 67% to 80% and drops Lincoln Academy's chances from 24% to 15%. [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) In the boys game, Medomak Valley raced out to an early lead in a game that was largely rote, but we did get a look at the new high school goaltending rule, courtesy of Kollin Donlin. From the [NFHS](https://nfhs.org/stories/goaltending-and-basket-interference-addressed-in-2025-26-basketball-rules-changes?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com): > The act of intentionally slapping or striking the backboard during a shot attempt will now result in basket interference and not a technical foul. This addition of new Rule 4-6-2 and corresponding removal of Rule 10-4-4b from the “Player Technical” section aims to standardize officiating and remove intent from the decision. Despite fouling out on a play where the officials gave him someone else's foul, Donlin finished with 16\. Mason Nguyen led all scorers with a career-high 36 points and 10 rebounds. --- Mattanawcook's Megan House notched her 1,000th point on a fast break. > [@easternmainesport](https://www.tiktok.com/@easternmainesport?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "@easternmainesport") > > Senior Megan House gets her 1000th career point for Mattanawcook in win over Calais on January 21st [#easternmainesports](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/easternmainesports?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "easternmainesports") [#basketball](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/basketball?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "basketball") [#girlsbasketball](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/girlsbasketball?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "girlsbasketball") [#maine](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/maine?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "maine") [#letsgo](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/letsgo?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "letsgo") > > [♬ domino by astro4urvibes speedup - astrooo🪐](https://www.tiktok.com/music/domino-by-astro4urvibes-speedup-7362830513663740677?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "♬ domino by astro4urvibes speedup - astrooo🪐") ### Elsewhere Monmouth's Kaitlyn Frost dropped 25 on Boothbay...Alice Ferran had 16 points and 12 steals and Celia Bergdahl scored 20 as Maranacook rolled over Lisbon...Madison Blanchard's 18 led Mountain Valley over Hall-Dale...Maddie Grimaldi had 14 as Spruce beat Mount Abram...Kristen Bigelow had 19 and Valley raced out to a 32-0 lead against Richmond...Jordyn Crump had 15 as Biddeford rolled over Portland...Jacob Linkletter's 20 & 7 helped Madison overcome 29 from Oak Hill's Braden New...Fisher Tewksbury went off for 36 as Valley rolled by Richmond...Sanford's Mollie Puffer had 18 to match Massabesic's 18\. She also got help...Abby Luczynski went off for 35 as Dirigo knocked off Winthrop...Aleck Gendreau had 24 in Madawaska's win over Van Buren. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Mike Mandell has a story in Varsity Maine about the storylines to watch in boys basketball the rest of the way and it's got Tourney Odds! > Since failing to qualify for the Western Class B playoffs in 1991, Greely has appeared in 33 consecutive regional tournaments. Yet at 4-9, the 11th-place Rangers are below the line in Class B South, with Maine Basketball Rankings giving them roughly 1-in-6 odds (17.0 percent) to qualify. 33 consecutive tourney appearances is a wild, wild stat. Even the most reliably solid programs in the state have a bad season every 20 years or so. It looks like Greely needs to win 3 more games to be in the conversation for a play-in spot. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-22-at-1.56.01---AM.png) The rest of the schedule is brutal, but there's plenty of opportunities to move up and keep that streak alive. [Five Maine high school boys basketball storylines in late JanuaryThe Mr. Basketball race takes shape, teams cling to their tournament hopes, and a junior in central Maine is throwing down jams.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-22.png)The Portland Press HeraldMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43300190_20251204_CamdenHillsElBBall-9.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/20/five-maine-high-school-boys-basketball-storylines-to-follow-this-week/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) We've got a light schedule tonight in advance of the weekend, but there's a fun battle in C North boys between Caribou and Fort Kent. Caribou's got a pretty good handle on the 1 seed, but it's not locked up. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-22-at-12.40.36---AM.png) Caribou is second in class C in scoring offense and 5th in point differential, despite playing the hardest schedule and they're 4th in the state in %Perfect against the Top 25, which means they show up against the best teams on their schedule. Fort Kent is a tick below Caribou is most stat categories, but they've got a talent who can take over a game in Aden Jeffers, who already has his 1,000th point. I haven't looked it up, but I'm going to assume WHOU will have this one. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-22-at-12.37.49---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Down Goes Gardiner URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/down-goes-gardiner/ Last updated: 2026-01-21T12:01:43.000Z Let's start with the Game of the Day--the [Don Shields Bowl](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/camden-sweeps-hampden/). Sadly, Don was not there. Oceanside wore their pink cancer fundraiser uniforms and Gardiner wore their orange road uniforms, which wasn't ideal, especially when the refs would say "red ball". I assumed red meant pink, but apparently red meant orange. Considering both pink and orange have the same RGB value for red (255), they couldn't have picked a worse color, but I digress. Gardiner led 9-8 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, Renee Ripley took over. She hit 3 shots from deep in the quarter, two of which were completely blocked by a ref. The third one was only partially blocked. There's very little room at Oceanside. Oceanside led by 7 at the half. Ripley was, I thought, the best player in the game, but she picked up her 4th foul late in the third quarter and when Grace Mackie also picked up her 4th foul late in the third, Gardiner had an opening for a comeback. Oceanside gambled and put Ripley back in to start the 4th quarter and it paid off. She managed to stay in the game, despite several close non-calls. Gardiner missed on some opportunities to get the game within 2 possessions and Oceanside held on to hand the Tigers their first loss of the season. Ripley finished with 21\. Olivia Breen had a game-high 25\. Drew Bonifant was there. [Oceanside girls basketball deals Gardiner its first lossOlivia Breen scored 25 points and Renee Ripley added 21 as the Mariners knocked off the Tigers in a matchup of Class B powers.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-21.png)The Portland Press HeraldDrew BonifantStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43374485_20260120_gardineroceansidegirls_3083.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/20/oceanside-girls-basketball-deals-gardiner-its-first-loss/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Mariners move to first in the Heal Points for B South, but GNG remains a slight favorite for the 1 seed. [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- Down two to Winthrop with 6 seconds left, Dirigo's Owen Smith called GAME. The win moves Dirigo to 98% to make the tourney. --- Further south, the GNG boys handed Lake Region their second loss. On the podcast, I referred to Lake Region's schedule as "[Patriots-level soft](https://youtu.be/Psx1w3xOpyI?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)", which isn't an insult. The Pats might go to the Super Bowl (knock on wood)! But in a system like Heal Points where you have to convert points from your schedule and can't rely on W-L record, strength of schedule is important and Lake Region's schedule didn't allow for much margin for error. They just don't have a lot of extra points to play with. With the loss to GNG, Lake's 1 seed odds are essentially gone. They temporarily moved up to 2nd in the Heal Points, but it'll be difficult to stay there. They can still get a top 3 seed, but it's more likely they play in the 4/5 game now. There's still a range of outcomes for them, but it's a lot tighter than it was 12 hours ago. We know the top 5 in B South boys. The order is very much in flux. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-12.22.52---AM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) As for GNG, their odds of making the tourney tripled, from 20% to nearly 60%. They move up to 9th in the Heal Points, but it's essentially them, Morse, and Cape for the last 2 spots. --- The Year of the Freshmen strikes again. Maranacook freshman Gage Mattson went off for 32 points, Jack Fontaine added 22, and Maranacook gave Lisbon 99 problems in a game where the teams combined to make 24 threes. Maranacook will probably be the 3 seed in C South. ### Elsewhere Jackson Kay's 25 fueled Cony's come-from-behind win over Lawrence...Jack Coutts hit 4 threes en route to 18 points and Erskine used a 21-2 fourth quarter to put Nokomis away...Brady Atwater had 23 and Trace Moody had 21 in Gardiner's win over Oceanside...Carter Corson had 19 points as GNG handed Lake Region their second loss of the year...Forest Hills' Janessa Moffitt went off for 31 against Telstar...Maddie Provost' 25 & 7 paced Lawrence over Cony...Mya Lawrence's 14 for SoPo matched Noble...Wells' Megyn Mertens dropped 27 on NYA...Riley Hall had 19 in Mt. Blue's win over Skowhegan...Cam Pulkkinen dropped 23 on Bangor...Jake Jamo had 18 & 8 in Poland's win over Fryeburg...Cooper Morgan went for 27 and Telstar erased an 11-point deficit to beat Forest Hills in OT...Tobias Naranja had 15 as Fort Kent smoked Houlton...Ethan Walsh scored all 19 of his points in the second half to lead Fort Fairfield to a win in overtime over Katahdin...Maggie Mahan had 20 in Central Aroostook's win over Washburn...Amelia Matwyko scored 17 in Houlton's win over Fort Kent...Polly Cullen's 16 & 11 fueled Katahdin's win against Fort Fairfield. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- For the second time, Landon Clark is the Ivy League Rookie of the Week. Clark averaged 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds a game. [Landon Clark Earns Second Ivy Rookie of the Week Honor - Princeton University AthleticsFreshman Landon Clark of the Princeton University men’s basketball team was named Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Week Monday afternoon. Clark earned the confere…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-31.ico)Princeton University Athletics![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/resize)](https://goprincetontigers.com/news/2026/1/20/mens-basketball-landon-clark-earns-second-ivy-rookie-of-the-week-honor?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- File under: Obviously. > Robert Kraft says the [#Patriots](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Patriots?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) playing in an outdoor stadium is an advantage he wants to keep. > > “How many of these indoor teams in the playoffs wanna come here and play outdoors… The outdoor stadium and the fan support are a unique competitive advantage.” > > (🎥 [@ZoandBertrand](https://twitter.com/ZoandBertrand?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) [pic.twitter.com/u29IoVz92X](https://t.co/u29IoVz92X?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) [January 20, 2026](https://twitter.com/LosTalksPats/status/2013725695994630362?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) You wanna see a loaded region? Can I introduce you to the top 10 teams in B North girls? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-12.41.57---AM.png) [Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) Only 9 of these teams are advancing to the postseason, so if the rankings hold, that means a top 50 team in the Power Rankings isn't making at least the play-in game. I used to write a thing every year about the best teams to not make the tourney, which seems to be lost to the archives of a previous version of this website, but Top 50 would be pretty rare. Last year, the highest ranked girls team to miss the tourney was Lake Region at #76 and that checks out. Something like 85 teams make it. Anyway, Hermon and Ellsworth face off today in a battle of two evenly-matched teams, at least on paper. Ellsworth is slightly better in scoring offense, defense, and point differential against a slightly better schedule. They have the same record Against the Spread. Hermon has a slightly better %Perfect, which means they get a bump from sweeping Old Town and that's why they're 3rd in the Heal Points and Ellsworth is 6th. But, Ellsworth won the first meeting, 60-47, and has a slight edge in the Power Rankings. Add the advantage of being at home and you've got the Eagles as a small favorite over the Hawks. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-21-at-12.37.48---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Camden Sweeps Hampden URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/camden-sweeps-hampden/ Last updated: 2026-01-20T11:57:23.000Z Let's start with the Game of the Day. To Hampden! The Hampden girls were on a 10-game winning streak--a streak that started after a loss to Camden in Rockport all the way back in December. It doesn't take a fancy computer to think maybe Camden could end the winning streak in a rematch. Actually, a fancy computer probably won't help, as the Model had Hampden favored by 10\. BUT, the Model didn't know the Broncos would be without standout center Grace LaBree. Hey, you play who's in front of you. Camden grabbed 18 offensive rebounds (missing LaBree is kind of big deal there) and used a 14-0 run to turn a tie game into a convincing road win. Leah Jones led the Windjammers with 15 points. Larry Mahoney was there. [Defense gets the job done for Camden Hills girls in battle of top teamsThe win was Camden Hills’ second over Hampden Academy and the Broncos had won 10 in a row between the losses to the Windjammers.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-41.png)Bangor Daily NewsLarry Mahoney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/DSC_5037.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/01/19/sports/defense-camden-hills-win-hampden-academy-n6hjn1me0n/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPb3C5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeB9ef6IW%5F0y6RfqVP2lT%5FqJH5BYyCpTpXawtCR5uopAO0gkg9pAaPL0NDzsk%5Faem%5FYac2T9-V7EifVB0cRJDKxw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The win moves Camden up to 2nd in the A North standings--for now. Mt. Ararat is right behind them with an extra game to play. This could easily come down to the wire. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-19-at-10.15.18---PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) It's even closer if you look at the [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/), where the three teams are separated by 0.259 points ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-19-at-11.08.25---PM-1.png) --- Caribou outlasted Orono in overtime. Owen Corrigan and Brady Hews each scored 22\. [High-energy player takes ‘huge charge’ to help Caribou boys basketball get overtime winDeclan Miller gave the Vikings a boost to start overtime by taking a charge and getting the ball back for his team.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-42.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/03.01.2025-EE-1-1.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/01/19/sports/high-school-basketball/declan-miller-caribou-boys-basketball-overtime-win/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- You've heard it said all season that this is the Year of the Freshman, and for good reason. Mike Mandell wrote about it last week. [An elite freshman class is making its mark on Maine high school hoopsCoaches have been raving for years about the Class of 2029 and, thus far, a group of freshmen surrounded by massive hype has delivered.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-12.png)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43357690_20260109__kjms.conymedomakbbb.0110_0y060.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/01/18/an-elite-freshman-class-is-making-its-mark-on-maine-high-school-hoops/?utm%5Fcampaign=cm%5Fhssports&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawPb4g5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe5%5Fv1qXdBEbm-Dx0TJpLnSWQ9iu2%5FSqXVzxkJ2coaLSEQm8t0VzzrFr7rC9Y%5Faem%5Fw17uI4L1jOT-WDQYUbLmwg) And it's been easy podcast content, partly because the freshmen keep doing awesome things, whether it's [Leonel Despacho](https://www.tiktok.com/@mainebasketballrankings1/video/7580544740093889823?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) at SoPo or [Quinn Pelletier](https://www.tiktok.com/@mainebasketballrankings1/video/7579845260080155934?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) at Madawaska or Gage Mattson at Maranacook or [Carter Braithwaite](https://www.tiktok.com/@mainebasketballrankings1/video/7596073982844063031?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) at Cony. They keep doing cool things, like Olivia Breen dropping a 50 burger and breaking Oceanside's scoring record or last night when Cheverus' [Khaleon Watkins](https://youtube.com/shorts/jlGOp3176wc?feature=share&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) exploded for a 23 point, 21 rebound double-double against Scarborough. Michael Hoffer was there. [Cheverus boys ride Watkins’ dominance to win at ScarboroughSCARBOROUGH—Midway through the fourth quarter, the question rang out at the scorer’s table at Alumni Gymnasium. “Are you sure he’s just a freshman?” The “he” in this case is Cheverus boys’ basketball standout Khaleon Watkins and the answer is, yes indeed, Watkins is a freshman and Monday afternoon, the![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-17.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260119_130229.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/cheverus-boys-ride-watkins-dominance-to-win-at-scarborough/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Over the last couple of years, the parameters of what's possible for our basketball talent has been re-calibrated and while it's easy to write it off as a generational outlier, I'm not sure that it is entirely. The level of talent is up all over the state and I don't think that's even remotely up for debate. It's a great time to be in Maine (minus that cold snap coming up in a couple days). ### Elsewhere Nolan Ames dropped 31 on Hampden...Mount View's Wyatt Bennett went off for 32 against Winslow...Kason Bua scored 21 in Presque Isle's win over Old Town...OOB's Corinne Androkitis dropped 26 on Richmond...Lucas LeGage's 20 led Portland over Falmouth...Riley Ewing had 17 and Kendall Therrien had 16 in Kennebunk's win over Deering...Max Bouchard and Colin Moran each had 17 in Bonny Eagle's win over Deering...Lilly Bell scored 20 as Caribou beat Orono...The Yarmouth girls rallied down 7 late to beat Freeport...Madison Blanchard's 15 points and a 17-3 run fueled Mountain Valley's win over Lisbon...Waterville overcame a 1 point second quarter to beat Bucksport...Finn Connolly's 17 points led Cape over Traip...Lincoln Hardy had 20 in Southern Aroostook's win over Van Buren...Gen Curtis had 16 in PI's win over Old Town...Evan Oranellas' 21 led Yarmouth over Freeport...Mattanawcook's Andrew Oliver dropped 30 on Sumner. --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Thornton Academy's Connor Ayoob is your Fitzpatrick winner. [Thornton’s Connor Ayoob wins 54th Fitzpatrick TrophyThe record-setting running back completes a sweep of the major high school football player of the year awards.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-20.png)The Portland Press HeraldSteve CraigStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43368948_20260118_FitzpatrickWinner_1.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/18/thorntons-connor-ayoob-wins-54th-fitzpatrick-trophy/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) One of Ayoob's signature performances of the year was against Bonny Eagle where he ran for something like 300 yards. --- Jaylen Brown is a starter in the All-Star Game. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/image-3.png) Cooper finished [17th in both the fan vote and the player vote](https://pr.nba.com/2026-nba-all-star-game-starters-voting-results/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's the lowest he's going to appear on those lists (assuming health) for the next 10 years. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) A couple of years ago, when Lizzy Gruber was putting up video game numbers for Gardiner and Bailey Breen was a freshman (I think? Don't yell at me.), Don Shields was pushing hard for the KVAC to flex into a Gardiner/Oceanside game instead of Gardiner/Lincoln Academy and Oceanside/Winslow, but it never happened and we didn't get to see two talented bigs go head-to-head. Now, Gruber and Breen are teammates in Orono and we're getting that matchup. Scheduling has gotten better. Gardiner is one of the stories of the season so far. They're seemingly in the newsletter every other day, and for good reason. They lead B North in +/-, scoring defense, and %Perfect--an impressive trifecta--and you could make the argument they're a year ahead of schedule. Oceanside leads B South in scoring offense, +/-, and %Perfect--basically the same trifecta, just on the other end of the floor. Let's call it the Don Shields Bowl. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-20-at-12.20.38---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Gardiner Sweeps Lawrence URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gardiner-sweeps-lawrence/ Last updated: 2026-01-19T12:01:09.000Z The Gardiner girls weren't at the top of very many A North preseason projections. In the preseason poll here, they finished 6th with 4 first place votes compared to 30 for Lawrence. And yet, they entered Saturday's game with Lawrence at 11-0 with a win at Lawrence in-hand. Saturday, Gardiner used a big 4th quarter from Madison McMahon (she had 21) to turn a close game into 74-60 win for the Tigers and move to 12-0\. They are basically a lock for the 1 seed. As for Lawrence, who got 34 points from Maddie Provost, they're still just shy of a tourney spot and could very easily find themselves in the 4/5 game come tourney week. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-19-at-12.12.59---AM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) I haven't run the numbers, but I'm guessing Gardiner's game against Oceanside on Tuesday will be Game of the Day. --- Saturday I went to the Leavitt @ Lincoln Academy boys game, a matchup of two teams battling for seeding. Leavitt hoping to get a top 3 seed and Lincoln Academy trying to solidify their spot in the prelim round. Behind [23 points from Chase Ober](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Bp9TWMFYw/), Lincoln Academy pulled away late. All 5 of Leavitt's starters had 4 fouls late, which made it difficult to foul to stop the clock. You can imagine the feedback from the Leavitt bench. It didn't help that the officials apparently gave Colin Schlobohm someone else's foul, so when he fouled out with several minutes to play, it should have been his 4th. With the win, Lincoln Academy has a stranglehold on a tourney spot. Leavitt dropped to 5th in a very cluttered 2 through 5\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-19-at-12.29.52---AM-1.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- Reece MacDonald scored his 1,000th point in York's win over Freeport. He finished with 16. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/image-1.png) photo courtesy of York basketball ### Elsewhere Ava Ezell had 23 points to help Hodgdon overcome 35 from Fort Fairfield's Maddi Parks...Finn Connolly scored 24 as Cape beat Wells in OT...Mason Nguyen had 22 points and 10 assists in Medomak's win over Belfast...Jake Jamo's 21 led Poland over GNG...Lucas LeGage's 14 led a balanced Portland attack over Gorham...Natalia Silva scored 25 and Jordyn Crump added 20/7/7 as Biddeford rolled over Scarborough...Zoe Dellinger's 16 led Gorham over Portland...Abbey Steele scored 19 as GNG rolled over Poland...Natasha McDonald's 17 led Spruce over Oak Hill...Marley Jarvais' 20 helped Windham keep Falmouth winless...TA's Sienna Eldred had 19 and outscored Bonny Eagle by herself...Megyn Mertens scored 14 and Wells held off a late Cape comeback...Gabe Jackson dropped 20 on Marshwood...Cooper Morgan had 17 in Telstar's win over Vinalhaven...J.J. Carlo scored 13 of his 21 in the 4th as Waynflete rallied to beat Traip...Tyrie James dropped 22 on Falmouth...TA's De’Shaun Alston dropped 26 on Bonny Eagle. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- If you're noticing discrepancies in the Heal Points between what I've got and what the MPA site has, here's one issue. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/image-2.png) Winslow doesn't have a region, which means teams won't get credit for beating Winslow in their preliminary index (like Leavitt, above), which means that teams that beat teams that beat Winslow aren't getting the full credit. Got that? It also means that Winslow isn't in the C South standings, even though they have a 40% chance of making the playoffs. I've sent it to the MPA, so it should be fixed soon. I had a similar issue earlier this year in S. These things happen. --- Speaking of Winslow's chances of making the tourney, I added a feature to [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) (scroll down). I'll give you a minute to look at this. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-18-at-11.50.20---PM-1.png) On each line, this tells you the range of seeds your team can get if they win a certain number of games and the likelihood of making the tournament. So for Winslow, 9 wins almost certainly gets them in the Tournament (97.1%) and they get the 7 seed in 13.2% of simulations. Check it out! [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- If there was a Maine version of [The Press Box](https://www.theringer.com/podcasts/the-press-box?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), it would undoubtedly be interested in the MPA's [updated media credentials policy](https://mpa.fpsports.org/TenantHTML.aspx?D=About%20Us&F=MPA%20Media.html&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). This jumped out to me: > Credentials are not issued to message board websites, Facebook, Instagram, podcasters, or to websites that do not regularly contain MPA-based high school regular season content throughout the year. I'm kind of between two opinions on this. I'm not sure that I would have been able to get a pass back in the day, had this been the criteria. And I think it's always great to get more non-traditional media outlets in the ecosystem, provided they're doing the work and whatnot. However, there's no question that during Tourney Week all these people show up who you've never seen during the regular season and never see again. Some of them are TV news anchors who don't cover sports. Some are...I don't know what. YouTubers? Instagram accounts? TikTok? I get why they'd want to increase the barrier to entry. But we all start somewhere. This started as a tumblr and anonymous Twitter account and somehow got a press pass (I'm pretty sure Don Shields yelled at someone). I guess I'd always err on the side of inclusion, but I absolutely understand the MPA's thinking. --- Let's update the Wins Draft. Tyler and Mike have a lead with Mike slightly ahead. Adam's in third, but I have fewer losses. Either way, the Greenville boys are killing me. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-18-at-10.13.32---PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) We're heading to A North, where the Hampden girls have won 10 straight to vault to the top of the standings. According to the Tourney Odds, they're the favorites to hang onto the 1 seed, but it's far from a sure thing with Mt. Ararat and Edward Little right on their heels. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-18-at-11.41.00---PM.png) But lurking is Camden at 10-2, with losses to Oceanside and Edward Little. Oh, and that 1 Hampden loss? It was to Camden. Can the Windjammers pull off the sweep and really turn the top 4 seeds into a free-for-all? Or will the Broncos further extend their lead for the 1 seed? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-18-at-10.30.51---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Double Cross-Class URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/double-cross-class/ Last updated: 2026-01-17T17:05:18.000Z Let's start with an apology. This is later than normal. Sorry. Every so often I think, "what if I got the Heal Points updated and then instead of writing the newsletter and getting it done by 1-2am, I went to bed early and did it in the morning?" Well I tried that and slept for 12 hours. --- In the Game of the Day, Monmouth rallied down 13 at the end of three quarters to get it to within 2 in the final minute, but couldn't finish the job and fell 48-45 to Mount Abram. --- In other C South action, Hall-Dale hosted Valley for an unusual meeting between teams two classes apart (Hall-Dale in C and Valley in S). It doesn't happen a lot. Noble used to play Traip, back in the pre-COVID, pre-Jamier Rose days. I'd like to see more of it. Of course, Valley isn't your usual under 100 enrollment school. The girls absolutely smoked Hall-Dale. Hall-Dale built leads in this one, but Valley wouldn't go away. The Cavaliers went on runs, but Hall-Dale answered every one of them. They shot 18-22 from the line (9-10 in the fourth quarter) to close it out. Karter Eldridge led the Bulldogs with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Fisher Tewksbury had 15 & 14 for Valley. Mike Mandell was there. [Hall-Dale boys basketball holds off Valley in cross-class showdownThe Class C Bulldogs withstand multiple surges from the Class S Cavaliers to claim a nonconference victory.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-11.png)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43370390_20260116_03hoops.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/01/16/hall-dale-boys-basketball-holds-off-valley-in-cross-class-showdown/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Bangor Christian's Jesse Booker joined the 1,000 point club last night. Here's a good clip. Hopefully it was early in the game, because the Facebook comments are coming for this final score. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-16-at-7.50.53---PM.png) ### Elsewhere Elizabeth Galway had 15 & 19 in Edward Little's win over Lewiston...Kayleigh Wagg had 18 in [Mt. Ararat's win over Bangor](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/16/mt-ararat-girls-basketball-beats-bangor-in-defensive-battle/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)...Valley's Kirsten Bigelow went off for 30 against Hall-Dale...Dylan Jewett had 21 in Spruce's win over Oak Hill...Owen Hurd had 23 in Lisbon's win over Mountain Valley...Tyshawn Hall had 21 and Jacob Linkletter had a double-double as Madison beat Boothbay...Avery Bush had 14 in Greely's win over Fryeburg --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- Maranacook is playing at the Hoop Hall Classic in Springfield this weekend. This morning they dropped their first game, 74-70 to Commerce HS in Mass (enrollment: 3200). [The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame :: Schedule![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/hof_144x144.png)Hoophall Invitational Event Logo![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/basketball_hall_of_fame.jpg)](https://www.hoophall.com/index.php/events/hoophall-invitational/schedule?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you haven't checked out the latest episode of the podcast, Jay Baines and I went through each boys region to see how the rest of the season might pan out. 0:00 /1:18 1× \\ You can check out the full episode on YouTube or Spotify. [YouTube](https://youtu.be/Psx1w3xOpyI?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Aa0nmHQInedO9hJH3yZwc?si=857716022e8d40a4&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- It's no surprise who's hyped up for the National Championship game. > “I can’t wait to watch you compete for a national championship and to bring a banner back home to Bloomington.”[@IndianaWBB](https://twitter.com/IndianaWBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) legend [@kenzieholmes\_](https://twitter.com/kenzieholmes%5F?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) has a message for No. 1 [@IndianaFootball](https://twitter.com/IndianaFootball?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 🫶[#NationalChampionship](https://twitter.com/hashtag/NationalChampionship?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/5uRmBmQgLY](https://t.co/5uRmBmQgLY?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Indiana On BTN (@IndianaOnBTN) [January 16, 2026](https://twitter.com/IndianaOnBTN/status/2012256286289641719?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- New Hampshire, known in these parts for being lame, has really outdone themselves with a new law that seems like it's trying to do a good thing, but it horribly thought out. A new parental right law took effect this summer. > The law states that parental consent of each student is required even in the cases of theater, drama, and performing arts recordings of rehearsals or performances and music and band recordings of ensemble practices or concerts. That's...not great, but you can see the rationale behind it, kind of. Most schools have a system in place for this already where parents can opt out and there's good reasons to do this--abusive parents, custody battles, etc. But the new law applies a blanket protection to everyone, which is probably overkill. What it doesn't make clear is how this applies to sporting events. And let's be honest, there's a lot more eyes on a sporting event than on a dance recital. Plus the dynamic is different. You don't see the audience in a dance recital in the way you [do at a sporting event](https://youtube.com/shorts/BK1X0fj1KfQ?feature=share&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). So people in New Hampshire are hesitant to film games, because no one wants to get sued. > Nick Lavallee, who is the media coordinator for the town of Merrimack and manages their local cable station, says he will continue to broadcast high school sports games, even without the full consent of parents. Lavallee argues that athletic games are public events outside of the classroom. He's right. They're very much public, newsworthy events. But I'm guessing Lavallee doesn't have the budget for a lawsuit if some Karen gets upset. We get this here some whenever there's a controversial video and a few people start begging that a video gets taken down because THINK OF THE CHILDREN (even though it's usually a parent who's the issue...so I guess think of the children who have to watch their parents act like idiots?) The law needs to be clarified and I would imagine it would. Is New Hampshire going to go through their basketball playoffs with no video coverage? Can you imagine? It definitely doesn't need to come here. Leave that idea at the border. [Some New Hampshire towns pause school sports broadcasts amid confusion over new lawThe New Hampshire Department of Education warned school districts that any audio or video recordings without written consent from parents is in violation of a recently passed law.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/icon-12.svg)CBS NewsLouisa Moller![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/football.jpg)](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/boston/news/new-hampshire-parental-rights-law-video-sports/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPYlJ9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeKoCRnbYBwJ-4Wa3M8ROM%5Fp8jRBHgBgNT69he%5FkCXROZ1ZHhbNs6pCA-VSb0%5Faem%5FzdTsn9xuXiWqAVL%5FRRlPwg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Last time we saw the Caribou boys, they were on the wrong side of a 56-42 score against Presque Isle, a game in which they were favored by 20 points and I pointed out in the newsletter that the only other team since Christmas to lose a game in which they were favored by 19 or more was Caribou when they lost to Foxcroft on December 30\. Well look who they're playing today. The schedule works in mysterious ways. So Caribou has the 12th highest scoring offense in the state. They're the defending B champs. And they have a %Perfect of 70.85% against the Top 50, which is 7th best in the state (PI is not in the top 50). As for Foxcroft, the story is defense. They've got the best defense in C North (9th in the state). They lead C North in %Perfect overall and are second against the Top 50\. [WHOU will have this one](https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whou.live%2Ffeatured%2Fevents%2Ffoxcroft-academy-at-caribou-boys-basketball-1-17-26%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExN2ZnbVNacGtZOXAyQlEyS3NydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR6cqkowY5cw5wSbL-N39WMexXggiU3hNttrbMQdfg13YMJ1PEeYBXjQfibmkA%5Faem%5FVV4mkbS5AwhwAGQx1O5Ojg&h=AT093%5FQ2U0vJbqi01WTDX-b4pOOl%5FYZshS9nUY2pls-Py5MddifJeoVhum6nqTK2nGabIVAnkdpGvUCa2vnDNXG-h9by1fxNy-Sr3lWolwQCKwYCLg0oOP594yt6zL30VSBhFLgnK6WVMOKATd4&%5F%5Ftn%5F%5F=-UK-y-R&c[0]=AT1XrOPg9IXSeKlpzMUn3kItF822jgX5ri9CuThO3NH4ErjXj5AZq%5FhjNLZwaxg05mtkpgbv5ndDRS7RlG5sTgso40xAB6uDw99U24EKOJzSOE43A-kkPApMQmjVxJ3Am2oGjUW9LPGbkECiJ13G0ffKIPl3Y3x9ioYw6T9oyezGe3KuVlBMf-%5FmziSqfyOvffj60WpKRV7GAqhKZpPjOvzWmhp9s1Xn7xIonB5x4m-1207F7A&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-17-at-10.42.19---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### York Falls to Yarmouth URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/york-falls-to-yarmouth/ Last updated: 2026-01-16T12:38:17.000Z Let's go to York, where the Wildcats started the evening as one of the last unbeaten teams in the state. In their first 11 wins, they were only really tested once--a 2 point win on December 12th in Yarmouth. Last night, Yarmouth finished the job. The Clippers trailed by 11 after the first quarter, but wouldn't be daunted. They mostly dug themselves out of the hole in the second quarter, then used a big third quarter to take the lead. Evan Oranellas scored 28 points to lead Yarmouth, including 3 triples in the fourth quarter to seal the win and vault into third place in B South. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-16-at-2.25.57---AM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- The Game of the Day was a playoff atmosphere in Waldoboro as Medomak Valley hosted Cony with the Worldwide Leader in the house. > [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DTjM6NQlSSt/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by Maine Basketball Rankings (@mainebasketballrankings)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DTjM6NQlSSt/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) Cony got off to a fast start with this Carter Braithwaite dunk. He quickly found himself on the bench with 2 fouls (more on that later). Cony was able to survive the minutes he sat and led 18-16 after 1\. The Rams used a late second quarter run to extend the lead to 13 at the half. This was my second countable Cony game this year and besides how impressive Braithwaite is (He's. A. Freshman!), my main takeaway from the first half was that the Cony defense was much improved from the game against Gardiner at the ACC. So there were 2 officials for this game, which struck me as unusual. You'd really want 3 refs for Cony/Medomak and I think the refs struggled to call this game for the first three quarters. Everyone was in foul trouble and no one was happy. Moments after this, uh, common foul, Nguyen was called for two fouls to give him 4 with about 3 minutes left in the third quarter. And Medomak left him in. Just like in the first matchup in Augusta, Medomak worked their way back. But it wasn't easy. Every time the Panthers hit a big three to swing momentum, Cony would answer with a three of their own. But the Panthers slowly clawed their way back in it. Eventually they got a call they agreed with. 0:00 /0:09 1× Let's go to the middle of the fourth quarter, because I want to talk about the refs. With a couple of minutes left, Nguyen, Braithwaite, Parker Morin, Kollin Donlin, and one other Cony player all had 4 fouls. That's a lot! And then, the refs let them play. All four of the major players with 4 fouls had at least one play where they could have been called for a foul, but the refs swallowed their whistles. As they should I can think of a lot of refs that would have fouled one or all four of them out of the game, but kudos to them for letting the players decide the game. Medomak tied the game with 2 minutes to go. Jackson Kay hit 2 free throws to break the tie and Nguyen lost control of the ball on the other end and had to foul to stop the clock. Cony went 6/6 from the line in the final minute to escape with a win. Kay finished with 19 and Braithwaite had 23 for Cony. Mason Nguyen led all scorers with 25 for Medomak. Kollin Donlin added 22\. If you can see either of these teams in person, I highly recommend it. --- The Lewiston boys have been light on highlights for the last couple of seasons, but they got one fantastic game winner last night against Edward Little. ### Elsewhere Nolan Ames dropped 25 on Skowhegan...Max Bouchard's 17 led Bonny Eagle over Marshwood...Khaelon Watkins led Cheverus with 19 against Deering...Gavin Fanjoy went off for 34 points and 7 dunks in Erskine's win over MCI...Gavin Fanjoy had 22 as Falmouth rallied to beat Scarborough...Colin Schlobohm (17/10/8) just missed a triple-double as Leavitt blew out Waterville...Biddeford's Gabby Silva dropped 23 on Windham...Kylie Lamson had 17 as Cheverus blew out Deering...Sierra Gibbons' 14 helped Hall-Dale upset Madison...Maddie Provost went off for 31 against Nokomis...Gabby Smith scored 16 and Leavitt pitched a second quarter shutout of Waterville...Chloe Anderson's led Lincoln Academy over Morse...Riley Ewing had 17 in Kennebunk's win over Portland...Colin Janvrin scored 19 to lead Windham over Biddeford...SoPo's Gabe Jackson dropped 24 on Gorham...Lucky Kabeya had 19 points and 5 steals as Pine Tree beat Forest Hills. Jaxson Desjardins had 32 in the loss...TA's Simon Gellis dropped 23 on Westbrook...JJ Carlo's 18 helped Waynflete hold off a Sacopee Valley rally...Trot Moody's 24 wasn't enough to get OOB past Wells...Abigal McCarty's 16 led Mount Abram by Mountain Valley...Caleigh Corcoran had 23 and Annie Whitmore added 21 in SoPo's win over Gorham...Alaina Kachnovich and Lilly Bellerose each scored 15 in Spruce's blowout of Winthrop...Megyn Mertens' 14 & 10 helped Wells cruise past OOB...Celia Bergdahl scored 26 points and Alice Ferran added a double-double (11 & 12) as Maranacook crushed Lisbon...Natalie Lathrop dropped 26 on Bonny Eagle...Dylan Myhal drained 8 3's as Kennebunk knocked off Portland. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- Jay Baines and I stayed up late last night to record the boys half of the of the Tourney Odds and Heal Points update. Much like the girls' podcast earlier this week, we went region-by-region to see what teams are in, what teams are out, and what teams have work to do. [Click here to subscribe to the YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). We're very tired. --- Tatum's coming back! > Jayson Tatum tonight at the end of the Celtics/Heat game: > > “I’m ready.” 👀 > > (h/t [@Fullcourtpass](https://twitter.com/Fullcourtpass?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) > [pic.twitter.com/wpbY3hu4v1](https://t.co/wpbY3hu4v1?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) [January 16, 2026](https://twitter.com/LegionHoops/status/2012030371316318518?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) We'll go to D South boys, where Mount Abram hosts Monmouth. Both teams have a bye pretty much locked up and the Roadrunners have the inside track on the 1 seed. Their main threat is Monmouth. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-16-at-2.30.37---AM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) They've already played once, a 87-57 win by Monmouth all the way back on December 11th, the first game in a stretch where Mount Abram lost three straight. Since then they've won 8 in a row and are 10th in the state in scoring offense (first in D South). Monmouth's resume is a strange one. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-16-at-2.37.01---AM.png) They've got 4 losses, but all against quality opponents and you'd think perhaps they would just slot in behind those four teams, but the blowouts of Mount Abram and Valley make me think there's more there. If they call pull off the sweep, they can make a run at the 1 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-16-at-2.01.59---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Wildcatting URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/wildcatting/ Last updated: 2026-01-15T12:00:04.000Z Pundits love to say that with a rivalry game you can throw out the records, because sometimes things like last night happen. The Presque Isle boys, 6-4 on the year and fighting for a playoff spot, hosted the 9-1 Caribou boys (you know, the defending class B champs who are now in C). The Wildcats jumped out to an 8-0 lead, pushed it to 20 at one point, and beat the Champs rather convincingly 56-42\. Kason Bua had a game high 21 points. You can watch the highlights on [WHOU's Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/reel/882307894342502). While 6-4 beating 9-1 doesn't sound that outlandish, let me add the context that Caribou entered the game ranked 7th in the state and Presque Isle was 86th. Caribou was favored by 20 points. If we start with Christmas (to filter out teams like Noble that are clearly worse than last year), boys teams favored by 19 points or more are 32-2 on the year. Both of those loses were by Caribou. Presque Isle was roughly 55% to make the Tournament before the win, slotting in for that 9th and final spot, but their most likely option was finishing 10th. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-14-at-11.04.07---PM.png) But with the win over Caribou (which is obviously going to be the gift that keeps on giving all season long), Presque Isle's prospects improve significantly. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-14-at-11.04.34---PM.png) They flip with Lawrence for 8th, which is now their most likely landing spot. 10th place is all the way down to 5.6% and they're 94.3% to make the Tourney. So while it doesn't look like the win moved the needle all that much, it essentially doubled their chances of making the postseason. They were pretty far from Belfast at 7, but they've closed the gap significantly. [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) ### Elsewhere Fisher Tewksbury's 17 led Valley to a blowout over Greenville...Dylan Jewett scored 19 points and Spruce Mountain used a 22-2 run to put away Winthrop...David Edwards' 22 & 11 led Richmond over Telstar...Brennan Mitchell's 26 out-dueled Dylan Theraiult's 24 and Mount Abram beat Mountain Valley...Jack Fontaine's 19 led Maranacook past Lisbon...OOB put up a 27-0 second quarter and Reagan Patridge scored 17 points in a win over Wiscasset...Kirsten Bigelow went off for 30 in 3 quarters in Valley's win over Greenville...Nick Jamo scored 20 and Jake Jamo chipped in 19 as Poland beat Freeport...Caleb Dupee drilled 6 shots from deep in OOB's win over Wiscasset...Monmouth overcame 27 points from Owen Smith to beat Dirigo...Lilly Burtt had 23 in Central Aroostook's win over Madawaska...Quinn Pelletier had 20 in the boys game...Hermon's Carter Wiggin dropped 26 on Foxcroft. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- The story of the [Brunswick two dunk technicals](https://youtu.be/pq4ZuULesdM?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) has legs. First Varsity Maine covered it and now the Bangor Daily News has their own angle: they took the opportunity of Brewer hosting Camden Hills to talk to two of the best dunkers in the state--Oli Higgins and Nolan Ames. > \[Higgins\] didn’t mince words about the idea of players being issued a technical for hanging a little bit after a dunk. > “I think it’s kind of crap. I think you should be able to celebrate your dunks,” Higgins said. “Dunks give a lot of energy to the team.” > Ames agreed that it’s hard to know where other players are in traffic or transition when taking the ball to the rim. > “You’ve seen those NBA players, they get a two-foot dunk, and they swing right off the rim and fall on their back. Nobody wants to see that happen,” Ames said. “So I think hanging on the rim’s not really that bad.” They also spoke to TJ Halliday the state's officials coordinator (who is probably tired of talking about this). Reading between the lines of the article, it sure sounds like there's movement toward getting rid of the dunk technicals, but as they always say, progress is rarely a straight line. > “As a fan of the game, I like dunking. I like to see it. I like that kind of action. It’s kind of fun to get people excited about the game,” Halliday said. “So we definitely don’t wanna get involved unless we feel like it’s necessary.” Matt Junker has the story for the BDN: [2 of Maine’s best dunkers weigh in on debate over technical fouls at the rimCamden Hills senior Nolan Ames and Brewer Sophomore Oli Higgins are well-qualified to speak about dunk rules.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-40.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Untitled-design-2026-01-14T164813.669.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/01/14/sports/maines-best-dunkers-technical-fouls-debate/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPVND9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFQUmplYnFsQ3dsVEVWTEthc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHvlGHeR8kIahf0LjeTadEAL92n0wnFvX3hTJsVSC5DNzt9NmG9GvizjIXuRV%5Faem%5Frdq27cgvDMzgQw%5F52hH8cQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I would also like to go in a time machine and tell 12 year old me that I'd someday report something that'd result in columns by the Portland Press Herald and the Bangor Daily News. --- Just putting this out there for all the student sections around the state. > [pic.twitter.com/RmgR6tTG3E](https://t.co/RmgR6tTG3E?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — No Context College Basketball (@ContextFreeCBB) [January 15, 2026](https://twitter.com/ContextFreeCBB/status/2011662248050078195?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We've got more information on Spencer Emerson's decision to step down from the Falmouth football gig. He's moving on to college in an off field role, which doesn't seem to be announced publicly yet. [Spencer Emerson steps down as Falmouth football coach​Emerson will take an off-the-field position with a college football program after leading the Navigators to a 17-4 record and a Class B title in two seasons.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-19.png)The Portland Press HeraldSteve CraigStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/21807215_SJCM.MLKP_.0117211.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/13/spencer-emerson-leaves-falmouth-football-to-take-college-job/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Naturally, the Falmouth job is open and that's got to be a very attractive opportunity for a young coach. > Falmouth High School is seeking candidates for Head Varsity Football Coach. Link to apply is below. Posting closes on January 28th.[https://t.co/OXVwxKRJnb](https://t.co/OXVwxKRJnb?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/DyeG0ruYCO](https://t.co/DyeG0ruYCO?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — James Coffey (@FalmouthAD) [January 14, 2026](https://twitter.com/FalmouthAD/status/2011447877697180119?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Last week, Mason Nguyen scored 23 points in the 4th quarter to nearly lead Medomak Valley to a come-from-behind victory against Cony in Augusta. The Rams prevailed 95-89\. Tonight is the rematch and when two teams score a combined 184 points, the rematch moves to the top of the heap. The Stax Index agrees. Cony enters the game as the top scoring team in the state at 79.6 points a game. They've scored more than 88 points 5 times in 10 games. They also give up a bunch of points, easily the most for a team with a winning record. The team next to them in PA is Noble, who is -292 on the year. Some of that is related to pace. They'll travel to Waldoboro to take on Medomak Valley. Last year, Medomak lived on their defense, but Gabe Lash isn't there anymore and the Panthers aren't an elite defense this year, at least not by the numbers. They've shown they can score points with Cony. Can they slow them down enough to pull out a win? I will add that these two teams should be higher in the rankings, but they're a game or two behind everyone else. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-15-at-12.16.29---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A SoPo Red Riot URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/a-sopo-red-riot/ Last updated: 2026-01-14T12:00:40.000Z Let's start with the Game of the Day and A South girls. Behind Mollie Puffer, Sanford built a 5-point lead early in the 4th quarter (Puffer finished with 18) before the champs took over, finishing with a 16-5 run to close out the upstart contenders. Annie Whitmore scored 15 points and locked down Puffer on defense to secure the win. Drew Bonifant was there. [South Portland girls rally past Sanford in Class A showdownThe Red Riots outscore the Spartans 16-7 in the fourth quarter to win a game between two of the strongest teams in Class A South.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-18.png)The Portland Press HeraldDrew BonifantStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43363033_20260113_SoPo-Sanford_5.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/13/south-portland-girls-rally-past-sanford-in-class-a-showdown/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The SoPo win flips the Tourney Odds. [Sanford was 55.8%](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tiger-town-2/) to get the 2 seed, but the loss cuts that in half. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-14-at-1.16.24---AM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) But the bigger game might have been in the boys game, where Darius Johnson went off for 32 points and the Red Riots handed Sanford their first loss of the season, 71-69. Sanford holds on to the 1 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-14-at-1.44.45---AM.png) But the [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) now have a new favorite to finish with the 1\. The new A South (boys and girls) is super fun. --- The Oceanside/Belfast rivalry has taken a couple of weird turns over the last couple of years. There was the infamous blowout and subsequent social media outrage incorrectly fueled by an Instagram account's shoddy attempt at journalism (never retracted or corrected despite being widely debunked, by the way). Then Belfast won the last two matchups in very similar, contentious finishes with the last one coming on Saturday in overtime. So it seemed like a no-brainer that it'd be a good game. So, of course it wasn't. Alonzo Hoose fueled a 13-2 run to close the first half and Oceanside would cruise from there. But we did get one of the more unlikely buzzer-beaters I've seen this year. > [@mainebasketballrankings1](https://www.tiktok.com/@mainebasketballrankings1?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "@mainebasketballrankings1") > > Grady Geretz cleans up the miss [#mainehighschoolbasketball](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/mainehighschoolbasketball?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "mainehighschoolbasketball") > > [♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings - Maine Basketball Rankings](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-Maine-Basketball-Rankings-7595024653836471054?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings - Maine Basketball Rankings") The english! > FINAL - Oceanside Boys 56 Belfast 20\. Reid Robishaw 16/12R for OHS (6-6), Luke Littlefied 11/7R for Belfast (6-6) > > — Don Shields (@DonShieldsMaine) [January 14, 2026](https://twitter.com/DonShieldsMaine/status/2011235712390361148?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Elsewhere Alice Ferran notched a triple-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 steals in Maranacook's win over Boothbay...Bonny Eagle used a 23-0 run to put away Gorham. Max Bouchard had 14...Mt. Ararat's Logan Zoulamis' 24 points wasn't enough to overcome Brunswick's balanced attack...Jackson Coull had 14 in Greely's win over GNG...Evan Oranellas (22) was one of 5 Clippers in double figures as Yarmouth put up 92 on Waynflete...A.J. Moody's 16 & 14 led Windham by Kennebunk...Skowhegan's Bryson Saucier put up 20 on Lewiston...Gavin Fanjoy had 16 in Erskine's win over Waterville...Kaitlyn Frost scored 15 as Monmouth beat Hall-Dale...Gorham's Logan Doughty dropped 27 on Bonny Eagle...Kylie Lamson had 19 against Massabesic...Nolan Ames went off for 34 (with 7 steals) against Brewer. He scored 19 in the 4th quarter to slam the door...Molly Brownell's 15 led Cape past Fryeburg...Abbey Steele's 17 paced GNG past Greely...Natalia Silva scored 23 and Gabby Silva added 21 as Biddeford pulled away from Westbrook late...Wells' Megyn Mertens dropped 23 & 9 on Sacopee Valley...TA's Sienna Eldred had 17 and almost out-scored Portland by herself...Windham got 17 from Mackenzie Delewski and pulled away from Kennebunk in a big third quarter...The Poland girls pitched a 19-0 third quarter to put away Leavitt...Cali LeClair had 18 in Mt. Ararat's win over Brunswick...Jenna Osgood had 18 in Mount Abram's win over Lisbon...Gio Staples and John Cubahiro each had 16 as Westbrook tripled up Biddeford...Carter Blanche's 18 helped Scarborough pull away from Deering in the second half...Silas Nielsen had 9 points and 21 rebounds and Peyton Young had 15 points as Sacopee Valley knocked off Wells...Lucas LeGage had 17 and Ephraim Luseko added 16 in Portland's win over TA...Evan Ballard's 17 helped Noble overcome Marshwood...Kelsie Dunn had 20 in Erskine's win. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- If you didn't catch the latest podcast episode: 0:00 /1:14 1× [YouTube](https://youtu.be/K%5FHTZeFJN%5Fs?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0rsIjUYQLyXhkSqr3rHE2K?si=fbd8972cf56f43de&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Subscribe at all the places! --- It's worth pointing out that if you (or your dumb friend) is a "the MPA heal points are great!" guy, you should see this: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-13-at-10.19.29---PM.png) So the Mattanawcook girls are scheduled to play a double-header against Orono (not happening) and Dexter is scheduled to play a double-header against them, but Mattanawcook only plays them once. Also the Lynx are supposed to play Fort Kent on 1/31, but that game has vanished and that's just the first region I checked. That's what you get with the free MPA heal points everyone is so desperate to find. Also: check your schedules! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) When last we saw the Hermon boys, a [little girl was screaming at them as they shot free throws](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1606728454105065) in a loss to Gardiner. They might see Gardiner again--it would be in a Regional Final, unless MDI or Cony can thread the needle and get the 1 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-14-at-12.22.34---AM.png) Hermon has the BYE locked up, but they could still drop as low as 6\. They'll head to Dover-Foxcroft to take on a team that's kind of in the same position. Much like Hermon, they could get the one, but they're most likely in the 2/3 range. They could also drop to 6 (actually, there's a handful of absolutely worst-case scenarios where they could fall all the way to 7). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-14-at-12.20.05---AM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) We don't have pace numbers, but this is also a contrast in styles. Foxcroft is one of the highest scoring teams in the state at 65.6 ppg. They lead Class C in %Perfect at 79.5% and are second in C in point differential at +249\. What's weird, though, is they've played two teams inside the top 40: they beat #8 Caribou by 14, but lost to Hermon by 22 on Opening Night. Those two results don't really mesh. It feels like one of them is an outlier. The question is, which one? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-13-at-11.31.30---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Tiger Town URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tiger-town-2/ Last updated: 2026-01-13T12:09:52.000Z When the Game of the Day delivers, it delivers. The Gardiner girls took their perfect record to the House that Cindy Built to take on Maddie Provost and the Lawrence Bulldogs. Provost returned to the lineup after missing a game with an injury and went right back to it, scoring 21 points and banking in a three to beat the third quarter buzzer and cut Gardiner's lead to one. If you've ever been to a game at Folsom Gymnasium, you know it can get loud for a normal game, but for a big game it can get deafening. It's one of the better home court advantages in the state. So when the game was tied with 1:48 to go, you had to assume that there'd be a possession where Provost would have the ball in her hands with a chance to win the game. Instead, Gardiner ripped off an 8-0 run, an emphatic statement on the road to close out a 55-50 win, easily their biggest victory of the year, and one that puts them in control of the 1 seed in B North. Mike Mandell was there. [Gardiner girls basketball outlasts Lawrence to stay unbeatenAn 8-0 run down the stretch powers the Class B North-leading Tigers past the Bulldogs.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-10.png)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43361064_20260112_GardLawrencegbb_384.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/01/12/gardiner-girls-basketball-outlasts-lawrence-to-stay-unbeaten/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Not to be outdone, in the boys game, Lawrence thought they were about to take Gardiner to overtime until Brady Peacock called GAME. > Brady Peacock with game winner tonight for the Gardiner Tigers over Lawrence 57-55\. Great game from The JAB [pic.twitter.com/NRj0HWy0RW](https://t.co/NRj0HWy0RW?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rob Munzing (@MunzingMedia) [January 13, 2026](https://twitter.com/MunzingMedia/status/2010908033505743257?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Peacock finished with 20 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists. I'm not the resident Gardiner historian, but this probably sits pretty high on the Gardiner basketball best regular season days rankings. Peacock was equally impressive Friday night in the win over Hermon. I put together an edit. --- Addison Cyr is now Mattanawcook's all-time leading scorer. --- I went to Morse @ Medomak, which was the only game on the schedule I could get to after work. Medomak's defense was the story here, forcing a multitude of Morse turnovers and [scoring in transition](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1GGCdg8E9e/). Mason Nguyen had 19, Micah Fagonde hit a couple threes, and Kollin Donlin added 19 and this blocked shot. > [@mainebasketballrankings1](https://www.tiktok.com/@mainebasketballrankings1?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "@mainebasketballrankings1") > > Kollin Donlin with the rejection > > [♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings - Maine Basketball Rankings](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-Maine-Basketball-Rankings-7594747624524090126?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings - Maine Basketball Rankings") ### Elsewhere Gage Mattson had 20 and Jack Fontaine added 17 in Maranacook's win over Boothbay...Brennan Mitchell went off for 34 as Mount Abram doubled up Lisbon...Braden Dubuc had 21 and Oak Hill overcame 24 from Graham Huri to beat Winthrop...Thea Laukka led Camden with 18 in their win over Cony...Sarah Davoe had 18 in Buckfield's win over Telstar...Owen Kelvey had 17 and Spruce pitched a first quarter shutout against Dirigo...Buckfield’s Trenton Haskell scored 24 but it wasn't enough as Telstar prevailed in double overtime. Cooper Morgan and Alex Doughty each scored 20 for the Rebels...Pine Tree's Collin Verrill dropped 23 on Temple...Ayanna Lester led Katahdin with 15 in a win over Van Buren...Central Aroostook's Harleigh Allen dropped 25 on East Grand...Cruze Casavant had 16 in Presque Isle's win over Houlton...Bryten Hartsgrove dropped 24 in Katahdin's win over Van Buren. --- The podcast is back after a layoff for dumb reasons. Turns out it can be tricky to schedule when people have games and/or practice every night and there holidays and everything. Anyway, we're back! Jay Baines is on for a 2-parter that asks, what if the tourney started today? --- Big news in football. > Today I stepped down as Head Coach at Falmouth H.S. > > I’m incredibly grateful for the relationships and memories made the past few years. Coaching these players and working alongside such supportive families, staff, boosters, and supporters was a privilege. Thank you to the… [pic.twitter.com/J7eMfsRkR4](https://t.co/J7eMfsRkR4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Spencer Emerson (@SpenceEmerson6) [January 12, 2026](https://twitter.com/SpenceEmerson6/status/2010840478476865980?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Spencer has made a massive impact in his two seasons at Falmouth and has been more than generous when this basketball nerd has stood on his sideline. Here's hoping he's on to bigger and better things. --- Dunk technicals are back in the news this season, because we can't have nice things. Travis Lazarczyk wrote a column about it for Varsity Maine > We have a way of taking high school sports too seriously, as if there’s a sanctity that needs to protected. Please. The life lessons taught by high school sports revolve around competing with dignity and giving your best no matter the situation. The lessons shouldn’t include “there’s always somebody eager to strip away your joy.” That’s learned enough places. There's an element of people saying, "well, that's the rule." Ok, but the rule sucks. And it's not a rule that has to be called. This isn't traveling or a block/charge or a real rule. This is subjective. In other states they just don't call it. Because there's no victim and I'm willing to bet the opposing coach isn't screaming at the refs to call it. Just pretend you didn't see it. Let the kids play! Here's Travis' full column: [Dunking technicals reignite an old Maine hoops debateUnless obvious taunting occurs, refs should let a dunk be a dunk and swallow the whistle.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-17.png)The Portland Press HeraldTravis LazarczykColumnist![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43360753_20260110_ForColumnBrunswickBoysBasketball-7.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/12/dunking-technicals-reignite-an-old-maine-hoops-debate/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPSsTpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeeLSMs750hNAULFbLGxage1sTrlZgkRlTv1E-mucsCvKQ%5FqdVXIUV14wdl6o%5Faem%5FoqyNohWgTDfRnKXpa42QAg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- The "pink games" have become a staple around the state. You've probably seen them by now. Schools get an alternate pink jersey they wear once a year and the game functions as a fundraiser for a cancer charity. Sometimes the opposing team will throw in a dash of pink themselves--socks, ties, headbands, etc. In midcoast Maine, one of the big ones is Medomak's "Paws for the Cause". If you're in the midcoast, I highly recommend it. And if you aren't, please seek out one closer to you and join the cause. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/2026-Paws-Poster.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) In the preseason, there was a consensus that A South Girls would be one of the harder regions in the state and so far, at least the top 4 has delivered. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-13-at-1.36.37---AM.png) If you look at the Tourney Odds, Cheverus has a stranglehold on the 1 seed. Sanford and South Portland are battling for the 2 seed, with the loser hoping to not fall to the 4 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-13-at-1.50.24---AM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Why do they want to avoid the 4? Well, each team has one loss and that loss is to Cheverus. South Portland lost by 5 at Cheverus on Opening Night. Sanford lost by 17 on December 12th. Since then, they've been lights out. Their closest win was by 12 over Westbrook. And they've done this against the hardest schedule in A South. As for South Portland, well, they're the champs for a reason. They've got 2 wins by 2 possessions (by 5 over Biddeford and TA). They're 2nd in A South in %Perfect (73.84%) and third in point differential, a whooping 81 points more than Sanford. These teams are very close in the rankings. Sanford would be a slight favorite on a neutral floor, which means SoPo is favored at home. Winner gets the inside track on the 2 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-13-at-1.33.46---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Mt. Ararat Takes Off URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/mt-ararat-takes-off/ Last updated: 2026-01-12T12:00:04.000Z Let's start with the Game of the Day. York headed to Topsham with a level of confidence you get after a signature win over a team as good as GNG and came out hot--ripping off a 7-0 run to start the game. And when Julianna Allen picked up her second foul in the first two minutes of the game, it had the making of an upset. Only, no one told Mt. Ararat. The Eagles turned up their defensive pressure and leaned on their playoff experience to get back in the game. They erased the 7-point deficit with Allen on the bench and led 19-17 after 1 quarter. And then they absolutely demolished York. Kayleigh Wagg scored 14 of her 21 points in the first half. The Jensen sisters took over the game (Jaelyn Jensen: 18/7r/3a; Jenna Jensen: 13/5s/4a) and York had no answers after that initial 7-0 run. Mt. Ararat rolled to an 88-38 shellacking that moved the champs to 9-1 on the year. If we go to the Tourney Odds, Mt. Ararat has locked up a bye, but they've got some work to do if they're going to catch Hampden for the 1 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-11-at-10.08.41---PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- For a while now, a Forest Hills player with "Desjardins" on their jersey (or, I guess, shooting shirt) has been a walking bucket. The sort of instant offense you have to game plan for. The newest Desjardins, Jaxson, has taken that to a new level by scoring his 1,000th point halfway through his sophomore year. He had 27 in Forest Hills' win at Rangeley. With 1,000 points this early, you have to wonder if he can join his brother Parker (2,083) in the [2,000 point club](https://sites.google.com/site/frankspanky/2000-point-scorers%5F1?authuser=0&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). It's not a big club. He needs to average 21.7 for the rest of his career (assuming 1 playoff game every season), which seems very doable. If he can average 28.4, he'll catch Ray Alley (2,306) for the boys record. That could be in play. [High schools Saturday: Jaxson Desjardins reaches milestone in Forest Hills boys basketball victoryDesjardins scored 27 points to pass 1,000 for his career and the Tigers roll past Rangeley.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-9.png)Centralmaine.commodify your screen name here![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_1862.jpeg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/01/10/high-schools-saturday-jaxson-desjardins-reaches-milestone-in-forest-hills-boys-basketball-victory/?utm%5Fcampaign=cm%5Fhssports&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawPRIVFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEenKioT52O%5F9xF2iqE-7eA3NHI%5FTPdQdOAd0vKihfyjS9b5DtpIMktcUIuuPU%5Faem%5FvOAHlyOab2B71fvQm169Yw) --- For the second year in a row, Belfast got a big win at home against Oceanside. And in dramatic fashion. > [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTWV77LgrXl/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by Maine Basketball Rankings (@mainebasketballrankings)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTWV77LgrXl/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) Trevin Ripley had 31 points, 19 rebounds, and 6 assists in the win. ### Elsewhere Julius Searles scored 28 points to lead a Biddeford comeback over Massabesic...with Logan Gray on the sidelines because of his dunk technicals, Brunswick's Rylan Ley and Jonny Porter each scored 12 points in a win over Skowhegan...Akol Maiwen dropped 26 on Edward Little...Kylie Lamson dropped 27 on Marshwood...Celia Bergdahl had 15 and Maranacook held Mountain Valley scoreless in the 4th quarter...Mollie Puffer's 19 led Sanford to a win over Bonny Eagle...Down 23-11, South Portland closed with a 22-3 run to stun Scarborough...Reece MacDonald dropped 28 on Mt. Ararat...A.J. Moody returned to the lineup and led Windham with 19 points in a win over Gorham...Gio Staples had 17 as Westbrook doubled up Marshwood...Loic Ramazani (12/7/5/6) stuffed the stat sheet as Portland crushed Noble...Cai Dougher had 16 in Spruce's win over Madison...Collin Verrill's 24 led Pine Tree over Richmond...Elizabeth Galway had 21 as Edward Little crushed Oxford Hills...Brooke Bodnar's 19 paced TA by Kennebunk...Marley Jarvais' double-double (17 & 10) led Windham by Gorham...De’Shaun Alton had 14 in TA's win over Kennebunk...Evan Drake had 22 as Mount Blue handled Messo...Grayson Bernard had 27 and Lewiston scored 30 points in the 4th quarter to stun GNG. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- The number of people on Facebook complaining about Heal Points was driving me crazy, so I made a short video. Of course, if you're here, you already know that the Heal Points on this site are superior. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) There's not a lot of games on the schedule tonight, but there's one pretty big one. We're going to B North, where the standings are a bit of a surprise. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-11-at-10.02.19---PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) I don't know how many people had Gardiner at 10-0 before the season started. In the preseason poll, Gardiner was picked to finish 6th, Old Town was 8th, and Lawrence was the overwhelming favorite. Lawrence already has 2 losses on the year, which is probably what people figured they'd end up with on the whole season, a loss to Oceanside and a loss to Hampden in a game Maddie Provost left early with an injury. Word on the street is she'll be back for this game, hopefully at full strength. Gardiner is 10-0 and are the [only team in B North to secure a bye](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). They've been dominant (2nd in B in point differential and 1st in %Perfect), but it's been against a schedule that's seen 1 team in the top 30 so far. However, it's about to get a lot harder. They've got Lawrence on the road tonight, then they head down to Rockland next Tuesday to play Oceanside before hosting Lawrence next Thursday. If they can come through that stretch still unbeaten (or even with 1 loss), we'll have to start talking about them as contenders. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-11-at-8.19.07---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### B North Is Gonna Be Crazy URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/b-north-is-gonna-be-crazy/ Last updated: 2026-01-10T16:36:40.000Z Apologies for the delay, but we lost internet last night. So there were two candidates yesterday for Game of the Day, a quasi-tie that I cheated a tiny bit on and then said it'd be great if they could shuffle the schedule a little bit so I could see both. Turns out they did (kind of) and I didn't take advantage of it. I went to Hermon @ Gardiner, where the pregame hype show has vastly improved over the years. This is an area where teams can go nuts. Have fun with it! Gardiner clearly is! The JV game finished 18 minutes early, which is insane. 18 minutes! Apparently they played the freshman game in an hour and 5 minutes, so I'm guessing they didn't call anything or take any timeouts or anything. Despite the delay, the atmosphere in Gardiner was great. As for the varsity game, I saw Gardiner beat Cony 97-90 at the ACC in a game where defense wasn't a priority, so I wasn't pleasantly surprised to see Gardiner's focus on defense against Hermon. Maybe they scouted Hermon's win over Cony that held the Rams under 50 points or maybe they just didn't like giving up 90\. Either way, the Gardiner defense was ACTIVE. They were in every passing lane and got to nearly every 50/50 ball en route to a convincing win that vaulted them to the 1 seed in B North. But the real MVP was in the stands. I'm assuming that's someone's little sister. She was hyped the entire second half. Awesome stuff. Gardiner is now 77.3% to get the 1 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-10-at-1.24.58---AM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Anyway, as good as Gardiner's shooting was in the 97-90 win over Cony, the defense was even better against Hermon. I think they might be legit? --- I was texting updates back and forth with Mike Mandell, who was at the Medomak/Cony game, and they were in the third quarter when I left Gardiner, so I thought I could maybe get there for the ending. It's about 17 minutes from Gardiner to Cony, but at the time Cony was up 17, so it didn't seem worth it. I was wrong. Mason Nguyen scored 23 points in the fourth quarter to fuel the Medomak comeback that ultimately fell short in a 95-89 thriller. (40 minutes after I left Gardiner) Cony had 6 players score 12 points or more. Jackson Kay led the way with 18 & 7\. Medomak only had 4 players score. Nguyen led all scorers with 36 and Kollin Donlin added 26 & 9\. Cony travels to Medomak on Thursday for a rematch. Let's just pencil that in as Game of the Day. Really, though, any time you can see Cony, you probably should. [Cony boys basketball uses balanced scoring to get past Medomak ValleyThe Rams win yet another high-scoring game, getting more than a dozen points from six players.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-8.png)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43357690_20260109__kjms.conymedomakbbb.0110_0y056.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/01/09/cony-boys-basketball-uses-balanced-scoring-to-get-past-medomak/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Lisbon won their first home game in two years, despite one key challenge. > [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DTT9DBiCXKq/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by Lisbon Boys Basketball (@lisbon.basketball)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DTT9DBiCXKq/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) That's Owen Hurd, for those unfamiliar. He still had 12, a little shy of the MJ stat line, but MJ is an impossible standard to live up to. ### Elsewhere Owen Beaureguard's 20 led Cape over Sacopee Valley...Dirigo hit 12 3's, including 5 from Brady Philbrick in a win over Carrabec...Tayshaun Cleveland's 21 led Hall-Dale over Winslow...Mackenzie Parquette had 16 in Portland's win over Noble...Kirsten Bigelow's 17 paced Valley's lopsided win over North Haven...With Maddie Provost out with an injury, Amiah Laweryson stepped up to score 19 and Lawrence beat Morse...Alice Ferran's double-double (11 & 11) led Maranacook over Leavitt...Jacob Gibbs had 19 and Colin Schlobohm flirted with a triple-double (9 points, 12 boards, 8 assists) as Leavitt beat Maranacook...Anthony Almeida and Leighton Bradford each had 14 and Lawrence overcame 24 from Morse's Dylan Root...Cai Dougher's 14 points led Spruce over Wells...Braden New had 20 as Oak Hill rolled over Traip...Connor Kingsbury scored 23 points and Oceanside made 14 free throws in the 4th quarter to outlast Lincoln Academy...Dylan Theriault had 18 as Mountain Valley held off Telstar...Waynflete's JJ Carlo dropped 21 on Winthrop...Ian Lawrence had 20 points as Yarmouth put away Fryeburg early...Buckfield's Haleigh Campbell scored 12 points, which matched Wiscasset. Her teammates also scored...Madison Blanchard drilled 5 shots from deep in Mountain Valley's win over Telstar. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Yesterday, I wrote a bit about the 2 technicals called on Brunswick's Logan Gray in the first half against Freeport. Well, I've cleared the videos with Brunswick, so...you make the call! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) The Mt. Ararat girls are no one's idea of a surprise team. The defending Class A champs who are, for some reason, in the North (blame all the old AA teams and geography) are 8-1 with the one loss coming in overtime to GNG. What is kind of a surprise is a 6-4 York team that somehow is ranked 16th. Let's look at it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-10-at-12.40.12---AM.png) They have no bad losses. The two EL losses make sense, as does the loss at GNG. Losing at Greely by 2 isn't shocking. There's a nice Wells win, but the big one is that win over GNG that was a real surprise when it came across the wire. They've also got the 7th hardest schedule in the state so far and the second hardest in B South (Medomak Valley) and the Model loves a hard schedule where you're competitive in every game. Mt. Ararat will be a great test for a York team that's got aspirations in B South and might be a sleeper team if you want to impress people. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-10-at-12.33.15---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Double Dunk Technical URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/double-dunk-technical/ Last updated: 2026-01-09T19:49:40.000Z Let's go to Freeport where the Brunswick boys are a 15-point favorite. In very very first minute of the game, with Brunswick trailing 2-0, Logan Gray gets a steal, takes off and throws home a dunk, stay on the rim for a beat to let the defenders clear and the official gives him his first dunk technical of the year. I haven't been able to clear the video of the dunk yet for public consumption, but I've seen it and even by Maine standards, it's soft. Is he on the rim a little? Sure. But there's momentum from the fast break and two defenders around his legs, one of whom he nearly accidentally kicks in the groin. After Freeport misses the technical free throws, a Brunswick fan yells out "BALL DON'T LIE". As he should. CUT TO: Just over 2 minutes left in the half with Brunswick leading 31-16, Gray gets another steal, races down the floor, and throws it down again. This time, he's going a little faster and there's more momentum so he swings further. It's not a dunk worthy of technical, but you can certainly see why the guy who called the first one would think it was, because it looked a little bit worse. So Gray's night was over in the first half with an only-in-Maine double dunk technical disqualification. I'll work on trying to get video cleared. If you were there and got some: mainebasketballrankings@gmail.com is the email address. Now, you could say that after the first technical, Gray should have been more careful. He could, after all, simply lay the ball in instead of dunking. He could also do a simple two-handed set shot or make sure his team passed the ball 4 times before shooting. But that's dumb. Let the kids dunk. It's fun and it's not hurting anyone. Unless they fall on a defender underneath where they're trying to land because they're trying to avoid a dumb technical. I would argue that the official (yes, it was the same official) should be cognizant of which player already has a highly questionable technical foul and not give him another one--IN THE FIRST HALF--unless it's really egregious and this was far from egregious. This is the third player I've seen this season disqualified because of a technical foul and all three of them were complete nonsense. You can just give a warning and make sure the kids can stay in the game. If they foul out, ok. But ending their game because they were a little extra after the play is over? That's soft. --- The Year of the Freshmen has so far lived up to expectations. You could make an All-State Freshmen team and have players on the Second Team that'd usually be in contention for Player of the Year. Last night, the Freshman Class leveled up in a big way. Oceanside's Olivia Breen scored the Mariners' first 25 points of the game. Yes, their first twenty five points of the game. She had 35 at halftime and finished with 50--FIFTY--in a win over Lincoln Academy. Fifty is a big deal. Pete Rogers designs a special jersey whenever a NBA player drops a 50 burger. > 5️⃣0️⃣🍔 SERIES > > A new jersey anytime a player scores 50+ points in a game. > > Jaylen Brown > 50 PTS | 3 REB | 5 AST [pic.twitter.com/KFE7xIR2DV](https://t.co/KFE7xIR2DV?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Banner18 (@shopbanner18) [January 4, 2026](https://twitter.com/shopbanner18/status/2007848104914215290?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 50 is rare in Maine high school basketball and rarer still in girls high school basketball. The question was presented by an Oceanside parent: is 50 a Maine Freshman record? The Frank Spanky site doesn't seem to have this. A couple of potential names come to mind. Cooper didn't score 50\. Did Cindy Blodgett? Parise Rossignol was the fastest to 1,000 points, so if you're looking for someone who might have had a scoring explosion early, that's a candidate. But you also have to wonder if Breen can break Rossignol's record (35 games, which is 28.6 ppg). I say go for it. You only live once. > [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DTRm388DeXe/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by Athlete First Media (@athletefirstmedia)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DTRm388DeXe/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) --- In the preseason, you heard rumblings that "Sanford is going to be pretty good", but I'm not sure anyone saw this, exactly. They're now 9-0 and have nearly wrapped up the 1 seed in A South. A lot of people attributed Noble's ascent the last couple of years to Jamier Rose, but Coach John Morgan was a major factor and now, in his first season at Sanford, is proving to be one of the best young coaches in the state. [TA boys have no answers for undefeated SanfordSACO—Thornton Academy’s boys’ basketball team thought it was up for the challenge Thursday evening when the high-flying, undefeated Sanford Spartans paid a visit to Linnell Gymnasium. But there’s no simulating how Sanford plays, how it runs-and-guns and how it scores and while the Golden Trojans believed they were ready![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-16.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260108_193240.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/ta-boys-have-no-answers-for-undefeated-sanford/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Elsewhere Foxcroft's Lennon McAfee drilled 9 3's in a win over Dexter...Ava Lerman dropped 30 on Madawaska...Gabby Silva had 19 in Biddeford's win over Deering...Kylie Lamson and Kristin King each had 14 as Cheverus rolled by Bonny Eagle...Maddie Cronkite had 14 in Camden's blowout of Oxford Hills...Freeport erupted for 17 4th quarter points behind Emily Groves' 15 to rally past Brunswick...Hannah Hussey's 17 led Greely past Lake Region...Reece MacDonald had 27 as York shut down GNG in the 2nd half...Gio Staples had 25 and 6 steals as Westbrook beat 'Bunk in the Game of the Day...Dylan Gendron (23) and Ryan Alexander (21) combined for 7 3's as Sanford outlasted TA...Collin Verrill's 16 & 14 led Pine Tree by Telstar...Mt. Blue's Oliver Cormier had 22 in the win over Mt. Ararat...Bailey Tardif-Mockler (20) fueled Lewiston's second half comeback over Messo...Isabelle Tice's 21 led Marshwood over Falmouth...Mt. Ararat's Cali LeClair dropped 28 on Mt. Blue...Mollie Puffer had 26 in Sanford's win over TA...Levi Laverdiere had 21 in Monmouth's win over NYA...Lewiston used a 22-5 second quarter to put away Messo....Andrew Fortier and Brandon Levesque each scored 17 in Gorham's win over Noble...Max Bouchard's 25 & 16 led Bonny Eagle over Cheverus...Destiny Peters' 21 & 17 fueled SoPo's win over Portland...Ava Bolden had 17 in Westbrook's win over Kennebunk...Nolan Ames dropped 33 on Oxford Hills...Dominic Hau's 17 led Falmouth over Marshwood...Owen Corrigan had 22 in Caribou's win over Fort Kent. Tobias Naranja had 23 in the loss...Ava Ezell had 26 of Hodgdon's 38...Ally Shields had 29 in Southern Aroostook's win over Van Buren. --- Southern Aroostook's Ally Shields will be continuing her playing career at UMPI. [One of Aroostook County’s Best Announces Commitment to UMPI - University of Maine at Presque IslePRESQUE ISLE, ME![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/site-6.png)University of Maine at Presque IsleUniversity of Maine at Presque Isle![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/fit-1)](https://owls.umpi.edu/news/2026/1/8/womens-basketball-one-of-aroostook-countys-best-announces-commitment-to-umpi.aspx?fbclid=IwY2xjawPNZ5tleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFGNHEyVkJuNzI0RU9rYVFVc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHoCW5DxI7BAx62AP3Tvy5BKDj9QaHxnNJYdAtQ%5FAQxjkmmkbtyDJOAxA5MTS%5Faem%5FNQI7VvKAjdNNEtmgr1uCFA&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Well, I believe this is a first. We have a tie for the Game of the Day. Both Hermon @ Gardiner and Medomak @ Cony clock in with a Stax Index of 88.0, which is quite good. Naturally, we have to take it out further and there's a little separation--Medomak/Cony is 87.99 and Hermon/Gardiner is 87.98, but we're going to go with Hermon/Gardiner. It's their only meeting of the year and Cony will head down to Medomak on the 15th, where it's on pace to be Game of the Day, so Hermon/Gardiner it is. Hermon enters the game 8-1 on a 6 game winning streak after a loss to Belfast and in first place in B North. They've got one of the stingier defenses in Class B at 44.6 points allowed. Perhaps more impressively, they're 2nd in Class B in %Perfect at 82.43%, a measure of how well a team converts opportunities for points in the Power Rankings. Even better, the number goes up in games against teams in the Top 25\. They've played 4, which is a lot! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-08-at-11.40.46---PM-1-1-1.png) They'll head to Gardiner Area High School to take on the Tigers. Gardiner is also 8-1 and on a 5-game winning streak (they lost to Brunswick). Gardiner enters the game with a top-15 scoring offense and the 5th best %Perfect in Class B at 66.67%, but that number drops against the Top 25, mostly because of the loss to Brunswick which was...not close. The question here is which game is the outlier: Gardiner's loss to Brunswick, Hermon's loss to Belfast, or something else? [Munzing Media](https://www.munzingmediasports.com/football-1?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) will have the stream of this one. Could we maybe move one of these games up a little and the other one back so I can drive over and catch the second half? Just a thought. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-08-at-11.13.23---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Not-So-Great Ice Storm of 2026 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-not-so-great-ice-storm-of-2026/ Last updated: 2026-01-08T12:00:04.000Z Last night wasn't a complete washout. But with a small schedule to begin with and the icy conditions, it wasn't a surprise to see the vast majority of the slate get postponed. I mean, it wasn't the Ice Storm of 1998, but it was pretty much the anniversary of it. If you were in Maine in '98, you no doubt remember it. What I remember is we somehow didn't lose power--or got it back very quickly--and there was this sense that they were doing the 6pm news just for us. This was nothing. The biggest game that actually tipped off featured the high-flying Gardiner boys (16th in the state in scoring offense) and Poland (25th in offense). This was close in the first half--Gardiner led by 1 at the half before going on a run in the third quarter behind Luke Whalen. He finished with 25\. Nick and Jake Jamo combined for 45 for Poland in the losing effort. The win moves Gardiner to 8-1 and gets them within range of Hermon for the 1 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-07-at-8.58.57---PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) We can also use the slow day to update the accuracy of the Model's game predictions so far, because transparency. Boys' Model: 410-132 (75.7%) Girls' Model: 417-110 (79.1%) Not bad! --- Wisdom standout Ava Lerman, who scored her 1,000th career point recently, will take her talents to Husson next season. [Lerman commits to 2026 women’s basketball recruiting class - Husson UniversityThe Husson University women’s basketball program rings in the New Year with a commitment from Ava Lerman, a senior guard from Wisdom Middle/High School.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/site-5.png)Husson UniversityHusson University![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/fit)](https://hussoneagles.com/news/2026/1/7/womens-basketball-lerman-commits-to-2026-womens-basketball-recruiting-class.aspx?fbclid=IwY2xjawPL669leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeyrofGMyAVUg0Le11e%5F%5FRFq6lC-CqJdtplOXKsEaZrFET7ETcG0xTZaWw%5FPU%5Faem%5F6WnUooVwp5tO4rheNc-rmg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The updated All-Star game voting results are in and Cooper is 16th in vote-getting for the Western Conference. We can do better, guys. [Flagg the lone rookie among 40 players listed in All-Star voting | Dallas Mavericks![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Mavs-Logo.png)NBA![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/1BC06364.jpg)](https://www.nba.com/mavs/news/flagg-the-lone-rookie-among-the-40-players-listed-in-the-all-star-voting?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) The Westbrook boys have had a pretty, pretty good school year so far, what with the whole state championship in football and everything. Basketball season hasn't gone quite as well. They're 4-4, but the losses have come to Sanford, Windham, South Portland, and Cheverus. All on the road. If you had to pick 4 quality losses, you couldn't do much better than that. They'll host Kennebunk, a team that's 6-2 against the 2nd easiest schedule in A South. It gets a lot harder. They have the 8th hardest schedule in the state the rest of the way. Both teams are a long shot for a bye, but a home prelim is very much in play and a win today would go a long way toward securing that. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-07-at-9.21.01---PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) The Model thinks this should be a close one. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-07-at-9.33.05---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Windham Stuns Scarborough URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/windham-stuns-scarborough/ Last updated: 2026-01-07T12:15:25.000Z Let's start with the Game of the Day, shall we? In yesterday's preview, I said that Scarborough would probably need a couple of threes from Carter Ryan to knock off the champs and for a while, I was very wrong. Without AJ Moody, Windham struggled in the first half against Scarborough. They trailed 32-15 at the half, Tyrie James was sitting on 2 points, and things were dark. But you aren't in a position to go for a three-peat if you can't come back and come back they did, even without Moody, who is essential to what they do. But also essential is Tyrie James, who will very likely be a finalist for Mr. Basketball. James scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half and Windham answered a late Scarborough run with an 11-1 run of their own to pull off the comeback. Michael Hoffer was there. [Windham digs deep, stuns Scarborough with late rallySCARBOROUGH—You simply can’t quantify the heart of a champion. And the championship heart of Windham’s boys’ basketball team is something to behold. Tuesday evening at Alumni Gymnasium, the Eagles, the two-time reigning state champions, appeared to have little chance against host Scarborough in a midseason Class A South showdown.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-15.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260106_190320.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/windham-digs-deep-stuns-scarborough-with-late-rally/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Cheverus standout Kylie Lamson entered last night's game against Gorham needing 16 points for 1,000 on her illustrious career. With inside of 2 minutes to go, Lamson got a steal and then... She finished with 17 and Cheverus beat Gorham 48-44\. --- A game that wasn't Game of the Day, but jumped out at me as one worth watching was the Mt. Ararat/GNG girls game and had it been at Mt. Ararat, I probably would have gone (Tuesdays are crazy for the day job and it's hard to get to a game that isn't close to my house). Well I wish I had. Freshman Bryn Gilmore beat the buzzer at halftime, the game went overtime, and it finished with this wild sequence at the end of overtime (video clips on NFHS don't require a subscription) [Clip from GNG vs Mt. Ararat - Girls Varsity Basketball 01/06/2026 | Live & On DemandWatch the GNG vs Mt. Ararat - Girls Varsity Basketball 01/06/2026 live and on demand online on the NFHS Network![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-17.png)Follow Us On![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/gambbe5dd0c3a_1762899825367.png)](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/clips/ucl4d2e80ffe21767750891782?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's Gilmore with the game winner. She finished with 22 points. The win gives GNG some valuable Heal Points that are very clean, as York is the only other team in B South that plays Mt. Ararat. GNG is now back in the driver's seat for the 1 seed. They have a 14.1% chance of going unbeaten, which would give them the 1\. At 17-1, they're 89.6% to get the 1\. At 16-2, it's a coin flip. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-06-at-11.47.00---PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) If you're wondering, 43 teams in the state have locked up a bye. --- The Pine Tree boys entered last night's game averaging 76 points a game, third best in the state, and facing a defense that's...not been stout, thus far, giving up 68.5\. So this score probably shouldn't be a surprise. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-06-at-8.13.09---PM.png) Benjamin Christman drilled 7 3's, Collin Verrill scored 24 points, and Pine Tree put up a 31-point quarter to hit the century mark. I'm sure Facebook is handling it well. --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **### Elsewhere** **The Easton boys rallied down 16 in the 4th quarter to stun Central Aroostook...Jaxson Desjardins went off for 43 points, but it wasn't enough to beat Valley, who got 28 from Fisher Tewksbury and 22 from Harry Louis...Isabelle Tice had 21 in Marshwood's win over Portland...Madison Bennett scored 24 in Mount View's win over Hall-Dale...Ernie Dore's 21 led Biddeford past Noble...Brendan Shaw had 16 in the first half of Brunswick's blowout of Oxford Hills...Owen Hurd had 20 as Lisbon erased a 12-point deficit to beat Sacopee Valley...Colin Schlobohm's 14 & 10 led Leavitt past Mount Blue...Carrabec's Ava Welch dropped 23 on Madison...Emma Witas had 32 in Dirigo's blowout of Telstar...Elizabeth Galway had 17 of Edward Little's 80 against Messo...Riley Ewing's 22 paced Kennebunk past Bonny Eagle...Morse overcame 24 points from Abby Giroux and a 10-point deficit to pull out a win over Freeport...Valley's Liana Hartwell dropped 25 on Forest Hills...Evelyn Mortimer had 19 in Winthrop's win over OOB...Ian Lawrence's 21 fueled a big first quarter for Yarmouth over Lincoln Academy...Darius Johnson had 20 in SoPo's win over TA...Luke Gendron had 6 3's en route to 25 points as Sanford stayed unbeaten...Grady Hrebren had 20 as Maranacook rolled by Mountain Valley...Grayson Bernard's 22 led Lewiston over Greely...Leavitt's Gabby Smith dropped 23 on Mount Blue...Nya Avery's 16 led York over Cape...SoPo's Annie Whitmore had 15 in a win over TA...Kennebunk got 18 from Sawyer Pow against Bonny...Brady Philbrick hit 6 3's as Dirigo cruised past Telstar...Joe Iaccarino's 15 led Cheverus past Gorham...Gavin Fanjoy had 19 as Erskine pulled away from Winslow late...Braden New led Oak Hill's second half rally over Waynflete with 17 of his game-high 22...Trot Moody dropped 23 on Winthrop...Khloe Price had 19 in Cony's win over Hermon...Portland's Lucas LeGage put 26 on Marshwood.** **---** **This is a fascinating story from the A's move to Vegas that is part awesome and part the worst sequel to *Moneyball* ever.** **For reasons that don't exactly make a lot of sense, the A's trademark application has been rejected.** **> The USPTO argues “athletics” is an overarching term that is too broad to be trademarked. In trademark law, a description of what service the team provides and its geographic location is not sufficient. While the name refers to a professional team in Las Vegas, the USPTO argues there are too many other possible uses. In theory, others may need to use “Las Vegas” and athletics to describe their business.** **Ok, but this has been a Major League Baseball franchise for over 100 years.** **So I guess it's fair game to sell Athletics merch.** **> Here at Last Dive Bar, we support ATHLETICS.** **>** **> ATHLETICS belong in all communities.** **>** **> So we’re relaunching a tee we did when we filed for the trademark BEFORE anyone else did.** **>** **> ™️ 🔗: [https://t.co/9noFYMGYDx](https://t.co/9noFYMGYDx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/GZDJTkCDDJ](https://t.co/GZDJTkCDDJ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **>** **> — Last Dive Bar 🏟 (@LastDiveBar) [January 6, 2026](https://twitter.com/LastDiveBar/status/2008620411333021783?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **What you don't want to do is infringe on [someone else's registered trademark](https://tsdr.uspto.gov/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#caseNumber=98153316&caseSearchType=US%5FAPPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch), because that would be really stupid.** **---** **Landon Clark picked up some hardware.** **---** **COOP** **> This Cooper Flagg block🤯[pic.twitter.com/5JJrdfIaLV](https://t.co/5JJrdfIaLV?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **>** **> — Cooper Flagg Muse (@CooperFMuse) [January 7, 2026](https://twitter.com/CooperFMuse/status/2008771077938573594?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg)** **The Spruce Mountain boys started this season a little slowly, as sometimes happens when multiple starters play key roles on a football team that makes a run to the state championship game, but it didn't take a fancy Model to realize that losing 2 games by a combined 5 points to two good teams on the road wasn't exactly cause for concern. Sure enough, they've won 6 straight, including a slugfest on New Year's Eve. They're sitting 3rd in the Heal Points, but project as the most likely 2 seed.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-07-at-12.11.46---AM.png)** **They'll host a Madison team that lost to the same 2 teams Spruce did, but at home by a combined 16\. So just by losses in common, the edge has to go to Spruce. Add the football hangover, Cai Dougher's return, and the 8th best scoring defense in the state, and you've got an edge for the Phoenix.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-06-at-11.18.49---PM.png)** [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Fort Kent Wins it at the Line URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fort-kent-wins-it-at-the-line/ Last updated: 2026-01-06T12:00:22.000Z It was a light schedule last night, but that doesn't mean it was without drama. Let's go to Fort Kent, where junior Aden Jeffers is only a couple of points from 1,000\. It didn't take long. [Clip from Ft. Kent Comm. vs Madawaska - Boys Varsity Basketball 01/05/2026 | Live & On DemandWatch the Ft. Kent Comm. vs Madawaska - Boys Varsity Basketball 01/05/2026 live and on demand online on the NFHS Network![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-16.png)Follow Us On![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/gamad76123b34_1766423144353-1.png)](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/clips/ucl4d2e80ffe21767667757196?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Jeffers has been putting up pretty big numbers for a while now, so it was no surprise to see him hit the milestone in his junior year. But there was still a game to play, a game the Model had Madawaska favored by 1.2 points. Let's go to the final seconds with the game tied at 59\. Fort Kent ball. You can watch the clip on NFHS (no subscription necessary): [Clip from Ft. Kent Comm. vs Madawaska - Boys Varsity Basketball 01/05/2026 | Live & On DemandWatch the Ft. Kent Comm. vs Madawaska - Boys Varsity Basketball 01/05/2026 live and on demand online on the NFHS Network![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-15.png)Follow Us On![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/gamad76123b34_1766423144353.png)](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/clips/ucl4d2e80ffe21767664116599?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's Tobias Naranja with the shot attempt and more (For Your Consideration in Best Actor in a Supporting Role). If you go frame-by-frame (because obviously I went frame-by-frame), the Madawaska defender gets the ball and then continues into Naranja and appears to make contact, just not nearly as much contact as it looks like in real time. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-05-at-8.51.45---PM.png) He gets ball in the first frame and then watch his feet. He moves diagonally forward to inside the 3-point line and isn't in Naranja's landing area. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-05-at-10.39.19---PM.png) If you go to the WHOU broadcast and slow it down, the Madawaska defender does, in fact, avoid the body contact that he appears to make from the first angle, but he catches the elbow and Naranja does a great job of selling it. A tough break for Madawaska. 0:00 /0:13 1× Video courtesy of WHOU Naranja hit all three free throws and Fort Kent escaped with a 62-59 win. ### Elsewhere Ava Lerner had 20 in Wisdom's win over Katahdin...Hodgdon's Ava Ezell dropped 27 on East Grand...Katahdin's Bryton Hartsgrove scored 19 in a win over Wisdom...Cyran Cairleglio had 17 in Hodgdon's win over East Grand...Brady Peacock had 20 in Gardiner's win over Erskine...Hampden held Maddie Provost to 11 points and got 15 each from Grace LaBree and Katelyn Adams...Kienna Morse had 22, but Erskine's rally fell short against Gardiner, who got 18 & 11 from Molly Takatsu...Natasha McDonald had 16 as Spruce swept Maranacook...Rylee Moulton had 19 as Penobscot Valley beat Dexter. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- As always, I'll put a buzzer-beater in the newsletter whenever possible. > Wanna see a buzzer beater? You know who to call 📞 > > Payton Pritchard did what he does in tonight's [@JetBlue](https://twitter.com/JetBlue?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Play of the Game [pic.twitter.com/K4w8ZM8nS9](https://t.co/K4w8ZM8nS9?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Boston Celtics (@celtics) [January 6, 2026](https://twitter.com/celtics/status/2008376786682282122?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Don't look now, but the Celtics are now in 2nd place in the East. Oh, and KD called GAME. > KEVIN DURANT HITS THE CLUTCH 3 TO WIN IT FOR HOUSTON 🚨 [pic.twitter.com/1lC1qjT0Ok](https://t.co/1lC1qjT0Ok?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA (@NBA) [January 6, 2026](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/2008383524395499600?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) One of the fun additions to this season with the reclassification has been the addition of the former AA schools into the drama and chaos of regular season heal points. Suddenly a bunch of large schools who were guaranteed playoff berths are fighting for more than just seeding. Two teams that don't need to worry about their playoff viability are Windham and Scarborough. Both teams project as in the playoffs, but there's a wide range of seeding possibilities. With 11 teams making the tourney, the top 5 will get a bye into the quarterfinals. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-05-at-11.26.55---PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) As for the game itself, Windham's been on a roll. The Eagles have won 6 straight, including a convincing win over South Portland last week and have the 8th highest scoring offense in the state. Plus, with every Windham game I've seen, you get the full A.J. Moody Experience. Scarborough's 5-2 and coming off a win over Portland where Carter Ryan came off the bench to hit 9 3's. They're probably going to need a couple of those to knock off the champs. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-05-at-11.22.48---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Oceanside cruises past the Windjammers URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/oceanside-cruises-past-the-windjammers/ Last updated: 2026-01-05T12:03:32.000Z Let's start with the Game of the Day, which was quickly downgraded when news broke that Camden standout Thea Laukka would miss the game with illness. Camden hung around for a bit, then Olivia Breen hit this three late in the first quarter. The Mariners extended the lead in the second quarter with some hot shooting from deep. They survived some foul trouble by Breen and took a 13 point lead into the half. It was pretty much over from there and Oceanside cruised. The win moved them to first in B South. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-04-at-10.40.06---PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) In the other Game of the Day option up North, the Caribou boys came out hot with Owen Corrigan scoring 13 of his 22 in the first quarter and the Vikings rolled to a comfortable win over Mattanawcook, 70-51\. ### Elsewhere Khaelon Watkins had 23 points in Cheverus' win over Westbrook...Madison's Dakota Estes had 14 in a dominant win over Lisbon...Abigail McCarty drained 4 3s in Mt. Abram's win over Oak Hill...Addison Cyr had 21 & 12 in Mattanawcook's win over Caribou. The win moves Oceanside up to #3 in the Power Rankings, which are updated! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-04-at-10.01.44---PM.png) [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) --- This is one of the better dunks you'll see. 0:00 /0:12 1× video courtesy of Cony Athletics That's Ben Hanke with the jam and BL Lippert and Shawn Totman on the call for Cony's broadcast team. They do a fantastic job. I'd like to remind everyone that I very much enjoy sharing videos of athletes around the state doing fantastic things--buzzer beaters, dunks, you name it. --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **### Tourney Odds** **As promised, Tourney Odds are now live. Tourney Odds are probably the most popular feature on the website and also the most complicated. If you're new here, the short explanation is that Tourney Odds utilize a Monte Carlo simulation that uses a random number generator to simulate the rest of the season. If the Model thinks you have a 60% chance of winning a game, you'll win it in 60% of the simulations. But it will also find simulations where your team pulls off the biggest upset in school history and simulate the Heal Points with that result.** **It then repeats the process 10,000 times, which allows it to find outlier scenarios where the Valley boys lose 9 games this year. Spoiler: the Valley boys aren't going to lose 9 games this year.** **The result is the range of possible seedings. In B North girls, you can see that Lawrence could be anywhere from the 1 seed (48.6% of simulations) to the 7 (0.3% of simulations.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-04-at-9.00.52---PM.png)** [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) If you hover on Old Town, you can see their best-case scenario for Heal Points (212.5), worst-case scenario (90.6), and the likelihood they finish with various Win-Loss records. Most likely they finish somewhere between 14-4 and 12-6, but they could do as badly as 8-10 and in those 8-10 seasons, they make the playoffs 87.5% of the time. At 11-7 they make the tournament every time, so that's their current target. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-04-at-9.41.33---PM.png) In previous years, the Tourney Odds used 1,000 simulations and took about 3 hours to run (it was such a hassle). This year, I utilized the AI program Claude to build a Python script that does each gender in roughly 7 minutes. A huge improvement! The caveat to that is I can't go under the hood and find mistakes as easily--and there's a couple to uncover--although I'm sure it'll be easy to point them out to the AI so it can fix them. This is, I think, the 7th year with Tourney Odds and I can't remember a situation where it declared a team "OUT" that make the tourney or vice-versa. It did once have Brewer at 5% to make the tourney on the final day of the regular season and they threaded the needle. So if it says you're IN, you're in. If it says you're OUT, you're out. There are currently 6 teams that are OUT. This is obviously behind the paywall. [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- Cooper Flagg is your Western Conference Rookie of the Month for December. --- Let's take a look at the updated results of the Wins Draft. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-04-at-5.32.31---PM.png) Tyler's in the lead with 47 wins, but I will point out that I have the fewest losses. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) We just did this a couple of days ago, but the schedule is light. All the way back on New Year's Eve, Maranacook was favored by roughly 4.5 in Maddie Grimaldi's first game back from an ACL injury. On the neutral floor of the ACC, Spruce won by 9 behind 14 from Grimaldi. Since then, Spruce has a blowout win over Winslow and Maranacook dropped a game to Cony and the line for the rematch is 1.2 in the Phoenix's favor. I think that's probably low, but Maranacook's gym can be a difficult place to play. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-04-at-10.57.42---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A Gold Ball Rematch URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/a-gold-ball-rematch/ Last updated: 2026-01-03T12:00:54.000Z For the Game of the Day, I took my first-ever trip to Windham for Windham/SoPo in front of a packed house. And why wouldn't it be? Two of the top teams in the state in a rematch from the State Championship game. It was electric from the tip. Leonel Despacho pointed to the Windham student section after hitting an early 3 right in front of them. A.J. Moody was taking charges. It was the full experience. Windham raced out to an early 10-2 lead, but SoPo erased that just as quickly and the teams traded blows. Then the game got a little weird. SoPo picked up a technical in the second quarter. Then Windham was given a warning after the ball rolled slowly by a ref and he asked a player who was further from the ball than he was to pick it up. I'm not sure how that was worthy of a warning, but it was! SoPo got a golden opportunity in the second quarter where Colin Janvrin picked up his third foul and Tyrie James left for a couple of minutes with an injury, but they couldn't extend their lead. Anyway, SoPo took a 32-28 margin into the half. Windham took the lead for good at the end of the third quarter then slowly pulled away in the fourth quarter, but not before they picked up their own technical. It was one of those games and if it had stayed close, it felt like something weird might happen, but Windham made the right plays down the stretch and SoPo couldn't find the shots they needed to keep pace. A.J. Moody finished it with an exclamation point. Moody had 13 points, 9 boards, and took a couple of charges. The usual A.J. Moody experience. Leonel Despacho had 18 for SoPo and James led all scorers with 21, including this nifty layup. > [@mainebasketballrankings1](https://www.tiktok.com/@mainebasketballrankings1?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "@mainebasketballrankings1") > > Tyrie James had 21 points in Windham’s win over South Portland [#mainehighschoolbasketball](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/mainehighschoolbasketball?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "mainehighschoolbasketball") > > [♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings - Maine Basketball Rankings](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-Maine-Basketball-Rankings-7590986466713455373?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings - Maine Basketball Rankings") Michael Hoffer was there. [Round one goes to Windham after fourth quarter surge beats South PortlandWINDHAM—It was very much a championship atmosphere Friday evening and the Windham and South Portland boys’ basketball teams lived up to the hype in a midseason showdown reminiscent of last year’s Class AA state final. After the host Eagles and Red Riots went back-and-forth for three quarters, it was![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-14.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20260102_191000-1.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/round-one-goes-to-windham-after-fourth-quarter-surge-beats-south-portland/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Valley girls have been, to put it lightly, destroying teams and took a 30 game winning streak into their matchup last night with Bangor Christian. But Bangor Christian got an influx of talent this summer when Mary and Annie Allen transferred from Dexter and it paid off on Friday night. Mary Allen went off for 36 points, including [this 3 with 30 seconds left](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1575084126725403) to give the Patriots the lead. --- Up in Turner, Leavitt overcame Poland in a triple-overtime classic. Colin Schlobohm had 27 points and 10 boards for the Hornets. Damon Martin had 24 for Poland in the losing effort. You can watch the full broadcast on YouTube via Buzz Media. Penobscot Valley's Rylee Moulton scored her 1,000th point last night against Schenck. > [@easternmainesport](https://www.tiktok.com/@easternmainesport?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "@easternmainesport") > > Rylee Moulton from PVHS recorded her 1000 career point on January 2nd in a Howlers win over Schenck [#highschoolbasketball](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/highschoolbasketball?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "highschoolbasketball") [#1k](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/1k?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "1k") [#girlsbasketball](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/girlsbasketball?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "girlsbasketball") [#hoops](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/hoops?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "hoops") [#EasternMaineSports](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/easternmainesports?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "easternmainesports") > > [♬ More (RedOne Jimmy Joker Remix) - Usher](https://www.tiktok.com/music/More-RedOne-Jimmy-Joker-Remix-6696415840293619713?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "♬ More (RedOne Jimmy Joker Remix) - Usher") Congrats! --- There's been a lot of talk of this year's freshman class--and for good reason. Two of the early standouts faced off in Augusta, as Carter Braithwaite and Cony hosted Gage Mattson and Maranacook. Cony entered the game with the top scoring offense in the state at 79.7 points a game and Maranacook had twice scored more than 75 in a game, so it had potential to be a high scoring matchup. It did not disappoint. Braithwaite scored 24 points and Mattson had 29, but Cony prevailed 96-74\. Quite a whiplash for Maranacook after playing Spruce in the 30s earlier in the week. ### Elsewhere Micah Fagonde hit 6 3s and scored 25 points as Medomak coasted by Lawrence...Falmouth's Dominic Hau had 23 in a win over Biddeford...Gardiner got 25 points from Trace Moody and Gardiner held off a Lincoln Academy rally on the road...Sarae Devoe had 16 in Buckfield's win over Monmouth...Kylie Lamson's 22 fueled Cheverus' win over Westbrook...Lauren Dunbar's 15 led Gorham by Kennebunk...Bryn Gilmore had 21 as GNG rolled...Maddie Provost went off for 37 on Medomak...Maddie Grimaldi had 21 & 7 as Spruce turned it on in the second half against Winslow...TA's Sienna Eldred dropped 30 on Deering...Wells opened with a 25-0 run against Winthrop. Megyn Mertens led the way with 21...Reese MacDonald's 19 gave York a signature win over Edward Little. The Eddies got 25 from Akol Maiwen...Ian Lawrence's 20 led Yarmouth over Cape...Kevin Bolduc had 18 in Wells' win over Winthrop...Dylan Jewett and Owen Kelvey combined for 28 in Spruce's win over Winslow...Fisher Tewksbury (19) and Harry Louis (17) helped Valley bounce back and beat Piscataquis, who got 27 from Brady Gaw...Jackson Stack's 22 wasn't enough for Oxford Hills to overcome Mt. Blue's balanced attack...Braden New had 22 and Oak Hill fended off a Sacopee Valley rally...Stella Goetz scored 20 to help Bapst overcome Leah Adams' 12 & 20 for Messo...Tyshawn Hall (20 & 10) and Jacob Linkletter (17 & 10) each had a double-double in Madison's win over Lisbon...Kaleb D’Andrea 17 led GNG in a blowout of Fryeburg...Nolan Ames had 22 and 7 assists as Camden stayed unbeaten. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) There's a strong argument that the Game of the Day should be Caribou/Mattanawcook boys. That's what I thought it would be. But the Model prefers a rivalry game further south. Since losing on Opening Night, the Camden girls have rolled off 6 straight wins, the closest one a 15-point win over Hampden. It's not the toughest schedule in the world, but they have two wins over teams in the top 20 and are second in Class A in scoring defense. They'll head to Rockland to take on Oceanside. The Mariners, behind Renee Ripley and Olivia Breen, have the 4th highest scoring offense in the state. They've played two teams in the top 20– well, they've played Lawrence twice, losing in OT on the road and winning by 7 at home. This is the biggest Heal Point opportunity on the Mariners' schedule as they try to keep pace with GNG in B South. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-03-at-12.45.28---AM.png) [Today's Games](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A Buzzer-Beater Waved Off URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/a-buzzer-beater-waved-off/ Last updated: 2026-01-02T12:00:10.000Z In [Wednesday's newsletter](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/this-the-way-the-year-ends/), I wondered if 2025 would go out with a bang or a whimper (apologies to T.S. Eliot) and it definitely went out with a bang. Let's go to Augusta and the final game of 2025\. You may have already seen the [video on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17qXiRkk9H/). There's a lot of people more than willing to tell you in the comments that, no, they do not know ball. But there's also refs from other states and some volleyball discussion. It's a lot. But if you haven't yet seen it, Maranacook had the ball at the end of the half against Spruce Mountain (I believe down 2). Before the big play, there was a smaller play that made a huge difference. Maranacook initially inbounded the ball with 0.8 seconds left and Spruce knocked it out of bounds. But the clock didn't start because the timer didn't see the ref's arm move to indicate it should start. It was a very quick play, but the clock didn't move, so the refs huddled and they had to do something. They couldn't leave it at 0.8 seconds. I figured they would just say the half was over, but they settled on 0.3 seconds--a crucial number, as true ballers all know. I'm not sure what the high school rule is, but in the NBA, you have to take at least 0.3 off in that situation. > NO LESS THAN :00.3 must expire on the game clock and shot clock when a ball is thrown inbounds and then hit instantly [out-of-bounds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out%5Fof%5Fbounds?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). If under :00.3 expires in such a situation, the timer will be instructed to deduct AT LEAST :00.3 from the game clock and shot clock. If, in the judgment of the official, the play took longer than :00.3, he will instruct the timer to deduct more time. If under :00.3 remain on the game clock when this situation occurs, the period is over. If under 0.3 remain on the shot clock when this situation occurs, a shot clock violation is called. So at most, it could have been 0.5 seconds, which probably creates a much different comment section on Facebook. If you're unclear on the 0.3 seconds distinction and don't want to make a fool of yourself on Facebook, at 0.3 seconds, you can't--by rule--catch and shoot. You must tip the ball. This is the rule at every level and has been since this: The FIBA rules read like this: > The game clock must indicate 0.3 (three tenths of a second) or more for a player to gain control of the ball on a throw-in or on a rebound after the last or only free throw in order to attempt a shot for a field goal. If the game clock indicates 0.2 or 0.1 the only type of a valid field goal made is by tapping or directly dunking the ball. Let's go to the tape, which I've slowed down and zoomed in on for your viewing pleasure. Let's just start with this: Elijah Freeman absolutely, 100% gets that shot off in under 0.3 seconds. It's either 5 or 6 frames (in a 30 fps timeline). That's 0.2 seconds. If the refs had put 0.4 seconds on the clock, that's good. But they didn't. The only question is if it's a tip or not. I don't think it is. I think it's a catch and shoot. You may see it differently. The officials huddled and made the call that it wasn't tip. Again, I think the slow-motion supports that. The Trent Tucker rule then takes the rest of it--whether the clock was started on time, the buzzer, the light on the backboard--all out of equation. Tip or no tip. That's it. Now you could say in a replay world where even I'm shooting this on a 4K camera at 120 fps on my phone that the rule could use some updating. That's more than fair. And I wonder how much longer it'll exist. It would not be that hard in the very near future to take the human error element of the clock starting late out of the equation entirely (shout out to the old Boston Garden crew) and put a clock on the replay from the frame it touches someone to the frame it leaves a shooter's hand, because as we know, you can can and shoot in under 0.3 seconds. As for the game itself, Spruce prevailed in a bit of a rock fight. Cai Dougher was in foul trouble the whole game, but had this nice bucket and a clutch layup in the final seconds that finished the scoring. > [@mainebasketballrankings1](https://www.tiktok.com/@mainebasketballrankings1?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "@mainebasketballrankings1") > > Cai Dougher had a couple of big buckets late in Spruce Mountain’s win over Maranacook [#mainehighschoolbasketball](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/mainehighschoolbasketball?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "mainehighschoolbasketball") > > [♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings - Maine Basketball Rankings](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-Maine-Basketball-Rankings-7590247860654869261?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings - Maine Basketball Rankings") --- Not to be outdone, Brunswick beat Lewiston in double-overtime after Lewiston's Cohen Strachan sent it to double overtime in style. Thanks to the Brunswick High Sports Network for the clip. Make sure you [subscribe to them on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@BrunswickHighSportsNetwork?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Logan Gray led Brunswick with 21 in the win. ### Elsewhere Levi Laverdiere had 18 points and Monmouth held Harry Louis to 4 as they blew out Valley...Natasha McDonald had 17 and Maddie Grimaldi added 14 in her first game back from ACL surgery and Spruce dealt Maranacook their first loss...Delia Hill had 18 as the Valley girls stayed unbeaten. --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **### Tourney Odds** **January 1st is traditionally my target date for Tourney Odds, which are very popular, and they're nearly done. People who have been here a while know that the Tourney Odds traditionally take very, very long to generate every day and I've been trying to use Python to speed up that process, only I don't really know how to code in Python, so it's a lot of me talking to AI programs to try and figure it out. (I hate AI, for the most part, but I think this is a great use of them.) I got a functional version (the York boys are 84.3% to get the 1 seed in B South), but then I got greedy and something broke. So I would expect them to work this weekend, hopefully.** **Here's what it spit out for D North boys before I broke it.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-01-at-10.38.09---PM.png)** **---** **Will Ferrell gets the importance of supporting officials.** **> Will Ferrell talks supporting the refs and how he trained two of the refs in the Kings Lightning game 😂 [pic.twitter.com/ucPTRpG2hh](https://t.co/ucPTRpG2hh?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **>** **> — B/R Open Ice (@BR\_OpenIce) [January 2, 2026](https://twitter.com/BR%5FOpenIce/status/2006899339902460199?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **### 2025 Wrapped** **It's a popular thing to wrap up the year with a bit of a humblebrag and I am not above that. So...** **Web traffic is up 33% over 2024** **Podcast downloads are up 85%** **16 million Facebook views in 2025** **Newsletter subscribers are up 66% year-over-year** **YouTube Subscribers are up 251** **And, most importantly, the metric of "people who say hi at games" is way up in 2025\. A couple of years ago it was 2 or 3 a year. Now it's 2 or 3 a game.** **Thanks to everyone who reads this newsletter or sends me scores and videos or says hi at games or picks fights with people in the Facebook comments.** **Onward to 2026!** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg)** **2026 is starting out hot. Maranacook @ Cony! York @ Edward Little! Mattanawcook @ Fort Kent! Bangor Christian @ Valley girls!** **But the easy pick is the rematch of last year's AA State Title Game between Windham and South Portland. Sure, Creighty Dickson and Manny Hidalgo have graduated, but there's still plenty of talent on the floor, including [2 Mr. Basketball candidates](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/this-the-way-the-year-ends/) for Windham and one of the standout freshmen for SoPo.** **I think it's safe to say Windham won't put up 101 in this one, but that offense is legit.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-01-at-11.06.31---PM.png)** [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### This the Way the Year Ends URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/this-the-way-the-year-ends/ Last updated: 2025-12-31T12:00:05.000Z One of the many questions of the early season has been in A South (boys and girls). Both regions are loaded with talent, both individual and team. You could argue that there's 4 contenders among the ladies and 7(?) from the boys. One of them, of course, is Windham, your 2-time defending state champions who are off to a 6-1 start with the lone loss coming against a very good Sanford team. They've also got two players in the Mr. Basketball conversation, Tyrie James and AJ Moody. It's not easy to get 2 players on the semi-finalist list, but I'm not sure you can tell the story of the last 3 years of Maine high school basketball without either of them. Odds are only one of them makes it, but they both deserve the recognition. With nomination ballots due earlier this week (why so early?), it might be too late for either of them to make a case, but no one told them that. Against Massabesic, Tyrie James scored 24, AJ Moody added 20 and 6 assists, and the Eagles raced out to a 51-10 halftime lead en route to a 101-31 demolition. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-30-at-11.21.49---PM.png) They're now 6-1 in that loaded A South. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-30-at-11.22.54---PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) I'm not sure where you want to draw the contender line here. Portland? --- Some people (ok, me) have been known to refer to the Camden boys team as "Nolan Ames and Friends". It's a lazy joke, especially if you've seen Camden play and learn that there's more to Camden than Nolan Ames. There's, for example, Hollis Schwalm. CUT TO: > Hollis Schwalm picks up his 3rd a minute later and Nolan Ames is back in midway through the 2nd quarter [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/mmtvowg4Dw](https://t.co/mmtvowg4Dw?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [December 30, 2025](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/2006098562011005036?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This is the dead land. Mount Blue is not the best team Camden will play this season, but last night might have been one of their biggest tests. With Ames and Schwalm in foul trouble (Ames picked up his 4th in the third quarter), one of the Others would have to step up and shoulder the scoring load. \[And I don't mean "the Others" in a *LOST* or *Plur1bus* way. Also you should be watching *Plur1bus*. It's awesome.\] Or they could go the other way and hold Mount Blue without a field goal in the second quarter. That also works. Despite the foul trouble, Ames still managed to score 22 points. Tucker Whitley added 13 & 6 boards. And the Windjammers escaped with a convincing win to stay perfect at 7-0\. Mike Mandell was there. [Camden Hills boys basketball rides defense past Mt. BlueThe Windjammers improve to 7-0, defeating another top Class A North opponent.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-16.png)The Portland Press HeraldMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43328629_20251230_10hoops.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/12/30/camden-hills-boys-basketball-rides-defense-past-mt-blue/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Sometimes the others show up on the defensive end, but sometimes they make some big buckets. Let's go to Scarborough! Portland's defense held Adam Fitzgerald to 18 points, but they weren't counting on junior Carter Ryan coming off the bench to knock down 9(!) threes for a career-high 27 points. The Red Storm used a 30-13 run to put away the Bulldogs. Michael Hoffer was there. [Sharpshooting super sub sparks Scarborough past PortlandSCARBOROUGH—The scouting report for opponents of Scarborough’s boys’ basketball team is to limit the damage that can be done by senior standouts and captains Carter Blanche and Adam Fitzgerald. And the visiting Portland Bulldogs made that their number one goal Tuesday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium, holding that dynamic tandem![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-13.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20251230_135510.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/sharpsho/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Elsewhere Rebecca Balmas scored 22 to lead Hermon to their 5th straight win...Julius Searles had 21 points as Biddeford got in the win column...Gavin Fanjoy scored 22 in Erskine's win over Lawrence...Jaxson Desjardins had 24 as Forest Hills made short work of Greenville...Kylie Lamson had 18 in Cheverus' win over Noble. She's 38 from 1,000...Dirigo's Abigail Luczynski and Emma Witas each outscored Richmond...Morgan Daigle had 22 in Forest Hills' win over Greenville...Leavitt's Jacob Gibbs scored 15 second half points to break open a close game with Winslow...Down 11 at the half, Mount Abram forced overtime and won in the extra period behind Brennan Mitchell's 28 points, 17 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots...Jackson Barry scored 17 in Ellsworth's win over Old Town...Down 6, Dexter closed with a 13-0 run to knock off Penquis Valley...Cam Pulkkinen dropped 31 on Mt. Ararat...Carter Giroux (18) was one of 5 Sanford players in double figures as they cruised past Gorham...Maddie Provost went for 30 in Lawrence's win over Erskine. She's scored 71 points in her last 2 games. Ashley Shores added 25...Cali LeClair (18) was one of 4 players in double figures as Mt. Ararat rolled...After trailing 2-1 after the first quarter, Oak Hill exploded for 61 points the rest of the way in a blowout of Boothbay. Grace Lough had 19...Mollie Puffer had 20 in Sanford's win over Gorham...Sienna Eldred led TA with 19 against Falmouth...Ava Bolden had 16 in Westbrook's win over Bonny Eagle...Darius Johnson went off for 17 & 18 in SoPo's win over Deering...Telstar's Connor Deprey dropped 24 on Carrabec...Down 9-0, Westbrook went on a 30-8 run fueled by Gio Staples' 19 points...The Nokomis girls found themselves in a 18-0 hole but came all the way back, only to fall to Cony...Simon Gellis had 22 in TA's win over Falmouth...Ben Woodworth had 21 in Central Aroostook's win over Wisdom...Rylee Moulton went off for 28 in Penobscot Valley's blowout of Woodland. She's on pace to get to 1,000 in their next game...Taylor Madden had 26 as Old Town made a statement with a definitive win over Ellsworth in the Game of the Day...Ava Lerman dropped 30 on Central Aroostook. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Longtime Forest Hills coach Anthony Amero [won his 400th career game](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid02ZMNfCUTNo5HUF57DFxnYpkxkW6AN2m3VDYbxBKo73EiDD8nT8PHNB6Ra16CgyDdwl&id=100057286126103) last night with a W over Greenville. Congrats! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) It's a pretty short schedule for this, the final day of 2025\. But, if the Stax Index is to be believed, we might finish with some fireworks at the end of the night. All of the Monday Capital City Classic games at the ACC got moved to Wednesday, filling out what's normally a very sparse slate. There's a couple of interesting games, but the clear winner is the Marancook/Spruce Mountain double-header that finishes the year. If you read this newsletter, you don't need me to tell you Maranacook vs. Spruce Mountain is going to be a good game, but let's go round the prickly pear anyway. The Spruce Mountain boys, who I think would be a top 4 seed if they were still in B South, are 4-2 with those 2 losses coming by a combined 5 points to #20 Mount Abram and #27 Hall-Dale, both on the road. They're 9th in the state in scoring defense (1st in Class C) and 3rd in Class C against teams in the top 25\. That was all without Cai Dougher, who I took in the Mr./Miss Basketball draft and missed the first 5 games of the season. In this, the Year of the Freshmen, Maranacook has one of standouts in Gage Mattson. Paired with Jack Fontaine, they're 3rd in C South in scoring offense and first in Class C against the Top 25\. These teams played on December 18th, a game Spruce won with their defense, holding Mattson to 2 points. The one thing that makes me question the Model is the Dougher factor. It doesn't know he missed the first 5 games. But I've also seen this Maranacook team in person and they can definitely light it up. We're about to find out how 2025 ends, with a bang or a whimper? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-30-at-11.51.02---PM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Medomak Gets a Tiny Bit of Revenge URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/medomak-gets-a-tiny-bit-of-revenge/ Last updated: 2025-12-30T12:00:08.000Z So in yesterday's newsletter, I said there were no games last night. I was wrong. There was 1 reported, a 50-46 Narraguagus win over Sumner. There was an interesting exhibition game that lived up to expectations as part of the Christmas tourney at the Expo. But before that, Kennebunk's Sawyer Pow nearly hit a miraculous buzzer-beat against a team from NY. --- Last year, York beat Medomak Valley in a rare Regional Final between two 20-0 teams. This year, they seem like they might be on a collision course for a re-match. York is 7-0 and [first in the Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) and Medomak is 5-1 with a loss against Camden. York and Medomak don't play each other this year, so I found it fascinating that they scheduled an exhibition during Christmas, but it makes a ton of sense for each team. You get a good idea of how you match up against a team you might see in the playoffs and you'll inevitably learn some of your weaknesses you need to work on. It's a win-win. Keep in mind that this game will not factor into the rankings at all. You never know how seriously a team is taking an exhibition game. Maybe they go deeper into their rotation. Maybe they're trying out some stuff. But I got the sense both teams were taking this one reasonably seriously. York led 15-14 after one, as Reece MacDonald and Mason Nguyen traded buckets. Nguyen finished with 21\. This was my first look at MacDonald this year, a player Dylan Rottkov thinks might be the best player in the state (apologies to Nolan Ames), and some of his footwork to get defenders in a blender was very impressive. Medomak has a couple of defenders who can bother MacDonald and sitting courtside I said to myself, "they're really bothering him and making him work". He had 26 points. That's how good Reece MacDonald is. Medomak took the lead in the second quarter, thanks to a couple of nice buckets from Luke Cheesman. Then in the second half, Kollin Donlin took over. He had 18 of his 21 points in the second half, a couple of blocked shots, a bunch of rebounds, and some clutch steals. All this while being one of the primary defenders on MacDonald (along with Owen Dostie). He was awesome. Much like the Regional Final, only in reverse, Medomak pulled away late for a 61-54 win. I put together an edit. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) *Look, I've redone this 3 times because I found a couple of errors. The Game of the Day has actually changed. It's 1am. I don't care.* Last year, the Ellsworth girls had a level of injury luck that could charitably be described as "awful". The starters got hurt. The bench got hurt. The volunteer making the popcorn in the concession stand got hurt. They had so many injuries it led to this nice moment on Senior Night, captured by Ryan McLaughlin of the [Ellsworth American](https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/sports/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). 0:00 /0:18 1× Video courtesy of Ryan McLaughlin's IG page. This year, things are going better. They're 6-0 with three straight wins over quality opponents, including a 19-point win in the County just before Christmas. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-30-at-12.09.02---AM.png) They'll host an Old Town team that's 5-1 in the early going with the one loss coming at home to a Hermon team Ellsworth beat on the road. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-30-at-12.09.11---AM.png) I think the Old Town loss to a Hermon team that Ellsworth beat tells us a lot here, but I'm not sure I buy the Model's spread of 11\. We'll see! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-30-at-1.09.59---AM.png) [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Gardiner/Cony Barnburner URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-gardiner-cony-barnburner/ Last updated: 2025-12-29T12:07:12.000Z Before we get to Augusta... In what would have been the Game of the Day if not for my weird rule that the same matchup can only get it once, the Oceanside girls avenged their only loss of the season and overcame 41 points from Maddie Provost in a 68-61 victory at home. Olivia Breen had 17 & 13 and Renee Ripley and Abby Stackpole each scored 20 for the Mariners. Down at the Expo, Portland handed South Portland their first loss of the year. Lucas LeGage led Portland with 14, including these 2 [the hard way](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1L7b7AWuLp/). And because I always appreciate an opportunity to put context next to a whistle, Jim Baines was kind enough to clarify the rules in the Facebook comments (a rare situation where you *should* read the comments) > This is a good example of the new NFHS rule regarding goaltending:"4-22-3 (NEW): This rule change establishes that once the ball contacts the backboard, it is automatically considered to be on its downward flight. Therefore, if a player touches the ball after it hits the backboard, and the ball has a possibility of entering the basket, it is ruled as goaltending." While we're on goaltending... > Rules 4-22-1 and 4-22-2 were amended to indicate that only a defensive player can commit goaltending, eliminating the possibility of an offensive goaltending violation. The change removes the need to determine whether a ball in flight is a field-goal attempt or a pass. Any alteration of a shot attempt with contact to the basket or backboard by an offensive player would be considered basket interference. > Additionally, the act of intentionally slapping or striking the backboard during a shot attempt will now result in basket interference and not a technical foul. This addition of new Rule 4-6-2 and corresponding removal of Rule 10-4-4b from the “Player Technical” section aims to standardize officiating and remove intent from the decision. [NFHS Rule Changes](https://nfhs.org/stories/goaltending-and-basket-interference-addressed-in-2025-26-basketball-rules-changes?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Back to the game. This was a battle with various players for each team showing out for a couple minutes, whether it was Elvis Ishimwe for Portland or LeGage or SoPo freshman Israel Muzela who got up for an [epic rejection](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Dd5HvDaWb/) or Darius Johnson who [took the game over](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17FYmsXspn/) for stretches. But in the end, Portland pulled away for the win. Michael Hoffer was there. [Portland boys hold on, knock South Portland from unbeaten ranksPORTLAND—Portland’s boys’ basketball team has had its share of difficulty closing out victories so far this winter. Saturday afternoon, facing rival South Portland as part of the Holiday Hoops Showcase at the Portland Exposition Building, the Bulldogs weren’t about to let that happen again. And as a result, the![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-12.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20251227_160128.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/portland-boys-hold-on-knock-south-portland-from-unbeaten-ranks/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) After the Portland/SoPo game, I headed north to Augusta for a KVAC rivalry game. The Cony boys entered the weekend averaging 80.2 points a game, so we all knew going in that Gardiner would have trouble slowing them down, but the Tigers came in with a different plan. What if they tried to run with them? Actually, that's not accurate. Cony spent the entire game in a press and essentially ran a 7 seconds or less offense. Gardiner was a little more deliberate, moving the ball around to break the press and find an open look. And when they found that open look, they punished the Rams' defense. Gardiner got hot from deep and used a 13-0 run to get a lead in the 2nd quarter. They hit 7 3s in a 50(!) point first half and pushed the lead to 16 in the second half before Cony's inevitable comeback. Carter Brathwaite brought Cony all the way back (he had 32 points and 7 boards), but Gardiner got a couple of clutch plays down the stretch and Trace Moody went 6-6 from the line to seal an epic 97-90 win. Moody finished with 24\. Brady Atwood had 18 in the first half. Gardiner won the only game either team will play at the ACC. And Cony's points per game actually went up. I put together a supercut of the scoring. There was a lot! Mike Mandell was there with a proper writeup. [Gardiner girls, boys basketball teams beat Cony in Capital City Hoop ClassicThe Tiger girls smother the Rams, while the boys prevail in a barnburner.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-7.png)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43328500_20251227_13hoops.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/12/27/gardiner-girls-boys-basketball-teams-beat-cony-in-capital-city-hoop-classic/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Elsewhere Lucas Smith had 18 and Nate Grunkemeyer added 17 in Bangor's win over Oxford Hills...Molly Takatsu had 16 & 12 in Gardiner's blowout of Cony...Aaden Nadeau led Forest Hills with 28 & 13 against Rangeley...Grayson Bernard had 24 to lead Lewiston to a come-from-behind victory over Hampden...Waterville's Eli Cullen dropped 25 on Bucksport...Avery Robshaw scored 15 to lead the Bucksport girls over Waterville...Janessa Moffitt had 19 in Forest Hills' win over Rangeley...Connor Kingsbury had 18 in Oceanside's win over Lawrence...Ava Lerman had 29 for Wisdom...Sophomore Lilly Bell had 24 in Caribou's win over Orono...Aden Jeffers had 23 in Fort Kent's win over Hodgdon...Trinity Daigle had 16 in Fort Kent's win over Hodgdon. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- This won't confuse your grandparents at all. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/image-4.png) This will also be the case in Augusta on the next day. I know there's reasons why we're still stuck with NFHS, but I hate them. They add no actual value for people watching the games. It's like watching a VHS dub of a movie you can get on BluRay. Because it's essentially WHOU's talent and resources and whatnot, only on a worse platform. There's really no reason for the NFHS Network to exist. Anything they do, either in the tourney or in the regular season, can be done better locally. And it isn't even close. They're the worst. Anyway, if you need a NFHS subscription, here's an affiliate link. [ ![](//a.impactradius-go.com/display-ad/10661-3217736)](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/c/5077352/3217736/10661?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)![](https://imp.pxf.io/i/5077352/3217736/10661) A 25 rebound triple-double for a guy who's 6'8" is insane. > SCOTTIE BARNES HISTORIC TRIPLE-DOUBLE 🤯 > > 23 PTS, 25 REB, 10 AST 😤 > > First 20-20 triple-double in Raptors history [pic.twitter.com/2BRMgHPdWi](https://t.co/2BRMgHPdWi?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) [December 28, 2025](https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/2005420967376691299?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Unless I'm missing something, there's no Game of the Day because there isn't a countable game. All the Capitol City Classic games for Monday have already been moved to Wednesday. The only game I haven't seen moved is between two schools who are terrible at posting updates, so I'm going to assume they just haven't told anyone yet. However, as of now (\~11pm), the Varsity Maine Holiday Hoops Showcase at the Expo is still on, as far as I know. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-28-at-11.13.37---PM.png) None of these games are countable, but there's one that stands out anyway. Last year, York beat Medomak Valley in a B South Regional Final matchup between two 20-0 teams. That won't happen this year--Medomak lost to Camden--but York is unbeaten and they're 1 and 2 in the Heal Points. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-28-at-11.22.04---PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) This is a fascinating exhibition game. This should be a game that's on the schedule, so kudos to everyone for adding it as an exhibition game. But there's a lot of nuances to this. How deep do you go into your bench? How much do you show this early in the season? Do you fully play to win or play the long game? Anyway, if this happens, it should be a good one. **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link.](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter (always)](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### The Caribou/Mattanawcook Classic, Part I URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-caribou-mattanawcook-classic-part-i/ Last updated: 2025-12-27T12:00:17.000Z If you're a regular reader of this little old newsletter, you know that I publish it on days that have countable games--so essentially 6 days a week--and that adds a slightly strange thing where on most Mondays the newsletter is recapping games from Saturday instead of the day before. It's a small thing. But around Christmas, it's a bigger break. Anyway, all that to say we're talking about games from Tuesday. I'll go fast. You probably already heard about the instant classic between Mattanawcook and Caribou. The Lynx used a 26-point second quarter to build a 16-point halftime lead behind a stellar night from Andrew Oliver. Oliver was fantastic, finishing with 49 points, which might be the season high for an individual outburst? But even with Oliver's scoring, Caribou would not be denied. Led by Owen Corrigan (who had 38!), Caribou came all the way back and the game was tied at 76 with 17 seconds left. Let's go to the tape. That's Landen Belanger with the dagger, his only bucket of the game. And not a moment too soon. They play again on January 3rd. Leader in the clubhouse for Game of the Day, I suspect. --- Let's go to Brewer, where there was drama. [Brewer’s thrilling rivalry win against Bangor punctuated by disagreement over scoreThe Bangor-Brewer rivalry is more than a century old, and players on both boys basketball teams did that storied history proud Tuesday night.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-39.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Brewer-1-scaled.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/12/23/sports/high-school-basketball/brewers-thrilling-rivalry-disagreement/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > With Brewer up 43-41 in the fourth quarter, Bangor senior Harry Fitzpatrick was fouled and went down hard, eventually hobbling to the free-throw line. Fitzpatrick made one of two free-throws, but that point from the line seemed to be missed at the scorer’s table and the official score remained 43-41 (that fourth quarter sequence can be confirmed by watching the [broadcast from Ticket TV](https://929theticket.com/bangor-brewer-boys-basketball-2025/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)). > Despite protestations from the Bangor bench and fans, along with several confabs between referees, coaches and the scorer’s table, the score was not updated. What the BDN story doesn't include is a small, yet important detail: Bangor didn't have a book at the table. So when there was a mistake in the Brewer book, there was no way to correct it. By rule, the home book is the official book, although it doesn't have to be, and if there is a disagreement between the home and visitor books, the scorers and the refs can sort it out and make any corrections. But, if there's only one book, it's kind of hard to do that. Brewer won by 3, but a game that's 43-41 plays out differently than a game that's 43-42\. And that's why you want to have someone good on your book. --- In the Game of the Day, the Cheverus girls blew out Windham to ascend to the top of the Power Rankings (which are updated!). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-26-at-7.41.17---PM.png) [Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) ### Elsewhere Brayden Dana had 24 in Woodland's win over Calais...Carson Veilleux scored 16 and Akol Maiwen added 15 as Edward Little beat Brunswick...Gavin Fanjoy's 19 led Erskine to a win over Waterville...Preston Brown hit 5 threes and scored 23 points as Gorham outlasted Deering...Colin Janvrin had 11 points, 12 boards, and 6 blocked shots and Tyrie James scored 16 and Windham handled Cheverus...Scarlett Mooney had 16 as Oak Hill blew out Lisbon...Caliegh Corcoran went for 23 as SoPo doubled up Westbrook...Celia Bergdahl's 16 & 13 led Maranacook past Dirigo...Zoe Dellinger led the way with 19 in Gorham's win over Deering...Elizabeth Galway led Edward Little with 18 as they beat Brunswick...Alex Mains led Poland's balanced scoring attack against Cape...Ephraim Luseko's 21 & 9 and Lucas LeGage's 17 fueled Portland's win over Falmouth...Darius Johnson had 16 in SoPo's win over Westbrook. --- It's holiday tournament time! I think I'll be back and forth between Portland and Augusta tomorrow, as there's a bunch of interesting games. In Portland tomorrow: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-26-at-9.55.51---PM.png) The games with a \* are regular season games. The full schedule is at the link: [Maine High School Holiday Basketball TournamentCome and watch some of the best in Girls and Boys High School Basketball. This showcase features some of the best teams from Maine and beyond. The event, organized by Portland High’s Joe Russo, promises to deliver high-energy, quality basketball over four days. Come for one game or come for a day, and watch exciting \[…\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-15.png)The Portland Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Complete-HH_Logo-24-copymed-1.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/holidayhoops/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And in Augusta, those Cony/Gardiner games look pretty good. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-26-at-7.35.49---PM.png) [Capital City Hoops Classic — Augusta Civic CenterThe Capital City Hoops Classic will be at the Augusta Civic Center December 27th and 29th - 30th, 2025.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-29.ico)Augusta Civic Center0![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Capital-City.jpg)](https://www.augustaciviccenter.org/events/capital-city-hoops-classic?fbclid=IwY2xjawO8JZlleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF1RzhLRGtqWW5heEVpb2NGc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHvhDMdRwCpNw52LR0Ay3zlXMPLMUnjR-714G08Qrows1cd6hf8BJ7on363kP%5Faem%5FBwVR9CXVlH-tm4X6r7GxOg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Up next in the recurring series I'm calling "Cooper Does Something Awesome. Again." Episode 68: Cooper & Pistol Pete. > Coop’s stats don’t lie 📈 Flagg continues to make history, finishing with 27 PTS, 6 REB and 5 AST last night. He is the first rookie to have a 25-5-5 performance on Christmas Day since Pete Maravich in 1970\. [#MFFL](https://twitter.com/hashtag/MFFL?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > VOTE ALL⭐: [https://t.co/v2OE03Xyu4](https://t.co/v2OE03Xyu4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/y6sLdbqg7V](https://t.co/y6sLdbqg7V?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) [December 26, 2025](https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/2004603318807789746?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Did anyone else wear out a VHS tape of the [Pistol Pete movie](https://youtu.be/XQ83WUqBIt0?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)? Do you think that was in the mix with the '86 Celtics tapes the Flaggs watched on repeat? --- If you're like me and stick around for the end of a blowout Celtics win, sometimes you catch an absolute gem of a moment. > Bill Kennedy is killing me, the pause and the sad face before saying the challenge is unsuccessful 😂 [pic.twitter.com/6C0Y1LRe5Q](https://t.co/6C0Y1LRe5Q?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Danielle Hobeika (@DanielleHobeika) [December 27, 2025](https://twitter.com/DanielleHobeika/status/2004739348223467573?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Can we get this on the WHOU broadcasts during the tourney? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) If you want to be picky, the Game of the Day should be the Lawrence girls at Oceanside, a rematch of an overtime classic from earlier this month, but my rule is if teams play twice, only one of them can be Game of the Day. Spread the love and all that. So we'll head to Old Town, where the Coyotes will hold MDI in a Big East matchup in the new-look B North. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-26-at-9.24.27---PM.png) Oh boy. Old Town is sitting in 6th at 4-1, with the one loss coming to Hermon on Monday. They've got a blowout win at Caribou which is helping fuel their +/-. They'll host MDI, sitting at 5-1 with the only loss against a Bangor team that's 5-1\. But let's look at this region. They've got 8 teams in the top 30 in the rankings and if you want to round Erskine up to 9 in DIRIGO (that's the Power Ranking number), that's 6 teams between 9 and 10.7, which is very, very close. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-26-at-9.30.04---PM.png) All that to say, B North girls could be an absolute bloodbath down the stretch (and in the tourney) and every game matters. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-26-at-9.14.46---PM.png) [Today's Games](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Fort Fairfield's Miracle at the Buzzer URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fort-fairfields-miracle-at-the-buzzer/ Last updated: 2025-12-23T12:01:20.000Z Let's start with the finish everyone is talking about. And at the Game of the Day! We head to Fort Fairfield, where the Tigers [trail Madawaska by 1 with 2.3 seconds left](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings/posts/pfbid0ieKgTWaKLDgHpBqu3iBMFK6LswykohqwPNbJFrPYv3PbbREH3wzxcRkh4bfTSkpml). That's Ethan Walsh from Graedon King (with Steve Carmichael on the call for WHOU). That alone would make it memorable, but the Tigers trailed by 8 in the 4th quarter before making the comeback and they needed two missed Madawaska free throws to even be in a position to be down 1 and have a prayer. The BDN has a writeup: [Miraculous buzzer-beater completes wild comeback in Maine high school basketball gameIt’s only December, and Maine high school basketball may have already witnessed the best game of the year.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-38.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Screenshot-2025-12-22-at-8.38.40-PM.png)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/12/22/sports/high-school-basketball/buzzer-beater-maine-high-school-basketball/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Again, the Model had this as the Game of the Day with Fort Fairfield winning by...1. --- When people talk about rivalry games, they always say "well, you gotta throw out the records here" and while that sounds good, I'm not sure it holds up to any intellectual rigor. The Oceanside boys, as you might have heard, have had an interesting start to their season. Head coach Larry Reed resigned, citing a level of parental interference that hasn't exactly been a secret in Midcoast Maine. They entered the game 2-3, with wins over Morse and Lincoln Academy and were 17 point underdogs, according to the Model. But...sometimes you gotta throw the records out. It was a packed house at Medomak Valley for a boys/girls doubleheader just before Christmas (It occurs to me that teams should always play a rivalry game just before Christmas. You'll draw well and all the recent grads will be home for Christmas break. The vibes are fantastic.) Oceanside started strong, but Kollin Donlin and Mason Nguyen got going for the Panthers near the end of the first quarter and into the second. They took a 9-point lead into the half and it seemed like they were going to pull away. After the break, Connor Kingsbury, who played summer ball for Medomak before transferring back to Oceanside, got [hot in the third quarter from deep](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1172353981270085). He hit 3 triples and finished with 18. After 3, Oceanside led by 3 and led by 3 with about 4 minutes left when they went into a stall to try and shorten the game. Longtime readers will know I hate stalling in pretty much any situation outside the final minute of the game and I especially hate it when you're only up 1 score. I've been known to call it a crime against basketball. Too many things can go wrong. Medomak got a turnover and then hit a three to tie it (like that). Oceanside scored to take the lead back and Mason Nguyen hit a driving layup to tie it again at 49\. Cut to 27.5 seconds left. Oceanside was clinging to a 2 point lead with Alonzo Hoose (he led Oceanside with 19) on the line. That's Owen Dostie with the three to send it to overtime. He had 3 3's in the fourth quarter and overtime. Mason Nguyen led all scorers with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Kollin Donlin added 17 & 11 and the Panthers survived in overtime, 68-62\. --- Speaking of overtime thrillers, the Hermon survived one against Old Town. > Hermon girls win OT thriller at Old Town.[#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/ssSQkFt9Le](https://t.co/ssSQkFt9Le?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jack Webb (@Jackiemoon\_25) [December 23, 2025](https://twitter.com/Jackiemoon%5F25/status/2003326770393518524?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **### Elsewhere** **Leah Jones had 12 points as Camden beat Oxford Hills by 55...Nolan Ames dropped 33 in the boys game...Logan Crowley had 25 in Sumner's win over GSA... Erskine's Kelsie Dunn had 26 points and 5 steals in a win over Waterville...Wisdom's Ava Lerman dropped 25 on Easton...Wyatt Oliver had 32 and Cyran Ciarleglio added 30 in Hodgdon's win over Central Aroostook...Lawino Bendasta had 18 in Portland's win over Falmouth...York's Nya Avery had 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 steals in a win over Wells...Waynflete's JJ Carlo went for 27 at OOB...Adam Fitzgerald had 20 in Scarborough's win over Noble...Silas Nielsen had 9 points and 15 boards for Sacopee Valley against NYA...Cai Dougher made his return known with 21 points for Spruce Mountain as they routed Monmouth...TA's De’Shaun Alston put up 25 on Marshwood...Olivia Breen had 22 & 14 in a win over Medomak...Reece MacDonald had 23 in York's win over Wells...Jack Fontaine and Gage Mattson each had 24 in Maranacook's win over Dirigo...Jaxson Roy-Thompson had 20 in Lisbon's win over Oak Hill...Bonny Eagle's Colin Moran dropped 30 on Biddeford...Trace Moody had 17 points and 9 boards in Gardiner's win over Leavitt...Dylan Myhal had 17 and Kennebunk connected 12 times from deep against Massabesic.** **---** **I don't know if there's a more perfect storm of games being moved than a blizzard on the last day of games before Christmas, but I would assume if your game is scheduled for 7pm tonight, it probably got moved. A couple, like the Oceanside/Medomak game, got moved up to last night. Most are just moving up a couple of hours. I started a [thread on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings/posts/pfbid02BqyLTFUaZZ2diR5rXQJiJwAz4MY5FjxFh2xfR5qENww4WhvT6p48AYKjbiYQAy45l) and I'm trying to catch them all, but fair warning that you should double-check the time.** **---** **Yesterday, in NBA history.** **> December 22, 1995: Boston’s Dana Barros sets an NBA record by making a 3-point shot in his 80th consecutive game.** **>** **> Barros’ final mark of 89 straight games with a made 3-pointer would stand for nearly 18 years (it was broken in 2013 by Kyle Korver).** **>** **> Celtics 114, Timberwolves 113\. [pic.twitter.com/BlAf38dLsM](https://t.co/BlAf38dLsM?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **>** **> — NBA Cobwebs (@NBACobwebs) [December 22, 2025](https://twitter.com/NBACobwebs/status/2003139283008532525?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **As you might imagine, the record has improved by a little bit. It's currently 268 games by, you guessed it, Steph Curry.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg)** **A South girls has been one of the Regions to Watch since the day the reclassification was announced and so far it has lived up to the hype. Let's take a look at the top 8 of the region so far.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-23-at-12.57.49---AM.png)** **4 of the top 6 teams in the Power Rankings are in A South and 6 of the top 25\.** **Cheverus makes a lot of sense as a Top 5 team. They're 4th in the state in scoring. They had that epic win on Opening Night over South Portland and gave Sanford their only loss, but their other 3 opponents are a combined 4-14 on the year, so that Class A leading scoring differential might be a bit inflated.** **They'll head to Windham to take on the Eagles who are probably a bit of a surprise to be ranked as high as they are with a 3-2 record. They've got a close loss to Sanford on the road and gave Marshwood their only loss of the year--in a 62-26 blowout. They've got a good point differential against a tough schedule, thanks to the Marshwood win. Honestly I think they're probably too high. Something like #12 makes more sense because that might be an outlier. But if it isn't, they could be legit. And that would make A South even harder than we all thought.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-23-at-12.55.37---AM.png)** [Today's Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Power's Out URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/power-out-2/ Last updated: 2025-12-22T12:00:26.000Z The storm on Friday didn't just wipe out a major chunk of the schedule--it also wiped out the newsletter. My kid and I were at a screening of *Zootopia 2* when the power blipped (we missed \~10 minutes in the third act) and at WalMart when it went out for good. The emergency lights came on, there was some disco flashing lights, and there was a 5 minute window to check out, so we left our cart in the aisle. With no power, there was no newsletter. So it goes. It looks like we've got more snow on the way. At least one Tuesday game has already moved to Monday. But at least we'll have a white Christmas. As for Friday's games, let's go to South Portland, where the champs raised their banner. > South Portland girls unveil the 2024-25 state championship banner prior to tonight's game vs. Biddeford [pic.twitter.com/TX9h70ZJtb](https://t.co/TX9h70ZJtb?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Michael Hoffer (@foresports) [December 19, 2025](https://twitter.com/foresports/status/2002166636153880764?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We've talked a lot about the girls A South region, which has been as brutal as advertised so far. Destiny Peters had 17 & 13\. Annie Whitmore hit a shot to give SoPo the lead with 1:58 to go and the Red Riots hit a couple free throws to seal it against a very good Biddeford team. [South Portland girls finish strong to beat BiddefordSOUTH PORTLAND—It was a banner night at Beal Gymnasium. Literally and figuratively. Friday evening, South Portland’s girls’ basketball team paid tribute to the 2024-25 Gold Ball-winning squad in a pregame ceremony. Then, in a game that would have felt right at home in the month of February, the Red![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-11.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20251219_190210.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/south-portland-girls-finish-strong-to-beat-biddeford/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And A South, as promised, looks very hard. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-21-at-11.24.53---PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) ### Elsewhere The Freeport boys used a 24 point 3rd quarter to blow open a close game against Fryeburg...Mountain Valley's Blake Small dropped 30 on OOB...Oliver Cormier's 15 led Mt. Blue over Skowhegan...The Yarmouth boys raced out to a 18-2 lead, only to have GNG answer with a 18-2 run. The Clippers prevailed in the end behind 18 from Ian Lawrence...Sophia Littel scored 14 to lead Greely to a comeback win over York...Bryn Gilmore's 17 led GNG over Yarmouth...Caribou's Quinn Corrigan dropped 25 on Washington Academy...Mary Allen had 30 as Bangor Christian blew out Hodgdon...Owen Corrigan went off for 37 for the Caribou boys...Rajon Reed had 31 in Bangor Christian's win over Hodgdon. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- As we near Christmas, I just want to thank everyone who reads this. The newsletter is up 58% year-over-year. Site traffic is up 80%. The podcast (on a very short break) is up 87%. You get the idea. Every time I see these numbers, I'm blown away. Thank you all so much. --- So we're a couple of games into the season, so the Rankings have had a chance to sort themselves out. The York boys ascend to the top spot of the boys rankings, supplanting a Camden team that had the audacity to reschedule their game on Friday. Sanford moves to third with a big win over Scarborough. Windham is 4th after beating Portland. Medomak is 5th. Valley is 6th, partly because they've outscored opponents by 41 points a game and partly because they've played 7 games already. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-21-at-10.56.36---PM.png) As for the girls, GNG takes over the top spot. Again, it helps to have played 7 games. Camden is second at 4-1 against a top 10 schedule. Mt. Ararat, the defending A champs, are third after a big win on Saturday. The Valley girls are outscoring opponents by 53.6 points a game, which is pretty good. Cheverus is 5th and leads class A in scoring. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-21-at-11.00.50---PM.png) Your team, of course, is ranked far too low. [Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) --- Van Buren (the coaching change that had nothing at all to do with the parents) has found their new head coach in Jay Edgecomb, who will be their 4th coach since the start of last season. [Van Buren replaces coach who stepped down on day of season openerVan Buren hires Jay Edgecomb as new boys basketball coach after previous coach resigns. Edgecomb brings track record of success to the team.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-37.png)Bangor Daily NewsCameron Levasseur![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/JayEdgecomb23.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/12/19/aroostook/van-buren-hires-new-coach/?fbclid=IwY2xjawO1mFFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEez7UpTiWWed-sB9gjTkUvwfeIgeGcIg2H2iX0rBI7R7NCuiUBCAb8nTlUW7Q%5Faem%5FKX8wZta2gIsNvxbF-dBZPg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I'm writing this as I watch the Pats/Ravens game and if you went to bed early, this is one of the worst non-calls you'll ever see. > It’s absolutely insane no flag was thrown here [pic.twitter.com/vVjpT11QWa](https://t.co/vVjpT11QWa?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) [December 22, 2025](https://twitter.com/BadSportsRefs/status/2002955451177332756?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) UPDATE: > Hang it in the Louvre! [#Patriots](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Patriots?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/nO8HkHrudL](https://t.co/nO8HkHrudL?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jarod Richmond (@juniorrich) [December 22, 2025](https://twitter.com/juniorrich/status/2002960022377230363?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Cooper (and Ace) turned 19 over the weekend, which closes the book on the "as an 18 year old" milestones and records. The list. > Cooper Flagg as a 18 year old: > > Youngest ever w/ 35 in a game > Youngest ever w/ 40 in a game > Mavs rookie record for PTS in game > Youngest ever w/ 10+ AST in game > Youngest ever w/ double double in debut > 3rd most total PTS for an 18 year old > Future ROTY > 2025 College Player of the… [pic.twitter.com/XfZTPCFDde](https://t.co/XfZTPCFDde?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Cooper Flagg Muse (@CooperFMuse) [December 21, 2025](https://twitter.com/CooperFMuse/status/2002753210436452367?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Red Sox just traded for a guy with a spray chart that should work pretty well at Fenway. > Willson Contreras is owed $37M over the next 2 seasons with a $17.5M team option for 2028 > > A really good defender that gives them an everyday 1B. Takes pressure off Casas or opens door to move him. > > Perfect approach for Fenway. Some much-needed RH power for Boston. > > They still… [pic.twitter.com/Ej55f36pp4](https://t.co/Ej55f36pp4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Brandon Wile (@Brandon\_N\_Wile) [December 22, 2025](https://twitter.com/Brandon%5FN%5FWile/status/2002904643475820825?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Will Campbell's injury recovery seems to be going well. > THIS IS OUR HOUSE 🏡☘️ [@Patriots](https://twitter.com/Patriots?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@will\_campbell66](https://twitter.com/will%5Fcampbell66?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/uZfFyeZTT7](https://t.co/uZfFyeZTT7?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Boston Celtics (@celtics) [December 20, 2025](https://twitter.com/celtics/status/2002212384153194661?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) If you're not looking at the totality of a team's season and just happened to see a team once, or remembered a random score, sometimes that can be misleading. Maybe you caught them on a bad night. Maybe someone was hurt. You never know. Stuff happens. Such is the case with both of these teams. Lake Region lost to York 70-39 on Opening Day. And sure, it's York, but that's a big point differential even by York's standards. The only bigger one was against winless Fryeburg. Since then, they've quietly won 4 straight and find themselves in third place in B South at 4-1, but they're only +13 (because of that blowout loss). Yarmouth is only +11 at 4-2 because they have their own blowout loss to Medomak Valley, 69-36\. But they followed that up by giving York their toughest test, losing 55-53, and have quality wins over GNG and Poland. Are these teams as good as their quality performances? Are those bad losses an outlier? These teams have 3 opponents in common and Yarmouth has done better in each of those games, so the Model has them favored on the road, but it's really close. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-21-at-10.27.35---PM.png) [Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Southern Aroostook at the Buzzer? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/southern-aroostook-at-the-buzzer/ Last updated: 2025-12-19T12:00:29.000Z Let's start in Dyer Brook, where Southern Aroostook is hosting Lee Academy in boys basketball. With a minute to go, Lee Academy has the ball with the score tied at 46\. They work the clock down to about 18 seconds before calling a timeout just before a Lee Academy player puts in what appeared to be the go-ahead basket as I watched it on the [Hudl stream](https://fan.hudl.com/usa/me/dyer-brook/organization/183945/southern-aroostook-c-high-school/team/844218/boys-varsity-basketball/watch?s=U2NoZWR1bGVFbnRyeTMxNTAzNzk4&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). But, alas, they called time. After the timeout, the Pandas clear out for their point guard, who drives and draws a foul with 6 seconds left. He misses both FTs, Southern Aroostook hauls down the rebound and calls time with 3 something left. I'd be more precise, but the Hudl stream is processing and I'm not sure there's going to be a replay. Update: [Boys Basketball • Watch NowWatch live events, past livestreams and recent highlights for Southern Aroostook Community School in Dyer Brook, ME.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-28.ico)Hudl![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/HudlLogoPreview.3b9b0b68-2.png)](https://fan.hudl.com/usa/me/dyer-brook/organization/183945/southern-aroostook-c-high-school/team/844218/boys-varsity-basketball/watch?b=QnJvYWRjYXN0MzI0NDg2NQ%3D%3D&shared=true&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Southern Aroostook gets a good look from 3, but it's wide left. Kason Lawlor grabs the rebound and the put-back is good! However... ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-18-at-8.35.35---PM.png) I slowed it down to 1/4 speed before the live feed went away. The ball appears to still be on his fingertips when the clock goes to 0.0, but it's clear of his hand when the horn sounds. I talked to a ref. Obviously there's no replay and this is as close as a call can get, so as the official, you do your best. To their credit, the three officials huddled before making the call. I thought it was good live. In a replay scenario, like in the Tourney, the baskets will all have the light around the backboard and the light is the definitive thing. In the absence of the light, the horn is the definitive end of the game. So the basket is good. He then reminded me of a scenario in 1992 where Camden beat the buzzer against Medomak Valley, but the horn wasn't synced correctly to the clock and didn't sound. Camden charged the floor, but since the horn hadn't sounded, the game wasn't over. Camden was assessed a technical and freshman Josh Nash hit 2 free throws to win it. Somehow, people still remember that one. --- Now let's go to Cumberland, where Greely and Cape are tied at 30\. That's Greely's James Saxe with the dagger. Thanks to Sophie Cohen for the video. --- In Bingham, Kirsten Bigelow dropped 30 to join Valley's 1,000 point club. Congratulations! --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **### Elsewhere** **Mt. Abram's Brennan Mitchell dropped 30 and Killian Pillsbury added 23 in a win over Oak Hill...Ben Christman drilled 7 of Pine Tree's 12 threes in a win over Islesboro...Nick Jamo's 24 paced Poland past Waynflete...Sacopee Valley got 22 from Cooper Berkowitz and a 16 & 15 double-double from Silas Nielsen to cruise by Waterville, who got 25 from Derek Couture...Caden Frazier scored 12, all in the final quarter, to help Spruce pick up a big win over Maranacook...Levi Short led Valley's balanced scoring attack against Greenville...Mattanawcook dropped 105 on Houlton. Avery Jordan had 31\. I'm sure Facebook will take it well...Yarmouth got 15 from Ian Lawrence and Evan Oranellas to get by Freeport...Reece MacDonald had 23 and York stayed unbeaten...Sophia Aube's 15 led Poland by Waynflete...Dirigo's Emma Witas nearly outscored Lisbon by herself. She had 20...Emily Groves led Freeport over Yarmouth with her 18 points...Grace Roak's 12 & 12 helped Brunswick cruise by Morse...Nya Avery had 20 as York handled Fryeburg...GNG's Abbey Steeledropped 24 on Lake Region...Buckfield's Sarah Devoe scored 24 against NYA, who also scored 24...The Waterville girls' defense held Sacopee Valley scoreless in 2 different quarters.** **---** **With all the talk lately of parents being too involved in their kid's games, it's good to know that sometimes, parents can come to the rescue.** **> Congratulations to Sam Quintana, our MVP for the Brunswick at Gardiner Girls' basketball game last night. Sam got the Most Valuable Parent Award for this play last night. Munzing Media 100% advocates for this type of parental involvement with your team! [pic.twitter.com/2SinABkga5](https://t.co/2SinABkga5?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **>** **> — Rob Munzing (@MunzingMedia) [December 17, 2025](https://twitter.com/MunzingMedia/status/2001348616498352260?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **---** **Christmas is around the corner, which can only mean one thing: it's almost time for Christmas Tournaments!** **Varsity Maine is hosting their event again at the Expo.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/image-2.png)** **Thanks to Lee Horton for the assist.** **And there's the Capitol City event at the Augusta Civic Center, schedule courtesy of Mike Mandell.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-18-at-10.37.16---AM-1.png)** **There's a lot of good options here. I'm sure there's other events. Send them along or put them in the comments and I'll add them to a future newsletter.** **---** **Cooper had his 23rd straight double-digit scoring output.** **This one on Cade was particularly nice.** **> bro[pic.twitter.com/w9fcW71iIh](https://t.co/w9fcW71iIh?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/hdBRdkCNCL](https://t.co/hdBRdkCNCL?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **>** **> — MavsMuse (@MavsMuse) [December 19, 2025](https://twitter.com/MavsMuse/status/2001832399957848460?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Cooper had his 4 double-double as the Mavs beat the Pistons in OT. He was +16 with 0 turnovers.** **---** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg)** **The early word from people "in the know" was that Sanford was one of teams to watch in A South. They were the 5 seed in AA South last year and lost to Bonny Eagle in the quarterfinals, but they have a new coach: John Morgan, by way of Noble, and find themselves at 4-0 with a statement win over Windham.** **They're up to 15th in the Power Rankings (they started at #47) and lead Class A in scoring and are second in %Perfect at 86.13%.** **They'll host a Scarborough team that's 3-1 with a convincing win over Cheverus and has a 4 point loss at Thornton Academy.** **These games mean a lot more in the new Class A** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/image-3.png)** [Today's Games](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Hermon in Triple Overtime URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/hermon-in-triple-overtime/ Last updated: 2025-12-18T12:03:02.000Z The Game of the Day doesn't always deliver, but when it does, it DELIVERS. Let's go to MDI. James Witham was cooking for the Trojans in a duel with Carter Wiggin that wasn't done after regulation. And then it got interesting. Down 3 with seconds to play, Witham beat the buzzer to send the game to the second overtime. ([link in case it won't embed](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1163718375940604)) He finished with a game-high 47(!). In the second overtime, MDI was faced with the identical situation, only this time, the Trojans found a different here as Dylan Stoll beat the buzzer to send the game to triple overtime. In the 3rd OT--small problem--Witham and Stoll had fouled out and MDI ran out of magic. Hermon survived in 3 overtimes behind 35 points from Carter Wiggin, including 13 of 15 from the line and the Hawks won the early contender for Game of the Year. Chris Popper was there. [Hermon Hawks Claim Thrilling Victory In Triple Overtime Showdown Against MDI TrojansIn a thrilling triple overtime showdown, the Hermon Hawks edged out the MDI Trojans 92-84, with standout performances including James Witham’s 47 points and Carter Wiggin’s game-winning efforts.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/WDEAAM-2.png)WDEA AM 1370Chris Popper![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/attachment-010a9208.JPG)](https://wdea.am/mdi-trojans-hermon-hawks-game/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Elsewhere Gabe Jackson dropped 21 and Darius Johnson added 19 points and 13 boards as SoPo beat Bonny Eagle...Celia Bergdahl had 15 in Maranacook's win over Oak Hill...Caleigh Corcoran led a balanced attacked in SoPo's dominant win over Bonny...Natasha McDonald's 25 and Lily Bellerose's 19 helped Spruce end Boothbay's unbeaten start...Tobias Naranja had 25 and Aden Jeffers added 20 in Fort Kent's win over PI...Cayden Hargrove's 22 led Wisdom over Ashland. --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Let's update the results of the Wins Draft. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-17-at-10.21.09---PM.png) This is off to a good start! --- The Globe has a nice feature on new Celtics Governor Bill Chisholm. Like a lot of people, my worry with the sale of the Celtics was that it'd go to some rich people who don't really care about the team and just see it as an asset. This does not seem to be the case. Chisholm seems kind of crazy in a way that's similar to Mazzulla. That's a compliment. Apparently he hikes the Appalachian Trail every year and no one there has any idea he's a billionaire? That's crazy. It's a great read. [‘Does he even have enough money?’ Bill Chisholm closed the deal of his life when he bought the Celtics. - The Boston GlobeChisholm grew up a tortured Boston sports fan. As a billionaire in his 50s, he achieved every child’s dream: He bought his favorite team.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-14.png)The Boston GlobePrint this Article View Comments![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/BUXIU4VCJKNACQB4ISEVA4PQSY.JPG)](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/17/sports/bill-chisholm-celtics-owner/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- On his Instagram, Nolan Ames announced he's committed to Colby. [Nolan Ames IG](https://www.instagram.com/p/DSYSuWRgWcy/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Maine Elite Passing Camp is open for this summer. > 🚨🚨🚨2026 Registration form is live! Dates, times and locations updated as well. 🚨🚨🚨 > > New this year for special teams folks is an opportunity to work with Sam Lenson, the best kicking coach around! > > Year 10 is going to be bigger & better than ever![https://t.co/24o7DsiMbp](https://t.co/24o7DsiMbp?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Elite Passing Camp (@EliteMaine) [December 11, 2025](https://twitter.com/EliteMaine/status/1999113452892131626?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Gonna go walk into the ocean now. > Mookie Betts on the Red Sox trading him to the Dodgers: > > “I didn’t want to leave” > > And he would’ve stayed there forever > > [pic.twitter.com/RF8uwhKAgE](https://t.co/RF8uwhKAgE?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Savage (@SavageSports\_) [December 18, 2025](https://twitter.com/SavageSports%5F/status/2001469761826570270?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) We got the MVC for a battle between two of the top programs in the conference. Maranacook is 5-0 on the season. Led by Jack Fontaine and freshman Gage Mattson, they've raced out to an early lead in C South. They're 14th in the state in scoring differential against the 31st hardest schedule and have gotten better against the harder games on the schedule--always a good sign. They'll head to Jay to take on a Spruce team that's off to a slow start. They're 2-2 with the 2 losses coming by a combined 5 points for a roster that's starting a bunch of players who went on a deep football run and is missing Cai Dougher, who should return after this game. If you're Maranacook, you're hoping to pick up a W over Spruce before they get whole. If you're Spruce, this is an opportunity to start the climb up the C South standings. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-17-at-10.32.00---PM.png) [Today's Games](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Nolan Ames & Friends URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/nolan-ames-friends/ Last updated: 2025-12-17T11:59:46.000Z There was a late season atmosphere in Waldoboro for the Game of the Day and why wouldn't it be? Two rivals with expectations of deep playoff runs who are both undefeated and will only play once this year. Nolan Ames opened the game by knocking down a three on the first play, which was misleading, because this was a largely defensive battle. Medomak threw multiple looks at Ames in the hopes of slowing him down. For the most part, Ames didn't force things. He took what little the defense gave him and did a great job of finding the teammates open because of his gravity. 5 different Windjammers hit a 3 in the game. Medomak hit only 2\. Camden's defense focused on taking away Medomak's shooters and drew two offensive fouls on Panthers' lynchpin Mason Nguyen in the first half to send him to the bench. For a while, Medomak was able to survive the minutes with Nguyen on the bench, even tying the game, but then Camden erupted for a 10-0 run late in the half, thanks to some hot shooting from deep. Medomak would threaten in the second half, but every time they made some progress, Camden would hit a three or make a stop and the Winjammers pulled away late for a 65-50 win. Kiefer Healey led Camden with 20\. Ames added 18 & 11\. Kollin Donlin scored 19 for the Panthers. Camden is now 5-0 with the 15th best point differential against the hardest Strength of Schedule in the state. Pretty, pretty, pretty good! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-17-at-12.47.04---AM.png) [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) The Worldwide Leader was there. > [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DSV9bCdiUdb/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by Maine Basketball Rankings (@mainebasketballrankings)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DSV9bCdiUdb/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) I love this, but can I make a note? Does it always have to be ESPN? Could it be NBC Sports Boston? Just a thought. ### Elsewhere De’Shaun Alston's 31 led TA to an overtime win over Scarborough...Kelsie Dunn had 20 points and 7 steals in Erskine's win over MCI. The Eagles led 31-2...Elizabeth Boles' 19 led the way in Ellsworth's win over Bapst...Jack Fontaine had 20 and Gage Mattson 23 as Maranacook blew out Oak Hill...Buckfield erased a 9-point 4th quarter deficit, but Rio Soram's layup with 6 seconds left gave Pine Tree a win. Collin Verrill led the Breakers with 21 points...Tyrie James' 18 led Windham past Westbrook...Reece MacDonald's 19 led York to a win over GNG...Fisher Tewksbury dropped 25 on Forest Hills...Freshman Khaelon Watkins led Cheverus with 26 as they got by Falmouth...Cony went on a 22-0 run to put away Leavitt...Dirigo's Owen Smith dropped 32 on Lisbon...Natalia Silva's 21 led Biddeford over Gorham...Kirsten Bigelow's 32 paced Valley against Forest Hills...Thea Laukka's 14 & 9 led Camden over Medomak...Molly Puffer scored 16 in Sanford's win over Kennebunk...Nick Jamo's 6 3's led to 18 points as Poland rolled over Fryeburg...Malcolm O’Wril had 18 in Waynflete's win over Sacopee Valley...Sanford got 19 from Dylan Gendron in a win against Kennebunk...Evan Ballard's 24 led Noble over Massabesic, who got 25 from Caden Nielsen...Josh Grunkemeyer's 17 & 6 helped Bangor beat Skow...Brunswick's Rylan Ley dropped 31 on Gardiner...Akol Maiwen almost outscored Oxford Hills by himself. He had 18...Atticus Whitten scored 18 as Gorham rolled over Biddeford...Lake Region rallied down 10 to beat Wells...Lewiston's Grayson Bernard had 21 to beat Brewer and drop the Witches to 1-3...After a first half with only 20 total points, Oliver Cormier erupted for 16 of his 20 in the second half and Mount Blue cruised...Cheverus led Falmouth 64-4 after 3 and Kylie Lamson had 20...Elizabeth Galway scored 20 and Edward Little hit 10 shots from deep as they rolled over Oxford Hills...Alexa Quintana (12 & 14) and Molly Takatsu (10 & 10) each had a double-double in Gardiner's win over Brunswick...Ella Kenney's 17 led GNG to a win over York...the Greely girls held Yarmouth scoreless in overtime...Payton Fazzina's 26 for Wells couldn't overcome a balanced Lake Region attack...Renee St. Pierre's 22 & 10 led Marshwood over Deering...Olivia Breen dropped 34 on Lincoln Academy...Reagan Partridge had 16 in OOB's win over Traip...Sacopee Valley rallied after a scoreless first quarter to beat Waynflete. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- So in yesterday's newsletter, I included Cooper's first 40-point game and how he was the youngest ever to score 40 in the NBA. I thought this graphic was an interesting addition. ![May be an image of basketball and text that says 'Fewest GP before first 40- 40-point game Among many prolific 40- -point scorers and Cooper Flagg, not an exhaustive, complete list Player Wilt Chamberlain GP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1 7 Michael Jordan Oscar Robertson 9 14 Cooper Flagg Elgin Baylor 26 Larry Bird 44 57 Allen /verson & LeBron James 69 Stephen Curry & Kevin Durant Kobe Bryant 80 248'](https://scontent-ord5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/598053981_1431212842348972_1016386748092625744_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=aa7b47&_nc_ohc=Ms0nlEW_HnAQ7kNvwEIT0E-&_nc_oc=Adk_R5xuRyl1sPRaOl-9EhJ-AEbXDv7V9hdqTYbEThXyQpn_fNfVDAnUIt9Ku2CNAc8&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-2.xx&_nc_gid=L0FfzCuz_CcNzIr-r-4XMQ&oh=00_AfmALVn-1-AzTWRoLZzNEkb96BMjlCyYegXyf96UuMurlA&oe=69480C0A) First of all, Wilt doing it in his first game is insane. Second, this isn't everyone. They're selecting prolific scorers here. But faster than Elgin, Bird, LeBron, Durant, and Curry, regardless of age is a wild stat. --- The Knicks won a cute little trophy. Good for them! How adorable. > On the Vegas court with the champs from New York! 🗽 [pic.twitter.com/PwFWyjKdgT](https://t.co/PwFWyjKdgT?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA (@NBA) [December 17, 2025](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/2001156445828772071?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) We're heading to MDI for a Big East battle. The Trojans are undefeated, including a convincing win over Bangor. They're 2nd in Class B in scoring and 3rd in differential. They'll host a Hermon team that's middle of the pack in scoring, but first in Class B in defense. You know the drill: high scoring team vs. lockdown defense. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-17-at-12.25.47---AM.png) [Today's Games](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Another Coaching Resignation URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/another-coaching-resignation/ Last updated: 2025-12-16T13:40:22.000Z Let's start with the big news of the day: Larry Reed's resignation as Oceanside's boys coach. This had been rumored on and off, so it's not completely a surprise. What is a surprise is that it would happen 4 games into the season. I'll just start by saying that Larry Reed is a good basketball coach who took his team to back-to-back Gold Ball games. He went 72-32\. That's a winning percentage of 69.2% There's programs in this state that would be over the moon with those results. Sure, they're 1-3 this year, but that's because they're very young. Reed's resignation is the 4th one of the season and much like the situation at Bapst, the reason is clear. It's the parents. From Mark Haskell's writeup at the [Midcoast Villager](https://www.midcoastvillager.com/sports/basketball/reed-citing-ongoing-parental-concerns-steps-down-at-oceanside/article%5F6c1f1b7e-fb32-49d0-b904-11b63f05bd2d.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com): > “The kids are never, ever the problem,” \[Reed\] said. “The kids are great. The kids understand ‘This is my role on the team, I’m going to show up to practice.’ Parents never get that. They want kids to be superstars in their freshman and sophomore years. They’re 15 years old and a lot of times playing against guys that are 18 years old. Their expectations are not realistic for what their kids are at that time.” Everyone wants their kid to be a superstar and not every parent knows enough or has enough perspective to realize their kid might not be God's Gift to Basketball. I remember sitting in the stands near a parent who was screaming bloody murder that their kid (a backup forward) wasn't playing more. Finally I got fed up and said "your kid has 8 turnovers". Eight turnovers for a backup forward. Your kid probably isn't the next Cooper Flagg. He might just be a kid who as a senior gets rotational minutes and scores 7 points a game. That's ok! Apparently a number of the Oceanside parents didn't think so. > Reed said he was subjected to personal attacks at the end of last season “that bothered me a lot, but I thought I would hang on for the benefit of the kids. I was really excited coming into the season.” I had heard that in the spring and thought the program had moved beyond it, especially when Reed coached summer ball and started the season on the sidelines. > He said the situation escalated following the team’s 60-42 home loss against Leavitt of Turner Saturday, Dec. 13 when a group of parents continued to criticize him about playing time concerns. [Midcoast Villager](https://www.midcoastvillager.com/sports/basketball/reed-citing-ongoing-parental-concerns-steps-down-at-oceanside/article%5F6c1f1b7e-fb32-49d0-b904-11b63f05bd2d.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's always going to be grumbling from parents, especially if their kid isn't getting as many minutes as they obviously should (eyeroll), and a 1-3 start isn't going to help matters any at a school with the expectations of Oceanside. But the situation here was excessive and I can't blame Reed for deciding he'd had enough. One doesn't leave a program after 23 years because of a squeaky wheel or two. If you're a parent at a program where the coach resigns mid-season and cites the "ongoing parental concerns" as the reason, then the problem isn't the coach. The problem is the parents. Full stop. Grow up. And until the parents look in the mirror, it's not going to get any better. Larry Reed won't be the last coach to quit because of the parents. It's only a matter of time until the next one. --- We had a thriller in Winthrop punctuated by this Korbin Littler buzzer-beater to send the game to overtime. I'll always lead with a buzzer-beater. > Here's the video of the 3 to send the game into OT! [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/aT17hnNAAn](https://t.co/aT17hnNAAn?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/kZUCX0phRD](https://t.co/kZUCX0phRD?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [December 16, 2025](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/2000740712518709504?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Lisbon prevailed in the extra period, 63-62\. Lisbon's Owen Hurd led all scorers with 27\. Jaxon Roy-Thompson added 22\. Littler led Winthrop with 21\. ### Elsewhere Ava Lerman dropped 31 on Fort Fairfield...Aidan Marks' 17 led Cape by Freeport...Abby Luczynski's 21 wasn't enough for Dirigo against Madison...Celia Bergdahl scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a game that only had 52 total points...Spruce's Natasha McDonald went off for 32 to single-handedly double up Hall-Dale. --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Tourney schedules are up for all 3 sites. Start your planning! [Augusta](https://www.mpa.cc/resources/Tournament%20Info/Basketball%20Boys/2026%20Augusta%20Schedule.pdf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Bangor](https://www.mpa.cc/resources/Tournament%20Info/Basketball%20Boys/2026%20Bangor%20Schedule.pdf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Portland](https://www.mpa.cc/resources/Tournament%20Info/Basketball%20Boys/2026%20Portland%20Schedule.pdf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It looks like Portland will only use the hockey rink for 4 total games: the A South regional finals and the A State Games. Everything else will be at the Expo. --- Bangor Christian (by way of Central) standout Mary Allen is headed to Colby, [per her Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DSRAqleDTC7/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). > [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DSRAqleDTC7/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by Mary (@maryallen\_14)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DSRAqleDTC7/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) --- > Dallas’ Cooper Flagg just set a single-game NBA scoring record for 18-year-olds with 39 points and counting at Utah … surpassing LeBron James’ 37-point game as an 18-year-old in 2003. > > Flagg turns 19 on Saturday. [pic.twitter.com/X9X9MgfxSx](https://t.co/X9X9MgfxSx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) [December 16, 2025](https://twitter.com/TheSteinLine/status/2000786991202336977?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) He finished with 42, also a record. --- I don't know the last time I saw a NBA team bust out the box and 1\. Maybe we can get a triangle and 2\. > I think the Celtics are running a box-and-1 defense on Cade Cunningham right now. > > Hugo Gonzalez is guarding Cunningham. Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons stationed at the wings, with Neemias Queta and Jaylen Brown on the blocks. > > If it's not a box-and-1, it's a funky matchup… > > — Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) [December 16, 2025](https://twitter.com/KeithSmithNBA/status/2000726241012293787?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) There's a couple of really good options for the Game of the Day. The Bangor Christian girls are hosting Penobscot Valley \[Stax Index: 88.3\]. Over in C, Hall-Dale heads to Mount Abram \[Stax: 88.6\], and TA hosts Scarborough \[Stax: 85.9\]. But the biggest one is a rivalry game where Camden Hills will take Route 90 to Route 1 and take on Medomak Valley. If you've been paying any attention at all, you know that Nolan Ames is one of the leading contenders for Mr. Basketball and has the Windjammers at 4-0 and (I believe #1 in the Model for the first time ever. They're the real deal. They're 2nd in Class A in point differential and 4th in %Perfect against the third hardest schedule. Medomak Valley lost three starters from last year's team that started 20-0, including Mr. Basketball finalist Gabe Lash, but as usual, the Panthers keep rolling. They lead Class B in scoring differential and are 3rd in %Perfect, albeit against a weaker schedule. This should be a good one. Get there early. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-15-at-10.24.23---PM.png) [Today's Games](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A Flop Technical URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/a-flop-technical/ Last updated: 2025-12-15T12:04:59.000Z Oh there was drama a-plenty Saturday night in Readfield as Marancook hosted Mount Abram. First, the Maranacook student section had the audacity, the gall, to [turn their backs during the introductions](https://fb.watch/D-by3OnInN/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Personally, I think that stuff is great. The game was a high-scoring affair. Maranacook led 25-21 after the first, thanks to a hot start from Jack Fontaine (he finished with 27 points and 9 rebounds). They extended the lead to 11 at the half and ultimately prevailed with a 76-64 win. Gage Mattson (Year of the Freshmen) added 24 and Abram's Brennan Mitchell had 30 points and 14 boards. Mike Mandell was there. [Maranacook boys basketball takes down Mt. AbramJack Fontaine goes off in the first quarter as the Black Bears lead wire-to-wire, improving to 4-0.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-6.png)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_5208.jpeg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/12/13/maranacook-boys-basketball-takes-down-mt-abram/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It was a highly entertaining game between two good teams, but I promised you drama. Drama: Yeah, that's a flop technical. First, let's make sure we [understand the rule](https://tssaa.org/article/flopping-addressed-in-2024-25-high-school-basketball-rules-changes?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). > Faking being fouled is defined in Rule 4-49-1 as when a player simulates being fouled or makes theatrical or exaggerated movements when there is no illegal contact. Examples include, but are not limited to, embellishing the impact of incidental contact on block/charge plays or field goal attempts, using a “head bob” to simulate illegal contact and using any tactic to create an opinion of being fouled to gain an advantage. If you want to do a deep dive, here you go. Sometimes I'll post a video like this on social media and the outrage is pretty uniform, but on this one, there's a lot of disagreement on whether or not the call was correct. I thought it was a block and not a flop at all, but others disagree. There was something of a head reaction by the defender and maybe that's what the officials reacted to, but I thought he actually took a shot to the chin. But there's more! Earlier in the game, with 6 minutes left in the 3rd, Mt. Abram's Owen Cook picked up his fourth foul and the officials T'ed him up for saying "oh, come on". And it wasn't "Oh, come ON!" It was a subdued, frustrated response that didn't rise anywhere near the level of a technical from my vantage point and the technical, of course, fouled him out of the game. They could have used him. ### Elsewhere Nolan Ames had 29 & 9 in Camden's win over Bangor...Colin Schlobohm had 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists in Leavitt's win over Oceanside...Landon Hartwell, who is in the 8th grade, led a balanced Valley attack with 17...Tatum French paced Boothbay with 19 against Sacopee Valley...Maddie Provost's 23 and Ashley Shores' 24 led Lawrence's win over Skowhegan...the Mt. Ararat girls held Fryeburg to nine points. They won...Brendan Shaw's 16 led Brunswick over Messo...Hall-Dale's Karter Eldridge scored 19 to overcome 23 (on 7 3's) from Wells' Kevin Bolduc...Jacob Linkletter and Brady Philbrick each scored 20, but Linkletter got more help and Madison beat Dirigo...Mason Nguyen had 22 & 11, Kollin Donlin added 20, and Medomak Valley won at GNG...Poland's Jake Jamo dropped 24 on Greely...Dylan Jewett had 19 as Spruce nearly doubled up Traip...Jack Flaherty's 19 led Winslow over Mount View...Addie Hafford had a huge 12 & 19, but it wasn't enough for Messo to take down Brunswick...Anna Morse had 19 & 12 in Cape's win over Lincoln Academy...Elsie Mann had 32 points for North Haven, but it wasn't enough to beat Forest Hills...Delia Hill had 22 and Liana Hartwell added 20 as Valley rolled over Vinalhaven. --- Well that's one way to get open. 0:00 /0:03 1× video courtesy of WHOU There was no call. --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- We're 3-4 games into the season, so it's time to start paying attention to the rankings and I think we're off to a pretty good start. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-14-at-10.44.15---PM.png) On Tuesday, Camden heads to Medomak and I haven't looked at the numbers yet, but it seems like a good bet for Game of the Day. Get in line now. [Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) --- This is very cool. > A look at how Victor Wembanyama makes the geometry of basketball feel different. [pic.twitter.com/qt3EMHLTXd](https://t.co/qt3EMHLTXd?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) [December 13, 2025](https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1999926378477809752?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Imagine your high school football coach suddenly getting the call to play in the NFL. > WATCH: Phillip Rivers' high school team (St. Michael Catholic) celebrated his first touchdown with the Indianapolis Colts🙌 > > (via [@NoahMoss2026](https://twitter.com/NoahMoss2026?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com))[https://t.co/mGay7IEQYc](https://t.co/mGay7IEQYc?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/RiMM7rpqwc](https://t.co/RiMM7rpqwc?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rivals High School (@RivalsHS) [December 15, 2025](https://twitter.com/RivalsHS/status/2000376583274799333?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Ashland is 3-0 on the season with one of the stingiest defenses in the state, giving up 23 points a game. They'll host Katahdin, a team averaging nearly 60 points a game, that's 11th best in the state so far. A top defense vs. a top offense. A tale as old as time. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-14-at-10.30.15---PM.png) [Today's Games](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Biddeford Rallies to Win in OT URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/biddeford-rallies-to-win-in-ot/ Last updated: 2025-12-13T12:00:58.000Z If you're new here--and there's a lot of new people here--welcome to the newsletter! Every morning, Monday through Saturday, you'll find this in your inbox, and every morning you'll get something of a summary of what happened in Maine high school basketball the night before, plus a look ahead at a pivotal game from that day's slate, plus some other stuff. And there's usually a chunk of it written at 1am. If you're on the paid plan, you'll also get a prediction for every game on that day's schedule, among other things. Anyway, welcome! Let's get to it. --- Ever since the State Championship game, the Biddeford girls have been living on the edge. You all remember what happened back in March. Now, thanks to reclassification, they find themselves in a brutal region where every heal point will be important. On Opening Night, they lost a squeaker to Sanford. So when they found themselves down 12 in the third quarter to Thornton Academy, the Biddeford faithful must have been getting antsy. But they found their footing and battled all the way back. Natalia Silva was fouled down three with 0.7 seconds left, stepped to the line, and nailed all three free throws to send the game to overtime. Her sister Gabby then hit the game-winner in OT and Biddeford completed the comeback. The Silva twins combined for 29 points. Drew Bonifant was there. [Biddeford girls basketball comes through in clutch to beat Thornton AcademyThe Tigers trail by 12 early in the second half, but fight back for an overtime victory.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-14.png)The Portland Press HeraldDrew BonifantStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43320465_20251212_GBBiddoTA_04.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/12/12/biddeford-girls-basketball-comes-through-in-clutch-to-beat-thornton-academy/?utm%5Fcampaign=varsity%5Fmaine%5Fbot&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawOpxhBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe6Ofrc7Z23ZOCmilb2NxSjbk80g42pP8-HUIOTX4fD8GkWv64PCKxp%5Fa3KR4%5Faem%5FAL1urT1sLD94GzWrLK4VTg) --- I had to do some Christmas shopping in Augusta (I spent 20 minutes Christmas shopping), so I used that as an excuse to check out some of the East/West Playday games at the Augusta Civic Center. It's a nice event they've been doing for the last couple of years where some of the smaller teams in the state get an opportunity to play a countable game on the big tournament floor. It continues all day today. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-13-at-12.36.06---AM.png) I got there for the end of the Rangeley/Vinalhaven boys game, which Vinalhaven won by 20 in a game that was much closer than that. Vinalhaven seems stronger this year than they have recently, based on the few minutes I saw. Javin Poole led the way with 22. Up next was the Valley and Buckfield girls. The Valley girls, by all accounts, are one of the most dominant teams in the state for their class and it didn't take long to see why. Sophomore Liana Hartwell was far and away the best player on the floor on both ends. She had 29, but the intangibles really stood out. She had her head on a swivel looking for teammates and was a vocal leader on defense. She has a surprising grasp of the fundamentals for her age. It was a really impressive performance. It's hard to think of a team in the state where she wouldn't at least be in the rotation. If you've heard anything about the Valley boys team, you know the names Harry Louis and Fisher Tewksbury. The Senior duo each reached 1,000 points as sophomores and haven't slowed down. Buckfield raced out to an early lead, thanks to Trenton Haskell's hot shooting from deep (and I mean DEEP). Then Valley got going. Their swarming defense started forcing turnovers and then it was [off to the races](https://www.facebook.com/reel/2720186358334553). They closed the first quarter on a 22-0 run. The Valley experience is a lot of fun to watch. It's a suffocating defense that pushes the ball on offense at every opportunity, not just after a turnover but after an opponent's make, even after an opponent's made free throw. It's a real "4 seconds or less" ethos. I strongly recommend checking it out. Harry Louis finished with 27. Or, you could watch their doubleheader against Dirigo on December 19th, because I will be joining Eastern Maine Sports' broadcast of the games. --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **### Elsewhere** **Kylie Lamson dropped 26 on Portland...Akol Maiwen went off for 30 as Edward Little used a strong 4th quarter to pull away from Mt. Blue...Brandon Levesque had 17 as Gorham beat Massabesic...Grayson Bernard's 19 wasn't enough for Lewiston to beat Oxford Hills...Madison Milligan's 13 led Gorham against Massabesic...Stella Peterson's 18 & 7 paced Mt. Abram by Monmouth...Laura Whiteside had 20 points, which was 31% of the points in the game, in Noble's win over Falmouth...Eva Alvarez had 20 as Scarborough got their first win of the year...Annie Whitmore's 19 led SoPo past Portland...Megyn Mertens had 24/15/5 in Wells' win over Hall-Dale...Lyla Dunphe's 16 led Westbrook over Deering...Windham's Mackenzie Delewski went for 28 and outscored Marshwood all by herself...The York girls pitched a first half shutout against Yarmouth...The Pine Tree boys went off for a 33-5 first quarter against Greenville...Darius Johnson had a massive 27 & 14 in SoPo's win over Portland...Dominic Hussey's 17 fueled TA as they doubled up Biddeford...Colin Janvrin had 20 and Tyrie James added 16 in Windham's win over Marshwood...Reece MacDonald had 21 as York held off Yarmouth.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg)** **Much like yesterday, we're going to pivot on the Game of the Day.** **The Stax Index likes the GNG/Medomak girls and while I could make an argument for it, the fact is Medomak lost a lot in Kytana Williamson and I'm not confident the Model has caught up yet. I'm planning on being there to see for myself.** **Maranacook is 3-0 thanks to a [steal in the final seconds](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1407761587599663) against Mt. View. They'll face a Mount Abram team that beat Spruce Mountain and got blown out by Monmouth. So...yeah. I might go to this one too.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-13-at-2.02.51---AM.png)** [Today's Games](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Tayshaun Cleveland Comes Alive URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tayshaun-cleveland-comes-alive/ Last updated: 2025-12-12T11:55:58.000Z Most of the time, when trying to figure out where I want to go on a given night, I rely on the Stax Index. After all, it's proven to be reliable over the years. But there's a number of other factors I'm trying to include, like an opportunity to see a good team I don't normally get to see or a player of note or just what looks interesting and is within driving distance. But last night, I consulted the Jarrod Richmond Index when he suggested the Hall-Dale/Spruce Mountain game would be a closer than the Model's pick of Spruce by 18\. So I got on 27 and drove to Hall-Dale, a gym I'd not yet visited. I'm also trying to hit some new gyms this year. 2 so far in 8 games! > [@mainebasketballrankings1](https://www.tiktok.com/@mainebasketballrankings1?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "@mainebasketballrankings1") > > [#mainehighschoolbasketball](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/mainehighschoolbasketball?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "mainehighschoolbasketball") > > [♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7582747383268657950?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings") It's kind of what I would imagine if you told me to draw a Class C gym. There's the stage on one side and a standing room only space up above the bleachers. It's a great atmosphere, especially for a rivalry game. As for the game, the first development was the absence of Cai Dougher, who is unavailable until December 22nd for undisclosed reasons. That's a large loss for a team that's pretty banged up from a run to the State Championship game in football. (Hell, I'm still recovering from standing on the sideline). The first half was a low-scoring affair, with Spruce leading 22-21 at the half. In the second half, Spruce built a 6-point lead before Hall-Dale's Tayshaun Cleveland scored 7 straight for Hall-Dale to get the Bulldogs back in the game. > I think they gave Tayshaun Cleveland a Red Bull at halftime > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [December 12, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1999277803997704418?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) He had a monster second half, finishing with 22 points and this small bit of coaching on the game winner, exhorting his teammate to "shoot it!" That's Greyson Cary with game winner. Hall-Dale won their season opener 51-48\. Dylan Jewett led Spruce with 19 & 6\. After the game, I talked to Cleveland. And, yes, Hall-Dale had the Model's prediction up on the bulletin board in their locker room. I love it when I hear stuff like that. Mike Mandell was there. [Hall-Dale boys basketball outlasts Spruce Mountain in Class C South showdownTayshaun Cleveland takes over in the second half as the Bulldogs prevail in a battle of two top MVC teams.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-5.png)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43312661_20251211_04hoops.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/12/11/hall-dale-boys-basketball-outlasts-spruce-mountain-in-class-c-south-showdown/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- At Mount View, with mere seconds left, Maranacook's Gage Mattson stole an inbounds pass and then found Luke Tinckham for the game-winner. Maranacook is now 3-0 on the year. Mattson led the way with 23. If you've got buzzer-beaters, game winners, parents getting ejected, or anything else, send it my way and I'll share it. --- You might remember that Leavitt went to a state title game in football, as is their custom, so it's safe to assume they'd want to ease their way into the season as they get back into basketball shape. Instead they've gone to overtime in their first three games. Last night, Brody Poland and Darren Flagg hit 4 straight threes to force OT. Flagg led the way with 21\. --- The latest episode of the podcast is out and Jon Duke joined me to talk about a bunch of stuff. The plan was to talk about the frisky Celtics, but we did an hour on high school basketball before that, from the role of boosters, to Jon's mistrust of freshmen AAU hype, to teams that have impressed us in the early days of the season, and more. Plus, Jon appointed himself the Ombudsman of the podcast, which is fair. This is a really fun conversation and while it gets in the weeds a bit, it gets in the weeds in the sort of way you'd want it to if you're the sort of person who reads this newsletter every day. 0:00 /1:16 1× Plus I confront Jon with his previous statement about this year's Freshman class. [Watch on YouTube](https://youtu.be/bxBGus-Wn7Q?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ### Elsewhere Nolan Ames dropped 29 & 7 on Skowhegan...Evan Monk's 7 3's fueled a 40-point outburst against Machias...Jaxson Desjardins went off for 45 in Forest Hills' overtime win over Islesboro...Cooper Smith had 18 in Lake Region's win over Poland...GSA's Malcolm Page dropped 31 on 'Guag...Ella Kennedy had 20 as GNG rolled over Leavitt...Maddie Provost went for 26 in Lawrence's win over Messo...Carter Braithwaite had 19 and Jackson Kay added 18 to lead Cony by Oceanside...Lisbon's Owen Hurd dropped 26 on Waterville...Celia Bergdahl had 28 & 8 in Maranacook's come-from-behind win over Mt. View...Freshmen Grace Lough (22) and Scarlett Mooney (18) led Oak Hill to an easy win over Mountain Valley...Charlotte Cyr had 15 and Sacopee Valley went on a 15-0 run to cruise by Telstar...Winthrop erased a 14-point deficit behind a strong second half from Kylee Mansir to beat OOB...Trot Moody's 24 wasn't enough to overcome a balanced Winthrop attack...Silas Nielsen's 24 & 14 helped Sacopee Valley recover in Overtime after giving away a 16 point lead to Telstar...Levi Laverdiere had 25 as Monmouth rolled over Mt. Abram...Collin Verrill had 26 and Pine Tree exploded for 92 against Temple...Hodgdon held East Grand to 8 points...Jacob Linkletter's 28 led Madison to a win over Winslow. --- The annual East/West Conference Play Day at the ACC is this weekend. It's a nice event where a number of small schools get to play some neutral site games on a tourney floor--and cut down on a little bit of travel. [East West Conference Play Day — Augusta Civic CenterThe East West Basketball Play Day will be at the Augusta Civic Center December 12th - 13th, 2025.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-26.ico)Augusta Civic Center0![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/East-West-Conference--1-.png)](https://www.augustaciviccenter.org/events/east-west-conference-play-day?fbclid=IwY2xjawOojcFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFjOUhjV1dwZnJOQ3c1WkIwc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHumKGA3b%5F6esI2rW5wEEUv5MTBqt35VOpx31pRDi6RPKG6VWdUJqbmY5KVrD%5Faem%5F7g1Ut9YZrQjR5TTv8adzhw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Tickets are $10 for adults. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) The Stax Index has Falmouth @ Noble as the Game of the Day because they've only played 2 games each and the Model is just starting to realize how much talent has graduated. So we'll skip that one, because they're about to tumble down the rankings. Instead we'll go to Farmington, where Mount Blue is off to a 2-0 start. They'll host an Edward Little team that's 0-2, but with losses to #2 Camden Hills and #3 York, it's impossible to fault them for their record. In fact, so far they've played the 7th hardest schedule in the state (and, yes, I need to fix what class and region everyone is in for this graphic.), but there's a caveat. You could argue they've played the hardest schedule (#2 & #3\. Yikes.), but it's not an average and playing 3 games is harder than playing 2, so they're behind a couple of teams that have played 3 games. It's not important. Anyway, Edward Little is really good. They nearly beat Camden. They hung tough with Windham in the preseason. They could absolutely get in the win column against Mount Blue, but it'll be a dogfight. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-12-at-1.25.25---AM.png) [Today's Games](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Brewer Has a New Coach URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/brewer-has-a-new-coach/ Last updated: 2025-12-11T11:26:33.000Z Let's start with a correction. In yesterday's newsletter, I wrote the Mary Saunders is the Assistant Principal at Brewer. She is, in fact, the Administrative Assistant to the Athletic Director and Assistant Principal. I read the website incorrectly. Apologies for the error. As for the story itself, it is ongoing. > 🚨BREAKING: Mark Savage is the new Brewer boys basketball coach.🚨 [pic.twitter.com/1svR8GTUBJ](https://t.co/1svR8GTUBJ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [December 10, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1998794760794812706?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) So Newcomb's Interim title lasted all of one day by design, as Brewer was obviously scrambling to transition to a new coach and had to have someone coach the game on Tuesday. As for the Bapst situation, we now know for sure that it was unrelated to the Brewer situation. From the BDN: > “We were doing a shell drill in practice, pretty standard stuff. It went horrible. I called for a drink break, the players left the gym, and I kicked a basketball at a wall,” Bryant said Wednesday. “I kicked it pretty hard, but I mean, it’s a gymnasium. I think gymnasiums can handle basketballs.” > The next day, he was in the athletic director’s office and was told there had been multiple complaints about his intensity at practice. That got him a 1-game suspension. Then some complaints turned it into a 2-game suspension and then it...ended badly. Sometimes things don't work out. [‘They just wanted me out’: John Bapst boys basketball coach resigns after parent complaintsChris Bryant resigns as John Bapst boys basketball coach after parents complained about his intensity. He reflects on his experience and future plans.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-36.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/ChrisBryant.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/12/10/sports/high-school-basketball/john-bapst-basketball-coach-resigns/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We got a couple of games in last night after most of the state got snowed out, but none of them were particularly close. In the absence of any games, I invited Jon Duke on the podcast to talk about the first week of games in A North, some stories from around the state, impressions from the SoPo preseason tournament, the value of a strong boosters club, and the surprising performance so far of the gap year Celtics (In Brad We Trust). Ok, we actually scheduled this last week, but it sounds better that way. So the way I'm going to release the podcast for the foreseeable future is to do it first on YouTube in the evening and then everywhere else the next morning. It's an algorithm trick I learned that seems to be working? The numbers have been 4x higher since I started doing it and you know I love numbers. **This will debut tonight at 8pm.** [Click here to subscribe to YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- In California, Jason Crowe, Jr. broke the state all-time scoring record in his 100th game. > NEWS: In his 100th career game, Inglewood (CA) Jason Crowe Jr. breaks the all-time California high school basketball scoring record🔥 > > The previous record was held by Tounde Yessoufou of St. Joseph’s, with a total of 3,659. > > (via [@latsondheimer](https://twitter.com/latsondheimer?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) > > Read: [https://t.co/pYV61nDXPP](https://t.co/pYV61nDXPP?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/E70YClW7fz](https://t.co/E70YClW7fz?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rivals High School (@RivalsHS) [December 10, 2025](https://twitter.com/RivalsHS/status/1998606218944983170?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Imagine breaking the state's all-time scoring record in December of your senior year. Better yet, imagine playing that many games. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- If, like me, you're interested in what's happening in the news/journalism scene, you'll enjoy this. US News and World Report interviewed Alex Seitz-Wald, the new Deputy Editor of the Midcoast Villager in Camden. Seitz-Wald is pessimistic about a lot of aspects of news, but surprising optimistic about the role of hyper-local news, especially in the face of AI. > But AI cannot do the most fundamental job of any reporter: Talking to humans. It can’t bring new information into the world, it can only help you access what is already out there. It can’t call a source to get a scoop or a fresh quote, it can’t notice a select board member whispering something to a colleague in the middle of a tense meeting, it can’t take a photograph of the high school football game, it can’t ride out to a house fire with firefighters, it can’t bump into someone in the dairy aisle of the supermarket and get a story idea. I could keep going. MaxPreps and other sites do AI game reports of games and they're all terrible because they can't capture the parts of the game that happen outside the lines. They just regurgitate crap. [Read the interview](https://www.usnews.com/news/u-s-news-decision-points/articles/2025-12-04/why-the-dire-state-of-local-news-matters-and-some-reasons-for-hope?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Yesterday, I wrote about the Central Aroostook/Madawaska game that got snowed out and rescheduled for today. Turns out it's still the boys Game of the Day. But on the girls side, we have Cony heading to the coast to take on Oceanside. The Mariners are 1-1 with the loss coming to Lawrence in overtime. Cony is also 1-1 with a loss to Mt. Ararat, the defending A champs. Each team has an easy win and an understandable loss. This is a good early season litmus test game for each team. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-11-at-12.50.06---AM.png) . [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Coaching Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/coaching-ch-ch-ch-changes/ Last updated: 2025-12-10T11:55:46.000Z Let's just start with the drama bomb that rocked the state late yesterday afternoon. > Chris Bryant steps down as coach of John Bapst boys basketball and Carl Parker steps down as Brewer boys basketball coach [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Eastern Maine Sports (@EasternMESports) [December 9, 2025](https://twitter.com/EasternMESports/status/1998511744617185323?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 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. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-09-at-11.23.31---PM.png) 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 thrillerMaddie Provost shines for Lawrence, while touted Oceanside freshman Olivia Breen shows flashes of greatness in a battle of expected Class B contenders.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-4.png)Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43310718_20251209_08hoops.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/12/09/lawrence-girls-basketball-tops-oceanside-in-ot-thriller/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **---** **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](https://youtu.be/vNSddHb2hr8?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) finished with 21, Kollin Donlin added 12 & 12, the JVs finished the game, and the Panthers moved to 2-0 on the year.** **[ ![](//a.impactradius-go.com/display-ad/10661-3217736)](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/c/5077352/3217736/10661?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)![](https://imp.pxf.io/i/5077352/3217736/10661)** **### 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.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg)** **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.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-10-at-12.31.00---AM.png)** [Today's Games](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Central Gets a Split URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/central-gets-a-split/ Last updated: 2025-12-09T12:01:40.000Z There were 23 games on the schedule last night and there were only 2 that finished as a 2 possession game, which is to say that it wasn't an epic night of basketball. The MCI girls and Central went down to the buzzer. MCI had the ball with 1.2 seconds to go and a chance to go the length of the floor and pull off a miracle, but Central picked off a pass at mid-court to preserve a 28-26 victory. In what was probably the highlight of the night, the Sumner boys overcame a 12-point deficit behind 22 points from Connor Eastman to overtake Central. A busy night for Central. You win some, you lose some. In the Game of the Day, Mount Blue built a double-digit lead, only for Lewiston to come charging back in the third quarter. > Lewiston layup to beat the buzzer cuts the Mt. Blue lead to 3 as we head to the 4th quarter[@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/gmalcjcaMO](https://t.co/gmalcjcaMO?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/wMlJDpedJT](https://t.co/wMlJDpedJT?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [December 9, 2025](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/1998198157294067936?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But Mount Blue was able to right the ship and hold on for a 7-point win. --- Last night, the Mr. & Miss Basketball Draft episode of the podcast debuted on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). We get 3 points for a winner, 2 for a finalist, and 1 for a semi-finalist. We definitely left some talent on the board. Here's the draft picks in the order we drafted them. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-08-at-11.13.07---PM.png) We took 21 players for 20 semifinalist spots. I like all of our picks and I still had 5 or 6 players left on my list that I think will have very strong cases and I'm sure there's another 5 or 6 I'm missing. It just goes to show the depth of talent in the state. Let me know in the comments who you think had the best draft. Apologies to whoever's name I inevitably spelled wrong. We also picked some "Diaper Dandies" from the stellar freshman class, but you'll have to listen for those picks. [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3sEJAVI2ryb0v6dp7k30xZ?si=c8b2108bc0ce4ad9&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Heal points are updating. If you're new here, my version of the Heal Points is behind the paywall, but it's also one of the most popular features on the site, as it's infinitely easier to use than the MPA's site. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-08-at-10.33.11---PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- The Power Rankings are updated. There's the usual caveat here. The rankings start with last year's final rankings and go from there (hence, Falmouth being 2nd). It'll take a couple of games for this to work itself out. This football season, the Model was weird for 3 games and then locked in for week 4\. That's roughly where basketball usually locks in, but it depends on who teams play and all that. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-08-at-11.41.08---PM.png) [Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) --- You never want anyone to get hurt, but Tennessee forward Cade Phillips is out for the year with a shoulder injury and speculation in Knoxville is that JP Estrella is likely in line for extra minutes in Phillips' absence. [How Tennessee basketball roster changes after Cade Phillips surgeryCade Phillips is set to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. Here is what it means for the Tennessee basketball roster for the rest of the season.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/logo-icon-1.png)Knoxville News Sentinel, Knoxville News Sentinel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/87475303007-usatsi-27681262.jpg)](https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/mens-basketball/2025/12/08/tennessee-basketball-cade-phillips-roster/87629380007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z11xx98p119450c119450d00----v11xx98b00xxxxd11xx65&gca-ft=230&gca-ds=sophi&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Estrella is currently averaging 11 ppg in only 13.4 minutes. --- I'm not sure we fully understand just how good that Montverde team was. > DERIK QUEEN: 33p, 10r, 10a, 4b 🤯 > > The FIRST ROOKIE since blocks began being tracked in 1973-74 to record a 30-point triple-double with 4 blocks! [pic.twitter.com/VRk0dvbcqk](https://t.co/VRk0dvbcqk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA (@NBA) [December 9, 2025](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1998244926564556963?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I don't want to name names here, but YIKES. > Oh no. > > Just no [pic.twitter.com/XVPvCuJdxP](https://t.co/XVPvCuJdxP?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [December 8, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1998066506865775011?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You've gotta do the circles for free throws. This is just chaos. --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) A couple of years ago, back when Lizzie Gruber was a Senior, a common complaint was that Gardiner and Oceanside were both in the KVAC and yet we didn't get the Gruber vs. Bailey Breen matchup everyone wanted to see. In the intervening years, great strides have been made in scheduling. Ok, maybe great strides is a bit much. But we're getting a KVAC matchup between a Miss Basketball favorite and a Breen. Progress! After a brief sojourn in Florida, Olivia Breen is back in Maine as part of the Year of the Freshmen. She had 33 in the opener against Morse. She'll get the first real test of her high school career in the House that Cindy Blodgett Built against Maddie Provost and Lawrence. Provost was the first female taken in the Mr/Miss Basketball Draft and is the consensus front-runner. Provost and the Bulldogs won the Gold Ball her freshman year, knocking off Gruber and Gardiner along the way, but have come up short in the last 2 playoffs. They'll be looking for revenge this season. [Epic Vue Studios](https://www.youtube.com/@EpicVueStudio?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) should have the stream. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-08-at-10.43.37---PM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Caribou Starts Their Title Defense URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/caribou-starts-their-title-defense/ Last updated: 2025-12-08T12:00:39.000Z As expected, Saturday was a lighter day, with the highlight being the start of the Caribou boys' title defense (sorta, as they're no longer in B). Caribou nearly gave away a late 5-point lead to Ellsworth, but Landen Belanger [hit the game-winner](https://www.facebook.com/reel/837674792410589) to move Caribou to 1-0. Ryan McLaughlin was there. [Ellsworth American](https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/sports/boys-basketball-caribou-edges-ellsworth-in-season-opening-thriller/article%5F67635b99-53c4-4c8f-8ec7-0ba4825f5a47.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Elsewhere Quentin Warrick's 19 led GNG by Freeport...Jaxon Desjardins' 21/14/5/5 helped Forest Hills overcome 27 from Vinalhaven's Aiden Farnham...Avery Clark's 22 helped Bangor close on a 22-3 run to put away a pesky Brunswick team. Grace Roak had a double-double for the Dragons...Lizzie Boles had 13/6/4 in Ellsworth's win over Caribou...Julia Goodine dropped 20 in Bapst's win over Fort Kent. --- The fourth and final podcast in the season preview series drops tonight at 8PM on YouTube. After 2 preseason polls and the Wins Draft, we're making predictions about who will win Mr. and Miss Basketball. It's a convenient way to talk about the top seniors in the state, but we also run through some of the "Diaper Dandies" in this Year of the Freshmen. Dylan Rottkov from Blue Wave (and Falmouth football's defensive coordinator) and WHOU's Steve Carmichael join me. Steve brings the Northern Maine bias and Dylan covers the Southern Maine bias. Tune in tonight to see if your favorite senior gets drafted. Speaking of the Wins Draft... If you want to follow the results of the [Wins Draft](https://youtu.be/j5VqBzgDRZM?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), I'll have that as a recurring feature all season long. We're off to a pretty good start. Well, everyone except Adam. This is why you don't auto-draft, kids. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-07-at-10.00.24---PM.png) --- [ ![](//a.impactradius-go.com/display-ad/10661-3217736)](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/c/5077352/3217736/10661?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)![](https://imp.pxf.io/i/5077352/3217736/10661) --- Windham will be honoring Pat Moody on Tuesday. The Pat Moody Foundation has been a great fundraising effort that benefits, not just Windham kids, but kids from around the state. [Moody Foundation to honor beloved resident during boys’ basketball home opener![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-25.ico)Ed Pierce![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/PatAJ.jpg)](https://frontpage.thewindhameagle.com/2025/12/moody-foundation-to-honor-beloved.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawOhwZdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFXazlZSUtxbUZKQVBTS296c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHklyjsBcsEFsj1jUQZ-AVRmngYIPThAu5n41Qa8Q-CcE4GfiAVZsX1LwqB0q%5Faem%5FkOhAZoNzdcWZVQMnlzrbDg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- With the uptick in talent (and Instagram influencers, I guess), there's bound to be an increase in people trying to make money off your kid's dreams. > I think this is what dislike about how some of Maine basketball has been going recently. People think they need trainers and random people ranking them in April in a gym full of hundreds of kids. > > If you’re good, people will find you. Just work. [https://t.co/UpepAQaYKD](https://t.co/UpepAQaYKD?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [December 7, 2025](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1997503859141349418?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You see this in a lot of fields. Screenwriting is particularly egregious. As is acting and YouTube and anywhere else you can get wildly successful. There's a ton of people who will find ways to sell you on the idea that they can help you level up. Most of the time they cannot. What can level you up is doing the work. If you've got talent, people will notice. Long gone are the days where a kid in, say, Madawaska can fly under the radar. Friday night, I knew SoPo and Cheverus both had impact freshmen and I knew the names, but I hadn't looked at the rosters, so I didn't know who they were. I spotted Despacho in warmups. > [@mainebasketballrankings1](https://www.tiktok.com/@mainebasketballrankings1?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "@mainebasketballrankings1") [♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7580544690375281439?refer=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com "♬ original sound - Maine Basketball Rankings") And it took me about 2 minutes to spot Khaelon Watkins. If you can play, people will notice. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/game-of-the-day.jpg) I've got the spreadsheets cooking now. I don't have a full archive of every Game of the Day, but I think it's safe to say the Lewiston boys are making their first appearance. They opened their season with a win over Mt. Ararat. They'll head to Mount Blue, where the Cougars are also 1-0 after a win over Messo and, I'm told, will surprise a bunch of people this year. We'll see. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-07-at-10.41.33---PM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### SoPo at the Buzzer? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/sopo-at-the-buzzer/ Last updated: 2025-12-06T11:55:22.000Z First, I want to just say that this is only the second day of the season and already things are at an epic level. First, the Camden game-winner over Edward Little. And then last night happened. Also this is 1700 words on day 2 of the season. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-06-at-2.32.06---AM.png) First, let's go to Portland. When looking at last night's schedule, the South Portland @ Cheverus double-header was an obvious draw. First, the regular season games with the teams formerly in AA mean a lot more in the new classification system. The playoffs aren't guaranteed and A South is hard enough a team that could previously coast to a 4 seed might find themselves battling for a playoff spot. If you were a 6 seed in AA? That's going to be very tough sledding. And in an A South girls region with 3 defending Regional Champs, Heal Points will be incredibly valuable. South Portland, as you might remember, beat Cheverus in the State Championship game last year behind a big game from Annie Whitmore and for most of the first half, it seemed like they might cruise to an Opening Night win. There were flashes of Cheverus' defense, but it was all SoPo. They led by 10 at the half. In the second half, the Cheverus defense came alive, fueled by Miss Basketball candidate Kylie Lamson. Cheverus tied it in the third, built a small lead in the 4th, and hit their free throws down the stretch to come away with a huge win. Lamson finished with 17\. Caleigh Corcoran had a game-high 18 for SoPo. Michael Hoffer was there. [Cheverus girls ride second half surge to stun South PortlandPORTLAND—For a quarter-and-a-half Friday evening at Keegan Gymnasium, South Portland’s girls’ basketball team looked like a squad coming off a state championship and ready to win another. But the host Cheverus Stags had seen about enough of the Red Riots pushing them around and what resulted over the game’s![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-10.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Kylie.jpeg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/cheverus-gi/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Up north, Wisdom's Ava Lerner (who didn't, as [Tyler Krusz told me in the Wins Draft podcast](https://youtu.be/j5VqBzgDRZM?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), graduate last year) scored her 1,000th point in a win over Madawaska. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/image-1.png) [ ![](//a.impactradius-go.com/display-ad/10661-3217736)](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/c/5077352/3217736/10661?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)![](https://imp.pxf.io/i/5077352/3217736/10661) --- Up at Mt. Abram, Chase Ross called [GAME](https://www.facebook.com/reel/2294065421072320). (I'm told these Facebook reels embeds will work, but I'm skeptical, so I'm linking to them as well until I'm confident) --- If you're a young basketball player from the Pine Tree State who can jump more than a little bit, your first dunk technical is a rite of passage. They don't come as frequently as they used to. Back in the years before COVID, they were an epidemic. [Many say refs in Maine basketball playoffs getting too technical with dunking rulePlayers, coaches and fans are befuddled to see some dunks that were OK in the regular season drawing technical fouls in state tournament games.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-13.png)The Portland Press HeraldSteve CraigStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/dunk-3-pack.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2018/02/28/be-careful-how-you-dunk-in-maine/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And by that, I mean that we were a national laughingstock for a little while. Anyway, that's mostly gone away, but every so often we get a dunk technical. Cheverus Freshman Khaelon Watkins got his first career tech in his first game. It was, I believe, his 4th dunk of the game. If you want to say this should be a tech, I won't argue with you. It's clearly not flagrant. His dunk before this one was essentially the same thing (I missed it with my phone, sadly. I'm getting the hang of sideline video.) We had a dunk last year in a Bangor Christian game that was obviously a tech. This wasn't that. Again, I wasn't shocked it was called. We also had a bench technical and a player sent to the bench because his shirt was untucked. But, man, do Watkins (17 points) and Leonel Despacho (16) look good. When people tell you this is the Year of the Freshmen, believe them. Cheverus led for nearly all of this one. They led by 10 with 4 minutes left and would score 1 point the rest of the way, going ice cold from the free throw line. SoPo got a couple of turnovers, including this Gabe Jackson [steal and 3](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1576466290033967) that got them within 2\. He finished with 29, including 14 in the final quarter. And eventually it was South Portland ball in a tied game with seconds to play. That's Darius Johnson with the winner. So you'll notice some confusion at the end. The clock was stopped with 0.6 seconds left--enough time to do something. A Cheverus player is signaling for a timeout. There's players on the floor. There's fans on the floor. And the officials huddle, declare the game is over, and go home. Not everyone is happy with that, as you can see. By rule, the clock does not stop in that situation in high school basketball. So if your opponent scores down 5 with 3 seconds left, just don't inbound the ball and the clock will run out. So why is the clock stopped? I spoke to the timekeeper after the game and he said he stopped the clock because he heard a whistle. That's what you do. There was roughly 1.2 left when the ball went through the rim and you can hear a whistle, clearly, but that's not for 4 seconds after the bucket, so time would have expired. The determination from the officials was that he timekeeper stopped the clock early because he thought he heard something in the bedlam (and considering the home team needed the extra time, it's understandable he'd have a quick trigger), but it's the correct call. It's not hard to see why Cheverus' coaching staff wouldn't agree. I don't know about anyone else, but a doubleheader with 2 great games, a dunk technical, and a controversial ending? This is my Christmas. What a start to the season. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more ### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Hoops 8 is back with a new logo! > Season debut of Hoops 8...i think a recap of 24 games played across the state[https://t.co/VskaJAdjtN](https://t.co/VskaJAdjtN?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [December 6, 2025](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1997178242713694213?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Elsewhere Jack Fontaine dropped 27 in Marancook's win over Winthrop...Zoey Sullivan-Brennan had 17 in Gardiner's win over Belfast...Bonny Eagle's Kylie Cole almost out-scored Falmouth by herself 22-25...Reece MacDonald had 13 as York cruised...Yarmouth's Evan Orenellas dropped 25 on Poland...Mason Nguyen led Medomak with 24 at Erskine...Angelina Keo had 19 in Deering's win over Portland...Charlotte Ranger fueled a big second half as Edward Little got revenge for their boys team with in win over Camden (in Rockport)...Kelsea Rancourt's 14 led Forest Hills past Vinalhaven...the Forest Hills boys beat Vinalhaven in overtime(!) behind 37 from Jaxson Desjardins...Colin Schlobohm had 25/9/6 to lead Leavitt to an overtime win over Lincoln Academy. Aidyn Herring had 24 for the Eagles...Brayden Furbush had 19 and Jacob Linkletter added 18 & 8 in Madison's win over Monmouth...Gaven Parsons' 15 led Buckfield over Telstar...Bonny Eagle used a big 2nd quarter to beat Falmouth...Freshman Carter Braithwaite had 26 in Cony's win over Noko. Jackson Kay added a double-double...Cape got 18 from Owen Beaureguard to beat Fryeburg...Tyrie James (33) out-dueled De’Shawn Alston (29) and Windham beat TA by 2...Kevin Bolduc had 20 points, 9 boards, and 5 steals as Wells blew out NYA...Harry Louis had 14 and 7 assists as Valley blew out Rangeley...Kirsten Bigelow had 20 and Valley jumped out to a 32-1 lead over Rangeley (they held on)...Nya Avery had 18 as York beat Lake...Marley Jarvais had 20 in Windham's win over TA...Leah Adams' 12p/11r/8s almost triple-double led Messo over Mt. Blue...Mollie Puffer's 14 helped Sanford hold off Biddeford(!)...Kayleigh Wagg was one of 3 Eagles in double figures as the champs cruised by Lewiston...Adam Fitzgerald's 19 and Carter Blanche's 14 & 12 got Scarborough by Gorham...Brady Philbrick put up 18 in Dirigo's win over Mountain Valley...Hall-Dale got 18 from Tayshaun Cleveland in a win over Oak Hill...'Bunk raced out to a 39-11 halftime lead over Noble behind Dylan Myhal...Oliver Cormier led Mt. Blue with 18 in a win over Messo...Cooper Simms had 16 in Marshwood's win over Massabesic...Lewiston's Grayson Bernard dropped 23 on Mt. Ararat...Gabby Smith’s 18 led Leavitt over Lincoln Academy...the Poland girls led by 3 at the half, then locked down and allowed 3 the rest of the way against Yarmouth (they won)...Gorham hit 8 threes against Gorham to win a tight one...Luke Gendron's 20 paced Sanford against Biddeford...Lucas LeGage dropped 27 on Deering...Silas Nielsen had 10 points, 11 boards, and 5 blocked shots against Traip. --- WHOU previewed the Aroostook County season on their maybe podcast(?) Steve Carmichael (on the right) joined me for the first-ever Mr./Miss Basketball Draft, which will drop Monday evening on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Some of the people drafted are off to really good starts! ### Today I'm still working on the girls schedules. The whole day job and driving to Cheverus for a double-header thing took up most of the day. I think I'll have it done today and we should be fully cooking for Monday's games. I'll also update the Power Rankings after today's games. If you've got a buzzer-beater, awesome play, unruly fan, or whatever, send it my way and I'll help get the word out. There were probably 90 games today. I can't see everything. But I do tend to check all my messages. ### Game of the Day If you aren't in the County, the schedule is pretty light today. The Caribou boys start their title defense against Ellsworth and Mattanawcook hosts Dexter. I don't have the girls Model up yet, but Bangor @ Brunswick looks intriguing. You can see all the spreads at a glance. [SpreadsBut did you beat the spread?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-55.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Spreads-6.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spreads/) The Model's picks for today's (boys) games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Windjamming URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/windjamming/ Last updated: 2025-12-05T11:59:26.000Z The early season chatter on the new-look A North is that Camden Hills and Edward Little were two of the top three teams in the region, featuring two of the top players in the state. So expectations were high for an Opening Night tilt in Auburn and it didn't disappoint. Camden opened a lead that stretched to double digits in the third quarter...and then Akol Maiwen got going. The senior hit 3 straight from deep to cut the lead to 2\. Maiwen and Nolan Ames proceeded to trade punches. Let's go to the end. Tie game. Edward Little ball. That's Nolan Ames to Hollis Schwalm for the layup with 1.2 seconds left and a 61-59 Opening Night win. Drew Bonifant was there for Varsity Maine. [Camden Hills boys basketball nips Edward Little on last-second layupHollis Schwalm’s basket with 1.2 seconds left gives the Windjammers a dramatic opening victory after letting a double-digit lead slip away.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-12.png)The Portland Press HeraldDrew BonifantStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43300190_20251204_CamdenHillsElBBall-12.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/12/04/camden-hills-boys-basketball-nips-edward-little-on-last-second-layup/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Up in Howland, Calais got a steal in the backcourt, but their desperation heave at the buzzer was no good. Penobscot Valley escaped with a 52-51 win. [Clip from Penobscot Vly. vs Calais - Boys Varsity Basketball 12/04/2025 | Live & On DemandWatch the Penobscot Vly. vs Calais - Boys Varsity Basketball 12/04/2025 live and on demand online on the NFHS Network![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-14.png)Follow Us On![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/gam674e98ac2a_1762133836558.png)](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/clips/ucl4d2e80ffe21764905369479?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I signed up for NFHS so you don't have to. But if you have to, follow this affiliate link. [NFHS Affiliate Link](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/9LgYA4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Other games were...less close. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-04-at-9.42.37---PM-1.png) ### Elsewhere Emma Witas scored 17 as Dirigo held Mountain Valley to 8 points in the first 3 quarters...Paloma Schair-Cardona had 19 in Waynflete's win over Pine Tree...Madison Bennett's 21 led Mount View past Waterville...Abi Livingston's 15 wasn't enough for Greely to pull off a comeback against Brunswick...Stuart Knowlton and Wyatt Bennett had 15 each in Mount View's win over Waterville...Logan Grey had 14 as Brunswick blew out Greely...Jesse Booker had 21 & 14 in Bangor Christian's win over Stearns. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- So this is an interesting news item. Three Aroostook County school are toying with the idea of consolidation--and it's three pretty important ones: Caribou, Presque Isle, and Fort Kent. Yikes. [3 of Aroostook’s largest high schools consider consolidationThree high schools in Aroostook County are exploring the possibility of forming a regional high school to address declining enrollment and budget challenges.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-35.png)Bangor Daily NewsCameron Levasseur![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/PIHS-Class-of-2025.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/12/04/aroostook/aroostook-county-high-school-consolidation/?fbclid=IwY2xjawOfO4ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe8CaialNJ46ZzeRBBAabq2sqSKRnuFBI5v8h4N6WEGWBkb0QbVr3QOCW5X4Y%5Faem%5FC1W3THuFYTF6iHzpv45r2w&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#mirx791vo2b2peubrwj) Combining the three schools would make the 6th largest school in the state, at least by the current MPA numbers. I'm sure consolidating has a number of benefits in terms of resources and all that other school stuff that isn't basketball, but it'd be a shame to take the Caribou/PI rivalry off the board and scheduling for sports would kind of be a disaster. They have trouble scheduling now. I'm not sure Old Town and Foxcroft Academy are going to be interested in playing this new school. So let's say you play 2 each against Bangor, Brewer, and Hampden (almost 3 hours each way). Then what? Is Houlton going to play them? Messo is almost 4 hours. Lewiston and Edward Little are 4 1/2 hours each way. Oxford Hills is 5 1/2\. Who are they playing on a weeknight? And who would want to go there when they don't have to? Seems like that could be an issue. What's a reverse co-op? But it's far from a done deal. From [a post on MSAD #11's Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/msadnumber1/posts/pfbid0JWZpcGnWGhZ4EQppvW4SeJav2K2r5HgfzX7tPvHFp4z4U8LyAdjdvp3RhDZSqs2ol): > Filling out this application does not require us to commit to anything in the long term and each district reserves the right to back out at any point in the application process. It simply allows us to continue the conversation about the possibility of a shared regional high school and CTE center. The second part of the application is not due until October 31, 2026\. The second part of the application is where a lot of the details regarding a plan for a new school would be determined. --- I'm still working on getting the girls schedules up and running (the schedules are particularly bad this year), but it's a fantastic slate, led off by South Portland @ Cheverus in the loaded A South. The boys game (also at Cheverus) also looks promising. The Model's picks for today's (boys) games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Here We Go URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/here-we-go/ Last updated: 2025-12-04T11:43:45.000Z It seemed clever, back in the spring or whenever, to start the season early for the new under-1oo student S Class. Their season ends a week early, after all, and they might need the extra time. But no one wants to start the regular season on the day after the Thanksgiving, apparently. And when Mother Nature dropped a blizzard on the state Tuesday, everything got pushed back to today, the start date for everyone else. So here we are with nearly everyone starting at the same time. To quote the philosopher Rasheed Wallace, "Ball Don't Lie." We do have 2 scores, though. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-03-at-11.23.24---PM.png) --- In one of the more compelling preseason matchups in years, the Valley girls (enrollment: 63) hosted the Bangor girls (enrollment: 1,069). People are always talking about how big schools should play small schools, but it so rarely happens for a bunch of reasons. But Valley and Bangor had a special connection that made it possible. Bangor won, but not by as much as the enrollment would indicate. Mike Mandell was there. > Make no mistake: These two teams belonged on the same floor. Fueled by 3-pointers from Liana Hartwell and Delia Hill, Valley led Bangor early in the game. Although the Rams ultimately took the lead and kept it throughout the second half, the Cavaliers didn’t go away, pushing a school 17 times their size to the limit. [Valley, Bangor girls basketball teams meet for special preseason matchupIn a homecoming for new Bangor coach Kristin Hermanson, the Rams took on the Cavaliers in a battle of schools from the state’s largest and smallest classifications.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-11.png)The Portland Press HeraldMike MandellStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43297133_20251203_12scrimmage.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/12/03/valley-bangor-girls-basketball-teams-meet-for-special-preseason-matchup/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It might be the last game Valley loses this year. There's a reason they were the first team taken in the Wins Draft. --- ### New Here? There's a number of new people getting this newsletter, so if this is your first basketball season with the spreadsheet that hates your team, here's how this all works. This is a free newsletter that publishes basically every day there's a countable game (sometimes I'll skip an obvious snow day or a day with 1 game), so essentially 6 days a week. The newsletter will give you a summary of what happened the night before, including some key performances from around the state. I'll try to highlight some cool stuff that happened, show you buzzer-beaters and cool dunks, opine on whatever controversy pops up, and generally talk about what you might have otherwise missed. Then there's a Game of the Day and, for paid subscribers, the Model's predictions and point spreads for all the day's games (today the Brunswick boys are a 1.6 point favorite over Greely). Plus you get a bunch of other stuff like better Heal Points and a thing that tells you what seed you can still get in the tourney WAY faster and more accurate than anyone else. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more ### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- If you've got a performance worth noting (double-doubles are nice), you can put it on the [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-04-at-12.04.31---AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) You can put scores in (desktop only) and put anything notable in the notable column. If the game gets snowed out, you'll be able to see or enter that. It's also a pretty good guess as to where the game might be streaming. It's become an incredibly helpful page for scoreboard watching. And if you've got video of a buzzer-beater, cool dunk, or a parent getting ejected, send it to me (email: mainebasketballrankings \[at\] gmail) --- Cooper is figuring it out and he grabbed his first Rookie of the Month award. [Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg Reflects On Rookie Of The Month Honor Ahead Of Miami Heat MatchupCooper Flagg discusses his Rookie of the Month honor, clutch minutes, and the Mavericks’ growing momentum ahead of facing the Heat.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Rkzw_bHa_400x400-4.jpg)Dallas Hoops JournalGrant Afseth![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Untitled-design-2025-10-13T030447.604.jpg)](https://dallashoopsjournal.com/p/cooper-flagg-reflects-rookie-of-the-month-honor-dallas-mavericks-miami-heat-matchup-nba-news/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- [ ![](//a.impactradius-go.com/display-ad/10661-3217736)](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/c/5077352/3217736/10661?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)![](https://imp.pxf.io/i/5077352/3217736/10661) ### Numbers As an explanation for why everything isn't up and running yet, let's do a little bit of a look at how the Model, etc. works behind the scenes. I can't really start building out the Model, Scoreboard, Heal Points, etc, until I have the schedules uploaded. Makes sense. I've gotten the system of converting the schedules from the MPA site down pretty well, but when I pulled the boys schedules last night around 6pm (because I waited as long as I possibly could), only something like 56% of schools had an 18 game schedule loaded. After some searching on social media (you'd be amazed how many active school social media accounts don't have schedules on them. I'm not sure how some of these schools get anyone to go to their games), I got that number up to around 84%. I know what you're thinking: the North Haven cancellation is creating chaos, but North Haven wasn't playing that many Class B teams, you know? All that to say I got the boys Model more or less under control and should have everything up and running in the next couple of days. Upload your schedules! Here's also the reminder that the Model has zero opinion built into it. It's 100% math, despite what people think. The number one rule for it is that I can't incorporate anything that I can't do for everyone in the state. So, I know that Jamier Rose is no longer at Noble, but I can't just dock Noble because there's no way to know what everyone else lost (or how much value they lost), so the Model makes zero adjustments from last season. It starts with last season and takes a couple of games to figure out the new normal. Why not just start everyone at zero? Well, the good teams tend to stay good and bad teams tend to stay bad, so you need to have a baseline. Anyway, it's going to get some games very wrong in the first week. It'll dial itself in before you know it. The Model's picks for today's (boys) games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Tipping off in SoPo URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tipping-off-in-sopo/ Last updated: 2025-12-02T11:59:27.000Z One of the highlights of the preseason is the abundance of preseason tournaments around the state. It's a chance to get eyes on a bunch of teams at once and see who's improved over the summer and who might surprise some people this year. And perhaps the best one of them all is the Yankee Ford Tip-Off Tourney at South Portland. If you remember, that was the site of the epic Cooper Flagg vs. JP Estrella showdown a couple of years ago. They do a great job of curating the teams and this year was no different. I managed to catch 4 1/2 games. Some thoughts: Madawaska vs. Spruce: Madawaska travels. They probably had 30 people there for a game 5.5 hours away. One of the Madawaska guards (#1...no rosters) shot lights out in the first half and Quinn Pelletier got going in the second half as Madawaska beat a Spruce team playing their first game after a football state championship game. But the biggest Madawaska question was... > "What class are they in this year?" [pic.twitter.com/jHRS5gmSbg](https://t.co/jHRS5gmSbg?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [December 2, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1995656984486629735?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They're in D North. Windham vs. Edward Little: The Eddies look like they'll give a lot of teams trouble this year. They hung with a very good Windham team. AJ Moody was a defensive pest all over the place and Tyrie James looked awesome as the hub of the offense. Medomak vs. Falmouth: There's no Davis Mann this year for Falmouth, who are clearly young and inexperienced. Medomak's press gave them trouble and while they don't have Gabe Lash anymore, there's a lot of talent left on the Panthers. Camden vs. Portland: Nolan Ames picked up three fouls in the first half and Portland built a 15-point lead. #20 for the Bulldogs will give a lot of teams trouble. Then Nolan Ames came back in the game and took over. He had 25 in the second half to key the Camden comeback. He's the real deal. [Click here to subscribe to YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Cony vs. Portland: Parker Morin wasn't available for Cony, but Carter Brathwaite was. I was only able to stay for the first half but my big takeaway was Brathwaite passes really well for a freshman. Cony won in overtime. --- Last week, I started the preseason coverage with the reveal of the [girls](https://youtu.be/%5FO7RH-lZtTQ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and [boys](https://youtu.be/k0ObQqC8Kzo?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) preseason polls with Jay Baines. Last night, it continued with the annual Wins Draft. Just like last season, Mike Mandell, Tyler Krusz, and Adam Robinson joined me to draft 6 teams from around the state who we think will win a lot of games this season in the following categories: 2 boys teams, 2 girls teams, 1 Aroostook County team, and 1 team that missed the playoffs last year. Plus, this year we were allowed an extra keeper from last year's draft. It's a fun way to preview the season. This year's draft had a twist: Adam Robinson, who's the JV coach at Edward Little this year, forgot he had a game. So we drafted for him. We resisted the urge to screw him over. 0:00 /0:45 1× You know the drill. You can check out the entire thing on YouTube, presented by Vertical Raise. Or wherever you consume podcasts. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/01kY6fE0w1X5ebm1EnUU27?si=5c60deb3072f4c41&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Apple Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- It seems that every year a team announces just before the season is about to start that they don't have the numbers to field a team and this year it's the North Haven boys. [Maine island doesn’t have enough players for boys basketball team this seasonNorth Haven Community School cancels boys basketball season due to lack of eligible players. Small school enrollment and lack of interest contribute.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-34.png)Bangor Daily NewsMark Haskell, Midcoast Villager![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Team-and-Fans-by-Taylor4498.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/11/26/sports/high-school-basketball/north-haven-boys-basketball-season-cancelled/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's only 16 kids in the high school, so it's a small miracle when they're able to put a team on the floor. The girls will play this season, but they've only got 6 on the roster, so it's a small margin for error. On the plus side, there's no shortage of minutes. --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more ### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- To the surprise of very few people inside the 207 area code, Cooper is starting to figure it out at the highest level, but this week he leveled up in a big way in a back-to-back. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/image.png) Friday against the Lakers, he came up 3 rebounds shy of a triple-double with a 13/7/11 line (plus 3 steals and only 1 turnover). He was 13 days younger than LeBron was when he first got 10 assists in a game. The next night, in a win over the Clippers, he scored a career-high 35 points (with 8 boards). He was 5 days younger than, you guessed it, LeBron. Pretty good, I guess. Varsity Maine sent Drew Bonifant to Dallas to witness the Cooper experience in person. [It’s whiskey, catfish and Texas vibes watching Cooper Flagg play in DallasThe Maine native has become a source of excitement and hope for the thousands of Mavericks fans who turn out each night to watch him compete.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-10.png)The Portland Press HeraldDrew BonifantStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_4707.jpeg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/11/25/whiskey-and-catfish-its-a-texas-vibe-watching-cooper-flagg-in-dallas/?fbclid=IwY2xjawObJpNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeGQsG9NkIMKmHF4jV7XSXsjCEmygcPJ1YN9dS5o9Mvr%5FamXLBiz55m-imimw%5Faem%5FM4esvzjsooztcSMjZeOdhQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Hopefully Drew was able to eat some Texas bbq while he was there. ### Isn't S Starting a Week Early? Yes and no. Class S (the schools with fewer than 100 students) had the opportunity to start a week early, on November 28th, but that's Black Friday and do you really want to do Opening Night on Black Friday? Apparently not. The first scheduled set of games is today (December 2), but I'm not sure any of these are going to happen with today's weather forecast. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-01-at-6.40.22---PM-1.png) But maybe! There's only one game scheduled for Wednesday and then everyone else can play on Thursday, so I'm going to wait a couple days to pull the schedules. And then hopefully all of the schools will have uploaded their complete schedules (Please upload your schedules!) **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link.](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter (always)](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### Podcast: Boys Preseason Poll (with Jay Baines) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/podcast-boys-preseason-poll-with-jay-baines/ Last updated: 2025-12-02T05:03:02.000Z We're on to basketball season! Jay Baines joins me to go over the boys preseason poll. We go region-by-region through the state, first to figure out who's playing in what region this year, and then to sort out the collective wisdom of the state and who are the teams to beat around the state. *Vertical Raise is one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, now proudly helping programs of all sports, clubs, and grade levels across Maine!* *Your Maine reps, Chris Christie and Dave Chase, are both coaches who know what it takes to run a successful program — and they understand how important fundraising is to making it happen.* [*Schedule a call*](https://calendly.com/chrisc-verticalraise/30min?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) *and see how Vertical Raise can help your program reach new heights!* ### Transcript (auto-generated) *Welcome to the Maine Basketball Rankings podcast.I'm your host, basketball data nerd, Lucas McNelly. Today we are doing the boys preseason poll.We already did the girls preseason poll that went up on Monday. Got some really good reactions from that.* ### *0:17* *Some question marks like how are we so low?And I'm like, I don't know, talk to your neighbors, talk to the people in your school who didn't vote for you.So this is just for clarification sake.This is a public poll, thought coaches poll.It's not a rankings, it's not my poll, it's not a computer thing.* ### *0:34* *It's the people around the state went and voted the ranked teams one through 8 in each region.And then we totaled the results and Jay Baines and I went through it and just talked it out.And we're going to do the boys section coming up in a minute.But first, today's episode is brought to you by Vertical Rays, one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, now proudly helping teams, clubs and programs across Maine.* ### *0:59* *With the Vertical Rays, your program can raise more money and less time.No selling, no collecting, just results.From new uniforms and better equipment to tournament trips and every fundraising need in between, Vertical Raise has a variety of campaigns to make it happen.Your main reps, Chris Christie and Dave Chase are both coaches who know what it takes to run a great program at any sport, club or grade level and they understand how important fundraising is to make it happen.* ### *1:25* *Schedule a call or e-mail today and see how Vertical Raise can take your fundraising to the next level.OK, so like I said, boys pre season poll, we did the girls, we just put the call out online, go in, rate up to 8 teams, rank them one through 8 in each region and then we total the results.* ### *1:48* *Some people just went in and put their team 1st and bounced.Some people did all the teams, put a lot of thought into it and really there was more thought put into it than I thought would be.So I think I think these are pretty good results.Yeah, Jay Baines is here and we're going to talk through it.* ### *2:05* *So let's get straight to that.But first, make sure you subscribe to this podcast wherever you're watching it, Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, wherever you're watching it, Subscribe, give it a review, like it do all the things.* ### *2:21* *How about all the all the algorithm stuff 'cause it really helps.OK, so without further delay, here is Jay Maines.Jay, how you feeling so far?I'm warmer than I was an hour ago.My team.I'm just trying to rub it into you, 'cause you don't have heat in your room.* ### *2:39* *Holder I got to find a so so this is the issue.The room I do this in is detached from the main heat source and 'cause we just, we just have a wood stove because it's an old house.And so I got to find a space heater that's silent is the trick cause the the whole audio element.* ### *2:59* *So if anyone knows of a space heater that's silent, like really actually silent, let me know.So as we said, Part 1, complain about these predictions in the comments.I want to apologize to everyone once I realized my background image and my whole thing was backwards for half of the first part and then I.* ### *3:19* *Fixed was it?Yeah, it's like, why is my hat backwards?OK.You'd flip your video.I guess that technology this.Is professional.I actually spent like 15 minutes trying to figure out what I want as a background image.And I was trying to find, I wanted a picture.* ### *3:35* *The auditorium couldn't find a good one.Oh, yeah.And they're like, well, give me a picture of the Boston Garden.And then I came across this like old school nineties Elfond, Cindy.Era.With the places absolutely packed.Yeah, because it was Cindy.* ### *3:51* *Yeah, I like it.What I've been doing is I'll like take a picture at a gym when it's empty, when I go to a different gym and I can sort of rotate through a more football fields for football season.Nice.But now we're inside because basketball is here and I'm still cold, but at least I'm less cold than I was on Saturday.* ### *4:10* *I did the BAPS Oceanside regional final for boys soccer and it was a SO.I heard that was a good game.Yeah, I had a, it was 7:00 at Cameron Stadium.If you know Cameron Stadium, there's nothing that blocks the wind for like 3 blocks.* ### *4:31* *So it was like 39° and I was freezing and like, and I'm like, you know what?You know what will make me warmer if I just run more?I was going to say that at least you're running.Yeah, I did over 8 miles.Just at least you're not.Holding an iPhone and trying to hold it steady while your hands doing this well I.* ### *4:51* *So I've been battling a knee thing.So I I'm not moving well, especially quicken direction.You know, I'm running a lot, you know, trying to get places, but like side to side.I don't want to just to buckle and you know, you know, have everything end.But you know, I'm still running all this.I still get hit by the ball 3 \* 30 seconds and get hit by the ball.* ### *5:08* *I'm just like, my God, I'm OK, drop ball.Here we go.Sorry.After the third time, it's like the guy, the kid, the boys were getting mad at me.And like boys, I am the least athletic person on this field right now, OK?Don't kick it to me.Don't.* ### *5:24* *I don't want it.I have.No, I have no good touch on either foot, OK?I'm just trying to see what's going on, OK?Because if I get out of the way and I miss something, you'll be mad at me too.So I'm like, you know what?Just play.Just play your game, OK?We'll be fine.OK.Yeah.So was is what it is.* ### *5:42* *But.You don't have the skills of that guy from Scotland who had the the bicycle kick to score against Denmark the other day.No.No, no, just checking.I have a Co worker who's from Scotland and I've been making a lot of Haggis jokes but he was very excited at work watching this game on his phone and he's like singing songs and jumping up and down and stressing out.* ### *6:04* *It was, it was quite entertaining.No, but the.Tartan Army is through to the cup, that's what I he kept saying.He's been said that all day today.OK.Super psyched.Awesome.All right, let's do the boys here.* ### *6:21* *We're going to start with DSSS.All right, s s sorry.SSSS is, of course, under 100.And we have #1 no surprise is Valley with Harry Lewis leading the way.* ### *6:41* *They have 46 1st place votes and one 8th place vote.Forest Hills is second with seven first place votes.Greenville is third with 174 votes.No first place votes.No faith that the Lakers, who have the best mascot and best logo in all of high school basketball, No first place votes for them.* ### *7:03* *But if we were voting on logos that would be they'd get all the 1st place votes.Rangeley Lakes is third with one first place vote, then Temple, Pine Tree, Islesboro and then the Island teams.Vinyl Haven 8 North Haven 9 Vinyl Haven has two first place votes.* ### *7:20* *So Harry Lewis is still there.Yes, he was the MVP of the Invitational All Star thing that Mackenzie Holmes, his father, put on last weekend.He was the MVP of the DS game, I think.* ### *7:37* *OK, he scored his thousandth point as a sophomore and Fisher Tewksbury, the name I was, the name I was trying to think of, is the other guy there who also scored his thousand points as a sophomore, I think in the same game.That wouldn't surprise me.* ### *7:54* *So they lost the Saint Dom's Rest in peace.Who is not here?Yeah, in the regional final.Yeah, this isn't.I mean, if those players are bad, we hear these names all the times like they're still here.How many?* ### *8:11* *I thought COVID years were gone now.I was like, how, how are you?It's like Joe Finiano, who played quarterback at Maine, he's in his seventh year and he's stole the starter at Connecticut.Nice.And I'm just like, how they asked Jim Mora was like, how does he still have eligibility?* ### *8:26* *And he's like, I don't know, moving on.Forest Hills does have a Desjardin, so there.I don't know how many more there are, but that is.So let me ask you this.Is there a name, a last name that if you see it on the roster where you're more, where you're more likely to go?* ### *8:47* *I think we should guard that guy than Desjardin.Is that the number one in the in the draft of last names where you got to guard that guy even if you don't know anything about them?Blodgett would be good too.Blodgett, but there's not a lot of Blodgetts.No, no, no.* ### *9:03* *There's a there's a lot of Pelletiers and they all seem to be good.Yeah, this Jardins, Yeah, I that probably won.I mean flag Alan.Alan was, you know, yeah.* ### *9:19* *You would you would guard a flag if you saw a flag on the roster, I would guess yeah, yeah, at this point, the new addition.Yeah, so we'll see.I mean, it's nice the small schools have their own division now.And so you don't get the schools that were quote UN quote relegated.* ### *9:36* *So there's no, there's no St.Dom's, there's no Wiscasset, there's no Telstar in the sponge anymore.Well, I mean, look at the, I believe three of the four, maybe St.Dom's was there by enrollment, but like a.Telstar by enrollment.Yeah, so like a Telstar in a Buckfield, they were relegated down there and they made semi.* ### *9:54* *So, you know, nothing surprises me here.This is just the old DS.Yeah.And these are just the teams that get off the boat and play Saturday morning at the Civic Center and I.* ### *10:10* *Saw someone sent me a Facebook post where Vinyl Haven is practicing at 5:30 in the morning because to get them ready for having to play morning games.Yep.I don't know that they're going to have to play those morning games at 5:30, but I guess reset your body clock in some way.* ### *10:27* *So some and most has to do with gym time and, you know, other things going on at school.But you know, our teams practice, but we start school at 8:30.So sometimes our schools, our teams practice at six.Sure, you know, so it's not 5:30, but you know, you know, if the girls need a full practice and the boys have a three-game day at home, you know they're going to practice at 6:00 in the morning and you know, as and then, you know, the freshman team will play, you know, four, 5:30 and 7:00.* ### *10:59* *So I mean, it's not too uncommon, but if they're only practicing at 5:30, you only see that because they need ice time or something like that.But right.Right.Oh yeah, Ice time, Sure.For hockey.I had someone asked me if I was going to start covering hockey and I looked at them like they had lost their mind.* ### *11:19* *Well, you only have one rink near you, so.I there's, there's that.And yeah, they're like, well, you're doing soccer.I'm like, yeah, it's a little different.Yeah, the basketball's it's a bit much on its own.Yeah, not only that, but I mean, aren't don't we do this to stay warm?* ### *11:36* *We do do this to stay warm.Yeah, So good point we were going on.Just before I forget it, we're going through like schedules this week.So we made sure we had all the PA covered.We had a couple nights that were double basketball and hockey and I'm like, give me basketball.* ### *11:52* *I was like, you don't like hockey?And it's like, I like the warmth.Plus, you know what's going on better.Much better.Well, The thing is, if you do PA for hockey, you're the official scorer.I found that out the first time I did.* ### *12:09* *I was the I ran the clock this year for a volleyball game, which is interesting because I don't know the rules this the clock and the score.And so I learned all sorts of volleyball rules.It was great time.You know it's.* ### *12:25* *One sport I'd officiate You don't have to move.Yeah, I was talking to Mike Burnham and he said that the money for officiating volleyball is pretty good, and it's one of the easier ones to officiate, especially if you're like a line judge.You just stand there.You're like in, out.Right.You know, and it's, it's pretty good there.* ### *12:42* *And they, of course, need officials.It's much easier than officiating like hockey.Yeah, something like that.I mean, all, all the varsity rates are the same now.Oh, there we go.Yeah.So it's the same, it's the same money as hockey to do volleyball and just stand there and go, yeah, that one's in.Yeah, we should get what that Hawkeye technology, technology for a.* ### *13:03* *Yeah, that's that's what we need.We can clap like in tennis.Well, they were talking about replay in soccer now, because there was that goal that bounced off a tire or something and got disallowed.I will not comment on that.* ### *13:20* *Were you doing that game?No, no, no.But I heard all that.I'm sure you did.All right.Let's move north-south.North Katahdin is your one with 35 first place votes.Jonesport Beals has six first place votes, Easton has 5, Washburn is the four, they have 5.* ### *13:41* *Wisdom has three, Shed has four, Van Buren has is the 7, Ashland is the 8, Dear Isle Stonington is the 9, and East Grand is the 10.So Katahdin was in the regional final last year.* ### *13:57* *They were the only DN semi final team that is now an S.So that's not over surprising.Jonesport Beals made the tournament last to Central rustic and then Easton is always in the tournament.I just, you know, kind of your mainstays.* ### *14:15* *It'll be interesting to see like a Washburn and was wisdom has had some success, you know, getting to a semi final.We haven't seen a lot of Washburn in the past, I mean since the Mitch Worcester days really.* ### *14:31* *It's always competitive Down East and then kind of the rest of the bunch to finish out.So again, there's no crossover between the Down East teams and the county teams.So you know those.* ### *14:49* *How many are in the county?123-4566 So they were seven.So they'll they'll they'll kind of see each other and kind of pound on each other.It'll be it'll be interesting to see like, you know how how does a Jonesport Beals who's placed mostly a downy schedule and mostly a class D schedule.* ### *15:08* *Can they get the points and the wins to get to 2?What was?It Jonesport Beals last year who someone had they had like a tie for the 8-9 for the eighth seed.No, hold up.They had.They had.They had.To have that tie.* ### *15:25* *And the winner gets to drive to Jonesport Beals on like a Tuesday.Yes.Like 4 1/2 hours each way.Yeah, it was a pure, It was a pure heel point time.And that's like 1 where you're like, if you're the parent, you're like Johnny, you know, I love you, but I kind of hope you guys lose this game.* ### *15:45* *Yeah, they did a neutral site too.I think they played for yeah.Oh, oh.For the tiebreaker.Yeah, yeah.So then you still got to go to Jonesport Beals.Like, Oh my gosh.Easy way to get there, although Old Orchard girls soccer played Madawaska in a playoff game this year, so I think they cut the distance they played in Holton to, you know, reduce the trouble.* ### *16:08* *A little better.I think that if it's over a number of miles, it should just be a neutral site automatically.Yeah.Because people are like, well, we earned that game.And like, did you, did you really earn that home game, that 8-9 home game?Yeah, so hold on, My screens went black because I didn't move anything.* ### *16:28* *We're good all.Right, Anything jump out at you here.Not really.It's it's just be interesting to see, you know, can a transport feels benefit from a primarily D schedule and take advantage of that and get the points they need to even get in the top 4 because you know, they they might play that tough schedule and they end up being, you know, 8:00 and 10:00, but they might be 8 and 10 and the five.* ### *16:54* *So we'll see all.Right.Let's move on now.And I'll just add the reminder that we did in part one that S is going to start a week early.So yeah, be warned.All right.DS Monmouth is first with 21st place votes.* ### *17:13* *Mount Abraham is second with 15.Madison has 9, Richmond is 4th, Boothbay is fifth, OOB is 6, Karabek 7, NYA 8, Telstar 9, Buckfield 10, Sears Port 12, and Wiscasset, Sears Port 11, Wiscasset 12.* ### *17:33* *And I think this is the first region we've had where everyone has a first place vote.OK.So.Startler Top Not everyone's going to get a first going to be in first place contention, but they've all got to vote.So Mount Abram and Monmouth met in the regional final.* ### *17:52* *Mount Ararat, Mount Ararat.Mount Abram did win it all.Madison made a semi last year.Wasn't that a dramatic regional final with, like, controversy?You know so.Was that the semi final that had the controversy?There was a very controversial game there in that.* ### *18:10* *Region, now Abram and Halldale.That was a 2 point game.Maybe.I don't know.Once you get to Thursday, everything blends in.It's yeah, it's all just yeah, this is where people are in the comments now going Oh my gosh, how could you not remember that?* ### *18:26* *You.Know terrible you know I don't know because I was watching see N girls yeah.I was at the Expo doing whatever was happening at the Expo at that time, right?The Expo, by the way, only has one region.Is that how they're doing it?* ### *18:45* *The Expo has B South and that's it.They're not splitting it like they used to with quarters at.It the way I read the bulletin, AS is at the hockey rink and BS is at the Expo.I have the bulletin right here.* ### *19:04* *It says Ace, SA&B Expo and Cross Insurance Arena.Oh, did they change that?So I'm wondering if they're going back to the old model with the quarters at the Expo and then they move over like they used to.* ### *19:20* *So I would assume.Oh, wait, I'm looking at state.I'm looking at state championships, SA&B.Oh yeah, they did change it for a while.It did say that it was like just be S was at the Expo, huh?All right.Oh, I haven't seen tourney schedules yet either so.Yeah, I think it is all a little bit in flux because they're trying to figure out the new the new system and the new website, which I heard some good things about the new website.* ### *19:43* *Apparently it's much easier to get things fixed.Yep.So that's what I was told and if you have any, I was also told if you have any suggestions for features that they that might be doable to let them know.They're all gone.* ### *20:03* *Oh yeah, they're working on that.They're working on the past, the archives and stuff like that.You can always go to Frank Spanky and, you know, just maybe not on your own computer.When you're, when you're.Yeah, yeah.So, but, you know, I was trying to find soccer stuff and it wasn't there.* ### *20:23* *So.Right.You know there's no Frank Spanky soccer, unfortunately.That's a shame.Well, actually Maine soccer coaches has done a lot of history projects, so I had to dig through that.Anyway, yeah, I don't really see a ton of surprises here.Monmouth won the state title two years ago.* ### *20:40* *Mount Abraham won it last year.Seemed to be in a collision course for that.Yeah, it's, I mean, this is what we would look to see as CS.It's now DS.CS with the Ted chopped off.* ### *20:58* *Right, pretty much.So I guess they maybe they're playing Saturday morning.Maybe.Augusta, so easier to make those games when you know, there's no boat.But yeah, so I mean, you'd think would be a two team race.* ### *21:17* *It does look like it's a two team race.Mount Abraham.I keep saying that Mount Abraham was so good in that state game and were they good?So they kind of took that and awkward to the woodshed there so.And people, I mean, Madison's got those nine first place votes.* ### *21:36* *So there might be something there that might be a spoiler.Right.And then you never know.It's just an area that I don't know, you know, Yeah, about my realm, you know, kind of no man's land coverage wise too, unfortunately.But.It's like a Sun Journal special.* ### *21:53* *Yeah, Mandel would know all about this, right?All right, let's move to DN Bangor Christian at 24.First place votes Madawaska with, was it Quinn Pelletier?* ### *22:13* *Yes, he's Madawaska, right?Yep.OK, he's now in the ninth grade.Correct.Yeah, Yeah.He's especially in high school.Especially in high school.All right.They're second with 23 first place votes.Machias has 12 first place votes.* ### *22:29* *Hodgdon has four.Skank is your five seed.Fort Fairfield is 6, Central OR 67, Woodland 8.Penobscot Valley 9.Stearns 10th, Lee Academy 11th.Southern or Rustic 12th.* ### *22:45* *Piscataquist 13, Penquist Valley 14 and Guag is 15th.Is that the lowest Southern heuristic has been in forever?Yeah, but then they were in that 5th tier.Now they're in 1/4 tier.So it's a little different.So they're one of the smallest, if not the smallest school Class D right now.* ### *23:03* *So, but, you know, going to the top.So look at a Bangor Christian last year, a lot back, you know, two years removed from a state title.They lost to Skank in the semi final.They were four seed last year, so that doesn't surprise me.* ### *23:21* *Maybe hedging a little bit with Madawaska.I was impressed by them last year.I can only imagine Pelletier is better than he was as an eighth grader.Machias was a two seed last year and lost in overtime to Callus in a Class C quarter.* ### *23:42* *So you know, Hodgson, that's a good team.I remember that they lost to Fort Kent last year.They've always been competitive and they'll compete with the teams up in the county.Skank has a tough schedule.Those primary, they were Class D school, but they're playing primary C schedule.* ### *24:02* *Most of those schools on their schedule are kind of in this division now.So in Fort favorite, similar to Hodgson, you know, there was competitive coming out of the of the county.So no, no major surprises here.* ### *24:19* *You know, no one's going to see Madawaska other than Hodgdon and Fort and and Central.So centralistic.Also last year, I want to say they were might have been 10 and eight or something like that, but there were three seed, right, might have had them in our Cinderella.* ### *24:40* *That sounds right.That was so long.Yeah, Griffin Durrett's coaching them, I think still.Is he?So, but yeah, so it's like those counties, there's not a lot of crossover.So Madwa, the Madwas, the Hodgkins, the Fords, Central Rustic, they're all going to play amongst themselves and then probably fill out with some of the best teams in that kind of a rustic league schedule.* ### *25:09* *So Madwasca still might be a mystery to us once we get to.They'll be a big league pass team because people want to see Pelletier.Right.So yeah.I think my nephew said he guarded Pelletier in a summer thing and it didn't go well.* ### *25:31* *I can imagine that would be the case.He was not psyched about the experience if I remember correctly.Side note, because I have to go up to the county for work, I want to say the second week of the season and it's like I go up on a Monday, I teach a class on a Tuesday and I'm just like, there has to be a game, there has to.* ### *25:53* *Be a good game.Yeah, so I'm looking through.It's a Monday, so it's the first Monday of the season and there is one double header up there.So I'm going to go to Hodgkin at Washburn for a pair.This is how I can.This is how the stacks index was created for situations like this.* ### *26:12* *So I've always thought it would be great content for you to do a county trip I.Want to do a county trip?I have my brother and I have talked about it.Yeah.Because he has a hunting camp up there that he's winterizing.So like in what town is it in?* ### *26:33* *It's I think it's in Dyer Brook or Island or Island Falls.I think it's an island.It's even one of the two, yeah, 'cause that's where our nor other hunting, our other hunting camp is in Dyer Brook and I don't know if his that's winterized and you can actually get to in the winter 'cause it's not like, you know, you don't have to hike to it.* ### *26:55* *Right.It's the one, if you saw my film Up Country, it's in it for like a minute.That hunting Camp, which is on Toby.You should watch it on Toby or don't watch it.Just play it on Toby and then go to work and then because let the ads run, just let all the ads play.* ### *27:13* *It's great.That's what any independent filmmaker wants from you is for you to watch their movie on an ad supported service.So it it bumps all those numbers up.Right.It's perfect.And it's not a free plug because it's your show.* ### *27:29* *Yeah, exactly.It's just a shameless plug.Just a shameless plug.Yeah, I definitely want to do a county trip and.Go let's get to see because I might have some ideas.OK.All right, we'll get to see.Yeah, we'll go to the South again.* ### *27:46* *South.It's Bruce Mountain, Scott, Bessie and crew.Kai Dauer, I think.Is that that his name?Kai.Yeah.Kai Dauer.I think he's a dark horse.Mr. Basketball.Maybe finalist.* ### *28:05* *He's very good.I think he's a senior this year.So they have 22 first place votes.Miranda Cook has 9, Halldale has 5, Mountain View has four.They're back in the South as we mentioned in the girls saying Winslow has 5, Deer Ago is in 6th.* ### *28:21* *Then Wayne Fleet Wells Winthrop is the 9, Mountain Valley the 10, Oak Hill the 11th, Trape is the 12, Sackabee Valley is the 13, and Lisbon is 14th.So initial, you know, thing here is this is a mishmash of teams that yet maybe last year when all different regions, but you put them all together now like that makes sense, yeah.* ### *28:48* *It's a fun little region.Yeah, so Spruce, the favorite here, I mean, they lost to York, an undefeated York team in the semi final.But they do also lose Jace Bessie.Yeah, that's true.Miranda Cook was in BN last year, lost in a prelim to Winslow so they didn't make it to Bangor.* ### *29:12* *And then two years ago I think they wanted to say they were the two seed and got upset.I think they got upset by MDI.Yeah.Halldale C last year made a semi, lost by two to Mount Abraham who won a state title.* ### *29:27* *Mount View.Had that really fun, that really fun run and BNBN is probably not sad to see them go.Or CN.Sorry, CN.Yes, because they were.They were a nine seed last year, went up to Fort Fairfield, beat them by 20 and then took Matt and Alka pretty much down to the wire and lost by 5 in the quarter the year.* ### *29:49* *Before that one, the region is the 7.Yeah, so.Which was the easiest Cinderella call ever?Oh yeah, With that schedule, yeah, yeah, they play a lot of the same schedule this year, probably in Winslow.* ### *30:04* *Kind of kind of a mix of, you know, some KVAC team, some Mountain Valley Conference team.So, but a competitive schedule nonetheless.Weird to see Winslow in this division.Winslow is going to go to Augusta, but that's probably good for them.* ### *30:19* *Finally, Diego's always competitive.They lost in 1/4 to the same Mount Abraham team that won a state title.Wayne Fleet's been down, but you know, I don't know.* ### *30:35* *Rich Henry's not there anymore, but you know, 10 years ago, they're in.You would think they wouldn't be down for long.No, Wells isn't C now.They were in B last year.That makes the tournament.I don't.Think they did there?OK, we're to see like a win through up in a nine spot, but they kind of had a rock fight against Monmouth in the quarter.* ### *31:00* *What 3229?Yikes.And then Mountain Valley.So you have a lot about NBC schools in this bunch.I don't know how much crossover there is outside of the league, but at least they can keep a lot of the points within the league there.* ### *31:20* *I think the schools like a trape in a soccer P and a Wayne Fleet coming out of the Western Union Conference kind of at a disadvantage there was because they're playing a more of AB schedule.Yeah, they might not get the wins to get in.* ### *31:36* *But then they might be harder in the tournament.Right.So I mean, it's a six one, half a dozen the other, but.It'll be interesting and it's it'll be interesting with all the struggles that Spruce has had in the tournament that they finally broke through last year and won in the quarters and now they're in C where they should have been the whole time.* ### *31:54* *And I I just wonder if they go scorched earth on everybody.So when they they merged what what, 15 years ago they would have been B to start.That sounds right.And then when they went to five classes, they were in B So I think this is the first time they're actually going to Augusta, which is a little different.* ### *32:13* *Really.Oh, as Spruce Mountain, you're saying?As spruce so.I know as Jay they would.They played in Augusta.Or Livermore, yeah.Yeah.Yeah.So yeah, CS's always fun, always draws well too.* ### *32:32* *Yeah, C games when I was there, the past couple times I've gone to the C state finals and they're all just.They're all just kind of around Augusta.None of those drives seem like all that.No.Who has the worst Dr. Trape up the Turnpike, I mean.* ### *32:49* *Yeah.Maybe a soccer P 'cause you have to go through the woods, but you know, everyone has a, you know, I, I can only imagine like a, a Winslow Miranda cook game at the Augusta Civic Center that, that that's not going to draw poorly.No, no, that'll be that'd be a an entertaining matchup.* ### *33:08* *I'm I'm guessing there'll be a lot of soups, salads and such sold at that.Fingers and fries.Fingers and 10 bucks.Yeah, we moving on.Sure.* ### *33:23* *All right.See, N there's Caribou.You're defending Class B champions with 36 first place votes, Matt Nachook as 18 first place votes and Fort Kent has nine.They lost their best player.* ### *33:40* *Jeffers, I think his name is, is I'm so bad at names, but he went prep.Orno is the four seed at with six first place votes, then Foxcroft with one.Dexter has two there than six.Callus is the 7.Washington Academy 8.Holt the 9.* ### *33:56* *Bucksport 10, GSA 11, MCI 12, and then Central and Sumner.So we mentioned this in the girls half of this carrot.Yes, Caribou won the state championship.Yes, they're down to C or but where they probably they're going to go from being one of the smaller B schools to one of the bigger C schools.* ### *34:16* *So I.Want to how it all broke one day?Jeffords is still at Fort Kent.You're thinking the kid who transferred from Central or Rustic.Oh OK, I'm thinking Yep, I'm thinking the wrong kid going to get so many emails.But yeah, and then Aiden Jeffers took the MVP in that the.* ### *34:37* *Yeah, OK.Yeah, I did see that.Showcase weekend, he's quite good, so they'll be decent.I want to say I'm going to try to pull up Caribou's schedule first before I get man.I'm not cook.How much did Caribou lose is my question, because I we know the girls lost Duprey.* ### *34:57* *OK, so Steve Carmichael, don't yell at me.Yeah, so Robbins graduated and who was the a couple?But they sort of like, you know, Owen Corrigan is still there.* ### *35:17* *OK, there's enough there.And I mean, they they reload.I want to say they had over 40 kids trying out for basketball for two teams at the end of.So I don't know where I heard that or.It's weird how you get those numbers when you win state championships.* ### *35:34* *It's weird how more.Kids want to play AYBL has been, you know, extremely strong across the county.You know, you have to remember.So they're playing middle school basketball end of October through Christmas and then they go to travel.So travel in middle school doesn't crossover up there.* ### *35:51* *So they're playing six months basketball almost the.Way the Lord intended.Yeah, which is among it's like, wow, you know, county, County loves her basketball.Well, they're playing a ton of basketball.But they also does a lot of.Basketball, you know, Hey, let's stay warm, you know?* ### *36:11* *And boy, do they travel for the first State Games in Portland.I wanted to go to that, I really did.We had the games in Bangor that were covering for radio.It was a lot of fun.Yeah.They were yelling at me.There were Caribou fans yelling at me for calling them out for drinking before the game, but they weren't actually mad at me.* ### *36:35* *They were just yelling and making sure I could hear them.They're nice.They're nice.Yeah.I love so.So let me so on this segue.OK?OK.January 3rd, Matanakuk goes to Caribou.* ### *36:53* *Oh, varsity doubleheader.Oh.Yeah.That's that's what day of the week is that.That's a Saturday.Oh, Matt not cook terrible varsity doubleheader.So my with my job.* ### *37:11* *Yep.We work 4 nines.We work, so Monday through Thursday we work 8:00 to 5:00, which is why I'm drinking an energy drink here because today was also the day we print the paper.And so Wednesdays are brutal.And then Friday we work until noon.* ### *37:28* *So which has been super helpful getting to football games, right.So if I were to do a road trip up north I could leave it like 1215 or?Catch.A and catch a Friday game somewhere, you know, or catch a get all the way up there and catch a Friday game in the county.* ### *37:49* *Right.In theory, that's how the the schedule works out quite well for that.Right.It's a lot of good games.Well, so it's like, yeah, same goes.So Matt and AW Cook, they're doing Fort Kent on Friday.* ### *38:06* *OK, Care, go on Saturday.That's.Interesting.So they're going to back-to-back.Interesting.But I was looking at it because I'm just like, well, I like to go in the county, really just go up for a day or something like that.* ### *38:23* *And I can't make it up when our teams go up there.So I'm like, oh man, and I'll cook.Man, trying to, yeah, try to find the good, the good game, right?And I've never been to Caribou's gym.Yeah, while I was trying to figure out, it's like, I like a day where, you know, a bunch of teams are home.I can do like because they usually go 3:00 and 4:30 on a Saturday and Presque Isle has Herman the same day.* ### *38:43* *And those are good games, too, but they're at the same time.And it's like, can somebody fix this?Did someone go to 1?Yeah, and it's like, so now if Herman, if Herman and Prescott want to move up and Caribou wants to go back, OK, I'm just saying I would go.* ### *39:00* *I'd convinced you to go.And then you know the amount of digital content, you can do a live podcast with Stevie.Oh, I like that idea.Yeah, so, but I'm going to.Be on this podcast pretty soon.Yeah, he's on the same.* ### *39:15* *So, yeah.So to get to this, the top three does not surprise me at all.I think Orno is a sleeper at 4:00, yes.Well, Francis is gone, OK, But you have, you know, Brady Hughes is still there at Bergen Soderbergh, OK Matt Allen, OK Lot of get good pieces, extremely well coached with that.* ### *39:39* *Catala, they're still going to be there, OK FA came on towards the end of the season, OK last year, you know they upset porno at home to kind of make the field OK lost the Old Town in the prelim, but still they were up and coming.* ### *39:58* *The interesting thing is last year they had the late start because a lot of them played football, right?You know they weren't they're not in the state final this year.So do they, are they in basketball shape quicker?I would think so.Dexter, I believe, was a They were tournament team last year in the Old Sea.* ### *40:19* *They lost to Madawaska by two actually.That was a great game.Was that the 40 point game?No, that was the regional final.The one they lost, they lost the 40 points isn't.Lost.Yeah, he scored 40 points in an 8171 loss.I.* ### *40:34* *Remember when word word of that hit Portland, everyone went, I'm sorry, what happened?Yeah, 8171, yeah, yeah, Callus made a semi last year.You know, it's it's still callous.* ### *40:50* *You know, again, basketball community WA, you know where it was B last year, but it was like I think they went 7 and 11 and finished last just because it was seems like B was nothing.They had no heel points.Yeah.Did I tell you the field hockey story I heard about heel points from Paula Roberts when she was the Lincoln Academy field hockey coach?* ### *41:12* *They went 11-1 and two infield hockey, and this is like in the 90s when there was no Internet, missed the playoffs at 11-1 and two and she had to call the team and tell them all that they missed the playoffs.* ### *41:29* *Wow, wow.That's that's a fun conversation.Yep.So the the benefit here, I believe you have these top four teams all that play each other.I I don't know if maybe or no.* ### *41:46* *Let me check on.Or no, might not play the ball twice.They like to play.If they play, they play twice.That's kind of how they.That's their thing.But I'm not sure or no place for Kent, maybe not Caribou does, Matanaka does Caribou does play the other of those top 4.* ### *42:09* *So Matanaka and Caribou, they do meet once right before Christmas too.I was looking at them just like can I see Caribou play?Like I want to see those games.Unfortunately we're we're home that day too.So you can't really make it work, but.* ### *42:27* *Yeah, so you have to go to the home games.I can skip, I can go to, whatever.Yeah, Yeah, you when you do you're yeah, I know well, but our home schedule so front loaded 11 to the 18 or December, so 7 in January, nothing in February.* ### *42:46* *Wow, that's a weird schedule.Yeah, December's busy yeah.So kind of the collision course.I really want to see how Mattathal Cook does on a back-to-back so and again, I mean those girls games will be good too.* ### *43:06* *So maybe you can just fall.You'd be the you know, Matanaka could not work for a second and.Their beat reporter.Guys in Lincoln up there, you know, would love it.They would, they would, they would.All right.Let's go where we go now.* ### *43:22* *Be S be South.Boom.Rigged, rigged, stolen election.So TJ Mains told me he thought they were the the madomic was the favorites.And I, I was like really?Because you know, Gabe Lash is a lot to lose and Rocco Depassi has a lot to lose and Christian Schulman.* ### *43:44* *But Madomic is the one here. 23 first place votes.York is 2 with four first place votes and Oceansides 3.Greeley is fourth with six votes.Yarmouth, GNG Lincoln Academy is 7th.Levitt is 8th, Cape Elizabeth is 9th.* ### *44:01* *Already I have notes.Lake Region is 10th, Freeport is Poland is 11th, Freeport is 12th, Morse is 13th, Freiburg is 14th and Marshwood is 15th.Yep, I have thoughts.See, I'm I saw three quarters of that madomic York game before I had to head to Augusta.* ### *44:25* *So.What did some context for the madomic York game?York did have the MVP of the weekend tournament Reese McDonald.So I do not doubt they're the the two here or our top three team.At least the the story, and I'm not saying this.* ### *44:44* *We always say that sometimes the most important thing to have in the tournament is your health.I saw I ran into Nick Depatzi at Hannaford like 3 days after that regional final and he sounded like death and more so than he normally does because just from yelling, you know, and he said, and he said yeah, the whole team's been sick.* ### *45:09* *Like the flu has just been ricocheting around the locker room all tourney week, which explains a lot.So there's that.They still should have won that game, but sometimes the most important thing is to have your team get sick during prelim week.* ### *45:26* *They made it interesting in the fourth quarter after I'd left.I mean, they were right there.Yeah.So they could have, they could have won that game.So Jay left.He's my favorite.So it's his fault, OK?Yeah, exactly.* ### *45:42* *So they do have Mason Nguyen still.And when I talked to Matt Regan, the York coach, after the regional final, he said our game plan wasn't to shut down Lash, it was to shut down when because he thought they thought he was the head of the snake.And that makes a lot of sense.* ### *45:59* *You could make an argument that he's going to, he'll probably be a Mr. Basketball final semi finalist and he's quite good.And they've got, it's madomic.They're just reloading every year.They have Connor Kingsbury from Oceanside that they got in the portal and they have Kid Malachi from Camden who didn't play last year.* ### *46:20* *And then they've got Owen Dosti and a Donlin and their usual collection of pieces.They have a star kid again, you know, so they'll I, you know, looking at this, I'm not surprised.I would Greeley is interesting.* ### *46:39* *Yarmouth is interesting.G&G that Pat Nude would have graduated, right?Was he?He was a senior.Yeah.Yeah, Lincoln Academy.I know we can't bet on these things officially, but if you I would take Lincoln Academy to finish below Levitt or a large amount of money and this is going to get me in a lot of trouble at Hannaford around here.* ### *47:13* *So the Lincoln Academy thing, Mick LaBelle and I were talking about this the other day.They return 47 points from last year, not a game total, 47 total points, which I the last time I can remember something like that was when Lake Region had 12 seniors on their team and the next year just completely bottomed out because jeez.* ### *47:43* *And you know, the argument then is, well, they're they're JV team went undefeated, but still like that's a lot of varsity minutes out the door.You might say all of the varsity minutes out the door.Right.And then Levitt, you know it's going to take him a month, you know?* ### *48:00* *Right, but Levitt is.I was talking to Hathaway about them and they have I think the entire starting lineup back.OK.So then they were pretty young last year and and feisty so.Right.* ### *48:16* *They should be fine, but yeah, it might take them a minute to get into basketball shape.Well, Hathaway too.Hathaway too, so yeah.A little busy this week too.He's he's a little busy.Same thing with great and I don't know how many, you know, football players Greeley has, but.* ### *48:31* *Yep, Boy, that football team is good.That's that Class C game is going to be awesome.Yeah.And by the time this comes out, it might be over.It's yeah, I don't remember.By the time people hear this, that game's going to be over and we'll we'll know.Well, I hope you all enjoyed it.* ### *48:50* *I hope both teams had fun.I hear it was a great game.Yeah, it's great.Awesome.I wonder here if I wonder here if Oceanside's a little high, if they're, if they're up there on reputation.Yeah, I mean, what are people stuffing the ballot box and stuff, I mean.* ### *49:08* *It could be.I did see one ballot that just said Oceanside 1, Madomic 2 and nothing else.OK, that was what it was like the first one that came in.OK.Oh, we'll see.I mean.When I was like, that's going to go well.But 23 of the whatever it is votes, I mean, that's seem to be a consensus there.* ### *49:31* *Yeah, I mean, Oceanside, the only reason I don't, I mean not to denigrate on them is that they didn't do well in the Kony League this summer and.Yeah.They lost Jackson K to Kony.They lost 2 I think, I think they were both starters, Kingsbury and Madomic and Jackson K to Coney this year.* ### *49:47* *So that's that's some talent out the door.They lost.What's the kid that went to Belfast?Was it another Ripley?It was a Ripley, Yeah, Trevin Trevin Ripley went to Belfast, So.And the galleys aren't there, although they have another galley kid.* ### *50:05* *And you're not going to believe this, but he can shoot.I am shocked.Right.Yeah.Yeah.You have any thoughts on this?You know, it's it's in the Patsy.* ### *50:22* *We trust that that seemed to you know, I I liked what I saw out of madomic in that regional final, knowing that they were sick.I mean, not to take anything away from a York team that, you know, did play.I mean, Caribou kind of beat him in the state game.But you know, you don't, you don't get, you don't go 20 and O to start and you know for nothing.* ### *50:44* *But they've always reloaded, you know?They were very good.I agree with the number is on the Patsy, but it's he has not won fewer than 10 games since he got some atomic.Wow.Including the COVID year when they only played 12 games.Yeah, wow.* ### *51:04* *Crazy.Yeah, I am curious really.I think Ippolito is has graduated.I think gonna definitely hear about it because I.Looked at them, I remember because we were talking about because they were three seed last year.* ### *51:19* *We're like, we're look, when we're doing Cinderellas and we're kind of dug in a little bit and we're like, yeah, maybe they were a little overvalued, but a S was kind of weird last year.A S was weird last year.Yeah, outside of Falmouth, so and.* ### *51:35* *And Yarmouth is always feisty.But I think Yarmouth lost their point guard, who I really liked.I think he graduated.OK.So it's a great.Amount of research we've done for this.I know it's phenomenal.At least I know what the 15 teams are now.* ### *51:54* *There you go.You know, Yeah.But what's weird is people love this stuff.They're like, oh, this is great.They mentioned our team.Yeah, this is amazing.And it's our fault.Yeah, so.All right, let's move on.I will point out last thing on the Dominic Valley, I still the Cape game has seared into my brain.* ### *52:14* *It will never leave it's.Been 10 years.It's they haven't won the state champion A state championship in basketball since 1980 which is insane.And when their softball team won in the spring, it was their first team state championship in like 30 something years for the whole school other than like, you know, an individual cross country or cheerleading or something like that, like a tournament title.* ### *52:47* *Yeah.All right, so let's move on to BN Parker, Morin and Coney is the one at with 41 first place vote.Then Ellsworth is second, Herman third, Gardner 4th.They're supposed to be really good this year.They might be a little low on this.* ### *53:04* *MDI 5th, Lawrence 6th, Presque Isle 7th, Belfast 8th, Old Town 9th, Nokomis 10th, John Baps 11th, Erskine 12th and Waterville 13th, but with the first place.Votes so let's let's talk Coney OK Park company.* ### *53:25* *I I think of all what we've looked at you know, cross, you know, boys, girls each region.I think this is the one that I can definitely say yes, they are the favorite.Yeah, you know it.It'll be interesting to see how they get there coming off of football.* ### *53:44* *If it is a slow start, they don't have what you would consider to be the best schedule.But they might have the best freshman.Yeah.And I've heard from a number of people that this is the best freshman class, boys and girls, in the history of the state.* ### *54:05* *OK, a couple of different.People have told me that wow.So that alone is something to look forward to.Yeah, let me just pull up Connie's schedule, see if the whole thing's there now.Is it?OK, So yeah, I.* ### *54:29* *Mean if you look at the vote breakdown here, it's Tony is pretty clearly the one, and then it looks like Ellsworth, Hermann, Gardner pretty evenly split the 2nd place votes.Yeah.So Ellsworth was a two last year.They lost to Old Town in the quarter.Herman, what did Herman do last year?* ### *54:46* *They lost to Orno in their quarterfinal.Gardner gave every Hamden everything they could handle last year in you know that a N quarter.Mike Mandel thinks this is the best Gardner team since they went to a regional final.* ### *55:03* *Like jeez what year was that O 4 something like.That when did they when did they play Yarmouth in the state game?Well, is that the auditorium?I don't remember, but he said he thinks it's their best team in a very long time.* ### *55:24* *You know, MDI with James Wytham and company, there were four seed last year.There were semi final team last year.I don't know a ton about Lawrence.They didn't make the tournament last year in a the team that I think is the best in the Big East and is my sleeper.* ### *55:41* *I think Presque Isle's grotesquely underrated here.They had a great summer, OK, They graduate one player, OK.OK.And they have one of the best coaches in the state.* ### *55:58* *So I really like, yes.OK, Dylan.'S Dylan's our coach now, right?Dylan's there, yeah.Yeah, so.And I get to see them, you know, first Saturday like OT.But you know, you look at a team that I thought was much better than their record last year.* ### *56:15* *They won 11 seed, lost to Herman in a prelim.But you know I.Yeah, you have that core staying together.And yeah, we talked about summer.Summer doesn't really really mean anything, but you know.* ### *56:34* *But it does.I mean, they're, I think they won, you know, a couple different tournaments, you know, the Lincoln tournament, that area.We had a bunch of teams in the area who played in that from across the state.Honestly, Caribou was there too and MA So I, I, I see that.* ### *56:54* *I think Presque Isle is a top four team, probably a top two team out of the Big East.Definitely Belfast.What do they do?They may yeah, They they wanted to hold and beat them.They they did make it to Bangor last year.* ### *57:12* *Old Town is small because by there's nobody.Or no.Yep, parody graduated priest isn't playing basketball after Tommy John last summer, so you lose a lot of length there.So they're going to be really small.New coach and Mark Melvin, we'll see what he does with them.* ### *57:32* *But, you know, they really don't have one any taller than 6 foot 61.So yeah, but that could be rough, you know?Yeah.Could Clawson is, you know, both the grasses are coming that you know, same height, you know, but good guard play will be interesting to see.* ### *57:53* *You know, can their secondary scoring become their primary scoring and how, you know, defensively, it's like, you know, are you going to try to get up and down the floor?I mean, you got to be able to shoot the basketball to do that, or you're going to kind of ground and pound, make it a rock fight and have make it absolutely disgusting, you know, and be painful that way and be pestery.* ### *58:14* *So it'll be interesting to see there Baps, of course, will shoot threes to until the day is done and then they'll shoot more threes.Crack of dawn and then there is going to yeah, the bottom of the KVAC is weak and has been.* ### *58:34* *So you know, I I kind of you look at this, you might have you know, I I I doubt Prescott finishes 7th.I think they're a top four team.They would.Be that was my question for you.Yeah, I think they, I think they're top four and I, I think when we get to February, they would still be my Cinderella.* ### *58:55* *Interesting.Just because, I mean, because I mean Kingswood has proved that two different places, you know, give me a low seed, you know, just give me the Bangor and you know, you know, we'll go deep.You know, he didn't, you know, took Presque Isle, you know, out of a seventh spot to a semi once, if not twice, you know, did it with Easton these boys, you know, 10 years ago.* ### *59:20* *And then the central rustic girls out of 16 won a state title.So but you know, I mentioned to see I I think, you know, definitely Coney Gardner, probably your top 2 and he'll be used to see how a Herman who has a ton of size and brings mostly everybody back from last year, but they they at times struggled to score the basketball too.* ### *59:43* *That was a little bit of a mystery.Yes, they they were a two seed.There are some pieces that I just can't I couldn't remember who was a junior and who was a senior last year.So right, But you know, but Ellsworth has the you know, the benefit of, you know, can you beat get a Brewer one set of two times and steal those points?* ### *1:00:04* *You know, Presque Isle is the benefit of having Caribou and Fort Kent.Who's worth?Point so again, you know there's not a ton of crossover between the Big East and the KBAC, so really you're the crossovers you do have you know you're going to have to be reliant on with your help points so.* ### *1:00:21* *I think that was Coney Gardner.Regular season games will be a lot of fun.Yeah, yeah, one of those.'Cause they don't like each other very much.No, I have here at least I don't know in the first one because I'm just filtering by home team right now, but I have Gardner, Coney on the 23rd of January and then the girls.* ### *1:00:48* *The girls are there, says the 27th, but I'm guessing that's.I wonder if one of those is at the Civics.I wouldn't give up a Gardner game to go to the Civic Center, but we'll see.* ### *1:01:04* *Yeah.So those are probably the 2 monster matchups in the KBAC.And I want to say both teams play Madonic at Madonic and Oceanside maybe?I think so, yeah, I think so.That might be in different regions, but there's a lot of points if they can swing points one side of the line to the other.* ### *1:01:23* *If you're in the Big East, you're kind of rooting for Oceanside Madonic on that regard, but.Yeah, you would be, unless Tony's so far out in front that you're going for the year every place, playing for second place.Yeah, so I see.What?* ### *1:01:38* *So Tony also has Camden once.Oh, those will.Be good.Yeah, Once you know, Erskine wants Gardner twice.When does Tony play Camden I.Think it's the 18th of December.Oh.Yeah.* ### *1:01:54* *That's wonderful.That's a that's a game of the day.Yeah, Coney has Herman, so there's probably points there.Lawrence twice, Levitt twice.Coney actually still plays Miranda Cook.* ### *1:02:13* *So kind of a mixed bag schedule for them, but they have the luxury of being in the middle of everybody so right, and being worth something.So it's it's not hard to justify it.Get games, yeah.So and then they get to go to Bangor for their tournament game.Yeah, that's the one thing I'm dreading, you know, if, if it ends up being like a Coney Gardner final, you know, and they can't figure out flex schedule and, you know, won't exactly draw well, I'm sure.* ### *1:02:39* *TJ Mains won't try to influence that at all and get that flex to Augusta.Absolutely not.No, no, no, no.But yeah, we'll see what happens.It's intriguing.Kony hasn't been to Bangor in 20 years, so wow.* ### *1:02:55* *Warrants well since the A's move.Yeah, so.That makes sense, but.We'll see.All right, moving on.A S Wyndham, your two time defending champions are the one with 23 first place votes in South Portland Chevres Portland Thornton Academy, Scarborough at 6, Deering at 7, Bonnie Eagle at 8:00, Falmouth at 9.* ### *1:03:22* *Geez.Stanford at 10, Gorham at 11, Noble at 12, Biddeford at 13, Kennebunk at 14, Westbrook at 15 and Massabesic at 16.The only thing I feel confident about here is Massabesic at 16.* ### *1:03:41* *Yeah, and Wyndham.One, probably.So I have last year's brackets in front of me and I'm counting 123 4/5, 678 semi final teams in this bracket.* ### *1:04:03* *Wow.Yeah, from last year.Can I take the over on Falmouth?I would just like to take the over on I I know Davis Mann has graduated.I don't know who else they have.I don't care.I would like to take the over on a Dave Halligan team as the nine seed.* ### *1:04:22* *Yeah, yeah.Remind me this Wyndham, they were junior laden last year.So this, that's not that much of a surprise.Yep.So they have two of the front runners for or two of the contenders for Mr. Basketball, and they've got some youth.* ### *1:04:43* *You're right.South Portland they beat in the state final, Yeah.Wyndham did lose Crady Dixon.Right Chevres was the one seed last year they had that long layoff.And then Leo.* ### *1:04:58* *And.They had Leo McNabb, who's graduated, yeah.Yeah, so Portland, you know Russo.Yeah.And I think they still have the gauge.But they're.Big.I think they're big.* ### *1:05:14* *Graduated, whose name I never could pronounce correctly.Yeah, TA sitting there in fifth, they were in another one seed who had a long layoff and then get knocked because they didn't play in two weeks.You know Scarborough.* ### *1:05:34* *Yeah, I mean, this is just old Class A down there.So.Bonnie.Eagle had a really nice tourney run.Out of a four spot yeah, yeah.So I mean even Gorham brutal.No.* ### *1:05:49* *So I mean 16, so 11 make it you kind of see that natural gap in the voting between Gorham and Noble maybe you know, obviously Jimmy Rose is gone, but.And Goodyard.Right, but SO 2000.Point scores and and the coach.* ### *1:06:09* *Right, John.Morgan is at Sanford.Yeah.So that's a lot.That's so that's always the question I have when a team comes out of comes out of the basement and rises to prominence because they've got a good class.* ### *1:06:26* *And this is a a perfect test case for this Lincoln Academy is another test case for this this year of when the good class or two classes in Lincoln Academy's case graduates.What then?Did you actually rebuild your program or did you just have Mr. Basketball and a really good coach who is now at Sanford?* ### *1:06:47* *So then, then the question with Lincoln is they just lost everybody and the coach is still there, but they lost everybody and how?And you know, they'll both say, Oh yeah, we the youth program is rebuilt and this is the year we're going to find out if it is.There's obviously they're obviously not be the one.* ### *1:07:05* *There's be some regression, but it's the difference of are they 3 and 15 or are they 8 and 10.Well, in.In the down year.Had they been in AA by enrollment and they weren't relegated, where would they have been?* ### *1:07:21* *They probably would have been top three I think.I mean, it was Jamere Rose.Like you saw him.It was appointment viewing.I did try to talk the MPA into turning Falmouth Noble into A7 game series last year.I was like, look, you could fund lacrosse for like 5 years with the tickets from this.* ### *1:07:42* *Yeah.And I think I, you know, it would have, it would have been great.So then let's let's talk Falmouth bring.Me Falmouth had a game series against Meselonski going overtime, so you know there you go downtown of course, and get that way.Falmouth brings me to my favorite one of my favorite questions.* ### *1:08:01* *Why are we still doing Mr. Basketball like this?Because we quite clearly missed on one of the finalists and he wasn't even a semi finalist.Because the way the system is is done with Davis Mann and one of the great tournament performances ever.* ### *1:08:19* *You know, on the short list.Now Fitzy waits two months.They do wait two months.I don't, I don't know why.I don't know I but do they wait till after the season's done Fitzy to type Yeah to get all or?* ### *1:08:35* *Mr. Basketball I I don't know why it takes them so long and I don't know why we do Mr. Basketball so early.Yeah.'Cause the way it works is that the coaches nominate players they make, I think they put, they do a list of 10 and then that's where you get your semi finalists and then the panel gets it down.* ### *1:08:56* *Take does the rest of it goes the rest of the way, right.And so you've got two different groups voting.And I don't know if I'm sure it's a archive, you know, from the olden times when they had to mail in their things.But it seems to me that this could be done digitally in the prelim week that voting, if you want to do it when you do it, you could do it the voting in the prelim week and then, you know, the decision of who the finalists and who wins.* ### *1:09:27* *I mean that seems like that could be a Zoom call.Right.Like after the gold ball game, I.Don't know.Because there's really no argument that, I mean, Jamir Rose was the right call, but obviously Davis Mann should have been one of the finalists, right?* ### *1:09:45* *Undoubtedly.And then they, you know, the year before, it should have been Pierce Wallston who winning the whole thing and he wasn't a finalist.Yeah, well, I mean, as far as I can remember, it's always like, OK, here are the blah, blah, blah, and then, you know, here are the semi finalists when they always announce that, what, Wednesday.* ### *1:10:04* *They announce it during tourney week.Yeah, Wednesday usually have the press conferences, any three sites or something like that.But I don't know.I mean, it's not, it's not like we need the time to vote nowadays, right?* ### *1:10:22* *I mean, but at the same time, it's like, well, if we did it that way, is it just recency bias?Like how much does that play in effect?But you know, there's.Going to be recency bias anyway.Right.But also the the tourney, the tourney performances are are a little more important than scoring 30 on December 10th.* ### *1:10:45* *Yeah, I agree, you know.How do you feel about Wyndham's chances of going of three peating?And when was the last time someone repeated at the highest level at the highest class?* ### *1:11:01* *Was it Morse?Morse did like in the 90s.Yeah.Wow, would that have been the last one.This is.We need Michael Hoffer to get on this.Wasn't a AA.No, it wasn't a AA.* ### *1:11:19* *No, A going back, it might have been sometimes when Bangor might have won three out of four, but I don't think they ever had won three in a row.That's crazy.* ### *1:11:35* *I.Think it was more.I think it was Morse in the 80s.Eighty, 78889.Didn't they do it in the 90s?They won 6 total.Yeah, that would have been 878889\. 89 because 90 was Lawrence 91.* ### *1:11:53* *And Lawrence, the Lawrence girls, of course, did it.But.Right.But I think you're right on that boys side.I think I think it was Morse.Yeah, because they've won 6 and they won three straight in the 60s when my uncle was on the team, and then they won three straight in like the late 80s, early 90s somewhere in there.* ### *1:12:12* *Yeah, Tom.So.Yeah, so they could do it.I think it's not impossible.They're, I mean, they didn't lose it.I mean, Crazy Dixon is very good, but they didn't lose a ton out of that team.They've got a great coaching staff.* ### *1:12:28* *They certainly have championship pedigree.Right, which is crazy because they had no history up until like 5-6 years ago.Right.It was their first one.I think the the first one was their first one.Well, I think I want to say like one year, it was definitely pre COVID, but they want to say the upset Portland and a semi OK, and I want to say it was their first regional final appearance.* ### *1:12:53* *Wow.So but.Yeah.And I think.Yeah.I mean, yeah, it just, it just beats volumes of how hard it is to do with the larger levels, right, You know, but there might be someone on the other side of the bracket to.* ### *1:13:11* *Let's go to the other side of the bracket.Hey, look, it's Camden Hills.Camden Hills is your one.They have the front runner, the consensus front runner for Mr. Basketball and Nolan Ames.Definitely go see Nolan Ames play this year if you can.* ### *1:13:28* *They have 35 first place votes.Edward Little is second.They have a new JV bat, JV coach in Adam Robinson.They've got that's probably 10 of the 12 first place votes right there.Brewer with Ollie Higgins is third.They have 10 first place votes.* ### *1:13:44* *Then Hampden is 4th, Lewiston 5th, Bangor 6th, Brunswick 7th, Meselonski 8, Oxford Hills 9, Mount Blue 10, Mount Ararat 11 and Scal Vegas is 12th.So I mean it starts with Nolan Ames.* ### *1:14:04* *The what was it semi against Meselonski last year?Is that right?He went off the.Tournament game, Yeah, the two point game in the semi so and he had what, 4035 something ridiculous.* ### *1:14:23* *Something ridiculous.He had a couple of ridiculous tournament games.Yeah, So that doesn't surprise me.Edward Little kind of comes in under the radar.I remember they were they upset Shebras in the semi last year.* ### *1:14:40* *So you know, they were a four seed in AA.That's the.Adam Robinson Pump.Yeah, hey, it was a JV coach for state title last year.I mean, hey, just, you know.Just saying.* ### *1:14:55* *Championship.Brewer lost a lot in that class, but they still have Ollie Higgins.Right.So yeah, Hamden will be not as good.* ### *1:15:17* *They still have, you know, the Worcester kid and a couple of the players that I'm just, you know, I'm just not remembering right off the top of my head so.Weirdly 2 1/2 hours in and we're forgetting things.This is crazy.Yeah, amazing.* ### *1:15:35* *Lewiston.What did they do last year?They were five seed in AA.Bangor has a new coach and Jay Combo coming in over from the girls side.Interesting one set 1 and 17 last year.* ### *1:15:54* *But you know, do they benefit of being in this new A, you know, so we'll see what they do.Don't know really much anything about Brunswick.Meselonski had a ton.They graduated a ton.I mean, that was their.Coach and they lost their coach, so you know, it's kind of.* ### *1:16:13* *Sam Smith went to Lake Region, I think I.Think so so.Oxford Hills has a new coach as of last year because Grafim retired, Yes.Right.So two time Sportsmanship award winner Scott Grafim.* ### *1:16:32* *Yep, Yep.But you've never seen so many people surprised as when Scott Krapham won his first sportsmanship award.The number of the text messages I got when that happened.* ### *1:16:53* *I'm surprised Mount Blue is that low.They took four down wire in the quarterfinal, lost by one.I want to say they had a three.It was really a four point game, but they had a three to cut it to one.But yeah, so it's it's fun A N is it's the old a north or Eastern a before we went to five classes, so.* ### *1:17:17* *It's so much better than this than AA.Yeah, yeah.I.Think people are going to get like 3 weeks into the season be like oh this is so much better.Right.So much better.Yeah.So I, I think it starts and ends with noble names and then we, we go from there.* ### *1:17:34* *You know, they've.Got a pretty good supporting cast too.Yeah, yeah.I'm gonna say, I want to say they come up.Actually they're at Hamden the 9th of December, which I won't be able to make.That's too bad.And they either won or finished.* ### *1:17:53* *They were in the final of the Kony League tournament, OK this summer, which I always think is a pretty decent indicator.It's the summer and you never know if everybody's there, but people tend to.I think people take the Coney League One pretty seriously.Yeah.So, yeah, I mean, I'm, I'm intrigued to see what other little does.* ### *1:18:16* *I want to see the surrounding pieces around Higgins and Brewer.And you know, Hamden sells Bartlett, so yeah.You know, it feels like Camden Hills is the sure thing, and then there's a bunch of teams with question marks that could be really interesting.* ### *1:18:36* *Yeah, I mean, I'm, I'm looking at, I think you probably I I would even say I just don't know anything about error because they're in a South.So they're kind of yeah.I mean, usually the 8th, even the AA N teams, you know, we see them through Bangor, so we're familiar with them, you know, but they were down South and.* ### *1:18:53* *I don't think I've learned.Made the tournament last year.They didn't.So there's that.So, so, but it might be another situation like on the girls side, it might be like, you know, 10 teams fighting for eight spots.So but you know, we'll see.* ### *1:19:12* *I I never want to say it's a teams to lose, but you know, it might be.He won Nolan names.I've seen Nolan names a number of times and he's as close to the the real deal.Yeah.You know as there is, I would say.* ### *1:19:30* *What's his story next year?I don't know.Yeah, I don't know.He might have announced and I missed it because of football season.That's entirely possible.I'll probably find out because I just saw his father that'll.* ### *1:19:50* *Be in the.Comments.Yeah, it'll be in the comments, put in the comments.I just saw his father at the state game, I think at the football game.I think he was there.So did you do both 8 man games?Yeah.And then I went to the Levitt Hermann game, which was just in Lewiston.* ### *1:20:06* *So like, if you're already up in Auburn, you might as well go over to Lewiston.And we missed the first quarter.It was like Andrew Hart when jumped over Joe Bailey jumped over somebody else.I, I forget.And it was just like, well, we're here, we might as well do it right.* ### *1:20:22* *So let me ask you this.I was talking to, I was thinking about this while I was doing freezing my hands off doing football.So normally when I last in previous years, when I would do a basketball game, I would do live stat.I would use stats on my iPad.So I would have all the stats to then write about it in the newsletter.* ### *1:20:39* *And I'm wondering if this year I should do more like I do football with video.I would do video and do video highlights because I can just get the stats out of the book.Right.I would do more video.Yeah, I can.Monetize that, I can monetize that and and it maybe someone gets in a fight in the stands, that's always fun, right?* ### *1:20:59* *Buzzer beaters, stuff like that.Yeah, well cuz you know, if if you win 1 stats for one team the whole season, you know, then that's something.Else yeah, for turning week I would do the stats too.Right, that's the you.* ### *1:21:16* *Don't need me, no one needs me doing video during turning week.No.But yeah, I mean, really, the stats during the regular season, they were more for me than anybody else.So I think you're better off, you know, kind of just parking yourself on behind, underneath and getting highlights that way, mostly because when I get old, you know, I'm just sitting there doing this.* ### *1:21:40* *I'm like, you know, no digging through live stats that way, so.Right, right.And I can monetize it like you said and right Facebook and Twitter or YouTube and all that as I'm Des, I'm trying to get the YouTube up to monetization as well.* ### *1:21:57* *Right.So. 11 kid, whoever, whoever's in the video, the kid will just, you know, share it and you know, you know, share, share, share, share.Mark, you know, Mark Callen talked me into getting into getting on the TikTok, 'cause that's where the kids are like.* ### *1:22:14* *On the TikTok, yeah.He, I think I, whatever the Dexter game was, it was a little bit after that.So I was talking to him there and it's already over 700 followers.OK.So.Yeah, I I mock the TikTok.I do too, but you had to go where the people.* ### *1:22:29* *As I call it the TikTok and then kids get mad.Why do you call it the TikTok?And I'm just like, because it's the TikTok, OK?It's like you don't get it.It's like 067.I don't know does that make sense?I it's not a thing.* ### *1:22:45* *It's stupid.It's.It's insanely stupid, but it's also.Horrible.I know it is harmless, but I call it adults.Adults in the world, grown-ups of the world.Please ruin everything for the children.You know, it's the only way we get through this.* ### *1:23:01* *Exactly.You know it.Was it was I had what was it?It was on the news yesterday, like the evening 7 news.Yeah, like what's 6/7?It was like 2 minutes off.It's not anything.And then I saw a mean with the count going 6-7 and like, well, he's allowed to do it.* ### *1:23:17* *He's the only one.The Count can do whatever he wants. 7 I don't.Know gosh, I love the count.Yeah.All right, let me ask you one more question.What's your favorite region, boys or girls out of the out of these?* ### *1:23:35* *Do you think, what's the one where you're like, boy, if I could pick one where I could sit down tourney week and and see all the games?Well, it's always been.Recently it's been BN.I don't maybe it's not as much that this because it's a structure differently.* ### *1:23:53* *It's more of a kvac centric.There are more kvac teams in it.So we're a little biased there, but that always had like a majority of the teams that you know we cover around here.So the teams that we're most familiar with and I just don't know how deep it is this year compared to previous years past.* ### *1:24:17* *Both CS are intriguing for multiple reasons.Yeah.I mean, if I had to sit down, I mean, a N girls is actually a girls both sides.* ### *1:24:37* *I can just pick one.I'm just going to say BN because the kids at school are going to kill me so.I I think I would have to go a South.Yeah.A AS just especially girls just seems like brutal beyond belief.So, but we thought I mean those, those games will probably get like that one Friday, Saturday, those time slots like they tradition they used to, you know, over the weekend at the Expo at least the problem I'm guessing the quarterfinal is going to be the Expo.* ### *1:25:07* *Makes sense?Yeah, I would assume so, because I think I saw something announced for the arena that's Saturday, so I would assume it's probably.The way do you think they'll do a South on Friday night?Friday night.I, I think so.* ### *1:25:23* *I mean, that's what they were doing, right?Well, well, I don't know.I don't know.B at the Expo BS was Friday night.Maybe I, I don't know.* ### *1:25:38* *I mean, I haven't seen anything.I mean, it's just different, but we're not as busy because there's no AA but no.But yeah, I guess if I had to pick a region to be be N, you know, somehow, someway the kids are going to see this and there's like, wow, you didn't can you didn't, you know, give us.* ### *1:25:59* *Enough TikTok.Yeah, we'll see it on the TikTok.Yeah, just like Baines doesn't believe in us, I can just.I can just hear it in girls practice right now.Heather Baines doesn't believe in you, you know, using that against me.* ### *1:26:15* *He thinks you're. 6/7 He doesn't know what it means, but he thinks you're. 6-7 Yeah.Yeah, please.No, I don't know.That's all right.I mean, these kids already make fun of me.They call me UNK at school.I'm like, we're done with that.Oh, that's rough.* ### *1:26:31* *That's rough.Bad so Oh well.All right, I hope you enjoyed the two-part podcast.Yeah, that's got to be two parts.Now we're over 2 1/2 hours.All right, this has been great.You want to plug anything while we're here?No, OK, great.* ### *1:26:48* *No, I want, I want to plug go go watch basketball people because it's warm and the kids enjoy themselves and it's a lot of community gets us through winter.You know, say.Hi people you only see in gyms over the course of the winter and convince Lucas that he has to go up to Caribou in early January.* ### *1:27:06* *Yeah, and I think Reese is breaking in.All right.We'll call it there.OK, sounds good all.Right.Thanks a bunch.OK, that's the show.Thanks to Jay.We had to cut that up into two parts because it went I think an hour and a half, something like that.* ### *1:27:25* *Or when we recorded like 2, no, 2 1/2 hours, it went 2 1/2 hours.Probably could have gone longer, but we're getting a little loopy at the end there.But it's always fun when Jay comes on the show.Coming up on the show, we have the Winds draft that is coming out.* ### *1:27:41* *I think Monday evening.We're going to do it as a YouTube premiere just like we did with this one and with the girls preseason poll because that seemed to do pretty well.So if you haven't already subscribed to YouTube, make sure you subscribe to YouTube.The Winds draft, we did this last year.* ### *1:27:58* *It was very popular, Mike Mandel, Tyler Cruz and Adam Robinson who bounced.But because we've already recorded it and I'm recording the intro now for this one anyway, so a great time as always.Some really good picks.A lot of teams, really good teams didn't get picked.* ### *1:28:17* *So you want to make sure you watch that on Monday when it comes out.So then if your team is one of the teams that didn't get picked, you can complain.And I am very sympathetic to your complaints.But hey, we only picked so many teams.There's a lot of really, really good programs in the state.* ### *1:28:34* *All right, so that's going to do it for the show.Until next time, this has been a production of Maine basketballrankings.com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball from Ashland to York and everywhere in between.This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, in a bunch of places you don't.* ### *1:28:53* *If you enjoy this, please leave a nice review because it really does help out with the algorithms.Tell your friends, tell your enemies.Thanks for watching.* ### The Preseason Polls URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-preseason-polls/ Last updated: 2025-11-26T12:58:30.000Z The football Gold Ball 11-man Gold Ball games were, honestly, kind of a bust. Thornton Academy capitalized on a bunch of Portland mistakes. Greely blew out Leavitt (when was the last time that happened in a state title game?). Winthrop blew out Winslow. And Westbrook picked off Parker Morin 4 times (after he only threw 2 picks all year) and Gio Staples had a huge second half to lead Westbrook to their first ever Gold Ball in football. [Westbrook Pulls it Off](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/11/24/in-magical-season-westbrook-football-completed-the-ultimate-story/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's two seasons in a row the B champion has been a fantastic story. You already know the story of Falmouth last year. And now we can add Westbrook to it. In a fun twist, none of the 6 champions are a repeat, although Greely did do the unprecedented move of winning 8-man and 11-man in consecutive years. --- Thanks to all the basketball-only folks who stuck around through football and fall sports season. And thanks to all the football-only folks who welcomed me to the sidelines. The football coverage, depending on the type (social media, newsletter, etc, etc.) was up anywhere from 20% to 82% year-over-year and I can't wait to see that growth applied to basketball season. Some of you were here when this was an anonymous tumblr page. --- So we're on to basketball and oh man are we on to basketball. We've got a ton of basketball contest cued up for you. Up first is the preseason polls. I opened up a preseason poll to the masses and got a couple of hundred responses. Naturally, I recruited Jay Baines to react to the polls. The girls preseason poll is up now wherever you consume podcasts. [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6NOclQEPTEU74Lvi7qhGAq?si=e7b00f0beb7340e9&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Part 2 is the boys and that'll be an instant premiere on YouTube tonight at 8pm. Make sure you [subscribe to the YouTube page](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and come hang out at 8pm and get in the comments. I promise you that your team is ranked too low. It's truly a travesty. Up next will be the Wins Draft and I'll be at the SoPo Preseason tip-off for at least a couple of games. If you see me, come say hi. That's it for this newsletter. On to basketball. Here we go! **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link.](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter (always)](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### Podcast: Girls Preseason Poll (with Jay Baines) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/podcast-girls-preseason-poll-with-jay-baines/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T03:13:27.000Z We're on to basketball season! Jay Baines joins me to go over the girls preseason poll. We go region-by-region through the state, first to figure out who's playing in what region this year, and then to sort out the collective wisdom of the state and who are the teams to beat around the state. We did this as an instant premiere on YouTube, which I'd never tried before, but it worked pretty well, so it might be a new staple. ### Stearns Shocks the State URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/stearns-shocks-the-state/ Last updated: 2025-11-21T11:54:42.000Z The marquee games on Saturday were the 8-man title games in Auburn. Up first was the large school matchup between Camden Hills and Spruce Mountain. The Windjammers in their first ever football title game and the Phoenix just having risen from an 0-7 season in 2023. Spruce hung around for a little while. [Dylan Jewett's TD run](https://fb.watch/Ds-0JZ9gaN/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) got the Phoenix within 4 late in the first half, but after that it was all Camden. Hollis Schwalm had the play of game with this epic 67-yard run. > Play #1...Hollis Schwalm what a run for Camden Hills helping the Windjammers win their first title [pic.twitter.com/wMvTWCH1RX](https://t.co/wMvTWCH1RX?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [November 16, 2025](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1990136779022692429?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Braden Beveridge was seemingly everywhere on defense. Camden poured it on in the 3rd quarter to blow the game open and coast to a 52-26 win for their first football Gold Ball. After the game, I spoke to head coach Chris Christie (who is also your Vertical Maine rep). During the interim, I posted a question to several folks who know ball: will OOB outscore Camden's 52 points? The consensus was 50/50\. Turns out OOB and Stearns *together* didn't match Camden's 52 points. They were averaging a combined 104.9 points a game. They scored 38\. OOB struck first with [Trot Moody hitting Wes Gallant on a deep ball](https://fb.watch/DvA13%5FyWDb/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Stearns' Lucas Pelkey tied it up and the first half was kind of a mess, riddled with turnovers. Stearns turned the ball over 4 times as an underdog--and won! But their defense was awesome. They made OOB look mortal and every time it looked like the Gulls were about to break it open, Stears would make a stop. Late in the 4th quarter, Gallant scored out of the wildcat to bring OOB within 2, but they got flagged for a formation issue on the conversion and after the 5 yard penalty, Moody was pulled down at the 2\. Then Moody [came up with an interception](https://fb.watch/Dt3GCqGBty/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), returned it to the Stearns 20 with 3 minutes to go, and it seemed that the OOB comeback was inevitable. What's 20 yards to the most prolific offense in the state? I even asked Dave Dyer if he would kill clock to make sure Stearns didn't have time to respond. Dyer felt like you'd have to score and take your chances. He was right. OOB got flagged for 2 consecutive holding penalties. Stearns came up with a strip sack. And the Minutemen pulled off the upset of the year. [Defense leads Stearns football to eight-man Small School titleA fumble recovery with 1:11 left seals the first Gold Ball for the Minutemen since 1998.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-9.png)The Portland Press HeraldDave DyerStaff Writer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43253598_kjsj.oobstearns.11167.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/11/15/defense-leads-stearns-football-to-eight-man-small-school-title/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) After the game, I spoke to coach Cody Herring. Fun fact: Herring was one of the refs in the Biddeford/Caribou game but–he insists–the Deprey free throw was not his call. Maine really is just a small town. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- We've got one more football podcast before we make the switch to basketball and it's a good one. The award-winning broadcasting duo behind WHOU's Gold Ball coverage from Fitzy and Maine Public's title games, Rob Kennedy and Jarod Richmond, joined me to talk about the 8-man finals and preview Saturday's 4 Gold Ball games in 11-man. This is a good one. Rob and Jarod work so well together that they didn't really need me, but they were nice enough to come on the podcast (presented by Vertical Raise) and let me ask the questions. There's some fun basketball stuff lined up to preview the season, so you'll want to [subscribe on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) or wherever you podcast so you don't miss anything. Up next is a 2-part, nearly 3 hour conversation with Jay Baines looking at the results of the preseason poll. I think part 1 is going to release on Monday evening on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and then everywhere else the next morning (I'm testing out some ideas). [Subscribe to YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- In the wake of the Stearns win, there was a [bit of drama](https://www.facebook.com/MaineHighSchoolFootball/posts/pfbid02Bo1B6xg2sfQyz7u8geVwSU8YGCJ9hzzogffJxHp4jmnTSFZmhhzDZW1DjXGZc7jjl). The short version is someone ripped Andrew Hart's Stearns team celebration photo and it got shared to a bunch of different Facebook pages. Andrew took umbrage, which is his right, and Facebook did Facebook things. What's super dumb about this is people could have just asked, but they didn't. And they could have just shared the initial post, which is easier than stealing a photo, but they didn't. There's the whole, "they didn't know!" line, but they know they didn't take the photograph. A quick reminder on copyright law. If you take a photo of something--say your kid on the first day of school--you own the copyright on that. You don't have to register it. You don't have to watermark it. You 100% own that photo you took. And that carries the [following exclusive rights](https://copyrightalliance.org/faqs/what-rights-copyright-owners-have/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com): - The right to reproduce works - The right to create derivative works like sequels, spin-offs, translations, and other forms of adaptation. - The right to distribute copies of the work. \[this is the one in question here\] - The right to publicly perform the work. - The right to publicly display the work. There's also the question of [fair use](https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), but this isn't anywhere near a fair use case. So there's a couple of things I want to say here. First, this is hardly an isolated incident. [207 Photo](https://www.facebook.com/207photo/posts/pfbid0TRtKP8thV7ue7etzaVs9MzpCNAwiN379uTtrQp62HSNS5NyiC8rmtmxihhGLG95nl) posted something similar a couple of days ago. A certain Instagram account has built an entire network on stealing other people's content, cease and desist letters be damned. Unless you think they've got the budget to have someone following Maine's basketball talent around the country. It's also illegal and the criteria to elevate it to a felony is WAY lower than you think it is. So there's that. But more than that, it's a dick move. Let's talk about Andrew Hart. Andrew runs [MaineHighSchoolFootball.com](https://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=mainefootball&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), far and away the best resource for Maine high school football coverage. We've been doing the [overreaction podcasts](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings/podcasts?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and to say that series relies heavily on his work is an understatement. I know first-hand how much work he's putting into that site because I know how much time I put into this site and I'm pretty sure he's putting in more than I am. Part of what I think is triggering people about this whole thing is the monetization element of it. We're not talking about a lot of money. We're talking about gas money. My video of Stearns celebrating their win has made $1.27\. I don't think I'm talking out of school to say that I've encouraged Andrew to pursue monetization more than he has. He's turned down money, despite how much time he puts in, because he does it for the love of the game. Plus, Andrew gives a shit. When I started branching out into football, he wasn't like "hey, this is my corner". He was incredibly generous in showing me the landscape and helping me get started. Very few people would do that. So put yourself in Andrew's shoes on Saturday. He was at Edward Little when I got there around 10:15am. He had Tyler McInnis helping him. We'll get back to Tyler, who had taped over the Poland logo on his jacket because Andrew insisted he follow the MPA's rules about not wearing logos while using a press pass. Andrew covered both of the 8-man games, then drove over to Lewiston to cover the Leavitt/Hermon game. That's 3 games in one day in pretty cold weather. Sure, he's from Minnesota, but still. At one point, my neck started to hurt from shivering. It adds up! We probably left Lewiston around 8pm, so that's a 10 hour day on your feet in the cold, only to drive home and discover that a bunch of people have ripped off your photo from the comfort of their home (probably sitting by the wood stove) and shared it as if it was their own. Some of those pages, like Gary Allen's Millinocket Marathon, absolutely know better. Let's talk about how monetization works. You know how Facebook and YouTube and Apple and OpenAI and all the other tech companies have destroyed the economy? So they have some monetization policies where large accounts like Andrew's are encouraged to continue posting their content on Facebook, etc. This means they're giving a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the money they're making to those creators. Is it a fair value transaction? Absolutely not. Does it help? Yeah. The best thing you can do to help Andrew is to share his stuff, not rip it off. The number of people on Facebook mad at Andrew for standing up for himself is ridiculous. As Tyler pointed out, these are probably the same people who, if Andrew hadn't spent his Saturday freezing on a sideline, would have complained that no one pays any attention to small schools. You can't win with some people. --- In Texas, a school with fewer than 100 students just beat a school with an enrollment of over 5,300\. [Did this tiny high school just pull off biggest hoops upset in Texas?David vs. Goliath in North Texas? The small-school Longhorns toppled an opponent with over 5,300 students.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-196x196.png)ChronLeah Vann![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/rawImage.jpg)](https://www.chron.com/sports/article/gordon-plano-west-texas-girls-basketball-21197098.php?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Caribou's Parker Deprey is reffing now. [A former Caribou basketball star now officiates alongside his dadFather-son duo takes on officiating shortage in Maine high school basketball, providing much-needed support and enjoying the experience.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-33.png)Bangor Daily NewsCameron Levasseur![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_0304-2.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/11/19/aroostook/aroostook-culture/father-son-maine-basketball-referees-joam40zk0w/?fbclid=IwY2xjawOMvnpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeZ1OUu8ywHJKdyGZqhfLhTTWrwToX5sSN4ee4veigjVjyL7YFGET43YyWrdY%5Faem%5Fp1IgzSl4vwSYDggMSeuUOg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Easton is holding a 3-on-3 tournament. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/11/image.png) If you've got a preseason tournament, put it in the comments. ## Game of the Day A state championship game is always Game of the Day, but the Model likes Class B the most. Led by Parker Morin, Cony is third in the state in scoring, 2nd in scoring defense, and first in differential (+410). Other than a close game against Oxford Hills, they've be absolutely destroying everyone. They'll take on a Westbrook team that's one of the stories of the season. They beat Kennebunk last week in their first ever Regional Final to advance to their first ever State Championship game. Can the Blue Blazes keep their Cinderella season alive on the biggest stage? Or will Cony finish off their dominant season? The Model says **Cony by 8.6**. Jarod and Rob will have the call on WHOU. I'll be in the booth helping them out with stats. WHOU will also have the C and D games in Lewiston. Time to turn on your WHOU subscription, if you haven't already. The Model's picks for Saturday's Gold Ball games are after the jump. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-20-at-9.45.30---PM.png) --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- ### 8-Man Gold Ball Saturday URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/8-man-gold-ball-saturday/ Last updated: 2025-11-15T11:38:19.000Z At the beginning of the season, the consensus around the state was that Cordell Jones would be the Fitzy winner. After all, if you win Gatorade POTY as a Junior, you usually win the Senior career award of your sport (see also: Maddie Fitzpatrick). But things haven't gone smoothly for the Bulldogs in their title defense and the emergence of talents like Connor Ayoob and Parker Morin, among others, have made it a real discussion. On Friday night, Cordell Jones made his strongest statement yet. Let's go to Fitzpatrick Stadium, the site of the Model's Game of the Day between Portland and Bangor--a pick 'em (!?!). The first half was a defensive struggle. Bangor stopped Portland on [4th and Goal from the 4 on their first drive](https://fb.watch/DnKgkzMI6v/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and really struggled to move the ball on their end. Portland finally broke through late in the first half when Jones found Alex Martins for 34 yards to give Portland a 10-0 lead at the half. Bangor finally got moving in the second half. Kyle Johnson did his best [Drake Maye impression](https://fb.watch/DnKsgi0oR9/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) with a jump pass touchdown to Will Houghton to get them on the board and then hit Gavin Glanville-True from 45 to give Bangor the lead. Jones [danced down the sideline](https://fb.watch/DnKNi-Ykdh/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) to get the lead back. Johnson threw another deep ball to Houghton to set up a 1 yard TD and Bangor led 22-16 with 11 minutes to go. And then Cordell Jones fully took over. He led Portland down the field and rushed it in from 8 to take a 1-point lead, [came up with a pick](https://fb.watch/DnLgqJfARW/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) on Bangor's next possession, then scored another touchdown to make the lead 8\. Bangor had one more chance, but Portland's defensive line came up huge on 3 straight plays and Portland escaped with a 30-22\. I spoke the Jones after the game. Drew Bonifant was there to cover it for Varsity Maine. [Portland football outlasts Bangor to return to Class A title gameCordell Jones runs for three second-half touchdowns, leading the Bulldogs to their fourth straight state championship game.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-8.png)The Portland Press HeraldDrew Bonifant![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43248522_20251114_A-North-Football_7.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/11/14/portland-football-outlasts-bangor-to-return-to-class-a-title-game/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- The other big game was in Class B, where Westbrook was going for their first ever Regional Title in football. One of the [big questions on the podcast](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfsXYwMW4Uo&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) was how Westbrook would handle the bright lights. Whenever a program is playing for the first time in a game where you can put a trophy in the case, you have to wonder how they'll respond. They responded. Westbrook led 14-7 at the half, but Kennebunk responded with a big play, a 61 yard strike from Sam Matthews to Jaiden Homa to tie the score. Westbrook scored twice and then after an Austin West touchdown, well, let's go to [Steve Craig's gamer](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/11/14/westbrook-football-beats-kennebunk-to-win-its-first-regional-title/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com): > The play of the game came with under six minutes remaining and Westbrook leading 27-20, looking for a two-score lead. On a second-and-7 from the Kennebunk 10, Westbrook running back Cole Tanner fumbled. Kennebunk’s Jaiden Homa scooped the ball up and looked like he might be able to return it for a touchdown. But as Homa tried to set up some blocking, Westbrook tight end Owen Taylor came from behind and knocked the ball loose, and Adrian Anderson recovered for Westbrook at the Kennebunk 41\. Westbrook forced 3 fumbles in the game and held on for a 34-27 win and their first Regional Title in football. Michael Hoffer was also there with a 5,000 word write-up. [Westbrook continues fairy tale run with regional final win over KennebunkWESTBROOK—You can no longer call Westbrook’s football team a Cinderella. Now, you can call the long downtrodden Blue Blazes something much, much better. Regional champions. Friday evening, at a packed Olmsted Field, Westbrook continued the greatest season in program history with its biggest victory to date. Over reigning regional![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-9.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Screenshot_20251114_213811_Gallery.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/westbrook-continues-fairy-tale-run-with-regional-final-win-over-kennebunk/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You gotta love it. They'll play Cony, who continued their demolition tour of B North with a 40-7 win over Fryeburg (Morin 3 passing TD, 2 rush). In Cumberland, Noah Allen ran for three scores and Luke Piper threw for 3 as Greely stayed unbeaten in a rout of Wells. They'll face the winner of today's Leavitt/Hermon game. And Winthrop ended Morse's Cinderella run by out-scoring the Shipbuilders 27-0 in the second half. --- > Save Cooper. > > If Adam Silver has a heart or a brain, he’ll get Cooper the hell out of Dallas before the league loses a surefire draw to league viewership. > > — Jon Duke (@csl\_duke) [November 15, 2025](https://twitter.com/csl%5Fduke/status/1989551835225440590?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I just want to point out that I was very much not a fan of Dallas getting Cooper. This is from May. I 100% think Cooper can overcome this. And I hope this pushes him to the Celtics when he's a free agent. ## Game of the Day I know what you're thinking: *Thornton Academy vs. Bonny Eagle II: Electric Boogaloo*. And I don't disagree. If Bonny Eagle can clean up their mistakes from a couple of weeks ago, they can absolutely win that game. But a major tenet of the Stax Index--the number in \[brackets\] I use to determine the Game of the Day--is that high scoring games are more fun to watch than low scoring games. 51-42 is way more fun than 3-0. Let's go to the 8-Man State Championships. Old Orchard Beach is the standard-bearer in 8-Man. Dean Plante's squad has absolutely dominated 8-Man Small the last couple of years. They lead the state in scoring offense (56.7) and are 4th in scoring differential at +330 (Cony leads at +410). The offense is so prolific that when earlier this year I heard they were ahead 32-0, I said, "oh that's not so bad". It was still the first quarter. Earlier this year, Stearns (4th in scoring at 48.2) hung with the [Tasmanian Devil](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mKFhNV6mtc&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) that is the OOB offense (Taz was a huge star in the 90's. Ask your parents.) for a while, only trailing by 2 at the half. If they can put together two of those halves, they've got a shot. The final score might be 60-56, but they've got a shot. The Model says **OOB by 11.1**. Either way, there will be a lot of touchdowns. And you get the 8-Man Large game between Spruce and Camden. I'll be there. Say hi! The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Rise Phoenix URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rise-phoenix/ Last updated: 2025-11-14T12:00:30.000Z After Friday's instant classic between Kennebunk and Falmouth, it was going to be hard for Saturday to match it. Especially if I went to the wrong game. I went to Rockport, where [Camden Hills handled MDI with ease](https://www.midcoastvillager.com/sports/football/anchors-up-windjammers-blank-trojans-for-schools-first-regional-football-title/article%5F112518ac-a60b-455c-9051-8c93d971de2f.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), 35-0, to win their first football Regional Title in school history. The basketball team, of course, has a couple trophies in the case and I asked QB Hollis Schwalm about the finally adding one of their own. I probably should have gone to Jay, where Spruce Mountain used a 25-yard TD run from Dylan Jewett with 5 minutes left to take down Mt. Ararat, 20-14\. It's been quite a turnaround for a Spruce Mountain team that went 0-7 and opted out of a playoff game in 2023 and were upset in the semifinals last year. A large part of that turnaround has been the emergence of Dylan Jewett. From Dave Dyer's profile in the [Sun Journal](https://www.sunjournal.com/2025/11/13/dynamic-dylan-jewett-leads-spruce-mountain-football-into-state-final/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). > “Dylan’s speed is nearly unmatched,” \[coach Devin\] Roberts said. “It’s kind of deceiving, because he has such long strides. But when he takes off, there’s probably not many on the field who are going to catch him. We tell him, ‘Hey, if you see a (running) lane, take it. No one is going to catch you.’ It’s taken him a year and a half to realize that he is the quickest, fastest and potentially the best athlete on the field, at all times. Once he realized that this season, he’s gone. He just takes it and goes. That confidence is huge for him.” [Dynamic Dylan Jewett leads Spruce Mountain football into state final](https://www.sunjournal.com/2025/11/13/dynamic-dylan-jewett-leads-spruce-mountain-football-into-state-final/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Camden will attempt to win their first Gold Ball on Saturday. Spruce will be going for number 6 (if you count the 5 Jay won). --- This week on the podcast, Ryan McLaughlin of the [Ellsworth American](https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/sports/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) joined me to talk Camden/MDI, Kennebunk's instant classic win over Falmouth, Westbrook under the bright lights, the dominance of Cony, whether Bonny Eagle can bounce back against Thornton Academy, and so much more. [Click here to subscribe to YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Or you can listen on Spotify or wherever you podcast. [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6SduITAWwTBNJSuGrKk5No?si=97245c88860b4756&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- After missing nearly all of last season with an injury, JP Estrella is having an impact for Tennessee coming off the bench. > 3 straight career-high scoring nights for JP, and a second consecutive double-double > > 23 PTS / 10 REB [pic.twitter.com/p09ZB1lQCu](https://t.co/p09ZB1lQCu?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tennessee Basketball (@Vol\_Hoops) [November 13, 2025](https://twitter.com/Vol%5FHoops/status/1988795435654201388?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) He's averaging 17.3 points and 8.7 rebounds, a considerable improvement over his first 2 seasons. How much of an improvement? His career high coming into the year was 8 points and 5 rebounds. I look forward to seeing what sort of impact he'll have for the Vols this year. --- I'm still collecting votes for the pre-season polls until Saturday, then we'll reveal the results on a podcast next week. Now with the correct links. [Boys Pre-Season PollSeason’s almost here!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-54.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/boys-preseason-poll-1-2.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/boys-pre-season-poll/) [Girls Pre-Season PollSeason’s almost here!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-53.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/girls-preseason-poll-1-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/girls-pre-season-poll/) --- It's understandably been an up and down start for Cooper, but the highs are pretty high. > Cooper Flagg joins LeBron James as the only 18-year-olds ever to record a 25-point game. [pic.twitter.com/9KBpeFdYC0](https://t.co/9KBpeFdYC0?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Cooper Flagg Muse (@CooperFMuse) [November 11, 2025](https://twitter.com/CooperFMuse/status/1988097509311258831?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In that game he also became the youngest player to log 26 points and 9 rebounds in a single game. Cooper's shown so much potential that it, in some ways, forced the Mavericks to fire their GM. From Michael Pina's story in the Ringer: > In the final minute of a one-possession game, head coach Jason Kidd put the ball in his star rookie’s hands and watched him get into the paint to draw a shooting foul on Kyle Kuzma. One play later, Flagg converted a gorgeous go-ahead layup through Giannis Antetokounmpo’s vertical contest. It was a level of craft no other 18-year-old on planet earth can match. > There are many reasons to fire Harrison, but the most meaningful one right now is that he’s the last person anyone should want in charge of a team that must now build around Flagg, whose development and future are far too precious to be undermined by someone so pot committed to the present. [Nico Harrison Is an All-Time NBA EmbarrassmentThe now-former GM already torched one promising era. The Dallas Mavericks fired him before he could do it again.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)The Ringer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/cropped-NicoFired_Getty-Ringer-scaled-1.jpg)](https://www.theringer.com/2025/11/11/nba/nico-harrison-fired-dallas-mavericks?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Now that basketball season is back (at least the college and pros), I'm resuming my long-standing policy of sharing awesome buzzer-beaters. Let's go to Nazareth! > Absolutely RIDICULOUS game-winner for Nazareth over RIT. > > D-III hoops matters too! [pic.twitter.com/nvSbyq94fN](https://t.co/nvSbyq94fN?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Mat Mlodzinski (@MatMlodzinski) [November 12, 2025](https://twitter.com/MatMlodzinski/status/1988441837695365369?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ## Game of the Day Back in Week 4, Portland beat Bangor 42-36 behind 3 rushing TDs from Cordell Jones, then proceeded to lay an egg against Thornton Academy and Bonny Eagle in consecutive weeks. Since then, they've won 4 straight, including a win over NH's Exeter. But, they had 2 really good opportunities to come up with points and got nothing. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-13-at-10.42.33---PM-1.png) Bangor's profile is equally strange. They have a close loss to NH's Winnacunnet, a normal loss to Thornton Academy, and then things got a little wonky. On the final day of the regular season, they lost to Oxford Hills 34-7 on Halloween in a game where they couldn't hang on to the ball to save their lives, then turned around a week later, Kyle Johnson ripped off a 72 yard run to the house on the first play of the game, and they blew out Oxford Hills 35-6\. Do you chalk the loss up to Spooky Season? Either way, it's a hard thing to get a read on. Portland has a slight edge in Strength of Schedule. Bangor has a slight edge in point differential. Sure, Bangor lost in the regular season, but that didn't mean anything last week. The Model has **Bangor by 0.04**. The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Podcast: Week 10 Overreactions (with Ryan McLaughlin) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/podcast-week-10-overreactions-with-ryan-mclaughlin/ Last updated: 2025-11-14T03:57:09.000Z All 6 classes were in the playoffs this week, so it's less overreacting and more properly reacting. Ryan McLaughlin from the Ellsworth American joins the show to talk about Camden's first ever Regional Title in football, Kennebunk's big win over Falmouth, Cony's continued dominance, and so much more. *Vertical Raise is one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, now proudly helping programs of all sports, clubs, and grade levels across Maine!* *Your Maine reps, Chris Christie and Dave Chase, are both coaches who know what it takes to run a successful program — and they understand how important fundraising is to making it happen.* [*Schedule a call*](https://calendly.com/chrisc-verticalraise/30min?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) *and see how Vertical Raise can help your program reach new heights!* --- [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6SduITAWwTBNJSuGrKk5No?si=a51a1cb301be4c0a&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ### Transcript (auto-generated) *Welcome to The Maine Basketball Rankings podcast. I'm your host basketball dad, nerd, Lucas McNelly.Today's episode is brought to you by Vertical Raise, one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, now proudly helping teams, clubs and programs across Maine.With Vertical Raise, your program can raise more money in less time.* ### *0:22* *No selling, no collecting, just results.From new uniforms and better equipment to tournament trips and every fundraising need in between and hopefully someday shot clocks, Vertical Raise has a variety of campaigns to make it happen.Your main reps, Chris Christie and Dave Chase are both coaches who know how what it takes to run a great program.* ### *0:41* *Chris Christie's in a plan for a state championship next this week at any sport, club or grade level and they understand how important fundraising is to making it happen.Schedule a call or e-mail today and see how Vertical Raise can take your fundraising to the next level.* ### *0:58* *OK, so today's show, Ryan Mclaughlin's here.We're going to overreact to week 10.Is it week 10?It's week something or other.It's a playoffs.So it's, I guess we stopped counting the weeks.I don't know.It's a quarterfinals for some people, it's a semi finals for other people, and it was a regional final for other people.* ### *1:15* *It's all very confusing, but we'll get into it.We're going to react to the Patriots and Drake May, and somehow Drake May is the betting favorite for the MVP.I'm not really sure how that happened, but it seems a little ahead of schedule.* ### *1:33* *Yeah.Before that, make sure you subscribe to wherever you're watching this and make sure you subscribe, you know, YouTube, wherever, leave a review, all that stuff.And then you want to also make sure you subscribe to mainebasketballrankings.com for the newsletter you want to join at the varsity level.* ### *1:51* *It's only 6 bucks a month.You're going to get tons of stuff and you're going to be way more informed about basketball season than everybody else sitting in the bleachers.And you can make them all look very stupid because you'll know things that they don't know because you subscribe to Maine basketball rankings dot com And it helps make it possible to do these shows.* ### *2:12* *I love every week people come up to me at football games like, oh, I love the podcast.Love, love what you do.Well, the way I get to keep doing it is if people subscribe to the website and do all the things.So wanted to talk a little bit about the Falmouth Kennebunk game.* ### *2:30* *Went to that this weekend because I mean, that was kind of a no brainer.Everybody knew that was going to be a great game.They'd had the 2.They had the state championship game last year and then week 1, Kennebunk beat Falmouth 14 to 10 in a thriller.This one was no different.* ### *2:47* *Kennebunk is a great atmosphere at Kennebunk.They did a fantastic job there.Lot of fun.Kennebunk comes out, comes out fast.They're up 14 nothing and you're like Jesus, just like get out of hand.This is a long drive for 14.Nothing but credit Spencer Emerson and his coaching staff.* ### *3:06* *They got they got their team turned around, Falmouth came back, got it to 14, got it tied at 14.I'm hopefully remembering the sequence of this right.And they've got all the momentum.Now I'm wondering if I have the sequence right.* ### *3:23* *Doesn't matter.OK, so crucial play in the in the third quarter, Falmouth is driving.They're inside, they're inside the five now and then they're at the I think the three on 4th and goal Trey Walker takes keeps it himself, gets stopped at the goal line.* ### *3:44* *Bang, bang play.I thought he was in live, but really, really close.Really, really close, actually, you know, let's go to the tape.* ### *4:34* *So yeah, really, really close.I don't know how you make that call in real time with complete conviction, you know, without replay because unless you've got a really good angle on it and you've got a bunch of bodies in there.* ### *4:51* *So even slowing it down, going frame by frame, at least from the angle I was at, it's hard to see if you definitively in or out.You need kind of like two or three angles where you can sort of cross, you know, reference them and like stop it here and do the whole thing.* ### *5:09* *You need like an NFL level production on the game and then you'd have be pretty sure whether or not he was in or out.But calling that live in real time really, really hard.And, you know, I mean, that's such a big play.* ### *5:26* *It's seven points.If Falmouth can get there, get gets in.If not, Kennebunk gets the ball.So they called him.They called him down and then, yeah, so then Panabunk has the ball in the later in the fourth quarter, Canabunk has the ball 4th and 15.* ### *5:48* *They pick up the full 15.They get a face mask penalty on top of it.Their quarterback, who's I think Sam Matthews is his name, manages to pick up this.You know, let's let's play the time.* ### *6:12* *Yeah, so as you can see, really struggling to get the 15 yards, gets the 15 yards, gets the face mask that Austin W punches it in on the next play and all of a sudden it's 21 to 14 and only a couple minutes left.Falmouth not done.* ### *6:27* *Trey Walker leads him down the field.Bunch of really clutch throws from him.He had, you know, he was really impressive in the fourth quarter, the whole second-half really.They score the touchdown with 20 seconds left and then their kicker who'd gotten hurt earlier in the game.* ### *6:46* *So I'm on the found the sidelines and they're working pretty hard to get this kid healthy enough to get back out there.He's also the punter kicker and like I think a linebacker or something, he goes in, they've they get him with like 3 minutes left.* ### *7:02* *They get comfortable that he can play.He goes in, misses the extra point, which just goes wide right, devastating result and it's 2120 and they can't get the onside kick and that's as devastating a way to lose a playoff game as probably possible.* ### *7:23* *So so, you know, well, new champion in Class B and I've been obviously following the found the thing for a while.Had Spencer Emerson on the podcast last year at the beginning of the year.So that's sort of in one of the stories I've been following pretty closely.* ### *7:42* *So it was, you know, it was tough for them and kudos to them.They held heads, held high, talked to them after the game and of course we talked about basketball because that's what you do.That's what you do.* ### *7:57* *You know, once football season's over, basketball ready for basketball.Yeah.And then I went to on Saturday, I went to MDI in Camden, and Camden just blew the doors off MDI.So that's another interesting story where they're quarterback Hollis Schwalm was hurt last year and Camden somehow won their first ever regional title in football.* ### *8:19* *They've been knocking on the door for a couple years.They got a little ways to go to catch the basketball program, but they got their first hardware in the trophy case.Kudos to them.Kudos to coach Chris Christie, who is who's one of the Vertical Race people.* ### *8:35* *So definitely, you know, contact him because you're going to need to raise money for something and Vertical race can help you do it.And with that, let's go to my conversation with Ryan McLaughlin.My guest today is the sports reporter for the Ellsworth American and soon to be marathoner Ryan McLaughlin is here.* ### *8:56* *How's it going everybody?Great to be here.All right, so we are, you know the drill, you've done this before.We're going to overreact.There's not a lot to overreact to now.I mean, it's it's less overreacting and I think we're trending into properly reacting.* ### *9:14* *Yeah, we're kind of in that weird time where the fall sports are finishing, but we're getting right, like the Class S basketball team started practice today.So like we're in that weird time where the winter sports are getting ready to start and we still got some gold balls to hand out on the gridiron here in the next two Saturdays.* ### *9:35* *So it's kind of that little in between time.Yeah, it's a little weird.It's because there's only like the games on the weekends.There's nothing happening during the week other than the Class S practices.But it's so it feels like it should be over, but it's not over.* ### *9:50* *And yeah, we have a little bit more to overreact to.Yeah, we had two regional finals on the gridiron last week in the 8, actually 4 math going to math here in the eight man classes.* ### *10:08* *So we'll have two gold balls that'll be handed out on Saturday at Edward Little.The first one we all kind of expected in August, Stearns and Old Orchard.The second one, that's an interesting match up with Camden Hills and Spruce Mountain.* ### *10:28* *I think a lot of people, myself included, had the jammers coming out of the north, but the South was kind of a kind of a toss up and Spruce got to the gauntlet.Yeah, I'm, I thought, I thought mountain Ararat was probably going to beat Spruce, even though my spreadsheet said Bruce was favored.* ### *10:49* *And so apparently what happened is their big guy, Rennie, I think his name is, he got hurt in that game and didn't play the whole game.Yeah, I saw both teams during, you know, the regular season.I saw Spruce at Bucksport on opening night.* ### *11:06* *They looked, you know, prototypical Milltown team, very physical, likes to win the line of scrimmage, run the football and now an air rat, you know, kind of a carbon copy of Camden Hills.They like to spread it out, use their speed, get their athletes in space.* ### *11:23* *So I kind of gave Mount Ararat a little bit of the edge.But you were right.When Renee got hurt, I kind of opened the door for the Phoenix and they kicked it open.And, you know, good for them too, because I think it was two years ago, they were supposed to play MDI in a playoff game.* ### *11:41* *And their numbers were bad.And they opted out because they knew it would have been probably would have been a running clock by the start of the second-half.And now they're playing for a state title.So, you know, Devin Roberts is obviously doing a great job.He's a Mountain Valley guy from the mid 2000s on those great teams that Jim Edward coached, if you remember the Rivals documentaries with Kate back then.* ### *12:06* *So he's got that program going in the right direction and here they are playing for Gold Ball.Yeah, and somehow my picture is frozen, but we'll we'll power on.Am I frozen on yours for you?Yeah, you're frozen.That's weird, I don't.* ### *12:23* *OK.Well, hopefully it's in.Maybe it'll correct itself.Yeah.And so then if we look at the other side, Camden, like you said, a lot of people expected them to be there and they were pretty dominant for the North for pretty much all year with the exception of that GNG game.* ### *12:44* *I really, really like their team.They just came out on Saturday and just set the tone with the on both sides of the ball against a very, very good MDI team, which you can't judge by its record because they played probably the toughest schedule in all of I would say in all of eight man.* ### *13:10* *Like if you look at the games they lost at home, it was to Mount a Lake Region Camden and Orno is the other one.So they played some very, very tough teams and they had their chances and just couldn't take care of take care of the football.* ### *13:29* *And boy, Hollis Schwalm, he's a great, one of the probably the best quarterback I've seen in the three years since I've been back doing this full time.Just a dual threat.If you let him get outside the pocket, he's going to kill you with his not just with his legs, but with his vision.* ### *13:46* *He's got a big arm and he doesn't rely on just one guy.He's they've got weapons all over the field.Yeah, Braden Beveridge.I've seen Camden twice and he's been great in both of those games.And I think the big difference, like you said, Schwalm is whose name I keep thinking I'm mispronouncing, but he wasn't there last year because he was hurt.* ### *14:08* *And it's kind of hard to win without your quarterback in the playoffs.It really is and and talking to him after the game, they seem very motivated this year because if you remember they lost to MDI in that same game at their at Camden Hills two years ago.* ### *14:29* *And like that MDI team was that was insanely good team, especially defensively.I think the only touchdown they allowed in the whole post season was in that Camden Hills game and that came after a blocked punt that the Jammers were covered inside the 10 yard line.* ### *14:46* *So that's how that's how good that MDI team was.But the jammers just they were just so motivated and you know, don't be shocked if they had a gold ball to that trophy case this weekend.* ### *15:02* *I like their chances.And there's a lot of gold balls in that trophy case already, but none of them are for.There are no that football program is still somewhat, somewhat young.I can't, I think, is it in me or Ernie Clark, who did the story at the BDN when they were getting their foot off the ground?* ### *15:23* *I think I want to say Jeff Hart was still the basketball coach back then.He's the AD now.Yeah, but I think so.Been around I think what 1520 years some somewhere in that ballpark.That sounds right.Sure.I don't remember.* ### *15:40* *I don't.I think I was out at.I think I was Pennsylvania then, so I was completely out of the loop.But yeah, they've won, you know, a bunch of basketball ones.They've won about 800 mountain biking state championships.* ### *15:56* *Because I don't, I have a theory that there's only like 4 schools who do it and they just trade championships every year.But they've got a banner up in the up in the gym with all those mountain biking state titles.They do, and they've always been a soccer power to like, if you look at what their girls soccer programs done, you know, recent years, yeah, good players.* ### *16:22* *They've turned out.Yeah, and I think they won it all last year in soccer, but got knocked out early this year.The girls have gotten knocked out by Bangor, I think in the regional final the last two years.* ### *16:38* *Bangor's is Bangor repeated.Oh no, the boys, I mean the boys.The boys were the.Oh, the boys.Oh, the boys.Yeah.No, you're right.No, that.No, no, you're right.You're right.You're right.I thought you were talking about the girls, but they developed a great rivalry with, you know, Lewis and obviously, but you know, soccer's a funny game and they got, you know, knocked out and that's just what happens.* ### *17:08* *I mean, soccer's a weird game.Like there's so little scoring there is and you know, you get 2.I don't want to like it's hard to say, but fluky goals and you know, I think in that game bucks for hit like two or three, two or three posts and the goalie was at.* ### *17:34* *It was a microcosm of their game against Foxtrot last year, where Jasmine Hall just stonewalled them and Box Rock won in double overtime.Yeah, if you get a, if you get a hot goalie.Crumbles sometimes I guess.Yeah, you get a hot, I'm sorry, Hut keeper and, you know, some luck on your side.* ### *17:52* *You hit a couple crossbars.I've been to soccer games where, you know, you're like, well, this team should be up five to nothing and they're down 1 nothing.And you're like, how did this happen?They've been completely dominating the game.But that's, you know.* ### *18:10* *There was a there was a there was a game where where the Herman girls came to Ellsworth late in the late in the season.I remember this vividly because I think it was 10 minutes before the game started.* ### *18:27* *I get a text from my wife saying that her her health test came back benign, so that was a huge weight off both of our shoulders and.Good news, I think.It was Lizzie Bowles had a freak.Yeah, and Lizzie Bowles had a free kick late in regulation that went just wide and for like 2 seconds after the ball left her foot, I'm like, this is going in.* ### *18:55* *Like Jesus is somehow going to will this ball in That's that's you're right about it's you never know.It's it's like hockey.Yeah, hockey even more so.You can run into a hot goalie and it can be even a bigger factor because you, how many times did the hockey play see a hockey, a goalie stand on his head and you're like, well, it was 52 shots to 12, but we lost.* ### *19:21* *Yep, somehow.Yep.Which is what happened to the which is what happened to the Black Bears on Saturday.Oh, did they?Oh, I hadn't seen that.Well, what are you gonna do?Let's move on to OOB and Stearns.That's the one that they wouldn't have even given you not odds on it on DraftKings, because it would have been such such a bad return.* ### *19:45* *You know, it'd be like betting on Cooper to be the number one pick.Absolutely.Like those, those two teams are just, they're just so fun to watch.I haven't seen either of them, so I'm excited for Saturday to see to finally get to see OOB play because it's too far to drive to watch someone win 70 to nothing, you know, to go all the way down to OOB.* ### *20:09* *Yeah, absolutely.Yeah, absolutely.Yeah, so and so I went to Stearns where semi because they played Bucks for it.Yeah.And you look at this, it was 44 to zip, but you know, Bucks for had a few drives inside the 20 in the first half and just, you know, couldn't, you know, finish the deal.* ### *20:31* *But you know, Stearns has, you know that they have Cohen Raymond, who's a great tailback, great speed.They still have the pelkey kid who can do a little bit of everything for him.So, and they're very, they're very tough defensively, but I think this game's going to come down to who can force turnovers and get off the field because both of these teams can just like the scoreboard up.* ### *20:58* *Right.And so they played earlier this year, I think it was, I'm going to say Week 3, and I think at, at Stearns.And it was close at halftime and then Millinocket and then OOB ported on in the second-half.They did, yeah.* ### *21:16* *I think the war of attrition kind of kind of took over because I think the seagulls just have a little more depth and depth then then as Stearns does.I mean, is it?That that could be a factor.Is it going to be similar to the the MDI Camden game where it's like Stearns just is going to have to play perfect?* ### *21:37* *They're they're not going to be able to like turn the ball over and get away with it, stuff like that.I would, I would have to say so I really think Stearns is going to have to finish drives like you can't like they're going to once they get inside the 20, they're going to have to find a way to punch it in because like the big plays you saw during the North postseason, I just don't think of experienced team like Old Orchard is going to get those out.* ### *22:04* *So for Stearns, you got to find a way to finish, finish drives.You can't just move it in between the 20s and turn it over on downs in the red area.Yeah, yeah.You don't want to do that because OOB will put up 70 on you And yeah, that's so that's can.* ### *22:22* *I think no and I think the other X Factor too.And I know Sterns will not use this as an excuse and I know my relatives mill knock it may come after me for this, but I think the drive is going to be an X Factor because in the bus who can concerns survive the bus legs because like from Old Orchard to Edward Little, it's the math is mapping it's by about like 40-50 miles, if that and sounds right.* ### *23:00* *So like an hour maybe?Yeah, yeah.And Stearns, I would say a good 2 1/2 because you need an hour just to get to Bangor and then easily another hour and a half to get you, to get you off the Pike in Auburn.* ### *23:18* *So and but they do have the later game.So it's 2:30.The MPA kind of gave the minute man a little bit of a break in that context, so.I, I think they should do this for basketball too.And I've been telling whoever will listen to this that like if you've got, if you, let's say Stearns, right, and let's say they're going to, they were in Augusta or something.* ### *23:45* *And then for the quarterfinals, don't give them the, the last game just because that's where the, the match up says they should be.Put them in one of the middle games.You know, put the, if you got Coney and Gardner playing each other, put them in the late game at at the Augusta Civic Center, for example, because that's an easy trip.* ### *24:05* *Put, you know, Bangor Brewer in that game.And conversely, the, you know, conversely the the 8:00 AM game or the 10 AM game, whatever time it is.Yeah.Because, you know, yeah, it's like your grandparents trying to drive this.And, and all it takes is 1 snowstorm or 1 little dusting to screw things up because I can't speak for those people, but I don't like I-95 when the weather is terrible.* ### *24:33* *And not everybody can afford to pull off the Interstate in Waterville or Bangor and, you know, give a Hilton or a holiday in their credit card for a night.So that's the catch.That's the catch 22.And then the other part was when you get a situation where the on Friday night the boys team has the late game and then Saturday morning the girls team for the same school has the early game and they don't get to go to each other's games.* ### *25:01* *No that makes absolutely zero sense because it's a lot of times the OP the the team that's not playing will make up the student section for the for whoever is playing like like I see this a lot with Ellsworth and MDI, especially with MDI.* ### *25:23* *Yeah.All right, let's move on.You want to go to D next?Let's.Let's go to D Let's go to D.Yeah.We got Winthrop Morse it looks like in the South.So Morse is killing me.* ### *25:42* *They were.They were another team that moved up from 8 man.I have gotten five playoff games wrong in football statewide this year, which is crazy.Two of them are Morse.I'm Owen 2 on Morse and I'm like 21 and three on everybody else.* ### *26:03* *The shipbuilders are sinking you.Yeah, my uncle played for them, not in basketball, and so they should be nicer to me is all I'm saying.Or maybe I should be nicer to them?Is maybe the the?Way to look at it.I remember my fresh, my, my freshman year at Brewer, we broke a long losing streak and it was, it was Morse that we beat.* ### *26:27* *I think it was a, it was Morse that we beat.It was in like maybe back in 1999.The good old days.We had a situation here where Madomic lost to Morse.This is in the 90s.They lost to Morse by 50 early in the year and then beat them in the in the second game and Moose crossing the gardening.* ### *26:50* *Center.They put the score up on the sign and left it up there for like 3 months of.Course they did.It's just the exact amount of high school basketball pettiness you like.Right, but they've they've been a surprise.* ### *27:08* *They came back up from, you know, from 8 man this year and you know, I, I expected Winthrop to be, you know, in this game, but but definitely not Morse, that's for sure.I don't think anyone saw Morse in this game.* ### *27:25* *No, however in the North I think that's what most people had in had in August this.Yeah, Winslow, I think every week that I've done this at the consensus from the guest is better.Yeah, it's going to be, it's going to be Winslow and Baps at the end.* ### *27:43* *Yeah, yeah.And you know, and those that might be AI feel like that might be a shoot out because just looking at the just looking at the at the stats, I think Winslow's the number 2 scoring offense among eleven man teams in the state, just only behind Coney.* ### *28:06* *And that sounds right.You know, John, John Baps is obviously very, very well coached.You got to give Daniel O'Connell his flowers.He's done a just a remarkable, remarkable job with that program in the, you know, decades since he's been there.* ### *28:23* *So I think they want to they went from O and forever to A state championship in just a few years back in 2008.So that was but that I think this game you could flip a coin.* ### *28:41* *Well, they played earlier this year and Baps blew him out.Would be.Yeah.Would be my hesitation on calling it a coin flip because they went up there.I think that was in Bangor and I I think it was like 40 to 8 or something.* ### *28:58* *Oh yeah, no, you're right.But Winslow's a proud program with a lot of traditions, so it'll be interesting to see what they can do to, you know, keep it, keep it close and maybe pull an upset.Wait, is that right?* ### *29:15* *I think my model has Winslow winning that.Make sure that's doing the right thing.That's strange.Yeah, talking to Mike Mandela cross country a couple weeks ago, he says he likes Winslow's chances, too.* ### *29:33* *Huh.Yeah, that's what it's got.I'll have to take a look at that later.Yeah, Weird, weird, weird, weird.It's.Going to be an interesting game, yeah.All right, so I got that.I wasn't covering Maine hockey that I wasn't covering Maine hockey that night.* ### *29:49* *That might might be the one to go to just just as a fan, but I'll be at the alpha on.Oh yeah, I'm going to have to look into that.That's has Winslow ranked.Really.OK.It's always fun when I find something strange in my spreadsheets.* ### *30:06* *Live on his podcast and it's just great content.That's Murphy's Law for you.Yeah, Yeah.That's really, I'm going to have to look at that one when we get off when we get done here.All right, so let's move on to everyone's favorite Class, C.* ### *30:24* *Yes, Class C has been just a delight.It has been.So what are?We doing now 2 Great we got Herman and Levitt and let's.See, that's going to be a great one.* ### *30:40* *And then Greeley Wells.And we got Greeley Wells.Yep, really another team that came up from 8 man this year.Yeah, they're trying.And they won eight man last year, which is crazy to.It's just mind boggling to me that they could just so quickly adjust to 11 man.* ### *30:57* *Yeah, but you know, I saw them in the state game, I think it was two years ago.That's an MDI beat.And you know, I thought they were and they just ran into a buzz saw, but I thought they were another year away.And last year they did what they did.And here they are, the number one seed in Class C Well deserved.* ### *31:15* *Yeah, they blew out madomic on in the quarterfinals this weekend.So little scary moment there that was relayed to me by as you might imagine, everyone Owen Dosti, who is 1 of madomic starters in basketball helmet pops off mid play, someone lands on him and they end up taking him off the field in a in a stretcher and.* ### *31:41* *I'm sure, I'm sure, I'm sure Nick Dipatsi's blood pressure was up just a little bit.Nick Dipatsi's blood pressure starts up here and and then stays up here, and it doesn't really go true.No.Yeah, apparently he is all clear is what I'm hearing.* ### *32:00* *So that's a relief because you, like you never want to see anyone get hurt for any reason.But jeez, if they have to bring the ambulance out, that's scary.That's scary.That's always scary, always scary.* ### *32:16* *But I want to get to this Levitt Hermann match up because I think that's going to be probably the game of the week this week, if if not pretty close.You see a lot of converse controversy.* ### *32:31* *The first time they played with the the the touchdown that maybe wasn't or most likely wasn't that gave the Hornets that dub to the that's a coin flip for sure.* ### *32:48* *But you know, and it's grip.Kyle Gallant's done a great job with that program at Herman and you know, a lot of cojones with that onside kick to start their game against the comas last week to go set the table for.* ### *33:03* *Yeah, but it's hard to go bet against Levitt on their home field.They've been in the last what, 6 regional finals I think.It just seems like that's when their season starts is the regional.Final Yeah.* ### *33:21* *And you know, they're obviously very, extremely well coached.So, and I like I'm going to take Levitt and a close one.They seem to be improving as the year goes on.I've seen them three Times Now and they looked better each time.* ### *33:39* *They always, they always peak in November.Like that's just.So according to the Stacks Index, it's not quite the game of the day, because the game of the day is Westbrook and Kennebunk.Oh, OK.* ### *33:55* *Which is looks like that could be a really, really good game The.You got a first first time regional finalist against the team with experience Yeah, in the kind of monk Rams there so.So let's we'll finish Class C first cuz so we also Greely and Wells.* ### *34:12* *So this is 2 defending champions, right?Am I?Yeah.Yeah, 2 defending champions, you don't get that a lot.No.You know and and neither of them are the defending.Champion.In this class like they're not.* ### *34:29* *Even like we're going to see a lot of that.We're going to, we're going to see a lot of that this year with all this re reshuffling and reclassification in the works.But I think I think that's going to be a game to watch.You know, I like really it's, you know, home field advantage.* ### *34:50* *You know, Wells is always tough, especially defensively.They're going to try to control the line of scrimmage.But I just think the the Rangers just have too many.They just have too many athletes.They're going to get their guys in space.I think they pull away late, win by a couple, by two or three.* ### *35:06* *Source.I believe the picture behind me is the end of the Greeley Wells game, I'm pretty sure.Earlier.This year.OK.Which was a pretty good game.And you know, Greeley could have lost that game.* ### *35:22* *They could have if some things have bounced differently in that one, they could have lost it.They were down going in in the final possession of the half.They were down 14-7 and then Ben Kyles made it insane catch at the end of the half to tie it up and then they were off to the races.* ### *35:39* *But if he doesn't make that catch, who knows?Could be a different game.Could be a different game.You know, It was one of those ones where I was going like into the half, like before he made that catch.I was like, jeez, the Greeley could be down 21, seven here.And I think they've outplayed them.* ### *35:55* *And it's just one of those things like like in soccer where if you get a couple scores.Yeah, all right.And Wells like, like I said, just has that championship pedigree, he said.Yeah, so if you've got to pick someone out of this foursome, Levitt, Herman, Greeley and Wells, who do you like?* ### *36:17* *I would probably because of their pedigree, because of their pedigree, I would give a slight edge to Levitt just because they they peak at the right time.They're extremely like he's one of the probably one of the top five or top three high school football coaches in the state.* ### *36:40* *So I would prob I I the Hornets are my pick.Very tight, Very tight podcast Hathaway is Did I?Did I tell you the story of 1?Of the best.My, I, my, I took my kids to the madomic Levitt game and he, he met Hathaway and then I had him do the pre thing, pre video and he predicted madomic would win.* ### *37:05* *And I was like, you didn't tell you didn't say that when coach Hathaway was over here.He was like just got mortified.And then he asked after the game if they had a superpower because Levitt won by so much.Kind of the opposite of my child going up to going up to Grace Jaffrey and giving her a high 5 at a game a couple of years ago.* ### *37:31* *Like in the game?No hesitation, no shyness like after the during postgame interview.That would be.That'd be trickier.During the game, one of those one of those school awkward school holidays where you know you times you play at like 4:00 in the afternoon.* ### *37:50* *So he he came with me to A to an Ellsworth girls game.It was my first first year back so that was fun.Reece when he was like 1 and was super cute.He was at a preseason game or maybe a summer game against that Greeley was playing in and Anna De Wolf was like, like, flirting with him, kind of like, like.* ### *38:15* *You know.During a time out, because she's a redhead, he's a redhead.And then she turned the ball over and my joke was that.Oh geez.She's the only one in Maine who can guard Oh.Lord, that's too cute.All right, let's move on to BB.* ### *38:32* *NB this like Coney?Oh my goodness.Coney is just a buzzer.It's ridiculous. 400 you're at 61 points.That's just like you get you pick your poison with them.* ### *38:49* *Like who do you?Yeah, like.Who do you?Who do you stop?Like Pryberg's going to have to play perfect and then some.And then it still might not be enough.I'm talking Super Bowl 42 level here.* ### *39:11* *And Parker Moran might just be winning the Fitzy.You know, if he keeps this up, it's going to be hard to argue against him.Yeah, absolutely.He's the best player in the state by far in my opinion.Yeah, and he's a pretty good basketball.* ### *39:29* *Player just look the way he's got that offense going yeah good night right so then my kids got his Coney right on so I think.Oh, there you go.Then on the other side, the South is where it gets interesting.* ### *39:45* *I was at the Falmouth Kennebunk game, which was an instant classic as everyone suspected it might be.And it was like the perfect game for me for what I do because it was super close.Came down to the wire, had a controversial call that I got video of that I could put on Facebook and and get people all riled up.* ### *40:06* *So it's like the trifecta.Yeah.And that was like, I, I talked to, I'm going to talk about it when I do the intro, but that's an impossible call to make if you're the officials because it's, it's a Bang, Bang play.* ### *40:22* *It really is.And like, it's such a big play, you know, it's like.It really was and.Yeah.And turned out to be a huge turning point in the game.* ### *40:39* *And you know, the Rams took advantage.So you know, we got to give them.It's a tough call against Falmouth, you know, defending state champion.But you got to give Catabunk some credit.Yeah.And you know, there was a stretch there because Catabunk was up 14, nothing.And then Falmouth came all the way back where you sort of felt like all the momentum.* ### *40:59* *Well, you didn't feel like all the all the momentum was with Falmouth.And they kind of found a way to turn it around, put together a drive, converted a fourth and 15 on a quarterback scramble, which was incredible and just had barely enough.* ### *41:19* *And you, you got to give Falmouth some, you know, some credit for fighting back and you know, you're a defending state champ.They're not going to go away.And, you know, the Rams obviously responded and made some plays and like, but how about Westbrook?* ### *41:37* *Like it's, yeah, hard to believe they've never been in a regional final.I didn't realize that until someone told me like 2 weeks ago that that was the case.So these are these are some pretty bright lights for Westbrook against a very good Kennebunk team that used to being there.* ### *41:57* *How?How do you?Even so, you have to.How do you even coach that up?That's going to be the challenge I think for Westbrook is getting.You know, you can say like coaches will tell us over and over again, oh, it's just another game, it's this, it's that and blah, blah, blah.* ### *42:15* *But like like these are 15/16/17 year old kids.This is a game played by humans.Westbrook has never been in this kind of game before, so they're going to have to, I feel, get off to a good start.* ### *42:33* *They can't get behind the 8 ball, especially at home.They can't let those lights get too bright.They've got to get ahead of the 8 ball and I think, you know, get some, maybe get a turnover early, and they got to take care of the football.Yeah, it's like you said, Kennebunk's got the experience factor.* ### *42:54* *Yeah, and if they get down 14, nothing like Falmouth did, that's going to be a lot tougher to make that climb back into it.Yeah, that reminds me of the 2004.* ### *43:10* *I think it was a yes.The 2004 Brewer team, they were in that same boat against Winslow in the regional final.It was up that Brewer and Winslow came up and shot us out because we had never been in that type of type of game before.* ### *43:27* *But we came back.Of course, everyone at Brewer knows.We came back the next year and we won the state title and we beat Winslow at their place to win the regional title, which felt better than winning the gold ball honestly, because we could never beat them when I was in school there and it was frustrating as heck.* ### *43:51* *But.Kind of what that remind this game reminds me of.They always talk about in the NBA, like when you looked at the Thunder last year and you know, just a team that's not been through all the stages and you've got to you, you know, you can't your first run in the in the play offs, you're not going to win the whole thing because you've got to have some battle scars and, you know, some heartbreaking, you know, Eastern Conference final losses and whatnot.* ### *44:23* *And that's why when but don't.Tell them that.Yeah, well, it went two years ago when Minnesota was making that run.I'm like, they're not going to go from a first round exit to the NBA Finals.This is not happening.No, all right.Who?* ### *44:38* *So who do you like in B?I'm going to have to go with Coney.You know, been the best team all year, got the best player.I think they finish it off and bring that gold ball back to Augusta and I think Parker wins, wins the fitsy.* ### *45:00* *Interesting, Interesting.All right, let's now move to Class A.Yeah, we got some regional finals coming up in Class A here.Yeah, OK.* ### *45:16* *So.Rematch.We have Portland Bangalore and we have Thornton Academy and Bonnie Eagle.Yeah.So Portland has the player that everyone thought was going to win the Fitzy at the beginning of the year, Cordell Jones.* ### *45:34* *He's had an up and down year because he was to get, he was a Gatorade player of the year last year.I'm pretty sure Portland won the first time.These two teams played by a lot.I seem to remember it not not being close.It wasn't, it was not close.* ### *45:53* *So you know, this game is obviously it, this game is at Fitzy.You know, Bangor's got a good quarterback and Kyle Johnson, but he's got a he's got to be, he's got to be the guy like he's got to play well.Otherwise, it's going to wind up like it did in the regular season.* ### *46:11* *Yeah.And this is this is at Fitzy, I believe, right?Yeah, it's at, Yeah, yeah, Portland's the number, your number one seed.Yeah.OK, so then on the other side is the interesting 1, Thornton Academy and Bonnie Eagle.* ### *46:26* *They played earlier.They played a couple weeks ago.Thornton Academy won somewhat convincingly.Yeah, but I mean, I was there.Thornton Academy was the better team, but you could really see the path where Bonnie Eagle wins that game because they had a 60 yard touchdown pass wiped out with by a penalty and not like a hold.* ### *46:50* *I think it was like an illegal procedure or something someone was like off the.Line 11 of.Those it was.It was not.It was not.The penalty did not fit the crime.There was a a long Thornton Academy drive where they just kept converting like 3rd and fifteens over and over again and Bonnie Eagle just couldn't get off the field.* ### *47:11* *And I think you flipped those two drives and we were talking about a different game.Absolutely.And it's hard to beat A-Team twice, you know, in in any season, especially in the post season.And I really feel like this, I don't want to say it's state championship and a half, like no disrespect to Portland and Bangor, but I feel like these are the probably the two best team football teams in the state, Thornton and Bonnie Eagle.* ### *47:41* *And this game could go either way.And it's going to come down to who makes the least amount of mistakes.Yeah, these two teams know each other like.What also happened in that game is Bonnie Eagle fumble the second-half kickoff.So it's you know, they always talk about the thing the Patriots would always try to do is finish the half with the first half with the score and then get the ball and score your first the double score.* ### *48:04* *Well, they got the reverse of that where they had a score wiped out by a penalty on the last drive of the half and then fumble the way.The second-half kick off and gave Thornton Academy a short field which like the.Worst scenario of that.And I feel like Bonnie Eagles not going to make those same mistakes twice, like they're just too well coached, they're too talented.* ### *48:25* *So I feel like this is going to be, this is going to be a fourth quarter game.I can see that, yeah.And the last time and part of it might be mental for Bonnie Eagle.They haven't beaten Thornton Academy in a while.The last time was in a state championship game.* ### *48:42* *So there's a little bit of that big trying to beat your Big Brother and you have to 1st convince yourself that you can beat your Big Brother before you can actually do it.So that'll be, I think one of the challenges for Bonnie Eagle is can they, can they get those kids to truly believe it that they especially a couple weeks after losing to them by 20?* ### *49:07* *Yeah, and that's going to be the challenge, I think.But I think the Scots are going to have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder after that regular season match up.I still think Thornton wins in a close one.But like I said, it's going to be a fourth quarter game and somebody's going to have to make a play It's.* ### *49:27* *Not.Going to be a three touchdown game.If Thornton can get a lead and just keep giving the ball to Conor Ryoub, then I mean, he had 300 yards in that game.And that's going to be the ultimate thing for the Scots.Like you can't let Thornton get a multiple score lead and just control the line of scrimmage and just ground and pound you into the into the offseason.* ### *49:54* *Like you got to find a way to create create something.And not turn the ball over because if you give Thornton Academy.Short fields they're going to.Score on you.That's what happened to Portland.Portland kept giving him short fields and it was a disaster.Yeah.All right, so look at, look at that.* ### *50:10* *We we got through all of them.Yeah.How is so you're running?A marathon.Well, pivot, you're running this marathon.We were talking about this the other day.Philadelphia Marathon is your marathon debut.Philadelphia.Yep.Philadelphia What?* ### *50:26* *Did I say it is?OK.You said Philly.OK, all right.What is your time?What is your time goal?What's your A goal, your B goal?Well, what are we shooting for here?The A goal is to be on the rocky steps with a metal around my neck on on that Sunday afternoon.* ### *50:50* *The B goal is to be under 4 hours.OK, it's pretty good for a.One of their own debut.One of the big reasons I chose this one is it's I think it's ranked in the top five marathons in the country for a first if it's your first marathon.* ### *51:10* *Oh, what?What about it?Yeah, Like, why is it because there's cheese steaks?Do you have cheese steaks at the?Is that?Is that it?I wish I'll be going right to I'll be going right to Gino's after after I finish probably, but it's.* ### *51:26* *Probably really big there on board.Yeah, but the elevation gain is right around I think 700 which isn't it sounds, you know, challenging but one of but it but doing all the training here in Bangor Brewer that it's going to feel like a pancake.* ### *51:46* *So I think one of my long runs a couple weeks ago, the elevation game is something like 1200.Yeah, that's.And I always crawl and I always do both, both cities on, on those long runs just because of the square mileage in Bangor.* ### *52:02* *It's just what it is.And like being a Brewer guy, I know those roads like the back of my hands.That's just where I like to like to train and.You could, you could come get one the burl and that's.Oh yeah. 15-15 hundred feet of elevation for 13 miles so.* ### *52:19* *I think, yes, yeah, yeah, there's a half in Lemoyne that's pretty close to that.I think they run it in, I want to say early March.Yeah, I've seen that one.Yeah, it's there.It's lower, it's less elevation.* ### *52:35* *I know that because I because when I started telling people it was the heart, ours was the hardest.People would be like, there's one in Lemoyne.And so I looked at their course map.I'm like, not as hard.No.But it's still it's.The other, the other big, yeah, the other big draw to I think was it's in between seasons, so to speak.* ### *52:57* *So it's not like a Sunday where you have to worry about being in a gold ball game and then catching a red eye flight and then running 26.2 miles on, you know, 2-3 hours of sleep, which which ironically.* ### *53:15* *Ended or you run it and then Monday's then.Giving week is on, right, 'cause that's the other Thanksgiving week is on the other side.And we actually get Thanksgiving and Black Friday.Like we don't get veteran's day, but we get Black Friday, which I like better.* ### *53:32* *Yeah, we have this 'cause, you know, I like to have that day after Thanksgiving just to chill and do nothing.And so I was able to just use PTO on for the the other days that we can just say, hey, let's just sleep on the train coming back.* ### *53:55* *Yeah.So with the government shutdown, there's no way of getting on an aircraft.Yeah, I wouldn't get on an airplane that right now.That's geez, that seems like a bad idea.It was the Amtrak was way cheaper.That's how my brother lives in DC and that's how he goes anywhere on the East Coast.* ### *54:13* *Yeah, it makes.Sense because.It's way, yeah, way cheap, cheaper.OK.And then I also know that, right?Oh, sorry.No, go ahead.OK, so I also know that you write about the about the Patriots.* ### *54:30* *How surprised were you by the Bucks game?I want to say I was shocked, but not really shocked just because, you know, for a couple of reasons, like who does Baker Mayfield have to throw to right now?* ### *54:49* *Like, like Tony Romo said it perfectly yesterday.Just stick Gonzales in man coverage against the Buca and just dare these other guys to beat ya 'cause, you know, no Mike Evans, no Bucky Irving, no Chris Godwin.* ### *55:05* *So, and I knew the the Pats, they were going to have to weather the storm early.I wasn't shocked when Tampa Bay went down and scored on that first drive.And, you know, Drake may kind of struggled a little bit those first couple drives, but I think once they got the score to Kyle Williams, that really set the table for the rest of the game.* ### *55:26* *But one thing they're going to have to do better, and Romo really harped on this, was keeping their foot on the gas.Like a lot of the like you, I saw it in the Atlanta game.They kind of took their foot off the gas a little bit and the Falcons got back into it.* ### *55:48* *Yeah, how, how much do you think it's going to help Trevion Henderson to have those two breakout runs?Oh, big time.Like from a confidence standpoint, like he was.I feel like he's been really inconsistent but that's why they drafted him to make those X plays.* ### *56:07* *Like the speed he has is just outstanding and it was just only a matter of time before he was going to pop one and he popped two of them.Yeah, I've been betting him every week to get a touchdown and 60 rushing yards and this is the first time he's done it.* ### *56:25* *And, and I think it was maybe my doing because I went for a run at halftime and I missed the touchdown because I didn't get back in time for my run.So maybe a little bit of the credit goes here is all I'm saying.* ### *56:42* *Yes, that's where I'm thankful I have YouTube TV because I can just if I get a run in during a game, I can just, you know, hop, go to the Y and hop on the tread and just put my phone on the on the thingy on the stand on the treadmill or just, or just pop up my app and just listen to it if I'm outside.* ### *57:06* *Yeah, I have YouTube TV and I just figured I'd get back in time because I only did a mile because my hips been killing me.That's fair.That's fair.And I looked at, I look at my phone and I'm like, how are they already playing?How, how do we have a touchdown?So I've rewound it, watched it.Right.Perfect.* ### *57:22* *Yeah, yeah.So it worked out OK, but yeah, I think I thought that was impressive.I'm can't believe from where we were last year that people were like legitimately talking about Drake May as the MVPI.Think that's just wild.He just needed coaches and pieces.* ### *57:39* *That's all he needed.Just coaches and pieces.Yeah.All right.So let me ask you one more question.How what's your impression, Ben of Cooper flag in the NBA so far?And follow up question, is it all Jason Kidd's fault?* ### *57:58* *I wouldn't say it's Jason Kidd's fault.Cooper's doing, you know, look what he's got around him.Like Kyrie's not going to be back until probably the midpoint of the season.And I think I just read something recently that AD is going to be gone for a significant amount of time and I.* ### *58:21* *Think so, yeah.Cooper's not playing his natural position.He's he's playing point guard, so.But to me that just shows the versatility he has and where he can and all different places on the floor that The Mavericks can put him.* ### *58:41* *But they've just got nothing around him in the West is just so loaded.Yeah.So and then every every couple games there's a graphic.It's like.Youngest.Youngest since LeBron James to do this and this and this and you're like, oh, OK, yeah, maybe he's not struggling at all.* ### *58:59* *I I did.See a graphic?I did see a graphic that listed like his high school record, and I'm like, did that not?That doesn't seem to include his one year at Nokomis because my Brewer witches got him in his first game.Yeah.That's true, yeah.* ### *59:14* *They only included Vermont verdict here.Remember when we were all wondering if he could beat Brewer at the Civic Center?Like that was a legitimate question people were asking.It was, it was all right.* ### *59:30* *And now we got what, 2 weeks?2 weeks until basketball starts again.To how Someone asked me this the other day.How long into the season do you think it will be before you figure out where everybody is?* ### *59:49* *Honestly, this year, especially in BN, probably not until the end of the season, they're pretty close.Like like I was talking to, I was talking to Dawson Curtis at the state volleyball championships.He's going to be 1 of Ellsworth's best interior guys this year.* ### *1:00:06* *And he was telling me that the rugged schedule that they're going to be playing, like they're going to be playing some eight teams this year.I think they have Belfast on their schedule too.That's going to you might see and be N the one seed, be a 12 or 13 win team.* ### *1:00:23* *That's how.Like especially on the girls side, that girls BN is going to be the region of death.Yeah.Yeah, I can see that.Yeah, we know who we know who the best player is, and that's Maddie Provost.* ### *1:00:41* *But it's the question is who's going to be because there's not going to be any prelims.It's going to be 1 to rake at the Bangor and that's and that's it.And you're going to see a good team go home early, I feel.Yeah, I think AS Girls is going to be a gauntlet too.Especially now in BN girls with Knock on wood with Ellsworth.* ### *1:01:03* *Healthy.Yeah, that'll be a big difference.Sid Mason in the back court is going to be an astronomical differences here because you talk about a three headed monster with her.* ### *1:01:21* *You still got Lizzie Bowles who just connected to Hudson.You still got magly and and you still got the Austin Atherton who is was a vicious ring bounder last year.Like she was one of their like she's a volleyball player too.* ### *1:01:39* *She was one of their net.Like I don't know what the heck you call this position like a net front specialist who would always go for go for kills and stuff like that.Like, she can jump out of the gym and you look at Mount dessert, their questions going to be in the middle because, you know, you lose Lexi Tozier to graduation, but they're probably going to have one of the best back courts in that class with Lily HAMP, only a sophomore, but showed a lot of moxie the freshman a year ago and he got that younger Norwood, Justin's Justin's daughter there.* ### *1:02:21* *And, you know, Herman Herman has another new.I think this is Herman's fourth coach in four years, Marissa Kelly.Yeah, I think this, at least this is the third coach they've had in the three years I've been back.They had Tim Thor, Tim Thornton two years ago.* ### *1:02:39* *They had Liza last year.And now you got Marissa, Marissa Kelly.But I feel like the team people aren't talking about and should be talking about is Erskine.Yeah.Regional finalists last year, they got their whole, they got a lot of a lot of players back.* ### *1:02:58* *They're going to have a chip on their shoulder, I feel after, yeah, after Caribou blew them out in the regional final last year.If they're and if their fans can not get kicked out of games, that would help too.Absolutely.* ### *1:03:14* *You know, and, and I think, I think those four teams, I think that's your top four.Like either, either way, like Lawrence, Mount Desert, Ellsworth and Erskine, I think those are the four, the four best teams are going to be the four best teams in that class.* ### *1:03:33* *Yeah.It'll be interesting to see Lawrence in the tournament, considering the last two years.Yeah, those have gone.Yeah, like.Talk about.Talk about being mad and having a chip on your.Shoulder, yeah, absolutely.* ### *1:03:48* *And you know, John Baps, no Jatani, she's at Bates now.So it's going to be a question with them if who can, who's going to be that go to person to score.Old Town's always an interesting team.* ### *1:04:06* *They will like the clog things up a bit there.Kony and Akomas, they're wildcards.I don't know, Kony should be a probably a top five team.Isn't Coney and A are they and B?No one knows.* ### *1:04:24* *I think it was then Lawrence, Nicholas and Gardner that are the.Went down new.Kids on the Block.New Kids on the Block this year?Yeah.I I probably have it on this computer.I'm sure I do.Let me say I do.They are in B They're the biggest school in B at 6:47.* ### *1:04:46* *When you look on the boys side, that's that's going to be an interesting, you said it's going to be another region of death too.And you look at MD, the best players, probably James Witham, MDI junior, you know, question is who besides him are going to be the guys who can put the ball in the basket because you know, a lot of a lot of teams are probably going to throw jump defenses at him.* ### *1:05:16* *You know, Ellsworth, I think will have the best front court, especially now that they they got Colby Eaton from the GSA just down the road there.So with, you know, him and Curtis and Jackson Berry got a solid top three and.* ### *1:05:35* *Gardeners got their best team in probably 30 years.Gardner and I think there was a showcase on Indian somewhere on Indian Island this weekend and I just from some of the talk on social media, Herman looked pretty good.* ### *1:05:52* *Mason Kenney looked the Kenney brothers look pretty good.So that you can never kind of Mark Reed team out.They'll be tough defensively.Especially was resurgent last year.Yeah, I think Ellsworth's got them on their schedule too, Probably.* ### *1:06:11* *Yeah, yeah, they're going to be a Tony Parker Moran.Yeah, yeah.I feel like they'll be a, they'll be a team that's fun to watch that likes to get up and down the up and down the basketball court.I would.Coney's got a really good freshman.* ### *1:06:28* *Yeah.Braithwaite that's I don't know if I said that right, but this is from what a multiple people have told me.This is the best freshman class maybe in the history of the state.So that'll be super exciting to see.Yeah, I think Chance Mercier mentioned a kid coming up for Ellsworth.* ### *1:06:47* *I'm blanking on his name.I'll have to ask Matt when I talk to him.But there's a another freshman it looks like that there's going to be to watch out for down there this year.And they're going to have a chip on their shoulder, I think, after Old Town knocked him out of the tournament last year when they basically couldn't throw the ball in the ocean.* ### *1:07:12* *It was a microcosm of the regional final between the girls teams the year before that.That's not when you want to go cold is in the tournament.No.Speaking of and Grace Jaffrey picked up rate where she left off a double, double and nice their opening game on, I think it was on on Saturday, 35 and 11:00.* ### *1:07:35* *Nice.She's crushed down there.There'll be a battle, a battle of Ellsworth and Bangor on Saturday, which I'll be going to in between humane things, Saint Joe's and Hassan women got Lily Bean and Abby Radel facing off.* ### *1:07:55* *Nice.So that'll be, I feel like that'll feel like a lot of folks from Downey to be making their way up here for that one.That'll be a interesting one.I keep saying to myself, I should go to some college games to see, you know, where there's a bunch of main kids playing.* ### *1:08:13* *And then I look at my schedule and I'm like, I don't know when that's going to happen.Yeah.You know, it's one of those things.I try to get to those early in the season just because, you know, a lot of them.Just the schedule gets bunched up and there aren't many of us to get to everything as it is.* ### *1:08:33* *Which in a way is why I'm happy that most of Maine hockey's home schedule is in the is before Christmas.Yeah.There you go.Are they good this year?Can they make another run?I think they, I think they can.* ### *1:08:51* *OK.Yeah, big game for football on Saturday too.Yeah, my dad.Yeah, yeah.All right.So Ryan, where can people find you?Where?Where's your where's your Patriots stuff?I know the Ellsworth American, obviously, but where's your Patriots stuff?* ### *1:09:08* *There's some website I've seen you share it and I don't remember what it is and I should have written it down.Musket.Fire, musket fire.OK, OK.Yeah, and I'm and some of my columns at the at the EAI write about the Patriots too.* ### *1:09:24* *Like yeah, if anybody has seen my my red zone column, like it.It's mostly that I put in there, but sometimes I'll add some other topics.All right, fantastic and best of luck in your marathon.* ### *1:09:43* *Thanks.I'm really, you know, excited about it.I'm just hoping for a nice safe travel day next Friday.Yeah, yeah.Got to get to the starting line healthy.That's the trick.And then the haze and the barn.* ### *1:09:59* *As they say, the emergency, the emergency packets, I'm telling you right now, those things work.I'm telling the Airborne Gummies fraternity week I.Bought a bottle of them.I'm going to try those two.They're great.I 'cause I'm like right in the middle of it for all week and I ate one before every game and I didn't get sick so highly.* ### *1:10:23* *Recommend that.Yeah, maybe in my next target run I'm going to give those a try.There you go.All right, have a great, have a great trip.Clear that 4 hour.Thank you, Sir, that.Four hour 4 hour mark.Yeah, we'll get it done.* ### *1:10:41* *OK, that's the show.Thanks to Ryan.Good luck in the marathon.Marathons man, they can be brutal.Hopefully the the marathon gods are in your corner and you don't bonk.Don't do what I did on my last marathon where I dropped my fuel at like mile 18 and like an idiot because I felt pretty good at mile 18.* ### *1:11:05* *Like an idiot.I didn't stop and go back to get it because you don't want to stop and it's a thing and I'm like I'll be OK.I was not OK.It did not go well though.Don't do that.That's my number one advice for you.Don't drop your fuel and try to do the last 8 miles with just water and Gatorade from the tables.* ### *1:11:25* *So best of luck to Ryan in the Philadelphia Marathon.All right, that's going to do it.This has been a production of Maine basketballrankings.com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball and football from Ashland to York and everywhere in between.This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts and a bunch of places you don't.* ### *1:11:44* *If you enjoy this, please leave a nice review because it really does help out with algorithms and all that nonsense.Tell your friends, tell your enemies.Thanks for listening.* ### Kennebunk/Falmouth III URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/kennebunk-falmouth-iii/ Last updated: 2025-11-08T14:38:41.000Z Everyone in the state had the rubber match of Kennebunk and Falmouth pegged as one of the best games of the weekend and it wasn't hard to see why. Last year, Falmouth beat Kennebunk in the State game to capture their first Gold Ball. Then earlier this year, the Rams won a thriller, 14-10\. That set them up to get this 2/3 semifinal at home. Kennebunk opened the scoring with an Austin West rushing touchdown, then Jaiden Homa threw a touchdown pass to QB Sam Matthews, and the champs were on the ropes, on the road, in the wind. The Navs finally got on the board late in the first half on a dime from Tres Walker to Ben Robbins to cut the lead to 14-7 at the half and make it a game. In the second half things got interesting. Let's go to the third quarter. The Navs have the ball at the 4 yard line on 4th & Goal. I thought in real time he was in and he looks in when you slow it down, at least from that angle, but it's clearly a bang-bang play and one where you'd throw the red challenge flag if you could. But you can't. A Kennebunk fan might counter with a very generous catch ruling that kept the first Falmouth touchdown drive alive. And they wouldn't be wrong (it was a really bad call). So basically what I'm saying is you can either look at it was 2 calls that canceled each other out. Or you can pick one to be mad about. Up to you. Falmouth's defense gets a 3 and out with Kennebunk backed up and when they get the ball back, Walker finds Robbins again to tie the score and Falmouth seems to have all the momentum. And when they've got Kennebunk in a 4th and 15, it looks dire for Kennebunk. Then Sam Matthews scrambles and somehow keeps his legs going long enough to pick up the first down. Tack on a penalty at the end of the play and the Rams are in the red zone. West scores on the next play and suddenly Falmouth is on the ropes. But Walker won't be denied. He leads Falmouth down the field with clutch throw after clutch throw, converting his own 4th and 7\. Then with 29 seconds left, he runs a no doubter into the end zone. But Falmouth misses the extra point, the onside kick fails, and Kennebunk escapes with a thrilling 21-20 victory. The real shame is it felt like a game where we deserved overtime. So it goes. After the game, I spoke to Kennebunk RB Austin West about the win. The Rams advance to play Westbrook. The Blue Blazes rallied to defeat Marshwood 15-12 thanks to Gio Staples' second TD of the game. ### Elsewhere Trot Moody accounted for 6 touchdowns as OOB put up 74 on Traip...They'll play Stearns, who put up 64 on Dexter...Portland raced out to a 28-0 lead and held on to put away Deering. They'll take on Bangor...Thornton Academy got 2 picks from Brayden Hooper, including a pick 6 to beat SoPo...Bonny Eagle ran for 241 yards in beating Noble...Anderson Noyes ran for 4 scores as Cony blanked Messo...Ty Boone scored 4 of his own to lead Fryeburg past Lawrence...Leavitt [scored on their first 4 drives](https://www.sunjournal.com/2025/11/07/leavitt-football-pushes-past-foxcroft-academy/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) to make short work of Foxcroft...Sam Hopkins and Tyler Corson each scored twice in Hermon's win over Nokomis...Jacob Feith threw for 2 scores and ran for another as Winthrop rolled. They'll take on the 6 seed Morse after the Shipbuilders knocked off Dirigo. The Model is 0-2 on Morse games in the playoffs and 28-3 Back in September, Gardiner won a thriller in overtime against Wells. Last night, it was more of the same, only with a different ending. Mike Mandell was there. [Wells football staves off Gardiner for Class C South quarterfinal winThe Warriors make two late defensive stands to advance to next week’s semifinals against Greely.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-7.png)The Portland Press HeraldMike Mandell![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43199446_20251107_-kjms.gardinerwellsfb.1108-_0y112.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/11/07/wells-football-staves-off-gardiner-for-class-c-south-quarterfinal-win/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- Over on the Hoffer's High School Sports podcast, Hoffer interviewed Maine coaching legend Bob Brown. [Hoffer’s High School Sports podcast, Episode 11...Bob BrownThis week’s podcast guest is legendary high school basketball coach Bob Brown. Coach Brown talks about his love of the game, his many coaching stops, his family, local sensation Cooper Flagg, the importance of holding on to a lucky belt and much, much more. To listen, click play below.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-8.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Podcastlogo-1.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/hoffers-high-school-sports-podcast-episode-11-bob-brown/?ref=hoffers-high-school-sports-the-way-game-stories-should-be-newsletter) --- Larry Mahoney has a feature on Lizzy Gruber's return to Maine. [After 2 years away, this Maine basketball star is ready to play for her home stateLizzy Gruber is returning from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia to don the University of Maine colors.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-32.png)Bangor Daily NewsLarry Mahoney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Grueber.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/11/06/sports/college-basketball/lizzy-gruber-joins-umaine-basketball/?fbclid=IwY2xjawN7GYRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEePb%5FoudCebZBmJeARgPRyjHuljSdj7LBEhSdETEDJNvxgbOpFclSwcEXrdPo%5Faem%5FTim1oqrMlq71HYyHqaScxQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Gruber had [3 points](https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/boxscore/%5F/gameId/401822839?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) off the bench in Maine's 1-point loss to St. Joseph's. --- ## Game of the Day Lot of options. We're handing out Gold Balls in field hockey and soccer and you can't go wrong with a Gold Ball Game. In Field Hockey, Class C is the choice. Foxcroft Academy is a slight favorite over Spruce Mountain. In Girls Soccer, Hermon is favored over Cape. That's the highest Stax Index of the day at 90.4\. Actually, it's the highest Stax Index of the year for soccer. In Boys Soccer, Monmouth is a very small favorite over Fort Fairfield. But in Football, Spruce Mountain is hosting Mt. Ararat in an 8-Man Regional Final. Both teams have top 10 scoring offenses. The Stax Index loves teams that score a lot because a 42-40 game is way more fun than a 6-3 rock fight. I'll be honest. I don't have a great read on Spruce. They are 5th in the state in scoring differential in only 7 games, but the schedule hasn't been that strong. Mt. Ararat is coming off a dominant performance against Yarmouth. The Model might be wrong on this one. It has **Spruce by 3.8**. The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Football Quarterfinal/Semifinal/Regional Final Friday URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-quarterfinal-semifinal-regional-final-friday/ Last updated: 2025-11-07T17:44:24.000Z After a weather delay, we finished off the Regional Finals in soccer and field hockey. Skowhegan won another field hockey Regional Title. That's...I've lost count, but it's something like 20 of the last 21\. 22 of the last 23? They're going to play Cheverus, who won with some overtime dramatics, courtesy of Brooke Bunelle. > Brooke Bunelle wins it for Cheverus, 3z2, 4 minutes into overtime. Unbelievable [pic.twitter.com/KFRhegN1Us](https://t.co/KFRhegN1Us?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Michael Hoffer (@foresports) [November 6, 2025](https://twitter.com/foresports/status/1986553891219964222?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In soccer, Mary Allen scored 4 goals to lead Bangor Christian past Richmond. [Bangor Christian girls soccer runs past Richmond in eight-player South finalMary Allen scores four times to lift the Patriots to a berth in the state championship game.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-3.png)Centralmaine.comNathan Fournier![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43206208_20251106_RichmondBangorChristianGSoc-15.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/11/06/bangor-christian-girls-soccer-runs-past-richmond-in-eight-person-south-final/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Fall Gold Ball Odds are updated for the Gold Ball games in soccer and field hockey and also whatever round your team in currently in for football. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-06-at-10.05.36---PM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) Let's update the Model's track record for the playoffs. Boys Soccer: 63-16 (79.7%) Girls Soccer: 67-13 (83.8%) Field Hockey: 38-6 (86.4%) Football: 15-2 (88.2%) --- Basketball season is just around the corner! Make sure you vote in the preseason poll. [Boys Pre-Season PollSeason’s almost here!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-52.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/boys-preseason-poll-1-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/boys-pre-season-poll/) Do as many or as few regions as you want. There's a link to the girls poll on the boys poll (and vice versa). Jay Baines and I will break down the results in a podcast before opening night. Make sure you [subscribe before-hand](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- JP Estrella is back! > basketball's back > JP's back > dubs are back > > not bad 👍 [pic.twitter.com/YXsIOjzpzp](https://t.co/YXsIOjzpzp?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tennessee Basketball (@Vol\_Hoops) [November 4, 2025](https://twitter.com/Vol%5FHoops/status/1985565123264819629?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) JP had 12 points and 5 boards in 20 minutes off the bench in the opener against Mercer. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Brewer's Oli Higgins is drawing some attention in advance of basketball season. Is Maine a basketball hotbed? People are asking. > 🔗: [https://t.co/OjdCKxh8h7](https://t.co/OjdCKxh8h7?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > First Cooper Flagg, now 6'9" sophomore Oli Higgins... is Maine officially becoming a basketball hotbed? > > Higgins is already drawing comparisons to the #1 pick, playing with a relentless motor and gritty athleticism that's impossible to ignore. > > Read… [pic.twitter.com/zi8O9K5FQj](https://t.co/zi8O9K5FQj?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — MADE Hoops (@madehoops) [November 6, 2025](https://twitter.com/madehoops/status/1986508847981236653?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I really like those Maine jerseys. It's also worth noting that, while Higgins is a sophomore, numerous people are saying that this year's incoming freshman class might be the best one in a long time, perhaps ever. I put that to Travis Lee on the [podcast](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cPKjPAbtKc&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and he was quick to make the distinction that there's levels to being an impact player right away. [Check out the full podcast](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cPKjPAbtKc&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Speaking of Cooper, he made headlines this week with a comment that this 2-6 Mavs start is the most he's lost ever. [Cooper Flagg reacts to Mavs’ slow start: ‘It’s the most I’ve lost ever’The Dallas Mavericks dropped their third straight game on Wednesday, falling 101–99 at home to the New Orleans Pelicans. With the loss, Dallas slipped to 2–6 — a rough start that clearly isn’t sitting well with No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-13.png)BasketNews.comLog in![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/image-454037-any1200x1200.jpg)](https://basketnews.com/news-234450-cooper-flagg-frustrated-mavericks-2-6-start.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) When you consider that his teams lost a total of 8 games over the last 4 years, 2-6 is going to take some adjusting. --- You should be aware of the Jaylen Brown hair controversy. [Jaylen Brown’s fake hairline is literally leaving a black mark on the NBAJaylen Brown blamed Boston for his fake-ass hairline. The Celtics star said on a recent video stream that 10 years of stress trying winning championships caused him to start balding. Brown has been channeling Carlos Boozer this season by using spray to make his hair look fuller, and it’s been leaving a trail of destruction \[…\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon_y24_48x48-1.svg)Yahoo SportsRicky O’Donnell![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/68ca66c21c2b70c3e0352a28c3575fd0)](https://sports.yahoo.com/article/jaylen-brown-fake-hairline-literally-173041865.html?guccounter=1&guce%5Freferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce%5Freferrer%5Fsig=AQAAADBzraJ26HRGH5kQwimNbL8fVqMv263FP%5F%5FrDSR-EvQ3KK8UAf9KdpayZRIB2exgNlcVo6rzHPa%5FlWN4goGACHBF3otARTBjnrkBP5sFTpNZCOIeFPkWrMl7K1x6kbceOm-yhgNh7RReUzMIw929EH%5F2WlaAJNQ1H1lrRlyzUoll&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ## Game of the Day There's a number of quality options for Game of the Day. The Class C quarterfinals are today, featuring a rematch of the Wells/Gardiner overtime classic from earlier this year. The Stax Index prefers Bangor and Oxford Hills in an A North semi. Westbrook gets to prove they're for real when they host Marshwood. But for my money, you can't do any better than Kennebunk and Falmouth. This has recently become quite the rivalry. Last year, [Falmouth beat Kennebunk](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/11/23/falmouth-leads-wire-to-wire-beats-kennebunk-in-class-b-final/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) in the state title game to finish their surprising undefeated season. Some said that was an upset (Sports Illustrated). Others didn't (me). Then in Week 1, Kennebunk got some revenge, beating Falmouth 14-10\. Today's the rubber match. Kennebunk is 7-1 with the one loss coming to the top seeded Westbrook. Falmouth has given up 3 points in their last 3 games. Total. This is two of the top 10 defenses in the state, so scoring will likely be at a premium. The Model likes **Falmouth by 2.7**. The Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Podcast: Week 9 Overreactions (with Travis Lee) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/podcast-week-9-overreactions-with-travis-lee/ Last updated: 2025-11-06T23:52:48.000Z Travis Lee has been a staple for Maine households for 25 years, bringing sports coverage from around southern Maine to your living room as WMTW's Sports Reporter. Today he joins the podcast from *his* living room. We talk about the challenges of journalism in 2025 and the value of objectivity. Then we overreact to all the regions. Last, we talk hoops and Travis' fix for the Maine Transfer Portal epidemic. *Vertical Raise is one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, now proudly helping programs of all sports, clubs, and grade levels across Maine!* *Your Maine reps, Chris Christie and Dave Chase, are both coaches who know what it takes to run a successful program — and they understand how important fundraising is to making it happen.* [*Schedule a call*](https://calendly.com/chrisc-verticalraise/30min?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) *and see how Vertical Raise can help your program reach new heights!* --- You can check it out on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, or wherever you podcast. [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cPKjPAbtKc&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/week-9-overreactions-with-travis-lee/id1675940033?i=1000735201320&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ## Transcript (auto-generated) ### *0:02* *Welcome to The Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast.I'm your host, basketball data nerd, Lucas McNally.Today's episode of the podcast is brought to you by Vertical Rays, one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, now proudly helping teams, clubs and programs across Maine.With Vertical Rays, your team can raise more money and less time.* ### *0:21* *That's always good.No selling, no collecting.Just results.From new uniforms and better equipment to tournament trips and every fundraising need in between.Like maybe shot clocks eventually.Vertical Rays has a variety of campaigns to make it happen.* ### *0:37* *Your main reps, Chris Christie and Dave Chase are both coaches who know what it takes to run a great program, any sport, club or grade level.And they understand how important fundraising is to make it happen.So it's worth 10 minutes of your time to learn more.Schedule a call or e-mail today and see how Vertical Rays can take your fundraising to the next level.* ### *0:56* *OK, so today's show, we've got a good one for you.Travis Lee from Channel 8 is here.He is.He's a lightweight.You don't need me to introduce Travis lead.You know, Travis, he's been doing this for 25 years now.It's him and Dave Eat are just the gold standard of sports broadcasting in the state of Maine.* ### *1:16* *So I got Travis in here.We talked about a bunch of stuff.We talked about football.We talked about broadcasting and journalism and how to be an actual journalist as opposed to just, you know, someone hyping people on Instagram talked about football.* ### *1:33* *We talked about basketball.It's really great stuff.So we got a couple of things coming up here on the podcast.Schedules are going to obviously start previewing basketball a little bit.We're going to do, this is all tentative, by the way.* ### *1:48* *None of it's 100% lockdown, but it's mostly locked out.We're going to do the Winds draft again.That was a lot of fun last year.Then we're going to do, I think a Mr. and Miss Basketball draft, which should be interesting.We're going to do a there's a we're running a running a preseason poll on the website.* ### *2:07* *You can go to anybody can do it, fans, players, coaches, whoever.And then Jay Baines and I are going to react in real time to the results of the preseason poll.So get in there, vote for your team, vote against your opponent, your your bitter rivals and and we'll have some fun.* ### *2:27* *We'll see what the consensus is around the state of who the top teams are in every class in the state or we get to Travis.I just want to tell a fun story.I went to two games this last weekend, neither of them were close Mount.I went to Mount Arare and Yarmouth in Topsom, it was pretty windy because I was excited to see Iggy McGrath.* ### *2:46* *I'd already seen Mount Ararat.I want to see Iggy McGrath because I'd heard good things and really that's a great name.Iggy McGrath is a fantastic name for a football player and really, I was surprised Mount Ararat dominated that game.It was pretty windy, so throwing was going to be a little trickier.* ### *3:02* *But yeah, Mount Ararat's big guy just absolutely dominated the game, both sides of the ball, and Mount Ararat won that one in a walk.Met some nice people, some nice Mount Ararat people I had never met before who were fans of the podcast and stuff.* ### *3:19* *So that's always fun.Always nice to have people come up and say nice things to me instead of just yelling at me because I'm underrating their team or something.And then Saturday, you know, I had to go to the Madomic Old Town game 8-9 prelim.* ### *3:36* *Old Town sort of came back on Madomic in the first game of the season, Not because of 18, I think at one point and it was even windier.And so you thought, well, maybe, you know, this could be a game and it was not Madomic won 62 to six.It was 40 to 6 at halftime.* ### *3:54* *So just an absolute obliteration.But I wanted to tell a fun story from from it.So it's we're into JV minutes deep in the fourth quarter and I'm still filming like I do for highlights on the phone because, you know, hey, the JVS might do something cool and that should be celebrated.* ### *4:10* *One of the JVS for madomic had like an 80 yard touchdown run.That's got to be the highlight of his year. 100%.So Old Town still got, I think they still have their starters in and they're still trying to they're trying to throw the ball into the wind, not going great.Two or three plays in a row, a madomic defender drops the interception.* ### *4:30* *It like like like a one's a flat out drop, one's a he's probably not going to catch that, but it's all it hits him and it hits his hands, you know, and they're like, oh, and then, you know, they're the JVS, they're in those JV, even if they desperately want interception.* ### *4:46* *So then there's a slight delay for some reason, like not long, like maybe a minute.Maybe they're I think they're moving the chains or something or I don't know what they're doing something.Maybe someone got cramped.I don't not important this kid cornerback for Madonna, who's the last play is on the other far side of the field and I'm on the madomic sideline and he sort of looks at me.* ### *5:06* *He's like, man, they better not be thrown at me 'cause I'm a intercept that it's basically the year Classic 14 year old swagger of this small kid with skinny arms.And you know, he's not a big kid.He's he's the JV for a reason.He's probably a sophomore.* ### *5:21* *I think he's a sophomore, but utmost confidence, you know, he's like, I'm going to pick this ball off.I'm like, OK, dude, all right, good luck.Next play, roll the tape.* ### *5:50* *That is Max McCabe.I believe.He's a sophomore for Madomic Valley.And after the game, he looks over me, points to me from like 15 feet away.He's like, I called my shot.I told you I would do that.I was like, yes, you did.* ### *6:06* *Congratulations.He was very hyped.And you know, that's kind of that's really one of the better things about doing this is interacting with kids in a fun way like this.And, you know, we're all just there to, it's a football game.* ### *6:22* *We're there to have fun and we're there to have a good time.And, you know, it's a 60 to 62 to 6.Doesn't have to be, you know, deadly serious when it's 62 to 6.But I thought that was a fun story to pass along.OK, so we got news, we got stuff coming up.* ### *6:41* *So you want to subscribe on, if you're watching this on Facebook, you just, I guess, like it on Facebook.Go to YouTube, subscribe on YouTube, subscribe on wherever you listen to podcasts, Spotify, Apple, whatever else. iHeartRadio.* ### *6:56* *Is that still a thing?Google Podcast is dead.Yeah, wherever you listen, consume podcasts, YouTube is a great one to do.They're all great.And yeah, we'll have a bunch of good stuff lined up.Vertical Rays is going to be along with us for it looks like a while.* ### *7:15* *And one of them, Chris Christie, has got a big couple football games coming up here.He's the Camden Hills head coach.So, you know, they've they're hoping to make a run at this thing.So we'll see.Anyway, without further delay, let's go to my conversation with the great Travis Lee.* ### *7:35* *My guest today has been coming to your living room for the last 25 years.And now we're coming to.He's coming to us from his living room.Travis Lee is here.Happy to be here, Lucas.All right.This is Take Two.We've had a little bit of technical difficulties we're powering through.* ### *7:52* *So 25 years is crazy because I remember when you were the new guy on Channel 8 because we didn't call it by the call signs, we called the Channel 8 and now you and David are this old guard of the establishment.Dinosaurs, we are real fossils.* ### *8:10* *Living fossils, Lucas.That's what we are.Not only are we old, but we're in a business that has evolved quite a bit since we first got into it.Yeah, that's and since the last six months, it evolves every every really six months it seems to be it's craziness.* ### *8:27* *But then again, like when I started, there weren't cool things like podcasts, you know?That's true, yeah.You'd get, you'd get, you'd get like a 2 minute segment with somebody and that was it.You'd go to their place and record a thing and package it together.Well, I guess you're still doing that, but there was no long form.* ### *8:45* *Yeah.So what you see a lot of kids now, last couple years, they're like on sidelines with doing something, Instagram, whatever.What's the advice you would give to someone who's just getting started and wants to get into sports journalism in some form, considering how much it's changed?* ### *9:05* *Oh boy, there's a lot of things wrapped up into that.You know, first of all, if you're, if you're really into journalism and you're, you know, you're working the Instagram thing, you can't be a fanboy, right?You know, right.Journalism has its, you know, it's bylaws.And one of them is there's no cheering.* ### *9:22* *Got to be unbiased, got to be objective.So if you do want to make the transition into it more, you know, transit traditional journalism, I wouldn't even say traditional journalism, journalism by definition, you know, you do need to find some objectivity to it, but I would just say experiment and and be yourself.* ### *9:46* *You know, I was, you know, coming of age in this business in the early mid 90s when, you know, SportsCenter had really exploded with all of their shows and their platforms.It was the era of calling highlights at the desk.And I'd always love, you know, the idea of doing that.* ### *10:04* *I was in college, I went to Ithaca College.I was broadcasting there in college.You know, I originally wanted to be the play by play guy for the Boston Red Sox, but I've, I fell in love with anchoring and, you know, I just tried to be myself.You know, if you're not, boom goes the dynamite.* ### *10:21* *Don't be boom goes the dynamite.You know, find your own thing, own it, work on it.And, you know, always check your another thing, check your work.You know, sometimes for some people, it's hard to like go back and look at, you know, their work.It's like, oh, you know, I don't like, you know, it's hard, but you know, look at your work, See what you're, you know, you're your, your best critic, probably because you'll notice things because you were in the moment.* ### *10:46* *Go look at your work and, you know, iron out the things you need to get better AT and, you know, talk to people, you know, get feedback from people.Yeah, there's there's a saying in, in like I've been doing a lot of research into like podcasting and trying to like figure out how to do this.And there's a saying there of just be 1% better every day.* ### *11:05* *And that's a lot of that is goes into checking your work and, you know, just trying to find things you can improve.So did Bill Belichick write that?He did not, but it might be cribbed from him in some way.It's pretty good, though.* ### *11:20* *It would be a Bill Belichick thing.And so Speaking of going back, one thing I found in the Googling of you is WMTW put up a slideshow of 20 Things You Don't Know About Travis Lee, which I'm going to put in the show notes.* ### *11:36* *And the haircuts are really great.I, I have to say they were, they were surprised.It's a lot of different types of hair.There was a thing where you were in Ithaca was kind of feathered in the front, which was definitely of an era.With some sideburns too I think.* ### *11:52* *With some sideburns, there was some Little League photos that I'm sure your mother supplied for that project.Bowl cut.The bowl cut era, yeah.So if people really want to just get a trip down memory lane, it's.I highly recommend it.* ### *12:08* *All right, that's what the show notes are for.That's what the show notes are for.So one thing, this is actually, you mentioned you're not being I, I forget what you just called it, but not being like a AAU hype man as a journalist, how do you balance?Because you also don't, you know, because you're covering high school students a lot.* ### *12:26* *You also don't want to be like, oh, this quarterback, he sucks.He's terrible in the way that you might with, let's say, Mac Jones, for example.How do you balance being objective and with the fact that it's kids, but then also not wanting to be trying to be their best friend and, you know, just like everybody's amazing.* ### *12:50* *Yeah, yeah.Well, first of all, there isn't a school system in the state that pays me.You know, I get paid by WMTW, so it's pretty easy for me to stay up objective.But at the same time, I, you know, I've always taken the feeling, you know, that the, the perspective and have the feeling that, you know, we are guests covering these events and, you know, you know, your, your high school athletics or teen years, you know, can not always go the way you want them to go for a lot of people.* ### *13:24* *You know, I don't think that your failures need to be, you know, broadcast per SE.But you know, I think like you used it, you know, a quarterback as a as an example, you know, I've always taken the policy, I don't mention the quarterback's name when he throws an interception.* ### *13:44* *You could go look back 25 years of my broadcasting.You know what we might say, you know, The Jayhawks quarterback, you know, that The Jayhawks driving down the field go into the air and it's picked off by, you know, Raymond Claiborne of Levitt or whatever, you know, So we, we, we kind of protect.* ### *14:04* *There's ways you can protect some kids, I think.And and we and that's kind of our philosophy.And my philosophy is, you know, you can still make the broadcast sound like it's the broadcast of an NFL game, but not hang kids out to dry, you know, and like that's, you know, you know, when you get the blowout games, you know, you're looking for maybe 1 positive play from the team that gets blown out, blown out to throw it in there sometimes, you know, you're just trying to, you know, to have some understanding, I think of what's going on.* ### *14:38* *So it's not the running back fumble, it's the linebacker forced to fumble.Yeah, that's a good way of putting it.Yeah.You know, it's that's that's exactly something that we would say, yeah, someone recovers the fumble or, you know, the defense gets a turnover for sure.* ### *14:56* *And then the the last thing you want to do is just be like, you know, hyping is probably the the easiest way to describe it where you see some of these like AAU accounts.And that was part of like a lot of people that I know, their hesitation with the whole Cooper and Ace thing is it was all this early with all this AAU hype stuff.* ### *15:14* *And you're like, I don't know, like this is all the same.I don't know what to think of this until they got, you know, into high school.And you're like, oh, OK, no, this is legit.Yeah, that's a different that's a different like, you know, like there were there were enough people that like I talked to and, you know, had connections with that like I trusted that were like, no, this is for real.* ### *15:35* *You know when it count when it comes to Cooper race, you know, but you're right, you know the hype, you've got to cut through the hype, right?You know, you've got to know who's working for who.That's that's a big part of it, who's working for who.* ### *15:50* *So, you know, a lot of people get a lot of publicity, but they also are not that isn't, isn't always earned, you know, but a lot of times you've got to look at the source, right?It's just like any other interpretation that you use as a journalist.* ### *16:07* *You're looking at the source and you know, you have to make a determination, you know?Yeah, the hype stuff doesn't do much for me.Yeah, me either.And you also got to like double check it.I had a situation this fall where I was at a football game and someone's like, oh, this team's going to have has this great freshman coming in because I'd heard, you know, this is a good freshman class for basketball.* ### *16:28* *And then I saw that coach of that team later that day and I was like, hey, I heard you have like a really good freshman coming.He goes no, no.I mean, we've got some freshmen coming in, but they're not going to start.They just, you know, they just have the wrong team.Yeah, I know.* ### *16:43* *I think, and I think that's the life that, you know, if you cover high school basketball in Maine, you live.And it's funny that, you know, I always use this example, right?Everybody talks about great freshman, right?And all this guy's going to be an impact guy.This guy's, you know, and I, I do think that there's going to be some of those guys this year.* ### *17:02* *You know, there's some really good freshman coming in, but I always like to look in that back and think, you know, Dustin Cole was a four year first team all SMAA player, right?That was an impact freshman right away.* ### *17:21* *You know, 6 points a game, you know, as a, as a, you know, as a role player is not, it's not, it's not what Dustin Cole was, you know?Right, right.There's a difference between an impact freshman who's really an impact freshman, you know?You know, Ali Clement, basketball player, McCauley won four championships, was one of the best players for all four years right away.* ### *17:44* *That was like a real star freshman.They don't come along very often, but every year you hear about 30 or 40 of them, Right, right, right.So it all has to be measured, I think.Cindy Blodgett was an impact freshman, for example.* ### *18:01* *That was a pretty good one.Yeah.All right, so let's overreact some to football 'cause we're battling your phone battery here.Let's start.Let's start with the game we both saw this weekend with eight man, 8 man large school South.* ### *18:19* *We need better names for this.Mount Ararat looked great against Yarmouth.Yeah.In the wind.I think the Yarmouth is, you know, one of the stronger programs this year.And certainly if Yarmouth had had a better day, I wouldn't have been surprised if Yarmouth won and, you know, they moved on and played or maybe won a state championship.* ### *18:38* *Mount Air, I just just dominated, you know, the line of scrimmage and Yarmouth has a great line.So that kind of shows you what they bring to the table.Reyes, one of their lineman, forgot his first name is # for pound is good.* ### *18:54* *A player in eight man football.And he's just unblockable.And you know, when he's on the offensive side of the ball, they run behind him a lot.He's just.Throwing touchdown passes too.Caught a touchdown pass.Yeah.You know, that's a good team.* ### *19:10* *And, you know, it's it's, you know, I think it's fun when you've got a program like that.Frank Drew's group that you kind of know what they're going to do and they know that they're preparing for, you know that and you know they don't care.They're going to do what they do and they're going to do it, you know, in their minds better and and win the game.* ### *19:30* *Yeah, Reyes was in that backfield of Yarmouth's more than their running back was.It seems like like every play he was just hassling McGrath.McGrath was just running for his life, most of it.And, and he made some really nice throws and I, I actually messed with how elusive he was back there because there's a lot of quarterbacks in this state who would have been sacked 8-9 times in that game.* ### *19:52* *And he was able to escape time and time again.Yeah, he has good receivers and he's a good athlete.Not surprised at all that he, you know, was able to escape a little bit, but but he had a lot of pressure.You're right.And now, so it sort of looks like, have you seen Camden yet?* ### *20:09* *Because it looks like we're we might be.Getting I don't know.I don't know.I have.Not so.They're good.They played in week two against Mount Ararat and Mount Ararat was up at the half and then Camden rallied in the second-half.The big issue with them is last year they lost their quarterback for the tournament.* ### *20:29* *So I mean that's a huge loss.Hollis Schwalm and he's, I think he's a senior now.They're I think that could be a really good gold ball game and I could see that going either way.Yeah, yeah.Well, you know what Spruce Mountain gets the host mount air at?* ### *20:46* *They're still the number one seed.They're still Spruce Mountain.And they've got some pretty athletic guys, you know, and that's, it's always a tough trip up there and they're playing on a Saturday.So that that'll be interesting.That's, you know, they're definitely going to have a home field advantage.* ### *21:01* *It's a great place to, you know, to play up there and live more and like I said, they've got some athletes and you know that it's not going to be easy for Mount Ararat at all.Yeah, I haven't seen Spruce.I have seen, it seems like from the write ups, I've seen half of that team play basketball.* ### *21:17* *It sounds like there's a it's a lot of basketball names that I recognize on that Spruce team, which doesn't surprise me because they've got a lot of good athletes on the on the basketball team.That would be, Yep, that that would make sense.And, you know, they had a, you know, they kind of had a dog fight with Yarmouth that they lost.* ### *21:36* *You know, I, I, I'm sure that they are, they're going to be ready for this one.I'm searching for a name right here who's had a, a pretty special year.You know, I can't find it, but you know what I'm saying?They put up athletes.* ### *21:53* *Do you find the names get harder as you get older, right?There, sorry.Do you find the names get harder as you get older?Because I'm finding the names are getting harder to remember.Or maybe there's just so many of them.Paying my bills gets harder.I forget which ones to pay.It's doesn't, you know, the whole deal.* ### *22:09* *Bills.Yeah.Names, places, all of it.Time comes for us all.It's yeah.So then.Time is undefeated.Time is undefeated then in the small schools, so we've got Dexter beat Orno, which is a pretty big win.* ### *22:24* *What it like that's?A great story.You know what a great.Yeah, jeez, I didn't know there was a possibility of like getting money for 3rd place.I thought that was.Great.I did not know that either.Yeah.So they cleared 75,000 for that contest, which is pretty good, you know.Yeah.* ### *22:41* *And hopefully they can fix that press ball, maybe Mr. Alfond will chip in a little bit more, I mean a little bit match it maybe.Maybe.I mean, that's like the easiest PR move in the state right now is for somebody with deep pockets to write them a check and fund a thing.So they will play this week, they will play Stearns.* ### *22:59* *That's going to be some tough sledding, Stearns If not for OOB, Stearns would be the favorite there, I would think.I.Would think so, yeah.You know we still could get that rematch, right?We could get that rematch.That was a Week 3 game.* ### *23:16* *It was early.It was definitely.Pretty early.It was the same week as Gardner Wells because I remember talking to Mike Mandel about it in the parking lot at Gardner.So OOB that was a 2 point game at the half and then OOB ran away with it in the second-half and there.* ### *23:35* *So here let me ask you an 8 man question.When do we go away from big school, small school and we have 8 man classes where like do we restructure this a little bit?Does it need to be restructured a little?Bit no, I, I think that they, I, I think if you do that, you've resigned yourself to not trying to help these programs get to 11 man.* ### *23:56* *You know, that was the the intention originally was let's try and save football at schools that don't have a big population and help the schools rehabilitate themselves that are trying to get, you know, back to 11 man.* ### *24:13* *Like really to.Introduce like a third class.I think you're just basically resigning yourself that you're, you know, you're accepting that everybody's in a, you know, that ape man is, is what it is, you know.Well it seems like there's some schools like OOB that are perfectly happy to stay in Ape Man and maybe even prefer it.* ### *24:34* *Is that fair?I mean, I, I think Old Orchard's enrollment though, dictates that in some regards, right?It's a pretty small school And it's, and it always kind of makes me, you know, I, I always want to ask myself, I'm like, I've got to check the geography of like how big a town Old Orchard is, right?* ### *24:49* *Because it's, you know, 9 miles from Portland and you're like, how is there such a small school?But it's just a small town.There is not a lot of land there for people to live in.It's got to be what it is.And it's so tourist driven that how many full time residents do you have?* ### *25:06* *That's there you go.Yeah, those two things to mind.'Cause we go there every summer and it's, I mean, that's got to be 75% tourism, housing, something like that.You know, I don't know.* ### *25:23* *All right, so let's move on to, we'll go to 11, man.Let's start with Class D.Do you get to see a lot of Class D?Because there's a lot of that seems to be.Northern more D than eight man this year.OK, All right.I was a little.I was a little.Surprised Poland lost.* ### *25:39* *I thought Poland that Poland had a good chance, you know, to maybe even upset some people, you know, Damon Martin, really dynamic quarterback for them, you know, but good for them.They had a good year, you know, winning record, had a good, you know, good playoff seeding.* ### *25:55* *You know that they're disappointed that they, you know that they got upset.But what a win for Morse.Like, that's a got huge win for Morse.Yeah, absolutely.Jason Darling can coach.He's a good coach.You know, they, you know, they'll, they'll try and keep it going.Now that's like another one of those programs we're just kind of talking about like they were an 8 man.* ### *26:14* *Now they've kind of rehabbed up to D and, you know, good for them.Yeah.And so they're going to play Oak Hill, right?Yeah.Oak Hill beat Freeport 12.Tag to beat Freeport, Yeah.You know what Oak Hill was considered, I think maybe, you know, they were considered, if not the favorite, you know, 1A or 1B with Winthrop coming into the year and Oak Hills, you know, played some good football lately.* ### *26:40* *Yeah, so Winthrop is still alive.That so Oak Hill at Winthrop this week.Yeah, Winthrop's been.Quite good.I think so.I think it's Oak Hill at Winthrop.Or is it derigo?No, maybe you're right.I don't have the matchups in front of me.* ### *26:56* *I had it and I wrote it down, but I can't.Remember Morse?Then yes, you're right.Yeah, Derigo Morse.Yep.I keep forgetting what how many the the part where some people are in a quarterfinal and some people are in a regional final and some people are in a semi final is throwing me.* ### *27:13* *I keep like try to keep it all sort straight in my head.Yeah, Morse at Derigo.There we go and then Oak Hill at Winthrop and they're in the semi finals there.Yeah.OK.And so then the winner of that bracket is going to get Miranda Cook.It is at John Baps and then Madison is at Winslow.* ### *27:33* *And John Baps is undefeated.John Baps is undefeated and absolutely trounced Winslow in the regular season.Yeah.So those and those are the top 2 seeds.Yeah, they look pretty much unstoppable, except they almost lost.I think in Week 8 they won by one against somebody.* ### *27:51* *OK.So.Where is somebody in the state?What's their?What's their, what's their enrollment?It's it's under 100.They'll be starting their basketball season a week early.And I think it's an Aroostook County.It's one of those unorganized townships.* ### *28:07* *OK, that makes sense.Yeah, You know, there's six guys there and 12 moose.It's a very small town.Let's go to C How are you enjoying C?Because the consensus is that C is a lot of fun.Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's it's been pretty good.* ### *28:25* *It's been pretty good in which I think it's been the most competitive top to bottom right.You know where you you know, you have an 8 no Greeley team that looks really awesome.You know, Luke Piper's an awesome quarterback, a great line that stepped up great running game.* ### *28:42* *Like they look, they look really tough.Levitt battled them early in the year to pretty much A1 possession game at Greeley and Levitt's gotten a lot better.So you know, those are two teams that look pretty good.Herman certainly has a case, you know, for being undefeated, you know, if not for maybe a strange, you know, a strange call at the end of their game at Levitt, although that was, you know, not at the end of the game at Levitt, but a strange call that favored Levitt.* ### *29:08* *But you don't know how the rest of the game would have played out.So it's kind of hard, you know, that early in the game if there was a call that, you know, kind of changed, changed the direction of things.But but Herman certainly is is up in the conversation.You never count Wells out.* ### *29:25* *Gardner had a great year.Gardner beat some teams, You know, I who am I?I can't remember who I'm leaving out here.Foxcroft.Foxcroft.Yep, Foxcroft.You know, they're going to have tough sledding this weekend going 11, but and then madomic, which, you know, played better at the end of the year, it looks like.* ### *29:47* *Yeah, well, they got their running back back, which helps because they lost Jayden Ruiz for the first three weeks of the season to a hand injury.And then, I mean, they looked great against Old Town on Saturday, 62 to 6, which.* ### *30:03* *And it was, yeah, it was, that was over very quickly.And I have been spending a little bit of time with my Madonic people warning them about how good Greeley is.It's a lot of like, no, no, no, no, no.They're they're really, really good.So just be prepared for that.* ### *30:21* *If when you when you go down, they're just going to be offensively just.Real diversified, you know, they could run and win a game.They could pass and win a game.Yeah.And you know, so I was talking to some of dominant people, like how can they beat Greeley?* ### *30:37* *And I'm like, I mean, I think you got to get a lead.You got to get a break or two, you know, the the turnover, the the ball that bounces your way.And then it's football.You hope for the best.Yeah, they would have to probably dominate the line of scrimmage to be able to kind of, you know, tip the balance, you know, 'cause the skill guys, it, it really are really strong and a lot of them are under and a lot of them are underclassmen.* ### *31:06* *Yeah, Benjamin Kyle's had, I think, maybe the best catch I've seen all year against was it Levitt?No, it was the other game I saw where he fought through a defensive pass interference, like a flagrant defensive pass interference and somehow caught the ball in the end zone and it was just like, Oh my gosh, how did he even come up with that?* ### *31:26* *That's like, and it turned the game, really.They would have been down 14, seven going into the half and then suddenly there's a lot right at the end of the half.Suddenly they're tied and then they ran away with it in the second-half.So you got to stop those guys, which is going to be tricky.* ### *31:43* *Yeah, yeah.But no, C has been a lot of fun and I, you know, wouldn't be surprised if, you know, you get an upset this weekend changes, you know, changes the balance and the seedings and things like that.And, you know, yeah, there are a number of teams that could could win that, win that division.* ### *31:59* *Yeah, I mean, Wells and Gardner, they, they're going to have that rematch of that overtime game that they had whatever week that was.That could be a classic in the 4-5.Foxcroft could maybe give Levitt more than they can handle the comas.Hermann could be interesting.* ### *32:15* *There's, I mean, there's a lot of different ways that could shake out.I think the Nokomis play Herman pretty pretty tight.Not too long, like maybe week 7.I think so, yeah.And then they just trounced Madomic in the last game of the season.So Nokomis is, I feel like the team no one's talking about in this in this class, and I'm not sure why, but they've been there the whole time.* ### *32:38* *They have the MP.'S been hanging, yeah.They've just been hanging out and just sort of chugging along.All right, let's go to BB N looks less interesting.It's Coney and friends with Parker Morans just having an incredible year and continues to have an incredible year.* ### *32:58* *Yeah, he's putting up a lot of stats and they've run the ball.I mean, like they are.I don't.Where's the weakness?Yeah.Yeah.And I don't think anyone's gotten close to them, have they?I don't think so.Oxford Hills, Oxford Hills, right.* ### *33:16* *They were at Oxford Hills and I think that was a relatively close game.Yeah, so then the South, though the South is way more interesting.I think maybe the game of the week is Falmouth and Kennebunk.Oh, of course, yeah.So you got.The rematch thought that they were going to beat Falmouth in the state championship last year, so I think they were a little surprised.* ### *33:38* *Falmouth was super physical.You know, they were the much better team in that state championship game.I think Falmouth thought that they were going to beat Kenny Bunk in the opener this year.Yeah, Kenny Bunk was more physical and, and, and, you know, the better team that night.So, you know, do the math.* ### *33:55* *You know, I think the more physical team, you know on Friday is going to win this one.And from what I saw, I saw Falmouth late in the year against Freiburg and then just the scores they've been putting up, nobody's scoring on them in like the last like 4 weeks.Yeah, they're cooking.They're cooking.* ### *34:12* *It's it's been really impressive.They shut down Freiburg completely.I think they had 46 yards total in that game and that's a pretty good Freiburg offense.Yeah.And you know, and that's, that's without Eli Bush, who was a Allstate player last year, who's who's been hurt.* ### *34:28* *And, you know, I don't think he's coming back.And they've, they've made it work.They've made it work with the athletes they have.And, you know, they're tough.They are tough.They're, you know, if they can get the the offense crank and you know, that's a team that could, you know, could play Kony in, you know, in two weeks.* ### *34:47* *That is if they can get by Westbrook, who is one of the that is that one of the better stories of the of the football season?Yeah.Yeah, I know.I mean, for in my business, it's all about stories, right And right.You know, it's, it's tough, like football history is hard to find out there.* ### *35:07* *You it's kind of a lot of hearsay, you know, And then again, we've only really had, you know, NPA state championships for 40 or 50 years, even though football's the oldest sport in Maine, right?Playing it since, you know, for 130 years.* ### *35:25* *But it doesn't seem like they've ever played for a regional championship, according to like what people are saying.So if they were able to, if they were able to get by.Then Marshwood.Marshwood.Yeah, they really get by Marshwood, you know, and Marshwood, you know, Westbrook went down week, week one kind of announced that they are, you know, a contender by beating Marshwood week 1.* ### *35:52* *And they've, you know, done very little the, you know, to dissuade anyone from there.You know, they have their their only losses to Falmouth.And there were there were times that they were the better team in that game.They just couldn't score.So, you know, it's shaping up to be a good final four in that region.* ### *36:12* *Is it kind of a version of the noble basketball story two years ago when they were in their first?Like they hadn't been to the semi finals since like the 70s or something like that.Yeah, Yeah, that's a good.That's a good analogy, trying to think like, yeah, that's a good analogy.* ### *36:37* *All right, all right.You know, but, you know, it's hard.It's hard to tell.You know, does does Noble keep winning in basketball?You know, is or is this is this just the beginning for Westbrook?You know, coach Johnson, like, is this the beginning?You know, his his kids love playing for him And, you know, maybe they really get rolling here.* ### *36:58* *You know, it's, it's one of the neat things that you get is the bounce you get when you have a successful season, especially in football where you have a lot of people that don't want to play for a losing team.You know, nobody wants to play for a winner.Like especially in football, you know, maybe they get a bounce from this and you know, you get some guys playing that might not have played if if it wasn't for the success that this group has had.* ### *37:22* *It's always interesting to me when a team that's not been good for a while is suddenly good.And it's the question of because they always say they've fixed their feeder program or whatever, But then it's always the question of is this the start of a new stretch of good or did you just have like 3-3 good seniors come through at once and you just had this little blip.* ### *37:44* *So it's it'll be interesting for with Noble, especially in basketball with Westbrook and football, couple other programs of did you actually, is this actually going to be sustainable?Someone might have said that about Bonnie Eagle football 20 years ago, right?Yeah, exactly.* ### *38:01* *You never know.It's it's just sometimes it's the real thing and sometimes it's just a blip and then they're back down at back down in the basement in three years.All right, Speaking of Bonnie Eagle, let's move to a.It sure looks like this is Bonnie Eagle and Thornton Academy for the state championship.* ### *38:20* *Based on what we've seen, I'm guessing you've seen both of these teams for the regional.Championship.Maybe for the regional champion and then the regional, but the, you know, the everybody says this is actually the state championship game game.If they get there, yeah.I mean, Noble beat Bunny Eagle in the playoffs a year ago.* ### *38:37* *True, You know?And so you got to get there.You got to get there, you know, and Nobles had a nice season.And I don't think a lot of people thought that Noble was going to be, you know, as good as they've been, you know, because Jamir Rose was such a, you know, dynamic player last year.* ### *38:59* *But they've been excellent.They've had a good year.You know, I did have one Class A coach tell me like before the season.And I'll have to remind him when I run into him next that like, he was right.You know, Noble was Noble was a pretty darn good team.So Bone Eagles is going to have to work out for him there.And South Portland has, you know, a ton of talent.* ### *39:17* *They've got some really special players, you know, maybe they put it together and can upset Thornton.You know, Thornton's just they, they, they just maul you, you know.Yeah, they're so physical.They've got a great line.* ### *39:33* *You know, Connor Ayub is, you know, got to be one of the front runners for for the Fitzpatrick.I think I would think Cornell Jones are up there.But Ayub is just, you know, a 300 yard game last week or two weeks ago.I mean, how do you do that, you know?It's crazy.* ### *39:48* *He was incredible in that game too.He just, he kept churning like every time you thought he was down, he would pick up another 6 yards.It was like really, really impressive performance.So then on the other side, we have Portland is playing.Where do my notes go?* ### *40:04* *Portland Deering.Which Portland?Deering in a playoff game, which apparently doesn't happen that often.Yeah, I I will have to.I'll have to look it up.You're right.I know it's happened before, but it's been a long time.So that, yeah, that'll be interesting.* ### *40:21* *Portland kind of handled during the first time during had some injuries, you know, So if they're healthy, it'll be interesting to see how, you know, how Deering can do.You know, Brendan Scully is an awesome coach.He's going to have him ready to play.* ### *40:38* *You know, Cordell Jones looked really good last week throwing the ball.You know, you know that he can run the ball, threw the ball real well.So that'll be interesting.And then you get a rematch.Oxford Hills and Bangor, they, they just played last week, you know, so it's like, you know, don't tear up the scouting report.* ### *40:58* *How much so?That's always an interesting thing because they were kind of locked into their seeds.I think a little bit like you obviously are not going to throw the kitchen sink in the regular math game.You're the math guy.Like you didn't have the Crabtrees figured out ahead of time.* ### *41:15* *I.I I've been deferring to Andrew Hart on the Crabtrees because the heels I can do in my head and I can just sort of go, no, I don't think you can make it quite and I can sort of ballpark it even.But the Crabtrees throw me with the up and down of it all and the and the calculation of it.* ### *41:34* *But I but obviously you're not going to if you think you're going to play this team in the in the next rat in the playoffs next week, you're not going to show them much at all.Yeah, I don't know.Yeah, maybe not one of your special plays, but you know, I think, you know, I don't think you can over.* ### *41:52* *I think a lot of people overthink this stuff, right?You know, they're just kids playing a game.Go try and win the game and then go try and win it next week, you know, whatever it takes.I I've had.Coach and I think like in in my experience, the best coaches kind of have that philosophy.* ### *42:12* *You know, you see it in different sports.You know they're not, except in baseball, like sometimes you know, you won't throw your best pitcher against the team.You know, and some programs were like, we don't care.You can see our guy two or three times.We don't think you're going to hit him, you know, so.* ### *42:30* *I've had coaches say to me, like you, sometimes you forget that these are like 17 year old kids and 17 year old kids do weird things and you know are not.Don't mentally process the game like say, a professional athlete would.And sometimes you just.* ### *42:47* *It's really simple.With an adult, you know, Yeah.And you know, sometimes that gets lost because they're just kids and they're just out there reacting to things and it doesn't matter if they've seen the the opponent 6 times, they're just going to do the same thing.All right.* ### *43:05* *So I wanted to get a little bit of basketball.So last year you were the person who first said to me, hey, watch out for this bitter for girls team.And so I know 'cause you coach, I pay a lot of people maybe don't know this cause not in the 20 things slideshow of you that you coach fall ball and do a lot of work with youth programs coaching down.* ### *43:29* *And it's Yarmouth, right?So who are the teams that we maybe are not seeing yet that we we're not thinking of as being breakout teams this coming season?Jeez, breakout teams.* ### *43:47* *That's a tough one.Is there not a Biddeford?Oh my gosh, watch out for them.You know, let me think here.I think I think that like I think that the storyline that I'm looking at here is just, you know, the regrouping of Class A in the South and what that looks like when you could have a playoff in the South that has a for boys.* ### *44:20* *You know, Wyndham, which has been the king, right?And they've got, you know, a couple of really great players coming back leading the like there's in their senior class, AJ Moody and Tyree James.You know, you've got a Portland team that really looks loaded, you know?* ### *44:37* *Really.OK.Lucas Gage is just you know, he's had a really good career and he's still got one year left, right.He's he's a really good player and they've got some awesome complimentary parts around him.Thornton Academy is going to be really good.* ### *44:56* *Same kind of story.I don't know if it's if they have a star, but they've got a lot of really good players.You know, South Portland's going to be there with with Jackson, Darius Johnson, couple of their freshmen might help.They've got, you know, they've got some good guys back from last year that that team's going to be stacked.* ### *45:16* *You know, that's four really good teams right there.And I'm not even mentioning Chevre's.Chevre's is going to be good.Yeah, Chevre's will just always be there it seems.So I think it's going to create like a war in the in the regular season to try and battle for seating because you're trying to stay away from a couple of those teams until you get to, you know, you get to the end.* ### *45:43* *Right, right, right.Whereas in the old system, it didn't necessarily matter as much where you were for your eating because there weren't that many teams, right?Yeah, and then in the north, you've got Camden waiting for the winner, May potentially.* ### *46:06* *And you know, they've got a pretty good player up there.In the north, yes, though they've got a couple.Yeah, because, you know, no one, Ames and Camden are going to be strong.And then, you know, it'll be fun to see what Brewer does.* ### *46:22* *Brewer is one of the smaller, you know, schools in the big, in the big school division.And Ollie Higgins can really play right.So, you know, that's going to be, it's going to be interesting, you know, and Edward Little will be will have a good team.* ### *46:40* *So it'll be interesting, real interesting, you know, but I and I always and Lucas remind me because I've forgotten, oh, is it AA or is it a what have we rebranded all these now?It's ABCD and then the under one hundreds are s S.OK all.* ### *46:56* *Right S And they start a week early and then they start their tournament a week early.I for some reason, I think because of just not enough venues.Yeah, I think you're right.But I don't know if they're playing their quarterfinals.If it was still AA, ABCD and then like the smallest were D because of that.* ### *47:16* *But it's just ABCD and S and.Then S but I don't I don't know why it's called S it's.Going to take a long time to get used to that.It's.Joe Bailey and I were talking about this at a games like how late into the season do you think it'll be before we've all figured out where everybody is?* ### *47:35* *And I'm like, well, at least be Christmas.Yeah, I still something, you know, like we're talking about old guy brain.Like, you know, sometimes I remember a classification that's been gone for like 2, you know, two years and I still think that they're in that class.So I'm always referencing it or checking it 'cause I'm like, wait, what class are they in?* ### *47:53* *Yeah, yeah.And it's always fun when, like when they send Miranda Cook to be north and you're like, wait, what?Why is Miranda Cook in beaten?OK.All right.Sure.They've been everywhere.They're just bouncing around and it was when I when they were doing the reclassification, it was always interesting 'cause I saw a bunch of different plans and it was always there was those teams on the line and it was always interesting where they went like they had like the Mid coast teams, Lincoln Academy of Madomik and Oceanside.* ### *48:20* *They had them everywhere and every, it seemed like every plan I saw there was a different place that those three teams got sent in a different configuration.And then I just said at one point I was like, guys, you got to keep.At least if you got to try to keep those teams together, at least put them all in the same one.* ### *48:37* *They don't like each other.Like don't split them up.Send them all to the same venue, at least at minimum.Yeah, yeah, I know.I love that keep.You got to do your best to work the rivalries into it all.Yeah, that was I and you would they would go like, well, like Halldale is below the line and so we got to move him here.* ### *48:56* *I'm like, who cares?Move the line so you can keep the rivalries together.I don't.Is anyone like, really going to be upset about that?Yeah, probably.Yeah, probably.It's true.It's probably the correct answer.Someone will be upset no matter what you do, and everyone wants to play 18 home games and have the tournament be in their backyard.* ### *49:20* *Yeah, no one wants to get on a bus, No.One wants to get on a bus, yeah.Which is.Which is ironic because I think people forget that, like, when you're a teenager, a bus drive doesn't matter.You know, like, yeah, it's just more time with your friends.Like the bus situation is an adult thing.* ### *49:37* *It totally is an adult thing.It's the parent.Oh we need to go 2 hours to play a game?It's an like that's an adult problem, not a kid problem.It's, it's the problem is that you're in the car behind the bus and you've got the two younger siblings in the car for three hours who won't shut up.* ### *49:56* *And you're like, Oh my gosh.You know, I I am wondering if because you are every year you see the prelim thing where they're like they're like Old Orchard Beach has to drive to Jonesport Beals for a prelim game and you're like, can't we find somewhere in the middle?* ### *50:14* *Can't we make a rule where if it's 100 miles, Oh Joe earned.That right though, thanks to the heel points.I love it if people say that you're like, OK, but this is the 8-9 prelim and they won.They they're the eight seed by half of a heel point.* ### *50:29* *So I don't know if they're in that much of an advantage because someone over in Class C won a game that didn't involve either of them, you know?Yeah, I don't know, Lucas.That's your, that's your hill to die.On that's that's my hill to die on.I have lots of hills to die on.* ### *50:46* *That's that's how I have a podcast.I have hills to die on.And you have ATV show where you're broadcasting the highlights and interviewing people.And I saw, did I see the thing where you were wearing a wig the other day?I've, I've, I've done that before, yeah.OK, OK.* ### *51:01* *I was, I was like scrolling through social media and I'm like, did I just see that if I had too much to drink, maybe this is what's going on here.All right, before I let you go, I'm going to ask the question that I ask everyone here.* ### *51:16* *So this is your first time on the show.The MPA comes to you and they say, Travis, we are giving you unlimited power for one day.You have you can do whatever you want.Money is no object.Objections of other people is no object.What's the one thing you change?* ### *51:37* *Oh yeah, I don't know if the one thing I'd change is I'd ask for three more wishes.It's the genie in the bottle question.Yeah, the genie in the bottle question.I think I think the one that like stay I, I would, I would, I would, I would come up with serious, serious rules about transferring.* ### *52:00* *You know, there's a lot of free agency in high school sports and I don't think that's that's the right thing.Yeah, I think that you, you know, you if you transfer, you should be able, you should have to sit out a number of games.You know, don't totally take that off the board.But I think if you had a nominal penalty, you know, like on an 18 game season, maybe four games, you have to sit out, you know, on an 8 game season, maybe it's one or two.* ### *52:30* *But I think that that just maybe weighs into, you know, an athlete or a family's decision to, you know, take their free agency elsewhere rather than staying at home.You know, it's kind of crazy that there are kids commuting an hour to go play in another school, you know, and it happens, you know, all over the place.* ### *52:54* *That's not like it's not what the whole system is set up for, right?Supposed to play for the town you live in, the school you live in.That would be, that would be that I've, that's been something that I've, I've talked about, you know, to the MPA free for 20 years.* ### *53:12* *Yeah, you know, it's the very real.States have transferring rules, you know.Sometimes if you transfer you lose a whole year in some states.Wow.That's crazy because there's the very real situation where dad loses his job and he has to go get, you know, he's loses his mill job in Millinocket.* ### *53:30* *And then they, they moved to Bangor and well, OK, now we play for one of the Bangor schools because of you can't stay in, there's no jobs in Millinocket.And but then what happens?* ### *53:47* *What happens more with that or hey, all the guys I play AAU with or at the school, I'd like to go play with them?Yeah, I think 20 years ago it was Dad lost his job and now it's I want to play with my AAU friends or hey, this program looks like they're going to have a good year and we're not, so maybe I'll go over here.* ### *54:08* *Yeah, that's why I think that like it's it's just a, you know, four games for basketball or, or, you know, 3 for soccer or, you know, 2 for football is enough to make you say, all right, you know, that stinks that we've had this family situation where I have to move and I'm going to have to, you know, deal with that, that penalty.* ### *54:32* *But it also makes maybe someone think about a, you know, I live in Lewiston, but I'm going to go play basketball in wherever, you know, maybe I'll stay at Lewiston so I can play a full season.Yeah, Yeah, that makes sense.* ### *54:48* *I, I kind of like that.And then you could always have a hardship exemption if for like legitimate things.Yeah.All right.I think that's just about it.How's your phone battery holding up?* ### *55:06* *We're seconds away.OK.All right, Travis, thanks for doing this.Where can people find you other than do you have anything to promote other than watch the news?No, we got WMTW Channel 8.Come check us out late Nights for your football, basketball, all your sports and then our regular stuff on our on our website, wmtw.com.* ### *55:30* *Awesome.You guys do a fantastic job and thanks for doing this.All right, here's to another 20-5 more, right?Exactly.OK, that's the show.Thanks again to Travis for joining me and breaking down some stuff.You definitely want to go to that slideshow because the hair is Immaculate in some of those pictures.* ### *55:52* *Highly recommend it.It's in the show notes.And yeah, I believe that's going to do it.This has been a production of Maine basketballrankings.com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball from Ashland to York and everywhere in between.* ### *56:08* *This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, at a bunch of places you don't.If you enjoy this, please leave a nice review because it does help out with algorithms.Tell your friends, tell your enemies.Thanks for listening.* ### Rebounding URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rebounding/ Last updated: 2025-11-04T12:11:12.000Z This is not about the Celtics and their inability sometimes to rebound. Friday night was windy, but Saturday afternoon was worse--at least in Waldoboro, where Medomak Valley was hosting Old Town in an 8/9 Class C Prelim. The teams had met in week 1, a 2-point Medomak win. Could Old Town get some revenge and advance to a quarterfinal against Greely? In short, nope. Medomak dominated, a 62-6 drubbing. Shamus Pease ran for 3 TDs, Jaydiin Ruiz added 2, and Owen Dostie pulled in two long TD catches, including one that was clearly built on rebounding drills. After the game, I caught up with him. Medomak Valley will head to Greely as Class C starts the most compelling bracket in the state. This looks fun (ignore the part where it says Regionals instead of Gold Ball. No regions and all that). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-12.09.51---AM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) --- This week's podcast guest is none other than Travis Lee! Travis Lee has been a staple for Maine households for 25 years, bringing sports coverage from around southern Maine to your living room as WMTW's Sports Reporter. Today he joins the podcast from *his* living room. We talk about the challenges of journalism in 2025 and the value of objectivity. Then we overreact to all the regions. Last, we talk hoops and Travis' fix for the Maine Transfer Portal epidemic. Make sure you like and subscribe. You can also listen to it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you podcast. --- College basketball is back! > First of the Season and it's a D2 Upsetting a D1!! Bellah Machen ([@BellahMachen](https://twitter.com/BellahMachen?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) Hits the Game Winning 3 with 1.3 remaining for D2 West Alabama to upset UAB in Birmingham [pic.twitter.com/XCGwyryWpD](https://t.co/XCGwyryWpD?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) [November 3, 2025](https://twitter.com/NCAABuzzerBters/status/1985470802075201799?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Hearts of Pine won their first-ever playoff game. > STRAIGHT TO HELL WITH YOUR REBEL YELL. WE ARE THE BOYS OF MAINE. [pic.twitter.com/O0Xwn7mzBj](https://t.co/O0Xwn7mzBj?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Portland Hearts of Pine (@hearts\_sc) [November 2, 2025](https://twitter.com/hearts%5Fsc/status/1984789725312352632?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They'll head to Spokane next. --- Hey, look. The Clippers' drama just got worse. > 🚨 UPDATE: Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has been sued by 11 Aspiration investors who allege Ballmer used the company (now named Catona) "to secretly funnel millions of dollars to star NBA player, Kawhi Leonard \[...\] paying him more than allowed by the NBA’s salary cap rules" 🧵 [pic.twitter.com/GLnMHNfdWS](https://t.co/GLnMHNfdWS?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Pablo Torre 👀 (@PabloTorre) [November 4, 2025](https://twitter.com/PabloTorre/status/1985524736668155918?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Can't wait for the next episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out. --- Game of the Day The Bangor and Camden girls split the regular season series, with each team winning at home. Now they're facing each other in a Regional Final, which is...at Bangor. Is it because the higher seed hosts in a Regional Final? Nope. Mt. Abram and Hall-Dale are playing at Edward Little. Richmond and Monmouth are playing at Cony. But they put the A North Regional Final in Bangor, which seems avoidable. Anyway, that moves the line by half a goal. The Model has **Bangor by 1.3**. The Model's picks for today's regional finals are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Wind Machine URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/wind-machine/ Last updated: 2025-11-01T11:20:10.000Z Mt. Ararat rolls on a blustery night _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Spooky (Post)Season URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spooky-post-season/ Last updated: 2025-10-31T11:40:25.000Z We had one playoff football game yesterday, a yawner, as MDI blew out Houlton in 8-man action. In class A football, Massabesic got a first quarter TD run from Nolan Pomerleau and it held up when they denied Sanford's 2-point conversion after a Jayden Franco score in the 4th. In the other game, Noble scored with 10:05 left to cut the Thornton Academy lead to 19-14, but couldn't get any closer and Connor Ayoob closed things out to give the Trojans a 27-14 win. --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- I've done this before, but not in the last couple of years. It's a preseason poll! Feel free to go in and rank as much as you feel like you have a handle on. It won't impact the rankings at all, but it's always nice to see how much (or how little) of a consensus there is going into a season (and how that pans out). Vote early. Vote often. This is not a secure election, so go nuts. [Boys Pre-Season PollSeason’s almost here!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-49.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/boys-preseason-poll-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/boys-pre-season-poll/) [Girls Pre-Season PollSeason’s almost here!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-48.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/girls-preseason-poll-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/girls-pre-season-poll/) --- Haley Jones has a great story about the "new Mainers" on the football team at Lewiston. We all know the history of immigrants playing soccer there, but it's great to see that they're able to branch out to other sports like tennis, swimming, volleyball and football. > Freshman Hamza Mohamed was born in Kenya and moved to America 11 years ago. He grew up playing soccer but decided to try football this season. He acknowledged he was afraid of getting injured, as well as not understanding the plays. > “Whatever you’re scared of, eventually you’re going to get used to it,” Mohamed said. “My first time (in pregame practice), I was terrified. I was in front of (junior Collin Churchill) and then he just grabbed me by my pads, and he kept on walking, pushing me forward. If you’re always going to be scared, then why live life if you’re always going to be scared?” [Lewiston football program bolstered by influx of new Mainers](https://www.sunjournal.com/2025/10/30/lewiston-football-welcomes-several-new-mainers-to-the-program/?uuid=undefined&lid=undefined&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In other, not-great Haley news. > Bittersweet news to share — Thursday will be my last day at [@sunjournal](https://twitter.com/sunjournal?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) . It’s been an incredible two years, and I’m so thankful to every coach, player & athletic director that made me feel welcome. I’ll be rounding out my last week with a few more games💗🫶🏼 don’t be a stranger! > > — Haley Jones (@haleyjonesmedia) [October 28, 2025](https://twitter.com/haleyjonesmedia/status/1983243810365677853?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) She'll be missed. Remember, Haley, you still have the lanyard so you can come to games and hang out. [Check out her podcast episode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4mEANheyjI&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- I can't say I was expecting this. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-30-at-10.32.17---PM-1.png) Thanks to everyone who has listened, rated, and shared the podcast. Guess I need to keep [doing episodes](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Don't worry, I'm lining up some fun stuff for the start of basketball season. ## Game of the Day There's 2 candidates for Game of the Day and one of them is a playoff game, so let's go to 8-Man Large South. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-30-at-11.11.45---PM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) This is what we refer to as "up for grabs". Mt. Ararat and Yarmouth met in Week 1, a 44-20 win for the Eagles, but that was Week 1\. Since then, Yarmouth has ripped off 7 straight wins. Mt. Ararat lost to Camden in Week 2 and they've now won 6 in a row. Both teams have top 10 scoring offenses, but if you're looking for a weakness, it's the Yarmouth defense that's giving up 25.5 ppg, which is 8th best in 8-man (Mt. Ararat is first). They are 4th in the state in scoring offense (Mt. Ararat is 7th), so the easy take here is a high-scoring game favors Yarmouth and a low-scoring game favors Mt. Ararat. Then again, last week we had 2 top 5 defenses playing each other and they combined for 63 points. Go figure. The Model says **Mt. Ararat by 8.8**. The rest of the Model's picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Podcast: Week 8 Overreactions (with Michael Hoffer) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/podcast-week-8-overreactions-with-michael-hoffer/ Last updated: 2025-10-31T00:38:32.000Z This week's guest is none other than Michael Hoffer of [Hoffer's High School Sports](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). As always, we go around the state, including our thoughts on the big TA/Bonny Eagle game, the upstart Westbrook Blue Blazes, the always entertaining Class C, soccer, field hockey, and even a little volleyball. It's always fun when Hoffer comes on the show. The podcast is brought to you by [Vertical Raise](https://www.verticalraise.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) *Vertical Raise is one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, now proudly helping programs of all sports, clubs, and grade levels across Maine!* *Your Maine reps, Chris Christie and Dave Chase, are both coaches who know what it takes to run a successful program — and they understand how important fundraising is to making it happen.* [*Schedule a call*](https://calendly.com/chrisc-verticalraise/30min?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) *and see how Vertical Raise can help your program reach new heights!* --- You can check it out on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, or wherever you podcast. [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0jEw7A65TQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/week-8-overreactions-with-michael-hoffer/id1675940033?i=1000733856276&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ## Transcript (auto-generated) *Welcome to the Maine Basketball Rankings podcast.I'm your host, basketball data nerd, Lucas McNally.Today's episode is brought to you by Vertical Raise, one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, now proudly helping teams, clubs and programs across Maine.With Vertical Raise, your program can raise more money in less time.* ### *0:20* *No selling, no collecting, just results.From new uniforms and better equipment to tourney trips and every fundraiser need in between.Maybe shot clocks?Verbal.Vertical Rays has a variety of campaigns to make it happen.Your main reps, Chris Christie and Dave Chase are both coaches who know what it takes to run a great program.* ### *0:39* *Chris Christie's program looks really good this year at any sport, club or grade level and they understand how important fundraising is to make it happen.Is isn't it worth 10 minutes of your time?To learn more, schedule a call or e-mail us today and see how Vertical Rays can take your fundraising to the next level.* ### *0:56* *That content information is in the show notes, which you should read, and then you should go and you should subscribe, leave a review, do all those algorithm things.People always say this, do the algorithm things, but they're really important for the robot over rising or overlords who are ruining everything.* ### *1:14* *So at minimum, what we can do if AI and the robots are going to take over everything is at least we can try to game their system against them.It's like the Kung Fu lesson, right?Of you try to like use your opponent's strengths against them.So that's what you got to do.You got to go in there.* ### *1:29* *You got to like and subscribe and do all that boring stuff for the algorithm.Speaking of Kung Fu, the new Karate Kid movie is terrible.It's really terrible.I don't know why I watched it.Josh Jackson's in for like in it a lot.It's half the movie is this kid teaching Josh Jackson how to box again, and I have no idea why.* ### *1:50* *And then Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan show up like halfway through.It's, I don't know, no idea why this movie even existed other.I mean, I know I existed, but I have no idea what they were thinking when they made this thing.Anyway, on today's show, Michael Hoffer is here of Hoffer's High school Sports to overreact to Week 8 preview the play offs.* ### *2:14* *We hit on a little of soccer, a little bit of field hockey, some volleyball, All good stuff off the top here.First of all, breaking news, congratulations to Adam Robinson, friend of the show.He is the JV coach this year of Edward Little.* ### *2:33* *So big things in store for Edward Little and Congrats to Adam and I don't know, maybe he can go back-to-back.He won that title with the Saint DOMS coaching the freshman.Now he's taking it up a level to coach this.The JV's.We'll see what he's got.* ### *2:49* *It's you know, maybe next year he's got a varsity kick somewhere, who knows, who knows?There's always coaches calling it quits and there's always turnover.So Adam, you just got to keep grinding, keep grinding that tape and you know you'll be a varsity head coach before long.So that's the big news.* ### *3:06* *And then the other news, just a couple of quick thoughts.Everyone's freaking out about the Celtics.Big time podcasters are panicking about the Celtics.I'm not going to panic.I'm going to.I'm going to take the other side of that.* ### *3:23* *It is a weird team and they're trying to figure out how to play without Tatum.Yes, they have no rebounding.That's pretty bad.I mean, they're winning right now.This could all get negated by what happens in the game today.And if they either win and everyone's fine, or if they lose and every freaks out again, they're playing the Pelicans.* ### *3:46* *They're up 2419 as of this recording.It's a weird team to watch.It's just there's weird combinations and Aunt Simons is trying to figure out how to play defense and Peyton Pritchard's been in a slump and a lot of that's going to fix itself because they have good coaches and they've got Jalen and Derek White at the top.* ### *4:09* *And it would really help to help Luke Cornett still.And I love Luke Cornett and he's looks awesome in San Antonio alongside Wembe.But I think the Celtics will be OK.I think they're going to be the 6th or the seven.Starting Owen 3 is not ideal depending on how tonight goes, but I think they'll be OK.* ### *4:31* *And if they aren't OK and you know, it's a gap year is what is?I mean, the best case scenario is they're like the six and Tatum comes back with like a month and a half to go in the season and then they're a really scary six seed that nobody wants to play.Maybe they well, they probably wouldn't add anybody at the deadline because of the the aprons and all that, But you know, they could be they could be interesting.* ### *4:54* *Maybe they flip Aunt Simons for a big that would that would help.And then, you know, Cooper, the first game was a little rocky.If you didn't watch that game, you missed one of the best basketball performances you'll ever see in your life from Wimby.* ### *5:11* *Oh, my goodness, just otherworldly.And I don't know how you even respond to that in your first NBA game playing against that because that was just next, next level performance by Wemby.But you know, I said this in the newsletter, every at every step along the way for Cooper, every new level, there's the first game really looks a little, it's a, looks a little rough.* ### *5:35* *And we have to always remind people it's the first game.And then there's the haters, cuz, you know, haters gonna hate.They're all like, oh, you can't handle this white boy from Maine can't handle it.He ain't nothing, whatever.And then 3-4 games in, he figures it out and you start to go, oh, OK, yeah, he's going to be fine at this level 2.* ### *5:55* *And that's what happened in game three.He had the 20 points, no turnovers.Only the second person in NBA history to have a 20.0 turnover game before their 19th birthday.The other person was Kobe.You may have heard of him.* ### *6:11* *He his career worked out just fine.And Cooper did it in his third game and they're about to tip off for his fourth game, which is against the Thunder.So that might not go great because the Thunder, you know, are really great.OK, so that's all I have to say about that.* ### *6:31* *Find a way to get Luke Cornett back on the Celtics, please, somebody.Or maybe Kada.Maybe Kada will figure it out.I don't know.It's going to be a fun season either way.It's, you know, it's a little yes.You know, it's not as much fun as when you're killing everybody and you're the favourites to win the whole thing or you're going to you know, you're penciling Eastern Conference finals or anything like that.* ### *6:52* *But it should be a good season.It's AI think it's a fun team to watch.They're they play hard and they've got a lot of weird players who don't necessarily make a lot of sense together and it's quirky.So I I'm enjoying it.I wish they could rebound, but I'm enjoying it.OK, so having said all that, let's go to my conversation with Michael Hopper.* ### *7:14* *My guest today is well known to all of you.He is the man that is so busy and works so hard that he even publishes game stories during games that he's covering.Michael Hopper is here.You know, got to do what you got to do, Lucas, right then that that does happen occasionally.* ### *7:31* *Luckily, football games have halftimes where you can actually do something like that.But I try to avoid.I try to avoid doing two things at once when I can.I'm like standing on the sideline at Bonnie Eaglethorne Academy and you're there.And also now I get an e-mail pop up that you published a new story and I'm like, we're at the game.* ### *7:48* *The game is happening right now.Are you doing this?Yeah, like, you know, in, in all fairness, it was written before.I just didn't have time to give it a quick look over, which I did at half time and then made it live.So that was a good a judicious use of time because I knew I was going to be up probably to the wee hours writing that football story.* ### *8:06* *So I wanted to get that one out.Well, you got to do that really, 'cause there's the thing like it's the joke in screen writing that when you send the script to someone you'll immediately find a typo.Oh yeah, makes sense, no question.So, and it'll be a really embarrassing typo, like something like just dunderheaded.* ### *8:25* *How did I miss that?And oh, we just sent it to Ryan Reynolds.Great.It happens that you know it.It it's occupational hazard.Then with me it's messing up last names.It's, you know, calling someone a junior when they're a senior.I mean, pretty mild things in the big scheme of things.* ### *8:42* *But you know, things like just have to hit myself in the head and say, oh, I knew that, but I didn't do it.Properly, my worst one of that was during tourney week.Not last year, but the year before I switched Gabe Hagar and Gabe Lash.Oh, from Madomic and Lincoln Academy.* ### *8:59* *Yeah, that's understandable.You know, I didn't wake up to very many text messages, only 15 to 20 of people who read.It it shows people are paying attention though, so that's always good.There's that.Yeah, there is that.There is that.So you have the new site.* ### *9:15* *How is the new site going?That's the most important question.Right.You know, and I think the last time we chatted was right when I got this going back in April and 6 plus months in, it's I'm, I'm very pleased with where things are.Had a lot of really good support.You know how it is, you have weeks where you get a ton of subscribers and other weeks where it's crickets.* ### *9:34* *But you know, especially the start of the fall season was, was terrific in regards to numbers.And you know, I'm still this is my, my sole occupation.I've been able to do this and make enough money to keep this going.And I'm, you know, I'm really encouraged where things are so far.We haven't even gotten into basketball season yet.* ### *9:49* *So I'm hoping that, you know, that'll be another boost come December.But so far so good.I love, you know, having the freedom to cover what I want when I want to cover it, the stories I want to pursue.You know, it's, it's it's been fantastic.All things considered.I'm very, very pleased.And it's got to be, first of all, encouraging the response that it wasn't just people going, yeah, whatever, right?* ### *10:11* *But the ability to sort of like own your own thing and be your own boss and call all the shots.And that's got to be liberating.After the we won't mention how many years you were at A at a newspaper.Yeah, I mean, for, but even, you know, to be fair, most of my years, even when I was working for others, it was more or less, you know, doing what I wanted to do and, you know, for the most part.* ### *10:33* *So, you know that that part's great.And, you know, you start something like this and people, you know, will, will say, oh, you know, that's awesome.We'll we'll support you.And then, you know, the question is what will they really when the time comes?And, you know, no question there, there, there's been no shortage of, of people that I expected support from.* ### *10:49* *And then a lot of other people I didn't even know existed.So, you know, it's, it's been great.And in some ways I'm busier than I've ever been.You know, I'm doing these daily features that I never really used to do before, like the athlete of the week, game of the week, that kind of stuff podcast now, which, you know, is time consuming, but it's great because I've had a chance to talk to some terrific people.* ### *11:07* *And you know, that's really been a nice add on, I think to the site.But you know, at the end of the day, I'm out of games every day fall.This is the first Monday night I've had free.I know we've talked about doing this earlier in the.Fall I tried to get to John in a week.Yeah, I mean, it's just most weeks I'm like, I've got a game, I've got a game.So so that's going to change.* ### *11:23* *So you I'll have free weeknights after next week for about a month, which will be great.And the weekends are still busy.But you know, from September, October, it's, it's 810 games a week and it's pretty much, you know, most of the waking hours are, are spent doing this.I kind of dragged my feet on the podcast thing.* ### *11:40* *I was sort of new for a while gonna have to do the podcast, a podcast.I just know I'm gonna have to.But I found it's been really great to like get to know people.So true in a way better than just like like if I see you with the at a game, we're on the sidelines.We talk a little, but yeah, we're we're busy.* ### *11:57* *Yeah, but you get to know people in a, in a much like not deeper away, but it's, it's a much more interesting way to to get to know people.And like, if I have coaches on here who I've never met and, you know, talk to them and that's great.And then you see them at tournament games or whatever, it's like, Oh yeah, great, great.* ### *12:15* *Yeah.And it's, I don't know, I think it's been a very positive addition to at least everything I do.And I'm assuming you're having the same thing.No, I would agree.And I mean, I've, I've had several guests on the people I've known for, you know, in some case decades, but I'm always learning that more things about them that I didn't know before or, you know, going in greater detail than what I think I remember.* ### *12:35* *And, and it's just, it's just fun because it's a more personal level.You're right.I mean, it's one thing that I'm interviewing someone after a game.It's, you know, it's very much a professional reporter coach thing, you know, doing the podcast.It's, it's, you still have that to some degree, but you, it's just time to go into way more depth.* ### *12:51* *And, and I think it's a more comfortable setting for the subject.So they're, you know, they'll, they'll, they'll elaborate quite a bit more.Yeah, You have some time to get them to, like, sort of open up and relax.And it's not just, you know, you're interviewing a kid after the game.They're like, they've got their talking points from their coach and they're, yeah, they played hard.* ### *13:09* *Yeah, yeah.Followed the game plan.Yeah, get all that stuff.Yeah.So no, it's it's it's all good.You know it, it beats working for a living.That's been my go to line for 25 years and I still feel that way.Where can people find the podcast?Is it on everywhere you can podcast or is it just through the site?* ### *13:26* *It's through the site, so everything's at Hoffers High School, sports.com, you know, all the game stories, all the features, podcast polls, everything's under one umbrella there.And it's pretty easy navigational bar.And if you go into the podcast, it'll list everything I've done.I think we're up to like 9 or 10 now.* ### *13:43* *It's something I started in the fall.I hadn't done that in the spring, but that was kind of something new with this fall and had it every Thursday and it's about time to start recording a new batch here as we we head into the winter, so.Nice.Yeah, more or less used up the majority of my people, but it's it's been great.And you know, like I say, it's been a lot of fun for sure.* ### *14:00* *This is where you come up with gimmicks like this so you can cycle through the same people.Right.That's, that's not the worst thing I know.I guess as time goes on that might that might happen, no question about it.Yeah.Yeah.All right, so let's start.We're going to overreact.Let's start with the game we both went to, which was the big game, Bonnie Eagle and Thornton Academy.* ### *14:21* *Not as close as a lot of people thought it would be.No.And I guess if you're going to overreact, I would say that no one's ever going to tackle Connery, who began or.Geez.He was, he was remarkable.And, and The funny thing is, I just happened to be at TA Saturday for a soccer game and I got a chance to see him for a minute.I'm so I told him, I'm surprised you got out of bed this morning and I'm surprised you haven't been in the cold bath all day or the hot tub or whatever.* ### *14:42* *And he actually seemed, you know, when you're 1718 years old, you can recover from these things pretty quickly.And he seemed no worse for wear.And I think he he loved having the ball that many times.And I know his teammate and his fans love that he had that the ball that many times.And I think he's really established himself right now as the favorite for the Fitzpatrick Trophy.* ### *14:59* *But yeah, TA with quite a statement.I mean, that's not an easy venue to go into.It was senior night for Bon Eagle.Packed house.You know, everyone was very fired up for this game.The Bon Eagle team that had really surrendered very few points all season.And, you know, TA comes in and I think they they didn't score their first drive.* ### *15:16* *And then after that, they scored every drive until maybe just killing clock at the end.So really a statement win.And it's got to be so frustrating for the other team when you know what's coming and you just can't stop them.You know, time after time, you know he's going to get the ball, but you know, he's either spinning out of tackles or he's bowling guys over and you know, 6812 yards of pop.* ### *15:35* *And then occasionally even bigger.It's the more like it really wears the defense down as time goes on.I think what probably, well you're to the point you're made that drive in the second quarter where they just couldn't get off the field and it was third and 12 and they pick up 13, third and nine and they pick up 10.* ### *15:57* *And that drive just went on forever.It did, and you know, we talked about their effectiveness running the ball, but you know, maybe the biggest play of the game was that touchdown pass because I think that came on 3rd and 12 and at that point it was still 77.If Bonnie Eagle gets to stop there, who knows?* ### *16:12* *And then I know Bonnie Eagle's lamenting the fact that they had the long touchdown pass called back for the motion penalty.And then you fumble away the second-half kick off.And you can't give a superior team like Thornton Academy extra possessions or fail to score when you have great opportunities to score and you know, hence the final score is 4221, when in reality maybe the teams aren't quite that far apart.* ### *16:33* *No, I I thought that could easily have swung in either direction.You know, like that touchdown pass, it gets called back.First of all is a beautiful touchdown pass.Big time 60 yarder.I just want to say that I nailed the filming of that on my iPhone.* ### *16:49* *Like I had the yeah, I had the quarterback in the frame and then I, you know, whipped around and I had him clean like Joe Bailey level.No.That's saying something.Receiver in the frame as the ball's coming in, hauls it in.Yeah.And I was like, oh, that was great.* ### *17:04* *And then I.But I had seen the flag out of the corner of my eye and I was like.You know it's coming back, yeah.You know, it's coming back and it's the best, it's the best video I've gotten of a touchdown pass all year, and that's really the biggest disappointment.Yeah, it is frustrating and you know, I'm not good with videos at all or taking photos.* ### *17:22* *So you're right when you do like line one up just right is hope you keep your fingers crossed that it's gonna stand.There's a whole trick to it.It's it's got to sort of like you got to look at your screen, but you also got to be looking past the screen.Yes, I'm getting I'm getting a little better camera.So it it shows like the top of someone's head instead of the whole like it drives me crazy but that's why or.* ### *17:42* *You think you get it?Photographer.You think you get it and you're like just a little too high and you just get, yeah, you just get like their helmet.You're like, still open.Yep.But yeah, I mean, they had that one's called back, the fumble of the second-half kickoff.I mean, there's a world where they're up 21, seven, right, you know, in that game.* ### *18:00* *And then that's an entirely different football game at that point.Right.I think if you're Bonnie Eagle, you look at it that way and say, you know, we, if we play again and we clean stuff up, we're gonna be right there.And I think that's a fair way to look at it.But at the same time, you know, you're gonna have to stop this guy at some point cuz right.Next, you know, the next time they play, maybe he's not gonna get the ball 40 times, but he's still going to get it a lot.* ### *18:20* *And if he's, you know, breaking off chunks on a regular basis, you're going to be in trouble.So you're going to have to find a way to slow him down, maybe not stop him.And at the same time, you know, TA has shown they can do other things too.They have other weapons on offense.They just haven't had to use them that much.So be curious to see.* ### *18:36* *I mean, I think there's a very good chance they're going to play in the the class AS final.And, you know, unfortunately for Bonnie Eagle, they're going to have to go over to TA now on a Saturday afternoon.That'll be the difference.Really tough place to play.It's as close as we get to a college environment here in Maine, high school football.And, you know, TA is going to come into that game very, very confident, you know, presuming again, that both teams are there.* ### *18:55* *So, But I do think Bonnie Eagle matches up with TA better than probably anyone else.And I think if anyone has a chance to knock them off, they'd be at the top of the list.I mean, I we were both at the Portland game, the Portland TA game and that wasn't nearly as like there was no comparison between like the gulf between those teams.* ### *19:14* *Right.And I think, you know, Portland was a little banged up.I think if they again, if they play again, I think Portland could close the gap some and you know, approach things differently.But again, I mean, you've got you've got to stop this guy.And they they weren't able to do it either.And they got to find a way to score points because when TA Portland played, Portland wound up with a 0 on the scoreboard.* ### *19:33* *So they've they've got a much bigger gap to close than what the Bonnie Eagle does.And it wasn't even close like.No, without game I don't.Quickly.That was a quick knock.Very quickly, very quickly.So let's talk Fitzy.Yeah, so we've got Ayub is you have to, I think you have to start with Cordell Jones, because when you win Gatorade as a junior, no question, you're automatically the front runner, right.* ### *19:55* *So you got Conor Ayub, Who else?Gallant maybe from Old Orchard Beach as like a finalist.There's no question.They do, they do.They do finalists, right?I think they they have 10 semi finalists and then bring it down to it's always been three, unless they've expanded that.* ### *20:11* *But another name I'd give you is Geo Staples from Westbrook.And I don't know how familiar you are with that story, but that's been for my money, the best story of the high school football season is this resurgence of the Westbrook program.They're seven and one.They're the one seed in Class B South.This is a team that won two games last year and really for decades has just not been a factor at all.* ### *20:31* *It's been a wonderful story.He's their quarterback, he can run, he can throw.So he's a he's a big factor too.I I wouldn't be surprised to see his name thrown into the thrown into the hat before all is said and done.And then I would think you'd have to have Trey Walker from Falmouth, yeah, Park, Parker, Moran, probably from Coney, yeah, who's just had an incredible year, say.* ### *20:50* *Colin Moran from Bonnie Eagle, too.I know it didn't go well the other night, but you know, he's he's had a really good career, really good season.So yeah, he.Looked really good in that game.Right.You know, if Parker Rennie had stayed healthy, he missed a few games for South Portland, including I think South Portland for a better part of 1/2 played TA better than anybody in state all season.* ### *21:09* *This is about 3-4 weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon.The teams are going back and forth.And then Parker Rennie suffered a shoulder injury, which at the time I thought was season ending.As it turned out, it was just an AC joint.He just missed a couple games.And you know, they're they're pegged to play in the semis.* ### *21:24* *So I know South Portland would not be overly intimidated going down to TA.You know, beating him is a whole other story.But I think, you know, you look at teams that could maybe, you know, compete, they're there too.So that's another name because, you know, he he's really been very effective.He looks the part, you know, nice, big, tall, strong kid that they can really fire the football around.* ### *21:44* *And then also, who's the kid from Kennebunk that's whose name is escaping me Someone.Mentioned Austin West.Yeah, yeah, I think he's a senior, yeah.He's probably on the list.And then I'm sure there's someone from Herman that we're missing because Herman's, I mean, Herman's been in the mix.* ### *21:59* *No, no, a while, no question.Yeah, you know, it's funny class in class CS fascinating how it's just Oh my gosh, it's it's there's no regions there.I mean, Greeley coming back to 11 man football and finishing eight and O and atop the standings is really an amazing story.And you know, their best players, probably their junior quarterback, Luke Piper, who's not.* ### *22:17* *Else that was my next question.Is he a junior?He's a junior.He's a terrific baseball player too.That's really good.The resurgence of that program is unbelievable.I mean, three years ago they they had their first eight man year.They didn't win a game.Two years ago they started to finally figure out at the end of the year they made this amazing run to the state final and lost.* ### *22:37* *You know, last year they dominated the state game, beat Mount Ararat and moved up to 11 man.You're like, OK, that's great.It's a nice story.It'll take them a few years to really be competitive, but now they that's been accelerated and they've got a good chance as anyone to be in that state game.And they've got this nice turf field.* ### *22:53* *Nice and soft.Yeah, nice and soft.It's relaxing.It is.It's, you know.So they'll they're they're gonna host some big games here in the next few weeks.They actually have a buy this week.But they're you know, they'll they'll be hosting some big games.And you know, if the seeds hold we we'd have we could have a Greeley Levitt staking, which would be fantastic.* ### *23:11* *I know you were at that regular season game where, you know, Levitt had some great chances to pull that out late.Couldn't do it.You know that a Mike Hathaway coach team is gonna be a lot better the second time around.So, you know, you get a match up like that that would be can't miss.Is there a coach you would less want to get a second time in the season than a Hathaway coach team?* ### *23:31* *Maybe Kevin Cooper or Bonnie Eagle, just from what all that he's accomplished, his pedigree and you know, he and Kevin Keesel are pretty much like neck and neck Where Coach Cooper's won seven titles with Bonnie Eagle, Coach Keesel's won six at Thornton Academy.But no, I mean that that they would be the ones that jump to mind.* ### *23:47* *No question.But I think other than that, yeah, no, no question what Levitt stun, what Levitt did a couple years ago when they were beating all those Class A teams and winning the class that I mean, that was that was amazing.It really was.That was crazy.Yeah.It's amazing to me that like, the difference between basketball and football is like everyone in basketball is like, I can't possibly play this school that's got 100 more kids than we do.* ### *24:10* *How could we ever possibly compete?They've got 100 more kids.And then in football they're like, what?So what?They're three times our size.We'll play, I'm sure.And it's like, you need like twice as many people.Well, it's because the school size doesn't ultimately matter as much as how many kids are in the program.* ### *24:27* *And, you know, Yeah.And especially for basketball, we only need what, 10 on a roster necessarily, I mean.Be 1000 and you if you have two good kids, yeah.You're going to compete with anyone you.Can play with anyone.Exactly.Exactly.And yeah, I mean, Thornton Academy has an advantage because they have 100 kids on the team and they can have guys go one way instead of both.* ### *24:45* *And that's a rarity in this day and age, no question about it.But yeah, so smaller schools can line up and and beat the bigger ones on a fairly consistent basis.Yeah.OK, so let's let's start an A.So we've already done a mostly I'm bringing up Andrew Hart's site here because.* ### *25:02* *Yeah, he's terrific.I, I, he, I know he.I can only imagine how much work he puts in during the season.It's a great resource.He, yeah, it's he does a fantastic job.I mean, you're, I mean, you're the guy publishing game stories during a game from another game.* ### *25:22* *But you know, so the amount of work, you know, I know I spent all day yesterday.This is the only thing I did yesterday was I fixed the soccer and field hockey spreadsheets and caught up on old scores and then I had to go through.* ### *25:38* *And I had to.Run the heel points and then compare all the heel points to the MPA site and then find the missing game here and the game I flipped.It literally took me all day.Yeah, I believe it.So I I just I went to bed at like 2 after I finished.* ### *25:53* *The new letter.I've been there.Yeah, OK.So it's TA and Bonnie Eagle in the South.Yeah.And then Noble in South Portland.So it's top four get in.Yeah.So we have our field now.So there's we don't have to really speculate.Yeah, even though there's still one more week of regular season games.* ### *26:08* *It's just nothing's gonna change.Oh, right, there's.Yeah.I always forget that, so here's a question.Do these teams play crossovers right Without is the are the a schedule is not locked to a right.They play outside of a Yeah cuz Oxford Hills played Coney.* ### *26:25* *Yes, there are and.Things like that.Full of games and you got the couple teams that play the New Hampshire teams too.So there's, you know, there are external forces at work.I'm trying to think off the top of my head if TA or Bon Eagles played outside of Class A, but it it it can happen, yes.* ### *26:40* *It's not like you're locked into playing just an SMA schedule.But what happens if, let's say, Kony is, for an example, because, you know, let's say Kony's in a dog fight for the one seed and they've got opponents who have games left on their schedule.Do we, are we just saying the hell with it and locking the hill, locking the Crabtrees?* ### *27:01* *At that point I.Guess well, I think every other class has finished their regular season so there would be no there would you know.I think that's why we can more or less look at this.I think in the north though, there's still room for some movement, isn't there with between Deering Oxford Hills.I think it's possible that maybe, yeah.* ### *27:18* *Oh yeah, Deering and Oxford Hills are pretty close to each other.So, but you, you know what I'm saying?It's like, yeah, the we're locking the playoff seeds, but there's still games left on the schedule that could change retroactively.So I guess we're just say, well.It is what it is.It.Yeah, it is.And you know, it's very strange.* ### *27:34* *Hopefully it'll stay what we're talking about, otherwise this is all going to be a moot point.OK, so we're going to have the same issue with basketball with the with the under one hundreds, yes, starting a week early.So that'll be fun.Oh.Yeah, that's that's that's a problem for another time.I know it's coming, but it's a problem for.Another time.* ### *27:49* *That's a February problem.It is.And it will be so in the in the South.Can Noble give Bonnie Eagle a game?Yes, they actually prior to last week, that Bon Eagles closest game was noble.They did win that 18 nothing.* ### *28:05* *And you know, this isn't Noble of the last couple years with Jamir Rose, let's be fair.But what's impressed me is that Noble still remained a very competitive program, 7 and one with a one loss.I mean, they do play at TA Thursday night.There's a very good chance they're going to wind up 7:00 and 2:00.But I don't know if a lot of people expected them to come back and remain at at a level where, you know, they're talking about semi finals, regional final.* ### *28:28* *It's it's it's really been a great resurgence there and it and it's not just a one man show.You know, I think basketball might be a little bit more that way.I hope I'm wrong, but.Well, they're losing 2.People there exactly so.But but football, you know, noble football has remained a factor and you know, if anyone's going to crash that TA Bonnie Eagle party, they probably have a better shot than South Portland.* ### *28:50* *OK.And then over in the north, we've got Portland, they've looks like they've got that locked.Up.My understanding is that's done.Yep.And then Bangor, Oxford Hills and Deering and Windham.I think Windham needed to win this week to keep their dreams alive.* ### *29:05* *Yeah, it's, I think the four are in.It's just can there be any movement?And you know, no one, no one's going to want to go to Bangor, right?So, right.And yeah.And I think, you know, during Portland would would be fun in theory, but you look at the regular season meeting, it wasn't close.* ### *29:22* *You know, Cordell Jones ran wild in that one.And that was actually at Deering.So the rematch would be at Fitzy in in the semis.And surprisingly, there's not a whole lot of playoff history between those schools.There's a lot of November history with Thanksgiving Day, but there's only been a few a few games like back in the early 2000s, I think there was one in 2014, but there hasn't, you know, and in the last several years they've been in different regions, different classes anyway.* ### *29:46* *But you know, anytime you get Portland Deering, it would make for a fun playoff match up, no question.Deering.Was in B, they got, they got to the BS final and lost to Kennebunk.That was the best season they'd had in over a decade.And so they've moved up and they've they've remained competitive.And really other than, you know, they lost early to Bangor, they lost to Portland.* ### *30:05* *But as the season's gone on, they've been very competitive.You know, Joey Foley's had a great season.There's another name, you know, he's a senior.He does a lot of things for Deering.You know he might be in consideration too, because he's effective both ways.Let me ask you a follow up Fitzy question.OK, Why does the Fitzy take three months to come out?* ### *30:23* *That's a great question.I, I, I don't think we do it.Yeah.I don't know that it needs to go like till like the the weekend of the AFCNFC Championship games, no question about it.But they like, they like to drag out the drama and it's always been that way that I can remember.But I don't, you know, it doesn't take that it.We're not accumulating votes by, you know, Pony Express at this point.* ### *30:42* *It's 'cause we.I mean, they do basketball, they do Mr. Basketball, like during the season.Right.I mean during the tournament you get the names of 10, you get it down to three or five and and then the next weekend is the banquet and that's that.So I don't.Know the names of 10 should be after the season is after the tournament's over that's insane I.* ### *31:00* *Totally agree with that.And then you can still get it done relatively quickly.But I, I, I don't know.I just think that that's how they've always done it and that that banquet's always, you know, middle to the latter part of January.And that's that's when the big reveal is.It always confused every year.It confuses me.I'm like, wait, we didn't do that already, right?* ### *31:16* *Yeah, because it kind of you kind of get lost in the shuffle once you get into the other sports and NFL playoffs and College Football Playoff, that's like, oh, we still got this high school award to give out.But yeah, it is.It is a big deal when it happens.All right, so let's move on to BI think the story of Class B other than Westbrook's resurgence, which you hit on is Coney like?* ### *31:39* *What a great story, yeah. 401 point score to 83 allowed.I feel like that's good, yeah.Yeah, it's pretty good.Wow.I mean, that's 50 points a game, right?I mean, that's that's.Yeah, I think.That's crazy.Off, I think they're #1 and they're #2 I think in scoring behind Old Orchard Beach, right?* ### *31:58* *And it's because game.Orchard Beach, No.And we knew coming in they were going to be a powerhouse, right?I think, well, the question was, how was Primary Academy going to compete moving down from the being the Class C champion?And, you know, Kony certainly showed that, that there's a lot of separation between those two teams when they played here, you know, a month or so ago.* ### *32:16* *So, yeah, Kony's got to feel really good about their chances.And good luck going in there and beating them.Yeah.Jeez, I mean, you know, Gardner's had they came into it 7 and one or six and one.Yeah, yeah. 6:00 and 1:00 and just got absolutely destroyed.* ### *32:33* *Yeah, 51 to 10 or something to that effect.So that just goes to show, I mean, it doesn't guarantee anything.We've seen other years where teams looked unbeatable and all it takes is 1 bad night or one bad bounce.But you know, Kony looks is about as safe a bet as anyone.At least get to the state game.Yeah, I mean, it looks like their path is pretty clear.* ### *32:51* *Slightly off topic, did you see Mike Mandel compiled for the Sun, for No Kennebec Journal, whatever for one of the varsity main sites?Like the five history of like 5 games in that series.The Coney Gardner.I love that stuff and the amount of research that probably went into that was time consuming.* ### *33:09* *And you know, kudos to Mike for taking the time to do that.And just, I mean, what a great rivalry.I mean, down here it's all, you know, we talk about Portland during and Portland, South Portland, the Battle of the Bridge and back in the day, Biddeford, TA.But no, I mean, what what an amazing history.And it's great that that's still meaningful after all these years.* ### *33:28* *My favorite was they tried to dry the field in like 1912 by lighting it on fire.What could go wrong?Right?Crazy, yeah.That's like an idea where you're like, how sober were you guys?I don't.Know if there was when you.* ### *33:44* *Had.This plan that's, I don't know, it's amazing, Anyone who's around for the 1913 game, you know?I just like, I was just flipping like reading through it really quickly.I'm like, I had to reread it.I'm like, wait, what?You tried to light the field on fire, right?* ### *34:03* *All right, so let's go over to the South where Westbrook, are they going to pull out?They pulled off a one seed.They did they they squeaked it out.It was, I think I have a few other things that happened this weekend.Kennebunk would have jumped back up in front of them, but in Kennebunk was like scoreboard watching, if you will, but it just it didn't happen.* ### *34:19* *So yeah, what in Westbrook deserving?I mean, they did win the head to head game.So you got to figure, you know, maybe all things being equal, that that they they deserve that.And I think any of those top three teams could come out.Falmouth is, is getting healthy, they're getting better.That defence is getting better and better, right?* ### *34:35* *You know, I, I can only imagine.Great at Freiburg, right against Freiburg just.Thinking about that chess match, if if somehow Falmouth and Kony score off in the state final, you've got this unstoppable offense and a great defence, but you know they're going to have a hard time getting through because they're going to have to go to Kennebunk.Presuming they beat Gorham on Friday, they're going to have to go to Kennebunk for the semis and then potentially to Westbrook.* ### *34:58* *So and then you get that Marshwood Chevres game, which I think is really interesting because, you know, Chevres lost to Marshwood by a point in the regular season.Marshwood is Marshwood, right?No one's going to want to play them in the playoffs.I know this isn't a vintage Marshwood team, but on a given night, they're dangerous.You know, there's been other years that they've, you know, almost jumped up and beaten Kennebunk.* ### *35:15* *And how's Westbrook going to handle being the wearing the bullseye, right?I mean, they've never been in this position before.They've been this incredible story.But ultimately, they're going to be measured by, you know, what they do in November, and they have a chance for immortality, get to a regional final, get to a state final, something this school has never, ever done.* ### *35:32* *And.This they've never been to a regional final.And they, they have the potential to do this and they've got some, you know, stand out seniors.So it's really a great opportunity for them.But you know, until you take the field and all, you know, all of a sudden you have a giant crowd and all the expectations, you know, until you actually experience that and get through that, you know, the question marks remain.* ### *35:53* *Kennebunk's been on the state game in the last two years.They're in regional finals every year.You know, the Falmouth program, I guess that's the model for Westbrook, right, Is you look at Falmouth prior to last year, you know, they they've had a few good teams.They've been to a couple regional finals, but they had never been to a state game.And not only did they go undefeated and get to states, they win it.* ### *36:11* *And I think Westbrook would love to follow that that script this season.So I'm really fascinated to see how they handle the pressure of the postseason once we get into that.It's I mean, that's a never ending fascination really is when you see a team that hasn't been there before noble basketball recently and things like that is like, how are they gonna respond in the big moments with the big crowds under the spotlight?* ### *36:36* *And then one of the things, one of the noble, because the noble crowd, I remember in the tournament, not last year, but the year before their first year there, right, their crowd was going crazy.And one of their coaches said to me, he goes, Hey, you can't act like you've been there before if you haven't been there before.* ### *36:52* *That's true.And.I was like, well, that's, that's fair.Yeah, and that's the one wild card of all this, right?And you know, are you going to come out nervous?Is the more poised team going to come out and go up 14?Nothing in the blink of an eye and then it's a whole different game.So it'll be interesting to see because Kennebunk and Falmouth have that experience.* ### *37:09* *Marshwood has the coaching experience.They haven't been in the big games for the last couple of years and Sharpers has some veteran coaches too who've been in a lot of big games.So it's really, it's a great region.It's been fun to watch all year.All these teams that have really been close.If there were some of the best games this whole season have been in Class B South and we're recovering.* ### *37:27* *The Chevis Kennebunk overtime game earlier this year that looked like Chevis was going to win and then Kennebunk came back and stole it by a point.So really on a given night and even last week, Gorham took Westbrook down to the wire in a 1210 game that no one saw coming.So I wouldn't be so quick to write off Gorham.* ### *37:43* *You know, they they weren't healthy when they played at Falmouth in the regular season.If they can go in there healthy, anything's possible.So I think that's about as fun a region as there is, at least on paper, going in.Yeah, you've got a bunch of narratives.You've got history, you've got you got it's got it all you do, you know?* ### *37:59* *Yeah, it should be fun.It'll.Be fun, and then Coney will probably roll in the North, but who knows?Maybe, maybe they'll get knocked off and Gorham's going to come out of the South.There's something crazy.You never know, right?Hey, you never know, you want to make a prediction for the South?Boy, it's, it's tough.* ### *38:15* *I think Kennebunk's going to be really tough to knock off when all is said and done, and I would not be surprised if Falmouth found a way to get through.I mean, I guess I'd hedge my bet and say you the Falmouth Kennebunk winner, presuming that happens, in my mind would be the favorite.But boy, there's something special, magical about this Westbrook team.* ### *38:32* *And what an awesome story it would be if they could get through.I think it just, I mean, they've already gotten a ton of attention here over the last few weeks, but I think it would just, you know, they'd be illuminated even more.And, you know, Sam Johnson's done such an incredible job with this program.And, you know, they just, they deserve all the positive attention they can get.* ### *38:48* *And, you know, in my line of work, I don't root for teams.I root for stories.And my favorite, my favorite stories are teams that haven't been good for a long time, that that have gotten good again, or in this case, really a program without much of A pedigree doing it for the first time.I mean, these things write themselves.* ### *39:03* *So I guess that's a long winded way of saying I'm I'm picking a few different teams.But you know, if you put if you put me on the spot, I'd say Ken amongst going to be really tough to to throw and when the when the when all is said and done.I root for my spreadsheet to be right.That's why I understand that too.* ### *39:20* *Are your picks to be right?Yeah, I get it.Yeah, I root for my picks to be right and then narratives, and then I root for coaches who are nice to me.That's.These are these are all very good reasons to root for someone, yes.I mean, you know, let's, let's be honest, that's what we're really hoping for here, is that the people are cooperative.* ### *39:38* *Yes.And so I would say I would probably pick Falmouth because I can imagine the emails I'll get if I don't.So yeah, that's fair, I thought.Yeah, I mean, what a what a great story they were last year.And and I would not write them off.I'd be they're they know they know how to win and they're kind of in a good spot where they're not the team everyone's talking about like they were last year.* ### *39:59* *They can go out and take care of business and put their best foot forward.You know, the opening night, they they were up 10, nothing down at Kennebunk.They wound up losing 1410.So if they have to go back there, they know that they can beat them and play with them.They've beaten what?They're the only team to beat Westbrook this year.They just handled Chevrus.And they beat Marshwood, you know, or they lost to Marshwood in a down to the wire game here a few weeks ago.* ### *40:19* *So there's no one in this field that would that would scare the defending champs.Yeah, and they blew up.I mean, the last two weeks they blew up Freiburg and they blew out Shepherds.So very impressive.I think gave up.You want three points total, You want a peak going in and that they seem to be doing that.Maybe they're getting healthy.* ### *40:35* *I think they have a lot of injuries.Though they do, and they they're not going to get everyone back.But even getting Abraham Winterstein back last week was huge.And I think you know what, whatever they have, they've still got a lot of skill players.And that defense is when it's when it's clicking, it's very dynamic.* ### *40:51* *Yeah.All right, let's move on to C, which is everybody's favorite class this year.It's.No north or South.Insanity.Yeah.No North or South. 13 teams in one region.Yeah, 10 get in very deep, 10 are in.So York got the final one.* ### *41:08* *They did.They were actually already in going in because going into their game on Saturday, because the madomic coaches had me running scenarios, they're like they're like, who could we end up playing if we win, if we lose, blah, blah, blah.And it was it just came down to them.* ### *41:25* *When I ran it, I'm like, you're going to be 7th or 8th and you're going to play Old Town or York in some one of those two things.That's how it's going to work out.Yep.And so York lost 8 to 6 to Monadnock.Monadnitcher.Stool cock.Easy for you to say, yeah?* ### *41:42* *Bring in, bring in the closer to shut it to shut it down right?Do you want to hear a side baseball thing That I'm just how stupid I am?Well, and why not?So last night I'm, I'm like, I don't want to watch the Steelers a game cuz I hate the Steelers and cuz I lived in Pittsburgh for too long and I hate the Steelers.* ### *42:01* *So I'm like flipping through the YouTube TV and I saw World Series game and I'm like the World Series.Of course I watch the World Series and I'm watching the World Series and I'm only and I'm I'm doing this while I'm doing the spreadsheet stuff, right.And so I'm half watching it and I'm like, wow, they get this inning is just falling like getting out of control.* ### *42:20* *And you know, there's Blake Snell on the in the dugout looking mad.And then they hit a Grand Slam and I'm like.Again.This is game one.They're just replaying game one you idiot.I was freaking out.I was like, Oh my.Gosh, look at that.* ### *42:36* *You figured it out eventually, that's all.I figured it out.When I think at the Grand Slam I was like, I'm so stupid.OK, Anyway, so Greeley got the one seed, Levitt got the two seed.Those are the so the top 6 get a buy, correct.* ### *42:54* *So Greeley, Levitt, Herman, Gardner, Wells, Nokomis, Yeah, get buys and then our prelim or quarterfinals, I guess.No, those are prelims, right?Is Madonic will host Old Town and Foxtroft Foxcroft will host York.Yeah, and I mean, how crazy that's a you know how.* ### *43:11* *That's a nuts region.It is.And you look at the pedigree of a team like Foxcroft Academy in the seven spot, right?I mean, how crazy is that?I mean, they're a team that no one's gonna want to see down the road.Wells is is just as accomplished in recent years.It doesn't matter what class they were in.They're they're winning, you know, they they potentially could beat up with Greeley in the semi finals as good Gardner.* ### *43:33* *So you know, Greeley might you could have an easier time with it in the quarters, but that semi final round will not be easy.You know, I know you mentioned Herman earlier with the great, the great season they're having.And then, of course, there's Levitt lurking really in in a great spot for them.* ### *43:48* *So this is going to be fun.I mean, you've got a good half dozen teams here.They probably have a legitimate shot at at going all the way and a lot of them who have several pelts on the wall if you will.Yeah, yeah, you've really got, you know, you talk about Foxcroft, you've got madomic an eighth who's the last three years been in a regional final up north.* ### *44:12* *But still a regional final is a regional final.And they're getting healthy.They good play spoiler here.I think they'll handle Old Town.I think I don't I don't know how much further they'll get than that.* ### *44:28* *Now I'm going to get so many emails.I'm going to get text messages, I'm going to get phone calls.I I don't like their chances against Greeley because I've seen Greeley twice and Greeley looks really.Good.And, and you know, again, they've they've got a championship pedigree of their own now and then.This is a group that not only has won in football, but a lot of these guys played baseball back in June and won a state title there.* ### *44:49* *So they're used to being in big games, They're used to winning big games.They've they've really established quite a strong home field advantage.Now we mentioned with the turf, you know, the, the student sections really into it, they're going to be tough to beat.And I know the state game's at a neutral site, but you know, Greeley getting potentially 2 home games, I don't care who you are, good luck coming in and beating them.* ### *45:09* *Although Levitt did almost do that earlier this year.Falmouth did almost do that earlier this year with an overtime game.But you know, this Greeley team's for real, they they get up for these big moments and they're going to be tough to knock off, I think, especially on their turf.And in that 4-5 game, we've got a repeat of one of the best games I saw all year when Wells and Gardner went to overtime, right?* ### *45:31* *Yeah, and you know, I know Gardner's coming off the tough loss to Kony, but other than that, you know, they've handled just about everybody.And you know, like I said, you know, Wells is always playing deep into November.That's just what they do there.So something's good.Something's going to have to give when that when that match up comes up next weekend.* ### *45:48* *Yeah.And then I don't the team I have a question about is Nokomis because I just don't know how good they are.Like none of their their schedule looks like it was one of the softer ones in C.And then I know they beat Madomik last week, but Madomik lost one of their offensive line, their best offensive lineman before the game, and they're hopeful he'll be back for the playoffs.* ### *46:15* *So I just, I just don't have a read on how good Nokomis is.Well, I tell you, I.Don't know.Have you seen them?No, but I know on on September 27th, Greeley coming off the wins over Levitt and Falmouth went up there and they had to rally late to win 20 to 14.So I, I guess it would, it wouldn't be smart to sleep on them because they are, they are dangerous.* ### *46:31* *And I know that was maybe Greeley's closest call, at least at least on the road this year.OK, so they could, you know, that's a maybe spoiler.I did.They play Herman this year because that's who they get in that first round and bring it up here.* ### *46:46* *Yeah, there's too many teams to remember all this stuff.I don't even know where Nicomas was until a certain guy played basketball there for a year before moving to No, I'm kidding, but they could be a problem.They did lose at Herman, 27 to 20 all.* ### *47:05* *Right.So it was competitive.In week 7, so that could be an interesting three I think.So they maybe can make some noise.I think so.I just realized that Dexter's next to Nokomis.I didn't know that until I drove to Dexter for the T-Mobile.Thing and there it was.Yeah, yeah.And then there's a I'm like, I'm look at that.* ### *47:21* *Look where I am, guys.It's not up yet.I know it should be.You would think it should be.I saw a sign that said like.Under the town like town scientist at home of Cooper flag.I didn't see a statue.I didn't see any big banners.Well, you know he's.Got to accomplish.Something I mean, let's get let's.Get real, you know he's got to win something.* ### *47:37* *But no, I've got to think I will have you know he is the 2nd.NBA player in history.Did you see the stat to have 20 points and 0 turnovers before his 19th birthday?That's insane.The only other person is Kobe.* ### *47:53* *All right.Well, that's pretty good company to start out with.So yeah, no, I mean, yeah.And only his third game.Nothing.Nothing.Surprises me with him and.It's great that he's already stepped in and made an impact and he's only gonna get better and he's only gonna get older and it's, it's crazy to think the Sky's the limit here, that Dunkin, that game.* ### *48:12* *And that Game 3.Whoever they were playing in Game 3 Toronto, that was Lookout.All right, do you want to?Make a prediction for.C Greeley and for my for.My money until someone beats them again.They thrive on big situations and they find a way.* ### *48:31* *And they've got a really good defense too.I mean, they they get after you go, they get after the ball.They've got guys that you know, it's not a school you would think of as being a tough defensive football school, right?But they've got some kids who can do it.Caleb King's done a great job of that program and he he took over after Falmouth and Greeley had been together for a couple years.* ### *48:49* *You know, Greeley football had kind of disappeared.They started back up, as I mentioned, with the eight man and you know, he came in right away.So we expect to win state title and they didn't win a game that first year.But yeah, he was, he was only off by a year or two because now they're they're buying for them every year.And I just think this group, there's just something about these kids, they they love football, they love representing their school.* ### *49:11* *They love being doubted and proving people wrong.And I'm tired of picking against them because, you know, the few times I've done it this year, I've I've been wrong.So those days are over.I'm picking Greeley the rest of the way.There you go.I.Tend to agree with you and my only.* ### *49:26* *I just think, I think it'll be Greeley LED it and and I think it might come.Down to who has the ball last.True, and I, and it's never wise to bet against Lovett.In a championship game, no question about it.I, I just and they, they, they impressed me that can I agree?* ### *49:42* *I mean, they just made a lot of mistakes, but you can see they were on the cusp that first half was not great.They were on the cusp of.Becoming a really good team and I know they.Probably feel like they should have pulled that one out at the end so they would have a shot.I think they're the one team that that I would really give a a, a pretty good shot with.But again, I just feel like really finds a way and and maybe they do it one more time.* ### *50:03* *Yeah, they're.I mean, they're both really good.I yeah, no shade to either one of them.Please don't e-mail me all.Right, let's go to.D This D looks like to be the least interesting class.Yeah, I don't again.* ### *50:18* *I mean I to me, I have Freeport.In my coverage area.But beyond that, I really don't know much about about, you know, looks.You know, Winthrop obviously with their record looks like they're clearly the favorite there in the South.But you know, now that you say that we might have some surprising interesting games, but well, John Baps almost lost, right?* ### *50:37* *And I think.Prior to this year class.D was a statewide like C is this year.So now they've gone back to regions there.Yeah.I mean John Baps, Winslow, I mean, those, those records are very impressive.And I think, you know, Winthrop's probably the the prohibitive favorite in the South.Yeah, that's kind of the.* ### *50:54* *Consensus that Winthrop is.Winthrop in the South and see, Baps already played Winslow and destroyed him early in the year.So that's the argument against Winslow.But I mean, 393 points to 97 allowed is not nothing.* ### *51:10* *No, it's Yeah.I mean that's.It speaks to dominance and that it should continue.Yeah, yeah, they've.Got a a great program there.All right, I think it's, yeah, I think we're just get, I think we're going to have Baps and Winthrop in the stake.* ### *51:26* *Let's pencil them in right now.Put them in your bracket.All right.All right, moving on.Eight man large this one looks.Fun.It does look fun and there's there's been a.Lot of fluctuation.Here over the last couple of weeks, they looked for a while like Yarmouth was going to get a home game and then it turns out they don't.* ### *51:43* *And now they've got to go to Mount Ararat, who that's their only loss.You go way back to Week 1, Yarmouth lost to Ararat and then they haven't lost since.So yeah, I, we talked about how Westbrook's been such a great story this year.For my money, the the return to prominence of Yarmouth is, has been a really good story too, because they won two games last year, you know, and in recent years they've been a championship caliber team.* ### *52:05* *But here they are right back at the top again.But for them to get through, it's not going to be easy because they're going to have to go on the road somehow.Solomon Ararat.And then there's a decent chance they might have to go up to Spruce Mountain and win that game too.Although Lake Region's been really competitive, so that's not a sure thing.But really a fascinating region.* ### *52:21* *I mean, I you can make a case for any of these four teams.Yeah, I've.I've heard early that.Lake was really good and I think they stumbled their foreign.They're four and four, but I think.Those were close games, right?I know Yarmouth handled them fairly easy.I mean you.Look at their losses Yarmouth, Mount Ararat, Old Orchard, Camden Hills.* ### *52:37* *So you know, not no shame in in those results, but you're and you know, Camden beat the.Handed mount.Ararat, they're only lost two and Spruce Mountains only lost us to Yarmouth.So you know, these teams have kind of beaten each other and you know who's going to be playing and playing their best.* ### *52:55* *I might even check out that Yarmouth Ararat game Friday night.I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I'm going to do, but that's a possibility because it's really a a terrific match up for a regional semi final.Yeah, I mean Lake region almost.Beat Old Orchard Beach, right?Which I mean, that's got to get your.* ### *53:11* *Attention.That should definitely get your attention.And in the north you've got.Camden, pretty much.Running away with this thing.Their one loss is a game where they sat everybody, right, Because against GNG.And then you got MDI, Holton and Waterville.* ### *53:28* *And yeah, I saw Holton at the Dexter game, which is maybe not the best place to evaluate a team, an opponent because, I mean, try to walk into that atmosphere and try to play a football game.Must have been weird.* ### *53:44* *Yeah, I'm sure.But Dexter handled them very easily, right?Yeah.So I would assume Cam.I think they look.Like a.Prohibit out of this there I think there's it's it's the South is.Much less clear cut, but I, I, I like what your arm's.Doing.And you know, they've won seven in a row.They've Iggy McGrath has just done an incredible job at quarterback.* ### *54:02* *And this was a few weeks ago, but he had like 29 touchdowns and 1 interception at one point this year.So I mean, they, they can, they can get it done through the air on the ground.They've gotten better defensively.They gave up a lot of points earlier in the season, but they really got better as time went on.And, you know, again, I mean, the the seniors on this team won a state title as freshman and I've got to the semis of sophomores.* ### *54:22* *It was just last year.That was a really rough year.So they'll be there.You know, Mount Ararat was in the state final last year.I mean, there were no match for Greeley, but they played in that game.So you've got teams that know how to win this time of year.And I I that's why I think that matchups really going to be compelling.What's crazy is.* ### *54:38* *Those top three teams?All scored at least 325 points this year.And I know it's a man, but still, that's a lot of points.Points, Points are.Yeah.I mean, yeah.Points are real, are easier to get at that level, but they they've all got really dynamic offenses and it's going to come down to, all right, who can get a key defensive stop, who could force a turnover.* ### *54:58* *You know that that'll ultimately determine who the best team in that region is, yeah.All right, let's I'm going to put.You to the test or to the on the spot?Who do you who do you got coming out of the South?We'll assume Camden in the north.Yeah, I got a, you know, partially I'm biased because.I cover them, but I think Yarmouth, just the fact that they've been able to put together this long win streak and I think if they could find a way to win at Mount Air at Friday that then the Sky's the limit for them confidence wise.* ### *55:24* *It won't be easy, but you know, if you put me on the spot, I'll go with the Clippers.I'm going to zag.I think I'm going to take spruce.Yeah, see, I just don't know much about them.But I obviously their their record is terrific.The record is terrific.* ### *55:41* *They blew, I don't know, they blew out Dexter this last week, 50 to 8.Although I mean who?Knows what Dexter is going through their heads.At this point, that's I talked to their coach and I'm like, is this after, after the T-Mobile game?* ### *55:58* *I'm like, is this like the most impossible coaching situation to try to coach a football team through this?He's like, it's yeah, it's yeah, it's safe.It's not that you could train for, I suppose.No, it's like, how do you keep them focused on?Football, he's like you don't you just hope that they show up and play when the game starts and they and I don't think.* ### *56:19* *They're, I don't think they won, but.They got pretty close.They they were the smallest team.Smallest team in the thing and they finished. 3rd I believe all right, so to the South or to the small, small in the South, we.* ### *56:37* *Have Old Orchard.Beach and oh boy 436 points on the year.I mean all all they do is get Telstar constantly.Yeah, yeah.And they also have a buy.All the way to the regional final, because Boothbay said you know what we're.* ### *56:54* *Good.Yeah, No thanks.We don't want to come down as much as we.Like Old Orchard to come down, Take it on the chin.Maybe the arcade's closed?Maybe.Yeah, it's not the same in late October as it is in July.And August, right?Yeah.And they'd already played them once.They lost. 60 to nothing.* ### *57:11* *Apparently they're down to like 12 kids on the team and which I just think means playing time for everybody.But yeah, like it or not, yeah.And realistically, the clock's going to run in the second-half so.You're not really.You know, playing a full game anyway, Yeah, that's a good point.* ### *57:27* *That's a long drive for that, so you know.Can Telstar give OOB a game I.Guess is the question here.Yeah, I know, I know.Old Orchard beat him during the regular season.I.Don't know what the margin was, but I've, you know, pulling it up now this Old Orchard with their.* ### *57:42* *Prolific.Offense, the fact that they've won so much in recent years, good luck.Good luck knocking them off.What was the score, 50 to 12?Well, there you go.And it's not to say that you.Can't, you know, turn something like that around?But it's very unlikely at Trape, yeah.Yeah, so, but the South, the north rather is kind of fun.* ### *58:05* *You got Stearns and Orno at both at six and two, Dexter at 5:00 and 3:00 and then Bucksport is at 3:00 and 5:00 and probably not going to be in this much longer, right?Yep.And.So, so orno so.Stearns beat Orno.* ### *58:21* *In the regular season.And that's probably why they're the one seed instead of the two.I believe so.I'm bringing it up now.Let's see Stearns beat Orno 60 to 20\. 2IN Week 2 right?* ### *58:37* *So I mean they.They lost.All the orchard and then.And how?Close was that game that was close at halftime, it was.OK.I was going to say, I mean, that's, that's.Potentially a state game.That's a lot of fun, probably with a lot of points.Yeah, I.* ### *58:53* *Mean there was 3420 when they played earlier this year, which seems less respectable for that.Yeah, yeah.And then?Let me bring up the right window here.So then in the semi, what is this, a semi final?Yeah, it's a semi final.There's only four.* ### *59:09* *Is Orno.Dexter.I believe they played earlier this year.They did, yeah.Orno. 46 to 40.OK, so there could be a.Shootout was flip a coin.It could be a shootout, yeah. 46 to 40, that game was played on Dexter's terrible field, OK.* ### *59:27* *And you know.The field is.It's bad, but I've seen worse.Yeah, it's the press box is really bad.It was it was the I had to go up a.Ladder just.To go talk to mark from eastern main sports and it was a matchy ladder qualifies a press box for.* ### *59:43* *Me and I don't do ladders at my age.If I don't you don't do ladders.I I don't like heights.I'm the same way a thing with heights.I'm good, I stayed.Down on the.Sidelines.It's all.It's all set.I'll write in my car if I have to, yeah.OK.So I mean, that's a good semi final right there or no?* ### *1:00:00* *Definitely sounds like it could be.So that.'D be in Orno and then the winner gets.Stearns and I added up, so Stearns beat Orno like we said, and they beat Dexter 58 to 22.So the math says this is probably Stearns and Old Orchard Beach in the state game.* ### *1:00:18* *Exactly.And I until someone knocks him off.I'm I'm on the Old Orchard Beach train, not the literal one that goes through.Town.But you know what?I.Mean I do know what you mean I.My mother grew up there, so we go there every summer.Yeah, I'm familiar with the train track.* ### *1:00:34* *I've never been to a game, but I tried to get to 1 this year, but it just didn't work out.It's one of those things, you know, where it's like, do I want to go to the game an hour and a half away that is going to be a blowout, or do I want to go to the good game 45 minutes?That's an easy choice, no question about it.Yeah, yeah.* ### *1:00:50* *All right.So that's, yeah, I think that's Old Orchard Beach.I feel good about that.The gulls.I think that's a safe pick, yeah.It is a safe pick, Stearns you.Know they prove they can hang with them for at least 1/2 which is saying they love another shot and maybe they get it.* ### *1:01:10* *They would love another shot.Yeah, but I mean, Ole Archer reached 436 points, scored to 152 allowed.It's almost 3 to one.Yeah, that is, that is.Crazy.And they're going to get a week of rest.They're not going.To get, you know, any more banged up against Boothbay.* ### *1:01:26* *No, no, they're going to be in good shape.They're going to.They're ready.For another title run, I think.Should this one go to a?Regionless I.I actually kind of like the regionalists in a lot of cases, and I think when there's not that many teams to begin with, I think it's the way to go.* ### *1:01:43* *One of the things I really like about volleyball is even though they've gone to four classes, it's statewide.It makes for some interesting Rd. trips and matchups.But you know, let's face it, if you try to split it up by region, it it, it's not going to be very equitable generally, right, Right.* ### *1:01:58* *So yeah, I got.Into a volleyball this year because Madame has a program and my niece is on it.Shout out to Brooke and they played really well.What's the polite way to say they met?Ran into the Peter Webb All Stars in the tournament so they have those in every sport.* ### *1:02:18* *They have those in every sport, yeah.And yeah, and they.Have all.Winter to be upset about it and get better for next year.But I mean they went to they went to the quarterfinals and should have won in their first years in the sport, which is awesome and it's a lot of fun to watch.* ### *1:02:38* *It's it's a great sport and it's grown so much, I mean.I wasn't that long ago.It was one class actually, when I first started, there were hardly any teams in this part of the state that even had volleyball, which is crazy to think about.Think Yarmouth, Gorham.I mean, there was it was crazy.And then Greeley started a program and became a powerhouse and I it's everywhere and it's such an easy sport to have and it's relatively inexpensive.* ### *1:02:59* *You know, the gyms available in the fall.It's it's just, but you know, the, the, the noise level, the energy, the passion around it is, is great.And you know, I'm looking forward to some big matches this week as the state matches Saturday USM for classes this coming Saturday.* ### *1:03:15* *So you got the, the quote UN quote divisional finals, which I think don't even get me started on that nonsense.It's it's the state semi finals, you know, Gorham, Shavers, Scarborough TA and then the winners of those two matches will meet in the state finals on Saturday.For class, AB is probably going to be York and Washington Academy, who might be the two best teams in the state regardless of class.* ### *1:03:36* *So that's all going to be coming to an end by by the end of this week.We're going to crown our first team champions outside of golf.It's wild that Washington.Academy up way.Up there has like the best team in this.Yeah.And they've, you know, they've had a program for a long.Time but they weren't at these at the level of these top schools down here and now they are.* ### *1:03:54* *You know, they won states a year ago, but York's York's terrific.I saw them BTA earlier this year.I think a lot of people feel like they might be the best team regardless of class.They lost a close match to Gorham.That's the only match they've lost all year.No shame in that because Gorham's A2 time defending a champ, so no, volleyball's awesome.* ### *1:04:10* *I can't wait to to see what this week brings because there's going to be a lot of excitement and just this is just.Anecdotally, but I was talking to someone in in the real world about volleyball and they're like, oh, so if you have like the one girl who can like serve overhand, you're going to beat everyone.* ### *1:04:26* *I'm like, no, no, some of these girls, some of these girls will.Murder you with.These spikes like that you have to do, you got to get him the ball too and you got to be able.To stop coming over the court to be over the net to begin with.So now every, you know, a lot of these girls play, you know, out outside of school and year long, you know, year round and they're, they're just, it's played at a really high level.* ### *1:04:51* *It's not only have more and more schools gotten it, but the quality of play has just gone up and up and up.Yeah, I was.I was really.Impressed 'cause I didn't know what to.Expect 'cause I didn't go to any of the games last year when they were just doing JVS.And I was like, I remember like watching volleyball in high school and it was not great.* ### *1:05:10* *And I was instantly impressed.I was like, oh wow, this is pretty cool.And it's really popular at the college level.I mean some of these.College teams and they they're drawing crowds that equal basketball, football game type crowds in some cases.So it's, it's really, I think an an ascending sport as far as something that people watch.* ### *1:05:30* *Yeah, real.Quick, who do you like in soccer and field hockey?So field hockey's going to be interesting.I I still.Think Chevres is the team to beat in Class A, certainly down here, although Biddeford is one team that I think could beat them and you know, if they meet in the regional final, I think anything goes.* ### *1:05:45* *Biddeford tied Chevres earlier this year in the second meeting.Chevres won by a goal.So that, you know, that's going to be a lot of fun if that's how it shakes out.Yarmouth and Freeport are on a collision course yet again in Class B.And, you know, two years ago, Freeport won the championship.* ### *1:06:01* *Last year, Yarmouth knocked him off and lost in the state game.And this year, Yarmouth's beaten Freeport twice.So.Oh, and they are right next to each other, right next to each.Other and if we get a four.And five, and I honestly think, you know, if you lose twice in the regular season, you have the advantage going into that playoff match up, right?* ### *1:06:19* *It's hard to beat a good team three times and we'll see if that's actually how it shakes out, but I, I, that's going to be a lot of fun to watch here over the next couple weeks too.Soccer, Falmouth, Scarborough, it's the same story, boys and girls in class AS they're they're the 1-2 seeds in both.* ### *1:06:35* *Falmouth is actually the site of the regional final, which gives the number 2 seeds in both cases a home game, so it'll be interesting to see how that goes.And you know, Class BI think it's going to come down to Yarmouth and Greeley on the boys side and then the Cape girls have been as good as anyone in any sport.They're going to be really tough to knock off on the girls side there, OK?* ### *1:06:55* *And then real quick.Scale of 1 to 10 How excited are you about Drake?May 10, 1/2 Yeah, it's a. 1010 No, it's been it's been great.This season has exceeded my wildest dreams.I you know, I, I think we all thought he was going to be good and hoped he would be very good, but it's just crazy to think how things have changed.* ### *1:07:14* *You know, let's not forget there are one and two and they had five turnovers against the Steelers and everyone's like, Oh my God, this team is going to be awful again and they haven't lost since and no, it's it's great.And I mean the Sky's the limit with him.It's kind of like with you're talking about Cooper.I mean, he's 23 years old.He doesn't even have like big time weapons around him yet.* ### *1:07:32* *And I think for Abel's been terrific.I think Stefan Diggs has been terrific for this team as a leader.I yeah, it's great.It's so much fun.I don't know how, you know, if they're an elite team.I don't think they're that good.I think they might get exposed against some of the top teams when all is said and done.* ### *1:07:48* *But at this point, there's a a yellow brick road into the playoffs.You know, hopefully they follow it.Oh yeah.And and keep keep this up because it's been it's been a lot of fun to to watch wins again after some some rough years where they found new and and interesting and ridiculous ways to lose.Do you think Jerrod Mayo?* ### *1:08:06* *Is sitting at home.And going, hey, I drafted this guy.Well, he's give me.Some credit, he's probably counting his buyout money and and laying low.But yeah, I mean, that that was the right decision moving on from him and the drafting Drake May was the right decision bringing Grabill in.* ### *1:08:24* *You know, happy days are here again in Foxborough and it's been great and I hope this ride continues.It's been super fun.Yeah.And if you're a gambling person, can I reckon I cannot recommend highly enough the Drake may parlay 240 yards passing, 2 touchdowns, 40 yards rushing.* ### *1:08:42* *He hits it like every other game.It pays like 8 to 1.All right, good.Well, you found something.It's you're on to.Something there, it's yeah, it's like the, it's the early.Days like early days of the Derek White block shot, where that was just easy money.Yeah, well, that'll go away soon.* ### *1:08:57* *The world will.Be out.But no, it's it's great so far that's worked out.It's going great.OK, so.Michael Hoffer, thanks, as always.Maine High, What's Hoffer's high School?That's all right.It's Monday.Hoffer's High School Sports.* ### *1:09:13* *Dot com is the site.Yes, subscribe.He will, he will.Write more stories than you ever thought possible for a human being to write.He's writing them during the games he's covering and and then he's recording podcasts in his spirit.* ### *1:09:28* *Do what you got to do.You got to do what you got to do.I've seen him on the sidelines, He's writing notes and he's taking pictures and he's shooting video and he needs like a crew.You need like a whole crowd.I could use, I could use just the photography video.Stuff would be would be enormous to have, but for now I'm not making a do myself.* ### *1:09:45* *So you know, if you do what you have to, you could like strap a GoPro.To your head.Like that might be next.Like a skier.Yeah, you might you.Might see me in the spring with.That who knows?And then you could just strap or strap your.IPhone to your head and then you get one of those like shutter things you can press that will stop start it and then there you go that's what OK all.* ### *1:10:05* *Right.I'll see you on.The sideline, OK.That's the show, thanks again to Michael Hoffer.It's Hoffer's High School Sports is in a fantastic resource.He really, you'll get like 3 emails a day where he's published some story and the each of those stories is longer than anything you've written in the last five years probably.* ### *1:10:24* *And I don't know how he does it.I don't know when he sleeps.It's really impressive.But thanks again to Hoffer for coming on the show.Thanks to Vertical Rays for sponsoring.The show.Helps pay for.You see, I got newish lights.They're not great lights, but they're newer and it looks better.* ### *1:10:41* *Which is, you know, that's all you can ask for.This has been a production of Maine basketballrankings.com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball from Ashland to York and everywhere in between.This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts and a bunch of places you don't.* ### *1:10:59* *If you enjoy this, please leave a nice review because it really does help out with the algorithms.Tell your friends, tell your enemies.Thanks for listening.* ### Let's Start the Football Playoffs URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/lets-start-the-football-playoffs-2/ Last updated: 2025-10-30T10:41:56.000Z Did you know the football playoffs start today? It's true! Houlton and MDI will kick things off with their 8-man large semifinal (4 make it) and we have a couple of regular season class A games before things really get going on Friday. So I've decided right now, at 9:21 pm, to up the newsletters to every day there's a football playoff game. But before we do that, there's the Week 8 games to overreact to and this week's guest is none other than Michael Hoffer of [Hoffer's High School Sports](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). As always, we go around the state, including our thoughts on the big TA/Bonny Eagle game, the upstart Westbrook Blue Blazes, the always entertaining Class C, soccer, field hockey, and even a little volleyball. It's always fun when Hoffer comes on the show. The podcast is brought to you by [Vertical Raise](https://www.verticalraise.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) *Vertical Raise is one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, now proudly helping programs of all sports, clubs, and grade levels across Maine!* *Your Maine reps, Chris Christie and Dave Chase, are both coaches who know what it takes to run a successful program — and they understand how important fundraising is to making it happen.* [*Schedule a call*](https://calendly.com/chrisc-verticalraise/30min?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) *and see how Vertical Raise can help your program reach new heights!* --- You can check it out on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, or wherever you podcast. [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0jEw7A65TQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/week-8-overreactions-with-michael-hoffer/id1675940033?i=1000733856276&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Football Gold Ball Odds are up and fingers crossed there's no glitches. You'll notice the teams aren't necessarily listed by seed, but by their odds of winning the region. I'll probably tweak that later to rank by seed. It's a long story and not a particularly interesting one. Obviously these are a paid feature, because they're a whole thing. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-29-at-9.13.11---PM.png) [Football Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- Cooper seems to have recovered from his shoulder injury against OKC. > HELLO COOPER FLAGG! > > He drives his way inside for the one-handed slam 💥 > > Watch on NBA League Pass: [https://t.co/xjOsrS04iI](https://t.co/xjOsrS04iI?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/2CMf7dDwKw](https://t.co/2CMf7dDwKw?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA (@NBA) [October 30, 2025](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1983697661825011755?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Cooper finished with 15/10/4 for the second double-double of his career. According to StatMuse, Tracy McGrady had 3 double-doubles in his age 18 season, with the second one coming in game 74 of his rookie year, or 19 days before his 19th birthday. Cooper doesn't turn 19 until December 21st, so I'm pretty sure we've got a NBA record. Update: > Flagg is the second player to have 2 double-doubles by the age of 18 years, 312 days. > > Bill Willoughby got his second at the age of 18-285 for Atlanta in 1976. > > — Dick Lipe (@DickLipe) [October 30, 2025](https://twitter.com/DickLipe/status/1983745942705860741?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Dick Lipe is the best. --- Loyola will wear Sister Jean patches this season. > Our biggest fan will be with us all season long 💛🐺🏀 [pic.twitter.com/YZ1tZfUSwL](https://t.co/YZ1tZfUSwL?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Loyola Men's Basketball (@RamblersMBB) [October 29, 2025](https://twitter.com/RamblersMBB/status/1983324527599001777?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That patch would also be a good t-shirt. The Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Ayooooooooob URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ayooooooooob/ Last updated: 2025-10-27T10:57:14.000Z By Friday afternoon, I'd narrowed my game choice down to TA/Bonny Eagle and Leavitt/Hermon. Four very good teams. I'd already seen TA and Leavitt, so that didn't narrow it down and both games were roughly the same distance from my house. But the drive to Turner is mostly back roads and the drive to Standish is mostly highway, so down to Standish I went. You know the hype for this one. Two of the 5 stingiest defenses in the state. First and second in the Varsity Maine poll. First and second in the Power Rankings, but in a different order. Bitter rivals. Add in Senior Night, and the Bonny Eagle faithful were ready to go. As you might imagine, the Thornton Academy crowd was also hyped, so much so that they started singing the National Anthem, which led the Bonny Eagle crowd to sing the National Anthem (or maybe BE started), but regardless, maybe it was a delay in the PA system, but the Thornton Academy choir was slightly behind the Bonny Eagle choir. It was weird. It was also the last time Bonny Eagle led. We were scoreless after 1 period (with TA in the Red Zone), then Connor Ayoob scored on the first play of the second. Bonny Eagle answered with a kick return to the 5 and then Lucas Klehn punched it in on 4th and 1 to tie it. Thornton Academy then rolled off a long drive where Bonny just couldn't get their defense off the field. They'd pick up 13 on 3rd and 12\. Nine yards on 3rd and 8\. Noah Fullerton threw a TD pass to Will Edborg on 3rd and 14\. It was one of *those* drives. Then Bonny Eagle had a 60 yard TD strike from Colin Moran erased by a flag at the end of the half that would have tied the game. Bonny Eagle fumbled the second half kickoff, leading to a Dominic Hussey score and what could have been Bonny Eagle driving to score in a tied game is a 21-7 TA lead. Bonny Eagle would make it interesting. Moran twice threw a TD pass on 4th and long. But Connor Ayoob took over. He had 3 TDs and went for 305 yards as Thornton Academy scored 42 points on a defense that had only given up 45 all year. The playoff rematch will be fascinating. After the game, I spoke to Connor Ayoob. [Click here to subscribe to the YouTube channel.](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Michael Hoffer was there to write it up. [TA rides the Ayoob Express to emphatic win at Bonny EagleSTANDISH—Thornton Academy senior captain Connor Ayoob has produced his share of memorable performances so far this autumn. Friday evening, however, on the road, against a powerhouse, undefeated team, with homefield advantage for the playoffs hanging in the balance, Ayoob authored his piece de resistance. A 40-carry, 304-yard masterpiece that![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-7.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Screenshot_20251024_222842_Gallery.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/ta-rides-the-ayoob-express-to-emphatic-win-at-bonny-eagle/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Turns out I went to the wrong game. Leavitt won on what appears to be a...controversial call by the Peter Webb All-Stars. [Read the story](https://www.sunjournal.com/2025/10/24/leavitt-football-beats-undefeated-hermon-in-regular-season-finale/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The win moves Thornton Academy to the top of the Power Rankings. Well, the win and I figured out a better way to factor in the New Hampshire games, which gave a boost to everyone who played a game against a NH team. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-26-at-10.05.20---PM.png) [Football Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) --- Elsewhere Colby Raymond's 3 TDs helped fuel a 40-point(!?!) quarter for Stearns...Bryson Walker ran for 3 scores and threw for a fourth as Telstar rolled...Max Duplisea's 28 yard FG helped Westbrook escape Gorham...Parker Reny threw 2 TD passes as SoPo rolled...Cordell Jones ran for 4 TDs and threw another as Portland raced out to a 27-0 lead over Exeter...Cameron Pulkkinen's 98-yard TD run sealed things for Oxford Hills...Wes Gallant's 4 TDs led OOB to their third straight unbeaten regular season...Marshwood recovered 2 onside kicks in the first quarter against Sanford...Austin West's 2 rushing touchdowns paced Kennebunk to a comfortable win over Biddeford...Truls Wenli had 2 TDs as Fryeburg cruised by Brunswick...Abram Wintersteen hauled in 131 yards in his return from injury as Falmouth crushed Cheverus...Freeport answered Trevor Crosby's 88-yard pick-6 with 20 unanswered points to beat Dirigo...Joey Foley had 4 TDs, including an 89-yard kick return as Deering crushed Lewiston...Zac Cota's 3 TDs helped Bangor blank Edward Little...Parker Morin threw for 4 scores and added one with his legs as Cony crushed Gardiner. --- I've cured the soccer and field hockey scores, which means that the Fall Rankings are updated. Here's boys soccer. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-27-at-12.31.28---AM.png) [Soccer/FH Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) And now that we're in the post season, that means it's time for Gold Ball Odds! That's Boys soccer B North, not including the prelim games (it's very late and I have to work in the morning). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-27-at-12.25.49---AM.png) [Fall Gold Ball OddsWhat are the odds your team can win it all?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-47.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/fall-gold-ball-odds-1-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) Girls D isn't working yet, nor is football. Again, it's late and I have to be at work in...oh no. --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- Boothbay has withdrawn from the football playoffs. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-26-at-9.42.13---PM.png) If you get into the comments on Facebook, which are reliably terrible, Boothbay's had a number of injury issues that have left them short-handed. That's part of it. Add the drive of an hour and a half each way, the open question of whether or not the arcade will be open, and the fact that OOB won the first matchup in Boothbay 60-0\. It makes sense. The other thing you see a lot in the comments is why doesn't Traip, the 5th seed, get Boothbay's spot and a date with OOB? Well, they already lost 50-12 to them, so it probably doesn't matter, but several years ago the MPA made the decision that a team withdrawing wouldn't move everyone else up. Honestly I don't know the reasoning behind it, but that's the current rule. So OOB will advance to the Regional Final. --- Marc Calnan's got a basketball scoop. > Some basketball news- Piscataquis Community High School will not be having a girls basketball team this upcoming 2025/2026 season. Any PCHS student that wants to play basketball this winter will have the option to play at Dexter High School. > > Schedule changes - Dexter and Stearns… [pic.twitter.com/kaa3c0kY9h](https://t.co/kaa3c0kY9h?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Eastern Maine Sports (@EasternMESports) [October 26, 2025](https://twitter.com/EasternMESports/status/1982250417137258498?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Piscataquis players can play for Dexter, so this could be a boost for a reliably strong Dexter program. --- As expected, he's figuring it out. > COOPER FLAGG AND-1 POSTER SLAM 🤯 > > 📺 NBA League Pass > 📲 [https://t.co/cRUBKOfvP4](https://t.co/cRUBKOfvP4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/o1aeTb93i9](https://t.co/o1aeTb93i9?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA (@NBA) [October 27, 2025](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1982620922994724952?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > Cooper Flagg became the 2nd player in NBA history at 18 years or younger to record a game with 20+ PTS and 0 TOs in tonight’s win vs. the Raptors 🤯 > > The other? Kobe Bryant in 1997 vs. SAC. [pic.twitter.com/aZjMoeoxAC](https://t.co/aZjMoeoxAC?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA (@NBA) [October 27, 2025](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1982678207230022005?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The sky is the limit. **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link.](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter (always)](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### Cooper's Debut URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/coopersdebut/ Last updated: 2025-10-24T10:18:37.000Z The first Mainer to ever play in the NBA very nearly had one of the [best first buckets imaginable](https://www.tiktok.com/@espn/video/7564229733521673486?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), but otherwise had a slow start before coming on in the second half and finishing with a double-double. It was a solid first game. Check out the highlights if you didn't stay up late enough to watch the game. The Mavs started him at point guard in a massive lineup and the broadcast spent quite a lot of time discussing whether or not that was a good idea. I tend to think it wasn't, but it was one game against a Spurs team that got an otherworldly performance from Victor Wembanyama, even by his standards. [Mavericks-Spurs: 4 takeaways as Victor Wembanyama spoils Cooper Flagg’s debutSan Antonio’s star big man proves unstoppable, Dallas’ rookie slips in his opener and the Mavs may have point guard issues.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-12.png)NBA.comShaun Powell![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/wemby-dallas-102225.jpg)](https://www.nba.com/news/4-takeaways-mavericks-spurs?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We all know how this is going to work. Cooper gets to a new level and the first game or two isn't up to his standards and then a week or so later you look up and he's put up 30 and a new group of people are convinced he's legit. His Basketball IQ is so high that it's inevitable. Game two is tonight against the Wizards, so it might not even take a week. --- On this week's podcast (presented by Vertical Raise), Varsity Maine editor [Lee Horton](https://www.sunjournal.com/author/lee-horton/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) joined me to overreact to Week 7's football games. Lee has a unique angle on the games around the state in that he has to oversee all of Varsity Maine's coverage, so while he's not going to games, he's watching streams and collecting scores and reading all the game stories and so on. He's also in charge of their new text message service, which I highly recommend. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-23-at-8.43.53---PM.png) We talk about the genesis of the text messages and then do the usual tour around the state. Lee came loaded with takes and my hair was not cooperating. *Vertical Raise is one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, now proudly helping programs of all sports, clubs, and grade levels across Maine!* *Your Maine reps, Chris Christie and Dave Chase, are both coaches who know what it takes to run a successful program — and they understand how important fundraising is to making it happen.* [*Schedule a call*](https://calendly.com/chrisc-verticalraise/30min?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) *and see how Vertical Raise can help your program reach new heights!* --- [Click here to subscribe to the YouTube channel.](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You can also listen on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you podcast. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ADKfhkglOyWI3tdRT1SFP?si=e91480e84e9445fd&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **### The NBA is back and boy is it ever** **Where to start? First, let's go back to last year for a second.** **Remember when Kristaps Porzingis turned into a pumpkin during the playoffs? Of course you do. Turns out he had a good reason. He's been diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, and it doesn't sound fun.** **[The Athletic: With Kristaps Porzingis’ mystery illness solved, Hawks are primed for NBA hunt“We are an aspiring team, a young team that aspires to win a championship one day,” says Kristaps Porziņģis.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-10.png)NBA.comFred Katz, The Athletic![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/GettyImages-2241520871.jpg)](https://www.nba.com/news/the-athletic-with-kristaps-porzingis-mystery-illness-solved-hawks-are-primed-for-nba-hunt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **You always need a little luck to win a title and the Celtics clearly didn't have it.** **Yesterday, the league was rocked with a bombshell of a story.** **[NBA coach and player among those arrested in massive mafia-linked sports rigging and gambling probe | CNNA massive mafia-linked gambling and sports rigging probe led to the arrests of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. Follow for live updates.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-11.png)CNNKara Scannell, Mark Morales, George Ramsay, Amy Woodyatt, Kyle Feldscher, Elise Hammond, Matt Meyer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/gettyimages-2191911089.jpg)](https://www.cnn.com/sport/live-news/nba-fbi-sports-betting-probe-10-23-25?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Rumors about Rozier have been circling for a while, so that part of it wasn't a surprise, but Chauncey Billups being involved with the mafia in rigged poker games? That was a surprise.** **It sounds like there's more names coming.** **The upcoming *Pablo Torre Finds Out* episodes on this will be riveting. There's [already been at least one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4u9--GM9to&t=1s&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com).** **---** **Back in Maine, we had a fight in a soccer game.** **[A fight broke out in a Maine soccer game. It should’ve been a teaching moment.By not publicly addressing what happened between the Fryeburg and Lake Region boys teams, the schools’ leaders miss an opportunity.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-2.png)Centralmaine.comTravis Lazarczyk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/SoccerFight.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/10/22/a-fight-broke-out-in-a-maine-soccer-game-it-shouldve-been-a-teaching-moment/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **From Travis Lazarczyk's column:** **> I reached out to the athletic directors of each school, John Gordon at Fryeburg Academy and Paul True at Lake Region, as well as head coaches of both teams, Lake Region’s Ryan Harlow and Bob Hodgman-Burns at Fryeburg. Surely at least one of them would go on the record to say it was something that shouldn’t happen and it is being addressed.** **> Nope. Closed ranks. One coach did call to say he could not comment. If we don’t talk about it, it didn’t happen.** **> It did happen, though, and it could be a teaching moment. Instead, by keeping things in house, it becomes something mythic. It becomes bigger than what it is, teenage boys being foolish and not in control of their emotions. That’s certainly not a new phenomenon. Plenty of good kids have made poor choices. Doing things you regret is part of growing up. So is facing the consequences.** **Travis is right. There's nothing gained by pretending this didn't happen.** **---** **Andrew Hart has an exhaustive look at the Crabtree scenarios on the Maine High School Football Facebook page.** [Crabtree???](https://www.facebook.com/MaineHighSchoolFootball/posts/pfbid02eKYKpb8hACN9cc6hnF6G7kypxpQPeRSDsg7LdkdPdJkAhACv3jkAmAEWEJttJhThl) --- ## Game of the Week The way I see it, there's three clear choices for Game of the Week (and 7 other games that look like they could be really good) If you like rivalries, can I interest you in Cony/Gardiner? Parker Morin and Cony have been unstoppable this year, rolling to a 7-0 record, and if not for a stumble against Leavitt, Gardiner would have joined them in the ranks of the unbeaten. Two bitter rivals playing on the final Friday night with nary a loss between them? Oh man. But 13-1 is good too. Mike Mandell dug into the archives to find the five biggest Cony/Gardiner games in the previous 146(!!) meetings. [A look back at the 5 most-anticipated Cony-Gardiner football gamesThe rivalry game is big no matter the circumstances, but a few battles over the years drew plenty of hype.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon-1.png)Centralmaine.comMike Mandell![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Cony_Gardiner_1984_Jay_Gardner.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/10/21/a-look-back-at-the-5-most-anticipated-cony-gardiner-football-games/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I think my favorite is the 1932 game. > The Thursday night before the game, firefighters were called to Cony High after reports of a blaze, only to find that [the grounds crew had lit a fire](https://www.newspapers.com/article/sun-journal-cony-gardiner-1932-smoke/182457778/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) in an attempt to dry the field. Lighting the field on fire? In that economy? [Munzing Media will have the stream](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-W9IF8yxx8&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). If you want to just look at the rankings, can I interest you in Bonny Eagle and Thornton Academy? Varsity Maine has these team at 1 and 2 in their poll. They're [1 and 2 in the Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/), only in the other direction, and have very much separated themselves from the field. They're 2nd (Bonny Eagle) and 4th (Thornton Academy) in scoring defense. They're each scoring over 37 a game. Michael Hoffer has this as his Game of the Week. [HHSS/cPort Game of the WeekEach Wednesday, we’ll zero in on one of the big upcoming matchups and do a deep dive on that contest. Some weeks, it takes a little consideration to determine the Game of the Week. Not this week. This week’s Hoffer’s High School Sports/c Port Credit Union Game of the![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-6.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/HHSScPortlogo.png)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/hhss-cport-game-of-the-week-5/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But here, we Trust the Model. It's like Trusting the Process if Embiid could stay healthy. Can I interest you in Hermon and Leavitt? The Stax Index has 6 games with a score over 79 and the highest, by a little bit, is Hermon @ Leavitt, because all roads this season lead to Class C. 0:00 /1:18 1× Hermon is 7-0, but they've kind of been coasting on an easy (for C) schedule since their difficult start. By far their biggest test of the season will come from a Leavitt team that handed Gardiner their only loss and has only gotten better since their Week 2 loss to Greely. There's all sorts of seeding implications here. **The Model says Leavitt by 10.6.** The rest of the Model's picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Week 7 Overreactions (with Lee Horton) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/week-7-overreactions-with-lee-horton/ Last updated: 2025-10-24T02:31:12.000Z On this week's podcast (presented by Vertical Raise), Varsity Maine editor [Lee Horton](https://www.sunjournal.com/author/lee-horton/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) joined me to overreact to Week 7's football games. Lee has a unique angle on the games around the state in that he has to oversee all of Varsity Maine's coverage, so while he's not going to games, he's watching streams and collecting scores and reading all the game stories and so on. He's also in charge of their new text message service, which I highly recommend. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-23-at-8.43.53---PM.png) We talk about the genesis of the text messages and then do the usual tour around the state. Lee came loaded with takes and my hair was not cooperating. *Vertical Raise is one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, now proudly helping programs of all sports, clubs, and grade levels across Maine!* *Your Maine reps, Chris Christie and Dave Chase, are both coaches who know what it takes to run a successful program — and they understand how important fundraising is to making it happen.* [*Schedule a call*](https://calendly.com/chrisc-verticalraise/30min?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) *and see how Vertical Raise can help your program reach new heights!* --- [Click here to subscribe to the YouTube channel.](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You can also listen on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you podcast. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ADKfhkglOyWI3tdRT1SFP?si=e91480e84e9445fd&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Transcript (auto-generated) *Welcome to The Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast.I'm your host, basketball data nerd, Lucas Mcnelly.This episode of The Maine Basketball Rankings podcast is brought to you by Vertical Raise, one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country.Now proudly helping teams, clubs and programs across Maine.* ### *0:18* *With Vertical Raise, your program can raise more money and less time.No selling, no collecting, just results.From new uniforms and better equipment to tournament trips and every fundraising need in between, Vertical Rays has a variety of campaigns to make it happen.Your main reps, Chris Christie and Dave Chase, are both coaches who know what it takes to run a great program at any sport, club or grade level, and they understand how important fundraising is to make it happen.* ### *0:43* *It's worth 10 minutes of your time to learn more.Schedule a call or e-mail us today to see how Vertical Rays can take your fundraising to the next level.OK, it's overreactions time.I've been getting emails asking me where the Overreactions Podcast is this week.Here it is.* ### *0:59* *I've had an energy drink.I just had an hour and a half conversation, as you can see from the time code on your phone or your podcasting device.And The Mavericks game tips off in 2 minutes.So we're going to do the intro really, really quickly.* ### *1:15* *I went to two games this week.I went to Falmouth and saw Falmouth absolutely destroy Freiburg.That was a bit of a surprise.Some really great defense from Falmouth.They held Freiburg to something like 46 yards total yards on the game according to jaredrichmondofwhou.com.* ### *1:34* *Then I also on Saturday went to Dexter for the T-Mobile game and that was a crazy event.I'll throw up some video from that.As I'm talking, T-Mobile hosted a home, a home game for them.There was magenta everywhere, There was a bounce house, there was decorated vehicles, all sorts of stuff.* ### *1:54* *And then there was a football game, which Dexter absolutely dominated. 50 to 8, I believe was the final really weird situation for everybody.Really cool situation, but I just imagine being that Holton team, having to take that long bus ride and then you're walking into this situation.* ### *2:12* *And then also the Dexter kids, how do you stay focused?How do you keep them from getting distracted with everything that's going on?And so after the game, I talked to Dexter's head coach about them.Coach 50 to 8 is the final over Holton.* ### *2:27* *How does it feel?Feels great, feels great.They're they're a good team, tough up front.So our our boys really played well so.A lot of coaches always worry about keeping kids focused and on football on a normal week.Yeah, so that's what we kept preaching all week was there's a lot of distractions.* ### *2:44* *But end of the day, end of the day, we got to play football on Saturday.I mean, there couldn't have been more distractions.I I imagine there was there was a lot.You know, TikTok videos we're making where we got the crowd decorations, we got a lot of going on and, and the kids did it all.* ### *3:02* *Do you think, do you think maybe having it been so many and like over the top, did that help them focus?No, no, no, I, I, we could preach it as much as we want throughout the but you know, they, they showed up today, which is just what we wanted them to.* ### *3:17* *But all week they were stretching every direction, including Ossie and I coaches and and all the fans.They were just stretching every direction.So hopefully next week will be a little bit slower and, and have another a senior game here.So.Kimball and Cooper were pretty much dominant from from the snap here.* ### *3:33* *What talk about their play?We were a little.Surprised how they played us with a three and they shaded over with that our wing set.So we we said, well, Cody's going to carry the ball 10 times until he tried to stop and stop that and they they stopped that.So we went back to Bryce.* ### *3:49* *So they're two good players.Really enjoy having them both because they kind of feed off each other.If both of them get going, we're a tough team to stop.Do you think you T-Mobile should be giving bonus points for every touchdown you score in this game?* ### *4:04* *That'd be cool.Absolutely.All right, So give real quick, give people the pitch you, I'm sure you've practiced it, the Vodexter pitch, Vodexter dot.Com.All right.Thanks a bunch.Thank you.OK, So they're third in the in the contest last I checked.* ### *4:20* *So they're probably not going to win it, but this is, I think, really easily going to dovetail into some sort of fundraising event to get them some upgrades.The press box, sketchy, very sketchy.There's a ladder that seemed kind of scary.I went up the ladder, don't like ladders and I definitely didn't like this ladder.* ### *4:38* *So there's certainly things that could be improved.The fields not in great shape.I've seen worse, but not many and not much worse than that one.And someone shared on social media thing from last year maybe, or earlier this year or some point where an ambulance got stuck on that field.* ### *4:56* *And, you know, if the ambulance is getting stuck on your field, you need a new field.OK, so Lee Horton is here to overreact to the past weekends of game games.Lee is the varsity main editor for the Main Trust for local news.He sits at command central.* ### *5:12* *It's kind of like the red zone for Maine newspapers or for varsity Maine.And he sees everything, so he's got a really good handle on what's happening all across the varsity Maine coverage area, which is most of the football coverage area.So I thought he would be a good person to have come in and do the overreactions.* ### *5:31* *With one week left in the season, a lot of ways Crabtrees can shake out.If you're wondering where your team can land in the Crabtrees, Andrew Hart has a great post on Facebook for Maine high school football that sort of details nearly every team of how high they can go, how low they can go, what sort of help they might need.* ### *5:50* *So I would definitely encourage you to go find that.I'll try to put that in the show notes.But without further ado, let's go to my conversation with Lee Horton.My guest today is the varsity main editor for the Main Trust for Local News.Lee Horton, thanks for joining me.* ### *6:06* *Yeah, thanks for having me.Is it still the main trust for local news?I feel like that's changed a couple times since it got all started.No, it is the main trust for local news.OK.Ever since, yeah, for the last couple years, two and two years and four months, I think it's been the main truth.* ### *6:23* *OK, yeah.So one reason I wanted to have you on is we were talking off air is that you have the, the overview, being the editor, you're not at games, but you're getting all the stuff in.You're watching streams, you're looking at box scores.So you have maybe better than a lot of people, a sense of most of the state or at least your coverage area for Varsity Maine, which is most of the state.* ### *6:46* *So I, I thought, well, this will be a good fit because it's week, you know, we got one week left and the, you know, this is where the rubber meets the road.Yeah.And it's, yeah, it's been kind of a fun season.But yeah, I'm just, I've been jumping around like every every Friday night we do live updates for Varsity Maine, which is The Sun Journal, The Press, Portland Press Herald Central Maine, which is Kennebec Journal in the Morning Sentinel.* ### *7:16* *So all those coverage areas and I just tried to find like the best live streams and the best games and follow them until they get like the games get out of control and I'll just have a couple going at a time.So I do keep, I do keep up with it with it pretty good.* ### *7:33* *And then the reporters are always sending me live updates that I add to our our live blog that.So yeah, I'm keeping, I'm keeping up with it pretty good the last couple years.You're you're plugged in.Without me there in person, yeah.Yeah, and so one thing you guys have been doing this year that I've really enjoyed is the text messages.* ### *7:52* *And so if people don't know about that, they can sign up for a text message service.And I was expecting it to just be like, here's a link to a thing or whatever, but they're but they're quite fun.And so I'm going to throw one up here on the screen.This is the last one.* ### *8:08* *And you're talking about how the Noah Carpenter, Jamir Rose rule, where if you're Jimmy Rose, you got to have a really good game because you're, you know, BB minus game is better than everybody else's game.Yeah, yeah.And those two guys, yeah, it was like every week they could have been on the varsity main honor roll.* ### *8:27* *So, you know, they had to have incredible games to get on there.There's been a few other players like Eli Soren and even this year there's actually a few Connor Ayub from Thornton Academy, Parker Moran from Coney is another one.* ### *8:43* *Austin W kind of luck.I feel like there might be one more, but yeah, it's it's just to spread the love a little bit.So it's not the same thing every week, but yeah.I have a similar thing with the newsletter where I we'll have like a summary of the previous nights and it's like, OK, Jamir, yeah, you had 15 and eight.* ### *8:59* *OK yeah, let's mention somebody else.Let's.Yeah, like 15 and eight to hit is like, oh, OK, that's that's a pretty good game.But like.It's like a first half.Yeah, yeah.It's not like a stand out game.Yeah.So yeah, that's that's the rule I invented it's.A good rule.* ### *9:15* *Yeah, those are the guys that were at the time, they were like the ones who were under that rule because just incredible seasons.So I'm always interested in when newspapers, especially any media outlet, but especially newspapers, because I think it's safe to say or fair to say that the newspaper industry is in transition or as a whole, not just you guys, like everybody from the New York Times to the Quadi Times up in Eastport are all sort of trying to figure out, well, how do we make this work?* ### *9:49* *And so I'm always interested when they try something new like this e-mail or this text message thing Is it?Has it been working?Yeah, I think so.It's so this is like, this wasn't my idea.It was one of our audience engagement people.She she brought that to me in the in the summertime.* ### *10:07* *And I'm not the first person to do it.We do.There's somebody else that does it for like concerts and other events that are coming on, like what to do?OK.Aimzol.I can't remember her last name.It's Ponty I think.Ponte, Yeah.Ponte yeah, but, and I hope I'm saying it correctly so she was doing it they brought it to us to try it with sports and I was like yeah, that's cool because it's I mean it's fun to do something a little bit different I think.* ### *10:35* *Well, and I want to say this, I think it's kind of, and I said this to them, but it's kind of interesting how like text messages, it's almost like going backwards to like like all these different things with text messages.That was like 15 years ago, like he was using that.But but it's like kind of a newer text messages have survived all these changes to technology.* ### *10:58* *So and it's been fun, just like trying to have a little bit of personality and like a certain amount of characters, which I can't Remember Remember what it is now.And the cool thing about the this varsity main one that we have the football 1 is that people can respond to.* ### *11:15* *Oh, OK.And I haven't had too many responses, but there's been like people like, Oh yeah, I'm, I live in Washington state and I'm retired and just following along that way.So I've had contacts with people like that, people who are very cool.How's Coney doing or whatever.And it's, yeah, it's been kind of fun.* ### *11:31* *And it's the hard part is just like fitting all that.So if you do want to link to the stories, let them know what we're what we're doing.So like fitting the character limit and you know, getting in all the good stuff is the challenge.And then having enough room to just sort of do a little bit of riffing and have a little bit of personality and voice to it.* ### *11:51* *Yeah, yeah, yeah, but not, but not too much like I, I keep track of like when people dis they unsubscribe and it seems like if I get too like silly, like I, I always lose 1.Like if I'm like trying to be like, yeah, be a fact cocky or like quote Taylor Swift, there's somebody's going to, somebody's going to bail.* ### *12:14* *But yeah, I think you asked how's it going?I think it is successful.It's when we started doing it, it wasn't so much something that we were going to thought we were going to connect with like, you know, thousands of people.It's just like a pretty simple way to connect with like right now I think there's almost 200 people.* ### *12:34* *And so I think trying like there's a lot of stuff like that.We're not like trying to get a little bit of time and just kind of hopefully that becomes they connect with us more, but it's also just kind of showing our creativity in all the different ways that we can reach out to people.* ### *12:50* *And sometimes it might blow up and be bigger than we expected.And you know, in a way, in a way, we all went to social media thinking that was going to save us.And then the algorithms turns out are not our friends.So, you know, the text message, there's no algorithm there.* ### *13:07* *It's just on your coming to your phone.Like I'm at work and it pops up on my phone.I'm like, oh, Barson, you mean.Yeah.Thing I forgot to check the stories, I forgot to check the, the highlights or whatever this week and see who they had as the top performers.Or, you know, did they remember to have my guy in the top performers 'cause he had a really good game?* ### *13:27* *I hope they know that.And it's the same way with e-mail, with newsletters.I think that's why newsletters are working because it's in your inbox and there's a tiny bit of algorithm work there with whether or not it gets sent to spam.But it's it's old school in a way.* ### *13:43* *Yeah, yeah.Like those like inbox and the text messages are the things that have survived, I think inboxes for me.I don't look at mine too much.My personal emails, which I've kind of gotten off of that, which is bad.But if you, if you like, have your your work, your work emails up all day long, like at most jobs.* ### *14:05* *And so, yeah, it's kind of a cool way to do it.And then people can just kind of leave it unread and then get back to it, get to it when they want to or when they have time.And so it's yeah, it's really cool.And we have a newsletter too.I don't write for that anymore.We but I was for a while.But it's another way.Like every morning, you'll get some all of our high school sports stories in your inbox.* ### *14:25* *I'm pretty sure I'm on that one.I'm on the Bangor Daily News 1.I know that for sure because I've gotten about 15 emails about Cooper flag this week.OK, Yeah, yeah, big time.Yeah, this is the week.I don't know how many of them are from you guys, how many of them are from the Bangor Daily News?I don't know where they're coming from.* ### *14:41* *It's just a lot of Cooper flag emails.Some are from the NBA.I don't know.Yeah, I think that, yeah, we've had a few.We haven't had a ton of Cooper Flex stories, but we had like Drew Bonafont wrote a pretty good one yesterday and went up and but yeah, so it might not be us, but yeah, it's, yeah.* ### *15:01* *I mean, that's just, that's basketball.That's just, it's a cool thing.I should, I should mention we're recording this before the season debut.We're it's recording it's like 2 hours before that game.So we have no knowledge of what happened in that game.Yeah, so if he if he pulls like a Gordon Hayward and gets injured for the season.* ### *15:18* *Oh, and like.Knock on wood.Yeah.We have no idea.Yeah, we don't know what's happening in the Celtics game.We don't know anything and we hope it's going great.For everybody involved, yeah, I feel terrible even bringing it up like.Well, I knocked on wood for you so.* ### *15:35* *Please don't.Yeah, yeah.You Can you imagine the hordes of the masses with pitchforks that would be at the at your office tomorrow morning?Yeah, yeah, I can't and I but it'd be, it'd be your fault for it's your podcast.* ### *15:51* *That's true It it would be my I get blamed for things anyway I got blamed for standing on the sidelines 2 weeks ago so.Oh really?Yeah.At Levitt it was a whole thing.They somebody, some like retired guy, thought that there was a rule that the reporters couldn't be on the sideline.* ### *16:08* *And so Mandela and I are standing there going, what are you talking about?That's I've never heard of that.And it turns out there's not a rule.Yeah, I know.I mean, I've I've never encountered that.Yeah, it's very weird.Yeah.All right, so let's go through the state.* ### *16:24* *This is the Overreactions podcast.So if you're new here, every week, myself and a media member, we overreact to the week's games.It's a little less overreacting now because we're seven games deep, so we should have a pretty good idea of what's going on.* ### *16:41* *Week 1 it's a little more wild because who knows?Yeah, yeah, but but I'm ready to overreact.It's great.That's perfect.All right.Where do you want to start?Which?Which class?I really don't care.We can start from the top.* ### *16:58* *All right, starting a I'm bringing up Andrew Hart's site main high school football because his standings are so easy to read.All right, let's go.This everyone's talking about this is the game of the day.Bonnie Eagle and Thornton Academy this week like this is going to be a barn burner, hopefully.* ### *17:18* *Yeah, it's going to be.I think it's going to be awesome.And like we'd, we'd pick the games in our coverage areas.And this one was like 5050 for me because both teams are good at good at defense.* ### *17:36* *Both teams can just let have like big play offense.So it's it's going to be hard to it's going to be kind of hard to, it was hard for me to pick it, I'm sure.What did your computer say?My computer has Bonnie Eagle one overall and so it's always going to pick one overall in a head to head.* ### *17:54* *So it's got them by 10 I think because they've sort of separated a little bit.And the problem is that New Hampshire game makes everything screwy for Thornton Academy because it's I'm not building an entire model for Thornton for New Hampshire for these like 8 games or whatever it is like no.* ### *18:13* *Yeah, no, that might be impossible.That would be worth the effort.But yeah.But I also was thinking that maybe that New Hampshire game might be the difference for Thornton because they've been in a game where they've had to really, like, grind for everything they get.And they were in that game, right?* ### *18:30* *Yeah, I was, I watched the stream of that one and I was I think through like 3/4 or maybe in the third quarters when it got a little bit crazy when it got out of control.But I think they even LED at halftime and they put it pretty solid.I mean, they had some fumbles, but they were able to stop Bedford, Bedford pretty good in that game.* ### *18:51* *And so, but like on the other side, you have like Colin Moran and Colby McCormick, Drew Gervais, Lucas Klein, and then there's also like the Cooper kid.* ### *19:07* *I don't know if is it CJ?Is he CJ?Off the top of my head, I don't know.But he, I mean, he's a big player.He's got some, he has some big plays too.So it's I it's kind of a hard game to pick.For me, it is a hard game to.And the other thing is Bonnie Eagle's been blowing everybody out.* ### *19:25* *They finally gave up like some points this past week against, I think it was Massabesic maybe.Was it?Yeah, Massabesic and Thornton Academy's been pretty much blowing everybody out.I saw them against Portland and that was not even close.* ### *19:40* *Yeah, yeah.That was like, I was surprised, like everyone I think I talked to beforehand thought Thornton Academy would win, but I don't think anyone thought it would be by that much and it would be that dominant.And over by the end of the first quarter.Oh yeah, it was.It was rough.* ### *19:55* *Yeah.That was probably one of the streams you clicked off of pretty quickly.Yeah, yeah.I was like, oh, this, yeah.I thought I was going to be settling in for the night there, but it was, yeah, I moved on to something else.It was a long drive for a very short game.Yeah.Oh, that's right.Because you've been from where?Damerskotta.Damerskotta, yeah.* ### *20:11* *Yeah, yeah, that was not worth it for you.But yeah, it was.It was just so weird how, I mean, they just had short fields.It's like, I don't even know what you can take away from that game about, especially about Thornton.I don't know if you can take much away.That's the thing.* ### *20:27* *You get those short fields and like the game's over before it starts and it was like a shanked punt and like a fumble and they missed on 4th and what, 4th and short?I mean, you swing one or two of those and maybe the game comes out differently.* ### *20:44* *Yeah, like, yeah, Portland, like you don't demoralize them early on.They can stick.They could, you know, stick around.So, but yeah.So it's just really hard to tell with with both Bonnie Eagle and Thornton, Like who would who's going to win?I, I picked Thornton because I've been voting them #1 in the poll for a few weeks.* ### *21:04* *I just I stuck with that, but I'm not confident in that pick at all.Those are and yeah, those are two teams where they haven't like for my models purposes, they haven't really been tested by a known quantity.So it's like like Bon Eagle blowing everybody out every week.* ### *21:19* *You're like, OK, but how good are these teams that they're blowing out every week?You know, it's exactly always.It's one of the great dilemmas of.Trying.They blew out Portland, but Portland didn't have Cordell Jones, right?* ### *21:36* *That's the game he missed, right?He, yeah, he missed something.He missed a game.I'm pretty sure it was that game, but yeah, so you can't tell.I mean, even that game you can't, that was their chance to be tested and they haven't been tested.So it's, yeah, it's kind of tough to know for sure, but I think it's they're both going to be, they're both really good teams, really well coached, veteran players.* ### *21:59* *They've, you know, been there before.Yeah, this.Classic programs.Yeah, there's like nothing you can say that's like that.This either team doesn't have.Right.And it's the it's the pedigrees where you're just, it's not some team out of nowhere where you're like, I don't know about these guys.* ### *22:14* *Yeah, you're like, well, it's Bond, Eagle, Thornton Academy.Sure.Of course they're there.Yeah.And I think both of them, it's, I know that like Thornton has been like the program for the last like 10 years or so, but if anybody's going to beat them, usually it's Bonnie Eagle.* ### *22:32* *Yeah.That's I mean, he also had a couple years that they were the team, but like, you know, Bonnie Eagles.Portland last year.Yeah, the consistent foe.And then looking lower here, it looks like Noble's good that it looks like they're going to settle in as the three seed.* ### *22:48* *And then we've got do we think, do you think Scarborough can catch South Portland for that final playoff spot?No, I don't think so.I think South Portland is, I think they're a good four and three team and I think they also blew out Scarborough recently.* ### *23:10* *And so I don't, I think that South Portland's probably going to be I mean, this isn't the last week.So they have they had, they both play.In two weeks, yeah.Yeah.So I think Portland, South Portland plays Portland next week.That sounds right.Which would which would cut it, you know, possibly bring them back to like A5, you know, could if they lose this week under 500.* ### *23:31* *But South Portland, they they actually, they were the team that a lot of people have thought were going to be really good coming into the season, like maybe even the favorite because of how much talent they had.And it just kind of didn't, hasn't worked out that way for whatever reason.* ### *23:47* *And they did, they did lose one of their players to prep school.So but yeah, and I think they've come, they've kind of come on lately too.So I, I don't, I think that South Portland is going to be the a solid #4 there.OK.* ### *24:03* *And then on the other side, Portland's going to be the one, I think.And then you've got Bangor at 2 and Portland blew out Bangor right early in the year, like week two or something.Yeah.And I think it got close towards the end, but it was, it was like 49 to 26 or something like that.* ### *24:22* *But it was before it was, it was out of control before that.Before, yeah.And so then you've got Oxford Hills, Deering and Wyndham all fighting for two spots because I'm assuming Edward Little and Lewiston are done.Yeah, they're.On to basketball season.Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't.I don't.Yeah, I don't think even mathematically they have a chance.* ### *24:39* *I don't think so.Yeah.And I so that's tough.I think port it's going to be Portland.I think, I really think it's going to be hard for port anybody but Portland to be win that region.So I think the first seed probably isn't isn't locked up technically, but it could be.* ### *25:02* *I do know that people are mad that Portland isn't in the top ten in the rankings and I was like, well you did lose 70 to 7 in two games, so there was your opportunity to be top ten in the rankings.Yeah.And I, I mean, I still, I still rank them third, but I know a lot of our lot of the voters in the varsity main polls are not as high on them.* ### *25:22* *But I just think I just don't think that the other teams can are, is going to be as good as them.I think I even like if like Cordell Jones didn't play, I still kind of wonder if like Portland would still win that region.Bangor, I was watching their stream.They played a New Hampshire team last week.* ### *25:38* *Win a something.Yeah, yeah.And I didn't watch the first half or the first quarter even.I think I watched like the last three quarters off and on, but Kyle Johnson was not playing quarterback for them.Right.* ### *25:54* *I did hear that, yeah.And so I don't know if he got hurt in the game or he missed the entire game, but let that's kind of a big a big thing for them because they play they finished the season against Oxford Hills.Next week they play Edward Little Lamar or yeah, this week.But that Oxford Hills game could be like a big one.* ### *26:14* *That could be a big one, especially for Oxford Hills, you know, to try to, to try to stay in the tournament.And I always have the problem 'cause I'm so wired to think about heel points and I'm like, well, that'd be a big heel point win for Oxford Hills if they could get Bangor.And then I have to remember that that doesn't matter.* ### *26:30* *Yeah, it's Crabtree.Yeah, I know.And I, I even sometimes I'll, I'll write like I'll like add something to somebody's story and I write heels.And halfway through the season I realize it's not heels, it's Crabtrees.But yeah, but it.Yeah, so and I think Oxford Hills plays Wyndham this week.* ### *26:49* *Yes, at Wyndham.And Wyndham has, I think they they have, they were playing a lot of young guys last week against Edward Little and they've, they've struggled and they'd only be Edward Little 15 to 6.They've had a weird season just from the outside, like it's a lot of like close losses to good teams and then I think there's one bad loss in there.* ### *27:13* *Yeah, I think they played Portland for 3/4 early this season, yeah.And so I don't know if it's injuries or what that have kind of.Maybe they're just young.Yeah.And I mean, sometimes you're just like a step below the teams and you know, you're maybe the third best team in your region and you played the top 2 very close and you lost them both because they're a little bit better than you.* ### *27:38* *And then people go, oh, they're O and two, they're no good.And like, well, we're O and two, but we lost by the two top teams in the to the two top teams in the region and we were in the game.So maybe we're pretty good.And it could also be they they might have played a tougher schedule, they might have played some of the other big teams too.So that's kind of a another thing that can be kind of can kind of confuse, like confuse you when you look at the the standings.* ### *28:07* *And I think Deering Deering beat Oxford Hills last week.And I thought that was a game that Oxford Hills probably should win, probably needed to win.And they had like a three touchdown lead, two or three touchdown lead.And then I think it may be just two, but Deering came back and then they had like a nice back and forth the rest of the game and they and Deering pulled it out.* ### *28:25* *And I thought that was kind of a surprise to me.Deering probably needed it more than Oxford Hills did.That.Might be this might be an instance of like, they're desperate.That's maybe their season.Yeah, that's true.'Cause I think they were probably on the outside looking in, I mean, they have a negative point differential and even with that win them and Wyndham both have a negative point differential at 4:00 and 5:00.* ### *28:49* *That's right, I got.Some which is not ideal.Yeah, yeah.So, yeah.And I think with Dearing, they gave up.They gave up so much.They gave up a lot of points to Portland.They give a lot of points to Edward Little too this season.* ### *29:05* *So it's kind of it's really kind of hard to know what that what kind of what they are actually.I mean, it's like like, I think all three of those teams, Oxford Hills, Deering and Windham, it's like any, any one of those teams might miss the playoffs.And you it's hard to tell who's going to get the third seed.* ### *29:22* *I mean Oxford still Hills still has a chance at the second seed 2.Yeah, they can get to 2.Yeah.And I'll mention that Andrew Hart on his Facebook has all these scenarios, and it's a really, really, really long, oh, really post.Yeah.* ### *29:37* *And it's all like, if this team beats this team and this team wins and this team loses, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.And then they can get up to here, but or they could fall down to here.And it's just, it's dizzying the amount of information there.Oh yeah, you just.You look at it and you go, yeah, OK, All right.* ### *29:53* *So we've got a chance.You're telling me we've got a chance?Yeah, well, he's doing the Lord's work for all of us to do that.Yeah, I'm like, I don't want to figure this out.I figured this out for basketball and it's it's enough for that.Yeah.And then, yeah.And then there's like all these other sports that we have to do it for too.* ### *30:11* *Yeah.Like so I don't have time for that, but yeah.So I think, yeah, Class 8 N is kind of a kind of a kind of a mess.It is.It is all right.In a strange way.* ### *30:27* *Speaking of messes, let's go to B South.Yeah, yeah, I love.That, because holy crap.Yeah.You've got Westbrook at six and one, Cannabunk at 6:00 and 1:00, then Falmouth and Marshwood at 4:00 and 3:00, and then Shevers is four and three and they're fifth.* ### *30:44* *Yeah.And then you've got Gorham and Biddeford.And Yikes, Falmouth and Chevres play this week and so one of those he was going to be 4 and 4.Which is crazy.Yeah.Yeah, I saw Falmouth this week and they looked awesome.Did they?* ### *31:00* *Yeah, they looked really good.Against who was it?Freiburg?Freiburg, OK.Freiburg had something like, according to Jared Richmond from WHOU, had something like 46 yards in the game.Really.Oh wow.Yeah, their defense was just everywhere.* ### *31:16* *OK.And they were pretty much getting whatever they wanted on offense.And I think they've had a few games like that, Yeah, season.They're very in, They're very banged up.I know that they're missing like 7 starters to injury.Oh, OK.* ### *31:32* *So that's probably why, OK.Because I think they've they haven't been a disappointment so much, but they've been, they've been kind of they've been losing the the big games against those.They actually beat Westbrook pretty good.They lost.They lost to Kennebunk.They lost to Marshwood, who was the third loss to.* ### *31:49* *Greeley.Greeley Oh yeah, yeah.And nobody would be.Greeley So that's three quality losses.Yeah.That are close games.So they're one of the teams like it's hard to know exactly what they are, so it's weird thinking that they could be going to 500 this week if they don't win.And the model's really high on them.* ### *32:07* *The computer loves them.Oh really?They're top five.They've been top five the entire year, even when they were like 1 and 2 or whatever.OK, yeah, I I've been very having them too.My yeah, when I've been voting them like I haven't, there's been a few times I've taken them out of our top ten, but like they've had some tough losses, but like to good teams to really good teams.* ### *32:29* *Yeah.And part of it is that the the computer factors in last year.It starts with last year as a starting point because otherwise you can't make any predictions for week 1.Oh, OK.You know, you got to have something.You got to have something to go with and it's like, OK, yeah, you're they're losing these games, but they're close games to good teams, so OK.* ### *32:50* *Yeah.And I think, yeah, they haven't lost anybody that they should have beaten so far.And yeah, I think they held, they held Westbrook to I think less than 10 points.I think just a touchdown.It was, I think it was 14 to 10.* ### *33:07* *Or Westbrook.No, Westbrook.Yeah, I'm thinking of Counterbunk.Sorry.Yeah.Yeah, Westbrook was really close.And so and yeah.And then so, yeah, Falmouth is like the one I'm always watching.Like, what are they going to do?And they've, yeah, they've given up 99 points this year is all then.* ### *33:24* *But Westbrook is like the story of the year.Yeah.Because that's how how?High.Were you on them at the beginning of the year?Like how on your radar?Like they weren't even on my radar.Like I, I, I didn't really pay attention to them coming into this.* ### *33:40* *It was like Falmouth and Kennamonk Marshwood.And I heard people talk about chevrus.But yeah, Westbrook is like, and I like Westbrook.The first football game I ever covered in Maine was Westbrook at Levitt.* ### *33:58* *And Westbrook won.I think it was like Levitt's only losing season since I've been in Maine.Yeah, yeah, I was.Like all over the Yeah, I was like, we entered the sidelines covered so, but yeah.I'm joking because I've heard from the Levitt coaches and they're think the whole thing is hilarious.* ### *34:16* *Oh, really?Oh, OK.Yeah, yeah, no, it yeah.Like, I mean, they do have a lot of coaches on that sideline.But it's a lot of coaches.But yeah, no problems there.But yeah, they, they and also like their nickname is the Blue Blazes.So I'm always like, I don't know what.That's a cool nickname.Yeah, it's just.* ### *34:31* *Different.I also don't know what that means, but it's cool.But so and I yeah, so I'm always like, those are the teams I like, see, see, do well, the ones that don't do it very well.And then they have weird nicknames.So but they weren't on my radar at all.And they just keep, I mean, they beat, they started the season by beating or they want the ones that beat Wells right off the bat.* ### *34:50* *Or is that Herman?That was Herman.Herman had Wells and Foxcroft the first two weeks.That's right.Who did Westbrook beat in the first game?Do you remember?I can bring it up.Let me see very professional podcasting here.* ### *35:12* *Yeah.Football.Well, I asked you so I wouldn't have to do it.Yeah, perfect.They beat Marshwood 27 to 16.That's right.And then they lost a film with 26 to 7.And everyone went, I remember I was at another game, and that game was, I guess they went up maybe 7, nothing.* ### *35:29* *And that came across Twitter and everyone's like, Oh my gosh.And then the final came in and everyone went OK, all right.Yeah, it made sense.Like.Oh yeah, and they haven't lost sense.Yeah.And so that was like, yeah, 25 to 7, they lost to Falmouth.So I was like, oh, you know, it's just maybe Marshall isn't very good or whatever, but like.* ### *35:48* *And then they beat Biddeford, Edward Little in Poland and all of those.You go, OK.And then I think the eye opener was when they shut out Kennebunk.Yeah. 2020, nothing.And everyone.That's where I think everyone sort of sat up and went, OK, this might be for real.Yeah.And then they then they follow that up with like a win over Chevris, which is, you know, I mean, poor Chevris has had like a bunch of close, close games.* ### *36:11* *I think Kennebunk went down to the wire.They've had they lost to Kennebunk by one, they lost to Marshwood by one.Yeah, and they lost to Westbrook by 6.Yeah.And so, yeah, they've had a lot of close games.But yeah, just the the way that Westbrook has, I did it.* ### *36:28* *Oh, I touched my, I touched my computer.I'll bring it back while we're talking.But yeah, just, I mean, Westbrook, all right, the way they've just keep winning, it's it's pretty impressive.I keep waiting for them to come back-to-back to Earth.* ### *36:45* *Yeah, I almost wonder if they're this year's Falmouth, in a sense.Yeah.Oh, that's a good point.Yeah, that's really good because Falmouth wasn't, you know, expected to do.On anyone's radar at all, yeah.I think, I think BL Lippert knew they'd be good because he saw how like, how much talent they had.* ### *37:02* *But like, yeah, and I think Westbrook's the same way.And like Gio Staples and yeah, could.Yeah, I'm, yeah.You had to with Falmouth last year.I think you had to either like, have seen them in the preseason or like knew Spencer Emerson and be enough to be like, this guy's the real deal.* ### *37:19* *Yeah, yeah.And it's yeah.And like he's, and he, I mean, I've, I've said this before, like we had an article about his brother, Jared Turcotte, one of the best football players that Maine's ever had.And like, we had a story about him and he it was basically like he was born to play football.* ### *37:37* *And so about Spencer, I say like, well, he was born to coach football because I mean, he went to Poland and for it was only a couple years, but just like immediately elevated that program.Then he went to college, a few a few college stops.And then Falmouth just took them from like, you know, they might have been the best team in the state last year and undefeated.* ### *37:59* *And yeah, he just knows what he's doing.And I've stood on his sideline of two or three Times Now and you can just tell he's the command he has of that sideline.And like he's coaching like small stuff mid game, like turning around, taking the headset off, talking to a guy about a small thing.* ### *38:21* *Like, see, This is why we don't get a penalty here, blah, blah, blah, blah.And you're like, OK, there's, there's like a real attention to detail.There.That's very impressive.And then he has the personality to relate to the kids.And yeah, just, yeah, he he does a great job.* ### *38:38* *Like it.I was surprised that Falmouth did as well as they did last year.But like, I wasn't surprised, Like Spencer, like quickly made an impact on that, that program.Sure, sure, sure.* ### *38:54* *All right, so let's move over to the north where it's, I mean, this is all Kony.Kony's been incredible.Yeah, yeah.And I don't think it's I'm, yeah, that's, it's not even like a question.They're, they're probably, I mean, I, I would be shocked if they don't win, if they don't play for a state championship.* ### *39:15* *Win the region or win the whole?Thing win the region and play for a state championship, OK, They just have been and it's cool because they kind of, I think they they had a difficult season last year.It wasn't what they hoped it would be.And I and Mike Mandel from the Morning Sentinel Rose story before the season about how they weren't as tough as they wanted to be.* ### *39:36* *And then also, but also like even their offense wasn't what it was, what they were expecting.It wasn't, you know, as high-powered as it was supposed to be with Parker Moran coming back.But then this year, like, everything's been good.Like Parker Moran's been just like seems like almost 300 yards every game, 4 touchdowns in the game.* ### *39:57* *The offensive line is being great.Blocking the defense has done well.Is he Jameer Rosed now for the for the standout players?Oh yeah, he.Definitely on the left he, I mean he's still, I think he still has been honored like 3 times.But like, yeah, he's had to really earn it to get there.* ### *40:17* *I remember talking to Mandel in the preseason, I think at Coney League, and I think it was at Coney League, and he said that they were a little more dialed in, yeah, than they had been in the previous year.I think that's who told me that.And so I wasn't shocked when they started hot.* ### *40:34* *Yeah, let's say.But it's just been like dominating week after week.Like I don't know if have they even had like AI Don't think they've.Had I don't think they've been tested.Yeah.And I it's anyway, it is kind of a strange region because Lawrence has had some weird losses and then Mesolotsky's been, they've been kind of up and down.* ### *41:04* *Kony's won close game 39 to 34 at Oxford Hills.Oh yeah, that's right, that's right.And Oxford Hills had to come back.Yeah, they were down, but it was like like 3 touchdown lead.But otherwise, they haven't really been test.* ### *41:21* *I mean, yeah, it's in like Freiburg is not like they were, they were like four and oh, and I think they've lost three in a row or three of the last four.They've kind of struggled and it's yeah, it's just been all Coney and it's I just don't see it not being all Coney unless Freiburg is missing some players or something and they can like come back and compete.* ### *41:41* *Or I mean, also, like, you can't really count Lauren Lawrence out just because, you know?Because it's Lawrence.Yeah, their program and their coach and everything, but I would say, yeah, Kony's just they they seem like they have that one locked down.And then they have Gardner in that rivalry game.* ### *41:58* *Yeah, this week, which will be.There will be a lot of people there, I think.Yeah, and it's. 7 and O and 6:00 and 1:00.Yep, and this is the Mike Mandel has a couple stories about this, but this is the the best records they've ever had in there.This is it's the longest rivalry in the state.* ### *42:16* *Oh, really?OK.And this is the best combined records the teams have ever had in the rivalry.Oh, and that's.Oh yeah, so 140 games, all of Augusta and all of Gardner will be there, is what you're saying?Yeah, yeah, it's, it's huge.Yeah.It's the one of the biggest games.* ### *42:32* *And I think I, I mean, I'm interested to see how Gardner does because they they are what's 6 in one.Six and one, with the one loss being to Levitt.And they got just like crowded by smoked.* ### *42:50* *Yeah.And so, so, so the yeah.I mean, when we get to Class C, it's like there's a lot of teams in Class C where you don't really know what to expect from.Them Let's go to Class C Yeah, but this is everybody's favorite class.Yeah, and it's really fun.It's like it's just chaos.* ### *43:06* *I mean, Greeley keeps beating everybody and they, I mean, they finish, I think they finished the season with their two easiest opponents, which is Oceanside and Hampton.And, and so they're, I mean, they're going to win the region.And what a great shift from 8 man football to 11 man.* ### *43:27* *That's incredible.I I mean, I didn't expect it because they lost some players last year, some key players, which isn't, I mean, and everybody does, but when you're going from 8:00 man, losing a couple players to 11 man, so you're already like you're kind of already starting down three players.* ### *43:43* *Would he do that?I mean, you're in eight man for a reason.Yeah.And and then, yeah, I mean it just that they were they used eight man to build their program and they didn't, they didn't just build to win A state championship.They've built it to go beyond that.Luke Piper is only a junior.* ### *43:59* *He's he's a great corner.He's awesome, I've seen him twice and he's been really good in both games.Yeah, and, and then Noah Allen, great running back and they've had kind of a, they've had an interesting season, though, because every, almost every game has been close.* ### *44:17* *They they were, I think they had a pretty big lead on Levitt, but then Levitt came back and Greeley won by two points.That was an incredible game.Yeah, and then the same thing with Falmouth.They had a big lead and then Falmouth came back in the fourth quarter on them, I believe went to overtime, but Greeley won.* ### *44:36* *Yeah, the Foxcroft Green I, I've started watching that and it was close until late in the third quarter and then Greeley scored a couple quick touchdowns.The Wells game was tied at 14 at one.No, they were down 14, seven I think.Yeah, yeah.And so they've, they've played a lot of close games, which is could that be concerning or the fact that they've won it, could that also show that they've, you know.* ### *45:00* *The the son of a coach in me likes that a lot that they've been down in games and they've had, you know, their backs against the walls a couple of times and always come out with a win.Like my father would always say, I never want to take a team into the tournament that's undefeated because, you know, you get a little full of yourself.* ### *45:23* *And so if I had to pick between Greeley's situation and say, Bonnie Eagle's situation, I would rather have Greeley's situation because I've been down in games and I've had to come back and do stuff like that.And you kind of know what's wrong with your team when you're blowing everybody out.You can kind of say like, oh, well, I think that we, you know, don't play out your good man to man defense or whatever man defense.* ### *45:46* *But like, do you really?Believe that proved us.Wrong.Believe that.That's the big thing.Do your players believe that?Yeah.And so, but I think but the thing with Greeley, though, is that they've also put themselves in those situations where they had big leads and and lost them.* ### *46:03* *But I mean, they're pretty loaded.I mean, yeah, Noah, Noah, Allen, Luke Piper, Ben Kyles, the two Justice kids, Sean and Jackson, I think.But yeah, they're just like they're going to be tough to beat, yeah.* ### *46:21* *And did you, did you see the the heartwarming thing with their manager?Yes, where he scored the touchdown.Yes, that was pretty.Cool.That was very cool.That was very cool.Yeah, and they.Did they keep the touchdown on the scoreboard or did they take it off the scoreboard?It was.It was, I think it was like before the game technically.* ### *46:39* *Oh, OK.And then they started playing after that.But yeah, yeah, that was kind of.Imagine it'd be hard to agree to that.Be like no no, we'll spot you 7 points.Yeah, yeah.Especially, especially Hampton.Not like basketball.We're like, yeah, two points short.Why not?Yeah.And Hampton's like, yeah, are we even going to score points?* ### *46:56* *We're not going to.We're not going to give you any, you know.Yeah.We might be drawing Dead 7 Nothing.And so, but it was, yeah, it was kind of a cool moment that they did that.Yeah.And I was, I, I was watching the stream afterwards because it was like it started at 8:00 that game, dude.* ### *47:12* *So I just had it going in the background while I was working.I looked over and they were like doing the handshake line.And I think it was him who was like leading them through the handshake line and just like he was just like fired up like after the.Game.That's so cool, yeah.And yeah, really, really excited about it.All right, so the rest of C, which is a mess.* ### *47:29* *So top six get a buy.Yeah, which you always want the buy if you can get a buy.Herman's been awesome, too.This year, they've only given up 64 points.They're 7.And OI feel like they're the team in C that no one's talking about because they're sort of over here.Yeah, up by up, you know, geographically.* ### *47:47* *Yeah, but they're coming.They're coming here to Turner like this, you know, on.Friday.So I'm.Trying to figure out which game to go to and that's on the short.List, yeah.And I think that's that's a pretty big game for both teams.But like Herman, they be They started off by beating Wells in in Foxcroft, and this might be their first big test since then.* ### *48:11* *They had.They didn't agree this year.Yeah, they had Oceanside, Hamden, Skowhegan, Brewer, Nokomis.So yeah, they haven't really been tested since since Week 2.Yeah, and Nokomis did play them kind of close last week, 27 to 20.* ### *48:29* *Nikomis is a team I can't get a read on.Yeah, but so.But Herman.Yeah.So it's like this could be.And this might be Herman's biggest test of the season, coming to Turner to play Levitt.And Levitt looks really good.Levitt's been a.* ### *48:45* *Lot great against Gardner.Yeah.And they, yeah, they've just been, I mean, they have a young team and they have a sophomore quarterback, but they really have seemed to find a bunch of weapons like obviously Marshall Henderson.* ### *49:01* *No, not Marshall Henderson.Randon Hutchinson.No.Mason Henderson.Mason Henderson.And he got hurt last year, but like, he was kind of their big play guy.Like they relayed a lot, I mean, on him last year.But this year they haven't had to rely on him as much because of Randon, Randon Hutchinson and the Poland kids made some plays.* ### *49:23* *Nick Mellon, yeah.So they they're coming along and they, I mean, they're going to be a tough team to play in the playoffs, but I still don't know what to expect out of them yet.I've seen them three times and they were better in each of the games.* ### *49:42* *OK, so I would.I'm pretty high on them.OK, yeah.So yeah, I'm interested to see like, what happens on Friday.That's like how good is Herman?I mean, and they won, they won class CN last year.* ### *49:57* *So they know.I mean they.They're a known entity.Yeah, this isn't like a new situation for them, but yeah, but coming to love it, that's not, I mean, that's not a easy place to play.And I mean, Mike Hathaway always puts his players in the best position to win games.* ### *50:15* *So I mean, yeah, I'm really excited about that one because I don't it's hard.It's hard to know exactly what those two teams are, but then there's also like, behind them, it's like Gardner, Howard.Are they Wells?I mean, Wells beat Levitt.And it sounds like.* ### *50:31* *Yeah.So Wells, I mean Wells is always tough and you can't count them out.They've had a weird season too, where they've bet a lot of close games.Yeah, and they've won some and they've lost some and, and, and they're also like they're moving up from Class D where they dominated to, you know, compete, having to compete every week, not just, you know, that one week and the.* ### *50:54* *But what's interesting is that they were in D and dominating, but they were also beating the crap out of any Class C team they played while they were in D, they would come up to C and they would just not blow someone out.And then someone and you'd get the whole thing like, well, I'm glad they're in D.Yeah.But I think the deal, I think Class C hasn't been that good the last few years.* ### *51:15* *There's like the top teams I remember, like even like Winthrop and all those Class DS teams, they'd play like Class C North and South teams and just destroy them.I mean, they weren't playing Levitt, they weren't playing Levitt, they weren't playing Herman, but like they were playing some of those other teams.* ### *51:30* *And just like, yeah, just.Because Levitt was playing Thornton Academy.Yeah, Yeah, exactly.And so I think but but Class C is like this year it's, I mean, Greeley is good.The the new teams they added have been really made Class C pretty good.* ### *51:47* *Greeley, Foxcroft, Wells, Gardner dropped down, right?They were.They were B last year, right?Gardner was B It reminds me of in basketball when a N had Hamden and Madomic in it and Oceanside and it was just like an absolutely loaded region, yeah, where you're like a good team is not making the playoffs.* ### *52:08* *Yeah, yeah.Which is fun.I mean, obvious, that's way more fun.And so, Oh yeah, it's really hard to.It's really, I mean, I could see any of the, I mean, there's like 5 teams that I could see winning that region.I still think, I mean, Greeley's pretty loaded and they've proven it.* ### *52:25* *So I think they're they'd be my favorite right now.But let's see what Herman?'S and So what we also have here is a battle for the final.It looks like the final by is Nakomis Foxcroft and Madomic in the running for that.* ### *52:41* *And Nakomis is playing Madomic this week, which might swing that.And Madomic is a different team.They've been the last, like for the rest of the season, 'cause they got their best player back, right?So Jayden Ruiz missed the first three games of the season with he had like a ton of stitches in his hand and then came back for Gardner and Levitt, which they got blown out of both of those games.* ### *53:05* *But what sort of game shape are you in?And then he had five touchdowns last two weeks ago and six touchdowns and like 300 yards and LED them in tackles this week against Oceanside, who's not very good.* ### *53:21* *But yeah, 6 touchdowns and six touchdowns.Yeah, he's making up for the last time He's, Yeah, getting getting his stats in.Yeah.So I mean, that's, and that could definitely be.I don't know who Foxcroft is playing this week, but yeah, Madonna could jump all the way up to #6.* ### *53:37* *They could jump to 6.With a with a.Win.That's the one thing, one thing at being a madomic guy.That's one thing I remember from Andrew Hart's long summary.As I Scroll down to there, I'm like, can we still get to 6?I need to know if we can still get to 6.And we can.* ### *53:53* *Foxcroft finishes with Brewer.OK.So they should they they, they'll probably move up well.Well, it's the question of if they beat Brewer, but Brewer is 2 and 5.And then I think it's probably going to be like Heels.* ### *54:10* *I think it's going to come down to what everybody else does.OK.And your help points, you know like.Yeah.You can get like if Levitt, like Levitt played madomic and not Nokomis.So if Levitt wins, that helps madomic.* ### *54:25* *If Levitt loses, that helps Nokomis.OK, That sort of thing.OK.And then you've got Old Town and York and maybe Brewer fighting for that last spot and there's no like an Oceanside get that 10th spot.* ### *54:44* *They're pretty close.They might.They would have to win, I think.Yeah, they'd have to be Greeley.I mean, if they'd be Greeley, yeah, they probably, they probably can, but.They deserve it.Yeah, so how far can Levitt fall if they lose?That I didn't check, but just looking at it I don't think they could fall to 6.* ### *55:05* *OK.Maybe if maybe if Nokomis won and got help they could drop to 6.I don't they're not dropping to 7th.No, it seems like.They I don't think.No, but it seems like Wells Foxcroft could maybe jump ahead of them.* ### *55:24* *Maybe.Herman's probably locked into #2 well, if if Gardner wins, but.If Gardner loses, they're locked.I would think they'd be locked into two.Geez.They're only in the Crabtree Classic they're tied, and in the weekly they're up by two.* ### *55:42* *And they're only two behind Greeley in the Crabtree Classic.So I mean in theory maybe Herman can get to 1.Yeah.It's gonna be a mess, I.Didn't even think about that.Yeah, so and.Yeah, I love this region.This is region is so much fun.It's like you just have no idea what's gonna how this is all gonna play.* ### *56:01* *Out I love I love the chaos it's yeah, I mean it would if you were like a fan of the team I I can see why it'd be stressful, but as somebody just.It's really stressful.Yeah, as a casual observer, not so casual observer.I'm like, yes, let's yeah, let's get crazy.* ### *56:19* *Let's go nuts, yeah?Do you think the other classes should do this?Because it seems to be a hit.I've heard no complaints.Yeah, I don't know.I kind of, I kind of didn't like it when Class A did it, but I wish they were doing it this year just because then we could have Thornton and Bonnie Eagle in this, you know, we'd have that potential.* ### *56:40* *In the state game, yeah.But but then there's there's me like underestimating Portland, I guess.But I don't know, it's it's kind of cool to have a region champion too.Yeah.But I guess I don't have strong feelings about it.* ### *56:58* *I I didn't really like it when Class D did it either.It just I don't know.I mean, you could always, if you wanted to have region champions and you wanted to have a one class system, you could once you see that, see the bracket, you could say this half is this region and this side of the bracket is this region.* ### *57:16* *And then if you win that, if you get to the state game, you've won your region well.They kind of do that in, I think, hockey.OK, yeah, I know nothing about hockey.And I think one of the spring sports might do it too, maybe maybe lacrosse.* ### *57:34* *And they have.So they call it like, so when you make it to the state semifinals, they call it like a division champion, OK, And I'm fine with that.I think it's cool.But like a lot of people in the media don't like that.And so but I'm like, I think it's cool.* ### *57:50* *I think it's like, why not?I mean, it's a chance to hang a banner, right?Yeah, and I think they, I think they earned it.And I mean, if you make the state championship game, like I think you deserve some kind of a banner, you should call it something.And if you get a plaque for that, I'm totally cool.I I think it's fine.* ### *58:05* *I don't think anybody in 20 years is going to be like, well, that wasn't a real thing we accomplished because we only got to the state championship game.Yeah.And whatever you can be like, we played in the state championship game.That's that's cool.Yeah.And just saying like, it just makes it easier to say like, we were state champ, we were regional champions, instead of like we won, we made it to the state championship game.* ### *58:28* *Yeah, and then you can very quickly pivot to and here's why we got screwed in the state championship game and why we should have won the whole thing.Yeah, but all three Raspberry graduates of the other school and.Yeah, so.Yeah.Completely biased.* ### *58:44* *Yeah.Terrible call.Yeah, and, and, and it rained that day and we never played on a grass field.Whatever.Yeah, but.Freezing rain.We were all sick and someone stubbed his toe.Yeah, our quarterback was yeah, whatever.* ### *59:02* *He was the coach's son and they.Yeah, he shouldn't have been playing.Yeah, I should have been playing.I should have been the quarterback.Yeah, let me tell you, he's trying.To get him a scholarship or whatever.But yeah, so yeah, I don't, I don't have strong feelings about it.I kind of like the regions, but I mean there's class CS has been so and class even class CN has been kind of weak because Levitt was they struggled last year and they lost their best player like early in the season and they still made it to the regional final.* ### *59:34* *Yeah, that's your bad year for Levitt is regional final.Yeah, which and they and which is like still like kind of show that they they were, they stuck with it and they showed some improvement over the season.They got over some bad losses and you know, but it was it wasn't like a normal Levitt team.* ### *59:50* *And so it's kind of nice to have, you know, we don't have that this year.So I mean, I don't have that stronger feelings really about it.I think it, I mean this year in Class C, it's made the region very cool because otherwise I don't know how they would break it up, but you'd have probably have Gardner in the north and be a Gardner in.* ### *1:00:12* *Herman.Herman and Nicomas and Foxcroft, I guess, which wouldn't be that bad.But you'd have Greeley and Levitt in the South, yeah?With Wells and Wells and you know, and maybe Gardner actually would be N would be South in this situation, but.This would be the year.* ### *1:00:28* *It would be kind of balanced.Yeah, but.Ironically.Yeah.So I think, I think it's, yeah.I don't have strong feelings about it really.All right, let's go to D.Yeah.Where this looks like a collision course and has kind of looked like a collision course all year from of Winthrop and BAPS.* ### *1:00:50* *Yeah, yeah.I'd say Class D is like the most boring classification of all of them.But so Winthrop, I think that there there's just no chance like they're not going to win that region and good for them because they are like the model of consistency.* ### *1:01:10* *They're always like one of the best teams in Class DS.But I think they've only made it to 1 state championship since I've been here for 9:00.I've been here for 9.Yeah.And they lost to Foxcroft.I think it was during during one of the Class D years when it was like a statewide class.* ### *1:01:30* *I'm pretty sure that's correct because like Lisbon, like just came out of nowhere in like 2019, I think was it 22?They did that as well and when they won the region, they went to the state championship game.Who else has done it?* ### *1:01:47* *Well, they've had to deal with Wells.Then they had to deal with Wells all those other years.And so, yeah, I mean, it's kind of like they finally, they kind of finally have like an easy path to the state.How happy are they that Wells is in C?Yeah, I think they're pretty stoked, but I think they also, they were getting kind of kind of close.* ### *1:02:09* *Oh yeah, they almost, they almost beat him.Yeah, like 2 years ago, right?Yeah, and.Last year, maybe it.Might have been last year and I think nobody was really no, it wasn't last year.I think they got beat pretty good last year.But yeah, nobody in Class D was able to really even compete with them.* ### *1:02:27* *And so they, I mean, and I, you know, they were coming, they were getting towards it, but you know, Dirgo looked like they were going to be a challenger and then they lost their best player.And I think some people, probably maybe even the best player in Class D, they lost him.* ### *1:02:44* *And so, but they still want, I mean, they, they keep winning, but you know, they're going to, I don't think they're going to beat Winthrop.Who's only given up 39 points this year?Yeah, and they just have nuts really been, I don't think they've been tested at all.* ### *1:03:03* *I don't think even close.And like Poland, like yeah, Poland was, is good, but Winthrop took care of them and.Winthrop's closest game was 13 to 7 at Mount Blue.* ### *1:03:22* *Oh yeah, that was last week.Yeah, Yep.And Mount, Mount Blue is a sneaky good defensive team.They've had some low scoring, they haven't scored a lot of points.They had some low scoring and that's also a Class B school.But then over in DN, Babst and Winslow.* ### *1:03:41* *I mean, I know Babst already beat Winslow, but.Handily.Yeah, which was kind of surprised, but Winslow runs the ball like they averaged like 400 yards, more than 400 yards because they had yeah, they went into the last week averaging four O 5 and they ran for like 380 in the first half or something like that.* ### *1:04:01* *They did play a close game against Oak Hill this week last week.Who did?Baps.Oh yeah, that's right.And I think it, yeah, it was like a one point game, right?Yeah, unlike I think it was a Saturday night game.Yeah, and I I think they might have, I think they might have even been like some late game heroics needed for that one.* ### *1:04:21* *I might be.Thinking of a different game, so I think so.I know some people were going.I was at the Dexter game for the T-Mobile thing and some people were talking about going over there afterwards.Yeah.And so, yeah.And so I think I'm actually looking forward, the thing I'm looking forward to the most in Class D right now is the DN final between Babst and Winslow, assuming that both teams make it.* ### *1:04:45* *But I think it's pretty.Yeah, it's got to be.It's going to be unless Madison, unless last week wasn't what Madison really is.I think it's going to be those two teams and it's going to be Winslow and Babst, which could be a fun game.* ### *1:05:03* *All right, let's go to 8 man.Yeah, this one's cool.Yeah, it's which I'm assuming you mean 8 man South.Oh.Jeez, I can't believe I just did that.Yes, I did.All right, so I temporarily lost Lee all.* ### *1:05:19* *Right, sorry about that.Bring him back.All right?He's back.OK, Spruce Mountain is in first place at 5:00 and 1:00, then Mount Ararat at six and one, Yarmouth at six and one, Lake Region at 4 and 3G and G at three and four.And one of those teams isn't making.* ### *1:05:35* *The house and it might be Lake Region, Is it Camden Hills?They could play Camden Hills and I believe Green Gloucester plays Waterville.So I mean, they would have they're probably going to finish with the same record, but Lake Region did beat Gray New Veloster last week, but.* ### *1:06:02* *Which is a tiebreaker.And but great.I don't know, Gray.Gray beat Camden Hills a couple weeks ago and I was Camden missing somebody.So, so the short version of what happened there is Camden, if you remember last year had all sorts of injuries in the playoffs and got bounced and they sort of looked at the standings and went, we don't really need to win this game and sat a bunch of people and they went deep into the bench and kept everybody's minutes down and GNG.* ### *1:06:36* *Took advantage, yeah, that's I mean, that's still like a pretty big win for great New Gloucester.We.We.Would be would be a big.Deal we went.We went back after that win and we looked at the history because great New Gloucester's football history only goes back like 20 years.* ### *1:06:53* *And I think that they have now thirty wins in program history.Maybe it's 31 and like 15 of those are since I switched to 8 man football.Yeah.* ### *1:07:10* *So it was it was a huge win for them.And I will Kramlich, our former Co worker, he went to he was on the first great New Gloucester football team.And so I was like texting him after that, I'm like that's is that is that the biggest win in in creating Gloucester football history?He's like, it's one of them.* ### *1:07:25* *I'm like, no, I need I need you to confirm this.I need a hard confirmation, but he wouldn't do it.But.Maybe a quote?Yeah.Would be good, but it was I mean, it was no matter what it was, it was definitely one of their biggest ones because they beat a team with a really good record and and so good for them and they have a lot of weapons this year and I don't I don't know.* ### *1:07:46* *I don't know.I mean, they lost by a lot to Spruce Mountain.They I think Yarmouth beat them by a lot.Lake region beat them by a lot.So I think they're going to be they probably will be the odd person, the odd team out, but they do have that win over Camden Hills.That's going to boost their but it looks like they're yeah, trailing great new lake region by a lot in the Crabtree Classic.* ### *1:08:12* *But any but the anyways, those those other three teams, who knows?Because Spruce.So they beat Stearns last week, 28 to 24.That was a big game and.They played Dexter this.Week and they played Dexter this week and Yarmouth dropped 70 on water.* ### *1:08:31* *Ball and Yarmouth is really good.I think they lost to Mount era era early in the season pretty by a lot, like well, three touchdowns.But they've been really good since and they were, they're down by a couple touchdowns to Spruce Mountain in the first half and then they just dominated the second-half.* ### *1:08:51* *And it was I was watching a lot of that game and they were just really impressive.Their quarterback, Iggy McGrath, just like in control, he always throws like 5 or 6 touchdown passes.They've got some some good runners, some good receivers, some good, I think a good receiver out of the backfield who catches a lot of the touchdown passes.* ### *1:09:09* *Like they're a good team and they I think I kind of think they might win.But then again, Spruce Mountain is loaded with like every year, like Spruce Mountain seems to have like one or two, just like super talented players.* ### *1:09:26* *And they've got like three of them this year.And it's 8 MEC football.Their quarterback, Dylan Jewett.Jewett.Who is a basketball player and.Then Austin Armande, I think also a basketball player and Owen Kelvey and they might actually be another one that I'm forgetting.* ### *1:09:45* *Oh, then like Levi Richards, Levi Richards.Anyway, Levi the receiver is they've had some big plays there too.Him and Jewett, they're kind of loaded.I, I don't know, I, I mean Mount Ararat, it's hard to say with them, but they, you know, they lost to Camden Hills, but.* ### *1:10:05* *I was at that game.Yeah, we're up at the half and Camden pulled away in the second-half.But I mean, it was a.Close game and so I think Ararat's pretty good this year, so I'm interested to see how that one's going to play out, those three teams at the top.* ### *1:10:22* *And is Lake Region going to make a, you know.People are some people.Ryan McLaughlin is high on Lake Region, so yeah, I mean, they're four and three.They lost three in a row, which whenever A-Team loses three in a row, you think maybe someone was hurt.* ### *1:10:43* *But one of those was 60 to 54 at OOB.Oh, that's right, That was the third game.Was that the third loss of the three?That was the third loss.So they really lost like two in a row because like playing OOB that close.* ### *1:10:58* *OOB doesn't count I.Mean that's, I guess that's a loss, but like, yeah, that's a good loss.Yeah, that's not a bad game at all.That just shows how good they are really.Well, they lose to.They lost to Yarmouth, right?They lost to Yarmouth and Mount Ararat.* ### *1:11:15* *Yeah, they lost.Yarmouth was they lost by 14 and Mount Ararat they lost 58 to 22.Yeah, so those, Yeah, so they what was the score of the Mount Ararat game?* ### *1:11:35* *Mount Ararat was there at Lake Region 58 to 22.Yeah, they kind of dominated them.So yeah, it seems like maybe Lake Region might be below those teams, but I.Don't know, but not by a lot I don't think.And they they have some good players, too.Yeah, I mean enough where I would think, you know, they could pull off an upset.* ### *1:11:54* *Yeah.Oh, for sure.Yeah.I think Jaden Meehan is one of them, and Cody is on the team as well.Something Cody, But yeah, that's going to be a fun one.I think the north is probably Camden Hills I.Think that's going to be Camden, Yeah.They've, I mean, they've beaten everybody except for.* ### *1:12:15* *That one, that one game, yeah.And I mean, the rest of the games haven't really been very close.Yeah.So I think, yeah, that's probably going to be them because none of those other teams really stand out.MDI Holton.I saw Holton this week and they won their best game, but that was a weird game to try to play and so that T-Mobile game.* ### *1:12:40* *Oh yeah.Was insane, like more magenta than you've ever seen in your life.Oh great.And more, more than you will ever see in your life, I think.And I think, I think Dexter just came out super hyped.And that's a long bus ride to walk into a situation like that and then try to get hyped up for a game.* ### *1:13:02* *Yeah.So I don't know how much you can say about Holton based on that game.OK, yeah, that'd be that's a tough situation and and I guess that's what Spruce Mountain's walking into as well this week.Yeah.Well, I don't think it'll be as Magenta Y because that was the one that T-Mobile hosted.* ### *1:13:21* *Where?Where they were like blaring music and playing cornhole and handing out the $25,000 check.That's right, 'cause they sponsored the, they sponsored the homecoming.That's right.So it was just sheer chaos.Yeah, OK, OK, cool.* ### *1:13:37* *Well, still, I mean, that's, that's a tough game for Spruce.It's tough for spruce, yeah, but it could be a let down game for Dexter.Yeah, yeah.And I and Spruce is really good.I mean, they've, they did lose that one game to Yarmouth, but they they were leading for the first half.* ### *1:13:53* *It was just the second-half where they couldn't, they couldn't quite they made a mistake.So they couldn't quite convert on 4th down and Yarmouth could.So yeah, it looks like that's going to be a dogfight on one side, and Camden probably will be there waiting for the winner.* ### *1:14:10* *Yeah, Yep, which will be fun.Yeah, All right, let's go to the South.Where?Or the eight man small in the South?Oh, it's all OOB.This is their region.Like they just dominated this region for so long.And then you've got Telstar, Sycopy Valley and Booth Bay.* ### *1:14:27* *Looks like Booth Bay's gonna end up with the four, and for the second year in a row, they'll get to drive down to OOB.Yeah, which is like, yeah, congratulations, yeah.It's too cold to go to the beach afterwards.* ### *1:14:45* *Yeah, yeah, OOBS is so good.Yeah, they should.They they could probably move up to.To the large.School.And I yeah, I wouldn't imagine compete.I would imagine they could.Compete better at least.But yeah, I tell, I mean, Telstar is like they're four and two and so good for them, that's all.* ### *1:15:07* *I mean that's they're one of the teams that like needs, they need to have play 8 men football and they probably always, always will.Telstar.Yeah, they were every year it was kind of like are they going to be able to have even start the season?* ### *1:15:23* *Will they be able to finish it?You know some of those other schools they could survive their football program could survive if they IF8 men football went away.But Telstar is probably not one of those.I think Booth base another one like.That.So it's always, I mean, they might not ever be able to be up there with old Old Orchard Beach, but yeah, I mean, 4 and 2 is pretty impressive by them.* ### *1:15:48* *And they had an 86 to nothing game this year so.Yeah, yeah.And it was Mountain View but like, I don't know I mean.Still, it's 86 points.It was like, how do you get that many possessions?Yeah, you just keep you.Know.* ### *1:16:04* *Probably a lot of turnovers and.A lot of yeah, fumble kickoffs.Yeah.So that, yeah.And but on the other side, I guess it seems like it's Stearns, but.And Stearns played OOB close for 1/2.* ### *1:16:20* *Yeah.And this is the region where, though only let me double check this, only two teams have a positive point differential, Dexter in 3rd place and Stearns in second.In first place and 2nd place, Orno has a negative point differential.* ### *1:16:39* *Oh wow, by a lot.At 5:00 and 2:00, which that's really hard to do.Yeah, they, they probably played at OOB, didn't they?I.Think so?That's one way to do it.Yeah.Is you get blown out by OOB?* ### *1:16:54* *And maybe they got blown out by Stearns as well.So yeah, it seems like Stearns kind of has that one locked down, unless Dexter has something.Orno lost 60 to 18 to Old Orchard Beach and 60 to 22 to Stearns.* ### *1:17:12* *And then that was the first two games of the year.So have fun, kids.First games and then they've been fun.Digging, digging out of that hole.They beat Dexter 46 to 40.That's that was probably a lot of fun.And they just beat Washington Academy last week 28 to 21.* ### *1:17:31* *These games have all been kind of close other than the other than the first two.Holton was 50 to 44, Trape was 42 to 26, MDI 34 to 22.So they've been in all these games.Yeah, Yep.* ### *1:17:48* *And that's so.But yeah, it seems like at Stearns, Stearns and OB again, and that might be the most that actually might be more boring than Class D.It might be.* ### *1:18:04* *As far as it seems kind of set there in Class D, you at least have Babson Winslow.Yeah, and that's at least something.Yeah.So, yeah, I mean, and I feel bad kind of bad for OOB because I just don't it's hard for them to schedule like play anybody.* ### *1:18:23* *Yeah.Yeah, that's one of the issues they've had with the rankings.Not that they care, but is they've the rest of the South has been so soft the last couple years.That's like, I call it the Oceanside problem in basketball where they would play Belfast like seemingly 4 \* a year in the in December and they'd win all those games by 50 and then you're like, well, why aren't we ranked higher?* ### *1:18:46* *It's like, well, you're supposed to beat them by 50.Like what do you want?Yeah, you didn't surprise anybody.Yeah.Yeah.It's like, yeah.And then once the schedule gets a little harder, but for OOB, the schedule just didn't get harder because there weren't any teams there.Yeah, I think, yeah, I remember last year looking at a close like they like I think for almost the entire year, their strength of schedule was the worst in the entire like in any, in any region.* ### *1:19:15* *But they mean they tried.I mean, this year they've, they've played up a little bit, haven't they?They've, I think they've played up a little.They've played Stearns.I mean, that's a long drive to Stearns.Yeah.And but then yeah, they they played, then they played the people in the they played Orono, but then then it was like everybody in the South Boothbay, Telstar, Sackopee, Oh, they played Lake Region as well.* ### *1:19:38* *And then Trape.And then they finished with Cape Elizabeth, so too bad.It's kind of too bad for them.Really the only it'd be interesting you couldn't do this, but if they could play like some of the 11 man schools, but I don't even know how you would even begin to do that.* ### *1:19:57* *But then you get some more competition.Yeah.Well, when I was in Washington state, there's a lot of eight man football there and there is this really good team that was our coverage area and they would they started doing that like they're.Non league games they started scheduling like 811 man teams.* ### *1:20:14* *Really.Yeah, and they would.They'd win those ones pretty easily too, just because.That's got to be tricky to adapt on the fly.That's what I thought too.But but, and I think it might be a little bit different here, but they grew up playing eleven man football, like their youth leagues were all 11 man.* ### *1:20:31* *They just, it's just like when they got to high school, they didn't have, as you know, they had a smaller school and so it wasn't that big of a deal.And I think I don't think they ever lost one of those 11 man games.They weren't.Playing the next games but that's crazy.Yeah, I was just like just dominating those teams too.* ### *1:20:48* *And so so they could do it.I mean it would be different but and I I think the other thing with Washington is they play 8 man football in a normal sized field.Oh, interesting.They don't bring in the the sidelines at all and so.That's allowed.* ### *1:21:05* *Yeah.And and so that means that like the games can get kind of out of hand, like, you know, like someone certain teams, like 100 points is not out of the question when some teams play.It doesn't happen that often, but but it also it makes like the state championship games more exciting because like every play could be like the back break, you know, like right, right.* ### *1:21:25* *Everyone could go for like a long, you know.Like 80 yards is always in play.Yeah.And so, yeah.So when 2 good teams are playing, it's pretty fun because anything can happen.Tackling skill is like the most important part of it.You have to be able.* ### *1:21:41* *To like, really an open field tackle, yeah.Yeah, yeah, and not choose the team that wins, but so I mean, it could have, I mean there's ways that it could happen and I think it seems like a lot I've a lot of teams here, the eight man teams they they play 8 man in their youth leagues or.* ### *1:21:57* *I think so, I know OOB it's like 8 man is their thing.Yeah.Like I don't think they're playing eight man in order to rebuild the program to get to a back to 11 man.I think they're an 8 man for good.Yeah, yeah.And they yeah and they've been there since the beginning.* ### *1:22:12* *In fact, they played the first game, first eight man game was between them and.Is it Dean Plant like the big proponent of it?I think he's one of them.Yeah.I think Travis Lethargic wrote a column last week last year that called him the godfather of eight man football.* ### *1:22:29* *But yeah, I think like he was one of the big proponents because he was also the athletic director.He's the football coach of one of the small schools.And so I don't think their their situation was as dire as like Telstar and Boothbay, but I don't I also don't think they were competing much with in class DS.* ### *1:22:49* *Right, right.Oak Hill and Winthrop and Dirgo and Lisbon.So yeah.But yeah, it seems like they're there to stay.But yeah, it would be kind of fun to see them go up to 8 man large and just see what they can do.See what they can do, see if they can hang.* ### *1:23:05* *But I don't.I don't know what they have coming back after this year 'cause they lost Plant and proven Provencher last year.Is that his name?But then initially they they have a Gallant and Trot Moody who are probably seniors.* ### *1:23:24* *So I don't know if they're going to be as dominant.I don't know.I don't know, I don't know.What they You always wonder what the team that's been that good for that long.They're like it's just a system and there's a new wave coming in every year.Yeah, yeah.Kind of like what Levitt usually has.* ### *1:23:43* *And every once in a while they kind of come down.But yeah, it's kind of seems like that.I mean, when you're going, ain't no every year it's a lot easier to convince kids to come out for football.Yeah.It's like, hey, we're going to play for the state championship like every year.Yeah.And you get your your backup quarterback and play like half the game.* ### *1:24:02* *That's true, You get a lot of minutes for the JVS.Yeah.And so they're they're a little bit more experienced when it comes like when it their time, you know, like when they sure they've only played against like, you know, the lesser teams, but you know, they still got some good experience game.* ### *1:24:18* *Experience.There's still some of the starters in there against them, probably.Yeah.And I think especially that first quarter they play, I don't think the team like plays off the gas too much.They still, you know, try to score some points, but it's so they do have it that gives them the opportunity to build for the future.* ### *1:24:35* *It kind of stinks for the seniors because they only get to play like half of their senior year, but Yep.But yeah.And then?You get that in basketball too, where a team's dominant and it's like, yeah, I would have scored 1000 points in my career, but I only played in the first half.* ### *1:24:51* *Yeah.Yeah, every game.Yeah, we were so good that it was yeah or yeah.It kind of makes it hard, but man, I can't wait for basketball season.But yeah, it's it's kind of hard.I I feel bad.* ### *1:25:06* *Like I remember that Levitt team two years ago.They like they had an awesome season and everything was cool, but I was, I was kind of felt bad for like those kids because they didn't get to play the full game hardly at all.Sure.And then when they play the full game in the championship game, they went, they went.* ### *1:25:23* *All the way 60 to nothing or something like that.Yeah, I think.It was like 70 to 12 was the final score, but I felt bad because like, but I think that was like, this is our, I mean.This is what, yeah.Our last game and we've been like, we've been taking it easy on everybody else except for, you know, Oxford Hills and Thornton.* ### *1:25:41* *And like this, this is our last chance.And this is a state championship game.Yeah, but God.'S strong and then, you know, Oceanside got their revenge in basketball season, so yeah, they put up like 106 on them in basketball.Season.That's right.* ### *1:25:56* *Yeah, Yeah.Yeah, that's right.Yeah.And I think they, from what I've heard, made it known that that was on purpose.Oh, really?That was that was that was revenge scoring for for the football championship game.That's what I heard some chatter in that.* ### *1:26:13* *I don't know if that was the official line or the official strategy, but that's some some some chirping I heard.OK, well, I mean, I guess if you yeah, whatever you want to do, you can.I mean, Levitt doesn't need, Yeah.They're fine they.Don't need your sympathy.* ### *1:26:29* *I mean, most of those kids, not a lot of those kids, not every kid was on the football team, but like.Yeah, I am always a fan of cross sport, trash talking and rivalry and things like that.That's like, it's interesting to me.I don't know, it's fun.Yeah, yeah, When you, yeah, when it's relevant like that, I mean.* ### *1:26:48* *And they were, I mean, the Oceanside team had the best basketball player.The best?They were.That was an incredible.Team and I think not.You can't really say the same about Levitt, but still.I mean, there was still enough of those kids.There's some crossover.Yeah, there was a little bit of crossover.* ### *1:27:05* *There's that same coach.Yeah.And the same coach too.Yeah.So it might be more, it might have been more towards that, I don't know.But I don't think their feelings are that hurt by it.They're fine.They're they're, they'll get over it.Yeah.So Speaking of basketball, are we doing the text message?* ### *1:27:21* *Bring it, Bringing it all back here.Are we doing the text messaging for basketball season 2?Yes, we are.Yeah, we talked about.Yeah, we've had a meeting about it.Does a little icon change on my phone when it comes When the text message comes in?Yeah.It's going to be, it's going to be a new sign up.Oh, OK.* ### *1:27:36* *Just because there's going to be some people on the football that don't want the basketball and.You don't want to lose them from the football thing.Yeah, I used to.I mean you just don't want to like annoy them like.Sure.I didn't, you know, you don't want.Yeah, it's like, I don't think you want to make somebody force somebody to unsubscribe.* ### *1:27:56* *It just seems like.That's a challenge I have covering.You just don't like, I don't know, it just seems like, it just seems uncool to like we had you sign up and now we're going to make you unsubscribe.I don't know, uncool.I I've found that I haven't had that problem doing football.* ### *1:28:15* *Like I haven't had newsletter people say I'm out because you're doing football.They just don't open the emails.Oh, yeah.And yeah.And that's the, I think that might be easier in an inbox than than text messages, especially when I send a text message at like 9:30 at night on Friday nights for the scores.* ### *1:28:34* *But yeah, it's we're going to do that.It's going to be, we're going to, we're still trying to figure out like exactly what we're going to do.Football's kind of easy because it's like games at the end of the week.So you're like, right, you build up throughout the week.And then I text the scores on Friday nights.But basketball, it's like every day of the week, and I don't, we don't know if we're gonna send a text message.* ### *1:28:54* *We're not gonna send a text message every night at 9:30.Yeah.So we're.Yeah, yeah.So we're kind of figuring out 10:00 on a what?We're gonna do, but I want this text message.Keep doing it.Nope.I feel like you froze.I did freeze for a minute there, OK.* ### *1:29:11* *Yeah, yeah, yeah, we are gonna.Yeah, we're gonna do it.Awesome awesome.I'm looking for how do people sign up if they still want to sign up for the for the text messages.Yeah, for football.Season because they're still in the playoffs.We're still accepting subscribers.If you go to any of the, if you go to thesunjournal.com/highschool Sports, pressherald.com/highschool Sports or centralmaine.com/highschoolsports, it's going to be one of the top stories that it's up there.* ### *1:29:39* *It's been just kind of there the entire time.It's like a banner, right?Or something.Yeah, and there's also banners throughout the site, but there's like a little like off to the, if you're on the desktop, it's off to the right, little green, little green logo, click that and you sign up.* ### *1:29:55* *And that's great.I mean, it's just a great time.It's, it's I, I mean, I don't want to hype it up too much, but it's might be the highlight of your week.Plus you can reply to it, which is new information I have.* ### *1:30:10* *Yeah, you can reply.Yeah.And I, I prefer if you don't reply about what we're not covering.But I mean, it's, it's your text.Me.Seriously, nobody's done that so far, which I appreciate.Why aren't you covering this Holton at Valley game?Yeah, Mike Mandel can drive up to Holton.* ### *1:30:28* *What?Yeah, why not?Yeah, so, but yeah, you can reply and like, you know, let me know like whatever.Like I don't, I don't really tell people what the scores are except for someone person asked me about like Kony games all the time and.* ### *1:30:45* *There's always those, there's always those people who want to think which you have every score right at your fingertip.And I don't mind that, but I don't want to do that.I don't want everybody to ask me what the score is because I also, well, I don't have it up during games and so I'm not going to respond till after, after the game.* ### *1:31:02* *So don't.I mean, you can actually score, but yeah.I have the alternative to that where people will like DM me scores because they know I'm always looking for scores.And there's always the challenge that there's always like at least once a week someone sends me a score and I'm looking at the, the little profile picture or whatever, and I'm like, which team are you?* ### *1:31:25* *Yeah, 'cause it'll be like, we won 50 to 45.Yeah.And I'm like, great.Yeah.Who Who won 50 to 45?Who did you play?Or the they'll do something like LHS 1 and I'm like, well, that's could be Lewiston, that could be Lawrence, that could be lots of things.* ### *1:31:45* *So or they do my favor is when they go with Lincoln beat like like beat Penobscot Valley and I'm like Lincoln Academy played Penobscot Valley.What when?And they're like, no, no, no, that's the town of Lincoln.* ### *1:32:00* *The school in the town of Lincoln might be Pascadios or something.Oh yeah, like Jackman.Yeah, yeah, Jackman and Forest Hills.Forest Hills is Jackman, yeah.Yeah, yeah.And I was thinking, I was thinking about maybe even this week, like, hey, send me your scores if you're out of the games.* ### *1:32:16* *And but it's also like.That's not the worst idea.Yeah, but then I'd have, I'd have to, I'd have to watch that.I don't know.I guess it's not the worst.Idea Well then, because sometimes the scores don't come in very quickly.So that's like, that's how because I have the scoreboard on my site and people enter the scores there and that's more accurate than the A DS and quicker.* ### *1:32:38* *Yeah, yeah.Because it's parents doing it.Yeah, yeah, you're right.And it also because I spent a lot of time like from 9:00 to like 9:30, I'm just trying to find every score I can because I sent out a text message just like about 9:30.He was, he was like 940, but I wouldn't have as many scores right off the bat as I can.* ### *1:32:59* *In basketball season, I'm always trying to get every score by 10:00 PM That's my goal.And there's like a scramble of like, Ben Barr is trying to get them and everybody's trying to get the scores.And so it's like this big crowdsourcing.Project to find like yeah face fight like the.* ### *1:33:17* *Streams and you're like does anyone have the Jonesport Beal score?For the love of God, does anyone know?Did they even play?Yeah.No one knows.Yeah, and in this football season, I'm like, why?Like like this games?I'm like, why can't I find the score?* ### *1:33:35* *And then I found out that it was changed to Saturday.There were a couple of those last week where I was like why am I missing like 4 scores, this is crazy.And then they were all moved to Saturday.Yeah.And so, and that happens, but it's a yeah, it's a scramble just to find.I mean, basketball just sounds impossible because it's like boys and girls.* ### *1:33:52* *Boys and girls, it's sheer chaos.Yeah.But people are really good with the scoreboard and like if I do a game, like if I go to like last year I went to Found with Wyndham in Falmouth and by the time I got home I think I was only missing like 3 scores, boys and girls of people just putting them in and then going oh OK great.* ### *1:34:14* *So that's saved me so much time because when I started this it would be I'd be up till midnight and I'd have 75% of them.Oh, wow.OK.And so that's a lot faster, Yeah.Do you ever get like wrong scores like that's?* ### *1:34:29* *Every so often, 'cause I'll get every, I'll get fewer wrong scores from the scoreboard of people putting them in than if I grab the scores from the MP as website, 'cause there's more mistakes on the MP as website than people putting them in.* ### *1:34:48* *Cause I've seen things where they'll send it, like they'll send it to you guys and they'll send it to the MPA.And I'm like, OK, but I saw them tweet a picture of the scoreboard at the final and that score doesn't match what they sent to Varsity Maine and the MPA.* ### *1:35:06* *So I'm going to go with the picture of the scoreboard.Yeah.And sometimes, yeah, sometimes even the coach will send it like they'll the.Coaches don't forget it.Yeah.They'll be like, we went, I don't know, by 10 I think it was.Two, it was 4:00 to 1:00 and you're.Like 60.We, I think we had 60 and they had 50.I don't know.I'm counting five goals here, and you said you scored four.* ### *1:35:23* *Oh yeah, sorry about that.And.Yeah, yeah.All right.All right.Well, I should let you go.Yeah.They sign up for the text messages, they're super fun, and they also remind you that you didn't check to see who was the players of The Who had the big performances this past week and that you completely forgot 'cause you got bogged down with something else.* ### *1:35:44* *So it's a great reminder.And.Highlights, highlights.The video highlights are are fun and yeah, thanks for thanks Elise.Great coverage.Do a You do a fantastic job over there.Thank you.Yeah.And I, I want to plug a few things.We got a lot going on right now.* ### *1:36:01* *Like you can all sign up for our our newsletter, the Varsity Main newsletter.But like we have our games of the week up for all three coverage areas, Tony Gardner.And we chose that as the varsity main game of the week.That's the Central Maine and Varsity Maine game of the week.* ### *1:36:18* *And then we have Thornton and Bonnie Eagle and then Levitt and Herman.So there's some good stuff about that, our storylines.And then man, Mike Mandel's written like some good.He wrote a really good story yesterday about the five most anticipated Gardner Kony matchups in history.* ### *1:36:34* *Oh, that's fun.So he went to the archives for that one.So there's some really good stuff on our websites, this, this right now for these games and also our football picks, which I'm pretty sure I'm still winning.Oh nice.And so, yeah, so you definitely want to check out while I'm still winning.Ignore if it falls apart later.* ### *1:36:52* *Yeah, yeah, yeah.Before it falls apart.It was a bad call, you know, the refs were totally in the in the tank for the other team.Yeah, yeah, the refs.The refs hate that team as much as your computer hates the team.My computer hates all the teams equally.* ### *1:37:07* *Yeah, yeah, yeah.All right.Thanks again.Thanks so much.Yep, thanks a lot.OK, that's the show.Thanks again to Lee.I'm not going to do a movie corner because The Mavericks game is about to start and I'm obviously going to go watch that.* ### *1:37:24* *This has been a production of Maine basketballrankings.com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball from Ashland to York and everywhere in between.This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcast and a bunch of places you don't.If you enjoyed this, please leave a nice review because it really does help out with algorithms.* ### *1:37:42* *Tell your friends, tell your enemies.Thanks for listening one more time.Vote Dexter Com.* ### The Vote Dexter Game URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-vote-dexter-game/ Last updated: 2025-10-20T10:28:56.000Z If you're reading this, you already know the Falmouth football story from last year, how Spencer Emerson turned the program around and went undefeated in the process. You can [listen to him on the podcast](https://www.youtube.com/live/5SZqVfwXrg0?si=sZOfVQK5lgDGwEGP&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) after they started 3-0\. This year has been rocky. They started the season 3-3 in a tougher B South and have lost several starters for the year to injury. But the Model hasn't wavered in its belief that the Navs are one of the top teams in the state. So I thought a matchup with Fryeburg of defending champions would be a perfect opportunity to see for myself. After a reassurance that there wouldn't be a repeat of [last week's sideline incident](https://youtu.be/zjTPFgkQ9ko?si=qBaq6mhQuHESH6Vp&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), I settled in. Before long, Ben Robbins kicked off the scoring with a 16 yard reverse and then Falmouth's defense took over. Defensive Coordinator Dylan Rottkov's squad was everywhere with a scheme that WHOU's Jarod Richmond called "nasty" after the game. They hassled Fryeburg quarterback Benny Árnason all night, forcing him to rush his throws. In all, they held Fryeburg to 46 net yards (according to Richmond), Robbins hauled in a deep TD throw from Tres Walker, and Falmouth cruised to a win. Trust the Model. Saturday's game was a stark contrast in resources (but not in enthusiasm) as I drove up to Dexter for their T-Mobile home game against Houlton. As promised, there was a bounce house, but there were also bubble machines and cornhole and some big connect 4 game and a lot of magenta. More magenta than I've ever seen in one place. The Dexter community really showed up for this event, as they have for every part of this contest. They're the smallest school from the smallest state in the contest. The fact that they're in third place is amazing. While I was walking around, I spoke to one of the T-Mobile reps about the overall contest. Each of the schools had a couple of different dates to chose from for their branded game (and if they didn't have a home game, they had large pep rally) and there's an effort made to not have the game on the school's homecoming, which I found interesting. Dexter's players, as you might imagine, were hyped. It's probably the equivalent of giving your kid all the sugar and sending them outside. It's always a question mark as to how that'll turn out. Dexter's Kody Kimball took their first play from scrimmage to the house, which was a good start. Then on their second possession, he did it again. Kimball had 3 rushing TDs and threw for 2 more. Bryce Cooper ran for a TD, caught a TD, and threw a TD pass and Dexter rolled, 50-8. If you ask me, T-Mobile should add a bonus for the voting for each touchdown you score. At minimum, you should get a bonus for winning the game. After the game, I spoke to Dexter coach Andrew Levensalor. --- --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **### Elsewhere** **Trot Moody threw 4 TD passes as OOB rolled...Landon Cooper hauled in 4 TD passes in Poland's win over Freeport...Cordell Jones rushed for 2 TDs in Portland's blowout over Lewiston...Connor Ayoob's 3 TDs powered Thornton Academy past Sanford...Alex Dougherty had 3 long rushing scores in Telstar's win over Bucksport...Austin Armandi's second TD gave Spruce a win over Stearns...Michael Loubier and Hassan Hobbi each rushed for 3 TDs in Winslow's blowout of Madison...Parker Reny threw 5 touchdown passes as SoPo rolled...Randan Hutchinson ran for 2 TDs as Leavitt blanked Messo...Austin West ran for 340 yards in Kennebunk's win...Garrett Poulin threw 3 TD passes and ran for 2 more in Gorham's win over Biddeford.** **> Such a fun game today in Portland! Here is what ended up being the game winning pick 6 for Westbrook from SR Owen Taylor! The Blue Blazes magical season continues, they are now 6-1 and sit atop the B South standings entering the final week! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@WHOU\_Live](https://twitter.com/WHOU%5FLive?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/6Vn2Qg2mXM](https://t.co/6Vn2Qg2mXM?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **>** **> — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [October 19, 2025](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1979710717373911238?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **---** **Football rankings are updated.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-19-at-2.56.30---PM-1.png)** [Football Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) Soccer and Field Hockey are also updated. Here's Girls Soccer ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-19-at-9.40.14---PM.png) [Soccer & Field Hockey](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) The Model so far... Field Hockey: 366-83 (81.5%) Boys Soccer: 603-149 (80.2%) Girls Soccer: 602-169 (78.1%) Football: 207-68 (75.3%) Football is running at 85.6% since the calendar flipped to October. --- Marc Calnan from Eastern Maine Sports convinced me to finally get on [Tik Tok](https://www.tiktok.com/@mainebasketballrankings1?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), because that's where the kids are. I have no idea what I'm doing, but you can [follow me](https://www.tiktok.com/@mainebasketballrankings1?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) if you're on there. > [@mainebasketballrankings1](https://www.tiktok.com/@mainebasketballrankings1?refer=creator%5Fembed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ## Game of the Day Let's go to Field Hockey, where Yarmouth and Freeport have turned B South into a 2 team race. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-19-at-9.59.18---PM.png) [Fall Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-heal-points/) They're both top 10 in scoring offense and scoring defense and 4th (Freeport) and 6th (Yarmouth) in differential. This sure looks like a Regional Final preview. The Model has this as essentially a pick 'em. Yarmouth won the first meeting in Freeport, 2-1\. **Yarmouth by 0.1** The Model's picks for all of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### It's Already Week 7 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/its-already-week-7/ Last updated: 2025-10-17T10:19:24.000Z Week 7 is here (can you believe it's already Week 7? Where does the time go?), but before we get into it, we need to overreact to Week 6 and who better to overreact than WHOU's Ethan Snow? Ethan's back in the booth after a a break to take care of his mental health (take care of your mental health, kids) and it's great to have him back. We cover the OOB/Lake Region shootout he covered, try to figure out how deep into the fall you can still get pier fries, go through the regions to try and suss out how the Crabtree Rankings might all shake out, pour one out for the death of the Rob Kennedy Bowl, try and figure out the Fitzy finalists, and so much more. As always when Ethan's on the podcast, this was a great time. There's also a bit in the intro about how I sort of got in trouble with the refs on the sidelines at Leavitt. *Vertical Raise is one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, now proudly helping programs of all sports, clubs, and grade levels across Maine!* *Your Maine reps, Chris Christie and Dave Chase, are both coaches who know what it takes to run a successful program — and they understand how important fundraising is to making it happen.* [*Schedule a call*](https://calendly.com/chrisc-verticalraise/30min?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) *and see how Vertical Raise can help your program reach new heights!* --- [Click here to subscribe to the YouTube channel. ](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you prefer, you can listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Make sure you subscribe and leave good reviews and all that algorithm stuff. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/5gbUuzbnboDNcXJDP3asol?si=b30e03743e2e4b53&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/week-6-overreactions-with-ethan-snow/id1675940033?i=1000731782554&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I don't anticipate you'll be able to watch it on Netflix ever, but this is certainly an interesting development. [Netflix to Stream Selection of Spotify Video Podcasts Starting in 2026Netflix inked a deal with Spotify to bring a batch of top podcasts including from Bill Simmons’ The Ringer to the video-streaming giant’s subscribers.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-9.png)VarietyTodd Spangler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Netflix-Spotify-podcasts-The-Rewatchables.png)](https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/netflix-spotify-video-podcasts-streaming-deal-1236552447/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I've always been fascinated by the inside baseball of media and it looks like we're heading toward an ecosystem of Netflix vs. YouTube as the two largest media companies in the world, so it makes sense that Netflix would want to get into video podcasts. Of course, these podcasts are all also on YouTube, so I dunno. --- As Cooper's debut nears, we've got a look at the shoes he'll be wearing. > Cooper Flagg’s NBA debut is less than a week away, and he’s got his first PE ready for the occasion. > > No. 32’s New Balance Hesi Low V2 PE is inspired by the greenery of his hometown Newport, Maine. [pic.twitter.com/7LXoAB4dCS](https://t.co/7LXoAB4dCS?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — SLAM Kicks (@SLAMKicks) [October 16, 2025](https://twitter.com/SLAMKicks/status/1978823900537532737?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Dexter's quest for the $1M prize continues this Saturday with a T-Mobile hosted game against Houlton. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/image-3.png) They've painted parts of the field in that T-Mobile magenta and it looks like it'll be a fantastic party. I'll be there to check it all out, as I suspect will be a lot of other people. I'll also have stickers on me, if you want one. Come say hi! --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- ## Game of the Day The Spruce Mountain Phoenix are 4-1 on the season, with the 1 loss coming to a Yarmouth team that's just below them in the Crabtree with a 5-1 record. The region is loaded. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-16-at-8.56.31---PM.png) Standings via MaineHighSchoolFootball.com Only 4 of these teams will make the playoffs and we'll have a really good idea who will be the odd man out after Lake Region plays GNG on Friday. If you're Spruce, you really want the 1 seed for the slightly easier side of the bracket (plus, you know, no Yarmouth rematch until the Regional Final). They'll host a Stearns team that also only has 1 loss (to OOB) and while at a glance, it seems like they've got a similarly deep region, only 1 other team in the region has a positive scoring differential and Orono and Dexter are 41st and 52nd in the [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/), respectively. The top 3 in Spruce's region are all in the top 20\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-16-at-9.04.43---PM.png) Standings via MaineHighSchoolFootball.com The Model thinks this can be a good one, but more importantly, these are the 3rd (Spruce Mountain, 49.6) and 4th (Stearns, 48.0) scoring offenses in the state. The only two above them are OOB (54.7) and Cony (50.2). So it has the potential to be a close, high-scoring game. Will it match last week's OOB/Lake Region classic? Probably not, but maybe? Dave Dyer has a [preview for Varsity Maine](https://www.sunjournal.com/2025/10/15/spruce-mountain-hosts-stearns-in-western-maine-football-game-of-the-week/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). The Model has... **Stearns by 3.6** The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Week 6 Overreactions (with Ethan Snow) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/week-6-overreactions-with-ethan-snow/ Last updated: 2025-10-16T02:17:51.000Z Ethan Snow is back on the mic for WHOU and he's here to overreact to week 6 of Maine's high school football season. We dig deep into OOB's instant classic win over Lake Region (and how late into the season you can get pier fries and play skee-ball). From there we go around the state, including Bonny Eagle's dominance, Falmouth's chances in a loaded B South, the insanity that is Class C, and so much more. There's a weird video lag on Ethan's feed that I can't find the cause of. Apologies. This episode of the Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast is brought to you by Vertical Raise — one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, now proudly helping teams, clubs, and programs across Maine! With Vertical Raise, your program can raise more money in less time — no selling, no collecting, just results. From new uniforms and better equipment to tournament trips and every fundraising need in between, Vertical Raise has a variety of campaigns to make it happen. Your Maine reps, Chris Christie and Dave Chase, are both coaches who know what it takes to run a great program — at any sport, club, or grade level — and they understand how important fundraising is to making it happen. Isn’t it worth ten minutes of your time to learn more? Schedule a call or email us today and see how Vertical Raise can take your fundraising to the next level! 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Sports teams need money for helmets and cleats and shooting shirts and balls and bats and maybe someday a shot clock.* ### *0:21* *Vertical Raise allows you to raise money in less time.Check the show notes for information on how you can start to elevate your fundraising to new heights with vertical Raise. OK, so if you can believe it, we are through week six of the football season.* ### *0:39* *Ethan, Ethan Snow is here today to overreact to all of that and sort of give you a look at the stretch run of the last two weeks of the season, how things might shake out.Before we do that, make sure you subscribe on Facebook or YouTube or wherever to help create more content like this.* ### *1:03* *Trying to get to monetization on YouTube.That means 100 subscribers, which is free.It's free to subscribe, much like it's free to vote for dexter@votedexter.com so they can get their new turf field and win $1,000,000 from T-Mobile.But I'm trying to get to YouTube monetization because then it helps me go to more games.* ### *1:23* *This weekend I went to three games, which is a lot of driving.First off I went to Greeley and Wells at Greeley because that was the game of the day and if the game of the day makes sense to get to, I try to get to the game of the day because it's the game of the day for a reason.* ### *1:40* *Greeley of course is your defending 8 man large champion who is in C Wells is your defending class D champion who's also in CC is a lot this year if you haven't figured that out already.Greeley was clearly the better team in this game.* ### *2:02* *I got into this more with Ethan later in the show, but I wanted to show you this clip that I mentioned with him spoiler alert or recording this after I talked to Ethan because you haven't already figured that out.So it's 21 two.* ### *2:18* *It's sorry, it's fourteen to seven with a minute left and a half.Greeley is driving.They are down 14 to 7.They should be up 21 to nothing.And Luke Piper goes deep to Benjamin Kyle's and let's go to the clip.* ### *2:50* *So that's a pretty good catch.I filming it, thought, well, that's clearly pass interference and OK.And then he pops up with the ball and spikes it and it's like, oh, OK, that ties the game.* ### *3:06* *Greeley takes off from there.I think for my money, they're now the favorites in C.They're six and O.They've looked better as the season's gone on.I've seen them twice now and I think they're at the top of a very loaded, very crowded Class C So then Saturday I went to Madonic and York Madonic.* ### *3:27* *It was all Madonic.And this one, Jayden Jayden, Jayden Ruiz had five touchdowns for the Panthers.And then I'm getting messages in my DMS from Michael Hathaway.He's like, hey, come, you're gonna come up to this garden or 11 game.This garden love game should be good.And I'm like, do I want to?And I'm looking at the how long this game is taking.* ### *3:44* *And I'm like, if I leave right now and I swing by the house and get some warm clothes because temperature is going to drop, obviously I think I can make it to Levitt in time for the game.So I did that.I go up to Levitt.Never been to Levitt for a football game before.* ### *4:01* *I went to a basketball game there once and the school like, or something, or maybe the way I approach the school, this could all be me.Like I went in the wrong door because there wasn't like nothing jumped out at me as the obvious like, hey, this is the door you should go in.* ### *4:19* *And so then I'm in the bowels of the school and I'm just wandering around and I feel like Spinal Tap when they're like, hello, Cleveland.It took me forever to find the gym.Football feels much easier to find 'cause you got the big lights, the whole thing.So couple things about this game.* ### *4:35* *Levitt looks way better than they did early in the year, like at Greeley, and they looked really good at Madomic 2 weeks ago when I saw that game.So they're up 12, nothing, and Gardner is struggling.They can't move the ball and Gardner, of course, is undefeated and then they definitely need a break and then this play happens.* ### *5:14* *You might have already seen this on Facebook because I immediately saw this play right in front of me and went, oh, this is going to do well on Facebook.So I put it on Facebook and people have been arguing about it non-stop, but it feels like for the, I don't really look at the comments, but I've looked at some of the comments and it's probably meant 80%.* ### *5:31* *That's clearly an incomplete pass and Levitt got the ball to the for the two point conversion as quickly as they possibly could because it was right in front of them and I, you know, we can complete that.* ### *5:49* *So anyway, that's like the last thing you need of your gardener in that situation.And they couldn't get any traction and game ended up in running time.I think it was either running time or it was definitely JV minutes and I was not expecting JV minutes in that.So the dream of Rob Kennedy's dream of Gardner and Kony being seven and oh, when they meet in Week 8 has died.* ### *6:13* *Tony's held held up there in the bargain that we'll talk about them more.Whether or not Parker Moran is maybe is he the front runner for for Fitzpatrick?Maybe, who knows?You know, I think it's feels pretty wide open.But then the other thing at Levitt, and I'm not saying this to throwing one under the bus or get anyone in trouble.* ### *6:33* *I'm mostly saying it to keep myself out of trouble.So if you've never been to a game, if you've never been to a game, if you're not really, you're not a game, you're not really paying attention to.What people like me and Mike Hoffer and Steve Craig and Mike Mandel are doing is we're generally, and I picked this up from from all of them, is you're generally standing on the sideline and going with the ball.* ### *6:55* *As the line of scrimmage moves, you move Hoffer's like right on the line of scrimmage.Steve Craig's usually pretty close to the line of scrimmage and I cuz I'm cuz they're trying to get your exact yardage and they got to see where the ball is.And it's, it's, you know, it's hard to do that at an angle.I want the angle cuz I'm shooting video and then getting highlights to use here and use on social and in the newsletter.* ### *7:16* *So I kind of want the angle.So I'm 7 or 8 yards off the line of scrimmage usually and I'm trying to get a good angle where I can see the quarterback.And more importantly, I'm definitely trying to not be in the way.So the side judge is who a music because I don't like to be on the side with the chains because it's too many people to see through.* ### *7:34* *Some people like to be on the side with the chains.So, so the side judge, they're all different.And so at Madomic, for example, on Saturday, the side judge was usually two or three yards inside the field and he would just, you know, run it back and forth.* ### *7:51* *Great.At Gardner, he was sort of on the line.He was sort of standing on the sideline at Greeley.The side judge was off the field by about a foot, which is a little trickier because you're standing right there.* ### *8:07* *And so just to give you a sense of how the dynamic works is you're usually talking to the reps a little bit and they'll say, you know, if you're standing in the wrong place for whatever reason.Like sometimes they'll go shoot in the end zone and then they'll be like, oh, make sure you're not under the under the goal posts when they're kicking extra point for something like that.* ### *8:26* *You're like, Oh, yeah, obviously, sure.And so he the Greely at the Greely game side judge like, hey, if this is a passing play or the ball's going down field, I'm going to come flying down here.So make sure you're not in the way.Great.* ### *8:42* *Absolutely do not want to be in the way.Not there to be in the way.And I don't talk to the I don't talk to the coaches while they're coaching unless they want to come talk to me.And sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.Kind of depends on how the game's going.You know, the Madonna game was 40 to 14.So I'm chatting with Ryan Snell during down times a little bit, a little bit.* ### *9:01* *You know, he's like, hey, you going to this Leva game and all like, Oh yeah, Hathaway's talking to me.Maybe so.But I'm very much there to not be in the way.I talked to coaches before the game.I talked some, but mostly after the game because then the job's over in there.Sure.* ### *9:17* *So anyway, so this guy comes up to us.It's me and Mike Mandel and Joe Bailey and a couple photographers.We're at like, I want to say we're at the 35 yard line and the ball's probably at the 45 yard line and it's like, hey, you guys can't be here.We're like, what are you talking about?* ### *9:32* *We're in media.We can be here.We have press passes, the whole thing.He's like, no, you can't be in the coaches box.We're just from the 25 to the 25.And I'm like, huh, OK, And so we all just sort of moved along because whatever.And we're all talking, you know, like if you that's new, right?* ### *9:48* *Like that's and Mendel's like never heard that.I've never heard that.None of us have ever heard that.So we go over to the other side of the field because the ball's gone down there.Then a few minutes later I'm standing probably 5-10 yards because I'm thinking maybe he just means don't be in the the three feet right there, right from the first 3 feet and be.* ### *10:08* *And so I'm off a little bit and I'm getting like 35 yard line.The ball's 10 yards away.It's a little tricky to get.It could be whatever.And he's like, hey, I told you, you can't be there.And I'm like, I'm sorry, what?He goes, yeah, it's a rule.I'm like, what rule?* ### *10:24* *I've never heard of this rule.And this is a little bit of me not being able to let things go and I maybe have some issues with authority.And I go, is this a Levitt rule?Or is it a, is it an MPA rule?Is it an NFHS rule?What rule is this?And he's explaining to me the coaches box.* ### *10:40* *And this is not a coach.This is someone in Levitt gear who I have no idea who he is.And I'm listening to explain the coaches box rule.And I'm like, I, I didn't say this.And I'm like, I don't think you understand the coaches box rule.I'm not sure I fully understand the coaches box rule, but you don't sound like you do.* ### *10:57* *So I go, OK, he's like, we'll ask the ref at halftime.OK, So he goes over to the ref at halftime and he's talking to him.He's pointing at me.And I'm like, why?I feel like, you know, like, am I in trouble?Am I going to get ejected from this game for doing nothing?* ### *11:14* *And so then the refs go off, he and he says the ref will talk to you after the halftime, after that.OK, so then after the half, the longer half, I go over to talk to the refs and I talked to two of the refs now and they're like, OK, so what's I'm like, what's going on?They're like, we talked about it in our at halftime.And we don't know.* ### *11:30* *We don't know the rule.We don't know if there's a rule or not because, you know, I didn't say this, but everyone does.It happens all the time.And it's maybe it's a rule that no one follows.There's plenty of those.And so he's like, you know, we're talking and I'm like, OK.* ### *11:47* *And so then it kind of got dropped because they're like, well, we don't know if there's a rule, so we won't do anything.And they're like, we'll bring it up in the rules meeting on Tuesday.And this is the only reason I'm telling the story.If for some reason they discover that there is a rule.And I emailed a ref and he didn't think there was.* ### *12:03* *But in case they decide in this rules meeting that there is a rule and nobody can stand in the coach's box anymore, it's not my fault.It didn't do anything.I was just standing completely out of the way in the coach's box.Mike Mandel is my witness.* ### *12:21* *And yeah, I don't know the Raphi e-mail.Just like this would be you.This would come up because of you.And I'm like, I didn't do anything.But sure, that's very on brand.So anyway, that's the story of of how I got in trouble with people at a football game, just standing there doing literally nothing, just shooting video of a game.* ### *12:45* *And yeah, Levitt looks really good.Levitt looks really good.Greeley looks really good.Wells looks pretty good.Wells looks pretty good, just not as good as Greeley did this past weekend.And then I just also wanted to say a bunch of people came up to me this weekend to say how much they like the podcast, how much they like the newsletter, whatever, whatever, whatever.* ### *13:07* *Somebody actually asked me for a sticker.I'm carrying stickers.If you want a sticker.I got stickers.I'll hand them out.They're usually in my pocket.If not in my pocket, they're in my bag.But thanks to everyone who came and said nice things.And maybe it's just because I got a sweatshirt now that has the main basketball rankings logo on it.* ### *13:24* *OK, so that's at.Let's go to my conversation with Ethan, my guest today.You know him from whou dot live broadcast.I know him as the guy I can stare at all tourney week from across the Expo.* ### *13:41* *Ethan Snow is here.Hello, Lucas, it's great, great to see you again.It's it's been a while, but.It has been a while, always.Always excited to catch out.Yeah, you've been out in the wilderness on a vision quest or something, and now you're back in the booth doing games, and yeah, it's good to have you back.* ### *14:00* *Yeah, it's great to be back as I've sold a lot of other people.You know, sometimes you got to, you know, sometimes you just have to take a step back from your life a little bit.And, you know, when things come up, then, you know, some people are more capable of doing it than others.And I saw an opportunity to do that, and I did.* ### *14:16* *And I'm glad.I'm happy with the results, and I'm even more happy to be back into this life and, you know, getting a chance to do what I love again.And that's what I'm most excited about.And it's probably healthier than just getting blackout drunk.Very much so.I can't.* ### *14:32* *I've never, I've never done that before, but I can.I can.I have a pretty good idea.It's definitely a whole lot, whole lot better than the fact, yes.I bet you've seen it done before.Oh yes, I have.Plenty of times.All right, so you're here.* ### *14:48* *We're going to overreact to week is this week 6, week 6?I think it's week six.Time is a flat circle.I don't know what's going on anymore.I was telling you before we got on.I've done almost no prep other than just living life and going to three games this weekend.* ### *15:04* *And apparently I, I covered it in the intro, pissing off the officials or somebody.And so as as I do, you know, so anyway, just to say that if there's changes, it's not my fault.I swear I have witnesses.* ### *15:24* *I emailed the Rep and he's like, what did you do?I'm like, I didn't do anything.Anyway.I should have told you that story before because the audience has already gotten that story and now you're just like, what are you talking about?And.I can only imagine.You can only imagine, so you'll have to watch the episode to find out for sure.* ### *15:39* *I will.This gives me an extra incentive to go back and watch this.This is great.There you go.There you go.All right, so let's start with eight man small because you covered what looked to be the game of the day or maybe the game of the year.Yeah, most definitely in in unexpected fashion, too.* ### *15:58* *So for my first high school game, back in the booth, I traveled down to go see my good friends down to Old Orchard Beach.So first and foremost, I love, love the people in Old Orchard Beach.Dean Plant, Jason Webber, that whole the whole staff down there at Old Orchard Beach class acts love going down there covering those guys and they love it as well.* ### *16:20* *For those who don't know, Dean Plants, the head coach of the football program is also the AD down there.And one of the I've always tell other people like your stereotypical guy who's been there for 30 plus years, seen it all, done it all.Great dude.I mean fantastic, fantastic guy.* ### *16:38* *And I always loved going down there.And so I couldn't have asked for a better day, could have asked for better weather to make the trip down and call that game against Lake Region.It was a cross cross division match up.Lake Region's eight man S large Old Orchard, obviously the small side, but man, what a game from the I mean, from the onset, from the Old Orchard of the ball 1st.* ### *17:04* *And they did what I'm used to seeing.I'm now I've come now covered Old Orchard Beach football and the regular season for the for three seasons now.And you know, there's just been more of the same they this year.I mean this year's a little bit different in the sense that they're younger.* ### *17:19* *They're they're not as a veteran of a squad as they've been in the past couple of years.They're younger, but they still got some veteran pieces and one of those.Games have seemed a little closer.Yes, little bit closer and they haven't quite been as dominant now if you'll.They're only winning 40 to nothing instead of 80 to nothing, Yeah. 40 to nothing instead of 60 to nothing.* ### *17:40* *But this weekend, I mean, early on, the one top veteran that they still have is Wes Glant.He's a senior this year.He's got he's one of those guys that it's just he's a he's a pure athlete.You know, you did you haven't you get him to do anything, he's gonna do it well.* ### *17:58* *And this week, geez, he had I don't have his exact yardage totals, but I can't tell you he scored seven touchdowns.He.Was was that the one I saw on face?I saw on Instagram somebody had 7 touchdowns and I was.Like that was, that was them.That was the man right there.* ### *18:14* *And so he's just so fun to watch.I'm so glad I've gotten a chance to cover him the past past three seasons now.Now I'm on the gridiron because he's so fun to watch and he's got a younger brother who's a freshman who's just as good as he is, and he's a freshman.* ### *18:30* *That's what the that's what the rest of that class wanted to hear.Yeah, not exactly what the rest of the class wanted to hear, but you know they.It's always fun to talk to a coach when they realize that there's another one coming and they're like, oh, come on.Yeah, even though his name's Cooper, he's he does a lot more this year.* ### *18:50* *He's done a lot more on the defensive side of the ball.He's involved in their offensive scheme some, at least from the one game that I saw.But defensively, he's been a bigger piece for the Gulls this year.But back to the game itself.You know, they Old Orchard marched down the field quickly scored and then Lake Region surprisingly marched down the field and scored and then Old Orchard went down, scored again.* ### *19:15* *And it looked like, I want to keep saying, Miranda, the jerseys are similar, but Lake Region marched down and this was probably, this was a pivotal point in the game was we're talking, we're talking 4 minutes ago in the first quarter.We're talking about the game could be decided right here.* ### *19:31* *Me and my buddy, my buddy Reese, who by the way, was his very first eight man football experience.And that was the game he got to do.He was the guy who called the game with me.So, well, I told him after the fact I was like, well, you got possibly one of the best games of the season.That's your very first eight man game.* ### *19:46* *So congratulations.Yeah.Maybe not a accurate reflection of what you're going to get going forward.Right, right.But a good way to get introduced to that side of the foot, that side of football.But excuse me, we're 4th down, and I think it was fourth down 7.* ### *20:03* *Miranda Cook and Miranda Cook, Lake Region.Sorry, folks.Lake Region is in.Exactly.Yeah.Just give you an idea how much, how long it been out of it.But Lake Region, 4th down to 7.They're in the Old Orchard red zone looking to tie the game again.And Old Orchard comes up with a stop.* ### *20:21* *And I'm talking about inches.They're Lake Region starting quarterback.He was, he's a senior.He was the coach's son.Meehan's his last name.Takes off, runs, dives for the dives for the line to gain.We think, we think we're broadcasting for him.* ### *20:37* *He's got it.The official measurement has him about 6 inches short.So Old Orchard stopped it right there.And of course, they go down to marks.They marks down the field and score again.And just like that is A2 possession game before the first quarters even done.And you think like, and I'm thinking to myself, this is probably where Old Orchard is going to do Old Orchard, what I'm used to seeing them do this.* ### *21:00* *Is the script you've seen from Old Orchard Beach?Right.Exactly.I've seen this umpteen million Times Now, but Miranda Cook went down, scored again, So now you're in that buck.Now you kind of see where I'm going with this.Where, you know, each team is scoring on just about every single possession.* ### *21:19* *Now, Old Orchard's opened up that buffer.Where, you know Lake Preacher scores again.It's still A1 possession game.So Old Orchard went down, of course, went down, scored again, two possession game again.They actually got to stop and then they went out.* ### *21:35* *Old Orchard.Old Orchard did on defense, they got to stop and then went ahead 3 possessions and twice in the ball game Old Orchard was up by three possessions.So maybe the final score wasn't exactly indicative of how the the actual game was.* ### *21:52* *But I'll tell you what Lake All props to Lake Region because they never showed any signs of quitting in that game.Is that maybe more of a backdoor cover?Yeah, yeah and like they, you know, get you get down 3 possessions, maybe some teams are like well we tried boys, but no Lake Region never gave up.* ### *22:11* *They went down, scored, got to to A2 possession game.Then they got to stop late in the late in the second quarter and then they went down and scored again and they were going to get the second-half kickoff.So they went down score.* ### *22:28* *They went down scored with about 27 seconds left one possession game.And so Old Orchard kneels it down to get it to halftime on the on the opening kickoff in the second-half, it was a weird, weird kind of kick.* ### *22:44* *It was Old Orchard low line drive kick kind of in a no man's land.The guy who ended up receiving the kick kind of hesitated a little bit thinking it was going to go out of bounds it.Didn't.He picked it up late, Old Orchard got there, he fumble it, Old Orchard recovers the fumble on the opening kickoff and that kind of then you go back to that pattern of, well, Old Orchard was then set up at the Lake Region 27 play, 2 plays there in the end zone.* ### *23:11* *That's a layup for them, yeah.Yeah, Bridge just about.So it was more, it was more or less the same throughout the the second-half, which really dragged on.I mean, I think I want to say the second-half was probably almost 90 minutes in itself.* ### *23:27* *Well, let me ask you this, did it actually drag on or you just used to the Old Orchard Beach games being in running time in the second quarter?That's probably a big part of it it.Felt like they just stopping the clock.What is going on?Stopping the clock at Old Orchard Beach in the second-half.* ### *23:45* *What is this?What are we doing?But the there's a there was a drive late that kind of gave Lake reach of a chance that gave this is what gave Lake reach of the chance.Old Orchard trying to kill time in the fourth quarter.* ### *24:02* *This is a 2 possession game at this point.We're in the we're getting late in the 4th 2 possession game.Old Orchards driving W Gallant, who I just talked about a little while ago, breaks free for this run that would have in essence set them up to put the game away.* ### *24:17* *He got inside the five yard line first down run doing what he's been doing all game long.And then I don't know if you heard about this, but there was, and this is part a little bit in part to Old Orchard's youth.* ### *24:33* *They have a still have a lot of they have a lot of sophomores.They have a lot of freshmen that get a lot of minutes.There was after that play was over, there was some extracurricular activity between a couple other from, you know, from some lineman and a little bit of that.It resulted in 2 Old Orchard Beach ejections on a pair of unsports for like conduct penalties.* ### *24:55* *Now one of them, one of them was one of their wide receivers who's a sophomore.He picked up an unsportsmanlike in the first half and that was his second.So he was gone then and then they had a senior lineman who now Reese and I didn't see, didn't see exactly what happened.* ### *25:10* *We were looking at the replay from that run.This all happened while we're looking at the replay.Flags keep flying in and all this and that.What if Old Orchard's lot, from what Coach Plant explained to me after the game, is that somebody from Lake Region started it and, and it was the guy from Old Orchard who in in response who got flagged for it.* ### *25:30* *And unfortunately, you know, it's, it's usually always the second guy who gets caught and which is unfortunate about the way it is most of the time.So he got disqualified.So there's 215 yard penalties.So instead of it being 1st and goal at the five yard line, all of a sudden is 1st and goal all the way.* ### *25:48* *And this was at the IT was from the spot of the foul which occurred back, you know, the 10.So all the sudden is 1st and goal from the 35.It's not.A lot of plays in the book for that one.No, there is not.So Old Orchard ended up punting it.* ### *26:04* *They didn't do it.They didn't try to do anything fancy.They ended up punting at Lake Region and Five Four.How often does Old Orchard Beach punt?That might be the first time I've ever seen that team punt the football in person.I.Was gonna say.They yeah, usually old.* ### *26:21* *Orchard.Did they have a punter?Oh.Man who punted for them.It might have been.It might have been one of their wide receivers that ended up doing.It they're just like, who?Who here can kick the ball?Like walking up down the sideline?Anybody here can kick the ball.No, Maybe.But so anyway, Lake Region 4 plays, marks down the field scored and now Old Orchard didn't convert on a couple of touchdowns because they always go for two, so they.* ### *26:48* *Don't even have a punter, how are they going to have a kicker?Exactly.So they always go for two.They didn't convert on a couple of scores earlier in the second-half.So Lake Region's scoring, they got the two pointer which made it, then made it a six point ball game.* ### *27:04* *So all Lake Region needed to do was try to recover an onside kick, which they had done earlier in the fourth quarter.They recovered.They recovered an onside kick, got the ball back marks down the field and scored.They almost got it this time.They didn't in all order.* ### *27:20* *Old Orchard had to do was just get a get, pick up a first down and steal the game.But it was I think Andrew Hart from mainehighschoolfootball.com messaged me after the I sent him the final score.He messaged me that 100 and 14114 combined points ties.* ### *27:38* *I think it's like ties fourth most all time.Oh wow, in eight man history for points scored he pretty and that ties.I think it was Matanakuk and Holton that scored 114 combined points in the game that went to overtime and this they.* ### *27:54* *They say who had the most.Who He didn't tell me who had the most, he just told me that they had tied 4th all time and.Get it together, Andrew.Come on.I'm sure if I messaged him right now he would get back to me and tell me.He would probably get back to you before we got to Class B, I bet.* ### *28:13* *Yeah.So 60 to 54 I saw that score came come across and by come across one of the Old Orchard Beach coaches sent it to me and I was like Oh my goodness, I went to the wrong game.Because I've been thinking about going to that because that did look like the best game on the schedule.* ### *28:32* *And for a couple reasons, 2 reasons I didn't go.One, I get very, very tired by the end of the week.So I was like, I slept in a little bit.And then also I knew I was going to be talking to you today.And I'm like, well, there's no point in going to the same game as the that Ethan's going to be covering because Ethan's going to be on the podcast.* ### *28:52* *And so, you know, well, what's the point of that?We did.I did have a question come up earlier this year about Old Orchard Beach.And I was, I thought Ethan would know this.But you were on your vision quest up in Alaska or, you know, it was in Siberia, building a cave in the woods.* ### *29:12* *I don't know, whatever you're doing, sending up smoke signals.And the question was how late is the arcade open in the year?Does it go year round?And how late into the year are the pier their pier fries?* ### *29:28* *And like how much of Old Orchard Beach shuts down and when?Man, that is an excellent question.I'm not I'm not 100% sure on that.I know on my on my drive through Old Orchard on my drive through Old Orchard, it did look like it was pretty pretty well buttoned up for the winter.* ### *29:47* *I know it was a little actually temperature actually wasn't too bad, but I don't know about you but it.Was a beautiful day.Beautiful, beautiful day on Saturday I know some people it's still a little bit chilly to be going get some Pierre fries so I.I mean, is it ever too cold for Pierre fries?* ### *30:03* *I mean, for me it's never too cold for ice cream, so I don't think it's ever too cold for Pierre fries all.Right, we'll have to check with the Old Orchard Beach coaches because I'm sure they know how late in the year we can get Pierre fries 'cause that's always my running joke during basketball season.* ### *30:18* *It's like, oh, you're playing Old Orchard Beach pure fries.You beat, you win there.You pier fries for the whole team as opposed to ice cream.You know, maybe some fried dough, maybe some rides, you know, maybe some skee ball.It's a good time.Yeah, absolutely.All right, so let's look at 8 man South.* ### *30:39* *So in the South, Old Orchard Beach is now 6 and O, and then Telstar and Sakapi Valley are three and two and three and three.Now Telstar.Yeah, that's the team to put up 86 on Mountain View, right?I'm remembering that.Correctly, that is correct.Do you want to fire off any hot takes?* ### *30:55* *About 86 to nothing.I mean, you're an expert at watching 86 to nothing.Games.I mean, I've seen, I mean, the amount of times I've seen Old Orchard Beach put up, you know, 60 between anywhere in the high 60's, the low 80s.I mean, I've seen they've put up anywhere between that and the last three years that I've covered them.* ### *31:13* *And there gets to a point as a there gets to a point when you're a program as dominant as Old Orchard or, or you're going up against a much, you know, an opponent that's not even near the level that you are.There's only so much that you can do until to until it just becomes downright, I think disrespectful for both teams.* ### *31:36* *I mean, if you go out there and just kneel it down for for half, you know, the entirety of the second-half, I mean, that's not that's not, you know, in a way to me, I don't think that's very respectful to your opponent.That's not really respectful to yourselves.* ### *31:52* *It's not really, I mean, you know, it's not really respectful for anybody if you're just going out there and just kneeling the ball down.I mean, if you're.And it's.And for a program like Mountain View, from what I've heard is it's a struggling program right now.Unfortunately, it's the way it is.They barely even had enough to field that fan team at the varsity level.* ### *32:10* *And when you're a program in so when you're going up against something like that, I mean, you're you, all you can do at that point as a coach is to get your, get all the guys who are super young don't have, you know, we're trying to get more experience, throw them in there and just play that and just play their game plan.* ### *32:30* *And if you and if you run, if, if unfortunately, if the run, if the score gets run up because of that, in doing that, the score gets the score runs up.And you know, unfortunately it's just the way it is.Like I said, I think to me, it's just downright disrespectful to all involved.* ### *32:48* *If all you do is just kneel the ball down for run A, you know, run out for a majority of 1/2.Or if you play half speed or something.Right.Or half speed or yeah, something like to that which helps nobody.And thinking about it, I think maybe in football it's a little more dangerous to do that than it would be in basketball.* ### *33:07* *Because in basketball you can sort of pass the ball five times and you can do all this other stuff, but you know, the team that's losing 86 to nothing is still going to try to hit you pretty.Hard.Oh yeah, absolutely.And if you're not, you know, playing hard, then bad things can happen there.* ### *33:23* *Right.And I know from experience that if you're on a, you know, these are these are kids, these are high school, these are high school kids.And I know from experience that, you know, as a high school, as a high school boy, you're not, you don't make all the smartest decisions in the world.* ### *33:38* *And especially in the especially, you know, on the football field.If you're on a, if you're on, unfortunately have to be on the.If you're on the receiving end of a game like that, you're going to be frustrated and you might do some things that you might regret later on.* ### *33:55* *I will have you know, and my parents will vouch for this, that I never, ever, ever did anything wrong when I was a teenage boy.Never.And I'm sure you didn't either.Absolutely not.Just don't ask this one kid from John Babs.* ### *34:11* *I was nose felt one day.I, I, he don't ask, don't ask him.You know, he I don't think he was feeling too hot after that one single day.But that's not here.That's neither here nor there.All right, so let's say we we can write off Mountain View here and I'm looking at the Crabtrees on Andrew's site, which is an essential site.* ### *34:35* *I it looks like it's down to Boothbay and trape for that last playoff spot and Booth trapes played an extra game.Do you want that playoff spot?Man?If the if the arcade's going to be closed and there's, you know, no fried dough and you can't play skee ball after the game, do you want to drive down to Old Orchard Beach to get waxed?* ### *35:04* *I think it's certainly a, I think it's certainly a tough decision to say.I mean like I believe, I believe it was Old Orchard and Booth Bay in the semi final a year ago.One versus 4 semi final.Yeah, last year they played.Yeah, they played last year.* ### *35:19* *Yeah, they played last year in the in the in that game and unfortunately it didn't go in an unfortunate for Booth Bay.It didn't go their way.I think they went down there and that was about what they expected.And then trait kind of the same deal.I mean, I'm looking at and they haven't they have yet to play Old Orchard.* ### *35:36* *They play Old Orchard on Saturday, Saturday afternoon, Old Orchard makes the trip down to Kittery.But I would I would expect more of the same because it.Reminds me of it.Reminds me of basketball season.We had a 8-9 playing game to get.* ### *35:55* *Not even a prelim, it was just a tiebreaker game.No it wasn't A9.I forget what it was.Anyway, it was the winner.Got a pre, got a rogue prelim and I think it was I want to say it was Ashland and Van Buren and the winner got a 5 hour one way trip to Jonesport Beals to and to get smoked.* ### *36:16* *And I'm just imagining being the parent of like the kid who's like the 8th man and being like kid I love you but hope you lose cause a Tuesday evening 10 hour round trip to Jonesport Beals does not sound fun.* ### *36:35* *No, especially on a especially on a school night.No thank you, I thought.I thought making a trip up to Guilford on a school night was bad from Blue Hill, let alone a trip from Ashland to Ashland to Jonesport Beals and back at on a school night.No, No, no, no, no, no.Yeah, I I think you get, you take the next day off.* ### *36:53* *I think you call in sick.Yeah, with that one.All right, so let's head over to the north.Stearns is five and one, Orno's four, and Orno and Dexter are four and two.Stearns lost to Old Orchard Beach in a game that was close at the half earlier this year.* ### *37:08* *I think it was 1816 at the half before Old Orchard Beach pulled away.And then you've got Dexter.Dexter has a big game this week.I Who are they playing?But it's this T-Mobile thing.Have you heard about this?You've heard obviously about the T.Mobile.Yeah, that's a really cool deal for first of all, that's a really cool deal for Dexter.* ### *37:27* *I mean, to be able to represent not only they're representing that themselves, but they're representing the whole state of Maine as well.And, you know, just as much as I do, anything, anything like that happened in the state of Maine is just the coolest thing in the world.So it's awesome.So happy for Dexter.I voted numerous times for him and no matter how it works out, they should be very proud of themselves for being in in the national spot like like this because they that's one of the coolest things you're going to see all year.* ### *37:55* *Yeah, so I had Dexter's AD on the podcast and he was telling me that this week they're having T-Mobile is like hosting a game and they're like painting the magenta numbers on the field and there's going to be all sorts of stuff that's against Holton on Saturday.* ### *38:11* *So that looks like it could be a very, very cool event.I'm strongly leaning towards driving up for that because I mean, it sounds like it's going to be bananas.Yeah, I actually saw the there's actually photos up somewhere shared by somebody on some social media.* ### *38:28* *I think Easter.I think I.Think it was Mark yesterday was Mark has shared it, but they got the number, they got the the the yard markers for the numbers all they're all magentted out already and they got some other things all set ready to go to which I don't know for doing that.I mean, I don't know.I guess the grass.* ### *38:43* *I guess the grass isn't growing very much this time of year anyway, But for me to they do to do that on a Monday for a Saturday game.I think it's my opinion is a little bit early, but then again what do I know.Depends.On the rain, really depends on the weather.Forecast.That's all that's true.* ### *38:59* *Of course it has been super dry this fall.So, but anyway, not Anyway, not the point it's looked.It looked really, really good.You're like, I don't know about this scheduling of the painting of the grass.* ### *39:15* *This is I have questions.This is T-Mobile.This is where I asked my this is.These are where the important questions come from.We got to know about the pure fries.We got to know about the schedule of the grass painting of the field up in Dexter.Really important stuff.* ### *39:34* *Really important.OK, so.Looking here.Dexter's Warren 2 along with Orno.Did you lose that?I got you.I was looking to see who was they were playing.Looks like Holton's the Holton Co office.Yeah, they have Holton.Coming to town.So that's gonna be should be a very cool game for trying to count, count in the schools.* ### *39:51* *Holton, Hodgdon Southern Estate grant, Holton Christian.So however many, however many students from each of those schools are represented on that team.Should be a very fun event for them as well.It's a road, you know, it's a road team.Even as a road team going into somebody else's event like that, that's still gonna be super cool.* ### *40:10* *So that'll be that'll be a fun experience for them.Yeah, I imagine it's really cool like anytime there's one of those pink out games, you know, for basketball, I bet it's probably a lot of fun to be the other team, you know?So anyway, so we had Dexter 4I mean, that'll be a big game for Dexter for seating, and I would think they're in pretty good shape for a playoff spot.* ### *40:35* *But if Washington Academy gets hot here down the stretch, yeah.I'm looking to, and one of the things I will say about this new MPA site, Lucas and I were talking, but for those at home, him and I were talking before we, you know, before we really got into the stuff here.* ### *40:51* *But I haven't gotten the chance to really check out the new website yet.But what I do like is that right on the main standings page, you can see who you the wins, the losses and who they got remaining without even having to go to any other page.So that's that's nice.And I'm looking at the schedules here.I mean, you can also do that on my site.* ### *41:08* *So we'll just mention, just mention that.But yeah, there's a chance here for a lot of movement.You know, WA they've got Orno and Madeloska left and if they can get a win, if they can get a if they can get a win over Orno, I mean that's that good chance that'll punch their ticket into that final spot.* ### *41:27* *But you got bucks borders hanging right in there.Dexter, who's in a really good spot with Holton and spruce mountain coming up and spruce mountain sets a four O 1 right now and in the South eight man large division.So that's a lot of you know, a lot of teams, you know, a couple of opponents that have decent amount of wins to their names.* ### *41:47* *So just one win in the last two games for Dexter, for Bucksport, Washington Academy, you know, that's you're talking three teams fighting for two spots and then you throw in Orono with WA and Bucksport as well.Could be a lot of movement between those four teams for those final three spots in final two weeks.* ### *42:07* *It'll be very interesting.Yeah, I can't.I can't really judge Crabtrees in my head yet.I haven't quite gotten the hang of that, but I feel like Washington Academy could play their way in or do they need help?* ### *42:24* *Four teams for like 4 teams for or five teams for four spots is tricky because there's any any number of combinations of things that could happen here.But I think Stearns is is a.Lot, yeah, Stearns, I I think Stearns is feeling really, really good about their chances to get that one seed.* ### *42:42* *I mean, they're one loss to an Old Orchard Beach team that's undefeated.I mean, that's a, and of course the Crabtree is your winning percentage and has everything to do with your winning percentage and your opponent's winning percentage.Well, Stearns has got a decent winning percentage right now.* ### *42:58* *And then you look at their, I mean, an old, they're getting, I mean, they're getting carried a lot by Old Orchard 6 and out.And then you, I'm looking at the rest of them here.Or no.Four wins.Fox Sports three wins and Dexter's 4 four wins.So I mean just those right there that's you got to be feeling really good about your chances at that point.* ### *43:18* *Yeah, so let's move to 8 man large and a school that probably wishes we were using heel points this week in grain of Gloucester, GNG knocked off Camden, who was previously unbeaten 16 to 6, which is one of those scores that went threw up a woe.* ### *43:37* *And then I got a bunch of text messages after after I probably tweeted about the whoa element of it because So what I'm told here, and I've heard it from enough people that I'm pretty sure this is what happened is the Camden was at 5 and O pretty much locked up the one seed and went, you know, we're a little banged up.* ### *44:00* *We were the one seed last year.We were really banged up.We didn't have a quarterback, our starting quarterback.We're going to go pretty deep into the bench here and Grandy Gloucester was able to benefit from that, but that would have been a huge heel point win for them, sitting at 2:00 and 3:00 at the time and in 5th place, and now they're still sitting in 5th place at 3:00 and 3:00, but it's a lot closer.* ### *44:24* *Yeah, hey, I mean it's one of those is all goes back to that class of saying you play, you play who you I mean, you play the opponent that you got right.I mean, it doesn't matter if you're playing the, you know, the second stringers or not.I mean, you're going to take him and you get a win, you get a win and that's a huge help for them.* ### *44:39* *And right right now, they're in a almost a neck and neck battle with Lake Region for that last playoff spot.And I'm looking at Lake Region's remaining schedule.Oh, look at that.Those two teams play each other this week.That's like going to be a huge game.Beautiful, beautiful.* ### *44:57* *So that might sort of.Very well, good.You have both teams, 3:00 and 3:00, Lake Region.Lake Region, obviously they're desperate for a win at this point.They got off to a really good start, 3 and O and then they ran into some.They run in the three straight quality.That's a.* ### *45:13* *That's a rough state.Quality opponents.You have Yarmouth, who's been on the up and up, they're five and one Mount Ararat, Mount Ararat, who lost in the state title game last year, and they're right back in the mix, 5:00 and 1:00 and then everybody.And nearly beat a full strength candidate.Yeah, and nearly beat a full straight candidate team.* ### *45:30* *So that's, you know, that's a really, really greater Gloucester is going to be playing with a lot of confidence going into that game with Lake Region.And then Lake Region obviously they're desperate for a win, three straight losses.So that's going to be going to be a very, very interesting contest.* ### *45:47* *Let me check real quick is that in and that that's up in Naples at Lake Region.So Lake Region on Friday night.So that's going to be a think.So we'll see if Naples is going to be rocking Friday night, hopefully.Lake Region at.G&G, am I reading this wrong?* ### *46:04* *I see what's going on maybe what's going on here?OK, I'm looking.And then OK.I'm looking at this on the NBA site and of course they got the little house next to the home team, but I don't know it's because of the length of stuff because it's the house is kind of in a.* ### *46:23* *Oh yeah, if it's a, if it's a long.That's a little lucky.So actually, it might be at Gray, but regardless, it is at Gray.OK, so Gray's going to be rocking Friday night.Then over in large man, Camden is five and one.* ### *46:43* *MDI and Holton are both three and three.Holton's going to Dexter this week.And then do we think Waterville's done or can they get Ellsworth get by Ellsworth for the honor of.Man, I'm looking at I'm looking at the remaining schedule for each team only has one game left, according to oh, excuse me, Waterl's got two games left.* ### *47:03* *Ellsworth has one left, so.Waterloo has Yarmouth and GNG and.Elmer's got Elmers.Mount Ararat.Am I missing something here?On my heels?* ### *47:20* *Yeah, I I'm missing something.I have an incorrect somewhere here.OK, Waterville's own 6.I have Ellsworth at 2:00 and 4:00 and with only one game left.* ### *47:35* *OK, note to self check Ellsworth.This is why.This is how I find mistakes because you're not going to believe this, but I'm not often looking at Ellsworth schedule.Just, you know, at work in between things.* ### *47:51* *I'm like, oh, I wonder who Ellsworth got left.Now I find it or someone says to me, hey, our schedule's wrong.And I'm like, who are you?And they're like Ellsworth and I go look.And I go, Oh yeah, that's that's what's wrong.But going back to it, I believe right now, the way it stands, I think Ellsworth's Ellsworth is going to be feeling really good about getting that, getting that final spot.* ### *48:10* *I mean, I look at Waterville's remaining schedule, unless Yarmouth or GNG, but probably not GNG.But if Yarmouth decides they're in a similar spot to what Camden is, you know, they're sitting in five and one feel like we're in a good spot right now.If we're if we're a little banged up, maybe we'll arrest some guys.* ### *48:27* *Maybe Waterville could catch a break there.But I mean, that's a it's a tough it's a tough schedule coming up for Waterville and I.They're going to have to win one of those last two games if they want to, if they're I think if they're going to have a chance to get that forward again, like you, I'm not my my knowledge base when it comes to trying to fully grasp the Crabtree standings is not quite there, but when it comes.* ### *48:50* *But yeah, when you're winning, you're, I know the higher your winning percentage is, the better chance you got.I know, I know, right?Pretty quite the concepts.Hey, if you win, that's good.It's always good to win.I'm sure there's a scenario like in heel points where it benefits you to lose.* ### *49:09* *So Elsewhere does only play seven games.That's strange.They have a buy this week.I wonder why they're, I think Andrew, I think something that Andrew has said was that because of the because of the number of eight man teams, it sorted out that some were going to get a buy and some wouldn't or something along those lines.* ### *49:30* *So.OK, that makes sense.All right.So let's I think that's good on eight, man, let's move over.You want to go up or down in class.You want to go A to D or.DA let's start AI.* ### *49:46* *Don't mind starting an AI feel like A from what I've seen out of Class A seems to be.As far as the teams at the top, it seems to be pretty straightforward, but a little bit further down it could get a little bit more wonky.Yeah, so Portland's still in first place in the north, and I could not have less confidence in a team that's in first place right now.* ### *50:12* *They got absolutely.Where's the score?They got destroyed by Thornton Academy.Like I drove all the way down there and it was over before I got there.And I got there early.And then they, I thought they would have trouble with Bonnie Eagle.* ### *50:28* *And Bonnie Eagle beat him 34 to 7.And based solely on that, it's really hard for me to think that they're going to repeat and now I'm going to have Portland people mad at me.But unless they've got some injuries that I don't know about because they did not seem to be in the same class as Thornton Academy watching them.* ### *50:48* *Live, yeah.I mean and that just that kind of comes with, you know, having a really successful senior glass the year before, right.I mean, sometimes that could take a lot to they could take it when you graduate as much talent as they did last year, it could take a year or two to build that.* ### *51:04* *And they lost their coach.And Sean Green, Sean Green stepped down as well.So that could be a whole, you know, that could be lead to a lot of change.And yeah, they're sitting at the top of the standings right now.We know Portland historically has always been a really, really good football school.* ### *51:21* *But as you mentioned, you know, four and two, will they be the ones, Will they be the one seed in the A N?Possibly depends on how the rest of the schedule goes.But you know, you look at it's just one of the, it's one of those, it's one of those deals where we've seen it a lot in the lower classes in recent years, right, Where you have one team, one team in one region that's, you know, top of the region feeling good, really good.* ### *51:47* *And then you go to the, then you go to the other side of the state and you see the top team there.And it's just such a difference and you know well.That was the Class C.Thing for years, Class C until they went to the full.I know we'll get to it.We'll get to C here in a little bit.But oh, we're getting in a little bit.* ### *52:04* *But yeah, we saw it in C, We saw it in Class C for years and even we saw it in Class C for years.And even in D, we've sometimes have seen it as well.And, you know, and Class A, of course, Class A was the one was the one statewide class for a while.* ### *52:19* *And then some teams were, you know, some teams were, were in different spots and all that.But that also also just got to give big props to.I know we'll get to the South side in a second.But yeah, hats off to Thornton too for keeping that program as successful as they have.Yeah, so Portland finishes with they have Lewis, they're at Lewis and they're at Exeter, and I never know what to expect from a New Hampshire game.* ### *52:45* *And then they've got South Portland.The one team that looks interesting to me, just looking around, poking around in a N here, is Oxford Hills nearly beat Coney already lost to Portland early in the season, but they're finishing with Deering, Wyndham and Bangor.* ### *53:06* *And that's if they're going to move, make a move, that's a schedule of words.Not impossible.You know, right now they're sitting in 3rd.You could talk me into them running the table there because I just don't know what to expect from Bangor either.* ### *53:26* *And I don't know, maybe that's the is that a sleeping giant or a dark horse or whatever you want to use in a N sitting three and three and they are in 3rd in the Crabtrees.* ### *53:43* *And I never know if I'm supposed to be looking at the Crabtree weekly or the Crabtree Classic.And I know they just converge by the end of the season.They're just going to converge.And I'm never, I mean, I know the difference between them and I know how they're calculated and all that.I just never know which one I should.Trust does.* ### *54:00* *That make sense?Yeah, I I don't, I haven't made a decision on which one I like more.Yeah, me.Andrew's just like tearing his hair out.Listen.Listen.For what hair he's got left.What hair he's got left, he's just ripping it out in chunks.* ### *54:19* *But.I'll, I'll Andrew, if you want, but I'll love here, boss.We love the work that you do.But now Arthur Hills, I mean, I'm looking, I'm looking at the their remaining schedule as well.And I think there's definitely a realistic, A realistic chance that they realist, realistically they can get the 2.* ### *54:37* *And depending on how, depending on how Portland's, you know, how Portland's rate of the schedule goes.Bob, you said they mentioned they have Exeter coming up.I saw it was, yeah, that Portland.Yeah, I saw when Exeter came to Fitzpatrick Stadium last fall, Portland, of course, that was when obviously Portland was the, we all know how good Portland was last year.* ### *54:59* *They, they hung around with extra for a while, but Exeter eventually pulled away.Now we know we're kind of where Portland's at this year.I imagine Exeter's historically has always been one of the top teams in their division in New Hampshire.So you know it, you know it.You know, obviously they play the games on turf.* ### *55:16* *You don't play them on paper, but you know, get like Exeter's chances in that one.And then you throw in Lewiston and South Portland.So just looking right, they should be Lewiston.South Portland could go, South Portland could probably go either way.* ### *55:31* *You never know when with a rivalry there.I believe that game is believe.That game is at Fitzpatrick Stadium.It's on the believe that's on the north side of the bridge this year.But you know.It is, yes.It's at Fitzy.But so there you go right there.* ### *55:49* *So it's going to be very I'd say Oxford Hills is in the best spot to definitely get the two, possibly get the one, but they got to make sure that they take care of business on their end to Deering.That could be a Deering big game.Wyndham, that should be a win for them.* ### *56:06* *And then that last game of the regular season on Halloween night against Bangor.That could very.That could very well.That could very well be for the.That could very well be for the number two seed could be for the one seed as well.I think, I think all right.* ### *56:26* *So let's move over to the South.I'm just going to say off the top that the model was high on Bonnie Eagle really fast.So much so that I was like, whoa, what's this then?And is it overreacting to something?* ### *56:43* *And I don't think it is overreacting to anything.It had them number 1-2 weeks ago, 3 weeks ago, maybe before Thornton Academy beat Portland.And they are still number one in the in the power rankings and they've increased their lead.So I just want to say that if Bonnie Eagle is for real, then the model is on early.* ### *57:05* *And can I just tell you the can I do a, a slight model brag?And just of how, because football's tricky because there's so few games, right?And so let me see if I can find this.I've been having, I have a running total going on my computer here, so I can find it.* ### *57:21* *OK, so week 1 it got games correct at 64%, week 269%, week 358%.OK, not great.Then it seems to have figured it out.Week 479%, week 587%, week 682%.* ### *57:38* *So I think it's dialed in.I think it's gotten a couple games wrong.It got, you know, it got the GNG Camden game wrong.What are you going to do?Some stuff like that, But it's, I think, you know, I'm, I'm buying stock on Bonnie Eagle and I'm very much looking forward to Bonnie Eagle Thornton Academy.* ### *58:00* *That is, Yep, next Friday night, 24th.Yeah, that's goody.OK, I think that might be game of the day you.Know and I've been fortunate enough to see see Bonnie Eagle a few times in person the past couple of years working with Rob Kennedy and J Richmond.* ### *58:20* *They've gone out they've made a couple trips to Bonnie Eagle the past few falls to cover a game or two down there.And so Bonnie Bonnie Eagles been 1 is that is.Is that on their schedule?This year, game on.WHO dot live next Friday night?Look at that WHO dot live.* ### *58:37* *Get your subscription now.Still only $10 a month, by the way.It's definitely worth the price, but I mean, so I've, I've been fortunate to see kind of what Bonnie Eagles look like over the past couple of years.And they've always my my interpretation of of the Scots has always been they're just they're like they're this close, this close to being to taking that next step in the beating and, you know, being on the level of Thornton Academy.* ### *59:06* *I think last year they lost to Noble in the in the semi finals, but but they've been they've been right there with they've been just a step behind Thornton.Obviously they haven't played each other yet.We're going to see just about where they are with Thornton Academy here next next Friday night.* ### *59:22* *But I think if there if there's any year where Bonnie Eagles going to return to the top dog in a South, this will be that year.But it's all going to depend on how that game next Friday goes.I mean, they've only given up 27 points.That's and like, let's not sleep on Noble here.* ### *59:41* *Noble lost the Fitzpatrick winner and Mr. Basketball winner and is five and one.So I mean, I don't know what sort of I don't even know who the coach is.I don't know what sort of coaching job they're doing there, but they're doing something right because you leave a, you lose a talent like Jamir Rose and you're 5:00 and 1:00.* ### *1:00:02* *I don't care what you're.Saying they only lost them.I'm looking at the scores here.They only lost the Bonnie Eagle 18 to nothing.Yeah, they got shut out, but you only gave up eighteen points to a Bonnie Eagle team that's been that's looked really good offensively.So that's not that is that and for if we're going to if we're going to bring this up, but like, you know, if I'm talking thinking about quality, quality losses, like where the College Football Playoff committee here.* ### *1:00:25* *But if we're talking quality losses, I'd certainly call that a quality loss, especially with the way Bonnie Eagles defense has been this year.And then you lose you lose your Fitzpatrick winter at quarterback and you're still five and one.That's your only loss 18 and nothing.That's nothing to be ashamed of, ashamed about.* ### *1:00:42* *And then they went ahead and beat Marshwood and then they just beat Sanford the other night.So, you know, for Noble, that's going to be, you know, that's they're going to be feeling really good about their chances.They certainly for me would be a sleeper in a S where right now shaping up to be the Thornton and Bonnie Eagle show.* ### *1:00:58* *Don't sleep on Noble.Yeah, so a noble let's, you know, whoever let's say noble stays 3.You know, even like just looking at how close the Crabtrees are, you really want the one seed there because there's the classic thing of you want to be the one so you can get the four and you don't want to have to be in the 2 three-game and then beat the one to get to the state game.* ### *1:01:28* *You want to you want the slightly easier semi final game.And so for that semi final, South Portland, Scarborough, Massabesic are just clustered right there.Their Crabtrees are within.What is that 17 of each other, the three of them?* ### *1:01:45* *Yeah, that's about right.Yeah, so they're right there.So any that's three teams playing for one spot.And I guess Sanford's still alive there.So that's four teams playing for one spot.* ### *1:02:01* *Yeah, most certainly not.You know, I think any any of those last four, any of those last four teams in the in a S could certainly put it together.I mean, even Sanford is right now 7th place apparently sits what I'm looking at just about 16 behind South Portland.* ### *1:02:18* *That's an easy deficit to make up.They have Thornton Academy this week.They got Marshwood and they got Massa BC to to end out the season.So for Sanford, no, not out of the question about possibly sneaking in and getting that four seed, but with massive basic, I look at what massive BC got left.* ### *1:02:34* *They got Bonnie Eagle, they got Bonnie Eagle South Portland Sanford Scarborough's got South Portland Noble, Bonnie Eagle.That's a tough, that's a tough end of the season in South Portland, Scarborough.So massive.BC has the 5th hard hardest schedule in the state remaining.* ### *1:02:50* *Scarborough has the hardest.Yeah.Good luck, guys.Sanford has the 10th hardest.Who else am I looking for?South Portland.South Portland's probably going to be up a little bit more.South Portland has the 25th hardest.* ### *1:03:08* *So if we're going just on that, I feel like maybe South Portland's got the edge.Yes, Crab.Because it's going to the getting your own wins or, you know, for the Crabtree, that, yeah, half of the Crabtree.Yeah, it was Scarborough, Massa, BC, Portland in that order to wrap up the season.* ### *1:03:25* *That's South Portland is currently sitting in the four, by the way.Big win, big defensive win for them over Deering the other night.That was a big game for them.It was a low.That was a game.That was Rob and Jared's game of the week for this week.And they look, they scored when they needed to.* ### *1:03:43* *It wasn't always pretty, but they got the scores when they needed to and they scored late, pretty late.Because it was scoreless at the.It was, oh, it wasn't scoreless in the half.It was 2 nothing at the half, 2, nothing at the half.One of the team, somebody got a safety ache.Yeah, bring in the closer to.* ### *1:04:00* *Bring in the closer.And then Deering drove down, scored, and then South Portland scored and I think they scored again to put that away.So it was a, you know, it was Yep, 6, Yep, 16 to 7\. 7.It was a defensive battle for sure, but a big win for South Portland, one that they needed.* ### *1:04:16* *And right now they're currently sitting in that final playoff spot in a South.So it's going to be, I would definitely say they're in the best.They if any of those teams were to control, was in the best spot, they controlled their own destiny.Is that it?It would definitely be South Portland with one, they're already there and two, they got the easiest schedule out of the remaining four teams in a South.* ### *1:04:41* *OK, so let's move over to B.I have a quick programming note or a note from AB assistant coach that I got during the Levitt Gardner game.Let the algorithm know we are so, so banged up.* ### *1:04:59* *So I, I love it when coaches just send me stuff like that.Like I love when coaches are looking at the rankings and they're like, either they're mad about how low they are or my favorite is when.* ### *1:05:16* *They're way too high, man.Way too.High we're not this good or when they're they're like, here's the reason why we are struggling for this.And I feel like it's safe to share that because so, so banged up is it's football.* ### *1:05:33* *You're people get banged up.It's it is what it is.You can only play with the guys who can get on the field.So Falmouth lost this week to Marshwood, 33 to 28.They've had a bunch of close games like their losses are.* ### *1:05:49* *I don't think there's a bad loss in there.You know, they're not dominating like last year because they're so, so banged up.They're 3:00 and 3:00.They have a loss. 14 to 10 to Kennebunk, 28 to 21° at Greeley and then Marshwood 33 to 28.* ### *1:06:08* *So and then their wins have been pretty dominant.The what?This win week two win against Westbrook is looking a lot better than it did then 26 to 7, Gorham 41 to 17 and then Biddeford 38.Nothing.So let me ask you this Ethan, assuming Falmouth gets less banged up, can they repeat?* ### *1:06:30* *And well, I guess they wouldn't be repeating in BS.Can they win B?South, I think it's.Definitely.It's definitely a really good possibility.And the biggest thing is going to be can they get healthy in time?That's the that's the big question for that.* ### *1:06:47* *Can they get healthy in time?And I'm looking at the you just you just went down there.All three of their losses all have been by 1 score and all have been to really good opponents.And two of those and two of them are in their Division, One of them Class C but and one of them a one of the top teams in Class C right now will get there.* ### *1:07:10* *But I definitely, oh, we'll.Get to We'll definitely get to Greeley.Falmouth isn't.Falmouth shouldn't be stressing too much.I mean, I look at the what they got left Freiburg and they finished off the season with Shevris, who sits right above them, and Shevris and you, those two teams last year, it was a low scoring game.* ### *1:07:29* *It was a very low scoring game between Falmouth and Shepherds.So it's going to be it'll be an interesting end of the end of the final stretch for Falmouth.But if they can get themselves healthy, I'd say they're I'd say they get just as good of a chance as Kennebunk and just as good of a chance as Westbrook or Marsh Water.* ### *1:07:48* *Any of those top four teams right now, they've got just as good of a chance as any of them.They can get healthy.And Westbrook had one of the surprise wins of the season, not of the week, rather.Not that they won because they're 5:00 and 1:00 and it's never a huge surprise when a five and one team wins.* ### *1:08:06* *But they shut out Kennebunk.I think it was 20 to nothing.And that was what game was I at, whatever game I was at when that happened, that was the one where people were showing each other their phones and going, what's happening here?* ### *1:08:24* *Because Kennebunk had had been undefeated, had been really cruising along.But what I heard was that there was Westbrook got a couple short fields and then Kennebunk had trouble getting going and playing catch up.So for whatever that's worth.* ### *1:08:42* *But yeah, Kennebunk 5 and 1, Westbrook 5 and 1, Marshwood and Shevers both four and two, Falmouth three and three.And I think we can write off Biddeford and Quorum.We can start getting ready for basketball season, so, but that is, well, actually one of those teams is going to have to play a playoff game.* ### *1:09:00* *Is it tops?Is so is it top 6?One of Biddeford and Gorham it's top 6 so there's two buys so but I don't think it would probably be hard for Falmouth to get the buy.* ### *1:09:17* *Let's assume Kennebunk and Westbrook get the buys, although Marsh Marshwit's pretty close.So then it's a question of what side of the bracket do you want to be on and all that.But yeah, that's somebody's going to be a sacrificial lamb at six.* ### *1:09:33* *So you if you're not going to get the buy, you definitely want to get to 3 here if you can get to 3 because it's a much easier.First round game, I would much rather get what will be most likely A2 win team at the 60 because good for Gore and play each other this week.* ### *1:09:49* *So that's most that's going to be a two win team at the six seed, most likely A2A2 win team at the six seed.I'd rather as a three seed.I would much rather get that at home, whereas I got to play A and then and then if I was, if I was, and I guess in that case it'll be Westbrook.* ### *1:10:07* *I would much rather that would be the West.The match up I would rather get is whoever win that 6 Three most likely would be the three.No disrespect to anybody of course, but but also I think I think the right now Shepherds, Falmouth and then the winner would go to winner would go to Kennebunk.* ### *1:10:23* *That might be like the gauntlet side of the bracket right now, as if obviously the playoffs would start to waste a lot of time left.But to me that'd be like the gauntlet side of the bracket.Kennebunk.Kennebunk who beat it took overtime to beat Shepherds a few weeks back.And then you throw in Falmouth, who as we just talked about, if they could get healthy at the right time, I'd say they're just as, yeah, you're not going to want them if they're healthy.* ### *1:10:46* *Team peeking at the right, peeking at the right time, right at the start of the postseason, these S very well could shape up to be anybody.Could anybody in that top four or five could step up and win that region?Yeah, yeah, You could talk me to any into anyone in the top five winning that whole thing.* ### *1:11:05* *If it's all and it might just be about matchups, it might be about who's healthy, you know, and it's football.It's, you know, we've, I think forget it sometimes that you get a you get a penalty in the wrong spot, the ball bounces the wrong way, 7 points, you know, 14 points swing.* ### *1:11:24* *It's not like basketball where you have, you know, two or three bad plays don't doom you.All right, so let's look at being North Coney has been incredible.I there's no other way to put it.And I would just, I, you know, I feel bad for Rob Kennedy because he was very high on this idea of Coney and Gardner being 7 and O and playing in, I think we were calling it the Rob Kennedy Bowl in the final week of the season, but Gardner lost to Levitt.* ### *1:11:55* *And so the dream of the Rob Kennedy Bowl is no more.But Coney has been incredible.Parker Moran's making a case.I think he's making a case for the Fitzpatrick.I, I don't think that's an outlandish statement.I think I don't.* ### *1:12:13* *So I kind of came into the season thinking it was going to be Cordell Jones, because if you win Gatorade player of the year as a junior, you're almost definitely going to win.I think Fitzpatrick, Mr. Basketball, whatever it is, you're the overwhelming favorite.But I think he's I, I think that's up for debate now.* ### *1:12:31* *I think it's it's an open, it's an open contest.No, he's making, Yeah, he's making a case for sure.And I've obviously I've I'm just recently getting back to the game this season.So I haven't seen, I haven't seen AI don't I haven't seen enough talent to really like name off.* ### *1:12:48* *Like I'm just based on the people that I know what I've seen.If I would have picked 3 finalists right now, it would be Cordell Jones on Parker Moran.And I'll throw in Wescillant too, just because of the amount of times that I've seen him, you know, over the years.And then obviously 7 touchdown performance this past weekend.* ### *1:13:03* *That's that's nothing to scoff at.And obviously we know that eight man player, eight man players are good enough to get that kind of recognition.We saw Riley Provencher being finalists last year.So like that's, but that's just me and nobody, nobody came after me.* ### *1:13:19* *That's just based on players I've seen in the past, players I've seen in the past and what I've seen just recently.And again, that was my first football game this year.So I've been out of the loop a little bit guys, so.We're going to put your e-mail address up on the screen.* ### *1:13:36* *Your phone number I I think Connor Ayub is probably.I don't even know if he's a senior.Do I have a program here?I don't, but he's had a big year.Trey Walker from Falmouth.* ### *1:13:51* *I think you've got to have some if they can finish strong.The quarterback for Greeley's been really good.I mean, there's a, there's a lot of options, yeah.But I think it's an open debate and I, I would have trouble imagining Parker Martin not being a finalist if the vote was today.* ### *1:14:10* *I also don't know when the vote is.It might have, it might have already voted cause like with Mr. Basketball, where they vote ridiculously early and, and we miss out think, you know, obvious candidates like the kid from Falmouth whose name has escaped me.* ### *1:14:31* *Yeah, OK.So Coney is sitting at six and O Freiburg's four and two, Mesos 3 and 3, Lawrence's three and three.They just, I think they just had a big win, Lawrence.Freiburg.They beat Freiburg over somebody?Yep, Freiburg.* ### *1:14:48* *And it was a huge shootout too. 4735 That's a high scoring game in Freiburg, mind you.That is a high scoring game.And then we've got Skowhegan, Mount Blue and Brunswick all at 1:00 and 5:00.* ### *1:15:04* *So I mean two of those teams are getting in, two of Skowhegan and Mount Blue.So the path, like you mentioned earlier, the path in the north is way easier than the path in the South.The South is like a murderer's row and the North, you know, if you're Coney and you get you're going to get the winner of the 4-5 of Lawrence and whoever of those one in five teams, let's say, gets out of there.* ### *1:15:34* *And then you've got the winner of Freiburg and Meso.That's that's a lot more favorable than if you're Kennebunk and you've got to get the winner of Chevre's Falmouth and then the winner of Westbrook.Yeah, it most certainly is a lot more yeah.* ### *1:15:52* *You mentioned the path, the path for either of those top four teams is going to be easier.You're going to have Meselonski who'll get scout Heegan.They just beat him.They beat him this early this season already in the off Lawrence who the schedule right now they have they've also they beat mountain blue as well this year.* ### *1:16:13* *So so it's going to be the BN is going to be decided most likely in most likely in those and once the semi final, once the semi finals are set, you're going to have a really good idea of I mean, we already know Kony is Kony has put it together big time this season to coach BL Lippert and crew have really put it together this year.* ### *1:16:38* *We knew they were right on the door stay.They've been right on the doorstep recently and they've taken that step this year and they've looked really, really good.Freiburg, defending champions and C, they lost.They had a lot of senior talent last year that they graduated, so it's obviously taking a little bit of a step back.* ### *1:16:54* *They're in a new, not only in a new class, but they're in a new region as well.Freiburg being in the north region is still a little, it's taking me aback a little bit.Just don't.Usually Freiburg and N don't go together, but that's not here nor there.But and then they'll throw in Meselowski, Lawrence.* ### *1:17:12* *So Tony Meso and Lawrence obviously there's a long standing history between those three programs are all geographically close to each other.They always.And so you know, there's a rivalry between all three of them, Lawrence and Tony especially, and those two play.Those two have a game coming out pretty soon.* ### *1:17:28* *Yeah, this week, this week, this Friday night, 17th is when they play.So.What, what's crazy about Class BN is there's only two teams with a positive scoring differential, and that's Coney and Lawrence freiburg's -2 Mesos negative.* ### *1:17:48* *Jeez, that's 64.Wow.As a that three and three, they're they've scored 135, they've allowed 199 and then the bottom three teams are all obviously.Negative differentials let's see the yeah, 47 to County, 48 to Chevrus and 30 and 37 to Freiburg.* ### *1:18:10* *Yeah, that will most certainly do it.Yeah, that would Yeah, that's that explains why they're scored.That's that explains that score differential, but.So let me ask you this should be go region free and do the one class thing.* ### *1:18:29* *Man I think I think it's not AI honestly.Should everyone do it?Pro like, no regions.I know I don't think it would ever happen across the state just because there's a lot of schools that really like being in regions.But I think it would be really, really good for the sport of football to go to a statewide, go to statewide divisions at All in all classes.* ### *1:18:54* *And you really let the best of the best rise to the top when the when the time comes.It's not like these.Teams are traveled.No, no, you can throw the travel.Everybody's traveling a lot.The travel argument hasn't been relevant for four or five years now.* ### *1:19:13* *Ever such teams stopped really scheduling in their region or conference or whatever it is, you know, and you're seeing it in other sports now too.Help George Stevens.And not to go off on a tangent, but George Stevens Academy played 4K twice in soccer this year.* ### *1:19:28* *Just to give you an idea of throw, just to give you an idea of how like the, how the travel, you could throw the travel argument out the window.So like if anybody brings up travel like it's, it's irrelevant at this point in my opinion.Travel's trickier for soccer because the games are at like 4:00 in the afternoon or 5:00 in the afternoon and not 7:00 at night.* ### *1:19:52* *And so you're, if you're going to do that during the week, you know, then you you're out of school way more than if you would be for basketball.And I know they usually do it on the weekends, the long trips, but you know what I mean?OK, so let's go to C Which one single region?* ### *1:20:12* *10 teams get in, 13 teams in the region.I'm just going to write off Oceanside and Hamden right now.They're both O and 6:00.They have both given up way more points than they have scored.* ### *1:20:29* *I don't know that any of them.They've had a competitive game yet.I don't think they have.Not really, and not, well, they Oceanside game, Nokoma's game and Oak Hill actually, so maybe they're starting to figure it out the last two games.* ### *1:20:53* *So this week I saw three Class C games, pure Class C games, no crossover stuff.And I at in some ways I have a better sense of the region and other ways I do not.* ### *1:21:09* *And I'm more confused than I was at the beginning of it.So let's start with Greeley.I think people are sleeping on like, I don't know, I'm not, I'd never played football.I didn't coach football.I've watched a lot of football.I think going 6 and O in Class C against a pretty hard schedule in your first year of going from 8:00 man to 11.* ### *1:21:33* *Man certainly is impressive.I mean, it's like, and again, I'm not, I'm not a coach.I didn't play, I didn't do that transition.But going from a game of eight minute football.And mind you, for people who don't know, really didn't have a football program a couple of years ago, they had to Co-op with Falmouth if they wanted to play football.* ### *1:21:52* *You went to Greeley, you want to play football, you Co-op with Falmouth.So the fact that the fact that they've gone from no program whatsoever to state champion and eight man and now you're state champion caliber and class C11 man in the in the handful of years.* ### *1:22:09* *Hats off to the folks in hats off to the folks in Cumberland, because that's that's a great story to see.And I was I was fortunate to be able to broadcast the Greeley's both the eight man games last year, the eight man State Games last year.Just seeing Greeley and just seeing how really handled themselves prepared and all that before that game I was and they're roster sized too.* ### *1:22:34* *I'm just like this team.This team could be successful in 11 man football and I'm so glad to see that they made that jump this season.And lo and behold, not only are they a successful program, they're they're state championship favorite classy this year.* ### *1:22:52* *I mean that's they have to be the favorite and I don't.Think they have seen?Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I don't think we've seen a team that was in the eight man won a state title in eight man and then immediately the following year be still be a state championship contender.* ### *1:23:10* *I don't know if I don't I off the top of my head, I can't remember.I don't believe so.There's only been a few.There's only, I mean, there's been a few more programs now, but every single program that I could think of, I think there's only been one that's actually won a state title and gone back to 11 man that was Shepherds.* ### *1:23:29* *But there's been other programs that jumped back to 11 man football and are still trying, are still getting figured, things figured out.Really, they didn't need a transition period.There they are.Here they are getting it.You know, they figured it out.There's more.The field is bigger, there's more players on the field.* ### *1:23:46* *This time around, you got to put more.You have to put more emphasis in your lineman and your offensive and defensive lines than you do in eight man football.There's so many things that you have to do as a program to make that adjustment.And Greeley has got it to a tee.Here they are sitting undefeated against Levitt, who's had.* ### *1:24:05* *Yeah, Levitt, who everybody know how knows how good Levitt has been in the past few years.Falmouth, the reigning B champions, Foxcroft, who dominated class DN for years and Wells, the two time defending Class D state champions.So that's not a that's a very tough schedule.* ### *1:24:23* *And look at what they got left-handed.They got handed in Oceanside left.So Greeley really good chance for Greeley to finish their first year back in 11 man unbeaten.That's that's incredible.So I went to the wells game and they dominated the first half and because of 1 bad interception in on their own 8 yard line which is not the place you want to throw an interception.* ### *1:24:54* *They're down 14 to 7 to Wells with like a minute left and 1/2, and I'm sitting there or standing there on the sideline going, they should be up 21 to nothing in this game.And that's the sort of game where you think, OK, this might be the end because you need to catch breaks, you know, in a football game.* ### *1:25:13* *So then they throw a deep ball to the quarterback's name.I think it's Luke Piper.I don't know.I'm going to screw that up.He's looked really good in both games I've seen them play.So apologies for getting your name potentially wrong.* ### *1:25:29* *So he throws a deep ball to Benjamin Kyles.This one, I know Kyles gets absolutely mauled on the play, like the easiest pass interference call you will ever make in your life.And he caught the damn ball.Like I'm filming it on my iPhone and I'm like, well, that's an easy call.* ### *1:25:50* *And then he pops up and he's got the ball and he spikes it and the ref throws up his arms for the touchdown.I was like, Oh my God, he caught that.Wow.And that was, I mean, they just rolled from there and they just and they ended up winning something like 35 to 14.* ### *1:26:10* *And you know, no, not to anything bad about Wells, but they were clearly the better team on Friday.Night and like you mentioned, sometimes it just takes one, it just takes one single break, one single play, one single moment to really change the whole momentum of a game.* ### *1:26:28* *And that just so happened to be it for Greeley and just to I pulled up my chart from last year's state game and I you are correct, Luke, Luke Piper, you didn't get that.You did get that correct.I typed it enough you'd think I would have figured it out by now.* ### *1:26:45* *Although I've started doing this thing, this is very inside baseball because this started because I kept spelling Jayden Ruiz wrong because there's 2 is in Jayden Ruiz, it's 2 double is.And you know, if you're typing real fast, you miss that sort of thing and you don't want to spell a kid's name wrong.* ### *1:27:01* *So I started doing the text replacement thing on my phone where I just put in an abbreviation for a kid, so like Luke Piper's LP, and then it just pulls out his whole name.You know, TA is Thornton Academy, and I can't believe it took me this long to figure that out, but it's been very helpful.* ### *1:27:23* *I just load up the quarterback each game, you know, and cause most of the time it's you're gonna be typing in and because otherwise you're fumbling for this roster and unless you're Michael Hoffer and you've got it memorized and it's the whole thing.So anyway, so the other game I saw and the picture behind me is from Levitt.* ### *1:27:44* *I went to Levitt.Gardner and Levitt dominated that game.Like just absolutely dominated.You know, I wrote in the newsletter, they were down, they were up 12, nothing on Gardner.And it's one of those games where you're like, Gardner definitely needs a break.* ### *1:28:00* *And they got the absolute opposite of a break in one of the worst calls I've seen all year of an obvious incomplete pass that turns into a fumble and A and a fumble recovery for six.And then it's 20 to nothing.And that kind of took the air out of Gardner's sales, I think a little bit and Levitt just ran away with it.* ### *1:28:20* *But you know, let the Levitt I've seen, gosh, I've seen them two weeks in a row now.No, I've seen, I saw them at Madomic and I saw them two weeks ago and I saw them home against Gardner.* ### *1:28:36* *And then I saw them Greeley early in the year.And the team I saw against Gardner is considerably better than the team I saw against Greeley.But also the Greeley team I saw was considerably better than the team I saw against Leavitt, which is just evidence that they have good coaches.* ### *1:28:54* *I guess that whole rant, but let's not sleep.On Herman not I mean.Herman's given up 44 points.I'm looking at Herman's schedule as well.And no, they got wins over Foxcroft and Wells.So your who were your two finalists in Class D the past two years?* ### *1:29:11* *And then throw in yeah.How'd you start with Fox?To start.With the Wells to start the season, I mean, that's just the you couldn't have, you can't ask for a tougher way to start the year.And in their first two games, they beat Foxcroft by 20 and the game against Wells was closer 22 to 16.* ### *1:29:29* *But I mean, that's a you come out you you start off the season 2.And oh, after wins against those two programs who were just dominated Class D for the past several years, and you knew Herman, I mean, you do after last year, Herman wasn't just going to go away, but they still be unbeaten with two games left.* ### *1:29:47* *That's a that's just going to show you how well, not only has Herman built a really good program and a very short, because Herman's football program hasn't been around that long either.They've built it to the top and they're still staying at the top.And again that just gives huge shout out to the folks that are I mean both at the youth level and through the all different levels all the way to that varsity level for maintaining really good positive program up there.* ### *1:30:17* *I think it was the Bangor Daily News had an article on.There was.It was it the BDN?I think it was OK.Yeah.So then you got so in the so you got Greeley at six and O Herman at six and O Gardner at 5:00 and 1:00.* ### *1:30:33* *Not going to go undefeated for Rob Kennedy, sadly.Then you've got Levitt, which the four seed that nobody wants to play at to it at four and two.Nikomis is 4 and 2.They're in 5th.* ### *1:30:49* *That's kind of a surprise.And how are they there?Their point differential isn't very good.See, they beat York, they beat Brewer, they beat Oceanside, they beat Old Town.That's kind of a soft schedule.* ### *1:31:05* *So that means they're going to finish with Herman and Madomic.So that's a not a funny.Especially with Herman that the way that they've been rolling recently.So it's going to be tough way to tough way to end the year for Nakomis.* ### *1:31:21* *I mean, again, like I said earlier, you play these games on turf.There's a reason why you play them on the field.You don't base them off the stats on the paper in front of you.But it's going to be Nakomis is going to have to come out and they're going to have to play their best football for eight straight quarters if you don't have to say.* ### *1:31:39* *Are they going to have to?They're going to have to win I believe one of those games to hang on to a buy.Does the top 6 get a buy?They did.They have to win them both.I think if they win them both it's a lot.No, they don't have to win them both.I think you got to take you got definitely have to take one of two, one of two, one of your last two if you want to hold on to that five at least that number 5 spot and see could you send top 6?* ### *1:32:03* *Is it top six get a buy So does every top 6.So what is it?Is it just the top ten?Make it top ten.OK, All right, perfect.Top ten make it.Yeah.So then you've got sitting in 7th is Foxcroft.* ### *1:32:19* *They've got Gardner and Brewer left.So Gardner will be tough.Brewer has lost started 2 and O and they've lost four straight.So the wheels are kind of jeez, Brewer hasn't scored in three weeks.* ### *1:32:38* *Yeah, OK, that's not great.And then you've got Madomic threatening at 8th.Madomic just blew out York.You know my completely non biased opinion of madomic Valley sports of all kind.* ### *1:33:00* *The case I'll make for Madomic is they are not.Nobody's at full strength, but they've got Jayden Ruiz back and he seems to be at full strength now.He had five touchdowns against York.He had that hand injury where he had multiple stitches kind of and the stitches came out right before the Nokomis game.* ### *1:33:21* *And you know, it's, it's getting back in a groove.It's you got to get back in game shape, all that stuff.I, I just mentioned the stitches.I have first hand experience with the stitches.I got stitches in this.Finger.Right here, I don't know if you can see it.* ### *1:33:38* *It's all it's all gnarly.It's, you know, I broke a plate trying to do the dishes and needed like 7 stitches and in the middle of basketball season to like right after a Red Claws game we saw Taco Fall play.That was fun, but I needed like 7 or 8 stitches.* ### *1:33:55* *And so I got this big thing on my hand and I can't.It's like trying to use the iPad to do games and, and like I couldn't run for 2-3 weeks.I think it was because when you run, it's pulling at the stitches, just the movement of swinging your arms.* ### *1:34:11* *And so I'm imagining if I were an actual athlete and not just someone who runs five KS every so often, that it would be pretty hard to stay in any sort of game shape with that sort of an injury.And it would be a thing you wouldn't think of until someone says, how are you going to run with a bunch of stitches in your hand?* ### *1:34:30* *And you go, oh, yeah, OK, that would that would be difficult.So what I'm just saying is that I wouldn't bet against Madomic.Who did they finish with, Oceanside and Nokomis.I would not be surprised at all if they ran the table and finished five and three.* ### *1:34:48* *And does 5 and three get you to the six seed?If you're beating Nokomis, you'd have to vault Foxcroft.So you would need Foxcroft to lose to Gardner probably.Yeah, you'd you'd need Foxcroft to lose 1 of their last two and it would most likely be to Gardner.* ### *1:35:08* *They finished with Brewer and which we just mentioned Brewers had a hard time finding the end zone the past three weeks.So I think yeah.And you'd have to vault well and.You'd have to vault wells too I guess.York and Old Town left, so it's going to be the Adamic, yeah.* ### *1:35:26* *That'd be tricky to.Get they might be they'd have to get a lot of help to get the six they would need not as much help to get to that seven seed.And then you would get a, you would get arguably a little bit of a better match up in that 710, whether 710 rather than the 8-9, which would be right now would be Old Town based on the stuff that I'm looking at.* ### *1:35:49* *And it would put you on and it would put them on Herman's side of the bracket, their old rival who they have played in the playoffs, I think the last four years.Well, it's funny because when I had Ryan Snell on the on the podcast, he was, he was talking about how it was kind of kind of a bummer that they didn't have Herman on their schedule this year.* ### *1:36:09* *And you know, maybe they play him in the playoffs, but I don't think he was.Hoping the the first the first round.In that scenario, yeah, I think he was hoping for maybe a like a regional final or something like that.But you know, you you play the games when they come up.* ### *1:36:28* *Is there any boy?Yeah, Wells is good.Wells is 3 and three.And I think they've been close games.Yeah.They lost to Herman by 6.They lost to Gardner by two.I was at that game.That was a really good game.* ### *1:36:44* *And then Greeley, they lost to Greeley 35 to 14.So I think Wells is probably a top 6IN that region or that class.I think if I had to hot take it, I'd say Nokomis falls out of the top six and then either then Wells replaces them and then it's a question of Foxcroft and madomic for the six seed.* ### *1:37:11* *If I had to, if I was a betting man, which you know, I, I would never bet on anything.Yeah, I think that's definitely it's definitely a that that would definitely be a certainly a Safeway to go Just based on who which of these teams in the middle of the pack here have left, I would say, but Dominic Madomic and Wells have the best chances to move up a spot or two.* ### *1:37:36* *The comas is Nick Thomas is going to need they're going to be playing their best football in the final two weeks if they want to maintain that a top six spot and not have to play a prelim game start.So if this just for for fun, so on the site I also calculate heels for football.* ### *1:38:01* *So the heels for football for Class C goes Greeley, Herman Gardner 11 at 4, Wells is 5.When we do it by heel points, Nokomis is 6, then Foxcroft is 7 and Madomic is 8 and then Old Town and York are 9 and 10.* ### *1:38:17* *So it's a little different when you look at the heels and I think.Yeah, it definitely does reflect it.Of course, when you I mean schedule, I mean schedule plays an important part, no matter which formula you use with Crabtree or the heel points.But in but both, both bring out a different, you know, different aspect to your scheduling.* ### *1:38:37* *Like with the heels, the more games you the more good teams should be.The you know, the more good teams should be, the better your heel point ranking.Whereas with the Crabtree, doesn't really matter who you beat.It's it, right?You got to beat somebody that gets your winning percentage off and that's all that match when it goes to the Crabtree standings.* ### *1:39:00* *This is all it's struck me is very much my version of Bill Simmons, trying to talk him into Jayson Tatum coming back after the All Star break.It's like it's like, well, which I've also been doing, you know, going what if they could get the sixth seed and Tatum could come back and be full strength for the playoffs?* ### *1:39:21* *That's not nothing in a in a week Eastern Conference, right?Is that a thing?And I think it is a thing, but this is the main high school football version of that.All right, let's move on to D We'll finish up with D because this is already an hour and a half long, not counting the introduction I already recorded and then I have not yet recorded.* ### *1:39:45* *All right, D OK.What do we got here?Over in the South, we got Winthrop at six and O, we got Diergo, Oak Hill, Freeport, all at 4:00 and 2:00.Then Poland, 3 and 3.Morse is 2 and four.How many get in?Six, get in.I think that's your 6.* ### *1:40:01* *Because Lisbon.Is 1 and five, and Mountain Valley is only 6.After the reclassification this past year, so for any of the remaining teams that are still in Class D, they got to be saying thank goodness that we do not.In the South, we don't have to deal with Wells and in the North we don't have to deal with Fox Craft because they they're all, they've all got to be thrilled about that.* ### *1:40:22* *And I think.They've got.Especially looking at DS right now, of course.Winthrop, the Winthrop, Montmouth, Halldale.Yeah, 32 points allowed. 32 points allowed.They've been.Right, they've been the bridesmaid in DS of the past several years now. 2 Wells and to be able now they're now them as a program, they got to be thinking, man, this is our year that we're going to be able to take that next step and we're going to get a we are in a really good spot to go play for a gold ball in November.* ### *1:40:52* *But with, but you look at the, of course, you look at the rest of Class D, you know, that puts, that puts a lot of pressure on him at the same time because you have all these other teams here like deer ago, they were an 8 man not long ago.Oak Hill, it's been a little while.* ### *1:41:09* *Freeport has been had an up and down history as of recently.And then Poland, yeah, an up and down year for Freeport as well.And up and down.Year they beat Mountain Valley, they beat madomic Lisbon, Miranda Cook and then losses to Winslow and Oak Hill.So it's and then you look at Morse, they were an 8 man not too terribly long ago and then Poland.* ### *1:41:29* *So it's you get a lot of teams there that are kind of, you know, kind of in a unfamiliar position.So to say with the with the with the way DS has re stacked itself.So you're going to see, I think come playoff time, come playoff time, this could be very interesting.* ### *1:41:49* *And I do go back to your main point.The top six we got right now is probably what we're going to get here in a few weeks.So it's going to be, you know, Morris goes to Oak Hill pole and goes to Freeport and then Diego winter up probably be but that would be your bias right now.* ### *1:42:05* *Obviously there could be a lot of change you could throw.Obviously you throw 2-3 and four right now under a blanket for that two seed for the, for the for the two seed in the first round by.So that's going to get really no, you do not.And you really don't want the four seed.* ### *1:42:26* *Yeah.You really want to be the two.I think you really want to be the 2 here.Yeah.All right, let's move to D We'll wrap DN.We'll wrap this up.Baps is 6 and O, they blew out Winslow earlier this year, who's 5 and 1.Madison's five and one.* ### *1:42:42* *MC is 2 and four.Miranda Cook AKA not Lake Region is 1 and 5.Don't worry, we'll use an AI and every time you say Miranda Cook we'll just this replace it with a lake region.Matt Nachook, 2 and four and.* ### *1:42:58* *Belfast is getting ready.Indeed, they are in season.But they they have a promising basketball team in the head, so that's just a bad for them.John Babs kind of in the similar spot that Winthrop has been in.They've been the bridesmaid to Foxcroft the past several years.* ### *1:43:14* *And now they have really taken the step up to give them chances to give themselves a chance to really shine and take that next step and go play for a goal ball in November.And you know, I'm looking at the rest of the schedule right here.They blew out Winslow.They get they beat the Madison Kerabak Valley Co-op.* ### *1:43:34* *So I'm looking at this right now and obviously on paper it looks like John Mapp's reaching to win.But obviously you got to factor in injuries, other teams peaking at the right time.So it's John Mapp's may be the favorite right now, but that just puts more pressure on them as the season begins to wind down.* ### *1:43:53* *That could leaves plenty of room for Miranda, Cook, Matt and O'COOK or MCI to really step in and kind of be that spoiler.And for Winslow and Madison, it's going to be a neck and neck battle for that number two seed, because right now you throw them two under a blanket for #2.* ### *1:44:16* *And this is a little similar to B South in or BN in that only three of the seven teams have a positive scoring differential in Baps, Winslow and Madison.And MCI is sitting in the four seed and they're -133.* ### *1:44:35* *Let's see, yeah.Yeah, and they'll get a home prelim, a home quarter final and if if it shakes, I you know, I mean they're not passing Madison.So somebody who's got a very. -1 just looking at their scores right now, Yeah, 5460, 5963, yeah, yeah, that'll certainly do it.* ### *1:45:00* *They have given up 285 points on the year.So if your offense is struggling, go to MCI, go hang out with Stax, play some video games and.Go score some.Points go.Score some points.All right.* ### *1:45:18* *Do you want to make a?Do you want to make a prediction on class D?Because it looks like it.Looks like you can see the state.It looks like it's going to be Baps and winter up.And I think just looking at there's only I haven't seen either team in person yet this year, but I just looking at this, just look at the schedule and I'm just looking real quick at what batch has scored for points.* ### *1:45:43* *OK, Batch has scored a lot of points this year and I'm looking to see that we go back to DS real quick just to see what what's been putting up for points and they've So what the. 205.Versus 32 obviously right now on on paper, I think it would be it would be certainly be a pretty I think that'd be a very entertaining state championship game.* ### *1:46:08* *And I think I would lean to war.And this might just might be recently bias or exposure bias, whatever you want to call it.I'd probably lean towards winter up just on the fact that it seemed, you know, the South, the pattern in Maine has been the South teams have always had the better programs.* ### *1:46:25* *And that's no disrespect to the northern programs whatsoever.It's just that's the pattern it's been.And I'm so I'm just I'm just, I guess, used to just leaning towards the South team.So I think it would be winter up.It would be close, but I think winter up would get it.Winthrop is higher in the power rankings if that helps you any.* ### *1:46:48* *They're. 16th and BAPS is 21st, so they're pretty close.Yeah.They're like, what is that, like 3 1/2 points apart in the Dirigo number?So that probably the pick would depend on who's at home, probably close enough for that.* ### *1:47:15* *All right, well, this has been very long, but very helpful, very informative.Ethan, where I have one more question for you.OK, So before I have one more question for you, but I just completely spaced out.* ### *1:47:33* *All right, So for asking my question, where can people find you?What game are you doing this week?For I am going back down to old Orange Beach Friday night.I'm doing Stockman Valley and Old Orchard girls soccer under the lights Friday night on WHOU dot live and Saturday still not confirmed, but I'm really sure I'm confident it's going to happen.* ### *1:47:52* *Amy's spent Amy and everybody at Chevre's has been just as good for us.We'll have Shevrus and Westbrook from Deering Memorial Field Saturday afternoon at 1:15.They've, I don't know if you've heard, but Shevrus has been playing their home games at Deering because Bullo Stadium is getting turf turf down.* ### *1:48:11* *So it should be should be fun, should be really spice up the Shevrus, the Shevrus, the Shevrus facilities down there.Not that they needed it.It's always already a beautiful facility, but it's going to be a lot better for those athletes in the near future.* ### *1:48:27* *So looking forward to this weekend and yeah, ready, ready to get back into it full time all.Right.And so final question, while you were on your vision quest, did you come up with anything revolutionary that the MPA should change?* ### *1:48:49* *MPA needs, I would say, I don't know if this would be, I don't know if this is revolutionary, but there needs to be.I would say come tournament time, this is probably never happened, but tournament time instead of tournaments by class, we take the top 64 teams in the state using your rankings and we do and we do.* ### *1:49:11* *And we do a super tournament, boys and girls.We do a, we do a big super tournament.We see them based on your formula.First two first two rounds are at the higher seed, then we do, then we do the and then sweet 1616 in Bangor Elite 8IN Portland Final Four and Championship and Augusta and Augusta.* ### *1:49:36* *You wouldn't spread them out.OK.I love it.I love it.That's a great idea.From your lips to Mike Burnham's ears.Hey, thank you.Thanks for doing this.* ### *1:49:53* *And just one, one quick thing for everybody listening out there.Take care of your mental health because ultimately that's the most important, that's most should be the most important thing on the minds for everybody, whether you're a parent, you're a fan, you're an athlete.I guess if you're a parent, especially, you know, make sure, you know, keep it.* ### *1:50:12* *Just keep an eye on the mental healthier of your athletes, your children, your students, because that's super and your and yourself because that and yourself without without goods, maintenance of your mental health, nothing else matters.So take care.* ### *1:50:29* *Take care of yourselves mentally, people.That's all.That's that's how I wrap.That's how we wrap this up.Preach.All right, I'm ending the recording.* ### *1:50:45* *OK, that's the show.Thanks again to Ethan Snow for for joining me.Always fun to talk to him.Yes, mental health.Very important mental health.I have had mental health issues myself.They're not fun.Not to be trifled with.Take care of your stuff.I'm not going to change the background or anything, but Quick Movie Corner, Diane Keaton died this weekend.* ### *1:51:05* *I found this out today.I missed it because I was at AI, was at a football game and I completely didn't hear about it.Diane Keaton was awesome.If you kids, if you don't know Diane Keaton, she was the best, one of the great actresses in the history of film.* ### *1:51:22* *I know it's very unpopular to watch Woody Allen movies, but the early Woody Allen movies she did are amazing and she's amazing in them.She's of course a critical part of Godfather and The Godfather Part 2, which are two classics, and everything she's in is amazing.* ### *1:51:37* *And everything I've heard about her from people is that she was an absolute delight in real life.So rest in peace to one of the greats.Go watch Annie Hall.Annie Hall is stunning, and you might separate the art from the artist, but it's such a good movie.* ### *1:51:56* *It's just so good.Yeah.All right, that's going to do it.This has been a production of Maine basketballrankings.com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball from Ashland to York and everywhere in between.This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts and a bunch of places you don't.* ### *1:52:14* *If you enjoy this, please leave a nice review because it really does help out with algorithms.Tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell your rivals.Thanks for listening.Oh, and votedexter.com Vote early, vote often.* ### A Short Tour of Class C URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/a-short-tour-of-class-c/ Last updated: 2025-10-13T10:53:31.000Z The story of the football season thus far has been Class C. With the move to a state-wide, region-free class and the addition of several quality programs, Class C is deep and loaded with good teams. So this weekend (kind of by accident), I hit 3 games with playoff implications. First up: Wells at Greely. These are two new programs to the region and both defending champions. Greely won the 8-man Large School title and Wells won D. They entered the game 6th and 7th in the Power Rankings, making it the Game of the Week. Greely controlled things early, but Wells got a couple of breaks. First, a [circus catch](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1098485982444535) to keep a drive alive, then an interception on Greely's 8 yard line and Wells had a lead. Then at the end of the half, Greely's Ben Kyles fought through a DPI for an incredible catch to tie the game. You can see it at the end of this short summary of his day. From there, it was all Greely. QB Luke Piper took over, throwing for 3 touchdowns, running for 2 more, and coming up with a clutch interception to shut the door on a late Wells drive. Greely scored 27 unanswered to defeat Wells 35-14 and move to 6-0\. After the game, I spoke to Greely coach Caleb King. --- If you haven't yet, please subscribe to the [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ04-c%5FzyuWSmpj6mfQskbQ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). I'm trying to do more video (podcasts, clips, etc.) and if I can get to 1,000 subscribers, I can unlock YouTube monetization and that makes it a lot easier to justify going to, say, Cumberland on a Friday night. Plus, it's free and it takes money away from one of the big tech companies that are ruining everything. [Subscribe to YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Saturday, I made the short trip to Medomak Valley to watch a rematch of the B South Regional Final between two 20-0 teams in Medomak and York. Football season hasn't gone as well for these teams. York didn't score until week 3, but had shown signs of life against Foxcroft and finally broke through last week with a win over Brewer. Medomak had struggled in the last two weeks against Leavitt and Gardiner, failing to score more than 10 points in either game and had fallen to 11th in the Crabtree (10 get in). The story of this one was Jaydiin Ruiz. The sophomore running back missed the first 3 games of the season with a hand injury that required stitches and this was the first game he's looked like his old self. He had 5 touchdowns on the ground and Medomak rolled to a 40-14 win to move to 3-3\. --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **Speaking of Gardiner and Leavitt, I went directly to Turner for that matchup.** **You know, sometimes a game starts badly and it's a fluke.** **0:00** **/0:05** **1×** **Sometimes it's an indicator that today isn't your day.** **Leavitt came out hot and Gardiner couldn't get anything going early. Down 12-0, they needed the [energy to shift](https://x.com/FCHWPO/status/1488188490001096707?lang=en&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com).** **Instead they got this.** **I think the people who thought this was a fumble in real time was a very short list, they just all happened to have whistles. I assumed the play was over and almost stopped recording.** **According to Mike Mandell, there were 19 penalties in this game and I would have taken the over.** **Also, can I just say: BIG fan of the play clocks at Leavitt. I know there's a couple of other schools that have them and I love 'em.** **[Leavitt football dominates, hands Gardiner 1st lossThe Hornets outgain the Tigers 392-147 to earn a key win in the Class C race.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-CM-icon.png)Centralmaine.comMike Mandell![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43067145_20251011_LeavittGardinerFB-14.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/10/11/leavitt-football-dominates-hands-gardiner-1st-loss/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Dominates is the right word. Leavitt was faster and stronger. If you didn't know otherwise, you'd think they were the unbeaten team.** **We got JV minutes, which I was not expecting.** **Sadly, Rob Kennedy's dream of Cony and Gardiner both being 7-0 when they play is no more. Pour one out.** **This Class C tournament is going to be very, very interesting.** **After the game, I spoke with Michael Hathaway.** **### Elsewhere** **Colton Jewett's 96 yard TD set the stage for Cheverus' win over Biddeford...Cole Tanner's 2 rushing TDs helped Westbrook knock off Kennebunk...Colin Morn threw 3 touchdown passes and broke a 70-yarder for his 4th as Bonny Eagle blew out Portland...Andrew Thomas accounted for 4 TDs and Freeport shut out Maranacook...Garrett Leclerc had 3 rushing TDs as Lawrence surprised Fryeburg...Tatum Doucette ran for 2 scores and thew another in Messo's win over Mt. Blue...Cam Pulkkinen returned the opening kick for 85 yards and Oxford Hills never looked back against Lewiston...SoPo got a safety on a bad snap in the end zone to open scoring in a 16-7 win over Deering...Connor Ayoob rushed for 4 TDs as Thornton Academy handled Massabesic.** **---** **There's a bonus episode of the podcast (presented by [Vertical Raise](https://www.verticalraise.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)). I spoke to Dexter Athletic Director Adam Gudroe.** **If you're reading this newsletter, you already know about Dexter's campaign to win $1M from T-Mobile, but I wanted to get a sense of what's happening behind the scenes, how they got in this position, what other schools can do to put themselves in their position next year, and just how far a million dollars can go. And obviously I want to help spread the word however I can.** [VOTE DEXTER](https://www.t-mobile.com/brand/friday-night-5g-lights/a?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Vote for Dexter. Watch the podcast, log into another gmail account and vote again. Then give the podcast 5 stars, log into your burner gmail account and vote again. Then vote from your work email. Then create another email account and vote again. But definitely watch the podcast. Or listen to it on Spotify. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3FNJ1gHF8MiLsbehofbwRc?si=5e1a7085f90348cb&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Bonny Eagle increased their lead in the football power rankings. I'm going to guess the Thornton Academy at Bonny Eagle matchup on the 24 is Game of the Day. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-12-at-8.08.33---PM.png) You can see where your team is ranked (too low, I'm sure) at the link. [Football Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) --- You can also see how much disrespect your soccer and field hockey teams are getting. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-12-at-10.36.59---PM.png) [Soccer & Field Hockey Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) --- Sister Jean went to meet the great Coach in the sky. [Sister Jean, beloved Loyola-Chicago chaplain, diesSister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the longtime chaplain of the Loyola-Chicago men’s basketball team, died Thursday at the age of 106\. ”\[She\] was an invaluable source of wisdom and grace for generations of students, faculty, and staff,” the school said.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/espn-icon-180x180-4.png)ESPNDavid Purdum![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/i-4)](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/%5F/id/46548454/sister-jean-beloved-loyola-chicago-chaplain-dies-106?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We have a new American record in the marathon, courtesy of the guy who just won Beach to Beacon this summer in course record time. > 🇺🇸 CONNER MANTZ BREAKS THE AMERICAN RECORD IN THE MARATHON IN 2:04:43. > > INCREDIBLE RUN! > > Previous record was 2:05:38 by Khalid Khannouchi in 2002\. [pic.twitter.com/nWRGFKGf9m](https://t.co/nWRGFKGf9m?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) [October 12, 2025](https://twitter.com/ChrisChavez/status/1977382828108050586?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) A Beach to Beacon course record and the American marathon record in the same year? That's incredible. Speaking of Beach to Beacon, our own Joan Benoit Samuelson remains the greatest to ever do it. > On the 40-year anniversary of her victory at the 1985 Chicago Marathon, Joan Benoit Samuelson ran today’s race in 3:36:11 at 68 years old. [#ChicagoMarathon](https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChicagoMarathon?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/H6IGkvVMtD](https://t.co/H6IGkvVMtD?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) [October 12, 2025](https://twitter.com/ChrisChavez/status/1977520356769271921?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [ ![](//a.impactradius-go.com/display-ad/10661-3217736)](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/c/5077352/3217736/10661?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)![](https://imp.pxf.io/i/5077352/3217736/10661) The Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Double Upsets! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/double-upsets/ Last updated: 2025-10-10T10:09:09.000Z Thursday night football got a little nuts last night as GNG and Marshwood both won as 8+ point underdogs, GNG over previously unbeaten Camden and Marshwood over Falmouth. The win for GNG is particularly big as they entered the game in a dogfight for a playoff spot. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-07-at-9.10.35---PM.png) The top 4 get in and the win helps close that gap between them and Lake Region, for sure. I don't think it quite gets them there (116 vs 113.3 in Crabtree weekly), but with the way Crabtree works, that'll all change with the games today and Saturday so there's really no point in trying to recalculate it. We'll definitely get into it in the Week 6 Overreactions Podcast. This week's Overreaction podcast features Haley Jones of the Sun Journal. Haley majored in Diplomacy and World Affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles, so naturally she became a sportswriter in Maine. I like to coordinate the Overreactions pod with a media member who covered an interesting game over the weekend and Haley got one of the best game in the state in Wells' last second victory over Leavitt. She wrote a [great gamer](https://www.sunjournal.com/2025/10/03/wells-football-beats-leavitt-in-tight-class-c-battle/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). We talked about that, the never-ending drama that is Class C, Bonny Eagle's defense, and the potential upcoming fight with Mike Mandell over who gets to cover the Gardiner/Cony game in Week 8\. Check it out on this week's podcast, brought to you by [Vertical Raise](https://www.verticalraise.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)! [Click here to subscribe to YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). You can also listen to it in [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/week-5-overreactions-with-haley-jones/id1675940033?i=1000730797526&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). As always, it helps if you leave a 5-star review, because algorithms are dumb. --- That's one podcast. Later this morning, the next episode should be up--a look inside the [Vote Dexter!](https://www.t-mobile.com/brand/friday-night-5g-lights/a?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) campaign with Dexter AD Adam Gudroe. That'll drop probably around 11am, so make sure you subscribe so you'll get it when it comes out. [Subscribe to YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Rankings are updated for Soccer and Field Hockey. This is boys soccer: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-09-at-11.07.41---PM.png) [Fall Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) --- I'm trying to not get excited, but... > Must be the shoes 👀🔥 [pic.twitter.com/SQsxrWDAkX](https://t.co/SQsxrWDAkX?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jayson Tatum (@jaytatum0) [October 9, 2025](https://twitter.com/jaytatum0/status/1976359803707670872?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- And Cooper got off to a good start in his preseason debut. [Grading Cooper Flagg’s 2025 NBA Preseason Debut with Dallas MavericksCooper Flagg made his first appearance in a (non-summer league) NBA jersey on Monday, when his Dallas Mavericks annihilated the shorthanded Oklahoma City Thunder, 106-89.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-23.ico)Bleacher ReportAndy Bailey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/2239240164_large_cropped.jpg)](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25257923-grading-cooper-flaggs-2025-nba-preseason-debut-dallas-mavericks?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ## Game of the Week It's kind of slim pickings this weekend. There's only 4 games with a Stax Index over 75 and 3 of them are on Saturday. The highest is--surprise, surprise--in Class C, where Wells will head up the coast to take on Greely on their fancy new turf. Greely is sitting 2nd in Class C and Wells is currently in 4th in Crabtree Classic. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-07-at-9.06.31---PM.png) But it's not that hard to see why this could be a good game. Greely is unbeaten and has looked really good all year, but they juuuust barely got by Leavitt at home. Wells has 2 tough losses and just beat Leavitt at home, so based solely on the common opponent, it should be a good game. Add the seeding implications and it's even better. The Model likes **Greely by 2.5**. Speaking of Leavitt, they're in one of the other games to watch this weekend, as they'll host unbeaten Gardiner on Saturday (second best Stax Index: 82.4). The other 2? Lake @ OOB and Kennebunk @ Westbrook. The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Week 5 Overreactions (with Haley Jones) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/week-5-overreactions-with-haley-jones/ Last updated: 2025-10-09T01:28:20.000Z Haley Jones majored in Diplomacy and World Affairs, so naturally she's writing about Maine high school sports for [Sun Journal Sports](https://www.facebook.com/sunjournalsports?%5F%5Fcft%5F%5F[0]=AZXNNs%5FJPa%5FAwyA2AhsYLA-8sHJVQsuyQMTFXohfv42DvPKhNmxC8XIeYs7A7AHPTPNWmWNPu9c%5FKLWwHfq0Fz2JqUm4TLX5lqZdubIeCUqckcP9xMDmdxNC8jNECMSkrWkqsB-fkjEQoY1PbWqPvMwj%5Fe3jjDYgHARy-Z8VYK7J0sEhL1ChqXCZLwWCqhvOyZCfnzST7ybtDp2j2rRafK3y&%5F%5Ftn%5F%5F=-]K-R). She's here to overreact to week 5 of the football schedule, including Wells' dramatic win over Leavitt. We also take a look at this week in Class C, the impact of TA's blowout of Portland, Bonny Eagle's defense, the potential Cony/Gardiner battle of unbeatens, and more! Today's episode is brought to you by Vertical Raise. [https://www.verticalraise.com/](https://www.verticalraise.com/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExZVU5SFZiU3M4YUZWV0p2ZwEef9EKcbjEbkdh2i7NNnMJo-ChBLx9ySAN9qvzZ49Hckl2QAfRUEjPCVzmQOU%5Faem%5FjzwNrLMu2n7QHGBs3i3LGg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Subscribe to Maine Basketball Rankings: 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was tired of the old microphone and it wasn't great.And this one was on sale.So new microphone we're trying it out right now showed up yesterday.* *0:20* *We'll see how it goes.Also, today's show has a sponsor is brought to you by Vertical Rays.You know your sports teams, they need money for helmets and cleats and shooting shirts and maybe someday a shot clock.Well, Vertical Raise allows you to raise more money in less time.* *0:37* *Check the show notes for information on how you can start to elevate your fundraising to new heights with Vertical raise.All right, before we get started, make sure you're doing all the subscribing stuff.YouTube, Facebook, whatever, whatever, whatever.* *0:53* *You can see we got the basketball backdrop, even though this is the football overreactions pod, because the basketball bulletin is out and normally I'm the only person who cares about the basketball bulletin, but we have a big realignment, as you might have heard.We're back down to 4:00-ish classes.* *1:10* *Everyone's moving around.No one remembers who's in their region.No one knows where they're playing in the tournament.So everybody this year is very interested in the basketball bulletin.OK, So a couple things that we've have now learned that we that were rumored and thought they were going to probably happen, but you you never know.* *1:28* *And this bulletin is labeled as draft on the MP as website.And this is coming straight from the MP as website.So things could change.But here's where we are.It's enough of a draft that they uploaded.They don't just upload the first draft, obviously.* *1:45* *So first big thing is that class S, class S of, if you don't remember, is the under 100 students class.That's your Vinyl Havens, your Shed, your Washburns, your temples, Pine Tree.The small schools they are going to play, they are not doing statewide, they're doing regions North and South.* *2:05* *They are going to start a week early, so they're going to have their first practice is going to be November 10th as opposed to November 17th.For everybody else, their first countable game will be November 28th as opposed to December 4th like everyone else, which means more newsletters, which means more work for me.* *2:23* *That's OK.So then their last countable game is going to be a couple days early.I had that in front of me.Yeah, there it is.OK.The last countable game date for Class S is Tuesday, February 3rd.* *2:41* *The last countable game day for ABC and D is Thursday, February 5th.So small difference.Mostly they just need to have enough time to sort out the heel points and make sure Vinyl Haven remembers to report their scores and things like that.It's going to be a little bit of a scheduling difficulty, I guess, because for a week there S is only going to be able to play S and I guess those last two days will be to clean up any outstanding games that need to be finished because the S quarterfinals are going to start on February 10th.* *3:17* *What's February 10th, you ask?February 10th is prelim day for the girls.February 10th is prelim day for the boys.February 11th is prelim day.So Class S is going to be doing their quarterfinals, I believe at the higher seed during prelim week, which means more work for it really doesn't affect you at all unless you're in Class S, but it affects mostly people like me and our today's guest, Hayley Jones of the Sun Journal.* *3:49* *People who have to cover this, it's a little more, you know, stretches them a little more thinly, but it also gives SA little bit of a time in the spotlight.And then Class S S semi finals will be February 17th.* *4:07* *Their regional championships will be February 21st.That is the same day as the regional championships for everyone else.So they're going to sort of, yeah, those first couple days where every reason, quarterfinals, where S won't be playing.* *4:24* *And then when you get to semifinals and the schedule opens up a little bit more, S will sort of come back in line with everyone else.So they'll finish at the same time as everybody else, but they'll start a week earlier.And people have already started complaining about this on social media because we can't have anything without people complaining about it on social media.* *4:42* *So it's really simple.There aren't enough tournament sites.That's why AA has been playing for the last couple years, been playing their home.They're playing their quarterfinals at the higher seed because there's not enough time on the floors to do all of this in during vacation week.* *5:02* *So, so something has to give it, you know, and if, you know, if you've got to think of this as a money making venture, because this is the thing that funds lacrosse and the thing that funds soccer and the thing that funds field hockey is giving up those tournaments, dates of the AA, of the biggest schools, their quarter final games.* *5:24* *Giving up those gates is a lot of money for the MPA.And, you know, if we're going to get shot clocks, people, we got some money's got to come in the door somewhere.And this is one of the ways we do it.And also, you know, like I said, it keeps other sports funded, you know, 'cause I don't think lacrosse, I don't think field hockey's making a lot of money.* *5:45* *Yeah.So then the S So if you remember how normally the first we have on that Fri, yeah, yeah, Friday there's somebody has the solo tournament game and it's usually B, but not always, but it's usually B.* *6:03* *And then everybody else goes on Saturday.So this year, S&B sound, which sounds sound like a bank, will play at the Cross Center in Bangalore on the 27th.That's Friday.Class C&D will be at the Civic Center in Augusta on the 28th, and Class A will be at the hockey rink in Portland also on the 28th.* *6:24* *Not sure how the timing of that's going to work out.I don't know if they'll stagger it.They could in theory stagger it, I guess, so that everybody's got the solo spotlight for the for the state championship game.That would be kind of cool.No idea if it would work, but it would be kind of cool.* *6:42* *Yeah.So then the other thing is, where are we playing these tournament games?OK, this is a little weird.Up in Bangor, you're going to have BNCNDN&SN, that's the under 100.At the Civic Center in Augusta, you're going to have a NCSDS&SS.* *7:05* *That's the under one hundreds.Those normally those turn sites would have three regions.Now they have 4.Hence S going a week early.In Portland, you're going to have SA or a South and BS.* *7:22* *Remember there's no AA anymore.A South and BS at the Expo and the Cross Insurance Arena.So Augusta and Bangor are going to have four regions playing at one site, and in Portland we're going to have two regions playing in two sites, which is weird.* *7:42* *So I'm wondering if they're leaving some room here to flex something like, so you've got CS at the Civic Center.You know what if CS is, I don't really look at the list because I'm also not remembering where everybody is.* *8:01* *Let's say CS is you've got a game that's Wells and Trape.Maybe you flex that to the Expo.You know, maybe you flex a bunch of CS to the Expo.Maybe you flex DS some of DS to the Expo.* *8:16* *If it's say Old Orchard Beach versus NYA, maybe that goes to the the Expo and something like, you know, a Halldale or Halldale Winthrop leave that Augusta because, you know, I think that's I'm in play and I'm speculating based on just conversations I've had with people.* *8:36* *I have no one's told me that.So then why use the hockey rink or why use the the Expo?Why pretty sure the X the Expo's a better venue for than the hockey rink.The hockey rink, the BS quarterfinals.* *8:52* *The hockey rink would not be a good it wouldn't be a good atmosphere.And I'm wondering if the reason we don't have just everybody at the Expo is because that's Portland's home floor.And if Portland is indeed in a S, hey, look at that, they're back in the South, then you really can't have one team playing the tournament on their home floor for the whole tournament.* *9:21* *Like that's probably not going to fly with the other 15 teams in that region.So that might be why we have to go to the hockey rink.It's going to be a little tricky scheduling wise and bouncing around back and forth and we're not going to spend a whole lot of time in the Expo.* *9:39* *But again, this is a draft, so we'll see how that shakes up.I would say let's, you know, let's take DS to the Expo or something.Let's take.Yeah, we don't even have to worry about Vinyl Haven with the fairy because they're in, they're in South and that'll be in Augusta.* *9:58* *Take DS, take CS, take.I would say take one of those or maybe parts of both of those to the Expo.And then just, I know one of the concerns with that in the past has been what if grandma drives to the Augusta Civic Center and the game's at the Expo?* *10:15* *And that's a mess because you do not want to anger a main high school basketball grandmother and get in the way of her watching her grandson play.Or worse, she doesn't even have a grandson on the team.* *10:30* *She's just been going to these games for 95 years and she will be damned if she is going to miss a playoff game.All right, so enough about that.Let's talk a little bit of football.I'm going to keep the backdrop though, because I like the backdrop Game of the week.* *10:49* *This week was by everyone's consensus, everyone's confesses of Thornton Academy Portland, and wow, it was not.I went down to this.I sat in traffic for at Red Zeets for a good 15 minutes, just not moving, and the game was shorter than that.* *11:10* *Thornton Academy just dominated them and Portland did not help themselves.They shanked up their first punt of the game, gave Thornton Academy a short field.Then they gave they fumble, gave him another short field, went for a fourth down, didn't make it another short field and that was over.* *11:28* *It was over.Connor Ayoob was great in this game, but an absolute domination by Thornton Academy.So them they are now got to be one of the if not the front runner in a but I think, you know, it could still be Bonnie Eagle.* *11:48* *The model really likes Bonnie Eagle, like really likes Bonnie Eagle.They gave up eight points to Oxford Hills and that was pretty much double what no more than double what they've given up all year.I think something like that.* *12:04* *It was close to it there.They gave up eight points and their points allowed per game went up.So that gives you an idea of how good that defense has been.So really, Circle and Bonnie Eagle and Thornton Academy later in the year.Yeah.* *12:21* *And I think that's pretty much it.Hayley Jones is here to overreact to the slate from Week 5.And without further ado, let's go to that conversation with her.OK, My guest today.You know her from the Sun Journal.* *12:36* *Hayley Jones is here.Thanks for joining me.Thank you for having me.All right, so you are.I did a little bit of research and by a little bit of research, I went to your website.You were the first female sports writer in the history of the Sun Journal.* *12:51* *Or is it the history of The Maine Trust for whatever whatever it is this week, conglomeration.As I was told when I started, I'm the first full time female sports reporter in the state.That's what my editor told me.I know for sure at The Maine Trust and I think there's some people that kind of dabble in sports, obviously, but first full time, as I was told in the state.* *13:12* *Well, that's not true, I can tell you that.So I was lied to.Yeah, you were lied to cause the Lincoln County News, which is where I work, has Paula Roberts and she's been full time forever.Yeah, so.Maybe at a daily?That's a weekly, so maybe it's at a daily.* *13:30* *Right.This was a comment.Yeah, this was.And it was, I can't remember which editor told me, but it was like, oh, I think you're the first.So definitely don't take that as fact, but.OK, OK, we'll put it on your Wikipedia if it'll be there.Forever.Yeah, right.Yeah.Perfect, perfect.And then I think, and I haven't checked this because I don't know if this is an actual awards category, but I think you're the front runner for comeback Sports writer of the year since last year.* *13:53* *You broke your leg and now and now you're back full time.But I don't know if that's a main Press Association award category.We.Should.Should be.Because it was humbling.It was.Humbling.We can, you know, we can work on it.We can talk to some people.I know a few people there and we could see if that can get added.* *14:10* *Yeah, I'm gonna stick to like watching the skiing and not trying it myself because that.Didn't.Yeah.So is it?Is it like you all healed up and everything?For the most part I'm still in physical therapy but pretty much back to normal, yeah.OK, so I want to do a little bit of your biography you went to Occidental College in Los Angeles and studying let's say I wrote it down.* *14:32* *Diplomacy and world affairs did you look at the news 'cause there's plenty of diplomacy and world affairs going on at the.Moment did you look?Did you look at the news and go, you know what that is too much diplomacy and world affairs.I'm out.Yeah, yeah.* *14:48* *No, I was always.In high school soccer.Yeah.And I, I originally thought I was gonna be like ABBC political correspondent or maybe work at an embassy.And then, you know, I graduated and got out of the theoretical world and I was like, what am I thinking?No.And I moved to rural South Carolina, so.* *15:03* *OK.And then somehow you ended up in Maine.I did, yes.Do you do like a were you sports writing in South Carolina and then?Just no.I was, I was general assignment, so pretty much everything.But I was one of two reporters at the paper.It was a very small town.* *15:19* *So I did like crime.I did school board, I did business, like everything.But I never did sports because we had a yeah, it was awful.I mean, I was very grateful for what I learned there.But there was one day where I went to a male maximum security prison and they like took my phone, took my bag, and I think something like 35 inmates were getting baptized.* *15:40* *And so I covered the baptism and I kind of walked out and I was like, that was sick.But also like, this is not a normal day at work.I maybe maybe this was fun, but I'm out.Yeah, jeez, that's a that's.A long day.Sports is much more fun.Much more chill.Yeah.There's not a lot of time at maximum security prisons, you know, unless you're writing about, I don't know, Mike Tyson or somebody.* *16:03* *Right, Yeah, this was in Kershaw SC and some characters, but I I got some great stories from it, some lore, but.And then what is the pointer?Koch Media and Journalism Fellowship because it sounds very fancy.Very fancy.* *16:18* *It actually just ended because of funding issues.But the Pointer Institute is like this giant media conglomerate.They're kind of like a school for journalism.And they took a bunch of early career people and put us through a 10 month program with like people from bigger news orgs and people that had been in it forever.* *16:37* *And it was like I think 6020 somethings that got to go to a few conferences and learn about journalism.And they the appeal was they would pay half your salary to alleviate the burden on your newsroom since we have newsroom ghost rush then.So 'cause obviously they took my time, so they paid my newsroom and I got to go on fun business trips and learn a lot.* *17:00* *That sounds very helpful.Yeah, it was pretty fun.What's do you get any good stories from that, from those conferences like your turn around and they're like, Oh my gosh, this Tom Brokaw, Oh.OK, yeah, gosh, let me think.I remember fangirling over like some of the very niche people from Poynter.* *17:22* *Actually, funny enough, our now executive editor at The Maine Trust for Local News is very good friends and former colleagues with my mentor there.So it was more like kind of niche, not famous people per SE, but like, Oh my gosh, I read her work all the time online.Like, oh, I love what she does.* *17:38* *No one, like, super Famous is coming to mind.But I did have like, this mentor I did a few sessions with and he was the, like, TV reporter in Buffalo, NY that was the whistleblower on like a Catholic priest doing inappropriate stuff with like 200 kids.* *17:55* *So it was just kind of cool to like, hear the work people had done.But I don't know if I like really met him that Famous that would be reputable outside journalism.And now you get to rub elbows with Mike Mandel, so.Exactly.It's like famous people every day.Exactly, Yeah.* *18:13* *And then so how are you liking being in Maine so far?You've survived a winter at least.I mean, it nearly killed you, but.Let me tell you, yeah, my first winter I decided to drive in freezing rain because I'd never heard of it.* *18:29* *We don't have that down South because I'm from Georgia.And I was like, oh, the roads are empty.I have places to be quickly hit the guardrail and I was like, I see why the roads are empty.So that was like a new experience.But second winter, all was going well.And then let an ex-boyfriend teach me how to ski and the rest is history.* *18:46* *So we had some good time in the OR.Yeah.So yeah, we had, we had an interesting winter, but I love it.I mean, like right now during foliage, it's like nothing.You always hear people say that, but then when you truly experience it, like there's nothing like it.* *19:03* *I lived in Chattanooga for like a year and a half and it snowed like 1/2 an inch and this whole city shut down for two days.Like people think I'm exaggerating but it literally shut down.They were, it was.I remember it was Thursday and it had stopped snowing and they were, I was listening to the radios.* *19:24* *I was driving around because I had nobody on the roads and they had already cancelled school for Friday and.I'm like, yeah.Doing the roads are clear, it's fine.Yeah, I remember it was 2014.We like, called it Snowpocalypse.It couldn't have been.It was maybe an inch.But like, my dad's had to sleep in his office.* *19:41* *It looked like a scene from The Walking Dead, like people abandoning their cars on I-95.Like it was ridiculous.And I was out of school for two weeks.So I mean, my friends and I loved it.And I was, I think in middle school at the time, but I it was great.Wow.And now you're like, you guys are cancelling this game, right?* *19:58* *They're like it's 3 inches.Yeah, no, I mean, I'm shoveling the driveway.I'm like, what is this?At what point do we cancel?Yeah, it depends on where you are in the state and it depends really on how many open dates there are between the day and the end of the basketball season.* *20:16* *Because if it's December, cancel it that we can get that in in January sometimes if it's a week before the tournament we're playing.Exactly. 20 inches, we'll make it happen.Right.And like what might be dramatic to Portland is not going to be like that dramatic to up north.* *20:31* *So it's just it's interesting to see the spread.Yeah.What's been your first, like other than the weather?Your first like, oh, OK, I get it.This is Maine.I'm in Maine now.I like was it going to LL Bean or something?I did tear that up when I first moved here.* *20:50* *Yeah, I think honestly, because I, I, I did go to College in LA, but still like you have to drive everywhere.The closest beach for us was Santa Monica, which was like still a 45 minute drive.So I think my first, like true main moment was I was living in Portland to my first apartment and like I could walk 10 minutes to like the East End beach.* *21:10* *And I was like, oh, this is living in Maine and like, you know, the rocky beaches and like, I could go down to the old port and see like the boats on the water and just how waterfront it was like, oh, this is like what everyone raves about.People don't realize.People think that it's an overreaction of the driving in LA thing, but it's terrible.* *21:29* *It's so bad, yeah.Like not only are they slow, but then they like swerve and they're on their and then also the traffic like it's it truly does live up to like how bad it is.So I love hear that like the mileage is more than the minutes and I can just absolutely cruise when I anytime I have to go on a long drive, I'm like, this is beautiful.* *21:45* *Unless you have to go through his cassette and then.Yeah.You know, it's like being on the four O 5.Yeah, it is.Is that the bridge, like right by Reds eats where you like?The Reds eats traffic, yeah.It's so bad.Like I took my my parents visited and I took them there and we were there for two hours.* *22:03* *I was like, sorry I.Said no, that's why.That's why nobody goes to Reds Eats that's a local, because they're.All like.No, no, no, no.Absolutely not.All right, so let's pivot to football.You had probably the best finish this week.* *22:19* *You had Wells and Levitt, which was already an interesting game because Class C who knows what's going on in Class C, but like, tell people about the finish you got for that one.Yeah, so I going into it, it was kind of cool because I love like when a team has like a theme night, like more than just a student section theme night.* *22:39* *But this was their, and I'm forgetting the official name of it, but it's like this salute to veterans game.So I had like all the pop and circumstance before.So I get there and like my usual time like well before.And they haven't even started warmups yet.So I think talking to the guys in the Levitt sideline, they had maybe like 10 minutes to warm up by the time they'd finished all of the like, recognizing each veteran in the crowd, doing songs and stuff.* *23:01* *So kind of going into.That Wells or at Levitt?It was at Wells, and I know I'm sure we'll get to it, but one of the former coaches was had served as a commander and was a former Navy SEAL.So there was like extra, you know, emphasis on the game.But so, yeah, so the game itself, to preface, like I this is my first season covering football, so I'm like always a ball, of course, when I get there.* *23:24* *Yeah.And so when I first started at the office, I came October 2023, and I was in the middle of like the Noah Carpenter, Jason Egley Levitt run.So that's how I remember.Levitt is like that state championship powerhouse.That's how they usually are.Yeah, yeah.* *23:40* *And so it's kind of been interesting just to kind of see like some of the guys that were freshmen those years now really stepping up.But I remember like it was kind of, I don't want to say a Dole game.I mean, I know it's hard, but like there wasn't a ton happening.It was a lot of turnovers, a lot of like kind of waiting to see.* *23:56* *And then I remember Wells had the first touchdown and it was they had their new this season, quarterback Noah McDonough in and he I can't remember what happened, but I know Kevin Bulldock rim the ball in and got a touchdown.And so like, OK, we're getting somewhere, you know?* *24:13* *And then they went for two, missed and then Levitt fired back.They went got got a touchdown, got the extra point.And so then it was like A-76 game going into halftime.And this might be a hot take, but I mean, I just love like a close game.I feel like that's a very amazing cold take.* *24:28* *But I covered, yeah, I've covered a lot of blowouts.And like, I just much prefer this.It's like more interesting.Like as a sports fan, I love a close game.But then also as a reporter, I'm like constantly writing like, OK, who am I going to interview?What's the, like lead going to be?* *24:43* *So when it's that close I'm like I have like 7 different story versions at that point but so but if.It's a blowout.You can do all that by halftime.That's true.But then it's boring and like, you know, it's boring to write.It's boring to read.Like, I, I and I'm not getting colorful quotes.It's like having to walk up to a coach after they just lost 57 to 0 and be like.* *25:01* *And what were you most proud of?Like, it's just it's tough for everybody involved.Yeah.Which you do done differently, like everything.Exactly.Yeah, which I did have that.I've had conversations like that this season.I'm like, OK, I'll, I'll go away now.But yeah, so then kind of came down to like the final set of plays.* *25:19* *I know there had been like a couple back and forth turnovers on turnovers on downs for both sides.And it was like Levitt got really close and then they turned over.And then Wells got really close and then they turned over.And so it was like, still have my like stat sheet from that night.* *25:36* *But it was like, OK, so Noah threw an incomplete pass.Nothing happened.Throws it again, it gets intercepted by Levitt.And I didn't catch the number that intercepted it, but someone intercepted it.And then they fumble it.Then Wells recovers the fumble.And so I'm like, Oh my God, OK, what's gonna happen?It's like, I think there's at this point like less than a minute left in the game.* *25:54* *And I'm kind of like, I hope I don't go to overtime.Like as much as I love in overtime, I got a story to write.And so they they fumble it, Wells recovers it, then two more incomplete passes, one gets flagged for pass interference and then finally there's a complete pass.* *26:09* *So they get down to like the four yard line.They're in, obviously.Do you call that the red zone?I, I, yeah, yeah, they're in the red zone.And so then Noah finds number six, Colin Moody at around the four yard line, throws him and just like perfect run in right there.* *26:27* *And there's like 19 seconds left in the game at this point.So they score.They're all going crazy.And like I'm on the Levitt sideline at this point because I usually try to stand on whichever side has the chains and like you just see everyone was like Oh no cuz I mean it's what are you supposed to do with 19 seconds left?Not a lot.Return.* *26:43* *Yeah.And so then.Right.Exactly.And so then Levin gets the ball and then threw an incomplete pass and obviously that was game.But just like that coming down to the wire like that, like I'm biting my nails on the sideline.I don't know how they're feeling, but it was, I remember I was talking to one of the guys on the Levitt sideline, one of the coaches, and he was like, oh, I think it's going to be a good game.* *27:01* *And I was like, hopefully.And he kind of walked back over and he said, well, I was hoping it was going to be a good game for us, but it is a good game.Yeah.OK.I have immediate question.You said you'd like to stand on the side with the chains.Why the side with the chains?Because I was at Thornton Academy Portland and I started on the side of the chains just because that's where I put my bag down.* *27:21* *And then like 4 plays in, I was like, no, this isn't going to work.But partly might be there that that.And there were like 80 kids on the Thornton Academy side and only like 45 or something on the Portland side.And I'm like, I can't see anything over here.* *27:37* *You got the chain guys here.It's a whole mess.And so I went on the other side.Yeah, I I feel like when I cover football, I accept that.Like everyone's gonna kind of be in the way.But like with the chain guys, Steve Craig at the Press Herald was teaching me about football kind of how to do stat taking specifically.* *27:53* *And he was like, yes, you have the chains in the way that the ref will like will always stand in between the chains.He'll put his foot on the yard line of where the ball is starting because you know, we need it for, OK, they start at 46, they end up at 31.So he's like, you can always look at that ref and see where their foot is.And then that's how you know where they're starting in case, you know, the ball is far down or people are in the way.* *28:11* *So I always do that for my reference point, just for stats, because if I miss it, then I'm like, oh God, where are they?What's going on?What's funny is Steve Craig also was at the Thornton Academy game and also abandoned the Thornton Academy side for the Portland side because there was too much going on over there.* *28:26* *Yeah, yeah.I mean, by the time there's 80 people, it's just going to be miserable.But it's like, you know, you got, you got to pick your battles, I guess.Yeah, yeah.OK.So let's look at C because C, the consensus is this is a mess.Yeah.And I.I knew you were going to ask about C, Yeah.* *28:43* *So I grabbed the thing from Maine high school football from Andrew Hart's site. 10 teams get in.Yep.You have right now York at the 10 spot, so at top three are Gardner, Greeley and Herman.They're all undefeated.* *28:59* *And then you just have this mess of Wells to Brewer and you could throw madomic in there too at 2:00 and 3:00 where I I feel like madomic probably passes York unless York beats them this week.You may have what sort of heads or tails do you make of this?* *29:19* *Six get a buy.Yeah, you're asking what I who I think's gonna be in top ten.You're asking who I think's gonna edge in.I mean, like, what's your sense in general?So you've seen Levitt, you've seen Wells, I'm thinking you've probably seen somebody else in here.I went to Gardner's game against Oceanside, which I mean, I famously love an underdog, so I'm not even counting out Oceanside and Hampton yet.* *29:42* *Like maybe they'll they'll find their footing mid season.I guess we're in mid season, but.York seems to have found their footing.They'd be Brewer this week.Yeah, yeah.I don't know.I mean, I that's hard.I know.Gosh, I mean, it's.* *29:58* *Such a mess.I know like I don't, I don't even know where to begin.I mean I I haven't seen much of Old Town so I really can't like make an accurate assumption on them but.I saw Old Town.They're feisty.Yeah, yeah.I feel like with a team like York, like when you get that first win after a while, like that kind of is the fire you need.* *30:17* *So I don't know.I mean, I feel like it's gonna be kind of a battle between York and madomic.I genuinely feel kind of uneducated thus far on Class C just 'cause it changed.I I mean, Gardner, I feel like they're having a season maybe nobody expected but just the undefeated streak and Greeley as well.* *30:35* *And Herman, I mean, I guess they're all undefeated.But yeah, I mean I.Think Herman's been really good?Yeah, and didn't the Herman coach just get like his 50th win or something or 100th or something crazy?Something like that he got, yeah, he got his 50th.The madomic coach got his 50th.* *30:54* *Yeah, I think so, 'cause they started, he might be past his 50th.Right, something like that and I mean.Something like that.He's very good, very good coach.Yeah, right.And I don't have a madomic roster in front of me, but I know they did fairly well in the tournament and usually you see some carryover from basketball to football, so I remember.* *31:11* *They do have some basketball players, yeah.Yeah.So I mean, they have that on their side.Owen I've seen Madomic twice, and Owen Dosti, who was one of the, I think he was a starter most of the he's been playing receiver and safety, I think, and he's been good in every game.* *31:27* *I saw he had a pick against Levitt at the end of the half where Levitt tried to throw up a bomb with two seconds left in the half and he almost ran it back, which was which was fun, right?I mean, you got to love those last second plays.That's always what makes it fun.The trick with Madonic is, and I'm a Madonic guy, so I I have a vested interest there.* *31:46* *Their best player missed the first four games of the year or maybe the first three games of the year with a sliced up his hand like right before the season started.So he's he missed those first three games and he's been back and you know, they're slowly working him back in at running back.* *32:05* *So so they you know, they're the one if I had to pick a team that's from the bottom three that are the obvious choice to vault back into it because they also their schedule gets easier.They have York and Oceanside and then I think Nokomis is their last game.Right, right.* *32:21* *And I know, I think if I remember right, Lovett had some injuries out too.So I mean, it's always interesting to see you have wells.Yeah, you have like those early season people out and then just how they change it kind of because we're in week 5 or week 6 now.Like, you know, everyone feels like they kind of have an idea of how everyone's going to play.* *32:38* *And then you get that one rogue player.It's kind of like fantasy, right?You all of a sudden one of your tight ends is putting up 31 points.You're like, who I thought you were on my bench.Like, what's going?On Yeah, Yeah.And it's so short.It's only 8 games.You're just all ready going.Oh my gosh, there's only three games left.* *32:55* *Right.Yeah, No, I, I had that realization actually driving today.I was like, wow, like, you know, I, I feel like I've done some game stories this season and then I was like, wait, fall's almost over.Like when did that happen?All right, let's get rid of this.All right, so the game I went to was Thornton Academy Portland, which was a bust.* *33:11* *A complete and utter bust.It was.I was in red Zeats.I mentioned this in the open, which I already recorded.I was in red Zeats traffic longer than this game was competitive.It was yeah, Thornton.I thought it would be close and Thornton Academy just absolutely dominated both sides of the mall.* *33:28* *Yeah, it was a really tough week to have picked Port Portland in our in our weekly.Yeah, I picked it in Andrew Hart's thing and it didn't go well.I don't know how well I did.So TA is foreign one because they lost to a New Hampshire team.* *33:47* *Have you seen anyone in here 'cause it's not really your current Lewiston maybe, right?Have you seen?Lewiston Yeah, I haven't been to a Lewiston game.I am working on a story about Lewis and I haven't finished it though, so I won't say, I won't say more, but I did Edward Little Oxford Hills and I I'll keep it.* *34:02* *I'll keep it.Surprise.Edward Little Oxford Hills, which was also equally A blowout Oxford Hills wedding, obviously.And then I shouldn't.Obviously.I went to Ingorthwarton Academy.I didn't cover it, but that was kind of Steve showing me the ropes of football and South.* *34:20* *That was also a blowout.That was as well.That was, and then I've, again, I've done stories at Sanford, but I haven't actually seen a game, but I know I think they're the other two and three right now.So I this, yeah, I, I feel like Edward, the Oxford Hills was like, am I truly covered?* *34:37* *And then just kind of hearing about these other teams and, you know, I covered some of the State Games last year.So you got the, you know, when Cordell Jones was a receiver and now he's QB and definitely familiar with a lot of these guys.They were, they were very ready for that.* *34:53* *Thornton Academy was like, they gave him no space.He couldn't get out and he couldn't get out in space at all, couldn't get anything going.He had a fumble in the first quarter that set up a touchdown.And it was just they at one point I said to Michael Hoffer, I was like, have they cleared the 40 yard line yet?* *35:11* *Their own 40 yard line?And he's like, this is like in the third quarter and he's like, I, I don't think they have, but they had been to the 42.Apparently he looked it up and that's how it was going for them.My question here is, if you look at the points allowed, Bonnie Eagles given up 20 points, right?* *35:29* *That's nuts.Yeah.Yeah, that's crazy.Yeah, I mean, I I hope this is an offensive to Bonnie Eagle, but they're kind of a team.I like a school.Maybe I forget that exists.And then it's usually football season.I'm like, wait, Bonnie Eagle is really good and just.I mean people.* *35:44* *Looking at this, they're.Yeah, they're far, far away, doing better than everyone else.So I mean, they're always kind of like, I love an underdog and they're always like, wait a minute, Bonnie Eagle.Like they're really especially against a.Lot of the playing.Teams.Yeah, yeah.All right, do you have?So we'll, I just want to hit a a little bit because I know your coverage area also hits B.* *36:05* *So here I'm going to ask you the Rob Kennedy question.What do you think the likelihood of Coney and Gardner being 7 and O when they play each other on the final game of the season?Coney is just crushing it.Yep, they are.* *36:21* *They are I'm.Are you asking who I think is going to?Win.No, I'm just like the likelihood of, let's say, could they get to 7 and oh, each?And then how absolutely bonkers will that game be if they do?I mean, play each other at 7 and oh.* *36:37* *Yeah, absolutely insane.I think it's likely.I mean, I kind of have extreme respect for all these schools because I was actually looking through this before we started.And besides class AN and then eight man, every top team is undefeated and just to go five games undefeated alone is crazy.* *36:57* *But I mean, I kind of feel like once you've started that train, it's going to be interesting to see who would derail it because I think they've both had a particularly tough schedule thus far and like have played some pretty competitive teams and they've held their own.So I think A7 and O dual matchup is very likely.* *37:12* *But I mean, I, I don't know, I kind of, I love the story behind it.I kind of feel like with everything with John Wolfe, Graham Gardner's playing for him in a way, given he used to coach there.So I kind of feel like, you know, when I went to that Oceanside game with them, they were all very hype on like the seasons for him.* *37:28* *And so I, I love a back story.So I would probably go Gardner if we had that match up.If that comes around, who has dibs on covering that game?Like do you have a fight for it?Is it, is it like a rock, paper scissors thing?* *37:44* *Like do you have?Is there a bribery involved?Like maybe six or seven months ago, I would have said, oh, you know, Mandel or David Dyer, because that's really their area.But we're all really kind of poking around in each of those territories.Now I'm covering all schools that I've never been to, so it could be anyone's game.* *38:02* *I think I still would be hard to pry it from Mandel.I think he's probably got that on lock.But I mean, I just, I love the competitive game.Like, maybe I'll throw my hat and I have no stake in this.Like sure, send me there.You're like, I could, I could like we could double team it.Like I could do the one sideline, he could do the other sideline.* *38:18* *Exactly he does, you know, stats.I do video I'm throw me in wherever so.That's perfect.Yeah.So who else, Who else have you seen in here?Have you seen?I'm trying to think of your coverage area.Have you seen?Lawrence, Mount Blue's in our area.I haven't seen them yet.Yeah, the I haven't seen any of these guys in person.* *38:39* *OK, so far this season.But yeah, I think it was the Marsh.Was it Marshwood Chevrez where they won like 23 to 21?There was one game where Marshwood played somebody and they won two or three weeks ago.* *38:57* *And so I'm always surprised by them.They're kind of my Bonnie Eagle of Class B, and I'm like, wait a minute.They also lost to Noble this week.They were up 21, nothing and they lost 35 to 27, so they've been in some games.Right, right.Yeah.And yeah, yeah, no, none of these guys in person.* *39:17* *But yeah, no, it's, it's competitive for sure.Taking a quick break from the show to tell you why you should subscribe to mainebasketballrankings.com.Yes, it's an ad for the website, on the podcast, hosted on the website andyoullgetoveritso@mainebasketballrankings.com.* *39:36* *For 6 bucks a month, you get rankings that are very good and they hate your team without question.But it's all sorts of fun information about your team, about their strength of schedule, how they're they're scoring offense ranks, they're scoring defense, lots of things like that.* *39:53* *You also get heel points, which you can read because have you seen the other options for heel points?It's a disaster.You can read these, you can see that your schedule coming up be like, oh, that team's not worth a lot of points.Oh, this team's worth a lot of points.This is the game we have to win.* *40:10* *You also get a spread for every game on the schedule.Hey, we're only favored by 2 1/2 points tonight.That's ridiculous.Are you kidding me?We're 1 1/2 point underdogs.That's crazy.And then maybe you're wondering why your coach is coaching so hard down 15 in the fourth quarter.* *40:29* *Well, it's because he's a 13 1/2 point underdog and it doesn't matter.But he wants to beat the spread because we always want to beat the spread no matter who we are.So that's mainebasketballrankings.com six months a month.Or for the free version, you can get a daily newsletter during the season.* *40:48* *Now back to the show.I should mention, because I'll get yelled at if I don't, that Falmouth has come off the mat.They were one and two and they've won two straight in dominating fashion.So we were two weeks ago with Mark, I think Mark Kalman.* *41:05* *We were wondering Jesus, Falmouth's gonna make the play offs and they seem to have that locked down now.Right.And, you know, they went on that run last year and then obviously I don't know how many of the lacrosse guys are on football, but they had that really tough state loss.* *41:20* *So it was kind of like, I feel like our two schools we kept hearing about was Falmouth, Wyndham, just championship after championship.And so, yeah, I mean, I'll be interested to see.I know.I think I was listening to one of your other episodes where it was like Spencer Emerson had his first loss with them.* *41:36* *Yeah.So I mean, sometimes it takes, hey, it takes, it takes a few tough losses to really build you up.But I love another dog, as I've said.I don't know if you know the back story of that program where they had a long time coach and the players revolted and they're like, we're not playing for this guy anymore.* *41:52* *And so he resigned.And then they, like the season wasn't absolute unmitigated disaster, and they brought in Spencer Emerson and he just went undefeated and won the state championship, right?They're like this works.It really worked.Yeah.And then they won the basketball state championship.* *42:08* *And yeah, I was telling him at the tournament I was like, I think you're just good luck, man.Yeah.Yeah, I mean, he also, I know he came from U Chicago, I want to say, but I mean pretty competitive D small D3 program.So it's always interesting too when they move from the college level down to high school, it's like, you know, I'm always intrigued, like why maybe people see that as a step down, but it's like some of these main high schools are more competitive than some of the small colleges.* *42:34* *So it's like, what skills are they bringing and go to see some of the resources they bring into.I mean, if you're like the wide receivers coach at Colby or whatever and then you can you have the choice to move to like a pretty well financed, let's say pro school in Falmouth and be the head coach.* *42:54* *I mean, that's, I don't know if that's stepped down.That's at least a lateral move I would think, depending really on your priorities and life stuff and what do you want to do and yadda yadda yadda.Yeah, I mean, I, I saw that new Thornton Academy weight room on Instagram and that's nicer than any any facility I ever had at the college level.* *43:12* *So I'm like, you know what?That's hey.I mean, Dexter's going to have to win the $1,000,000 to rival that.I know I keep, I keep voting for them.I'm hoping they do.I've I've been seeing all the stuff about that, but it's it's not looking great.It's insane.It's insane.I mean, they're still going to get 25,000, so that'll go not very far, but it'll help, you know, and, and then, you know, they'll need to raise more.* *43:37* *And I, this is where I mentioned you don't know this 'cause I don't have the logo up as we're recording.But Vertical Rays is sponsoring this podcast.And so that's, you know, if they don't win the $1,000,000, go talk to Vertical Rays.And I don't know if they can help you raise $1,000,000, but yeah.Some number trying some number below that.* *43:54* *Yeah, it's.I mean, we know construction costs are ridiculous, but I recently learned how much it costs to like lay a turf field.Why is it $2,000,000?It's $2,000,000.It's at least in Georgia.I know we had like a, my high school, it was like a capital funding campaign or something.* *44:10* *And I was like, Oh yeah, we, we were raising money for the turf field.And somebody was like, yeah, just to lay the pellets and the grass alone, it's close to 2 million, so.Wow, that's I wonder how much that Greeley field cost, because Greeley's got a new field.That's really nice.Yeah, yeah, something outrageous, so and I know in our area like Lewiston has that beautiful field, El just did all those renovations.* *44:29* *I can only imagine what that cost so.The turf at Fitsy's a lot nicer now.Yeah, they got the fancy.Yeah.Yeah, that's good stuff.It's got they got a glow up there and actually.And of course, yeah, I mean, I don't have the stake.* *44:44* *I didn't go to Portland High School, but I think somebody wrote an opinions column about erasure of being an alumni and taking away your logo.I don't know if I feel passionately about my high school logo.Yeah.It's still on the scoreboard.It still says home of Portland Bulldogs on the scoreboard.* *45:01* *Right, exactly.They're still there.It's still near the campus, I mean.You could spray paint it.They do that at games.It's because spray paint the logo on it's.Exactly.Yeah, No, I mean, I don't think it's that deep, but you know, I people, I didn't go there so.People just want to be mad about things, that's all.* *45:19* *This, that's what I've learned doing this, is that like almost every episode, somebody finds something to be mad about and I'm just whatever, dude, OK, You just yeah, just go be you and I'm gonna just ignore you.Exactly.You know you're doing something right when you get your first hate e-mail, you're like, oh, OK, that that hit with a crowd.* *45:38* *I'm I'm doing my job right.Have you gotten any memorable hate emails?Yes.That you would and I be able.To share.Yeah, I, I have a folder on my desktop, like it's called work stuff.And then I save a little folder called like when you hate your job and it's all the like nice kudos I've gotten because if it's ever a particularly hard day, I need to kind of scroll through that.* *46:00* *But I, I don't know if I've gotten any super memorable being hate mail.Maybe I'm not doing it right yet, but I do right.I mean, I guess there was some general like comments towards media during the whole Lisbon hazing scandal.* *46:18* *I was kind of in the trenches working on that.And I think we kind of all parachuted in Nothing, by the way, thank you.Nothing personal came my way with that besides just a few people.Like no, I don't want to talk Go away.But I do remember specifically I did this like expose on the school board in South Carolina and I got some like 85 year old in my inbox.* *46:40* *Like you are a lazy journalist.You never do research.How dare you, you, you have the sauce.I'm like, dude, I just spent 7 hours at a meeting.I'm making $14.00 an hour.Like I just don't have time for you.Like go back to like your designer.It's really, it's like I don't have the energy to deal with you.* *46:56* *So I just, I always think about him.I won't name drop him in case he ever finds me, but I just he like it was like paragraph, paragraph just like ripping me to shreds And I I, I laughed.I was like, I actually like this made my day.Like I'm honored that you took the time to not only like get past the paywall, but then send e-mail.* *47:13* *That's excitation.And if you're really doing an expose that people don't understand how much work that is because your editor's not going to let you just wing it right and be like, yeah, I heard this guy's a jerk, so I'm going to write bad things about him because they're going to make sure that's buttoned up.* *47:30* *Like, I think I've done one of those.And it took a long time.It took months.And it was just like, Oh my gosh, this is exhausting.I'm just.Gonna.Broadcast where I can just talk.Right.And nobody talks about it, but it's like, you know, you write it, it gets edited and then you're not done once it publishes.* *47:47* *I'm like sweating.I'm pacing my house.I'm waiting for the Facebook comments to come in.And, you know, at some point you got to know your work was good, but you're also like, we also deal with the reception of stuff.And, you know, Lisbon specifically, it was not untrue what was written.But then, you know, we finish this and then I got to go stand at the cheerleading sideline or I got to go like walk right back in and kind of been something unfavorable written that you know what happened.* *48:12* *I got to be like, hey, how are you?And just kind of get past so.And you've got to worry that you missed something too, and that like, a shoe is going to drop and like, and you're like, you know, you did the work and, you know, you buttoned it up really, really well, but you're never 100% sure about that.* *48:31* *You know, someone could have lied to you, whatever.But yeah, I know the thing you're talking about because I'll like do a podcast or I'll do a newsletter or whatever and then I'll walk into a gym and I'll be like, oh, there's the guy.I just.Right.Yeah.And it's like you're like looking to like, do I talk to them or they do they hate me?* *48:49* *Like I am human too, so.Yeah, yeah.And I think once you've the first couple times people are like, oh, they've got an axe to grind.And then that, at least for me, I found it kind of goes away because you've come down negative on almost everybody eventually and said something positive about everybody eventually.* *49:10* *And then people just go, OK, well, they're just doing a thing.And it's they're just being as truthful or as honest or as fair as they can be.And then I think people get to the point where they go, you know what he they're covering us and they're talking about us.* *49:27* *And that's the most important thing.Right.And I think what's really cool too about Maine specifically in like The Maine sports world is I've only ever had an interview at postgame turned on once and I've covered of games.Yeah, I mean, I won't say who it was.* *49:43* *And it it wasn't even like a it was a regular season game.I think, you know, whether they had a busy schedule or they just weren't feeling it.That was the only time I ever had to write, like declined to comment.But like, win or lose, even some of these coaches that like get absolutely just blown off, just such a bad game.They're still like waiting for the media to like talk to us and like give us an honest favorite interview.* *50:01* *And just so nice, like just seeing people actually still like, OK, you know, I might not like what you write about me.I might not have liked help this game win.But I appreciate you being here.I appreciate you taking the time.And it's kind of this like indebted gratitude that goes both ways.* *50:17* *Like I appreciate you for, you know, taking the time to talk to us.Then also you're you're sitting aside the time you're sitting to like, you're waiting to talk to me.Like you probably want to go home after losing 76 to 0, but you're going to say.We want to go to the bar.Right, Exactly, exactly.And I'm walking up and I'm saying, and how did that make you feel like I'm your therapist?* *50:34* *So you know, it's it's it's a two way street, but they're it's just it's very nice.You're just the reception that people have to like, you know, people that show up to games time and time again.And also while I'm on this rant, I am shocked every time how the bleachers are absolutely full for like a regular season game.* *50:51* *Like people in Maine go hard for high school sports, and I didn't really appreciate that till I started working in it.Yeah, I, I think part of it is because we don't have professional sports, or at least, you know, it's Boston's kind of far.And we did about look how much people are showing up for Hearts of Pine.* *51:08* *And unreal, I mean.And how well the sea dogs draw.Yeah, yeah, it's crazy.I mean, it's really cool to see.And I can only imagine like being a senior guy that's like the quarterback, like just the amount of risk you have in your community.But it's just like, it's so cool to see like how invested everybody is.* *51:26* *And, you know, you talk to anybody and they can reflect on the time like they were on this team.And it's just, it's like a really cool thing to see and kind of unique to name.And you haven't been to basketball games in Aroostook County yet?You.Want to see some people who are crazy, like have you been to any of the Caribou games when they've come down for the States?* *51:45* *No, I've never.Seen those people are insane.Yeah.And I have said this on multiple podcasts and they have reminded me of it multiple times, but they're all always very cool about it.They're always like, yeah, man, we.Are insane.Yeah, they own it and I love that.Owning it.* *52:01* *Yeah, I I absolutely love that.I mean, I remember it was like last year, the Madeleine Dupre like final four seconds foul lying show.Hearing about that even was just everyone freaking out.And then it's just it's, it's, it's got to be so fun to play high school sports here.Well, what happened with that is the play happened and then the game was over and I was walking somewhere, just walking around, you know, getting up to walk around.* *52:25* *And one of the MPA guys goes, did you get video of the last free throw?And I go, yeah, he goes, I think she went over the line.So I brought it up and I'm like, you're right, she's over the line.And so then I, of course, put it on on social media because that's what you have to do there.* *52:46* *And then everybody got, then it blew up and people started arguing about it left and right.But it was an MPA person who was like, I know who I can ask who will stir the pot?Here.And you stir that.Pot kick the hornet's nest because I'll gladly kick the hornet's nest on that because it's fun.* *53:05* *Yeah, I, I think I was like 2 days out of surgery when this game happened.But I remember hearing about just the drama and my primary care doctor went to Caribou and played basketball.And I remember I was like 6 months later, I'm in for my physical and she's like, Can you believe that game?And I was like, girl, I know, I know.I had the Biddeford coach on after it and she was she like to your point of what you were talking about, she was very good at showing up on a long form podcast, which she absolutely did not have to do.* *53:34* *And talk about the game and talk about that play and talk about her emotions going through that in real time and then second guessing herself.And I was really impressed with her for doing that.Yeah, I mean everyone.I don't know if I would have done that.* *53:49* *You know, the most talented players, the winners, but I like, I mean, I don't want to call them losers, but the people that lose, the people that have those blowout losses, those are my favorite interviews.Or like, you know, the people that were secondary to the biggest play because those are always like the most well spoken, the most thoughtful interviews.* *54:04* *So that's always what I prefer.I always like the story when the team because when the team breaks the long losing streak, I always like that because I've been on some teams with some losing streaks and like the Wiscassi girls when they broke their like 8 year losing streak and Mick LaBelle for Lincoln County News just happened to think, you know what, I'm going to go on the ferry with them to North Haven because I think that'll be a cool story.* *54:31* *The whole we have to go on a ferry to go to a basketball game.And that was the game they won.And he like he didn't completely luck out because I was talking to him before and he's like, I think maybe this could they have a chance here?This could be competitive and then they won the game.* *54:47* *You got a great story out of it.Hey, and you know what?I'm here for Mount View's redemption arc.The day that Mount View just blows the roof off somebody, I am there at that game.Well, we had that last year with Belfast and Belfast beating Oceanside after, after the whole thing where Oceanside blew them out.* *55:05* *And the video from that was just nuts.Like people were losing their minds.You'd think they'd won the state championship game.It's unreal, Yeah.I mean, I, I just can't imagine too, you know, I not football, but Edward Little volleyball, kind of, I covered some of their games and I know they just became a program and they kept losing and I think they were like, oh, and 14 and then just seeing them go, I don't know their record now, but just like winning game after game.* *55:32* *It's like it's so fun to be with a team that like finds their footing.And I mean, you see that in so many sports.It's just, it's so fun.I've been going to volleyball games because Madonna has a new program and my niece is one of the starters and, well, I don't know, just a starter.They do the thing where they have the person with the different color jersey and.* *55:50* *Yeah.Yeah, yeah.So my niece is on the floor with the starters and is announced as a starter, and then she immediately comes out for the person in the other jersey and then rotates back in at some point.So I I think she's probably a starter anyway.They it's been fun to watch them.* *56:06* *Like the improvement they've made over the course of the year has been really impressive.And yeah, like, they had a game against MDI where it looked like in the first set that they were gonna get destroyed and it was competitive at the end.And some of those girls hit the ball really, really hard.* *56:24* *And I would want no part of that.I feel that way about several sports, like watching the Lions permission football and just thinking like I obviously never played football.Thinking about somebody coming at you full throttle, just absolutely decking you.No, no, thank you.And then, like volleyball, yeah, there's so many times where I'm, like, cringing on the sideline and they just get up and, you know, walk away.* *56:45* *And I just.I literally can't imagine going through that.Same with libel.You know, the libero was just absolutely diving to the ground and just, I mean, mad respect, but I that just seems absolutely awful to me.There's 5 or 6 football plays a game where I'm like, no, I would, I'd be done for a week.* *57:02* *I would, I would never get up again.They would just bury me there.They would just stick across in the ground right here and I'd be done.Literally or you know, you see like somebody's tackling kind of, you know, Morehead than body and you're like, Oh my God, they're definitely going to go down.Or somebody's clutching their knee and they're like, oh, it's just a cramp.* *57:19* *And I'm like, it's just every time I'm like, oh, I'm expecting to see bones.I'm I'm not ready.Yeah, yeah, yeah.All right, let's move on to D 'cause I know you've seen some D schools here.Have you seen Winthrop?Right 'cause Winthrop is really good.* *57:35* *Yes, haven't seen them yet this season.I haven't covered them past years.I have.They've also only given up 20 something points.Yeah, no, unreal.I mean, just the depth they have on that team and just, it's unreal.* *57:51* *And what Joel's done there, it's just crazy.And I, I mean, I feel like the craziest kind of, I don't know how recent this is, but Dirigo Hudson, Hudson Lufkin being out with an injury, you know, I know I heard rumors possibly ACL and obviously having just done that, that's a long recovery.* *58:09* *So, you know, you know, he's a competitive wrestler.You know that he's just, I remember interviewing Josh Newhall when he first started and he's like, I'm so excited to get to coach Hudson Lufkin and just you absolutely hate to see that.I I know he's not a senior, so he'll have that time to come back, but that's just a really tough go.* *58:25* *But this kind of early in the season and I've done some stuff with Oak Hill, I haven't covered a game yet.I know when they played Morse, I heard, I know they completely blew out Morse, but obviously they're too kind of looking at the bigger picture, getting to kind of dedicate this season to Isaac Graham passed away.* *58:45* *I remember one of the few games I covered last season was the Oak Hill.It was at Freeport and it was, I think it was a regional final.I can't remember exactly what it was, but like he had the game-winning catch and I got to interview him.So that's kind of a full like I know someone was on your podcast talking about when it's like bigger than just the game itself.* *59:04* *And that's kind of a cool moment.But they kind of have that story to play for Poland.I know it's been doing pretty well.They have David Martin, I want to say his name is.That's really, really good.And then I mean Lisbon I again, I love a redemption.I love AI, love an arc.* *59:21* *You know, we're O and 5:00, but that doesn't mean we're done.So I think you know Walter Poulton can really?I asked in the.Preseason if Lisbon could pull a Falmouth, and that take has aged poorly.And you know.What?Well.We can't all be winners.Yeah, They what they don't lack there is passion, and you know, it's it.* *59:43* *It's might not be their year.They're not done yet.Same with Mountain Valley.I know Pat Mooney's a very good coach.So again, you know, you're O and five.That doesn't mean you're done.You're you.They almost beat O Kill last week.Exactly.See.Yeah, they're they're still kicking.Yeah.* *59:59* *Let's see who else have we got?Let's see it NI mean John Baps.I will be honest, I don't know where John Baps is and that might be bad on me, but it sounds like Northern Bangorish Bangor area.OK, they.Play They play their home games at the cross at the Cross Insurance.* *1:00:15* *Oh, OK.Yeah, yeah, yeah.I feel like I was here of them with volleyball, not as much football but obviously being 5 and I was.Huge.Their girls soccer team is really good too.Yes, yeah, yeah.Yeah, or maybe it was their boys soccer team knows their boys soccer team won the region last year.* *1:00:32* *Right.Yeah, yeah, yeah, I do remember this, yeah.But yeah, I mean.I mean, they played.I'm definitely more familiar with S Yeah, sure.Yeah.And then do you guys have Miranda Cook in your region?They're more central Maine, so I've covered them in some stuff.* *1:00:50* *I haven't really touched them with football yet, but yeah, I know.I mean, I know them from lacrosse more so than football.Sure, and they have a very good basketball program.They do that.They do.They have a very good coach.How much?Here's a question, because you've come coming in from away.* *1:01:08* *How tricky is it to pick up the history stuff?Like like.Miranda Cook's coach is Travis Magnuson, who is one of, you know, on everybody's shortlist of best high school basketball players from Maine.* *1:01:24* *And like, so you're coming in as just this guy and like, people have to sort of explain all this stuff to you, right?Is it, is there a thing where people are explaining it to you?Or they're like, oh right, you don't know.Or they just assume you're going to know.Because obviously, you know.* *1:01:39* *Travis would be.It was great at George's Valley.How would you not know that?Right, right.And I'm like, I have no idea who you're talking about.It's interesting.George's Valley is.That's not.Even school.Anymore, Yeah.It's you definitely have to do your research extra.I think I kind of come into stuff like with an idea and I'm not always afraid to ask just because I mean, I think people are very receptive to questions and you know, I will find out something from an interview and I'll be like, wait, what was that name?* *1:02:08* *And then I'll spell it out and then I can go look it up after so.You're like Cindy.What?Cindy Blodgett.Exactly.Yeah.You know, I I I think I'm enough into it that I'm starting to find some familiar footing.I think my biggest thing is just why does Maine have so many awards?* *1:02:23* *Like, I don't know, like you got Mr. And Miss Maine basketball, Western Miss Vein field hockey, and it's just like, how many freaking awards are there, I think.Everybody does that.Not in Georgia, we don't.Oh, you don't, all right.No, no.So it's a that's been interesting.* *1:02:38* *But yeah, I mean, I think just like doing your research before the game, you know, sometimes it is nice to come in with a fresh perspective because, you know, I'm not going to write the same story that everyone else has written or that other people have written just because I don't always have that knowledge.But, you know, I talked to some of the guys on our team that have been here 30-40 years and just it's like a word vomit of like every record.* *1:02:59* *And then, you know, they'll be like, oh, my God, remember that state game in 1987?I'm like, no, I wasn't born.Like this is what are you talking about?So there's definitely moments where I'm like, oh, OK, this is like, I gotta really do my research here.There's the shorthand of it where you're like, what, what's going on?And like someone will probably be like, you remember the five overtime game and everyone's like, oh, yeah, the five overtime game.* *1:03:18* *Sure, yeah, sure.And you're like, you're like a game went to five overtimes, OK.Great, good for everybody.You know, that sounds it was easier before the MPA updated their website and I know they kind of did that right as we're doing our previews we're like where did all the historical data go?And it's kind of slowly working its way back, but.* *1:03:35* *There's a site for basketball, there's the Frank Spanky site.Have you found, Have you, Has anyone told you about that?I've heard of it, I've never used it.It's got like the heel points back to like the 40s and stuff.It's got all this archives and like 1000 point scores and stuff like that.* *1:03:53* *So you don't want to Google it on a work computer because bad things could happen, but that's how you have to find it.For how hard people like, remember stuff and just ride for me and I'm like, there's got to be like some old dusty binder in someone's like athletic locker room.* *1:04:08* *Like they can like, Oh yeah, I have everything from like 1800.So I was like, it's got to be out there somewhere.But.There's something.In the digital age, I was like, where is the NBA site?That's the Frank Spanky site.He's got like tourney results, like every tournament game ever played.I think he's got on there.* *1:04:24* *Right.And yeah, and the main high school football page is beautiful.I'm always on there.So you definitely, you got people that have backed it up.But when I when everything I know got kind of moved, I was like, oh God, oh, we're entering season blind.The new The new site has been an adventure.It has and I'm intrigued how we're naming categories and when we're changing them, why we're changing them because I'll it'll be one name one week and then it moves.* *1:04:46* *I'm like, where are we going?What's happening?So.I found a thing Sunday or Saturday where you can create custom filters of scores.And so like if for a coach, you could say show me all of the scores of Boys Be South and it will just have all those teams in Boys Be South and this will have every score involving those teams.* *1:05:10* *We'll be right there.And that I found was super helpful because I was having trouble finding older games and as opposed to just going to each school and looking at their schedule and be like, Oh my gosh, it's taking forever.So now I have a filter, all boys soccer, all girls soccer, all field hockey.* *1:05:27* *And then I can just hit that and scroll through it and be like, OK, here we go, right?So that's gonna help.I can even tell you like how many times I've printed out the heel page, heel point pages like I my poor printer, but it's like I'll just.Packs.Of them and then I'll just it's a process, but you know it's yeah I I love when you like discover a new feature like wait that makes my job so much easier.* *1:05:48* *So not to talk out of school, but I think you signed up for my site today.Have you looked at that heel point page yet?No, I haven't dug in.I was like, oh, I should probably subscribe to the podcast that I'm going to go to.So I I hit you, I hit Michael Hopper's page and all my subscriptions.* *1:06:06* *But no, I haven't.I haven't had the chance to dig around yet today.It's it's a much better experience.And I don't say that in boasting and that's just a factual statement, right?But it's much more helpful to see a team at a glance and a region at a glance and it's much faster, right?* *1:06:24* *So.And I love that so and that's why I'm subscribing.So you won't have.To print so much as much stuff out is what I'm.Saying beautiful.You can just have it on your phone and look at it really quickly and be like, oh, OK, they've got these games coming up.Great.Yeah, exactly.Let's move to 8 man.* *1:06:39* *We'll do eight man real quick, and then I'll let you go because it's late.It's like 1030, all right.Eight man large.So Camden Hills seems to be running away with the north.I saw them.They had a really great game against Mount Ararat where they were down at the half and then came back.* *1:06:58* *You've I'm guessing seen spruce and spruce and Lake Region are in your region.Right for.Your coverage area, so they're only four teams are getting in here on each side.Right, so so I was supposed to go to the Yarmouth GNG game because GNG is our area last week.* *1:07:17* *Yeah, G and GS our area.I think we kind of dabble as the impress Herald, but OK, show up Thursday at the stadium.They were going to play Yarmouth.I was like, all right, this will be my kind of my eight man preview of the season because I didn't actually get to 8 man until championships last year.But you know, I'm there and I'm standing there with a photographer and I was like, there's no football game.* *1:07:35* *And then I go on their Instagram and naturally it got moved fresh.I wish fine, whatever.But so I didn't get to see them, you know, we've got a Mount Ararat guy on the squad, so he usually is at those games.But yes, Bruce is our region GNG.I think that's it on here.* *1:07:53* *Lake Region's Herald.OK.So one of those teams is not going to the tournament because only four today.Yep, Yep.Oh, both sides, yeah.And N oh gosh.I mean.I mean, I probably feel like Waterville's out.* *1:08:10* *Probably Waterville, but again, as I've said tonight, you know the O and fives, they might find a resurgence.They might have that moment where you know, they lose.I don't I don't know if it's bad juju for them to say that somebody might have the yips, but maybe they lose the yips and they get her on.Hey.Hey, turnovers happened.* *1:08:26* *It's football.The ball bounces happened.Exactly.So, yeah, I would say probably Waterville in the North, just, you know, records speaking alone and then in, you know, in the South, I know I think GN GS got some talented guys.* *1:08:41* *I know somebody on your podcast said they could see like region as the champion.I'd be intrigued by that.I think that might I.Think that was Ryan McLaughlin.Ryan McLaughlin, yeah, some, yeah, which I mean, I love that too.Yeah, I don't know, I think I could kind of see definitely Cape not quite making it in and I it's going to be a toss up for me between Spurs and GNG.* *1:09:05* *So I think like region's kind of finding their way and I it's hard for me to say between Spruce and G&G, but I think it will come down between the two of them.And Yarmouth is going to have a test.They'll get Trape.They have to go to Trape this week after Trape. 86 to nothing.* *1:09:23* *Crime against humanity, apparently.Which and who was that against?Mount View.Which, OK, yeah, I mean, still I I would be shaking in my boots on that.So I'm a scrimmage just having to line up against them, like, no thank you, no thank you.* *1:09:42* *I just love when people get mad about the score, blow out scores because right, it's great content and it's great engagement and I don't have to pay attention to it because it's the same argument.Every time exactly, just post.It walk away.At some .1 team's just inherently better than the other, and it's not.* *1:10:00* *It's not that the other team's bad, they're just not as good.Yeah, yeah, it comes for us all.All right.So small school that there's trape maybe.Yeah.Wait, So Yarmouth.No, maybe it was Telstar who had.Yeah, it was Telstar.Who?Had yeah, Telstar was against Mountain View.* *1:10:16* *Yeah, I remember there about and somebody emailed us and said or it was either on Facebook or e-mail, but they were like, oh, like if you guys want to do a story that was the most points ever scored in an 8 man game, which I that's from the viewer, that's not from my mouth.* *1:10:31* *So that's absolutely not verified, but it would be.Comment was made that that was the most ever scored in an 8 man game.So that would be something interesting to dig into, I thought.Apparently not.Again, I, I, this is me spreading A rumor so I have not verified.* *1:10:49* *But yeah, I remember seeing OB at playoffs last year and they were really, really good and they had Brady Plant planted.I don't know how to say his last name, but did he?I think he graduated though.I I'm gonna get crucified for this if I get it wrong.* *1:11:07* *I think you're right.So you're on the slide, I think he was a senior I.Think you're right?I'm I can already hear the emails coming in.You're actually losing subscribers by having me.On yeah, yeah, people are like, he doesn't know.He can't keep track of every single team.* *1:11:25* *Yeah, yeah.You know, I'm calling for my team Mount View.I think they're gonna.I think I'm not.Gonna turn it around.They're gonna get one win, and that's gonna be bigger than, you know, Old Orchard's 5 S.Hey, Mountain View is still the Mountain View guys.I know some of the Mountain View guys and they are gonna be living off that tourney run where they went to the state game as the seven seed for the next 10 years.* *1:11:48* *They're fine.They're good.They are.They are loving every minute of that and they're good.Old Orchard Beach actually hosts Lake Region this week, which is an interesting match up.Which that feels like the makings of the game of the week.* *1:12:05* *That'll be a good one.Could be up there, could be up there.Could be up there, yeah, I mean Tel I keep.Meaning to you it's one of their games.Telstar's always an interesting game for us.It's always, I mean, they're always, I feel like what the coach is always calling us Devin Roberts, right?* *1:12:21* *I think he's always, you know, has some glowing score that they've done.So they're pretty successful usually and which is interesting 'cause I know Telstra doesn't really excel for compared to a lot of our other schools, but football, they seem to really, really be good.That's their thing.Every school's got their thing.* *1:12:39* *Everyone has their thing.And it's not usually.More than one.For some schools it's drama, but for some schools it's a sport.And you know, some of them, some schools it's, they have a really good, Camden has a really good mountain biking team and they've won like 27 state championships.* *1:12:58* *And I always ask, is anybody else competing in this?Is it just you guys?Is it like you guys and, and like one other school and you're just trading championships back and forth And no one has denied that.* *1:13:13* *So I'm going with it.I think that's what's happening there.But they're also good in basketball, so.An award's an award an.Award's an award, you can hang the.Band like I'm breaking my neck.So I'm I'm impressed.Hey, exactly.All right.Do you want to make any outlandish predictions for the rest of the football season that will definitely get put on a bulletin board and come back to haunt you?* *1:13:37* *Oh.OK, I'm going to think.I'm going to think before I speak, OK, Something I don't always do, OK, My outlandish OK kind of goes hand in hand with the story at Lewis that I'm working on.* *1:13:56* *But they have a couple guys.First time ever seeing or playing American football.I think we're getting pretty close to them popping off.So that might be my hot take.As you know, I was out of practice.They're definitely they've got the athleticism, they're getting the terminology down.* *1:14:11* *They might be O in five right now, but I see them kind of having a resurgence and at least getting a few wins.I'm not going to say playoffs, but I'm going to say like all of a sudden we're going to make wait, where are these guys?What's going on?Where do these guys come from?Yeah, I like it.Yeah.Yep, that's probably my hot take.* *1:14:27* *So that'll be a fun story to look forward to, because exactly that sounds great.A little snippet of something going on there, but yeah, you know, I love when kind of sneaks their way in mid season and you're like, wait a minute, like where did you come from?Where have you been?Mm hmm.There was a kid on Camden who it was the game I saw.* *1:14:44* *It was his second ever football game and it was a big dude.He was like 65 like and big like a defensive lineman.They're like, Oh yeah, he played soccer last year.I'm like, that's him exactly.He is jacked to be playing soccer.* *1:14:59* *I usually think there's tiny scrappy people.Yeah.Yeah.And that, you know that.So I was just going to say that reminds me, too.I know Wells, Tim Roche was saying that their quarterback was, it was his first season ever playing Tim.That guy had an arm on him like, Dang, watching some of his throws.But yeah, I guess the guy that they kind of were going to have in was like, Nah, I'm going to pursue other stuff instead.* *1:15:20* *And this guy, no, at McDonough was like sick.I'll play quarterback and you know, rest is history.I'll be the big.Man on the push down passes left and right so.Cool, cool.All right, So one more question for you.But before I asked you that where can people find your stuffs on journal obviously.* *1:15:38* *Sun Journal, Varsity Maine, Maine Trust for local news.It's a, we're kind of one big company, so we have our separate papers, but if you go to Press Herald, Central Maine Sun Journal, you can find all of our work there.And then I will plug varsity dot Maine on Instagram.That's where we post a lot of our video content and we'll do a lot of like highlight reels and fun interviews, post games.* *1:15:58* *So you'll get some of that too if you're more of a a watcher than a reader.Cool, cool.All right, so this is the question I ask everyone, but you probably aren't prepped to it because you just listened to people who'd already been on the show before and so they'd already answered the question like 2 years ago.OK, so here's the scenario.* *1:16:15* *The MPA comes to you and they go, OK, we're putting you in charge for one day.You have unlimited authority and power.You can do whatever you want.It will be implemented.What is the thing you choose?* *1:16:33* *Oh my God, wow.First off, you've made a mistake.If I'm in charge, but I think I'm going in, I'm going into winter ice hockey and I'm breaking up every Co-op.Why do we have 10 schools Co-op?That's unreasonable.* *1:16:49* *Why are we driving through three towns?And you know, you're seeing, I think one of our reporters was saying we're down to like 28 teams total.Why do we have so many cops?I want to see, you know, Winslow as its own team.I want to see Lewis and his own team.I'm co-ops cease to exist in hockey and we bring the sport back.* *1:17:05* *Interesting.How do these teams then have enough players?See, that's probably why they're co-ops.So we're we're going to recruit people, we're going to get them.On the part of your power is like you are playing hockey.Right, exactly.I'm no, you are actually not skiing.You're going to go on the ice, you're going to play.* *1:17:22* *Maybe they play three on three.Even better, see the eight man equivalent of hockey.I like it, I like it.That's a new one.No one's picked that one yet.There we go.And I've had some outlandish ones.So, so very nice.* *1:17:40* *I would love to see ice hockey.It's such an unfamiliar sport to me, but it's I sure love seeing them shove each other into the wall.And really just even the girls too.I mean, I didn't expect the girls to be as physical as the guys.Some of those games.I was like, you guys are more aggressive.Like, you know, that'd be great for anger management to just absolutely deck somebody against the boards.* *1:17:57* *And obviously they're not like the person alone.From watching JV girls basketball, you would expect them to bang into each other and throw each other against the wall because that's what they're doing there.Right, this is true.You know.Who said the girls gave isn't us physical, it's sometimes more.* *1:18:13* *It's more chaotic sometimes for sure.It's harder to do stats for, that's for sure right?Yeah.All right, I've taken up enough of your time.Thank you so much for doing this.Thank.You.Sunjournal.com and Varsity Main and all that.* *1:18:31* *Yes, sounds good.Thank you.Thank you.OK.Thank you, Haley, so much for joining me.That was a lot of fun.And that's pretty much going to be the show.No Movie Corner this week.Bring that back next week.Thanks to Haley or of the Sun Journal.* *1:18:50* *You can read her The Sun Journal.Thanks again to Vertical Rays for sponsoring this podcast.Because you're going to need to raise some money probably probably a month ago.You probably needed to raise money several weeks ago and you're just getting around to it.* *1:19:07* *So call, get Vertical Rays on the phone, get them in there to help you raise money.You won't.You won't regret it.OK?This has been a production of Maine basketballrankings.com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball from Ashland to York and everywhere in between.This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts and a bunch of places you don't.* *1:19:28* *If you enjoy this, please leave a nice review because it really does help out with the algorithms.Tell your friends, tell your enemies.Thanks for listening.* ### TA Crushes Portland URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ta-crushes-portland/ Last updated: 2025-10-06T10:23:44.000Z The Game of the Week usually delivers. If the game isn't great, it's usually at least decent. But sometimes it's like giving the ball to Rhamondre Stevenson--an absolute disaster. The Week 5 Game of the Week was a no-brainer. A rematch of the Class A state championship game, 1 vs. 2 in the Varsity Maine poll. 2 vs. 4 in the Power Rankings. So I headed to Fitzy for Thornton Academy and Portland. Turns out it was a Rhamondre Stevenson carry. Portland's first three possessions were a shanked punt, a fumble, and a 4 and out. Thornton Academy scored on all three short fields and the game was over so fast I spent more time sitting in Red's Eats traffic than the game was competitive. And it wasn't just some possession luck. Thornton Academy dominated both sides of the ball, led by Connor Ayoob, who Portland couldn't stop on the ground. It was pretty late in the game before Portland even got across mid-field. In the end, we got into running time and Thornton Academy avenged their loss in the Gold Ball game with an absolute thrashing of the Bulldogs and it easily could have been worse, if not for some acrobatic interceptions by Portland deep in their own territory. Steve Craig was there with the writeup. [Thornton thumps top-ranked PortlandThe No. 2 Golden Trojans get a bit of redemption for last year’s loss in the Class A title and shut out the Bulldogs.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-4.png)The Portland Press HeraldSteve Craig![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43012454_20251003_football_3.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/10/03/thornton-football-thumps-top-ranked-portland/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) When you combine that result with Bonny Eagle's 34-8 road win over Oxford Hills, there starts to be some clarity and separation in the Power Rankings. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-05-at-9.10.07---PM.png) [Football Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) We'll get into that a little more in this week's Overreactions podcast, which hasn't been recorded yet, because of (hopefully) Rhamondre Stevenson's last game as a Patriot. --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **### Elsewhere** **Colby McCormack had a TD and 2 picks in Bonny Eagle's win at Oxford Hills...Kevin True's 2 picks helped Cheverus shut down Deering...Parker Morin added [4 more TDs to his huge year](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/10/03/cony-football-steamrolls-fryeburg-moves-atop-class-b-north/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) as Cony moved to 5-0 with a blowout of Fryeburg. The win made B.L. Lippert the winningest coach in school history...Gardiner forced 6 Medomak Valley turnovers to beat the Panthers and keep Rob Kennedy's dream of Cony and Gardiner both being 7-0 when they meet alive (we need a better name for that)...Tres Walker tossed 3 TDs and ran for another as Falmouth continued to get back in a winning groove...Austin West rushed for 271 yards and 3 TDs as Kennebunk rolled...Nick Doughty rushed for 3 scores as Mt. Ararat made a statement win over Lake Region...Colin Moody caught a touchdown pass from Noah McDonough with 19 seconds left to give [Wells a huge win over Leavitt](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/10/03/wells-football-beats-leavitt-in-tight-class-c-battle/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Class C is gonna be a WAR...Iggy McGrath threw 6 touchdown passes as Yarmouth beat GNG in 8-man...Mark Lapointe threw for 3 TDs and ran another one in as Noble erased a 21-0 lead to stun Marshwood...Telstar beat Mount View 86-0\. Cue the Facebook outrage.** **### Rankings** **I'm starting to find some helpful things in the new MPA site, like the fact that you can add your own custom filter of results. You could make a filter of all of yesterday's games in, say, soccer and field hockey...or...all of the soccer scores...or...all of the scores in your region (which will be SUPER helpful for scoreboard watching to see how the Heal Points shake out). Anyway, I made some custom filters and that helped me clean up the missing soccer and field hockey scores, which means: updated rankings!** **Here's boys soccer:** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-05-at-9.45.45---PM.png)** **See where your team is.** [Soccer & Field Hockey Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) --- ### Heals Heal Points are also updated. You'll notice they also calculate Crabtree (and Heals for football, because why not?) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-05-at-10.14.11---PM.png) [Fall Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-heal-points/) --- Portland freshman Nora Schmidt won the Festival of Champions in Belfast by 25 seconds(!). Do we maybe have a new Maine running star? [Maine runners beat heat, sweep Festival of ChampionsNora Schmidt of Portland and Alex Gilbert of Freeport win the girls and boys seeded races at the annual meet.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-5.png)The Portland Press HeraldDave Dyer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43029362_20251004_AEestivalofchampions_5366.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/10/04/maine-runners-beat-heat-sweep-festival-of-champions/?fbclid=IwY2xjawNQBuZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETF5MzZteG9JM3pMNUJ2cEtWAR5UbR%5Fm88Xf%5FG31vlaKrqi5Se70bMiCdUjjOgYP2gWqbQ97FrPhwjkFbgbIrA%5Faem%5F-9bPDy0pNDzap8w8fpTUbQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Don't forget to vote for Dexter in the T-Mobile Friday Night 5G Lights contest. They're in third place, which means we're still losing to Arkansas. Arkansas. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-05-at-10.33.05---PM.png) You can vote every day. [VOTE DEXTER](https://www.t-mobile.com/brand/friday-night-5g-lights/a?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Rhamondre Stevenson now has 2 TDs and I take back nothing I said. TreVeyon Henderson could have done that, had he been in the game. Cut Stevenson. --- The spreads are up for Monday's games. [SpreadsBut did you beat the spread?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-46.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Spreads-5.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spreads/) **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link.](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter (always)](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### Week 5! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/week-5-2/ Last updated: 2025-10-03T10:46:48.000Z Look: we're required to hate this kid from the Yankees and we will, but that was one hell of a performance last night. Tip the cap. I thought Connelly Early looked promising before his defense let him down. Oh well. Fall is here, I guess. --- Also here is Week 5 and with it, a couple of interesting matchups and a potential Gold Ball preview. But first, if you haven't caught up on Week 4 yet, Jay Baines and I covered it for you on the podcast. As part of it, we discussed Bonny Eagle's surprising ascent to #1 in the Power Rankings. But Jay's unsure if that makes them the favorite. [Make sure you subscribe on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- --- Rankings are updated for soccer and field hockey. I'm sure I'm missing games as I try to get the hang of this new MPA website and figure out how to find the reported scores. Here's boys soccer: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-02-at-10.36.53---PM.png) [Soccer & Field Hockey](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) --- Never do this. I've been at games where this happens. It's terrible. Never do it. > At the high school game i'm at the PA announcer is doing play-by-play > > — [Sickos Committee (@sickoscommittee.org)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:upyx3raxzpwlnzojrncogd7y?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2025-10-02T23:41:20.239Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:upyx3raxzpwlnzojrncogd7y/post/3m2aq4uongs2y?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- There aren't a whole lot of baseball cards with Mainers on them--I have a Billy Swift '88 Topps card in a shoebox somewhere--and I'm quite certain they haven't put any Mainers on the box. > Cooper Flagg is your cover athlete for 2025-26 Topps Basketball! > > Arriving 10/23 🏀 [pic.twitter.com/59uOgooREY](https://t.co/59uOgooREY?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Topps (@Topps) [October 2, 2025](https://twitter.com/Topps/status/1973749831383630105?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Another first! [ ![](//a.impactradius-go.com/display-ad/10661-3217736)](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/c/5077352/3217736/10661?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)![](https://imp.pxf.io/i/5077352/3217736/10661) --- Dexter is still in third place in the T-Mobile contest where they can win $1M to upgrade their facilities. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-02-at-10.49.41---PM.png) All they need is for you--and all of Maine--to vote. It's free! You can vote once a day and while it might look like these people from Arkansas are running away with it, we can absolutely close that gap. To put it in perspective, there's 3 schools with fewer than 10K votes. Plus, it's Arkansas. Do we want to lose to Arkansas? We can do this! [VOTE DEXTER](https://www.t-mobile.com/brand/friday-night-5g-lights/a?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ## Game of the Day Well this is a pretty easy call. Thornton Academy, viewed by many as the best team in the state, heads to Fitzy to challenge the defending champs. Michael Hoffer has it as his Game of the Week. Varsity Maine does as well. [HHSS Game of the WeekEach Wednesday, we’ll zero in on one of the big upcoming matchups and do a deep dive on that contest. This week’s Game of the Week features a rematch of last year’s Class A state football final, as 3-1 Thornton Academy goes to 4-0 Portland, Friday at 6 p.m.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-5.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/logo-5.png)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/hhss-game-of-the-week-6/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model has TA dropping to 4th this week. The New Hampshire game makes it tricky, because I'm not adding all of New Hampshire football to the Model. Not much separates the top 5\. It's mostly a question of what the teams you've played have done in the other games. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-02-at-10.17.01---PM.png) It's pretty hard to argue against Bonny Eagle. Anyway, Connor Ayoob and the Trojans will head to Fitzy to take on the Fitzy front-runner in Cordell Jones, Portland's [record-breaking](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/09/18/portlands-cordell-jones-was-born-to-play-football/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), defending Gatorade POTY. I'll be there and I'm assuming I won't be alone on the sidelines. WHOU will have Rob Kennedy and Jarod Richmond on the call. Portland will be playing with a heavy heart. > PHS 🏈 Family, > It is with a heavy ❤️ that I share the news of the passing of Ryan Jordan. Ryan was the proud father of #7 Bailey Jordan & #59 Quinn Jordan, and husband of Steph. At this difficult time, we ask for your strength, support, prayers for the Jordan family. ❤️ [#11AS1](https://twitter.com/hashtag/11AS1?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/S8ykhPJjrC](https://t.co/S8ykhPJjrC?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — PHS Football (@PHS\_BulldogsFB) [October 3, 2025](https://twitter.com/PHS%5FBulldogsFB/status/1973917614280741347?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model says Portland by 12\. That's way too high. The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### My Kid, the Pundit? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/my-kid-the-pundit/ Last updated: 2025-09-30T10:15:22.000Z There were a lot of intriguing matchups on the Week 4 calendar. Multiple clashes between 3-0 teams. So why did I find my way to Waldoboro for Leavitt @ Medomak Valley? Well, that's my team and it was Homecoming and the children wanted to go. Plus, I wanted to see Leavitt again. Does Rhys care about football? No. Does he love to be in videos? 100%. I'm really only putting the video in here to keep him happy. His prediction was very wrong. > My 8 year old has predicted 2 games and has been wildly wrong in both of them. He might be the next Clay Travis. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [September 27, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1971774324307808287?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Medomak had Jaydiin Ruiz back for this game, after missing the first 3 with a hand injury that required 46 stitches. It didn't really matter, as Ruiz wasn't in game shape (fun fact: it's hard to run and do cardio with stitches in your hand, as it jostles them with every step). Leavitt dominated this game, scoring on every possession except one. And the one is interesting. At the end of the half, Medomak punted down to the 1-ish yard line with 2.4 seconds left. Obviously, you take a knee here, but it was close enough that there was a risk of a safety, so Leavitt decided to throw it deep. What could go wrong? That's basketball player Owen Dostie with the almost pick 6\. He also scored Medomak's only touchdown, as Leavitt showed why they're Leavitt en route to a 50-6 blowout. In the car after the game, Rhys asked if the other team had a superpower. I sent that to Hathaway and he replied "hard work". Rhys wasn't impressed. He also crashed the Week 4 Overreactions podcast. He's on a bit of a media tour. Maybe he has a new album coming out. Jay Baines joined me for the Week 4 Overreactions podcast. We tried to figure out if every class should get rid of regions like Class C did, the chances of Gardiner and Cony both being 7-0 when they meet to finish the season, Bonny Eagle's stifling defense, Bapst's win over Winslow, and a bunch more. Plus, whether or not hard work is a superpower. [Click here to subscribe to the YouTube channel. ](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) As always, you can listen/watch on Spotify. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/5wnhOSjZ7LrtfPX09ycxCG?si=5-tFluy4SOm7fyQ0fAmOPg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Or listen on Apple Podcasts [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/week-4-overreactions-with-jay-baines/id1675940033?i=1000729057158&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- There were a bunch of really good games this weekend. Cony outlasted an Oxford Hills comeback! Boothbay beat Traip in overtime! Deering beat Lewiston by 1! Marshwood beat Cheverus by 1! Orono won a shootout over Dexter! Falmouth got a statement win over Gorham! Speaking of Dexter, they're trying to win this T-Mobile contest to get a $1M influx for their facilities. They're currently in third place. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-29-at-10.37.14---PM.png) But third place is no good. We need the whole state to show up for Dexter. [VOTE DEXTER](https://www.t-mobile.com/brand/friday-night-5g-lights/a?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- The football rankings are updated and they're starting to round into shape. The big surprise is Bonny Eagle rising to number 1\. They're only giving up 3 points a game, which is a surefire way to win ballgames. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-29-at-10.40.01---PM.png) [Football Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) --- I'm pretty sure this isn't allowed. > A player from the opposing team came off the sideline to tackle a Fairview (TN) player after an interception😳 > > The refs would go on to reward Fairview with a touchdown. > > (via [@Brooks\_615](https://twitter.com/Brooks%5F615?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com))[https://t.co/QS4C2dV7gh](https://t.co/QS4C2dV7gh?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/Zhy4REtLzg](https://t.co/Zhy4REtLzg?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rivals High School (@Rivals\_HS) [September 27, 2025](https://twitter.com/Rivals%5FHS/status/1972010375164957113?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Cooper had his first NBA Media Day, which wasn't nearly as interesting as the Clippers' Media Day (iykyk), but still fun. > "4-5 hours in a row, out in the sun, picking peas." > > How Cooper Flagg built work ethic during his summers growing up in Maine! 🫛 [pic.twitter.com/jq5L4T4nkR](https://t.co/jq5L4T4nkR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA (@NBA) [September 29, 2025](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1972723739071836487?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- You can get the spreads for all of today's games here: [SpreadsBut did you beat the spread?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-45.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Spreads-4.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spreads/) ### Week 4! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/week-4/ Last updated: 2025-09-26T11:37:12.000Z Well we finally got some rain, which washed out most of yesterday's slate. That should set up a busy (and dry) weekend around the state. But first, we have to overreact to Week 3 with the help of this week's guest on the podcast: Marc Calnan of [Eastern Maine Sports](https://www.facebook.com/EasternMaineSports). If you're unfamiliar with Eastern Maine Sports, Marc and his team do a great job covering multiple sports, primarily in Eastern Maine, but they cover a lot more than that. We go around the state, class by class, and take a look at who's emerging as contenders, who really needs a win this week to keep their season alive, and who can maybe start to think about basketball season (it's never too early to think about basketball season). Plus, we talk a little basketball and I do another movie corner. Check it out! [Click here to subscribe to the YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). As always, you can listen to it on Spotify, if that's your preference. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/1XjRpk34BNAThTxQInqbQH?si=CteRwjQOQEuVuntIHRHAug&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Or Apple Podcasts: [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/week-3-overreactions-with-marc-calnan/id1675940033?i=1000728211977&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The schedule-makers did a great job with Week 4's football schedule. We've got multiple matchups between unbeaten teams, like Noble @ Bonny Eagle (Varsity Maine's Game of the Week), Winthrop @ Dirigo, Winslow @ Bapst, and Telstar @ OOB. And that's just the unbeaten teams. There's great games up and down the schedule. --- **### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers** **To get more data, game predictions, and more** **### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal)** **---** **---** **Earlier this week, I went on Gabe Nason's Athlete First Media podcast.** **There's some origin story stuff in here, including my Stephen King tourney story that might be complete nonsense. We also talk about some 90's high school basketball, indie film, and a bunch of other stuff. Is it the only episode in the history of podcasting to mention Richard Linklater and Josh Nash? Probably!** **---** **Please welcome this week's sponsor.** **SPONSORED** **[![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Full-Court-Sports----banner-2.png)](https://www.sportstfp.com/newsletter?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ****Skills for the game. Confidence for life.** **Basketball skills training for 2nd-12th grades.** **Our basketball programs go beyond drills and are led by experienced, high-level coaches (think former D-1 athletes & overseas professional players) who build confidence, teamwork, and leadership. With groups of 10 or fewer, every athlete gets attention that makes a real difference. Parents see growth. Coaches see stronger players. Players gain confidence.** ****📩 Don’t miss a camp, clinic, or training.** ****Join the Full Court Sports™ community today** **[Click Here To Get On The List ](https://www.sportstfp.com/newsletter?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Wanna sponsor this newsletter (or the podcast or the rankings or whatever)? Email me: mainebasketballrankings@gmail.com** **---** **Rankings are updated for Soccer and Field Hockey as well. I'm chipping away at picking up the missing games that didn't get reported on the day, so if you see one that's missing, let me know.** **Here's Field Hockey:** **[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-25-at-10.13.25---PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/)** **[Soccer & Field Hockey](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/)** **So how's the Model doing on the year thus far? Not bad!** **Boys Soccer: 237-59 (80.1%)** **Girls Soccer: 235-68 (77.6%)** **Field Hockey: 140-40 (77.8%)** **Football: 75-43 (63.6%)** **### Heal Points** **If you're new here, you might not know that I calculate my own Heal Points, a thing I built years ago because I wanted a Heal Point experience that was easy to read and contained some data the official Heals at the MPA site just didn't have. It's been a pretty popular function, mostly because it was easy to read and didn't take FOREVER to load (if you know, you know).** **Now there's a new MPA site that's in-progress and the difference between my Heals and the alternative is...stark.** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-25-at-11.11.35---PM.png)** **![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-25-at-11.09.34---PM.png)** **In the fall, my version of the Heal Points also calculates Crabtree for soccer and field hockey (and Heals for football), if that's of interest to you.** [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-heal-points/) --- ### Dexter's cash money Dexter had a very good news day. [‘Just crazy to think about’: Dexter High School could win $1M football prizeAs one of 25 finalists, the school received a $25,000 grant with a shout-out from former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-30.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/PO-sptrends8man-1-22.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/09/25/sports/high-school-football/dexter-high-school-gronk-grant/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They're a finalist in the Friday Night 5G Lights contest put on by T-Mobile. They've already gotten a $25K grant for making the finals, but if they win, they'll get a cool million. At this stage in the process, it's a public vote, so we need the entire state to vote for Dexter, for obvious reasons. [VOTE FOR DEXTER](https://www.t-mobile.com/brand/friday-night-5g-lights/a?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ## Game of the Day Let's head to Class D, where we've got 2 matchups between 3-0 teams, one in the south and one in the north. We're going to focus on the north. Winslow is first in the state in scoring, at 54.67 ppg, and only a point behind Cony in scoring differential with +135 (in three games!). They'll head to Bapst to take on the 5th scoring offense in the state (47.0 ppg). So it'll be a high scoring game, right? Maybe? Bapst is 6th in scoring defense with 9.0 ppg allowed and Winslow is 9th with 9.67 ppg. Something has to give. The Model likes **John Bapst by 14.5**. The rest of the Model's picks for Friday's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Tiger Town URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tiger-town/ Last updated: 2025-09-22T10:16:03.000Z One of the early stories of the football season has been the consensus that Class C could get a little crazy. Maybe it's the one, state-wide region. Maybe it's the lack of a dominant team and the depth of the table. Maybe it's the addition of Class D powerhouses Wells and Foxcroft Academy. Maybe it's the combination of all those. What very few people were counting on was Gardiner dropping down from Class B. It's hard to blame them. The Tigers have gone 4-4 in each of the last 3 years, hardly something that grabs anyone's attention. But through 2 games, Gardiner had only given up 6 points in wins over Oceanside and Old Town, two teams that are a combined 0-6\. So a matchup with Wells naturally caught my interest. We didn't have to wait long. Wells scored on their first possession, a Brady Godin rushing TD, then Gardiner's Brayden Elliott took the kickoff to the house. Godin scored again to push the Wells lead to 12-6 at the half. Godin added his third touchdown of the game in the 3rd quarter and it was starting to look like Wells might run away with it. In the 4th quarter, Justin Doody gave Gardiner their first points from the line of scrimmage to cut the lead to 20-12. Then things got interesting. That's Chase McGrane with the interception. Then with Gardiner in the red zone, the Line Judge ejected the Chain Gang. This had been brewing for a while and I know what you're thinking: they were arguing calls or generally misbehaving, but no. They just kept screwing up. There'd be a big play downfield with a flag and they'd move the chains before learning what the penalty was. They'd have the down wrong. It was kind of a mess. So late in the fourth quarter, the Line Judge hit his limit. He sent them home and an announcement went over the PA system looking for volunteers. Gotta say, that's a first for me. After the delay, McGrane caught a touchdown pass and Gardiner tied the game on the 2-point conversion with about 3:30 to play. Wells had a chance to win it in regulation, but on 4th and 4 from the 20, Elijah Manning broke up the pass and the game went to overtime. High school overtime is similar to college: teams trade possessions from the 10 yard line. Gardiner struck first with Owen Chadwick high-stepping in from the 6 and they converted the 2-point conversion. Wells answered with a 1 yard run from Mason Miles, but they needed the conversion to match. [Subscribe to the YouTube channel for more clips](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Gardiner moves to 3-0\. Mike Mandell has the full story. [Gardiner football surges late, defeats Wells in overtimeThe Tigers rally from a two-score deficit for their first 3-0 start since 2012.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-22.ico)Centralmaine.comMike Mandell![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/42969838_20250919_kjms.wellsgardiner.0920_0y086.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/09/19/gardiner-football-surges-late-defeats-wells-in-overtime/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Not to be out-done, Greely withstood a Falmouth rally to win the Battle of Route 9 in overtime. Michael Hoffer was there on the cushy new Greely turf. [Greely outlasts Falmouth in OT in renewal of Battle of Route 9CUMBERLAND—The Battle of Route 9 always delivers. Always. And let’s hope we never have to wait seven years between meetings again. Saturday evening at Glenn A. Hutchins Field, Greely, which won an eight-man state title a year before returning to 11-man play this season, hosted Falmouth, the reigning Class![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-4.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20250920_223719.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/greely-outlasts-falmouth-in-ot-in-renewal-of-battle-of-route-9/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Greely is also 3-0, as is Hermon, in that crazy Class C. On the site, I calculate Heal Points (and Crabtree) for football (and what Crabtree would be for soccer and field hockey). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-21-at-10.34.40---PM.png) [Heals/Crabtree](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-heal-points/) We're starting to get a little bit of clarity here. Maybe. And to complicate things further, the Model is still high on Wells. And Falmouth! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-21-at-10.43.03---PM.png) [Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) We'll dig deeper into the football slate this past weekend on the Overreactions podcast. If you missed last week's [Jarod Richmond joined me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP8Tyqc8mTU&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and a couple of days later it was announced he won a Maine Association of Broadcasters award for his work doing color commentary for the Basketball State Championship game! Congrats! --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Rankings are updated for Soccer and Field Hockey. Here's Boys Soccer: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-21-at-8.23.23---PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) Before you complain about Fort Fairfield at #1 in Boys Soccer, they're having a pretty good year. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-21-at-8.21.37---PM.png) Plus they've played 7 games (harvest schedule!) and are only 0.021 ahead of Camden, who has only played 4\. They'll very likely fall as other teams catch up in the games played department. [Fall Sports RankingsGOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-43.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/soccer-rankings-1-3.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) --- Nolan Ames went off at TAFT. > [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DO4Lul2kjzE/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by shy (@1pctfilms)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DO4Lul2kjzE/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) --- Leah Frost broke the women's course record by nearly 18(!) minutes at the notoriously difficult Waldoboro Half Marathon. [The Waldoboro Half MarathonThe Waldoboro Half Marathon is on Saturday September 20, 2025.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/icon-11.svg)The Waldoboro Half Marathon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/race79954-social1200x630.bDy-Td.jpg)](https://runsignup.com/Race/Results/79954?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#resultSetId-586945;perpage:100) --- Kelly Flagg was one of this year's inductees to the Maine Sports Hall of Fame. [Cooper Flagg and the ‘Flagg 5’ back in Maine for mom’s hall of fame inductionThe whole Flagg family was there to celebrate as Kelly Flagg was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-29.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/FullSizeRender-1-scaled.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/09/21/sports/cooper-flagg-and-the-flagg-5-back-in-maine-for-moms-hall-of-fame-induction/?fbclid=IwY2xjawM9hNxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFHWFFIaHZ2M1Zmam84QWo4AR4Ck%5FQY4K8KKAo3A8D8otuySXhHtW%5FblYcpAAmXQCDWraJEy3-EdKhHOxuwpw%5Faem%5FAm%5FvCUXJna0u%5FNN%5FIHFJiQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- And finally, spreads are up for all of today's games. [SpreadsBut did you beat the spread?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-44.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Spreads-3.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spreads/) **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link.](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter (always)](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### Football, Etc. URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-etc/ Last updated: 2025-09-19T10:26:48.000Z In [Monday's newsletter](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/greely-and-camden/), I recapped the games I went to over the weekend. And as promised, Jarod Richmond from WHOU joined me to go over the rest of the slate in the weekly [overreactions podcast](https://open.spotify.com/episode/46mwusbSXJ4mUFLSYBVpKl?si=ajtK3lPNTfOzkWIMrXKhKQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). As always, Jarod was a fount of knowledge. We went through the entire state, class by class, to try and get a sense of who's a contender and who isn't. We also took a side trip down the road of the current state of sports broadcasting (conclusion: mixed), Jarod broke down the pros and cons of Heal Points vs. Crabtree, and I encouraged Jarod to tell the story of his recent hole-in-one on the golf course. After the interview, I debuted a new segment called "Movie Corner" with thoughts on the new *Spinal Tap* movie and a [Henry Fonda poker movie](https://letterboxd.com/film/a-big-hand-for-the-little-lady/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) from 1966 that surprised me. Why am I adding a movie segment? Because I want to. [Click here to subscribe to the YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). As always, you can listen to it on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/46mwusbSXJ4mUFLSYBVpKl?si=ajtK3lPNTfOzkWIMrXKhKQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you think Jarod's wrong about your team, put it in the episode comments! --- I've been picky about adding advertising to the newsletter, but this is a natural fit and in a world with a lot of shady actors, these are good people. SPONSORED [![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Full-Court-Sports----banner-2.png)](https://www.sportstfp.com/newsletter?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ****Skills for the game. Confidence for life.** Basketball skills training for 2nd-12th grades. Our basketball programs go beyond drills and are led by experienced, high-level coaches (think former D-1 athletes & overseas professional players) who build confidence, teamwork, and leadership. With groups of 10 or fewer, every athlete gets attention that makes a real difference. Parents see growth. Coaches see stronger players. Players gain confidence. ****📩 Don’t miss a camp, clinic, or training.** ****Join the Full Court Sports™ community today** [Click Here To Get On The List ](https://www.sportstfp.com/newsletter?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ### Football Rankings! The football rankings are updated after week 2\. As always, the rankings start with last season as a baseline. The results after week 1 are pretty wonky for a bunch of reasons, but the short version is: if you beat someone 42-0, does that mean you're really good or is the team you beat really bad or is it somewhere in-between? There's no real way to know, from a pure math standpoint. Now, if next week that team loses 48-0, they probably aren't good and your Week 1 win isn't that impressive. But if they win 20-18, suddenly your Week 1 win looks a lot better. Anyway, here's where we stand after 2 weeks. There will be a lot of movement after this week, I suspect. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-18-at-11.25.39---PM-1.png) Check out where your team ranks. [Football Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more ### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- ### Stickers! For a while now, I've wanted to get stickers, because who doesn't love stickers? But the thought of selling and mailing them and all that seemed like such an unnecessary hassle. But I had to order stickers for the [half marathon](https://runsignup.com/Race/ME/Waldoboro/WaldoboroHalfMarathon?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm in charge of, so I added some stickers to the order. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-18-at-8.50.36---PM.png) But mailing them is still a hassle, so instead I'm going to just give them away. Here's how it's going to work: I'll have some on me at games. Come say hi and I'll give you a sticker! --- ### Down Under Mackenzie Holmes will play winter ball in Australia. This is very common with WNBA players, because the W infamously doesn't pay nearly as much as foreign leagues. [Maine’s only WNBA player is heading to AustraliaMackenzie Holmes, a Gorham native, will soon be playing in the Women’s National Basketball League in Australia.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-28.png)Bangor Daily NewsLarry Mahoney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/AP23050703554721.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/09/16/sports/professional-basketball/mackenzie-holmes-maine-wnba-player-heading-to-australia/?fbclid=IwY2xjawM5oNlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHmW34Wrz1nGXdi9s7w02RCoBXj-XHbGtypt9BDSLWJTpdpBt-tFUIjwh6-jc%5Faem%5Fw63Pe1uZCw3Oq4HKNsDnpg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You can already [buy a jersey](https://wnblstore.com.au/products/geelong-venom-2025-26-replica-home-jersey?variant=47062510272664&fbclid=IwY2xjawM5oQ9leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF0WnJKNUExMWwzY3djU3pnAR7zNNKj5nbDLs3QxkCOPGFO9-dIY9XKjZCQa7ivEw7Pgg3XMMf3L3HF2fuFzA%5Faem%5FKdwq45aFW37TvKRXNoQH2w&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- ### Via Chicago As part of my day job, I produce the Lincoln County News' weekly podcast "Beyond the Broadsheet" and occasionally make an on-mic appearance. This was one of those weeks. I had the pleasure of interviewing John Stirratt, bass player of [Wilco](https://wilcoworld.net/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), which just happens to be my favorite band. For the unfamiliar: We talked about his early days in Louisiana, how he got a gig as a roadie for Uncle Tupelo, which led to him playing with Uncle Tupelo, which led to him forming Wilco with Jeff Tweedy. The rest is rock and roll history. It was a super fun conversation and I even learned something new about *Yankee Hotel Foxtrot*. [Check it out](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/39-wilcos-john-stirratt-and-a-sonic-sleepover/id1779312445?i=1000726886712&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)! --- ## Game of the Week Varsity Maine and Michael Hoffer each have Deering/Portland as the Game of the Week, but the Model disagrees! I sort of suspected Falmouth @ Greely might be the Model's pick, but the spread is too big. Windham is 0-2, but the losses are both close losses, one of which against #1 overall Portland (the Model LOVES when you play the #1 overall team close). They're clearly better than 0-2\. Are they ranked too high? Almost certainly. Quirks of the early season and all that. The Eagles will head to Standish for a battle with Bonny Eagle. The Scots are 2-0 and already +62 on the season. Why is Windham ranked higher? It's pretty simple. They're 4th in the state in Strength of Schedule through 2 games. Bonny Eagle is 56th. But they've got the 4th hardest remaining schedule. We're about to learn just how good they are. They Model thinks Windham can get in the win column, but it's basically a toss-up. **The Model says: Windham +1.6** The rest of the Model's picks for football, soccer, and field hockey are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Podcast: Week 2 Overreactions with Jarod Richmond URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/podcast-week-2-overreactions-with-jarod-richmond/ Last updated: 2025-10-13T04:22:26.000Z With Week 2 in the books, it's time to overreact to what we've seen thus far. This week, my guest is WHOU's Jarod Richmond. We talk Greely/Leavitt, how Class C looks to be an absolute gauntlet this year with Foxcroft and Wells joining and the the move to no regions, Gardiner's quick start, York's terrible start, TA's front-runner status in A, a Fitzy preview, the state of sports broadcasting, and a whole lot more. [Subscribe on YouTube for more episodes like this](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Or Apple Podcasts. Or Spotify. Make sure you smash that subscribe button. --- ### Transcript (auto-generated) *0:02* *Welcome to the Maine Basketball Rankings podcast.I am your host, basketball data nerd, Lucas Mcnelly.Week 2 is in the books.We're starting to get a tiny bit of clarity.Still a long way to go.Still a lot of question marks, still a lot of teams where you're looking at the record and going, huh, Really.* *0:20* *Huh.OK, but we're starting to get, like I said, some clarity.So I went to two games this weekend and hit those real quick.And then Jared Richmond is here.From WHO you to overreact wildly and make rampant and irresponsible speculative statements about a bunch of teams in the state based solely on what has happened in the first two weeks and some other stuff that he's heard along the way.* *0:46* *So I went to 1st.I went to Greeley and hosting Levitt.This was a lot of team, a lot of people's game of the week.Michael Hoffer had this is the game of the week.Varsity Main had this is the game of the week.They weren't wrong.I didn't have it as the game of the week.* *1:02* *We'll get to that.So First off, Greeley coming from 8 man to 11 man, pretty interesting.They're the defending 8 man large school state champions, but now they're an 11 man.How do they adjust to 11 man?They've got Levitt.Levitt, of course, is the class of Class C for years now that coming off a little of a down year.* *1:21* *So a lot of question marks about both teams really.First I want to talk about the turf.I wrote about this in the newsletter, which if you haven't subscribed to subscribed to the newsletter yet, you should.But yeah, so this turf, they have this new turf, you step on it and your first step, you're like, whoa, this is a little bit different.* *1:39* *It's a little squishy, it's a little soft.It's a little bit like when the floor is lava and you've got pillows, so you can step on the pillows and not step on the floor because the floor is lava and if you step on the lava, you're going to burn up.Everybody knows this.So there's a little bit of a squish to it and you notice it right away.* *1:55* *And I think I said to Selma, well, if this game sucks, we can at least take a nap or sit down and be comfy.But the game did not did not suck at all.Greeley looked great in the first half behind Luke Kirby.I think that's the name.Apologies if I said that wrong.* *2:11* *He looked amazing at quarterback for Greeley.A bunch of big plays.They were up 20 to 6.Let's say it's 20 to 6 at halftime.Should have written that down.But they were up big at the half and then whatever Hathaway said to them, said to Levitt, Levitt at the half seemed to work.* *2:30* *Maybe some poetry, you know, maybe they shared their feelings.I don't know, But it worked.They came out, stormed back, tied the game and went back and forth.And then it came down to Levitt being unable to convert 1/4 and two point conversion and Greeley getting a big stop on 4th and either 3 or 4.* *2:52* *They stopped him 1 yard short while Levitt was trying to come down and take the lead.So instant classic of a game.You've learned a lot about both teams and then you have more questions about each team, like is Greeley really, really good?Is Levitt all the way back?* *3:09* *We don't know.So tonight, but after the game, I talked to the athletic director of Greeley about this field.And, you know, because we were all sort of the media, people were wondering at the halftime, like, how does it handle the rain?What happens when it gets cold?It's this Scandinavian technology that no one else in New England has.* *3:26* *It can take 40 inches of rain.And at 40 inches of rain, I think you call it, I really think you do, you know, like if you're getting 40, even at 38 inches of rain, that's, I mean, no one wants to sit through that.We know we could reschedule, but it can take 40 inches of rain and drain just fine.* *3:41* *If it's super, super hot out, they can hose it down and has kind of a cooling effect.That sounded like it was the opposite of pavement, playing pick up ball on really hot pavement, black pavement where it's just like radiating heat on you and making it worse and and apparently handles the winter quite well, which because Scandinavian and they got a lot of that and they're playing soccer on it in the winter.* *4:04* *So it's a very cool turf.If you get a chance to check it out, I would highly recommend it.And then on Saturday I went to what the model had as the game of the week, which was Mount Ararat at Camden in eight man large.Last year.Camden rallied down 24, nothing to stun Mount Ararat.* *4:21* *And then Mount Ararat got their revenge in the semi finals.But Camden was without their quarterback Hollis Schwalm.Who's I've think I've said his name correctly every time but it feels wrong when I say it and apologies if I've said it wrong, but Mount Ararat was up two at the half.* *4:41* *Camden came back, had a big second-half from Braden Beveridge, who as a junior who just took over parts of the game, both offense and defense, had some big tackles, had a really nice interception, which I have a little highlight clip package of him on YouTube you could check out.* *4:58* *He had a he had a big game, especially that interception is worth it's worth checking out for the interception and Camden wins 30 to 20.They are two and O and we're going to talk about them.I'm going to talk about them later with Jared.So we're going to go to Jared and then we're going to try something after that.* *5:16* *It's a segment I'm trying out.I'm calling it Movie Corner, which is, I know it's a wildly imaginative name, but I think it could be fun.It'll scratch my independent filmmaker slash former film critic itch a little bit.* *5:34* *And if you don't like it, it's at the end and you just don't have to listen to it, but you might find out about a movie that you would really like.So maybe stick around.If you're watching this on YouTube, hit the subscribe button.You know the drill.Like it on Facebook, share it on Facebook, all of those fun things.* *5:53* *And if you haven't yet, subscribed@mainbasketballrankings.com.Do that because it really helps.So having said that, let's go to my conversation with Jared Richmond.OK, My guest today is Jared Richmond.He is a coach, a broadcaster and an ace golfer.* *6:11* *Thanks for joining me.Hey, thanks for having me on, Lucas.Great to be back with you.So I don't golf, but I imagine it's a little bit like fantasy football.When you do something great, the people you want to tell everybody, but nobody wants to hear about it.So what I want to do, OK, is give you the runway to tell the story and then people can just skip ahead.* *6:35* *OK, If they don't want to hear about it, well, I, I, you're a big numbers guy, you're a big stats guy.I'm part of a very exclusive club now.I golf a lot during the summer 'cause I can.That's the beauty of you say I'm a coach.* *6:50* *I'm not as active of coaching as I used to be.Once a coach, always a coach.Once a coach, always a coach can't get out of that mindset.But no, I was very fortunate to, I think that's kind of how hole in ones happened.But I was very fortunate to get my first ever hole in one on Labor Day weekends.* *7:06* *So it was like it was right before, you know, had some school stuff.We had a four day weekend and it was one of those just I hard to say.I was like dragging myself out of bed, didn't want to get up for.Oh yeah.Speaking, but I was like, I'm going to go.* *7:22* *I got a great group of Sunday guys that we go off with over at the Meadows in Litchfield.Shut out Meadows and hole 8 had a hole in one.It was a crazy experience.A lot of words were yelled out that I probably can't say on your podcast because I don't want to get you.But no.* *7:40* *Cool, cool experience.Great to share it with a great, great bunch of people.And you know, I feel like, yeah, I feel very fortunate.It's one of those things whenever you golf or you're a golfer, you're like, you're terrified of some things happening when you're alone, like having like a career best round or on one when you're alone because nobody's going to believe you.* *7:59* *I had 7 witnesses and so very fortunate to have that.Thanks for bringing it up.It reminds me of how much I'm not playing right now with the school and football season and folks playing.But it was a great way to cap the the summer.* *8:14* *See, I'm mini golf and as some, and you know the Poland ones, they're fun, but it's a little easier.What a little more common?What's your best mini G1 was like?What was the obstacle that you had to navigate or was it pretty like like the ones?I I never.Hit it like through the windmill or like the mole hole.* *8:32* *Those are fun.There's I think the fun ones are where you think you missed it and it bounces off the bricks and then it comes back and it rolls in slowly and you're like, Oh my gosh, whoa, I didn't think that was going to do anything.I think those are the most fun for a mini golf hole in one.* *8:48* *I I think any, anytime the golf ball goes in, like I don't think it's going to go in, it goes in.It's a lot of fun, but mini golf especially so.Yeah, yeah, yeah.What's your favorite mini golf course?Do you have a favorite one?In the state, Oh, in the state.I'll say the one the the one in Richmond, Moose Mountain is pretty cool.* *9:06* *I haven't been to that one yet.Put up another 18.I know Adam Robinson's.He's the Beni golf guy.Like he's Oh yeah, beat on all the courses.You know, obviously you got to, you know, say like Tabers or Roy's are, are popular ones.I've always been a huge Pirate's Co fan.* *9:23* *I remember going up whenever you go to go to MDI, go to Bar Harbor, you know, you see it there.Was there a pirate's Cove in Bar Harbor too?There's a pirate's Cove in.How do you not know you're a mid coast guy?You only go as like far.* *9:39* *MDI is far, MDI is like 2 hours north. 20 OK, like so you're still mid coast I guess.I know the Old Orchard Beach Pirate's Cove.That's the one I'm familiar with.I played that a couple months ago, like 2 months ago.Never played that one, but the there's a pirate's Cove in on an MDI at Bar Harbor.* *9:57* *So no, it's probably the same people.Yeah, I haven't.I haven't been to Bar Harbor in forever.For years.I.Guess I have either.I absolve you of your bad manner status because I haven't been down to MDI in forever either so.There you go.The one in Old Orchard Beach.* *10:12* *Or it might be.Yeah, I think it's still in Old Orchard Beach.They have one of those holes where you're, like, up at the top of like a mountain, and you're basically just tapping it and hoping for the best.Yes.And like one time out of 10, it's just going to go flying into the trees.Now I I always thought that mini golf would be as I've gotten older, it'd be more fun if they let you have like adult beverages like they have a little cart person.* *10:31* *Oh yeah.But it probably would be found upon considering it's also a family environment.But.With the children, yeah.You have like, yeah, 21 plus night at the mini golf course there's.See, that's a good idea.Like a million golf after dark.Yeah, yeah, glow.Yeah, exactly.* *10:47* *Glow Glow mini golf, something like that, but.There is a glow mini golf place in El Orchard Beach.We spent like a week in El Orchard Beach this summer, so I'm like all caught up on my OOB, my pure fries, you know, everything like that.I I think like this is like it's just past peak season, but I think like fall, like OOB fall MDI are sneaky good like that's the time yeah, although you don't like I can't you know, I don't know if pure fries are still available now.* *11:14* *Probably they got to be right, like.I think the pure fries are year round.Where does Dean play at?People know Dean.Yeah, Pier Dean would know.Pier fries are Speaking of Old Orchard Beach and Pier fries.My God, Old Orchard Beach is fantastic.Again, we'll talk.About I was at a game board.I was, yeah, I was at a game, the Greeley game, the Greeley Levitt game, and someone goes, oh, Orchard Beach is up 30 to nothing.* *11:37* *I was like, oh, that's pretty good for Booth Bay.And they're like, well, it's the first quarter.Yeah, exactly.I mean, all right, talk about talk about a dynasty.I mean, old Archer, 120 points, 4 and 18 against in two games.Jeez.Yeah, so let's start with them.* *11:53* *So we'll start, we'll start with eight man, small, so old Archer Beach.Holy cow.Holy cow.I mean more, more of the same.I mean that just, you know, it's a great program And and what Dean Plant, the head coach down there has done for football in Maine as far as, you know, bringing in eight man, which is I think saved a lot of football programs across the state.* *12:15* *You know, he was a he's always been a really, really good coach.One of the funniest humans you're ever going to meet.But just they have that thing, they've got that thing figured out down there and they're doing so well.I mean, you know, the proof is in the pudding.* *12:30* *They play really great offense.They play even better defense.And you know, that's still football.You know, if you can do those two days really well.But I mean, you look in the North and Stearns, you know, classic little 10 conference power, you know, they are they're they're coming back in a big way up there.* *12:47* *I mean, similar numbers up north.They're two and O and they're outscoring opponents quite well at 110 to 22 up there for the Minutemen, so.And they play each other this week.That's that is a game definitely to watch.That's one that's that's on my 2 watch list for certain, because that's going to be a really, I mean that probably could be a potential state championship preview, although I know, you know, we're only in Week 2.* *13:13* *Dexter also two and O in the north and you got Telstar undefeated as well.So there's other teams that that want to to put their name in the conversation, but Stearns and Old Orchard Beach definitely could be a, you know, an 8 man small state game preview.Yeah, one of the tricks with Old Orchard Beach with the model is they blow everybody out.* *13:32* *So, and the rest of the teams, the, the South is not strong there.And so there's no like real points for them to get for blowing all these people out.And so the model's like, I don't know.And then, you know, they're just like down in like the 40s.* *13:49* *And I'm like, I know they're better than the 40s, but there's just not enough teams that are good enough to give them at least a little bit of a run for their money.Well also I think too with the model right, does that also weave in the 11 man teams so like?The 11 man teams are in there too, Yeah, so they're in.* *14:05* *Everybody's mixed together.Well, I mean, they've got Sterns this week, Telstar of the Week after that, two teams that are are vying for the top spot in the North so.So they'll have a chance to get some points.Yeah, absolutely.As far as the model's concerned, and it'll also help their Crabtrees.But I mean, the best thing you can do with Crabtrees is just win.* *14:22* *Just win, baby.That's I mean, you can't worry about anything else, right?You just win the games on the schedule and when you're done, if you keep doing that, they'll give you a trophy.Yeah, exactly.Unless you play for Navy and then they won't.They'll be like that's too bad.It's.Just two years in a row, Phoenix wants to make his appearance on this well.* *14:39* *Well, it's the place to be.All right, so you talked about how it saved some programs.Let's talk about Greeley.Yeah, Greeley was is the 8 man large state champions, the quote UN quote defending state champions, but they're in Class C now.I saw them this week against Levitt which was a great game, but so a man has basically saved that program or at least helped keep it viable because their numbers looked great in 11 man this last week.* *15:07* *Yeah, I mean to beat 11, this is a pretty good Levitt team this year as well.But I mean, when isn't even in a down year, Levitt makes it to a regional final.So I think this is really compelling to me is the single region Class C with all, you know, 13 teams top ten make it.* *15:25* *You know, there's several buys out there to be had as well.But I mean that puts really on an inside track there to try and be, you know, one of those top four teams, top five teams.But I mean, you got Gardner having a great season, Herman who I mean, four teams at the top of C right now, all 2 and O.* *15:43* *So I think that is one of the more interesting conferences or or classes to me because it's just you got so many teams and there's just so many variables.That's where Crabtrees are.You know, your strength of schedule is really going to be important and winning a lot of games.* *15:59* *But for really to come back 2 and O now after being an 8 man, you know, great for that program to kind of rebuild themselves.You know, people talk about well, why isn't Old Orchard move up to the large school or or back to 11?I think the enrollment in Old Orchard Beach is under 150 or under 175.* *16:18* *That's hard.Sounds right.Hard to sustain 11 man, you know, 11 person soccer.I think they're playing eleven person soccer.Not sure, but it's hard to sustain multiple teams there between soccer, you know, cross country and and football.So like it, it works for a school like Old Orchard Beach and for Greeley with some down years, it works to rebuild that program.* *16:37* *Like that's the beauty of eight man, you know, between the small and the large.But you know, Greeley, definitely one of those.You know, I know fan of the podcast and and sometimes contributor Ryan Mclaughlin's Brewer Brewer, Witches at two and oh, he's going to be happy about that.* *16:55* *Oh yeah.Let's we're talking about Class C let's talk about the Herman Hawks.They have defeated the last.They've defeated the two teams that moved up from B from D rather last year defending state champs in Wells and then also Foxcroft Academy, perennial state champion team in Class D so.* *17:13* *And not just a perennial state champion, but a team that would come up and just beat up on the teams in C in previous years.That's exactly right.And Foxcroft and Wells, they're right in the mix there in C both at one-on-one, but really good start of the season for the Herman Hawks as well.* *17:30* *Two really close games against quality football teams as well.I would have thought if you had told me the beginning of the year, OK, they're going to start with Foxcroft and Wells.I would say if I'm Herman, I'm very happy with the split in that situation and I'm not going to lose my mind if I'm O and two, if the O and two, if they're close games.* *17:49* *But to be two and O, they've got to be like, it's Kyle Gallant, right, Has got to be over the moon with that.Start.Unbelievable.He's a great coach.When I was at Winthrop, played them a couple of times.You know, great program has really done a great job up there at Herman.But the other thing is too, we talk about Crabtrees.* *18:06* *You got to imagine that both Wells and Foxcroft are are going to win a ton of games and more to heal points early in the year.If you can steal those games early in the year where you know teams are going to win a lot of games, you can kind of feed on that too.And and that really again gives them that an inside track I think for one of those by spots in the in a in a Class C rather.* *18:28* *Yeah, like in basketball, if you can steal a win early from like a team that goes 15 and 316 and 2 something like that because someone's sick or whatever, then that can make your whole season.It's just it's makes it so hard for other teams to pass you.Yeah, and, and for Wells too, like they're down a little bit.* *18:44* *They they had a huge senior class last year.It's not as plug and play as it normally is for for Coach Roach, but they're going to be a team like you're glad you got them in Week 2 because they're going to be totally different come around Week 8 and playoffs when late October and November get here, they're going to be very I think that classy playoff is going to be quite something to watch.* *19:03* *It's.Going to be a little bit nuts.Yes, that could be one of the better postseason tournaments probably when it gets to playoff time.I mean, just the depth of talent in schools there, a statewide region, Yeah.And the number of teams that are going to make the playoffs and I like you know, I know coaches aren't don't usually like buys in a short season like Maine football is, but you know, those buys are going to be very, very critical because it is going to be a gauntlet in class CI think and.* *19:31* *You're going to be banged up and you want to be able to get a little healthy.And you know, even if even if you got an 80% chance to win a game, a buy is 100%.And I know a lot of people aren't great at math, but 100% is better than 80%.Well, I mean, I just you know, look at Levitt, how many champion they've they're in a regional final or or winning state championships every year.* *19:52* *Foxcroft Academy, you know, obviously, you know, running into Wells every year in the state championship, but they're they're Wells has won two in a row in class DI mean that those are we're talking about the teams that are 5th and 6th tied in in Crabtree points right in the middle of that pack.* *20:09* *Just the championship pedigree and C is is quite something.Yeah.And you've got, I mean, it seems like it's going to be one of those regions where or I guess classes where you're going to want, it's going to be really important which side of the bracket you're on.Like if you don't match up well with the team, like if you have bad corners and you get a team that throws the ball a lot, you know you want to not be with them and you want the team that's just running team.* *20:34* *Yeah, and and again, the health is also important that time of year too.You don't, you know, matchups are, are so important and and everything, but especially this year in Gardner talk about, you know, the job that coach Munzing's doing over there.I mean, they've only let up 6 points in two games and they're they're two and O in Tiger Town and your, your Medomic Valley Panthers were, you know, very close to being 2 and O Freeport, very sporty Freeport team out of class DA big win for them against Medomic Valley last week too.* *21:04* *Almost 2 and O without Jaden Ruiz, who will be back?Yeah, I mean, once he gets back too.I saw them a little bit in their exhibition game against Winthrop.They've got really good size, just kind of trying to find that speed component.I think once they put all the pieces together, they are too.I think Madomic Valley could be could be a tough out.* *21:23* *That might be a situation for Freeport where you catch a team when they're hurt early in the year and, you know, maybe you're able to steal one.We'll see.We don't know.We don't know how good Freeport is.They might.Be legitimately good.They're they're two and they get a pretty tough schedule.So I, I think that they're, you know, could definitely be there.* *21:41* *I wanted to ask you about Gardner because Gardner strikes me as one of the surprise teams of the year so far.I didn't really expect them to start 2 and O, but I also didn't look at their schedule to see who they got first.Is this a little bit of they've got a good schedule early with, I mean, Old Town is looks better this year, but Oceanside's definitely worse this year.* *22:02* *Well, I think the the real test is going to be, you know, this week against Wells, but you know, coach, you know, Pat Munzing, he's in his fifth year there.So, you know, it takes 3 or 4 years to really get going with what you want for a program.The kids that you want, I mean, they've you want a test.* *22:18* *They take a look at their next three games.They're you know, they host Wells, they're at Doyle Field playing Brewer, another team that's two and O and then they got madomic Valley after that.So and then Levitt.So you know, the grinder continued and then then Foxcroft and then they end with the Coney Gardner game to end the season.* *22:34* *So, so, yeah, we're going to learn a lot about the the Tigers here in the next couple of weeks.But, you know, I think, you know, Pat's done a great job there in Tiger Town and, you know, you got to win the games that are in front of you and, you know, a great win against Oceanside and, and another good win against Old Town too.* *22:50* *So you, you know, you got to, you got to win the games that are on your schedule.And they've done that.And now, you know, you can they're really going to get a test this week with Wells.And you know, Wells doesn't lose very often.You know, in fact, they that's their first loss in probably, what, two years or they're.* *23:07* *Yeah.Something like that, yeah.Something like that.I mean, they were they never lost to AD opponent since D came back in 2013.So and they've been in D they did play some crossover games, but I mean that Wells team was loaded.That Wells team is reloading.That should be a really good one in in Gardner this week.* *23:25* *That Gardner schedule is a gauntlet.I hadn't realized just how rough that's going to.Be well, I mean that's class CI mean that's what Class C.Is there's no easy games?And think about Freiburg's no longer in Class C Imagine if they were still there too.I mean just I think Class C is probably top to bottom one of the most competitive classes.* *23:43* *Yeah, that sounds right.If it feels to me, I've said this before, but it feels to me like a N basketball when Hamden and Madomic were there.Yeah, And it was just absolutely loaded.And you're like, well, if we can make the playoffs, we think we can win the whole thing.But I don't know if we can make the playoffs.Yeah, it depends on how the heel points are going to fall for us.* *24:01* *I think, and again, I think the football, even though it's an 8 week season for everybody, but a like the right teams are usually the ones that are there when when playoffs roll around too.So I'm being more important in in in C this year where it's a statewide class, but.Right, right.* *24:17* *So let me put you on the spot because this is the Overreactions Podcast.Give me a state championship game prediction for Class C.Oh.We'll put you on a, we'll put you on a bulletin board here.Oh God, I've probably been on enough time.* *24:35* *I just find it, I, I find it hard to not see Levitt in that.I I just find it so incredibly hard to pick against Mike Hathaway and his staff games in that program and big games, you know?* *24:51* *Yeah, they're, they're one and one.But I mean, I don't, I think that Levitt's got to be there, right?They almost won that game at Greeley.Yeah, exactly.And they weren't, they did not play well in that game at Greeley.Not to take anything away from Greeley either.Not in the first half, no.* *25:08* *But I mean, they almost completed that comeback.So I like I like Levitt in that state game and oh man, this is this is really on the spot.I think Levitt, I wouldn't be surprised to see like a Levitt Wells.* *25:26* *That's interesting, yeah.Levitt Wells would be very interesting.It'd be a a hard hitting football game.You know, it could be a Levitt.You know, is is Herman really for real at 2 and O think about who they beat.They beat Foxcroft and and Wells.* *25:42* *You know, a Levitt Herman game would actually be kind of interesting.You know, give me, give me the teams with wings, give me some, give me some Hornets and Hawks here.I was sort of leaning Herman because Herman's been one of those teams where I've just said, OK, I see you.This is you guys have got something going on here.* *25:59* *Yeah.And again, those first two games for for Coach Gallant were not easy games, not layup games.I mean, those are two quality football programs that have us, you know, they know how to win.You know, they've got Oceanside, Hamden, Skowhegan coming up.* *26:16* *So, you know, maybe a little bit softer, middle of the schedule.Then you got Brewer and you know what, they finished the season late October against Levitt.That could be, you know, that could be one for the number one seed, probably 2 teams that I would imagine are gonna have a bye week after that.* *26:33* *So that'll be a game at Libby Field on the 24th of October.So I'm work, I'm work shopping.My Levitt Thing is this is not your all caps Levitt team.This is at Levitt with a capital L team.That's that's sort of how they look to me.Like it's not that team that was like all world beating went and beat Thornton Academy, but I think it's a capital L Levitt team.* *26:55* *Well, I mean that that was such a different team.That's like one of the all time teams when you think about football in Maine and what that team had.That's the all caps.Version that's the all caps team.I'd give them more than just the capital capital L and Levitt this year.* *27:13* *Remember, they had a they were down, it was a down year for the Hornets last year and they were still in the regional final and, and had a chance, right?So like, I find it very, very hard to pick against Mike Hathaway in the big money games.And I think they'll be in those big money games come November.* *27:31* *And they looked really good in the second-half against Greeley in that comeback.They were pull, they almost pulled off and they're A2 point conversion away from pulling that off exactly so or from at least tying it.From at least tying it.So yeah, so, you know, again, credit to Greeley, they they got Levitt and that's going to be a big win for them.* *27:49* *But I also think like, that's the, that's the kind of loss like you don't want to lose, but that's the kind of loss that, you know, I fear for the other teams in Class C because you may have just poked the bear.It's you don't want to be the team that plays them next.No, no you don't.* *28:05* *And unfortunately for York, there's a upset Levitt team.So.So let's let's talk about York.York has not scored yet this year.Yeah.Is this a situation where so they played Greeley, they played Nakomis is the bot, has the bottom fallen out a little from York or did they just get a tough first two games?* *28:27* *I think those are a tough first two games when you look at things there, I mean, Nokomis at 1:00 and 1:00, but they're kind of like 5050 on their points for and against.You know, I, I think it's, it's not going to get any easier for the the Wildcats, certainly, but hard, hard telling, you know, Coach Nelson's been there a while and sometimes it just, you know, it's a it's a learning process.* *28:54* *It's kind of dealing with some of those growing pains and you want to talk about tough schedule.They got Levitt, then they got Foxcroft, then they got Brewer, right?So talk about 1-2, four wins.Madomik Wells like, and then they end up playing team from New Hampshire at the end of the season too.* *29:15* *So right, very tough schedule for York.So I think tough schedule does come into play.But you know, four and four probably gets you in in Class C.So just get there, right?Just give me a seat at the team.So you got to, there's three teams that aren't going to make it right.It's there's 13 in the in the class and then 10 get in.* *29:32* *Is it 10?It looks like yeah, the top 10 get in so so you.Got to beat 3 teams.And so, you know, let's say it's Oceanside's one of them.They might be, if it's Oceanside and I don't know, Old Town, that might be two teams that will struggle to get in being O and two.* *29:48* *So yeah, I mean, getting in is not going to be super hard, but it's going to be a gauntlet once you get there.Yeah, I mean, I don't think there is really an easy schedule for anybody in C when you really look at the teams that they're playing and across the board.* *30:04* *So you know, right now, 4, four teams are two and O, five teams are one and one and four teams are O and two.Like you want to talk about parity in football, It's it's in Class C right now, so.It'll be fun.All right, so let's move on to.I want to talk about Skowhegan.They beat Lawrence 14 to 13, which I thought was a a pretty big upset.* *30:24* *It seemed like a pretty big upset.Mike Mandel had a story about it.That's Lawrence's first home conference lost since 22,022, which was also to Skowhegan.Yeah, Kai's Fields, a tough place to go and win.You know, Lawrence's story, traditional program.* *30:42* *That's a big win for the Riverhawks, too.Trying to really, you know, get themselves, you know, taking that next step.You know, there's another team I want to talk about like you kind of hit that glass ceiling as a program and and once you finally breakthrough that, like things really take off And, you know, to beat coach Hersham, who's been there forever at Lawrence, at Lawrence, that's a that's a high quality win for Skowhegan.* *31:06* *Certainly, you know, one-on-one on the season and in a very tough Northern bee where you've got Coney and Freiburg to contend with both at 2 and O.And probably, you know, probably the conference runs through the, you know, those two teams in the north.But you know, Skowhegan inserting themselves into that conversation with Lawrence.* *31:24* *And then you got three teams at the bottom, you know, Meso Mount Blue and Brunswick Mount Blue, who played Freiburg really tough this past weekend.It was 15 to nothing.I think it was the final score.So, you know, really good showing from the Cougars.Craig Collins up there in his first year now.* *31:39* *So you know, it's a huge win for Skowhegan and it it probably, you know, it puts them in a good position.Again, it's about where do you want to end up in that bracket?You know, top six get in and that's one that that probably helps you get up there, you know, you know, Meso Mount Blue and Brunswick.* *31:58* *I know it's it's still early.It's we're just past the quarter pole, but it gets late quick in an 8 game season and Oh yeah, when the top 6 get in, you don't want to be in the bottom 2.You know, they all play each other at some point.Those are some games you got to win, but that's a big win for Skowhegan because Lawrence is going to win some football games.* *32:17* *And you talk about the Crabtrees, you know that'll get him up there.Is it safe to say that Kony's been the most impressive team in that region so far?I won 5555 to 6 against Brunswick and it was was it 47 Nothing opening week, something like that.* *32:36* *Yeah, Well, I mean, part of it is, you know, Parker Moran's coming into his own as a quarterback.I think, you know, last year it was kind of how he goes the night went.I mean, think about he set the school record for touchdown passes in a game against Meselonski.But he'd also, I think I don't.* *32:53* *And I'm sure BL when he listens, will will confirm or, or correct me.I I think he might also, he might also hold the interception record of some kind over there at Tony as well.But.I saw the game when they played Madomic and he had like two or three interceptions in the first two or three drives and I was everyone just sort of looking around like, oh, OK.* *33:14* *But that's that, you know, I talked about it earlier.It's that glass ceiling thing, right?When you finally piece everything together, you know, and they play really good complimentary football over there at Kony as well.So, you know, he's really settled in.* *33:31* *You know, they, you know, they're going to get a test and you know, they got Oxford Hills coming up.Not this week.They they're at Mount Blue and Mount Blue played a physical football game against Freiburg.You know, can Mount Blue come out in a second week in a row and take one of the top two teams in in the division and and give them a physical test?* *33:51* *That Freiburg game, though, the first week in October, that's going to really kind of be, for me, I think, the real litmus test for what both Freiburg and, and Coney are.But right now, I mean, it's Coney's world, it feels like, and, and Class BN is just living in it and Freiburg is knocking on the door, right?Behind him.* *34:08* *And then, so let's talk about BS.Is Falmouth still the team to beat there, do you think?I think so.I, you know, you know, Kennebunk obviously wants to get back to that sticky.I think it's interesting that Kennebunk and Falmouth they were, they played in the state game last year, but now they're in the same region this year.* *34:29* *I don't know why they moved Falmouth back down to the South, or actually, I don't know why they were in the north to begin with.That that's, well, I mean, there's a lot of geography questions when it comes to to who's in what region and why.Have you seen Class D soccer?Have I seen what?Class D soccer's classifications?* *34:47* *No Macias is in the South.Who's in the South in D soccer?Macias.Maybe like in?South Machias, Is that where the school is?No, it's it's the north is Aroostook County and then everybody else is in the South.* *35:03* *That's well, I mean Machias is South of Aroostook County, I'll give them that.Well, I mean, you also have in D soccer what Monmouth is a class D school.Buckfield so.Yeah, it's it's a mess.There's a ton of teams in eight man now.* *35:20* *Talk about some playoff rides there.But yeah, but you know, back to BB SI know Kennebunk really, you know, Falmouth really played a great state game against them.That'll be a fun game coming up.Chevris, you know, at 2 and O on the season, you know, but like Ric Flair said, you know, if you want to be the man, you got to, you know, you got to beat the man.* *35:43* *They still have some really good talent on that team too and in Falmouth too or yeah, Falmouth.So you know, and I, I love coach Emerson Spencer does a great job there too.So but again, you know, Kennebunk, they they were senior heavy, but they still have Austin West on that team, but they graduated quite a few.* *36:05* *They've had some good, you know, good lineman and Colin Qualey who's back with them.But for Falmouth, I mean, Trey Walker back at quarterback had 1600 yards passing last year, but again, that was a group that was pretty senior lading.But he also has Ben Robbins back at receiver 2 from last year's team.So, but you know, you got Trey Walker, you know, it's a kid who you know he is the full package at quarterback.* *36:29* *Yeah, is Trey Walker.He's in the Fitzy conversation, obviously.Let's handicap the Let's take a side trip to Handicap Fitzy.Taking a quick break from the show to tell you why you should subscribe to mainebasketballrankings.com.* *36:44* *Yes, it's an ad for the website, on the podcast, hosted on the website, and you'll get over it.So at mainbasketballrankings.com for 6 bucks a month, you get rankings that are very good and they hate your team without question.* *37:02* *But it's all sorts of fun information about your team, about their strength of schedule, how they're, they're scoring offense ranks, they're scoring defense, lots of things like that.You also get heel points, which you can read because have you seen the other options for heel points?It's a disaster.* *37:19* *You can read these.You can see that your schedule coming up be like, oh, that team's not worth a lot of points.Oh, this team's worth a lot of points.This is the game we have to win.You also get a spread for every game on the schedule.Hey, we're only favored by 2 1/2 points tonight.* *37:35* *That's ridiculous.Are you kidding me?We're 1 1/2 point underdogs.That's crazy.And then maybe you're wondering why your coach is coaching so hard down 15 in the fourth quarter.Well, it's because he's a 13 1/2 point underdog and it doesn't matter.* *37:52* *But he wants to beat the spread because we always want to beat the spread no matter who we are.So that's main basketballrankings.com six months a month.Or for the free version, you can get a daily newsletter during the season.Now back to the show.* *38:08* *So it's Trey Walker.It's the receiver in Portland, right?Cordell?Is it Cordell Jones?Cordell Jones, he's a quarterback at the quarterback now.He's the quarterback, OK, Back is is Parker Moran in that discussion?I mean, I think, you know, you got to look at what he does for numbers, but he certainly is is taking those steps forward.* *38:25* *I think he could definitely be in that conversation.And you know, there's some some really time missing Bonnie Eagle too.Bonnie Eagle's loaded.So, you know, the McCormick kid down there is a tough running back, you know, plays really well.* *38:42* *You know, I just got to, you know, go through all my notes of, you know, all the teams that I've seen so far this year too.But, you know, Colin Moran, you know, quarterback down there really has had a great start to the season.And then they've got Colby McCormick, also a running back down there and Bonnie Eagle.* *38:59* *I would think that those are a couple of guys that, you know, that might put themselves into that conversation as well for the fitsy, you know, just it's still a little early for me.I I haven't canvassed enough to really handicap it, but I think those are some names to keep eyes on here.* *39:16* *It sounds, it sounds more competitive maybe than last year.I think so.I mean, you know, just, it was pretty clear cut early and how things were going to go last year.But really, you know, it, it's wide open.* *39:33* *Cordell Jones had a tremendous game, ran for three touchdowns against Wyndham last Friday night, a game that Rob Kennedy and I had on WHOU and, and he looked looked more comfortable in that quarterback position than he did the week before.Certainly it's, it's hard not to have his name in that conversation.* *39:51* *Certainly, you know, and then, you know, what are we going to learn about, you know, Thornton Academy?We haven't talked about a yet, but you know, they're Oh yeah, great in that conversation too.So I know the Ayub kid is a senior this year and he was pretty solid for them last year too.So let's start with Portland.* *40:06* *They've got a new coach.They're the defending champs you've seen.You saw them first hand with Wyndham.They have a nice new playing field to play on.Yes, that, you know, which is pretty cool.Like, how good is this Portland team?* *40:22* *How?What are their chances of repeating?Oh, I think it's you know, I think they're they have a good shot in a N, you know, they're two and O.The thing is they're not winning pretty, but they're if you when you have the turnover you have and you have to move the pieces that you had to move around.* *40:41* *I mean, Lewis Thurston is was a tremendous quarterback for them.And you move Cordell Jones from that receiver role where you it was.It's harder to defend a guy out in isolation as a receiver than it is to defend somebody at quarterback because you can it's a little easier to scheme for somebody that's playing kind of an island.* *40:59* *You can play some bracket coverage.You can do some different things.There's just so many different things that he can do in the backfield running the football, you know, behind a really talented that line was was pretty stout against Windham and and I here's a hot take for you.Do not oh boy, do not count Windham out.* *41:16* *I think Windham is in the conversation in a N before the end of the year.I mean, that is that is a team that is close.Having seen them three or four times the last couple years.They are so close and they've got a really talented quarterback to sophomore quarterback.* *41:34* *Let me pull my game notes up.I want to make sure I get get his name right because I'm I'm currently also like neck deep and prepping for Dartmouth football this weekend.So I've got about a million different names running through my mind, right?Now, so that's a good problem to have though you.Know for somebody who went to school for broadcasting and then got into coaching and then finally found a way back into broadcasting, you know, big shout out to Rob Kennedy, by the way, for, for helping open some doors for me there.* *42:01* *Have a blast doing games with Rob.It's a good problem to have, but.I have a similar thing where I went to school for broadcasting and then went and did other things.And now I'm doing this, which is sort of kind of broadcasting.There's a microphone involved.It's 100 at least.* *42:18* *All right, good.That's, that's good.You know.But you know what's interesting, because, you know, when we were in college, you'd go, OK, I'm going to be in broadcasting.I'm going to do this thing.And then you really look around and you're like, there's none of these guys are retiring, Like none of these jobs are opening.* *42:34* *Well, it wasn't just that these guys were retiring, but you think about the evolution of not to get too sidetracked from, from Wyndham here for a second, but the evolution of like media, like you are able to have your podcast and, and your your blog and all that.Like those were things like blogging was a thing, like we're not that old and that are removed from quality.* *42:53* *We had stone tablets, yeah, we would mail them to people.Our our Twitter was picture, you know, carrier pigeons.That was our Twitter back in the day.Did you do a fantasy league where they would mail you the stats that they?No no I never did the the mail in stat fantasy league, but no.* *43:09* *But I won the PIC league 2 years running when I was the sports director at WHSN at Hassan, so I had that going for me.There you go.But no, like the the quick sidetracked like media, like it's so accessible.Anybody you know with a laptop and Internet connection can create a video podcast.* *43:28* *They can.There's so many more opportunities.I mean, and think about like if you're looking for some Silver Linings from the COVID days and and years is the how much streaming has got out there?I mean, think about, you know, Thornton Academy, Cole Purvis, who graduated from Thor from Thornton Academy a couple years ago.* *43:46* *He's a sophomore at Syracuse now and and he's on a fast track and he is very talented, very talented broadcaster when he was in in high school and he's doing a great job there at Syracuse.You know, that's talk about, you know, schools with broadcast pedigrees.Syracuse is is one of them, but.* *44:01* *That's one of the best.I mean like a WHOU streaming games all over southern Maine.That wasn't a thing 10 years ago.It was, no, it was Munzing Media doing Gardner home games.And I mean, that was most of it, right?Yeah, and, and Rob Munzing, who, you know, was also a long time Gardner Guy was the Gardner football coach, you know, he was ahead of the curve with that.* *44:22* *And he they still do such great work.They do a lot of work for a Central Maine Community College too.So, you know, Coach Munzing has, you know, done games for him and he's always been a blast to work for.And, you know, there's so yeah, there's there's a lot more opportunity now I think then there was before when it comes to the broadcasting side of things.* *44:42* *But it still is a matter of, you know, it's you got to still do your homework.You still can't just roll up on on game night with just a roster and maybe some press clippings.You know this, you know, the Dartmouth game that Rob and I are doing, we've been working on that, you know, both individually for prep since Saturday, Sunday, and we'll work through the entire week to make sure everything is there.* *45:07* *I mean, when we did the state game last year, two games, we did both State Games.That was, you know, a lot of prep that goes into it.And I think that's the other thing is the more you the more opportunities are out there and the more people that put the the work and the elbow grease into it.* *45:23* *I love the opportunities for kids.It would have been something for students.I would have loved to have had those those opportunities.My first kind of play by play stuff was after I'd graduated high school.MCI kind of had started a little local access cable TV and I did some some games for them as an alum and and doing football.* *45:41* *Like that's just how it starts.So not to get too sidetracked, but for for Wyndham.Back on topic.Let's get back to Wyndham.The, the, the tangent there, you know, the first of all, really great running back in Parker Sperry.* *45:56* *He's a junior and he is, he is the real deal.You want to talk about handicapping Fitzies, you know, his senior year, he's definitely going to be in that conversation.But then they got a sophomore quarterback, Patrick Davenport as a sophomore.I was really impressed with his game the other night.* *46:13* *He made some, some heady plays, you know, 1 bad decision on an interception that cost them.But you know, I thought he played really well.And again, it's that glass ceiling thing.I think Wyndham is so close.I you want you want a hot take?Windham Portland regional.Love it.Windham, Portland Regional.* *46:32* *Interesting, I think who's been on a run?Wyndham Sports.Yeah, I I really think that Wyndham could, could put themselves in that, in that conversation.Not to say, you know, that Oxford Hills, Bangor, Deering, you know, Edward Little, they're all right there.I mean, it's, I think it's, it's wide open, but I, I would not be surprised to see Portland and Wyndham playing in a regional final.* *46:53* *And then how much on the other side of the bracket is it?Is it TA and everybody else is?Because it sure looks like it so far.It might look at it, but man, we saw Bonnie Eagle week 1 and they man, do they look good.* *47:10* *They look well-rounded.I mean, you know, you know, they're always going to be very well coached at Bonnie Eagle.I mean, Kevin Cooper is, is one of the best in the state.You know, that Bonnie Eagle TA game that was, that was a close game last year.It was a late, I think it was like a 99 yard fumble recovery by TA kind of really flipped that game on its head in the third quarter, I want to say, or at least in the second-half, you know, circle your calendars for that Bonnie Eagle TA game because I mean that's going to be kind of kind of a highlight of things to come.* *47:44* *And and that game is on the 20.There's some really good games on October 24th.I think that Bonnie Eagle TA game might be one that that Rob and I have for the SMAA game of the week.If we don't, we certainly.Flex it out.Yeah, flex scheduling will definitely take place by the time by the time that rolls around.* *48:03* *But and and Noble, right, you know, Jamere ro no longer there.And and, you know, rumors of Noble's demise are greatly exaggerated here they are two and O.So beat South Portland.Yeah.I mean beat South Portland and and that's a South Portland team that a lot of people were high on.* *48:19* *Yeah, I'm I'm still not selling on South Portland, but again, at, you know, at O and two and the top 4 get in.You know, they got to start putting some wins together here in the next couple of weeks.But you know, I think I think it's TA Bonnie Eagle are are right there with each other.* *48:39* *Be interested to see how noble, you know, when when as the season progresses and grows.But I mean, that Noble win that they had, it was a sloppy win in week one against Wyndham, but they found a way, you know, answered some questions, you know, you know, what are you going to do without, you know, Fitzy winner, Jamir Rose and all this.* *48:56* *But, you know, here they are sitting at 2 and O.But, you know, I really, I really like both Thornton Academy and Bonnie Eagle.It's so hard to pick between the two of them.But I think it probably is Thornton Academy, Bonnie Eagle, then like maybe Noble and then kind of a little bit, you know, in the middle.* *49:13* *But I think Thornton Academy and Bonnie Eagle are the two class teams in that region right now.OK, and it just occurred to me that we skipped completely, pretty much completely over class D What do you like in class?Back to them.What do you like in class D?Class D.Class D all right.* *49:29* *I mean, BAPS looks pretty good, right?They're D right?Yeah, D yeah, they're they're two and O, they've scored 100 points in two games.Winslow, I'm.Trying to keep track of my schools and conferences and sports.Well, I mean, that's like, it's also the thing, right?Like you got some teams like Freeport, Class B and a lot of things, but they're Class D in football.* *49:47* *Like it's just.There's a lot, and I think of them as Class A in basketball because they were in class.Are they?Are they?Were they?No, they were.Yeah.A in basketball, you're right.So a in.Basketball D in football.And D in football.But I mean, yeah, it's a different discussion for a different time.* *50:04* *I don't think there's ever a a perfect way to do classification, especially a sport like football.But, and we also didn't do a man large yet either.But you know, we'll, we'll get that right before everything is all said and done.But you know, you look at D, you know, Winslow and John Baps having really good season so far.* *50:24* *You know Winslow with a very impressive week one win over Miranda Cook.Oh yeah.I I think this Winslow team is, is rounding into really good form, physical, physical football team.W Littlefield is a great coach, you know, really big test this week for for them and the number one team right now in DS Freeport, you know, 22 undefeated teams.* *50:47* *That's going to be a good Saturday game over there in Winslow and that'll kind of kind of shake some things out.And and that game is big for a couple of reasons too.When you look at Crabtree points, because right now there's three teams that are two and O in DS, but there's only a tie for first.* *51:08* *You know, you know, there's been the tiebreakers applied and everything on the main basket, main high school football page, but you got Freeport, Deer Go and Winthrop, Monmouth, Halldale, all at, you know, 2 and O.But you can already kind of see, you know, if you look at the Crabtree Classic or the weekly, they're all at 125.* *51:26* *But the strength, the schedule really is going to start to play in, you know, Oak Hill, don't count them out of that DS region.But you know, and Madison picking up their first home win in forever.They beat Lisbon last week.So you know, a good win for the Bulldogs up there.* *51:43* *That's a team that has been back and forth between 11 and and eight man too.So you know, a good win for the Bulldogs.I know coach Polky, you know, down at Lisbon, you know, you know, working on piercing that thing back together and and getting that program, you know, heading in in the direction that you know, everybody wants to see it go in as well.* *52:03* *So a lot of interesting stories indeed, but you know, Freeport really good team Diego and this Winthrop, Monmouth, Halldale team cuts Hill as well.Like that's a really good.Team.Different teams.Yeah, the the Lakes Region football team, you know, I, I try to stay pretty neutral.* *52:22* *I have very deep Winthrop ties.I coached there for a long time.But I know that's another good football team.They got some really good running backs, you know, really talented, talented backfield.I know that their quarterback, Jacob Fife, also a state champion javelin thrower, got injured last week.* *52:41* *Porter Levine, I believe he's a sophomore, stepped in, played really well for them as well.They got Ben Porter on the outside.You know, Diego has the Lufkin kid at quarterback.I think he might, he might be the best overall quarterback.And then Poland, Poland's also one-on-one, but they've they've got some firepower there too.* *52:59* *So that DS region is is really interesting because there are some teams in that region that don't play each other, like Winthrop and Freeport each other.So that could be really interesting coming down the stretch.Like you might have a scenario where Freeport and Winthrop go undefeated this year, but I think Freeport's strength of schedule would put them in at 1 and Winthrop would put them in at 2, especially where you've got Madomic and Winslow on that schedule. 2 teams are going to win a bunch of football games so.* *53:27* *So I want to start.Yeah, go.Ahead, I want to circle back to that, but I wanted to first hit the IT had never occurred to me that a quarterback would also be a good javelin thrower.That that would be the the good secondary sport that would that you always think of like a point guard.* *53:43* *Or something.But a javelin thrower?That makes sense.Great kid, strong arm I I think he holds the school record now too for Javelin if I remember correctly.From back I mean.It's a similar motion sort of, you know, you're sort of motion I.Mean 1's.A spear and.One's a spear and one's something that has been speared.* *54:00* *I guess so, but no, I mean.I've just never heard of that, you know?State champion javelin thrower.You know a really good kid, you know, you don't want to ever see anybody, anybody get hurt.But you know Ross Thorne.Especially not by a javelin throw.* *54:16* *Yeah, so, you know, I don't want to feel like I'm just giving off a laundry list of of Winthrop kidney.The Lufkin kid from Diego has got a great arm, you know, new new coach up there in Diego with Craig Collins moving on to, you know, going back to his alma mater at Mount Blue.* *54:33* *But you know Diego 2 and O, you know, opening night win against against Lisbon.Who else have they played?If I knew Diego, Diego, they've.Also, they beat Poland this week.They beat Poland and Poland is a pretty solid football team as well, so.* *54:52* *That was Channel 8's game of the day.It was a pretty good game too.So, you know, you got some really good teams on both two or three teams easily on both sides of D that that could be there at the end too.I mean, you got Josh Newhall is the the new coach up at Dirgo.* *55:10* *They got a big game against Oak Hill coming up.If you want to, you know, trying to work for some of that, you know, home field playoff positioning.You know, the Raiders got back back on the winning column after a a, you know, game.It's probably a little closer than the score indicated against Winthrop in Week 1.* *55:28* *You know, Winthrop pulled away in the second-half, but you know, Oak Hill, you know, Chad Stoll there again, you know, another coach in in their fifth year.I mean, you know, a big rebound for for Oak Hill.They came back, you know, they lost their Winthrop 28 to 12.I think it was a a fumble recovery for a touchdown or something like that.* *55:45* *They only gave up.I think they only gave up 21 offensive points or something like that.But then, you know, came back and and really handled Morse pretty well.So this game against a year ago is going to be very, very important for them up in Dixfield on on Saturday.Real quick, explain the crab trees to people who are maybe just understand heel points.* *56:07* *OK, Like the like the two like the one minute explanation of what?What's different between crab trees and heel points?So heel points are more a measure of when you beat a team that has got a lot of wins.Your crab trees are based.* *56:22* *So the real simple thing is your crab trees are your winning percentage plus your opponents combined winning percentage times 100 and that's how you get the number.So if you've won all your games, you already start with 100 and if your opponents on the season went, you know five and five, you know four and four, your Crabtree would be 150.* *56:42* *It's too early now because you haven't woven in all of the teams that you've played with you played yet and their record.So like, you know, I've seen like, you know, how is this team that scored, you know, X number more points for, you know, a beat team B, but then, you know, lost to team C.* *57:00* *Why is team B not ahead of team?Like it, it takes a while for the IT takes a little bit longer for Crabtrees to work themselves out, but they're much easier to calculate than than your than heel points because like, you know, heel points are like the ultimate butterfly effect like you could have like.* *57:22* *That's why I love the Bulls.Like, you know, you like, oh, I want to know how Isleboro is going to finish, but I've got to wait to see how everyone else that they played does.Like, it's much more fractal, I guess, if that's a good math term.Like crab trees are.Yeah, are much more like.* *57:38* *They're much like 1 to 1 almost.We're I like how in heel points, I like how in heel points we're like, we don't quite know who made the playoffs in Class A, we in Class AN because we need this class CS game to finish up first.Exactly and.That that's somehow gonna swing this this tournament spot over here.* *57:58* *And and that's like the the cool thing about heel points, but you also like the most helpless feeling about heel points.Yeah, where crab trees are are much more straightforward like straight the schedule you get rewarded for playing tougher T reward for being a tougher schedule.* *58:16* *With the Crabtrees, where I think it's the best way I could phrase it is like you get rewarded for playing a tough schedule on Crabtrees.As long as you can win, you get rewarded beating teams that have a lot of wins.It might not be a tough schedule.You know, think of teams that you've seen going as a one seed that might play a primarily a schedule that's primarily one class below them and they end up being the one seed in their class and they lose to an 8 seed.* *58:44* *Like right, That's like, that's kind of the difference, right?Like, you know, I think.Or the team that's like 2 and two and whatever and then they but since that one game they won was against a team that has twelve wins, yeah, they're they're way up.* *59:01* *Yeah, that bumps them up, even though they might not have a lot of wins.So I mean, there's benefits to both.I think.You know, they did use Crabtrees for a while for football, but it was also tough for a while too, when teams were just kind of playing within their conference or within their region.It all just kind of worked itself out by winning percentage.* *59:18* *But now with the number of crossovers, you know that schedule is is really important and that strength of schedule is really important too.Yeah.And it's, it's all about the schedule because you can easily manipulate your heel points by like you said, playing down a class and just feasting on teams that have a lot of wins.* *59:35* *My favorite thing is always to look at the thing and go, oh, this team has a soft schedule that we're playing and nobody else in our region is playing them.That's a must win game for us because those are clean heel points that are going to be worth a lot because they're feasting on a lot of like 2 win teams and they might be 9 and 9 but they're really like A5 win team.* *59:59* *Yeah, exactly like the like you get rewarded with the Crabtrees more for playing a quality schedule.You don't always get recorded rewarded for quality wins with with the heel points.Because the downside to Crabtrees is you and I could play the same schedule and you and I could beat the the really good team.* *1:00:21* *Let's say we both play Levitt.We play the same schedule.I beat Levitt, you lose to Levitt and you beat Old Town instead, and I lose to Old Town or whatever.I've got the better win on my schedule than you do.But we have the same crab trees.* *1:00:37* *Yeah.Yeah, that is kind of like the one flaw.But as has been said by good close coaching friends, generally the best teams are playing at the biggest in the biggest moments and the the best team generally wins.So like.And I shouldn't have lost to Old Town in that situation.* *1:00:53* *No, you shouldn't have.Maybe that's you know, maybe you had some ineligibles, maybe, you know, just maybe bad night.I mean, it could be could be anything.Maybe, you know, maybe I only lost 11 by 1 and you beat up by 1:00 and.That's why the model is superior to the heel points, because the margin of victory matters.* *1:01:12* *Yes, and like again, like that's the other thing is people like look at like, oh, team X, you know, they won 40 to nothing against team Y and then team A only beat team X, you know, or team Y by like 2 points.Why is my team not ranked higher?A win is a win.* *1:01:29* *So at the end of the day, yeah, you know, that's what you can control, control the the games that you win.I I am kind of back pocket rooting for that scenario in DS.It'd be really cool to have two undefeated teams meet in a regional final potentially.* *1:01:45* *And that that would.Be good drama.That it would be great drama, but that potential definitely exists in DS because Freeport and and Winthrop do not play each other.So that that could be that could be really interesting drama come that time.But you know, both teams are going to win out.* *1:02:02* *So, you know, Freeport has got to take care of Winslow this week.I know Winthrop's on the road against Lisbon, you know, and even though Lisbon's O and two, I heard they might be getting some kids back.Plus, I mean, that's a storied rivalry that goes back, you know, pre World War 2.So I mean old rivalries.* *1:02:19* *There's one right there for you all.Right, so now let's finish up with eight man large school I saw.So Greeley's gone.They're an 11 man.We've already talked with them.They're defending champions.I went to the Mount Air at Camden game, which was really feisty for a Week 2 game like there were they were yelling at each other.* *1:02:37* *The Camden coach got a unsportsmanlike penalty for running his mouth, or as I like to call it, giving real time performance feedback for the officiating crew.There's a lot of that that happens, but when you're, you know, it's a lot different when you're 20 yards away from the field and the bleachers, you know, eating popcorn.* *1:02:55* *Then when you have a headset 6 feet from the sidelines, the performance review is weighted a little bit I would say.But I will to his credit, he, I think I talked to him a little bit about it afterwards and it was he was definitely trying to motivate the guys because they were not playing well at that moment.* *1:03:12* *And what he did is he did it after the after a touchdown and before the two point conversion and not like, you know, on 3rd and five or something like that when the penalty is just on going to be on the kickoff.And so that's, you know, less of a penalty to your team than like costing your team a first down or something like that.* *1:03:32* *So that was, I thought, pretty smart on his part.Yes, and there those are the moments you got to pick and choose your spots.That certainly is you know that's one way to go ahead and do it.You know I don't I don't hate it if it gets if it helps get your kids motivated, but you also want to make sure you're not doing it in a critical situation where you create a disadvantage, where you give a team a first down because of the unsportsmanlike or you put yourself, you know, well behind the chains.* *1:04:00* *Like there's a time and a place to do that.But I mean, you know, came out with a win against Mount Ararat.You know both, you know, Mount Ararat now one-on-one and excuse me, Camden 2 and O so.It was a big second-half for Camden.They were down at the half and then one of their coaches came over to me.* *1:04:16* *He's like, we're going to prove you wrong because they were.Mount Ararat was favored by 2 1/2 and they did it.Braden Beveridge had a monster second-half, and you'll appreciate this.They had this defensive tackle or end or something.I didn't quite catch which position he was playing, but he was really not a factor for the whole game.* *1:04:35* *And then in the final drive, when Mount Ararat needed desperately to score points, he just woke up and he had a sack and he like, broke up another play and caused a fumble.And I was talking to someone on the sideline.They're like, this is his second football game.He was a soccer player.* *1:04:51* *And I'm like, that's a big soccer.Player.That's it, yeah.And and that takes a lot to kind of come over.I think that it is there is a learning curve.I think when you come over, especially from, you know, under this football is unnatural in the fact that you're running full speed at another human being who's running full speed and you're getting in car crash after car, like, you know, 1520 mile an hour, car crashes repeatedly for 48 minutes.* *1:05:17* *You know, it's a little crazy.It's very crazy, but it's but you know, I think, I think it's a it's a it's a fantastic game.It's my favorite game, you know, and I've coached 3 different sports, but, you know, had a lot of fun with basketball.* *1:05:34* *I still love coaching track, but you know, football will always be my favorite.And it's cool to see kids like that kind of bring some of those skill sets over and and those light bulb moments.Like I guess that's kind of been the theme here in Week 2 is like, can you breakthrough the glass ceiling?And once you do that, like I always, I've always found with teams I've coached or teams I've watched, and I think there's a regional team here that we watch on Sundays that they're right there, they're making that you make that next step.* *1:05:59* *And then there's some exponential growth until that next level.Like, you know, it's a lot easier to go from A4 to A5 than it, you know, or A7 to an 8 than it is from an 8 to an 8.5.And I think those teams that are getting right there, that are bumping up against that point, whatever, there's a lot of breakthroughs to be had out there.* *1:06:17* *I mean, I don't think Mount Air Rat's out of the conversation by any stretch of the imagination.No, no, but I mean Camden Hills and.Then I think Lake Region is probably one of the teams to talk about that was Ryan McLaughlin mentioned Lake Region, did I just cut out?* *1:06:35* *No, you're still there.OK, I'm still there.OK, great.But Ryan McLaughlin mentioned Lake Region is maybe a team to keep an eye on in eight man large.Yeah, I think you know, good things coming for the Lakers.They got a really talented junior senior class of athletes.I know that you know, I not it's I know it's the main basketball rankings podcast and it's not basketball season, but I know that I know that Sam Smith, who was just recently the Meso coach and is now the head coach at Lake Region, really likes the group of guys that he worked with this summer.* *1:07:05* *A lot of really good athletes down there too, you know, and, and you look at that, that region for eight man 8 man small.Can I throw in a plea to Sam Smith first, if you're watching?Yes, you can throw.In a plea I I know there's probably a reason why this exists, but I'm just begging you to take the Los Angeles Lakers logo off the floor and put a lake region Lakers logo on the floor.* *1:07:31* *That's just all I'm asking is someone who watches stream sometimes.That might be more of a Paul True question than a Sam Smith.Question.It might be.I'm just saying I think I would rather see a Lake region Lakers logo than a Los Angeles Lakers logo.With with the fish right Is that?* *1:07:48* *The fish give me the fish, and that's not the Greenville ones with the fish holding out the basketball.Oh yes, the.Lake region 1.I think it's just a fish jumping or something.Yeah, very, you know, very nautical.Yeah.Can you be nautical on a lake?Does that, does that translate?I think.* *1:08:03* *I don't know what the the rules are on that.You know also, you know, don't look now, but you know, Spruce Mountain two and oh, they've 3 points and only allowed eight up there.You know the Phoenix playing well in eight man.Too, And they're an 8 man large, right?They're an 8 man large Devin Roberts, who has coached a bunch of different places, you know, including Mountain Valley just up the road has has got that team.* *1:08:26* *You know, only giving up eight points in two games of eight man football is is pretty darn impressive.I mean, I mean, if you know, like I think Old Orchard has given up more than eight points in two games and like that, you know, you look at those guys as one of the gold standards.You know, Mount Ararat was in that state game last year against Greeley, you know, so obviously, you know, a couple of classes with new state champions on the way.* *1:08:51* *But you know, Spruce Mountain looking pretty sporty looking pretty gamey there as well, so.And you of course have your your spruce mountain bias from your times on the bench there.I do have, I do have a soft spot in my heart for the Phoenix.That's, you know, my cat's name is Phoenix because it was gifted to me by that girls basketball team that we made a run to states in.* *1:09:13* *And you know, you look at, you know, look at those eight man, you know, Spruce is moving from 8 man small up to 8 man large.By the way, they were seven and one and eight man.That's what.Threw me because I was, I was like, aren't they in small?* *1:09:29* *But yeah, they're moving right now.They moved.So you move up to large and you're doing, you know, you haven't lost a step.I mean, you only had, you know, one loss last year in the regular season and and then you lost to Soccer B Valley in the playoffs.* *1:09:45* *But you know, seven in one regular season now you move up to 8 man large and it's Bruce Mountain's right there.You know, great New Gloucester also, you know, five and three last year.They, they continue to, to do good work there.Undefeated to start the season, 3 teams up top undefeated.* *1:10:02* *You know, what did Lake Region do last year?And small?They were large last year, weren't they?They were 16, two, so, you know, still right there.They lost to Greeley.They were in the regional final.So or the, you know, regionals. the IT was statewide.So they were in the semi and lost to Greeley, who went on to win the state championship, I think Lake Region.* *1:10:21* *Yeah, they beat Mount ARAP.Pretty sure Lake Region's only two losses were to Greeley last year as well.Don't quote me on that, but I'm pretty sure Andrew.Hart's going to be in the comments.Well, I'll tell you.Like a like a ninja.I can tell you right now, oh, they lost.* *1:10:38* *So orno, it looks like as well.No, maybe not.I'm looking Andrew Hart's got a tremendous.I'm just trying to try to navigate everything that's on there.It's hard to search the Internet and give takes at the same time.This is why you're a pro.Yeah, it looks like, yeah, probably Orno.* *1:10:56* *I think it was Orno late in the year that they lost too, but still OK.But no, I think that, again, really compelling region, a really compelling class, too.You know, Camden Hills doing well.Three teams that are undefeated.Mount Ararat right there, too.I mean, they're only a -14 on point differential.* *1:11:13* *You know, don't count the Eagles out by the time it's all said and done, too.So top 4.And that was a that was a very competitive game.I saw the big difference was Braden Beveridge in the second-half.And then Camden had their quarterback back that missed the end of last year, Hollis Schwalm.Yeah, Schwalm.* *1:11:29* *I think I said that wrong.His mother's going to yell at me for saying that Wrong So.Better you than me.I've got I've got enough parents yell at me in my lifetime coaching.I don't need that anymore.They yell at me less than they do coaches because you know, I can, I can put their kid in the newsletter or something.* *1:11:48* *Exactly.Like, yeah, you have an easy, you have an easy way to, like get back in their good graces, you know?Yeah.That's why.Oh yeah, that kids really good.That's why I love being in the media better, you know?It's much nicer.Yeah.And the the you know, the booth is heated.Sometimes.OK, so let's pump the brake time.* *1:12:04* *Yeah, yeah.I'm actually looking forward to.You could bring a space heater.What?Oh yeah, we had like 2 space heaters in the booth last year at the state game at Fitzy.But excited for all the renovations at the Hearts of Pine of and the yeah under that that facility.I can get a jersey.* *1:12:21* *No, no, my, my next investment's a heated vest.Rob has one.I don't.I also wear shorts, like lately into the season.It's still like football.It's still ingrained in me.Like I don't.I never wore pants on a game night.Ever.You and Ryan well.* *1:12:37* *Shorts I I was covered up at least let me say I didn't wear no I I always wore shorts so.That was just, yeah, I might get a heated vest or some maybe some better gloves for like trying to hold the phone up, you know?Yeah, they they make heated gloves.Yeah, it's true.* *1:12:53* *It's just you gotta make you maybe cut the tips off with the fingers so you can still type on your keyboard.This is also.True.Whatever.Yeah.All right, so who do you and Rob?Speaking of Rob, who do you and Rob have this week?We're actually off this week from WHOUI know OK, but if you wanna check us out are.* *1:13:10* *You gonna end up at a game anyway that's.A good question.There are a couple of tantalizing ones out there, but it's an early morning to head over to Hanover for, for Dartmouth.So we we got a game this weekend.We got Dartmouth Unhi know that you know, UNH, you know, in Maine football, oil and water, they always, you know, fighting for the Bryce Cowell musket.* *1:13:33* *But you know, my loyalties are with the big green this weekend.Excited to go out there and and and check that game out and do that should be really cool, especially where Ivy League teams are now FCS eligible for the playoffs and New Hampshire 23rd right now in the latest FCS poll.* *1:13:50* *So they just came off a loss to Ball State last week.And this is Dartmouth's first game of the season.So you know, you can check that out on the Learfield varsity app.We'll do a little plug for for them.It's free if you if you miss Rob and I this weekend, but we're back on the we're back at it for high school football next week, but plenty of great.* *1:14:09* *Games on WHOU What do you have on WHOU in two weeks?That is a good question that I don't have the answer to off the top of my head that would.Be.You'll, you'll find us somewhere.It'll be an SMA game.I know that so.OK, OK.* *1:14:26* *You guys do fantastic work.Give me your scale of 1 to 10.How you feel about the Patriots and being peak Tom Brady one being last year.We're easily.Or maybe like Steve Grogan years.* *1:14:43* *I almost did the new meme thing for the kids are doing like 6-7 but.Is that the Larry David meme like?I, I, I don't know.I I work at a high school.You think I would know these things?I don't want to know.* *1:14:59* *You should know the memes.I, I should know the memes.I don't want to know the memes.I can't quantify it.I think it's going to be, I felt at the beginning of the year that they were going to be a nine or ten win team and in the run for the playoffs.* *1:15:16* *I still believe that.I think that the Raiders team that they lost to was was a decent Raiders team and they made some some boneheaded mistakes.But the game at Miami, like, you know, they hadn't scored over 30 points since Brock Purdy got a start for them, like 22 or 23 or something like that.* *1:15:33* *And they hadn't won in Miami since before COVID.So, you know, that's a game that they the last two or three years, even when Belichick was there, that's still a game I feel like that they lose.I know Devon Ackney stepped out of bounds at 26 and that was a difference maker.But they showed some grit and they showed they found a way to win a football game and win an ugly football game.* *1:15:54* *And I think that they can beat, they might be able to beat the Steelers this week.I think they could beat the Steelers.I think the Steelers being, I think The Jets were exposed for what they really are.I think the Steelers are a solid football team.I don't think they're better than the Raiders.You know, I think that the Patriots are the second best team in the AFC East right now.* *1:16:13* *I think they can beat the Steelers and the Panthers and they could wrap up September 3 and 1.So still very high on the Patriots.I'm not saying super.I'm not saying playoff win.I'm saying that nine to 10 wins and a run at a playoff spot would be wildly refreshing compared to what it's been the last couple years.* *1:16:30* *I'm feeling pretty good about my exact order.AFC East bet of Bill's Patriots and then I bet both of Miami Jets, both both orders of that and that.So I figured I'd get one of them.And I was very happy that Drake made got to 230 yards because that's what I needed for my parlay.* *1:16:48* *I needed him to get to 230.Exactly.And I was sweating it, you know, late because I was like, oh, I was going to come up like 5 years short.This sucks.I I didn't, I didn't have any action out there other than in fantasy football.* *1:17:05* *One of the worst bad beat losses of all time.I lost 113.12 to 113 point O 4 Nico Collins that drop that he had cost me from being 2 and O in one of my leagues.* *1:17:20* *Another league.My favorite favorite name.This will be the the last last me plug we started with with you as my most.I think it was what I didn't copy it from the Internet.I'm sure it's probably out there, but one of my most creative fantasy football teams I ever came up with, and in the league I have Mayflower Compact.* *1:17:38* *I like it.I had my worst fantasy football beat was on the Monday night game.On the last play of the game Wes Welker got stopped 1 yard short of what I needed to win the week.And it's Wes Welker he never got.He always would get that extra like 2 yards and that game he only that play only got the extra 1 yard.* *1:17:57* *Yeah, no, I, I love what Mike Vrabel is doing there in New England.I think that they're that's a gritty football team.They're not going to, you know, they're probably not a team that's going to blow a lot of teams out.They're going to be a team that's probably not going to, you know, win a lot of pretty games.Let's not forget Christian Gonzalez still, you know, get him back.* *1:18:15* *That shores up some of the secondary.But I thought, you know, that was probably Drake May's best game as a pro.It was good to see him both run and throw.You know, that wheel route to Ramandre Stevens up the sideline, climbed up the pocket, delivered it.That was beautiful.So.That was pretty stuff.Yeah, I think it's amazing how things can flip in one week.* *1:18:34* *You go from feeling really bad about like, oh, here we go again to hey, we went to Miami.We never went to Miami.Hey, we scored more.We never scored more than 30 points, you know.So no, I'm still feeling, I feel as good as I felt about the Patriots in a long time.But you know, as, as I tell my buddy Zach on not Zach Keane, but on the other podcast, another plug for that, the Editor's Note Comics podcast, everybody Zach Bowen who does that podcast and I'm on that with him.* *1:19:04* *I I recording that tomorrow.I'm going to tell him I cheated on him tonight.So I got feel like I got to give a plug to that.He's like, Hey, how's it feel?You know, how's your two win football team do?I'm like, I got 6, you know, I got to see 6 championships for my favorite team.So I have nothing, nothing to be upset.* *1:19:19* *About what's his team?He doesn't really have one.He's just a hater.His His spouse is a Green Bay Packers fan, so he's tangentially tied to the Packers, so he's got that.Oh, you're going to hear it a lot now.I he is a huge, huge Celtics fan and so, you know, going to be going to be a tough year for the seas still, you know, they still could do some, some some impressive stuff.* *1:19:45* *Chance for Jaylen Brown to to step up and and be that true number one that he he wants to demand that Max contract money for.So you know, it's an opportunity for him, but I can't wait to watch him eat some humble pie throughout the course of the season.So all.Right.* *1:20:01* *What's the name?What's the name of the other podcast again?Editor's no comics podcast.You can find that on there's nerds com favorite podcasting platforms if you like nerd culture, pop culture stuff where the podcast for you be perfect because of things.Last week was Hansel and Gretel version of Hansel and Gretel by Stephen King, illustrated by Maurice Sindac.* *1:20:22* *So that's what we did last week.This week we're wrapping up Star Trek, Strange New Worlds, new episode of Peacemaker, and a comic book I haven't read yet because I don't really read comic books until I started doing this podcast for them.So that's the premise.I have worked on 2 comic books and I have read 0 comic books.* *1:20:42* *Yeah.Like the whole premise was like, I had never read a comic book.In his job with like the goal of the podcast, he used to own a small local comic book store in Halliwell was like, there's a marketing thing like I'm going to like show my knowledge, which is tremendous comic book knowledge.If you know, if you enjoy pop culture, comics, TV, movies, all that.* *1:21:03* *It's a fun.I'm not saying because I'm on it.It's an awesome podcast, but one of the first comics he gave me to read was The Watchmen.I was like, what the hell is going on here?I guess I'm.Familiar with the Watchmen?I'm Reddit but I'm familiar with it.It's a it's a dense, dense book, but but no, it's a lot of fun.* *1:21:18* *So give that a listen too.If I didn't bore you to tears tonight.So.I was not bored to tears.As always, Jared, this is great.I will.There's a decent chance I will see you on a football sideline.Yes, sometime this year.And if not, I will see you on a basketball sideline.* *1:21:33* *Absolutely.I'll not hard to find either of us so.No, it's not.No, it's not.All right.Thanks so much for doing this.Hey, thanks, Lucas.OK, thanks again to Jared Richmond for joining me.Always fun to talk to him.He does a fantastic job on WHOU with Rob Kennedy.* *1:21:53* *They're gonna have State Games.They're gonna have games all year long on WHOU.If you haven't subscribed to WHOU yet, I'm not sure how you ended up listening to this podcast.So yeah, get on that.What are you?What are you waiting for anyway?OK, so we're going to try a new feature.* *1:22:08* *This is mostly for me.You'll be fine.We're calling it Movie Corner.And what it's going to do is let me switch locations here.OK?Each week for now until I think of a different feature format, they give you 2 movies, 2 movies.* *1:22:25* *We're talking about two movies, a new movie and an old movie.Because if you're only watching new movies, you have no idea what's going on.You got to watch the old movies first because they're great.That's what the foundation.So we're going to start though with the new movie.The new movie this is I saw, This is Spinal Tap to whatever, whatever, whatever, whatever.* *1:22:43* *Big Spinal Tap fan, love the Spinal Tap movie.Love all of the Christopher Guest mockumentaries, Best in Show and Mighty Wind, Waiting for Guffman for your consideration.They're great.Love them.This movie doesn't really need to exist, but it's fun.* *1:23:01* *Like there's nothing.I chuckled a few times, you know, there was a couple like, oh, that's that's pretty good.You know, Paul McCartney shows up, Elton John shows up.There's some people who I think maybe they shouldn't be there.There's some interesting criticism of that out there, that in the original Spinal Tap, they were such outsiders.* *1:23:18* *And it changes a lot by having them be revered, this revered rock band in the new one.But who cares?It's an excuse to see these guys again.To see.It's just to see them hang.It's a good hang movie.Michael McKean does some fun stuff with.* *1:23:35* *You get a sense that he regrets things and doesn't really want to say he regrets things.And, you know, I just enjoyed hanging out with these characters for 90 minutes and it was fun.I mean, I don't know if it's worth seeing it in the theater.* *1:23:51* *Although there was a guy sitting behind me who I don't think it's seen the original because when they were talking about the drummer who died choking on someone else's vomit, he got really audibly grossed out, like he had never heard that before.And I'm not sure how you get to Spinal Tap 2 without having seen Spinal Tap one.* *1:24:11* *It seems like it seems like that's a really hard place to start.But you know, it takes all kinds.It is always also nice to be the youngest person in a movie theater by a good 30 years.So there was that.So I would probably wait for that's gonna come on streaming pretty soon, I would imagine.* *1:24:28* *So I would probably wait for that.So the old movie I wanted to tell you about.I watch a lot of movies.This came this is on, at least it was a couple days ago on Turner Classic Movies on Demand.If you have YouTube TV, you can get to Turner Classic Movies on Demand and there's some fun stuff there.* *1:24:46* *So it's called A Big Hand for the Little Lady, directed by Fielder Cooks from 1966.So the premise is it's a poker movie.So before you get turned off by the little lady thing, it's a poker movie.I love a poker movie.Robert Redford just died today as of this recording.* *1:25:06* *And if you have not seen The Sting, you need to see the sing right away.But I won.But you've probably heard of The Sting.So I want to tell you about this movie.I saw a big hand for little lady.I for the little lady.I just put it on randomly.So Henry Fonda and Joanne Woodward.Joanne Woodward was Paul Newman's wife, who she won an Oscar well before he did.* *1:25:26* *Did he win a competitive Oscar?I don't remember if you won a competitive Oscar or not, but there's a fun picture that I'm not going to throw up here because of copyright reasons, but of her making him hold a a fake Oscar that says no Oscar.So Henry Fonda and Joanne Woodward are married.* *1:25:43* *They're on in a wild.They're in the West.And in this town in the West, every year the five richest people in Texas get together and they have a big poker game.And it's a big event, and no one can watch the poker game, which is very strange.It's like they're in this backroom of the saloon and all these people in the saloon who are desperate to find out who's winning this poker game.* *1:26:01* *And no one will tell them, not even the guy running back and forth.And he'll come out and he'll have to get more chips.And they're like, who's losing, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.So it's fun.It's a little silly, those scenes.But anyway, Henry Fonda and Joanne Woodward and their kid show up and they're travelling and he's Henry Fonda's like, he hears about this game.* *1:26:21* *He's like, I can't play in the game because I promised my wife I would stop with the gambling.And Oh my gosh.And he's really Henry Fonda is very good in this.And she goes to do something and then he manages to talk them into letting him watch the game.* *1:26:36* *And nobody else is allowed to watch the game.And so then he manages to get in the game and it's going horribly wrong for him.He's losing all of their money.And then she shows up and she's really upset, as you might imagine.And then you think that's where you think you know where it's going to go.* *1:26:54* *And then it does not go there.It's the third act is awesome.Like really awesome.I was surprised because I was sort of watching this as I was trying to fix the heel points, and I sort of thought I knew where the film was going to go and it took a turn on me.* *1:27:11* *And that doesn't happen a ton.I was like, oh, OK, all right, this is interesting.And then it kept going.And really, it's a lot better than I expected.Very much worth your time.A big hand for the little lady.And that is your movie, Horner.* *1:27:30* *And that's the show.Let me pull up the thing that I have to read.That's the wrong one.That's also the wrong one.This is see, professionalism.Oh, there is.I scrolled.I scrolled outfit.This has been a production of Mainebasketballrankings.com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball from Ashland to York and everywhere in between.* *1:27:54* *This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts and a bunch of places you don't.If you enjoy this, please leave a nice review because it really does help out with algorithms and helping helps people find the show.Tell your friends, tell your enemies.Thanks for listening.* ### Greely and Camden URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/greely-and-camden/ Last updated: 2025-09-15T10:52:56.000Z The consensus for Week 2 was that Leavitt and Greely was the game of the week, but the Model thought that Saturday's Camden and Mt. Ararat matchup was the game of the week. So obviously I had to go to both. First up: Leavitt @ Greely. I included the video intro because Greely has a new turf field and if you get a chance you have to check it out. From the first step, you can tell it's different. It's soft, almost like when your kids scatter pillows all over the floor because it's lava. After the game, I spoke to David Shapiro, Greely's Athletic Director. Turns out Greely is the only place in New England that has this Scandinavian technology. In extreme heat they can hose it down and it will have a cooling effect, basically the opposite of playing pickup ball on black pavement in July. It can take 40(!!!) inches of rain. It's very, very cool. As for the game, Greely does not seem to be having much trouble adapting to 11-man. They dominated the first half, led by QB Luke Piper, who had this dime on 4th and 20. > 4th and TWENTY [pic.twitter.com/xdRKANDa7l](https://t.co/xdRKANDa7l?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [September 12, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1966647603413582333?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But Leavitt rallied in the second half, coming all the way back to tie it. In the end, a failed 2-point conversion doomed Leavitt in a game that turned out to be a thriller. [Greely holds off Leavitt for palpitating, signature winCUMBERLAND—It turns out that championship heart can carry the day at any level. And Greely’s football team, the reigning eight-man, large division state champion, now competing in Class C, has plenty of championship heart to go around. Friday evening at Glenn A. Hutchins Field, hosting perennial powerhouse Leavitt in![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-3.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20250912_190017-1.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/greely-holds-off-leavitt-for-palpitating-signature-win/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- Last year, Camden rallied down 24-0 in Week 5 to stun Mt. Ararat. The Eagles got their revenge in the playoffs, blowing out the Windjammers to advance to the State Game, where they lost to Greely. But with Greely gone, these two teams could have Gold Ball aspirations. Mt. Ararat was favored by 2.5 and at the half, they led 14-12, which was making the Model look pretty good. But Camden assistant coach Jeremy Marks told me at halftime they were going to prove it wrong and in the second half they did. Behind a huge game from standout Junior Braden Beveridge, they did just that. Beveridge finished with 178 yards, a couple TDs, and a really nice interception to snuff out a Mt. Ararat drive at the end of the first half. And when Mt. Ararat had a must-score drive late in the 4th quarter, sophomore Emmett Milliken, in only his second football game, blew up the Mt. Ararat backfield with two massive defensive plays and Camden got their own revenge, 30-20. [Camden Hills football uses big plays to beat Mt. AraratThe Windjammers return a kickoff for a touchdown and convert two fourth-and-short situations for long scores on their way to victory.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-3.png)The Portland Press HeraldCooper Sullivan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_5953.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/09/13/camden-hills-football-uses-big-plays-to-beat-mt-ararat/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) After the game, I spoke to Camden head coach Chris Christie. [ ![](//a.impactradius-go.com/display-ad/10661-3217736)](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/c/5077352/3217736/10661?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)![](https://imp.pxf.io/i/5077352/3217736/10661) --- Later this week, I'll have the Week 2 Overreactions podcast where a guest and I will dig into the rest of the slate. Make sure you [subscribe to YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) to get that. Also, Heal Points are up and running, even if I haven't completely sorted out the soccer class D and 8-person classification (there's a LOT of changes). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-14-at-11.40.46---PM.png) In addition to being just a little bit easier to read than the MPA's site, it'll also calculate Crabtree for soccer, if you want that. It'll also do Heal Points for football. [Fall Heal PointsThe basketball heal points format you’ve grown to rely on, but with Fall Sports. Upgrade to Paid![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-42.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/maine-basketball-banner-1-4.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-heal-points/) --- Valley's Cody Laweryson made his made his Big League debut this weekend, tossing 2 scoreless innings for the Twins. [Former UMaine pitcher set to make Major League debut with TwinsAfter more than 300 innings in the minor leagues, Cody Laweryson is going to realize his dream.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-27.png)Bangor Daily NewsLarry Mahoney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Cody_Laweryson.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/09/12/sports/professional-baseball/cody-laweryson-former-umaine-pitcher-major-league-debut-with-twins/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Spreads page is being updated daily, since the newsletter doesn't every day during the Fall and I know coaches want to know how big of an underdog they are so they can beat it. [SpreadsBut did you beat the spread?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-41.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Spreads-2.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spreads/) **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link.](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter (always)](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### Week 2! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/week-2/ Last updated: 2025-09-12T10:15:32.000Z Week 1 is always full of surprises, so much so that it's become a cliche. Usually it comes in the form of a big upset or a blowout in what was supposed to be a close game--and we had our share of those. Kennebunk beat Falmouth. Cony blew out Messo behind a big game from Parker Morin. Bonny Eagle blew out SoPo. Winslow had to insert a freshman Michael Loubier in the starting lineup and he ran all over Maranacook to the tune of 4 TDs. And sometimes you show up at the game and the star running back is in street clothes because he hurt his hand the night before. That's what happened on Saturday when I got to Medomak Valley and saw Jaydiin Ruiz with a large bandage on his hand (he'll reportedly be back in a couple weeks). Old Town QB Ethan Closson then proceeded to take the first play of the game to the house and it looked like an upset might be brewing. And then Shamus Pease took over. He rushed for 3 TDs and 217 yards and had a long TD run called back because of a penalty and Medomak Valley held off an Old Town rally to move to 1-0 Next man up. --- The podcast is back this week with "Week 1 Overreactions". I did this last year and it was a lot of fun. The premise is simple: each week I invite a media person from around the state to wildly overreact to the events of the weekend. Feelings will be hurt. Quotes will go up on locker room walls. But it's all in good fun. For week 1, Mike Mandell of [CentralMaine.com](https://www.centralmaine.com/author/mike-mandell/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and Varsity Maine joined me to talk about Morin's big game for Cony, the boys basketball team he expects to have one of their best seasons in years, Leavitt's return to contender status, a wide-open Class C, and a whole lot more. Make sure you subscribe for [more interviews like this](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). I'm trying to grow the YouTube channel and get it to 1,000 subscribers and monetization, so [subscribe](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and help me get some of Google's money. You should also subscribe to as many school channels as possible for the very same reason and so they'll be encouraged to stream more games. [Listen on Spotify](https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/79e6ygaPvWb?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Looking forward to Week 2, Mike has a great preview of this weekend's action. [Five Maine high school football storylines to follow in Week 2Keep your eyes on standout newcomers and bounceback hopefuls this weekend.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-21.ico)Centralmaine.comMike Mandell![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/42599543_20250905_conymessofootball_7158_45ce2d-1757546754.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/09/10/five-maine-high-school-football-storylines-to-follow-in-week-2/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And Matt Junker of the BDN has a look at some of the better matchups further north. [These 4 high school football matchups could be good early season testsWhile the season is just getting started, these games could provide early tests for several local programs as they go head-to-head with talented competition.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-26.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/class-c-football-hermon-fryeburg-maine-1-2.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/09/11/sports/4-high-school-football-matchups-early-season-tests-n6hjn1me0n/?fbclid=IwY2xjawMwWKdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETEwdGZwQUVQY2w0ZXdqQmxFAR4BkgLtLXwDoRwV%5FyLGAYHmcJatKHIX5NAYIycg-1rDXg5eNUHQf-uzWntFng%5Faem%5Fs98D6ShU9QZJQswXAZbWXA&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Got a game you're really hyped about? Put it in the comments. --- Some big coaching news this week as Greely's Travis Seaver has stepped down after 13 seasons and 3 Gold Balls. [Travis Seaver steps down as Greely boys basketball coachThe 13-year varsity coach, who directed the Rangers to three straight state titles, cited career demands and family desires as the reasons for his decision.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-2.png)The Portland Press HeraldSteve Craig![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20191204_GreelyBBPreview_07-1757461195.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/09/09/travis-seaver-steps-down-as-greely-boys-basketball-coach/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is only made possible by our subscribers To get more data, game predictions, and more ### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- ### Kawhi and Dennis If you thought the Kawhi Leonard cap circumvention story couldn't get any crazier, you were wrong. Yesterday, Pablo Torre dropped an update on his eponymous podcast "P[ablo Torre Finds Out](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKJyKFdT8rQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)" that all but gave the NBA the smoking gun they're looking for. It's worth listening to the entire thing, but in short, Kawhi Leonard's payment was late and Aspiration was unable to even pay their employees when the Clippers' minority owner (and Steve Ballmer's college roommate) invested *just enough* to cover the late payment. Problem solved! > In 2022 Kawhi Leonard played in 26% of games due to “right knee stiffness” before the reported $1.75M delayed payment was made by Aspiration > > The day after it was deposited, Leonard went on to play 82% of the Clippers total games to close out the season > > (Via [@APH00PS](https://twitter.com/APH00PS?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) [pic.twitter.com/2ENcnLrPyr](https://t.co/2ENcnLrPyr?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) [September 11, 2025](https://twitter.com/Fullcourtpass/status/1966136158334890472?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [ ![](//a.impactradius-go.com/display-ad/10661-3217736)](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/c/5077352/3217736/10661?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)![](https://imp.pxf.io/i/5077352/3217736/10661) ## Game of the Week The consensus around the state is that the Game of the Weekend is Greely/Leavitt. Varsity Maine has it, as does Michael Hoffer. [HHSS Game of the WeekEach Wednesday, we’ll zero in on one of the big upcoming matchups and do a deep dive on that contest. This week’s Game of the Week features Leavitt at Greely football, Friday at 7 p.m.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-2.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/logo-2.png)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/hhss-game-of-the-week/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But the Model likes something else. Last year, Camden rallied down 24 points to beat Mt. Ararat in the regular season. But Mt. Ararat got their revenge in the playoffs, dominating the Windjammers to earn a trip to the State Game, where they lost to Greely. But Greely has gone back to 11-man, leaving a void at the top. Could this be a preview of the state championship? The Model thinks this could be a good one. **Mt. Ararat +2.5** --- New this year I've moved all the spreads to their own page, mostly so they're all in one place when I inevitably start looking for them in the middle of the second quarter. But it also solves the problem of the Fall Sports newsletter only publishing 1-2 times a week. [SpreadsBut did you beat the spread?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-40.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Spreads-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spreads/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Podcast: Week 1 Overreactions with Mike Mandell URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/podcast-week-1-overreactions-with-mike-mandell/ Last updated: 2025-09-19T03:48:32.000Z With Week 1 in the books, Mike Mandell from [CentralMaine.com](https://www.centralmaine.com/author/mike-mandell/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) joined me to overreact to everything that happened around the state, including Leavitt's win, Cony's blowout of Messo, Kennebunk knocking off Falmouth, and so much more. [Read Mike's Articles](https://www.centralmaine.com/author/mike-mandell/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Check it out on YouTube! Click here to [subscribe on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Or Apple Podcasts. Or Spotify. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/72Qkt1LXOVXZc9O4b9W7xZ?si=7edf8f9054b7459f&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you enjoy conversations like this, make sure to give a good review on your podcast platform of choice. --- ## Transcript (auto-generated) *0:02* *Welcome to the Maine basketball rankings podcast.I am your host, basketball data nerd, Lucas McNelly.Well, week one of the football season is in the books.Had a lot of fun scores, a lot of crazy scores, 11 shutouts statewide, which feels like a lot to me, but it is what it is.* *0:19* *We, you know, we'll see.Mike Mandell is here today.We're going to talk about the week 1 overreactions from all the games we did this last year.Every week we did week 4 overreactions, Week 7 overreactions.* *0:34* *So each week going to get a new media person in here and we're going to wildly overreact to what we saw on Saturday or what scores we saw pop up on Friday.And it's super fun and always fun to talk to Mike Mandell.Some housekeeping for the website.* *0:51* *The rankings are up for football, soccer and field hockey.A note on the rankings.So you're going to start at last year's ranking and then go from there because you got to start from somewhere and teams tend to start.* *1:09* *Good teams tend to stay good, bad teams tend to stay bad.You have some movement, obviously, but it's a good starting point.So one thing you'll notice is that Leavitt is a great example of this.They're way down in the 50s or they might be 60th, which is way too low for Leavitt.* *1:26* *We I know this, you know this, Levitt knows this.So what's happening there is Levitt was way down from last year and they actually dropped further because the problem is, and let's see if I can explain this correctly, the problem is they won by too much.* *1:42* *So they beat Hampdon 50 to 8.And So what happens now is Hamden got zero.It's for each game you get anywhere from zero to 100% of the Val, the win percentage of the game.And then you get points based on what percentage you get.* *1:58* *So Hamden got 0 because when you lose 50 to 8, that's 0%, you get nothing.Good day, Sir.So they got 0%.So Hamden is now worth basically nothing because the starting point is very small is just to give you a starting point and then to keep the thing from overreacting wildly in like week one or two or whatever.* *2:20* *But it's a very small number for a starting point and then so it goes away pretty quickly.So but Hamden now has has no value.So Levitt got 100% of Hamden, but Hamden is not worth anything to think of it.It's built like heel point.So think of it like heel points and you know, Levitt effectively gets no points because they played A-Team.* *2:41* *That's not worth anything.So if you beat AO and 17 team, it's not helping your hit points out very much.So what's going to happen though, is Hamden is way better than this.So Hamden's going to win and then their value's going to go up, and then this Levitt score is going to go up and Levitt's going to shoot up the rankings.Which is all to say that right now it's a mess and it's going to take 2, three games to sort itself out because that's how these things work.* *3:04* *They take two or three games to sort themselves out and it's fine and you don't need to yell at me about it.But anyway, football soccer rankings are up and field hockey rankings are up.And then I added, because I don't have the newsletter every day during football and during fall and spring like I do in basketball.* *3:25* *So you don't see the spreads.You don't see the spread for a Tuesday or a Wednesday or whatever.So I added a page that just has the spreads.That's all obviously behind the paywall, but then it's also convenient so that if you're at a game, you're like, what's the spread?You don't have to find the newsletter in your e-mail or whatever.You can just go to this page and they'll all be there.* *3:42* *Super handy.And the spreads are of course a little bit messy right now, but the model, even with the mess of the early season the model got is running at like anywhere from 62 to 77% accuracy already.* *4:00* *So when I say it's a mess, it's all very relatively speaking.It's in pretty good shape.And I was supposed to write down what the football model did for opening weekend, but I forgot.But I think it's in the 60s, somewhere in the 60% range.Yeah.* *4:16* *So if you haven't, if you haven't turned your subscription on to get the spreads because you you want to know if you're favored or not and by how much you're favored, even if you don't agree with it at all, you still want to know that.So you want to turn your subscription on so you can get that and then quick reminder to subscribe to the podcast right here on the YouTube or if you're watching on YouTube, if you're listening on Spotify or on Apple podcast or whatever it is you podcast, subscribe there.* *4:46* *If you're watching this on Facebook, then like the page, I don't know, whatever you need to do on Facebook, share it, maybe share it, share it with your friends and like, look at this idiot or hey, this guy is this is pretty fun.I enjoy this.They're talking about high school football.Not a lot of places talk about high school football, especially not in Maine anyway.* *5:04* *So I think that is all that we need to do about that.So let's go to my conversation with Mike Mandel.OK?* *5:20* *Mike Mandel is here from centralmaine.com/thekennebecjournal/themorningsentinel/varsity Maine slash.I don't know what else.The main trust for local news now, Yeah.That's for local news.Yeah, the whole conglomerate you've got over there.* *5:35* *And yeah, so we're we're gonna do Week 1 overreactions to the high school season because people love it when you freak out about them losing a game on opening week.Are you ready?That's, I mean, that's that's kind of what it is, was we're going to see the same we we're probably going to see the same thing in the NFL.* *5:55* *And it's the week one in Maine high school football, too.Yeah, but first I want because I know you being an impartial journalist and everything, don't have favorites, but I know that you were very high this upcoming basketball season on the Gardner boys, so make the case.* *6:12* *Well, you know, I, I think we take a look at them.Last year, they made the tournament for the first time in a while.They only lost to Hamden Academy.Well, I, I shouldn't say that, but a big reason they lost to Hamden Academy is because one of their one of their best players, Brady Atwater, did not play in that game.* *6:32* *They went to, they went to the championship in summer in the Coney Summer league this year.They look really good.And a lot of people are wondering if we could have, if Coney Gardner are, are the two top teams in Class BN.Of course it'll be interesting, interesting for those two teams to go to Bangor after they obviously 'cause they're they're used to being in Augusta and in Coney's case is literally a couple miles from the Civic Center.* *6:59* *Those two.And I think Ellsworth will also be strong and BN.So a lot of people are wondering could, could we get a Coney Gardner match up at at the Cross Insurance Center next year for regionals?And they met in the semis this year.I know everybody excited about Carter Brathwaite.* *7:17* *They got Parker Moore and a lot of their players back.So yeah, it's going to be, it's going to be an exciting year.I think Gardner's going to have a great year and I know they haven't.I know they haven't won a tournament game.I think in I it might not have been since the current group of players have been born, but this could be the year to do it.* *7:36* *They went to a regional final, I want to say 10 years ago, something like that, 'cause they played madomic in a regional final a while ago, so.I think last year was their first tournament appearance, just like 8 or 9 years.* *7:54* *Yeah, Yeah.So you were saying you think it might be their best team in a very long time.So that's very exciting.Yes, Yeah, no, yeah, absolutely.Brady Atwater, Brady Peacock.They've got some.They've got, they've got some good bigs.* *8:09* *They they they moved, they moved the ball.They moved the ball well, they lost to that very good Camden team in the regional final.So again, it's hard to prognosticate a season that's not going to start for three months from now.But you know, I think if you look at summer league or something that that's a team to watch.* *8:26* *I mean, Coney League is always a thing where I'm like, you know, you want to pay attention to who does well there because that's something, not nothing.Yeah, yeah.I mean, madomic dominated the league last year and then that was kind of the precursor to the very good season they had.And I know Meselonski did well there last year and that was a precursor to the great season they had.* *8:44* *So it doesn't always translate, but it can usually be a telltale sign of what's to come.All right, now, Speaking of Kony and Parker Moran, you got, let's say, not the two best games.This past weekend you covered the Kony Meselonski game.* *9:00* *Kony won 47 and nothing.Did you guys have that as your game of the week?Did I see that correctly?We did have it as our game of the week.It was it.Was a very good, I think I think the two best games in the Central Maine area were seen last week as being Koni Mesolonski and then Winthrop Oak Hill and Winthrop Oak Hill also crosses over as both of those are Sun Journal schools as well.* *9:23* *So that that ended up being the Sun Journal game of the week.And then we did Koni Mesolonski our as our Central Maine game of the week.So you're able to do both.And yeah, Coney just looked like a team on a mission.Parker Moran was unstoppable.They didn't do much in the run game 'cause they didn't need to.* *9:39* *I mean, that was I I've seen Parker Moran play a lot of football.That was the best he's looked.I think his passes are perfect.Every time the receivers got, the receivers got separation, the pass blocking was on point.They just were able to do everything they want against the Meselonski team that I think is going to win, is going to win some games down the stretch.* *9:57* *So yeah, can't, can't, can't script to much better starts of the year for be a Leopard squad than what we saw on Friday night in Oakland.And see, people think it's easy to pick a game of the week or a game of the day and have it pan out.And sometimes it just doesn't pan out for you.It's just you get a.* *10:13* *Yeah, no, I mean, absolutely.And I think, you know, it's obviously like, you know, you might, you might say, well, it's not fun to cover game.It's 47 to nothing.And I, I think I, I, I, I think, I think you'd certainly rather have from, well, maybe not for deadline purposes, but for excitement purposes to cover a game that goes right down until the end.* *10:33* *But, but sometimes you, sometimes in a blowout, what happens is you is one team plays great and it's fun to watch.And that's what we saw with Tony on Friday.It could have been worse, it could have been like 9 to nothing and raining, you know?Yeah, that was a that was a I've covered a I've covered a few games like that, I think last year on no comas.* *10:53* *But there was a Monday game that I forget.I think, I think they, I think they played.I forget who they played, but it was really sloppy.It was 2 years.It was two years ago against Winslow is what it was.It was a ugly game in the ugly game in the rain.They moved it from Saturday to Monday because it was too wet.* *11:11* *It was too wet Saturday and then it was raining again on Monday.So it didn't do a whole lot.Of good, that's the worst, but and then the other game you got was Winslow Moranicook, which was 50.Is that a 454 to nothing?Yeah.I think with, I think with that one, I kind of, I think with, I think with that one, I kind of had a feeling going into it that it might not be super competitive.* *11:32* *At the same time, Winslow is one of our core schools, big sports town and Miranda Cook is Miranda Cook is also up there.So it was a, it was a game worth covering kind of regardless of how the score was going to shake out.And it was great, too, because we got a great a a great rookie first game performance from Michael Rubier, 10 rushes for 213 yards and and four touchdowns.* *11:57* *Almost all that was in the first half.And yeah, Winslow looks like the overwhelming favorite And DN maybe I think I think the other two are maybe John Babster MCI who play each other Thursday night.So we'll get another intuition there of what's going on and maybe see who Winslow's biggest threat is.* *12:13* *But I don't think it's an overreaction to say that they're the favorite to come out of the North and play for a gold ball.Yeah, I read your article on that Winslow game and this.So the kid, like, finds out how?Like how?How much notice did he have to find out he was starting as a freshman in his very first game?* *12:30* *I think he I think I think he had AI think he had a few days.It, it, it, it was known what the situation was going in going into the week.And of course, Liam Fortin, as I wrote, who was their kind of their 1A and 1B along with us on hobby last year.He switched that he he's still running the ball as much as ever, but he's doing out of the quarterback spot this year.* *12:51* *And so Michael Lubier was starting running back, and he broke three biggest ones and three, three or four big ones, including that 96 yarder.Wow, that's like what?Like a wait, what do I start your like high school career?It's all downhill from there really.* *13:07* *You'll never beat that.Yeah, yeah, so and Hassan will be back this week.It was just a, it was just a, a family situation where he couldn't play.But he's back and that Winslow, that Winslow rushing back's going to be good.They've got a good line, they've got good linebackers.They're physical.* *13:24* *You will never see a Winslow team that is not physical.That's just kind of built into the DNA of the program, and this year is no exception.So we'll pivot on that a little bit.And the reason you're on here is because you texted me about the thing we're going to talk about now.And then I was like Ethan's as I was going to have Ethan Snow on for week 1 because somehow I always end up starting with Ethan Snow.* *13:44* *But Ethan has gone AWOL.So Ethan, if you're watching, what the hell, man?Like, answer your like, like Facebook messages and like or like reactivate your Twitter account or something, you know?Anyway, so the game I went to was the madomic Old Town game.* *14:01* *And we show up and Jaden Ruiz, who's 1 of varsity Maine's 30 players to watch in southern Maine, has got a big old thing on his hand.And it's like, oh boy.So he's out a couple weeks.He just injured his hand, you know, But then you texted me, you're like, what's going on with that?* *14:17* *But similar to the Winslow game, Seamus Pees finds out that morning, hey, good news, bad news, you're starting.And he had three touchdowns, 217 yards on 12 carries.So it's another example of next man up I guess.* *14:36* *Yeah, So that that doesn't surprise me.I covered I I I covered that I covered Madomic's Week 2 game against Nokomis last year in Newport and I seem to recall that a piece might have even out rushed Ruiz on that day.So it does not surprise me to all the.Seasons but.Yeah, and I had, I had heard good things about Old Town.* *14:54* *I've heard they look good in their scrimmages and exhibition.I really don't put too much into the scores of exhibition, but just from what I've been hearing was that they looked good.And so I can't say I'm super surprised.Of course David Gross is coaching them now and he he's, he's gonna have them boys ready to play.* *15:11* *I'm curious to see how they do against a good gardener team this week.That will be an interesting.One so miss, miss, miss with Ruiz out it it, I can't say it didn't surprise me that they didn't that they didn't hold their own against the what should be a good Madonna team again this this fall.Yeah, Old Town's quarterback was really impressive.* *15:29* *Threw the ball more than I expected.He's short, like short little guy, like can't be 5-6, but really shifty, really hard to bring down.And if you got him in any space at all, it was it was dangerous.Yeah, it's it's funny.It's funny.* *15:45* *You it's funny you bring that up because I was just at Lawrence talking with their quarterback for a story I'm writing, a junior named Colt Robinson, and he's like, yeah, at 57, it's a bit tough to see over my lineman sometimes.So I don't know, maybe maybe that's the theme in Central.Maybe that's the theme he made in high school football this year.* *16:01* *Short quarterbacks.Maybe, yeah.I mean, you, you saw him and he's just running around and you're like, OK, this is just gonna be a a running quarterback.And then he dropped back and was throwing threw four or five times in a row, but had some really nice completions.I was impressed with them.They were down 18 at two different points and didn't give up and they got it to within two at the end.* *16:24* *I will blame Mick LaBelle for that because after they scored one of their touchdowns to get it within, to get it within 12, he goes, you know, they can get a, they're going to get a turnover here 30 seconds later on sidekick.They recover it and he's like, Oh no, I've changed them.* *16:42* *This is bad.Yeah, don't, Don't tell anyone.Yeah, classy fascinates me this year.I know there's a lot of people who are frustrated with the statewide rather than regions.I could go here or there on that.I think if there's only I, I, I was, I, I, I, I was.* *16:59* *I was kind of miffed last year when they went with the five team region in the South.Yeah, that's 6.In the North, so I don't really have a preference on that.What is interesting though, is OK, so Freiburg wins Class C and goes up to B, so you're gonna have a new state champion no matter what you get Wells and Foxcroft.* *17:19* *That Foxcroft score was one that caught my eye this week, because they have.Pretty.Much most, most of their team returning from the 11 and one class DN championship team a year ago.And I mean Herman kind of Herman.Herman kind of put it to them. 26 to 6.* *17:35* *Yeah, as kind of AI guess, I guess it's a welcome back to Class C moment.But I have, I have no doubt that Danny White's boys will be back and will be a factor in November.They always are.And yeah.And then so you got Wells I was impressed with.I was, I was impressed with Gardner.* *17:54* *You know, Oceanside's been a competitive team in CI, Know obviously it's different without Zip Foster, but still 30\. 1.Nothing.Yeah, yeah, 31, nothing still caught my eye.I know it was an emotional day for them too, with the tributes to Wolf Graham, where he where he was an iconic figure in that community, which is already a big sports community to begin with.* *18:14* *And then old Town's interesting.I meant this no comas backfield.I know, I know they kind of I know they got kind of bullied by Wells, but I still think with that, with the with that backfield they have of Seth Boden and Stephen Ross, that they can be a good team.You got you got that Madame team.* *18:30* *When Ruiz comes back, you've you've got Herman.I'm really, I'm really intrigued to see how Class C shakes out come October, late October and November.I think, yeah, I think Class C looks really fascinating so far.And we didn't even mention Levitt.Oh yeah.Hurt.Yeah.* *18:46* *But absolute beat down on Hamden, Yeah, which that was, yeah, that was a score that I went, oh, OK.Yeah, well, they and they shut down Gavin Maniac, who I watched torch Lawrence for 350 yards and five touchdowns last year in the regular season finale, so that caught my eye.* *19:06* *Levitt had inexperienced an injury problems last year and you can expect Mike Levitt voice Mike Hathaway's voice excuse me to be back this year and to be a a factor in Class C if not one of the two or three favorites.Yeah, I sent in my pics to Andrew Hart from mainehighschoolfootball.com at for the thing and I just used what the model spit out and it said it had Hamden winning and I went, I just wrote after oh, Oh no, this is not going to go well.* *19:32* *I don't think this model has gotten a Levitt game right in since they won the state championship game.It's gotten every single game wrong.Yeah, Well, I mean, last year, last year they were, they last year was interesting because they beat a good Coney team and they lost to a, a, a Cape Elizabeth team that they probably should have beat.* *19:51* *But and yes, they were, they were, they were kind of up and down inexperienced.Injuries can do that.But they, I think I, I think you'll, I think you'll see them on the winning side more often than not in 2025.Yeah, I think they're going to start climbing the rankings.Yeah, the Herman score was one.If you told me Herman beat Foxtroff, I'd go OK, But 26 to 6, I was like, oh, OK, that's that's really interesting.* *20:15* *And then I started thinking, well, maybe Foxtroff doesn't have as many people back as I thought they did, but you're saying they do, so who knows?They lost to Polsky, who was a great player, but outside of that, I mean, I'm I unless, unless they had like a bevy of gift transfer that I just haven't heard of.* *20:33* *But I by all means, it's Foxcroft.They're always good.They they should have a lot of returning starters back.It's one of those programs you just assume.Yeah, and then and then Herman and then Herman turns around right week and then and then plays Wells.* *20:48* *So that'll be another telling game in Class C.That'll be a really that's on my list of games to watch for next week because this whole Foxcroft and Wells coming up to SEA is like this.It's a great added thing 'cause there's just so much going on in SEA.You got the one class like you said you've got.* *21:05* *It's really looks to be really deep.I don't.Are there really any bad teams?There's probably got to be one or two who are going to be pretty bad, but it seems pretty wide open.I can't really think of any like bad teams and one team we didn't talk about is Greeley, who's new to 11 man football after going an 8 man and they they put a hurt, they put a hurt on a York team that's usually pretty decent or decent.* *21:28* *That was another one that jumped out of me 42 to nothing.Yeah, in the first game.So you wonder as you wonder as the season goes on and those guys become even more and more accustomed to the 11 man game, if they're just going to get better.And they play Levitt this week.So we'll find out a lot more in Class C as well.* *21:45* *Yeah, that will be a fun one.But part of the fun of Week 1 is like, I remember one year in basketball, I think it was it was either Cape or Falmouth boys got blown out opening night.And I was like, yeah, I think they're probably going to be fine.And they were, you know, and they went like 15 and three or something.* *22:05* *So you part of this is you go, Oh my gosh, is York broken?And then you're like, well, maybe they'll be fine.They might just bounce back next week and be just whatever.It's it's, it's weak.It's, it's, it's weak, it's weak one for a reason.You can come out, you can.You can come out flat and sometimes it can spiral, but sometimes you just turn it right around.* *22:25* *Yeah, OK, so the one game that really jumped out at me was the one I should have probably gone to Kennebunk, Falmouth, because it looked like Falmouth had this one in hand.They were up 10 nil.And then Kennebunk comes back and and knocks it out.Avengers, their loss from the playoffs last year.* *22:43* *Like so that's the game of the of the week, right?That's gotta be.Yeah, it has to be.I mean, you know, it's from Steve Craig covered that for us from all, from all accounts, from what I've heard.What what?From what I read in his article, it sounds like it was a great game that went down to the wire.* *23:00* *It'll be interesting to see how Falmouth bounces back.You know, this is Spencer's, Spencer Emerson's first lost with them.And that's crazy.You go, you go 11 and O and then and then you start off the season by finding out that oh, you lose.* *23:16* *You lose sometimes.So it'll be interesting to see how they bounce back.I I you know that they're going to be a factor in B in in in in Class B South and obviously Kennebunk and obviously Kennebunk is establishes themselves as one of the favorites with this win if they and they already were one of the.Favorites.It's like that scene in Pleasantville when the basketball team loses and they're like, what do you mean we lost?* *23:37* *It's like, well, they do have that saying.You can't win them all.Yeah.They're like, yeah, that must be where that comes from.Yeah.No, yeah, absolutely.And, you know, you take, you see teams like like Wells did last year, like Falmouth did last year, like Levitt did in 2022 and 23, where they just run the table.* *23:56* *And yeah, it's you, you, you take for granted how difficult that is because injuries can happen.A lot of different things that can go on with kids, you know, eligibility, which has been an issue for some coaches that I've been talking to.* *24:14* *That was.Fun.This this fall can can take can take players out over the course of the season.You can run into a team that lost you the first time and is super motivated to beat you and they and they can.There's just so much had to go right to go undefeated, which is why it's impressive when it when it happens in any, in any high school sport.* *24:32* *You get the flu in your locker room during the playoffs and like that's what happened to Madomic this past year.The whole team got sick and as you know.Especially right now as COVID is kind of making its resurgence.I know so many people who are sick.Fortunately, fortunately, it doesn't sound like the high school kids have caught the same bug, at least not to the same stretch that many of my adult friends have.* *24:56* *But yeah, it's a hopefully, hopefully everybody could stay of good health and on the football field.Well, luckily we're outside when we're covering the games, so it's less likely that we get it while covering the games, so that's good.* *25:11* *Yeah, right.That was kind of that was kind of the that's kind of the problem when COVID like hit like right during basketball season was in 2021-2022.All right, so another game that jumped out at me, Old Orchard Beach and Orno.Orno is up in this game, 1816 after one, and then Old Orchard Beach scores 44 unanswered to put it away, which is kind of nuts.* *25:38* *I mean, so the Orchard Beach, they score a lot, but for it to be that close and then just to take off, that's crazy.Yeah, I mean, sometimes it's about finding a rhythm.I think we saw that in a few games the other night.Diego was struggling early against Wells.* *25:53* *I think they were down 12/6 to them.I think they ended up winning by four or five touchdowns.So it can it can just be a matter of, you know, first game jitters.Not that not that Orono isn't a good team.They've been one of the they've been one of the predominant teams in eight man football over the past two or three years.* *26:13* *And by all means should be again this year.But that's what Dean Plant's true that that's what Dean Plant's team can do.And I know people are talking about some of the guys they lost, but they still have W gallants and.And yeah, you have 4 touchdowns.Yeah, something, something like that.So yeah, OOB, they're they're a menace.* *26:31* *And you know, they kind of had to reclaim their clown last year.They were kind of on a mission after Orno put put it to put it on them in that battle of unbeatens in the 2023 state final.And I think we're back in the position where they're the Champs and they're they're the overwhelming favorites in that eight man small school class to win a gold ball until somebody knocks them off.* *26:54* *Yeah, I have this thing where I I kind of want to see them play, but I think the only time they get anywhere near me is Boothbay, and I don't know that I need to see them win 80 to nothing.And so I'm like, yeah, you know.Yeah, it's it, Yeah, it's tough.* *27:10* *You want to see every team in the state, but it's a it could be tough, especially, especially down, especially down in the Mid Coast region.It's kind of a don't quite have the football presence that we've got up here in central Maine or down in the Portland area not.That it's a little to get anywhere.Not that there's not, not that, not that there's not some very good programs down there, but this, it's not the same level of concentration with them.* *27:32* *And you're right.It's and you're right.It's gonna be a pain to get to Portland OR up to my area and Waterville and Augusta.You know, I had this thought experiment once.I was like, I wonder if you wanted to go hit every gym in the state, how and like catch a right, catch a game, how long would that take?* *27:51* *Because you know you've only got so many dates.Years.I don't know.It would, it would probably, I think it would take years.I think that's why I landed is that it would probably take years, like it would be a lot of driving.Like trying to think I'm, I'm trying to think how many schools off the top of my head up basketball programs, I think it's in the one 20s or one 30s.* *28:11* *It's 130, roughly a. 130 OK, so you'd.Have to catch double headers.You'd have to really work the schedule, you know?Right.And the season and this and so like, all right, so like you start in you start with the first games in early December and you end you end in February and half of the February is at is tournament time.* *28:34* *So you won't you won't get a chance to stay in the gym.So yeah, 90 days, it would probably take 3 or 4 years.I think if you really crunch the numbers cause and consider the travel and all the factors.Unless you cheated and only did like partial things like the time my brother and I like showed up at a Gardner Lawrence game in like the fourth quarter, which I think we saw you there for that.* *28:56* *That was a good game.Wow, was that the was that the girls game where they were both Yeah, powerhouses?Yeah, 2023.Yeah, yeah.It was like Lizzie Gruber's senior year, I think.Yeah, Yep, there was Lizzie's senior year, and then Lawrence had Hope.Bouchard, Liz.* *29:12* *Kromit, Ali.Higgins, Bree Poulin.They had Provost.Two yeah, Provost was a freshman.Yeah, yeah, 222 great teams.It's unfortunate that they had to run into each other because they were both gold ball worthy.Well, those and that game at Lawrence that we saw was a great game and then the tournament game was a really good game, so.* *29:34* *All three, all three, all three games.Are probably the first one was.Good, Yeah, yeah, yeah.There's nothing like a good, there's nothing like a good game at there's nothing like a good game at in Folsom gym.It's so yes, it's cramped, but if, but if, if you're there, it's like so loud, you're right near, you're right near.* *29:50* *It gets loud.It gets probably louder than any any gym I can think of offhand.It's one of the louder ones that I've been in.Yeah.Yeah.And you got your nice Cindy Blodgett shrine there.You can pay tribute.To Yeah.So that's always nice.No for real God I can't.I still can't believe they didn't win class Class A this year.* *30:09* *It's like.One of those things.Yeah.I had that up on my on my computer like in at the Expo, and people were leaning over my shoulder going, wait, what's the score there?Yeah, there's a lot of that.Yeah, no, it's on, on, on one, one of one of those, one of those games where it's like, yeah, I think I think you come across those like once there, there are those few games you cover as a reporter where you think them back years later.* *30:32* *It's like, man, how did that happen?Whether it's a big, whether it's a big comeback or an unexpected result or just something crazy that happened, Yeah.Like the end of the Caribou Biddeford girls game, for example, with that finish.Yeah, that was just crazy.Like even thinking back to like, wait, is that really how that worked?* *30:50* *Am I remembering that correctly?Because that's insane.Yeah, yeah.No, yeah.It's crazy.And our, my colleague Drew Bonifan just won.My colleague Drew Bonifan wrote that game story, which is one of the greatest, best game stories I've ever, I've ever read.* *31:09* *And yeah, yeah, that's, yeah, that's that's crazy.It's awesome too.It's awesome too when you get.It's awesome too when you get places from just totally completely different parts of Maine meeting together, both packing.Yeah, that was, that place was packed.* *31:25* *There was like just a lot of people, a lot of energy cause Caribou travels as well as anybody in the state.And Biddeford was so hyped for that, for that game and for that program.And jeez, they'll probably be right in the mix this year too.So that was a really, I think I just saw Jordan Crump is going, oh, where is it?* *31:48* *Is it Colgate?Did she just announce?It just seems early because she's only a soft.She's well now she's a junior, I guess.Well, I guess that's not that early.Yeah, yeah, commits before junior you usually, usually, usually you're going to come later.* *32:05* *But I mean, but I mean, we saw some like, I know, I know, I know Michigan just added a bunch of 2027 class of 2027 commits in football.So it's not crazy.Not too crazy.All right.OK, so one more score I had written down that jumped out at me was Bonnie Eagle, 48, S Portland 6.* *32:23* *Yes.I thought South Portland was going to be better than that this year.I had Bonnie Eagle winning a close game.That that is definitely is an eye is is an eye-catching one.What I can, what I can tell you is that that is not going to happen to an Aaron Philio team twice.* *32:41* *I expect them to bounce back this week against Noble.Yeah, Noble, I guess.Steve Craig had the article on the Noble Wyndham game.He was a bit of a slog.It sounded like it's like 5:50 or something.Yeah, for sure.Noble definitely has.Trying to find a new identity after Jamere Rose that any, any, any that's going to happen anytime you lose the 50 winner.* *33:04* *Like wait, wait, what do we have to do now?And and.And and that was one of those games where I really didn't know what to expect.I think I picked Wyndham, but it was after like 20 minutes.It was like all right, basically, basically a coin flip.So I'm just going to pick the home team or I'm just going to pick the team that sounds picked.I'm just going to pick AI.* *33:21* *Don't know the team that I I think might be might have a slight edge for whatever reason, which I guess in this case wasn't much but.How?How did your picks go?Eight and three in central Maine, 25 and 11 overall.OK, I think I think you did better than the spreadsheet did.* *33:38* *Yeah.So I think I, I think if you can get like, I think it's crazy that I remember this, but I think the first year I was here, I, I was crazy.I think I was like 99 and 26, which is, which is close to 80%, which is remarkable.* *33:56* *Yeah, that's really good.I think, I think 2023, I was 94 and 29, still very good.It's not the same number.Last year we picked more games, so I was 113 and 33 basically as like if you can keep it above that 3/4 number, that's pretty good.Yeah.* *34:13* *So 25 and 11, not quite there, but it's also week 1 and.It's week 1.There's there's going to be some teams you think are good that it just aren't, and there's going to be some teams that you aren't thinking about that are going to blow your mind.And that's part of the that's part of the fun of covering high school football.* *34:29* *And it's part of the fun of looking at the scores coming to go.Whoa.Yeah.OK, What's going on here?It's like, Yep, then that's exactly what we do.It's like, that's something I'll it's like, I'll see something that's like, oh, guess I'll be calling that coach Monday to see to, to, to, to, to see what's up.* *34:45* *And you know, you can rehash it the next week.It's always, it's always, it's always fun when a new team comes out of nowhere and gives you something to talk about and add something new to the high school football scene.I remember two years ago for me, Meselonski coming off a two and six season where they ended up with 27 kids to to starting six and O and making the playoffs and.* *35:09* *Then last year was Falmouth.Yeah, last year's Falmouth goes from 2:00 and 6:00 and not even being eligible for the post season to an undefeated first ever state championship.Which is crazy.So yeah, so I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm curious to see who that team is going to be this year.All right, well, let me put you on the spot.* *35:26* *Who do you think it could be?Do you have any like anybody you're sort of eyeing?Yeah, I don't, I don't, I don't know, maybe somebody in that class.I, I I think you'd have to look at that class CI.Think.Not that, not that, not that it can't come from anywhere else, but I think I think you're going to see Class C be a little bit more unpredictable than chalkier regions in Class B and class D, And even in class AI, mean Class A is usually always the usual suspects.* *35:55* *You know, you got your Thornton, your bonnet Eagle.Portland's going to be in the mix again.Oxford Hill's lost to Portland but should have a strong team this year.So I think, I don't know, I could see it.Could it, could it, could it be a Greeley or a guard or a, or a gardener maybe?* *36:13* *Of course, Greeley obviously did just want a gold ball, but I think you can.Kind of.I don't know if that counts as being out of out of nowhere.Yeah, but I think I think anytime you go to 11 man it can be a step up.Although we did see it with Dirigo last year.Dirigo went from 8 man to Class D and they went seven and two and ended up losing to I think their.* *36:37* *I think their only losses were to Wells in Winthrop who were the 2 best teams in Class D this year.What did Gardner go last year?They were five and 55.And five, so that I mean there's a case there for that being an out of nowhere team.I mean, I have a little bit of a theory that when a school is good in one sport, it might try to raise the level of the other sports because, you know, it's just athletes and they, yeah, you know, it's the the basketball players play football.* *37:08* *And that was, that was Falmouth football last year.It was like, and I, I, I, I watched Falmouth and it wasn't, and this is no disrespect to Falmouth there, the skill level wasn't that much different from anywhere from from some of the other teams they were playing and in fact, probably fact was quite similar.* *37:27* *But they were bigger and faster and when they got the ball to their guys in space, you weren't catching them.And they want to say championship.Yep.And, and, and that's why what that coaching staff and, and they had a coach who knew how to do that.And I mean, yeah, and you saw the same kids.* *37:45* *And Speaking of results, I can't believe that Falmouth lacrosse team losing to Thornton in the in the state championship game.I thought that was the best they that Falmouth team.That Falmouth team was my vote for Varsity Maine Team of the year in any sport until they lost that game.* *38:03* *Then you have to change your vote.Yeah, yeah.I think I ended up voting for Falmouth football, but I think Wyndham boys basketball ended up winning in the end.Sure.Yeah, that sounds right.Yeah, but yeah, no, so, yeah.And the, and the thing about a team that comes out of nowhere is that they come out of nowhere and you don't see them coming.* *38:22* *So I don't think you're going to see it in Class D this year.I think.I think the I think Winslow is your kind of your top team in the North, followed by John Baps and I think in the South.I think everybody kind of knows that your BIG4 of Winthrop, Deargo, Oak Hill and Freeport.* *38:45* *I don't think any I don't I don't think if if any of those four were to win the state championship or to win the regional championship, I don't think anybody, I don't think any of those seems to be a sneak up on anybody.I think everybody knows they're good and and and coaches and players across the you're going to take all those teams seriously.Maybe you see a team like a Poland do it.* *39:03* *They they really broke through against Morris.Damon Martin's one of the best athletes in the state.We'll see them against dear ago on Friday, which is going to be a fun match up for folks in the Sun Journal region.So that'll and that'll be a good test to see, you know, both those two teams that were both off to slow starts last week but eventually pulled out to Lopsider wins.* *39:23* *How is that game going to go?I think that's going to be we're going to find out a lot about Class D this week.I think we're going to find out who's Winslow's biggest challenger in the north between MCI and Bapst and we're going to find out, OK, Freeport plays madomic.* *39:39* *That's a game that I think could go either way, especially with your ease out.Interesting.Poland and Dirigo.Poland and Dirigo Winthrop against Mountain Valley, who lost to Freeport.What's what's, what's Mountain Valley got?Can they can they go into Winthrop on a Thursday night game and pull an upset?* *39:58* *So I think I, I, I obviously, obviously you're not going to have any playoff picture figured out after Week 2, but I think you're going to find out a lot about Class D this week.As we hit the quarter, as we hit the quarter way mark of this regular season.Are you saying I should go to the Freeport madomic game?* *40:15* *Because I was thinking of not going to that.I think it's an interesting game.You know, Freeport lost a lot from last year.But every coach I talked to says watch out for Freeport.I don't think, I don't think people realize how good these guys still are.And they, they, they, they, they won, they won against, they won against Mountain Valley.* *40:35* *And I think that's one of that's, that's one of those, it's one of those games where I'm probably going to flip a coin as to who wins.And that net pick is going to be wrong.Is, is, is, is how that game's going to go.Like I'll probably pick one or one Like what's going to happen?I guarantee it is I'm going to pick one of those two teams.* *40:50* *And whoever that is is going to lose by 20 points, so.I hope the coin flip doesn't go a certain way.So whoever I pick, so whoever I pick among Free Porter Madamek, I'm sorry to that team in advance because because that that game is a total enigma to me, which is why it's so intriguing.* *41:10* *Yeah, especially with Ruiz out.Yeah, for sure.And that that'll be and that'll be a fun game for Coast.That'll be a fun game for folks in the Mid Coast area too.You know who actually impressed me on Madonna other than Peas?Owen Dossey, who I don't think played last year but is a basketball player.* *41:26* *And I have this little bell that goes off in my head.That's a basketball player right there.Had an 80 yard touchdown reception, almost had a pick 6 at the end of the first half doing the whole wide receiver defensive back thing, but he seems to be pretty effective in that in that role for them.* *41:46* *Yeah, Madonna's one of those teams that in the in the in the three years that I've kind of covered them, you know, I saw them against, I saw them against Winslow three years ago.I saw them, I covered their game against Snohomish last year.They won both games easily.I think I maybe cover them one or two other times.* *42:03* *And they always seem to have guys who can beat you in multiple ways.And this year's team, this year's team with Ruiz in peace and also a passing game.I don't know if they have quite the size they did last year, but they still have some big kids.I don't think they do.Yeah.But still, they're a tough team to beat in the trenches.* *42:22* *They pride themselves on that.And that's the You talk about a team that any anybody out of this Class C is gonna have to be prepared to beat in the playoffs.It's always been Wyoming Valley, even as a program that hasn't been around very.Long them them and Herman.They seem to be on this collision course for each other every year.* *42:40* *Yeah, no, yeah, absolutely so.And they get, I think, I think, I think they, I think they do play each other this year.I'm pretty sure.I was very disappointed.Of course they don't.It's interesting.It's interesting you bring that up because I was talking, I, I was talking with Jake Rogers at the Nokomis coach and he's like, and I was like, Jake, you and Gardner are the only Central Maine teams in Class C and you don't play each other.* *43:08* *So you there's some so some.So some of the non match ups this year are as interesting as some of the match ups.Yeah, like, why aren't we playing them?Like, why wouldn't Nokomis and Gardner play each other?Yeah, that doesn't make any sense.I.I don't know they and The funny thing is they played each other last year when Gardner was in B and Nokomis was in C.* *43:26* *Huh, that's weird.So that's weird.I.Think that was, yeah, that was the game that Nokomis running back.That Nokomis running back duo is going to be fun to watch as this as the year goes on.It'll be a bit.They'll play York this Saturday, so one of one of the one of the two teams that lost in Class C in Week 1 is going to get back on track with a big win in Newport.* *43:50* *Cool, cool.One thing, one other thing I wanted to mention, this Sanford Biddeford game, it's a little more emotional.They had Sanford won.They were down early against Biddeford, but it was their first game since the Johnny Hunter suicide back in May.* *44:06* *And so I just wanted to touch on that, you know?Yeah.It's a terrible thing, but it's, you know, yeah, it is what it is.Yeah, I I mean 11111 of the things about sports is that like they're it's so much more than stuff that it's it's so much more than stats and box scores and play by plays and you know, who, who threw what to who and who's and who who team XY ZS good players are.* *44:34* *It's it's that emotional and that human side to things.And that's kind of like where and and that's kind of like where it it's kind of what makes us.It's kind of what makes us keeps us in love with the games we watch is how we can find great stories through stuff like that.* *44:54* *I remember, I remember, I think it was not this past season, but the year before Ryan parent, who was you might remember as Meselonski boys basketball team, one of was one of their stunt 3 point shooters.His mom, his mom passed away in 2023 and on his and on his mom's birthday, her his first on the her what would have been her first birthday after she passed away, he hit the game-winning three pointer to beat Scott Higgin at the buzzer.* *45:25* *Wow.And and I, I, I, I talked to Sam Smith, their coach, and he was like Mike.I cried the whole bus ride home.Yeah, I bought.It's, it's stuff like that that's just amazing.You know, I know there's a lot I know, I, I know there's, there's, there's, there's, there's so many like bad things and bad headlines we see out there in the world.* *45:49* *But then you have, you see stuff like that and it's kind of why it, it, it, it's kind of why we why I do this job as a sports writer and kind of why, why we come out and in these big numbers to see these big games, whether it's state championships at Fitzy in November for football or packing the Civic Center or the Cross Center or the OR the 2 Portland arenas in in in late February or that first or that first Saturday in March.* *46:22* *Yeah, it's one thing I always like about your game stories when I read them, is that there's always the human element to it.It's not just like, well, they won by 15 and this guy scored a bunch of points and blah, blah, blah, blah.You always seem to find some angle, even if it's something really small and that sort of connects to something larger and more human than if we were just watching robots play each other.* *46:43* *One of my fav, one of the favorite.I've covered.I've covered a lot of, I've covered a lot of teams that I've really enjoyed over the years.One of my favorite groups to cover was that GSA boys basketball team when they were on their 3 peat run with Taylor Shield, Roth, Max Matson and Stephen Simmons.Jared Chase, 'cause it wasn't it, it, it wasn't just that they were good, it's that they were good in a way that both their personalities and their and their play on the court entertained you.* *47:10* *And another one was Skowhegan football 3 years ago, that little run, that run that they went on, you know, just the personalities, the enthusiasm, the, the, the guys on that team, the way they kind of the way they kind of rallied.* *47:29* *You know, they started at six and O they lost two games, one of which they probably shouldn't have lost.And then they bounced back for playoff time to and and put and put and put it together and put together their first state championship in 44 years.They dedicated to one of their teammates who had played with them through a freshman year and died in ATV accident.* *47:49* *I I remember it would have been it had it had been 44 years.It had been 44 years since Skowhegan had won A state championship.And guess what his jersey number was?I'm gonna go. 42 it's 44.I didn't I don't even have to tell you right.So it's I mean it's it's it's it's it's stuff like that.* *48:07* *And, you know, that was the story is covering from that team.Like, I remember, I remember Ryan.I remember Ryan Libby, who was the coach at the time.His his daughter would always run, just run around in the field after games.And then I, I, I, I, I remember they they were playing Falmouth in the Northern Maine Championship that year.* *48:31* *And she runs up to she runs up to Ryan.And it's like, Daddy, we won.Can you believe it?And it's like, all right, there's your story lead.Like, come on.Yeah.So it's always, it's all it's, it's, it's always memorable when a team like that comes along and their stories and who they are as not just as players but as guys kind of touches you like that.* *48:53* *And you never know when a team like that's going to come along next.And that's what keeps, and it's what keeps doing this job and what doing what you and I do entertaining.I think one of the teams I really remember, not really the personal side of just watching them play, they were just so much fun.Was that Kony team under TJ Mains that had McCormick and they would just run, it was run five in, five out, and they would just run, run, run, run you ragged for the entire game.* *49:22* *And I'm just sitting there and it's really hard for scoring on an iPad.You do all those substitutions.But other than that, they were just so much fun to watch and just, you know, and you're just like, woah, this is this is something different.Yeah, no, yeah, you, you, you get, you get, you get teams like that who just have so many of those guys.* *49:43* *MDI basketball, when they won their only gold ball the first year I was in eastern Maine, I didn't cover them.I didn't cover them that closely because the Islander actually had their own sports reporter at the time.And then I took over the job, took over that job as well, my second year in 2017.* *50:02* *But I did get to see I, I think I got to see both Ellsworth games.I think I saw one of their scrimmages.And it's like, wow, these guys, their depth and like, like there are some guys in this team that have no business being on the bench but have to be because of how many other good players are on this team.Yeah, that's always fun.* *50:20* *You're like, well, so and so is having a bad game.We got these other three guys.They're fine.Yeah, they'll, yeah, they can do it.Yeah.All right, so let's look forward to this week.What's the game?What are the games that like, jump out at you as like the must watch?I got a list here of Bangor at Thornton Academy, Levitt, Greeley, Wells, Herman, obviously Camden, Mount Air at and then Windham, Portland.* *50:43* *Madomic Freeport I think, which I've been trying to sell you on, is also on that list.I.Think I see.I just try to not go to all the madomic games because then I feel like it's like it's a little homerism and I want to get her out and see other people and I assume people are at home going another.* *50:59* *Geez.Yeah.No, no, they probably don't care.Yeah, no, yeah, no, absolutely.Those are two.Do you recall Poland like I?Like I said, you know.I'll write that down. 221 and O teams, if you're if you're out in the if you're out in the Lewiston, western Maine, Auburn, Lewiston, Oxford County area, I'd recommend going out to see that one.* *51:23* *Both quarterbacks you you talk about a quarterback battle Hudson Lufkin, Hudson Lufkin great quarterback.Probably also the best pound for pound wrestler in the state of Maine.By the way, I've I've had I've had multiple wrestling coaches tell me that he's their quarterback is awesome.* *51:39* *And then Damon Martin of Poland is a machine that's going to be that's going to be a fun one, though.That's going to be a fun one to watch between two teams where maybe they struggled early in their games in Week 1, but they ultimately they were clicking at the end.I think that's going to be a fun one to watch.I'm curious, I'm covering, I'll be in Fairfield on Friday at Kai's Fields to cover Fairfield and Skowhegan.* *52:02* *And what while that might not be a barn burner, I'm curious about the Skowhegan team.It's by all means it sounded like they played well against a Friber Academy team that was obviously the defending champion in Class C and is now up up in Class B.* *52:20* *Lost by 16 points from what I've been hearing.Didn't accurately portray how that game went.Scout Heegan played very well against Brunswick, against a Lawrence team that doesn't have maybe that dominant running back like they had in Colton Carter last two years or Parker Higgins the two years before that, but has a lot of talented kids.* *52:41* *And who is running behind a a program that kind of like wins, though it always prides us up on physicality and it's line.I'm against what's also a big Seattle Higgin team.I'm very interested.That's one of those games that I could see playing out in a number of different ways, and none of them would surprise me.* *52:59* *So I'll be curious.I'll be curious to see.I'll be curious to see that one as well.All right, And so let me get you to get yourself on a bulletin board here.Who's Give me a pick for a state champion.* *53:14* *Pick any, any region or any class you want.Give me a state champion that people would go, huh, you know?Yeah, man, man, you put me on the spot here.Yeah, that's what we do, man.* *53:32* *How about Lake Region?Oh.In eight man large school, you know, huh, that that Ellsworth team that they beat on Friday.This is the great of Ellsworth kids that had that I think was were like undefeated in 5th and 6th grade or close to it and they beat they beat that Ellsworth team handily by a lot.* *53:55* *They have a lot.Of players.The defending state champion Greeley is is not is not in that is not in that division anymore.Mount Ararat's still very good, but doesn't have Ferrell, at least I don't think.I'm not sure.Yeah, and they are building off A7 to three season.* *54:17* *You might not think of Lake Region as a football school.I don't think of them as a football school.Yeah.Yeah, Most, most, mostly.Mostly.Mostly basketball.Yeah, they.I think of them as the team that has the Lakers logo on their court and I'm like every time I see it in a streaming, I'm like, Oh no, what are we doing here?* *54:38* *That that could that, that could be your team.Because I think class DI, there's so many teams in class DI really do like Winthrop.I think people talk about what they lost in offense, but they're deep that the 8 of 11 back on defense.* *54:58* *They're so they're so they're so mean in the trenches.They've got their their their front 7 is as good as front as good as a front 7.You could assemble in class DI like deer.I like deer ago too.Don't rule out O killer Freeport, but I I I I I I do like I like Winthrop, I guess a little more than I like those other teams.* *55:20* *And I'm sure, I'm sure there will be players without listening to this who, who, who, who might have a thing to say or two about that.And by all means and, and but, but, but that, but that's but the hey, listen, we make picks and you got to pick somebody, right?So.You got to pick someone to win and you got to pick someone to lose, and it's usually nothing personal, but sometimes it's something personal.* *55:42* *He's like, I can't tell you how many times after the games, it was like it was like, Mike, you picked against us this week, Come on, what are you doing?But but, but, but but but really guys, it's all, it's all, it's all, it's all in good fun.And when you see an upset like that, it's, it's like, oh.* *55:58* *I always love it when a coach comes over to me.I love when a coach comes over to me after the game and goes, hey, we beat the spread.I'm like, you sure did.Yeah.It's like, yeah.But they never, they never know the spread ahead of the game.Thanks for reading.Yeah.* *56:14* *If you ask them before the game, they have no idea what the spread is, but magically during the game somewhere they learn what the spread is and only if they beat it.If they don't beat the spread, then they don't.They don't know it.Yeah, yeah, no, it's funny how that works.* *56:33* *All right, I've taken up enough of your time.Centralmaine.com is where you can read Mike Mandel's Great Game Stories and Other stories and in 18 different print editions scattered in grocery stores around central Maine.* *56:50* *Yep, do.You have anything you want to promote?Yup and I also Yup and I also want to I also want to tell our viewers and this is a great time to plug this that you can get live updates from Varsity Maine on Friday night by signing up for text messages if.* *57:10* *You.I signed up for that.If you text Maine Football to 207569381 Nothing 3810 or sign up on the Press Herald website you will get messages from my wonderful editor Lee Horton about standout performances, live updates, key matchups and more in the lead up to the week and on Friday nights to keep you in the know about anything you need Maine high school football related.* *57:36* *I signed up for that and I will cosign that endorsement.And if Lee, if you're watching Slash listening, are we going to do this for basketball too?I, I, I, I he, Lee is the Lee is the Lee is the live blog man.* *57:52* *He is so good at running the show, keeping, keeping you in the loop, whether it's the Oxford 250, whether it's, whether it's Maine high school football.He he is a genius and I'm sure he will take that to heart.Perfect.* *58:09* *Yes, definitely for basketball too, but definitely sign up for the football version of the text message.So thank you so much, Mike.Yeah.And I will see you on the sideline pretty soon.Yeah, absolutely.Thank you, Lucas.Have a good night.OK, that's going to be the show.Thanks again to mikemandelcentralmaine.com.* *58:26* *And definitely sign up for those text messages from Varsity Maine.They're super helpful.Always nice to get a text message in your in your in your phone that isn't about some extended car warranty or some scam about the tollbooth or I don't know what the toll the scam is.* *58:45* *Now there's some I don't know, I get weird Coinbase ones.Anyway, it's nice to get some text messages that you actually want to read.So that'll do it.This has been a production of Maine basketballrankings.com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball from Ashland to York and everywhere in between.* *59:01* *This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts and a bunch of places that you don't.If you enjoy this, please leave a nice review because it really does help out with the algorithms.Subscribe on whatever platform you're watching this on so you can keep getting stuff.* *59:17* *And yeah, tell your friends, tell your enemies.Thanks for listening.* ### Podcast: Soccer! (with Darren Allen) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/podcast-soccer-with-darren-allen/ Last updated: 2025-09-06T00:04:47.000Z Darren Allen led Mount Abram to a state title in 2023 and was named the United Soccer Coaches Small Public Schools National Coach of the Year. After a season on the couch, he back on the sidelines, this time rebuilding a Spruce Mountain squad that's newly back playing 11-man after a couple of years in 8-man, and more! Check out the video on YouTube. [Click here to subscribe to YouTube.](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soccer-with-darren-allen/id1675940033?i=1000724914080&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/223CNd09O0YUQwKPytnGiT?si=PWkOFj2bRNCscyoXJwjbSQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Transcript (auto-generated) *0:02* *Welcome to the Maine basketball Rankings podcast.I'm your host, Basketball data Nur Lucas McNelly.Well, we had something different in mind for the intro of this, but then the news did the news and we're going to talk about the NBA for just a minute.If you haven't seen Pablo Torre of Pablo Torre Finds out, which is the one of the best names you could possibly have for a podcast about investigative journalism has the story.* *0:26* *And you should really go listen to his podcast if you haven't already that the Clippers allegedly were using a shady sort of no show job to funnel Kawhi Leonard $28 million in a circumventing the salary Gavin.* *0:49* *Now, a lot of people have made the very good joke that they thought basketball was Kawhi Leonard's no show job.But in fact, it appears he was being paid a lot of money to endorse this product that he wasn't endorsing and didn't have to endorse and didn't have to do a single thing if he didn't feel like it, which being Kawhi Leonard, he did not.* *1:12* *And so this isn't really an NBA podcast.And so I that's not really why I'm talking about this.It's more because if you listen to 10 Minutes of the show and it's a fascinating show, and Pablo Torre's really been on a heater on this show and digging stuff up and sort of wrecking the NFL Players Association's leadership who was doing some shady things.* *1:36* *And it seems like he's just wrecked Steve Ballmer's shady things that he was allegedly doing.You can tell really quickly that this isn't a thing where Pablo Torre heard a thing from a guy and then put it on Instagram for the clicks.* *1:53* *And then, oh, well, we'll see what happens.This is a heavily researched thing.It appears that he spent months researching this, meticulously verifying things and really digging into it.And I think it just goes to show that in the world being what it is, it's very important to remember the value of independent journalism and to remember the value of people really digging in and doing the work to do the job correctly.* *2:26* *And I'm, I not really a journalist, but I've done some journalism and I can tell you that it's very hard and it takes a lot of work.And it's not something that you just sort of half ass slap, dash it on and go about your day and hope the clicks roll in.* *2:43* *But it's also very important because there's, there's no way something like this gets uncovered if it is in fact true without someone like that or people like that really doing the work.And so I just want to say that for our purposes, you know, local journalism is, is essential and local journalism in the state of Maine is, is struggling with The Maine Trust for local news having their struggles and the newspaper industry in general and the median industry in general.* *3:14* *So anytime we've got this sort of like real journalism happening, that's awesome and we should encourage it and we should promote it as much as we can, which is to say.But what's also very annoying about this is that how so many outlets and Noah Dazzell for who covers the Celtics pointed this out is that so many people were just sort of burying the part where someone did did a journalism to figure this out.* *3:40* *And like, there's one outlet that had their headline was, you know, Clippers, Kwai Leonard, no show job, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, according to accusations by former staffers or something like that.And just completely burying the fact that an actual journalist did the hard work to get this information because the the staffer did not come to this guy and say, hey, we have a story for you.* *4:08* *He found them and he came to them and he got them to go on record.And I think my favorite part of the whole episode is that they had to, they could only get this guy on the record if they used the voice modulation thing that like, you know, they do on the news where they black the guy's face out there that he has the.* *4:26* *Weird voice that like San Jose.And they were just, I thought it was great.They were so excited that they got to actually use that in a real thing because it's just such a trope of movies or TV shows like cop shows or whatever.* *4:43* *But I thought that was just hilarious that they were just the most excited to be able to use that.But you know, he had to come to the he tracked these people down and he found them and he talk to them and probably, and it sounds like it took a lot of convincing to get them go to go on the record.* *5:00* *And this whole thing doesn't work if he doesn't get these people on the inside to go on the record.So to whitewash and ignore his contribution in order to promote your own clicks and your own media outlet is just kind of gross.* *5:17* *And I hate it.And it's just a thing to remember that we really need independent journalism now more than ever.And we need to promote it and we need to not pretend that we came up with it when in fact we are just doing someone else's, taking someone else's work and taking credit for it.* *5:36* *So and rant today also, if you're listening to this on this, I'm pretty sure this is going to come out on Thursday.I'm recording this Wednesday night.Today is the first day of fall sports.Football is starting a little early because of the ref shortage that is ongoing.* *5:53* *Varsity Maine has, and I forgot who wrote it now.I think it was, I want to say it was Travis Lazarek, whose name I never pronounced correctly.I think he wrote the article about how they need to start adding some Thursday games because there's just not enough refs and because there's a ref shortage.* *6:11* *So if you think you would enjoy being a ref, go be a ref.Learn, take the courses.It's not as terrible as it looks.I've I stand next to the football games and they seem to be enjoying themselves for the most part and cracking jokes and often asking me for scores from other games.* *6:28* *So, you know, it's a fun little part of the community.And I think you know, you, if you've got into repping, you'd really enjoy it.So, you know, do that.Other than that, today's a soccer episode.Darren Allen from Spruce Mountain is here.We talked about him building a youth program completely from scratch at Mount Abraham, winning the National Small Public High School Coach of the Year award, which is a very prestigious award, and a bunch of other stuff.* *6:58* *So I believe you will enjoy that.And then if you haven't already, there's the subscription at the website mainbasketballrankings.com.There's the newsletter, which is going to go 2, maybe 3 times a week.So sign up for that.* *7:14* *Sign up for the heel points, which right now I can promise you are a lot better than the heel points on the MP AS website, which is still a mess. 6 bucks bucks a month, totally worth it and helps me, allows me to do more stuff like this.Also, if you haven't subscribed to the podcast, subscribe to the podcast where you subscribe to podcast.* *7:34* *So now, without further delay, let's go to my conversation with Darren Allen.My guest today is the head soccer coach of Spruce Mountain and the 2023 National Soccer Coach of the Year.* *7:50* *Darren Allen, thanks for joining me.Thank you for having me, Lucas.It's so I we've been trying to do this for a while.You're the very first soccer coach to be on the podcast.And I'm going to be very careful not to use my hands because I know you guys hate that, but.* *8:06* *No, I don't mind hands.I use my hands all the time.All right, great, 'cause I know soccer guys sometimes they're like, oh, you touch them all with your hands.It's the whole thing and I don't know.I, I got, I got chastised by some of our fans last last night had a scrimmage and I was they said they could see me from the sidelines and I was really animated with my hands during the halftime speech.* *8:26* *It was a little Bobby Knight type of speech at halftime and of.Course you know.Who Bobby Knight is.No, of course not.I'm dating myself.Did you throw a chair at anybody?I did not.No.Well, you probably don't have a chair.* *8:42* *I have a bucket that I sit on like a baseball bucket.You could throw a bucket, sure, that would work.Yes.I've I've seen, I've seen coaches have the clipboard and they have like a like a cheap backup one that they'll break at halftime.* *9:00* *No, I don't have a clipboard.Just for the effect, you know, just like, OK, all right.So the first question is you played at Mount Abram and then at EU Main Presque Isle.And so the question to you is, how would Coach Allen game plan against young standout Darren Allen?* *9:21* *Get under his skin.Yeah.Get under his skin, yeah.Used to be a little bit of a hot head, yeah.But I think we all.Used to be a little bit of a hot head.As we age, we become more calm.So that's that would be the trick, get under your skin and maybe hope you get a a red card or something.* *9:38* *Yeah, I did get potatoes thrown at me at several games that you may impress Kyle when we went visiting, especially at Thomas College.Yeah, they're throwing potatoes.Yeah, 'cause it's the county, you know, they were throwing potatoes at us.OK, so I read a thing, a Mike Mandel article about your Western Main Conference showcase thing in the summer, and you had to buy extra potatoes.* *10:01* *What was that?I read it very quickly and I was like, why aren't we talking about potatoes?I'm not sure what that's about.OK.I didn't see that article by Mike Mantell.OK, it was a couple years ago and I was just, I was trying, you know, doing a little bit of research and then he's talking about how you're like, I got 600 lbs of potatoes and now I got to get more potatoes and.* *10:23* *Oh, I know.Or something.The Western yeah.So you, my wife and I used to run the Western Mountain 77.That's what he's talking about, all the potatoes, yeah.I had to go out and get buy more potatoes because we ran out.Yeah, £600 for the French, just.To just to feed out could feed kids and stuff.* *10:40* *Yeah, yeah.OK.All right.OK.That's I got it.I was a little.Confused days.Yeah.It was just, it's like, what are we talking about here?And I know Mandel wouldn't just throw in potatoes for no reason.He's not that sort of eccentric.* *10:56* *Eccentric.Yeah.I got and now I got it.Now I got it.OK.All right.So you were the 2023 United Soccer Coaches small public School coach of the year.Is that that's right, right.That's correct, yeah.OK, so there's a lot of small public schools in these United States.* *11:15* *How?There is.I'm not, I'm not discounting the accomplishment at all or anything like that.I'm just wondering how do you even get on the radar for that cause how many thousands of schools are there?Yeah, it's like a, it's a huge process.So like you start out like you have to.* *11:32* *It's, it's a sequence.So you have to see I'm using my hands 'cause I'm.That's how I do things.Well, a basketball guy, we'll do it.So it starts out with like your main United soccer coaches of Maine, they vote and so you win the state and then you go to the regional, which is basically New England.* *11:53* *And if you win that, you're automatically qualify for the national.And I can't remember how many regions there are in the United States, but there's quite a few.So, you know, I, I remember the story because I was sitting on my couch and, you know, and I was going to the, the, the conference that year was in Los Angeles.* *12:14* *So I remember sitting on the couch and like, Oh yeah, I just bought my tickets like 2 days before and I get this, you know, out of state phone number on my cell phone.And we're always like, oh, it's a, it's a robocall.You know, if it's important, they'll leave a message.And it actually was the director of the, you know, that handed out the award to me at the banquet in Los Angeles, calling me to tell me that I had won.* *12:39* *And I let him go to voicemail and he left a message and said, hey, you want to call me back, 'cause you know, I got something to talk about.And so I thought I was about my tickets to the banquet or something.You weren't allowed in.Yeah, so I called him back and he told me I won.* *12:55* *I'm like, wow, I should have answered my phone.So that's how I found out.So it's a little bit like teacher of the year, how you're like, you're the teacher of the school nominates teacher.And then it's like the whatever the district or the.Right.The yeah, I can't think of names now.* *13:12* *And then it's just sort of it's a winnowing process like that.Yes, yeah.You keep keep stepping up, you keep going.Yeah.OK, so that was the year you guys won, I believe the first state championship in Mount Abraham history.You guys gave up three goals on the entire season, 15 shutouts, which is just an insane defense.* *13:33* *It was, it was crazy.Yeah.That was a crazy season, you know?Yeah, Yeah.That's all true.Was was that one of those teams where you are thinking to yourself, like in the preseason, like this time of year going, boy, this is a team, this is championship or bust, or did it progress as the season went along?* *13:53* *Or are you one of those coaches who's always sort of sandbagging?I had Ryan Snell on last week, Madonna's coach, and he's like, we're going to go, oh, and eight.I'm like, I don't think you are, but OK.I mean, I'm not that bad.I know, I know we, we had the potential, you know, we have gone to the regional final before that two year straight.* *14:10* *So I knew we could possibly get there.But in soccer anything can happen because it's one of those games where you can completely dominate and still lose 1 nothing.So I I'm cautiously optimistic that season.I knew we were, I mean, we had some fantastic kids and players, but I really knew the night we went down to Greeley and beat Greeley on their home pitch and beat them one nil.* *14:34* *And I think that was their only home loss of the season.And really people started like looking at us, you know, we're at that time, Mount Abram most still is, is a very small school, you know, in the western main mountains, very rural, not a lot of community programs for the kids to play soccer.* *14:54* *So that was something cool and stuff.So when I when we beat Greeley, I kind of knew that yeah, this could happen, but we still had to think.It was a second last game this season.So I kind of really knew that our we had a very good possibility to to at least make it to the state game.* *15:12* *So you were there 17 years, and if there's not a lot of community soccer, how do you build a feeder program?You're looking at the person, along with others that built the community program.Yeah.So I have a good friend, Mark Keller and I started a rec soccer program in 2008, I believe.* *15:35* *We went to the national conference together.We rode down with his brother, Michael Keller.He used to be the University of Southern Maine men's soccer coach.And on the way home, we talked about because we drove to Baltimore, so we had a lot of time to talk.It's a lot of time, yeah.Yeah, in my minivan, you know, the man van, as we call it, called it because it's no longer with us.* *15:55* *And we talked about it on the way home.And so we started it.And we also ran an indoor program for kids grades one through 1 through 9, one through 8 in the the seasons between basketball and baseball.* *16:11* *So you're essentially trying to, you got to recruit coaches to do this and like volunteers and stuff like that.Yeah, we used the high school kids to do that.Mostly, yeah.OK, That makes sense.That makes sense.And so then it's a long culmination in the in the state championship game.* *16:30* *And then I think one thing that I remember from that game, even when it happened in 2023, is the photo that the Sun Journal used of you holding up the trophy.And like the amount of joy on your face is the sort of thing you only see from the players in that situation, cause the coaches try to play it a little cooler.* *16:48* *But I I was just really struck by the amount of joy in that photo.Yeah, yeah, that's probably my the highlight of my coaching career so far.So far, yeah.Was that photo?Yeah.Was it just sort of like a release of emotion of like all sort of building up to that to that time?* *17:07* *Yeah, I think it was.I think I said 17 years of of work into that one moment.Yeah.OK.So then I want to pivot a little bit reading the stuff.So you left Mount Abram and you took a year off and part of the reason was because of the stipend at Mount Abram, which was the, I believe the lowest in the conference.* *17:30* *And I don't mean to like drag on Mount Abram, but I sort of want to highlight to people how low these stipends are across all the sports in the state and I'm assuming in other states.So your stipend, if you don't mind me saying what it was because it was in the article, was 3300 dollars, $33156, which for the amount of hours, I think people don't realize how little per hour that is when the parents are like standing on the sidelines, like running their mouths and complaining about the coach and why isn't the coach doing this and why isn't the coach doing that.* *18:04* *And it's like the coach is making like $1.50 an hour here.So yes, cut him some slack.Yeah, yeah, yeah.A lot of time, a lot of dedication went into that, yeah.Is that a thing to parents?* *18:19* *In your experience?Do they realize like how this is essentially a volunteer job?I think so.I think so, but I think it goes away when they have they have an issue, you know, with, you know, whatever the issue is, I think it goes away.* *18:37* *It doesn't matter.You know, you're still in a in a a job of authority, so to speak, even though, you know, that's really crazy pay.But you know, a lot of times you do it for the love and and I mean, coaches wouldn't do it.* *18:55* *I mean, right, wouldn't do it if they didn't let I love it, you know, And yeah, so I don't think parents at that time when they're complaining like that 150 an hour.He's still at a point of a.'Cause they'll complain, they'll complain about the high school kid who's doing it absolutely for free.* *19:12* *Oh yeah, absolutely.Refereeing a rec game for free?Yes.Yeah, yeah.And it's the same with the refs.If you talk to a ref and and see how much they actually make and how many hours they spend going bouncing around the state and the amount of travel, it's nuts how little people are making.* *19:32* *Yeah, it is.Yeah.Is there anything we can like is this sort of is this fixable problem?Is there anything we can do?Is it just budgets are terrible and seem everything seems to be getting more expensive?Yeah, I don't know what the solution is to that.* *19:49* *I mean, try to have some empathy for these people that are in the positions of power.I'm like, yeah.I think a lot of times, though, I mean, it's it's not going to go away altogether, obviously.But I mean, and some officials are going to make some bad calls.* *20:06* *That's just part of the game, you know?And some, Kate, coaches are going to, I mean, well, all coaches are going to make mistakes.We all make mistakes, you know.Just part of the game, but I don't know really what the solution is.Because even if you guys 'cause you guys are raising money like everybody's raising money for whatever and but that all goes right back into the team.* *20:28* *You're buying the program.You're buying cleats, you're buying shin guards, you're buying whatever is needed.That's not a thing where you're like, wow, you might take 20% off the top here, right, Right.You know, equipment.You know, some people don't think there's a lot of coaching equipment.* *20:46* *It comes to soccer wrong.There's a lot of equipment.What?Equipment is there because that would be my first thought.I would be like, oh, you need a ball, you need a couple cleats.You don't have to wear, don't have to wear mouth guards anymore.* *21:02* *That's been a pleasant surprise.Yeah.This is the first time I've coached, I think in high school.Where besides New Jersey, where I coached before, we don't need mouth guards.I used to have my bucket used to be just full of mouth guards because kids would chew on them like puppies and they would be nothing left like this and they need a mouth guard.* *21:23* *So I just reach into my bucket and give a mouth guard.So.But we don't have to do that.Anymore the bucket is new mouth guards, right?Yes, the bucket is new mouth guards.I used to joke because on the soccer field it was chewed up.* *21:38* *Mouth guards.I say no, we have turf because we got the rubber pellets in the ground because from the mouth guards.So because the kids would chew them.So yeah.That's gone.So that's that's good.No more mouth guards.That's been a what?It's been a plus.What was the controversy there?* *21:54* *Because I sort of remember hearing about that in passing and I was like, mouth guards, Don't they need mouth guards?I mean, you're getting hit in the face.You're hitting the ball on purpose with your head.I believe that the state of Maine was the only state in the United States that required soccer to have mouth guards.* *22:10* *I could be wrong on that, but I know a number of coaches went to the MPA and did a lot of research on, you know, why we shouldn't wear mouth guards.It should be a choice, a parental decision, not mandatory.It was basically we were told when it first came out was for reduced concussions.* *22:30* *It would reduce concussions.Yes.Wearing I would think the mouth guard would help with the concussions.I don't know I had kids get concussions and they were wearing the mouth guard so but I'm not a doctor and I didn't do I don't have any compiled any research whatsoever.* *22:48* *I just my gut and what I've seen mouth guards were not helping the game all.Right, So now you're at Spruce.Spruce was in eight man and it looks like if I'm reading the MP as website correctly, which right now it's a mess.* *23:09* *It's it looks like you guys most successfully moved back up to 11 man, is that correct?Yes, that is correct.Yeah.OK, good.So the up site's been updated.Website's been updated that that at least it's not all the schedules are in season starts tomorrow.* *23:24* *But OK, you in a couple articles I read you were a little worried about coaching eight man.What's the big difference did you find?Cuz I'm sure you went down the road of trying to figure out, you know, what's going to work in eight man that doesn't work in 11 man, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.* *23:42* *Yeah, and thankfully I don't have to coach eight man 888 aside, there's a ton of space because the field is the same size and there was just a ton of space for these kids to run.* *23:58* *You know, I'd never saw A to side game, a regular season, A to side game per SE.So I don't, you know, in our tournament that I used to run with my wife, we shrunk the field and we had seven aside.* *24:14* *Yeah, we shrunk the field.So focuses more on touches.It just basically modelled the US Soccer Federation guidelines 'cause when you play like U under 10 or U-12, the field is much smaller.The goals are smaller and the kids are smaller.* *24:30* *So it focuses on touches and not so much more, not so much on athleticism.So like I, I, I'm extremely happy we're not playing A to side 'cause I'm not sure how I would have tackled that.I did a little research and then my AD said, well, don't worry, you're not going A to side.* *24:48* *And when I had 30 kids show up on my room in the spring to play, wanted to play soccer because they only had like 16 before, the year before, I was like, wow, I guess we're not going A to side.We're going 11 side, which I'm way more comfortable.With and one reason they're like in the under 10 or whatever they're shrinking the field is because the the little kids would get exhausted, right just going up.* *25:10* *And down, absolutely.Yeah, it's it's, yeah, it's trying to simulate the size and just trying to like shrink the field to have size appropriate.I mean, US Soccer Federation has has it all figured out so.So that's kind of the equivalent of playing on the 8 foot hoops when you're a little kid.* *25:27* *Yes, absolutely.Smaller ball.I don't they use a smaller ball in basketball.Sorry I don't know much about.They use a youth ball.Yeah, they use a youth ball that's I think it's a little smaller than a girl's ball, I think.I'm pretty sure.Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what they do.* *25:45* *OK, so so you're now you're an 11 man, It's a new program how not to get you put on a bulletin board anywhere.But how?What's the outlook for this season?We're looking to be competitive.You know, we just finished our pre season last night, went to Lake Region, didn't have a particularly great first half.* *26:08* *A second-half was better.I'm just trying to teach the kids because the kids, a lot of the kids have never played 11A side in high school.Right.So that they were an 8 man for a couple years, right?Eight man for like 3 years I believe.I think the last time they're 11 a side was like 2021.* *26:24* *So a lot of these kids have not played 11A side.So I'm trying to teach positions, trying to teach tactics, trying to teach the shape of our team, defensive alignment.You know, it's been really like going back to basics with this group.* *26:42* *But they work hard, they listen to good listeners and they go out and they try to execute and, and it's just trying to, in the past, this program's only been around Spruce Mountain's only been around since 2013, I believe.This program hasn't had a tremendous, a lot of success over the years, according to my athletic director.* *27:04* *So we're just trying to be competitive and trying to grow the program and create a soccer culture at Spruce where there really hasn't been one.Trying to teach the kids.Like right now, one of the things that we're doing, we're playing English Premier League, fantasy league, which, yeah, so a lot of the kids don't even watch soccer on TV.* *27:25* *So we're trying to have them, you know, choose a favorite team in the Premier League.Some of them don't want to do the premier, Premier League.They want to do La Liga because they're Barcelona fans.La Liga to me, I'm not a big fan of La Liga, but I like the Premier League.* *27:42* *So we're trying to get him to choose teams and, you know, have a little banter going on and watch some games.So just trying to create that soccer culture.And then on Fridays, tell the kids to wear their favorite soccer team jersey, professional jersey Friday.* *27:58* *So we do that too.Just trying to get the interests and other kids in school like what's that shirt?Well, this is Everton, this is my team or this is Liverpool.But we don't talk about Liverpool because to the Liverpool, a big no, we don't talk about Liverpool.* *28:15* *What's wrong with La Liga?Because I don't know enough about soccer to know what that is.La Liga is Spain and it's basically Real Madrid and Barcelona are always the two teams.Sometimes I forget the third team put me on the spot, but it's usually those two teams and there's not really much else changing.* *28:33* *Everybody else is always like 3rd, 4th or 5th, but it's always Real Madrid, Barcelona.Sometimes, excuse me, Athletico is up there sometimes Athletico Madrid, but.And Real Madrid, just how it spends everybody, right?It's it's crazy money, but Messi come Messi hails from Barcelona.* *28:52* *That's why a lot of people like Barcelona.But sure, he hasn't been there in quite some time.So.I know who that is.So it's, it's a little bit like I could imagine if you were trying to coach basketball and you had a bunch of kids who'd never watched the NBA and like didn't know who Steph Curry was.* *29:09* *Like the learning curve has got to be so much higher.Because like, so when my kids ate and we tried to get him to play Little League and youth baseball and he, I don't think he'd ever watched a baseball game, had no interest in watching a Red Sox game or anything.And so you just try to explain to him like, no, no, you have to run to first base now.* *29:26* *And he sort of looks at you like you're crazy.Like, why?Why am I running to first base?What?What is all this nonsense?What, Like he doesn't even know what a swing looks like.And as many times as you try to get him to do it, he's just like, what?Why am I doing this?What's happening?This isn't Minecraft.* *29:42* *What are we doing?Here, or as I like to call it, mine.Crap.Yeah.Yeah, I cosign on that.So is that part of the challenge is you just sort of they just don't know what soccer is supposed to look like?They they have more knowledge than like not knowing anything.* *30:02* *They know the basics.They've been played it the way tried to like put them.The next level up is what I'm trying to do.Teach them overlapping runs, formations, what each position's supposed to do, where are you supposed to go if the ball goes here, the defense is supposed to drop if the other teams midfielder gets the ball because you don't want to be susceptible to the crossing ball in the back, which we got burned on a few times last night, but that sort of thing.* *30:31* *And I use film a lot too.So we have huddle and we we use film to teach.So we have film sessions during the week.I pick a game and I spend about my sister and I coach Kennebouris, who's a godsend, by the way, because he's a tech wizard.And I'm, I'm like grandpa trying to figure out my my smartphone.* *30:50* *Oh, gosh.Yeah.So he helps out and, and do stuff like that and try to teach him.I mean, it's going to take some time, obviously, but, you know, I'm very enthusiastic.Kids are like, wow, you really get into this.And I'm like, yeah, it's kind of in our, I was just talking to, did a did a friend check in this morning with the coach Higgins from Yarmouth, the Yarmouth girls coach.* *31:14* *And we talk once in a while and we're just checking in with each other.And he's a good friend of mine.He's a good guy.And I'm like, yeah, it's just this is this is what I'm doing.I'm going from coaching A-Team who, you know, we're state champions and we're ranked like fifth in the state and in the varsity rankings.* *31:33* *Going to a team that doesn't understand a lot of higher concepts with soccer.But, you know, it's a challenge and I'm up for the challenge and the juices are flowing.We open a week from we open next Tuesday, you know, and I'm enthusiastic and I hope we can, you know, I think we can win some games.* *31:56* *I think we can, you know, surprise some people with our pace and athleticism and it's just about growing the program and trying to get the community out there to see us because soccer is not, not huge, not as huge as where I'm coming from.* *32:14* *And so we'd like to get the community out there and, and, and see what we can do.It's going to take some time.I understand that.But we have some decent players, you know, we, we have some kids who want to learn, they want to get better and it's a challenge.So.* *32:32* *Going forward, as you build the program, how huge will the World Cup being in the United States be for that sort of immersion and education?And I say this is someone who sort of pays attention to soccer generally every four years for the World Cup and goes, oh, what is that guy doing?* *32:49* *How does he not know what he's doing?And then I don't pay attention for another four years like that.Imagine a World Cup in the United States is going to have to be huge for the growth of a program like that.It is, but I must add that that's something even bigger that's in Maine is Hearts of Pine.* *33:06* *A lot of my kids.Yeah, it's you should go because the atmosphere is is tremendous.You can't get tickets.You can't get single game ticket tickets.The.Atmosphere is like.It's it's an incredible atmosphere.* *33:22* *A lot of the boys went down in May and watched the game and it's good soccer and the atmosphere is good and the excitement is excellent.I've gone to like 3 games.I went down with a close friend of mine, Dan Gish of Lewiston.We went to a game and my sons actually got us that for a Christmas present.* *33:40* *We got A5 game pack to go down and watch.We watched the season opener and that's, it was something cool because when I was a kid, you know, I, I went to a couple games in the 96 World Cup that was hosted in the United States.I know that's I'm dating myself.I remember.* *33:55* *The 96 World Cup, yeah.And I, we actually went to my AD and I as 'cause we went, we were college teammates.We actually went to the first New England Revolution game together in 96 at it was Foxborough Stadium then since then since been torn down.* *34:12* *It wasn't a nice Gillette Stadium back then.Was Alexi Lawless on that team?He was, Yeah.Oh, I remembered something.OK, look at that.It was.Yeah, I remember.Yeah, I I read his ex ex posts all the time.So Alexi Lawless.* *34:29* *Why?So this is one of my questions.It's on my list here.Hearts of Pine.Why is that been so successful in Maine?Like because when the red claws came to Maine, it was successful, but it wasn't huge.I mean, I, I want, I'm wondering if this has been more successful as a rollout than even the Sea Dogs were.* *34:48* *Yeah, I I'm so impressed with their marketing.Like they have all.It's like, Oh my goodness gracious.So you go to game and the swag line is like a mile.You'll be there all game in the line just to get like a scarf or even they get so many jerseys for sale.* *35:06* *My wife complaints 'cause I got like three of them.She's like, you spend more money on jerseys than I do on shoes.I'm like, sorry, but they're cool.But I want that blue one that's like looks like the sign, the state of Maine sign.Yes, I haven't got that.That's the one I don't have.That one looks very cool to me and I think I could I could wear it here and it wouldn't like bleed into the green screen behind me.* *35:28* *So that's one of my main motivations.True.I just think their marketing has been absolutely tremendous.The videos, the marketing and such and you know, ticket sales are crazy.You can't.You can't find any so.But you mean you could market the hell out of it and it just wouldn't, It still wouldn't click.* *35:45* *Like, there's what about, I guess mostly southern Maine, but what about southern Maine has like, allowed that marketing to latch on 'cause it all?It feels like it did almost immediately.It did, didn't it?* *36:00* *It's just, yeah, it was like the first announcement.Was like, hell yeah, yeah.I mean, Tom Karen's one of the owners.So I mean, he's there.The governor was there first game, and you got, oh, the movie actor.The movie actor, yeah, Patrick Dempsey was there for a game.* *36:18* *I keep telling kids I'm a better actor than he is 'cause my my son's used to watch his.What's the hospital show he had?And Grey's Anatomy.Yeah, I was like, Oh my God, this is awful.It's like, how do you guys watch this?But he was there somewhere.* *36:34* *I'm sure it's somewhere.But you know, all these people come in and they advocate and they've done a tremendous job, just like getting the word out.And the videos are tremendous and the and the and the and the product on the field is good.It's exciting.You know, they get some really exciting players.* *36:51* *So I think that adds in to the state and such.We actually had some representatives come when we used to run the 77 tournament at Mount Abram.We had a tent there with Hearts of Pine came that last year.I ran it, I believe, and, you know, did some promo stuff, had a giant like soccer ball that you shot the ball and it stuck like a Velcro.* *37:13* *It's like a target.Yeah.So they did some pro, they did a lot of promo stuff and outreach and grassroots and stuff.Has that been a is that a thing that was sort of building for a couple years before any of us really like the casuals like myself even knew about it?* *37:29* *Yeah, yeah, they were.Look, yeah, I remember when they were looking to try to build their own soccer specific stadium in Portland, 'cause I got really excited for that.And then I guess like, I don't know, the permitting is crazy probably.So they just Back Bay maybe I can't remember.* *37:46* *It's the.Only thing that makes sense.Back Bay was, but I mean, there's at Fitzy now and it's kind of cool.It's really cool.I mean, the atmosphere is tremendous.I'll probably be at Fitzy for the football states, so I'm be interested to see how much different it is and more importantly, how much different the press box is.* *38:04* *Yeah.That'll be the big thing.What does the press box look like?Is it heated?Yeah, I'm not allowed in there, so.All right, so in so now you're in C Who are the teams to beat this year in C?* *38:21* *Is one of them Mount Abram?Absolutely.One of them, Mount Abram.I mean, Mount Abram to me is a state title contender again this year.They've got the players.I mean, Halldale's defending state champ, you know, and you always have Wayne Fleet and North Carolina Academy.* *38:37* *I mean, those are the big 4, you know, and we got two of them on the schedule.I told my kids I'm like, we're playing three state championship caliber teams on the schedule and actually they've won the hardware.You got Monmouth and Dee who won it two years ago.You got Madam who won it two years ago.* *38:53* *You've got Hall Dale who won it last year.So we've got a tall task, you know, so my preseason games have been pretty tough.So we've played some juggernauts and, you know, just to get used to that type of style of play and you know, Lake Region, we played last night, who's really quality Mount Blue.* *39:14* *Mount Blue's a sleeper.Mount Blue's boys soccer.They are tremendous.Zach Connellog has done an absolute fantastic job with them.They've got some players.I think it's a surprise a lot of teams in in in the north, in the A and they're and they're big.And one of those funny because one of the kids we played Mount Blue.* *39:30* *It's like, coach, how do we win head balls against the guys?They're a foot taller.I'm like, you're not going to the second ball, you can win.So they're just so big, so tall, so.You got to box them out, sort of use some basketball skills there.* *39:46* *We tried, they tried, you know, it's a tough.We had them, we had them almost nil, nil at half.We left a goal with 10 seconds left in the first half.So we played tough.That was a, that was a positive.We played tough.So how?How much in in soccer, how devastating is that goal with 10 seconds left in the half?* *40:04* *Because I mean, it might, that might be the only goal of the game and you're so close to just getting out of the half.Yes, it's devastating.I think I just put my head in my hands and said sugar will.We almost had a nil, nil.Yep.Yeah, that's just the thing about soccer is like, like you said before, you can dominate the game and lose it one nil.* *40:25* *And you know, football, you've got multiple chances where you're going to be able to score hopefully.And in basketball, the, you know, worst case scenario, you're going to be in the 40s or the 50s.And so there's so many more opportunities where if you're dominating, it's going to show up on the scoreboard.* *40:42* *And it just must be like so frustrating.Yeah, yeah I mean mom blue had saw the all the ball mostly and I knew that was going to happen.We just tried to keep our shape and we made a little mistake right before half.We gave up a free kick on a foul that we shouldn't have done.* *40:59* *But that's the learning process that I have to do with these guys.You know, game management, you got, you got 15 seconds left.There's no reason to foul none.Just contain the offense.Just contain them.Just don't let them in behind you.And unfortunately we've permitted A foul.They had a free kick, they scored off the free kick.* *41:16* *We're down one nil.And that's just a learning.It's a learning moment for these guys because they haven't played Mount Blue in a while, Mount Blue Varsity in quite some time all.Right.So September 24th is the Mount Abram game.They're coming to you.* *41:33* *How weird do you anticipate that being for you being on the other sideline?Considering like 2 of the kids work for me this summer at my place, Yeah, one did my firewood and the one did my lawn mowering.Yeah, it's going to be weird.Yeah, it's going to be strange.* *41:49* *You know, I just got to have my kids pumped up and, you know, play with themselves and not get down if things don't go right.But it's it's also fair night in Farmington.So that's also adding to the because Farmington Fair is big in Farmington.So because the kids get 1/2 day off of school, they get to go to the fair.* *42:10* *Yeah, got to love 1/2 day off school.Yeah, I don't get the half day off, just the kids so and I don't want to go to the fair.So the only thing good at the fair is like the hot roasted peanuts and the doughboys.So I can do without those.* *42:25* *Yeah, but that's a big game that that's that's on the calendar.I requested it be at night so we can have a big crowd.So it'll be a big crowd.It's not that far from Mount Aim to Spruce.It's about 40 minutes, 45 minutes.So it's going to be it'll be good because Coach Wings on the other side, he's one of my former assistants.* *42:43* *He's an awesome guy.He's a great coach and you know he's going to give it his all.I'm going to try to give it our all.Just have the kids prepared so it'll be a good atmosphere.Hat view already I'm assuming you have already made a sort of list of like here are things that I think would work against my former players because I know them pretty well and you know it's almost like the self scout that you would do of your own team going into the playoffs or something to be like here are our weaknesses and here's how we would attack ourselves.* *43:20* *You know how how long is that list I?Haven't made that list yet because I, we have a game on Tuesday against a team, you know, it's been a, I've been a year out, so I haven't seen these guys play too much.So I usually take it one game at a time.* *43:37* *And then after, you know, after, as soon as the game before Mount Abram is done, then I'll start to make my list and stuff and implement it in training sessions.So I'm one of those coaches, take it one game at a time.One at a time, try not to get too far ahead of it.Yeah, 'cause then you get confused.* *43:53* *And no, you just got to take it one game at a time.Focus.All right, fair enough.Who are the teams to be?I know you're not an 8 man anymore, but who are the teams to be an 8 man that you've just hearing around the grape, the Grapevine?Karabek is always good.* *44:09* *Yeah.I don't know a lot of the yeah, Karabek's very near us.I don't know a lot of the Northern Maine ones, but I think Northern Maine team won it last year.Or was it Richmond is not a lot, so I'm not familiar with that.* *44:25* *Remember, he just died.Now I know Karabek lost in the regionals last year.I do believe to, I think Greenville's in it too. 8 aside, I'm not sure.I haven't seen the MPA like who's an 8 man who's not an 8 man anymore.* *44:43* *So I haven't.Is the, the MPA website is new this year, Is that correct?It's very new.Oh, it's very new.It's the other day in progress.I went to the old one the other day and I'm like what?It doesn't have our schedule.I'm like, oh, it doesn't have anybody's schedule.* *44:58* *Oh, I don't think it's operational.I don't have the right link.Oh yeah.So.That's the other thing is that a lot of these kids that I coach don't even know what the heel points are.Wow.So, yeah.So we're going to, we're going to go over that.* *45:14* *Too.That'll be a learning curve.I'm not going to do the math for him.I'll do the math.For you, I'll have the math I.Kind of.You do have, yes.You do the math.I don't teach math.There's a reason why I don't teach math, especially that kind of math.Yeah.OK, let me ask you this, someone asked me this question the other day and I didn't have an answer for it.* *45:34* *So in the county they've already started like 2 weeks ago for the harvest teams.And then the question I got asked, and you might not know the answer to this, but we'll spec.We can speculate wildly on a podcast.That's what podcasts are for.Do they still need the kids for the harvest?* *45:54* *Isn't it mostly mechanical now?Great question.I did go to school up there, but it was many moons ago.I think some of the.Kids do have a potato expertise, so we've established.I have friends that still live in the county but I don't really know the I'm sure some of them do work.* *46:13* *I'm sure.But it's like, is it so much that we need to start this season early, like still, or is it just sort of a thing we just do because it's a thing we do?I don't believe all the schools do that.I think I don't know.That's a great question, Lucas.* *46:28* *I don't know the answer.I would have to ask some of my college friends, college team mates that still live in the county.OK, we'll investigate this because someone asked me at work and I was like, yeah, why do they still need the kids they've got like these harvester machines and.* *46:46* *So they have to pick out on the conveyor belts.They still have to pick out the bad potatoes, I guess, like the Laverne and Shirley commercial show.I don't know.Am I dating myself again?I do this.All the time at work you are.The other day it was The Love Boat.Yeah, the other day it was The Love Boat.Kids didn't know what?The Love Boat.* *47:01* *My assistant didn't even know what The Love Boat Show was.I was like, Oh my gosh, you don't know The Love Boat.OK, I was at work the other day and I had to send an e-mail and I was like, I had to mention the band Wilco.And I was like, my one of my bosses was like, you cannot yell at people if they don't know who Wilco is because they're too young.* *47:23* *And I'm like, I'm pretty sure I can because that's not that old of a band.They're still very active.And two of the three people didn't know who Wilco was and I was not allowed to yell at them.But I'm venting here a little bit on the podcast because it was very annoying to me.* *47:43* *OK, it's it's the whole thing of getting old and.It's just, it's just a number.Just a number.It is just a number.All right, so I'm gonna hit you with so you're in C How about Class B?If you what's who are the teams to?Be you think can be there's a whole list of teams anybody like one through the one through 8 could win, could win B John Babs from the North could win B.* *48:09* *My good friends and former goalkeeper buddy Jason Pangburn is the coach there.Yeah.And then you have, they were very good last year.Yeah.Pang Pangburn has done a great job up there.And then of course, Sea S you've got, you know, grain of glosses improved.* *48:26* *You got Lake Region, you got Yarmouth, you got Freeport, you've got York, you've got Cape, you've got Yarmouth.Did I say Yarmouth?I think I did, yeah.And then I'm trying to think of the schools down there, but you've got all these teams.It's a soccer hotbed, you know, the South, and it's just crazy.* *48:45* *So.And you got Greeley.I say Greeley.Defending state champs.Mike Andreessen.Mike Andreessen also won national coach of the year last year for large school.Yeah, he won large school.And I think Halligan won at once, right?Yes.And then another gentleman from Bangor, Christian won it OK as well.* *49:06* *Yeah.And I.Think the Camden girls coach won it once.Yes, I think so.'Cause they had that run, they had Camden had that run.They were ridiculous.Yeah, they had Christina Kelly, Yeah, who was a great basketball player.* *49:22* *Yeah, there's five of us from Maine that have won it before.I do believe I'd have to.I have to ask Mike Jeffries, the president of The Maine Soccer Coaches.He has those stats on his website.I mean, that seems like a lot, yeah.You know, per capita sort of situation.Yeah, we produce, main produces a lot of high quality soccer players.* *49:42* *And then why is that?Do you think that we produce so many high quality soccer players?What about the is the coach?That's a great answer.I mean the accessibility to to soccer all year round, you know, OK, now it used to be, it used to be only in southern Maine you could get the soccer all year round, but now it's spread.* *50:08* *I mean, you can play.I wish the MPA would and they probably don't know about it if Mike Piston is listening, but probably not.They do it in Brazil.Well, I'll send it to him.So foots all in Brazil.So you just play on a basic gym floor and you got 2 metal goals for the goalkeeper.* *50:28* *Football you play, it's a size 4 ball and the ball's a little heavier and they play, Brazil plays it and it's just played on the gym floor.Like you're playing soccer and you know, the gym floor out of bounds is the basketball court.OK.* *50:43* *So it's a lot of, it produces a lot of foot skills.That's what we do with our indoor youth program.We haven't played that in intramurals in college, actually.Yeah, OK, I think.Like developed a lot of foot skills and yeah, it's good.* *50:59* *Something to do in the winter time if you're not a basketball player, Yeah, Or even if you.Are I?I was, so I had no idea what I was doing and I got like recruited on to this intramural team as one does in college, and I was completely lost on all of it.* *51:15* *And then at one point someone goes, dude, it's like playing defense in basketball.Use the goal, the ball, you know, the line down the middle of the court, use your position, your feet based on that and just try to stay in front of people.And I was like, oh oh I can do that.That's not hard.* *51:31* *And I instantly got like 5 times better.Yeah, it's a lot of similar concepts between the sports, Yeah.OK.And then an A, is it, is it Lewiston?Are they still the team to beat?Oh yeah, I would say yes.I mean, Camden boys won it last year.* *51:46* *I do believe so, yeah.I'm not sure what they what they lost Wyndham too in the South.I, I have a hard time with a which is north and which is South because Mount Ararat's in the north, I think.And they're really S because they're like 2 hours South of us.But how are they in the north?* *52:02* *So I understand there has to be a balance between the regions.I get that.Mount Ararat, I mean, again, all these teams, Lewis and Mount Ararat, El Edward Little, you know another oh man, that stadium is fantastic.Oh, remember playing there, It was a fantastic stadium, you know, Portland, Scarborough, you know, Gorham, all these Deering, all these, you know, great schools that produce all these great soccer players, you know, and it's any, but it's it's just really close to call who who the the team to beat is really.* *52:39* *But I mean, Lewiston produces quality programs all the time.The most fun NS thing I saw and I I think I have this right, is that Machias is in the South.Yeah, and I think they wanted to be.I think they wanted to be.* *52:55* *Well, I.It's all the Aroostook County in the north, and then everybody's not in the Aroostook County is in the South.Right.So that's probably the transportation is shorter.I'm saying maybe thinking maybe.I don't remember the last time I went to Machias.* *53:11* *I mean, if you're in Mathias, it's just a long way to get to anything.So there's that.All right, so to ask you a question, I ask everybody.So a scenario arises where the MPA comes to you and they say you have complete control, absolute power for one day.* *53:36* *You can implement whatever rule you want, and we have to do it and the teams have to do it, and whatever you think is the easy fix by executive order whatever.What do you do?It's tricky because there's so many options.* *53:58* *Yeah, it is.Wow.I don't know.I would take the regional finals.I would say the regional finals are at the higher seat and not neutral site.Really.Yeah.A regional.* *54:14* *Final.Yeah, we used to.So like in 2004 and 2008 when I was coaching, we played in the regional final we hosted and the atmosphere, the visiting teams are from the South.So when you drive up to Mount Abraham, you see this like, you know, this 4000 foot mountain in the background and everybody's like, oh, it's snowing, it's cold.* *54:36* *Such a home field advantage.I understand why they play the regional finals at neutral sites because usually that time of year the grass pitches are junk, just the rain.And I understand all of that.But if I had to do an executive order, I would put the regional finals back at the higher seat.* *54:58* *Is that too much of A home field advantage for a regional final That.Would be my question.Because we lost those, we lost those games in 2004, 2008.So it wasn't that much of A that.Didn't help you, wasn't.Wasn't enough, wasn't enough because you want to make those, I mean, you work all year for that home field advantage, you want it.* *55:17* *But I completely understand why the MPA moved into a neutral site because of this, you know, unartificial turf surface.So I get it.Yeah, you almost have to have it on an artificial surface that time of year, right?Yeah, I mean, some fields are still OK, but I remember the last year we actually snowed like before our game with Wayne Fleet, and they actually went out and tried to plow the field and may or may not have left ruts in the field.* *55:47* *And I remember the Wayne Fleet coach checking the field out before the game and I saw him shaking his head 'cause he probably saw the ruts.And I'm like, is what it is.We don't have turf.So yeah.So I think it's a huge advantage for for grass teams.* *56:04* *When turf teams come to grass, it's a big difference because.Because it's so much slower.It's so much slower and you don't get true bounces.You might hit like a little bump.The ball will go somewhere else.And you know, I mean, turf fields are good, don't get me wrong, but there's something about a grass pitch that it's it plays differently and you get it used to it.* *56:24* *You really have to hit the ball harder to have a weighted pass and such on grass So and you can the ball.Will too, and, and the pitch, it's going to skip more, right?Like the ball is going to almost like a baseball turf when they're throwing, throwing from third base and they sort of skip it in and that speeds it up somehow.* *56:45* *It's going to speed up.It's going to be especially if it's wet.We usually in October, late October, November, the the field is wet so the ball is just going to fly.OK if.I had if I had my choice, I would love to have turf, but a lot of schools don't have that choice.* *57:03* *Right, because that's pretty expensive.I would have.Had it is expensive, yes.And if you can't pay the coaches, then you probably don't have money for a turf.Probably not.Probably not.Yeah.All right.* *57:19* *Do you want to make a prediction for your record this year?I do not, I don't do you do not, I do not because I I made a prediction once and I'll never forget it and I'll no one will ever let me live.Oh, I gotta do this.All right.So I was in college and we went out to breakfast as a team and actually my AD was on my team and someone goes, DA, what's your prediction for today's game?* *57:42* *I'm like 5 nil.Oh, I was absolutely right, but it was the wrong team with five and the right team with 0.So after that day I will never make a prediction again.Fair enough.All right.* *58:00* *Thank you so much for doing this.Is there anything you want to add?Anything you want to?Promote.No.While you're here, I just want to thank you, Lucas, for having me on.And you know, high school soccer is thank you.Well, you know, letting the light in on high school soccer.It's extremely popular, you know, and it's good to, it's good to be back on the sidelines and coaching again really is.* *58:23* *I went to the State Games last year and I hadn't been to a soccer state game before.Actually it's the regional final too, because Madomic was in the regional final and I was like Madomic's in a regional final.I got a press pass, I can go go to that.But I went to the Camden and now I forget who who they beat and it was a lot of fun.* *58:41* *Lewis, Yeah.Camden, Lewiston, OK, It was a lot of fun.It was really windy at Morse and the ball would go up like this and then it would just sort of hang up in the air and come back down and you're just sitting there going.We're all on the sidelines, all the media people going, it's going to be rough sledding going against this wind, Whoever's got to go against the wind.* *59:02* *And it was that time.Of the year, you got to play against the elements too.Yeah, it's not November's I Oh, I can I have my question back on what I could do extend the soccer season until Thanksgiving.That's what I wanted to.Do make it take it longer, yeah.* *59:22* *That's what I will do, Extend it.Extend it.See, I'm trying to get the basketball season extended because I'm not exhausted enough come tourney time.But yeah, let's do it.Let's extend them all.All right.Thank you so much for doing this and good luck.* *59:38* *Thank.You, Lucas, thanks.Thanks so much.OK, that's the show.Thanks to Darren for joining me.That was a lot of fun.I'm probably going to be on Thursday.I might be at a volleyball game because my brother is the new volleyball coach at Mordomic Valley and it's his first game.* *59:57* *So I figure I'll go to a volleyball game.I've been to a volleyball game and long time, very long time.Yeah, so this has been a production of Maine basketballrankings.com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball from Ashland to York and everywhere in between.* *1:00:15* *This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts and a bunch of places you don't.If you enjoy this, please leave a nice review because it really does help out with algorithms.Tell your friends.Tell your enemies.Thanks for listening.* ### Thursday Night Lights URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/thursday-night-lights/ Last updated: 2025-09-04T10:24:26.000Z Here we go. The first day of Fall Sports is here. To mark the occasion, I invited Spruce Mountain soccer coach on the podcast. Darren was named the 2023 United Soccer Coaches Small Public Schools National Coach of the Year after he led Mount Abram to their first Gold Ball and an undefeated season. We talked about building a youth program, how a fantasy soccer league can help with player development, and so much more. [Subscribe on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/223CNd09O0YUQwKPytnGiT?si=PWkOFj2bRNCscyoXJwjbSQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In the open, I mention an episode of "Pablo Torre Finds Out" that you really should check out if you like journalistic deep dives that piss off billionaires (who doesn't?). You can find that on YouTube: --- ### Previews! Michael Hoffer has a bunch of previews over at his new site, like this one for girls soccer. If you haven't subscribed yet, what are you waiting for? [HHSS 2025 Girls’ Soccer Preview: Greely, NYA look to do it againA year ago, a pair of local girls’ soccer teams, Greely and North Yarmouth Academy, brought home a Gold Ball while a third (Scarborough) reached the state final but fell just short. This autumn, those squads, along with several others, are primed to embark on what they hope will be![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffer-Logo-2-1.jpg)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/states.2-1.JPG)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/hhss-2025-girls-soccer-preview-greely-nya-look-to-do-it-again/?ref=hoffers-high-school-sports-the-way-game-stories-should-be-newsletter) Over on YouTube, Marc Calnan and Eastern Maine Sports previewed the football season. Varsity Maine has their usual raft of preview articles, including the 30 players in Southern Maine you should keep an eye on. [Meet the 30 southern Maine football players to watch in 2025One player to keep an eye on from most of the teams in the Press Herald’s coverage area.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black-1.png)The Portland Press Herald - Maine Sunday TelegramSteve Craig![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/39790694_20240927_football_5.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/09/02/meet-the-30-southern-maine-football-players-to-watch-in-2025/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ### Maine Basketball Rankings is made possible by our subscribers To get enhanced data, game predictions, and more ### [Subscribe now](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal) --- ### Thursday Night Lights? Of course, football is traditionally played on Friday Nights, but the ongoing shortage of refs around the state has made it necessary to play some games on Thursday nights, in addition to Saturday. You can think of it as a NFL-type creep if you want. Or, you can sign up to be a ref. They're definitely needed. This is a problem that isn't going away. [Thursday night lights now a necessity in Maine high school footballWith fewer varsity game officials in the state, Thursday night becomes a viable option for some teams.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/pph-icon-circle-black.png)The Portland Press Herald - Maine Sunday TelegramTravis Lazarczyk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20231111_BnorthFinal_3364.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/09/02/thursday-night-lights-now-a-necessity-in-maine-high-school-football/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The BDN has a great story about players from the old Penquis League who are still getting together to talk about the good old days. [50 years later, legendary Maine basketball players have turned rivalries into friendshipsWhat started as a phone call between two former players from the old Penquis League has transformed into an annual gathering.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-25.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_9930.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/09/03/sports/high-school-basketball/50-years-later-legendary-maine-basketball-players-turned-rivalries-into-friendships-joam40zk0w/?utm%5Fsource=BDN+Newsletters&utm%5Fcampaign=524b46c1f3-thepressbox&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5Fcb079250d6-524b46c1f3-85089813&mc%5Fcid=524b46c1f3&mc%5Feid=ad69a2eee6) --- No one likes NFHS, but we're kind of stuck with them. So if you need to sign up for NFHS, I've got an affiliate link for you. I don't like it any more than you do. [ ![](//a.impactradius-go.com/display-ad/10661-3217736)](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/c/5077352/3217736/10661?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)![](https://imp.pxf.io/i/5077352/3217736/10661) ### On to the games I have wrangled the schedules as best I can. Football is in pretty good shape, but field hockey and soccer are a mess, even by the usual low standards. I'm guessing the new MPA website being far-from-complete is a complicating factor. I waited as long as I could to pull the master schedules, but they're still missing a lot. I'll keep at it, but it'll probably be the weekend before I get the Heal Points page up and running as I try to work through some of the more obvious errors. There's teams that have games scheduled in sports they don't offer, for example. There's teams that are missing multiple games. There's matchups I very much doubt are happening. You get the idea. It's complicating things. ### The Model's Picks Normally this is behind the paywall, but for opening weekend, here's a free preview. Remember: the Model treats this as if nothing has changed from the end of last year, but I'll include the caveat that if, say, a team only has 8 soccer games scheduled for this year, it's going to screw up their data. Still, it'll give you an idea of what it looks like and it's only going to get more accurate as it gets dialed in over the course of the season. Enjoy! ## Football ### Thursday ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-02-at-10.08.29---PM.png) ### Friday ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-02-at-10.08.56---PM.png) ### Saturday ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-02-at-10.09.53---PM.png) ## Boys Soccer ### Thursday ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-03-at-11.40.33---PM.png) ### Friday ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-03-at-11.41.41---PM.png) ### Saturday ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-03-at-11.42.43---PM.png) ## Girls Soccer ### Thursday ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-03-at-11.54.09---PM.png) ### Friday ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-03-at-11.55.26---PM.png) ### Saturday ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-03-at-11.56.37---PM.png) ## Field Hockey ### Thursday ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-04-at-12.30.09---AM.png) ### Friday ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-04-at-12.30.41---AM.png) ### Saturday ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-04-at-12.31.17---AM.png) **Maine Basketball Rankings proudly runs on ghost.** **[Get 10% off through this link](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Follow us on Social Media** **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) | [Twitter (always)](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/mainebasketballrankings.com?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mainebasketballrankings/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** **Need to sign up for NFHS?** **[Affiliate link](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/9LgYA4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)** ### Fall Sports Are Here URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-sports-are-here/ Last updated: 2025-08-29T09:36:10.000Z Welcome back from summer break. Much like the first day of school, we're not going to get a lot done today, but we'll get our bearings and get back in the habit of newslettering and podcasting and the like. ### First up: the podcast. Ryan Snell, Medomak Valley's football coach, joined me on the podcast to talk about how they've taken a program from not even existing to three straight Regional Finals. They'll be aiming for number 4 this year in what seems to be an absolutely loaded Class C. Snell is a great guy and has plenty of opinions on 8-man vs 11-man, building a culture, and a whole lot more. [Podcast: Building a Winning Program From ScratchIn 10 years, Ryan Snell has taken Medomak’s football program from nothing to 3 straight Regional Finals. How?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-38.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Screenshot-2025-08-27-at-7.41.18---PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/podcast-building-a-winning-program-from-scratch/) Earlier, I joined Andrew Hart from the indispensable MaineHighSchoolFootball.com to ring in the Fall Sports season at Morse's Midnight Madness. This was a pretty fun event and thankfully it stopped raining in time. It also got me wondering why we don't do a Midnight Madness in basketball before someone pointed out that for basketball season, it'd take place on a school night. So it might be a tough sell. As usual, the podcasts are available on Apple, Spotify, and wherever else you podcast. And if you like them, leave a review! [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/01kY6fE0w1X5ebm1EnUU27?si=00d16fe1ccd84044&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### New MPA Site. Who Dis? There's a [new MPA website](https://www.mpa.cc/TournamentCentralRankings.aspx?TournamentID=5&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) this year and it's...a work-in-progress. This is what the Heal Points page currently looks like. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-28-at-9.54.31---PM.png) It's hard to pass judgement on this, as it's clearly not done and I can't imagine that'll be the final form. I guess we'll see. But...I'll have my usual [Heal Points for Fall Sports](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-heal-points/) that are much more functional. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-28-at-10.02.17---PM.png) Time to turn your subscription back on. SPONSORED By subscribing to the paid version of the site, you get those good Heal Points, rankings, and predictions for games all year long. Plus, you ensure this site can continue to exist! [Upgrade ](#/portal/signup) It isn't up and running yet because it's a real hassle to pull the schedules and they don't seem to all be in the MPA's site yet (load your schedules!). Apologies to the harvest teams who have already started playing countable games. ### Jahleel Heads South If you read the newsletter last season, like, at all, you already know the name Jahleel Joseph, one of last season's breakout stars and constant fixture in this newsletter. Well, now you can add him to the list of Mainers who have taken their talents to a prep school out of state. The BDN has the story. [One of Maine’s best high school basketball players is heading out of stateJahleel Joseph’s coach at Central Aroostook High School is not going to miss getting dunked on during practice. But the coach will miss Joseph’s contributions on and off the court.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-24.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Jahleel-Joseph-081825.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/08/19/sports/high-school-basketball/mars-hill-maine-central-aroostook-high-school-jahleel-joseph-transfer-west-nottingham-academy/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's one thing for a kid from a Class A school is southern Maine to get this sort of opportunity, but a kid from a tiny school in Aroostook County? That's incredibly rare. ### Programming notes During basketball season, this newsletter runs 6 days a week, but that's kind of insane and unsustainable, you know? For Fall Sports, it'll likely be twice a week for the newsletter and once or twice a week for the podcast. If you enjoy this, tell a friend! The newsletter is free, so you can just sign them up. They'll love it. Or maybe they won't. ### Podcast: Building a Winning Program From Scratch URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/podcast-building-a-winning-program-from-scratch/ Last updated: 2025-08-28T02:22:24.000Z Not that long ago, Medomak Valley didn't have a football team, but that all changed with the start of Medomak Youth Football and the addition of a varsity program 10 years ago. Since then, the Panthers have been at least the Regional Final for the past 3 seasons. I spoke to Head Coach Ryan Snell about how they've built a consistent winner from scratch, why 11-man is better than 8-man, the intersection of wrestling and football, his days at Brewer, and so much more. Or on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you podcast. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0AAbYSH5ubeACN29s8QnDn?si=af62528598c749e4&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/building-a-winning-program-from-scratch-with-ryan-snell/id1675940033?i=1000723812113&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It also helps so much if you subscribe, rate it, give a good review. You get the idea. SPONSORED With the Fall Season nearly upon us, it's time to either sign up for the newsletter for the first time or reactivate your subscription if you paused it over the summer. Free members get a newsletter with everything they need to know about Maine high school sports and paid members get access to extra data like the Model's predictions for every game. [Subscribe ](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/podcast-morses-midnight-madness/#/portal/signup) --- If you have a business that would like to advertise on the podcast and reach people all over the state of Maine who think nothing of driving 3 hours to watch a high school basketball game, we have great prices. Email mainebasketballrankings \[at\] gmail \[dot\] com --- ## Transcript (auto generated) *Welcome to the Maine Basketball Rankings podcast.I'm your host, basketball data nerd, Lucas McNelly.It's a football theme show today.This is the This year is the 10th anniversary of Medomak Valley joining the football varsity ranks.In that time they've gone to, they've been one of the more successful programs, one of the more successful launches of a program that we've seen.* ### *0:24* *They're going for their fourth straight trip to at least a regional final this year, so I had Ryan Snell, their varsity head coach, on to talk about the process of getting that program started, the future of it, all that fun stuff.Ryan's a very nice guy.* ### *0:39* *He's a very opinionated guy, as you will soon learn, so definitely stick around for that conversation.It was a pretty fun one.Had a little bit of technical snafus in there that I've mostly been able to clean up in the edit.So if you hear that, that's what that is.* ### *0:57* *So quick programming note before we get to that, with football season starting, the newsletter is going to go to I believe two days a week.It goes to six days a week, as you might remember for basketball.But that's insane and I can't do that all year.* ### *1:15* *So we go, we're going to two days a week, I think for football and soccer and fall sports season.And the podcast is going to go to once a week, potentially twice a week.We'll see how it goes.So if you.Are someone who pauses your subscription for the summer or whatever, now's a good time to turn it back on if you know someone who you think would like the subscription or just wants the free version of the newsletter, spread the love, tell them about it, and they'll love you for it or they'll hate you for it It's one of those things.* ### *1:48* *Those are probably the two options.So, yeah.And if you, I put this out there on social media, but if you're a business and you want to advertise in this space, go ahead and reach out.It's I'll put the e-mail address, pop it up on here.* ### *2:05* *So and just send me an e-mail and we'll get that sorted because it's probably past time for me to try to monetize or put some small ads on this website on the podcast that would, you know, make sense to the Mainers who watch the show.* ### *2:21* *OK, so all that being said, let's go to my conversation with Medomak Valley head football coach Ryan Snell.My guest today is the head football coach of the Medomak Valley Panthers and.Former Brewer witches.* ### *2:38* *Well, standout is standout the right word.Ryan Snell, thanks for joining me.Yeah, I don't know about standout, maybe, you know, partial athlete many moons ago, but you know, proud alum, that's for sure.Well, that's really the most important part.* ### *2:56* *So actually those my first question was going to be, and I came up with this question today, I was like, I'm going to start asking coaches this, how would first of all, what position did you play at Brewer?So I played football, basketball and baseball played.I played quarterback and corner football wise as a point guard because I couldn't shoot and then played some middle and field in baseball so.* ### *3:20* *All right, so how would Coach Snell game plan against young athletes?Snell.He would just go right at him because young athletes, Snell, you know, didn't watch as much as he should have, didn't didn't hit the weight room as much as he should have.* ### *3:38* *And you know, as I tell the kids, it's do as I say, not as I did so to speak.Well, they say the best coaches are the ones who weren't very good players.You know, like your backup catcher types.I would much rather be a great coach than a former great player any day of the week.* ### *4:02* *All right, So I wanted to have you on to talk about this program you guys have built at Medomak seemingly out of scratch.So to back people up a little bit Medomak, when I was young and growing up in Wall where we did not have football of any kind other than the guy in our church who almost played for the Steelers.* ### *4:19* *That was our only football in town.And we would play touch football with him sometimes and he would just dominate, as you might imagine.So it what?So is it 2010 that the youth football program was started? Yeah, I believe it's 12/20/12.* ### *4:38* *OK.That was K.So that was started.I did a little bit of research here.Bye.Oh, I lost you there.Sorry.And so was that.That was started by Naomi and Fritz Miller.* ### *4:53* *Right, Right.Yep, Yeah, that's correct.So they, Naomi and Fritz had had two sons, one of which was at the time playing youth football over in Rockland.And then actually they're both playing youth football in Rockland.One was playing club high school football at Lincoln Academy, which was called Lincoln County Youth Football.* ### *5:13* *And yeah, they had a vision of creating a football program at Badamac that, you know, ultimately their younger son could become a varsity athlete in.And yeah, they obviously got it done.Very impressive what they did.Yes, I imagine starting something like that from scratch.* ### *5:34* *Were you there for this part of it, or were you you were still at Brewer?No, I was down here.So a buddy of mine, Jake Emerson, went to the first meeting they had and Jake mentioned it to me because I had coached.I was an assistant at Brewer before I moved down here and my wife and his wife worked together at my wife's daycare at the time.* ### *5:55* *And so Jake, you know, heard about this football program starting and mentioned it to me about, you know, potential of getting involved in coaching.And to be honest, I was skeptical because it's like, you know, starting a football program, like if it was that easy, it would have been done in Medomak 2030 years ago whenever the school started.* ### *6:15* *And but yeah, coming out of that.So I went to the second meeting they had and coming out of that, I was like, man, like these these two people are going to get this done.It was incredibly impressive.You could just tell by, you know, their organization and everything they had planned that that it was going to happen and, and obviously it did.* ### *6:41* *What was it about them like other than just the organization?Because you can be organized and can still, you know, you still have to be able to talk a lot of other people into into seeing this vision like what about it was so.Compelling from them.* ### *6:58* *Yeah, just everything was so structured and and if you know Naomi and Fritz, they're they're not going to take no for an answer.They were bound and determined that this was going to work and they're just absolute go getters when it came to getting everything done involved with this.* ### *7:15* *They had a plan set up to start K through 8 with the youth program for a year.So that first year coach the middle school team with Jason Stewart, who is still with the program now as our defensive coordinator, and then their plan was to add a high school club team the following year.* ### *7:35* *They were in constant communication with the school.We followed MPA rules right from the start.We kept track of kids grades.We got permission from their parents to get their grades.We followed the school's grade policy when we were club team, you know, we did everything as though we were an MPA program so that the school would see that and gain their trust that this was going to be something that was going to be sustainable for the long term.* ### *8:04* *And just, yeah, they just, they had a plan.They they built a great base with the youth program and made sure that was there to start and then the high school team after that.So ultimately the kids had a place to play and they were start starting early and then 20, I believe it was 2014, we joined.* ### *8:26* *We, we are fortunate.Holton joined varsity football, which created an odd number of teams at the MPA level.And there was a bye week in the LTC, which was last D at the time.And we got asked to fill that bye week.And then the following year, 2015, we were approved as a, as a full varsity sports.* ### *8:46* *Back then you had the play 2 years of JV football to show that you were going to sustain yourself as a varsity sport and then you were eligible to become a varsity program and you also had to play if you were if there was a class below you, you had to play down for two years and be playoff ineligible.* ### *9:06* *So we were in D for our first two years and and couldn't make the playoffs, but we knew that going into it.So it was what it was.Now you can play anywhere you want and be eligible for playoffs, play 8 man, play down a class, do whatever.So it's even in our short time, the game's changed a lot, so it's been interesting.* ### *9:29* *It's Ted.It has indeed, Yeah.So how much of that following the MPA's rules from the get go, how much of that was to get the kids used to what they were going to have to expect or have to play by when they got to high school, if and when you're able to turn into a varsity sport?* ### *9:48* *Yeah, that was a big piece of it, just to get that structure.They knew what was going to be expected.You know, they just became familiar.You know, they, they probably knew about the MPA and and rules and everything from the other sports, from basketball and everything like that.We didn't have a ton of kids from the other sports because being a club team, again, there wasn't a lot to play for on the, you know, periphery.* ### *10:12* *It was you, you, you weren't playing for a playoff spot.You weren't, you know, they weren't able to get a varsity letter.They weren't getting all, all conference awards.They weren't getting academic all conference.They were just playing, playing for pride and playing for the fact that they were building the foundation of what would ultimately end up being a varsity program.* ### *10:32* *I mean, I, I still remember Colton Spear was our first, you know, real, you know, big get, so to speak, as a multi sport athlete at Madonna.He was obviously a, you know, a good basketball player and he played, he played tailback and middle linebacker for us where your club team and we are very fortunate that, you know, by playing that by week in the LTC our first year in 2014, some of the people involved in the Lobster Bowl saw what we were doing and and we were actually able to get Colton into the Lobster Bowl that year as a representative, our first Rep from Medomac Valley, even though we weren't technically a varsity sport.* ### *11:11* *So just little things like that were just huge in building building, you know, the program, but also building confidence in our community and the administration and the school board to to give us that approval we needed to to become a varsity sport.Colton Spears, one of my favorite basketball players because in four years I swear that kid never took a shot from beyond the free throw line.* ### *11:35* *And like in.Warmups never and he was like 6 feet tall so you would guard him like a guard.Yeah, no, he was a, he was a banger on.Yeah, he just never, never took one.He did all the little things.He took charges, he got rebounds and I'll tell you, he was a heck of a football player.* ### *11:52* *He's still one of the hardest hitters that we've had, you know, in our in our program's history.And you know, again, we're whatever it's been 12 years into it now.And but yeah, you grow, you grow up on the farm and, and get some farm work in there.* ### *12:07* *You're a strong kid And and Colton certainly was that.All right, so I'm going to take you back to that first year.So I found an article there.It is in right before your first actual varsity game, talking to Ernie Clark at the BDN.* ### *12:27* *You said we just made a decision as a group that we wanted to take our time with it.We didn't want to make the mistake of rushing it for the sake of one specific group of kids or something like that and then have it all fall apart.We've always said it's program 1st and individual 2nd, and we've really stuck to that model.* ### *12:43* *So that was 10 years ago now.How do you feel like?Is that still the approach?Has that changed at all?No, it's always going to be programmed first.I mean, ultimately you want this to be around for a long time, you know, and, and it, it's going to be like this program is going to be around long after myself or, you know, any of the players or anybody that's been involved with it or started it or anything is, you know, we're all going to be long gone and this program is still going to be around.* ### *13:15* *I firmly believe that they're still going to be playing, you know, football in Medina Valley and and just like they're still playing basketball, it's just going to be a solid program and be there for a long time.And yeah, if we, you know, we, we've maintained that, maintained that mentality.* ### *13:33* *And to me, that's the most important thing really, or one of the most important things in building a program is having that belief that it's about the program.It's not about us.You know, we've got a great group of coaches that are involved that, you know, again, it's about the program, not us.* ### *13:50* *None of us care about any individual recognition.We're not doing it for that.You know, we're doing it for the kids that are involved.And you know, hopefully those kids love the program and they get involved in it in some capacity when they're around.And you know, we're, we're kind of, we're a year or two away from having a couple of former players, kids playing for us, believe it or not, which is pretty cool in our youth program.* ### *14:16* *And yeah, it's, we're proud of that.I think we have, we have 4-4 or five madonic alums on our, on our football staff.Now at the high school level, we got 2 alums that are former players that coach our middle school team.* ### *14:35* *Yeah, we're getting former players involved in the youth level too.So it's pretty awesome.How?But kids are kids, and we all are familiar with how the brain of a 15 year old boy works.* ### *14:51* *How do you get a bunch of 15 year old boys to buy into that?Is there a trick to it?It's, it's constant really.I mean, it's an everyday thing.It's it's, it's hard to, you know, again, talking about, you know, mention to me when I'm, when I was an athlete earlier, you know, there's a lot of times where I was a selfish athlete and looking back at it as an adult, as a coach, you know, I try to learn from those experiences.* ### *15:18* *And, you know, when I was that age, I thought it was a great teammate.But, you know, you look at, you know, you look back at sometimes and you know, you probably probably being picky about it as a coach now, but the times I could have been a better teammate or, you know, not worried about my stats or if I made all conference or things like that.* ### *15:36* *So, yeah.And it's, you know, we've we've talked about it with this year's team specifically and you know, the guys all know I'm a big Michigan fan and obviously our colors are Michigan colors.So that kind of, you know, works out good for us with some, you know, our our clothes and things like that.* ### *15:52* *But autos too, like Michigan had a great shirt this year with team over me.And it's a great motto for this specific group.We got a lot of very good players on this year's team.And if they buy into everything as a group, you know, we get a shot to, you know, to have some success.* ### *16:12* *If they don't and they're worried about doing, you know, individual things and reaching individual goals, we could have a bad year.So, you know, ultimately, they want to win.They want to work hard for each other.Football's the Ultimate Team sport, in my opinion.* ### *16:28* *It gets, you know, there's a spot on the field for every shape and size.That's the beauty of it.And yeah, it's just a constant daily, you know, not so much struggle or battle or anything, but just constant, you know, day-to-day, just making sure these kids are focused on each other, focused on the team and what's best for us.* ### *16:46* *And when you're out there on that football field and you're out there for yourself, that shows up pretty glaringly on film and to everybody around.So the guys have done a really good job of buying into that.They know what the expectations of the program are year to year.* ### *17:02* *The senior groups always step up and make sure the younger guys understand that too.And you know, we're only a week 1/2 into it, you know, this year roughly, or two weeks, whatever.But they've done a good job so far.OK.So in that vein, in the regional final against Herman, you had to do or you did what got to be one of the more difficult things to do coaching football and making a quarterback change mid game.* ### *17:26* *So how much of the team first mentality goes into that and then what's the thought process behind doing that?Yeah, it's tough.In that situation.You just kind of, you know, it's a feel thing during the game where, you know, we want to get the ball in Gabe's hands.* ### *17:43* *In that specific situation, we felt it was something Hermon hadn't prepared for or looked at because we hadn't shown it a lot and just kind of gave us a change of pace offensively.And, you know, thankfully they hadn't really prepared for that and it caught him off guard a bit and we were able to, you know, tip the momentum in our favor a little bit.* ### *18:04* *You know, it was a game that we had no momentum and we were down 12, nothing at the half.They had the ball coming out of the half scored again, it was 18, nothing.We really had, you know, we just didn't have anything going for us.Yes, we just made the switch.I mean, we had we had put Gabe out there in the first half a couple at least one series and then went right through in the second-half.* ### *18:26* *And it was just something that it worked and it was, you know, got the momentum going our way.We got fortunate that they ran a jet sweep after our first touchdown as well that we are They had a little bit of a mishandle.We were able to jump on it.So that helped spin the momentum even more and really get in our favor.* ### *18:45* *And then, you know, you get a crazy bounce on 1/4 and three play where we thought we had to stop.The ball goes in the air and kind of falls into Max Hopkins hand.They get a first down.And Kidd had an unbelievable game.He had four touchdowns for them and he was in the right place at the right time, Made a made a play for him.* ### *19:02* *And but yeah, that's never an easy decision making a, you know, making a switch.And, you know, but kids respond to that well.And, you know, we really highlighted, you know, Wyatt Simmons, who was the quarterback who made the change, you know, for in that game.* ### *19:20* *We highlighted him this past Saturday in our scrimmage and why it's worked his butt off all four years.He really did it, you know, this summer.And he ran the ball just really, really well this past Saturday and threw it well, too.* ### *19:40* *And just super proud of him, the hard work that he's put in.Thought it really paid off well this Saturday.And the guys saw it.They were excited about it, even had a bloody nose going at one point.But no, I'm good.I was like, dude, we got to, we got to at least wipe your face off here.* ### *19:56* *We can't just, you know, leave you out there gushing blood on the field, but not wiped it off.Want to go back in?He's going to be a huge piece for us again this year and he was a huge piece for us last year.So it was just a game time thing that we made.And who knows, we could make it in a different spot.* ### *20:14* *We've done it.You know, it's, it's highlighted more because it was a quarterback change.We've done it with running backs, we've done it with lineman, we've done it with defensive players.You know, obviously at the quarterback position you see things more, but we've had a ton of confidence in all those guys.* ### *20:31* *Expecting big things out of why again this year, just like you did last year and, you know, excited to have him lead us back there again.And the game, for those who don't know, is Gabe Lash, who was one of the Mr. Basketball finalists. 66 You know, one of the better athletes in the state, and so if you can get him the ball, you try to get him the ball because he's going to be a hard guy to pull down.* ### *20:55* *Yeah, no.And he just kind of, he happened to catch fire that game.He hadn't really run for us much.I mean, I think we did we, we gave some looks at that against Belfast.Other than that, he'd been primarily the receiver and, you know, had a few carries here and there throughout the year, you know, just happened to work that game and, and it worked out where we were able to get ourselves back into it and have a shot.* ### *21:19* *You know, it could have been.And ironically, we did that same thing.What was it 3 years ago against Oceanside in the regional game?We actually brought Wyatt in with a QB change late in that game, you know, as a sophomore to to give us, you know, a different look there.* ### *21:38* *So, yeah, I mean, it's something we've done before.I mean, it's just kind of a, it's a feel thing as a coach and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.So yeah, it's.Is it a whole, is it a whole like discussion at halftime or you just go, you just sort of look at the offensive coordinator and go, let's do it.* ### *21:58* *It's a bit of both.I mean, it's something that you prepare for.I mean, you always have.We want to be 3 or 4 deep at every position if possible.I mean, that's not always, not always possible, especially in, you know, Maine high school sports.You just don't have that depth, but you always have some stuff in your back pocket for situations just in case.* ### *22:17* *You know, again, that was a field thing where, you know, we came out of the second-half, we weren't able to get a stop and, and they were up 3 scores at that point and we just, we just had to try something to see if we could get a little bit of a spark going.* ### *22:32* *And again, it could have gone either way.We could have made that change and, you know, could have just not worked at all.It could have been something Herman prepared for and you know, it it wouldn't have been, you know, it wouldn't have looked great.* ### *22:47* *We just happened to get back in the game and had a shot.So it, you know, it worked well at the time.But yeah, it's it's a little bit of both.Again, preparation throughout the week, some conversation at halftime and then, you know, again, after you get that third score, it's like, all right, we got to, yeah, we got to do something here to try to switch things up, switch, switch the momentum because the the field is really tilted at that point and not in our favor.* ### *23:12* *And to be fair though, you were down 18 nothing, but at the being at the game, it could have very easily have been tied because you had a couple.I think you got inside the five yard line a couple times and just couldn't put it in.If I'm remembering the if I'm remembering the game correctly, there were 3 or 4.* ### *23:31* *You mentioned the the 4th and three play where the ball just bounced the wrong way.I think there were probably 3 or 4 plays where the ball just bounced the wrong way for you.Yeah.And it's.Yeah, that's, you know, that's sports, that's football.I mean, we had some, you know, some chances where we did move the ball and just didn't finish.And, you know, a couple years earlier, the bounces in that regional game against Herman, you know, went our way.* ### *23:52* *So, you know, some things went their way.They had, again, they had momentum and you know, we were the 2 seeds, we were the 1 seeds, we were the away team.But you know, obviously being in Hamden next town over from Herman, we were really the away team.So it was when you're winning in that situation and you're up, you know, you don't, you don't feel as squeezed or whatever.* ### *24:14* *But yeah, when you're down and you're on the road and you're in their backyard, it's, you know, again, you don't have a lot of time to see if things are going to figure themselves out.Sometimes you just got to make some tough decisions, make some changes and and go with it.* ### *24:32* *But again, our kids are mature enough that they can respond well to it.And, you know, they all know we have a ton of confidence in all of them, and not only confidence in game a confidence that they're going to respond and work hard and and come back even better.So, yeah, just, you know, again, having that relationship with the kids, we know we can make some decisions and they're not going to take that personally for the long term.* ### *24:59* *And yeah, they're, they're going to battle.Now, I know you talked about this on The Ticket earlier this week, or maybe it was the end of last week.I saw it this week.You've developed a nice little rivalry with Herman out of seemingly nowhere.Three, I think the last three seasons you guys have eliminated each other from the playoffs.* ### *25:21* *What's it like to have a rivalry like that develop and would you like to maybe not see them this year in the playoffs?So actually the last four years, so four, yeah.I was fortunate enough to be asked by Coach Glant to be on his staff at the Lobster Bowl this summer.* ### *25:37* *And we've developed a good friendship over the years, ironically out of that rivalry, you know, very similar thoughts on our programs and how we run things.You know, same, our families are similar.We got three kids.They're all about the same age.But yeah, four years ago, you know, I think it was 21, we, you know, we were the one seed and they upset us as the four seed in the semi finals.* ### *26:04* *And then the following year, 22 was the year we went to the state game.We beat them in the regional final up in Hamden and then 2023 we beat them at Madomic in the semi finals and then last year they beat us in the regional finals.* ### *26:20* *So yeah, eight games in four years, which is obviously the Max.Super weird not having them on our regular season schedule this year.Are they not?I hadn't looked that closely.No.Weird.That was the first thing I noticed and probably the first thing Kyle noticed as well.* ### *26:38* *You know, not having them on there is just really strange.But yeah, I just, I have a ton of respect for Kyle and that program and everything they're doing.They're impressive.Their their youth numbers are unbelievable.I know their youth enrollment is increasing like crazy.* ### *26:58* *You know, they've, they've really got a great thing going up there.It's a tough place to play When you play up there.It's fun though, too.It's a great atmosphere.Yeah.Inevitably I, I would not be surprised if we do end up playing each other in the playoffs.It's just we we always seem to find each other one way or the other.* ### *27:15* *And not only that, but they've the softball teams found each other, and the monomic softball team got a little bit of revenge for you.Yeah, softball, you know, there's a great, great game.We were up with that one.Heck of a battle by both teams.I think it was 1, nothing.And then our girls soccer teams played in the regional final as well.* ### *27:33* *Herman won that one.So we kind of we.Can't avoid it.No, it's just Madamic and Herman and everything.So we're probably our, I don't know if we have a chess team or something or math team probably playing each other too.So.All right.So I was talking, want to talk a little bit about MADAMIC as a whole 5 regional finals this past year, past school year, which is I think out of seven sports that play in a tournament.* ### *27:59* *So it's not, it's not a rich community financially, it's not a private school where, you know, it's like a Wayne fleet.It's the oldest county in the state of Maine.Like that's and it's pretty far from the big cities.So what's happening at Madomic that's allowing all of these different programs to thrive?* ### *28:21* *Yeah, I think, you know, success breeds success.And you got a lot of, you know, athletes that are working hard, that are supporting each other.You know, we try to make it to, you know, soccer games throughout the year, both girls and boys.You know, basketball, everybody's at basketball all winter.* ### *28:43* *You know, to your point, there's, you know, we're not a rich community.It's blue, you know, blue collar, hard working community.There's not a ton to do around here.So yeah, go to those games.You support each other and you support the kids.A lot of time we travel on the road to do that, too.* ### *29:00* *I know football wise we always have great crowds on the road.Yeah, it's just, you know, all the pro.All those Mid Coast teams travel really well.Yeah, very much so, yeah.Springtime softball obviously had a heck of a year get, you know, finishing out with a gold ball.* ### *29:17* *Baseball had a heck of a year as well, you know, boys basketball undefeated regular season, got to the regional final against York.You know, girls basketball was right there, right there with Oceanside and in their playoff game, both soccer teams.Regional final, football regional final.* ### *29:35* *Yeah.Just a great group of athletes in the school right now working hard and just supporting each other.And, you know, again, you see other teams having success.A lot of times that just rubs off on on your team and and you know, they, you know, expect to do well also.* ### *29:52* *How much if I always make the joke with basketball that every so often Nick Di Patzi will throw out a clam digger lineup, which is just a bunch of like, really like scrawny, strong, tough kids that don't necessarily look like they'd be that great, but you don't want to mess with them and you don't want to try to get a rebound away from them.* ### *30:12* *And how much, you know, because Waldorf, it's a or the whole, the whole Lincoln County, it's a lot of fishermen, it's a lot of clam diggers.It's a lot of people like that who work on farms and stuff like that.How much of that is going into the success, especially at football with like lineman and linebackers?* ### *30:29* *Yeah, it's big.I mean, you get a lot of pride there, first of all with with people that went to Medomic and now their kids are going there or maybe their grandkids going there.So you got that, you know, family history of, you know, of athletes and expectations and, you know, you're the next person out from that family to do well.* ### *30:45* *And we're kind of creating that in football where we haven't had that second generation come through yet.And that'll be, you know, a while high school wise, you know, another 10-12 years before we get to that.But yeah, it's just, you know, hard working groups.* ### *31:04* *We we always have multiple fishermen on the football team every year.The wrestling program has been huge for us.We have a lot of wrestling, a lot of wrestlers out there right now.You know, this year in particular, this group we've got, you know, I think 8-9 wrestlers on the team and you don't want.* ### *31:26* *To mess with those guys.Either successful, I mean that have done real well.So, you know, getting that, you know, relationship with that program has been huge for us, Translates well.But yeah, just hard working people overall.It's just, again, it's blue collar.* ### *31:42* *We get that grit, not afraid to get our hands dirty.You know, all those cliche sayings, but they're true around here.And that's just what, you know, one of the big things that makes this program successful.We're not afraid to, you know, do the little things it takes to to have that success.* ### *32:01* *I would imagine, now that you've mentioned it, that wrestling in football would be very complimentary programs.I imagine a lot of what they learn in football has got to help with wrestling and vice versa.Yeah, very much so.And I mean, even, you know, Naomi and Fritz, again, who started the program, I mean, their kids wrestled.* ### *32:17* *So it was kind of built on the, you know, on the basis or, you know, base of wrestling as well.You know, the current group all the way down into our youth program, you know, they've worked hard in the youth wrestling program to get that built back up and going, you know, get numbers stronger there.* ### *32:38* *Same thing with the high school.I mean, COVID really almost destroyed wrestling as a sport without all the rules and all that.I mean, they didn't even have a season.So you went from, you know, and I believe I could be wrong on that, but I'm pretty sure they didn't have a season.* ### *32:54* *So you went from like no, no wrestling at all with nobody participating to trying to build that back up.I think they had like they were down to like 5 wrestlers at Madomic maybe.Wow.And they get a whole bunch now.So they've the, the people involved in that program done a heck of a job building that back up and and that has helped us as well because we again, we get a lot of those kids.* ### *33:17* *All right, so let's talk about Class C this year.So it's gone.I was talking to Andrew Hart and he said it's gone.It's not NS anymore.It's just one.It's just one thing, right?One bracket.Yep, Yeah, we're statewide, statewide class.That's what I thought.Yeah, 13 teams, no regions.* ### *33:34* *OK, so who, without putting yourself on a bulletin board, who are The Who are the favorites in C this year?Yeah.I mean the, the big two big pieces that are coming into the class is, is Wells and Foxcroft.I mean they Foxcroft has had our number and by us, I'm talking about CN the last couple years, you know, they've been playing us.* ### *33:58* *They played us, they played Herman, they played some others, and I don't, I don't believe any of us beat them.I think Foxcroft beat every single one of us and they have a lot returning, so they're going to be strong.Wells obviously has beaten Foxcroft the last two years in the Class D state championship and is good every year no matter what class they're in.* ### *34:21* *So without knowing a ton about Wells, I would expect them to be tough too.You know, Levitt had a down year for Levitt last year and a down year for them was playing in the regional final, so.I got every Levitt game wrong on my spreadsheet last year.* ### *34:38* *Every single one.They're, they were pretty young last year.They have a lot back.They're they're going to be tough.It's, it's Levitt.They're always good.We have them coming here this year, which is, you know, going to be a big game.It's exciting.* ### *34:54* *It should be a great atmosphere to get a chance to play them in the regular season is, is pretty cool.You know, and, and again, CN is where my familiarity is.I mean, Oceanside's going to be tough.They got 3, I believe three out of their five starting lineman back.* ### *35:12* *They're huge.You know, they've beaten us two years in a row.So they've had our number, you know, they lose a couple guys in the backfield, but when you're running behind that line, you know, I mean me and you could probably have success running behind those guys.They're.* ### *35:27* *Get 3 or 4.They're human, so they'll be tough.Nicomas has both of their running backs back.They didn't graduate much at all.They were young as well.You know, Herman will reload.They're they're the defending champs, you know, in the North, even though there isn't a N.* ### *35:43* *So, you know, until somebody beats them, they're the defending champs in the North and you know, again, it's going to be tough all around.Like Brewer has huge numbers from what I heard and I think they have like 60 kids or something like that.It's crazy.Hamden's quarterbacks back, he's heck of an athlete.* ### *36:00* *He's tough.You know, old towns, new into the mix, don't know a bunch about them, but got to figure it out pretty quick 'cause we play them Week 1.So.And then again, those Southern teams, they've the South has won state championship and Class C for I don't know how many years in a row.* ### *36:21* *It's been a while.I don't know if Nokomis was the last one from the North to win it.And if they are, I think that would have been like 20-19 maybe or something like that, 2018.So it's it's been a while.So, yeah, it's to me, it's from top to bottom the toughest, you know, class in the state.* ### *36:40* *It's and I sure, I guess I'm saying that because I'm in it, but you're you're adding Greeley coming back from eight man, I believe it.I really get Greeley won it last year and they're coming back and they're in CI.Don't know there's not a.* ### *36:57* *The way you the way you describe it, it sounds like a north in basketball when there were 13 teams and I asked a coach with like a week left in the season, I'm like, so.And I think 8 made the tournament or something like that.And I was like, well, how many of these teams can realistically win the whole region?* ### *37:15* *And he goes 10 and I'm like, but only 8 are making the playoffs.He goes, yeah, I know.But ten of them could win the whole thing.It's just that, is it that level of just depth?Yeah, in my opinion, yes.I mean, you got, you know, again, we're going to go through the regular season, we're not going to all play each other and you know, we're getting into the playoffs and then we got to do it all again.* ### *37:40* *It's it's going to be an absolute gone, but it's awesome.It's exciting, It's great for football.And I know, you know, traditionalists or traditionally people like the regions, the north-south champions, all that.But you know you're going to get the two best teams in the state playing each other for a state championship by having a statewide Class C and you know that's you're going to have the best state matchup that you can get.* ### *38:08* *You can just call the the semi final game the regional final like.Yeah.There's no rule that says you can't do that.Yeah.And they're, they're in talks about that.I can't remember exactly what they're looking at or how they're going to do it.I mean, Class D was statewide in 22.I believe that was the year that we went to the state game against Levitt.* ### *38:25* *And I remember, I think it was Foxcroft and Lisbon ended up playing, but I'm pretty sure they were statewide that year and they recognize regional champions.So however they.Or you could just name the regions.You have to name it NS.You could just name the regions after like two players from the past, you know, like the the Bird and McHale regions and you just split them up.* ### *38:49* *Really.Hey, we won the bird region.Look at that.Yeah, there's a trophy.And I'm sure they're not going to try to change a ton because with the landscape of football, I mean, we're changing every year.Like again, with teams, teams have the ability to play down and and be eligible for the playoffs.You know, go to 8.* ### *39:05* *How do you?Feel about that, having not been able to do it when you were down in D for two years.Yeah, I mean, we like, I didn't overthink it a ton at the time because that's just how it was so.Yeah.To me, I mean, everybody's got to take care of themselves.You know, for us, like I'll never say we wouldn't do it because it may be a time where we need to play down and get ourselves kind of readjusted.* ### *39:32* *But at the same time, like if we're playing down and we're going, you know, five and three or six and two, the class down or, you know, making a playoff run, like in my opinion, we would, we would come back up, right.* ### *39:48* *Like if we can go three and five or two and six even in our own class, like we're going to have some down years.That's the reality of sports.It's inevitable, yeah.Always have to have a winning record or whatever.I mean, same with eight man.I mean eight man's been fantastic and again, everybody's going to do their own thing.* ### *40:06* *But you know, the last couple years we've had I think 7-6 or seven teams come back to 11 man and that's great.You know, we've also got got some teams with more kids on their roster than than we have for sure who are who are still playing there.* ### *40:22* *So it's like.You know, you hope that doesn't affect some of the smaller teams there and they kind of have to fizzle out because they're playing some of these bigger teams.But yeah, I guess what I'm getting at at some point, like you got to, again, in my opinion, if it was us, you got to make a decision like, you know, how long are we playing down before we're going to go back up?* ### *40:42* *Or are we going to just own it and we're just never going to go back.We're just going to stay here.This is what we are now.And we're just going to keep playing down.And I don't think anybody's ever been told no either.And I could be wrong.Maybe one or two have, but I don't know how many teams have been have asked to play down and been told no.* ### *41:02* *So there's never been like a, you know, a cut off for enrollment for eight man teams or, you know, teams asking to play down still, you know, I mean, what happens if a team in Class B is playing down to C and and wins A state championship or a team in C plays down to D and wins a class D state championship like.* ### *41:21* *Well, it almost happened in basketball with relegation and people were losing their minds.Yeah.And they changed that.So it's, yeah, it's, it's that, it's that fine line between doing what's best for your program and building it back up.But you know, you can't blur that line and and have it be to the point where you're just taking advantage of it or you're just down there winning because that feels good.* ### *41:46* *But the reality is you're not really playing where you're supposed to be playing.So, you know, again, everybody's going to take care of themselves, do what they want to do.But I guess you can't get mad when you get some criticism about it too, when you just kind of living there.* ### *42:03* *So, you know, it's it's kind of both, both.I always thought with the relegation stuff especially that it shouldn't be up to the teams because most of the time they're just gonna say, OK, yeah, sure, whatever, we'll go down or we'd like to go down because it's easier.* ### *42:18* *I always thought you should have like some sort of neutral third party go.No, no, you're not getting relegated.Like like no, in basketball.We'll bring it back to basketball a little bit.You know, you didn't need to relegate better for the better for girls because everyone could see that they had this great class coming and the same 1 Noble had Jamir Rose on the way already there actually.* ### *42:39* *And it already gone 8:00 and 8:00 or whatever.And 8-9 and Nine had already gone 9 and 9 in in AA.So you're like, well, I think they're going to be fine.And we would have relegated Nokomis the year Cooper and Ace showed up and that would have been a disaster.* ### *42:55* *They would have been in B and they would have won the B state title because they were one in 17-2 years before that.Yeah, yeah.And it's, you know, even though I have some of those rules in in place, I mean, that's where the schools need to step in, in my opinion and be like, not we have a good group coming.* ### *43:14* *Like we don't need to go down, don't just go down to, you know, again, Biddeford girls, I'm not really familiar with them, but I do I know they played Oceanside in the in the regional final and beat them.Oh, they're good, yeah.Even I think they almost want states, right?* ### *43:29* *So it's like, had that rule not been changed, are they going back up or are they still saying, you know, we're young, we're going to keep staying down and keep playing here because we're having success.Like it might be fun for them, but it's not fun for the real Class B teams that are, you know, supposed to be there.* ### *43:48* *So I think the, the, the thought of the rule in the sports is, is good and it, it means well, but there's always going to be instances where it's taking advantage of unfortunately and you know.* ### *44:04* *Human nature.Yeah, and if it's going to be there, the the schools are, you know, the schools themselves are going to be at the the ones that have to like, you know, look in the mirror and say, hey, we're we're kind of not doing the right thing here.Or we need to like challenge ourselves maybe and play, play where we're supposed to and see how it goes.* ### *44:23* *So.Yeah, because you have that, but then you have that team I just saw on social media, some high school team just lost their 93rd straight football game.And you're like, at that point, like, jeez, like go down to class if you can't just anything but that because that must be so demoralizing.* ### *44:41* *Yeah, and I mean, we've, we had, I mean, I, this was a long time ago and, and Dan O'connell's talked about this before and John Babs had a huge losing streak at one point back in like the maybe early to mid 2000s, something like that.* ### *44:56* *Like I feel like it was in the paper or Sports Illustrated or somewhere.And and they just, and they are in a tough situation, right?Like they're private school, but they don't there's no true youth program for them.They don't know from year to year who they're going to get coming in as freshman because you'll have, you know, Brewer youth football, Bangor youth football.* ### *45:15* *Some some of those kids might, might go to Babs, They might not.They had a huge losing streak and they, you know, figured it out.They won a state championship.They've improved.They're good most years now.* ### *45:30* *They they're they're competing and they're doing well.So it's like, you know, you'll have those walls and and then you get out of them.But you know, they definitely didn't lose 93 straight games.That's.That's rough.That's a lot, yeah.It's like kind of, I mean, I don't know, I wonder what they like was getting for a stipend down there.* ### *45:48* *That doesn't sound bad. 88 weeks and then you're off.You don't even have to be in the playoffs and you get your stipend and get out of there.So.Probably didn't have to do a lot of summer work either.No, and if you win one game you might get a statue out in front of the school.Yeah, well, the Wisconsin girls had that losing streak where they had last won in the Obama administration.* ### *46:06* *Yeah, and then they won this past season.Yeah, I think we were following that.We were up at the school and they were playing.I believe we were following that at during the day right then they went at one of the islands.It was on the island, yeah.Yes, we were like.It was like North Haven or something.We were scoreboard watching up in our weight room while the kids were lifting on your site actually, and you're like and was cast is going to get a win.* ### *46:31* *So that's pretty cool.You know, and that's a situation where that relegation thing is doing what it should.So you know, it's good.Good to see them kind of crack that and and get it.Figured it was, it was pretty dark there for both the boys and the girls where they were losing like 80 to 10 and like who is that benefiting?* ### *46:50* *That's not benefiting the winning team, the losing team, the bus driver, anybody.No, no.But it's still important.I mean, the kids need to have those activities and sports to do.You want to have some success, though.But you know, again, playing those sports means keeping their head on, head on straight in school, doing, you know, taking care of grades, all that stuff.* ### *47:11* *But yeah, losing by that much every night is discouraging for sure.All right.So I'm going to give you a chance here because I know, I think I know your answer here, but give me the pitch as to why teams, because there are some people who prefer eight man for various reasons.* ### *47:27* *Why should they prefer 11 man?Why are they wrong?I mean it's.Purely on a football sense, not a like logistics of how many kids are in your program or anything like that.Yeah, see, that part's hard because like I the eight man game is fun.Like it's fun to watch.* ### *47:45* *You know, traditionalists obviously are going to love, love 11 man, but eight man is great for the, in my opinion, for the right teams that that need it.I mean, you got schools like, you know, Booth Bay, for instance.I mean, they're, they're under 200 kids enrollment wise, right, I believe.* ### *48:03* *Yeah, I think so.Stearns is, you know, Stearns is like same thing down under 200 kids.It's not realistic for those schools to expect to have huge numbers and play.So having having that option is huge because it's, you know, really it saved football, as in a lot of football in a lot of communities in the state and been an important piece for them.* ### *48:27* *But you've had teams like, you know, Morse, Greeley, I think Miranda Cook, Matanacook, Deer ago, Mountain Valley, like they've all come back to 11.You know, they went down to 8.They built up their numbers, did a great job working hard at it and then got back to 11.* ### *48:44* *And a lot of those schools have that, you know, 11 man tradition.I mean, Matanacook's had football as long as I can remember.Mountain Valley obviously has had some historic, you know, teams over there.So just using using eight man as an, as a, you know, a piece to build back numbers, build that confidence and get back up to 11 has been has been huge for them.* ### *49:07* *And you know, again, it's an exciting version of the game.It's fun to watch.You know, I just hope everybody's doing it for the right reasons.And I would just, I would hate to see those schools, those particular small schools, the under 200 enrollments and and stuff like that, like, you know, lose out on things because they're playing schools with 700 kids in it or whatever that, you know, that's sure.* ### *49:34* *You know, it's tough.And I know they probably don't play each other because I think this large man and small man and all that.But yeah, it's, you know, it's wide open, that's for sure.I know I got a couple players on my team that would be pretty fun to watch playing 8.I mean Gabe Lash at 8 man would be pretty fun.* ### *49:50* *Yeah, it'd be tough.I mean, I don't know, you know, our running back might get 5000 yards if he went down to 8 man.He might, you know.He might get an 11 man.And we we played eight man before we actually played it when we were a club team, we played a couple eight man games against up teams and defense is an absolute nightmare to try to figure out so.* ### *50:11* *I bet.So Do you think I'll throw something off topic here for a little bit?Do you think we're we'll get flag football at any point?I don't know.I saw that map that was put out there and.That was way more states than I thought.Yeah, it's gained a lot of traction.You know, I don't, I don't know if it's had any discussion in the state at a serious level.* ### *50:32* *And I don't know that we have the student population the, you know, maybe in the southern part of the state they could look at something like that.I don't know if it's played in the spring maybe.I'm not sure.Yeah, I mean, even it was a spring thing.It's like, you know, at school like Madonna, we got what, 530 kids, 540 kids, something like that.* ### *50:53* *I mean, if you put that in the spring, you're taken away from baseball, you're taken away from track, potentially wasn't there.So it's just, you know, the you're not in a position enrollment wise to add, add sports at a, you know, a high level.* ### *51:11* *So it's just, it's tough.But southern Maine, you never know.They got some bigger schools down there.And you know, all it takes is a few schools to get it.I mean, look, you've seen lacrosse grow.You've seen volleyball grow.Madomic has a volleyball team now.* ### *51:27* *Yeah, you know, I mean, you see with.The least experienced volleyball coach in the state.Hey, they no pressure on them.We told them, you know, the expectation is undefeated, so he's good.All right, two more things.* ### *51:47* *One thing I ask everybody is let's say the MPA gives you absolute power for one day.You can do whatever you want.They have to do it.What do you do?Oh wow.One thing that you just wave a magic wand and it's it's a thing.* ### *52:04* *I'm moving.I'm moving the basketball tournament.This would get everybody fired up, but OK.The basketball tournament quarterfinals, at the very least for every every class, are being played at the High Seeds home gym.Oh.* ### *52:20* *We're getting we're getting some atmosphere going for those quarterfinal games, OK.The regional finals are always awesome big crowds.The state finals are always awesome big crowds.If you if you go to a quarterfinal Class D Monday at Augusta.* ### *52:36* *Oh, those are rough.That's not not awesome, but the travel would be pretty bad.We always look at would be some of those playing games.I think one year we saw Ashland was playing Jonesport and it was like a four hour bus trip for a prelim game.So, yeah, not sure how that would work out for a, you know, Wednesday night quarterfinal, but.* ### *52:58* *And they had to win a game to get that game to go get blown out.Yes they did by.Jonesport Beals.That's rough.Get that quarter final game down at Jonesport.They can stay at the Jonesport Motor Inn or whatever, the hotel down and Beals and we'll get get some atmosphere going for those things.* ### *53:18* *That would stretch me a bit thinner for attorney week.Yeah, that'd be that'd be tough for the coverage people.So it'd.Be a little tricky, all right?And one more thing, give you a chance to hype up your daughter's photography skills.I see here on every sideline now taking photos like what?* ### *53:36* *How did she get into that?And like, how's it going is?She dug a camera out and started taking some photos and absolutely loves it.So we, you know, last last winter, I guess it was when the madomic boys and girls basketball teams were playing the tournament, messaged Matt and said, hey, you know, Caroline would love to take some pictures of the team.* ### *53:58* *Some of the kids had asked her about it and so we got a media pass and she was able to sit on the on the end line there and take some photos and made a little Instagram page there to, to put some on from the different sports.And I know the kids at the school like it.* ### *54:15* *She's done a couple senior pictures actually this year of, of some of the guys.So that's been pretty cool to see.And yeah, something she's really enjoyed and you know, the sports, sports pictures specifically has been a big thing she's enjoyed.* ### *54:32* *So she plays softball in basketball too.I'm sure if she could take the camera out there whether she would, but.This strap a GoPro on the forehead.But yeah, when she's not playing, she's usually, you know, getting some pictures of them and and really enjoys it so.Awesome.* ### *54:48* *And she was at the Lobster Bowl.I saw her taking pictures there.Yeah, that was the coolest surprise because of course I was up there for the week, so I hadn't seen them for a week.And, you know, all of a sudden she's out on the field.And it was Jeff Randall was one of the players from Lewiston.* ### *55:03* *His mom was was kind of down there somewhere.Caroline filled me in on all this afterwards.But Jeff Randall's mom said, hey, you know, go down or come down or go down there and get a pass or whatever it was.So yeah, his his mom ended up hooking her up with wherever she needed to go to get a pass and she was able to get right out on the field, get some awesome pictures, some awesome keep takes for me and and for a bunch of the do So, you know, we sent it to, you know, obviously gave them Porter were there.* ### *55:32* *We sent them the pictures.All the coaches that I worked with for the week and a bunch of the kids that I met was with there for the week with and they really enjoyed those.So that was pretty cool.Turns out it's actually really easy to get a pass for the Lobster Bowl.Like, I tracked one down the day before, and then they were going to put me on a list or something, and I just sort of walked up with a book bag.* ### *55:53* *And this woman goes, oh, your media.I'm like, yeah, sure.So yeah, that they're awesome down there.That whole experience was unbelievable.I mean, I've been to the game most years and I'm watching.Being a part of it was like.* ### *56:09* *Was this your first year coaching it?Yeah, first year.Oh, cool.You know, I'd always Dan O'Connell again at Babs.He'd always talk to me about doing it and tried to get me to do it for years.You know, Kyle had reached out last year, actually last like December when he knew.* ### *56:27* *And this was like, not this past, but the December before he knew it was going to be class CS turn to be the head coach and he was going to be doing it having already coached in the game and just told me to figure it out with work.And so I did.And then yeah, I'm glad I did because it was just, the whole week was just incredible.* ### *56:44* *Foxcroft does a top notch job, to say the least, of hosting all the kids and coaches for the week.You know, BJ Robbins, Joe Herson, the whole obstacle staff just puts on an incredible event.A ton of work for them goes into it, but they raised a lot of money.* ### *57:02* *I think they raised over $230,000 this year.That sounds right, yeah.Between both teams and both cheering squads and that set a record.So yeah, what a what a great thing.Awesome.All right, I've taken enough of your time.Do you want to make a prediction for your record this year?* ### *57:19* *O and eight.O and eight there.You go Old Town, Old Towns got a new coach and there's no better way for a new coach, for a new team to start things off with a win.And they're coming down in madomic Week 1.There was a young coach at Madonna who did that, you know, 10 years ago in 2015 with with Bucksport and Joel, the town and we were able to get a win.* ### *57:43* *So Old Town to be ready.And if we're not, you know, we're going to be hurting.So yeah, we're not looking anywhere past them and we got to be ready for them.But if I had to guess, on the whole season O and eight.O and eight.Yeah, All right.Like seat expectations?* ### *58:00* *Just like our basketball team is going to be O and 18 so.All right.Thanks so much for doing this.Hey, thanks Lucas.I appreciate it bud.Have a great night.You too.OK, that's the show.Thanks to Ryan once again.That was a great interview.* ### *58:16* *Great talking to him.Best of luck to him and his team, all for this coming season.That'll do it.This has been a production of Maine basketballrankings.com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball from Ashland to York and everywhere in between.* ### *58:32* *This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts and a bunch of places you don't.If you enjoy this, please leave a nice review because it really does help out with algorithms.Tell your friends, tell your enemies.Thanks for listening.* ### Podcast: Morse's Midnight Madness URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/podcast-morses-midnight-madness/ Last updated: 2025-08-21T02:39:46.000Z When Andrew Hart from MaineHighSchoolFootball.com emailed me to ask what I was doing late on a Sunday night, I was a little confused, but when I found out it was to ring in the first day of Fall Sports as Morse' Midnight Madness, I was intrigued. So as the thunderstorms cleared out, we went live on Facebook starting at 11pm and podcasted our way up to the midnight deadline. Along the way we went over some teams to watch this season--both in football and basketball--Morse's prospects for the upcoming season, and a whole lot more. I recorded it on my phone to re-use as a podcast. Check it out on YouTube: Or on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you podcast. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/14DCLBc0rcaRZJW7w8NzIi?si=1279020439464da5&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/morses-midnight-madness-with-andrew-hart/id1675940033?i=1000722652744&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It also helps so much if you subscribe, rate it, give a good review. You get the idea. SPONSORED With the Fall Season nearly upon us, it's time to either sign up for the newsletter for the first time or reactivate your subscription if you paused it over the summer. Free members get a newsletter with everything they need to know about Maine high school sports and paid members get access to extra data like the Model's predictions for every game. [Subscribe ](#/portal/signup) --- If you have a business that would like to advertise on the podcast and reach people all over the state of Maine who think nothing of driving 3 hours to watch a high school basketball game, we have great prices. Email mainebasketballrankings \[at\] gmail \[dot\] com --- ### Transcript (auto-generated) *Welcome to the Maine Basketball Rankings podcast. I am your host, basketball data nerd, Lucas McNelly.And guess what folks? We did it. We made it through the summer. We have survived the 18,000 heat waves, We survived Beach to Beacon, which was somehow not during one of those 82 heat waves and we got a new course record out of it.* ### *0:27* *So if you didn't see that we had our second, let me make sure I'm plugging my computer in here.We had our second American male to win Beach to Beacon.Connor Manz of.Let's say Utah? Somewhere out West and the first American since Maine's own Ben True and he's set the course record and it was like a perfect day for running.* ### *0:50* *So a lot of people just I was there for beach to begin and just seeing everybody and seeing on Strava and a lot of people going, wow, that was like my best time in years because it wasn't 80° and humid.And it's just, if you've never run Beach to Beacon or gone to Beach to Beacon, it's just a fantastic event.* ### *1:09* *And it's just the premier road running race of the summer end of the state.And I don't know why I'm talking about it now because it is time to talk about football and soccer.So today this is I'm recording this on Monday is the first day of fall sports.* ### *1:29* *So football, soccer, volleyball, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, all kicked off practices today either at like 5 AMI think I saw Camden Hills was running up Mount Batty at 5:00 AM or something and bunch of a bunch of stuff like that.* ### *1:45* *Or if you're crazy like me last night, you went to a Midnight Madness, which I thought was just a college basketball thing.And now I'm wondering why we're not doing it for high school basketball, but I digress.* ### *2:01* *So Midnight Madness, if you don't know some coach, I feel like it was a Kentucky coach, maybe came up with the idea to have your practice at 12 O 1:00 AM on the very first day you can practice, which is very gimmicky and fun and dorky and you get everybody together and then it's a good time.* ### *2:21* *When you're doing college basketball, they fill the place with students and it's mostly a bunch of dunking in three pointers.It's kind of like an All Star game.With a little bit of.Practice worked in there.So a couple of high school teams in Maine have started doing this and have been for a couple years now.* ### *2:38* *Winthrop did it.Mike Mandel went and covered Winthrop's Midnight Madness.And then a couple days ago, Andrew Hart emailed me.He's like, hey, what are you doing at midnight on Sunday?Which is a kind of a weird thing to hear.* ### *2:54* *It's, it's a weird question.Something illicit usually happens Sunday night at midnight.And so I was a little wary, but he wanted me to come out to Morse, which is not too far from where I live, to help him ring in the midnight madness at Morse.* ### *3:13* *And so we did an hour plus live stream, which I then recorded and we'll play right here where we sort of went through some footballs and basketball, took a couple, took some looks at what teams to look out for this year.* ### *3:29* *You know, is there another fell myth on in the works that can come from worst to 1st and win A state championship?You know, who's the favorites in what?We were trying to get through all the classes.We don't really only got through class.C.You know, is Levitt back?Is Wells the team to be in Class C?* ### *3:45* *And then there was a lot of me not remembering which teams got relocated where in the high school football, you know, hierarchy.So it was a good time.It was a bit of a rambling conversation, but very enjoyable and a fun way to kick off the the season.* ### *4:05* *So I'm going to throw to that right now.This is me with Andrew Hart, live on tape from Morse High School in Bath.This is insane.This is crazy.* ### *4:20* *I mean, at least it ain't raining.It was raining right here.It was raining when I was driving through Damer Scott and I was like, oh, this is going to be a disaster.Not much here.It's yeah, seems to have tried out here.All right, looks like I got my first thing, so let's make this formal.* ### *4:36* *Hello everybody, welcome to this very crazy pre preseason broadcast courtesy of Maine High School Football.I'm Andrew Hart, website host, and along with me is Mr. Lucas Nelly of Maine Basketball Rankings.How's it going?Oh, it's going just perfect, man.* ### *4:53* *Can't believe you talked me into this neither.I have to work in like 8 hours.What's what you got?You gotta take that time off.I just took time off the problem, so now I'm stuck with not taking time off for a while.So we are here under the lovely lights and the dark clouds of Bath to kick off Midnight Madness.* ### *5:14* *We are one of three places in the state of Maine, along with Naples and Winthrop that'll be doing the same.That'll also be having a little Midnight Madness fun here.So what we're going to do is over the next hour, we're just going to kind of chat a little bit, talk some football.Of course we got to talk basketball.* ### *5:30* *I mean, I'd be a horrible host.In the contract.Yes, it is.I drew it up myself.I think I did.And then we're just going to kind of help usher in football right off to the 50 yard line when the when the Moors ship holders led by Jason Darling take the field.* ### *5:47* *Yeah, it's going to be fun.There are already some some young ones throwing the football around.I don't know if that's a violation of any rules because it is not yet midnight, but we're we don't have them on camera so we can't identify them later.You know, I had a parent that asked me that question, is it OK for kids in middle school to be doing practice?* ### *6:08* *And I wasn't really sure of that.I don't know.I don't know the rule on that.Yeah, me neither.Because I mean, the MPA bulletins talk about varsity and junior varsity.Yeah, don't really talk to youth.I don't know if it covers.I don't think it does cover that.So I guess they're, I guess they're fine.* ### *6:23* *They're probably OK.I mean, is it instruction?They are wearing uniforms so, you know, drop right there.But I guess number one, start young.And yeah, up in Bath they do start everything a little young.So I was kind of hoping to have Jason Darling out here because he has been one of the biggest proponents here for Midnight Madness.* ### *6:45* *Every time I've came out here, talk to him, he's always had great things to say.You know, he's always looked at this as a motivational aspect.His kids love it.It's great.You know, granted, it's a high energy, low expectation practice.They're not out here to learn XS and OS.* ### *7:00* *They're out here.Have fun, get everybody you know going.As a matter of fact, you can see those tackling Donuts out there.Those things are ready to go.Footballs are at the ready.What more couldn't you ask for?I mean, it's fun.I think of this as a college basketball thing because that's the thing called basketball, the Midnight Madness.* ### *7:16* *And you're you're inside.So it's you get a big crowd and everybody gets hyped up and they basically scrimmage and just dunk and throw out the oops.And it's a glorified All Star game sort of situation.But yeah, I hadn't hadn't occurred to me the football would do a similar thing because I just assumed everybody was doing 2 days starting at 5:00 AM.* ### *7:35* *So, yeah, I mean, I, I know that Jason had said he got to start up in Bucksport.I went up there one year.I mean, it was great.It's it's always exciting to see kids coming out here.This is that special time of year.School's ready to go, football's ready to go.It's a shame because this is what we all got to be looking forward to.* ### *7:51* *And then in about 3 months we're going to be going.I don't want to see snow on the ground.Three months we're going to be here like we were last fall and it's going to be 40 mile an hour winds and we're trying to play soccer.That's what's going to be 3 months from now.Oh, that's right, don't they?They have state championships.* ### *8:08* *Here and I, this very field and it was a 40 mile an hour wind and you can see the ball get kicked and then we'll just go drop.You know, you bring that story up two years ago at Cameron Stadium up in Bangor, they were doing 8 man championships and if I remember right, it was Orono goes to punt, they punt and the ball goes the other way.* ### *8:29* *And it was the, it was the weirdest 2 yard punch I've ever seen without a deflection.Just crazy wins.But that's Bangor.So then he's got to go for it on 4th down.You could.I mean you could if as long as it's not 4th and 15.Because you're the same problem throwing.Very true.* ### *8:45* *Yeah.And then that sort of thing, you really can't run a whole lot just because you don't got the blockers unless you want to do some razzle dazzle annexation of Puerto Rico.Yeah, Yeah, you could.You could do that.So, you know, we're going to try to figure out, we don't really have a script.* ### *9:03* *I I'm a master of winging things.Case in point, why we're here.This is why we're here.This idea.You pitched this to me yesterday, I think.I did.I think it was yesterday and I couldn't think of a good reason not to do it and here we are.I couldn't think of a good reason why not to do it.* ### *9:21* *And that's the way that's the way I like to work.I was like, it's, you know, I'm I'm trying to think of different things.And I always thought to myself, you know, we don't have a whole lot of great shows around here when it comes to high school football, you know, Herman Hawk, Hawk nest.Sorry.You guys do an awesome show for anybody who's up there who's not asleep.* ### *9:39* *Get ready for football tomorrow.Sham.I loved your idea.I'm stealing your idea.You didn't trademark it.So that's why we're here.But I always like these sort of productions, you know, people coming out with unique contact, things that help explain their team.* ### *9:55* *And we didn't really have a whole lot coming in here.So you see it around the country.Midnight Madness is definitely not unique to me.You'll see it in every single state.As a matter of fact, I was watching a video out of Texas there.This is crazy.Yes, they are.And they started about two weeks ago because why not?* ### *10:13* *I mean they 16 game season have.A16 game season in Texas.They do 10 game, 10 game, regular season.That's like a.Religion down there.It is.It is.You talk to anybody down there and they'll tell you it's a religion.Yeah, whether you want them to or not.I mean, they'll just walk up to you like Texas football's a religion.* ### *10:31* *That's crazy.I.Went to College in western Pennsylvania and it wasn't that bad but it was it was.Up there, I heard a lot of things.Yeah, I mean, they do.They had the shows at Tykes.Yeah, Tykes Football.They're showing on TLC where it was this these obnoxious parents yelling at Western PA telling their kids to go out and just absolutely cream the kid on the sideline.* ### *10:53* *We went to college with those.People possibly could have, sorry, you're going to see us kind of looking over a little bit.We've got people, they're excited.Over here we're seeing brought a soccer ball, which I don't know if that was allowed.Oh.Football's football, right?Football's football, but I mean, we get in trouble for mentioning soccer for some reason because we have the new MPA website and.* ### *11:14* *I posted the.Thing of what the new heel points look like and it looks not great and but it was soccer.And so I was like, what are we posting about soccer?And I'm like, first of all, second of all, you think it might look the same for basketball or for every other sport, considering that's how the world works?* ### *11:35* *You'd think so.So we'll see.The heel points could be an adventure this year.Well, I was looking at football.I thought it was interesting.You know what football's Crabtree is.What's that?Northern A.So they don't know the teams loaded in yet.Oh, they got the teams in the schedule.That's just it.Northern A Maybe it's Suns changed in the last couple of days, but that's it.* ### *11:54* *Some one of the spring sports, they had two teams in BN and like 17 teams in B South or something like that.It was all screwed up for like 2 weeks.Sorting it doesn't matter.But it's the thing, that's the thing they were in like, you know, what was it?Whatever sport it was, if it was in basketball or football, it would get sorted out right away.* ### *12:13* *Oh, of course, because 15 people would e-mail about it.The uproar would be crazy.Oh yeah, others the the smaller sports, it's less urgent.Yeah, exactly.Ouch.We had that hurt.Yeah.So like I said, it's going to be crazy here.* ### *12:29* *You're going to see people coming all over the stand.Everybody's excited.And that's the thing you've got to love about this, is the excitement these things sort of generating.Yeah, it's late.Yeah.School's coming up in about two weeks.But you know what?This is the energy that Jason loves to try to have when he's looking for this coming in.* ### *12:48* *Let me ask you a question.How excited is Morse?Like, how does Morse look this year?What are the prospects?I think for the ship builders, I think for Morris coming back to Class A seems like, you know, I all the pot, all the comments have been positive about it.And you know, you've got to admit that most schools they look at 8 man as you know, kind of a regrouping class.* ### *13:13* *OK.And that's, you know, it's all based on a point of view.You go to any other state, eight man is considered a reality for most smaller schools.And that's the way folks like Dean Plant and Old Orchard Beach, Bob Sinclair up in Orono, That's the way they look at it.* ### *13:29* *They don't look at it as we're trying to rebuild, to go back to 11 man.They're saying we know our numbers, we know our place, This is our brand of football.And then you look at Morris, who is by all means a Class C school in terms of enrollment.Sorry, enrollment.Can't say that it's got to be something other than enrollment.* ### *13:47* *Yeah, well, you know.Yeah, well, I can only imagine basketball.Football ain't any easier.Oh, Jesus.So everybody around is always kind of, I've seen the comments periodically saying what, They're not in Class C, How come?Or they're not in, you know, they're really going far back.* ### *14:02* *They're not in Class B, which is, you know, some people, some people didn't get the memo.Well, enrollment for Morse has been down I think the last five over six years.I think it's been trending down.I.Think it's been down for everybody, Almost everybody.No, some teams, some.There's some schools on the upper swing, but Morse has had more.* ### *14:20* *Morse and I think Brunswick, their enrollment numbers have dropped recently.Too, I do remember.So it's a little bit of a thing where you're like, you think of them as this big, but they're actually maybe this big I.Want to say wasn't Brunswick not too long ago, 750 something like that, that.Sounds right.Yeah.I don't think they're there anymore.* ### *14:37* *And I know back in the day when football was only three classes, there was, you know, Morse was considered an Eastern B school.But since they've came around into eight man, a lot of what they're doing is down South Down the southern region because geography.* ### *14:52* *I mean, let's let's not talk about Freiburg being a northern Class B because, you know, parallel wise, sure.But I mean that that's that's the reason.Why in I think it's soccer Eight man, is it the soccer?It's something I should know this.* ### *15:09* *Everybody who's not in Aroostook County is in the South.I have noticed.That Washington County schools in the South.Really, it's very weird.Film.It's like Machias in the South.Crazy, along with the islands along with Pine Tree Academy which is right on the border.* ### *15:26* *There might be basketball actually, might be the new under 100 for basketball.I haven't looked at that as much as I should have.You haven't.I have I looked at it when I reported it in like.All right, everybody, now we've got 2 cameras going.* ### *15:42* *We're doing this on Maine basketball rankings over there.We're doing this on Maine high school football over there.Mr. Maine Basketball rankings doesn't know.Take that to the presses.I knew in December when I reported it, and then I got distracted with other things and now I don't remember.* ### *15:59* *Because there's a lot, of course there's a lot to pay attention to.And you know, and I got you got coaches, you have this, you have coaches who were like, we'll just text you like, oh, we won by 15 today.And you're like, my dude, I do not remember what school you coached for right now.* ### *16:16* *You're going to need a little more information than that.What happens, though, when you try to remember a lot of stuff and you've got, you know, boys and girls basketball?Yeah. 260 teams, I think, something like that, maybe 250.And I've got 79.Yeah.And here I am.I'm getting geriatric syndrome and I can sometimes have a hard time remembering a coach.* ### *16:34* *And they move around, they do.So you're just like I think you.Know what you like, Winthrop?Maybe it's like you.You're Joel Stone, 10 of Sometimes It's Apparent.Windsor.Yeah.Thank you.Sometimes it's apparent and you're just like, I have no idea what you're talking about.* ### *16:51* *Don't idea what school this is.Those sort of things happen though, yeah.So I can't really see what time you got.I got 11/13\. 13 We got 47 minutes 47.Minutes to kill.It's going great.It is going great.* ### *17:06* *It's going great.And I'm looking over, I know once we start getting within about 20 minutes, AD here will start flipping on the clock and we'll actually have a good scoreboard to keep track there.You go, I had a question for you.So last year Falmouth is a big story in football.* ### *17:22* *They have the nightmare season from hell and then they bring in Spencer Emerson, turns it around in like an unbelievable fashion all the way to state championship.Is there a Falmouth out there that people should be looking for?Is it Lisbon or is that just such an outlier of a situation?* ### *17:43* *I mean, there are coaches that have changed.I think we are looking at 12 different faces that are coming in, just new faces on board.Some interesting stories out there.I don't know because I don't think anybody saw Thelma doing exactly what they did no.* ### *18:01* *And The funny thing is you talk to Spencer and he he he giggles at it.Maybe if Spencer, if you're still up over there, which I can't believe you are, I know you were laughing at every single person coming into the season who didn't really think his team was a team to watch out for.* ### *18:16* *And I want to see in here the Press Herald recap even said we're underdogs.We're we're unknowns and we like.Even the turn around, even if they had gone like won five games and lost in the semi finals or something, that would have been an amazing turn around, right?But to run the table and they ran the table.* ### *18:33* *Right.Did they lose undefeated?Undefeated.Yeah, First time undefeated.Yeah.And to do that is just because it's so hard to win a title, you know, to come from that and to win a title is just like mind blowing.And you don't.And I can't remember in my mind seeing that much of A one year turn around from struggle boss all the way to undefeated in the state championship.* ### *18:56* *Might be might possibly be the first.If only I had a laptop in my little numbers, I can.Think of a basketball example.Yeah, Nokomis, when Cooper and Ace showed up, they went from 1 and 17 to 17 and one and won the state title.* ### *19:11* *Wow.But you know, that's sort of a strange situation.Where the?Number one overall draft pick in the NBA shows up and then your your fortunes change.Of course.Things get a lot easier.I would say, I mean, there's some interesting stories is that when you're looking ahead, predictions are always going to be tough.* ### *19:33* *I mean, granted, you can always look at a team like Thornton Academy, six time Class A state championship, you know, contender, yeah.I mean, you're going to naturally look at them and say, yeah, they'll be up there.And then you look at a team like Old Orchard Beach, They've been there three times in a row for the eight man state championships.* ### *19:52* *So some teams you're going to automatically pencil and then you're going to look at some of these unknowns.And you know, it's kind of tough.You know, you don't really get a feel for what you want to do.And then sometimes you get burned.I remember two years ago, Wells, I believe only five and three, they were able to beat out Winthrop for first place.* ### *20:10* *And I think Oak Hill was in that battle as well.And they go on this tear.Meanwhile, in the north, Boxcroft Academy is just mowing everybody down in Northern Deep, as is their custom.Absolutely dominating.And what happens, they've lost I think the last three times to Wells 3 or 4 times in the state championship.* ### *20:30* *They're finally, they're going to halftime 21 to not that.Yeah.And I remember we're down here in, we're in Portland at the the class towards the tail end of the Class A game.And we're just like, oh, ponies did it.I never seen that on Twitter and going Oh well, that seems like that's a wrap.Yeah, Danny White was like, he finally did it.* ### *20:48* *You know, he's finally going to get another title after so long, so many tries.Tim Roach's crew, the Warriors, they score a touchdown.They score 2 touchdowns.Now all of a sudden leads 21 to 14.What happens in the final minute and a half?* ### *21:04* *You see a touchdown and Gutsy has called.Kids say we're going to go for two.They go for two.Ethan Whitner, Ethan Whitten, I believe.Somebody correct me.You're going to anyways.My eyes can't really see out there so hopefully somebody is correcting me people.* ### *21:21* *Are talking, I can see that.I can see a few people talking.So I believe it was Ethan Witt and somebody got corner of the end zone, tosses it.He's right there, right in the end zone. 2 points, 22 to 21.Foxcroft Academy gets the ball back, isn't meant to be.* ### *21:40* *Wells beats him again.State Championship 2221 and again, you know, but these are the sort of things that nobody sees happening at the time.But that's what makes football so compelling.That's what makes high school sports compelling because you never know.You never know.You know, I was talking to a basketball coach and about like some obvious strategy.* ### *21:59* *He goes, you know, these aren't NBA players.These are 14 year old kids and 14 year old kids, their brains short circuit sometimes and they just do the complete wrong thing.And, you know, you never know when that's going to happen or when some kids going to just sort of show up and be like, make the big catch that you wouldn't expect.* ### *22:18* *So they're not going to run the puke like in semi pro?Right, Yeah, they're not going to.You know, you can, you can coach them up and then do all these things, but sometimes you just look at them.There's nothing there in between the eyes.And sometimes the kid at the end of the bench makes the big play.It's.Like, you know, football, just because you you're A5 tool athlete and Max Preps just can't stop talking about you, then you get a Tom Brady.* ### *22:42* *Yeah.You also find some of these kids that come out that are just, you know, absolutely dominant.You know, I think back to Dylan Hapworth, Class C state championship between Winslow and Levitt up at the University of Maine.You know, Levitt looks strong.What does he do?Dylan comes out seven touchdowns, 260 yards. 7 touchdowns. 7 touchdowns, Absolutely dominant.* ### *23:03* *Probably in all the years we've been covered.Most dominant single game performance at that championship level.Wow, he was good.Yeah, wasn't it?Fitzpatrick semi semifinalist list, of course, but he was good.Sometimes, you know, you get these sort of things and then you look at football.* ### *23:19* *Sometimes you get these long shots.Sometimes you get these teams that just for whatever reason, you don't picture them.Oh, and we've got our clock.Got a clock.If I could turn our camera right now we're sitting at 40 minutes and 18/17/16 and looks like Morris is losing to the builders.* ### *23:36* *Oh cool, I think that's meant to be 2025.It could be 2020.They're losing. 20 to 25.I mean, we had a similar thing in basketball with Falmouth again, because this Falmouth's year last year with Davis Mann wasn't on the Mr. Basketball semi finalist list for some reason, because people weren't paying attention.* ### *23:54* *And then went on arguably the best tournament run anyone's had in 30 years and just drags them to A state championship.Nice.And they were down big in the state championship game.And he's just, he just took over.He just took every shot.He did everything.* ### *24:09* *And he just put that whole team on his back.And that's a guy where you're sitting there going, I think we need to redo the vote for Mr. Basketball because he he should be on the 10, the short list of 10 at least.So let me ask you a basketball question.Sure.You you you finally dragged yourself out to some football.* ### *24:27* *I have.Yeah.It's crazy seeing you out here.Well, you know.I mean, first time I saw you, I think I said are you lost?What was that?Was that?Fitzpatrick.It was a Fitzpatrick.So obviously, you know, besides the physicality difference and everything, what do you see team aspect between basketball and football?* ### *24:45* *Like the difference?Of course, yeah.I would just say that because standing on the sideline, there are more technical fouls that would have been called in basketball on a football sideline then.And I have not shy about profanity or language or yelling or anything like that.* ### *25:03* *And I'm just like, Oh my goodness, these guys get kicked out of a basketball game in 5 minutes.And then just the physicality of guys getting hit and they're just come flying towards you.And I'm just looking at that going I Nope, no, I would not get up.I would not get up.* ### *25:19* *I would be done forever would put me in a full body cast and they get right back up.You mentioned full body cast.You had a great video at the Lobster Bowl back in July, Joe Doobie, that he got the snap.Quarterback gets those.That kid from York.* ### *25:35* *Yeah, it was Peter Martin.Or Martin Sure believe the tall kid.Yeah.He.Was tall sorry if we got you wrong and you're watching I know you graduated hopefully you're you're paying homage to this thing so but I do remember you got you got the snap ball pops up he gets it and.* ### *25:52* *Just get trucked.Yeah, I I was on the opposite side of the field.You had a great view just right there, just perfect, right?Yeah, I got lucky and he completely ate that hit.Yeah, that was one where you're like, I don't know, you want to?He's getting up.I didn't think he'd get up.* ### *26:08* *Kid got up.And that's not even a game that counts.No, it's.An exhibition game.Right.But, you know, at the same time, Lobster Bowl, this is, you know, for most of these kids, it's their last year.Yeah, everybody likes to say it.Unlike basketball, you can do a lot of competitively organized stuff.* ### *26:24* *Football's tougher.Well, you don't tend.To have pick up football games?No, when you're 25.I mean, you could if you're just going to go out throwing the pigskin in a flag football, yeah, But nobody's out there going to say, hey, we're going to give you pads, uppers, we're going to get you a really cool helmet.* ### *26:40* *You're going to go out there and just absolutely charge.Not unless you're playing semi role.Yeah, it's kind of, if you think about it, it's the first sport you stop playing because you would stop it in high school.And then at the end of high school or in a college or whenever you stop playing competitively basketball, you're always going to men's leagues.* ### *26:56* *And then people transition into like triathlons or running or CrossFit, things like that, which you would be.Competitive couch potatoes or.Yeah.That's also, you know, armchair quarterbacking.Hey, it could be on the old show.That's true.* ### *27:12* *I've seen some of the things the old show's done.Football, I think for some reason I was like, OK, they're crazy.Lakes out.There, I've seen there's YouTube channels of it where they're playing these, these organized fields where it's like this tree out in center field is our home run line boundary.* ### *27:29* *Yeah, crazy.Yeah, I mean, we all did.Some do.We had our wiffle ball like on our front yard and if you hit it over the lilac bushes, that was a double.And you know, if you hit it over this tree, it was a triple.I mean, we also, we had a place where Poison Ivy was kind of like it was, it was a drunk.* ### *27:45* *Yeah, if it.Gets into the Poison Ivy, yeah, and then somebody's got to go get it.We're just getting a new ball.To pass, eventually we would mow the lawn over there or somebody would have to mow it just out of sheer disgust, and then we'd find like 10 balls.Nobody would touch them, of course.* ### *28:01* *Yeah, gotta wash them off.Yeah, something happened to him.I don't know.It wasn't me.That's what younger brothers are for there.You go.You can always go tell your younger brothers problem.Whatever I had, what I had happened is, if any people who know my brother, he's 65.* ### *28:18* *And so sometimes they get a lot bigger than you.And for the kids out there, you want to be careful because that can come back around to bite you in the ass.Maybe.Because you know, they might end up being a lot bigger than you and then.I have a brother back home who's a little bit smaller than me.* ### *28:38* *I have another brother who's out in Alaska.Wow, who's a tad bit bigger than me has.He been out to that new field on in Alaska that's like right on the water.Oh, the one up in the they changed the name from Barrow to yeah, something like that.But it's like this, like little strip of land, and there's like a football field right there.* ### *28:54* *I think I saw.Did you share that?I did.OK, I did and it's the only place.And of course, of course, for them to play, they take their charter flights because that's all they can do.And their nearest opponent is, I believe, in fair.Let's hear Anchorage is not too far from the water.* ### *29:10* *Fairbanks is further inland, I believe.So that's one of their closest opponents.Now God forbid if they have to go, say, to like Juno, which is even farther down.That just had to drive all the way to Augusta.Wouldn't that be a travesty?You know how it goes.It's always twice as far going north of the South I'm sure.* ### *29:29* *I'm of two minds of that.For one, I look at that and I look at like a vinyl haven, their schedule and I'm like, geez, what is everybody else complaining about?And I think you don't have to live on vinyl haven.Like that's your decision to live on Vinyl Haven?Unless you're a kid, in which case you're kind of born to a body and you resist.* ### *29:48* *But yeah, it's a, you know, that's that's your choice.I mean the lobster.At some level.All right, that's Lucas Nellie.Maine basketball rankings For any lobstermen out there who are like, got your pitchforks or whatever, you get these.It's all right.* ### *30:03* *I got people here that think I'm biased against them.Then again, I thought every, at some point, every region's been biased.Thanks.I'm biased.Yeah, it's crazy.Yeah, they think there's most people who think I'm biased against them.There's people in Stearns.That my uncle played for Morse.People in Stearns that got angry saying I never nominate anybody in northern Maine to get.* ### *30:22* *I pick somebody from Holt.It's like apparently there's like the I maybe I miss the geographic line of north of Stearns and then it goes all the way up.Yeah.But often.Very often kids don't get mentioned because no one tells us what they did.* ### *30:38* *That's very true.Or they don't tell us what they did in a timely manner.So like for basketball, so I have the the daily newsletter.And so if on Monday night you score 40 points and I find out about it on Thursday, that's, that's gone.That's so gone.* ### *30:53* *That's, you know, we've moved on.We're like 3 more newsletters since then.It's not going to get mentioned, things like that, because time moves.Exactly.I remember it was not too long ago Bonnie Eagle parent got angry at me saying how can you didn't nominate our kid.He had 9 catches, 3 touchdowns and about 190 yards.* ### *31:12* *Pretty impressive numbers at this level.He probably would have got the Class A selection.Guess what, if I don't know about it, I don't know about it.And that's why usually when we get close to the season, I talk about my main super six stars of the week and I tell him I don't know if I don't read it, if I can't see it, I'm not some omnipotent genius that can magically put on the you said that I don't remember Rob.* ### *31:39* *Oh, Rob Kennedy disclaimer, by the way, which is an interesting rule which will be invoked when I write my preseason article.I do thank you for providing it.Rob is clearly going to say that rankings don't matter until the 5th week, right?Except in basketball.Baseball.* ### *31:54* *Well, NBANFL.Well, it's tricky to do rankings.So I do football rankings now and like Week 1, they're just going to be the end of last year's rankings because and then it takes three weeks, at least three games at least to sort of start to find a level.* ### *32:12* *And especially if you're like Levitt last year where every it lost every game.I thought they were going to win and, and won every game they were going to lose.I think I went over the season on them.I don't think I got a single Levitt game right.I belong to a pick em competition for Mark Kellman at Eastern Maine Sports.* ### *32:30* *And usually I can start off pretty good.But by the time everybody knows that our rankings have gone completely to to, you know, to help once Bob Betham just basically starts making his picks and bashes our brains.And guy's a genius when it comes to knowing his stuff.I mean, guy's guy's clever.* ### *32:47* *Hi, Bob.I'm sure he's watching.There's like 5 people watching right now but maybe?Maybe back?I mean these things can be shared at a later time.Can you share?At a later time, yeah.Yeah.So you're doing it live.I'm recording over here.Oh, you're recording?I'm.Recording and then what I'm going to do is I'm going to put in an intro on this and then just send it out as a podcast and video because a couple reasons.* ### *33:12* *One, it's easier to get on the podcast than live doesn't do as good a numbers.I found for some things it does sometimes, but not really.It's like if you have like a special event thing like this that people were like ready for that.OK, when we did our wins draft beginning of the season, that did pretty well.* ### *33:30* *But if you just do them normally and push them live, I found the numbers kind of suck.So if I just push it out as an actual video, it does better.I'm hoping this video does well.I don't really do a whole lot of live unless I'm looped in on other things.I mean, my schedules have done phenomenal, which.* ### *33:47* *Yeah, that's been really helpful.It has been, and it took some work.There's a website, Mean High School Football America.Who had they get tapped into all the states?And one of them they did was for Eastern Pennsylvania EPA.* ### *34:04* *And one of the things they wanted to do was they did a graphic for each and every school on the eastern side of the state.And I looked at that and I thought, this is interesting.Why can't I do something like that?So I took my original schedules that I'd written and completely threw them out the window.* ### *34:19* *And then I redid them all in some nice little graphic format.And I figured, OK, well, let me get some fields.And then I realized that some of the fields are really out, out of date.Like I still haven't gone up to Herman.They got an artificial turf at paddle field.Paddle field I don't.* ### *34:34* *Think I have a nerd.I hear a lot of people bypass that unless they're going to dysarts.I.Mean dysarts.No, I just, I just made a bias too.Now they're mad at you.Yeah, I just perfect.I'm angry.And they, they're really good, too.They're really good.I'm sorry, folks.* ### *34:50* *I, I I.Yeah, good program.You can send your in the.Basketball program they do yeah, yeah, they had a very unfortunate injury a couple years ago.I'm gonna completely forget who it was, but their best player broke his leg and then they went from like I wanna say they were 10 and O something like that.* ### *35:06* *And I think they finished ten and eight and it was just like.What could have been?Yeah, and you hate to see that.And I think he was a senior and just they were the they were the favorites to win the whole thing.Similar story in football.Camden Hills.They've actually Chris Christie's got a really good thing going with the Windjammers.* ### *35:25* *They've been top of the table last two years.They had a strong quarterback until they got into the end of the season.Oh yeah, they had a lot of injury problems last year.Didn't.They yeah, injury bug hit him hard and an 8 man football, if you're kind of relying upon one kid to kind of be your dual back, if you lose that, it sinks your your team.* ### *35:43* *I will point out though, and I'm just as I'm saying this, it's mostly for Ryan Snell.They have a lot of kids on that roster or an 8 man roster.They have more people on that eight man roster than a lot of 11 man schools have on their roster.So I feel like that if you had an injury that was survivable, you know, the talent being what it is.* ### *36:06* *But there's people on there, you know, they're not playing eight man with 12 kids.However, quarterback is a position that's tough to kind of do even, I mean in this state, the talent discrepancy when you compare Maine to so many other states is just very, there's a sizable drop off, you know, and that's not a knock against Maine, I mean.* ### *36:26* *Why is that, do you think?Is it a culture thing?Because I feel like football wasn't as big when we were kids.Was it here?Well, you weren't here.No, I wasn't here.Because it wasn't in my memory, but Madonna Valley didn't have a team, right?So or, or a youth program at all.* ### *36:42* *So I was like, I don't, I don't know, I guess people play football at Thornton Academy, places like that.I think quarterback is, and it's one of those positions.It's a leadership position, it's an athletic position.You're expected to know everything and do everything.So it's if you don't get the consistent reps when you're playing, it's very easy to have somebody coming in who's just not used to that position.* ### *37:05* *You can shuffle bodies around, but if you're just not used to knowing because you got to know where everything that's going on.You got to know where your running back is off to where your full back's off to if you're playing.Now granted, if you're going to do, if you're playing double wing, it's just easy.You're just going to hand it off.You're going to pitch, hand it off.* ### *37:22* *Has it improved since the passing Academy that Hathaway and and the rest dude has that made a noticeable improvement?Have you seen?I think you're saying you are seeing some kids coming off where their quarterbacking skills are noticeably that much more better against those that you're observing.* ### *37:40* *Haven't been through that program.And there's always a number of things, you know, not everybody has a chance to be able to go into those because let's be honest, Maine's a big state.There's a lot of very, you know, size difference for people that have to go from, say, the northern parts of Maine to the southern part of Maine where most of the events are at now.* ### *37:59* *I know they want to try to encourage these things to go up, say to Augusta, Waterville, Bangor, So it it tries to get up there, but you don't have the amount of possibilities that say you do coming into southern Maine or.* ### *38:15* *They're just so closer to.Exactly, exactly.And dare I say, even going further South, whether it's going into New Hampshire or going into Massachusetts or Connecticut for that matter.And the population's just more clustered.Like for me, I live in Namaskada and so to get to a basketball game on a weeknight, it's like a 45 minute range of where I can get to.* ### *38:36* *And so like here is pretty much the limit of where I can get on like a Tuesday to go to a game.But if you're in, and I think it's, I think I counted once might be 10 schools.But if you're in Portland, that same range is, I mean, how many schools is that 3040?* ### *38:54* *If we're going to include all schools, you got Freeport, Yarmouth, Greeley, down to York, Dalmouth, Westbrook, Gorham, Chavris, Fearing.Yeah, I know.That's a lot more.A lot more.That's not even covering S right?You know, that's not even going across the bridge.* ### *39:09* *You got 2 right, three right there if you want to count Scarborough on that range.So that's why one of the things that kind of makes me chuckle when they say, Oh, people in southern Maine complain because they have to travel N it's like, well, understand that if you're in an area where most of your opponents, matter of fact, your schedule is within, you know, many miles, of course it's going to be seen.* ### *39:32* *So foreign to have to go on a road, a road warrior schedule, right.So everybody out there, I know that this is an outsider per take, but it's it's you know, come on, let it let it go.Understand that when you when you don't have to travel, traveling seems like it a big shock.* ### *39:52* *It's a reality.Yeah.If you're Presque Isle, you're doing it anyway.You're doing 2-3 hours each way for any everybody, every game.That's not what Caribou.All right, then you know you get used to it.And then you've got, you know, the you know, for instance, in in RV football, you've got the the try it trio cooperative Fort Kent Madawaska wisdom.* ### *40:16* *Is that the Valley team?That's the Valley team, the Southern Aroosting Valley or whatever you want to do.Always throws me because I always think it's Valley because that's an actual.Existing school.High school.Yeah.I'm like.Oh, I didn't.Why is Valley playing up there?That's really far for them.And I had somebody who did that as a matter of fact, you know, when you look at the different co-ops, Valley High School or Kennebec Valley High School, I believe is its actual name is in a Co-op with Madison.* ### *40:45* *So you've got valley the team and Valley the high school.But then you know, you when I was looking, what was it, Ohio, I was trying to figure out once looking at some of the high schools in Ohio and you'd be surprised how many multiple schools there are named after presidents.* ### *41:01* *You've got four different Washingtons that are in some each different like Washington, Cleveland, Washington, Cincinnati, Washington, Columbus, Washington, Dayton.And it's like.So it was Ohio.Ohio's.Weird now working on there.* ### *41:16* *I used to live right next to Ohio and IT you just don't want to cross that border unless you have to.Mirror depends which state is near.I was in western PA, so I was like, right, I was probably, I don't know, 15 minutes from the Ohio border.So you were you were happy to be not in Ohio?Yeah, there's nothing that happens when you go.* ### *41:33* *To Ohio I.There was a diner that had good milkshakes in Ohio so.I once made the mistake I when I was moving out here, I, I missed a Interstate and I stayed on a toll road and I forgot where it was.* ### *41:48* *But there is a place that I kind of drift kind of lazily in southeast.And I got to get into a place where I realized, oh, oh, I don't know where I'm at.And I was like an hour and a half away from the Interstate.That came right through Cleveland.And that was interesting.* ### *42:05* *Yeah, You know what happens if you get stuck in traffic in?You know what you get if you get stuck in traffic in Columbus, OH?No, you get a degree from Ohio State.That sounds like a Michigan joke, although that could also be a Pennsylvania show or a happy, you know, I think it was.* ### *42:21* *I think I heard Dan Marino tell that joke.So it's.A Pittsburgh joke.I think it's pretty good though.I always like that one.All right folks.So we are now coming up upon 21 minutes left to go.Yep, starting to get a crown.We are.* ### *42:37* *Here we are.You know if.We had if we had production, we could pan, we could see the crowd, but we don't.You know, I mean, we could show some of the people out there at sent, you know, out in the field, Yep, you know, enjoying themselves.We're seeing, you know, people kind of congregating around by the gates chatting it off.* ### *42:54* *And you know, I think you're going to, you're going to see.Is the concession stand open?Because this seems like an opportunity for concession.It was the first year I came here.I mean, this isn't the first time that Morse has done this sort of event.And the first time I came here, they did open up the concession stand.Hot cider, hot chocolate, hot coffee was definitely on the menu.* ### *43:15* *Because this dropped like 20° from this afternoon.It has, it has.I mean, I'm, you know, I mean you Mainers just, you know, kind of, you know, you're, you're always cold.This is how we do it.Yeah, this is nothing for me.Once you can't start your car, then it's cold.And if you don't know what that means, then you've never been cold.* ### *43:33* *That's when it's iced over.You can't get the door open.That, that was one of the first things that took me a long time to get used to when the state was the concept of ice, like completely freezing over.I remember once looking out at a tree branch and just seemed like that little droplet coming out there just frozen.* ### *43:50* *I was like, well, that's different.And then I remember I finally got in my car because of course, you know, you're constantly scraping like you're digging for gold.And I remember rolling, getting one of my other windows to finally roll down.And I'm like, oh, there's a sheet of ice right there.Well, that's a different.* ### *44:07* *I can't see out of it but.Yeah, try to drive on.That's an adventure.I'll bet it was.I will bet it was.So, All right, well, as you folks out there can kind of tell, you know, we're trying to keep it loose, trying to keep it exciting.You know, I'm kind of chatting and off the cuff, so to speak.* ### *44:24* *OK, well let me ask you this who are our favorites this year?Oh, everybody wants to know who.As I know, that's why.See, now we're up to do that. 10 people live here.So let's figure out who is it Levitt?Is Levitt back?I think Class C is going to be tough to tell because Class C is single, single table.* ### *44:42* *There's no Easter, no north or South, east or West, whatever it is.Which means that you've got 10 of 13 teams making it, which means that your best two to your state championship could be two teams from the South.Soccer Blue Crazy people in northern and southern Quebec are gonna be angry about that.* ### *45:00* *Hi, Chris Lesnar.I hope you got that joke.So I think.Single to wait 10 of the 13, get in 10 of the 13.That seems like too many of 13.I think is.That 2/3 was 2 thirds 13.But we in football it's different because in football you only have 12 weeks.* ### *45:18* *It's not like basketball where you can play multiple games in a week.So in football it's only one game a week.So you have to evenly organize it out.So in class A9 game regular season, that leaves three games for your playoffs, 2 games for the regionals, and then your state championship.* ### *45:34* *So the maximum number of teams you can pluck from the North and South is 8.When you have BCD eight man large school, eight man S, they only play an 8 game regular season schedule.So for them they can have a maximum number of 1816 teams total.* ### *45:54* *OK, nobody has that many, right?So in football, I guess one of the things that was discussed was they wanted to go as high as 12, so only.One team make misses the playoffs out of 13.Yeah, crazy.Exactly.And it wasn't that long ago in football they decided, well, we're going to bring everybody in the playoffs.* ### *46:12* *I hate that.What happened?Four teams, you know, four teams kind of said we're withdrawing from the playoffs.Oh yeah, yeah.Which ended up leaving, leading to the MPA creating the rule that if you're going to withdraw from the playoffs, you have to give one week's notice, which, I get it, you.* ### *46:28* *Shouldn't be able to withdraw from the playoffs anyway.What sort of soft nonsense is that?I mean, don't ask the people who are like, well, Miranda Cook withdrew.Everybody should be receded.No, MPA doesn't recede.Yeah.You could be the number.Be allowed to withdraw unless you don't have enough kids to play.* ### *46:44* *Well, I know Trape Academy has had a couple incidents where they've had really low numbers.So along the way going into the playoffs, they knew that they were kind of don't flat roll man on the totem pole.They said, look, we're withdrawing.We're not going to expose our kids.Just get, you know, we just get beat upon when we don't have that many numbers at all.* ### *47:03* *So it's kind of unique.So Class C, not only, you know, you've got 11, OK, you've also got Greeley, which was the large school state champion.They have, they had good numbers and eight man, they've got just as strong numbers and not only that.So they're back to 11.* ### *47:19* *They are back to 11.They've also got lineman kids now football you that's an important thing.You can't it's not just enough to have athletes.You need to have lineman.You need to have physicality because in small ball you're not going to really have the talent to do the pass, say or the exciting receiving or all that other thing.* ### *47:35* *You're going to ground in talent.OK, So Greely, I think is kind of in my opinion, my sleeper team.You asked me early on who's the one that teams may not may overlook.Really.Maybe.I think Greely out there and I'm willing, I'll take that to the bank.I think they are going to shock some people.* ### *47:51* *People are going to look at them and say no, I think I like them, I like their chances.But you'll also have Wells is.Wells back to Is wells in a lemon?Man, now, well, they were they were in class DS and now they're coming back to C, which is much to the much to the the happiness of everybody in class D who routinely said too good for I'm sorry, too big.* ### *48:18* *Nevermind.That's another argument for another day that I see so often that I'm just going to try to ignore it.But so you got Wells Foxcroft Academy.You can't overlook them.But then again, here's the thing.They've been dominant in class DN Last time they're in Class C, they were a 500 team.* ### *48:35* *Danny White ain't going to put up with that.So he's not going to you know, then again, I I, I what was it?When I was on Jacob Mulligan's podcast, one of the things that we had talked about was that, and I said, unlike last year where you knew you had a really good crop of kids who you knew about as juniors coming into the seniors, this is going to be kind of a tough year to to figure out some of those high level expectations those those can't miss kids.* ### *49:00* *Granted, by the time we get to week, week four, week 5, you're going to know who the ones are that are clearly in Fitzpatrick consideration 50 consideration.So I think, you know, Foxcroft will be right there as well.I'm not going to overlook Mordomic Valley and Herman.Those two teams have been trading blows the last couple of years as some of the top teams.* ### *49:21* *Oceanside's another one, Granted they took their lumps last year.They lost up Foster.That's going to be a big loss.Yes, I mean the year before they lost the Sargent Brothers.Those kids were amazing on the air between them.The juniors up Foster at the time.They're going to lose him.* ### *49:37* *Sam Sam way says is you know, he has his his his job color for him to figure out how to get them back up there.Then you look at a team like Old Town.Old Town for the last couple of years has been northern class D.Now they're moving to Class C How are they going to be able to handle this?* ### *49:55* *And then you've got a lot of the other usual, you know, usual suspects.You've got Nokomis, you know, you've got not so much Freiburg Academy because they moved out.Somebody's going to yell at me saying oh, can you forgot us and this and that.* ### *50:15* *You know, you've got a lot of these different faces coming along.And I think that's what'll make Classy exciting.I think unlike the the regions, the regional alignments, it's going to be a constant battle.Somebody's going to win and it's automatically going to propel them off.It's going to make an ever changing ranking system and it's going to take a couple of weeks, at least five before you start saying to yourself, boy, who is really going to be the best coming out of Class C might even take, you know, till the end of the year.* ### *50:43* *It might even be one of those things where you're going to see you got a couple really good teams, couple mid level teams, a couple teams scratching to make it in and a couple towards the bottom.And that's exciting.That's fun to watch if you have.I mean as great as Levitt 2 years ago was a little anticlimactic for for the playoffs you're like, well they're going to win every game by 50.* ### *51:05* *And it didn't take that long for dense Oceanside to kind of say, you know, every it was, you know, I wasn't there for that game.One of the sad aspects of the recent change to the MPA going.Now granted, in basketball you're accustomed to this because you've got three tournament sites.* ### *51:20* *In football, everything for the last couple of years could be, could be viewed at 1.You know, you could be able to see it.You could go to, once they went to four classes, you could go up to to Bangor or University of Man and watch your Friday night game and then come back down to Portland.* ### *51:37* *You could watch your AB, your your AB and your C or D game, whatever.One didn't get played.And it was fun.But now they've made the move.They want to get away from playing these cold, winter weather, cold games because it was driving down numbers.Nobody was really there, so they said, well, let's do our 2:00.* ### *51:54* *Hard to tweet on the sidelines is the big thing too, because you need special gloves and then you don't think about the special gloves until you get there and they go.Or those hand tears.You just keep your hands up more often than not.I remember that third game being so cold sometimes where it's like, all right, I don't care at this point.* ### *52:12* *I'll get a touchdown and then I'll get my hands out.Let's just get this over with and give it out a goal ball and go home.And that's the way sometimes it seems.So, you know, the football committee took a look at it and they decided, hey, we're going to make this change.We're going to do 2.* ### *52:27* *You know, we're going to do what we're going to split sites. 1 is going to be kind of more centralized.The other will be the traditional Portland location.And we're going to have two 11:00 games and then 2230 games.And those 230 games are usually done by the time the sun's already set, right.So you know, you, so you've got that, You know, I am happy there is no longer the night game.* ### *52:49* *And I will say the turn around from going up to Bangor, covering that game of the University of Maine and covering that game down there, then coming back to coming back down to Portland, sleeping, waking up, get to Fitzpatrick and then having three, you know, three games in the day was definitely an exhaustion.* ### *53:06* *That's a long weekend.I shouldn't complain.We've got it easy.You know, you go to Massachusetts, they play their.I want to go to.Massachusetts.Oh, if you live there, you'll live there.But then again, I'm in southern.I'm in southern or northern northern Massachusetts, as people like to say up, you know, further up.* ### *53:24* *But up there you have 4 games on Friday, 4 games on Saturday.They start at 10 AM and then usually their last game of the day is played at 7.And that's.You know, it's like a quarter final day for us, for basketball.It is, but that's where they're playing all their state championships, plus the Patriots cover them.* ### *53:44* *Patriots broadcast all their games, which was just awesome.And really play at Gillette.Gillette see that that's worth it to be able to play at Gillette.It is, you know, because it's, it's OK.But you know, if you're playing at Gillette or if you're playing at Fenway or something like that, then.* ### *54:01* *It's a destination.It's a better destination.You'll play at the TD Garden.And nobody out there complaints that in Massachusetts it's not centered.Oh my Lord, we're not playing in Worcester, which is kind of the geographic center of.Massachusetts.Play.On the good field, wherever, whatever.* ### *54:20* *Foxboro, Yeah.Foxboro, it's like near, It's like near Rhode Island, yeah.But whatever you want to play on the big field or the big corridor, whatever, because that's an experience.It is.I mean, who doesn't I mean, who down there doesn't want to look at it saying, oh, wow, we're playing at Gillette where the Patriots play.* ### *54:37* *That's where we're going to play.And then out here, you're like, we're going to play in Fitzpatrick, where the.When we used to have the All New England championships for basketball and like when Stearns and Morse were really good, Morris, they would go and play at T at the Garden at the at the Boston Garden.* ### *54:55* *And so my uncle was on those Morse teams and they would just go early because before them was the Celtics Predator.And so they're just like, Oh, you just said there's a different time and less security, and they're just sitting in the stands watching koozie and Bill Russell and running practice and like, how cool is that?* ### *55:13* *You know, and that's the benefit some of these states having NFL teams back home.Minnesota, they play at U.S. bank Stadium.They have all six classes plus the nine man championship, which who doesn't want to play again in your your home where your NFL team plays?Let me ask you this because I've been to a game in Minnesota.* ### *55:31* *Would you not want to play at the Metrodome?I've been on the Metrodome.That's one of the worst stadiums I've ever seen in my.Life.It was always interesting because that was holy.The Dome had to be propelled by air.That was kind of how it kept that.* ### *55:47* *It kept the ceiling afloat, was a very high air pressure.Twins game there and it was it was dark.It's dark times.Now, was that at the time where they put the glass on the left field to try to extend the height of the left field wall?I don't remember and I want to say it wasn't even like tradition.* ### *56:03* *It was like hockey glass because Minnesota.Yeah, sure.But I will say I remember, you know, the first time they had made the job saying you're going to get sucked into that arena or stadium and you literally did as you're trying to leave because it took an effort to prop open the door because all that air was that's what they had to keep pumping in to keep it going.* ### *56:22* *But I do remember getting out on the field and this is in the day of really horrible.They're carpet.It's like that really horrible green carpet.So shorts, so brittle.And I remember seeing guys sliding around to catch ball, you know, catch a fly ball.I was like, oh God, he's going to tear his jersey or he's going to cut open his arm.* ### *56:41* *Hyde had.When I was in high school, Hyde had a basketball court that was.Like some sort of rubber and.They might still, I don't know, but it was.It was some.Sort of rubbery, not like this, but like this track service.But it was like you, if you dove for a loose ball, you weren't sliding very far, you were sticking.* ### *56:59* *And so you're just like, I don't need this loose ball.That sounds harsh.You take it.And now, you know, along the way, since those horrible days of the Houston Astrodome turf, which rivers concussion tar Three Rivers, Pittsburgh, you know, the Metrodome, you've seen some such advances in artificial turf.* ### *57:24* *You know, we're seeing here, you know, McMahon feel it's artificial term.That's why it's not dead like my.Lawn just don't go down to don't go down to northern North Berwick and tell them about it because they'll just get crazy and they'll yell at you saying you can't, you can't.* ### *57:43* *You know we're not going to conserve water all.Right.Yeah, I mean it looks nice.It is.And this, you know, they've had a relatively new renovation, so we're down.TO5550 here and they're coming out.* ### *58:00* *This is old.I mean, this is not midnight yet.I'm just saying.It's not midnight, but you know what?You're going to watch them as they walk out.Now, I know many of you at home, you can't see this.So we're kind of explaining it.One of the traditions for the radio when they're coming out on the field.* ### *58:17* *Yeah.You can't see.You've got to see that.Wait, you can't see that, Those slap shot.Yeah.So as they're coming out, you're going to notice they're not walking anywhere on the field of play.They're going around, they're going to walk around the perimeter, very strict tradition.They're going to walk all the way around.* ### *58:33* *They're going to toe the line and then they're going to basically start the countdown.And once we start getting down to that minute, that's when the excitement begins.Very cool.We have cheerleaders here, We got some parents and yeah.This is the exciting time.* ### *58:49* *This is what the night.This is one of the greatest culminations of the night.Now, once you can hear the energy and the excitement coming up, you know the fireworks go off.But this is what it's a fireworks.No, unfortunately not.But fireworks, in a metaphorical sense, scare.* ### *59:05* *The hell out of pets, probably.Scare some of these houses.Probably scare some of these houses.Around here, probably.So, you know, you're seeing this, everybody's coming out here, everybody's enjoying it, everybody's having a good time.Some of the parents may be a bit tired, of course, but you know, this time only it's, you know, this is like waking up on Christmas Eve and trying to see what Santa gave you.* ### *59:28* *That's what I always like in this for everybody's going to be up in the morning.And the parents are like, I have to be at work.Good.Morning you'll notice this is really only going to be about a 30 minute practice because after 35 minutes the parking lot's empty so everybody's going to basically get out of here as quickly as they can but the whole point is though, to have a good.* ### *59:49* *Time they're going to run some drills or run some wind sprints and.Exactly, you know, kind of get everybody in in the in the mindset.And as you know, as we look around the state right now up in Naples, they're doing the exact same thing.Over in Winthrop, you're seeing the exact same thing, carrier.* ### *1:00:05* *Which is great to know that you're seeing this, you know, this excitement and you know for, for the sport in our state.Now why don't we do this for basketball?That's the question.I don't know.I don't know.This is just asking.It seems like it would make more sense for basketball because you're inside, so the weather's not an issue.* ### *1:00:22* *Coaches ask me in basketball rankings himself.Ask him why exactly aren't you guys doing this?Maybe someone isn't.Nobody's telling me.That would be the case.I mean, some places social media doesn't exist.They're behind the tile.Doesn't.Have the Internet, I'm pretty.* ### *1:00:37* *Sure, Bethel.That'll be a couple places right there that they finding.As a matter of fact, I was talking to Travis Lazare for Port and Press Herald.We were actually kind of chatting about that and one of the things we mentioned was there's some places just getting scores, getting info is kind of tough.* ### *1:00:53* *Yeah, Oh yeah, Jonesport Field.They don't have the Internet.I'm pretty sure they never, because they never report their scores.Who else doesn't report their scores?Yeah, Dear Isle.Sumner's pretty bad at it.Vinyl Haven's really bad at it.* ### *1:01:10* *North Haven's abysmal at it.Now correct me if I'm wrong, those are also some of the smallest schools.Schools, yeah, that's part of it.But then there's some bigger schools that are pretty bad at it to.Portland was notoriously bad for years.I used to have a joke whenever they get eliminated from the tournament that they were still alive until they reported the score 2 weeks from now.* ### *1:01:32* *So I mean they just wouldn't report scores for weeks.I don't get why that.Is and it's Portland.And that's always been the interesting thing, especially about we're coming up upon 2 minutes out there folks.So that's one of the things I've always noticed about football.For the most part, most teams are pretty good about reporting.* ### *1:01:49* *Scores.Yeah, you have much better track record of getting scores than I do.Part of that is practice because it's once a week.True.And it's not Tuesday night.No, you're basically looking at Friday night.Most of the things, if you're playing a home game, your athletic director is already on site.* ### *1:02:05* *He's already got his thing.He's got his access into the MPA's website to do his reporting.Minute 38.You can hear the buzz.I can hear some buzz you.Can kind of hear the excitement on the stands right now.I can see some younger brothers are a little tired.* ### *1:02:22* *We're starting to fade.Not seeing too many blankets though.Yeah, so it can't be that cold.I wondered if the rain lessened.Is this like how does this turn out compared to like last year?Did you say there's more?I would say it's roughly about the same.I don't think it's shifted too much.* ### *1:02:37* *But then again, you know, you're always seeing a pretty strong outpouring of the parents out here.We're coming up upon one minute.It's the magical minute right now.I want to say we are looking at, we're going to be looking at 12:00 on the dot midnight.Look at that, yeah.Because I believe they said you can't play until midnight O1.* ### *1:02:55* *OK.So I would say, do you want to flip our cameras?Around I will flip the camera around.Let's do this.Yeah, let's do this.So bear with us.We want to get this excitement out here.So we're going to zoom in.Things are going to be happening.Coming up upon 35 seconds, folks, that kind of feels like, you know, Ryan Seacrest or Dick Clarks, that was your rock.* ### *1:03:18* *And Eve.I like that one better.I don't know about you.Yeah, what are we on?20 seconds, 20 seconds, Right.OK, you.Hear that?Hear that.Silence. 10 seconds, folks.* ### *1:03:40* *Here we go, 321.The Rock Wind comes in.Here we go, folks.Welcome to the 2025 Falls football season.* ### *1:04:14* *All right, so.All right.And there we have it folks.As you can see, the wind is definitely have some fun here.I zoomed.I might have zoomed in too far.I didn't zoom too far.* ### *1:04:30* *I want to say, yeah, I think we might even turn this thing around here.That might work.I want to get you into my Cam.Oh, there we go.Hey, there we go.So there you have it, Lucas.Yeah, your very first Midnight Madness I.* ### *1:04:47* *Yeah, well, I did go to a college basketball 1.But for in Maine, in Maine, in your home state, yeah.So right now you're seeing some high stretching.Brother went to school.Here.Nice, so there.You go.And he's not in the stands yelling at you.* ### *1:05:03* *He's not heckling you right now here.No.I always would love to see that on a broadcast right now, somebody coming out.I mean, yeah, we see that on ESPN College game based sports.If someone like behind us with signs.I would love that, you know, if we do this next year.* ### *1:05:18* *Yeah.I encourage some of you out there to come in with signs.I want to see, what is it?Washington State?That's the one.Like, they've been there for how many, like 10 years straight?Somebody shows up with a Washington state flag.Crazy.Crazy.So this.Kid just dropped to triumph.* ### *1:05:37* *But yeah, it's fun to get out to these things and like, you know, it's partly to just to be in a community atmosphere like this and to see people and to sort of give a little bit of an insight into what's happening around the state.And so like I think you can do a great job of that with appreciate it with your website and Facebook and all that.* ### *1:05:57* *And I know people really like it so.You know, and that's, you know, that's the one thing, you know, it's tough to find consistent good information that is shared all the time.That's something that Maine high school footballs always like to provide is to give as much info about the whole state, not just southern Maine, not just Mid coast, not just central Maine, not just, you know, water, Oakland, Meslons, Oakland, Lawrence, Fairfield, all that sort of, you know, these various clusters.* ### *1:06:27* *Yeah.You know, everybody wants to know how it is they stack up, how it is, how it is they rank, right?Yeah, that's the important.Thing, and that's the big thing is just showing the whole state and not just who do you see cuz they're near you.Exactly.Because that next thing, it's just gonna be all southern Maine all the time, and that gets boring after a while.* ### *1:06:47* *Yeah, yeah, agreed.Never mind, Thornton Academy is out there saying yeah, we're we're Thornton Academy.Thornton Academy.Oh, there goes another bias accusation on don't.Forget about Don't forget about the Aroostook County teams.They will.Remind you, you mean 2 of them?* ### *1:07:04* *Well, for football, you got the two of them.That's the we have a bunch.That's true.Well, you can't forget, you know, county, County hoops.Yeah.I've seen Rusty.County hoops.Rusty county hoops.I've forgotten the name of the person who runs him, but he does a fantastic job.I guess half of my Rusty County scores from him.* ### *1:07:20* *It's not bad.Yeah, it's not bad at all, although kind of the fact, you know, there is a gigantic separation when you get from Holton down to, I don't know, at what point are you closer to, you know, geography in the state is always kind of, I've never quite organized townships because, you know, yeah, I mean, because what is it?* ### *1:07:37* *You go from Holton to Grand Isle and then Grand Isle, and then there's Mount Katahdin and that kind of last for 40 years and then eventually you see something for Lincoln.* ### *1:07:54* *Lincoln eventually.And then you see it, the turn off for the millinockets, Weston Plain or Easton Plain, because let's not have east and West, don't know why.And then, yeah, eventually you see Old Town and then Orono and then all the Bangor, all 19 exits and.* ### *1:08:15* *You're back in civilization.All depends.Depends who you're talking about.Civilization.Yeah, we're just making everybody out there angry.You know what?I'll I'll I'll chalk this up to being tired.There you go.You know when I wake up in the morning and I get 14 angry emails saying now I'm biased against areas at state I didn't even know existed, I'm just going to say, oh, it was a long night.* ### *1:08:36* *I drank an energy drink on the ride up here so I that's why I'm blaming that.I've got these weird Gatorades that I picked up.They said it's like a mash up of blue and yellow and yellow.And I'm giving them a shot and it's.They still taste like this.Yeah.I found some energy drink that was like supposed to be flavored like Sunny D and I was like, I'll try that.* ### *1:08:55* *It still tasted like chocolate.It tastes like sunny teak.It's not bad.It's not.Terrible.Not bad, OK, terrible.So right now, again, you're seeing your more of your traditional drills out there, you know, just some sort.Of leg kicks and.Yeah, you shouldn't want.You're getting their legs underneath them.And these are the things that is going to set the tone for everybody going for it.* ### *1:09:14* *And that's what I like about this is you're still emphasizing the basics, but you're also kind of showcasing at the same time all the things that you know you're going to have to learn in time.You're going to keep doing these tomorrow or just start your two a days and Tuesday.Well, actually, I can't say tomorrow.* ### *1:09:30* *Tomorrow's today.Tomorrow's today, and they're going to very quickly figure out who did anything this summer and who didn't.I remember that in football, you know, 9th grade, I puked.Yeah, it was hard because I didn't understand fundamentals of training.* ### *1:09:46* *What do they suffer in the summer?So you prosper in the fall?What's the thing?Something like that.I always like to say August sweat leaves to leads to November glory, but that's just me.They say that in running too, because that's when the goal races are.They're all in like October, November when it gets cool, when it starts to cool down.* ### *1:10:02* *So the miles you put in in July when it's 85° pay off.You know, you're you mentioned this back to Ohio.So I was Facebook is weird because it includes so it includes pages of other people's stuff they like and you get shown it to like it.* ### *1:10:21* *So somebody out there must like I mean most people are playing multi sport so track.So somebody was going into Ohio's the Ohio OHSAAI believe it is their athletic body and they were talking that the heat caused them to cancel a major pre season cross country race because they were organizing so many of their races around noontime and they were looking at temperatures in somewhere between Cincinnati and Cleveland.* ### *1:10:53* *I know that's a very vague region, and for most that's like the other regions.Yeah.I mean, you're right.Ohio is kind of the entire state.But one of the things they talked about out there was all these things about the heat.Now, one thing I'm never going to complain about living here in Maine is heat.* ### *1:11:09* *I have a friend in in who lives in Arizona.She routinely tells me, you know, 100 and teens.And I'm like, forget it.I don't need to know those sort of things.So I'm finding it's.More of an issue than football because you don't have as much.You don't have the stoppages, true.And your heart, it's the issue of your heart rate getting up and you know, you, it's there's, it's harder to have water, especially in cross country.* ### *1:11:32* *Yeah, they don't have water stations in cross country.Right, because unlike Rd. races, yeah, Rd. races, I think somebody just fella, you did.I hope somebody's OK up there.That sounded painful, folks.So it was just, you know, you hear these things this time of year, you know, and one of the things you know, folks will never complain about here, Texas learning about, you know, them starting their preseason in the middle of August when down there it's, you know, 100 degrees, 100° plus.* ### *1:12:06* *And you know, one artificial turf is nice to reduce things like maintenance cost.Nobody's ever going to come here to to McMahon and say, oh, I'm getting sick and tired of mowing the lawn because it ain't going to happen.But at the same time, when you get these really incredibly hot days, which I don't know if they happen on the the mid coast.* ### *1:12:24* *I heard you you guys are like temperature wise you're like 40° cooler than the rest.Of the state sometimes, yeah.So you don't really have to worry a whole lot about.Air temperature 85.You're like 85 today.Before the rain, I want to say it's like you take your air temperature and as long as there's no breeze, you can add like 25°.* ### *1:12:43* *And that's what it's going to feel like with the turf because I mean, this is all rubber pellets underneath the grass.Yeah.I use somebody talking like Farmer Fran.Yeah, from the waterboy.Maybe it's just me, but then again, he's not going now.* ### *1:13:11* *Someone's asking when is the turn into a college game day type show?Sam.I don't know.Tracy, we'll do that when we when we get there, but we'll take donations from you, Sam.Yeah.Donations are always good.Sure it is.I mean, especially, you know, I I'll.Show places.* ### *1:13:27* *Now we mentioned donations.One of the things I've learned is monetization.I have been talking about it.Facebook has definitely been interesting learning about that for you.With those schedules must have done pretty well.They did.Bangor is going to earn me 8 bucks now.You take on average it is now if you you look at every schedule, if I average it out to about 2 1/2 dollars $3 that's not bad that's times 79 that's you know about 200 and some dollars.* ### *1:13:56* *So I'm hoping that when Facebook gives me the check and they say this is what I'm scheduled to earn, I actually get it.And my Facebook check looks nice.It's.Going to be a direct deposit, but yeah.Well, you know.I mean, it's, this is the first year I've had it this past season.* ### *1:14:11* *And yeah, it's sort of you sort of figure it out and it's been helpful.Not by any means like making anybody rich.Now, are you on content monetization or are you on the bonus?I remember the bonuses were weird.The bonuses were stupid.I mean I really like 15 bucks maybe.* ### *1:14:28* *Yeah, I mean, I remember I had one.Who was that?Unfortunately, the the kid didn't Samford who jumped off with the scatter quad branch suicide.You know that post that I did from the school?The statement ended up being seen by almost a quarter million people.* ### *1:14:46* *Wow.I was kind of curious what it was going to trend towards.And then I just got a $25 track and I was like, all right, I'm not even going to try Facebook.Yeah, I'm sorry, folks, I I shouldn't be music talking about death as a way to make money.Well, guess what?* ### *1:15:01* *Insurance companies do it all the day, all the time.So we'll we'll leave that at that.But at the same time, this is what Facebook looks at because when you see these weird influencers that do some of the most God awful, bizarre stuff out there, that stuff's making them money.So you can't have this sort of business of Facebook without talking about screaming people in the background, which was over out there somewhere.* ### *1:15:24* *I guess they're having fun.That's the whole thing.Everybody's having fun out there having fun.So we're not even looking at the the the practice.They're just.They're like in lines and.I see not tackles because this we can't have contact, right, But I definitely see some rap is that.* ### *1:15:40* *What that is?That's the distinction.Now here comes the fun part.So they're going to take these wrapping doughnuts, so.You're losing your your background.I thought we had a whole bunch of stuff stacked on top of this.There was a big there was a big win that came through.So one of the things I like about this field is.* ### *1:15:58* *Tackle wheel.Take one more step, Step 1.So I'm going to do this.I'm going to show you folks something out there.Check this out.Most of you people who've done football are like, yeah, I've seen this.So what?This is designed to do that.Oh that looks fun.* ### *1:16:14* *And it's designed to encourage you to safely wrap and take down.So they come in and down they go.That actually looks kind of fun.It does.And you know, granted at, at, you know, at such a young age, there's often a reluctance for contact.* ### *1:16:33* *Let's be honest, some kids it comes naturally.Other kids?Whether or not they had a Big Brother.Yeah, so these things are designed to basically encourage you to know how to go and bring things down.Now, is there a difference between the wheel and a 180 LB opponent?* ### *1:16:53* *Yeah, of course there is.But it's the whole idea of getting the muscle memory and everything.Exactly, it teaches you the basics of rap drag, unlike that picture I shared from the one in Georgia who basically was a £250 T 1 prospect who had a kid jump onto his back at about the 12 yard line and got dragged all the way into the end zone.* ### *1:17:17* *Marshall.Walker, you see that, right?Before he went crazy, yes.And before he got drafted and destroyed the Vikings for nine years, Yes.Yeah, we'll never talk about that.Anybody who says that there are trades out there that are worse than the Herschel Walker trade don't know the I mean, the Vikings made Williams trade was.* ### *1:17:37* *Pretty bad.Yeah, but the, the what was it?Nobody won a Super Bowl as a result of that trade.The Vikings basically allowed the Cowboys to to go to three Super Bowls and win two of them.That.Sounds great.Because they got Michael Irvin, I believe, Emmett Smith, Moose Johnson, Leon Wett, all these sort of people.* ### *1:17:57* *That came out of it.I'm just Leon Wett.It was fun.But all these people came about as a result of that trade.Yeah.So anybody that tells you that trade was not, I mean, the Vikings got absolutely nobody.I mean, yeah, Kerschel Walker took a hand off, lost his shoe on the kick step and got 50 yards.* ### *1:18:15* *And that's as much as he ever did again in Vikings time.There we go.We're going to see a helicopter pass overhead.We are getting a flyby.Folks.This is amazing out here.This is how big Maine high school football is.Meanwhile, somebody in Texas, just.Meanwhile, somebody in Texas is like.* ### *1:18:37* *We've had that.Happen in the worst tops.Could be, you know, somebody from Eastern Eastern Main Hospital or whatever one is still open.Yeah, I forgot which one's been closed and quite a few of them at home.Sorry, I got to be sensitive about that.* ### *1:18:54* *That's a rough spot.I mean, nothing's worse than, you know, what's going on between the healthcare basically Anthem being denied and all that sort of thing, and that's a rough spot.I wouldn't wish that upon anybody.I lied.Oh my.Gosh, so we don't even know where we're at right now.* ### *1:19:14* *What are what time are we OK?12/15.Or 12:15.So right now we've got about 15 more minutes here.Again, high energy.Yeah.I mean, he just slid.If this was rain, you could say he hydroplane 10 yards on the tackle.So again, maybe your old, you know, your old, you know, your old fogies, your old, you know, cotchers will tell you that, you know, footballs meant to be played with four concussions will tell you that this isn't real and they were tackling kids after one day of practice and whatever.* ### *1:19:49* *But you know what?Times changed.And this is you know this, this works, this works.This is how you.It makes sense to.Me, it's helpful.You don't need to be getting anybody injured on your first day of.I mean it's like with basketball, they have the things it's like to simulate like long arms, like pipe cleaner looking things and you got to try to shoot over.* ### *1:20:08* *Them you'll be not like WAVY and WAVY wacky wild inflatable arms.But the assistant coaches will hold them up, you know so because they can't. 7 feet tall, right?You know you can't get magically get a girl's spurt at 40.Right, Yeah, it's, it's some 62 dude doing it and he's trying to, you know, work on your shop, log in.* ### *1:20:26* *It's a similar idea.Smart idea.I like that.Granted, you don't see that often down here where people try to, you know, perform a head to tall Jones move by coming in with, you know, those inflatable arms.Then again, somebody could also do a MOX thing from Varsity Blues and throw a football at somebody's head just to try to kill the clock.* ### *1:20:45* *Hey, why not?Is that allowed?That's not allowed, right?It wasn't Texas.Frowned upon.Kind of like putting a beer can on your head and saying throw the ball and then you got to get a broken nose and you can't laugh because they're making a gag joke.* ### *1:21:04* *Oh, this is fun though.I, I, I enjoy this and I'm glad you came out, Lucas.Yeah, thanks for inviting me.I mean, granted, you're going to probably curse me out in the morning.I will in the morning definitely be cursing you out.I'm.Going to be looking forward to that e-mail saying I the alarm goes. 7.* ### *1:21:22* *I fell asleep at the wheel and I almost got into two accidents.That's not my fault because.You.Might need some of that.Yeah, Brandy, you'll have to keep your head off at work.Yeah.What I expect, you know, And unlike you, I took the day off because I kind of knew what to expect.* ### *1:21:39* *Yeah, You know, learn from your elder.See, I take tournament week off.So well, that's just smart to do.I mean, plus the fact that and there's games the entire.Week.Yeah, it's when I got the job.I was like, just so you know, I will not be here for that week.* ### *1:21:54* *And they're like, yeah, we know.I mean, I could take the entire week off of game one and tell my boss at work.Hey, you know, forgot my boss, Meg.You should.Not forget your boss.Yeah, I don't think, I don't think she follows me on here, so I think I'm good.* ### *1:22:10* *So I think if Meg was to come up to me and say, Andrew, why are you taking Monday through Friday off for opening weekend?It's like it's a celebration.You don't need to take Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off when you only have games on Thursday and Friday.He's Rd.Showing it around the state.* ### *1:22:27* *So Speaking of which, we do have three, you know, to kind of set the tone.I know we're right now in an exhibition scrimmage state of mind.Thursday is going to be our first kickoff for the high school football season.You're going to see Biddeford and Sanford.You're going to see Noble and Wyndham.* ### *1:22:43* *That's going to be a good game.I'm liking that.I think I want to see what Noble can do minus Jamir Rose, because when you lose a kid of that talent.They're one of the big test cases for basketball, too.Because of what happened with losing him for the team.* ### *1:23:00* *Yeah, exactly how often, I mean, is the very first time you saw a fit seat candidate.And what is the basketball, Mr. Basketball?They don't they can't find somebody in all the years.They can't call it the Cooper Flag Award.I.Mean they might change it to well, Mr. Basketball is a nationwide thing.It is everybody has every state has a Mr. Basketball.* ### *1:23:18* *But the thing with Noble for basketball is they were really, really bad.And then John Morgan came in at the same time Jimmy Rose came in.And then all of a sudden, they're very good.And now Morgan is at Stanford, I think, and Jamere Rose is off to college.And so then the question is, do can they stay up or do they go back down?* ### *1:23:37* *All right?Like, how much?How successfully were they able to reinvigorate that youth program?The reload versus rebuild argument, right?And that's because sometimes it's just you get a group, you get a good group of seniors come through and you're good for two years and then you they're gone.* ### *1:23:55* *And there's no, the infrastructure hasn't been built up enough to sustain.So that's, that's one of the that's one of the teams I'm looking at for that.And another one is Lincoln Academy, which is around here.Yeah, because they are returning 47 points from last year.* ### *1:24:14* *But only they could return football to their ranks.They once used to have a club team.I think there's talk of it.Because I want to say there's still a couple teams that play club the main independent football.They're not part of that one that involves the team in Caribou, the team at China First Academy region, then the team in Berlin, New Hampshire, which that's a whole and then the but the team in Presque Isle also has a red and silver squad and that's how they kind of kept it to a 14.* ### *1:24:45* *League.Otherwise, if you play 3 teams, that's kind of super repetitive.Right.So then you've got that, Then you've got John Babst will be playing Madison at the University of Maine, playing at Alphonse Stadium, just because John Babs doesn't have their own football stadium.* ### *1:25:04* *They're kind of relying upon Bangor Hudson, University of Maine to kind of help out getting them the place to play.So that's your first game, you know, first, you know, first opening season.And, you know, as a matter of fact, the Biddeford Sanford game is the 6:00 PM game.* ### *1:25:19* *So they're going to be the very first one.And it's kind of different because in the last couple of years it's been Old Orchard Beach playing.Dean Plant has said he loves that eight man can get the sole attention of the state of Maine by being the first team to play countable football.* ### *1:25:35* *When is the first countable?Game this year it's going to be, let's see here.So 31st is Sunday, first, second, third, 4th, 4th, the 4th yeah.And then fifth being Friday, you know, that's everybody goes, Yeah.* ### *1:25:52* *And then Saturday, there's six games because there are still some places that don't have lights.So that's what they have to do.And then you've got teams like York.Now York is one of the last schools that was allowed to continue their construction before the MPA put the hold or the freeze or somebody did.* ### *1:26:11* *I forget who it was, Maybe it was the state put a freeze on.No more artificial turf construction built, but York was so far into it that basically they were so finished what you're doing.But we're gonna give like a three-year moratorium.Or two year or whatever.So because of that, they don't have a field of their own, so they're gonna be playing on the road their first two games are gonna be at.* ### *1:26:31* *And I love this name, even though it's religious connotation.Our Lady of Victory Stadium, they're just.Playing their entire schedule on the road.They are.Like Gardner did a couple years ago in basketball.And Nokomis did the year before and Biddeford did when Waterhouse Field was there, so they had to go to Cannonball.* ### *1:26:49* *So they're going to play their first game, which should have been a home game.They're going to play it at Greeley.So Greeley, if you look at the schedule, has five home games.So they're playing Greeley at Greeley.At Greeley should be That's the home.Team.Are they playing any neutral site games?They're going to play the two games on Saturday evening and Dover, NH at Our Lady of Victory Stadium and then the last game of the season against Manod Knock, No, Manod Knock, just straight up the Manod Knock Huskies.* ### *1:27:18* *And they're going to play them in Kennebunk, OK, as a York team traveling up to Kennebunk.So that's why as the home team.That's like a neutral.Site.Neutral site, but they'll be the home, right?Right, because I guess they couldn't go to Marshwood, they couldn't go to Noble, they're not going to go to Trade Memorial, they're not going to go to Wells.* ### *1:27:37* *So instead, what do they do?They have to shuffle their way N to Canada.But artificial terms.So I can understand that makes sense.So yeah, I mean, don't worry, your schedules are always different, you know.But from what?The constructions, you know, the construction things the website is showing for the school, it's going to be amazing.* ### *1:27:56* *It's not as amazing as this wind that keeps, you know, moving this thing towards us.But hey, you know, zip ties only work so well.I probably should have used them on the edges.But you know, you got what you paid for and I did.I don't pay myself, so I'm relatively cheap.Oh, what time are we at now?* ### *1:28:15* *We're at 12:20\. 4 You know, originally I said we could stop this at 12 O 1 and here we are.We're still going, yeah.We should probably wrap it up because we have to both get home.Some of us do.I mean, I can go home and go to sleep.* ### *1:28:31* *You got work.In the morning, I got work in the morning.Yeah, and eventually I am going to be back.I am going to want to talk to Jason Darling, head coach of Morris, because we couldn't bring him here before the show and I'm sure some of the folks would love to hear from him.These things are always exciting.I know he really looks forward to it.We don't exactly want to broadcast his talk to the team that's, you know, private, you know, if that's going to be setting the tone for them.* ### *1:28:53* *And I'm sure you know everybody.I mean, if you look around, everybody's having fun.A lot of people on the sidelines to see a couple mugs.Looks like coffee maybe?Hot chocolate, maybe we'll call it be Hot Chocolate Mother.We don't want to dig into what it might also be.* ### *1:29:10* *You don't want to be.I got some relatives in this town, I can guess.Yeah, we're learning the huddle, all right.That seems important.Every team is different.* ### *1:29:26* *You would think that the huddle wouldn't so much be a variation, but you know, there's some teams, that's what they do.You're going to hear, you know, if I remember right, the system here, you're going to see the center coming out, going in yelling huddle because you want to make sure you're getting everybody's attention, right?* ### *1:29:42* *Because the last thing you want to do is get, you know, 10 other teammates just kind of sitting around, don't really know what's going on.And then you've got somebody coming up trying to call plays.The meanwhile one's looking at the sky, one's watching a bird, another's looking at a shoelace that's not really tied.And then you've got another two that are kind of nutching.* ### *1:29:59* *For a four leaf Clover.Exactly 4 leaf Clover on an artificial turf surface.That's all.Well, if we want to end it, this was fun, Yeah.It was fun, thanks for having me.Absolutely.Let's see what you see.This games probably madness.Madness.Yeah, it's definitely midnight.* ### *1:30:17* *I hope that everybody out there who stayed with us all, I'm sure we've had a couple different phases.I see five.Yeah, 5.It looks like.I see.Oh, oh, well, we'll get more chatter.I mean, hopefully the live keeps going and this seems like a good way to end it.* ### *1:30:33* *We're excited.I'm I'm going to definitely clap as well.They're they're definitely.Exactly.I'm pumped.I'm right.My bed is pumped.Oh, I think that was an illegal pass and he was over the line of scrimmage before before he turned him through that backwards.Well, I guess it's lateral, so we went through backwards.* ### *1:30:49* *That's fine again.So here we go.I definitely no, I mean, no, that was that was it was a lateral pass.That's fine.I'm going to say this almost looks like the puke equivalent basketball because you're I mean they're going to this is you know, eventually, eventually this sort of conditioning is going to pay off down Yeah, that's the important thing we're.* ### *1:31:13* *Not allowed to cause suicides anymore.Reason.No.Probably for the better, though.Yeah.We, we won't get into that sort of discussion because we could have some fun with it.We could have a lot of fun with the people.They are easily angry at Why?* ### *1:31:28* *It's not like that.Yeah.I'm just glad I know if you're welcome.That's what we always say.I've always been excited, you know?That's why I like being on the sidelines taking pictures of what I once used to do, because I don't have to do it now.Yeah, hurts a lot less.* ### *1:31:46* *Exactly.I don't have to sit here looking at this going, oh, I couldn't.And when you get older, that's what you end up looking at it saying, oh, this gets tiring after a while.Yeah.All right.We're bringing it all in.I think we're going to bring it in as well.* ### *1:32:01* *All right.This is fun.This was fun.This was a blast.Hopefully everybody out there enjoyed this.If you're going to go back and listen to it, be kind.We didn't mean half of what we said and the other half was just in light hearted humor.And I'm going to have the part of this that I'm recording is going to be on the main basketball rankings podcast, and I'll throw an introduction on it.* ### *1:32:20* *And then, yeah, two birds with one stone.This was the meeting of two organizations that you never knew you wanted.And who knows, maybe we can.Find them out if you don't want them.Those people are track fans, all right?* ### *1:32:37* *For all of you out there who follow Maine, Maine high school football and for all those Maine high school basketball, we wish you nothing but the best.Have a good rest of your evening and happy 2025 fall practices.Goodbye, good night.* ### *1:32:54* *OK, so thanks to everyone at Morse for being so nice and setting up, turning on the lights early enough for us so that we didn't have to use the small ones we brought.And thank you to all the people at Morse who didn't kick over the cameras or run in the background or say dirty words as they ran back and forth.* ### *1:33:14* *And thanks to Andrew Hart for inviting me.If you are not following his website, mainehighschoolfootball.com, you should be doing that because it is exhaustively helpful.And this is where I throw in the reminder that if you paused your subscription to mainebasketballrankings.com, now is a good time to turn it back on because it will have rankings and predictions for all of the football games and rankings for soccer and field hockey, etcetera, etcetera.* ### *1:33:45* *Once the season actually starts, although it has already started up north for the harvest teams, which do they still do that?You still need the kids to do the potato harvest or we just doing that because that's what we do.I don't know.Anyway, and then this is my other pitch.* ### *1:34:01* *Let's do who's doing the March the Midnight Madness for basketball season because that we won't have to worry about it raining and raining out the broadcast.OK, so that's the show.This has been a production of Maine basketballrankings.com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball from Ashland to York and everywhere in between.* ### *1:34:23* *I am out of practice.I took the summer off and it's just rusty as hell.This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts and a bunch of places you don't.If you enjoy this, please leave a nice review because it really does help out with algorithms and all that nonsense.Tell your friends.* ### Flagg Day URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/flagg-day-2/ Last updated: 2025-06-26T09:40:56.000Z How cool was that? Even though it's been a foregone conclusion that Cooper would go #1 for a looooong time, it was still so cool to see it happen as the culmination of a journey that started in Newport. But it's not just Newport. Is there anyone else in the NBA who has an entire state behind them regardless of what team he's playing for? And there's every reason to believe the feeling is mutual. > He was originally scheduled to spend the weeks leading up to Wednesday night’s draft in L.A., where he could have been running through CAA workouts with fellow lottery picks and grabbing dinners at Nobu. But Maine called to him. > “It was his idea to come back here,” says MacKenzie. “Coop says, ‘Matt, what do you think about maybe going back to Maine next week? I want to watch my old high school classmates graduate from Nokomis.’” [The Maine, the Myth, and the Legend of Cooper FlaggHow did a rural town in an isolated corner of the country produce the consensus no. 1 pick in the NBA draft? “The place I grew up in taught me to work for everything, to value fundamentals, and to never back down,” Flagg says.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-16.ico)The Ringer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/cropped-cooperflagg_maine_getty_ringer-scaled-1.jpg)](https://www.theringer.com/2025/06/25/nba/cooper-flagg-maine-nba-draft?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And because that article is by the great Kirk Goldsberry, it includes lines like this: > The scrimmages gave the NBA world its first chance to see the kid from Maine play against elite NBA talent—it was like the South Portland game three years earlier, but instead of J.P. Estrella, Flagg was now playing against Anthony Davis. --- There's been no shortage of coverage and a million different things I could share here. It's just been so cool to watch. However, there is one important question: > I am in Cooper Flagg’s hometown this week. > Newport, Maine. > Incredible folks. So kind. Storytelling machines. [pic.twitter.com/ogzdWuzhPT](https://t.co/ogzdWuzhPT?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Marty Smith (@MartySmithESPN) [June 23, 2025](https://twitter.com/MartySmithESPN/status/1937277428243845213?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Also watching Cooper and Kelly playfully argue over who won their last head-to-head battle was adorable. You love to see it. > [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DLV%5FUhlN4MN/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by Maine Basketball Rankings (@mainebasketballrankings)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DLV%5FUhlN4MN/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) Even the Governor got involved and made it official. [Gov. Mills declares June 25 as Cooper Flagg Day to honor Maine basketball starThe 18-year-old from Newport, Maine, is universally projected to be the first pick in Wednesday night’s NBA Draft.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32-4.png)WGMEAriana St Pierre, WGME![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/194958c7-69d5-4fc2-8868-1924a1968d6d-AP25087103618885.jpg)](https://wgme.com/news/local/gov-mills-declares-june-25-as-cooper-flagg-day-to-honor-maine-basketball-star-nba-draft-dallas-mavericks?fbclid=IwY2xjawLJlGNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFlZXJrQnZvczRkclFjdTdNAR6sLvPVEs%5FCzb7Tq5rB0JybUVlvLYAlbn%5FzPPzMfOgz4%5Fe1WiTpKREt-m47Vw%5Faem%5F7IdK5n0qwIkhA08hv2Ez7A&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Sadly, we did not all get the day off. The Mavericks have already announced that Cooper will wear #32, just like he did at Nokomis. You can already [buy the jersey](https://store.nba.com/draft-gear/c-15810426+z-9220109-956072925?ab={wt-static%5Fgraphic}{pt-home}{al-aspot}{ct-draft25-flagg}{aid-062525}&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-25-at-10.51.17---PM.png)](https://store.nba.com/draft-gear/c-15810426+z-9220109-956072925?ab={wt-static%5Fgraphic}{pt-home}{al-aspot}{ct-draft25-flagg}{aid-062525}&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you'd like some official Flagg Day swag, you can [buy some](https://www.newbalance.com/flagg-day?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-25-at-9.55.37---PM.png)](https://www.newbalance.com/flagg-day?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It ain't cheap. --- As for the Celtics, they surprised some people by picking Hugo Gonzalez out of Spain. He's 19 and seems fun. Word is the Celtics don't plan on making this a draft and stash and will bring him over immediately. --- If you've been following the NBA, you've probably seen the flurry of Celtics trades, dealing out Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis to get out of the second apron and shed something like $200 million in luxury tax money– something that became essential when Tatum went down with the achilles injury. It's sad to see Holiday and KP go, but it was necessary because of the new CBA and it hurts a lot less with the memories of last year's title run. So it goes. [The Celtics Trades Were Cold, Calculated, and Completely NecessaryJayson Tatum’s injury forced Boston’s hand, but Brad Stevens may have engineered a soft landing with upside![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-17.ico)The Ringer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/cropped-PinaCelticsTrades_Getty-Ringer-scaled-1.jpg)](https://www.theringer.com/2025/06/25/nba/boston-celtics-trade-rumors-jrue-holiday-kristaps-porzingis-jaylen-brown?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Around the time of the Tatum injury, I recorded a podcast with local Celtics expert Jon Duke. The plan is to have more podcasts soon-ish. This spring has been hectic. Speaking of podcasts, Noble AD Aaron Moore has started a podcast called "The AD's Office". Check it out! --- Saturday with my hometown Medomak Valley Panthers in the Softball B Title game, I headed up to Orono for the Baseball/Softball title game. The Ellsworth/Greely game had a comeback for the ages. > Greely completes miraculous comeback to win Class B, St. Dom's closes school with a state title win.[#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/XjeNoHXkM6](https://t.co/XjeNoHXkM6?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jack Webb (@Jackiemoon\_25) [June 22, 2025](https://twitter.com/Jackiemoon%5F25/status/1936611995077546112?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Some context here: Brady King threw a dazzling 6.2 innings, but was forced to leave the game one out from a title with a 5-1 lead because of his pitch count. The reliever got Greely down to their final strike and then it all fell apart. The Rangers scored 5 runs, including the final one when a runner got caught in a rundown between 1st and 2nd and the runner on 2nd went all the way around and scored. Just a gut-wrenching loss for Ellsworth. It does raise the question: should the pitch count rule be the same for the last game of the season? There's no next game. We of course don't want a kid throwing 140 pitches, but maybe they can finish the inning? Maybe bump the number up a little for the title game? Because if King could have faced one more batter, Ellsworth might have won it all. --- One of the surprising stats of the weekend was that Medomak Valley had not won a state title in a sport that uses Heal Points (or Crabtree) in 30 years, the last title coming when Alice Bishop led the softball team to a 1-0 win in the Class A title game in 1995\. This year's team has their own ace pitcher--sophomore Sidney Nicholls. Nicholls had been putting up big numbers all year--she had a 20K no-hitter earlier in the season--but really caught people's attention when she 1-hit a York team that led the state in scoring in the Regional Final. Hermon threatened early, getting a leadoff double in the 2nd inning, but Nicholls locked in and struck out the next 6 hitters. We were scoreless until the Panthers got a leadoff triple in the 5th and cashed that in. Hermon nearly tied it, but Nicholls shut the door and Medomak Valley claimed their first title in 30 years. 30 years! [Medomak Valley sophomore pitcher shuts out Hermon in Class B softball state finalSophomore righthander Sidney Nicholls scattered three hits and worked her way out of several jams and torrid-hitting fellow sophomore Grace Havener drove in the game’s only run.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-23.png)Bangor Daily NewsLarry Mahoney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20250621_174339-scaled.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/06/21/sports/high-school-softball/medomak-valley-sophomore-pitcher-shuts-out-hermon-in-class-b-softball-state-final/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Dallas Wins the Lottery URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/dallas-wins-the-lottery/ Last updated: 2025-05-13T10:58:48.000Z The ping pong balls giveth _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Cooper Goes Pro URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/cooper-goes-pro/ Last updated: 2025-04-22T10:01:27.000Z To the surprise of almost no one, Cooper announced on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DItkHJwpMwf/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fweb%5Fcopy%5Flink&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==) yesterday that he's entering the NBA Draft. > [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DItkHJwpMwf/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by Cooper Flagg (@cooper\_flagg)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DItkHJwpMwf/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) The idea that Cooper would hop in the transfer portal to join his brother in Orono was always a long-shot. But a state can dream, right? If you're subscribed to this newsletter, you already knew that Cooper is the consensus number 1 pick in this loaded draft, but where exactly might he land? Enter this chart from Tankathon. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-21-at-8.07.34-PM.png) Chart via Tankathon.com The red numbers are potential picks that are owed to another team in a trade (for example: Philly is protected 1-6, otherwise it goes to OKC). At the link below, you can hover over the red numbers and see who gets the pick, but the short version is that Houston gets the pick if Phoenix wins the lottery and San Antonio gets it if Atlanta wins. Simple! [2025 NBA Draft Lottery Odds | TankathonDetailed 2025 NBA lottery odds. View the current odds for each lottery spot to get specific picks. See the chances that a pick is traded based on position.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/tank_180-f415af3bc3fcfa63c7a9e2ead79814932b56eb5099d80d53ece0d8bf77872b9d.png)Tankathon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/tank_210-3798cb05ac67638d5327cdaf57353cd2032d19f91867dc440f5554d07c58d454.png)](https://www.tankathon.com/pick%5Fodds?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We know where he can go, but the bigger question is where do we want him to go? A [lot of people around the state](https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaineHSBasketball/posts/2093843647787585/?comment%5Fid=2094131364425480¬if%5Fid=1745254179500601¬if%5Ft=group%5Fcomment) have opinions on this, but the 2 teams that it seems like no one wants him to go to Washington (because they're such a mess and have been for so long) or Philly (because no one deserves to win the lottery less than Philly). The Draft Lottery is on May 12th. In the meantime, you can get a t-shirt to celebrate the time Cooper put you (or your kid) on a poster. [“Cooper Dunked on Me” Unisex Softstyle T-Shirt - $25.00 - Maine Basketball RankingsBuy this product for only $25.00![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Store of Maine Basketball Rankings.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/cooper-dunked-on-me-unisex-softstyle-t-shirt-2.jpg)](https://maine-basketball-rankings.printify.me/product/19199311/cooper-dunked-on-me-unisex-softstyle-t-shirt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/04/448899-widescreen-basketball-court-wallpaper-2560x1440-for-iphone-6--1-.jpg) ## Sign up for the Maine Basketball Rankings Newsletter All the cool kids are doing it. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. Back in Maine, the Spring Sports season is underway, kind of. It's a weird dynamic where some teams have started playing countable games and some are still playing exhibition games and I'm pretty sure all the schedules haven't even been entered into the MPA's site. So I've got the schedules loaded and the Heal Points are updating as I work on cleaning up details like who isn't playing this year and who went co-op and all that. Having said that, I think they're in pretty good shape. [Spring Heal PointsHeal Points done right.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-35.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Spring-heal-points-1-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring-heal-points/) SPONSORED Our Heal Points that load in under an hour and rankings for Spring Sports are available for paid subscribers. Upgrading not only gets you access to extra features, but makes it possible for this site to, you know, continue to exist. [Upgrade ](#/portal/account/plans) The Spring Power Rankings are also coming along. [Spring Sports RankingsBaseball. Softball. Lacrosse.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-36.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/spring-rankings-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring-sports-rankings/) There's the usual early season quirks with the added challenge of some teams not having complete schedules in the system yet. So, Old Town softball moves to #1 because they've only got 8 games on their schedule for some reason. ![](https://media.tenor.com/T6fSt9T6DLEAAAAC/tkkra-ugh.gif) Anyway, it'll all work itself out. Eventually. --- We lost one of the all-time coaching greats last week. > Some sad news to pass along. Maine Basketball Coaching legend IJ Pinkham has passed away. IJ lead Boothbay to 659 victories and the Class C State Championship back in 2001\. Rest in peace Coach... > > — Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) [April 17, 2025](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME/status/1912951528333189618?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Michael Hoffer's move to the newsletter ecosystem is going really well. He's been churning out his usual stellar content, including this preview of the boys lacrosse season. [Falmouth the heavy favorite as new boys’ lax season beginsA year ago, Falmouth’s boys’ lacrosse team didn’t just get the monkey off its back. In dominating longtime nemesis Cape Elizabeth in the Class A state final, the Navigators threw that monkey across I-295, halfway back to Falmouth and made a powerful statement in the process. That as dominant as![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffers-High-School-Sports--1--1-1.png)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_20250417_000754-1.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/falmouth-the-heavy-favorite-as-new-boys-lax-season-begins/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you haven't subscribed to his site, you should definitely do that. You can also watch him talk about the process of starting this new venture on the podcast. --- With spring actually here, the season of road races is upon us. The Boston Marathon was yesterday. Ryan Jara was [your fastest Mainer](https://www.wmtw.com/article/boston-marathon-2025-top-finishers-from-maine/64544645?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) at 2:22:48, good for 70th overall. Beach 2 Beacon registration was last week (it sold out again). And the [Portland 10-Miler](https://portland10miler.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) is this weekend. I'll be running that (slowly), so if you're there, say hi! If you're interested in something a little shorter, I'm in charge of the [Waldoboro Day 5K](https://runsignup.com/Race/ME/Waldoboro/WaldoboroDay5K?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), a fun race the day before Father's Day. So here's my shameless plug for the race. This year we're raising money and collecting goods for the Waldoboro Food Pantry. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/04/waldoboro-day-logo-2025.png) It's fun! [Waldoboro Day 5K](https://runsignup.com/Race/ME/Waldoboro/WaldoboroDay5K?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Spring Sports* URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring_sports/ Last updated: 2025-04-17T10:18:29.000Z Today is Opening Day for Spring Sports, assuming it doesn't rain or snow where you are and the field isn't too muddy to play on. As wet as it's been the last week or so, I can't say I have a ton of faith in the last one. I've got the schedules all loaded, at least as much as they were uploaded in the MPA's site last night. They were...a mess and there's clearly a lot of games missing, so this is very much a work-in-progress. The Heal Points will be coming in the next couple of days, along with rankings. I'd hoped to have that all running today, but converting the schedules into something usable took 4x as long as it normally does. SPONSORED For basketball, Heal Points are a paid feature and Rankings are free, but for spring and fall sports, Rankings are also a paid feature (sorry). So if that's something you enjoy, upgrade! The more paid subscribers, the more I can do. Simple math. [Upgrade ](#/portal/account/plans) The baseball, softball, and lacrosse schedules for the next couple of days are as accurate as I have it on the Scoreboard. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-16-at-11.24.17-PM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-16-at-11.38.32-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-16-at-11.38.20-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-16-at-11.37.35-PM.png) Just like in basketball season, you can enter a score (Google Sheets doesn't allow that in mobile) and anything notable in the notable column. The streaming/GO links are working off the basketball database, which won't be the same for all schools. [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) --- The season hasn't even started and we've already got drama in Searsport, who tried to fire their baseball coach John Frye who \[checks notes\] has won 5 state titles and is their all-time winningest coach \[/notes\] and apparently yelled at a soccer game. Mark Haskell has the whole story for the Midcoast Villager. [Midcoast Villager](https://www.midcoastvillager.com/sports/baseball/after-emergency-board-meeting-longtime-coach-frye-returns-to-searsport-dugout/article%5F212dc084-fd66-49dc-93f7-ca4975596ddf.html?utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&utm%5Fcampaign=user-share&fbclid=IwY2xjawJr2GVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHmICZwWcrLi7ifWeYVXlBd9JVsSqnJMl0Tu-gsdWg0uadOiTS2zcUHhaA166%5Faem%5FvH5LRffmeLUhGlMPA0qQFg) The whole story has some strong Parks & Rec vibes to it, but this takes it to a new level: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/04/image-4.png) You could go an entire career and not get a golden opportunity to quote *Wrath of Khan*. --- With Michael Hoffer making the move to the newsletter world, it was a natural move to have him on the podcast to promote the new venture. And, of course, we talked basketball a bit and did a little bit of a spring sports preview. As always, it was a fantastic time talking to Hoffer. You can check out the full conversation on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNf%5F4jxuqn0&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) (subscribe!) and you can listen on Spotify, Apple or wherever you consume podcasts. If you enjoy these conversations (and I know I do), sharing with people, subscribing on your platform of choice, and leaving a positive review goes a long, long way. [Listen/Watch on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3SQArl5KYXbU3KaIEb72Iy?si=jGv0BkeJTeOKNVWQTcXXIg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And if you don't enjoy them, keep that to yourself. --- This is why you hustle on the bases, kids. > THE ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES SCORED THREE RUNS ON A BASES-LOADED WALK AND THERE IS VIDEO > > — [Codify Baseball (@codifybaseball.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:77fe4qxc74zyjnugs5pdtcyq?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2025-04-16T02:56:57.454Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:77fe4qxc74zyjnugs5pdtcyq/post/3lmvls5sjhk27?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Finally, there's a couple more coaching openings. The Old Town boys are looking for a new varsity coach after letting Garrett Libby go. [Coaching change underway for Old Town High School boys basketballGarrett Libby will not be returning as the boys basketball coach after leading the Coyotes since the fall of 2019.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-21.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/OT-Hermon-Boys-D-LCO-1.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/04/16/sports/high-school-basketball/coaching-change-underway-old-town-high-school-boys-basketball/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) As are the Fort Fairfield girls. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/04/image-5.png) --- But in good news, Jahleel Joseph is hitting the Puma Circuit this summer. [A Central Aroostook basketball player will take his talents beyond Maine over the next few monthsA Central Aroostook boy’s basketball player![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-12.png)WAGMJoseph Lemelin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/PLEQUMQM7BGQ3DZ2LXJQV3JUBE.bmp)](https://www.wagmtv.com/2025/04/16/central-aroostook-basketball-player-will-take-his-talents-beyond-maine-over-next-few-months/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJtXYtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHs6dOZoXeLp2SIFYFRNz%5FTjGgQGk2-J74ahR%5F1oOy7-kpY6SbdtxMxNSsz3d%5Faem%5FhO7y%5Fv6UwTLMoHV9SaS2dg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's it for now. Get out there and catch a game\* \*weather permitting. ### Hoffer Goes Out On His Own URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/hoffer-goes-out-on-his-own/ Last updated: 2025-04-14T10:40:59.000Z Ok, it's been a minute. I took a little break to catch up on other stuff (Spoiler: I did not get caught up on anything), but too much has happened so I'm back with another newsletter. First off, the big news: Last month, the new ownership group in charge of Varsity Maine decided to shut down the print version of the Forecaster, which put the sports editor, Michael Hoffer, out on the street. Hoffer has been a southern Maine fixture for years, legendary for his game stories that often stretch past 5,000 words. But the times, they are a-changing and the newspaper industry is struggling, to put it nicely. Thankfully, he didn't stay down for long. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/04/image-3.png) Yup, Michael Hoffer has joined the ranks of journalists with newsletters and you absolutely should subscribe. It's only a matter of time before he has more subscribers than I do. [Welcome!For the past quarter-century, I’ve had the pleasure of covering high school sports for The Forecaster. Now, it’s time for a new adventure. A place where longform game stories will live on. And that’s not all. This site will also be the home of feature stories, historical features on great![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/Hoffers-High-School-Sports--1--1.png)Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/1000000773-1.jpg)](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/welcome/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Subscribe!](https://www.hoffershighschoolsports.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In a media landscape that's a complete mess, there's a lot to be said for [controlling your own destiny](https://ghost.org/?via=lucas71&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), even if it can be a little scary. Best of luck to Hoffer. He's going to crush it. --- In other news, the coaching carousel is in full swing. > Longtime Deering Boys Basketball Coach Todd Wing is hitting the pause button after 17 amazing years with the Rams! Todd has not only lead the Rams on the court, but off it as well mentoring so many student athletes over years! Great coach even better person! [@DeeringProud](https://twitter.com/DeeringProud?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) [April 10, 2025](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME/status/1910303124759183621?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Todd was (I think) the first coach I didn't already know to say nice things about the site, which was incredibly validating back in the day. > Todd MacArthur has stepped down as Winthrop boys basketball coach after 14 seasons. MacArthur went 196-77 with the Ramblers, whom he guided to back-to-back Class C state titles in 2019 and 2020. > > — [Mike Mandell (@michaeljmandell.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:bppmb2hdtqd6w23eeax2qwcx?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2025-04-01T14:02:47.282Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:bppmb2hdtqd6w23eeax2qwcx/post/3llqzywzafc2q?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We also have to former podcast guests who are changing sidelines. > Excited to announce that I am the new Head Coach for Men’s Basketball Program at University of Maine Augusta! [@UMAMoose](https://twitter.com/UMAMoose?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@UMAugusta](https://twitter.com/UMAugusta?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We are a 4 year school that plays in the USCAA. > Any unsigned 2025 players please drop your film & info or DM! We are recruiting all positions! [pic.twitter.com/p1i73WtqDl](https://t.co/p1i73WtqDl?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Steve Carey (@coachcarey724) [April 9, 2025](https://twitter.com/coachcarey724/status/1909812692145012741?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Steve Carey was an assistant at CMCC and now gets to take over his own program at UMA. Best of luck! You can check out Steve's podcast episode [here](https://open.spotify.com/episode/196v4dMGfyUC6lI4ugFpPp?si=gyhia9E-S2qSu1J8Xfu9fw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Finally, Noble coach John Morgan is moving to the college ranks. > Let’s work 🐺 [pic.twitter.com/9M8skWSIve](https://t.co/9M8skWSIve?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — John Morgan (@CoachMorgan\_13) [April 11, 2025](https://twitter.com/CoachMorgan%5F13/status/1910731194997637229?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This will be a huge test for a Noble program that resurrected itself under Morgan in the last couple of years. John came on the podcast a year ago to talk about the work that went into turning that program around. [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbYfGpi2Vrs&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The other big news is Cooper Flagg's tourney run, which went pretty well. Sure, we all wished he could have won the whole thing, but he was awesome the whole way until a Peter Webb All-Star got involved. > Duke absolutely 1000% choked that game away & Houston deserved to win, but what in the actual hell is this foul call? > > Calling this at any point is insane, let alone calling it with seconds left in a 1 point game in the Final 4… > > Are we kidding? Lmao[pic.twitter.com/qLzjM1YgwL](https://t.co/qLzjM1YgwL?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) [April 6, 2025](https://twitter.com/JoshReynolds24/status/1908730134779355526?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But seriously, he was the best player on the floor in every game and I don't think it was ever in doubt. [Looking back on Cooper Flagg’s March Madness runDuke eliminated by Houston in Final Four![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-11.png)WABIBen Barr![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/JSCCZ4LI3BE7RCXQ4L3KP4QQXA.jpg)](https://www.wabi.tv/2025/04/08/looking-back-cooper-flaggs-march-madness-run/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It'd be nice to win it all, but ultimately it was great to see him excel on the biggest stage. Again. Up next is the NBA Draft, where he'll undoubtably be the #1 pick. Do you have a preference on who wins the lottery? I'm kind of hoping Utah gets it and Danny does the Celtics a solid in a couple of years. --- After a long delay, I've brought back the merch store with a couple of new designs. First up is the "Cooper Dunked on Me" design. Was it ideal to get dunked on a couple of years ago? Nope. But it's certainly less terrible now, even a point of pride. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/04/image-1.png) You can get yours here: [“Cooper Dunked on Me” Unisex Softstyle T-Shirt - $25.00 - Maine Basketball RankingsBuy this product for only $25.00![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Store of Maine Basketball Rankings.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/cooper-dunked-on-me-unisex-softstyle-t-shirt.jpg)](https://maine-basketball-rankings.printify.me/product/19199311/cooper-dunked-on-me-unisex-softstyle-t-shirt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And there's also this design of the Maine high school basketball greats. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/04/image-2-1.png) These are all people we know by their first names and already people are mad at who I omitted. You've gotta draw a line somewhere and I went with D1 as a cutoff (sorry Raymond Alley). Feel free to put whoever else I missed in the comments. JP Estrella? Nick Mayo? TJ Caouette? Joe Harrington? Anyway, there's a number of things you can buy. T-shirts. Stickers. Coffee mugs. You get the idea. [Discover Our Exclusive Range at Maine Basketball RankingsStore of Maine Basketball Rankings.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-15.ico)Store of Maine Basketball Rankings.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/43f28e16-fa5d-452a-b6ef-3884ccdca401)](https://maine-basketball-rankings.printify.me/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- This week on the podcast, I'm joined by Erik Atwell of the Penobscot Bay Press. Erik was a screenwriter in Hollywood who found himself in Maine and with no sportswriting experience, applied to a sports reporter job posting. A couple of days later, he was covering a soccer Regional Final. [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2VcGyGMwzzCVTQrLuugrQp?si=INFlI%5FnzQE24i%5FfNgL7vDQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Maine's own Chad Finn has a nice piece on Drew Carter's plans to run the Boston Marathon. [NBC Sports Boston’s Drew Carter had an idea at the Celtics’ parade — and he’s running with it to the Boston Marathon start line - The Boston GlobeThe Celtics’ play-by-play man is running the Boston Marathon to benefit the Shamrock Foundation.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-8.png)The Boston GlobeEmail to a Friend Share on Facebook Share on TwitterPrint this Article View Comments![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/UEHOKSNM4QIB5XBKQOP3VAZBRY.jpg)](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/12/sports/celtics-drew-carter-boston-marathon/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And if we're talking about the Boston Marathon, that means Spring Sports are around the corner! ### Bingo! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/bingo-2/ Last updated: 2025-03-25T10:36:03.000Z How's your bracket going? Mine's a disaster. But isn't that the fun? You try like hell to read the tea leaves and make educated guesses and then you sit there and laugh maniacally as you watch it all fall apart. At least that's what I do. In my house, Thursday and Friday are referred to as "the High Holy Days", which was very confusing to the new boyfriend who had to wonder what sort of weird religion he had found himself in. But not everyone's bracket is in shambles. The top of the bracket pool on ESPN is pretty competitive. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-24-at-8.51.52-PM.png) [Full standings](https://fantasy.espn.com/games/tournament-challenge-bracket-2025/group?id=932ef9a9-67a5-4831-afa5-d20efc5313f1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- This was a fun surprise. And apparently not just for Mainers, as Cooper's grandmother went viral for her awesome sweater. [Cooper Flagg’s grandma wore amazing custom sweater with his face on it for March MadnessDuke men’s basketball star Cooper Flagg will return after suffering an injury during the ACC tournament, and he will have several fans supporting him.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/logo-icon.png)For The Win, For The Win![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/82595433007-2206084977.jpg)](https://ftw.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2025/03/21/cooper-flagg-grandma-sweater-att-commercial-duke-march-madness/82594908007/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's a really fun commercial! From what I can tell, they actually shot it in Maine (I've heard on Facebook those extras are locals) and of all the March Madness commercials they're playing to death, it's the only one I'm not sick of. And I think Cooper's pretty good in it. He's *way* better than Chet Holmgren has been in any commercial ever. But don't take it from me. Take it from advertising exec (and former Brunswick Dragon) Mike Lobikis ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-24-at-8.30.09-PM.png) Maybe this is the echo chamber of Maine (I don't *think* so), but as a Duke fan (Bobby Hurley was my favorite player as a kid), it feels like by this point everyone is actively rooting against Duke and especially rooting against the typical white Duke star, but I don't get that feeling with Cooper. It seems like he's pretty popular, nationally. Again, this could be the Maine bias, but I wonder between that and how well-received this commercial has been if maybe Cooper has a potential star power beyond what, say, J.J. Reddick ever had. Just a thought. And in case you haven't seen this: --- I had thoughts about this Celtics (potential) sale, so I had Celtics expert and Camden Hills parent (spokesman?) Jon Duke back on to go over different ways this sale could go badly or hopefully not. We talked a little about the HBO Celtics doc, then very quickly ended up talking about Cooper Flagg and how just ridiculously awesome that is, but more importantly, the downstream effects of that on the larger Maine youth basketball world, especially how it relates to Quinn Pelletier. Then, for fun, I had him try and make the case for why Tyrie James was the favorite for Mr. Basketball over his guy, Nolan Ames. I think those are the 2 front-runners, but I'm assuming I'm missing someone obvious. And my kid crashed it to talk about Mario Odyssey (dig that hat). As always with Jon, whether on a podcast or a sideline, it was a fun chat. I know you hear "smash that subscribe button" a lot, but on YouTube it really does help a lot (and costs nothing). Getting to certain benchmarks gets you into their monetization program (basically you get a cut on YouTube's ad revenue) and the more I (and places like Eastern Maine Sports and whoever) can monetize stuff, the more we can cover. So! Take 5 seconds and do the thing. [Smash That Subscribe Button](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ04-c%5FzyuWSmpj6mfQskbQ?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Also you should subscribe to the streams of schools games you watch. You name it. Help take more money away from Google and put in our ecosystem. The goal is to keep the podcasts coming weekly, so send me any guest suggestions or feedback to mainebasketballrankings@gmail.com. If I get some good questions, maybe I'll do a mailbag, like a real podcast. --- Speaking of real podcasts... Celtics beat writer Noa Dalzell has been shipping up to Portland lately to work on a story on the Maine Celtics that's coming later this week, but in the meantime, she previewed the impact of Maine on the current Celtics success on her essential podcast "You Got Boston". You should also subscribe to Noa. She's awesome. Subscribe to people you like. Vote for the content you want. The media landscape is a nightmare. They (we) need all the help possible. --- I'm also planning on keeping the newsletters at once a week. Spring sports are coming! ### The Madness URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-madness-2/ Last updated: 2025-03-20T09:28:27.000Z This is just a quick roundup before you settle in for one of the best 4 day stretches of the year--it's March Madness!!! First up: I created a bracket group on ESPN for fellow basketball sickos in Maine. You can find it by searching "Maine Basketball Rankings" or clicking on the link: [Join Maine Basketball Rankings!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-13.ico)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/aa884bab-d269-45d8-ba40-fd43c6742911.jpeg)](https://fantasy.espn.com/tc/sharer?challengeId=257&from=espn&context=GROUP%5FINVITE&edition=espn-en&groupId=932ef9a9-67a5-4831-afa5-d20efc5313f1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's free and there's no prize. Just the love of the game, you know? And bragging rights, of course. There's also a group for the Women's tourney. [Join Maine Basketball Rankings!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-14.ico)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/626632fe-475a-46c4-be7b-65130e11557a.jpeg)](https://fantasy.espn.com/tc/sharer?challengeId=258&from=espn&context=GROUP%5FINVITE&edition=espn-en&groupId=b25a08f9-ad40-4109-b6d6-a14653fc0f22&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Do both! I did. I might finish last. --- If the First Four is any indication, we're in for a fantastic tourney. > THIS IS MARCH!!! > > ALABAMA! ALABAMA! HAIL! HAIL! HAIL! HAIL! COLLEGE SO DEAR! > > FOOTBALL PASS LEADS TO AN ALL-ALABAMA ROUND OF 64 GAME AGAINST AUBURN! > > SHOUTOUT [@hhlseward3](https://twitter.com/hhlseward3?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). YOU DESERVE THIS![pic.twitter.com/WkOv7MnX5C](https://t.co/WkOv7MnX5C?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Mid-Major Madness (@mid\_madness) [March 19, 2025](https://twitter.com/mid%5Fmadness/status/1902160836040519932?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And as I'm writing this, Xavier is completing their comeback over Texas. God, I love the tournament. Of course, the big story is Cooper's injury. If you've been living under a rock, Cooper sprained his ankle in the ACC quarterfinals and sat out for the rest of the ACC tourney (which Duke won anyway). The consensus seems to be that he's going to play, but there's a chance they sit him for the first round? There's a lot of moving parts to the tourney, so I had Adam Robinson join me to go through the brackets. We went over the Carolina question, Duke, why Gonzaga is severely under-seeded, and maybe ADs shouldn't be making these decisions? And a whole lot more. Previously on the podcast, I spoke with Biddeford girls coach Jeannine Paradis about re-building that program, the heartbreak behind that loss to Caribou and the insane finish, the increase in women coaches in Maine, and a whole lot more. This was a really fun conversation. Of course, you can also listen/watch on Spotify. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/5xHQNGfLAkVy8o0njoeyOc?si=e18a67a8f1eb4ac6&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Here's a cool interview with Joe Mazz. Finally, this came across my feed as I was looking for something else. > Sandro Mamukelashvili just had the most PTS by a player with less than 20 MIN played in NBA history. [pic.twitter.com/oxkhCbUwqu](https://t.co/oxkhCbUwqu?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — StatMamba (@StatMamba) [March 20, 2025](https://twitter.com/StatMamba/status/1902547267426406602?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The stat line for Mamukelashvili is nuts: 34 points on 13/14 from the floor and 7/7 from 3 in 19 minutes. He also added 9 rebounds. Not bad for a guy averaging 5 points a game! His previous career high was 28 (in 43 minutes). Flavor Flav approves. > Flavor Flav crashed Mamu’s on-court interview after a career night! 🤣 > > Incredible. [https://t.co/OeJc9BJuap](https://t.co/OeJc9BJuap?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/FXtXQ1XJsC](https://t.co/FXtXQ1XJsC?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA (@NBA) [March 20, 2025](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1902557039957540895?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Jamier and Madelynn URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/jamier-and-madelynn/ Last updated: 2025-03-11T10:17:11.000Z This past weekend was McDonald's All-Star weekend with the highlight being the banquet where they recognize the senior all-star teams and award Mr. and Miss Basketball. Your winners: When I did a straw poll of ball knowers back in January, Jamier Rose was the unanimous choice and the panel nailed Gabe Lash as one of the other finalists. It also was higher on Davis Mann than the coaches' vote for the semifinalists. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-10-at-7.26.57-PM.png) So Rose winning was hardly a surprise. Madelynn Deprey, on the other hand, wasn't the frontrunner back in January. She wasn't far off, placing 2nd on 4 ballots and was left off a ballot entirely. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-10-at-7.31.24-PM.png) Deprey, as you already know, led Caribou to the Gold Ball, which certainly enhanced her case, but how much? It all depends on when the final vote was taken, which isn't public knowledge for some reason. How good was she in the tournament? She was second in scoring, boys or girls, with 86 points (Davis Mann had 105) and led all players in rebounds with 42\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/03/image-3.png) So yeah, those are two really good choices for Mr. and Miss Basketball. The MABC also selected a worthy recipient for the Media Award in Rene Cloukey. Cloukey, who just retired, has been a fixture in the County for his coverage of high school basketball for WAGM, criss-crossing Aroostook County from Caribou and Presque Isle to the tiniest class D gyms on the Canadian border. Congratulations to Rene. --- Circling back to player stats from the tournament, the master list has been updated to include the Gold Ball games. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-10-at-8.12.35-PM.png) Everyone (except for a game or two that had tech issues) is at the link below. [Tourney StatsEvery player. Every game.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-33.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/tourney-stats-1-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-stats/) If you'd like the raw data for whatever off-season research project you've got an idea to do, I exported it as a csv. If you come up with something cool, share it with the group! [2025 Tourney Player Stats2025 Tourney Player Stats.csv195 KBdownload-circle](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/content/files/2025/03/2025-Tourney-Player-Stats.csv "Download") --- On the podcast, I spoke to St. Dom's boys coach (and newly-minted Champion) Josh LaPrell about winning his first Gold Ball, how he turned around a program that had gone something like 2-52 before he got there, the difficulties of scheduling, avoiding blowouts, and a lot more. This was a really fun conversation. You can also listen on Spotify and you know the drill. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ZtxhYb4NMoxm6Jc1W3gd4?si=4FOUbV8LSje%5FC7oPUWeN9w&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm working on lining up more podcast guests and I'm going to try to do one semi-weekly throughout the off-season. If you've got any suggestions for guests, send them along. --- Also, if you're new here, I've got some coverage of spring sports on the way. It's not every day like basketball season, but there's rankings and Heal Points that load in under and hour for Baseball, Softball, and Lacrosse. So stick around! --- Our man Cooper dominated the ACC awards and if you saw on the broadcast of the Duke/UNC game, he's on pace to become the first ACC player to ever lead his team in Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, and Blocks and the first freshman to ever do it in D-1\. Crazy. It looks like the Wooden Award is down to just two people: Cooper and Johni Broome. Three freshmen have won the Wooden Award: Anthony Davis, Zion Williamson, and Kevin Durant. No big deal. ### Caribou and SoPo and Windham! Oh My! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/caribou-and-sopo-and-windham-oh-my-2/ Last updated: 2025-03-04T10:42:17.000Z They say the hockey rink (a.k.a. the Cross Insurance Whatever in Portland) is the worst venue and in a lot of ways it is. The parking is terrible. It's cold. The court is a million miles away from the fans. It's obviously not designed for basketball games. And there's like 9 different 3-point lines. In the 3rd quarter of a semifinal blowout, the place can be deader than the parties in *Swingers*. But in a state title game with crowds that show up? It's electric. And you knew Caribou would show up. A couple of Caribou fans assured me that they were more sober this time around because the game was earlier. That's fair. Harder to pregame for a 1pm tip. The maroon and gold were predictably out in force, but so was the Biddeford crowd, perhaps determined to show up for a very young team that has to be thinking their title window spans more than this year. If you're too lazy to watch the video (smash that subscribe button!), without having seen Caribou in person, I thought Biddeford was the better team but they're sooooo young that anything could happed. Plus, Caribou had the best player and it's hard to argue with that. You could tell me Caribou would win by 20, Biddeford would win by 20, or we'd get double overtime. All equally likely. When Caribou led 12-2 behind 8 points from Madelynn Deprey, it looked like we might be in for the first option, especially with a team as young as Biddeford that has a starting lineup of all freshmen and sophomores. This would be the test. Out of the timeout, Anna Smyth got fouled and hit both free throws, then Jordyn Crump forced a Deprey turnover, Mia Mariello stole it on 3 straight Caribou possessions, and suddenly we had a ball game. The kids are alright. And then the Peter Webb All-Stars got involved. > There have been entire Regionals with fewer travel calls than this one ref has made. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [March 1, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1895907392153665956?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Or didn't, depending on your vintage. The Caribou fans were livid with what Biddeford's defense was "getting away with". I was sitting next to Bobby Russell (of WHOU games with Steve Carmichael fame) and he noted that this was the most physical team Caribou had seen all year. Biddeford was pretty unhappy with this call on Crump to give her a third foul. 0:00 /0:15 1× video courtesy of Maine Public They weren't happy with Crump's next two fouls either and I can't say I blame them. Caribou wasn't happy with this flop technical on a player who clearly took a knee to a sensitive area and came up in a lot of pain. 0:00 /0:13 1× video courtesy of Maine Public There was very little consistency with any of it, so I don't want to make it sound like one team benefited. Everyone was unhappy. As Bobby kept saying, "*that's* the thing you call?" It didn't help that one of the refs looked like Mose from *The Office*. Let's jump to 3:01 left in the game with Caribou up 10\. Off a steal, Jordyn Crump got her own rebound and kicked it out to Natalia Silva for a three. A minute and a half later, Silva hit another 3\. Caribou's Liv Adams picked up an offensive foul (her 5th). On that inbounds, Crump found Ayla Lagasse for a layup. Silva got a steal on the next inbounds and Crump tied it with a driving layup with 36 seconds left to complete the comeback and we went to overtime. Thirteen seconds into overtime, Crump picked up her 5th foul. So let's jump to 22.6 left and Biddeford had a 1-point lead. Deprey fouled Gabriella Silva, who made both free throws. Silva then striped Deprey on the other end and missed both free throws. Up three, Biddeford fouled Deprey with 1.5 second left. Deprey made the first free throw. And then. She tried to miss the free throw, but she's too good of a shooter and made it anyone, then Quinn Corrigan stole the inbounds pass and got fouled. She made both free throws and Caribou won in a miracle finish. Except...maybe not? Watch it again. Deprey went in early in an attempt to get the rebound and put-back, so the free throw shouldn't have counted and if the rest played out the way it did, Corrigan's free throws would have sent us to double-overtime. Or maybe on a dead ball inbounds pass, Biddeford doesn't rush. Who knows? It's a shame, because the game itself was fantastic. In the end, Madelynn Deprey ended with 29 points, 15 boards, and 3 assists and the Caribou girls took home their first-ever Gold Ball. Also I did say double-overtime and it kinda, shoulda gone double-overtime. Just saying. --- In the second game, the Caribou boys used a 19-3 run in the third quarter to turn it into a rout. All the York shots that fell in the Regional Final would rim out. The bounces that went their way went to Caribou. And the Vikings capitalized. Boy did they capitalize. They beat York 65-44 to win another Gold Ball. They had 4 players in double figures and posed for a group photo with their biggest fan in Washington, D.C. --- Up in Bangor, the Valley girls finished their 21-0 season with a blowout of Central Aroostook. [Valley girls overpower Central Aroostook to claim Class D state crownThe Valley Lady Cavaliers capitalized on fast breaks to defeat the Central Aroostook Panthers 47-28 on Saturday.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-19.png)Bangor Daily NewsEmily Bontatibus, Sports Contributor![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/CA-Valley-Girls-States-A-LCO.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/03/01/sports/tourney-time/valley-girls-overpower-central-aroostook-to-claim-class-d-state-crown/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And St. Dom's boys held off a Schenck rally to win their first ever Gold Ball. > Boys Class D State Championship > Schenck's attempt to force OT is off the mark > #2 St. Dominic 34 > #1 Schenck 31 > Final[@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/LPD0OHybCX](https://t.co/LPD0OHybCX?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [March 1, 2025](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/1895949689125814702?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) How this is not Adam's profile picture yet, I'll never know. > [pic.twitter.com/PhZUfvbPLT](https://t.co/PhZUfvbPLT?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [March 2, 2025](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1896018710307225838?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Penobscot Valley girls completed the 21-0 season after building a 32-9 lead over Hall-Dale. > A Penobscot Valley perfect season! [pic.twitter.com/NcBhuHKAPy](https://t.co/NcBhuHKAPy?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ben Barr (@BenBarrTV) [March 2, 2025](https://twitter.com/BenBarrTV/status/1896015038902669786?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And the Mount Abram Roadrunners raced out to a 24-4 lead to make short work of Mattanawcook. > The Mt. Abram Roadrunners came out sprinting in the late game tonight! On both ends of the ball, the eventual Class C champs limited a powerful Mattanawcook offense and they put up some points in bunches, too, to take home the Class C Boys Gold Ball! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/AiOQxHioks](https://t.co/AiOQxHioks?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [March 2, 2025](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1896076421384253836?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Bangor games were mostly a bust, is what I'm saying. --- Ok, back to the hockey rink for the AA games, where South Portland was trying to join Caribou and get their own double Gold Balls. In the Regional Final, the South Portland girls shot 62% from three, mostly from one spot on the floor, to overwhelm Gorham. Of course, you can't count on that happening again. Cheverus came out with a clear plan to limit the damage from sophomore Annie Whitmore. They face guarded her. They threw doubles at her. They were determined to not let her beat them. So in her stead, Emma Travis (17 points and 10 rebounds) and Destiny Peters (16 & 12) made them pay. And when Whitmore managed to get loose, she reminded them of why they were so worried about her. She finished with 11, 7 boards, and 4 assists. SoPo controlled this one most of the way. The only reason it was in doubt late was because Kylie Lamson kept Cheverus in it. Every time SoPo threatened to run away, Lamson would hit a big shot to stop the momentum. She finished with 26, but SoPo prevailed to win their first Gold Ball since 1986\. Could the SoPo boys complete the sweep? Or would Windham go back-to-back? Side note: in Greg Levinsky's pre-game interview on Maine Public, he brought up that South Portland head coach Kevin Millington teaches at Windham (which I didn't know). Imagine what his week was like! Windham got a huge break when SoPo's Manny Hidalgo picked up his second foul with 5:25 left in the first quarter and had to head to the bench. And you'd think that would be a big problem for SoPo, but not only did they survive the Hidalgo bench minutes. They won them, flipping a 1-point deficit into a 2-point lead by the time he checked back in with roughly 4 minutes left in the half. Most of that was on account of Darius Johnson (13 points and 8 boards in the first half) and Gabe Jackson (10 in the first half. When Hidalgo returned, SoPo stretched the lead to 6 before Creighty Dickson hit a 3 to cut the lead to 3 at the half. And then 41 second into the second half, Hidalgo picked up his third foul when he landed on A.J. Moody. And again, they won the minutes he was on the bench. When he returned, Rob Kennedy mentioned on the broadcast that Hidalgo needed to be aware of A.J. Moody, who was on some kind of defensive heater in this one. It could have been the shoes. > AJ Moody is wearing a different color shoe on each foot and wore Jaylen Brown shoes in the Regional Final, which begs the question: how many shoes does AJ Moody have? > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [March 2, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1896011009967669738?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) A minute or so after tweeting that, I noticed that Tyrie James seemed to have the other half of these shoes, so perhaps they wear the same size shoes and decided to work together. Either way, I have questions. Back in the game, Hidalgo scored to make the lead 8, then Tyrie James hit a 3 to start an 8-0 Windham run to tie the game. It was somewhere in here that both teams locked in. > Neither of these teams is conceding a fraction of an inch > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [March 2, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1896020454848282799?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If someone grabbed a rebound, two players from the other team were trying to rip it away. If you got a breakaway layup, someone managed to catch you and turn it into a tough shot. If the ball hit the floor, someone was diving for it. Nothing was given. Everything was a battle. Everything was a dogfight. It was a lot of fun to watch courtside. With 2:38 to go, Hidalgo drove the lane and forgot to heed Rob Kennedy's warning. 0:00 /0:32 1× video courtesy of Maine Public That's Jarod Richmond on color. Then with 1:32 to play and SoPo up 1, Hidalgo picked up his 5th foul trying to steal the ball from Tyrie James. As Jarod said on the broadcast, you can't fault the hustle, but that's not the spot for it. James hit both free throws to give Windham the lead. On SoPo's next possession, A.J. Moody drew another charge, because of course he did, to foul out Tom Maloji and then scored on the other end to make the lead 3\. Sidebar: The A.J. Moody backstory for this season is significant, with him losing his father to cancer at the start of the year, so for him to be the guy making the huge plays down the stretch is so fitting and such a great story. [Windham boys basketball has faced challenges in repeat bidThe defending Class AA champions have overcome personal loss and a midseason skid to meet increased expectations and return to the title game.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-44.png)Press HeraldSteve CraigPortland Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/41323002_20250222_WindhamEL_1.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/02/28/windham-boys-basketball-has-faced-challenges-in-repeat-bid/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Neither team could score in their next trips, leaving SoPo with one last chance to tie. Creighty Dickson led the way with 16 & 7\. Tyrie James had 12 and Moody had 9 points, 4 steals, and took 3 charges. SoPo got 19 & 11 from Darius Johnson. --- At the very beginning of the year, all the way back in November, I started the coverage of the 2024-25 season with a podcast interview with Windham head coach Chad Pulkkinen. We were all so young and so rested. When you interview a coach for an hour on a podcast, you get to know them a tiny bit and as the season has progressed, I've run into Chad and his team a couple of times and gotten to know them a little more. They even dropped off a "Windham vs. Everyone" shirt to my seat on press row (and you know I love a t-shirt). So I had to complete the circle and finish the season the way I started it: talking hoops with Chad Pulkkinen. And that's a wrap. Although we're not quite done. I've got a couple of podcasts lined up this week with some newly-minted State Champs and there's the whole business of Mr. and Miss Basketball, Gatorade POTY, and everything else. But for now, get some rest. You've earned it. I also just want to say that when I started doing this all those years ago, I would hide in the stands and then I would sit way up in the corner at the ACC or up in the hockey press box at the hockey rink so no one could kick me out and now I've got a dedicated spot on press row for a State Championship game. All that's left is for them to spell my name right. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/03/image-1-1.png) ALSO Thanks to everyone who followed the LIVE Stats. The response has been overwhelming. Having said that, I'm not sure this Caribou woman is impressed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/03/image-2.png) --- Finally, I would never not include an amazing buzzer-beater. This is my solemn vow to you. > OMGGGGG!! MATYSON WILKE HALF COURT HEAVE FOR THE WIN!! UTAH WINS THE HOLY WAR 76-73 IN OT ON A PRAYER [pic.twitter.com/EYo0Zcbc6C](https://t.co/EYo0Zcbc6C?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) [March 1, 2025](https://twitter.com/NCAABuzzerBters/status/1895984137649242452?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### The Davis Mann Experience URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-davis-mann-experience/ Last updated: 2025-03-01T11:39:12.000Z In the high school basketball landscape, there's all sorts of programs. There's your perennial contenders--you know the names--teams that are *always* in the mix, teams for which 5 years without a trip to a Regional Final would have people whispering about a coaching change. And then there's programs that have been...less successful. For some, a trip to the tournament is something to celebrate instead of a birthright and the trophy might be a little bit sparse. The Hampden girls don't have the pedigree of the boys program, but I think we can safely put them in the category of perennial contenders. While they haven't taken home a Gold Ball since 1976, they've been right there nearly every year. And if you compare them to Mt. Ararat, there's no comparison, because last night was the first time a Mt. Ararat basketball team--boys or girls--had been in a State Championship game. You would think the almost week between the Regional Final and the Friday Gold Ball Game would be enough for me to catch up on my sleep and become coherent, but you would be wrong. Also I just want to say that I've been in Portland a lot lately, but every time I'm in Augusta I'm convinced the ACC is far and away the best (current) venue. The Bangor Auditorium is obviously the GOAT. Anyway, the Mt. Ararat faithful were hyped, at least until it was time to introduce Hampden's players. It seemed clear early the seeding was...accurate. Mt. Ararat, the 1 seed in the south, raced out to a 5-0 lead and Hampden's big Grace LeBree was on the bench with 2 fouls. It was a pretty rough start for the Broncos, but they were only down 5\. And when Paige Richard hit a 3 two minutes later, they were tied. Mt. Ararat pulled back out to a lead, this time 13-6, and it really looked Hampden was in a dangerous spot where Mt. Ararat could blow it open. But Katelyn Adams hit a 3 to stop the bleeding and at the half they were only down 2\. It seemed clear from the first half that Mt. Ararat was the better team, but they were struggling from the field. Really struggling. They shot 28% from the floor in the first half and 11% from 3 (that got worse) and you had to wonder what the Lawrence players in the stands were thinking. Just like the start of the game, Mt. Ararat opened the half of a 5-0 run. And just like the first quarter, Hampden got a 3, this time from Caitlin Murphy. Every time it looked like the Eagles would run away and hide, the Broncos got a big shot to stay within striking distance. But as time wound down, Hampden had to foul to stop the clock and Mt. Ararat delivered at the line. They went 12/14 in the 4th quarter to put the game away and claim the first basketball Gold Ball in school history. Julianna Allen decidedly won the battle of the bigs with 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots (and helped hold LeBree to 2). Jenna Jensen added 7 & 7\. --- As you might have heard, this Falmouth roster has 12 seniors on it, and what a run they've had. Last year's first round exit aside, they lost a heartbreaking State Championship game to Brewer by 1 in their sophomore year, and lost in the State Championship game their freshman year to a Nokomis team led by another pair of freshmen, Cooper and Ace Flagg. I wonder whatever happened to those guys? After winning a classic of a Regional Final against Noble, Falmouth entered the game as a sizable favorite and when Falmouth started the game of a 6-0 Davis Mann run that seemed like a pretty accurate read. Messo got their feet under them, but when Davis Mann stole the ball from Sean Achorn and scored his 12th point of the game, it looked like they might go on a run and put Messo away. It certainly seemed like they had a big run in them just waiting to explode. Instead, it was Messo who went on the run. The Eagles ripped off a 16-2 run to close the half with Ty Bernier scoring 7 of them and when Ryan Parent's 3 put them up 28-19 at the half, the Falmouth fans were in shock. Messo stretched the lead to 12 in the 3rd on another Bernier bucket (and, man, he made some pretty shots that are going to be lost to history). Again, it felt like Falmouth had a run in them. Billy Birks hit a 3 to cut the lead to 7, but Messo answered and took it back to double-digits. Davis Mann beat the buzzer with an and-1 play and then started the 4th quarter with a steal and dunk to cut it to 5, but Messo answered and Ty Bernier's 3 got the lead back to 11\. Mann scored again to get it back to 5, but again Messo answered and with 3 minutes left led 50-40\. Let's go to 1:28 left out of a Falmouth timeout with Messo up 53-47 with the ball. It's a 3 possession game, but as Rob Kennedy asked on the broadcast, would they get 3 more possessions? Well, Falmouth's defense got a 5 second count on the inbounds. Then Cameron found Mann for a 3 on the BLOB. Then David Gravier drew a charge on the next inbounds. Mann missed a three to tie it, but Billy Birks tracked down the offensive rebound and found Mann, who drove the lane and picked up the foul. He hit both free throws and Falmouth cut the 6 point lead to 1 in 21 seconds. Falmouth fouled Ryan Parent, who made 1 of 2, Mann missed on the other end and in a mad scramble that went all the way to the backcourt, Falmouth retained possession. Mann drove the lane and with all the attention on him, flipped the ball over his shoulder to David Gravier for a layup to tie the game. Messo called time with 20.5 seconds left and let's go to the tape. Free basketball! As you might imagine, the ACC is going nuts. As we've seen a couple of times in the tourney this year, a dramatic comeback like this can be deflating for the other team and the shortness that is overtime can make it difficult to have a very natural period of being shellshocked and have enough time to recover. Which is to say that it was all Falmouth after that. They closed the game on a 30-10 run and Davis Mann finished with 43 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and a blocked shot--a performance for the ages that had us all scrambling for the record book. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-01-at-12.12.26-AM-1.png) That Bedard game is on YouTube, by the way. Look at that mustache! Ty Bernier had 24 for the Eagles in a performance that deserved a better outcome. Parker Reynolds had 7 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. After the game, I spoke to the Mann of the Hour (sorry). I think we have to ask the question: for the second year in a row did the Mr. Basketball committee blow it and eliminate someone too soon? And what possible reason is there to go to the finalists with games left on the schedule? I get that there's the banquet already scheduled, but they couldn't meet on Sunday and announce the finalists on Monday morning? Because I think we can agree Mann has a very strong case to be a finalist. 43 in a State Game. 39 in the semi-final. A Gold Ball. Runner-up freshman and sophomore years. People have won with worse resumes. It just seems like an unforced error to not factor in the biggest game of a career. --- I'm putting Travis Lee's tweet in here because you have to see some of these late highlights. WMTW cameraman Joe Bailey did a great job. > Davis Mann's 43 points helps Falmouth beat Messalonskee in OT in 'A' championship. [@Navigatorscores](https://twitter.com/Navigatorscores?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FalmouthAD](https://twitter.com/FalmouthAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/SrFz8zD4tV](https://t.co/SrFz8zD4tV?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [March 1, 2025](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1895697389895499935?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We have 8 games left and I think it's safe to say the Live Stats have been a massive success. There's been a couple of glitches, but everyone I've talked to loves having them. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-01-at-2.50.59-AM.png) [LIVE Stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/03/game-of-the-day.jpg) The York boys have been on an impressive run the last couple of weeks, culminating with a win over then #1 Medomak Valley. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-01-at-3.04.08-AM.png) The Caribou boys have been a wagon, but were severely tested by an Orono team that botched a late game foul situation and very nearly got bailed out by a miracle heave by Will Francis. This should be a really, really good game and based on Caribou's history in Portland, the crowd will be incredibly vibrant and, well, drunk. I'm very much looking forward to this. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-01-at-3.06.55-AM.png) _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Gold Ball Games Are Here URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-gold-ball-games-are-here/ Last updated: 2025-02-28T10:57:07.000Z After the Saturday Regional Finals, I kind of just drove home and promptly slept for 13 hours. Such is the post-Regional collapse. Let's do a quick thing on the AA Regional Finals. The Oxford Hills girls entered the tournament as the #1 overall team in the Power Rankings, but if you had taken away the seeds, you'd think Cheverus was the better team. They held Oxford Hills to 28% from the floor and 19% from 3 and controlled a game that wasn't really as close as the score indicated. Kylie Lamson led Cheverus with 16\. Ella Pelletier had 17\. And Cheverus kept their title defense alive by winning ugly in a game with 47 turnovers and a Misery Rating of 69\. In the other Regional, South Portland came out hot. Annie Whitmore hit a 3 from the wing. Then Caleigh Corcoran hit a 3 from the wing. Then Mya Lawrence hit a 3 from the wing. Then Whitmore hit another 3 from the wing. And another. Lawrence hit another. At one point in this game they were shooting 70% from deep. The halftime message in the Gorham locker room was probably something along the lines of "for the love of god, will someone play defense inside the red circle?" ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-22-at-6.26.12-PM.png) South Portland finished 8/13 from distance (62%) and coasted to a win. Whitmore led the way with 18 and 6 assists. With Oxford Hills losing, the presumptive Mr. Basketball (Jamier Rose) and the presumptive Miss Basketball (Ella Pelletier) both missed the State Game, which last happened in the Davies/Gruber year. But it also means that the #1 team in the boys and girls Power Rankings entering the playoffs lost before the State Game, which is a first. --- Speaking of Mr. and Miss Basketball, the finalists are in. > Here are the finalists for the Miss & Mr Maine Basketball Awards: > Wyatt Benoit - Thornton Academy > Gabe Lash - Medomak Valley > Jamier Rose - Noble > Miss Maine Basketball Finalist: > Madelynn Deprey - Caribou > Lexi Morin - Brunswick > Ella Pelletier - Oxford Hills > Congratulations to all! > > — Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) [February 24, 2025](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME/status/1894128689194901884?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I picked 4 of these correctly. For Mr. Basketball, I had Rose, Lash, and Leo McNabb. For Miss Basketball, I had Pelletier, Deprey, and take your pick from 5 different people. One was Morin, but I won't count that. Morin, by the way, is the first Brunswick girl to be named a finalist. Rose is probably the first finalist from Noble (I should have looked that up). Deprey is believed to be the first finalist for the Caribou girls. And the other schools have all had a winner before (Oxford Hills: Julia Colby, 2020), (TA: Will Davies, 2023), (Medomak Valley: Josh Nash, 1995). They'll announce the winners at the banquet during McDonald's weekend. --- The defending champs from Windham have had a solid title defense so far this year, minus a hiccup mid-season that I incorrectly attributed to a Creighty Dickson injury (it was a Tyrie James injury, which would also be a lot to overcome). Windham used a run in the second quarter to take the lead, highlighted by a 3 at the buzzer by AJ Moody. They stretched the lead out to 10 in the third before Edward Little used a little razzle-dazzle to stage a comeback. > This doesn't happen every day... > #4 EL 25 > #2 Windham 34 mid 3rd [pic.twitter.com/m2RJRhDYY9](https://t.co/m2RJRhDYY9?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [February 22, 2025](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1893402399315780052?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They actually did this twice. It was awesome. Edward Little got it down to 4 late, which is when Windham usually closes things out at the line. Only this time, not so much. In a stretch where Windham went 2/8 from the line, Edward Little was only able to take 1 point of the Eagles' lead. Windham held on behind 16 points from Colin Janvrin off the bench. The Maiwens combined for 33 points. In the finale, South Portland used a 25-6 run to put away a feisty Bonny Eagle team and then took the air out of the ball, to bleed away the 4th quarter. Manny Hidalgo had 22 points for SoPo. In Augusta... The Valley girls blew out St. Dom's behind 18 & 9 from Liana Hartwell and 16 & 11 from Rylee Clark...The St. Dom's boys returned the favor, blowing out the Valley boys and holding Harry Louis scoreless. Jonathan Tangilamesu led St. Dom's with 13 points, 13 boards, and 2 steals...The Hall-Dale girls held Madison to 19% from the floor and got a double-double from Sierra Gibbons...Mt. Abram eliminated the defending champs behind 28 & 8 from Bryce Wilcox and 20 from Killian Pillsbury. Bingham Abbott had 23 & 11 in the losing effort. In Bangor... The Central Aroostook girls closed on a 14-4 run to stun Schenck. Lilly Burtt led the way with 12 & 7...The Schenck boys used a big 3rd quarter to put away Katahdin. Owen Wyman had 16. Scoreboard watching in Portland, I kept looking at the Mattanawcook/Penobscot Valley score and doing a double-take. The Howlers have been absolutely dominant during the tournament--the broke the record for 3s in a regional tournament in the semis--so to see them losing was a bit of a surprise. To see them down 7 was a shock. But they figured it out, holding the Lynx to 8 points in each of the final 3 quarters to survive and advance. They won by 5\. And then I looked at the Model's spread. They were favored by 3\. So they even covered. Despite only shooting 3/19 from deep. You've probably heard what happened in the nightcap. > To end the night, and the week, we had some fireworks. 152 total points from the final game of the Northern Maine regional tournament and it's the Mattanawcook Academy Lynx powering through for the win! 43 points in the loss for Quinn Pelletier. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/8geJd6ZU7b](https://t.co/8geJd6ZU7b?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [February 23, 2025](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1893524042545545421?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Kooper McCarthy had 28 in the win, but was overshadowed by Pelletier's 43\. I'm sorry. That's ***8th grader*** Quinn Pelletier going off for 43 points (and 10 rebounds) in a Regional Final. You can vote for Quinn Pelletier for high school athlete of the week, even if he isn't actually in high school yet. And as of last night, he's winning! [Vote: Who should be High School on SI National Boys Athlete of the Week? (2/24/2025)Each week during the high school sports season, High School on SI will gather the best performances across the country with the help of fans, readers and staff.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/ON_SI-Favicon_B_96x96_3-3.ico)Sports IllustratedBob Lundeberg![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/01jmta1a8a02rfdeyzwk.jpg)](https://www.si.com/high-school/national/vote-who-should-be-high-school-on-si-national-boys-athlete-of-the-week-2-24-2025-01jmt9wyr999?fbclid=IwY2xjawIt5X5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHcwhp71-Wxdwd1EUuQyAO9OwE0-im8du4nWM4l7MlGDvb7lYGx7RZJEOsQ%5Faem%5Fu7m%5FnbW4apmOdpzTLuiCQw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#pd%5Fa%5F15100553) --- Prior to the tourney, Jay Baines joined me to do my annual "Pick a Cinderella" exercise. Turns out it works much better as content with 2 people instead of one. The obvious move, then, is for Jay to come back and go over how we did. And since he was mostly in Bangor and I was only in Portland, it was helpful in doubling the perspective/games seen. We also made predictions for the State Games. Enjoy! You can watch the video. Or, let's say you have a 300-mile drive this weekend (just to pick a number for no reason), you can listen to it on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2sAE5pl4zpSCAzrSNJdPFY?si=WDp6jyXyTwStWVV6UqVGOw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Tourney Guide Gold Ball Edition is now available with updated stats for the 20 teams still left standing. [Tourney GuideAll the data![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-31.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/media-guide-bann-2.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/media-guide/) --- Thanks to the collaboration between yours truly and the MPA (what a time to be alive), I've put together individual tourney stats for every player who played in a game we have stats for (I think we missed a couple, for reasons). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-27-at-9.41.52-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-stats/) Check it out! [Tourney StatsEvery player. Every game.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-32.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/tourney-stats-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-stats/) --- Last year, we had replay available to us for end-of-game buzzer-beaters, but those are very rare, so it never came up. Which means that this year, when it was available for end-of-quarter buzzer-beaters, it quadrupled our chances. And as luck would have it, we got to use it. Matt Junker has a nice write-up in the BDN. [Maine high school basketball tournament sees ‘historic’ use of instant replayThe guidelines adopted in 2023 were used in two key tournament games over the last week, proving the efficacy of the process.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-18.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Touney-Time-Refs-Review-LCO.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/02/25/sports/maine-high-school-basketball-tournament-instant-replay/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIrQChleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHVzvw9o-J%5F0%5FrhfSyvDi6eMNtaRiYzMTFsWvg%5FO8lDATc59I4s49H6v%5F5Q%5Faem%5F9X3Jma6e7SY3JvA9Ub0B2Q&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Ace Flagg won another chip. > Proud brother moment: Cooper Flagg's younger brother won a state championship tonight 💪 > > Ace Flagg dropped 11 PTS in Greensboro Day's title triumph 👏 [pic.twitter.com/18vSZWy7xJ](https://t.co/18vSZWy7xJ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) [February 23, 2025](https://twitter.com/CBBonFOX/status/1893511541565370565?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 3 state championships in 3 different states is a pretty wild accomplishment. That might be a first? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day-14.jpg) There's not a lot of choices, but they're good choices. We've got the A Gold Ball games in Augusta. The Falmouth boys--with 12 seniors--are back in the Title Game after winning an absolute classic over Noble. They've been led by Davis Mann, who shot 51.1% from the floor in the A South Region. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-27-at-9.35.47-PM.png) Messo is a little younger. They've only got 5 seniors. They're led by Ty Bernier, who is shooting at even 50% from the floor. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-27-at-9.37.38-PM.png) Falmouth's tourney run has vaulted them to #1 overall in the Power Rankings, so they're going to be the favorite here. Maine Public will have the streaming/TV rights for these games. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-27-at-8.07.40-PM.png) [Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Falmouth Beats Noble URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/falmouth-beats-noble/ Last updated: 2025-02-22T14:54:49.000Z Regional Final Friday is always bittersweet, in a way. It's the beginning of the end of a long season and if you've been at a tourney site all week, you're both exhausted and sad that the best week of the year is almost over. Let's start at the Expo, which tipped off earlier than anyone else. The Biddeford girls were relegated to class B last year, but thanks to an influx of young talent, they made it to the Regional Final against the defending champs from Oceanside and, well, it wasn't close. The Mariners stuck around for a bit, but Biddeford ran away with it in the second half, 62-38\. Ayla Lagasse led the way with 15 & 10\. They'll face Caribou, who made short work of Erskine to win the North. Madelynn Deprey had 18 & 8 for the Vikings. Relegation will very likely look a lot different in the next cycle and a lot of people will be pointing to the Biddeford girls as Exhibit A of why it doesn't work. But for every Biddeford, there's a bunch of other teams that got relegated and won 5 0r 6 (or fewer) games in the lower class. Relegation isn't the problem. It's actually been really good state-wide. It's just needs to be tweaked going forward. That took us to the B South boys game between 20-0 Medomak Valley and 20-0 York, the first matchup of 20-0 boys teams since Ellsworth and Camden back in 2011 (hat tip, Michael Hoffer) This was a good game, even if the Medomak Valley Panther wasn't interested in hearing about York's lineup. York opened up a 7-point lead in the first half before Medomak rallied and we went into halftime tied at 20\. For all the talk of their offense, the story of this game was York's defense, which was incredible. You had to think a game played in the 40's would benefit Medomak, but York seemed to have no problems playing in that space. They gave Medomak fits on the perimeter, holding the Panther's to 7% from deep on the game. They slowly pulled out to another lead and then with a minute and a half left, Medomak got a golden opportunity. With York leading 44-37, Lukas Bouchard fouled Gabe Lash on a drive and Lash went down hard and stayed down for a couple minutes. The foul was Bouchard's 5th and he had opinions on this that the refs didn't want to hear, so he picked up a technical foul on his way to the bench. Lash was still down as all this was happening. Lash got back up, clearly in pain, and walked gingerly to the free throw line, where he proceeded to miss both free throws. And then Kristian Schumann made one of the 2 technical free throws. So instead of down 3 with the ball, they were down 6 with the ball. York got a stop and scored on the other end. Medomak missed 2 more free throws and York was able to seal the win to move to 21-0\. Bouchard led York with 16 points. Reece MacDonald added 14\. Lash had 9 points and 11 rebounds. York will face Caribou in the title game after the Vikings erased a 6-point Orono lead in the fourth quarter and I'm tired so I'll let Steve Carmichael and whoever is doing color tell you how it finished. 0:00 /1:07 1× video courtesy of WHOU They're right. This is a textbook example of using that foul you have to give. You can use it with 3 seconds left and make them reset into a much worse shot. The worst thing you can do is what Orono did and actually foul them on the shot. This is the sort of thing that makes coaches drink. And then Will Francis almost pulled off a miracle. 0:00 /0:22 1× video courtesy of WHOU Can you imagine if that went in? --- Prior to the Mt. Ararat and GNG game, the Mt. Ararat student section did the classic move of turning around for the GNG introductions. [On Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings/videos/1163838115269663), a number of people are big mad about this. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-22-at-12.00.56-AM.png) But no one is upset about the Medomak Panther reading the newspaper, which begs the question: is turning your back to the game somehow worse than reading the paper? Does the presence of a mascot somehow make it fun and thus more respectful? Is it different because it's a girl's game instead of a boy's game? Or are people just being stupid on Facebook? I'll just go on record as saying I'm in favor of nearly all student section antics within reason and this is certainly within reason. In fact, it's really mild. I would argue this guy is the most disrespectful. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/image-2-1.png) Anyway, Mt. Ararat raced out to a 15-5 lead at the end of one and were in control throughout. For a team that just barely survived in the quarterfinals, they easily and impressively dominated the Regional Final to win the first Regional Title--boys or girls--in school history. --- They'll face Hampden in the title game after the Broncos out-lasted Camden in double overtime, an ending I watched at the Expo in-between games along with a number of new friends sitting behind me and watching over my shoulder. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/IMG_1892.jpg) Camden led by 8 in the third quarter before Hamdpen rallied and needed a Maren Johnson bucket in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime and a Tallulah Marks bucket at the end of overtime to force double overtime. In the end, Hampden prevailed to end Camden's Cinderella run. > No. 3 Hampden Academy outlasts No. 4 Camden Hills in a double overtime instant classic! > > They'll take on Mt. Ararat next Friday at 6:05PM.[#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/UYg87T1MOj](https://t.co/UYg87T1MOj?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jack Webb (@Jackiemoon\_25) [February 22, 2025](https://twitter.com/Jackiemoon%5F25/status/1893167419146838081?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Eve Wiles led the Broncos with 19\. Thea Laukka had 18 points and 7 assists for the Windjammers. --- Which brings us to the Game of the Day. Falmouth and Noble split the season series, with each team winning on their home floor and Falmouth having a 1-point advantage overall. The Model had Noble by 2.2 so there was every reason to believe this would be a close game. The Expo was packed. The atmosphere was electric. The game was awesome. It was everything you'd want from a Regional Final. There were 7 lead changes and 5 ties. Some of the best players in the state making big shot after big shot. Falmouth brought a big in off the bench I don't think I'd ever seen before and he got 2 steals off Jamier Rose. And if there was any doubt about who should win Mr. Basketball, Jamier Rose ended that debate last night. He was awesome in the second half, making big play after big play, including a three to give Noble the lead with 2 and a half minutes left, a couple of OMGWTF passes, and his usual stellar defense. And on Falmouth's side, Davis Mann continued his incredible tourney run with big shot after big shot. I thought it would be hard to beat the triple overtime game between Lincoln Academy and Yarmouth, but this one did it. I actually had a spotter today, Owen, and we kept looking at each other in shock. > Noble and Falmouth should be a 7 game series > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 22, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1893117429670093071?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) With Falmouth up 4, Rose found Bryce Guitard for a clutch three with 10.6 seconds left. Falmouth's Jaxson Cameron hit both free throws to give the Navs a 3-point lead, Noble quickly advanced the ball and called time, setting up this. As someone who has friends at both schools and is neutral, we deserved overtime in this game. Davis Mann and Billy Birks each had 17 for Falmouth. Jamier Rose had 24 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals for Noble and Bryce Guitard added 20\. This was an amazing 2 year run from Noble and coach (and podcast guest) John Morgan. This was a program that lost to a 9-9 Class C team pretty recently and has now been in 2 straight Regional Finals. I'm sad that's we've got no more Jamier Rose games, but I also would have been sad that we had no more Davis Mann games. Michael Hoffer has his usual stellar writeup. [Falmouth survives Noble in epic regional finalNavigators make it three regional crowns in four seasons with an unforgettable 56-53 triumph.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-43.png)Press HeraldMichael HofferForecaster/Leader/Sentry![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/41321935_20250221_ClassASouthBoys_01.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/02/22/falmouth-survives-noble-in-epic-regional-final/?fbclid=IwY2xjawImUoBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZMVotU84SIDU%5F68PSNp1ebBjjXY6FtqBORq-8k6qApew84mRrWsmAxW6g%5Faem%5FZq2jXHn7wVHao0WyD12IpA&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Let's go to Jack Webb for some final thoughts from Augusta. > My reaction to the outstanding Class A North regional final battles we saw tonight at the ACC! 🏀 > > Can't wait for next Friday![#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/FtaX2v1Udw](https://t.co/FtaX2v1Udw?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jack Webb (@Jackiemoon\_25) [February 22, 2025](https://twitter.com/Jackiemoon%5F25/status/1893169158109483281?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day-13.jpg) Penobscot Valley has been awesome all year and I don't for a minute buy this spread. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-22-at-3.21.41-AM.png) [Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Flop Technical That Wasn't URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/t/ Last updated: 2025-02-21T12:53:57.000Z Let's start in Augusta with the drama you're definitely going to hear about if you haven't already. Rob Kennedy and BL Lippert are your announcers. 0:00 /0:37 1× video courtesy of WHOU So there's a lot here. First, to lay the backstory. In the third quarter, Mount Abram's Killian Pillsbury was called for a flop and the team was issued a flop warning, which is of course the point of emphasis rule that everyone hates. By rule, any additional flops are a team technical foul. [From the NFHS](https://www.nfhs.org/articles/flopping-addressed-in-2024-25-high-school-basketball-rules-changes/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/image-1.png) Pillsbury clearly flops again on the play above. Now, normally my rule of thumb in plays like this is that's the sort of thing you don't call in that situation because it's the ref putting a thumb on the scale in the final 2 minutes of a close game and I hate that. I want something to be egregious to call a tech in a 1-point game in the final 2 minutes But the ref did call it. Clearly. And then just...didn't. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-21-at-12.02.45-AM.png) If you want to swallow your whistle in the final 2 minutes, great. I approve. But if you're going to make a call, actually follow through on the call. This is exactly the fuel of the fire of the unruly fans that have been the scourge of our season. People are going to get mad at anything, it seems, but if you essentially call a technical foul and then don't enforce it, people are going to get VERY angry Then partly because he's getting up off the ground, Pillsbury is able to get behind the defense for the bucket that would end up being the game winner. Hall-Dale has every reason to be livid. If it was just the flop, ok, but for the flop to indirectly lead to the game-winning bucket? Oh man. That's brutal. Of course, there's a minute left in the game and the Bulldogs had chances to re-take the lead and couldn't do it and I know there's people who think that excuses a botched call, but it doesn't. This isn't the first quarter. The way the final 2 minutes of a game play out are very much dictated by time and score. If we expect 17 year old kids to understand time and score, we should expect actual adults to be able to handle it. --- After a chaotic Wednesday, the girls side of the brackets was pretty quiet. In Augusta, the St. Dom's girls opened up a 19-6 lead after 1 and did enough to hang on and eliminate Forest Hills in a 3 over 2 upset (although the Model had St. Dom's by 0.027). [St. Dom’s girls basketball starts strong, ousts Forest HillsThe third-seeded Saints start fast and use a strong third quarter to beat the No. 2 Tigers, 54-49.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/icon-apple-touch-sm-2.jpg)Lewiston Sun JournalNathan FournierSun Journal![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20250220_07hoops-1740078085.jpg)](https://www.sunjournal.com/2025/02/20/st-doms-girls-basketball-beats-forest-hills-to-reach-d-south-final/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Up in Bangor, Penobscot Valley continued to lay waste to girls C North with an 86-26 win over #5 Calais in which Rylee Moulton set a new tournament record with 9 threes (on 16 attempts) as part of her game-high 34 points. > Howlers move on! > Rylee Moulton - Nine Three Pointers > Team Record - 15 Three Pointers > Tournament Team Record - 25 Three Pointers and counting [pic.twitter.com/wChmPwjxFT](https://t.co/wChmPwjxFT?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ben Barr (@BenBarrTV) [February 20, 2025](https://twitter.com/BenBarrTV/status/1892699829073064002?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) As you can see in Ben Barr's tweet, they also broke the team record for 3's in a game with 15 and the team record for a regional tournament with 25\. And they still have another game to play. In other action: Calvin Richardson's 24 led Katahdin past Central Aroostook...Brayden Osborne's 24 helped Schenck eliminate the champs from Bangor Christian...Madeline Hill had 20 as Valley blitzed Pine Tree...Jade Graham's had 17 and Hall-Dale raced out to a 27-4 lead against Winthrop...Jacob Harmon's 17 & 10 paced Monmouth past Madison...Mattanawcook needed all of Megan House's 16 to outlast Dexter...The Madawaska boys kept their dream season alive with a win over Calais. Isaac Beaulieu led the way with 14...Andrew Oliver's 21 was more than enough for Mattanawcook to handle Fort Kent. --- In the long, storied history of Class AA, we've only twice had a boys 1 seed lose in the semi-finals. All the rest have made it to at least the Regional Final. Yesterday, that number doubled. In the early session, Edward Little opened up a 9-point lead on Cheverus in the second quarter on a Diing Maiwen 3\. Cheverus answered with an 8-0 punctuated with a Leo McNabb 3\. In the third quarter, Edward Little opened with their own 8-0 run and, again, Cheverus answered, tying the game at 37 on a Shema Rwaganje put-back. Akol Maiwen's steal and dime to Diing Maiwen gave the Eddies the lead back. Diing Maiwen got out in transition up four, but couldn't finish at the rim, Cheverus raced down the floor, and Leo McNabb hit a clutch 3 with 40 seconds left to cut the lead to 1\. All game, we'd been waiting for the Diing Maiwen highlight reel play and he'd had a couple of opportunities that he hadn't been able to convert. With a minute left, he got out in transition up four, but couldn't finish at the rim, Cheverus raced down the floor to set up Leo McNabb for a clutch 3 to get Cheverus within 1\. And then, with the season on the line, he delivered. 0:00 /0:18 1× video courtesy of WHOU McNabb missed an off-balance 3 on the other end, AJ Lauture was tied up with 0.3 on the clock, which as you know, is the minimum for a catch and shoot. Could Cheverus find McNabb to send the game to overtime? Nope. Edward Little pulls off the upset and the first 1 seed bites the dust. In the later session, the ["cellar dwellers"](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/02/10/bonny-eagle-boys-basketballs-upset-win-worth-a-aa-home-court-quarterfinal/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) from Bonny Eagle showed up with signs and a chip on their shoulder. They came out motivated, holding TA to 10% from the floor in the first quarter and stretched out to a 23-10 lead late in the second quarter. It was a steady diet of Bonny Eagle's 2 bigs, 6'8" Brody Taylor and 6'9" Max Bouchard, as the Scots controlled both ends of the floor all night and if you didn't know the seeds, you would assume Bonny Eagle was the 1 seed. It just never felt like TA was going to win the game. Down the stretch, there wasn't a ton of urgency. Out of a timeout with roughly a minute left, Bonny Eagle drew up a play where Bouchard found Taylor for a layup that TA seemed completely unprepared for to go up 7 and TA seemed resigned to their fate after that, sort of going through the motions of late game situations. More than one person on media row said some version of "what are they doing?" And then Bonny Eagle ended the game with a punctuation mark (that didn't count). Brody Taylor finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds. If you like big guys dominating on the block, this Bonny Eagle shot chart is right up your alley. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-20-at-9.13.54-PM.jpeg) The biggest winners here are Windham and South Portland, both of whom handled their business and find themselves as favorites to meet in the Gold Ball Game. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-21-at-1.00.44-AM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- There was a scary situation in Bangor. [Player helped off court by EMTs after collision during Bangor tournament gameThe Mattanawcook Academy player dove for a loose ball and collided with a Dexter player, and was down on the court for around 20 minutes.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-17.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker, Larry Mahoney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/NoTourney010821-C-LCO-1.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/02/20/sports/mattanawcook-academy-player-injured-tournament-game/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIkqOtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHTvr2cj9ZDTNCWeL9SMWE7xpQc7IPVSaPHEKrlUqOMPw4CnkmhmzHgd%5FLw%5Faem%5FjJZGHX8mBtFh3AdCLhOa4Q&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Hopefully she's ok. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day-12.jpg) There's a lot of good options for Game of the Day. York and Medomak are both 20-0! Messo and Hampden! Oceanside and Biddeford! Can the Camden girls keep the dream alive? Can Mt. Ararat get over the hump against GNG? There's not a bad game on the docket. But the Game of the Day features two of the best players in the state. Falmouth's Davis Mann had a monster game in the semifinals against Fryeburg, shooting 68% from the floor en route to 39 points. They'll take on Noble and the presumptive Mr. Basketball, Jamier Rose. They split the season series. Noble won by 2 at home. Falmouth won by 3 at home. Who will win on a neutral floor? I'm not sure, but I wouldn't miss it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-21-at-12.57.59-AM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-21-at-12.57.59-AM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Going Full Tournament URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/going-full-tournament/ Last updated: 2025-02-20T13:27:50.000Z There's a day every year in the tournament when the tournament goes full tournament and gets nuts. Sometimes it's in prelims. Sometimes it's the first day of quarterfinals. Sometimes it's the Regional Finals, but there's always a day when it gets nuts. You see it in our tourney. You see it in March Madness. It's inevitable. Yesterday, the tournament got nuts. And it got nuts quickly. --- Let's start in the morning where the Wisdom and Central Aroostook girls are tied at 34 with 8.2 seconds to play. Let's go to the tape! 0:00 /0:29 1× video courtesy of WHOU That's Charlie Pierce with the game winner! Or not. As you can see in the screenshot below, the ball was clearly still in her hands. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-19-at-10.52.08-PM.png) The officials went to the tape and correctly waived off the shot. Replay worked! Here's where it gets fun: she got fouled. If you read some of the chatter online, people were wondering why they used replay to award a foul and not, say, other things. Well, they didn't. And they can't. If we advance a few more frames, you can see the official has clearly raised a fist to indicate a foul in real time. So the shot is no good, but the foul stands. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-19-at-10.55.19-PM.png) I'm honestly not 100% clear on exactly how the foul at the buzzer works in regards to replay and whether that can reviewed. My guess is it cannot. So Charlie Pierce went out by herself with the game on the line. Central Aroostook--who, [according to the Live Stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/), only played 5 players--was led by Lily Burtt with 16 --- The D North girls was one of my picks for Region of Death, with all 4 remaining teams having at least a 20% chance of winning the region, according to the [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/). So it wasn't a shock to look at the updates coming from Bangor that showed the #1 seeded Bangor Christian Patriots on the ropes after Schenck put together an 8-0 run in the third quarter. Bangor Christian would answer with their own 8-0 run and Schenck would answer that with their own 7-0 to put the game out of reach and there went our second 1 seed. Matt Junker of the BDN has a write-up. [Schenck girls oust top-seeded Bangor Christian in D North semisThe win was one of the biggest knockouts of the statewide basketball tournament thus far.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-16.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/BC-Schenck-Girls-Semi-C-LCO.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/02/19/tourney%5Ftime%5F2025/schenck-girls-oust-top-seeded-bangor-christian-in-d-north-semis/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- At the Expo, the Mt. Ararat student section decided the introductions of their rivals from Brunswick was a perfect time to catch up on current events. Mt. Ararat started slowly in the quarterfinals and they were sure to not do that again. They went out to a 16-5 lead on the defending champs before Eva Harvie hit a 3\. Brunswick would then get it down to 4 at the end of a pretty chippy first half. Brunswick tied the game, but Mt. Ararat scored the final 8 points to eliminate the champs. Julianna Allen led all scorers with 19. The Eagles will play GNG after the Patriots' Abbey Steele hit 6 straight free throws to fend off a Marshwood rally. Ella Kenney scored 20 to lead the Patriots. Sarah Theriault had 14 & 8 for Marshwood. --- Back in the peak days of A North, when the region had 12-13 teams, it had a regular habit of chaos. Seven seeds were routinely in the Regional Final and it seemed like anyone could beat anyone anytime. And they very often did. It's not quite like that anymore, but much like an aging superstar, A North can dig deep every so often and bring it. And Wednesday A North brought it. First, the Hampden girls held Cony to 22% from the floor in the second half and Aubrey Shaw went 4/4 from the line in the final minute to help Broncos oust the defending A North champs. That's a minor upset. The Camden girls pulled off a major upset. The Lawrence girls were one of the 7 remaining unbeaten teams in the state. They entered yesterday 3rd in the state in scoring, 4th in point differential, and 3rd in %Perfect. You could make a strong argument that they were the most dominant team in the state and had the front-runner for next year's Miss Basketball race in Maddy Provost. You could make that argument and I don't think anyone would argue with you outside of Penobscot Valley or Oxford Hills. Well...Camden Hills didn't care about any of that. And perhaps more importantly, was starting to get healthy. The Windjammers started fast, opening up a lead and holding Lawrence to 18% from the floor in the first quarter. At the half, they had a 6 point lead and people started talking. They pushed the lead to 13 after 3, partly because Lawrence shot 13% from 3 in the first three quarters. They led by 15 with 4 and a half to play and you had to think Lawrence would make a push--and they did. Lily Gray hit a three to cut it to 11\. Then another one to cut it to 7\. Maddie Provost hit a 3 to cut it to 6\. But Camden held on. They made 16 free throws in the 4th quarter, including 11 straight over the final 2:45\. Clutch. > Girls Class A North Semifinal > #4 Camden Hills 64 > #1 Lawrence 56 > Final > Camden Hills takes down previously undefeated Lawrence![@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/YYv3bzG4E6](https://t.co/YYv3bzG4E6?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [February 19, 2025](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/1892334868651995267?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Mike Mandell has a write-up. They led wire-to-wire! [In stunner, Camden Hills girls basketball ousts LawrenceThe Windjammers lead the previously undefeated Bulldogs from wire to wire in a Class A North semifinal win.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-42.png)Press HeraldMike MandellKennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/41305932_20250219_lawrencecamden_0y026.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/02/19/camden-hills-girls-basketball-ousts-lawrence-in-stunner/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIjlUVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZ9B95aCVLnnavTy%5Fn9vQ1LeDx%5Fg5Q9JaO3mPO-f-v88zFu1Kvimo5A1mQ%5Faem%5FOaVYKCUWVGZWdGMt4DjJfA&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- And that took us to the evening session. In the first game, Falmouth made short work of Fryeburg. Davis Mann had 39 points and shot 68% from the floor and Fryeburg had absolutely no answer for him. Since the game wasn't close, I tried to come up with solutions. > Ways to stop Davis Mann, a working list: > > foul him > leave his teammates open so he passes > tie his shoes together > throw blood on his jersey > tell him the wrong time for the game > learn to impersonate his voice and trick the refs into a tech > get so far behind they take him out > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 19, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1892362401565024671?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In the end, Fryeburg used the last one. There was a lot of excitement at the Expo for the showdown between Jamier Rose and Theo Pow, which initially didn't live up to the billing. Noble sold out of stopping Pow, face-guarding him for most of the first half. It was effective. He got credit for a tip-in that I'm not sure was him and didn't have a real field goal attempt until he got a steal with 30 seconds left in the first half. But his teammates kept them in the game. In the third, Cole Perkins tied the game at 40 and it was tied at 44 after three quarters. Meanwhile, Jamier Rose was doing Jamier Rose things, flinging full-court passes and emerging from nowhere for a steal, and flying into the paint for an acrobatic layup. You really want to see him in person. It's so much fun. Noble pulled away for the win. Rose had 21 points and 8 assists. Bryce Guitard added 22\. And the Knights held Pow to 8 FGA. That sets up a Regional Final between Falmouth and Noble that projects to be awesome. I would highly recommend getting yourself to the Expo. --- Back in Augusta, Camden nearly pulled off the extremely rare double upset behind a massive performance from Nolan Ames. > No 1\. Messalonskee overcomes heroic performance from Nolan Ames, they beat No. 5 Camden Hills to advance to Fridays Class A North title game where they'll take on No. 2 Hampden Academy. > > Ames scored 36 for [@CamdenHillsBB](https://twitter.com/CamdenHillsBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), recording his 1000th point in the process. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/36Lqh4Z3fF](https://t.co/36Lqh4Z3fF?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jack Webb (@Jackiemoon\_25) [February 20, 2025](https://twitter.com/Jackiemoon%5F25/status/1892442967735964128?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Ames put up 36, grabbed 12 rebounds, had 2 steals, and blocked 2 shots. Having seen him play a couple of times this year, I can't say I'm surprised. He's awesome. Messo won by 2 to survive and advance. Ty Bernier led Messo with 22\. Is it too early to start talking about Mr. Basketball 2026 and is it Nolan Ames? Elsewhere Kaymen Sargent had 16 as Caribou beat MDI...Will Francis' 24 helped the defending champs advance to another Regional Final...Aiden Kochendoerfer had 19 as Hampden held Oli Higgins to 6 in a win...Madelynn Deprey scored 18 in Caribou's win over what's left of Ellsworth...Kelsie Dunn's 17 led Erskine to their first Regional Final in 32 years...Harry Louis dropped 27 on Buckfield...St. Dom's got 15 from John Brocke to beat Telstar....Logan Doughty had 21 in Gorham's win over Sanford ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day-11.jpg) The Windham boys have been one of the best teams in the state all year, but have struggled down the stretch. I suspect that's injury related and the question is if they're back at full strength It's the #1 scoring offense vs. the #1 scoring defense in AA. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-20-at-12.59.50-AM.png) [Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Oceanside at the Buzzer URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/oceanside-at-the-buzzer/ Last updated: 2025-02-19T12:04:12.000Z The girls side of Medomak Valley/Oceanside rivalry has been unbalanced for...a while. Even before the Bailey Breen run, Oceanside has had the better of the matchup, winning the previous 15 games in the series (per Don Shields). The Panthers had gotten close several times, including the game late this year in Rockland when they squandered a late lead. Early in yesterday's semifinal game, it looked like Oceanside would coast to their 16th straight, building a 17-6 lead capped with an Aubri Hoose three. The Panthers responded with a 13-0 run, fueled largely by Claudia Feely and a couple of threes from Audrey Jackson. The teams went back and forth in the third quarter, then Medomak built the lead out to 11 at 44-36\. But you knew Oceanside wouldn't go quietly. They chipped away at the lead, but after Renee Ripley fouled out and Medomak still led by 8 with under 2 minutes to go, the door seemed to be closing on Oceanside's season. But then Abby Stackpole found just enough room for a three to cut it to 5\. Medomak turned it over and Stackpole hit another 3 to cut it to 1\. Medomak freshman Sienna Lee answered off an assist from Kytana Williamson, giving Oceanside one last chance. Let's go to the tape. Oceanside would win it in overtime. For a Medomak program that's only been to 1 Regional Final, this is as gut-wrenching a loss as you'll see. Stackpole finished with 18 (she was 4/9 from 3), as did Aubri Hoose. Audrey Jackson had 13 & 8 for the Panthers. Oceanside will continue their title defense against Biddeford, who built an 18-point lead in the first half against Spruce Mountain and clamped down on defense, holding the Phoenix to 15% from deep. The very young Tigers will go for their first-ever Regional Title on Friday and based on what they've shown this week, it could be the first of several. --- The Winthrop faithful had to feel pretty confident going into their quarterfinal matchup with Buckfield. They'd won 12 of their last 13 to end the regular season, including wins over Maranacook and Hall-Dale. They were [Jay Baines' Cinderella pick to win the region](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YluPo8sSRRs&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and the Model had them as a 5-point favorite, which is on the high side for a 4/5 game. So imagine the surprise of the fan who got to the Augusta Civic Center late to find their team down 17-2\. Not great! Somehow, the Ramblers found some magic in that school bus. A 9-0 run got them back in the game, but at the half, they still trailed by 10\. Then Sarae Devoe's 3 put them behind by 13 and it must have felt bleak. So what did they do? The closed the game on a 23-2 run to stun Buckfield. They held them without a made basket for the final 15 and a half minutes of the game, because when the 8th best scoring defense in the state locks in, they LOCK IN. They face Hall-Dale in the semifinals. The Bulldogs held off a pesky, 9th seeded Poland team behind 20 points and 9 rebounds from Torie Tibbetts and 17 from Jade Graham. Poland got 19 from Charlotte Grenier in the loss. Over on the other side of the bracket, Madison easily handled Monmouth behind 24 points from Mackenzie Robbins. They face a 10th seeded Dirigo team that no one picked to be the Cinderella in C South, but here we are. They won in convincing fashion over Carrabec, 43-26\. Abigail Luczynski led the way with 18\. Let's take a look at the updated Gold Ball Odds. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-19-at-1.39.34-AM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) I don't know if I've ever seen a 10 seed at 11% to win the region after the quarterfinals. --- Last year in Bangor, one of the stories of the tourney was the Mount View boys and their run from the 7 seed. Well, for a while yesterday, it looked like the Mount View boys and girls might both blow up their brackets. The girls led by 8 with 4 minutes left before Calais erupted with a 17-3 run to stun the Mustangs. Kayleigh Scott scored 9 of her 14 points over that stretch to snatch victory. Calais will play Penobscot Valley next after they obliterated Central. The Mount View boys raced out to a 12-2 over Mattanawcook, but a 10-point lead is not safe against the highest-scoring team in the state, even if it did take them until 5:00 left in the third quarter to even the score on True Weatherbee 3-point play and the Lynx pulled away down the stretch to send the Mustangs back to Thorndike. Kooper McCarthy led the way with 17\. They'll face Fort Kent in the semifinals who beat Hodgdon behind 31 points and 9 rebounds from Aiden Jeffers --- And that brings us back to the Expo after a long enough break to actually go get food. There are 7 unbeaten teams left across the state and if I was a lot less tired, I'd try and figure out just how frequently 18-0 teams win a Gold Ball, but what I can tell you with absolute certainty is that at least one of them won't because, as I'm sure you know, York and Medomak Valley are in the same region. The other 5 are: Mattanawcook boys, Valley boys, Lawrence girls, Penobscot Valley girls, and Valley girls. The York/Spruce semifinal was up first. The Wildcats opened up an early 6-point lead, but Spruce answered with an 8-2 run ending in a Hunter Buote 3 at the buzzer to tie it after 1\. The second quarter was the Reece MacDonald and Lukas Bouchard show, as they accounted for all 16 of York's points. Bouchard's size, especially, gave Spruce trouble in the post. Add to that Spruce going ice cold from the floor in the quarter (18%) and York went into the half with a 7-point lead. And the game more or less stayed in the 5-11 point range the rest of the way. There was a bit of controversy in the second half where the officials gave what everyone assumed was a Lukas Bouchard foul to Reece MacDonald. The table checked with the official and he clarified that MacDonald hacked Cai Dougher's arm prior to Bouchard bodying him, but when Bouchard then picked up his 4th foul, the entire Spruce bench assumed he had fouled out. He had not. I'm not saying the call was correct, but it was intentional. Anyway, Spruce couldn't put together enough buckets to pull off the upset. York's defense held them to 29.1% from the floor to advance to the Regional Final. MacDonald had 24 to lead the way and Bouchard added 17 & 12\. In the nightcap, Medomak Valley faced a Lincoln Academy team still without their 3rd leading scorer, Terry Welle (ankle). Led by the Hunt twins, the Eagles have really found an identity this year as the sort of pesky, scrappy team you don't want to play. They fly around and create havoc and when they're clicking, they're dangerous. So when they took a 10-9 lead on an EJ Hunt 3, there were murmurs in the Medomak section. And then Medomak's defense locked in, holding the Eagles scoreless for over 8 minutes before Roan Donaghy hit a corner 3\. Much like the York game, the second half stayed in the 7 to 15 range as Lincoln Academy just wouldn't go away. ![](https://media.tenor.com/WYHZh1kR5VUAAAAC/rounders-hanging-around.gif) You might even say they had alligator blood. Only, they didn't find Medomak's tell. So maybe it's not a great reference to use. In the end, Medomak took care of business, including this punctuation mark that I want to point out didn't draw a dunk technical. Credit where credit is due. 0:00 /0:15 1× video courtesy of WHOU Lash finished with 17\. Rocco DePatsy had a huge game down low with 18 & 7\. Drew Hunt led Lincoln Academy with 16\. And now we've got 2 20-0 teams in a Regional Final. Should be fun! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day-10.jpg) The AA playoffs are back on after their hiatus. Today the girls are at the hockey rink. Edward Little has the best scoring defense in AA North at 36.4 points a game. They'll take on a Cheverus team that leads AA in scoring offense at 55.3 points a game. Offense vs. Defense. You know the drill. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-19-at-1.29.35-AM.png) [Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Mt. Ararat Rallies URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/mt-ararat-rallies/ Last updated: 2025-02-18T12:41:08.000Z Let's start with the Game of the Day. On January 21st, the Machias boys beat Calais by 1\. So if you're Calais, you had to come into a rematch in the quarterfinals thinking you've got a better chance than a typical 7 seed. And boy, did they. They led most of the way in a game where no one led by more than 6 and there were 11 ties in regulation, the 11th coming at the buzzer on a bucket by Calais' Frank Miliano. Calais hung on to win by 1 and complete the upset. Last year's C North 7 seed went all the way to the Gold Ball game. Does Calais have that in them? --- Speaking of overtime, the defending class D champs from Bangor Christian won in overtime in a game where they did not have the lead for one second of regulation. [Bangor Christian boys never led until overtime. They still managed to ‘claw back’ a win.The boys’ unlikely 52-48 victory followed a 33-21 win for the Bangor Christian girls earlier in the day.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-15.png)Bangor Daily NewsMatt Junker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Reed-Celebration.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/02/17/sports/bangor-christian-boys-win-over-lee-academy/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIgkiRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHcWWTZrEyT5-XyP9ufiQmDShdaUqlSgEuRKExy9sbtYK78XAC6YLnxRRAQ%5Faem%5FR7e5dzsx6uphXrwOz19cdA&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And Rajon Reed, who's been putting up highlight reel material all year, had another one. > For Day 3 of Tourney '25- Bangor Christian's Rajon Reed had one of the most memorable blocks from my time watching the tourney. Up 2 in OT, Reed does his best King James impression and pins the would-be game tying layup to the glass! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@Jackiemoon\_25](https://twitter.com/Jackiemoon%5F25?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/lRcxDMoDVe](https://t.co/lRcxDMoDVe?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [February 18, 2025](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1891712368700264682?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- At the Expo, Izzy Morelli had 21, including her 1,000th point as GNG handled Kennebunk easily. > Congratulations to Izzy Morelli, who scored her 1000th point today against Kennebunk! > > Izzy is a standout student-athlete. She is a semifinalist for Miss Maine Basketball and is the class of 2025 valedictorian. > > Well done, Izzy! 👏 [#PatriotPride](https://twitter.com/hashtag/PatriotPride?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/c7pXjGwoDD](https://t.co/c7pXjGwoDD?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — GNG Athletics (@GNG\_AD) [February 17, 2025](https://twitter.com/GNG%5FAD/status/1891585387178406394?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They'll face Marshwood in the semifinals. The Hawks' Isabelle Tice had the sort of shooting luck you have nightmares about. She missed her first 12 shots and I was starting to wonder if someone at Greely had a voodoo doll with her face on it, but like any good player who's shot won't go down, she found other ways to contribute. She was fantastic all over the floor. She had 8 steals and controlled the game. Eventually, she hit some shots and Marshwood was able to pull away in the 4th quarter. Renee St. Pierre led the Hawks with 12 off the bench. --- Madison's Jacob Linkletter had himself a half. > Halftime of Boys C South Quarterfinal: > #3 Carrabec 13 > #6 Madison 29 > > Jacob Linkletter with SIX three pointers in the first half! He's at 20 Points shooting 70% from the field![https://t.co/N9RKBgMdbB](https://t.co/N9RKBgMdbB?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)[@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — MPA ACC Basketball Site (@mpaACCbbsite) [February 17, 2025](https://twitter.com/mpaACCbbsite/status/1891600822657531909?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Madison would go on to complete the upset. Can I just say that for a data nerd like myself, it's been super fun having the live stats from all three venues. The Augusta site is posting shooting percentages and I'm scoreboard watching from Portland. > FREE BASKETBALL IN BANGOR[https://t.co/XTCl4GIlil](https://t.co/XTCl4GIlil?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/rOfdaUwY1E](https://t.co/rOfdaUwY1E?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 17, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1891558087997235522?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Madawaska boys have been one of the nicer stories of the season, going 17-1 and punching their first ticket to the tournament in 14 years. Last night, they beat Dexter to win their first quarterfinal game since 2006, back in the old Bangor Auditorium. Eastern Maine Sports spoke to coach Shawn Pelletier after the game. Madawaska has never won in the semifinals. Can they beat Calais and make their first-ever Regional Final? The Model likes their chances. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-18-at-1.56.51-AM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- Thanks to some bad injury luck, the Brunswick girls this year were over-qualified to be a 5 seed. The Model thought they should be the 4 seed--even with all the injuries--and with fewer injuries they could have potentially been a top 3 seed. They came into tournament, if not fully healthy, then healthier against a 4th seeded Freeport team with a M\*A\*S\*H triage unit on their bench. You see, the Falcons limped into the tournament without 3 starters and both of their captains. Even if you didn't know all that, it was apparent early in the game that this was not your normal 4/5 game. The defending champs raced out to an 11-4 lead and led 25-10 at halftime. It would have been considerably worse if not for Freeport's Emily Groves who blocked 10 Brunswick shots. The Dragons kept their title defense alive with a dominant win behind 16 points from Lexi Morin and 17 rebounds from Julianna Morin. Which left the Expo with three clunkers of games and only a couple of 1/8 games left and a real risk of getting a full day of blowouts. But the Basketball Gods had other ideas. Early in the season, A South looked like a Region of Death caliber bracket, but the Mt. Ararat girls separated themselves from the pack by winning their final 11 games, including a 13-point win on the road against the 8th seeded Westbrook Blue Blazes, a team that finished 3-8 over their last 11\. Mt. Ararat was favored by 25 points, as they should have been. But the Basketball Gods wouldn't let us have 4 bad games in a row. After Mt. Ararat had an early 3-2 lead, Westbrook ripped off a 15-2 run, breathing life into the Expo crowd for the first time all day. Westbrook was flying all over the place. The Expo was rocking. And the Mt. Ararat faithful were in shock. Cali Pomerleau hit a 3 to stop the bleeding and the Eagles chipped away at the lead until Julianna Allen converted a traditional 3-point play in the final seconds of the half to cut the lead to 2\. Then Jenna Jensen scored to give Mt. Ararat the lead and you could feel the upset slipping away. But no one told Westbrook. They erupted for a 20-4 run to build a 17-point lead. Then with 2 minutes left in the third, Kennedy Lampert hit a 3\. Then she scored off a Julianna Allen assist. Then Allen scored and at the end of the 3rd, the Westbrook lead was down to 8\. Allen's 7th point of the 4th quarter gave Mt. Ararat their first lead since it was 3-2 and the Eagles held on for dear life down the stretch and escaped with a 51-50 win. They closed the game with a 24-6 run. Allen finished with 16 points and 3 blocked shots. Ava Bolden had 10 off the bench for Westbrook. --- In the Portland nightcap, we had the Noble boys facing Marshwood in a re-scheduled game from Saturday. This one turned into a rock fight in the 2nd quarter when each team made one (1) basket in a 3-2 quarter. It was rough. Noble woke up in the 3rd quarter as Bryce Guitard had 9 points in the quarter and Jamier Rose had 4 assists. The Knights advanced to the semifinals behind 17 from Guitard and a 12/6r/8a/5s line from Jamier Rose with a couple of highlight reel plays, just for fun. If you haven't seen Rose in person yet, it's worth the trip to the Expo. --- In other action... The Schenck girls used a balanced attack to outlast Shead...The Mattanawcook girls got 23 & 10 from Addison Cyr and 23 from Megan House to blowout Machias...The Dexter girls held Fort Kent to 18 to pull off a 3/6 upset...The Schenck boys got 18 & 13 from Owen Wyman and beat Southern Aroostook by 10...The Southern Aroostook girls played their first ever game at the Cross Insurance Center in their road uniforms and fell to Bangor Christian...Allie Dunning's 18 led Forest Hills over Vinalhaven...Charlie Apodaca's 23 got St. Dom's past Temple...Islesboro's Alma Bewsher's 21 wasn't enough to give them their first ever tourney win. They fell to Chantal Mbonimpa and Pine Tree....Monmouth beat Madison in a slugfest to keep their title defense alive...Hall-Dale put up a 28-point first quarter and crushed Richmond...Reagan Lockaby's 23 led Mount Abram over Dirigo. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day-9.jpg) The B South semifinals are today at the Expo and they should be awesome. Three of the 4 games have a Stax Index over 85 and the 4th is a rivalry game between Medomak and Lincoln Academy. But the Game of the Day is the Biddeford and Spruce Mountain girls. Biddeford is 5th in the Power Rankings and the 4 seed, which makes them the strongest 4 seed I can remember, in any class. And they're also incredibly young. If they don't win the region this year, they'll be a contender in the new class A for the next couple of years. Spruce Mountain is back in the semifinals after surviving an overtime thriller against Lincoln Academy, an impressive bit of composure for a young team. The consensus seems to be that Biddeford is a strong favorite, but the Model thinks this is more or less a toss-up. This should be an awesome game. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-18-at-2.05.28-AM.png) [Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Saturday Quarterfinal Madness URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/saturday-quarterfinal-madness/ Last updated: 2025-02-17T11:21:18.000Z What a day. I usually don't start falling apart until the end of the tournament, but this year, my voice decided to bail on Day 2\. As you can see, it started to go when I got to the Expo, was trash by the end of the first game, and was completely gone by noon. So if you were thinking there might be a new podcast to listen to, the answer is nope. --- On to the games. Let's go through the day. At the Expo, the Oceanside girls handled York rather easily, holding the Wildcats to 1/21 from 3 (4.8%) while they shot 41.7% and I don't need to tell you it's hard to beat those odds. The better news for the defending champs was the return of Renee Ripley after missing a couple of games with a finger injury. If the Mariners are going to make a deep tournament run, she'll be an essential piece to the puzzle. Up in Bangor, the Wisdom girls trailed Ashland by 7 at the half, but locked down the Hornets on defense in the second half. Addison LaBelle led the Hornets with 19 points and 9 rebounds. But it wasn't enough to finish off Wisdom. They got an interesting game from Ava Lerman who struggled from the floor, to put it nicely. She shot 2 of 18 from the field, but made her impact at the line, hitting 18 of her 20 FTA. > Ava Lerman is our player of the game. The junior had 22 points, including going 18-20 from the free throw line to lead Wisdom to a 45-36 quarterfinal win over Ashland on February 15th. [pic.twitter.com/dqcGDFbz9t](https://t.co/dqcGDFbz9t?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Eastern Maine Sports (@EasternMESports) [February 15, 2025](https://twitter.com/EasternMESports/status/1890787154516676837?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Those 18 made free throws are a new tourney record, breaking the previous mark of 17 by Tate Dolly of Machias all the way back in 2018\. The other classes are: Class C: Colleen Huff (Greenville) - 17 (1981) Class B: Emily Wheaton (Presque Isle) - 15 (2016) Class A: Cindy Blodgett (Lawrence) - 16 (1994) You know you've had a good day when you do something in the tourney that even Cindy Blodgett never did. --- The Wiscasset boys couldn't have been thrilled as the Heal Points shook out in the final days of the regular season, as they fell to the 6 seed and a quarterfinal matchup with a Telstar team that beat them 71-33 on January 29th. Teams and fans can talk themselves into anything, but you'd rather not play the team that just beat you by 38\. The Wolverines held tough early, but when Telstar went on a 10-2 run at the end of the first half, they could have folded. People would have understood. But Landin Shirey hit a 3 to stop the run and they went into the half down 7\. Telstar stretched the lead to 11 on a Jonathan Marshall bucket. Wiscasset rallied and Telstar pushed the lead back to double-digits. Early in the 4th, Wiscasset used an 8-0 run to tie the game. Wiscasset took the lead late on a Jevar Garricks free throw, but Brody Morgan sent the game to overtime with a bucket in the final seconds. Telstar pulled away in the extra period, 74-67\. Brody Morgan finished with 29 and Reiley Hedden had 26, including going 6/12 from 3\. Landin Shirey led Wiscasset with 20\. --- In the 10:30 games, Medomak Valley took care of Leavitt. Chloe Fox had 13 & 11 for the Panthers. St. Dom's had 4 players in double figures to eliminate Jaxson Desjardins (24 points) and Forest Hills. And Central Aroostook handled the Jonesport-Beals girls. Harleigh Allen and Lilly Burtt each had 20\. They got the sweep in the boys game behind 19 points and 11 rebounds from Jahleel Joseph. The Valley girls crushed Waynflete, which brought us to Biddeford. --- There's a couple of teams who don't play anyone in their region. The Biddeford girls are one of them. They don't even play anyone in Class B. This is a quirk of relegation that probably needs to be ironed out. They were relegated for a good reason, but if you'd talk to people in southern Maine, they'd tell you they had talent coming, and boy were they right. They're young and they're talented. 84% of their minutes Saturday came from sophomores and freshmen. 84%! The rest of B South will be glad to see them go back to A next year. Anyway, Wells had a tough draw ahead of them Saturday and actually took a 1-point into the locker room at the half. And in the second half, Mia Mariello took over. She hit three straight 3s as part of a 14-4 run in the second half. She finished with 18\. Megyn Mertens led Wells with 18 & 8\. They'll advance to the semifinals where they'll play Spruce Mountain, but just barely. The Phoenix have been to two straight B South Regional Finals, but they almost didn't make it out of the quarterfinals, as #9 Lincoln Academy gave them everything they could handle. The Eagles came out in a full-court press and they were everywhere, forcing turnovers and building a 10-point lead. And then Maddie Grimaldi got hot from deep, knocking down 3s to get Spruce back in the game. The Phoenix would get close, even tie the game a few times, but always Lincoln would answer, usually in the form of a steal and bucket in transition or a big shot from Mariam DeLisle (she finished with 28). Meanwhile, Spruce's Avery Bessey had yet to make a basket. And the record-holder for most 3's made in a B South tournament came alive. She hit a 3 with 4 minutes left to give Spruce their first lead since the first quarter, then another one to give them the lead again with a minute left. And that looked like it was going to be the game winner, until... That's Chloe Anderson with the steal and equalizer. Lincoln Academy ran out of magic in the overtime period and Spruce Mountain advanced to a date with Biddeford. That sets up a really interesting B South girls semifinal. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-16-at-6.02.08-PM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- In the afternoon games, Connor Edwards hit 1,000 points. He had 26 in the game as Katahdin won. > Congratulations to Katahdin’s Connor Edwards who surpassed the 1000th point in his high school career! 🏀[#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/yBmt8QHfrC](https://t.co/yBmt8QHfrC?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — WHOU.live (@WHOU\_Live) [February 15, 2025](https://twitter.com/WHOU%5FLive/status/1890862597949313039?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Ellsworth girls have had a rough year, to say the least, but Saturday they survived a thriller against MDI. I'll let Ryan McLaughlin fill you in. He covers Ellsworth and has a great write-up. [Ellsworth American](https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/sports/girls-basketball-late-heroics-propel-ellsworth-to-dramatic-quarterfinal-win-over-rival-mdi/article%5Fc245ef12-ebdc-11ef-9eb9-a72f7c212741.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Meanwhile, in Augusta, Mount Blue's Carter Norton had a shot to take Brewer to overtime. video courtesy of Jeff Miles Thanks to Jeff Miles for the video. Jeff's a fixture at the ACC (and regular season games all over) and is a great resource for when things happen in a tourney game there. That's Cooper Abell with the putback of a shot the Mount Blue student section was convinced went in. Freshman Oli Higgins led Brewer with 22\. --- In other afternoon games, Jagger Helwig led Fryeburg to a convincing upset of Greely. Madelynn Deprey had 21 as Caribou and Presque Isle drove all the way to Bangor to play each other. Is there anything worse than getting your rival in a quarterfinal? Hampden got 11 each from Aiden Kochendoerfer and Liam Henaghen to get by Gardiner. Falmouth got 19 from Billy Birks to knock out the defending champs from GNG. James Witham led MDI 15 as they held Winslow's Braden Rodrigue to 6 points. --- In the Game of the Day, the Camden boys used an 18-2 run to erase a 13-point Cony lead in the third quarter. The teams went back and forth in a thriller before Camden pulled away late for 62-55 win. Camden's Nolan Ames was absolutely awesome in this one. He had 20 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocked shots in an electric performance. --- Down in Portland, Kennebunk's Theo Pow put on a show. He scored the first 11 points of the game, including a couple of really great dunks, and 17 in the first quarter. > After 1 > > Kennebunk 21 > Brunswick 11 > > Theo Pow 17 (3 dunks) [pic.twitter.com/Xl2f73vUhk](https://t.co/Xl2f73vUhk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 16, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1890923642608849188?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) From there, it was all Kennebunk. Pow went off for 42 points and 5 steals as Brunswick had no answer for him. Kennebunk will get the winner of the Noble/Marshwood game that was rescheduled to avoid the storm. --- The turnaround of the Belfast boys has been one of the great stories of the season. From getting blown out so much that phone calls are made to the MPA and an Instagram account mis-reports a rumor that blows up their entire season to beating the team that blew them out and making the quarterfinals. It's been a great year for the Lions. But that ended last night in a loss to Caribou. The Vikings led 21-6 after 1 and cruised to a victory. Tristen Robbins had 21 points and 8 rebounds and they held Trevin Ripley to 6 points. --- In the Augusta finale, the Messalonskee boys beat Nokomis 55-39 behind 13 points from Ty Bernier. But to be fair, Nokomis was a little short-handed. Their best player was busy putting up a 19/5/6 line against Stanford. Just imagine that court is the Augusta Civic Center. --- We had a couple of kinks in rolling out LIVE Stats to all three venues at once, but we seem to have it working now. It's pretty handy to be able to scoreboard watch the other two sites (or all three, if you're at home). > 👀[https://t.co/XTCl4GIlil](https://t.co/XTCl4GIlil?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/quy1MEc6F9](https://t.co/quy1MEc6F9?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 15, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1890783701698592819?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There have been more than a few people leaning over my shoulder at the Expo to see what the score is in Augusta or Bangor. Today's slate looks interesting. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-16-at-8.30.10-PM.png) [Live Stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) --- It's always great to see someone fall in love with the tourney in real time. > My takeaways from night two at the ACC! 🏀 > > Hope everyone enjoys their rest day tomorrow![#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/AI3oH94dST](https://t.co/AI3oH94dST?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jack Webb (@Jackiemoon\_25) [February 16, 2025](https://twitter.com/Jackiemoon%5F25/status/1890999939557114130?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I kid. It sounds like A North was awesome, as is its custom. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day-8.jpg) All the way back on December 18th, Machias blew out Calais at home 55-29\. They've only lost twice since then, both times to the 1 seed in D North, Schenck. Outside of those losses they've only had 2 close games, a 37-32 win over Bangor Christian and a 43-42 win over...Calais on January 21st. Has Calais figured it out? Can they break through on the big floor and pull off the upset? It might be tricky against the top rated scoring defense in the state. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-16-at-5.56.16-PM.png) [Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Lincoln Academy in Triple Overtime URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/lincoln-academy-in-triple-overtime/ Last updated: 2025-02-15T12:24:48.000Z The first day of the tournament did not disappoint (it never does). Let's start at the Expo in Portland, which kicked off with the B South boys. For years, Spruce Mountain has struggled at the Expo. The Talking Heads (and by that, I mean old guys at the end of the bar) have said for years that the Phoenix can't win on the big floor. They've all got their reasons, but always seem to forget that Spruce has just been a little unlucky these last couple of years. They had York on the ropes last year as an underdog. They lost to Lincoln Academy in overtime the year before that. These things happen. For a while, it looked like they were going to break through yesterday against Oceanside. They had 7 steals in the first quarter as their defense--keyed by Cai Dougher--was everywhere. But, when Oceanside could get a look, it went in. Connor Kingsbury and Jackson Kay went 5/9 from 3 in the first half to stay alive, while Spruce shot 2/15 from deep. They kept it up in the second half, while Spruce's Jace Bessey kept watching shots rattle around and fall out. When Kay gave Oceanside a 5-point lead with 3 minutes to go, it looked bad for the Phoenix. But like he had all game, Cai Dougher came through when Spruce needed him. He hit 2 free throws to stop the bleeding, scored to give them the lead with a minute left and hit four more free throws down the stretch to seal it. Cai Dougher was awesome all game long. He had 32 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals, and a rim-shaking dunk. But as they'd done all game, Oceanside took one last opportunity to cash in a clean look from 3\. Kingsbury was 6/9 from 3 for 22 points. Jackson Kay added 18 points to go with 12 rebounds. --- In the 2/10 game, York made short work of Cape Elizabeth. Reece MacDonald scored 19 points in only 20 minutes. Up in Bangor, the Erskine girls won a thriller that was not without drama. [Erskine Academy edges Hermon in Class B North quartersEagles 44, Hawks 43![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-10.png)WABIBen Barr![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/PFQ3KO5OAJBJZEZPM34ZXZSD2Y.png)](https://www.wabi.tv/2025/02/15/erskine-academy-edges-hermon-class-b-north-quarters/?utm%5Fsource=twitter&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fcampaign=snd&utm%5Fcontent=wabi) In the third quarter, Hermon got a bench technical for not having a player in the book, which has to be the worst technical to get because it's so avoidable. Kelsie Dunn hit both free throws, so when at the end of the game, Hermon hit a 3 at the buzzer, instead of it being for the win, it only cut the lead to 1\. Erskine survives. > Erskine celebrates a 44-43 win over Hermon in girls class B quarterfinal game [#highschoolbasketball](https://twitter.com/hashtag/highschoolbasketball?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/Fs83mQDIVl](https://t.co/Fs83mQDIVl?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Eastern Maine Sports (@EasternMESports) [February 15, 2025](https://twitter.com/EasternMESports/status/1890556815366041660?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In Augusta, Cony survived a scare from Skowhegan. Morgan Fichthorn led the way with 22, including her 1,000th point. > Girls Class A North Quarterfinal > #2 Cony 49 > #7 Skowhegan 46 > Final[@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/llNJs3XR1F](https://t.co/llNJs3XR1F?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [February 14, 2025](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/1890546916976455743?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Lincoln Academy boys were in a difficult spot on Friday. Because their head coach Ryan Ball got ejected in the final game of the regular season, he was unable to coach in the quarterfinals (MPA rule). He wasn't even allowed in the building. So it was up to assistant coach Rand Maker to lead the charges in the always difficult 4/5 game. But if that wasn't hard enough, they were missing Terry Welle, their third-leading scorer, with an ankle injury. Not surprisingly, they struggled in the first half. Yarmouth's defense gave them trouble on the perimeter (the Hunt twins had 2 points in the first half) and without Welle couldn't get anything going down low and Maker couldn't seem to find a lineup combination that worked. Yarmouth led by 5 at the half behind 9 points from Evan Oranellas. An Adam Maxwell bucket pushed the lead to 10 in the 3rd and it stayed in the 5-8 range until a Lincoln timeout with about 5 minutes to play. And that's around the time Maker found a lineup that worked. Lincoln went on a 6-0 run out of the timeout, with the Hunt brothers scoring all 6\. They would make 1 more substitution the rest of the way. Roan Donaghy hit a 3 to tie it at 41\. Maxwell answered and Donaghy scored again and we were off to overtime. Drew Hunt opened the OT with a triple. Yarmouth answered with free throws. Robert Wolff missed a jumper and we were off to double overtime. This time, Maxwell scored off the jump ball, then Wolff scored to make it 4\. Donaghy hit another 3 (he was awesome down the stretch). Evan Oranellas hit a 3 to tie it at 56 and we went to a third overtime. Meanwhile, the last game in Augusta was already at halftime. The third OT was scoreless for the first 3 minutes. Dudes were gassed. Yarmouth went 2/7 from the line in the 2nd and 3rd overtimes. But Donaghy hit 2 free throws. Chase Coffin added another. And Lincoln Academy survived. Roan Donaghy had 16 & 8\. Evan Oranellas had 19 & 4 for Yarmouth. Afterward, the Eagles celebrated assistant coach Rand Maker for his first (and only) win. --- As good as that game was, the next one--between Medomak and Lake Region--was just as bad. Lake Region didn't go into a stall exactly, but they weren't in a hurry, content to burn clock and shorten the game. This is a strategy underdogs will sometimes use in tournament play. The idea is the superior team, given a long enough game, will always win, so you minimize their possessions and you increase your chances of winning. This works best against a high-octane offense. This year's Caribou boys come to mind. Last year's Oceanside team is a good example. In fact, Medomak tried a version of this on Oceanside to try and grind the Galley twins to a halt. It's less effective against a defensive team, as they're used to swallowing up your offense. The problem is you have to score. And you have to take open looks when you get them. Because in order for the strategy to have a chance, you have to get a lead. If not, you risk angering the Basketball Gods. After 1 it was 8-0 Medomak and still Lake Region worked the clock. Medomak wasn't exactly lighting things up on the offensive end--they looked out of sync--but they didn't need to score much at all to win. At the half, it was 14-0\. Lake Region finally scored on a Braydan Wilson layup with 1:16 left in the third quarter, but by that time, they were down 30-2\. They got moving in the 4th quarter to make it somewhat respectable, but it was ugly. Elsewhere Claire Gaetani had 35 points in Bapst's upset of Old Town...Rose Tohanczyn had 30 & 7 in Camden's win over Gardiner...Grace LeBree had 14 & 10 as Hampden blew out Brewer. --- Gold Ball Odds are updated. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-15-at-1.35.27-AM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day-7.jpg) It's a 4/5 game. They teams just played a 70-68 thriller back on January 31st. What more do you need? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-15-at-1.27.50-AM.png) [Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Let's Go! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/lets-go-2/ Last updated: 2025-02-14T11:25:08.000Z Wednesday's prelims were mostly chalk with a couple of slight 8/9 upsets. In C North boys, the Mount View Mustangs picked right up where they left off last year, handling Fort Fairfield rather easily, 64-43\. Stuart Knowlton had 21 to lead the way, Wyatt Bennett added 19, and that sound you hear is a collective groan from the coaches seeded 1 through 7\. Does Mount View have another run in them? The other upset came in B North boys (because of course it did). Belfast continued their remarkable turnaround by beating Houlton 67-60 behind 25 points, 16 rebounds, and 6 blocked shots from Trevin Ripley. The Belfast bus probably just floated the 2 and a half hours home. The Lions will get their toughest test with the top seeded-Caribou on Saturday. --- It was chalk, but Portland coach Joe Russo picked up his 500th victory in a quarterfinal win over Oxford Hills. [Portland boys basketball advances with Joe Russo’s 500th winThe No. 3 Bulldogs shake off a lackluster first half and celebrate a 54-38 victory against No. 6 Oxford Hills in a Class AA North quarterfinal.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-40.png)Press HeraldSteve CraigPortland Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/41236411_202502112_portlandboyshoop_0003-1739413868.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/02/13/portland-boys-basketball-advances-with-joe-russos-500th-win/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Elsewhere: Add Old Town's Emmitt Byther to the 1,000 point club...Liam Tiernan had 21 in Marshwood's win over Biddeford...Windham kicked off their title defense with a rout of Bangor. Creighty Dickson led with 23...Adam Fitzgerald led a Scarborough second half rally to beat Deering. He scored 17...Bonny Eagle beat Sanford in overtime. The Scots had 5 players score between 9 and 13 points in a balanced attack...Winslow used a big third quarter to beat Maranacook, despite leading scorer Braden Rodrigue being held to 8 points...JJ Carlo's 25 wasn't enough to give Waynflete an upset over Winthrop. Instead the Ramblers will take that school bus to Augusta...Dirigo needed a big game from Nathaniel Wainwright to take down OOB in overtime. He had 26, including 6 of their 8 in the extra period...Ricardo Louis had 14 and 13 to help Temple fend off 27 points from Greenville's Liam Mason...Scarborough rallied down 8 to beat TA in the AA South 4/5 game. Ellie Rumelhart led the way with 17...Caitlyn McCoy had 16 and Bella Smith added 15 in Leavitt's win over Yarmouth. --- And now it's Tourney Time! We kick off today at 4pm with A North girls, B North, and B South boys. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-13-at-7.08.09-PM.png) And new this year, assuming there's no issues (knock on wood), we will have LIVE stats from all FOUR venues, thanks to a collaboration with the MPA! That's right. Augusta. Bangor. The Expo. The Hockey Rink. All live. Your boss won't let you stream? Some dumb relative thought it would be romantic to have a wedding on Valentine's Day weekend? You just got a text message that your rival is on the ropes? We got you. I've been doing this for years and then last year, the MPA jumped on-board and covered Augusta, which worked well. So now we're expanding it to cover all the games (knock on wood). Also I have typed in a lot of rosters over the last couple of days. My apologies in advance if I spelled your name wrong. The LIVE stats are free and available for all. [LIVE Stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/livestats/) --- The Tourney Guides are all done. [Tourney GuideAll the data![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-30.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/media-guide-bann-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/media-guide/) They're available to download for any paid subscriber. If you want to just buy a region of the Tourney Guide or for some reason don't want to subscribe, you can do that at Gumroad. [Tourney Guide @ Gumroad](https://mebballrankings.gumroad.com/l/23MediaGuide?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you've got a long drive to a tourney site, can I suggest the "Let's Pick a Cinderlla!" episode of the podcast where Jay Baines and I go through all 20 Regions–boys and girls–and try to figure out who might win the region if the favorite falters. It's fun stuff! [Or Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-pick-a-cinderella-with-jay-baines/id1675940033?i=1000691096584&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- It's the 50th anniversary of the girls tournament. [50 years ago, Maine girls basketball leveled playing fieldThe tournament has generated memorable players, teams and events, and allowed girls sports to shine on the biggest stage.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-41.png)Press HeraldDrew BonifantPortland Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/41245638_20250211_tourneyanniversary_0003.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/02/13/50-years-ago-maine-girls-basketball-leveled-playing-field/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you can't make it to a tourney site, there's the annual confusion of where the game's will be streamed. The quarterfinals will stream on NFHS (ugh), so if you haven't signed up yet, here's an affiliate link you can use. [NFHS](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/PyLXJR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And then we switch to WHOU and Maine Public will have the Gold Ball games again. --- The Gold Ball Odds are updated to include the prelim games. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-13-at-8.17.04-PM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- The Ringer has a nice piece about Cooper's projection as the number 1 overall pick and NOT about the chances he can bring Nokomis another Gold Ball. [Cooper Flagg Isn’t Your Typical Future No. 1 Overall PickA showstopping season at Duke has solidified Flagg as the top pick in the 2025 draft, but the freshman phenom is different from other unanimous no. 1s in one crucial way![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-12.ico)The Ringer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/flaggwatch_getty_ringer-scaled.jpg)](https://www.theringer.com/2025/02/12/nba-draft/cooper-flagg-duke-2025-nba-draft?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's just wild to think that we should be watching his senior season at Nokomis right now. --- Get your Seattle Storm swag now. > Welcome to the Emerald City, Mackenzie Holmes! ⛈️ > > 📰 [https://t.co/0xWpKP5ipL](https://t.co/0xWpKP5ipL?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/UbupcLWVKE](https://t.co/UbupcLWVKE?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) [February 13, 2025](https://twitter.com/seattlestorm/status/1890114034038677575?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- In many ways, Aaron Rodgers was the perfect Jet. > This is a tremendous self-own tbh [pic.twitter.com/ybTcDoLXBg](https://t.co/ybTcDoLXBg?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN\_Bears) [February 13, 2025](https://twitter.com/BN%5FBears/status/1890087036843065650?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day-6.jpg) The Hermon girls did not have a great middle to their season, losing 7 of 9, but rallied down the stretch to win their final 5, including a big win over Old Town that got them a home prelim. They then beat Belfast in the prelim to get to the quarterfinals. There they'll take on a very young Erskine team that faltered a little down the stretch, losing two of their last 4, including to a Mt. View team that I'm circling as my Cinderella pick in C North. Can the Eagles handle the pressure of the spotlight or will Hermon stay hot? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-13-at-8.13.22-PM.png) [Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Girls Prelims URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/girls-prelims/ Last updated: 2025-02-12T15:24:39.000Z We're going quickly here, as I'm trying to get everything ready for Friday. In the Game of the Day, Poland opened up an 11-2 lead after one, but Mount Abram rallied to take a lead into the half before Poland used a big 3rd quarter to advance to the ACC and a date with Hall-Dale. --- Last year, the Mt. View boys were a popular Cinderella pick in C North and in the podcast with Jay Baines, I was getting similar vibes from their profile this year. [Let's Pick a Cinderella](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YluPo8sSRRs&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) So far, so good, as the Mustangs easily handled Hodgdon 65-22 behind 21 points from Arianna Bradeen. --- They say it's hard to beat a team a third time, which is kind of the worst type of analysis, the sort of thing you get when you add a dude with a history of CTE to your NFL coverage, but the Southern Aroostook girls beat Stearns after getting swept in the regular season series. Or maybe they're just finally healthy? You might have to go full zombie/vampire killer on SA to make sure they're dead. That's not a team I'd want to get in the quarterfinals. --- Jaylen Stevens forced overtime with a huge 3, but Jonesport-Beals prevailed behind 30 points from Mia Mills in a 10/7 upset. --- Elsewhere Cooper Smith had 16 in Lake Region's win over Poland...Paige Sevigny scored 16 to help Sanford advance to the semifinals...Mariam DeLisle had 21 and Lincoln Academy beat Mountain Valley in the B South 8/9 prelim...The #10 seed Dirigo girls pulled off an upset over #7 NYA to punch a ticket to the quarterfinals. Abby Luczynski had a big game to fuel the win. --- Gold Ball Odds are updated for girls. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-12-at-10.22.44-AM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- The Tourney Guides are (mostly) out! Here's this year's version, featuring the Brewer boys. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-12-at-1.11.33-AM.png) Don't worry, this comes with a guide that explains it all. So far, AA, A, and B are done and I should be able to get C & D done today after work. They come with a paid subscription. You can also purchase them separately, which should also be available tomorrow. There will probably be an error somewhere (it's a LOT of information and a LOT of formulas), so if you see one, let me know and I can probably upload a fix. [Tourney GuideAll the data![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-29.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/media-guide-bann.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/media-guide/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day-5.jpg) Along with the boys prelims, we have some AA quarterfinals at the higher seeds. Edward Little and Lewiston split the season series, with EL winning 46-36 all the way back on February 7th. But if you're Lewiston, do you fire all your bullets in that game? Maybe not. The time to do that is now. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-12-at-1.06.02-AM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Let's Pick a Cinderella URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/lets-pick-a-cinderella/ Last updated: 2025-02-11T15:34:54.000Z So this might be the shortest newsletter of them all. Wisdom won the tie-breaker for the 11 seed, 69-57\. Camden Pelletier went off for 36 & 13, out-dueling Colt Curtis' 26\. Wisdom was 11/26 from deep (42%) and will advance for the opportunity to drive 4 hours and 39 minutes for a prelim. So my take here is that long prelim trips are dumb. People will constantly say that they earned a home prelim, but did you? The Heal Points fell your way. If you're in B North, a C South game went the way you needed it and now you're getting a home prelim. But you didn't dominate the season and get the 8 seed instead of the 9\. You got a little lucky. If you're the 4 in the old C South with 22 teams that's a different story, but this is a little ridiculous. There should be a number (90 minutes? 2 hours?) where it no longer is a home prelim and we play the game somewhere in the middle. No one needs to drive 4 hours each way on a Wednesday for a prelim. --- Every year, I do a bit where I pick a Cinderella in each region. The basic idea is to find the team that isn't the favorite who might be able to win the region. This year, Jay Baines joined me, so there's double the Cinderella picks and we only agreed a couple of times. [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-pick-a-cinderella-with-jay-baines/id1675940033?i=1000691096584&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day-4.jpg) The girls prelims are mostly today. Over in C South, the Poland girls have a high-flying offense. They're 19th in the state in scoring and are +251, but against a questionable schedule. Mount Abram has faced the hardest schedule in C South and have a pretty good defense. It actually rates as the best in the region by adjDEF, which is a new stat that's going to be in the Tourney Guide. The Model has this as a pure pick'em, with the actual line being 0.0203. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-11-at-12.58.33-AM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A Tie? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/a-tie-2/ Last updated: 2025-02-10T15:48:02.000Z Thursday night I figured it was safe to go to bed early and catch up on some much-needed sleep. Everyone had moved their games to Friday because of the snow. I didn't need to write a newsletter. I didn't need to hunt down scores. So I took a sleep aid around 7:30 and almost immediately came the message: "Hey, did you see this tie in D North?" "I'm sorry, what?" The Washburn boys beat the Wisdom 46-27 to force a tie--a real, actual tie. And not like the phantom tie we had in Volleyball this fall. [When A Tie Isn’t a TieA tie is a tie unless the MPA is playing by 1985 rules.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-28.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/102524.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/when-a-tie-isnt-a-tie/) This was a pure tie. Washburn and Wisdom beat the same teams and then beat each other--clean and simple--and they'll play today for the 11 seed and the right to play Jonesport-Beals. That's a 3 hour and 53 minute drive for Washburn and a 4 hour and 36 minute drive for Wisdom. That's a lot of driving for a prelim. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-09-at-11.20.12-PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Then I crashed and the other game went double-overtime. So it goes. --- On Friday, we wrapped up the regular season. Down in South Berwick, Theo Pow scored his 1,000th point on a free throw in Kennebunk's win over Marshwood. We'll get back to him. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/20250207_171628_resized.jpg) Pow finished with 23 as Kennebunk finished 12-6. --- Brewer's Allie Flagg saw a free throw and thought he could top that. She scored her 1,000th point with panache. Flagg is only the second Brewer girls basketball player to reach the 1,000 point milestone and the first in 45 years!!! > Brewer High Schools 1,000 Point Basketball list. > > Two girls, six boys. [#GoWitches](https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoWitches?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 🏀 [pic.twitter.com/ufY0IisL37](https://t.co/ufY0IisL37?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Brewer Witches (@BrewerWitches) [February 8, 2025](https://twitter.com/BrewerWitches/status/1888049419607482787?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Not to be left out, TA's Wyatt Benoit also hit the 1K mark. He had 32 on the night. > 1⃣0⃣0⃣0⃣ Points! Congratulations Wyatt!🏀❤️[https://t.co/iZiGE2WzjA](https://t.co/iZiGE2WzjA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — TA Football (@Thornton\_FB) [February 8, 2025](https://twitter.com/Thornton%5FFB/status/1888243059659276580?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- And Spruce Mountain's Jace Bessey broke the combined Jay/Livermore Falls/Spruce Mountain scoring record. > Jace Bessey sets the all time scoring record for Jay HS, LFHS & SMHS WITH 31 tonight. Sets the mark at 1393! Forever Phoenix! [pic.twitter.com/s1xkebhgkq](https://t.co/s1xkebhgkq?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — PHOENIX ATHLETICS (@PHOENIXATHLETI2) [February 9, 2025](https://twitter.com/PHOENIXATHLETI2/status/1888381451973918757?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Down south, SoPo coach Kevin Millington hit a coaching milestone. > Big congratulations to Coach Millington on his 300th career win tonight! [#riotpride](https://twitter.com/hashtag/riotpride?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/qja8cRV38Q](https://t.co/qja8cRV38Q?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — South Portland Red Riots Athletics (@SPREDRIOTS) [February 8, 2025](https://twitter.com/SPREDRIOTS/status/1888064656960270420?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Manny Hidalgo led the way with 22. --- Elsewhere Gabe Lash's 15 & 11 led Medomak Valley to a perfect regular season...Diing Maiwen's 21 led Edward Little to a win over Lewiston...Davis Mann dropped 36 on Scarborough...Brady Peacock had 23 in Gardiner's win over Cony...Colin Schlobohm had 20 to give Leavitt a home prelim...Gabe Damon beat the buzzer in OT to give Oxford Hills a win over Westbrook...Cape's Eli Smith hit 7 3's and scored 27 but it wasn't enough to beat Poland and Lucas Verrill's 22...Harry Louis' 23 led Valley over Rangeley...Brody Willette had 18 in Winslow's win over Belfast...Robert Wolf had 16 in Yarmouth's overtime win over Wells...Rose Tohanczyn's 15 helped Camden rally to beat Medomak. The Panthers got 22 from Kytana Williamson...Rachel Penny had 21 in Edward Little's win over Lewiston...Kendall Therrien had 18 in Kennebunk's win over Marshwood...Julianna Allen's 16 & 11 led Mt. Ararat over Brunswick...Ella Pelletier dropped 35 on Westbrook...Helena Bukarac's 5 triples led to 19 points as Scarborough beat Falmouth...Freshman JuJu Farrington had 20 in St. Dom's win over Waynflete. --- The Gold Ball Odds are up, assuming no errors and we've got some candidates for Region of Death. C North girls is the usual pick, but you could make a case for B South girls, and also it might be D North girls? Does anyone *really* think Southern Aroostook is completely out of it? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-10-at-12.53.08-AM.png) You can check out the odds for your team at the link below: [Gold Ball OddsWhat are your team’s chances of winning it all?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-27.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/gold-ball-odds-1-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- As we end the regular season, here's the Wins Draft standings. I've got a pretty good lead, but it's not over. We get 1 point for each regular season win, 1 point for making it to the quarterfinals, and then it escalates for each round. So it's not over yet. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-09-at-11.34.14-PM.png) --- In the Hoops 8 Tourney preview (which is awesome), Travis Lee revealed the Mr. Basketball semifinalists. > The MABC top ten for Mr. Basketball, to be cut down to three and then the Mr. Basketball award winner at all-star weekend. [pic.twitter.com/YxF4kdaI4L](https://t.co/YxF4kdaI4L?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [February 9, 2025](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1888401318089289893?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That list is: Leo McNabb Diing Maiwen Theo Pow Gabe Lash Jamier Rose Manny Hidalgo Emmit Byther Jace Bessey Creighty Dickson Wyatt Benoit If you read this newsletter on a regular basis, you already know the schools. And Miss Basketball > The MABC top ten for Ms. Basketball, to be cut down to three and then the Ms. Basketball award winner at all-star weekend. [pic.twitter.com/0ZSbAHnhyZ](https://t.co/0ZSbAHnhyZ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [February 9, 2025](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1888401640337682871?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Ella Pelletier Avery Bessey Madelynn Deprey Julia Reed Lexi Morin Lily Oliver Isabella Morelli Kytana Williamson Aubri Hoose Abby Morrill There's been the usual discussion of who was robbed and the whole "southern Maine bias" angle, but this part of the voting is done by the coaches, so if your local candidate didn't make it, that's probably because the local coaches didn't vote for them. But it's kind of hard to take that seriously when a kid from Fort Kent makes the list. There's no large conspiracy at play. That (maybe) comes next. --- Steve Craig from the Press Herald had a really nice, comprehensive story on the rash of bad behavior that's running rampant around the state. There's incidents in here I'd forgotten about and some I hadn't heard about and when you see them all together, the full scope of the problem is staggering. [Fights. Ejections. Irate fans. What’s going on in Maine sports?High school athletics programs are seeing more disruptions from poor spectator behavior that officials say is tied to pent-up anger and a selfish lack of control.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-39.png)Press HeraldSteve CraigPortland Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/41113920_20250201_wrestlingduals_0015.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/02/07/fights-ejections-irate-fans-whats-going-on-in-maine-sports/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Which is part of the reason why ref numbers are down. Well, they're trying to reverse that trend and if you're a woman who's thought about potentially reffing, they're actively looking for you. [Maine hopes to recruit more female basketball officialsThe high school basketball tournament is almost here and once again, there is a need for more officials in Maine, especially female officials.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32-3.png)WGMEDave Eid, WGME![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/7bf30751-caa5-4e82-83af-2117dd4fd2f5-Ref.JPG)](https://wgme.com/sports/content/maine-hopes-to-recruit-more-female-basketball-officials?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day-3.jpg) There's only one game on the schedule, a tie-breaker for the 11 seed in D North. WHOU will be there with a livestream, because they're awesome. [WHOU](https://www.whou.live/events/wisdom-washburn-at-van-buren-boys-basketball-play-in-2-10-25?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And then, TOURNEY TIME!!!! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-10-at-12.09.18-AM.png) ### Snow Day? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/snow-day-2/ Last updated: 2025-02-06T15:37:29.000Z Today's newsletter is coming in late because I seriously doubt anyone's playing today and the Tourney Odds take FOREVER to update. Also it was a really quiet night last night? Most of the teams scheduled for today either moved up to last night or bumped to Friday, which is a built-in snow day for just this scenario. There's some hold-outs, but I would put the over/under on games played today at something under 10\. I asked someone in the know and they put the line at 5\. --- In Texas Hold'em, there's a very rare situation where the correct move is to fold pocket Aces pre-flop, and not just because you think you always lose with them. You have to be in tournament play--and late in tournament play. Say you're at a final table or in any situation where out-lasting one more person will increase your winnings significantly (the difference between 4th and 5th at the World Series of Poker Main Event this year was $3M vs. $2.5M). So you're surviving with the short stack, let's say you have 2,000 chips and someone with 50,000 chips goes all-in, then someone with 50,100 chips goes all-in. You should fold, regardless of your hand, because even if you win, you're still the tiny stack. But if you fold, you will be virtually guaranteed to move up a spot in the money. It's a similar idea in Final Jeopardy! If you're in third with those numbers, you should wager $0 and write a funny answer. In a similar vein, sometimes you should lose a basketball game, because Heal Points. > With the Winthrop Girls win today over winless Waterville, Madison jumps Winthrop in the standings because Winthrop +1 win gains Madison more heal points then Winthrop gets for Waterville. Just Maine Heal Point things. [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ty Cowan (@tcowanUMA) [February 6, 2025](https://twitter.com/tcowanUMA/status/1887321585796739463?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Heal Points giveth and the Heal Points taketh away. This is a hypothetical, much like folding those pocket aces, that rarely comes into play. Here's the Heal Points prior to entering the Winthrop/Waterville game. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-05-at-10.44.53-PM.png) Because Madison beat Winthrop, they get help points from Winthrop winning a game and those help points are more than the value of winless Waterville. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-05-at-10.48.25-PM.png) Winthrop goes from 108.025 to 108.580, a gain of 0.555\. But Madison gains 1.173 and they leapfrog Winthrop. Some people *hate* this, but I think it's awesome. Every single game on the schedule matters. A game between 2 winless teams in B North might flip the seeding in C South, which is weird, but every game matters. --- Lawrence's Maddie Provost scored her 1,000th career point last night in a win over Messalonskee. She's a junior and I think we have an early front-runner for Miss Basketball next year. --- Elsewhere Jameson Fitzpatrick scored 20 off the bench as Cheverus locked up the 1 seed in AA South...Carter Ulmer had 13 as Erskine upset Lincoln Academy...Fryeburg got 16 from Hugo Delgado and snapped GNG's 5 game winning streak...Bingham Abbott's 24 & 14 led Monmouth to a win over Hall-Dale...Pine Tree's Collin Verrill dropped 26 on Wiscasset...Taylor Varney's 21 helped St. Dom's win their 12th straight...Derek Couture scored 18 for Waterville, but it wasn't enough to beat Winthrop...The Cheverus girls used a 24-1 run to put away Portland. Kylie Lamson led the way with 26...Izzy Morelli's 22 helped GNG crush Fryeburg...NYA's Ella Giguere dropped 28 on OOB...Madeline Hill had 21 as Valley blew out Richmond. --- On the podcast, I talked to Dave Albee about his new book on the 50th anniversary of Foxcroft's lone Gold Ball in basketball Dave was a fledgling sportswriter during that season and has so many stories from that era in Maine high school basketball, including a story of a 6'6" kid wandering into Moody's Diner and the waitress calling legendary coach Art Dyer. And you think teams recruit now. Plus, a consolidation element and a ton more. This was a lot of fun. I'm really looking forward to this book and I'm 99% sure this will be a Father's Day gift for my father (he doesn't read the newsletter. I think he gets summaries from my mother). [Smash that subscribe button.](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm really hoping Dave can get to some tourney games while he's here promoting the book. And it's looking like his beloved Foxcroft Ponies might sneak into the tourney. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-06-at-10.29.48-AM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2lVqog6w67Oeorsi4q9Zxl?si=hm3QZkHXTn-mpldVrlXQQw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Today in "Really? That's where you put the camera?" > The Bob Jones University camera set up is prone to some serious Godzilla moments [pic.twitter.com/Qz3WwPN53F](https://t.co/Qz3WwPN53F?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rush the Other 26 (@other26hoops) [February 6, 2025](https://twitter.com/other26hoops/status/1887320097124917517?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- This is a pretty great buzzer-beater! > DARIUS GARLAND PULLS FROM THE LOGO!!! > > THE [@cavs](https://twitter.com/cavs?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) WIN IN DETROIT 🚨🚨[#TissotBuzzerBeater](https://twitter.com/hashtag/TissotBuzzerBeater?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#YourTimeDefinesYourGreatness](https://twitter.com/hashtag/YourTimeDefinesYourGreatness?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/9f6ZFhlolk](https://t.co/9f6ZFhlolk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA (@NBA) [February 6, 2025](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1887333120984158666?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- This coach decided that today's practice would be a little different. > Coach decided a 🏀 was not needed for practice today[https://t.co/cSk5L4Flhi](https://t.co/cSk5L4Flhi?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/48OTTdyNTP](https://t.co/48OTTdyNTP?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Reed Vial (@reed\_vial3) [February 6, 2025](https://twitter.com/reed%5Fvial3/status/1887333554071212167?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day.png) This is pretty simple: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-06-at-10.36.26-AM.png) Winner get the 1 seed! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-06-at-10.34.53-AM.png) _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Belfast Beats Oceanside URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/belfast-beats-oceanside/ Last updated: 2025-02-05T10:53:40.000Z Think back to last year. The Patriots still had Mac Jones. Luka was on the Mavs. Cooper Flagg was playing for Montverde. Elon Musk didn't have control over the government. It was a simpler time. And everyone in Maine was all up in arms about teams scoring too many points. Ok, some things don't change. But the biggest issue of them all was Oceanside's 126-38 win over Belfast. People were outraged. A crime against sportsmanship! Flash forward to last night: They're understandably very excited, as they should be! Landon Economy had 21 points and Trevin Ripley had a double-double (10 & 11) and the game winner to help Belfast pull off one of the more remarkable one-season turnarounds in recent memory. The win moves them up to 7th in the B North heal points, but it's unlikely they'll be able to stay there ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-04-at-10.35.44-PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) They've got one game left--against a Winslow team they beat earlier this year--and there's a lot of heal points in play there. Let's update the B North Tourney Odds ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-05-at-12.05.49-AM.png) Sure. Tourney Odds are updated. --- I wrote the other day about the GNG boys, who had picked themselves up off the mat after a 2-10 start to punch their ticket to the tournament. Turns out they aren't done. In overtime against a Brunswick team trying to get to the 3 seed, GNG's Johnny Patenaude hit this ridiculous shot at the buzzer. > Final in varsity boys basketball: > > GNG 65 > Brunswick 62 > > Down 17-2 early on, the Patriots forced OT where Johnny Patenaude hit a Hail Mary 3 at the buzzer to win it! > > Thanks to [@ShipbuildersAD](https://twitter.com/ShipbuildersAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) for coming and for the video.[@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/qduLRAbBSh](https://t.co/qduLRAbBSh?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — GNG Athletics (@GNG\_AD) [February 5, 2025](https://twitter.com/GNG%5FAD/status/1886954290050208157?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Patenaude finished with 31 and is making a late charge at the Mr. Basketball conversation. Trevor Garrish had 22 for Brunswick, who I think will now be in the 4/5 game. --- We had a couple of 1,000 point scorers last night. First, let's go to Cony, for the game that was supposed to be the Game of the Day, but I flexed it out. That was a mistake. Abby Morrill got her 1,000th point in the second quarter, but not without some drama. > Great discipline by the Lawrence fans tonight. They were committed to not cheering for Abby Morrill’s 1000th point, and what do you know, outside of the one guy near the front, none of them did. Not a single clap. Well done. > > That’s good, old-fashioned hate right there. Love it. [pic.twitter.com/cKWASTwmpN](https://t.co/cKWASTwmpN?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — BL Lippert (@coachlip) [February 5, 2025](https://twitter.com/coachlip/status/1886953235899949081?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You can watch the video and the Lawrence fans definitely don't applaud Morrill's milestone. I wonder if that was organized in any way or there's just that much Lawrence/Cony animosity. Either way, I don't have a problem with it. The act of refusing to politely clap is perhaps more of an acknowledgment of your rival's achievement than clapping would be. Hatred is better than indifference, you know? Morrill finished with 26. Anyway, this game wasn't done. > Lawrence vs Cony update: > Guy just hit a half court shot during the halftime contest! > This game has everything![@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [February 4, 2025](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/1886924848380735977?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Just a couple of days after losing to Lawrence by nearly 40, Cony matched Lawrence blow-for-blow, even rallying after getting down 8 after 3 quarters to pull within 1 in the final minute despite Lawrence getting 38 points from Maddy Provost before she fouled out. Cony hit a 3 with 1.2 seconds left to cut the lead to 1, but couldn't get the ball back and Lawrence survived a thriller, 74-73\. Mike Mandell was there. [Lawrence girls basketball tops Cony again in riveting, down-to-the wire battleLawrence’s Maddie Provost and Cony’s Abby Morrill — who scored her 1,000th point — dueled it out as Bulldogs prevailed 74-73.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-38.png)Kennebec Journal and Morning SentinelMike MandellKennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/41140277_20250204_lawcony_0y08.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/02/04/lawrence-girls-basketball-tops-cony-again-in-riveting-down-to-the-wire-battle/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The other Game of the Day *also* had a 1,000 point scorer. > Future 🫎 Ariana Bradeen scores her 1000 point. > Mt View leads Erskine 35-31 at the half[@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/qZ0KIl5r0U](https://t.co/qZ0KIl5r0U?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ty Cowan (@tcowanUMA) [February 4, 2025](https://twitter.com/tcowanUMA/status/1886923778384359864?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Mount View beat Erskine 60-48 to move to 4th in C North. --- Freeport's Conner Smith hit 6 3's, including this game-winner against Mt. Ararat. --- We had a couple of big scoring eruptions that deserve being called out: \-- Mary Allen had 42 in Central's win over Bucksport \-- Wyatt Benoit hit 7 3's scored 41 in TA's win over Oxford Hills Elsewhere Cyran Carleglio had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in Hodgdon's win over Central Aroostook, who got 30 from Jahleel Joseph....Maren Maxon had 22 in Wells' win over Cape...Chase Flewelling had 18 in Easton's win...Lilly Burtt had 19 in Central Aroostook's win...Gabriella Silva's 19 led Biddeford to an easy win over Bonny Eagle...Cape got 22 from Eli Smith to beat Wells...Abdirahman Dakane's game-high 22 was nearly enough for Lewiston to beat Cheverus...Billy Birks' 20 led Falmouth past Biddeford...Atticus Whitten's 20 got Gorham by Sanford...Winslow's Braden Rodrigue had 29, but it wasn't enough to beat Jacob Gibbs (19) and Colin Schlobohm (16) of Leavitt...Bryce Stacey's 17 led Sacopee Valley over NYA...Scarborough's Carter Blanche's big third quarter was the difference against Diing Maiwen (22) and Edward Little...Jack Brocke's 20 and Taylor Varney's 18 led St. Dom's over OOB...Peyton Reckards' 22 & 10 and Ricardo Louis' 16 & 10 were more than enough for Temple against Rangeley...Reese MacDonald dropped 27 on Poland...Kyle Lamson dropped 24 in Cheverus' win over Lewiston...Torie Tibbetts' 19 & 13 led Hall-Dale to a win against Monmouth...Caitlyn McCoy and Gabby Smith combined for 40 as Leavitt made short work of Winslow...Natalie Lathrop and Isabelle Tice combined for 40 as Marshwood made short work of Noble...Cali Pomerleau scored 17 as Mt. Ararat led Freeport 38-13 at the half...Ella Pelletier's 23 and Gabbie Tibbetts' 21 nearly matched TA's 45...Nya Avery's 18 & 12 led York to a win over Poland. --- Haley Jones has an update on the Oak Hill incident. [Unruly fans disrupt Wales basketball game; 8 escorted outRSU 4 Superintendent Katy Grondin says 3 fans were ejected and 5 asked to leave for their behavior in Oak Hill girls game.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-37.png)Press HeraldHaley JonesSun Journal![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/2deck-Varsity-Maine-logo-display-image-1639793462-2.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/02/04/unruly-fans-disrupt-wales-basketball-game-8-escorted-out/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIPuvlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHWKTWaSp3MZdYQrEu1%5F3ogaY%5FvWxHKXx28sgquqHjTUxBd-B%5FD9qDJtwjA%5Faem%5F9kBLKckeAdkR8-PCWHa0FQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's a quote in here from Oak Hill superintendent Katy Grondin > Obviously it’s disappointing to see that, because I know the tradition of Oak Hill and our school department is being supportive and wanting to have good sportsmanship. I know the athletic director has spoken personally to folks, and we’re going to keep having those conversations and putting things into place, because we also want to make sure schools that are coming to us can see that we’re taking this type of incident seriously, and we want people to feel comfortable coming to our schools to watch contests like that. > I hope (those involved are) reflecting; we all have lessons learned, and hopefully they’ve reflected on perhaps (how) they could have handled things differently. Hopefully, they’ll be returning to be those fans we know they can be, which are positive support for our athletes and respecting our officials. This all sounds good, but my (very limited) experience with Oak Hill fans and the experiences of nearly everyone I've spoken to in the MVC about this has repeated that Oak Hill absolutely does not have a reputation of good sportsmanship. So I guess we'll see. It sounds like Grondin has a lot of work to do to turn this around. --- Here's a nice bit of sportsmanship in last night's MDI/Ellsworth game. Chris Popper has more. [MDI and Ellsworth Girls Basketball Teams Combine for a Magical Moment on Senior Night \[VIDEO\]Two of the biggest rivals, MDI and Ellsworth combined to create a magical moment on Senior Night at Ellsworth High School on Tuesday, February 4th. Check out the video and see for yourself![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/WDEAAM-1.png)WDEA AM 1370Chris Popper![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/attachment-MDI-EHS.jpg)](https://wdea.am/mdi-and-ellsworth-girls-basketball-teams-combine-for-a-magical-moment-on-senior-night-video/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIPvgBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHSyjrYhsXlwGuz6KI4Wli2%5FmU3VfpV9BQT7Rihp3NTsBkckZYZoHq%5FAyrQ%5Faem%5Fq95Zo0za8ylMinww3qz0zA&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Maybe we should just put the kids in charge. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day-2.jpg) So you may have heard it's going to snow Thursday. Some schools are moving their Thursday games to Wednesday. Some are moving them to Friday. Some are doing both. And some might actually get played on Thursday. It's a mess. So I'm just going to list the next couple days by the day they were scheduled and we'll wing it. But we'll pull the Game of the Day by the Wednesday games. So let's go back to B North boys. Ellsworth has locked up a bye. That much we know. They'll be the 2 seed. MDI is likely going to be the 4 or the 5, but in B North that's the line between a bye and a home prelim game, so it's an important distinction. There's also quite a bit of competition for that bye! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-05-at-1.29.51-AM.png) MDI is 38.5% to get the bye and 23.5% to beat Ellsworth, so there's quite a lot of ways they could hold on to the spot with a loss. But a win would be easier! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-05-at-1.22.30-AM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of this week's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 115, 53, 12 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/115-53-12/ Last updated: 2025-02-04T11:24:09.000Z Let's start in Woodland, where Mattanawcook's Andrew Oliver was on a heater. He scored 26 in the first quarter and had 40 at the half on 9/11(!!!) shooting from deep. Oliver finished with 53 points on 12/17 shooting from 3 in three quarters. Mattanawcook's coach Adam Mahaney left him in to start the 4th for a shot at the 13th 3, but pulled him soon after. 0:00 /0:15 1× video courtesy of Danielle Neal Mattanawcook won 115-50, tying Buckfield for the highest scoring output of the year. --- The Dirigo boys entered last night 0-3 in games decided in the final 3 seconds. But Dakota White put an end to that. > Dakota White at the buzzer! > Dirigo 40, Spruce Mountain 39 > ⁦[@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)⁩ [pic.twitter.com/LSf1HwO0Yb](https://t.co/LSf1HwO0Yb?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Nick (@NCfan2015) [February 4, 2025](https://twitter.com/NCfan2015/status/1886607104846307362?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's a big win for Dirigo that vaults them into the 8 seed and that all-important home prelim. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-03-at-10.48.03-PM-2d2fc52d4b26412b.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Waynflete is done, so they can't catch them, but OOB might be able to. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-03-at-10.49.44-PM-d7314bb818e9fd41-562bdea07930c0ea.png) Doing the math in my head, a win over St. Dom's would do the trick, but that's a tall order. A win over NYA means nothing. If you're Dirigo, you've got to feel pretty good about your chances. We'll have a better idea when I run the Tourney Odds later today. --- We haven't done this in a while. Let's go to Foxcroft Academy. Yeah, that's a stall. Foxcroft took roughly 3 minutes out of the game in the 2nd quarter and picked up a big win over Orono that might have punched their ticket to the Tournament, assuming MCI doesn't beat Lincoln Academy and hit a crazy help point parlay. So when the shot clock debate resurfaces in the next couple weeks (you know it will) and people pull out the old defense that teams don't *really* stall, remember this. Because, yes, they really do. And it sucks. Elsewhere Isaiah Ervin scored 20 of his 41 points in the 4th quarter to lead Houlton past Fort Fairfield...Trenton Haskell had 21 and Buckfield held off a fourth quarter Wiscasset rally to finish the season 9-9...Jackson Newton's 20 points let Carrabec to a win over Telstar in overtime...Lawrence got 19 from Brayden Davidson in a win over Cony...Liana Hartwell had an 11 points, 11 steals, and 10 assists triple-double as Valley moved to 16-0 with a blowout win over Pine Tree...Aden Jeffers had 20 as Fort Kent blew out Wisdom...Lily Oliver had 24 as Fort Kent beat Wisdom. --- Oh. My. God. > Yay! A Cony player just hung on the rim after a dunk (to avoid landing on a Lawrence defender who was pursuing him) and......NO TECHNICAL FOUL WAS CALLED!!! [pic.twitter.com/3qBLBZfYJh](https://t.co/3qBLBZfYJh?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rob Kennedy 🌲 🏒 (@RobKennedy70) [February 4, 2025](https://twitter.com/RobKennedy70/status/1886565717190815863?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's a miracle! Did we do it? Did we fix the dunk technical? I'm guessing we did not. Speaking of refs... After a week of toxic fan behavior, this is heartwarming to see. > Amazing moment in the final seconds of the Eisenhower-Northwestern girls game as the Wildcats call a timeout to honor official Bernie Mackowski. Tonight was his last varsity game in 51 years of officiating! ⁦[@PIAASports](https://twitter.com/PIAASports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)⁩ [#thankyouofficials](https://twitter.com/hashtag/thankyouofficials?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/CnaQxX4jxw](https://t.co/CnaQxX4jxw?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tom Reisenweber (@ETNreisenweber) [February 4, 2025](https://twitter.com/ETNreisenweber/status/1886583922365960418?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Dickie V is coming back! > Dick Vitale will call his first college basketball game in nearly two years this Saturday as Duke takes on Clemson, per [@ESPNPR](https://twitter.com/ESPNPR?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 👏 [pic.twitter.com/2tpCFfY60v](https://t.co/2tpCFfY60v?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) [February 3, 2025](https://twitter.com/CBKReport/status/1886517483936604345?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day-5d919c10c2028339.jpg) With the snow this week, the schedule is a bit of a mess. Teams are moving games around to make sure they get them in. A lot of Thursday's game have already been moved to Wednesday. So it's going to be a bit of a moving target. Also I'm calling a bit of an audible in the Game of the Day. It's supposed to be the Cony/Lawrence girls game, but we just did that and it didn't go well. So let's go to the next game on the list and...oh boy. The Erskine girls have the inside track on the 2 seed in B North and have the top scoring offense in Class B and lead Class B in scoring differential. They're having a really good year! And a not great week because, you know. They'll visit a Mount View team that's trying to get the 4 seed in C North. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-04-at-12.53.50-AM-acc43e54b3837b32.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A THIRD Fan Gets Ejected URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/a-third-fan-gets-ejected/ Last updated: 2025-02-03T10:44:17.000Z One unruly fan is an anomaly. Some bad luck. An outlier. A second unruly fan in the same week, well maybe that's a fluke. Surely there won't be another. Let's go to Old Town! At least he left quietly, which is progress? Caribou won handily, so maybe the fan just didn't want to watch the rest? But you could hear him on the stream for most of the game. You REALLY have to be obnoxious to get ejected as a fan. I find it hard to believe this is the end of it. I'm kind of dreading what might happen next. Chris Popper wrote a post for WDEA asking the adults to start acting like adults. It's worth a read. [It’s Time for the Adults to Act Like Grown-ups and Set an Example for Their Children \[OPINION\]Fans behavior at games have gotten out of hand! Here’s my suggestions on what should be done to fans who are ejected and to the team and players if a family member is ejected![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/WDEAAM.png)WDEA AM 1370Chris Popper![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/attachment-RS52065_GettyImages-1292401641-scr.jpg)](https://wdea.am/ixp/591/p/its-time-for-the-adults-to-act-like-grown-ups-and-set-an-example-for-their-children-opinion/?utm%5Fsource=tsmclip&utm%5Fmedium=referral&fbclid=IwY2xjawIMoWBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRf4bFFHcStZZFPWXzmV9ndzvWAL-7Hji9gVstOp11EduACmcD4ylNFXHA%5Faem%5Fchedpb2l705fp5Ld3xdSmA) Chris is proposing three ideas that have varying degrees of punishment. 1. If a fan gets tossed, they are escorted out of the school. They are not allowed to attend any more games not only for the rest of that sport season, but for the rest of the school year. Get tossed out in Football season, you'll miss basketball and baseball/softball seasons. Get tossed in Basketball...You'll miss the Spring Sport Season. This goes for home and away contests. I know it will be hard to enforce at away games, but it can be enforced. 2. If it occurs at a basketball game, there is an immediate technical foul called and the opposing team will shoot 2 free throws and have the basketball. 3. And here's perhaps the most radical suggestion, if it's a parent of a player, that player has to leave the game. The coach will be forced to bench him/her for the rest of the game. The first one seems fair. If a kid gets ejected, the MPA makes them sit out the next game. It certainly seems like an adult who has no reason to interact with the game itself should be subject to a harsher penalty than a teenager in the heat of competition. The second one is already a rule. I don't think I've ever seen it called in person, but it's a rule. As for the third one, I would argue that the kid has already been punished enough by having that person as a parent. No one has it worse here than Shooter's son. Jim Baines had a suggestion on Facebook that perhaps an ejected fan wouldn't be allowed to go to a game until they pass some sort of rules test. That's an idea I like a lot. Obviously, that was going to be the subject of this week's podcast. [Smash that subscribe button.](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/01kY6fE0w1X5ebm1EnUU27?si=c4aab26b5a634cf7&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Ok, enough of the idiot parents (hopefully), let's talk about the kids. GNG's Johnny Patenaude went off against Greely on Saturday with 40! Michael Hoffer was there with a writeup. [Greely boys no match for sizzling Patenaude, Gray-NGPatriots’ standout goes off for 40 points in a 69-56 victory.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-36.png)Press HeraldMichael HofferForecaster/Leader/Sentry![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20250201_140549.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/02/01/greely-boys-no-match-for-sizzling-patnaude-gray-ng/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The defending champs, once left for dead at 2-10, have now won 4 straight, might just have punched their ticket to the postseason and now have a 67.3% chance of getting a bye straight to the Expo. They could even get in the 4/5 game! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-02-at-10.10.22-PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- Let's go to Wells, where Maren Maxon is on the verge of scoring her 1,000th point. video used by permission Maxon finished with 18 points, 7 boards, and 5 assists and Megyn Mertens led all scorers with 25 as Wells took care of Fryeburg. Wells will be the 5 seed in B South. --- Over the weekend, I cleaned up the missing scores, so the Heal Points should be fully up-to-date. Check your team and make sure I didn't enter something incorrectly. It's been a weird week. [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Elsewhere Colin Schlobohm's game winner with 2 seconds left lifted Leavitt to a win over Morse...Garrett Gendreau had 21 for Waterville but it wasn’t enough. David Wright led MCI with 27...Leavitt's Caitlyn McCoy hit 6 3's en route to 27 points in Leavitt's win over Morse...The Caribou girls survived when Old Town missed a free throw with no time on the clock...Jan Curtis had 24 in Presque Isle's win over Foxcroft...Richmond's Jake Gay had 15 & 8 against North Haven...Gio Staples had 25 but it couldn't beat Travis Edgerton (21) and Biddeford...Searsport's Baileigh Bagley has 26 points,16 boards, and 11 blocks in a win over Wiscasset...Cole Perkins had 19 in Kennebunk's win over Cape...Waynflete got 23 from JJ Carlo, but OOB got 15 each from Trot Moody and Brady Plante to get the win...Jake Jamo had 19 in Poland's win over Lake Region...Lucas Ketchum had 21 in York's win over Yarmouth...Kendall Therrien dropped 25 as Kennebunk beat Deering...Nya Avery had 20 in York's win over Yarmouth. --- Cooper Flagg has had a fantastic year, but there's been a subset of people who were saying, "ok, but let's see Flagg do it against Carolina" that echoed people who once said, "ok, but let's see him do it at the Augusta Civic Center against Brewer". Alright, that was me. Boy did our guy do it against Carolina. And people took notice. > All I can say in 45 years [@espn](https://twitter.com/espn?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I have not seen a player as young as [@Cooper\_Flagg](https://twitter.com/Cooper%5FFlagg?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) so skilled - he is in his own World - he is THAT GOOD! > > — Dick Vitale (@DickieV) [February 1, 2025](https://twitter.com/DickieV/status/1885839738063454536?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) !!! And... [Dave O’Brien says Duke’s Cooper Flagg is comparable in some ways to, well, Larry Bird - The Boston GlobeO’Brien has called Duke games for the ACC Network and sees remarkable similarities.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-7.png)The Boston GlobeEmail to a Friend Share on Facebook Share on TwitterPrint this Article View Comments![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/GR5FI5KJURHE7U6YEDMTAWINZE.jpg)](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/02/01/sports/dave-obrien-cooper-flagg-larry-bird/?fbclid=IwY2xjawILyEpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHer055m8HaJDFpOI%5FIYzbGjO970E3qQYrP9ltSd2w4A3iOfGkMWVNS29Xw%5Faem%5FUy5CPW5YnsLgTwgjSbZJ2g&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And this from old friend James Corrigan. > Cooper Flagg. The DiriGOAT > > — James Corrigan (@RealCorrigan) [February 1, 2025](https://twitter.com/RealCorrigan/status/1885837623106654647?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I don't know who's in charge of the nicknames, but this should be *the* nickname. DiriGOAT is awesome. --- Zach Lowe is BACK!!! > I screwed up the "welcome to" but I had to. [pic.twitter.com/WweA8cEWIc](https://t.co/WweA8cEWIc?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe\_NBA) [February 3, 2025](https://twitter.com/ZachLowe%5FNBA/status/1886245748947202446?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) After starting 0-3, Madison righted the ship, winning 6 of 7\. Since then, they've been alternating wins and losses and they're essentially in a [coin flip](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) with Winthrop for the 6 seed in C South. Their last game was a loss, so if they keep alternating, they're due for a win. Just don't tell Maranacook. The Black Bears are in the middle of a B North that's an absolute mess from 4 to 15\. 8 different teams could get the 4 seed. 7 different teams still have a "??" next to their name in the Tourney Odds. For context, we know 9 of the 10 tourney teams in B South. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-02-at-11.11.44-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) The Model think Maranacook punches their ticket today, but not by much. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-02-at-10.00.34-PM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### EIGHT Parents Ejected URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/eight-parents-ejected/ Last updated: 2025-02-01T18:07:16.000Z This newsletter is coming in late because, oh boy. Most people, after seeing someone get embarrassed online for acting like a fool in public, would think twice about their own actions and maybe be more mindful going forward, at least for a couple of days. Not this dude. This dude said "hold my beer". The Integrity of the Game! If you want a longer look, go to around 1:16:00 in the timecode. [Oak Hill High School • ScheduleLocated in Sabattus, ME. Find scheduled events, watch livestreams and explore rosters.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-11.ico)Hudl![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/HudlLogoPreview.3b9b0b68.png)](https://fan.hudl.com/usa/me/sabattus/organization/15853/oak-hill-high-school/schedule?date=2025-01-26T05%3A00%3A00.000Z&range=Week&s=U2NoZWR1bGVFbnRyeVB1YmxpY1N1bW1hcnk2NzU0OTJkMWJiNzc0YzAyNWQxZWU2ZDM%3D&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I didn't watch the whole game, because what other context do you need? As the kids say, you can't do that. The parent charges the floor and gets in the ref's face. I think it's worth pointing out the AD gets there very quickly, which probably means he had reason to believe something might happen in that part of the building. Neither of these teams will make the play-in, so it's not like this game has larger stakes. It's just a regular season game of two teams playing out the string. The refs then take the ball and leave the floor, exiting out the same door the ejected fan left through, and are gone for like 6 minutes. During this time, you can see the coaches talking, probably something like this: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-01-at-12.48.33-AM.png) As the offending parties file out, one of the Oak Hill players runs over to give them a hug. I'm dying to know what happened in the hallway. Eventually the refs and the AD return. The AD informs the crowd that if there are any more incidents the game will be completed with no fans, because this is where we are now. You can see the difference in the crowd. Before ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-01-31-at-11.18.59-PM.png) And after ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-01-31-at-11.19.34-PM.png) As you can see, the ejected fans were all sitting together. I'm not sure if all of those empty seats represent ejected fans. Some might just be people who left because the ejected fan was their ride. This is obviously horrible and considering the incident earlier this week, it looks even worse. I will just say that this fall I was at a field hockey event involving Oak Hill and the parents on several occasions called the opposing players a derogatory term that will get you slapped at a bar. One of those players was my step daughter, so my empathy for their side of the story is pretty much zero. No, it's less than zero. If you remember last year's ginned-up "controversy" about the MPA banning teams from the playoffs for sportsmanship reasons, this is the sort of thing the rule is there for. Let's go to a non-toxic Facebook comment. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-01-at-11.57.39-AM-1.png) Oak Hill has already banned themselves from the tournament, so that's taken care of, but I'd tread lightly if I was a program with parents who are a problem. You already know who those people are in your program. Maybe have a talk with them? It's not hard to imagine this getting worse and someone getting hurt. I don't know if this would work, but maybe we get a biker gang together that goes from gym to gym and scares the living crap out of these idiots? Just an idea. Feel free to use it. In the end, you should keep watching that Hudl link, because Boothbay won it on a put-back at the buzzer! Ball don't lie. Tatum French had 19 for the Seahawks. --- I went to the Medomak Valley @ Oceanside double-header, which was a cancer fundraiser. I'm so tired. The first half of the girls' game was...not great. > At the half > > Medomak 13 (21%) > Oceanside 9 (9%) > > Burn the tape > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [January 31, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1885455805027078160?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In the second half, Medomak extended their lead to 8, then Oceanside went on a 14-2 run to take the lead, then milked the clock for a large chunk of the second half and came away with a 3-point win in a game that they won't putting in the Hall of Fame. But if you had the over in "players hitting the floor" and jump ball calls, you had a nice payday. Aubrianna Hoose had 11 for Oceanside. Kytana Williamson led Medomak with 14. The boys game was better, but not all that compelling as Medomak was in control the whole time. Gabe Lash left in the second quarter with a bloody nose after taking an inadvertent blow from Zeb Foster on a play at the rim and Medomak led 27-16 at the half. Kristian Schumann hit 3 shots from deep in the third quarter as the Panthers extended their lead to 20\. He finished with 18\. Medomak won 69-45 to go to 17-0\. Lash had 11 rebounds and 6 assists and the Panthers had 9 different players score. Zeb Foster had 23 for Oceanside. Elsewhere. Lily Oliver had a game high 29 points and 10 steals for Fort Kent...Nolan Ames did a little bit of everything with 23 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 5 blocks, but it wasn't enough to overcome Parker Morin and Cony as the Rams won a thriller...Max Bouchard's 12 & 10 helped Bonny Eagle to a win over Lewiston...Leo McNabb's 21 led Cheverus against SoPo...Owen Galway had 17 and Diing Maiwen added 15 in Edward Little's win over Bangor...Brady Atwater's 17 led Gardiner to a win over Nokomis...Brody Morgan nearly outscored Islesboro by himself with his 18...Wyatt Benoit dropped 27 on Deering...Creighty Dickson had 20 & 16 as Windham snapped a 3 game losing streak...Avery Clark scored 21 as Bangor rallied to beat Edward Little...Alma Bewsher had 16 and Islesboro held Telstar to 16...Lewiston got 20 from Ella Beaudoin against Bonny Eagle...Celia Bergdahl had 21 & 12 as Maranacook blew out Monmouth...Isabelle Tice scored 19 and Sarah Theriault added 18 as Marshwood cruised...South Portland used a 26-point 3rd quarter to erase a 6-point deficit against Cheverus...Maddie Grimaldi's shooting helped Spruce pull away from Mountain Valley. --- Former podcast guest Chad Pulkkinen is your McDonald's AA Coach of the year. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/image.png) These are starting to trickle out, but I haven't seen a full list yet. --- This couldn't be more up my alley. Mike Mandell has a great story on how teams are embracing analytics to win games. [Looking for an edge, Maine high school teams dive into dataAdvanced statistics are playing an increasingly bigger role across a variety of sports.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-35.png)Kennebec Journal and Morning SentinelMike MandellKennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/40954164_20250123_02analytics.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/01/31/looking-for-an-edge-maine-high-school-teams-dive-into-data/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Fun fact: I got into doing all of this by doing analytics for my brother's team many years ago, way back before Hudl was even a thing. One thing I learned is you can't just go by numbers. You have to merge them with what's on tape. They have to work together in some way. And that's what makes something like Hudl so helpful. --- Is this good? > CELTIC HISTORY: MOST FG FOR LEAD/WIN, FINAL :05 > (Since 1996-97) > > 13 JAYSON TATUM > 13 Paul Pierce > 6 Antoine Walker > 4 Ray Allen > 3 Bradley, Brown, R. Davis, Fox, J. Green, Horford, Turner[@Stathead](https://twitter.com/Stathead?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dick Lipe (@DickLipe) [February 1, 2025](https://twitter.com/DickLipe/status/1885538921926246862?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/game-of-the-day.jpg) Let's finish this up. The Caribou girls have wrapped up the 1 seed in B North. They'll host an Old Town team that's trying to grab the 2 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-01-at-1.18.16-AM-1.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Lions Roar URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/lions-roar/ Last updated: 2025-01-31T10:48:57.000Z You might remember back on Opening Night when Maranacook beat Monmouth in a game with 6 technical fouls. Last night, Monmouth got some revenge, winning their 9th straight game and vaulting to 2nd place in C South. Mike Mandell has a great writeup of what looks like it was a fantastic game. [Monmouth boys basketball tops Maranacook in thrilling MVC showdownBlack Bears surge in third quarter, but Mustangs bounce back in the fourth to prevail in a tight late-season contest.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-34.png)Kennebec Journal and Morning SentinelMike MandellKennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/41066272_20250130_monmarboy_0y11.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/01/30/monmouth-boys-basketball-tops-maranacook-in-thrilling-mvc-showdown/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Jack Fontaine continued his big year for Maranacook, leading all scorers with 26 points and 10 boards. Aiden Oliveira paced Monmouth with 18\. --- The Belfast boys pulled off an upset, beating Lincoln Academy 50-39 behind 15 points, 12 boards, and 5 assists from Trevin Ripley. I'm running the Tourney Odds as I write this, but it appears this might have punched Belfast's ticket to the play-in, bumping them from the 13 seed to the 9\. They're now 97.1% to get at least a prelim (they were 67% before the game), an impressive turnaround for first-year coach Travis Ripley and his assistants. Considering the program history and how last year played out, this is Coach of the Year territory for Ripley. Check out your team's updated Tourney Odds. [Tourney OddsWill your team make the tournament?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-25.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/tourney-odds-1-2.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- It didn't take long for Penobscot Valley's Ellie Austin to get her 1,000th point last night against Penquis Valley. Here's the bucket that put her over the top. And then the Howlers kept going, winning 103-11\. I feel like this comes up every couple of days, but there's not a lot you can do when the talent disparity is so stark. Penobscot Valley is now first in the state in scoring (78.1 ppg), second in scoring defense (21.3 ppg), and first in +/- (+909!!!). To put the +/- number in context, here's the teams that are +450 or better: 1. Penobscot Valley +909 2. Valley girls +629 3. Madawaska boys +503 4. Machias boys +491 5. Hodgdon boys +480 6. Medomak Valley boys +473 7. Erskine girls +459 8. Katahdin boys +452 9. Lawrence girls +450 Elsewhere Jace Bessey made his last home game a memorable one, going off for 38 points on 7 3's as Spruce cruised...Maren Maxon had 36 points & 10 rebounds in 3 quarters for Wells against Traip...Claire Gaetani dropped 30 on Bapst...Isaiah Ervin dropped 27 on Old Town...Sydney Gelhar scored 15 points to lead Freeport past Lake Region...Ella Giguere's 18 helped NYA beat St. Dom's...Sanford got 20 from Paige Sevigny and 19 & 17 from Mollie Puffer in a win over Kennebunk...Olivia Childs had 20 points as Erskine got back in the win column against Morse...Brendan Shaw scored 20 points and Brunswick rallied down 16 to beat Greely...Pine Tree's Collin Verrill scored 26 points, but it was no match for Buckfield's balanced attack. They were led by Trenton Haskell's 17...Carrabec's Jackson Newton had 19 in a win over Temple...Mogga Yanga's double-double (10 & 10) led Deering to a resounding win over Massabesic...Theo Pow's 18 led Kennebunk to a come-from-behind win over Sanford...Cooper Smith had 22 as Lake Region beat Freeport...Bryce Wilcox's 17 led Mt. Abram to a runaway win over Madison...Poland's Damon Martin juuuust missed a triple-double with 16 points, 10 assists, and 9 rebounds (Check the tape! Maybe there's another rebound in there!) in a win over OOB...Richmond's Leeum Dufresne dropped 28 on Rangeley, out-dueling Sam Morrill's 27...JJ Carlo had 22 in Waynflete's win over Sacopee Valley...Wells got 21 points from Jeremy Therrien and 16 & 9 from Nolan Brown as they beat Traip...Westbrook's John Cubahiro had 20 in a win over Gorham...Braden Rodrigue had 16 as Winslow blew out Waterville...York had 4 players in double figures to move to 16-0. --- The saga of the parent getting ejected rolls on, with the video [clearing 1.5 million views on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings/videos/593382146916644) and almost 1,000 comments as I write this, some of which are saying insane stuff like the MPA should shut me down, I should be sued for defamation of character, and I should not allowed around kids. It's been a weird week. Anyway, the whole situation got so bad the MPA sent out a press release that included the following: > With so much left to learn, our student-athletes look to coaches, parents, and fans as models for appropriate conduct. We must then make clear our expectations for all who attend high school athletic events. As you would expect, this instantly led people to reconsider some of the choices they've made in life, a real "look in the mirror" moment. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-30-at-10.23.41-PM.png) Or not. Again, the refs in this game were perfectly fine. [Full MPA Press Release on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaineHSBasketball/posts/2027540561084561/?comment%5Fid=2027625101076107&reply%5Fcomment%5Fid=2027689694402981¬if%5Fid=1738268901436657¬if%5Ft=group%5Fcomment) --- Old friend Terry Rozier might have gotten himself into a little bit of trouble. [Terry Rozier gambling investigation: Feds probing NBA veteran over 2023 game, link to Jontay Porter ringThe NBA conducted an investigation in March 2023 and says it did not find any rules violations![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180.png)CBSSports.comSam Quinn![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/terry-rozier-getty.png)](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/terry-rozier-gambling-investigation-feds-probing-nba-veteran-over-2023-game-link-to-jontay-porter-ring/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This doesn't look like a problem that's going to go away. One suggestion I saw was to get rid of under prop bets, which in theory could work but I don't know if anyone has the stones to actually do that. It's easier to punish players ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-25.jpg) After 3 straight Windham losses, the door is suddenly open for Cheverus to snag the 1 seed in AA North. The Stags are 12-3 and now in position to get the bye to the semifinals. South Portland is 12-3 and while it looks like they're in a toss-up for the 1 seed, TA is actually in control. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-at-12.55.18-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-31-at-12.57.12-AM-1-1.png) SoPo will need to win out to get the 1\. Can they beat a team that beat them by 22 all the way back on December 17th? Could this be a preview of the Gold Ball game? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-30-at-10.42.19-PM-1.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Here Comes Orono URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/here-comes-orono/ Last updated: 2025-01-30T11:34:24.000Z In the Game of the Day, Orono survived against Hermon in overtime behind 18 points and 7 rebounds from Will Francis. Eastern Maine Sports was there and caught up with him after the game. As Francis said, this is a big Heal Points win for Orono, who have suddenly won 5 in a row. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-29-at-10.45.29-PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) The win doesn't actually do much for Orono, seeding-wise. It moves their odds for the 3 seed from 75% to 90.7%. The real impact is on Hermon. They entered the game with a 34% chance of getting the last bye in B North. That's down to 8.6% now. Assuming the top 3 seeds are Caribou, Ellsworth, and Orono, B North now looks like this. Yikes. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-29-at-11.41.15-PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Elsewhere Reiley Hedden's game-high 16 points led Telstar to an easy win over Wiscasset...Torie Tibbetts gave Hall-Dale 20 & 10 and the Bulldogs beat Madison by 21...Maddie Grimaldi's 16 and Avery Bessey's 15 helped Spruce Mountain run away from Mt. Abram and re-take 1st place in B South...Telstar survived a 14-4 fourth quarter by Wiscasset to win 33-32 for their second win of the year...Ava Ezell had 22 as Hodgdon beat East Grand...Madelyn Deprey dropped 23 on Houlton. --- Update from yesterday: apparently the 13 3's by Buckfield's Trenton Haskell was actually a state record, eclipsing Taylor Schildroth's 12 back in 2017! > I had this documented but in wrong place. Taylor Schildroth had tied the 3 point record of 12 in 2017 but the young man from Buckfield did break it with 13 last night. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/rVpypahT8D](https://t.co/rVpypahT8D?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — TheStatsGuy (@TheStatsGuy262) [January 29, 2025](https://twitter.com/TheStatsGuy262/status/1884639479324868696?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you've been on Facebook, there's a good chance you've seen the video by now, but there's a better view of the Erskine fan getting ejected on Tuesday. The feedback has been about what you'd expect from an incident like this--about 95% "what the hell?" and 5% "you guys don't understand, the refs were really bad!" They weren't. It was a perfectly average night, ref-wise. They missed some calls that helped Erskine. They missed some calls that helped Medomak. They made a couple of bewildering calls. But even if it was the most atrocious job of officiating ever--Peter Well Hall of Famers, if you will--there's zero excuse for this kind of behavior. And this wasn't an isolated incident. They could have easily tossed several fans from the same area. You know the parent that views every call against his kid's team as a personal affront? The parent that screams bloody murder about an out of bounds call in the first quarter like it's the final play of the game? Well there were like 5 of those guys in that section. The ref got fed up. And based on the performance on the way out the door, he made the right call. Because it was like that the whole game. And it's a shame because Erskine has a really good team and it was a really good game. The kids deserve better. There's some weird pushback that the guy volunteered to get ejected and that makes him a martyr or whatever. Even if that's true, his actions on the way out the door were reprehensible. Grow up. There's also people mad at me for sharing it, but I firmly believe putting toxic behavior like this on blast is the best way to deal with it. So I'm going to keep doing it. Maybe don't make a fool of yourself at a high school basketball game if you don't want to embarrass your community. --- I'll also keep sharing awesome game-winning shots (with permission, of course), like this one from the Capital Area League middle school championship game, where Maranacook and Cony are tied at 70 in overtime. That's Maranacook 7th grader Liam Ferran finding 8th grader Carter Nelson for the game winner! --- Leavitt's Wyatt Hathaway scored his 1,000th point for CMCC. > After both Wyatt Hathaway and Ella Lavigne scored their 1,000th points on the road last weekend, Mustangs fans got a chance to congratulate them before tonight's games against UMaine-Augusta! 🐴🏀🎉 [@YSCC8](https://twitter.com/YSCC8?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@USCAA](https://twitter.com/USCAA?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)[#cmmustangs](https://twitter.com/hashtag/cmmustangs?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#horsepower](https://twitter.com/hashtag/horsepower?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#basketball](https://twitter.com/hashtag/basketball?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/zzMU9uVTO5](https://t.co/zzMU9uVTO5?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — CMCC Athletics (@CMCCMustangs) [January 30, 2025](https://twitter.com/CMCCMustangs/status/1884820539153236189?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Here's your reminder to maybe not worry about the Celtics so much. > Some perspective as we approach the 50-game mark of the title defense season. > > The Celtics are on pace for the 4th best scoring margin in their 79-year history. > > Of the 7 that outscored teams by 8+ points/game, only the 68-win 1973 team (Havlicek injury), did not win the title. [pic.twitter.com/5oHpY2h79u](https://t.co/5oHpY2h79u?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) [January 30, 2025](https://twitter.com/SeanGrandePBP/status/1884822836923023501?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-24.jpg) Let's go to Camden, where the Windjammers are hosting the defending A North champs from Cony. Camden has won 6 of their last 8 games and with Tuesday's win over Hampden, they're in 3rd place in the Heal Points. Cony had won 12 straight before running into the buzzsaw that is Lawrence on Tuesday. Cony won the first matchup back in December by 7\. Camden can't catch Cony for the 2 seed, but they can hold off Hampden for the 3 seed and stay out of Lawrence's side of the bracket. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-29-at-10.52.44-PM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A Fan Gets Ejected URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/a-fan-gets-ejected/ Last updated: 2025-01-29T13:16:41.000Z I was going to go to the Game of the Day at Mt. Ararat, but I was tired and didn't feel like making the drive, so I figured I'd stay close to home and see my niece's JV game against Erskine. She played well! Seven minutes into the varsity game (between 12-3 Medomak Valley and 12-2 Erskine), it seemed like maybe I had made the wrong decision, as the Erskine girls led Medomak Valley 17-2, the Panthers had missed their first 15 shots and couldn't get anything going against an active Erskine defense that forced 15 first half turnovers. They also couldn't slow down Kienna Morse, who had 8 points in the first quarter to go with 2 steals. Factor in that Erskine won the earlier matchup in China by 18 and this one had blowout written all over it. Medomak shot it a little better in the 2nd quarter (4/12), but Erskine's defense was everywhere, pushing the lead to 16 before Sadie Knight closed the half with a three to cut it to 13\. Kelsie Dunn opened the half with a three to get the lead back to 16 and then I'm not really sure what happened next, but something clicked with the Panthers. They went on a 17-1 run to tie the game, with Audrey Jackson scoring 8 points and blocking 2 shots and Kytana Williamson dishing out 4 assists. Out of a timeout, Kinsey Ulmer stopped the bleeding and the teams traded buckets until, well, things got interesting. Tied 41-41, Erskine coach Danielle Lefferts got hot after a call and picked up a technical warning. To set the stage, the Erskine crowd was not thrilled with the officiating, even as they were threatening to run away with the game in the first half. So as you can imagine, the second half didn't help matters. After the tech warning, this happened. 0:00 /1:02 1× video courtesy of LCTV.org That's Larry Sidelinger and Phil Carlson on the call. And kudos to them for showing the incident and not doing the thing where they pan away from the guy who runs on the field as to "not encourage them". Because these incidents are ugly and the best thing to do is shine a light on stuff like this and expose the idiocy. Watching it live, there was a minute where you thought he might make contact with the cop and it's not hard to imagine what could have happened had the officer been in a bad mood, because...that's a lot of extra time screaming at the ref as you're being exported out of the building by a guy with handcuffs and a taser. Seems like a bad idea, is all. Looking at it longer, I think it's commendable that the ref didn't give Lefferts a tech in that situation--she certainly had earned one--and give away free points in a tied game in the fourth quarter. It's way better to give the warning and toss an unruly fan. After the delay, Kytana Williamson and Chloe Fox took over to close out the game and Medomak won 52-46\. Williamson finished on quadruple-double watch with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, and 8 steals. Fox added 12 points and 19 rebounds. Kelsie Dunn led Erskine with 12 and 7\. With Medomak's win and the Oceanside loss to Mt. Ararat, we have quite a bit of clarity in B South girls. Here's the heal points. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-29-at-1.35.35-AM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) And here's the Tourney Odds. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-29-at-1.30.18-AM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Wells is locked in at 5\. Biddeford is probably 4, but they could move up. Without digging into it, I'd guess Oceanside would have to lose 2 of their final 3 and maybe all three to drop to 4\. They'd have to win out to get to 2\. Medomak and Spruce is interesting. With an extra game to play, I assume Spruce controls their own destiny. The big question is that final bye. This is down to York and Mountain Valley after Yarmouth and Lincoln Academy lost yesterday. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-29-at-2.34.21-AM.png) As for B North, it's a mess. --- Buckfield's Trenton Haskell WENT OFF against Rangeley, drilling THIRTEEN THREES en route to 49(!!!) points. > Buckfield 83 > > Rangeley 54 > > Bucks were lead by Trenton Haskell 49 pts 13 3s > > Rangeley was lead by Sam Morill-15pts and Brayden Thompson 17pts[@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Coach Cadman (@coach\_cadman) [January 28, 2025](https://twitter.com/coach%5Fcadman/status/1884385036247388356?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Down south, Marshwood got a scare from Westbrook, but won in overtime to improve to 14-1\. Sarah Theriault led the way with 17\. [Marshwood survives threat from Westbrook to win in overtime in girls basketballSarah Theriault (17 points) helps lead the Hawks to victory over the Blue Blazes 56-50 in SMAA play.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-33.png)Press HeraldDrew BonifantPortland Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/41065669_20250128_GBWestMarsh_05.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/01/28/marshwood-survives-threat-from-westbrook-to-win-in-overtime-in-girls-basketball/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Deering's Evan Legassey joined the 1,000 point club. [Deering’s Evan Legassey tops 1000 points!(Standish) Congratulations to Deering Sr. Guard Evan Legassey who on Tuesday night scored his 1-thousandth career point leading the Rams to a 52-44 win over Bon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32-2.png)WGMEDavid Eid![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/4f581a64-2f8e-40ca-b46c-4cdee06fe8e3-000005.jpg)](https://wgme.com/sports/content/deerings-evan-legassey-tops-1000-points?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- He's a freshman! > .[@BrewerWitches](https://twitter.com/BrewerWitches?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) freshman Oli Higgins slams one home in a win over Gardiner! > > Full highlights tonight on [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/kY8vbORbgQ](https://t.co/kY8vbORbgQ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jack Webb (@Jackiemoon\_25) [January 29, 2025](https://twitter.com/Jackiemoon%5F25/status/1884423682061144441?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But, seriously, never chant that. Get some new material. Elsewhere Fisher Tewksbury's game winner with 3.3 seconds left lifted Valley over Dirigo in double overtime...The Penobscot Valley girls led 47-1 at halftime...Owen McGrath had 24 and Trevor Gerrish added 14 & 12 in Brunswick's win over Biddeford...Gabe Lash's 15 led a balanced Medomak attack over Erskine...Eli Smith had 24 in Cape's win over Wells...Rachel Penny's 21 led Edward Little to a blowout of Portland...Madalyn Provost's 26 & 9 and Lilly Gray's 10 & 11 led Lawrence in a statement blowout of Cony...Izzy Morelli went for 24 as GNG beat Yarmouth...Cheverus got 24 from Leo McNabb in a win over Scarborough...Owen Hurd's 21 led Lisbon to their second win of the year...Mt. Blue needed all of their 10 triples to beat Skowhegan...Damon Martin's 21 points and 8 dimes led Poland to a win over Mountain Valley...Zander Steele, owner of the coolest name in Maine high school basketball, had 22 and 10 as Richmond cruised past Pine Tree...Liam Willey had 15 points as Temple raced out to a 24-5 first quarter lead against Vinalhaven...Wyatt Benoit led TA with 24 against Gorham...Nolan Ames had 14 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals as Camden beat Hampden...Westbrook's Moses Semuhoza dropped 25 on Marshwood...Natalia Silva had 21 as Biddeford beat Brunswick...Kylie Lamson, who I learned yesterday is only a junior, led Cheverus with 18 in their win over Scarborough...Deering got 18 from Angelina Keo against Bonny Eagle...Caitlyn McCoy hit 5 3's and Leavitt beat Lincoln Academy...Madelyn Verrill's triple-double (11 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 steals) helped Pine Tree hold off a rally from Richmond...Valley got 21 each from Kirsten Bigelow and Madeline Hill in a big win over Dirigo...Piper Catanese's 18 was more than enough for York to beat Lake Region...Zeb Foster had 26 in Oceanside's win over Mt. Ararat. --- Speaking of officials, you may have heard there's a shortage, but not just in basketball. There's a shortage in baseball too! If you're interested in gaining the power to eject fans from a game. Or, you know, just do normal umpiring, there's trainings scheduled around the state and you can find out more at the link below. [SMUA - Join Us2025 New Umpire Classes For those interested in becoming a certified high school baseball umpire, regional boards will be offering the following classes. Western Maine Baseball Umpire Association: Classes beginning Sunday, February 16th, 10 a.m. at Gorham Middle School Central Maine Board of![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-10.ico)Join Us![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/tAIm8eBX4qudyazzCBvi-EhwZ51fJvRTEXv9_ANGlUAisMZSnhnXwfnLjh1HKo2d6wlYs0jV5-hsflRjB9OV2xM-w16383)](https://www.maineumpires.com/join-us?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Trainings in various regions start in February or March, depending on the location. --- And speaking of unruly fans, there was a big fight in the stands of the VCU/St. Louis game last night. > [pic.twitter.com/IMZMolYjww](https://t.co/IMZMolYjww?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — No Context College Basketball (@ContextFreeCBB) [January 29, 2025](https://twitter.com/ContextFreeCBB/status/1884439676230262893?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) People need to calm the hell down. --- ESPN has a cool feature on our man Payton Pritchard. [The heave-making fourth-quarter star the Celtics need to make a repeat title runLast season’s star-turn in the NBA Finals was a decade in the making for Payton Pritchard, who says a meeting with a six-time All-Star set him a path to NBA success and championship glory in Boston.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/espn-icon-180x180-3.png)ESPNBaxter Holmes![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/i-3)](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/%5F/id/43587921/the-heave-making-fourth-quarter-star-payton-pritchard-boston-celtics-need-make-repeat-nba-title-run?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-23.jpg) For as (mostly) settled as B South is, B North is kind of a mes We know Caribou is the 1 seed and Ellsworth is the 2\. Other than that, it's chaos. Orono might have the 3 seed and Hermon is clinging to the final bye ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-29-at-12.03.55-AM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Wiscasset Fires Their Coach URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/wiscasset-fires-their-coach/ Last updated: 2025-01-28T10:48:27.000Z You can't make this up. 17 days after [snapping a 122-game losing streak](https://lcnme.com/sports/gritty-wiscasset-girls-basketball-team-breaks-122-game-losing-streak/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), we learned that Wiscasset fired Daniel Wall on Friday, well before the end of his first season on the bench. In a letter sent to parents ([first reported by the Wiscasset Newspaper](https://www.wiscassetnewspaper.com/article/coaching-change-wiscasset/254436?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)), Wiscasset Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kim Andersson wrote: > Effective Friday, Jan. 24, the Wiscasset Athletic Department has made the decision to part ways with (Girls Varsity Basketball) Head Coach Daniel Wall. This change comes as part of our ongoing commitment to uplift our athletic programs and support our student body in achieving their fullest potential. > We are pleased to announce that Coach Jamey Roy will step in as the Interim Head Coach for the remainder of the season. Coach Roy brings a wealth of experience and a positive attitude that we believe will greatly benefit our athletes and the overall program. > We appreciate Coach Wall's contributions during his time with us and wish him the best in his future endeavors. As we move forward, our focus remains on fostering a supportive and successful environment for our student-athletes. > Thank you for your continued support of Wiscasset Athletics. Well that's one way to do things. You can read between the lines here, I think. In a article at Varsity Maine, we a lot more, including the anger of some parents, the fact that "no specific incident led to a coaching change", and the not-small detail that Wall actually went to their game last night to support the players. They lost 46-12 to Temple, despite only being a nine point underdog. [Wiscasset girls basketball team makes midseason coaching changeTwo weeks after winning the program’s first game in over eight years, Wiscasset “decided to part ways” with first-year head coach Daniel Wall.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-32.png)Press HeraldCooper SullivanThe Times Record![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/41022720_20250122_Wiscasset.Girls_6.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/01/27/wiscasset-girls-basketball-team-makes-midseason-coaching-change/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's all very weird. The school is saying lots of generic things and Wall hasn't made a public statement. Also there's a surprising number of people who seem to think Wall was the coach for all 122 losses. Honestly, it's a pretty bad look for Wiscasset. It's hard to imagine a more badly-run program over the last several years, so it's difficult to give the school the benefit of the doubt here. The stories over the years are not great. If you asked me to pick a school that might do something like this, it wouldn't take me long to get to Wiscasset (but I'd have to sit in traffic for 20 minutes first). It sounds like Wall was bringing a level of coaching and accountability to a program that was sorely lacking any and some people didn't respond well to it. Was it too much? Did he lose the locker room? That's probably what we're going to learn over the next few days, as the truth is usually somewhere in the middle. But it's hard to imagine they'll be getting a half-decent coach in there, because would you take this job after this? Maybe they already have someone in mind. That would sort of make sense. Otherwise, without an incident to trigger it, this is just bizarre, the sort of thing that happens with a lack of leadership. The sort of thing that happens to the Jets. I got into it a little bit more on the podcast. [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Also on the podcast, I revealed the results of the now-annual Mr./Miss Basketball straw poll. It's simple: I poll people from around the state, mostly journalists, who have a good sense of who the best players in the state are. There's people from Portland, Bangor, the County, Central Maine, and Midcoast Maine, so everyone is represented. I got back 6 Miss Basketball ballots. Apologies for any misspelled names. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-27-at-11.24.31-PM-1.png) This obviously would have been Bailey Breen, had she not taken her talents to Florida. I got 11 Mr. Basketball ballots back. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-27-at-11.23.53-PM-1.png) This obviously would have been Cooper Flagg, if he wasn't busy willing Duke to victory over NC State. > 28 points > 8/17 FG > 11/13 FT > 7 rebounds > 3 assists > > Let’s not act like what we’re watching is normal. Cooper Flagg is approaching rare territory [pic.twitter.com/WrGLD7UReC](https://t.co/WrGLD7UReC?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Zion O. (@DukeNBA) [January 28, 2025](https://twitter.com/DukeNBA/status/1884091804615950590?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > Cooper Flagg's numbers in the month of January: 25.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 42.9 3PT% over seven games. > > — Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) [January 28, 2025](https://twitter.com/jeffborzello/status/1884088231840600247?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- In the Game of the Day, Sam Thibeault had 24 points to keep Madawaska undefeated and give them some much-needed Heal Points. The Owls held Aden Jeffers to 14 points. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-27-at-11.45.25-PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Elsewhere Davis Mann had 24 and Falmouth hit 11 threes to overwhelm Freeport...John Patenaude had 15 of his 21 in the third quarter of GNG's win over Yarmouth...OOB's Brady Plante had 23, but it wasn't enough to overcome Jacob Linkletter's 5 threes for Madison...Monmouth's Levi Laverdiere had 23 as they blew out Richmond...Telstar's Brody Morgan went off for 27 in a win over Carrabec...Grant Thomas had 22 in Ashland's win over East Grand...Jahleel Joseph dropped 29 and Kellen McCrum dropped 27 in Central Aroostook's blowout of Southern Aroostook...Reagan Wright had 23 in Houlton's win over Hodgdon...Lily Oliver had 19 in Fort Kent's win...The Madison girls used a 25-0 third quarter to put away Boothbay. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-22.jpg) The Mt. Ararat girls have been a force this year. They're 12-2 with one of the best offenses in the state, scoring over 57 points a game against a tough schedule. They've done well as the games get harder, ranking 4th in the state in %Perfect against teams in the Top 25 (in 7 games!). They've almost certainly locked up the 1 seed in A South. Oceanside's offense is on par with Mt. Ararat's. They're 10 in the state and have played the 2nd hardest schedule in class B thus far (Biddeford) In the Tourney Odds, they're very likely either the 2 or the 3, with a very slight chance of getting the 1\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-28-at-12.22.05-AM-1.png) They'll obviously need to win out and get some help to have a shot at the 1, but it's in play. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-28-at-12.14.12-AM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### yOu hATe mY tEam URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/you-hate-my-team/ Last updated: 2025-01-27T04:46:50.000Z Saturday's schedule was a light one, especially south of Bangor, so after catching some of the Busline Championships in Belfast, I headed over to the Lincoln Academy and Medomak girls game. My expectations weren't high. Medomak won the earlier matchup by 10 and the word on the street was that Lincoln Academy had some injury issues and they sure did. The "injured and unable to play" introductions were a M\*A*\**S\*H\* unit, so when Medomak went up 10-2 and Lincoln point guard Rowan Coffin was already on the bench in foul trouble, it seemed like it might be a wrap. Lincoln managed to stop the bleeding and kept the game in the 6-9 range until they hit a couple of free throws to get it to 4 at the half. It was not a good half of basketball. Early in the third quarter, Medomak pushed the lead back to 9 behind a couple of buckets from Kytana Williamson. Mariam DeLisle answered with a 3, then another one. Then Ysabelle Bhe hit one. Williamson answered and a Kennedie Anderson triple tied the game at 32 and suddenly we've got a ball game. Lillian Labrie's free throw gave Lincoln Academy their first lead of the game at the end of the third quarter. The teams went back and forth in the final quarter, with DeLisle (who I think is close to 1,000 points) and Williamson doing the heavy lifting and Lincoln going into what appeared to be a quasi-stall, which was weird up 1 with several minutes to play, but I think they were maybe trying to shorted the game a little? Chloe Fox's free throw to tie the game and steal to get the ball back set up Williamson to hit this circus shot to give Medomak the lead and make her the all-time leading scorer in program history, passing Julie Littlefield ('92), who had 1,034\. Josh Nash's school record of 1,798 remains safe. The teams traded free throws after that. Williamson hit two to push the Medomak lead to 4\. Then things got interesting. Mariam DeLisle hit a 3 with some small amount of time left. Don Shields thought it was 1.6 seconds. My brother thought it was less than 1 second. Somehow Lincoln Academy managed to get a timeout before the buzzer sounded and the refs put 2 seconds on the clock. Lincoln fouled Williamson with 0.4 on the clock (just enough for a catch and shoot!). She made one of two to give her 30 on the night and the Eagles couldn't get a shot off. Medomak survived 48-46\. Mariam DeLisle finished with 23 & 9\. With the loss, Lincoln Academy's odds of a bye are down to 19% (they're 94.4% to make at least a prelim). We know that Spruce, Medomak, and Oceanside will be the top 3 in B South, Biddeford will be the 4 and Wells will be the 5, but 6-11 is very much a mess ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-26-at-11.28.43-PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Elsewhere Ben Burgess led Buckfield with 16 points in their win over Vinalhaven, who got 19 from Hunter Hamilton...Jaxson Desjardins dropped 27 on Islesboro...Addison Chaisson had 22 to lead Forest Hills in the girls game....Marie Benoit went for 27 in Hall-Dale's win over Monmouth...Oak Hill got 23 from Mackenzee Wardwell to beat Lisbon...Mollie Puffer's 18 led Sanford to a comfortable win over Greely...Thadon Gentle had 19 in Houlton's win over Bapst...Caribou used a 20-9 fourth quarter to put away MDI. --- Today in "yOu hATe mY tEam" ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/image-12-1.png) Look, if you don't want to subscribe to the site, you don't have to. But this is stupid. And a weird choice of a team I "give no love to". You don't have a problem with the coverage of your team. You're just trying to create drama and animosity where none exists. I'm not sure what you get out of that, but whatever. You do you. Also there are more than 250 teams in the state of Maine. It's a lot to keep track of. Anyway, if you enjoy this coverage, today is a great day to upgrade! [Upgrade!](#/portal/account/plans) Or if you're a lurker, subscribe for free and get this in your inbox. ## Sign up for Maine Basketball Rankings Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- Here's your updated Power Rankings. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/image-11-1.png) And the girls. Hey, look! It's Lawrence! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-26-at-8.56.16-PM-1.png) [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) I was going to have a new podcast today with the updated rankings and a Mr. & Miss Basketball straw poll, but the day got away from me, which is to say that'll probably come tomorrow and if you're reading this and haven't sent me your Mr. Basketball rankings, do that today! --- Let's update the Wins Draft standings. I wonder if anyone drafted the Lawrence girls? Oh right. I did. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-26-at-9.10.34-PM.png) --- Turns out having local people doing the local news is important. Who could have possibly guessed? [Facing Backlash Over Firing Its Meteorologists, Allen Media Group Learns an Important Lesson: Take the ‘Local’ Out of Local TV At Your Own PerilHanding out pink slips to dozens of beloved small-market local TV news weathercasters would be ill-advised even in the best of times. But to do it right as unpredictable and dangerous weather disasters tear across the country this month — from wildfires in California to a historic freeze in the south — was particularly tone …![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-9.ico)Yahoo NewsMichael Schneider![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/b11b4bb5453c391ae7831ee496ec9bba)](https://www.yahoo.com/news/facing-backlash-over-firing-meteorologists-194929156.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Awesome. > The Wall is counting along with cards for how long it’s taking Giannis Antetokounmpo on free throws. [pic.twitter.com/PD9WnVvQ50](https://t.co/PD9WnVvQ50?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) [January 26, 2025](https://twitter.com/FlyByKnite/status/1883361197334069570?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- So this is a new one. > I don’t usually post these type of things but I never seen this before in a NFL game, let alone a playoff game: > > "Washington has been advised that at some point, the referee can award a score if this type of behavior happens again." - Shawn Hochuli > [pic.twitter.com/vI3CdJ8VmU](https://t.co/vI3CdJ8VmU?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — AZ Intel (@AZ\_Intel\_) [January 26, 2025](https://twitter.com/AZ%5FIntel%5F/status/1883649302423327057?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I think I knew this because I was a kid who read rule books and arcane trivia and other such things, but had forgotten because can you imagine? But, yeah, that's a rule. SI has more. [Here’s What the NFL Rulebook Says About Referees Awarding a TouchdownIn the fourth quarter of the NFC championship game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders, a bizarre occurrence unfolded that led to plenty o![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/SI-f87ae31620c381274a85426b5c4f1341.ico)Sports IllustratedLiam McKeone![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/01jjjd08r883ejk8yzmm.jpg)](https://www.si.com/nfl/nfl-rulebook-referees-award-a-touchdown-eagles-commanders-tush-push-repeated-penalties?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Much like the section of the MPA handbook that says they can keep a team out of the playoffs, this is one of those rules that's there just in case a team does something insane, like someone on the bench tackling someone or a team starting fights in the parking lot (but not scoring too many points). You never expect to need it, but it's there in case of emergency. The fact that they had to threaten to invoke it is insane. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-21.jpg) The Madawaska boys are undefeated, but still the 4 seed in C North because they've played arguably the easiest schedule in the state. But they've also got the best point differential in the state. They're only 47th because the schedule is so bad. But they've dominated that schedule. They've got the 3rd best %Perfect in the state. One of those games was against Fort Kent in a game they won by 31, so I don't feel great about the Model picking Fort Kent to win this. But it's also a cancer fundraiser! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/image-13.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-26-at-11.24.57-PM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Caribou Rolls URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/caribou-rolls/ Last updated: 2025-01-25T15:14:28.000Z In the Game of the Day, Caribou pulled away in the second quarter to get revenge for their sole loss of the season and beat Ellsworth 62-43\. Kaymen Sargent led the way with 16. [Ellsworth Boys Fall to Caribou 62-43 \[STATS\]The Ellsworth Boys Basketball Team fell to the Caribou Vikings 62-43 on Friday night, January 24th up in Caribou. Here are the Stats![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/WEZQFM.png)92.9 The TicketChris Popper![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/attachment-RS15499_480486951-2.jpg)](https://929theticket.com/ixp/496/p/ellsworth-boys-fall-to-caribou-62-43-stats/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I went to the Lincoln Academy/Medomak Valley game. Medomak and Lincoln Academy has been a one-sided rivalry for the past...while. Last year, Lincoln Academy announced themselves as a top tier team in Class B with a convincing win in Waldoboro and finished the regular season as the 2 seed and made their first Regional Final in 35 years. This year, the 2 seed isn't happening, but the 3 was still in play in a season that's come as a surprise after the Eagles graduated nearly all their playoff rotation. Could they repeat last year's road victory against one of the stingiest defenses in the state? They could not. The Model had Medomak by 20.3 and boy did I hear about it during the JV game. Way too high! The first game was close, actually, and Lincoln is much improved (they are much improved). The game started slowly. After 3 minutes, it was only 4-4\. Then Medomak went on a 25-6 run and the game was pretty much over. At halftime, Medomak had a 23-11 advantage in rebounding, a 34-16 advantage in FGA, and it's nearly impossible to beat that, especially if you shoot 25% from the floor. In the end, the JVs played most of the 4th quarter. > Medomak Valley moves to 15-0 with a resounding 65-35 win over Lincoln Academy > > Mason Nguyen 15/2r/2a > Kristian Schumann 14/2r > Gabe Lash 11/8r/5a > > Terry Welle 10/3r > Chase Ober 6/3r > EJ Hunt 4/2a > > — Go to mebballrankings.bsky.social (@MEBBallRankings) [January 25, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1882955335213961723?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Turns out the line of 20.3 was too low. Did I do a victory lap around the gym? Maybe. --- The Cheverus boys made a statement with a win over Windham. Tied at the half, the Stags went on a 22-5 run in the second half, fueled by Aaron Goodman's 3 triples. They went on to win 66-51 in a big win that should lock up the 2 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-25-at-10.12.33-AM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- > Great battle at the home of the Huskies [@AthleticsMCI](https://twitter.com/AthleticsMCI?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) tonight! [@WinslowAthletic](https://twitter.com/WinslowAthletic?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and MCI traded blows in the second half but the Raiders come away with the 5-point win! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/t9GvIw2UjL](https://t.co/t9GvIw2UjL?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [January 25, 2025](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1882992386974048638?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Elsewhere Diing Maiwen had 16 in Edward Little's win over Oxford Hills...Davis Mann scored 16 as Falmouth rallied to beat Kennebunk. The Rams got 18 from Theo Pow...Adam Fitzgerald had 21 but it couldn't overcome Preston Brown's clutch free throws to give Gorham a win over Scarborough...Messo pulled away from Camden in the second half thanks to 21 & 6 from Adnerson Arbour. The Windjammers got 19 & 12 from Nolan Ames...Monmouth's Jacob Harmon dropped 23 & 8 on Hall-Dale...Wyatt Bennett had 20 in Mount View's win over Waterville...Brayden Thompson, Sam Morrill and Kaysyn Woike each scored 13 in Rangeley's win on North Haven...SoPo's Darius Johnson dropped 24 on Massabesic...Cooper Morgan had 19 in Telstar's win over Richmond...TA's Wyatt Benoit scored 20 in a win over Bangor...Avery Clark had 22 in Bangor's win over TA...Kylie Lamson's 27 and a 16-2 helped Cheverus put away Windham...Kennebunk's Kendall Therrien outscored Falmouth. She had 23...Mt. Ararat shot 90% from 3 in the first half against Westbrook. Cali Pomerleau led the way with 18...Oxford Hills needed all of Ella Pelletier's 22 points to get by Edward Little...Darby Flanagan had 18 in Richmond's win over Telstar. --- > Starting 5 is compiling an All-Name Team for this basketball season. Send them in! bbarr@wabi.tv > > — Ben Barr (@BenBarrTV) [January 25, 2025](https://twitter.com/BenBarrTV/status/1882992197278343498?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- First, there was the photo. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/image-10.png) Then came the inevitable outrage. You know the drill. Sportsmanship, etc. And then came the actual story. It wasn't just that he scored 102 points because he's a ball hog. It turns out he has a twin brother who racked up a record 35 assists in the game as part of a 0 points, 35 assists, 15 rebounds, and 13 steals triple-double. A triple-double with zero points scored! So basically one twin fed the other, which is kind of cool. > Mesrobian head coach Mike Gabriel knew the record was attainable after Khatchikian had 38 points in the first quarter, and decided to let him go. Gabriel took Khatchikian out of the game for good at the 2:17-mark in the third quarter after breaking the record with his 102nd point. Khatchikian scored 102 points in 22 minutes of play. He did it in 22 minutes. TWENTY TWO!!! (Caveat that the box score has him playing more minutes, but that could be unreliable) I am a staunch believer that life is short and you should break records when you have an opportunity. I love the idea of brothers working together to each break a record. I'm not sure what's more impressive: 102 points in 22 minutes or a 0/15/35/13 triple-double without taking a shot. [California high school basketball brothers set 102-point, 35-assist single-game records (video)Mesrobian High twin brothers Nick and Dylan Khatchikian each broke single-game California records Thursday night. One for scoring and one for assists.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/ON_SI-Favicon_B_96x96_3-1.ico)Sports IllustratedTarek Fattal![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/01jjbjm6g1s3qzp5zn3f.jpg)](https://www.si.com/high-school/california-high-school-basketball-brothers-set-102-point-35-assist-single-game-records-video-01jjbg01qc82?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's video in the Sport Illustrated story and it's exactly what you expect: two teams that shouldn't be playing each other. And who's fault is that? The adults who aren't getting put on blast online. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-20.jpg) We talked about Caribou yesterday. With the win over Ellsworth yesterday, they have the inside track on the 1 seed in B North (I haven't re-run the Tourney Odds yet). MDI is in the middle of the mess that is seeds 4-13 in B North. This is what the Tourney Odds looked like yesterday. Yikes. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-25-at-10.05.46-AM.png) MDI beat Presque Isle yesterday, which will help. We'll have a lot more clarity after they play Caribou. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-25-at-10.00.20-AM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Gardiner Almost Pulls It Off URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gardiner-almost-pulls-it-off/ Last updated: 2025-01-24T11:33:47.000Z Last night's Game of the Day was...not close, but still eventful. Mattanawcook's Addison Cyr entered the game only 4 points shy of 1,000 on her career. Eastern Maine Sports was there. She's the second Mattanawcook player to reach 1K and the Lynx won 57-29\. I told you it wasn't close. After the game, she spoke to Eastern Maine Sports. --- Let's go to Gardiner for a rivalry showdown between Gardiner and Cony. Cony led by as many as 12 before Gardiner rallied in a 32-23 third quarter. For context, last night 11 teams didn't score 32 points in the entire game. With only seconds left on the clock and the score knotted at 70, Cony's Parker Morin was fouled trying to convert a lob on an inbounds pass (the call was...yeah). Morin hit one of two free throws to give Cony the lead (he finished with 26), Gardiner grabbed the rebound and called a quick timeout, setting up this: That's Trace Moody with the nearly heroic shot. I thought it was going in as I watched Munzing Media feed. You have to go down the list a tiny bit to find the video (it won't embed and obviously I'm not going to grab Munzing's video without permission) and the final 5 seconds start at the 2 hour mark [GAHS SPORTS — MUNZING MEDIA SPORTS![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-8.ico)MUNZING MEDIA SPORTS![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/MunzingMediaStampLogoGradient.png)](https://www.munzingmediasports.com/gahs-sports?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Mike Mandell has a great writeup on the game that's certainly worth a read (as usual). [Cony boys basketball holds off Gardiner to continue hot streakTigers rally from 12 down, but Rams claim 71-70 win in rivalry clash.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-31.png)Kennebec Journal and Morning SentinelMike MandellKennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/41030325_20250123_conygard_0y06.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/01/23/cony-boys-basketball-holds-off-gardiner-to-continue-hot-streak/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The win puts Cony into the 4 seed in A North. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-23-at-10.05.45-PM-1.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) As for the Tourney Odds, Gardiner is now very likely the 7 seed and Cony is probably going to be in the 4/5 game. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-23-at-11.52.42-PM.png) Tourney Odds are updated. [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Elsewhere Wells' Maren Maxon went off for 33 & 9 in a win over Poland...Leavitt overcame a scoreless second quarter (after scoring 20 in the first) and beat Erskine. Colin Schlobohm led the way with 21...Damon Martin had 20 to lead Poland to a win against Wells...Temple got 20 from Gabe Young and 12 & 15 from Peyton Reckards to beat Forest Hills for the first time in???...Fisher Tewksbury's 21 led Valley to a win over Buckfield...JJ Carlo scored 22 as Waynflete kept NYA winless...Kelsie Dunn had 17 as Erskine moved to 12-2...Madison's Raegan Cowan battled OOB to a 21-21 tie, but her teammates proved to be the difference in a lopsided win. THEN (before?) Madison beat Lisbon behind 13 points from Emma Anton and Jaelyn Lenko. It seems like they played a double-header. Or maybe not...Kaitlyn Frost's 18 led Monmouth to a win at Dirigo...Mountain Valley's Madison Dow's 17 out-did Alice Ferran's 13 & 20 in a win over Maranacook...Valley's Madeline Hill out-scored Buckfield 19-16 and added 9 steals in a blowout at home. --- Lewiston HS standout Maddie Foster scored her 1,oooth point Tuesday night as Wentworth traveled to UNE ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/image-9.png) photo courtesy Tammy Morrill --- I missed this buzzer-beater yesterday from Falmouth's Brady Coyne. > Brady Coyne for the win!! > > The junior from Falmouth, Maine knocks down a baseline jumper at the buzzer to give [@BatesCollegeMBB](https://twitter.com/BatesCollegeMBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) a thrilling 66-64 win Wednesday night over the University of Maine at Farmington![#sctop10](https://twitter.com/hashtag/sctop10?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#d3plays](https://twitter.com/hashtag/d3plays?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#GoBates](https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoBates?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@SportsCenter](https://twitter.com/SportsCenter?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@ESPNAssignDesk](https://twitter.com/ESPNAssignDesk?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/Tu3rMC7jZM](https://t.co/Tu3rMC7jZM?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — BatesSports (@BatesSports) [January 23, 2025](https://twitter.com/BatesSports/status/1882267442636005662?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I'm trying to imagine the *Sliding Doors* where JJ Redick is on the Celtics' coaching staff. > JJ Redick told [@RealBobManning](https://twitter.com/RealBobManning?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) how he met Joe Mazzulla and almost joined the [#Celtics](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Celtics?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)' coaching staff before the 2022-23 season. > > Full story: [https://t.co/e5a7Mz2p84](https://t.co/e5a7Mz2p84?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/BIhrOfMSYk](https://t.co/BIhrOfMSYk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) [January 24, 2025](https://twitter.com/CelticsCLNS/status/1882612491743789445?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- This Jokic stat line is like if in one of these blowouts people complain about on Facebook the coach actually left his starters in. And even for that, it's ridiculous. > NIKOLA JOKIĆ'S 5TH STRAIGHT TRIPLE-DOUBLE IS A HISTORIC ONE 🤯 > > 🃏 35 PTS | 22 REB | 17 AST 🃏 > > He joins Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to record a game with 35+ PTS, 20+ REB, & 15+ AST! [pic.twitter.com/n1qRSKvdar](https://t.co/n1qRSKvdar?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA (@NBA) [January 24, 2025](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1882649112728011185?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-19.jpg) This is simple. The high-flying Caribou Vikings, owners of the most prolific scoring offense in the state, have one blemish on the season, a 65-52 loss at Ellsworth on December 20th. And guess who's in town? Caribou's offense is cooking. They just scored 105 on Houlton, which moved them into first place in the state in scoring differential, passing a team they might see in March. They're also 13-1 Against the Spread, but no one tell them that, because I'm sure it's proof the Model is biased against them (the same Model that was very early on them as title contenders for that historic title win a couple of years ago, but I digress). Ellsworth is no one-hit wonder. They've got the win over Caribou, sure, but they're also second in the state in %Perfect, the stat that measures dominance relative to your schedule. The [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) are even simpler. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-23-at-11.55.50-PM.png) Basically, Ellsworth needs this to get the 1 seed. Orono is probably the 3\. And for a region that's usually a Battle Royale from 1-7+, this is very settled (see also: B South). Could this be a Regional Final preview? Potentially. I'm not convinced B North is suddenly chalk. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-23-at-10.19.23-PM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### RoadRunning URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/roadrunning/ Last updated: 2025-01-23T11:50:43.000Z It was cold outside all over the state last night and Jay was no exception, with temperatures in the single digits last night, but inside the Spruce Mountain gym, Mount Abram's Bryce Wilcox was hot. He drained 8 shots from deep en route to 34 points, out-dueling Jace Bessey who had 4 triples of his own and the Roadrunners pulled off a mild upset, 63-57\. They were 4.5 point underdogs, basically a 60/40 proposition. Prior to the game, Mount Abram was 99.3% to get the 1 seed in C South. I don't think we need to re-run it. This thing is a wrap. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-22-at-10.13.00-PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- Let's go to Sumner, where they've got a 51-45 lead over Calais with 2:45 left. [NFHS video](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/kOzXMv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You want to jump to around 1:10:00 in the timecode. Sumner makes a layup to push it to 53-45, then Calais hits a 3, gets a steal in the backcourt and converts that into another 3, gets another steal and a foul and suddenly we're at 53-52\. With 50 seconds left, Calais grabs another steal on a trap at mid-court, but there's a foul on the layup. The first free throw is good, then on the second one, there's a, um, suspect call on the rebounding action that gives Sumner the ball on a play that sure looked like a Sumner foul. Sumner then gets a wide-open layup and misses it (because the ball, it does not lie). Calais races down the floor for a layup (and foul) and now Calais has the lead, 56-54 with 27.8 to go. Playing for a final shot, a Sumner player gets leveled behind the 3-point line with 3.8 seconds left (was he shooting? Maybe?), makes both free throws and cue the clip (it's on NHFS, but it's a free clip) [Clip from SMHS vs Calais - Boys Varsity Basketball 01/22/2025 | Live & On DemandWatch high school sports and events nationwide, live and on demand, via the NFHS Network. Stream regular season and playoffs online from anywhere.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-8.png)Follow Us On![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/gam3ff249b774_1726558265778.png)](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/clips/ucl4d2e80ffe21737594580929?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's Kaeson Dana with the game winner from the logo. For a team clinging to a play-in spot in C North, this has to hurt. --- Here's a game you don't usually see on the schedule. Class A Morse, relegated to Class B, hosted Class C Wiscasset, themselves relegated down to Class D. That's got to be a first. You'll occasionally have a 2 class cross-over--Noble played Traip a couple of times before they turned things around and even lost one year when Traip finished 9-9\. The Model had Wiscasset as a very slight favorite in this one and that was looking pretty good when they led 24-20 at the half, but Morse was able to right the ship in the second half, pulling away for a win. > BBB: Morse moves to 4-9 tonight with a nice win vs Wiscasset 🏀 > > Bryce Bustamante led the way with 16 points and Miles Norris added 9 for Morse.[#GoShipbuilders](https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoShipbuilders?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)🔵⚪️ [pic.twitter.com/TmoKsyDYjg](https://t.co/TmoKsyDYjg?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Morse Athletics (@ShipbuildersAD) [January 23, 2025](https://twitter.com/ShipbuildersAD/status/1882238927232442400?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- You wanna see a coach get ejected up 77 with 46 seconds left? Yeah, you do. I just...I dunno. You're up 77\. What could possibly be so important? Elsewhere Jack Fontaine went off for 28 and Grady Hreben added 17 in Maranacook's win over Mountain Valley...Aiden Oliveira had 14 as Monmouth beat Dirigo, who got 16 from Nathaniel Wainwright...Oak Hill's Eli Desmond and Boothbay's Tyson French each scored 23 points, but Oak Hill added 12 from Braden New and got the win...Braden Branagan scored 14 of his 20 in the first quarter as Winthrop made short work of Richmond...Bangor's Avery Clark dropped 25 on Lewiston...Morse's Reese Darling outscored Wiscasset all by herself, as did Rebekah Plummer...Madeline Wagner had 16 to lead Winthrop by Richmond, who got 8 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 blocked shots from Darby Flanagan in a game they lost 43-15....Carter Gagnon had 15 as Madawaska went deep into their bench against Ashland. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-18.jpg) In yesterday's run of the Tourney Odds, Mattanawcook had the inside track on one of the byes in C North and a shot at the 1 seed. They'll have to beat Penobscot Valley to do that. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-22-at-11.55.20-PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Dexter has a chance at a bye, but just like the Lynx, they'll have to beat Mattanawcook to get it. But beyond that, it's our classic battle of unstoppable offense against impenetrable defense. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-22-at-11.37.18-PM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Oxford Hills Stuns Windham URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/oxford-hills-stuns-windham/ Last updated: 2025-01-22T14:53:50.000Z It was a very quiet evening in the (Maine Principals) Association, but that doesn't mean there wasn't a little drama. The Windham boys have been in the newsletter a lot this season and for good reason. They're the defending AA champs and have been in the top 5 of the Power Rankings all year. Last night, they traveled to Oxford Hills as 18 point favorites. But this is why we play the games. Oxford Hills got 12 second half points from Cameron Pulkkinen and won the second half by 7 to shock the Eagles, 70-65\. Brady Delamater led the Vikings with 18 points. The loss doesn't hurt Windham. They'll be the 1 seed. And if you want to look at it in the Joe Mazzulla way of "People are gonna say the target is on our back, but I hope it’s right on our forehead in between our eyes. I hope I can see the red dot", then it's maybe a good thing? With four games left in the season, it's a perfect opportunity to find things to coach up and work on before the games *really* count. The win vaults Oxford Hills from 7 up to 4th in the Heal Points, which is a pretty significant move, come tourney time. The difference between playing Cheverus or potentially hosting a quarterfinal is huge. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-21-at-10.59.23-PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) But what do the Tourney Odds say? Windham drops all the way from 97.6% to 97.4% to get the 1 seed. That's a wrap. Before the game, Oxford Hills was 77.8% to be the 6 seed and 10.3% to be the 5 seed. Now? This suddenly is interesting. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-21-at-11.53.03-PM.png) Tourney Odds are fully updated for boys (missing scores notwithstanding) and for girls not including yesterday's games. [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) In the Game of the Day, Valley used a big third quarter rally past Carrabec, 54-43\. Fisher Tewksbury led the way with 19\. Elsewhere: Owen Smith's 19 led 5 Dirigo players in double digits and Nathaniel Wainwright just missed a triple-double with 11 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, and 6 steals as they rolled over Sacopee Valley...Logan Gray had 22 in Brunswick's win over Westbrook...Lake Region came back down 11 to beat Yarmouth on the road...Tyler Abell's 15 led Mount Blue by Nokomis...Damon Martin had 17 in Poland's win over Oak Hill...Reiley Hedden drilled 7 3's for 27 points and Brody Morgan added 5 3's for 25 points as Telstar blew out Rangeley, who got 24 from Brayden Thompson...Mackenzie Robbins had 17 in Madison's win over Mt. Abram...Kaitlyn Frost's 15 led Monmouth over NYA...Oxford Hills got 17 from Ella Pelletier to beat Windham...Madeline Hill dropped 27 on Carrabec...Kylie Young 's 16 led Westbrook over Brunswick...Bella Smith's 18 wasn't enough for Lake Region to beat Yarmouth. --- If you're wondering how the Tourney Odds pop-up works, it's a little confusing, but not really. Let's look at Nokomis. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-22-at-12.37.07-AM.png) Nokomis is 4-10 and we're unsure how many wins is a lock for them to get in. You can see their Best-Case Scenario is to win out and that'll get them to 71.0 Heal Points and the 7 seed. They could also lose out and fall all the way to the 10 seed. On the W-L record section you can see that 34% of the time, Nokomis finishes 6-12 and in those scenarios, they make the tournament 98.82% of the time. So 6 wins *should* be enough to get in. Actually, 5 wins will probably do it and they could lose out and get in. But a win would really help! [Tourney Odds for Your Team](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- Travis Lee has more from Boston. > Leftovers from Cooper Flagg's weekend in Boston. [pic.twitter.com/c0aJUJ8kMq](https://t.co/c0aJUJ8kMq?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [January 21, 2025](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1881846366756077923?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-17.jpg) The Spruce Mountain boys are the probably 3 seed in B South--they're 86.6% in the Tourney Odds to finish there, so there's a chance Lincoln Academy could get there. But, you have to think they want a shot at revenge against York in semifinals after last year's controversial quarterfinal loss. Mount Abram is 99.3% to get the 1 seed in C South. That's definitely a wrap. What this game lacks in playoff implications, it has in scoring. Mount Abram is 14th in the state in scoring and Spruce is 5th, so this should be a lot of fun. I'm googling the drive to Jay and I don't think it's going to work out. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-22-at-12.20.04-AM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Paws for the Cause URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/paws-for-the-cause/ Last updated: 2025-01-21T07:12:12.000Z So let's start at Medomak Valley's Paws for the Cause fundraiser. This is the 8th year of the fundraiser where Medomak wears alternate pink uniforms and they sell pink t-shirts and generally there's a lot of pink. In yesterday's newsletter, I assumed they were raising money for research, but I've been corrected: they raise money for cancer patients. To quote the message setting me straight: > The money we raise goes directly to patients. We donate the money in gift card form: gas cards, subway, Hannaford, etc. Last year we were able to fill the oil tank of a local school employee who was fighting breast cancer. > > We’ve raised $49,000 over the past seven years. It’s pretty special. That's actually really cool. In addition to the fundraiser, we were on 1,000 point watch, as Medomak's Kytana Williamson entered the game 15 points from 1,000. She didn't mess around, getting there with 1:17 left in the 2nd quarter. 0:00 /0:04 1× video: Zoe Nolan She had 17 as Medomak took a 28-20 lead into the locker room. The second half sort of stayed in the 8 to 13 point margin the rest of the way, as Belfast just couldn't get their offense going. They shot 3/19 from deep for the game and you aren't going to win a lot of games doing that. Medomak did most of their damage from the paint, and a lot of that coming in transition. Medomak won 48-34\. Williamson finished with 25, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals. Chloe Fox added 6 points and 9 boards and Audrey Jackson hauled down 10 rebounds to go with her 5 steals. Belfast got 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks from Julianna Sprague. After the game, I spoke to Williamson. The Boys game was...less interesting. It was tied at 2 for the first couple of minutes until an Owen Dostie 3 gave Medomak the lead for good. Trevin Ripley scored off an inbounds play to cut the Medomak lead to 7-5 with 4:00 left in the first and then the Panthers' defense locked in, holding the Lions without a field gold until Jackson Faulkingham banked in a runner with 1:47 left in the 3rd quarter. That's 19 minutes and 13 seconds of game play in which Medomak went on a 45-5 run and had already taken Gabe Lash and Mason Nguyen out of the game. They cruised to a 83-23 win. Lash had 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists to lead 4 Panthers in double figures, including JV call-up Noah Taggert who had 10 points and 5 rebounds in 6 minutes. Belfast was led by Trevin Ripley's 7 & 5\. --- Speaking of cancer, the refs are raising money to fight cancer. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/image-8.png) With a donation, you can get your own pink whistle that you absolutely should not blow from the bleachers when the refs miss a call. WINK. [I’m supporting American Cancer Society, Inc!Help us end cancer as we know it, for everyone.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-6.png)American Cancer Society![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/facebookImage.png)](https://raiseyourway.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=1443&fbclid=IwY2xjawH8DTtleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHWA7OvP-v1vyDA82gmcYtPAwQ2H6wNK59dxix3zL%5FlwNDi38FNMHiteo5A%5Faem%5FzHxbTyL4onlPOBhqb-IiEg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Up north, Isaiah Ervin became the 5th Houlton boys player to join the 1,000th point club. Ervin's mother "Liz" Nelson had 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds back in the 90's for Houlton. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/image-7.png) Aroostook County Hoops Check out the [milestone bucket on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/karen.donato.3/videos/1612300882825982). --- Let's go to Sanford, where the Peter Webb All-Stars are hard at work. 0:00 /0:10 1× That's Theo Pow with the dunk. He had 26\. Is it me or are there more of these this year? Also: what are we doing? --- This is so great. > What a night at The Nest. Massive massive crowd and a 59-36 win over Leavitt to move to 13-1\. More importantly, over $7,800 raised for The Kita Center and Suicide Awareness. Proud to be a part of such a special night. > > — Lady Phoenix Hoops (@PhoenixHoops) [January 21, 2025](https://twitter.com/PhoenixHoops/status/1881535987639275876?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Down south, Deering rallied to score 6 points in the final 13 seconds to stun Cheverus. > An improbable ending as Deering erases a 10-point deficit to beat Cheverus with six points in the final 13 seconds. [@DeeringProud](https://twitter.com/DeeringProud?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/H7nLuByyVf](https://t.co/H7nLuByyVf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [January 20, 2025](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1881489542395625511?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's Evan Legassey with the game winner, the final 3 of his 20 on the night. Tayshaun Cleveland added 24\. Deering scored the final 9 points of the game. Leo McNabb had 22 for the Stags...Billy Birks drilled 5 3's for 23 points as Falmouth handled Greely. --- I went on LCTV's High School Hoops show to talk about the midcoast teams. Elsewhere: Cape's Eli Smith dropped 31 on Fryeburg...Akol Maiwen's 18 led Edward Little to a win over Mt. Ararat...Erskine's Gavin Fanjoy had 19 as the Eagles closed out Waterville on the road...Tom Maloji had 17 in SoPo's win over Gorham...Cai Dougher's 21 led Spruce to a win over Leavitt...St. Dom's got 19 from Jack Broke and a double-double from Donel Tangilamesu as they easily took care of Boothbay...Jack Downs had 21 in Traip's win over Winthrop...Kylie Lamson's 19 points helped Cheverus handle Deering...Julianna Allen led Mt. Ararat with 19 points in a big win over Edward Little. The Eddies got 23 from Layla Facchiano...Annie Whitmore's 12 points and 10 steals led SoPo over Gorham....Erskine freshman Kinsey Ulmer had a double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 steals against Waterville....Kasen Bua had 22 in PI's win over Bucksport...Jahleel Joseph went for 20 in Central Aroostook's win over Washburn. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-16.jpg) If you haven't seen the Valley boys play, you really should get on that (he said, every year since the invention of basketball). They're the 3rd highest scoring team in the state (Caribou, 77.1) and feature 2 1,000-point scorers dating back to last year in Harry Louis and Fisher Tewksbury. I saw them earlier this year at Wiscasset and they were very impressive. Louis sees the floor in an exceptional way. As for Carrabec, they've got the second best scoring defense (Machias, 33.8), so it's the classic great offense vs. great defense battle. Valley has the 1 seed locked up in D South, but Carrabec has some work to do to lock down the 2 in C South. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-21-at-1.32.22-AM.png) And they could still get the 1 seed! Maybe! [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) I'm pretty sure this isn't streaming. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-21-at-1.23.48-AM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Cooper's Army? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/coopers-army/ Last updated: 2025-01-20T11:02:54.000Z Who are we kidding? We all know what the big story was Saturday. [Maine fans flock to see Flagg, Duke beat BCFans made the trek from Maine to see Cooper Flagg and Duke beat Boston College on Saturday night; Flagg finished with 28 points, five rebounds and four assists.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/espn-icon-180x180-2.png)ESPNESPN![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/i-2)](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/%5F/id/43473712/cooper-flagg-gives-maine-fans-show-big-night-vs-bc?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > "It's huge, the level of support, just to get to see them show up and support me means a lot to me. Just gives me a lot of confidence," Flagg said. "Being from Maine ... when I was growing up, it's easy to just not believe in yourself or just think you can't do that. I just want to keep proving that it doesn't really matter where you're from. As long as you stick to it and keep working, you can make anything happen." Everyone was there. > Spot someone you know on the ESPN broadcast drinking game > > — Go to mebballrankings.bsky.social (@MEBBallRankings) [January 19, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1880782855485481016?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) As usual, Cooper Flagg delivered and then some. > We need a nickname for the Mainers who go ‘everywhere’ to see Cooper play—something like Cooper’s Army. Got to workshop this. [https://t.co/rPu53ga4OB](https://t.co/rPu53ga4OB?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [January 19, 2025](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1880982701207109963?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Travis is right. If we're going to be doing this for another 15 years, we need to get our branding down. There could be t-shirts. Coop's Troop? Flagg Something? I dunno. --- We had a thriller in the County as Bri Levesque's layup with 6.4 seconds left gave Caribou a 1-point win over Hermon. Aroostook County Hoops has the clip at their Facebook page. [Watch at Aroostook County Hoops](https://www.facebook.com/100064346785865/videos/1602093584010985?st=3G8ybQOcvdQ) --- Greenville's Liam Mason hit 1,000 points against Bangor Christian. Eastern Maine Sports spoke to him after the game. --- Elsewhere: Madeline Hill scored 22 and Liana Hartwell added 20 points and 12 steals as Valley blew out Pine Tree...Rajon Reed had 21 in Bangor Christian's win over Greenville...Jeremy Therrien had a game-high 21 points for Wells, but it wasn't enough to beat Jacoby Bardsley's 19 for Lake Region...Bryce Wilcox's 18 led Mount Abram to a win over Lisbon...Finley Cooper scored 24 for Islesboro, but they fell to a balanced Richmond attack...Valley's Fisher Tewksbury dropped 23 on Pine Tree...Braden Branagan had 14 in Winthrop's win over Madison. --- This is from Friday, but it's another dunk technical, this time on Greely Kade Ippolito. This should jump to 12:39 in the feed. You make the call! --- Tonight's Leavitt/Spruce Mountain doubleheader is a fundraiser for Camp KITA. From the fundraising page: > Welcome to our new home, The Kita Center. For nearly a decade, you've known us as Camp Kita, a sanctuary offering a week-long summer camp program for children who have suffered the heartbreaking loss of a loved one to suicide. As Camp Kita, we've been privileged to guide and witness countless stories of resilience, growth, and healing. Today, we are honored to embark on a new journey. We're broadening our horizons and expanding our mission to better serve our community. This is a fantastic cause, so if you're anywhere near Jay, this is a great use of your time and resources. [SMHS/Leavitt Basketball: Suicide Awareness Night/Camp KITA Fundraiser![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/1f35d6bb76f8dc3cc7b52bccf3423449.png)DoJiggy![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/ebdf4d91a5064bcea9bfc79913c0701c.png)](https://go.dojiggy.io/7c707f/Campaign/Details?ReturnUrl=%2FCampaigns%2FSetup%2F7c707f%2FBasics&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Speaking of fundraisers, tonight is also the annual Paws for the Cause game at Medomak Valley, also known as the "Pink Out Games" where Medomak wears special pink uniforms and everyone wears pink and they raise money for cancer research (I think. Definitely an anti-cancer event.) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/image-6.png) [LCTV.org](https://lctv.org/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) will have the stream and I assume FrankFM will have radio. --- This week on the podcast, I go over some highlights from the week, including Windham/Falmouth, Lincoln Academy/Oceanside, and go over the updated Power Rankings. [Smash that subscribe button.](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Or you can listen on Apple podcasts. [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Obviously, the Power Rankings are updated. [Power RankingsThis spreadsheet hates your team.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-22.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/power-rankings-3.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) As are the Tourney Odds. [Tourney OddsWill your team make the tournament?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-23.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/tourney-odds-1-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- We have the results of the Fitzpatrick Trophy, which for some reason doesn't get announced for 2 months after the season ends. > Congratulations to Noble’s Jamier Rose winner of this years James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy Award! [pic.twitter.com/piOaA9ZiHc](https://t.co/piOaA9ZiHc?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) [January 19, 2025](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME/status/1881065550991995037?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) According to WMTW's Joe Bailey, no one has ever won the Fitzpatrick Trophy and Mr. Basketball, so that's certainly something to keep an eye on. --- Up north, 3 legendary refs are hanging it up. [The Last Dance: Longtime Refs Take the Court One More TimeBy Phil Stuart Three Downeast Board basketball officials with over 120 years combined experience worked their last game together on Dec. 19 at Gardner Gymnasium in East Machias when the host Lady Raiders of Washington Academy played the Old Town Coyotes. Wallace “Alvin” Hall of Gardner’s Lake, Walt “Candy” Cummings of Deep Cover, and “The Doctor” Kevin Barbee of Milbridge, each have had over 40 years on the basketball court, and all three are tournament veterans as well. Hall is the main reason that the trio probably will not be together again, at least on the court.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-7.ico)Machias Valley News ObserverDylan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/last_dance.jpg)](https://www.machiasnews.com/last-dance-longtime-refs-take-court-one-more-time?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- This buzzer-beater is nuts. > WHAT A FINISH! With seconds left in overtime, Loyola Chicago ties the game at 81-81, but [@DaytonMBB](https://twitter.com/DaytonMBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)'s Amaël L'Etang records the winning basket with 0.2 seconds remaining, 83-81! [pic.twitter.com/AikCVJOhQg](https://t.co/AikCVJOhQg?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Matt Digby (@Matt247Now) [January 18, 2025](https://twitter.com/Matt247Now/status/1880764524275581375?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Let's update the Wins Draft standings. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-19-at-5.27.08-PM.png) --- And finally > The Buffalo Bills were just called for Roughing the Passer next week against Kansas City. > > — NotKennyRogers (@NotKennyRogers) [January 20, 2025](https://twitter.com/NotKennyRogers/status/1881169607383503282?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-15.jpg) This is a big one. After Bailey Breen took her talents to Montverde, it was commonly assumed that Oceanside would struggle this year--that's a lot of talent out the door, after all. And after a 1-2 start, that take seemed safe. But since then, the Mariners have won 9 straight behind the stellar play of Renee Ripley and Aubrianna Hoose. They're the highest scoring team in class B and can shoot the lights out. They'll travel to Lawrence to take on Maddie Provost in the House That Cindy Blodgett built. No one thought the Bulldogs would struggle this year--and they haven't. They are flat-out crushing everything in their path and the only reason they aren't ranked higher is because they've played the easiest schedule in A North so far. I really don't think that means anything other than they haven't had enough Power Ranking points at their disposal to move up. Well here's an opportunity. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-19-at-10.33.04-PM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's game are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Fly Eagles, Fly URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fly-eagles-fly/ Last updated: 2025-01-18T16:54:22.000Z I went to the wrong game last night. But in my defense, I didn't know some important information. On January 2nd, Oceanside beat Lincoln Academy at the buzzer on a shot by Zeb Foster, but Foster came down with a nasty case of whatever's going around and didn't make the trip south. Oceanside without Foster as the tip of the sword was bound to be a different animal and Oceanside struggled to find offense while Lincoln Academy struggled to make shots early. It was 3 full minutes of game play before anyone scored and tied at 9 before Drew Hunt hit a three at the end of the first to give Lincoln the Lead after 1, 12-9\. Hunt kept it going in the second quarter, hitting 3 more from deep and handing out 3 assists to off-set Connor Kingsbury's hot quarter. Hunt's third three of the quarter pushed Lincoln's lead to 9 at the half. Hunt was 5/9 from 3 in the first half while the rest of the team shot 1/13\. In the third quarter, LA's Chase Coffin found his shot, hitting a couple of threes, then Terry Welle took over down the stretch and we got into JV minutes, featuring the first varsity minutes of freshman. Case Galley, younger brother of the Galley twins, who to the surprise of no one, can shoot. He scored 7 points in 7 minutes. But the story of the game was Drew Hunt. He finished with 20 points (shooting 6/13 from 3), 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals. Terry Welle added 16 & 8\. Oceanside was led by 14 points from Connon Kingsbury. After the game, I spoke to Drew Hunt, who gave a really good interview. So let's see what that does for B South's Tourney Odds. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-18-at-10.43.45-AM.png) I think we can call the top 3 seeds a wrap, with the caveat that maybe Lincoln Academy could get to 3? Maybe? It doesn't get interesting until 5/6, which is a toss-up between Yarmouth and Oceanside with Leavitt and Lake Region holding out hope of getting out of they play-in. You can check out the Tourney Odds for your region, which are all updated! [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- John Bapst standout Claire Gaetani joined the 1,000 point club last night in a win over Ellsworth. You can watch the video below, courtesy of Bapst coach Matt Smith. --- It seems to me that this is worse than scoring 115, but I don't know. I'm not the Facebook police. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-18-at-11.17.52-AM.png) Seems kind of painful to watch. But neither is bad. It's just basketball. --- There's buzzer-beaters and then there's a buzzer-beater to win your first game of the year. > Hoops 8 coming up in a few minutes..one game we didnt get to but a thrilling finish to see > > The [@BonnyEagleScots](https://twitter.com/BonnyEagleScots?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) girls earn their first win of the season with a putback at the buzzer by Kylie Cole [pic.twitter.com/fJldvj9y0P](https://t.co/fJldvj9y0P?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [January 18, 2025](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1880464987627688040?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Elsewhere: The Biddeford boys overcame 23 points from Liam Tiernan and rallied down 13 to beat Marshwood in OT...Brendan Shaw's 20 helped Brunswick beat Freeport...Cheverus used a big third quarter and 26 from Shema Rwaganje to beat Oxford Hills...Parker Morin had 24 in Cony's win over Mount Blue...Edward Little needed all of Diing Maiwen's 24 points to beat Westbrook by 1...Davis Mann's 24 led Falmouth to a win over Gorham...GNG got 25 from Colby Mitchell to beat Mt. Ararat...Kade Ippolito had 16 as Greely cruised by Cape...Lake Region put up a 31 point third quarter against Waynflete...Colin Schlobohm's 26 & 8 led Leavitt past Mt. View...Kristian Schumann had 18 and Medomak held Braden Rodrigue to 8 in a win over Winslow...Parker Reynolds blocked 6 shots in Messo's win over Gardiner...Brady Plante had 26 and Ryan Provencher hit a bucket with 10 seconds left to give OOB a win over Sacopee Valley, who got double-doubles from Tyler Easterbrooks (15 & 11) and Silas Nielsen (13 & 15)...Colby Solberg's 14 & 12 helped Pine Tree cruise by Islesboro...Carter Blanche hit 6 threes as Scarborough blew out Massabesic...Darius Johnson's 12 & 13 gave SoPo a win over Deering...Taylor Varney had 20 & 10 with 6 dimes as St. Dom's beat Traip...TA's Wyatt Benoit dropped 30 on Portland...Windham's Braycen Freese had 21 and Creighty Dickson had 21 and 8 boards to beat Bangor. The Rams were led by Harry Fitzpatrick's 27...Hannah Hussey's 15 led Greely by Cape...Marie Benoit's 17 led a short-handed Hall-Dale to a win over Mountain Valley...Mackenzie Robbins had 20 in Madison's win over Winthrop...Celia Bergdahl had 26 points, 14 boards, and 8 steals as Maranacook blew out Boothbay...Sarah Theriault had 21 as Marshwood beat Biddeford...Mt. Ararat got 19 from Cali Pomerleau in a big win over GNG...Mt. View's Arianna Bradeen had 23 against Leavitt...Ella Pelletier's 21 led Oxford Hills in a statement win over Cheverus...Sienna Eldred's free throw with 10 seconds left was the difference in TA's 39-38 win over Portland. --- This is awesome. > HIT A HALFCOURT SHOT FOR A NEW CAR. 😅 > > THEN TELL BEN STILLER YOU LOVE HIM. 🫶 > > WHAT A MOMENT FOR THIS FAN AT MSG! 🗽 [pic.twitter.com/nqUBjHM8hz](https://t.co/nqUBjHM8hz?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA (@NBA) [January 18, 2025](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1880456039646261267?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Well this is interesting. > 3 straight days of football, let’s make some money! Join [@TVLeeG](https://twitter.com/TVLeeG?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and [@Todd\_Gutner](https://twitter.com/Todd%5FGutner?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) as they give their betting picks on our new segment Wanna Bet? > > You can find this for free on [@newscentermaine](https://twitter.com/newscentermaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) plus. It’s free on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire! [pic.twitter.com/vkZtnDIC7D](https://t.co/vkZtnDIC7D?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Isaac Luken (@Isaac\_Luken) [January 18, 2025](https://twitter.com/Isaac%5FLuken/status/1880611651206230187?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you had told 12 year old me that Lee Goldberg and one of the weather guys would be hosting a show for channel 6 about prop betting, I'm not sure I would have believed you. But this is the future we live in now. It's hard to find a direct link to this, but you can find it [here](https://www.newscentermaine.com/watch?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Somehow this doesn't have a DraftKings ad on it. You're leaving money on the table, Isaac! If you're getting into sports betting and you don't know what you're doing, I can't stress enough that you should only bet dollar amounts that don't matter to you. I bet $1 at a time and that's enough for me to feel invested, but obviously so low that it doesn't bother me if I lose. It's also worth noting that the landscape is fraught with risk. Michael Lewis (the guy who wrote *Moneyball*) has focused this season of his podcast on sports betting and some of the stuff he gets into is terrifying. [Against the Rules with Michael LewisSociety & Culture Podcast · 6 Seasons · Biweekly Series![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-180-10.png)Apple PodcastsEddie205000![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/1200x1200bf-60-9.jpg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/against-the-rules-with-michael-lewis/id1455379351?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's a really good podcast! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-14.jpg) Thanks in large part to their win over Bangor Christian, Schenck has locked up the 1 seed in D North. They're 100% in the [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). As for Machias, they've got a good handle on a bye in C North and the inside track on the 3 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-18-at-11.51.01-AM.png) A win today would go a long way toward getting them to the 2 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-18-at-12.28.34-AM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Mary Allen Joins the 1K Club URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/mary-allen-joins-the-1k-club/ Last updated: 2025-01-17T11:06:41.000Z Last night was a light schedule, but that doesn't mean we have nothing to talk about. Let's go to Blue Hill, where Central is handling GSA, but in full countdown mode. Enter Mary Allen in transition. As you might have guessed, that's her 1,000th point! Congrats! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/image-4-1.png) photo used by permission --- We had a couple of blowouts that you won't read about on Facebook. The Penobscot Valley girls gave Penquis 99 problems and avoided 2 days of dumb Facebook outrage by staying under 100. The Washburn boys beat Ashland 69-9, which is also apparently better than scoring 100 points. And the Valley boys beat Forest Hills 94-59\. I can't remember the last time Forest Hills gave up 90 points. But, they were all under 100, so no one cares. --- SOUND ON 0:00 /0:08 1× That's one of Maranacook's Mitchell Maceda's 10 blocked shots last night against Winthrop. He also had 12 rebounds and scored 8 points. Elsewhere: Chan Ring led Winthrop with 18 in the loss to Marancook...Kirsten Bigelow and Madeline Hill each had 18 as Valley blew out Forest Hills...Maren Maxon had 18 in Wells' win over Lake Region...Levi Shorts had 18 (I sense a theme) as Valley put up 94 on Forest Hills. The Tigers were led by Jaxson Desjardins, who put up 21 and apparently didn't get the memo about sticking at 18...Cai Dougher had 19 in Spruce's win over Lisbon. The Phoenix led 52-6 at halftime...Sophomore Jacob Harmon had 21 and Levi Laverdiere added 20 as Monmouth handled Boothbay...Jacob Linkletter's 16 helped Madison take care of Oak Hill. Up in the County, Caribou had a jersey night in honor of former Presque Isle and Caribou player Iffy Sargent, who [passed away unexpectedly](https://www.duncan-graves.com/obituaries/Ifeanyi-Iffy-Nwafor-Sargent?obId=34546746&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) earlier this week. I never met Iffy (who was won a Gold Ball for Caribou), but reading about him today, it has become clear that he was a beloved member of several communities who left us far too soon. He seemed to be popular in Caribou and Presque Isle at the same time, which I thought was illegal. But some people just transcend laws. He was also connected to the Central Aroostook community, so they're having a jersey night in his honor for their game against Fort Fairfield. If you're in the area, it's worth the trip. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/image-3.png) --- UMaine's AJ Lopez went a little bit viral yesterday. > One of the funniest things of the college basketball season just happened > > AJ Lopez hit a 3 to put Maine up by 13\. He then proceeds to shush the crowd... which is made up of 8-year-olds because it's Education Day and all the elementary schools are at this game > > That was amazing [pic.twitter.com/99gobBtUBJ](https://t.co/99gobBtUBJ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — JaguarGator9 (@JaguarGator9NFL) [January 16, 2025](https://twitter.com/JaguarGator9NFL/status/1879954714177286462?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you were online at all yesterday, you no doubt heard about the death of legendary baseball broadcaster Bob Eucker. I remember watching games when I was a kid when he was the color guy alongside Bob Costas and thinking it was the funniest thing I'd ever heard. He was just so irreverent during something as serious as the World Series! Biggest, most important games of the year and he's up there cracking jokes about his batting average. Writing this now, I'm thinking that might have been kind of a formative thing. Anyway, you're probably seeing the Miller Lite commercials and the clips from Major League and maybe Mr. Belvedere and they're all great (well, maybe not all the Mr. Belvedere episodes), but you should add this skit from the time he hosted SNL. RIP. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-13.jpg) This is a good one! Let's go the A North Boys Tourney Odds, where we pretty much know our tourney field. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-at-11.56.18-PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) A North was a lot more fun with 12 teams. Messo has a pretty good handle on the 1 seed, then after that it gets interesting. Brewer is one of the better stories of the season, starting 10-0 after going 4-14 last year. A big part of that is freshman Oli Higgins, but this was also a team that lost a TON of talent from a championship team and lost a lot of close games in that 4-14 season, so just a natural shift in the luck of close games was a sign they would bounce back. The Witches have a realistic shot at the 2 seed and are very likely in the 2-4 range. If the 1 seed isn't an option, then there's a real difference between the 2 and the 3 in your quarterfinal matchup. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-17-at-12.10.33-AM.png) This is not a knock on a solid Gardiner team that has a quality win over Greely, but 2 through 6 could be a real dogfight. As for Camden, they're likely in the 4/5 game, but a win here would go a long way toward getting them into the 3 seed. But beyond all that, Camden has the #1 offense in Class A. Brewer has the #1 defense in Class A. [MaineCoast.TV will be streaming this.](https://www.mainecoast.tv/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-16-at-10.01.55-PM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Caribou Rolls (as expected) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/caribou-rolls-as-expected/ Last updated: 2025-01-16T20:09:05.000Z [Yesterday](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/windham-rallies/), I said the Game of the Day between Caribou and Fort Kent probably wouldn't be a great game, and it wasn't. Tristan Robbins had 34 points to out-duel Aden Jeffers' 31 points and the Caribou boys won handily at home, 87-64, to move to 11-1 and maintain their lead in B North. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-15-at-9.21.26-PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Caribou also has a pretty good case for the 1 seed in the Tourney Odds ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-15-at-11.55.14-PM.png) It's fascinating to me that only 2 teams in B North are IN. For comparison, 6 B South teams are IN. They can't all be bangers. Elsewhere: Gracie Little had 19 as Hodgdon beat Easton...Chase Flewelling had 22 as Easton won the boys' game...Cayden Ala had 15 in Fort Fairfield's win over Southern Aroostook...Isaiah Ervin dropped 34 in Houlton's win over PI...Pete Vicneire had 15 to lead Carrabec by Buckfield...Silas Nielsen's 20 & 10 was more than enough for Sacopee Valley to beat Richmond...Boothbay got 25 from Tatum French, but it wasn't enough to beat Monmouth and Kaitlyn Frost's 21...Dirigo's Abby Luczynski scored 26, but lost out to Mountain Valley's balanced attack with 3 players in double figures...the Mount Abram girls beat Hall-Dale as 12-point underdogs...Darby Flanagan's 22 for Richmond nearly out-scored Sacopee Valley all by herself. --- In Tuesday's Windham/Falmouth game, there was a play that was made controversial by people who weren't there. As luck would have it, Joe Bailey got a great angle on it. > Good Luck or Bad Luck depending on which side you were cheering for...but here is play that gave [@rsu14athletics](https://twitter.com/rsu14athletics?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) the lead for good in their comeback win over Falmouth [pic.twitter.com/ydRXxJ6OzT](https://t.co/ydRXxJ6OzT?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [January 15, 2025](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1879383548471456167?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) A lucky bounce, for sure. But nothing to get upset about. --- I wanted to clarify the reclassification update from yesterday, as I think I gave the impression that it's further along than it is. This is what happens when you write things at 1am. They finished the first draft of the proposal and sent it to Classification for feedback on Tuesday, which ended up being minimal. That'll now go to schools, etc, for feedback. After *that* feedback process, they'll meet again. Maybe they'll change things. Maybe they won't. They probably won't change much, is my guess, as they've already done a lot of drafts and tried a lot of different configurations to get to this point. To give you an idea, I've seen enough drafts to see multiple teams get sent to all 3 tourney sites. They'll approve that proposal and send it to the Basketball Committee for a vote, then to Classification. And then people will complain about it on Facebook. --- It's Officials Appreciation Week and Travis Lazarczyk has a column on the state of officiating in the state. Or at least the numbers. > Numbers are still down, but according to TJ Halladay, the state’s rules interpreter and a basketball official for more than three decades, Maine entered the 2024-25 season with 430 referees statewide — the highest number since the pandemic hit in 2020\. We could always use more, sure, but that’s an encouraging sign. [A thanks to the refs during Officials Appreciation WeekSports columnist Travis Lazarczyk heard a lot at a high school basketball game Tuesday night, and none of it was a thank-you to the refs.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-30.png)Press HeraldTravis LazarczykPortland Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/40928779_SJ.SPTlewELgbBBall10P.011524-1736969813.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/01/15/a-thanks-to-the-refs-in-officials-appreciation-week/?fbclid=IwY2xjawH1VH1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHX7X3o29NnnYB9FqTpp31KC8h6Q9dDhwwpQe4l48bKWN1WH%5F0rxH%5FBjlrQ%5Faem%5FWA2GsKZicevKiS7O-zXrPQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Also, if you're interested in reffing, you should give it a try! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-12.jpg) We're usually in C South more often for Game of the Day, but better late than never. Mount Abram is in control of the Region, sitting in first place in the Heal Points and the Tourney Odds had them as the overwhelming favorites to get the 1 seed going into last night's games. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-15-at-11.50.37-PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) You'll notice that Hall-Dale could still get the 1 seed. They have a 0.7% chance, which...isn't zero. They'd have to run the table and get a lot of help. Crazier things have happened. First, they need to lock up one of those byes. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-15-at-11.52.07-PM.png) They're mostly there. C South is usually a lot more interesting. This is disappointing, I'm not going to lie. This game probably doesn't matter, other than as prep for a potential playoff game. Hall-Dale could easily drop into the 4/5 game and get Mount Abram in a semifinal. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-15-at-10.09.40-PM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Windham Rallies URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/windham-rallies/ Last updated: 2025-01-15T11:40:23.000Z I was already halfway down the coast, so I decided to swing on down to Falmouth for the Game of the Day between the Navigators and Windham. Windham has been raising money all year for the [Pat Moody Foundation](https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-pat-moodys-mission-for-youth?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), a non-profit set up to honor the memory of Pat Moody and benefits youth sports, not just in Windham, but in other communities in Maine. Part of it is these WWPD shirts you've maybe seen and that I, completely unplanned, was already wearing today (what luck!) and Falmouth wore during warmups. Falmouth also donated the proceeds from the concessions in last night's game. It's a great cause! [Donate to the Pat Moody Foundation](https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-pat-moodys-mission-for-youth?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) After the tip, Windham came out fast. They went 5/7 from deep in the first quarter and 60% from the floor to open up a 24-14 lead after 1 and the Windham faithful were thrilled. For a bit, it looked like the Eagles might run away with it, but Falmouth is too good for that. The Navigators opened the 2nd quarter with a 13-3 run to even things up and the teams traded punches for the rest of the half as Falmouth got Davis Mann going (he had 12 in the second quarter alone) and Windham's 3-point shooting came back to earth (they went 2/8 in the quarter). At the half, Falmouth led 43-40\. In the third quarter, Falmouth's defense kicked into gear, holding Windham to 10 points on 23.5% shooting and Davis Mann gave them fits on the other end, using a collection of hitches and hesitations to get off shots that Windham's defense would normally send into the third row. The pushed the lead as high as 13 in the quarter. In the fourth, Falmouth took the lead back out to 15 with under 6 to play and it started to look like maybe Falmouth would run away with it. But Windham is too good for that. Braycen Freese got a bucket to stop the bleeding. Creighty Dickson hit a 3 to get the lead to single digits. But, more importantly, they turned up their defense in a big way. Windham was suddenly everywhere on the defensive end. They forced 9 Falmouth turnovers and had 8 steals in the fourth quarter alone. They also got a little lucky when AJ Moody deflected a ball into the backcourt, only to have it hit the official and keep rolling instead of going out of bounds. Moody chased it down to save the possession and then a few plays later hit a big three to cut the lead to 1\. Creighty Dickson gave them the lead on the next possession and they kept going. In the end, it was a 22-3 run over the last 5 and a half minutes. Davis Mann hit a 3 to cut the lead to 2\. Windham added a free throw, leaving Falmouth one last shot. 0:00 /0:14 1× video: Me It really did feel like this game was headed for overtime. Windham won 75-72, which was what the Model thought. It had Windham by 3.1. I spoke to Creighty Dickson after the game, but there was an issue with the microphone, so I couldn't use it (sorry, Creighty). Dickson finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. AJ Moody added 16 & 7\. And Braycen Freese had 15 and a couple of very clutch steals down the stretch. Davis Mann had 34 & 8 to lead Falmouth and for stretches was impossible to guard. --- Speaking of impossible to guard, Kylie Lamson went off for 40\. [Losing streak’s over, Cheverus girls basketball team has its ‘swagger back’With Kylie Lamson (40 points) leading the way and a different defense paying dividends, the Stags earn a quality win over Sanford.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-29.png)Press HeraldDrew BonifantPortland Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/40916915_20250114_ChevSanf_1.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/01/14/losing-streak-behind-them-cheverus-girls-basketball-has-its-swagger-back/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Here's Old Town's Emmitt Byther throwing one down. 0:00 /0:17 1× video courtesy of Old Town Elsewhere: Brunswick's Lexi Morin's career-high 30 points and 11 boards led the way against Fryeburg...Wells beat Lake Region behind 22 & 15 from Meg Mertens and 19 points, 6 steals, and 5 assists from Maren Maxon...Camden Pelletier had 27 in Wisdom's win over Ashland...Owen Sylvain had 19 in Biddeford's win at Bonny Eagle...Cheverus got 29 from Leo McNabb and 21 from Jameson Fitzpatrick to beat Sanford, who got 20 from Dylan Gendron...Kennebunk's Theo Pow had 24 in a win over Westbrook...Chase Coffin had 17 as Lincoln Academy handled Mt. View...Gabe Lash went off for 28 & 14 and Rocco DePatsy added 17 as Medomak beat Erskine...Levi Laverdiere dropped 27 and Bingham Abbott's 18 & 13 led Monmouth by Mt. Abram...Mt. Blue's Nolan Leso went for 28 against Skowhegan...Eli Smith's 24 wasn't enough for Cape against Poland. The Knights got 20 points and 6 dimes from Nick Jamo...Sam Morrill had 22 and Anthony Whittier added 19 & 11 in Rangeley's win over Temple...Adam Fitzgerald scored 16 of his 31 in the fourth quarter as Scarborough rallied to beat Bangor...Jace Bessey dropped 28 on Maranacook...J.J. Carlo had 20 in Waynflete's win over Traip...Kelsie Dunn had 21 in Erskine's win over Medomak Valley. The Panthers got 20 from Kytana Williamson and 19 boards from Chloe Fox...Cenzie Cunningham's 3 at the buzzer gave Kennebunk a win over Westbrook...Marshwood's Sarah Theriault had 19 in a win over York...Ella Pelletier's 24 led Oxford Hills over Portland...Poland's Lise Poublan had 21 in a win over Cape. --- The MPA officially approved the new classification plan that just happens to look like the one [I told you about back in December](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/exclusive-the-2025-26-reclassification-plan/id1675940033?i=1000680962796&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). What a surprise! [Sweeping changes to Maine high school basketball proposedA five-class basketball system that would double the number of Class AA teams is still a work in progress. The MPA also approved a more balanced four-class 11-man football structure.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-27.png)Press HeraldSteve CraigPortland Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/38105603_20240221_Chev_Lew_1.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/01/14/sweeping-changes-to-maine-high-school-basketball-proposed/?fbclid=IwY2xjawH0FKBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHY6-hWRZMGZXZH6MdhV%5Fr9TrFjF7ewI%5FKh5dXPwhCTvCZf%5FyhpfSVtIHeg%5Faem%5F-3HGiDnwwkFZMdw33U245g&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- And here's the least surprising news of the year. [Lisbon High won’t renew football coach’s contract in wake of hazing allegationsLisbon Superintendent Richard Green wrote in an email that Chris Kates will no longer coach the Greyhounds.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-28.png)Press HeraldHaley JonesSun Journal![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/40563312_20241206_Lisbon003-1733599779.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/01/14/lisbon-high-wont-renew-football-coachs-contract-in-wake-of-hazing-allegations/?fbclid=IwY2xjawH0FyVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHcAwGL9x7yXHeJAkgrYHE9EuN9QI%5F19Iynwgu3CeZf-E3%5F0UqoA13vypHA%5Faem%5FIV%5F8Ko-b7Yp2oVkEEh02pw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-11.jpg) It's a pretty light schedule today, so this might not be the best game. Caribou beat Fort Kent earlier this year 89-44 so I'm pretty sure the Model is low on this one. It doesn't factor in that "Caribou" beat "Fort Kent". It just looks at the numbers, so it sees two teams that have had pretty good years so far, score a lot of points, and win a lot of games. But Caribou is really good. This might not be close. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-15-at-1.10.43-AM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### One Hundred and One Points URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/one-hundred-and-one-points/ Last updated: 2025-01-14T11:37:10.000Z The Game of the Day was a complete bust–a PPD–so hopefully you didn't make the drive. And Monday's schedule was a light one, so this will be quick. Let's start at Hodgdon. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-13-at-9.06.01-PM.png) The Facebook comments are big mad, as is their custom. But this isn't a surprise. The line was 24.3, which is on the high end of what it'll even give. For example, the biggest line I could generate against Van Buren was 31.0 against Windham. That's by design not an accurate line because a long time ago I set it up to discourage teams from running up the score, whatever minuscule impact it might have. The matchup stats prior to tip were stark. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-13-at-9.20.27-PM-1.png) Hodgdon entered the game as the third highest scoring team in the state, playing the team with the 8th most porous defense in the state. And on the other side of the court, you have the 3rd lowest scoring team in the state trying to score on the 8th best scoring defense. What did you think was going to happen? As usual, people are super mad about this online. What a travesty of sportsmanship! Did they watch the game? Of course not. They never do. It's easier to spout off on Facebook. We saw this last year in the Oceanside/Belfast game, a blowout *everyone* had an opinion about and no one watched. Not the people making up stuff about it on the 'gram. Not the people outraged by it. Not the people writing 1,500 words about it. Virtually no one watched it. But everyone had an opinion. That's a bigger issue than the number on the scoreboard, but we're not going to fix society. You should watch the game. I've got it playing in the background, because I actually watch these things. Hodgdon is up 14-0 and they aren't pressing. They're playing half-court defense and turning that into layups. They're already into their bench. They're just bigger, faster, and stronger than Van Buren. [Van Buren at Hodgdon Boys Basketball 1-13-25 - Basketball Winter 2024-25 - WHOU.liveLive coverage of your favorite team and events so you can be a SUPER FAN anywhere!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/7ef7c64d-c7c8-464f-9bf3-25bfe4f16873-2.png)WHOU.live![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/87c1ec29-4188-49ba-b350-e7eb3fd74d7b.png)](https://www.whou.live/basketball-winter-2024-25/videos/van-buren-at-hodgdon-boys-basketball-1-13-25?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you want to get this sort of thing out of basketball, the answer isn't to have a mercy rule or ask the better team to burn clock or pass 10 times before they shoot or let the other team score like in those viral videos where the manager with special needs comes in to score a basket. The answer is to come up with better scheduling, so these teams don't play each other. I wrote about this last year for the BDN. [How Maine high school basketball can prevent more blowoutsIf there’s a game on your schedule that you cannot win, that’s not good. If there are four, then you need a different schedule.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-14.png)Bangor Daily NewsLucas McNelly, Sports Contributor![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/ocenaside-orono-class-b-basketball-4.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/01/22/sports/high-school-basketball/maine-high-school-basketball-blowouts/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This isn't going away. We'll probably have another one this week. Maybe it's the 100 points that makes people angry. Last night, the Easton girls beat Washburn 29-2\. Is that better? I know which one I'd rather watch. I'll close with this Facebook comment from the parent of a kid on the wrong side of a different blowout tonight. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-13-at-10.32.35-PM-1.png) Preach. In a less controversial result, Edward Little's Rachel Penny got HOT from deep. She went 9/16 from beyond the arc, good for 27 points to go with 11 boards, 8 dimes, and 3 steals in a blowout of Lewiston. Elsewhere: Richmond's Zander Steele (what a name) was on triple-double watch, finishing with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 steals in a win over Buckfield...Carrabec closed with a 20-0 4th quarter to shut the door on Pine Tree...Fisher Tewksbury's 22 & 11, Harry Louis' 22, and Hunter Mills' 13 & 16 led Valley's win over Telstar...Maddie Grimaldi had 22 and Avery Bessey added 18 for Spruce as they beat Maranacook, who got 20 & 13 from Celia Bergdahl...The Valley girls put up 36 in the first quarter against Telstar. Madeline Hill led the way with 17...Kylee Savage had 17 in Winthrop's win over Lisbon. --- You know I love a great buzzer-beater. > Baylor Scheierman with a STELLAR buzzer beating Hail Mary to JD Davison for the Maine Celtics [#CrustaceanNation](https://twitter.com/hashtag/CrustaceanNation?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/ktjVeNjTe3](https://t.co/ktjVeNjTe3?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Cameron Tabatabaie (@CTabatabaie) [January 13, 2025](https://twitter.com/CTabatabaie/status/1878899197447123292?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Patriots got their man, to the surprise of no one. [For the Patriots, This Coaching Search Was Always Going to End With Mike VrabelAfter a hasty (and perhaps disingenuous) coaching search, the Patriots have hired Vrabel. Now it’s up to the former New England linebacker to build the team around Drake Maye and lead the Patriots back to prominence.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-6.ico)The Ringer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/MikeVrabelPatriots_Getty-Ringer-scaled.jpg)](https://www.theringer.com/2025/01/12/nfl/new-england-patriots-mike-vrabel-hired-head-coach-robert-kraft-jerod-mayo-rooney-rule?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And people are pumped. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-13-at-11.04.37-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-10.jpg) You don't need a fancy spreadsheet to tell you to circle this one. As you know, Windham is the defending AA champ and looking pretty good in their title defense. They're 10-1 and 5th in the state in scoring. Coming off their first loss to SoPo, they've had a couple of close games. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-13-at-10.55.13-PM-1.png) They'll visit a Falmouth team coming off a huge win over Noble. The Navigators are 9-2 and are very likely locked in to the 2 seed in A South. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-13-at-10.58.35-PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) This should be a really good game. I'm toying with the idea of making the drive. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-13-at-8.23.54-PM-1.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of the Model's picks for today's game are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Lincoln Academy at the Almost Buzzer URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/lincoln-academy-at-the-almost-buzzer/ Last updated: 2025-01-13T10:58:46.000Z I got distracted by the Celtics game (how do you not give them the timeout there???) and football and then looked at the clock and realized I hadn't written the newsletter yet, so...yikes. Anyway. I started my Saturday at Lincoln Academy to check out the first half of Lincoln Academy and Spruce Mountain and it looks like I maybe left too early, as Zach Keene picked up career win 100. > [pic.twitter.com/R9zkt780Ce](https://t.co/R9zkt780Ce?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — PHOENIX ATHLETICS (@PHOENIXATHLETI2) [January 11, 2025](https://twitter.com/PHOENIXATHLETI2/status/1878201313449685204?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But there was a doubleheader up the coast that looked promising. It was a big crowd. The pep band showed up. Hell, the Worldwide Leader showed up. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/image-2.png) The boys game was relatively equally matched until Camden asserted themselves with a 12-2 run at the end of the 2nd quarter and first minute of the third. Matthias McPhail was the story in the first half, drilling 5 3's and scoring half of Camden's points in the first half. Teagan Lowe took over in the second half as Camden did nearly all their scoring on the left block. Lowe finished with 20 points and 16 boards. Oceanside's defense was able to hold Camden's dynamic scorer Nolan Ames at bay, limiting him to 8 points on 4-11 shooting, but Ames did was good players do when the shots aren't there, he made an impact in other ways, totaling 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals, and 2 blocked shots. Camden's defense wasn't as effective against Zeb Foster, who had 21 points and 7 rebounds for the Mariners. In the girls game, Camden started strong. using a 10-0 run to take an early lead, but Oceanside got hot from deep in the second quarter, hitting 4 triples. Oceanside pushed their lead out to 13 in the third, but Camden battled back, using a 12-2 run to get back in it. Thea Lakkua tied the game with a 3 at 46\. Then Renee Ripley answered with one of her own. Ryley Beaudry added one of her own to get the lead to 6 and then Oceanside went into a modified stall/weave to put the game on ice. Ripley led Oceanside with 21 & 8\. Aubrianna Hoose added 20\. Lakkua had 20 for Camden. While at the Camden game, Jon Duke expressed his surprise at the Model's selection of the Lincoln Academy @ Spruce Mountain boys game as the Day of the Game. After all, there were a lot of good games Saturday. Falmouth beat Noble! TA/Cheverus! Biddeford/Mt. Ararat! [Medomak/Yarmouth](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/01/11/medomak-valley-stays-perfect-with-win-at-yarmouth/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)! Let's go to Jay, where Lincoln Academy has the ball down 1\. That's EJ Hunt with the jumper to give Lincoln Academy the lead. But, WAIT. There's 0.7 seconds left on the clock. 0:00 /0:15 1× Oh boy. I got into the call on the podcast, with some feedback from multiple refs who watched the video. You can also listen wherever you podcast. [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The win puts the 3 seed in play for Lincoln Academy. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-12-at-10.41.22-PM.png) Tourney Odds are updated! [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Elsewhere: Kayleigh Wagg had 14 and Mt. Ararat held Jordyn Crump to 4 points in a win over Biddeford...Billy Birks hit two free throws with 17 seconds left to give Falmouth the lead in their win over Noble...Tayshaun Cleveland's double-double (10 & 11) and Evan Legassey's 19 led Deering to a win over Bonny Eagle...Jonny Patenaude had 24 and the game winner for GNG against Westbrook...Hall-Dale's Keegan Cary had 25 in their triple overtime win over Waterville. Oh, and the JV game went double OT...Gabe Lash's 18 & 9 led Medomak to a win in Yarmouth...Colin Schlobohm gave Leavitt 25, but it wasn't enough against Oak Hill...Colby Solberg had 20 as Pine Tree blew out Rangeley...Manny Hidalgo scored 25 in SoPo's win over Oxford Hills...Peyton Reckards' 19 led Temple to a win on North Haven...Wyatt Benoit (20) out-dueled Leo McNabb (19) as TA made a statement at Cheverus...Tyrie James scores 23 as Windham survived a scare from Scarborough...Lauren Dunbar hit 2 3's in the final minute to rally Gorham past Massabesic...Caitlyn McCoy drilled 7 3's to lead Leavitt to a comeback win against Oak Hill...Ella Pelletier's 21 paced Oxford Hills against SoPo...Nya Avery's 10 & 14 and Sophie Coite's 10 & 17 led York over Kennebunk...Kelsie Dunn lead Erskine with 16/6/6/4...The Jonesport-Beals girls beat Bangor Christian in OT. --- Let's update the Wins Draft standings. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-12-at-10.35.17-PM.png) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-13-at-12.31.45-AM.png) True fans might be a bit much, but this is still quite cool. 1,000 people get this newsletter every day, which is a little overwhelming to think about. Thanks to all of you for reading and sharing and tapping me on the shoulder at a game to say something nice. The flip side of reaching 1K members is I got bumped to a higher tier of pricing, but I can add another membership option. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-13-at-12.34.19-AM.png) People really do tell me this on a somewhat regular basis. [Upgrade](#/portal/account/plans) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-9.jpg) The Madison girls have won 5 of their last 6 and are trying to grab one of the byes in C South. The Model thinks they currently have a 50/50 shot at it. They could even get the 1 seed. Their chances would improve greatly with a win tonight over Hall-Dale. The Bulldogs are in second place in C South and are pretty solid favorites for one of those byes. They've won 8 of their last 9 after a loss to Spruce Mountain and are 6th in the state in scoring differential. But, if you want to quibble, they've played one of the easier schedules in C South. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-13-at-12.50.07-AM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Wiscasset Girls Win! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/wiscasset-girls-win/ Last updated: 2025-01-11T11:36:54.000Z It's hard to grasp just how long the Wiscasset girls' losing streak was. They had lost 122 consecutive games (according to data tracked by the [Lincoln County News](https://lcnme.com/category/sports/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)), with their previous win coming on December 22nd, 2016 over a Hall-Dale team coached by Jarod Richmond. 2016. Barack Obama was President. That was the year David Bowie died. *Moonlight* won Best Picture. Chance the Rapper won 3 Grammy Awards. It was a wild time to be alive. 2,941 days. Just imagine your team going that long without winning. But on Islesboro yesterday, all that came to an end. Xoe Morse hit two clutch free throws in the final minute to break a 21-21 tie and Michelle Farrin added another with 4 seconds left to seal the 24-21 win. After the game, I reached out to coach Dan Wall to ask what the win meant: > These girls have worked hard all season. Worked on Every aspect of the game. From ball handling to a half court press. They have never given up. All these girls want to do is play hard and be recognized. This win has done that for them. 100 plus games in the loss column takes a toll on you. Breaking that streak for these girls is going to help them being more confident that when we work hard it pays off. Tonight we celebrate, tomorrow we work even harder. After all those losses, they must be on Cloud 9. In case you haven't heard, Thursday night's Portland/Deering game at the Expo had some issues. [Fights disrupt Portland-Deering basketball game at ExpoPolice say no one was injured or arrested during the high school game at the Portland Expo on Thursday night.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-26.png)Press HeraldMorgan WomackPortland Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20250109_193928.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/01/10/fights-disrupt-portland-deering-basketball-game-at-expo/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You can see some of the first fight on the Portland Hudl page. It's about an hour and 6 minutes in and comes during a free throw attempt. [Portland High School • Watch NowLocated in Portland, ME. Watch live events, past livestreams and recent highlights.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-5.ico)Hudl![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/11188918_690ee52025214e399678f978626b0f5f.jpg)](https://fan.hudl.com/usa/me/portland/organization/8469/portland-high-school/watch?b=QnJvYWRjYXN0MTk1OTkwMA%3D%3D&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They pulled the teams off the floor and resumed play twenty minutes later. Then a second fight broke out with under 2 minutes to play and they called the game. The Hudl feed cuts off with over 3 minutes to go, what with the long delay throwing things off. You don't need me to tell you this sort of thing can't keep happening. That's 3 fights in the stands this year, which is 3 too many. In related news, Sumner [canceled a middle school game](https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story%5Ffbid=122148748484373280&id=61561198414154&mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=IyVz2g9IL4lhBwq3) because "the level of sportsmanship displayed by some spectators from both sides during recent games has fallen short of the standards we all strive to uphold." ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/image-1.png) As usual, the kids suffer the consequences of the actions of the adults. --- I get into this a little bit in the open of the latest episode of the podcast. Then, Adam Robinson joins me to talk about his first month ever as a high school basketball coach. If you're unaware, Adam traded in his media pass for the lucrative world of coaching Class D Junior Varsity basketball. We get into that and, as always with Adam, it diverges in fun directions. [Smash the Subscribe Button](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) As always, you can listen to this wherever you consume podcasts. --- Remember all the way back on Monday when Mattanawcook went off for 113 points against Lee Academy? They're at it again! Thanks to Danielle Neal for sending in the video. Avery Jordan led the way with 30 in 3 quarters. Kooper McCarthy added 23 points, 10 assists, 6 steals, and 5 rebounds. The win moves them to 10-0 on the season. They're +326 on the season and averaging 76.1 ppg. They've got Dexter next, so 3 in a row seems unlikely, but you never know. --- It looks like the real Game of the Day was in Blue Hill. > This was a classic down in Blue Hill! George Stevens led by 11 in the third but Woodland stormed back to bring it within one- still the Eagles held on for the 54-52 win! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/IJ18K6Oq4y](https://t.co/IJ18K6Oq4y?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [January 11, 2025](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1877936634882043957?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) GSA's Colby Eaton blocked the potential game-winning Woodland 3 with one second left to preserve the win. Elsewhere: Zander Steele's 20 wasn't enough for Richmond against Carrabec...Griffin Gammon scored 18 in Gorham's win over Massabesic...Carter Norton hit 6 3's and had 18 points to fuel Mount Blue to a lopsided win over Mountain Valley...Evan Bilodeau's 17 and a big 3rd quarter led Winthrop to a win over Waynflete...Buckfield's Kianna Finnegan (12) and Sarae Devoe (14) each outscored Telstar...Kylie Lamson's 26 points and 6 steals against TA ensured Cheverus wouldn't lose their 4th straight...Ava Ezell's 24 led Hodgdon over Washburn...Eigth Graders Addison Labelle and Sadie Trams had 18 and 17, respectively, as Ashland made short work of Van Buren...Cyran Ciarleglio had 20 in Hodgdon's win over Washburn. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-8.jpg) Today is kind of loaded. A theme this year in the midcoast is of teams that should have fallen into oblivion with talent losses, be it graduation or transfer to Montverde, that have managed to stay afloat. One of those is the Lincoln Academy boys, who graduated essentially their entire starting 5 and are still 7-3, this coming only a couple years after a stretch of 1-17ish seasons. They travel to Jay for a battle with Spruce Mountain. I've seen both of these teams a couple of times and they're *kind of* similar. Both excel with quick, aggressive, smaller lineups that can harass the hell out of you on defense. Lincoln doesn't have a scorer that can duel with Jace Bessey, but Spruce doesn't two guards who are as in sync as the Hunt twins. This might come down to secondary matchups. Can Lincoln's Terry Welle match Spruce's Cai Dougher, for example? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-11-at-1.01.48-AM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Blood Sport URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/blood-sport/ Last updated: 2025-01-10T11:37:24.000Z I went to Lincoln Academy for the most promising game I could get to in time after work. [Smash that subscribe button](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). You can watch me get more tired as the week goes on (and as the season goes on), which is super fun and doesn't make me self-conscious at all. The game got off to a not-great start when Winslow's leading scorer Braden Rodrigue picked up 2 fouls in the first 53 seconds of the game and, well, let's just say the old guys on the very pro-Lincoln Academy [LCTV.org](https://lctv.org/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) feed were openly questioning the calls. Not a great sign! As you might imagine, the Winslow fans were even less happy. A quick side note on expressing your displeasure with the officials from the stands. You can't yell bloody murder for every little thing. If you start at a 9 in the first quarter and stay at 9, it's just noise. It has no impact. You can't argue everything. It doesn't help to scream "THREE SECONDS" on every possession, even if there's a violation every possession. Pick your spots. Take 3 or 4 possessions in a row off. When the refs really do something you dislike, then you scream bloody murder and it'll have WAY more impact. Anyway, with Rodrigue in foul trouble, Lincoln Academy raced out to an early 23-12 lead after 1, with EJ Hunt doing most of the damage. He had 10 in the first quarter. Then, with 3:48 left in the half, Rodrigue fell to the ground after taking an errant elbow to the face. He came up bleeding, a stream of blood clearly going down his face as he walked the length of the court while the refs gave Lincoln Academy the ball to inbound it. I could see he was bleeding. The guys on LCTV could see it. The ref staring at him from 10 feet away, not so much. Eventually they stopped play and if you think the Winslow fans were mad before, they were ready to riot after that. Rodrigue sat while they attempted to patch him up and Lincoln extended their lead. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-09-at-11.37.00-PM.png) He would need stitches after the game, but he checked back in for the second half and it was a process of seeing just how long he could stay in the game before he started bleeding again. Kudos to Lincoln's trainer Meagan Day for staying on top of this throughout the game. Meanwhile, the game got more physical. Everyone got angrier. For a good 5 minutes, they just stopped calling block/charge plays. As in, two kids collide. One goes down. Play on! At one point, my stepdaughter asked if anyone had been ejected yet. Which is all to say that Lincoln won handily, but it was such a mess from the beginning that I'm not sure how much you'd want to judge Winslow based on last night's game. It might be the situation where you turn Madden off in the third quarter because you just can't catch a break. E.J. Hunt led the way for Lincoln with 19 points and 5 assists. The Hunt twins really controlled the game on both ends of the floor. Braden Rodrigue finished with 25 points and I'm not sure how many stitches. --- Completely unrelated, but did you know there's a need for more officials? It's true! > “We’ll start you out with third and fourth grade. We try to ease you into it. I also make the commitment to those junior officials that either myself, or another veteran official that volunteers for it, will sit courtside. That way, if anything weird happens, or very unique or unusual, they’ll be there to help talk them through it,” said Cournoyer. And it's free! [Jr. IAABO online basketball officiating course planned for next monthFeb. 24-27![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-7.png)WABIBen Barr![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/C6CUTQIDHVAF5DFAZOVHSZWWQY.jpg)](https://www.wabi.tv/2025/01/09/jr-iaabo-online-basketball-officiating-course-planned-next-month/?fbclid=IwY2xjawHtfopleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHelQyVBd8mk4VmllR3T-0nKIeFIPjqTAZ8qULVsfMhiU7wZIuJeZouqLEg%5Faem%5FD4vGM36EeUH3yaZuvlf3yA&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Here's a wild sequence from the game between Morse and Medomak Valley. You're going to hear LCTV's Larry Sidelinger on the call. 0:00 /0:28 1× video courtesy of LCTV.org That's Medomak's Gabe Lash with the block. He finished with 11 points as Medomak won by 51 to stay unbeaten and keep pace with York, who beat Freeport. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-09-at-9.48.56-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) York's got a very small lead and has played one extra game, so we'll see what the Tourney Odds look like when I run them later today, but York and Medomak seem to be creating a little bit of separation from Spruce and Lincoln Academy. [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- Central's Mary Allen set a school record with 44 points in a win over Orono. Congratulations! --- Well this is maybe the shot of the year. > If you are old enough, you remember the Michael Jordan vs Larry Bird McDonalds commercials....this shot by [@SanfordSpartans](https://twitter.com/SanfordSpartans?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Paige Sevigny is something they would have made up in that commercial....sadly it didnt count... [pic.twitter.com/INpS06bewB](https://t.co/INpS06bewB?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [January 10, 2025](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1877542605199757694?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) By the way, here's the commercial. I'll save you the Googling. If I remember correctly this was a Super Bowl ad. --- Here's another buzzer-beater, this time from Bangor Christian. > Bangor Christian's Corina Walden drills a Cross Center logo three pointer to close out the first quarter against Searsport! [pic.twitter.com/LgkibbE7pq](https://t.co/LgkibbE7pq?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ben Barr (@BenBarrTV) [January 9, 2025](https://twitter.com/BenBarrTV/status/1877483451621781649?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Elsewhere: The Biddeford boys used a 29-0 run to put away Massabesic...Nolan Ames scored 10 of his 30 points in overtime as Camden survived a scare from Skowhegan...Falmouth's Davis Mann dropped 31 on Westbrook...Kade Ippolito's 27 out-dueled Jeremy Therrien's 26 as Greely beat Wells...Ty Bernier scored 20 as Messo picked up a big win in the Stable...Nick Jamo went off for 29 as Poland blew out Sacopee Valley...Portland raced out to a 20-1 lead and Lucas LeGage finished with 26 in a win over Deering...Jack Downs gave Traip 24, but it wasn't enough to beat St. Dom's...Peyton Reckards had 16 & 14 in Temple's win over Islesboro...Harry Louis had 32 as Valley blew out Forest Hills...Liam Tiernan's 29 for Marshwood wasn't enough to take down Windham. They were led by Creighty Dickson's 22...Evan Oranellas and Ian Lawrence each scored 22 in Yarmouth's win over GNG...Hall-Dale's Sierra Gibbons got a double-double (26 & 11) to best Celia Bergdahl's 20 & 13 for Maranacook...Mackenzie Robbins' 17 paced Madison past Mountain Valley...Kytana Williamson had 25 in Medomak's win at Morse...Kaitlyn Frost had 23 points in Monmouth's 83-6 win over Lisbon...Mt. Ararat used a big third quarter to rally past Brunswick...Oceanside's Aubrianna Hoose dropped 27 on Leavitt...Mollie Puffer had 20 in Sanford's win over TA...Avery Bessey scored 24 in Spruce's win against Oak Hill...Madeline Hill had 20 and Liana Hartwell was on triple-double watch with 10 points, 15 boards, 7 assists, and 9 steals as Valley rolled by Forest Hills...Maren Maxon's 24 led Wells against Greely. --- I see a lot of fundraisers in my inbox \[mainebasketballrankings at gmail dot com\], but this is one of the better ones I've gotten. Camden Hills is hosting a scrimmage between CMCC and Bridgton Academy with proceeds going to the Windjammer boosters. But, there's more. Before the fundraiser scrimmage is the Camden/Oceanside boys/girls doubleheader, which promises to be two pretty good games. I'm planning on being there. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/image.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-7.jpg) This is the worst slate of games of the season so far. There's only 2 games with a Stax Index over 70\. The good news is Saturday looks loaded. The Mattanawcook boys are off to a great start. They're 9-0\. They're 2nd in the state in scoring at 73.1 ppg (Caribou, 76.3) and 2nd in %Perfect at 97.8% (Valley, 99.1%). They haven't played the hardest class C schedule and it'll actually get easier from here on out. So I wouldn't expect them to be tested tonight and I'm not sure they'll be tested during the regular season. As for Central, they've won 3 of their last 4, but this is a whole different level. Again, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you this is going to be a good game (unlike some people). Because it sure looks like a blowout. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-10-at-12.13.18-AM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Dirigo's 1K URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/dirigos-1k/ Last updated: 2025-01-09T11:04:14.000Z We're going to make this short because it's a light schedule and I'd like to get some sleep. Yesterday, I said the Game of the Day probably wouldn't be close--I wouldn't want to lead you on--and it wasn't. The Caribou boys ignored the rule that with rivalry games you can throw out the records. They were 8-1 for a reason. Presque Isle was 5-3 for a reason. The Vikings rolled to a 65-28 win and are currently juuuust ahead of Ellsworth for the top seed in B North. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-08-at-10.48.22-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- We've got another member of the 1,000 point club. Let's go to Boothbay. That's Dirigo's Nathaniel Wainwright calmly draining the technical foul free throw to reach 1,000 points. When was the last time you saw someone score their 1,000th point on a technical free throw? If you're wondering the tech was for a Boothbay player stepping over a Dirigo player after a scrum. Thanks to Cody St.Germain for sending over the video. Wainwright finished with 30 on the night and Dirigo needed nearly all of them in a 58-49 win over Boothbay. Along with the 1,000 points, Wainwright has 2 Gold Balls. Does that resume put him in the Mr. Basketball conversation? I really need to start putting together a list. If you've got a recommendation, put it in the comments. Elsewhere: Bapst's Claire Gaetani dropped 26 in a win over Hermon...Cole Bard's 23 points wasn't enough for Winthrop to overcome a balanced Mount Abram attack. Killian Pillsbury led the way with 14 for the unbeaten Roadrunners...Cai Dougher went off for 32 points and Jace Bessey added 26 as Spruce Mountain put up 90 on Oak Hill, turning a 5-point game at the half into a rout. Braden Dubuc led Oak Hill with 24...David Edwards had 15 & 12 in Richmond's win over Telstar... --- This is a really bad call and if it led to Ben Hanke breaking his wrist? Awful. Awful. Awful. > What’s worse on this play, the kid sliding in while he’s airborne and Hankes breaking his wrist or the charge call? [pic.twitter.com/WP9GK9Ej6a](https://t.co/WP9GK9Ej6a?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — BL Lippert (@coachlip) [January 8, 2025](https://twitter.com/coachlip/status/1876967225254383739?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If we're so worried about safety, I can't for the life of me figure out why we don't add a restricted circle. --- Next time you hear someone complaining about a school scoring too much, tell them about the 66-67 Strong boys. They averaged 97.2 ppg! > The Strong Boys Basketball team were an offensive dynamo. (1966-67) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/BLTYhOhz4u](https://t.co/BLTYhOhz4u?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — TheStatsGuy (@TheStatsGuy262) [January 8, 2025](https://twitter.com/TheStatsGuy262/status/1876998331823468670?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Check out some of those scores. 143-77! Can you imagine reaction on social media? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Ggxvpb2XoAAvh-1.jpeg) --- Cooper Flagg got parodied by the Onion, just another wild thing to happen to the kid from Newport who should be playing Lawrence on Saturday. [Cooper Flagg Out 2 Weeks Due To Family Trip To Hilton HeadDURHAM, NC—Shrugging as he issued a half-hearted apology for his absence, Duke freshman basketball player Cooper Flagg confirmed Tuesday he would be out for two weeks due to a family trip to Hilton Head Island. “I really want to be there for all my Duke teammates, but this is something we’ve had planned for months,” \[…\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-site-icon.png)The OnionThe Onion Staff![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Cooper_Flagg_NIB_G_PH.jpg)](https://theonion.com/cooper-flagg-out-2-weeks-due-to-family-trip-to-hilton-head/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And, yes, there were plenty of people on Facebook who didn't realize the Onion is satire. Still. --- Awesome, awesome news from Dickie V. > Just had scope of my vocal cords & I was very emotional with the great report by Dr ZEITELS . He said the vocal cords are cancer free & he feels I can return to my love of being at courtside for [@espn](https://twitter.com/espn?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) . [pic.twitter.com/r4tJHcTiMF](https://t.co/r4tJHcTiMF?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dick Vitale (@DickieV) [January 8, 2025](https://twitter.com/DickieV/status/1877012081594990846?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Can't wait to see him back on the sidelines anointing Cooper as a Diaper Dandy. --- Portland's newest soccer club signed their first Mainer, Lewiston's own Khalid Hersi. > NEW: Hearts of Pine sign its first Mainer. Khalid Hersi, 20, is a Lewiston native and a midfielder. A highlight signing as the club fills its inaugural roster. [@hearts\_sc](https://twitter.com/hearts%5Fsc?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/joQNNbY8Fh](https://t.co/joQNNbY8Fh?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — David Guildford (@guildford56) [January 8, 2025](https://twitter.com/guildford56/status/1877099206919303636?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-6.jpg) Sanford and Thornton Academy are in a battle for the 2 seed in AA South. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-08-at-11.39.46-PM.png) Sanford is currently the 2 seed, despite being 4-6\. It helps to have a couple of nice wins. TA is 6-2, but their best win is against #24 Scarborough. This could go either way. I think we'll learn something about each team today. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-08-at-8.08.09-PM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### One Hundred and Fifteen Points URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/one-hundred-and-fifteen-points/ Last updated: 2025-01-08T11:16:06.000Z Just one day after Mattanawcook beat Lee Academy 113-61, we have this. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-07-at-9.53.52-PM.png) And you thought people were mad yesterday. First, I just want to say that I appreciate that we're doing this on the very next day. It's a natural transition for someone who write a daily newsletter and much cleaner than if it were to happen next week. These things never come out of thin air. North Haven just lost to Valley 88-18, which was the second-most points they'd scored this year. It's tough, because according to the enrollment numbers, North Haven has 15 kids. Total. Take 15 random kids at your school and see what sort of boys basketball team you end up with. Say 8 of the 15 are boys, there's your team. If you're an able-bodied person who can run up and down the court a couple times, you're on the team. It's a miracle they even have a team. Maybe you get lucky and 4 or 5 kids really like basketball. Maybe it's only 2\. It might be telling that Ezra Davisson scored 12 of North Haven's 13 points. Either way, it's an awfully thin margin for error. Add to that you're on an island, so you can't exactly talk your friend the next town over into transferring. So it's great that they're managing to field a team. I talked to Buckfield coach Jon Cadman a little bit over DMs and it's a tough position to be in. He went deep into his bench early and often. The bench played 3/4 of the game. But Buckfield has got 150 kids, so it's not hard to imagine that their bottom 5 players could easily be better than the starters of a school of 15\. You could stall and do performative things that are glorified stall tactics, but then you're telling your JV kids that can't play hard in their rare varsity minutes. They had 8 players score at least 9 points, which is really something. On the flip side, I've been in this situation myself. I went to a super small school and we had a year we were blown out every game (not this bad) and it sucked, but if an opponent had just burned clock to save our feelings I would have been furious. If we lose by 60, we lose by 60\. Maybe in a year or two, we'll beat you. And we did. Just play basketball. --- It's kind of tricky to get to a game on a Tuesday with my schedule, so I opted for the close option, which was fun because I got to bring my son along. By the time we recorded this, he had already hit the concessions hard during his cousin's JV game and you can see the pizza smeared across his face. He's cute, but he needs to work on his Model. You can't have people favored by 80\. This isn't Class D. After losing their opener to Erskine, Leavitt had quietly won 6 straight, albeit against a pretty soft schedule. How soft? Only 1 of those 6 wins was against a team in the top 90 (a 3-point win over #37 Poland). Medomak led early, then Leavitt got hot from 3 and took the lead at 17-14 and Medomak coach Lindsay Vinal took her first timeout. I'm not sure what she said, but it worked. The Panthers ripped off an 18-1 run that ended when Caitlyn McCoy beat the halftime buzzer with a three from the corner. It was Leavitt's 5th corner 3 of the half, which is notable because they only made 5 field goals in the half. So, yeah, all their points in the half came on corner 3's and free throws. Analytics! Obviously, I tweeted that at the half. > Caitlyn McCoy’s corner 3 at the buzzer ends an 18-1 Medomak run. At the half, Medomak leads 32-21\. All of Leavitt’s made shots are corner 3s > > Kytana Williamson 18/3r/4s > Chloe Fox 5/3r > > Caitlyn McCoy 9 (3/6) > Jordyn Boulay 7 (2/4) > > — Go to mebballrankings.bsky.social (@MEBBallRankings) [January 8, 2025](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1876783284639645981?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) So of course their first bucket of the second half was a layup. The second half was pretty uneventful. Medomak would put together a couple baskets in a row and Leavitt would hit a corner 3\. McCoy beat the 3rd quarter buzzer with a deep 3, but the lead generally stayed in double digits. I will say that for a Tuesday girls game an hour and a half away, the Leavitt crowd was rather large and engaged and not in a toxic way. Kind of exactly the sort of crowd you hope for. In the end, Medomak won by 17--far short of Rhys' prediction of 80, but right in line with the Model's prediction of 17.1\. There was a foul that could have been called with a second left that might have meant a lot to some shady characters in Friendship, but the refs let it slide. As for the Leavitt shot diet, it was 3's and a layup (ignore the mid-range misses). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-07-at-11.11.27-PM.png) A number with a circle around it is a make. A number by itself is a miss by that player. Caitlyn McCoy finished with 21\. She was 7/12 from deep. Kytana Williamson led Medomak with 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals. Chloe Fox added a double-double. --- But I should have gone to the Game of the Day. South Portland dealt Windham their first loss of the season. Manny Hidalgo's floater with 3 seconds left was the difference in a game that, by all accounts, was a thriller. Steve Craig was there for Varsity Maine, doing the Lord's work. [South Portland hands defending champ Windham first loss in boys basketballManny Hidalgo scores the winning basket with four seconds to play in battle of top-ranked Class AA teams.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-25.png)Press HeraldSteve CraigPortland Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/40844460_20250107_windhamsopohoops_0001.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/01/07/south-portland-boys-hand-defending-champ-windham-first-loss/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Hidalgo had 25\. Creighty Dickson led Windham with 22\. --- Here's Bangor forcing OT against Portland at the Expo. 0:00 /0:13 1× Portland would prevail in the end behind 21 from Lucas LeGage. --- Elsewhere: The GNG girls easily covered a 21-point spread against Greely in the Instagram Game of the Week (LOL)...Brody Taylor's 19 led Bonny Eagle against Massabesic...Nolan Ames had 25 in Camden's win over Gardiner...Cape got 24 from Eli Smith and 20 from Tim Fredericks to beat Waynflete...Pete Vicneire hit 5 3's and tallied 20 points in Carrabec's win over Rangeley...Evan Legassey's 21 and Tavian Lauture's 19 & 10 helped Deering beat Sanford...Blaine Nadeau had 21 as Forest Hills beat Pine Tree...Fryeburg rallied to beat Freeport behind 23 from Bojan Bundovski...Theo Pow dropped 31 on Biddeford...Gabe Lash's 20 led 10 different Panthers scoring in Medomak's win over Leavitt...Brendan Shaw drilled 6 3's and scored 20 points, but it wasn't enough as Oceanside beat Brunswick in overtime...OOB's Brady Plante dropped 31 on Traip...Silas Nielsen's 19 points, 10 boards, and 5 blocks paced Sacopee Valley past NYA...Carter Blanche had 29 in Scarborough's win over Falmouth...Taylor Varney scored 19 points and handed out 10 dimes in St. Dom's win over Lisbon...TA's Wyatt Benoit had 26 against Edward Little...Harry Louis (27) and Fisher Tewksbury (23) ran roughshod over Temple...Braden Rodrigue gave Winslow 25 against Erskine...York needed most of Reece MacDonald's 21 to survive Lake Region...Portland tried to rally behind Baleria Yugu's 27 points, but fell short in Bangor...Natalia Silva's 25 led Biddeford to a win over Kennebunk...Forest Hills' Allie Dunning led the way with 24, outscoring Pine Tree by herself...Julianna Allen had 25 as Mt. Ararat led Deering 43-3 at the half...Arianna Bradeen had 22 as Mt. View cruised by Morse...NYA's Ella Giguere out-scored Sacoppee Valley 26-23...Ella Pelletier went off for 37 and Oxford Hills needed all of it to survive a feisty Lewiston...Aleiana Booker's layup with 5 seconds left gave Traip a win over OOB...Nya Avery's 14 & 10 helped York beat Lake Region. --- Cooper, good god. > COOPER FLAGG MY GOODNESS 🔥 > > [pic.twitter.com/UbFQm42SaJ](https://t.co/UbFQm42SaJ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — No Ceilings (@NoCeilingsNBA) [January 8, 2025](https://twitter.com/NoCeilingsNBA/status/1876799245497291068?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-5.jpg) Look, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you this is a good game. This isn't an Instagram account with sketchy ethics. This is probably a blowout. Caribou is the highest scoring team in the state so far, filling it up at 77.6 points a game. They're also 5th in differential at +235\. If you want to poke a hole in them, they've played a really soft schedule so far and their %Perfect against the Top 25 is a mediocre 9.89%. That's bad. But this is a rivalry game with PI and anything can happen. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-08-at-12.52.22-AM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### One Hundred and 13 Points URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/one-hundred-and-13-points/ Last updated: 2025-01-07T11:48:40.000Z Oh boy. Where to start? I guess we'll start with the game I went to. If you watch closely, you can see where I forget someone's name. [Smash that subscribe button](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). The Lincoln Academy boys and Belfast boys both entered the game 5-3 and with somewhat similar playoff aspirations. Both will likely be playoff teams. Lincoln is hoping to stay out of the play-in (they can probably go as high as 4th) and Belfast will very likely be in the play-in, but they still have a lot of work to do to complete the turnaround from last year's 1-17\. Belfast started strong, racing out to an 14-7 lead before Lincoln made some adjustments. They worked. The Eagles went on a 23-6 run across the first and second quarters. From there, they were pretty much in control the rest of the way, holding onto a 10-point lead, give or take a couple. Belfast had chances late to make it a game, but were unable to convert and Lincoln Academy won 66-50\. Chase Coffin led the Eagles with 26\. Kaiden Benjamin had 17 in the losing effort. New this year, I'm doing live stats of games I go to, assuming there's enough of an wifi connection. This is available for paid subscribers, both live and the archived box scores. [LIVE StatsLive stats of selected games![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-20.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/LIVE-STATS-2.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) So, like, upgrade. [Upgrade](#/portal/account/plans) --- Meanwhile, a little further north. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-06-at-10.38.02-PM.png) One hundred and thirteen points. Wow. Mattanawcook was 6th in scoring coming into this game at 68.1 and Lee Academy was 104th in scoring defense, so a big number was probably to be expected, but I don't think anyone was expecting this. For the Lynx, Andrew Oliver led the way with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. Kooper McCarthy added 22 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds. Both players exited after 3 quarters, so before you go calling the MPA and making an international incident out of it, at least keep that in mind. Me, I would have kept them in to get the triple-double --- Speaking of triple-doubles, Hodgdon sophomore Cyran Ciarlegio stayed in long enough to score 26 points, haul down 20 boards, dish 10 assists, and grab 7 steals for good measure in a win over Fort Kent. --- Let's go to Central Aroostook, where the Panthers are clinging to a 3-point lead. 0:00 /0:21 1× video courtesy of WHOU That's Madawaska Middle/High School's Quinn Pelletier, with the emphasis on Middle School because he's still in the 8th grade. Pelletier wasn't done. He scored all of Madawaska's points in overtime, finishing with 30 on the night, including Madawaska's final 20 as they prevailed, 57-53\. Again, 8th grade. [Madawaska Boys win overtime thriller over Central AroostookPelletier’s 30 with 13 in OT, puts undefeated Madawaska over Central Aroostook 57-53![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/WOZIFM.png)101.9 The RockJon Ouellette![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/attachment-GAME-RECAP-2.jpg)](https://1019therock.com/madawaska-boys-win-overtime-thriller-over-central-aroostook/?fbclid=IwY2xjawHphrRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHR6gDlfCxTQ3v5ubWi60QpRzwBan5qEBWbcRTvwfw70QPfhUgmVa5FCzVg%5Faem%5FhfukpPg2eiQ3FwwidJC8Zg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I don't post a lot of middle school videos on here, but this is an exception. Let's go to Troy Howard Middle School (that's Belfast), where the Medomak 7th graders are tied with Troy Howard with a second left in overtime. That's Brayden McNelly (who just happens to be my nephew) with the pass to Brayson Shorey, who called GAME. I don't care what grade it is, that's a great buzzer-beater. --- And then there's this full-court heave. [Clip from Ft. Kent Comm. vs Hodgdon - Boys Varsity Basketball 01/06/2025 | Live & On DemandWatch high school sports and events nationwide, live and on demand, via the NFHS Network. Stream regular season and playoffs online from anywhere.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-6.png)Follow Us On![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/gam38c856f21d_1725601407815.png)](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/clips/ucld77ea17fbc1736228777945?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you've got a buzzer-beater, send it my way! Elsewhere: Ethan Linkletter had 23 & 9 in Madison's win over Monmouth...Owen Smith scored 22 for Dirigo, but he was no match for Maranacook's Jack Fontaine, who went off for 37 in a win...Oak Hill got 23 from Braden Dubuc, but it wasn't enough to beat Brennan Mitchell and Bryce Wilcox, who scored 17 each for Mt. Abram...Zaden Steele's clutch free throw with 4.6 seconds left gave Richmond a win over Wiscasset. The Wolverines were led by Landin Shirley's 26...Buckfield rallied down 11 to force overtime behind Trenton Haskell, but Telstar prevailed after 2 extra periods. Brody Morgan led the way with 26 for Telstar...Valley's Kamdyn Conrad had 22 in a blowout win over North Haven...Ella Kenney had 19 in GNG's win over Westbrook...Schenck's Lidia Matarazzo drilled 8 3's for 32 points against Southern Aroostook...The Valley girls led North Haven 28-0 after 1\. Liana Hartwell led the way with 15...Lily Oliver had 26 as Fort Kent moved to 8-1. --- Kids, keep in mind the people who will be viewing your highlight tapes. > Recruiting advice for HS players! (Highlights) > Film needs to be easily viewable - often it is too hard to see, too far away, too dark, or can’t opened full view. > Be mindful of the music you use. I like all kinds but some have been so vulgar I just stop watching. > > — Steve Carey (@coachcarey724) [January 6, 2025](https://twitter.com/coachcarey724/status/1876243222416289951?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And if you're making a cut just for Steve, can I recommend polka? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-4.jpg) Well this is an easy one. South Portland and Windham have long been pegged as the two teams to beat in AA (along with Cheverus). Windham, led by Creighty Dickson, is the defending champs. They're 8-0 on the season so far with the 6th best %Perfect in the state. They lead AA in scoring offense and are second in AA in +/-. They're really, really good. South Portland's scoring stats aren't as impressive, but they've played the 7th hardest schedule in the state. They're led by Manny Hidalgo, who is one of the 5 best players I've seen so far this year. If I could get there in time after work, I'd be there. Because this game could be awesome. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-07-at-12.31.49-AM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A Football Play in a Basketball Game URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/a-football-play-in-a-basketball-game/ Last updated: 2025-01-06T11:31:53.000Z Well the Game of the Day was a bust. The Bangor girls jumped out to a 14-5 first quarter lead and just kept going, making short work of Windham, 49-30\. Dalaney Horr led the way with 11 as the Rams improve to 6-3\. Laster that evening, I drove up to Camden for a boys/girls doubleheader between Camden and Medomak Valley. I'm supposed to tell you to smash that subscribe button. [Smash](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This was billed on Instagram as the "Game of the Week", which is laughable when you consider that it wasn't even the biggest game of the week for either of the teams involved. Medomak handed Spruce Mountain their first loss of the year two days prior, which had massive Heal Points implications. As for Camden, they beat 6-2 Messo just before the turning of the year, a huge win for their ambitions in A North. It wasn't even the most interesting game played in that gym, as the girls' game promised to be far more interesting. And you know what? It was! Medomak Valley nursed a small lead for much of the first half until Camden's Maren Johnson beat the buzzer to tie the game 23-23 at halftime. Then Thea Laukka had a huge 3rd quarter, scoring 8 of her 12 points, and Camden controlled the glass and all of a sudden a 10-2 run had Camden up 8\. After 3, it was 40-34\. And then Medomak's defense kicked in, holding the Windjammers without a field goal in the 4th quarter, forcing 5 turnovers, and flipping the rebounding advantage. Camden had chances in the final minute, but Medomak prevailed 44-42\. The boys game was uneventful, until it wasn't. Medomak's defense held Camden without a field goal until Nolan Ames got on the board with 34 seconds left in the opening quarter. At the half, Medomak led 35-17 and had held Camden's top-ranked offense to 29% from the field. Then, with 1:36 left in the third quarter, Medomak's Gabe Lash was fouled on a dunk and was down for 30 seconds or so in some pain. I was sitting next to Camden's Jon Duke (past guest on the podcast) and as Lash was on the floor, he said "this is a perfect example of what's wrong with dunk technicals." He's right. If we're so worried about safety that we're getting rid of the one-and-one, we should be letting kids stay up on the rim until they can be sure they can land safely. This is not complicated. If they do a pull up on the rim, fine. Give them a tech. But no one needs to get hurt just to avoid the Peter Webb All-Stars. Then a few seconds later, Lash again got out in transition. 0:00 /0:33 1× video courtesy of MaineCoast.TV Uh oh. The Camden defender, who I won't name, made what can generously be called a "football play". The refs huddled and called an intentional foul, which in real time felt like the correct call. There were people in the Medomak contingent who felt the penalty should be anything from an intentional foul to a banishment from ever playing basketball again, but I think the intentional foul was the right call. Looking at the replay, it looks like he's sort of going for the ball, but it's hard to tell. I'd like to see a better angle of it. There's obviously no place for a play like that in basketball, but there's really no place for it in a game that's essentially over. This isn't football. It was suggested to me by people in the Medomak football program that perhaps Camden is ready to play "real football". I do love some cross-sport trash talking. Lash returned to the game to start the 4th quarter. Camden tried to make a game of it in the 4th as Medomak went deeper into their bench. Or maybe they were trying to beat the spread of 10.3\. In the end, they couldn't get there. Medomak won by 12 in a game that wasn't nearly that close. Lash finished with 15 & 11\. Nolan Ames had 19 for Camden. A classic case of Instagram vs. Reality. I dug into all of this and more in this week's podcast Again, [smash that subscribe button](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). [Subscribe on Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > Brady Paradis coverts the layup with ten seconds to play to give Old Town ([@jeremy\_bousquet](https://twitter.com/jeremy%5Fbousquet?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) boy’s basketball a 42-40 victory over Hermon. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/FXN0nOLSZ6](https://t.co/FXN0nOLSZ6?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Hewey (@TylerHewey) [January 4, 2025](https://twitter.com/TylerHewey/status/1875677959715185124?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Elsewhere: Jordyn Crump dropped 26 on Westbrook...Creighty Dickson had 20 as Windham stayed unbeaten...Kade Ippolito led Greely with 26 in a win over Sanford...Braden Rodrigue went off for 30 and Derek Couture had 23 in Winslow's win over Waterville...The Erskine girls erased a 15-point deficit, but Gardiner held on for a 1-point win...Julia Reed's 19 points helped Gorham deal Cheverus their third loss in a row...Izzy Morelli's 21 led GNG over Noble...Kennebunk got a double-double (11 & 11) from Kendall Therrien against Fryeburg...Gabby Smith had 16 & 10 and clutch free throws late to give Leavitt a win over Poland...Lincoln Academy was led by Mariam DeLisle's 17 as they beat Mountain Valley...Deering's Angelina Keo had 25, but it wasn't enough to beat Marshwood, who got 16 from both Natalie Lathrop and Sarah Theriault...Maddie Grimaldi had 25 as Spruce got back in the win column against Lake Region...Buckfield's Krosby Harvey went off for 32 in Buckfield's win over Forest Hills...Leo McNabb had 21 in Cheverus' win over Gorham...Deering needed all of Evan Legassey's 21 points and 10 rebounds to survive Scarborough's 4th quarter rally...Akol Maiwen hit 7 3's for 23 points and Diing Maiwen added 20 as Edward Little beat Bonny Eagle...Davis Mann had 25 in Falmouth's win over Brunswick...Hall-Dale's Keegan Cary scored 19 in a win over Sacopee Valley...Sean Achorn's buzzer-beating put-back gave Messo a win over Lewiston...Mt. Abram's Brennan Mitchell went off for 30 against Carrabec...Jamier Rose (24) out-dueled John Patenaude (23) in Noble's win over GNG...Manny Hidalgo had 23 as SoPo blew out Portland...Cai Dougher had 22 in Spruce's win over Lake Region...St. Dom's Taylor Varney juuuust missed a triple-double with 9 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists in a win over Dirigo...Peyton Reckards had 11 & 10 as Temple got their first win of the year...Reece MacDonald's 30 helped York stay unbeaten. --- It's early January, so that means the Tourney Odds are here! [Tourney OddsWill your team make the tournament?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-19.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/tourney-odds-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) If you're new here, the Tourney Odds simulate the rest of the season 1,000 times using a Monte Carlo Simulation to determine if your team is IN, OUT, or has work to do. This isn't an exact mathematical elimination, as there are like a gazillion trillion different scenarios, but this covers the most likely ones. Here's B North girls. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-05-at-7.57.16-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Caribou is 100% in, which means that in the 1,000 simulations, the Model found none where they miss the playoffs. Sure, something crazy could happen and they could lose out, but they won't. In 86% of simulations Caribou is the 1 seed, but if that falls apart, 7 different teams could theoretically get there. As the season progresses, these bands will tighten and we'll get clarity. Like we already have in B South Girls. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-05-at-7.58.48-PM.png) Here we already know, baring a collapse, that our top 4 seeds will be Spruce, Medomak, Biddeford, and Oceanside, in some order. This is shockingly accurate. When I tracked it in 2018-19, it got 94.9% of the tournament field right with a month left in the season. This is obviously a paid feature. If you haven't already, you should upgrade! [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-3.jpg) We're in B North on a pretty light night of basketball. The Old Town girls lost 3 of their first 4, but have won 3 of 4 since then, including a nice win over Ellsworth. They're -9 on the season, but have played one of the tougher schedules in B North. MDI is 5-1 with a signature win over Caribou and a win over Ellsworth. Both these teams project as IN in the Tourney Odds, but the big question will be the bye. MDI is 72% to grab one of the byes. Old Town projects as the 6, just outside the bye line, so they could really use this one. The Model thinks they have a pretty good chance. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-05-at-11.44.50-PM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of the Model's picks for today's game are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A Shootout in the County URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/a-shootout-in-the-county/ Last updated: 2025-01-04T12:37:51.000Z In the Game of the Day, Cony used a 10-0 run in the third quarter to erase a 3-point deficit and hold on against Mt. Ararat for a big Heal Point win. [Cony girls basketball continues strong start with win over Mt. AraratThe Rams are led by two seniors and a group of inexperienced players who have grown as the season progresses.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-24.png)Kennebec Journal and Morning SentinelMike MandellKennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/40830514_20250103_conymta_0y02.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/01/03/cony-girls-basketball-continues-strong-start-with-win-over-mt-ararat/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) How big? The win takes the Rams past Lawrence and into first place in A North, with the caveat that they've played 2 more games than the Bulldogs. But, still. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-03-at-10.24.16-PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Abby Morrill had 22 points and Morgan Fichthorn chipped in with a double-double (12 & 11) as the defending A North champs made a statement. Kayleigh Wagg had 16 in the loss and the Eagles. Cony also moved up to 10th in the Power Rankings. [Power RankingsThis spreadsheet hates your team.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-18.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/power-rankings-2.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) --- The Ellsworth boys saw MDI erase a 15-point deficit, but the Eagles responded, out-scoring the Trojans 7-1 over the final 2 minutes and change. Four of those points came from Hollis Grindal free throws to put the game away and move Ellsworth to 7-1\. Ryan McLaughlin has a write-up. [Ellsworth American](https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/sports/boys-basketball-clutch-free-throws-from-grindal-help-ellsworth-hold-off-rival-mdi/article%5Faaabbe12-ca31-11ef-82e5-237536ce8ea6.html?utm%5Fcampaign=blox&utm%5Fsource=facebook&utm%5Fmedium=social&fbclid=IwY2xjawHli2hleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHaaEp3ojDBWagtIYWNspmdqDoIQ7DjFSl-FN6W1QRE8TwmyhdG2Ska%5F6NQ%5Faem%5FXRDoBT4Pxbu2nrXh7avUmg) --- Up in the County, we had a good, old fashioned shootout last night between Fort Kent and Central Aroostook. Fort Kent's Aden Jeffers, who seems to be in the newsletter after every game with some heady numbers, led the way with 32 points. But that was nothing compared to Jalheel Joseph who went off for FIFTY ONE POINTS. 51! In the end, Fort Kent prevailed, 78-70 to move into second in C North. If you're interested, you can watch the [full broadcast on WHOU](https://www.whou.live/basketball-winter-2024-25/videos/fort-kent-at-cahs-boys-basketball-1-3-25?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). [Fort Kent at CAHS Boys Basketball 1-3-25 - Basketball Winter 2024-25 - WHOU.liveLive coverage of your favorite team and events so you can be a SUPER FAN anywhere!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/7ef7c64d-c7c8-464f-9bf3-25bfe4f16873-1.png)WHOU.live![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/f54120a0-3da3-45c9-a58b-50d097d329f5.png)](https://www.whou.live/basketball-winter-2024-25/videos/fort-kent-at-cahs-boys-basketball-1-3-25?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Over in C North, the Penobscot Valley boys out-lasted Penquis 50-46 in one of the lower-scoring 4 overtime games you'll ever see. Yes, I said 4 overtimes. You've got to see this shot by Penquis' Brenan Grant to send it to the 4th OT. Elsewhere: Levi Laverdiere had 18 as Monmouth beat OOB...Grant Thomas had 20 as Ashland won their first game of the year...Lily Oliver (20) and Fort Kent handed Central Aroostook their first loss of the year...Madison used a 21-3 second quarter to overcome a slow start against Oak Hill. Ava Landry led the way with 13...Tessa Ferguson's 24 led OOB to a win over Monmouth. How's this for a dunk? > Friday Night Fast Break coming up here shortly! Catch me, [@Jackiemoon\_25](https://twitter.com/Jackiemoon%5F25?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and Doug Banks, plus highlights like this incredible lob from Brayden King to Kyle Kenny and more at roughly 10:40 on FOX 22 [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/YkuosgzFyv](https://t.co/YkuosgzFyv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [January 4, 2025](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1875378949460783307?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Preach. > If you want to feel good about yourself play pickleball. If you want to challenge yourself play a real sport. > > — Vernon Maxwell (@VernonMaxwell11) [January 3, 2025](https://twitter.com/VernonMaxwell11/status/1875026854081655207?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-2.jpg) There's a lot of discourse about the Windham boys--and for a very good reason--but the Windham girls have quietly worked their way into the top 25 with a record of 4-3, thanks in part to a brutal schedule. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-03-at-9.59.43-PM.png) That's the 3rd hardest schedule in the state, behind Bonny Eagle and Oxford Hills, and they've held serve, only losing to #1 Oxford Hills by 4 on the road, beating #4 Edward Little on the road, and then knocking off #12 Gorham on Thursday. The schedule never really gets easy in AA, but it lets up a tiny bit. And then they've got to play Cheverus and Oxford Hills back-to-back again in late January. They'll host a Bangor team riding high after a win over Oxford Hills on Thursday where the Rams almost let a 13-point lead slip away. [Bangor girls hang on to earn important victory over Oxford HillsWith the one-point win, Bangor improved to 5-3 and avenged a 47-43 loss in South Paris on Dec. 10.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-13.png)Bangor Daily NewsLarry Mahoney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Bangor-Girls-Basketball-vs-Deering-Prelim-KH-7-1.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/01/02/sports/high-school-basketball/gifford-helps-bangor-girls-victory-over-oxford-hills/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Bangor is 5-3 with losses to #1 Oxford Hills, #2 Cheverus, and #4 Edward Little and have only 1 game left against a team currently in the top 20 (Edward Little on January 31st), so if they can get a win here, they could potentially go on a pretty nice Whoever wins this game will need to get hot in order to get into the top 3 in AA North, so it's not hard to imagine this could be a preview of the 4/5 quarterfinal. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-03-at-10.09.24-PM.png) If so, this might be a nice quarterfinal come February. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-03-at-9.43.37-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) [Matchup Data](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Medomak Gets a Sweep URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/medomak-gets-a-sweep/ Last updated: 2025-01-03T11:44:37.000Z The Game of the Day brought a playoff-like atmosphere to early January when the unbeaten Spruce Mountain boys traveled to the coast to face the unbeaten Medomak Valley Panthers. The teams traded blows throughout the first half, with neither team leading by more than 4 points and 7 lead changes over the first 12 and a half minutes, the final one thanks to a three by Cai Dougher (he had a big 11 points in the first half). Then with 3:26 to play in the half, Medomak's Gabe Lash exited with his third foul and the Panther's found themselves down 2 with their defensive anchor on the bench. It's the sort of situation where the color guy will invariably say, "Jim, we're going to learn a lot about this time in the next few minutes". Kristian Schumann gave Medomak the lead with a triple and Mason Nguyen beat the buzzer with a layup to finish the half on a 5-0 run. In the 3rd quarter, the Panthers extended the run to 9-0 before Dougher hit some free throws. Then with 3:30 left in the third, the game shifted for good. Spruce Mountain got called for a flop technical–🙄–on a short Gabe Lash jumper, Schumann hit both free throws, Mason Nguyen hit a dagger three to make it a 7-point trip down the floor and all of a sudden, Medomak was up 12\. Spruce wasn't done. Sophomore point guard Dylan Jewett tried to mount a comeback, but it wasn't enough. Medomak beat a very good, very fast Spruce Mountain team 55-43\. Schumann led the way 18\. Lash had 17 points and 7 rebounds. Medomak's defense held Jace Bessey to 4 points. --- Along with Valley, Spruce was one of two schools with an unbeaten boys and girls team. Well up in Jay, the Spruce girls held Kytana Williamson to only 7 points, but the Panthers got 15 points from Chloe Fox and avenged their semifinal loss to the Phoenix with a 38-34 win. That win clutters up the top of B South ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-03-at-12.07.31-AM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- The title game rematch between Windham and Gorham was a bust, as the Eagles won by 30\. Enter the Windham girls, who got a late bucket from Stella Jarvais to hand Gorham their first loss on the year. [Stella Jarvais’ clutch basket lifts Windham girls basketball over GorhamJarvais’s layup with 12 seconds to go helps the Eagles stun the previously undefeated Rams.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-23.png)Press HeraldDrew BonifantPortland Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/40830320_20250102_gorh_wind_5.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/01/02/stella-jarvais-clutch-basket-lifts-windham-girls-basketball-over-gorham/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Jarvais led the way with 14\. Julia Reed had 18 for Gorham. Elsewhere: Rachel Penny had 17 as Edward Little handed Cheverus their second straight loss...Parker Studholme hit a 3 with 11 seconds left in OT to give Erskine a win over Morse...Brody Taylor beat the buzzer to give Bonny Eagle a win over over Westbrook. He finished with 20 & 12...The Brewer boys squeaked out a low-scoring win to move to 9-0...Brayden Monto had 23 as Buckfield blew out Rangeley...Leo McNabb fueled a big second half for Cheverus. He finished with 22...Theo Pow had 20 as Kennebunk handled Massabesic...Maranacook got 21 from Jack Fontaine to beat Madison...Messo's Ryan Parent scored 18 in a win over Nokomis...Josh Grunkemeyer's 21 points wasn't enough for Bangor as they lost to Oxford Hills and Brayden Murch's 26...Silas Nielsen had 15 points, 16 boards, and 5 blocked shots in Sacopee Valley's win over Traip...Brady Adams hit 6 threes as part of his 22 points as Sanford held off a late Biddeford charge...Manny Hidalgo went off for 31 points for SoPo...Jeremy Therrien's shot from deep broke a tie with 30 seconds left to give Wells a win over Freeport. He finished with 23...Creighty Dickson led a balanced Windham attack with 17 as they beat Gorham by 30...Braden Rodrigue had 26 points and 8 assists in Winslow's win over Mount View...Reece MacDonald scored 21 points as York stayed unbeaten...Derek Couture's 24 wasn't enough for Waterville as they lost to Belfast. Trevin Ripley led the Lions with 12...Ella Pelletier had 25, but Oxford Hills couldn't find a winning bucket in the final minute and fell to Bangor. Avery Clark led the Rams with 13...Kendall Therrian had 15 as Kennebunk more than doubled up Massabesic...Celia Bergdahl 21 & 11 double-double led Maranacook by Madison...Poland's Charlotte Grenier drilled 8 treys for 30 points to out-duel NYA's Athena Gee's 7 treys and 21...Portland's Baleria Yugu dropped 30 on Lewiston, who got 27 from Bailey Tardif-Mockler...Mollie Puffer's big 4th quarter fueled Sanford as they pulled away from Biddeford. She finished with 22...TA's Sienna Eldred's 24 points out-did Noble, who only managed 22 as a team...Leavitt's Colin Scholbohm had 22 points, including the free throws to force overtime against MCI and the eventual game winner. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) The Mt. Ararat girls are 5-1 on the season and sitting third in a very competitive A South. They lead A South in %Perfect, the metric that measures how well you're maximizing your opportunities relative to your schedule. They've also got the second best scoring offense in the region. They're travel to Augusta to take on the second highest-scoring offense in A North, the defending champions of the region. They're 7-1 on the season and trying to keep pace with Lawrence in the race for the 1 seed. Unless they beat Lawrence (who they still have to play twice), this is easily their best opportunity to pick up some much needed Heal Points. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-03-at-12.25.19-AM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### We're on to 2025 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/were-on-to-2025/ Last updated: 2025-01-02T11:12:03.000Z This is obviously going to be quick, as there were only 8 games on New Year's Eve. In the last Game of the Day of 2024, Jace Bessey scored 9 of his 21 points in the 3rd quarter to help Spruce Mountain pull away from Monmouth and move to 7-0\. The Sun Journal's Haley Jones was there with the full story. [Boys basketball: Spruce Mountain holds off Monmouth to keep undefeated streak aliveJace Bessey leads the Phoenix with 21 points and Austin Armandi sinks four 3-pointers in a 60-49 victory.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/icon-apple-touch-sm-1.jpg)Lewiston Sun JournalHaley JonesSun Journal![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Monmouth1-1735682970.jpg)](https://www.sunjournal.com/2024/12/31/boys-basketball-spruce-mountain-holds-off-monmouth-to-keep-undefeated-streak-alive/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We'll come back to Spruce. Elsewhere: Tristain Robbins scored 16 as Caribou blew out Foxcroft...Cruz Casavant's 17 led Presque Isle past Bapst...Claire Gatani had 23 as Bapst beat PI in the girl's game...Maddie Grimaldi had 19 to keep the Spruce girls undefeated. Spruce Mountain and Valley are the only schools that remain unbeaten (boys and girls)...Madelyn Duprey had 17 in Caribou's win over Foxcroft. We're on to 2025. --- Here's a fascinating article from the Ringer on paywalls. [How Bad Is Bypassing Paywalls?The ethics of skirting reading restrictions in the era of Peak Paywall![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-4.ico)The RingerSteven Waldman![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/LindberghPeakPaywall_Getty-Ringer-scaled.jpg)](https://www.theringer.com/2024/12/31/media/the-ethics-of-bypassing-paywalls-websites-peak-paywall?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I don't love paywalls, although I understand why they exist. And, you know, have one. For me, personally, I want to keep the newsletter free. I think a newsletter that essentially promotes high school kids *should* be free. The buzzer-beaters and cool stat lines in here should be easy to read. But this takes a lot of time and time is money, so the Model's picks are behind the paywall, as are the superior Heal Points, the Tourney Odds, and so on. I think it's a good balance. There's also a viewpoint where a paywall isn't a hinderance. It's a vote for the media you want to exist in the world. You pay the subscription because that helps ensure the website can continue to exist and they can keep creating new content. I think (hope) this site fits that paradigm. And this is where I encourage you to upgrade to the Varsity level. [Upgrade!](#/portal/signup) --- Let's take a look at the updated Wins Draft standings. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-01-at-9.22.50-PM.png) It really helps if you nail the "Missed the playoffs" pick. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/game-of-the-day.jpg) It's pretty hard to get the Game of the Day in 2 consecutive newsletters. You've gotta have a tough stretch of the schedule and you probably need a weekend or a holiday, but Spruce Mountain is back in the driver's seat as they head to Waldoboro to take on Medomak Valley. The Phoenix and the Panthers are both undefeated in what's looking like a 3 team race in B South, along with York. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-01-at-9.35.23-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Getting the 1 seed here would be a real benefit, come tourney time. Medomak and Spruce are now 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in %Perfect, a stat that measures how dominant you are, relative to the schedule (Valley is first at 99.1%). They're first and third in Class B in scoring defense, second and third in point differential, and fourth and sixth in scoring. We talked about Spruce a little [last year](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/everyone-gets-a-buzzer-beater/). Jace Bessey is the headliner, but Cai Dougher is a guy who can impact the game on both ends and was huge for them in the quarterfinals last year. As for the Panthers, Gabe Lash is one of the best defenders in the state and should be in the mix for Mr. Basketball. Beyond that, Rocco DePatsy has been an impact player in the post and Mason Nguyen leads a talented group of guards. The winner of this will get an early leg up on the race for the 1 seed. It should be a good one. I'll be there with LIVE stats. [LIVE StatsLive stats of selected games![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-17.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/LIVE-STATS-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) [LCTV.org](http://lctv.org/watch/now-showing-on-lctv/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) will have the stream. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-01-at-9.28.24-PM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Everyone Gets a Buzzer-Beater URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/everyone-gets-a-buzzer-beater/ Last updated: 2024-12-31T11:42:12.000Z There was something in the air yesterday. Let's start with the Scarborough girls, who were a 23.4 point underdog on the road against Cheverus. This was a close one the entire way, but Cheverus had to feel pretty good when they were up 36-31 after 3 quarters and 44-37 with 2 minutes to play. But Scarborough rallied and Cheverus was clinging to a 44-43 lead with 12 seconds to go. To the tape! 0:00 /0:26 1× video courtesy of WHOU That's Megan Rumelhart with the dagger. Scarborough closed on a 10-0 run to pull off the upset of the year thus far. That's not to say that 23.4 points is the biggest by-the-numbers upset of the year. Stearns was favored by 28-something early in the year against a Penquis team that didn't play last year and, therefore, there wasn't anything to go on. This is a legitimate Upset with a capital U. But we're not done. Let's go to Nokomis, where the Hampden girls trail the Warriors by 1 with 2.1 seconds to play. 0:00 /0:27 1× video courtesy of Andrew Morong That's freshman Mallory Lausier with the game-winner. That must be it. Nope. Let's go to Narraguagus, where George Stevens Academy has the ball in a tied game. That's the cue for sophomore Colby Eaton. > Another view of the game winner for Colby Eaton of George Stevens in win over Narraguagus [pic.twitter.com/xao1HmVoUZ](https://t.co/xao1HmVoUZ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Eastern Maine Sports (@EasternMESports) [December 31, 2024](https://twitter.com/EasternMESports/status/1873909835907072022?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Eaton finished with 22\. How about another one? The Madison boys came back down 15 in the fourth quarter to beat Dirigo at the buzzer with a layup by Nathan Cornforth. And, yep, there's video! > [pic.twitter.com/osyuPuQYag](https://t.co/osyuPuQYag?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ty Cowan (@tcowanUMA) [December 31, 2024](https://twitter.com/tcowanUMA/status/1873908257540207102?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Oh, and we had another dunk technical. But this one was a little less controversial. They'll call that in the NCAA. They'll call it in the NBA. But it's totally worth it. This is not your father's Class D. Bangor Christian won 70-30. And then there's this incredible play by Edward Little's Diing Maiwen, who has 18 on the night. > Highlights from around the region coming up on [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) at 10- but check out this highlight from [@ELHSEDDIES](https://twitter.com/ELHSEDDIES?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Diing Maiwen- stuffs the three, takes it the other way and slams it home. Incredible stuff from the senior [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/zvWra4pFm3](https://t.co/zvWra4pFm3?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [December 31, 2024](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1873919571859849460?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Finally, here's Nolan Ames NOT getting a dunk technical. > Speaking of highlights? > > Do you like dunks? [@NolanAmes35](https://twitter.com/NolanAmes35?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) sure does! [pic.twitter.com/1KMUyxaHTn](https://t.co/1KMUyxaHTn?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — CamdenHillsBasketball (@CamdenHillsBB) [December 31, 2024](https://twitter.com/CamdenHillsBB/status/1873942041039954421?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You know what? One more. > Dunk City: Lewiston, Maine. > > Bates junior and Lewiston's own Chiwer Mayen threw down not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, but SIX dunks Monday in an 82-73 win for [@BatesCollegeMBB](https://twitter.com/BatesCollegeMBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) over St. Joe's at Alumni Gym. [#d3dunks](https://twitter.com/hashtag/d3dunks?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#d3plays](https://twitter.com/hashtag/d3plays?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@DaveEidWGME](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@TLee\_WMTW](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@LHSBlueDevils](https://twitter.com/LHSBlueDevils?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/cSFuRHdSqX](https://t.co/cSFuRHdSqX?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — BatesSports (@BatesSports) [December 31, 2024](https://twitter.com/BatesSports/status/1873912324287062478?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- And Noble got their second 1,000 point scorer on the year. Congratulations to Bryce Guitard! > Congratulations to Bryce Guitard! 1,000 career points! > > Nobles second 1,000pt scorer this season! [pic.twitter.com/i6std7iJjr](https://t.co/i6std7iJjr?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Noble Athletics (@NobleKnightsAD) [December 30, 2024](https://twitter.com/NobleKnightsAD/status/1873864251234017740?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Like I said, busy day. Elsewhere: Jyllian Riendeau's 22 led MCI past Maranacook just days after losing to them by 43...Leo McNabb had 17 as Cheverus rolled by Massabesic...Theo Pow had 18 as Kennebunk snapped a 4-game losing streak in the Game of the Day...Ethan Collier drilled 6 3's and scored 29 points as Southern Aroostook rallied with a 19-5 4th quarter to beat Stearns...Nolan Ames had 21 points, 8 boards, 7 assists, and no dunk technicals in Camden's win over Messo...Cony's Morgan Fichthorn dropped 27 on Brewer...Maranacook Freshman Joshua Herzing hit a 3 at the buzzer to force overtime, but MCI prevailed in the end...Lucas Legage had 21 and Devin Walker added 10 & 10 in Portland's win over Sanford...TA's Wyatt Benoit had 25 in a win over Gorham...Oxford Hills' Brayden Murch had a game-high 26, but it wasn't enough to top 5 Windham players in double figures as the Eagles stayed unbeaten...Julien King led Wiscasset with 19 as the Wolverines were able to overcome Buckfield's Gaven Parsons' 32...Gorham overcame a 12-point halftime deficit against TA to stay unbeaten. Julia Reed had 17 for the Rams...Mt. Ararat used a 12-1 to pull away from Medomak in the second half despite 20 points from Kytana Williamson...Ella Pelletier scored 7 of her 25 in overtime to lead Oxford Hills by Windham...Mollie Puffer's 20 led Sanford to a win against Portland...SoPo got 18 from Destiny Peters to beat Deering...Madawaska's Isaac Beaulieu scored 21 against Washburn...Fort Kent's Lily Oliver dropped 27 on Easton...Thea Laukka had 20 in Camden's win over Messo. --- And that takes us to the last newsletter of 2024\. Thanks to everyone who read this little thing all year. It truly means a lot. Currently, 970 people get this newsletter emailed to them 6 days a week during the season and I'd love to start 2025 on the other side of that imaginary 1K line. So if you know someone who'd enjoy getting this free newsletter every day, pass it along. [Signup for FREE](#/portal/signup/free) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-19.jpg) When Monmouth was last featured in the newsletter, they were picking up [6 technicals on Opening Night](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/6-technicals/). Since then, they've gone 4-1, with wins over Winthrop and Oak Hill and a loss to Waynflete. They'll get one of the toughest tests in their schedule in Spruce Mountain, who are 6-0 and, honestly, probably ranked too low. Spruce has dominated their schedule so far. They've got the 3rd highest scoring differential in the state and they're 1st in %Perfect, which means they're the most dominant team in the state, relative to their schedule. Except, the schedule is not great so far. It's the easiest in B South. The Phoenix have this one, against a Monmouth team that might be ranked too high on the strength of last year's Gold Ball and then #3 Medomak Valley on Thursday. The combination will give us a really good idea of just how good they are. I think the Model is underestimating them here. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-30-at-9.59.27-PM.png) [Game Data](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 2 Dunk Technicals URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/2-dunk-technicals/ Last updated: 2024-12-30T11:30:03.000Z Sometimes, the Game of the Day doesn't...live up to the billing. It happens. And then there's this: > HSGB: Ummm… Oxford Hills 33 - Brunswick 3 after 1Q [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Dragons missing a couple key pieces, but Vikings couldn’t have started any better. > > — Andrew Morong (@CoachMorong) [December 28, 2024](https://twitter.com/CoachMorong/status/1873065354341015846?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Holy... There's some context here. According to Brunswick Head Coach Sam Farrell, the Dragons were missing 4 starters. There aren't a lot of teams who could win a game minus 4 starters and no one's beating Oxford Hills without 4 starters. So it goes. --- Penquis' Caiden Fowles had one of the better buzzer-beaters you'll see. > Caiden Fowles of Penquis with the buzzer beater to end the first quarter from 3/4 court [#buzzerbeaters](https://twitter.com/hashtag/buzzerbeaters?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#SCtop10](https://twitter.com/hashtag/SCtop10?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#SportsCenter](https://twitter.com/hashtag/SportsCenter?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/g7a1t6CBBq](https://t.co/g7a1t6CBBq?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Eastern Maine Sports (@EasternMESports) [December 28, 2024](https://twitter.com/EasternMESports/status/1873062836454474152?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But that's not as cool as this. > Mercy Nkulu 3 pointer with 19 seconds left in overtime leads Waynflete to a 60-58 win over Monmouth Academy...that despite 35 points by Levi Leverdiere > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [December 29, 2024](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1873170309207257254?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) However, the big news is that dunk technicals are back. 🙄 Ellsworth's Kyle Kenney picked one up in the first quarter against Old Town. You can find the video at the [Ellsworth Student Section Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEIrlGcSYap/?igsh=MTM0a2x1bzFjNXF5Mw%3D%3D&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Ellsworth would go on to win big, 61-29 and avenge their only loss of the season. But Kenney wasn't alone, because Camden's Nolan Ames *also* got a dunk technical against Cony at the ACC. I've got a clip of that and have not yet been able to get permission to share it, which is a thing you're supposed to do, because of copyright law (don't know who needs to hear that). Hopefully this is just a fluke and not the start of a new trend, because no one needs a dunk technical. > The dumbest call in all of sports. [https://t.co/3y492BVKxZ](https://t.co/3y492BVKxZ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Greg Levinsky (@GregLevinsky) [December 28, 2024](https://twitter.com/GregLevinsky/status/1873155329112097257?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Preach. Elsewhere: Lily Oliver had 24 as Fort Kent beat Katahdin...Sophomore Brooklynn Raymond had 27 points as Penobscot Valley rolled...Freshmen Lily Bellerose led Spruce to a win over Wells with 14...Madelynn Deprey drop 27 on Washington Academy...In addition to the dunk technical, Nolan Ames had 38 in Camden's win over Cony...Aden Jeffers had 20 for Fort Kent...Jamier Rose's 22 led Noble to a win over Gorham...Jackson Newton scored 22 to lead Carrabec over Islesboro...Dirigo had all 12 players score en route to putting up 97 on NYA. Lee Gage led the way with 15...Jordyn Crump had 17 as Biddeford beat Freeport...Ava Landry's 19 & 10 paced Madison against OOB...Gabbie Tibbetts had 28 in that big Oxford Hills win over Brunswick...Charlotte Grenier scored 19 for Poland against Mountain Valley. --- WHOU's Steve Carmichael would like to know your Monsters of the Mid-Range. > I’m starting a new campaign today. I want to know some of the BEST mid range jump shooters in the state. We need to love on that play style more. [#SaveTheMidRange](https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaveTheMidRange?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Steve Carmichael (@Carmichael15) [December 28, 2024](https://twitter.com/Carmichael15/status/1873048331523637578?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The podcast is back this week after a short break because of life stuff. I think at the end of December, you should be allowed to admit you aren't winning the year and put the JV kids in until January 1st. Anyway, it's a solo podcast. I go over some of the stories from the week, then dig into the Power Rankings for the boys and girls. [Subscribe on Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Subscribe on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/01kY6fE0w1X5ebm1EnUU27?si=c063c367b27a497a&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- As for the rankings themselves, here's the boys top 15: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-29-at-10.16.52-PM.png) [Full Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) And the girls ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-29-at-10.17.58-PM.png) [Full Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) --- This is very cool. > Huge thanks to the [@FenwayBowl](https://twitter.com/FenwayBowl?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) for having us today to honor our state championship!! Awesome watching [@UConnFootball](https://twitter.com/UConnFootball?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) vs [@UNCFootball](https://twitter.com/UNCFootball?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) \- great game! Go Navs!! [@FalmouthAD](https://twitter.com/FalmouthAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/xbtII6ZL8q](https://t.co/xbtII6ZL8q?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Spencer Emerson (@SpenceEmerson6) [December 28, 2024](https://twitter.com/SpenceEmerson6/status/1873054838701080843?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-18.jpg) Westbrook is having a rough go of it so far. They're 1-5 on the year and in 10th place in A South. But the Model has them 31st in the state and 5th in A South, which is such a large gap that I actually went to the MPA's site to make sure they were actually 1-5\. They are. Let's look at their schedule so far. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-29-at-10.48.32-PM.png) The losses are by 1, 2, 5, 2, and 3\. That's 13 points across 5 losses. So they are much better than their record. The Model thinks they should have 2.7 wins and 3.3 losses, which *feels* right. Someone is going to get a rough draw in the first round. Kennebunk started the season 3-0, but since then they've lost 4 straight when their Strength of Schedule shifted. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-29-at-10.57.19-PM.png) If you want to use the opponent in common (Falmouth), the edge goes to Westbrook. The Model thinks Kennebunk might break the losing streak. Regardless, someone's getting a much-needed W. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-29-at-10.15.04-PM.png) [Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Windham Survives a Cheverus Rally URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/windham-survives-a-cheverus-rally/ Last updated: 2024-12-28T15:11:42.000Z The Game of the Day certainly delivered and I had a feeling it might when WHOU told us who would be doing the game. > Game of the day, some could say game of the year tonight between Cheverus and reigning champion Windham on the boys’ side. They are the only two unbeatens left in Class AA! > > Join Quinnipiac legend [@ThomasCurtisQU](https://twitter.com/ThomasCurtisQU?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and I on the call for the girls’ game at 5:30, and the boys’ at 7! [https://t.co/0bIT2PEnVE](https://t.co/0bIT2PEnVE?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Cole Purvis (@Cole\_Purvis) [December 27, 2024](https://twitter.com/Cole%5FPurvis/status/1872664240320094364?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They're back! Well, for Christmas break. Windham came out strong. They put up 21 in the first quarter and there were a couple of stretches where it looked like they might run away with it. Cheverus used a 6-0 run to start the third to get within 3, but the Eagles answered with a 12-2 run of their own to build a 13-point lead with a minute or so left in the third. But Cheverus wasn't done. They got it down to 7 with about 3 minutes to play. Nicola Plalum hit a three. Then Sammy Nzeyimana came out of nowhere to steal the inbounds pass and found Jameson Fitzpatrick to complete an instant 5-0 run. Windham could have folded right there, but they didn't. Heart of a champion and all that. To oversimplify it, they hit their free throws, especially Tyrie James. Leo McNabb hit a three with a minute left to get it down to one (he finished with 23), but the Stags couldn't get over the hump. McNabb had a chance to tie it, but he lost the ball off his foot driving into the lane. Windham hit free throws to take it back to 4\. McNabb drove the lane again, only this time he scored with 9 seconds left to cut it to 2\. James hit the first free throw (he had 15) and then... 0:00 /0:16 1× video courtesy of WHOU. Used by permission. That's the sort of play that gives coaches nightmares. Windham would add another free throw to seal the 4-point win, which hey look at that. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-27-at-8.38.14-PM.png) If you want a full breakdown of the game, Michael Hoffer was there. [Round one goes to WindhamEagles hold off Cheverus’ late rally, 59-55, in initial matchup of Class AA North favorites.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-22.png)Press HeraldMichael HofferForecaster/Leader/Sentry![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20241227_200036.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/12/28/round-one-goes-to-windham/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Over at Greely, the livestream cut off with 1:45ish to play and Lewiston leading the Rangers by 5\. CUT TO: Greely is down 1 with 0.6 seconds left. 0:00 /0:26 1× Video courtesy of Greely Student Section That's Kade Ippolito with the dagger. He finished with 13\. Got a buzzer-beater video? Send it to mainebasketballrankings \[at\] gmail \[dot\] com --- Wisdom added the newest member of the 1,000 point club in [Camden Pelletier](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings/posts/pfbid0hVwSEaHeP956j8sZbYiW9iqDaNvXgoniF3vumxeGtL27kuvPJQ14fpGtm4ZhuiH2l). He's the 6th Wisdom boy to reach that mark, joining his older brother, Carter. Congrats! --- Elsewhere: Trevin Ripley had 21 points and 11 rebounds as Belfast outlasted Winslow...Chase Flewelling's 25 helped Easton beat Central Aroostook. They got 26 from Jahleel Joseph...Isaac Beaulieu had 22 to lead Madawaska over Hodgdon. Cyran Cairleglieo had 17 & 14 for the Hawks...Gabe Lash had 23 points and 16 rebounds and Rocco DePatsy added 19 & 9 as Medomak handled Mt. Ararat...Conner Smith gave Freeport 23 points, but it wasn't enough as Biddeford turned a close game into a second half rout...Steven Youngs had 22 and Oli Higgins added 13 & 10 in Brewer's blowout. They're now 7-0 after going 4-14 last year...Deering's Evan Legassey went 9 of 10 from deep and went off for 41 in a win over Bangor...Diing Maiwen's 22 helped Edward Little crush GNG...Falmouth's Davis Mann led the way with 23 against Kennebunk...Forest Hills nearly doubled up Rangeley thanks to 23 from Jaxson Desjardin and a 20 & 12 from Blaine Nadeau...Fryeburg needed all of Jagger Helwig's 19 points to get by Westbrook...Spruce's Jace Bessey dropped 30 on Wells...Bangor led 28-2 in the first quarter against Deering. Avery Clark led the way with 21...Kylie Lamson went off for 36 as Cheverus won their 27th in a row...Amara Parker's 3 with 5 seconds left gave Sacopee Valley a 33-32 win over Morse. --- March Madness is going to be very different next year. > Greg Gumbel longtime CBS sports anchor has passed away at 78\. [pic.twitter.com/SuGjFU7lUF](https://t.co/SuGjFU7lUF?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Kevin Lighty - WCIA 3 Chief Meteorologist (@KevinLighty) [December 27, 2024](https://twitter.com/KevinLighty/status/1872758268986372135?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I know it's better now that you can watch every game, but there was something great about watching the tourney in the 90's. You're watching a game and all of a sudden Greg Gumbel is interrupting the game to take you to the final minute of some 13 seed taking down a 4\. It was kind of an early version of NFL Red Zone. He will be missed. --- UMaine has re-upped with New Balance. [Maine Athletics, New Balance announce new seven-year agreement - University of Maine AthleticsORONO, Maine – The University of Maine has announced that it has entered a new, seven-year agreement with New Balance Athletics as the official footwear and apparel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/site-3.png)University of Maine AthleticsUniversity of Maine Athletics![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/new-balance-black-bear.png)](https://goblackbears.com/news/2024/12/27/general-maine-athletics-new-balance-announce-new-seven-year-agreement.aspx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-17.jpg) If you thought yesterday was good, can I interest you in a game with an even higher Stax Index? Led by Miss Basketball candidate (front-runner?) Ella Pelletier, the Oxford Hills girls are 4-1 against the third hardest schedule in the state. They lost to a Lawrence team that everyone thinks is the favorite in A North, but have handed the other 4 in a schedule where the easiest game was against #26 Bangor. The easiest. The schedule gets easier in the new year, but first they've got to go to Brunswick. The Dragons are the defending champs in A and despite some heavy graduation losses, they're doing just fine. They're 5-1, which is good enough for 4th place in a very competitive A South. Their schedule hasn't been nearly as hard as Oxford Hills', but it's about to be! After this, they've got Falmouth, but then Oceanside, Mt. Ararat, and Marshwood, so if they can win 3 or 4 of the next 5, they'll move up in the Heal Points. If they can get all 5? Well then we'll be wondering if they can go back-to-back. But first, they've got the Vikings. This is a 12:30 tip, so if you're going, get in the car. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-28-at-9.56.11-AM.png) The rest of the Model's picks for today's game are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Post-Christmas Ball URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/post-christmas-ball/ Last updated: 2024-12-27T10:48:55.000Z Hopefully everyone had a nice Christmas break and Santa left your team some wins under the tree. Let's do a quick recap from the handful of games on the 23rd that feel like they happened weeks ago. In the Game of the Day, Sanford led by 5 after the first quarter and slowly expanded that lead, pushing it to double-digits in the second quarter and ultimately beating Oxford Hills by 24\. Dylan Gendron led the way with 30 points on 6 3's. Elsewhere: Ryan Bourgoin had 20 & 8 in Forest Hills' win over Valley...Fort Kent's Aden Jeffers dropped 39 on Wisdom...Lily Oliver juuuust missed a triple-double in the girls' game with 36 points, 14 rebounds, and 9 steals...Reece MacDonald's 23 points helped York survive a scare from GNG, who got 28 from John Patenaude and 21 from Colby Mitchell...Morgan Petrucci had 12 and 19 for Forest Hills...Ella Pelletier went for 23 in Oxford Hills' win over Sanford...Lilly Bellrose's 20 led Spruce to a blowout of Boothbay...Valley's Liana Hartwell registered a triple-double against Piscataquis with 14 points, 12 boards, and 11 assists. --- Here's a nice dunk from Sumner's Logan Crowley. 0:00 /0:05 1× --- Kennebunk's Theo Pow is taking his talents to Colby. > [pic.twitter.com/G5EN84K7BO](https://t.co/G5EN84K7BO?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Theo Pow (@PowTheo) [December 24, 2024](https://twitter.com/PowTheo/status/1871575798433628522?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Last week(?) I posted about how Houlton was suddenly looking for a new coach mid-season. Well they found one. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/image-9.png) --- Ok, I've got to get to a game at Mount Abram. > Awesome gym at Mt. Abram [pic.twitter.com/6lifxPV8Hl](https://t.co/6lifxPV8Hl?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [December 24, 2024](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1871369043569250304?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Washington Post has a cool article about Ace Flagg. > Recently I went to Greensboro, NC to learn what it’s like to be Ace Flagg. > > So who is this twin brother, this son, this high school senior who plays his own brand of basketball? Well, have a seat and let Ace to tell you:[https://t.co/oaoWxrLdP1](https://t.co/oaoWxrLdP1?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) [December 24, 2024](https://twitter.com/CandaceDBuckner/status/1871561074413359137?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Wisdom girls gave me my first loss in the Wins Draft standings. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-26-at-9.02.14-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-16.jpg) You don't need a fancy spreadsheet for this one. The defending champs from Windham are starting the post-Christmas part of their schedule with a trip to Cheverus to face the Stags. The Eagles are 4-0 so far with the 4th highest-scoring offense at 73.5 points a game. However, they have yet to play a team that's currently in the Top 25, with Gorham, Portland, and Edward Little all sitting just outside in the 30s. They're 5th in the Power Rankings, with some of that being because they've only played 4 games. I should maybe adjust it to, not weighted on a per game basis exactly, but nudge it in that direction. The Stags, led by Leo McNabb, have played a team inside the Top 25, beating #8 South Portland by an impressive 22 points on the 17th. They're 2nd in AA North in scoring, first in scoring defense, and first in differential. They also lead AA in %Perfect, a stat that measures how many of your potential points in the rankings you've earned. Windham is second. So they've both passed every test this season with flying colors. But this is the biggest yet. And it's a boys/girls double-header! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-26-at-9.39.07-PM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Marshwood at the Buzzer URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/marshwood-at-the-buzzer/ Last updated: 2024-12-23T15:14:37.000Z The Game of the Day lived up to the billing when Marshwood's Natalie Lathrop called GAME at the buzzer. > I thought the Gray-NG vs. Marshwood girls matchup was a good one today--but a South Berwick to Yarmouth to South Paris trip with their tip times was not possible > > Anyway..Natalie Lathrop wins it a the buzzer as [@mhshawks](https://twitter.com/mhshawks?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) stays unbeaten--stream courtesy Marshwood [pic.twitter.com/SrBy0ByaBQ](https://t.co/SrBy0ByaBQ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [December 21, 2024](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1870585905406480792?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Izzy Morelli had 24 for GNG. The girls A South tournament might be awesome this year. --- Saturday I went to the Lake Region/Medomak Valley girls game, for a couple of reasons. It was a 1pm game and I had stuff to do and it was a chance to watch my niece play in the JV game. Plus, Lake Region came into the game at 4-0, starting a rough stretch of the schedule of #7 Medomak Valley, #3 GNG, #9 Spruce Mountain, and #28 York. Yikes. I figured it was a good opportunity to get a look at them. The game itself was kind of ugly. > If you are within 100 yards of this gym, you are in foul trouble > > — Go to mebballrankings.bsky.social (@MEBBallRankings) [December 21, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1870538183601242134?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Medomak led early as Kytana Williamson and Chloe Fox had big first halves and Lake Region lost Bella Smith to a leg injury. At the half, it was Medomak by 15\. Then Smith returned for the second half, Margo Tremblay got hot from the floor and Lake Region cut the lead to 3 with 6 minutes left in the 4th. But then Medomak's defense held them scoreless for the next 5 and a half minutes and the Panthers came away with a 9-point victory. Williamson finished with 19\. Fox added 13 & 13\. Tremblay had 19 of her own. Bella Smith scored 12 and was +7 in her 20 minutes. Lake was -16 with her on the bench. --- We had two 1,000 point scorers on Saturday. Oxford Hills standout and likely Miss Basketball finalist [Ella Pelletier scored 36(!) points in a loss to Lawrence](https://www.facebook.com/OHBOYSVARSITYBBALL/posts/pfbid0phLUQ48N49NUgtQHxWYydx7LZ4jRXtcNK3T5fA88ET1EuUkfKJtxX3HWJqk53ZkBl). Then in Gray, Johnny Patenaude joined Pelletier in the 1K club. He had 37(!!) in the game. > Congratulations to Johnny Patenaude, who scored his 1000th career point today![#PatriotPride](https://twitter.com/hashtag/PatriotPride?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/T8z5pi1iXp](https://t.co/T8z5pi1iXp?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — GNG Athletics (@GNG\_AD) [December 21, 2024](https://twitter.com/GNG%5FAD/status/1870559860523454935?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And then, Spruce Mountain's Jace Bessey, who got his 1,000th point earlier this year, did this: > Jace Bessey scores 24 and becomes Spruce Mountain High School’s all time leading scorer as the Phoenix boys beat Yarmouth 55-32\. Go Phoenix! > > — PHOENIX ATHLETICS (@PHOENIXATHLETI2) [December 22, 2024](https://twitter.com/PHOENIXATHLETI2/status/1870678189372309742?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) He's not at the Jay/Livermore Falls record yet, which I'm told is John Cornelio with just under 1,400\. Elsewhere: Landon Economy's 22 led Belfast to their third win of the year...Brady Philbrick hit 7 3's and scored 28 points in Dirigo's win over Sacopee Valley...Diing Maiwen's 15 led Edward Little by Mount Blue...Davis Mann had 24 and Billy Birks 22 to pace Falmouth past Deering...Gardiner rallied down 8 at the half to beat Greely.Trace Moody had 25....Leavitt's Colin Schlobohm was on a slight triple-double watch with 15 points, 8 boards, and 6 assists...Marshwood's Liam Tiernan had 20 to help Marshwood by GNG...Gabe Lash had 20 and Rocco DePatsy added 19 in Medomak's win over Lake Region...Jack Fontaine led Maranacook with 25 against MCI...Brayden Murch had 23 as Oxford Hills beat Lawrence...Nick Jamo's 20 was the difference in Poland's win over Oak Hill...Jaxson Desjardins' 33 wasn't enough for Forest Hills against Telstar, who was led by Connor Deprey's 19...TA's Wyatt Benoit dropped 26 on Biddeford...Waynflete needed all of JJ Carlo's 20 points to squeak by Boothbay in OT...Tyrie James had 19 as Windham beat Portland to stay unbeaten...Brady Plante gave OOB 23, but Winthrop prevailed in OT behind Cole Bard's 18...Reece MacDonald continued his hot start to the season with 34 against Lincoln Academy. They got 17 from Terry Welle...Sarae Devoe led Buckfield with 16 in a win over Islesboro, who got 18 from Alma Bewsher...Greely overcame a 2 point quarter to beat Gardiner in OT...Kendall Therrien went off for 28 & 15 as Kennebunk rolled by Bonny Eagle...Celia Bergdah's 22 & 11 led Maranacook against MCI...Alyvia Theriault's 20 was almost as much as Mountain Valley allowed against Cape...Nokomis got 20 from Raegan King to beat Lewiston, who also got 20 from Bailey Tardif-Mockler...Madeline Wagner's 18 was good enough for Winthrop to beat Corinne Androkitis's 19 for OOB...Piper Catanese's 19 led York by Lincoln Academy...Hodgdon's Ava Ezell had 23 points and Gracie Little added 16 points and a career high 22 rebounds to beat Washburn...Caitlyn McCoy had 16 to lead Leavitt...Erskine got 22 points and 8 boards from Kienna Morse. --- I was going to do a podcast to start the week, but with all the Christmas stuff this weekend, I'm just exhausted (tip: don't go to LL Bean on the Sunday before Christmas), so let's just do a quick summary here. Here's the boys top 10: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-22-at-9.46.20-PM.png) Medomak moves to #1 this week on the strength of a big win over Mount View, who isn't the same team from last year, but still 3-3\. Noble's right behind them with the 13th toughest schedule thus far. York is off to a great 6-0 start. Mount Abram is kind of a surprise, but the Model really likes that they just beat St. Dom's by 13\. Windham slips to 5\. Part of that is the fact they've played 4 games. Part of it is the schedule, which hasn't been easy by any means, but it certainly isn't the teeth of their schedule, like Cheverus, who they play on the 27th. Cheverus has a similar problem. Their win over Bangor isn't worth anything, but they have a really nice win over SoPo. Ellsworth, of course, got that huge win over Caribou that's giving them nearly half their points. Falmouth got Halligan to win #600\. Their most valuable result, Power Rankings-wise, is the 2-point loss to Noble. Then there's Valley, who have been dominant behind Harry Louis and Fisher Tewksbury. [Full Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) And the Girls: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-22-at-9.58.14-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) Cheverus is no surprise at 1\. They got a nice win over SoPo to move up. Then it's the A South teams. Marshwood is the lone unbeaten team. They just beat GNG and already have a win over Mt. Ararat. GNG beat Wells and Brunswick this week, which is obviously worth a lot and only lost to Marshwood by 3\. Mt. Ararat beat Freeport. They don't have a countable game this week. Brunswick was #1, but the loss to GNG hurt. They've got Oxford Hills next. Gorham is 5-0, but they've had the 2nd easiest schedule in the Top 15\. The easiest? Lawrence. Medomak Valley is a little bit of a surprise here until to see that they beat #21 Mount View and #24 Lake Region. They also don't have a countable game this week, but have Mt. Ararat and Spruce next week. Oxford Hills lost to Lawrence, who is lurking at #15 (it's the Strength of Schedule ranking of 89th). Spruce Mountain won three games this week to move to 4-0\. They've got Wells next. And Biddeford is 4-1, but that loss was to Brunswick. [Full Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) --- I've watched this like 15 times and I still don't know what to make of it. > A big technical foul against Old Town late in the game in a Foxcroft 38-36 girls baksetball win on December 21st [pic.twitter.com/zDo4q2B0bQ](https://t.co/zDo4q2B0bQ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Eastern Maine Sports (@EasternMESports) [December 21, 2024](https://twitter.com/EasternMESports/status/1870612224898900045?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- > I am a huge fan of [@DukeMBB](https://twitter.com/DukeMBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Cooper Flagg but today is the last day any of us in the media will be able to say, “Remember that this young guy is only 17 years old.” > > — Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) [December 20, 2024](https://twitter.com/franfraschilla/status/1870202401996562532?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I know people who are still making "Jayson Tatum is only 19" jokes, so I very much doubt this is how things will play out. Speaking of Tatum, is this good? > Jayson Tatum tonight: > > 43 PTS > 16 REB > 10 AST > 86 TS% > > No player in NBA History has recorded this statline or better. [pic.twitter.com/UIzakF9gEk](https://t.co/UIzakF9gEk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — StatMuse (@statmuse) [December 22, 2024](https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1870666200273072568?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Oh, and Merry Christmas. Or Happy Whiskey Basketball Day. Whichever you prefer. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-15.jpg) The Sanford girls are 2-2 on the season so far, with a win over York and a couple of close losses on the road to Edward Little and South Portland. Despite being 2-2, they're +39, first in AA South in scoring, and the Model thinks they're about a half win better than their record. They're going to try and get their first road win with a trip to Oxford Hills just before Christmas. Obviously, they'll have to find a way to slow down Ella Pelletier (good luck!). The Vikings are only +8, but they've played the 3rd hardest schedule in the state so far. It doesn't get easier after this. They've got Brunswick later this week. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-22-at-10.38.04-PM.png) [Game Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Ellsworth Makes a Statement URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ellsworth-makes-a-statement/ Last updated: 2024-12-21T11:52:58.000Z The Ellsworth girls started the season down their best player when Grace Jaffray took her talents to college a year early. Since then, they've lost 3 more starters to injury, so it shouldn't have been a shocker to see them lose to Caribou. Madelynn Deprey, who should be a Miss Basketball finalist, had 15 points and 11 rebounds. So it's an upset, but an understandable one. In the boys game, which was the Game of the Day, Ellsworth held Tristan Robbins to 4 points in the second half as they put the game away in a contest that wasn't particularly close. There's been a lot of talk about how Caribou was the team to beat in B North and...maybe not? Elsewhere... Bri Mills had 16 & 10 as Valley made short work of Telstar...Zaden Steele filled up with stat sheet with 12 points, 7 steals, and 4 assists for Richmond...Old Town's Emmitt Byther had 26 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, four blocks, and three steals in a win over Foxcroft...Leo McNabb went for 23 as Cheverus took care of Bangor...Adam Fitzgerald hit 5 3's and scored 26 in Scarborough's win over Gorham...Fisher Tewksbury scored 20 points and grabbed 19 boards, Harry Louis chipped in 17, and Valley gave Telstar their first loss...Gorham finished on a 17-5 run to beat Scarborough....Mary Allen logged 39 points and 12 steals in 16 minutes for Central. --- Bangor Christian's Elliot Straubel went OFF THE BACKBOARD to Rajon Reed for the dunk. This is not your father's Class D. And Calais' Frank Miliano threw down this sweet dunk. > Frank Miliano from Calais with the steal and dunk pulling the Blue Devils ahead against Jonesport-Beals [#highschoolbasketball](https://twitter.com/hashtag/highschoolbasketball?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/l9zhiIfEj1](https://t.co/l9zhiIfEj1?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Eastern Maine Sports (@EasternMESports) [December 21, 2024](https://twitter.com/EasternMESports/status/1870299777444802688?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Remember when these would have resulted in technicals? --- Quite often, I get complaints about the rankings. "My team is too low! Our rivals are too high!" Have you checked out the MaxPreps rankings? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/image-8.png) These are the actual boys MaxPreps rankings. Seriously. I go to games and I hear people say "MaxPreps says this and MaxPreps says that" and I can assure you that MaxPreps is a bunch of AI sludge that wouldn't be able to spell half of the schools in C North if you put a gun to their head. They are a joke. Also Marshwood is not 4-1\. They're 3-2\. In comparison: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-20-at-10.19.15-PM.png) Sure, Windham is too low, but that's just because they haven't gotten into their schedule yet and they've only played 3 games. They'll move up and quickly. --- Adam's teams dropped another game. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-20-at-11.00.27-PM.png) --- Kennebunk's Max Murray, who was the Maine Basketball Rankings Player of the Year way back when, just went in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft. > Max Murray (Kennebunkport, ME) from the University of Vermont finds out he has been drafted in the 1st Round, 17th overall by the New York City Football Club in the MLS SuperDraft. [@UVMmsoccer](https://twitter.com/UVMmsoccer?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#pliableathlete](https://twitter.com/hashtag/pliableathlete?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#Maine](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Maine?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#soccer](https://twitter.com/hashtag/soccer?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#MaineMade](https://twitter.com/hashtag/MaineMade?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#MESports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/MESports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/LQm7RfWnQy](https://t.co/LQm7RfWnQy?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Pliable (@PliableMktg) [December 20, 2024](https://twitter.com/PliableMktg/status/1870205132572360780?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-14.jpg) I think this is the highest Stax Index we've gotten so far. We've got an early battle in A South, which is looking to be a very strong region so far. GNG is 5th, Marshwood is 3rd, and Mt. Ararat is 2nd in the early stages of the rankings. GNG is 4-1 on the year, with a loss to Mt. Ararat and Marshwood is 5-0, with a win over Mt. Ararat, so it's easy to see how they would be ranked higher and favored. You can look at those stat profiles and see the slight edge for Marshwood. Can they pull it off on the court? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-20-at-11.10.50-PM.png) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Jamier Rose Gets to 1K URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/jamier-rose-gets-to-1k/ Last updated: 2024-12-20T12:03:32.000Z It was a busy night in the (Maine Principal's) Association. We had at least 3 overtime games, several double-digit comebacks, and a couple of game winners, like this one: In Waterville, Garrett Gendreau called game. > Game winner in Waterville! Garrett Gendreau with the go ahead bucket with 2.4 seconds left to lead Waterville to a 42-40 win against Leavitt. [pic.twitter.com/KppsulFJQQ](https://t.co/KppsulFJQQ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — ethan (@ew3lch) [December 20, 2024](https://twitter.com/ew3lch/status/1869950001444528405?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I nearly went to the Camden/Hampden boys game and it looks like I missed a good one. Camden led late, but Aidan Kochendoerfer broke a tie at the buzzer to give Hampden the win and move them to 3-1 in a crowded A North, where Brewer is suddenly in first place all by themselves after missing the playoffs last year. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-19-at-11.07.25-PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Camden drops to 1-4, but this is kind of a solid 1-4\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-20-at-12.12.36-AM-1.png) All hope is not lost if you're a Windjammer. If you're wondering, that's the hardest schedule in the state so far and it's not going to get easier in the next couple of weeks. In yesterday's newsletter, I mentioned that Noble was on a double 1K point watch. Well they didn't waste much time. > Here is the bucket that put [@NobleKnightsAD](https://twitter.com/NobleKnightsAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) senior Jamier Rose on the 1,000 point scorer list in the 4th quarter tonight! Rose had a tremendous second half that helped hold off the Rams. The knights sit at 4-0\. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@WHOU\_Live](https://twitter.com/WHOU%5FLive?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/3T4Ditimoq](https://t.co/3T4Ditimoq?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [December 20, 2024](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1869934219041849793?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Rose ended the night with 34 points as part of a triple-double (13 rebounds, 10 steals). That's a very good night for the Mr. Basketball front-runner. As always, send me videos of your buzzer-beaters, your game winners, your 1K scorers. People love to see them. Elsewhere: John Patenaude's 23 wasn't enough as GNG lost to Brunswick. The Dragons had 4 players in double figures...Jaxson Desjardins dropped 29 on Temple...Hall-Dale rallied down 18 to shock Winslow. Keegan Cary had 24 in the win...Montrel Spearman's 17 led Lewiston to a win over Oxford Hills...Jack Fontaine went off for 35 as Maranacook took care of Lisbon...Gabe Lash led 4 Medomak Valley players in double figures as the Panthers rolled over Mount View...Mount Ararat used a 17-5 fourth quarter to erase a 12-point deficit against Freeport...Nolan Leso had 18 & 10 as Mount Blue rolled...Rhett Tyson led Pine Tree with 21\. They're now 4-1 after beating Buckfield...Brody Taylor of Bonny Eagle had 19 & 20(!) in an overtime win over Sanford...Portland used a 16-4 final quarter to come back down 11 and beat Kennebunk by 1...Jace Bessey dropped 33 on Winthrop as Spruce stayed undefeated...Taylor Varney led St. Dom's with 20 in a blowout win...Tanner Fifield's layup with 4 seconds left gave Wells a win over OOB...Yarmouth's Bobby Wolff scored 22 off the bench in a win over Waynflete...Reece MacDonald continued his fast start with 24 as York beat Greely by 17...Janessa Moffit's 19 led Forest Hills over Temple...GNG handed Brunswick their first loss since, well it's been a long time. Izzy Morelli led the way with 24...Kennebunk's Kendall Therrien had 20 in a win over Deering...Bella Smith's 20 moved Lake Region to 4-0...Maddie Provost had 25 and Lilly Gray added 26 & 15 to lead Lawrence, who is really good, over Gardiner...Leavitt blew out Waterville behind Gabrielle Smith's 23 & 7...Cali Pomerleau and Kayleigh Wagg had 19 and 18, respectively, in Mt. Ararat's win over Freeport...Maren Maxon's 18 points doubled up OOB as Wells rolled...Mariam DeLisle had 20 points and 12 steals in Lincoln Academy's win over Morse...Houlton freshman Amelya Matwyko went off for 31 points against Hodgdon...Erskin's Kienna Morse had a double-double against Belfast. --- It's almost Christmas, which means it's time for a couple of my favorite parts of Christmas. First, there's Whiskey Basketball Day. [Whiskey Basketball Day is your new favorite holidayWe interview comedian Nate Fridson about the origins, traditions and future of Whiskey Basketball Day -- your new favorite way to spend December 25th.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon_2-3c2b63dbd5e0b19d46e630e3ca0b8f92.ico)FanSidedAaron Hertzog![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/9657adef47551417a763887146f08018abb814923202b0bd6c3a5011f256edb9.jpg)](https://fansided.com/2017/12/20/whiskey-basketball-day-nba-nate-fridson/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And then there's the holiday tournaments. Varsity Maine has a Holiday Hoops Showcase at the Expo that has a lot of teams from away, plus a number of countable games. [Holiday HoopsAll games played at the Portland Expo for both Boys and Girls teams from December 26 through December 30.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-21.png)Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Complete-HH_Logo-24-copymed.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/holidayhoops/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Up in Augusta, there's the annual Capital City Hoop Classic. [Capital City Hoop Classic — Augusta Civic CenterJoin us for the Capital City Hoop Classic on December 27th - 28th, 2024!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-3.ico)Augusta Civic Center0![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/CapitalCity.jpg)](https://www.augustaciviccenter.org/events/capital-city-hoop-classic-1?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Up near Bangor, there's the Smokey Lawrence Memorial Basketball Tournament, which I can't seem to find a full schedule for. I'm sure there's more. Send them along \[mainebasketballrankings@gmail.com\]. --- I've been watching football my entire life and every so often they talk about the free kick rule and the weird, convoluted scenario by which it might, maybe happen. But it never does. Until now! A free kick! > A rare fair catch free kick results in a Cameron Dicker 57-yard FG for the [@Chargers](https://twitter.com/chargers?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 🤯 > > It's the first free kick FG since 1976! [pic.twitter.com/yb0cyPuKnR](https://t.co/yb0cyPuKnR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NFL (@NFL) [December 20, 2024](https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1869937625555186073?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I can't believe I missed this live. --- I'm holding on to my 1 game lead over Adam in the Wins Draft standings, which Mike might be tanking for Cooper Flagg. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-20-at-12.04.16-AM.png) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-13.jpg) Considered by many to be the favorites in B North, Caribou has certainly lived up to the task thus far. They're leading the state in scoring at 85(!) PPG (#2 is Windham at 79.3) and are 3rd in point differential at +144 (Hodgdon is first at +195). If you want to quibble with the early results--which are clearly impressive--it's that the best team they've played so far is #40 Houlton. They'll get a bigger test today with Ellsworth, who is 3-1 in their first four games without Mr. Basketball Chance Mercier. They've also got a top 10 offense, so the ball should be finding the bottom of the net. This should be a good one. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-20-at-12.21.20-AM.png) The rest of the Model's picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### EXCLUSIVE: The 2025-26 Reclassification Plan URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/exclusive-the-2025-26-reclassification-plan/ Last updated: 2024-12-19T16:00:41.000Z The Game of the Day was kind of a bust. Tristan Robbins went off for 36 as Caribou blew out Fort Kent, 89-44\. Aden Jeffers led Fort Kent with 25. --- The Stearns girls rallied down 4 in the final minute against Southern Aroostook before Mariah Frost broke a tie with this dagger 3 at the buzzer. 0:00 /0:23 1× video courtesy of WHOU Frost had 28 on the night, out-dueling Alexia Hersey, who had 23. Southern Aroostook is suddenly 0-3 --- Talk about a halftime speech. The Mountain Valley girls went into the locker room down 17-7, then ripped off a 12-0 third quarter and held on for a 29-26 win over Monmouth. Madison Dow had 13 for the Falcons. Elsewhere... Avery Bessey's 18 led Spruce over Winthrop...Brody Morgan keyed a 25-3 first quarter for Telstar. He finished with 21...Fisher Tewksbury scored 19 and Harry Louis added 16 as Valley nearly doubled up Carrabec...Madeline Hill led Valley with 22 in a blowout in the girls' game...The Madawaska girls beat Van Buren in overtime...Lilly Burtt had 19 as Central Aroostook beat Katahdin by 1....Madelyn Deprey dropped 39(!) on Fort Kent...Katahdin got 26 from Conner Edwards and 25 from Josh Martin to get by Central Aroostook. Jahleel Joseph had 28 for CA. I missed this yesterday, but Noble is on a double 1K watch. > 🏀 | Boys Basketball Final: > > Noble - 67 > > Kennebunk - 52 > > \*Jamier Rose is 30pts away from his 1,000th career point > \* Bryce Guitard is 62pts away from his 1,000th career point > > Go Knights! ⚔️[@KennebunkAD](https://twitter.com/KennebunkAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Noble Athletics (@NobleKnightsAD) [December 18, 2024](https://twitter.com/NobleKnightsAD/status/1869204333553918149?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- But the big news is I've got your first look at the reclassification plan for the next two seasons. Every two years we go through this whole cloak-and-dagger thing where I'm getting what seems like state secrets sent to me anonymously and I've got to try and verify it and that's an adventure and there's hand-written notes and it's a whole thing. And every two years I make the joke that the MPA could just send it to me directly, since I'm going to get it anyway. This year, they just sent it to me. What a time to be alive. A couple of notes: This doesn't include relegation, which I'm told will be sticking around next year (good!) but might exist in a different form (I'm cautiously optimistic). This is the result of several drafts over the last couple of months and a very long meeting last week and will now go to the classification committee. So this could change! And I do think they want feedback, so if you've got some, put it in the comments. Having said that, here's the reclassification plan: You can also listen on Spotify. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/01kY6fE0w1X5ebm1EnUU27?si=c75f2168576b46e1&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Central Aroostook lost a staple of their community. > “Bob’s job responsibilities were keeping the clock. That’s really what we expect of him is to just keep the clock, but he always kept a close eye on the kids, he knew if a kid was hurt, he knew if they really were really hurt, if they maybe just need a break because they’re frustrated or discouraged. He stayed on top of that, he kept an eye on the crowd for me, he would always be like ooo you gotta watch this one but more than that he was excited for the kids,” said Heather Bradbury, 8th year as Athletic Director. [Robert Holmes: A Central Aroostook Panthers LegendMARS HILL, Maine (WAGM) - Bob Holmes dedicated more than 35 years of his life to his job.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-5.png)WAGMJoseph Lemelin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/BDLKCUTJD5AT3CO6BLOWICGV5A.bmp)](https://www.wagmtv.com/2024/12/19/robert-holmes-central-aroostook-panthers-legend/?fbclid=IwY2xjawHQeVVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHT9chvqjGBDO%5FxEkivSVdxWwtGQt05fFZLxVn5-LzJVrEyp7KUYXQ2rxaw%5Faem%5FhCbUlnFreNqSUvu1z9Altw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- For some reason this [Bluesky post](https://bsky.app/profile/karenkrussell.bsky.social/post/3ldmnizmiwc2z?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) from Bill Russell's daughter won't embed, but the story is so good, I just had to share it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/image-6.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/image-7.png) --- This is so cool. > WATCH: Not everyday you see two opposing head coaches do a press conference together 😂 > > Oakland Head Coach Greg Kampe told us the matching Grinch shirts with Tom Izzo was his idea [pic.twitter.com/uRQcBGZGIh](https://t.co/uRQcBGZGIh?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Alex Crescenti (@alex\_crescenti) [December 18, 2024](https://twitter.com/alex%5Fcrescenti/status/1869237230952411382?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-12.jpg) We have our first tie in the Stax Index. I picked this game for reasons. Kennebunk is off to a good start. They're 2nd in scoring and 1st in scoring defense in A South in the early season. Portland is a different story. They have a negative scoring differential against a tough schedule. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-18-at-11.49.48-PM.png) The rest of the Model's picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Medomak Closes Strong URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/medomak-closes-strong/ Last updated: 2024-12-18T11:58:48.000Z The Game of the Day delivered, for a time. It was a full house at Lincoln Academy for a rivalry matchup against Medomak Valley--I had to park all the way down the hill--and was lucky to find a place to sit. The Eagles were a team I was interested to see. They'd been down for a while, then in the last two years re-emerged as a force in B South behind a strong class led by 1,000 point scorer Gabe Hagar. They went all the way to the Regional Final last year before falling to Oceanside, but they graduated nearly all of their playoff rotation and it's always a question in a situation like this of how far a team will fall after a mass graduation. So far, Lincoln Academy was doing ok. They entered last night's game at 3-0\. Medomak started strong. They were up 7-0 before Lincoln Academy found their footing and led 13-2 after one. But Lincoln Academy started slowly chipping away at it. Tyson Ball came in off the bench and added some stability in the post. At the half, Medomak led by 7\. Then in the third, Lincoln Academy came out hot, going on an 8-0 to start the quarter, highlighted by a AJ Giberson 3 that gave Lincoln a 29-28 lead and the home crowd was starting to lose their minds. Kristian Schumann countered with a 3 of his own to take the lead back and Medomak went on a 6-0 run to answer and Lincoln took a timeout. It didn't work. Gabe Lash got a breakout dunk and Medomak Valley finished on a 29-2 run after Lincoln Academy took the lead. Lash led the way with 16 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Rocco DePatsy added 8 points and 3 blocked shots off the bench. The win moves Medomak to the top spot in the Power Rankings. [Power RankingsThis spreadsheet hates your team.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-16.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/power-rankings-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) --- To the surprise of no one, Falmouth's legendary coach David Halligan won his 600th career game. [Boys basketball: Falmouth’s David Halligan gets 600th winDavis Mann is the difference maker with 41 points in a 70-65 victory against Westbrook.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-20.png)Press HeraldSteve CraigPortland Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/40638350_20241217_Halligan_5.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/12/17/falmouths-david-halligan-coaches-600th-basketball-win/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Davis Mann went off for 41 in the win. --- There were a bunch of overtime games last night and none more interesting than TA/Scarborough. Scarborough rallied in this one to force OT, erasing an 11-point deficit after 3 quarters. Adam Fitzgerald was the driving force, scoring 23 of their last 24 points. He finished with 35, but it wasn't enough. Wyatt Benoit had 27 of his own, including a number of clutch free throws to seal it. --- Speaking of overtime... > Lake Region GBB goes into overtime with a buzzer beater by [@YHSClippers](https://twitter.com/YHSClippers?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Taylor Oranellas [@VarsityMaine](https://twitter.com/VarsityMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/rJZNFdGvmG](https://t.co/rJZNFdGvmG?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Courtney Roberts (@CourtneyATC18) [December 18, 2024](https://twitter.com/CourtneyATC18/status/1869176858614669388?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Lake Region would prevail in the end. Elsewhere... Dirigo's Nathaniel Wainwright dropped 32 on Lisbon...Nolan Ames had 23 as Camden finally got in the win column...Trafton Russell's step-back 3 was the game winner for Southern Aroostook over Hodgdon...Claire Gaetani's 21 wasn't enough as Bapst fell to PI...Lewiston's Lonnie Thomas had 23 in a win over Bangor...Brewer's freshman Oli Higgins had 19 in the win over Lawrence...Cheverus finished on a 30-9 run to put away SoPo. Leo McNabb led the way with 19...John Patenaude scored 20 as GNG won their first game of the year...Marshwood's Liam Tiernan had 19 and the Hawks held Massabesic to 19 in a blowout win...Drew Shorey led MCI with 18 in their win over Erskine...Levi Laverdiere paced Monmouth with 20...Mountain Valley outlasted Winthrop in overtime. Tanner Henry led the way with 17...David Edward's 6 3's, 21 points, and 11 boards led Richmond over Buckfield...Jace Bessey dropped 27 on Madison as Spruce rolled...Donel Tangilamesu's 12 & 10 led St. Dom's over OOB...Colin O’Loughlin scored 19 to lead Traip over Sacopee Valley, despite Silas Nielsen's 15/12/5b...Tyrie Jame had 21 as Windham pulled away from Edward Little in the second half...Winslow needed all of Braden Rodrigue's 20 points to get by Morse...Lexi Morin's 23 led Brunswick by Greely...Cheverus' Kylie Lamson went off for 26 against SoPo...Baleria Yugu had 22 of Portland's 36 as the Bulldogs won their first game of the year...Charli Apodaca's 21 led St. Dom's over OOB. --- Here's a crazy (stupid) story. The Hornets gave a kid a PS5 and then...didn't. [Hornets apologize after pretending to give child PS5 and taking it away off cameraUnbeknownst to the kid, the Hornets were only pretending to give him a console.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon_y24_48x48.svg)Yahoo SportsJack Baer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/ce37c880-bccb-11ef-a9ed-a21f09282293)](https://sports.yahoo.com/hornets-apologize-after-pretending-to-give-child-ps5-and-taking-it-away-off-camera-230954440.html?guccounter=1&guce%5Freferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9ic2t5LmFwcC8&guce%5Freferrer%5Fsig=AQAAAA8cQCVHL75hqhGJAQtiO7dFqVLGEnufBVS8d4JvtwhNW9UWoCJhFjfpzGFK87Oe0jba44dpLmlL3g6oR8QdHYGfHOvM6j03UslL7nge6Qp6RQYLQnwG14ms%5FE74LWPtdH8Vgeo%5FpAPYsd1pfHqljklzDI8mJCywSG5vWWp3YNci&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Like, why would you think that would go well? --- Cooper had a big night. > Cooper Flagg tonight against George Mason: > > \- 24 PTS > \- 9 REB > \- 4 AST > \- 3 STL > > Duke moves to 9-2 on the season 😈 [pic.twitter.com/lHQIA77lID](https://t.co/lHQIA77lID?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — B/R Hoops (@brhoops) [December 18, 2024](https://twitter.com/brhoops/status/1869207624820138488?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Updated Wins Draft Standings. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-18-at-12.32.49-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-11.jpg) If you talk to anyone who knows anything, they'll tell you Caribou is the favorite in B North. They're 3-0 with the top scoring offense in the entire state, led by Mr. Basketball candidate Tristan Robbins. Fort Kent is is the highest scoring team in Class C and there's a chance this game has a lot of offense, but I suspect this will be Caribou by a lot. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-18-at-12.04.16-AM.png) The rest of the Model's picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Valley is Legit URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/valley-is-legit/ Last updated: 2024-12-17T12:01:46.000Z Somehow, I found myself in Wiscasset. 0:00 /1:00 1× I've written before about the Wiscasset rebuild, culminating this weekend with a win over Forest Hills, and when I looked at the schedule yesterday, suddenly the Valley/Wiscasset game looked interesting. A great chance to get first-hand eyes on the rebuild, with the added bonus of seeing a Valley team that figures to contend for the Gold Ball in D. It turns out I wasn't the only person there for that reason. Valley came out hot, eager to impose their will on the game. You'll see this sometimes when an established team plays a team on the rise, an extra burst to show them who's the big brother. Valley was very quickly up 9-0\. Wiscasset righted the ship, Landin Shirey hit a couple of threes (he finished with 17) and the Wolverines held serve for the rest of the quarter. And then Wiscasset went ice cold from the floor. Or, more accurately, Valley made Wiscasset go ice cold from the floor. Valley's defense got Wiscasset sped up and out of their rhythm and discombobulated. Wiscasset went a good 7 minutes without scoring in the second quarter and from there the game was pretty much over. Valley held Wiscasset to 25% from the floor and forced 20 turnovers. I kept live stats for this one, which I've been doing (wifi dependent!). [LIVE StatsLive stats of selected games![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-15.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/LIVE-STATS.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) The real takeaway was Valley. They're legit. Fisher Tewksbury led the way with 19 & 10\. Hunter Mills added 11 & 10\. But the real star was Harry Louis. I hadn't seen him live before and he's a real revelation. He controls the game on both ends, sees the floor really well, and does a lot of the little things. He had 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals and you never got the sense that he cared about his stats. He just ran the offense and did what needed to be done. It was very impressive. And I know it's Class D, but there's not a lot of teams in this state where he wouldn't be the starting PG and none where he wouldn't be in the rotation. If you're Wiscasset, it's easy to get discouraged by a result like this, but rebuilds are hard and take time and Valley is really, really good. They went early in our Wins Draft for a reason and you could easily see them winning the whole thing. There was a postgame comment I thought was fitting: Valley might only get tested in a holiday tournament this year. Or in the Gold Ball game. They're that good. Elsewhere: Cape Elizabeth rallied down 19 at the half to stun Freeport. Eli Smith led Cape with 23...Jaxson Desjardins' 21 wasn't enough for Forest Hills against Carrabec and Forest Hills has lost 2 straight...Jed Alsup had 26 & 14 as Waynflete blew out NYA...Celia Bergdahl had 18 & 10 in Maranacook's win over Mount Abram...Central's Mary Allen nearly got a quintuple double. She ended up with 11 assists, 10 blocks, 9 rebounds, 9 steals, and 9 points...Kaitlyn Frost's 14 led Monmouth past Oak Hill...Madeline Hill had 24 and Liana Hartwell juuuuust missed a triple-double (9p/10r/11s) as Valley rolled...the Windham girls rallied late to beat Edward Little...Ella Rice had 23 in Winthrop's win over Mountain Valley. --- > Are Instagram highlight reels & cherry picked stat lines good for high school basketball or a short term benefit to the individual player? > > I love the promotion of Maine HS players, but I also feel stat lines and highlight reels are driving a wrong way to play the game. > > I’m old. > > — CoachHuntington 💙 (@SEHuntington13) [December 17, 2024](https://twitter.com/SEHuntington13/status/1868831055085776962?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I can see both sides of this. On the one hand, this newsletter is basically promoting players and probably features a lot of cherry-picked stat lines. But there's an element of the whole thing that can be very toxic on Instagram and whatnot. There's a whole power dynamic of who does and does not get featured and, yeah. It's not great. --- On the podcast, I dug into the Easton fight a little bit. We were calling it the Ashland/Easton fight, but it turns out it was just some idiots from Easton fighting each other. I think I'm going to try and do a weekly episode summarizing a couple of things from the previous week and then going over the top 10 in the Power Rankings. As always, you can listen on Spotify (and not look at me). [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/4qw1MOU6XswRf6ZFGWzhVa?si=9fc2e8d3e6b0422f&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- [Hardwood Paroxysm](https://x.com/HPbasketball?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) is one of the smartest basketball accounts on Twitter and this article about the Celtics is fantastic. [Boston And The Math ApocalypseStop guarding the Celtics like other teams![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F3e2acb39-206e-4793-a7b8-5bc3d6d3f76c-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180.png)Hardwood ParoxysmHardwood Paroxysm![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F146c784e-9b10-4612-ab3b-14094ca618d2_1024x1024.png)](https://hardwoodparoxysm.substack.com/p/boston-and-the-math-apocalypse?r=h6ne&utm%5Fcampaign=post&utm%5Fmedium=web&triedRedirect=true) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-10.jpg) Lincoln Academy was one of the feel-good stories of last year. They turned around a program that had recently been 1-17 into the 2 seed in B South and went all the way to the Regional Final. But they graduated nearly everyone and it's fair to wonder if they can sustain last season's success. So far, they're 3-0, but against a schedule that's suspect. They'll face their first real test in a rivalry game against Medomak Valley. LCTV.org will have the live stream of this one. I'll have live stats. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-16-at-11.39.38-PM.png) The rest of today's picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Fort Kent Has a Baller URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fort-kent-has-a-baller-2/ Last updated: 2024-12-16T11:28:38.000Z We've got a new high water mark in scoring. Fort Kent's Aden Jeffers went off for 47 points against Southern Aroostook(!) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/image-5.png) --- I needed to do some Christmas shopping, so I swung by the event at the ACC to check out some basketball. This was billed as all countable games, an opportunity for teams to cut down on travel and knock out some games. Friday's action saw a huge win for Wiscasset over Forest Hills. I got there for a girls game between Traip and Islesboro. Traip led 20-7, but Islesboro chipped away at it, tying the game at 26\. And then Ella McCoy hit this free throw with 2.5 seconds left to seal the win. And...I don't think it counted? The promotion for the event at the ACC stated that all the games were countable games, but when I got home, I noticed that Traip's schedule was all full--both in my internal schedule and on the MPA's site. And that got me looking at Traip's schedule and...what a schedule. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-14-at-10.26.56-PM.png) Screenshot from my Heal Points spreadsheet That's 4 games against Class D, 10 against Class C, 3 against Class B, and 1 against AA. If you're going to have this schedule, you gotta get an A school and hit all 5 classes. Also, the ACC is a very different look in the regular season. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/image-4.png) Elsewhere: Jahleel Joseph's 26 led Central Aroostook past Foxcroft...Lily Oliver had 29 as Wisdom beat Hodgdon...Madelyn Deprey dropped 34 on Old Town...Lilly Burtt had 28 for Central Aroostook against Lee Academy...Brooklynn Raymond led Penobscot Valley with 23 points, 6 boards, and 6 steals against Calais...Maren Maxon had 14 & 7 and Meg Mertens added a double-double as Wells beat York...Akol Maiwen had 21 as Edward Little beat Hampden...Reece MacDonald's 24 led York over Wells. --- Power rankings are updated for boys and girls. We're starting to get a little clarity with teams having played 2-3 games. I've made a small tweak that basically lessens the value of last year's data with each game you play. Here's the boys: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-15-at-10.58.42-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) And the girls: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-15-at-6.17.36-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) Of course, this is unfairly weighted against your team. But if you want to see where your team is, check out the full rankings. [Rankings](BOYS POWER RANKINGS %2812/15%29 1. Windham High School Boy's Basketball 2. York Athletic Boosters 3. Noble 4. Mt Blue Cougars 5. Gorham Athletic Boosters 6. Messalonskee High School 7. Medomak Valley High School 8. South Portland Boys Basketball 9. Cheverus Athletics 10. Lincoln Academy Boosters https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) --- In the Wins Draft standings, Adam Robinson is off to a hot start. Mike Mandell is...struggling. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-15-at-10.54.54-PM.png) --- > You ever seen a Hook & Ladder for the Win?! In Basketball?!? Loyola Marymount dials up the trick play and Will Johnston ([@williamjr14](https://twitter.com/williamjr14?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) lays it in AT THE BUZZER to give the Lions the 76-75 win over Prairie View A&M [pic.twitter.com/b1QvsYvt1y](https://t.co/b1QvsYvt1y?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) [December 15, 2024](https://twitter.com/NCAABuzzerBters/status/1868152820148678807?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) How do I get a Derrick White angel for my tree? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/image-3.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-9.jpg) Bangor Christian is 3-0 in their title defense, with convincing wins over Stearns, Greenville, and Searsport. Are they on a collision course for a Gold Ball rematch with Valley? Some are saying! They'll host a Machias team that's already +75 in only 2 games, blowing out Sumner and Jonesport-Beals. This is a nice early season test for each of these teams and will also be a nice data point when they play again on January 31st. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-15-at-11.22.55-PM.png) The Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Wolverines! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/wolverines/ Last updated: 2024-12-16T15:32:13.000Z We're running a little late here because I took a bunch of NyQuil and then my computer decided to be difficult this morning. Let's get the big news out of the way. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-13-at-8.03.00-PM.png) Even if you've bought into the idea that Wiscasset is turning things around, this is a staggering result. Landin Shirey had 31 points to lead the Wolverines. Blaine Nadeau had 20 & 10 and Jaxson Desjardins put up his own 31 in the loss. But, more important, is the idea that Wiscasset (and the Noble boys) are a great example of the value of relegation. Three years ago this program was getting scheduled as the front end of a double-header so schools could get a game in by playing their JVs against a varsity program and now they're beating the premier D South program on the road. The value of getting a mediocre teams some actual wins can't be overstated. I think relegation is here to stay. And if you're one of those people who think it's so unfair that the big schools get to play down with the smaller schools, can I submit the Wiscasset girls, who lost 73-15\. --- With Medomak/Spruce postponed, I nearly went to the Camden @ Oceanside double-header, but I've been sick and am still too sick for a gym that promised to be as full as I assume the Oceanside gym was last night. Boy, did I miss a couple of good games. > FINAL-Wild game [@CamdenHillsBB](https://twitter.com/CamdenHillsBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Girls 49, Oceanside 41\. CH led by 14 at half, OHS a 20-4 run then CH finished on a 12-2 run. Rose Tohanczyn 12/11R, Tallulah Marks with 10/11R for CH, Grace Mackie 15 for OHS - 1st CH win over OHS since 2/42017\. Boys game next on 106.9 FRANK FM > > — Don Shields (@DonShieldsMaine) [December 13, 2024](https://twitter.com/DonShieldsMaine/status/1867713206883655893?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And then. > FINAL-Another Crazy Game Ocenaside Boys 69, [@CamdenHillsBB](https://twitter.com/CamdenHillsBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 65\. 20 for Zeb Foster Oceanside 28\. Nolan Ames for 31 to lead Camden Hills. Lots of pressure defense in this game that had 51 turnovers (28-OHS, 23-CH) > > — Don Shields (@DonShieldsMaine) [December 14, 2024](https://twitter.com/DonShieldsMaine/status/1867742389022114230?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The loss drops the Camden boys to a surprising 0-3, but after 38 in the last game and 31 tonight, it looks like Nolan Ames is the real deal. --- > Liam Tiernan’s jumper with 10 seconds remaining was the game winner as Boys Hoop wins home opener against Mt. Ararat 50-49\. Tiernan game high scorer with 16 points. Ronan Garrett with 14 points and 18 rebounds. Ryan Essex added 10 points. > > — Rich Buzzell (@mhshawks) [December 14, 2024](https://twitter.com/mhshawks/status/1867757724907213222?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We are merely a week into the season and the cries for a shot clock are back for the second time this season. But, some people think it's no big deal. A solution in search of a problem, they say. > I do not see teams running the four corners passing stall game. Once in a great while you will see someone try to dictate tempo, but when was the last time you saw a big tournament win because someone played stall ball? \[Varsity Maine\] Let's go to Mount Blue! > Maranacook girls just stalled the final 3+ of the third quarter down 4 against Mt. Blue. Don't see that every day. > > — [Griffin T Conlogue (@gc93.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:jyiqtinc6ddewf23zbsv2v7c?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2024-12-14T00:55:29.337Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:jyiqtinc6ddewf23zbsv2v7c/post/3lda3npnrs22x?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's some context here. Maranacook had 3 starters in foul trouble and it seems like this might have been a plan to shorten the game with the hopes of avoiding heavy bench minutes. As a game theory move, I don't hate it. It's pretty smart, actually. But I'm still not going to condone stalling. Maranacook lost. --- Brewer freshman Oli Higgins had 19 points as the Witches beat Bangor. > As expected- when you light up the highlight tape like Oli Higgins did tonight, you earn the 'You Gotta See This' for the first Fast Break of the season! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@Jackiemoon\_25](https://twitter.com/Jackiemoon%5F25?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/evdiN72hEm](https://t.co/evdiN72hEm?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [December 14, 2024](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1867786175731073491?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Elsewhere... The Poland girls (C South) beat Noble for the program's first ever win against a AA school. Noble has more than double Poland's enrollment of 485...Simon Bates had 20 points as Boothbay rallied past Sacopee Valley...Evan Legassey scored 22 in Deering's win over Westbrook...Falmouth's Davis Mann dropped 28 on GNG...Messo's Ty Bernier went off for 30 against Lawrence...Bryce Wilcox led Mount Abram to a strong second half to beat Waterville. He finished with 21...Kienna Morse had 17 & 12 as Erskine beat Winslow...Brayden Murch scored 10 of his 34 points in the 4th quarter as Oxford Hills rallied down 7 to beat Cony in overtime...Anthony Whittier put up 25 & 22 as Rangeley beat Vinalhaven...SoPo's Manny Hidalgo dropped 23 on Scarborough...St. Dom's moved to 3-0 behind Taylor Varney's 23...Arianna Bradeen had 16 and Savannah Lorenz 18 as Mount View rolled...Braden Rodrigue and Body Willette each scored 21 as Winslow beat Erskine...Lexi Morin's 17 led Brunswick, which held Jordyn Crump to 4...Cheverus' Kylie Lamson dropped 30 on Portland...Abby Luczynski's 11 & 13 paced Dirigo against Traip...Maddie Cormier led Freeport with 19 against Lewiston...Kaitlyn Frost filled it up with 18/6/3/4/4 for Monmouth...Ella Pelletier went off for 34 against Cony. --- This is a great (and smart!) event for a number of reasons. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/image-2.png) It's always good to get games on the tourney floor. There's no downside to it. Plus, the normal travel for some of these games is insane. Wiscasset to Jackman is 134 miles. Traip to Islesboro is 143 miles (with a ferry!). Rangeley to Islesboro is 132 miles (also with a ferry). North Haven to Vinalhaven is...much closer than going all the way to Augusta. --- We have a fight in Ashland. 0:00 /0:26 1× video credit??? Stay classy, parents. --- Houlton has an immediate opening for their girls varsity coach after Ken Erwin resigned Friday afternoon. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/image-1.png) That's, uh, unusual timing to be looking for a new coach and one would assume there's some kind of story here. --- As I said earlier in the week, there's always room in the newsletter for a buzzer-beater. Here's Camden's Will Duke calling game for CMCC on Thursday. > This is what [@willduke\_11](https://twitter.com/willduke%5F11?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) did to wrap up his first semester in college... [pic.twitter.com/eu4KYPKcgK](https://t.co/eu4KYPKcgK?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jon Duke (@csl\_duke) [December 13, 2024](https://twitter.com/csl%5Fduke/status/1867454738746184190?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- These are, uh, a choice. > nuggets g league team in grand rapids really got these dudes playing as elf > > — [Allen (@guyforget.online)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ym7a43euxcr2aqclu6rksohe?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2024-12-14T01:59:53.027Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ym7a43euxcr2aqclu6rksohe/post/3lda7auddb22f?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-8.jpg) The Caribou boys are considered by many to be the favorite in a B North that might be a little bit down from last year's Murder's Row gauntlet (but still tough! Don't yell at me!). They're 2-0 in the early going, with dominant wins over Bapst and Houlton. They'll host Emmitt Byther and an Old Town team that finds themselves at 0-2 with losses to Presque Isle and Bapst. They'll be looking to get in the win column, but doing so against the Vikings might be difficult. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-14-at-12.22.11-PM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Boffo 'Bunk URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/boffo-bunk/ Last updated: 2024-12-13T11:45:49.000Z In the Game of the Day, the Wells boys held an early lead on Kennebunk after 1, but as I suspected, the Rams turned it on in a game that wasn't close in the end. 'Bunk wins 72-37\. Theo Pow had 22. They can't all be bangers. It was generally a light night. But there's 75 games on tap tomorrow! Elsewhere: Reece MacDonald hit 6 3's and scored 20 points as York cruised by Poland...Ava Hudson in Sanford's win over York...Ethan Michaud scored 22 as Greely beat Gorham...Foxcroft needed all of Freshman Nola Mason's 13 points and 13 boards to beat Dexter by 2. --- The Heal Points have been updated. If you're new here (or even if you're not), my Heal Points are the same as the MPA's, only the interface is a lot better. And it loads faster. And the scores are usually updated sooner. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-12-at-10.20.47-PM.png) Oh and it doesn't open up 15 different windows. You can see at a glance each team's schedule and both how hard their upcoming games are AND how much they're worth (not always the same thing!) If you spend any amount of time looking through Heal Points, it's worth the subscription. Hell, probably 20% of the paid subscribers are here just for that. [Get the Good Heals](#/portal/account/plans) --- This is the kind of story I love. [Lauren Vanidestine, Hannah Snowdeal team up to add to Brewer sports social media presenceThey cover Witches games as part of their school’s Extended Learning Opportunity program![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-4.png)WABIBen Barr![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/34HUDX24URG4FO7OWNTPXNKCVE.png)](https://www.wabi.tv/2024/12/12/lauren-vanidestine-hannah-snowdeal-team-up-add-brewer-sports-social-media-presence/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Brewer has always been ahead of the curve in using social media to promote their students--I'd say they're top 5 in the state--so it's no surprise to see them doing something like this. Letting students get hands-on experience by promoting other students is a true win-win. It's great to see Lauren Vanidestine and Hannah Snowdeal take this on. I'm going to go ahead and assume this is their work. > Big Opening Night Win[#WitchesWin](https://twitter.com/hashtag/WitchesWin?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 🏀 [pic.twitter.com/pzjaVjP5iZ](https://t.co/pzjaVjP5iZ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Brewer Witches (@BrewerWitches) [December 7, 2024](https://twitter.com/BrewerWitches/status/1865206061625380872?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I've been toying with the idea of using AI to collect scores, because that would be an excellent use of AI, taking a tedious process and streamlining it, but let's just say it isn't ready for Prime Time. As best I can tell, zero of these scores are correct. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-12-at-10.02.08-PM.png) I guess we're stuck with the Scoreboard. [ScoreboardToday’s scores.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-14.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/scoreboard-1-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) If you're one of the people putting scores in there, it's a massive help. --- Virginia Tech's Conner Venable got his first college point last night and I think he had the right perspective on it. > Conner Venable > LeBron James > > Can’t argue with the facts! > > 📸- Virginia Tech Athletics [https://t.co/3xBdusKhvS](https://t.co/3xBdusKhvS?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/pSj7tUTKnw](https://t.co/pSj7tUTKnw?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tech Sideline (@TechSideline) [December 13, 2024](https://twitter.com/TechSideline/status/1867408818466124041?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) He's only 120 from catching Bronny. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-7.jpg) Last year, Maranacook put a scare into then-undefeated Mount Blue before Evans Sterling took over and finished with 29\. But Sterling is at USM now. Maranacook's leading scorer, Keagan McClure, is gone too, so it's a bit of a rebuild for each team. But they're both 2-0 in the early going. Maranacook won that crazy [6 technicals game](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/6-technicals/) at Monmouth and Mount Blue has an impressive win over a Camden ranked higher than them in the KVAC pre-season coach's poll (Mount Blue was 6th; Camden 4th). Maranacook is the favorite here, but keep in mind the Model is giving them a lot of credit for a 12-point road win over the Class C State Champs. That win will become less valuable as the Model adjusts to Monmouth's new Sammy Calder-less normal, whatever that is. Which is to say, the Model might get this one wrong. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-12-at-8.22.09-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Rain, Rain URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rain-rain/ Last updated: 2024-12-12T12:29:51.000Z Well most of last night's schedule got washed out. Was it a playable night? Probably. Were ADs maybe remembering last winter's storm and playing it safe very early in the season? Maybe. In one of the very few games that did happen, Yarmouth's Ian Lawrence ended the 1st quarter with a half-court buzzer-beater and Yarmouth turned it into a 23-0 run. They sailed on by Cape. Lawrence led the way with 26\. --- Here's your Fitzpatrick Semifinalists: Wyatt Benoit-Thornton Academy Jack Brewer-Orono CJ Cooper-Bonny Eagle Kaiden Delano-Oxford Hills Dash Farrell-Mt. Ararat Easton Healey-South Portland Jack Karlonas-Gorham Tavian Lauture, Deering Eli Potter-Wells Riley Provencher-OOB Jamier Rose-Noble Brady Stone-Kennebunk Louis Thurston-Portland --- > Maine goes to Duquesne and picks up a significant program win, 61-56. > > It's the first win inside an A-10 building for the Black Bears in over 13 years. > > A.J. Lopez led the way with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Maine improves to 7-5.[#AEMBB](https://twitter.com/hashtag/AEMBB?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#A10MBB](https://twitter.com/hashtag/A10MBB?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rocco Miller (@RoccoMiller8) [December 12, 2024](https://twitter.com/RoccoMiller8/status/1867026286876692857?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Jalen Brunson gets it. > Jalen Brunson asked about Trae Young standing over NYK logo at half court, blowing on/rolling dice and picking up money like he was on Vegas craps table at end of game: “We should win the game if we don’t want him to do that.” > > — Ian Begley (@IanBegley) [December 12, 2024](https://twitter.com/IanBegley/status/1867042247713157379?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Some housekeeping for my sanity. So in order to run the Model and do things like Game of the Day and the picks and a big chunk of the newsletter, I need the scores for as many games as I can get. On the best nights, that takes until 10pm. Most nights it's in the range of 11pm. Running the Model takes some time, at least a half hour to do all the steps. Then finishing off the newsletter takes me to midnight at the earliest--but sometimes it's 1am. This year I have a new job (better benefits!), but I've gotta be up at 7am and you can see how that works out, sleep-wise. My old job started later in the morning (but fewer benefits). So, on some nights, the Model picks won't factor in the previous night's games. It usually only moves the number by half a point or so. I figure tonight is a good time to try it, seeing as most of the slate got wiped out. Also, I might be coming down with something, so I'm gonna crash early. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-6.jpg) It's another light night, so we'll head to Kennebunk, where the 2-0 Rams are hosting Wells. The season's young, but Kennebunk is leading A South in scoring, defense, point differential, and %Perfect. Wells is 1-0 with a win over Traip and the Model is hoping this might be a high-scoring affair. I dunno. I could see this being a bust. Or maybe no one will have power. We'll see! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-11-at-8.20.44-PM.png) The rest of the Model's picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Medomak and Oceanside Split URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/medomak-and-oceanside-split/ Last updated: 2024-12-11T12:13:27.000Z For a bitter rivalry, Medomak/Oceanside has been pretty one-sided lately. The Oceanside boys had won the last 7 games in the series and the Oceanside girls had won the last 13\. But with the Galley twins graduating to do a prep year at Kent's Hill (where they're doing their thing, scoring 100+ on teams with help from GNG's Nate Hebert) and Bailey Breen taking her talents to just outside Orlando, there was speculation that the tide might be turning. As always, it was a big crowd for this one--not as big as last year's late-season game where they were turning people away--but still a great atmosphere. And then the Oceanside girls came out and hit their first 3 shots from deep and before anyone knew what was happening, it was 9-0 and Medomak coach Lindsay Vinal was burning a timeout. Claudia Feeley found Kytana Williamson to get the Panthers on the board and they started to slowly chip away at the lead as Oceanside missed their next 7 3's and Medomak got it to three before Renee Ripley connected at the end of the half to get the lead to 6\. Medomak got it to 2 in the second half before Oceanside, who is considerably smaller than Medomak, went into a weave that gave the Panthers fits. They couldn't find a fix and Oceanside pulled away for a 66-48 win--their 14th straight in the series. Aubrianna Hoose led the way with 21\. Renee Ripley had a huge second half and ended with 18 points and 13 rebounds. In some ways, the boys' game was a reverse of the girls' game. Medomak's Owen Dostie hit a three on the first possession and Medomak was up 7-1 before Oceanside righted themselves. The first 10 minutes or so were low-scoring, with Medomak's defense clamping down on Oceanside--they would hold the Mariners to 14% from the floor in the first half–led by Gabe Lash, who drew the assignment of Zeb Foster and forced him into very difficult shots. He had 2 points at the half. But by then, it was mostly over. Medomak used a 17-1 run in the second half to put the game more or less out of reach, led by transfer Rocco Depatsy and Kristian Schumann, who had 7 and 9, respectively, in the 2nd quarter. Oceanside made a small run in the third quarter, which was shut down when Mason Nguyen got going and when DePatsy splashed home a 3 from the corner and Lash threw down a breakaway dunk, it was all over but the JV minutes. Depatsy finished with 18 & 7\. Schumann with 18 & 5\. Nguyen added 13 & 11\. I talked to Rocco DePatsy after the game. --- There's no win greater than a win that breaks a losing streak. Just ask Traip. > Final Score from OOB, [@TraipAcademy](https://twitter.com/TraipAcademy?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 51-28 over [@OOBathletics](https://twitter.com/OOBathletics?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). First win for the Rangers since 2-8-2023\. Madelyn Rondeau with 12 points to lead Traip. Corinne Androkitis leads the Gulls with 20 points. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [December 11, 2024](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1866654758624186853?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you were going to look at yesterday's schedule and just circle a game, you'd probably circle Noble/Falmouth. Well, it delivered. > The host Knights, regional finalists a year ago, won 54-52 when their ace senior guard, Jamier Rose, made a driving layup with 4.2 seconds left. Noble is now 2-0, with wins against two perennial southern Maine powers after opening the season with a 67-59 victory at Class AA South Portland on Friday. [Boys’ basketball: Noble and Falmouth both gain from early season encounterThe Knights pull out a 54-52 win on Jamier Rose’s layup in a game between teams hoping to contend in Class A South.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-19.png)Press HeraldSteve CraigPortland Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/2deck-Varsity-Maine-logo-display-image-1639793462-1.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/12/10/boys-basketball-noble-and-falmouth-both-gain-from-early-season-encounter/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Rose had 24 and this is really turning into one of the great turnarounds. You could easily see this being a regional final and if so, I'm in. --- The Belfast boys and girls both beat Morse last night and I'm not sure when they last won on the same day. --- Oh my god. > Halftime; ,Caribou girls 52 Houlton 0 [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — TheStatsGuy (@TheStatsGuy262) [December 11, 2024](https://twitter.com/TheStatsGuy262/status/1866647340360372414?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Elsewhere... Marshwood's Isabelle Tice had 22 in a win over Westbrook...York's Nya Avery went off for 30 against Fryeburg...Not to be out-done, Reece MacDonald put up his own 30 in the boys' game...Leo McNabb had 20 as Cheverus blew out Bonny Eagle...Theo Pow's 23 helped Kennebunk crush Biddeford...Braden Rodrigue had 25 for Winslow, but it wasn't enough to beat Lincoln Academy, which had 10 players score...Messo got 17 from Ryan Parent to beat Gardiner...Mt. Ararat had 5 players in double figures as they sent GNG to 0-2...Mount Blue started strong, got 21 from Tyler Abell, and had 4 players in double figures to beat Camden, who is surprisingly 0-2\. Nolan Ames had 38--that's THIRY EIGHT--for the Windjammers...Oxford Hills' Brady Delamater dropped 26 on Bangor... Carter Blanche scored 14 of his 21 in the second half to lead Scarborough past Portland...Wyatt Benoit scored 26, mirroring the 26-0 lead TA raced out to after one quarter, as the Trojans crushed Massabesic...Tyrie James scored 25 as Windham confirmed their Gold Ball win over Gorham...Liam Tiernan's 21st point, a free throw with 6 seconds left, gave Marshwood a 50-49 win over Westbrook...Kylie Lamson was on triple-double watch, but finished with 13/8/7 as Cheverus beat Bonny Eagle by 29...the Edward Little girls outlasted Edward Little in OT...Arianna Badeen's double-double (16 & 11) was too much for Erskine's Kelsie Dunn, who had 22... ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-5.jpg) It's been an eventful early season for Monmouth and Spruce. Monmouth, in their title defense, picked up 6 technicals in a loss to Maranacook and then beat Winthrop. Spruce is 2-0 with convincing wins over Boothbay and Hall-Dale (a game that saw senior Jace Bessey pick up his 1,000th point). They'll try to get a big heal point win before Friday's trip to Medomak Valley. Monmouth will be looking to add their own huge Heal Point win and, you know, keep the techs to a minimum. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-11-at-12.56.03-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Is Bapst Fixed? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/is-bapst-fixed/ Last updated: 2024-12-10T12:19:09.000Z Our Game of the Day got postponed into 2025, so let's pivot. The John Bapst girls had a rough go of it last year. They missed the playoffs with, I believe, a 3-15 record. But there's reason to be hopeful. In the [Eastern Maine Sports preview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwwnhP4XOLc&t=1473s&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), Bob Beatham mentioned senior Claire Gaetani as someone to watch. He was so convincing I had them on my list of teams to take in the Wins Draft in the "Missed the Playoffs" category. A game and a half into the season, it wasn't looking great. They lost to Caribou, to the surprise of no one, and found themselves down 29-14 at halftime to Old Town. And then something must have clicked. Bapst went on a 25-6 run in the second half to shock the Coyotes. Gaetani scored 27 of Bapst's 39 points. Could this be a sign of things to come for the Crusaders? Or is it time to be worried about an Old Town teams that's suddenly 0-2 after leading by 11 and 14, respectively? --- We have our first (to my knowledge) 1,000 point scorer of the year: Jace Bessey of Spruce Mountain. Let's go to the video. 0:00 /0:11 1× Bessey finished with 20\. Cai Dougher added 19 and Spruce doubled up Hall-Dale. > Jace Bessey scores his 1000th on his way to 20 and leading the Spruce Mtn boys over Hall Dale 80-40\. Congrats Jace and Go Phoenix! [pic.twitter.com/gb9odDf6ER](https://t.co/gb9odDf6ER?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — PHOENIX ATHLETICS (@PHOENIXATHLETI2) [December 10, 2024](https://twitter.com/PHOENIXATHLETI2/status/1866330362382819668?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Elsewhere: Elijah Freeman had 25 as Maranacook beat Oak Hill...the Brunswick boys erased an eight-point deficit against Freeport...Mountain Valley's Ben Desalle dropped 23 on Lisbon...Silas Yeaton had 20 as Pine Tree beat Temple...Waynflete scored 29 in the 3rd quarter to put Sacopee Valley away...Lexi Morin added 4 steals to her 17 & 10 double-double as Brunswick beat Freeport. --- If you missed it yesterday (wasn't fully uploaded and yadda yadda yadda). Jay has an interesting take on the shot clock debate. 0:00 /0:42 1× Apparently in the over 2 hours of podcasting, we managed to make some people mad. Go figure. [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/4al8o3Sg2tDdwnp1Vlv8Nc?si=3266ecb3f9e54185&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I'm not a big college football guy, but I'm in favor of this. > This need to happen. [pic.twitter.com/Brw8aR1XvU](https://t.co/Brw8aR1XvU?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — College Sports Only (@CollegeSportsO) [December 9, 2024](https://twitter.com/CollegeSportsO/status/1866158000630579588?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-4.jpg) There's a bunch of interesting games today. There's a re-match of the AA championship game between Windham and Gorham. Jamier Rose and the Noble boys host Falmouth in what could be a A South Regional Final preview. The Bangor girls head to Oxford Hills. And Medomak Valley hosts Oceanside for a double-header (I'll be at that one, for sure.) But the Stax Index likes the Mt. Ararat and GNG girls. If you squint you can see it. Mt. Ararat is considered a contender in A South and opened with a demolishing of Greely, 61-15, but the score might be an indication that maybe Greely is having a down year? And GNG was the 3 seed last year and opened with a convincing win over Freeport. It's early in the season and there's a ton of noise in Model. Falmouth hasn't even played a game! So, yeah, if it were me and I was in southern Maine, I'd go to Gorham/Windham or Noble/Falmouth (the Stax Index is lower on these because the Model has those both as double-digit games). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-09-at-11.36.30-PM.png) The Model's picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Chaos in Scheduling URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/chaos-in-scheduling/ Last updated: 2024-12-09T15:15:26.000Z This was supposed to start with a game report from the Hall-Dale and Spruce Mountain girls game on Saturday, but as I was getting ready to get in the car, someone sent me the score. You see, they'd moved the game from 6:30 to 1:30 because of some availability issue with the gym. Only, it still said 6:30 over at Varsity Maine and there was nothing in Hall-Dale's booster Facebook page. So if you weren't on Team Reach or whatever, you might have just shown up at 6:30 for a 1:30 game. There's got to be a better system. Speaking of which... > Maine high school coaches… home team calls in the box score to the local newspaper, right? > > Win or lose, right? > > RIGHT?! > > Just do the right thing. > > — CoachHuntington 💙 (@SEHuntington13) [December 8, 2024](https://twitter.com/SEHuntington13/status/1865606110742225062?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The score should be somewhere by the time the people who went to the game get home, either MaxPreps or Varsity Maine or the [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) on this site. Just send it somewhere. --- The Spruce/Hall-Dale game turned out to be a good one. Alaina Kachnovich scored 22 for Spruce in a game I'm told was a classic Hall-Dale/Spruce street fight. The win gives Spruce the early lead in B South in the Heal Points, which are up and functional now! [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-08-at-11.52.27-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- Elsewhere: Jaxson Desjardins had 20 and 17 to lead Forest Hills past Vinalhaven...Maranacook's Celia Bergdahl dropped 25 & 12 on Oak Hill...Telstar's Reiley Hedden nailed 9 3's for 27 points to out-duel Buckfield's Trenton Haskell, who also had 27, in Telstar's 80-71 win...Buckfield's Sara Devoe almost out-scored Telstar by herself, scoring 17 in Buckfield's 47-18 win...Forest Hills' Kelsey Rancourt did out-score Vinalhaven by herself. She had 16 as Forest Hills won 42-6...Alianna Mazza had 20 in Mountain Valley's win over Lisbon...The Presque Isle boys rallied down 11 behind Kason Bua's 21 points to beat Presque Isle. The Old Town was led by Emmitt Byther's 24...Rylee Moulton had 23 in Penobscot Valley's win over Penquis. --- On the podcast, Jay Baines joined me to talk about scheduling and instead we talked about...everything. We did stumble upon a fantastic idea: what if teams had City Connect jerseys and what would they feature? For my hometown team of Medomak Valley, for example, there would probably be a Moody's Diner theme. The file got to 99% last night and then failed, so it might be up by the time you read this. But maybe not. --- I don't usually only put stuff from the last day's games in the newsletter, but I always make an exception for buzzer-beaters. > AJ Moody with the buzzer beater to end the half vs Lewiston. 3 of his game high 19 points in a 85-54 win > > — [Windham Boys Basketball (@windhambasketball.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:itemdxkfw6t7yxcgvm55lk35?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2024-12-07T20:40:46.449Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:itemdxkfw6t7yxcgvm55lk35/post/3lcqkmpxdg22f?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Be like Windham! Move to BlueSky! The water is warm. --- Long-time Wiscasset coach and Midcoast Hall of Famer Timothy Flanagan [passed away this weekend](https://www.wiscassetnewspaper.com/article/timothy-j-flanagan/253199?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). > Tim’s contributions extended beyond the classroom to the sports fields and courts where he was best known as Coach Flanagan. He coached basketball, golf, cross-country, track, baseball, tennis, and even the math team. Among his many accomplishments, he is best remembered for leading the Wiscasset’s boys’ basketball team to Wiscasset’s first state Men’s Basketball State Championship in 1991\. Under his guidance, Wiscasset teams also won multiple State Math Team Championships, a State Golf Championship, and numerous conference and regional championships. --- We've got the first update from our Wins Draft. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/image.png) Naturally, I'll be updating this as the season goes on. What, you ask, is a wins draft? Check out the podcast. [The 2024-25 Wins DraftPodcast Episode · The Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast · 12/04/2024 · 44m![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-180-7.png)Apple Podcasts![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/1200x1200bf-60-6.jpg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-2024-25-wins-draft/id1675940033?i=1000679203104&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The first edition of the Power Rankings are out. Keep in mind this starts at last season. It doesn't know that Bailey Breen took her talents to Florida, for example. [Power RankingsThis spreadsheet hates your team.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-12.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/power-rankings.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) --- It's great to see the Peter Webb All-Stars working G League games now. > That’s a stunning call — Anton Watson would have won the game off this steal but instead the Celtics lose on the foul [pic.twitter.com/2iIXyaJsHC](https://t.co/2iIXyaJsHC?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) [December 8, 2024](https://twitter.com/NoaDalzell/status/1865852044243820608?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I'd like to report a murder. > Jesus Healing the Lame & Blind, by François-Louis Dejuinne, 1817, 📸 by Phil Ellsworth > > — [ArtButMakeItSports (@artbutmakeitsports.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:cqg5zp2gd4fd4fxzokb4odlz?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2024-12-08T19:48:59.839Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:cqg5zp2gd4fd4fxzokb4odlz/post/3lcsy72pwk22z?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-3.jpg) The Buckfield girls are already 2-0, with wins over Temple and Telstar. They're convincing wins, but against #109 Telstar and #115 Temple. So, you know. They'll get their first test of the season in Valley, a team many expect to contend for a Gold Ball and Mike Mandell picked as his second girls team in the Wins Draft. It's early, so we'll see, but the Model thinks this could be pretty close. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-09-at-12.37.57-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) For subscribers, this is available for all of today's games. [Matchups](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of the Model's picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 6 Technicals URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/6-technicals/ Last updated: 2024-12-07T12:19:13.000Z We'll get to the technicals, I promise. But first, I went to Belfast for their double-header with Medomak Valley, partly to see Medomak play and partly because I suspected Belfast might be an interesting story this year and I wanted to see them first-hand. We all know how last year played out for the Belfast boys. They went 1-17 and it went viral when an IG account and DJ decided clicks were more important than the truth, despite a mountain of evidence that said otherwise. Not a good season! But they have a new coach, a couple of transfers, and won a bunch of games this summer. How would it translate? The schedule-makers decided to start them with a tough test and the Belfast gym was packed. The student section was hyped. It started well for the Lions. Medomak poked at their zone and wasn't having much luck shooting over it and after 1 quarter, the Panthers led 12-10\. Then in the 2nd quarter, Medomak used their defense to take off, going on a 26-3 run to put it away in a game that finished 54-23. Mason Nguyen went 6/8 from the floor to lead Medomak with 15 points. Kristian Schumann added 14 and Gabe Lash keyed everything with 14 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. This is a massive improvement for Belfast. I still think they're going to win a good number of games. I'm not sure I'm sticking to my preseason take that they might be the most-improved team in the state. But, you know, it's a tough draw. The girls' game followed a similar script. This Belfast rebuild is further along, but they entered the game short-handed. It was 9-7 Medomak after 1, only Belfast had scored all their points from the line. By the half, they still hadn't made a field goal. With 5:22 left in the third, they finally hit one, snapping an 0/18 start. So then, of course, they made their next field goal attempt. Obviously. Medomak cruised to a 45-17 win behind 19 points, 5 assists, and 8 steals from Kytana Williamson, but the real takeaway is that the Panthers have something in freshman guard Anna Reed, who came off the bench to put up 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals in 19 minutes. She might not be coming off the bench for long. --- Like everyone, the refs were just working their way into the season. > The refs just stopped the game because someone had a drum. > > There was no drum. > > — Go to mebballrankings.bsky.social (@MEBBallRankings) [December 6, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1865159299166539786?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) At the time, I thought this would maybe be the only ref material in today's newsletter. Boy, was I wrong. Let's go to Monmouth, where the Mustangs are kicking off their title defense against Maranacook (and, if you're a Monmouth fan, the refs). [Maranacook at Monmouth Boys Basketball 12-6-24 - Featured - WHOU.liveLive coverage of your favorite team and events so you can be a SUPER FAN anywhere!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/7ef7c64d-c7c8-464f-9bf3-25bfe4f16873.png)WHOU.live![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/720b111b-28e9-4fa2-88cb-1cf9c0e53e17.png)](https://www.whou.live/featured/videos/maranacook-at-monmouth-boys-basketball-12-6-24?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's worth noting that *everyone* for Monmouth was in foul trouble early. Like, multiple players with three fouls in the first quarter foul trouble. t's unclear what the first tech was for, as it happened as WHOU was in a replay in the first half. But since Jarod Richmond and Aaron Morse didn't have a lot to say about it, it's safe to assume it was justified. We get the flop warning with 5:49 left in the third quarter (around 1:08:00 into the broadcast) on a play that sure seems like it has contact. But, you might ask, what exactly is a flop? From the NFHS rules: > Faking being fouled is defined in Rule 4-49-1 as when a player simulates being fouled or makes theatrical or exaggerated movements when there is no illegal contact. Examples include, but are not limited to, embellishing the impact of incidental contact on block/charge plays or field goal attempts, using a “head bob” to simulate illegal contact and using any tactic to create an opinion of being fouled to gain an advantage. On the next possession, they call the flop technical. Is it a flop? I guess? But he's really just bailing out before he actually gets hit, because he's clearly going to get hit (and does get hit on his way down). It's a pretty soft technical, but ok. Less than a minute later, Aiden Oliveira picks up a technical for a mild-looking reaction to a call. This is Monmouth's 3rd technical in the game and 2nd in a minute. Oh, and the technical is his 5th foul, so his game is done mid-way though the third quarter. Monmouth coach Wade Morrill then picks up a technical for defending his kid, which is 4 techs. A couple of plays later, Monmouth gets called for an offensive foul that Aaron Morse points out sure did look like a flop by Maranacook. Then, in the final minute of the 3rd quarter, Maranacook gets called for a flop warning where there's clear contact. But we're not done! With just under 2 minutes to go, Monmouth gets called for another flop. This one is a pretty easy call. 5 techs. And then, with 1:13 to play, Monmouth gets a SIXTH technical for reaching over the line while defending the throw-in. Six technicals. Are some of them defendable? Sure. Is the point of emphasis stupid? Absolutely. But it still reminds me of this. In all this mess, Jack Fontaine scored 24 in Maranacook's 55-43 win. --- The big boys game of the day, Noble rallied with Jamier Rose in foul trouble to beat South Portland. The Red Riots got 14 points and 13 rebounds from Manny Hidalgo and Rose matched him with 14 and 10, but the star of the game was Noble's Bryce Guitard, who filled it up to the tune of 23 points. Noble gets a big win, 67-59. --- The Cony girls ended Oceanside's winning streak. [Girls’ basketball: Cony shows its potential in season-opening win over OceansideWith strong-willed veterans and skilled freshmen, the defending Class A North champions show a blueprint for another run.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-18.png)Kennebec Journal and Morning SentinelDave DyerKennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/40549725_20241206_ConyGirls_3543.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2024/12/06/girls-basketball-cony-shows-its-potential-in-thrilling-season-opener-with-win-over-oceanside-2/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Tyler Krusz has the first look at Brewer's acclaimed freshman. > Big Friday night for hoops in Maine! No Friday Fast Break tonight- thanks Boise/UNLV - but I have your highlights! [@BrewerWitches](https://twitter.com/BrewerWitches?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) splits the doubleheader with [@CamdenHillsBB](https://twitter.com/CamdenHillsBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), [@HABroncosAD](https://twitter.com/HABroncosAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) downs Skowhegan in a big showing, and Bangor holds on over Portland! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/e0vUbyNDKk](https://t.co/e0vUbyNDKk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [December 7, 2024](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1865234714354655266?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Elsewhere... The Portland boys got a 21-point deficit down to 3, but couldn't finish the job against Bangor...Leo McNabb scored 20 as Cheverus came back to beat Deering in OT. Deering was led by Evan Legassey's 22...Edward Little got 23 from Diing Maiwen to beat Oxford Hills by 1...Jaxon Desjardins dropped 35 as Forest Hills crushed Vinalhaven...John Patenaude's 22 wasn't enough for GNG as they fell to Freeport and Conner Smith (19)...Kade Ippolito went off for 28 in Greely's win over Mt. Ararat...Theo Pow has 23 as Kennebunk cruised...Nolan Leso's 24&11 led Mt. Blue past Lawrence...Trot Moody had 16 points, 7 boards, and 5 assists as OOB crushed Sacopee Valley...Poland's 25-5 fourth quarter erased a 15-point deficit. Damon Martin's 24 and Nick Jamo's 22 led the way...Carter Blanche's 20 led Scarborough over Bonny Eagle...Jace Bessey dropped 28 on Boothbay...Creighty Dickson's 16 & 14 paced Windham over Lewiston...Kylie Lamson scored 20 as Cheverus crushed Deering...Sarah Theriault had 21 as Marshwood beat Kennebunk...Mollie Puffer's 20 led Sanford's blowout of TA...Leah Jones had 22 as Camden beat Brewer...Olivia Ball had 19 and Mariam Delisle had 13 and 18 boards in Lincoln Academy's win over MCI...Freshman Kinsey Ulmer debuted with 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals in Erskine's win over Leavitt...Elliot Staubel, Rajon Reed, Jesse Booker combined for 60 of Bangor Christian's 66 points... --- We have an early leader in the clubhouse for "biggest blowout". ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-06-at-10.18.20-PM-1.png) I'm told Hodgdon went deep into their bench early and often. Sometimes your bench is just better than the other team's starters. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-2.jpg) It's a slow day after last night's flood of games, but we've got an interesting game. The Hall-Dale girls won their first game by a billion, even beating the Model's projection of a million. Last year, their sole regular season loss was to Spruce Mountain, so it's safe to assume they've had today's game circled on the schedule. Spruce has had some graduation losses, to say the least. One would expect them to drop back into the pack, but the pack in B South is as wide-open as it's been in a long time. There might be 6 teams that could win it. This could be a good one. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Ellsworth Figures It Out URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ellsworth-figures-it-out/ Last updated: 2024-12-06T06:04:13.000Z One day in and the Game of the Day is already in mid-season form. With Grace Jaffray in college a year early and sophomore guard Sydney Mason out for the year with a preseason injury, there was bound to be an adjustment period for the Ellsworth girls, but they probably weren't expecting to look up and find themselves down 11-0 in their opener at Old Town. They were able to stop the bleeding and keep it to eleven before starting to chip away at it and finished the third quarter on a 7-0 run before holding Old Town to 2 field goals in the 4th quarter. They improved to 1-0 with a [48-43 victory](https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/sports/girls-basketball-lockdown-defense-propels-ellsworth-to-season-opening-win-over-old-town/article%5F592d4494-b379-11ef-9bb6-63f5f11324c4.html?utm%5Fcampaign=blox&utm%5Fsource=facebook&utm%5Fmedium=social&fbclid=IwY2xjawG%5FRxVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUt3ELPdSMmTLEPqm29DZqo4wMUujxEzEuosPg9ZxEvmHVThIeZOwaIyCA%5Faem%5FEPq4AcVaq78xPbgyUsqo0g). Elsewhere... Lizzie Boles had 14 in that Ellsworth win...Trenton Haskell hit 7 3's and led Buckfield with 29 in their win over Temple...Gage Suitter had 15 to lead Morse over Waterville...St. Dom's had 10 players score, led by Taylor Varney's 19 in their blowout win over NYA...Celia Bergdahl (17 & 12) and Alice Ferran (10 & 15) had matching double-doubles as Maranacook squeaked by Monmouth...Mountain Valley got 17 from Madison Dow to beat Oak Hill by 4...St. Dom's got 19 from Juju Farrington and 17 from Charli Apodaca, but it wasn't enough to overcome NYA's balanced scoring (Athena Gee, Ava Wilkinson, Delia Fontana, Emily Robbins, and Ella Giguere all scored between 8 and 11 points). --- I'm going to try something on the [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) that I'm stealing from Andrew Hart of MaineHighSchoolFootball.com. Basically, I'll create a post each day where people can post scores and things like "Jamier Rose scored xx" or Ellsworth rallied down 11-0\. Shout out the kids on your team that do awesome things! It'll look like this: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-05-at-11.03.04-PM.png) The goal here is two-fold: 1) celebrate kids who do things! and 2) streamline the writing of this newsletter. With Twitter falling apart, it seems like it might be trickier to find stats and whatnot and I want to make sure I'm highlighting the athletes who are doing cool stuff. --- Travis Lazarczyk has an update on the points of emphasis this year. [Travis Lazarczyk: Flopping in hoops? You’re courting troubleA new rule is in place to penalize those who try to flop or fake a foul, but don’t expect a shot clock in Maine any time soon.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-17.png)Press HeraldTravis LazarczykPortland Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20220223_CONYNokomisboys_1358.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/12/05/travis-lazarczyk-flopping-in-hoops-youre-courting-trouble/?fbclid=IwY2xjawG%5FXhtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHbhWIGApH9m69mOJzGiYCMFlnGpaoh4R468b4vnpYPkh-RCqmIlATeQ0hg%5Faem%5FaFyC%5FN%5FkPfIr6Y-fXwPhvg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The big one is the flop technical, which everyone loves. > A new rule is in place this high school basketball season that looks to curb that behavior. When an official determines a player has faked being fouled, a warning will be issued to the team. If it happens again, a team technical foul will be assessed. The flop technical isn't a new rule, of course. The new part is the warning. Flop technicals have been in place for a long time and good officials have already been warning people before assessing a tech, but this should slow down the Peter Webb All-Stars a little. > Flopping has been a point of emphasis before, with a technical foul assessed to the guilty player as he or she picked themselves off the court. Enforcement of that punishment has been sporadic at best, however. > FLOP TECH ALERT > > RYDER GOODWIN - BREWER > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [February 19, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1627143226565230593?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > The last time I can recall seeing it was in a tournament game at the Bangor Auditorium in 2012 – the last season the tournament was played there before the place was bulldozed in favor of the modern Cross Insurance Center. > 2 flop technicals for a player in one regional tournament has to be a record. > > — Go to mebballrankings.bsky.social (@MEBBallRankings) [February 25, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1629310857464389634?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > Another flop tech on Ryder Goodwin. What are we doing? > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [February 25, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1629310714430255105?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I also seem to remember a flop tech last year late in the tourney, but the exact game escapes me. There's also a long, unprompted digression about the shot clock, because sure. It's the usual stuff about how it costs money and small schools can't afford it and there's never any stalling anyway! If you don't count half of the playoff games last year and multiple Gold Ball games. Then there's this gem: > The worst argument used by those in favor of the shot clock is it would prepare Maine basketball players for the next level. That’s such a straw-man argument that it asked the Wizard of Oz for a brain. High school basketball is not now, nor ever has been about developing players for the next level. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-06-at-12.13.39-AM.png) You send these podcasts out into the world and you don't know what's going to happen. You don't know who's going to listen. It's just nice to know they have an impact. [My full interview with Troy Barnies](https://open.spotify.com/episode/5fIR3wzsZ0hxgRPEwBltAa?si=163ba77ef4e6426f&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Is this good? It seems good. > Cooper Flagg of [@DukeMBB](https://twitter.com/DukeMBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) is the only Division I freshman in the last 25 years to lead his team (outright or tied) in points, rebounds, assists, blocks & steals in a win over an AP Top 5 opponent. [pic.twitter.com/1ISEWeTQKH](https://t.co/1ISEWeTQKH?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) [December 5, 2024](https://twitter.com/OptaSTATS/status/1864551426870972893?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day-1.jpg) Yesterday, I talked about how the Model doesn't know what's changed since last season and here's another example. Oceanside's Bailey Breen would be in her senior season at Oceanside, coasting toward the Miss Basketball crown, but instead she's taken up the challenge of playing at Montverde, one of the premiere programs in the country, against some of the best players in the country. And hopefully she crushes it. The Model doesn't know that, so it's very high on Oceanside's matchup against the defending A North champs from Cony, but it's certainly a different matchup now. But there's 80 games! Go to one! Any of them! The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### And Here We Go! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/and-here-we-go/ Last updated: 2024-12-05T11:49:50.000Z Usually the Thursday "soft open" of the basketball season is only a couple of games, so few that you can be forgiven if you didn't realize the season had actually started. But this year, there's 17 games on the schedule, so there's a not-terrible chance there's a game near-ish where you live. As for Friday? 80 games. Eighty! We're back! --- If you're a basketball season-only subscriber, it is officially time to restart your subscription. The paid subscription (only $6/month) gets you the Model's prediction for every game this season, Tourney Odds, the good version of the Heal Points, the Tourney Week Media Guide, and so much more. If you're already a subscriber, you're awesome and you help make this site possible. [Subscribe!](#/portal/signup) Or, if you have a business that would like to advertise on the podcast or sponsor part of the site, email me: mainebasketballrankings \[at\] gmail \[dot\] com. --- On the podcast, we did the first Wins Draft, which I think is a keeper of an idea. Tyler Krusz (Fox-Bangor), Mike Mandell (Varsity Maine), and Adam Robinson (formerly of the BDN) joined me to draft teams based on how many games they'll win. It serves as a fun season preview. We chose 6 teams each in the following categories: 2 boys teams 2 girls teams 1 Aroostook County team 1 team that missed the playoffs We also chose a tie-breaker of a team that we think will have the largest blowout win and since I had them all, we speculated on who might end up with Cooper Flagg and considered the question that came up: would you trade Jaylen Brown for Cooper Flagg? It was a fun conversation. I think we did pretty well, but you can see for yourself. And, on Spotify you can vote in a poll about who "won" the draft. [Vote on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/33UL0hHv1qDgiEFZvLrDDf?si=2089b65290b34b0b&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Speaking of podcasts, part 2 of my appearance on the Lincoln County News podcast is up. [7\. A High School Basketball Preview (Part 2)Podcast Episode · Beyond the Broadsheet · 12/03/2024 · 1h 11m![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-180-6.png)Apple Podcasts![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/1200x1200bf-60-5.jpg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/7-a-high-school-basketball-preview-part-2/id1779312445?i=1000679123869&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm not involved in this in any way, but Lincoln County TV has a new show/podcast covering high school hoops. This episode features Oceanside boys coach Larry Reed (who is a very nice guy). Got a podcast I don't know about, send it along? --- If you're new to the site, you might want to check out the [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/). Parents, coaches, and media folks have made it a habit to enter their own scores in it, rather than wait for an AD who may not do it until next week. As a result, it's faster and more accurate. Some nights, the entire thing is filled out by the time I get home. You have to register for a free account to access it ('tis a guard against bots), but if you're here, that's likely a hurdle you've already cleared. Also, to enter scores, you need to be on a computer. That's a Google Sheets issue. There's also the "Notable" field where people tend to put in players that had a big game, which helps get them featured in the newsletter. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-04-at-10.13.44-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) I'm working on updating the streaming links, so if you know of a change, let me know. [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) --- Heal Points will probably go live this weekend. You don't need them after one game. I'm also getting everything else updated. The schedules come in late and I can't do much without the schedules. I also just want to thank Jay Baines, who decided this year to tackle schedules (you know him from his awesome brackets) and that has saved me a ton of work. Anyway, I'll get up to speed in the next couple days and then we'll get a blizzard and it'll all be chaos again. --- This is an awesome story about how the Celtics have embraced the fact that their players have kids. It's not just about Deuce. As someone who has a kid who is now 8 (jfc, really?) this hits hard and I love it. [How Joe Mazzulla helped create a Celtics culture that embraces family and kidsJayson Tatum’s son Deuce is a sideline staple. Ean Horford sits on the bench and cheers like he’s a member of the Celtics. And, Joe Mazzulla loves to remind his players all of it is bigger than basketball.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/touch_icon_ipad_retina_celticsblog.com.minimal.png)CelticsBlogNoa Dalzell![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/2183778830.jpg)](https://www.celticsblog.com/2024/12/4/24312708/celtics-jayson-tatum-al-horford-joe-mazzulla-fatherhood-kids-deuce-ean-jordan-walsh?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Edward Little will have a new football coach next season. [Football: Edward Little coach Rick Kramer stepping downKramer resigns after three years as head coach as he takes on the role of executive director overseeing Maine’s physical education and recreational curriculum for educators across the state.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/icon-apple-touch-sm.jpg)Lewiston Sun JournalHaley JonesSun Journal![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/37225407_SJ.SPTnobleATelFoot2P.090223.jpg)](https://www.sunjournal.com/2024/12/04/football-edward-little-coach-rick-kramer-stepping-down/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Construction has started on Fitzy. [Construction begins on Portland’s Fitzpatrick Stadium for new professional soccer teamConstruction is underway at Fitzpatrick Stadium, which will soon be home to Maine’s new professional soccer team, the Portland Hearts of Pine.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32-1.png)WGMEDave Eid, WGME![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/9789dd06-d92d-411e-b278-6c82bb1a5f63-fitzpatrick.JPG)](https://wgme.com/sports/content/construction-begins-on-portlands-fitzpatrick-stadium-for-new-professional-soccer-team-maine-hearts-of-pine?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I hope they make sure there's still room for the food trucks. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/12/game-of-the-day.jpg) So let's start this with a reminder that the Game of the Day is determined by the Stax Index, a formula I devised and named after Sean Stackhouse that uses a number of factors to tell you how interesting a game might be. Should you drive 2 hours for this? Or is it more of a, well I'm already across the street, kind of game? The Game of the Day is the game with the highest Stax Index. The other caveat is that the Model right now is 100% a snapshot of where we ended last season. There's no adjustments for graduation or incoming freshmen or injuries or anything. It doesn't care about preseason polls because those tend to not be very reliable. It doesn't care about hype videos because those are even less reliable. With that in mind, the Model doesn't know that Grace Jaffray skipped her senior year and is crushing it in college. I don't have a lot of information for you here, but this is a really, really good Stax Index number, so it might be worth your trouble. The rest of the Model's picks for tonight's games are after the jump. Again: this is 100% a snapshot of last season. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Some Season Previews URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/some-season-previews/ Last updated: 2024-12-03T11:13:48.000Z Let's do some quick housekeeping as we all scramble to get ready for the start of the season (for the love of god, triple-check the schedule you uploaded on the MPA's site). I went to some of the Yankee Ford Tip-Off Classic at South Portland and I don't love to overreact to preseason games, but I have some thoughts: Windham looks legit. They blew out a short-handed Noble and led Medomak Valley by 15 in the second half before the Panthers rallied to make it a game. They've got a lot of athletes and are going to give people trouble. Also, full disclosure, they gave me a shirt (in honor of the late Pat Moody). > Much thanks to @windhambasketball.bsky.social for the swag > > — [Maine Basketball Rankings (@mebballrankings.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rxc4dkus4nfuyonvilyznixx?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2024-12-01T05:12:05.537Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rxc4dkus4nfuyonvilyznixx/post/3lc7twlm5t22g?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Jamier Rose wasted no time in doing Jamier Rose things against Cheverus. Seemingly every couple of possessions he was making a great pass. The Stags were able to come back and win in the end, thanks to some hot shooting, but Rose was clearly the best player on the floor. Spruce Mountain took care of Nokomis handily. Spruce is small, but fast, and it'll be interesting to see how they matchup in B South, but they look like a top 3 seed to me. Speaking of B South, Medomak lost both games I saw--to Windham and South Portland--but were within 5 in each in the final minute and could have won both. Gabe Lash was everywhere on defense and while they didn't shoot well, they still went over 60 in both games. Wyatt Benoit looked very much in control as TA took care of Messo. Also: TA has a short white kid with very short hair who wears #11 and I'm just saying keep an eye on him at the end of quarters. Manny Hidalgo is going to be a big problem for SoPo's opponents this year. He seems like he's gotten faster? If I had to pick a "guys I saw Saturday" team, it's Rose, Creighty Dickson, Gabe Lash, Benoit, and Hidalgo. --- I joined some people smarter than me for the Eastern Maine Sports yearly preview. I just want to preface this by saying I'm bad at remembering names and was blanking left and right. Still, this was fun and insightful. Also, in making the rounds, I stopped by the Lincoln County News' new podcast to talk about their local teams (Wiscasset, Boothbay, Lincoln Academy, and Medomak Valley). It went a little long, so part 1 is about the boys and part 2 covering the girls will drop later this week. [6\. A High School Basketball Preview (Part 1)Podcast Episode · Beyond the Broadsheet · 12/02/2024 · 54m![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-180-4.png)Apple Podcasts![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/1200x1200bf-60-3.jpg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/6-a-high-school-basketball-preview-part-1/id1779312445?i=1000678886148&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I also got roped into talking about the Movie Pizza Shoppe that caught fire in Waldoboro the other day. [5\. Remembering the Movie Pizza ShoppePodcast Episode · Beyond the Broadsheet · 11/25/2024 · 20m![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-180-5.png)Apple Podcasts![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/1200x1200bf-60-4.jpg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/5-remembering-the-movie-pizza-shoppe/id1779312445?i=1000678142967&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's a lot of podcasts to go on these days. Obviously you should subscribe to all these places. --- On my podcast, I'm doing something a little different. Tyler Krusz (Fox Bangor), Mike Mandell (Kennebec Journal), and Adam Robinson (St. Dom's JV coach) will join me to draft teams from around the state on the simple criteria of how many games we think they'll win this year. We'll pick 6 teams each: 2 boys teams 2 girls teams 1 Aroostook County team 1 team that missed the playoffs last year And we're going to do it LIVE at 9pm or you can watch/listen later at [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/events/1965576057240167?acontext=%7B%22event%5Faction%5Fhistory%22%3A[%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22your%5Fupcoming%5Fevents%5Funit%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark%22%7D]%2C%22ref%5Fnotif%5Ftype%22%3Anull%7D) and all the various places. It should be a lot of fun! The draft order is determined by our preseason predictions of what Jayson Tatum's 3P% would be when we recorded and let's just say someone was way off. Smash that subscribe button! --- Some bad news for the Ellsworth girls. > Tough blow for the Ellsworth girls....sophomore guard Sydney Mason is out for the year (knee injury). She had a great offseason and was poised for a breakout year. Prayers up for a speedy recovery. > > — Ryan McLaughlin (@rmclaughlin23) [December 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/rmclaughlin23/status/1863608374329323836?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- There's also some bad news for Bangor radio. [Stephen King’s Zone Corp radio stations will cease broadcasting this monthZone Corp announced Monday that the company’s radio stations, including WKIT 100.3 FM, WZLO 620 AM and WZON 103.1 FM, would stop broadcasting on Dec. 31.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-12.png)Bangor Daily NewsEmily Burnham![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Screen-Shot-2018-11-08-at-11.09.28-AM.png)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/12/02/bangor/stephen-kings-zone-corp-radio-stations-will-cease-broadcasting-this-month/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's no nice way to put it: the media landscape is really, really bad these days. And by days, I mean the last 15(?) years. --- There's tanking for Cooper Flagg and there's TANKING FOR COOPER FLAGG. > This is genuinely the most insane timeout I’ve ever seen taken in the NBA… (h/t @trillbrodude.bsky.social) > > — [Erin Grugan (@eringrugan.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4z36im75uykjk3uh2ospah4f?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2024-12-02T03:42:12.462Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4z36im75uykjk3uh2ospah4f/post/3lcc7ersrgs2m?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- This is fun. > You use a helmet to catch that one too? [https://t.co/iLjTB6kHr6](https://t.co/iLjTB6kHr6?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tom Brady (@TomBrady) [December 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/TomBrady/status/1863722227297870332?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- There's been a ton of preseason tournaments around the state. What are your impressions of the upcoming season? Put them in the comments! ### Windham Starts Their Title Defense URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/windham-starts-their-title-defense/ Last updated: 2024-11-29T12:25:26.000Z First, Happy Thanksgiving. Once again, I'm thankful that so many people pay attention to this website/newsletter/podcast/whatever and listen to my weird rants on basketball. I did not foresee this when I started trying to figure out if the midcoast teams could beat the Big East teams in the B East tourney. Thanks for following along. Hopefully everyone had a better Thanksgiving than the Bears coaching staff. Yikes. We're on to Black Friday. The season starts next week! With the season upon us, I thought it would be fitting to have Chad Pulkkinen, the coach of the defending AA champions, on the podcast to discuss the Eagles' title defense, which he does not view as a title defense, per se. There a real Joe Mazzulla vibe to it. We also talked about Pulkkinen's experiences playing professionally in the UK, going straight to the varsity head coach as his first coaching experience, and a whole lot more. Check it out! Side note: I need more photos of empty gyms so I can rotate different backgrounds, so if you've got a good one, send it to mainebasketballrankings \[at\] gmail \[dot\] com. I'm also opening up some limited sponsorship slots for the upcoming season. If you're reading this, you know what sort of smart, charming, and good-looking audience this is and if you'd like to grab one of the sponsorship opportunities, reach out at the email address above. As always, you can listen to the podcast on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings/videos/1942959039548064) and the usual places [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/windham-has-a-title-to-defend-or-do-they-with-chad-pulkkinen/id1675940033?i=1000678539972&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Spofity](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ChVvJD4DWgdsjHA4axilt?si=e2872208ce654de2&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Or wherever you consume podcasts. As always, subscribe, leave a review, all that jazz. --- If you're the type of person who likes to wax poetic about the "good old days" and how much better basketball was when you were young and how it's a shame "kids these days shoot too many 3s", the folks at Camden Hills have you covered. Today at 5:30 they'll honor their '74 and '99 Gold Ball teams with an alumni game. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/image-5.png) My first thought was the '74 team would play the '99 team and where can I bet on the '99 team, but it's actually a collection of alumni from a wide range of teams, which is probably for the best. Still, it promises to be a lot of fun. I'm planning on being there. --- The Yankee Ford Tip-Off Tourney at South Portland looks like a nice lineup. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/image-7-1.png) --- Ellsworth's Grace Jaffray was supposed to be on the short list for Miss Basketball this year, but instead she reclassified up a year to start her college career early and so far, it's been a good decision. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/image-6-1.png) In only her 5th game, she went off for a program record 43 points. > WBB > Johnson and Wales 74, Wheaton College 51. > > 43 points for Grace Jaffray. Wildcats 5-0. > > — Ryan McLaughlin (@rmclaughlin23) [November 27, 2024](https://twitter.com/rmclaughlin23/status/1861568629579387121?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 43 points! In her 5th game! --- Portland QB Louis Thurston is your MaxPreps POTY. > Congrats to Portland's [@LouisThurston8](https://twitter.com/LouisThurston8?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) on being named the 2024 MaxPreps Maine Player of the Year. > > He accounted for 2,426 yards of total offense and 29 touchdowns while leading the Bulldogs to their first state title in 22 years. > > ✍️: [https://t.co/MfDWU4Q4Dq](https://t.co/MfDWU4Q4Dq?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/EwNuNPJRyL](https://t.co/EwNuNPJRyL?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Zack Poff (@Zack\_Poff\_MP) [November 27, 2024](https://twitter.com/Zack%5FPoff%5FMP/status/1861888080355143983?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And that wasn't all he did this Thanksgiving. [Portland fights off valiant Deering to win Turkey Day showdownNewly crowned Bulldogs take a 63-42-7 all-time edge in the storied series by virtue of a 21-18 victory.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-16.png)Press HeraldMichael HofferForecaster/Leader/Sentry![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/MG_2816.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/11/28/portland-fights-off-valiant-deering-to-win-turkey-day-showdown/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Haley Jones mic'ed up some of the Falmouth players prior to the Gold Ball game. > This ended up being one of my favorite videos I’ve gotten to make for [@VarsityMaine](https://twitter.com/VarsityMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) in a while! [pic.twitter.com/VgLUz1ZwTI](https://t.co/VgLUz1ZwTI?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Haley Jones (@haleyjonesmedia) [November 27, 2024](https://twitter.com/haleyjonesmedia/status/1861786393296396344?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This also gives you a better look at the food trucks that we need to figure out how to bring to the Expo. --- If you're a stat nerd like I am, you might find this new NBA Game Report helpful. > NBA GAME REPORT > Clippers @ Celtics (Nov 25, 2024)[#ClipperNation](https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClipperNation?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 94[#DifferentHere](https://twitter.com/hashtag/DifferentHere?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 126 [pic.twitter.com/QsncO0ye7B](https://t.co/QsncO0ye7B?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA Game Report (@NBAGameReport) [November 26, 2024](https://twitter.com/NBAGameReport/status/1861494732850950627?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You also probably will enjoy this new website. [Shotcreator - HomeShotcreator is a basketball stats site showcasing stats from the NBA and WNBA. The stats are linked to the underlying play by play data, meaning the stats you click on lead to a video playlist![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-1.ico)Shotcreator![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/home.png)](https://shotcreator.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's stats, of course, but also a Hudl-like feature where you can see all of Derrick White's [FGA against the Clippers](https://shotcreator.com/videos/nba?ssps[league%5Fid]=1&ssps[season]=2024-25&ssps[season%5Ftype]=Regular+Season&ssps[player%5Fid]=xFZ8CO2yCUK&ssps[stats][0]=fga&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), for example. Or Payton Pritchard's shot chart vs. the League Average (spoiler: it's good). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-28-at-4.46.50-PM.png)](https://shotcreator.com/player/nba/m4LltGEzhyJ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Falmouth Pulls it Off URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/falmouth-pulls-it-off/ Last updated: 2024-11-26T11:09:24.000Z An incredible turnaround for the Navigators _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Rain, Rain, Go Away URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rain-rain-go-away/ Last updated: 2024-11-23T03:07:55.000Z Aside from some wind, the weather has been pretty good for the Fall Sports playoffs, but with only one day of games left, it looks like we're going to get wet. And cold. If you're not planning on attending one of the four remaining Gold Ball games, there's a bunch of pre-season basketball "kick off" tournaments scattered around the state. You can find [most of them in the Facebook group, as people have been posting them in the comments](https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaineHSBasketball/posts/1978739925964625/). Depending on how the weather looks in the morning, I might be doing exactly that. I might also do both. This week on the podcast, my special guest had to cancel at the last minute, but since I had already set everything up--and because THE SHOW MUST GO ON--I did a solo preview of today's games, plus a few other things. Not the best show! But not the worst either. It was also 10:30pm after a very long day at work. [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-football-gold-ball-preview-with-just-me/id1675940033?i=1000677884774&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Football Rankings are [updated](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-22-at-9.49.47-PM.png) Going into the final day, I feel like these landed in a pretty good spot. If you want to quibble a team is a spot too high or too low, I won't argue with you. Sports Illustrated, on the other hand, I dunno. [Top 10 Maine High School Football Rankings (11/18/2024)Portland heads into the state championships as Maine’s No. 1; Thornton Academy and Kennebunk follow at 2-3 , respectively![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/ON_SI-Favicon_B_96x96_3.ico)Sports IllustratedAndy Villamarzo![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Falmouth-289e1303b3495c9a83744163ff65fe49.jpg)](https://www.si.com/high-school/maine/top-10-maine-high-school-football-rankings-11-18-2024-01jcyvqe7rsk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Foxcroft Academy is [doing something very cool this year](https://www.facebook.com/foxcroftacademy/posts/pfbid06dTNtNjC6AXdoUte3LjceRn5JxsK23r5u3Jew52d9v2HSkQTYJUeferqpcJ9sXBRl) in honor of the 50th anniversary of their last Gold Ball. > As we celebrate this historic accomplishment, we will relive the road to the gold on social media this winter. Each day there was a game, we will post the recap on Facebook and Instagram like it was the winter of the ‘74-75 season. For example, if a game was played on December 6, 1974, we will post it on December 6, 2024, and so on, through the 22-game journey. It starts on Friday, November 22nd, with the Penquis League Round Robin at FA and ends on February 28th (the night the Ponies won the gold ball). This is such a cool idea. The first one is up and it looks like they've got a good archive of photos. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-22-at-9.54.43-PM.png)](https://www.facebook.com/foxcroftacademy/posts/pfbid02eAqNWyxD8gRjuTC5Z1f8CHXJmLnozCJnYdfHohLbTThGADYf9WCit5HZWzq6hTTKl) Also, that Schenck jersey looks pretty cool. --- Rene Cloukey, WAGM's legendary broadcaster, signed off this week to end a legendary career. [Rene Cloukey’s Final GoodbyeRene Cloukey says goodbye on Friday’s Evening Edition![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-3.png)WAGMRene Cloukey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/KAUM3ZHAURBNPIFNTIGWPEKGU4.jpg)](https://www.wagmtv.com/2024/11/23/rene-cloukeys-final-goodbye/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Here's video of CMCC's return to campus with their new soccer National Championship. --- Fresh off OOB's Gold Ball in 8-man, Travis Lazarczyk sat down with Coach Dean Plante to talk about the impact of 8-man. [Travis Lazarczyk: Dean Plante is the Godfather of Maine eight-man footballEight-man football has given many schools the option to continue offering football, and those programs can thank Old Orchard Beach’s coach and athletic director.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-12.png)Press HeraldTravis LazarczykPress Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/21825074_20210115_no_sports_2.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/11/16/travis-lazarczyk-dean-plante-is-the-godfather-of-maine-eight-man-football/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- This AD is putting the rules of the game on the programs...HINT, HINT. > As an athletic director who doubles as a basketball official, I have decided to take an educational approach this winter. I’m attaching a commonly misunderstood rules of b-ball sheet to our programs in hopes that fans won’t blurt out “rules” about b-ball that aren’t accurate! 😁 [pic.twitter.com/0y1JJsYo6d](https://t.co/0y1JJsYo6d?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Brad Doerring (@brad\_doerring) [November 21, 2024](https://twitter.com/brad%5Fdoerring/status/1859702359439573139?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Hampden's Bella McLaughlin had 14 points and 6 rebounds in her first career start for BU. [Career-high by Blauenfeldt not enough, as Maine women’s basketball falls at Boston UniversityMaine junior transfer guard Asta Blauenfeldt scored a career-high 24 points on Thursday night, but it wasn’t enough as the Black Bears dropped their second game in a row in a 67-57 loss to Bo…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon.ico)Eastern Maine SportsPublished by %s![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/401714101.png)](https://easternmainesports.com/2024/11/21/career-high-by-blauenfeldt-not-enough-as-maine-womens-basketball-falls-at-boston-university/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#google%5Fvignette) Sadly, it was against Maine, but still a nice start to her BU career. --- Here's a nice Q&A with Chad Finn promoting his new book about the Celtics. [Q&A: Chad Finn on ‘The Boston Globe Story of the Celtics’Sports columnist Chad Finn dives into the details of how his new book, “The Boston Globe Story of the Celtics,” came together.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDC_Logo_2020_Social_WhiteBG-609c79a967eee-200x200.png)Boston.comKelly Chan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Story-of-Celtics_BookClub-673e47acbeee0-768x432.jpg)](https://www.boston.com/community/book-club/2024/11/21/chad-finn-on-boston-globe-story-of-the-celtics/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I've watched a lot of basketball and I don't think I've ever seen this before. > Embiid just flopped on a free throw [pic.twitter.com/ePKOENAXpQ](https://t.co/ePKOENAXpQ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Northwest Nugs (@NWNugs) [November 21, 2024](https://twitter.com/NWNugs/status/1859407439231348752?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I believe they call this momentum. > 👀 > > — [Maine Basketball Rankings (@mebballrankings.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rxc4dkus4nfuyonvilyznixx?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2024-11-19T23:57:51.408Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rxc4dkus4nfuyonvilyznixx/post/3lbdnakynms2r?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Come on over, the skies are clear and the water is warm. ## Game of the Day A Gold Ball game is, by definition, a great game, even if it isn't. The easy move is to call the Portland/TA game the one to watch, with Portland looking for their first Gold Ball since 2002. [Football: Prepared Portland eager to snap long title droughtThe battle-tested Bulldogs, who are chasing their first Gold Ball since 2002, face Thornton Academy in a Class A title game rematch.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-13.png)Press HeraldSteve CraigPortland Press Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/40414678_20241119_PortlandFootball_6.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/11/19/football-prepared-portland-eager-to-snap-long-title-drought/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But the Model is most intrigued by Falmouth and Kennebunk. It makes sense. Plus, the Falmouth narrative is a compelling one. We'll see if they can finish off the storybook turnaround. Sports Illustrated [doesn't think they can](https://www.si.com/high-school/maine/falmouth-maine-has-gone-from-turmoil-to-state-championship-contender-01jcyykz7nng?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Soccer Gold Balls and a look ahead to the Football Regional Finals with Michael Hoffer URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-gold-balls-and-a-look-ahead-to-the-football-regional-finals-with-michael-hoffer/ Last updated: 2024-11-20T03:39:35.000Z The Forecaster's Michael Hoffer joins me to recap Gold Ball Saturday for field hockey and soccer, preview the Regional Finals in football and, of course, look even further ahead to basketball season. Or you can listen at... [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0U1uRJB15QsMd2aPmezi68?si=0b9ec96430b64b9c&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soccer-gold-balls-and-a-look-ahead-to-the/id1675940033?i=1000676629830&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) As always, make sure you subscribe at your favorite podcast hub and leave a review (it helps!) Here's the transcript (generated by AI, I'm not checking this) Welcome to the Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast. I am your host, basketball data nerd, Lucas McNelly, and the gold balls have been handed out in soccer and in field hockey, and we had a pretty eventful day for those. Uh, I went to the games at, or to one game in Bath, um, for Camden Hills and Scarborough 0 0, went to penalties, came to wins in penalties, but the interesting part about this game is the wind. Was ridiculous. It was gusting 30, 40 miles an hour. Scarborough had the wind at their back for the first half. They were clearly the better team in the first half. They hit the crossbar, had a couple of really good chances. Uh, Camden and Goley made a couple of really nice saves to keep it zero zero. Then they switched sides and all of a sudden they're like, geez, Camden's playing a lot better. Um, and then you sort of come to the realization that Oh, it's the wind. The wind's really a factor here. You'd see the, um, the goalie would kick into it and the ball would sort of go up and then sort of hold up in the air and drop down. Um, if you try to play across through the air, uh, it would get pushed by the wind and three or four yards back and conveniently seemed to find its way to a defender each time. So that was really a factor and it got to the point as it got windier and windier during the game where you start thinking, geez. Can Scarborough even score going in this direction? Um, got a little better for them when they went to overtime and they got to switch back to having the wind at their back. But Camden had a lot of momentum at that point. Camden was unable to find in the back of the nets. They go to penalties and Camden wins penalties. That's their first gold ball in, uh, boys soccer in 33 years, which If you would had me guessed when their last goal ball was in boys soccer, I would not have guessed 33 years would have guessed something like six years or eight years or something like that. Um, but maybe, you know, you sometimes if a program is really good in boys or girls, you sort of assume they've had the same success on the other side. and girls of course have long time. Um, a couple o Uh, we had Greenville and was not close. Greenville Greeley beat Babs three n surprised. Paul Dale beat Uh, that was there. I'm gonna say that's their first ever gold ball. I think I saw that online. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Uh, and Richmond beat Fort Fairfield 3 2\. And girls soccer really got the sweep. They beat Herman 3 1\. Madison beat Dexter 2 1 in overtime. Bangor rallied to beat Scarborough. This was a game where all three of Bangor's goals were scored with the wind at their back. Very important distinction. Um, so they beat Scarborough three to one. NYA blew up Fort Kent four nothing. Penobscot Valley beat Buckfield two nothing. And then in field hockey, we had an overtime game Winthrop over Dexter two to one. We had Chevres beat Brewer three to one. We'll get into that a little bit later. Uh, and Belfast came back to win two to one and they won that one on penalty corners, which If you know anything about, actually I don't know anything about field hockey and I'm not, penalty corners, I'm assuming what that is is the thing, I guess it's not a stroke, because a stroke is like a penalty shot, so I'm guessing penalty corners is the thing where they have the ball on the end line and they pass it to a teammate, I'm not, I'm not entirely sure, so scratch all that, I have no idea what penalty corners are, I'll try to figure it out, I'll ask around and see what that is, but um, A lot of, you know, a lot of great activity. Um, and so we've got also this week football coming up. There's, I'm doing a little more research on it. I'm going to probably do another podcast this week, but there's a really interesting story coming out of Rhode Island about a football team that sued to be able to be seated differently in the playoffs. And I'll read you the judges. thing first. Uh, they literally were kids were getting on buses to go to playoff games and his team's like, no, no, no, we have the wrong matchup. We need to go to get on a different, have a different matchup and all this. And people are like, what are you guys doing? So the courts, uh, the court said, the judge said, certainly this court is sympathetic to the notion that it is a hardship to play a lower seated team, which could make the path. And I think he means a higher seated team here, which could make path. To a championship more challenging, however, stopping all games and forcing high school football players across the state to push their playoffs and the championship to an unknown date is certainly more burdensome than having the games continue with Mount Hope starting as the fifth seed. The like, I just can't imagine the audacity of thinking, no, no, no, we're going to shut down everything in order to win. They thought they were supposed to be the one seed just because partly because of vibes, partly because they haven't been there before. And sometimes you just, I don't know, you just don't know how things work. If you haven't been in the playoffs in a long time, I think. Um, we'll get more into this later this week. It's an insane story and I just wanted to do more digging before I give you the full rundown of it, but it's insane. Okay. So football for games this week, we've got, um, the eight man is going to the state, the state championships. It'll, uh, it's a whole thing. They eight men, large. Doesn't have regions this year. It's just one. So it's Mount Airat and Greeley. Greeley won the C the earlier game this year, 30 to 26\. So that looks really interesting. Uh, and eight man, small sterns and OOP, both of those teams have been insanely dominant this year. So I don't know, I think a lot of people are going to go with OOP here, but I don't know, I don't know, I, a lot of people thought it would be, was going to win last year and they didn't. Uh, in a North Bangor, Portland. Portland won the earlier game. The regular season matched up 35 to 7 in week six. Thornton Academy and Noble Thornton Academy won 33 to 26 in week five, which was one of the really better games this year. Uh, be north Lawrence and found the Falmouth 48 to 3 on week seven in the South Kennebunk and during Kennebunk won that one. 41\. Nothing in week five, which is one of the surprising scores where people went, Whoa, what just happened there? Uh, see North Herman and Madomic Valley. Herman won that earlier game 14 to eight. I think that was week one. It was week one or week two. I went to that game see South Freiberg and Levitt Freiberg won 34 to 12 in week five. I've been wrong. I love it every single week. So who knows? Um, in D North, Foxcroft and Winslow, Foxcroft 135 to 3 in week three, the South Wells and Winthrop Wells, 130 to 13 in week eight. Um, not a lot of those were close. So the Greeley Mount Airy game was close. The Thornton Academy Noble game was close. The Herman Madomic game was close. The rest of them weren't. So, prepare yourself that we could have a not great day of regional finals in football this week. What that could mean is that we have, you know, you don't know, maybe we do. It's not looking great for the regional finals in football is all I'm saying. So, If the weather's bad, you might want to stream these. Uh, I think who you will have at least some of them. Um, so on the show today, we've been trying, we're trying to get this guy on the air on here for a while, but he's very, very busy. Michael Hoffer is here from Forecaster. He's. Fantastic. He's, you know, one of the best reporters in the state. And so we get into soccer, we get into football, we get into basketball, of course, field hockey, all sorts of great stuff. So a lot of fun. Um, if you're watching the video of this, I'm wearing a main sting double, uh, AAU championship shirt. Thanks to Steve Carey. That was in the packet of stuff he sent me earlier this year. So. Just wanted to mention that and thank you again for that. Go now to my conversation with Michael Hopper. Okay. Michael Hopper is here. He's taking a break from writing 10, 000 word previews of the state championship games or regional finals. Uh, Michael Hopper, you probably all know as the Forecaster Sports Editor, writes for Varsity Maine. He's everywhere. Thanks for joining me. Thank you for having me. Uh, I, I don't know what to do with myself today. There's no game. So I, I had to talk about high school sports with somebody. I know we've been trying to schedule this for weeks and you're like, well, I have a game every single day and I'm like, well, all right, that's been life pretty much through October and the first week of November, but all of a sudden I have all this free space on my calendar. It's, I don't know what to do with myself. It's craziness. And I want to thank you right off the bat because I've been betting your Patriots picks on DraftKings and it's going, it's doing pretty well. I would not invest much money on those picks, but congratulations. Well, I won yesterday, so that was good. Um, so I usually, so do they, which was good. It usually ends up being the same bet where I end up betting the Patriots to beat the spread and then the under, so it ends up usually being the Patriots. And I, and that's a pretty safe bet for them. It's, it seems like this year that's, that's hit more often than not. Yeah. Yeah. How excited are you about Drake May on a one to ten scale? Uh, I would say nine and a half. I, I really, I can't wait to see him when he actually has someone to throw the ball to. I think he's only gonna get better. I mean, he's still making some rookie mistakes and, you know, let's face it. It's, it's like mid October for him. Cause he didn't start the first three, four games. And, uh, no, I'm very excited. There's a lot of work to do around him, but, you know, I'm also encouraged. They're playing hard every week, you know, really other than that jets Thursday night game and maybe the game out in San Francisco, they've been competitive and, you know, it's just not a great roster. Uh, but I think there is some upside there and I do believe we've got the guy. So, you know, let's just hope the off season brings some, uh, some nice presence under the tree and we'll go from there. Yeah. And just watching Mac Jones yesterday, it was like, Oh my gosh, I remember that. If you needed reinforcement. Yes. That was, I'm really enjoying the weird throws when he gets in trouble and he's just trying to avoid the sack and he like throws it left handed. To somebody and you're just like, it's very, very Mahomes Ian and, uh, you know, he's, he can make something out of nothing. Unlike no Patriots quarterback, probably since Steve Grogan. So, you know, I, I don't want to see him run all that often and get hit on all that often, but it's nice to know that if, you know, if you need someone to scramble for 15 yards on 3rd and 12, you can certainly do it. Yeah, it's uh, it's been very encouraging and I don't know. I think he's been better than I expected him to be. Yeah, especially this at this early date, uh, you know, I had a feeling he was going to develop into something good But you can already see the flashes of potential greatness and let's just hope that continues All right. So let's go pivot to high school if i'm reading this correctly. Did you have three games on saturday you did? I did I did the three games in bangor the sea girls and the two boys game be the two b games. Yeah, okay So The ones I saw bylines on you for were the Greeley John Babs boys, the N. Y. A. Fort Kent girls, and the Shevers Field Hockey game. Okay, so I also did the Greeley Herman girls game. The Shevers Field Hockey states I just caught up with after the fact, although I did do the regional final. So, I was not present for their state game, but I still tried to recapture it as much as possible and, uh, you know, that's too good a story not to, uh, not to touch on one final time. Yeah, and the craziness of it being Brewer there and not Skowhegan. Yeah, right. It's gotta be the greatest record in state. You know, it's funny how Wednesday night, just literally as the Chevres Biddeford Regional Final was ending, all of a sudden there was a buzz. Uh, Brewers had 3 0 ahead of Skowhegan, and it's just no one knew what to do with themselves. The Chevs players, coaches, I mean, they're just, they're so attuned to, all right, if we get to the state game, we know who we're gonna play. Mm-Hmm. . And they did the last three years and not this time. So, and I wouldn't say that they necessarily even looked at that as an advantage. Um, it's just, it was just strange, I think. And I, I think they were gonna be fired up for the state game no matter what. And, you know, they scored two goals in the first quarter and, and, uh, and, and went on to the victory. And there was no way Lucy Johnson was losing her final high school game. It's just, it was that simple. I, and I felt that way for a while. Yeah, and at some point you go, well, we've got Skowhegan and they're probably scouting Skowhegan a little bit. And then naturally we got to throw all that out, I guess. Right. Right. But that's great. I mean, we don't, you see these dynastic runs and you know, someday it's got to come to an end. And when it does, it's so stunning. It's so sudden. It's kind of not fluky because Brewer beat him during the regular season, but. There have been other years where Scout Hegan lost to Sam Messalonsky in the regular season, and maybe he wasn't even the one seed, but they would always find a way to win in the playoffs in the regional final. And, you know, it's just natural to assume that was going to happen again. But not only did it not happen again, I mean, Brewer won convincingly. So, you know, kudos to them for a great season. I know it didn't end the way they wanted it to on Saturday, but they really stole some headlines along the way. I was talking to Mike Mandel about this, uh, somewhere at some game, and we were wondering Do we know if there's players on that team who's like mothers? We're on in the original run over 22 years. It's not impossible to think that there might be some crossover there. No question. You know, I don't know. I, I'm just not familiar with the program and the names, but, I mean, you do the math. It's it's possible. It's it's certainly likely, you know, okay. And I just wanted to point out, maybe you notice this. But you had, you had the worst games Saturday, you got none of the good games. I know. That's how it goes. So, so you win some, you lose some, I had some great regional finals for, uh, field hockey and soccer. So, you know, those rounds, those, those games were better. And you know, to be, be honest with you, Lucas, I'm up in Bangor. I'm thinking the earliest I'm leaving is eight o'clock. So I want all these games in regulation, , and I'm not disappointed. I didn't. Overtime, PKs, any of that stuff, you know, they got that stuff down at Bath for the A games and, you know, I've seen plenty of great dramatic games this, this year, this, and this week, so, uh, the fact that I just got out of there on schedule was not a bad thing. It's a long drive. Yes, it is. Um, yeah, so there were four, if people don't know, there were four overtime games. on Saturday, which sounds like a lot to me for a state game state games. And two of them went to penalty one to penalty corners and one to penalty kicks. Uh, my other question for Bangor is how windy was it up there? Oh, and that was the worst part, especially the, the earlier games. absolutely howling. I mea degrees. So I think it wo day. But the wind was how a factor strategically. A that had the wind of thei more success scoring goal didn't. But you know, it had a great fall. It's rea Uh, when we've had so many great warm days, even last Tuesday, Wednesday was unseasonably warm. So, you know, I've, I've had worse. If we can get through two more weeks without rain on Friday or Saturday, I'll be thrilled. Yeah, I was at the Camden Scarborough boys game. And the wind was absolutely a factor. And it was, it was the point in the second half where you're like, I don't know if Scarborough can score going in this direction, the way they were playing. Cause they were playing a lot of long balls and a lot of ball in the air and Camden was keeping it closer to the ground. And you just see the ball kept getting knocked down, kept getting thrown off path. And. It looked really difficult. Yeah. You know, the NY Fort Kent game, all of NYU's four goals came in the first half, all with the wind and you know, the second half they were content. If Fort Kent had a lot of shots, couldn't finish. But no question going toward that one end of the field that that's where the goals were. I think in, pretty much in all the games, maybe with one or two exceptions, I feel like almost all the goals came in that direction. Did you notice that, goals aside, that like. The teams played better with the wind on their back. Cause it really looked like the game. I saw Camden dominated the half. They had the wind and Scarborough was better than the half. They had the wind and you just sit there. You're wondering if you're Scarborough, like we had chances to score in that first half and right. And, and you'll lament the fact that you didn't get the one and sometimes that's all you need. But yeah, I think the teams that had the wind at their back, which has played with more confidence. And you know, the, the other team was. Defensive anyway. And then you're just really hoping that you're not going to get a crazy bounce or crazy wind gusts. I mean, it's, it's hard enough to contend with the other team. That's a championship caliber team, but all of a sudden you're dealing with these weird elements too. So it was most certainly a big factor. I think the better teams won regardless. I don't think that it, you know, maybe you can make a case for Scarborough down where you were, but certainly where I was, you know, both Greeley teams were favored. NYA girls, I think were pretty prohibitive favorites and that's how it all played out. Yeah, there was the talk. I went to the regional finals in B up at Hamden and the thing people were saying was this is kind of the state championship game in a way for us because nobody's beating Greeley, right? And that's just historically. I mean, you look over the last 30 years. On the boys side in Class B. Uh, it's only happened once where this north is beaten, the south, which is just crazy. And granted, there've been a ton of great Falmouth and Yarmouth and Greeley teams over the years, but you know, you gotta figure there's gonna be a crazy bounce in there somewhere or else, but it's talker. Yeah, it's soccer. And th girl side in recent years by the south. But there h of the north winning. So, is a lot more even over t B. Uh, it's a pronounced the south. Why do you thi it's just you have more y you know, let's let's tal Not to diminish what, what, what exists in the rest of the state. There's a lot of really good players, but you don't have 10, 12 guys playing out, you know, outta season or playing together in premier from the age of eight on, or whatever the case may be. And, and I also think the regular season schedules, the Western main conference, yes. SM may a. Those are the best conferences in the state and you know, I'm not being, it's not, I'm not being biased. It's just, that's just how it is. These teams, you know, iron sharpens iron and these teams bring out the best in each other all season long. You know, once Greeley survives Cape in a regional final or once Greeley survives Yarmouth in a regional final, they know the state game is not going to be near as competitive. They don't want to have a letdown. Uh, but certainly, you know, you get through those teams, that's your biggest test more often than not. It's just interesting to me that in soccer, it's such a pronounced difference, but in basketball, it's not. Yeah. And, you know, it's the same communities and it's the same resources and all that. Well, you know, the county so good at basketball that are, you have 5 people on the floor as opposed to 11 people on the field. I think maybe that that that. up a little bit. Basketball is such an ingrained part of those communities, more so than down here in the Portland area where, yeah, we have a lot of great basketball players, but a lot of those guys are playing other things. Um, it's not, it's not, it doesn't, maybe it doesn't mean as much, uh, in Cape Elizabeth as it does in Presque Isle, you know, or Caribou, like we saw in that state game a few years ago down here, where the whole side of the Civic Center was, you know, it was an incredible environment. And that's not to say that basketball is not huge in Cape Elizabeth, but it doesn't. Mean as much to the whole town? Uh, is it Right in a place like Caribou, Presca, all those places. Yeah. I don't know that you're getting that many people. If the games in Holton to go from ca, Cape Elizabeth to, um, no chance. Well, I mean, they didn't bring as many people from Cape Elizabeth to Portland. Right. Terrible. What does that tell you right, Portland that day? Yeah. A lot of times you don't see big crowds even, you know, big Portland during ch. South Portland, you know, they get they get good crowds, but it's not it's not the whole community. And that's just the nature of the fact the state. It's a very different state from South to North. Yeah. Um, okay. So 1 question I have for you. What. If you had to pick a team that you saw this year, a soccer or field hockey team, since they're done and we'll do football in a minute here. What's a team that you saw that didn't win a gold ball. That was impressed, impressed you that maybe flew a little under the radar or, you know, something like that. Yeah, I mean, there were some of the teams that almost won, you know, class a boys soccer all season had, you know, we were talking all year, any of six, eight, 10 teams can come out and, you know, as fate would have it, the top four teams all won their quarterfinals and, and it wound up being the three and the four seed in the regional final, you know, the Portland boys lived a charmed life all season, their first three games, they won in overtime, uh, you know, kind of ironic that they, they get knocked out in the post season and over time, but, You know, they, they had a great run at the Yarmouth field hockey team. They've been in Freeport shadow all season. They lost to Freeport in a double overtime Epic and last year's regional final. They lost to Freeport in the first game this year. Then both teams ran the table the rest of the way, you know, Freeport had been to States two years in a row, won it last year. I think most people thought they'd figure out a way to get through there again. But, you know, Yarmouth just did a great job playing as a team, playing without a star, and they even had a one nothing lead in the third quarter of the other day against Belfast. They just couldn't hold it. But, you know, a tremendous run there, but, you know, no shortage of great teams and in a lot of these sports. And, you know, that's my blessing and my curse. Curse is I, I've always got a lot of teams in contention. Of course, that means that the season goes right up to the very end and there's a lot of teams that, that are, are battling for championships right up to the very last day. So I don't get an early break on the seasons, but that's okay. It makes it more fun. Plus you don't get like half the tournament off. Right. Not . That's never happened. And I'm guessing it never will. Yeah. Like in basketball you might get like a couple sessions off Yes. Here and there. Right. But it seems less like that in the, uh. In the fall Sports. Yeah. Especially a sport like soccer where really, you know, you look at Cape Elizabeth and Falmouth and Greeley and Yarmouth and Scarborough, I mean these, these are powerhouse soccer towns going back a half century. They're always gonna be one of the last teams standing, if not the last team standing. And that's just, you know, it kind of comes with the territory field. Hockey's hit, or. You know, there have been some years I didn't have anyone in a state game, but you know, of, of recent vintage with Chevros becoming a powerhouse, with Freeport becoming a powerhouse, uh, you know, there's that too. I just wish those state games were on different weekends, but no one's consulting with me. Right. I think the Chevros girls haven't looked at this recently and I should have. Um, I think they actually have the biggest lead in the power rankings of like any of Of the sports. Yeah. Not surprising. I think it was last year too. Yeah. I mean you think they've been there, they went 71 and one over four years. Their one loss was by a goal to scout Hagan in the state game two years ago. It was a game. I think most people thought Chevs was gonna win 'cause they had won the year before four to one. Uh, they wind up losing that game and that's it. They never lost a single game in the South, regular season, post season. You know, they, they're on a 36 game win streak right now. And this was a program that before Lucy Johnson got there, that was always competitive, had even been to one state game before in 2010, uh, but they're nowhere near the juggernaut they are now. And you're just, you know, this kind of thing perpetuates itself at private schools where everyone's going to want to go and play field hockey at Chevros or basketball at Jefferson. You know, it's, if you're sick of Chevros field hockey, you know, I, I have bad news for you. I don't think they're going anywhere. They might come back to the pack slightly. I think maybe Biddeford will be the favorite going into next season, but I wouldn't write off the stags. Well, yeah, there's a big part of that. If you have any amount of school choice at all, you know, for a public school or for a private school, more so you know, where are you gonna go if you know, are you gonna go to around here? Are you gonna go to sst? Because you're going to go to Wiscasset, you're going to lose a lot of games, or you could go to Gardner, and you know, you're in competitive games all the time, and it's not, that's not a super hard decision for a lot of people. No, and I mean, in a perfect world, every community would have the same resources, the same resources. Same chances. And you know, and the private thing, it comes and goes. I mean, there's a lot of teams at CHS that aren't winning. And you know, for the longest time, girls basketball wasn't winning state titles. Field hockey wasn't winning state titles. You know, for decades. Macaulay was totally irrelevant. No one even knew what Macaulay was until they became a juggernaut. So these things come and go. Chevron's football was the best team going in a little over a decade ago. You know, now they were two and seven this year, even though they were more competitive than their record would suggest. So, you know, that whole public versus private thing is a whole other discussion for another time. And I know people have very strong feelings about it, but it's not as lopsided as you would be led to believe. No, because you can see situations where. It's a private school, but they don't have, they don't have the youth program and the youth program is the most sustainable thing in any sport. We all know that. Absolutely. Um, you know, and sometimes they can rest on the idea that they're the private school and that they'll get people going there and then they just, it just doesn't happen. They get beat by the public school team down the road. Yeah, no question. Like I said, it's cyclical and there's lots of times that you think the private school is going to win and they don't. And, you know, I think if you have a strong communal program, especially in some of the bigger towns, you're able to, you know, definitely compete because you never know who's coming and going from these private schools. And yes, they have the opportunity to bring in unique talents at time, but people leave too. People leave and go back to their public schools. So, you know, it's a two way street and, uh, you know, there's certainly benefits. On the private school side, but you know, for people that think that, that don't want the private schools involved at all, I think they bring a lot, uh, to the MPA and and to, to these tournaments. And I, I think it'd be really unfortunate if we didn't have, uh, you know, these powerhouse teams, Chevs Thornton Academy, they're not always gonna win. I know it feels like, it feels like they will, but it's not, it's not always gonna be that way. Hell, Thornton Academy lost a LT last year. That's Yes, they did. They, they. Portland in the regular season this year. We'll see if uh, we'll see if Portland can do it again on the state game if they match up here in a little over a week. Ah, so let's pivot to uh, football because you gave me a transition there. That was very nice of you. Um, are you worried, I'm looking at these matchups for this weekend. Are you worried that these games are going to suck because A lot of these teams have played already, and not a lot of the games were close. Right, I, yeah, and I, I mean, that's, that's definitely, especially class A, class B, you look at some of these scores, you know, Yeah, Falmouth beat Lawrence 48 3\. Yeah, 41 0, Kennebunk over Deering, I think Portland beat Bangor 35 7, it could have been more. Uh, you know, t at the TA Noble game. I think that that's probably the crown jewel here on the, yeah, on the schedule. 'cause their regular season game was terrific and TA needed a late kickoff return for a touchdown just to win that game. And, you know, Noble's so fun to watch with Jamir Rose and just seeing that program be viable again for the first time in almost 30 years. They're gonna have a tough time. They're fun to watch. Yeah, they're gonna have a tough time winning at Hill Stadium on Saturday. I mean, let's be real, but I think, you know, that's a game going into where you're saying, you know, that's a team that really has a shot. I think Deering is going to play Kennebunk a lot closer than the regular season game was. Um, you know, I don't know if they can hang around and win it, but I don't think you're going to look at a 41 point margin. Again, the fact that Falmouth and Lawrence are playing in the neutral field up in Epic Coney, you know, maybe that levels thing a little bit. Fal almost never won a regional title. So there's still that pressure. And so you still have those factors kind of consider, uh, going in. I, I, yeah, certainly. I hope some of these games are good. You know, can Levit complete compete with f Fryberg Academy? It's, it's funny to even say that when you think of how great Levitt's been in recent years. Uh, you know, can Winthrop compete with wells? Just seems like they're invincible. I don't know. I mean, I think the eight mans. Game. The, the Greeley Mount era game, I think is the potential to be a thriller. They played a 30 to 26 game here a couple weeks ago. I don't know if anyone can stop Old Orchard, but they're just fun to watch, period. So there's gonna be some compelling wagon. There's gonna be some compelling football action this weekend. You know, maybe there's not gonna be a ton of down to the wire games, but maybe we'll have a surprise. You never know. Yeah. So Levitt, I don't know what to do with them this year. I'm gonna see Hathaway, I'm sure, at a basketball game, and I'm gonna yell at him this year because I think I have gotten them wrong every single week. I'm sure he's happy if you're picking against them then. Cause they've got to love the fact that they're not the favorite. They're playing with house money. You know, it's Freiberg's title to lose and Levitt can just go in and be Levitt. He can be as creative as possible. And, uh, you know, I, I say never, never write them off till that horn horn sounds and the clock hits zero. Uh, but I would much rather be in Freiberg Academy's position at this point. You know, being at home. Almost upsetting a lot of it last year when they were that, that unbeatable juggernaut. And you know, it feels like it feels like their time is now. Uh, what do you make of that North game? The C North game? Does Madomic have a chance? Yeah, they do. Um, so I saw them play earlier this year. That's the other game other than, uh, Thornton Academy and Noble that was competitive during the season. So I got there, that was early in the, there's, so there's a couple of factors And I haven't seen Herman since, but, and they've been fantastic since, uh, it was 14, nothing when I got there, it finished 14, eight and Madonna was driving with a chance to win late. Um, what I know about them is they replaced their entire offensive line and they're leading rushers as a freshman. And so they are considerably better than they were in week one or week two, whichever one it was that they played Herman. So, I mean, I think. I'm a little biased here, but I think they can win this game. Um, but I also think Herman just laid the smack down on Oceanside right in the, in the semifinals. So I think that could be a really, really good game. Yeah, yeah, I guess that's 1 of the lot. It might be. And I think just. Law of averages, you're bound to have a couple that, that come down to the wire that are memorable and, and probably several that aren't so much. But you know, these, these powerhouse teams are powerhouse teams. You have to appreciate them for what they are and you just hope everyone gets out healthy and you know, you have the best possible matchups for gold ball Saturday. 'cause there are potentially some great matchups in that game if you wanna look ahead an extra week. Yeah, the gold ball games could be amazing if you know, because if everything holds according to seating or plan I mean, these are some really interesting games and to your health point, you know I just go to these games and I see the basketball coaches standing there watching their breath breath, like just don't g don't get hurt. Well, tha the seasons overlap. So y have a football player ge shape for a while, even i But you know, these are g problems to have. There a aren't that many schools with it. But you look at they're gonna play on Tha of what happens to them i rounds of playoffs. So, y almost almost to the star basically a week and a h of countable basketball g of a mad dash here. I fee time off in between. I me come up for air a little weeks. I just feel like t nothing. Yeah. I mean, th where scowhegan would sta Because they had all those football players. And their team was just, half their team was on the football team. Right. And then you'd go, geez, what's wrong with Scout Hebrew this year? They had a deep run in football. Okay. That's forgotten by February. But, you know, at least, you know, it's an interesting storyline early in the season. Why actually I've never understood. Why do they play this game on Thanksgiving? I've never gotten a reason for that. It goes back. It's always been done. It goes back to the early 20th century. I mean, this is something that's nationwide. I mean, you have, you have Thanksgiving games all over the place. In some states there that, you know, they're countable games. Some states there, uh, you know, leading into, into postseason, not at the end of the season like we do here. I think it's just a traditional thing. I think there was one year that there wasn't a game, 'cause there was so much snow, uh, like in 1920 or something that people couldn't get to the stadium. 1959 before the current playoff system, it was actually the state championship game. Uh, because Oh wow. Both during, both during, in Portland entered undefeated. The folks at Deering still talk about that game because they won. It's one of the highlights in their program history. It's certainly the most famous of the Thanksgiving Day games. And honestly, the last 10 years or so, that game has lost a lot of luster. But this year, with both teams being so strong, I think you're going to see more interest. And, um, you know, I haven't been to one of these in years and I think I might have to check it out because it's going to be fun. You know, one or both might be coming off a trip to the state final five days earlier. So, Uh, instead of just being this curiosity that not a whole lot of fans go to anymore. I think I think you're going to see more interest this year. How did it become the state championship game? That seems because there was no, I mean, I think it was considered the de facto championship game. The fact that both teams were clearly the best teams and the fact that, uh, you know, they were playing each other this one time. Why not make it into, you know, It, it's not like back in the old days with the AP and the UPI where Right. You know, which, which polls we're gonna have a split winner. But, you know, it was pretty clearly understood that whoever won that game was gonna be considered the team, the championship team. And it was during that year, I think it was a classic back and forth game too. And I, I did some studying up on it years ago, but it's, it's something that I know if you, if you go to Jing High School, they still, uh, they still talk about that and have some, uh, artifacts about that game there. Was it a thing where they didn't. Play. They weren't in the same bracket. It's possible they didn't play in the regular season. I, I just don't remember. You'd think they would. Um, yeah, but yeah, but I, I, I'm don't wondering if they, like, I don't recall the, each one, their class, and then they were just like, oh, well, let's do it. Well, I mean, I, they had to have been in the, I think there was just one class back then. I mean, there weren't that many teams. I think there was the large school class, maybe a few smaller teams. But you know, again, you're talking 60, 65 years ago at this point. And, and, uh, that, that, that must have been something to see. That's just craziness. Yeah, huh. Have you heard anything? Have you checking out this situation in Rhode Island at all? Have you seen this? I have not. Where a team sued because their seeding is wrong. And they tried to stop the whole playoffs. Wow, that's uh, That's opening up a potential can of worms here. The judge is like, guys, you're still in the playoffs. Yeah, that's remarkable. Well, I guess we, I guess we live in a litigious society and that's taken it to the nth degree. Yeah, it's crazy. I was reading up on it last night and for the newsletter and it's just an insane situation where they didn't fill out a form and then they decided that this game counted for this amount and like, Wow. State went, no, it doesn't. What are you talking about? We thought the heal points were wacky. Okay. Right. Yeah, way weirder than the heal points. And it's like an out of state game that became a countable game. Right. It was like a co op school and all this insane stuff. And I'm just trying to imagine that happening here. And I'm imagining the Facebook drama around it. It would be, it would be quite a story, quite a drama. I just, you know, I guess, I guess we'll just be thankful. We don't have to deal with anything like that yet. I think it's a key thing. That's true. Um, so who do you think, who do you think ends up on the top of these at the end, the end when it's all said and done? Who do you think our state champions are? I think Portland TA, if it comes to that, is basically a coin flip. You know, Portland was, I thought TA was clearly the team to beat until Portland went down there and, you know, physically they just matched up for them, man for man. They made the big play late in the game to get the winning touchdown. You know, TA lost to Portland last year in the regular season, beat them in the state game. Portland's well aware of that. You know, Portland's been the bridesmaid. They've, they've been to five state games since 2015\. They haven't won any of them, including the last two years, including last year's loss of ta. They haven't won a gold ball since 2002\. Uh, you know, this, this is a group that has a lot of key contributors who are seniors. Uh, they would love to get it done, but how do you bet against ta, uh, you know, in on. Gold ball Saturday. It's just right. They, they're so tough. The game would be at Fitz, which is quote unquote Portland's home field. Although I don't really feel like that's a factor in that game. So I really feel like, you know, if, if we do get that matchup, I think it's gonna be great game. I think it's gonna be a touchdown difference either way. Um, you know, class B has the potential. You know, if Falmouth makes it, it's great for me having them in my coverage area. The fact they've never been, this is a defensive dynamo. This team is unbelievable. How, uh, the story they were two and six last year. They had a forfeit a game during the regular season. They had to have a coaching change after, you know, some of the players and families pushed back. But you know, Spencer Emerson has come in and everything has touched, has turned to gold. I'm sure he's hoping that one more thing is going to turn to gold. Mhm. But that's still a couple weeks away, but you know, you get potentially a Falmouth Kennebunk matchup. Kennebunk can score a ton of points. Falmouth doesn't give up a lot of points. Uh, you know, that, that's got the potential to be a classic game too. Um, so, you know, if that's how it shakes out, sign me up. I'll be there all day. Yeah, I think that could be a really good matchup. Really interesting game. And that's sort of one of the ones where you're like, if you told me that's a three touchdown game in either direction, I'd be like, okay. And if you told me it was tied with two minutes left, I'd be like, yeah, okay. That makes sense too. Yeah, I mean, I guess it's who imposes, if it's a higher scoring game, it probably favors Kennebunk. You know, Falmouth gets to play their defensive, uh, you know, style and, and limits what Kennebunk can do. You know, Falmouth can score score points too. So, I mean, they could win either way, but, uh mm-hmm, , you know, it's, it's always nice to get fresh blood, you know, first time in a long time, first time ever. Those are always my kind of favorite stories to write. And, you know, we're, we're one win away from getting that possibility with Falmouth. And you think F Fryberg is definitely the team to beat and see. I do, I wouldn't say they're unbeatable, but yeah, I think they're clearly the team to beat. And, you know, you look at at Leavitt and Cape, and, you know, the last few years, they've been pretty dominant in that state game. So, um, you know, presuming they can take care of business and it's very possible that regional final will be their biggest test. Just like it was Leavitt's biggest test last year. And then, so if we get to D, we would have. In theory, Foxcroft, Foxcroft and Wells, right? And I think, you know, if you go back to August, that's probably what I would have predicted. Not that I'm good at predicting, but I think those teams were the clear favorites and, you know, Winthrop's had a great season, but, you know, well, it's just, they're so good and this is a program that year after year, they replace guys. They stay at that top level. You know, they've had to pass some big tests here during the regular season, and including a win over Freiburg Academy. Uh, they're, you know, they're, until someone knocks them off, they're always going to be the team I say is the team to beat. Yeah, and then, um, well, we'll find out this week for, right? Yeah, yeah, I mean, I really like, Yeah, go ahead. Sorry. I was going to say, I mean, I really like old orchard. If you can hold them under 50, it's a victory. Uh, you know, last year they, they ran into trouble in the state final though. So you never know. And then I think that really Mount air at game, like I said, they played just a couple of weeks ago, 30 to 26 up and tops them, uh, really want it. That's one of the reasons they were able to get a buy and they only had to have the semifinal game where Mount air rats had to play a couple of games and they really look like they're peaking. So, uh, you know, that really team, they can move the ball up and down the field on the ground, in the air. And then of course you got the, the singular sensation, the great player, Dash Farrell for, uh, Mount Ararat. I mean, it's, it's everything you want in a, in a state final, you know, great individual talent, great teams, uh, really certainly on a mission after coming so close last year where they came out of nowhere and then lost in the state final. So, uh, that, that one really, I think has the potential to be an instant classic. Where are they playing that? That is at Kennebunk high school, 11 o'clock Saturday. And then the old orchard beach game follows. That is a long drive, not for me. Thankfully, that's an easy Saturday. Yeah, maybe I'll just read the 5, 000 word story. Yes. If you want to hold, I should have that up by Saturday evening. Yeah, that's such a big factor. It's like, oh, that's far. Yeah, well, for me, it's like, is it near the highway or the turnpike? If so, That, you know, it's a lot easier to, I mean, even the drive to Bangor's piece of cake that way, as opposed to going somewhere backwater, like Massachusetts, Sanford, that, you know, is really not that far, but you can't get there quickly. You got even going to Gorham from here is difficult. So the drive to Bangor and to Hamden from here is terrible. It's like all back roads and like there's no cell reception for the 20 minutes and there's weird turns and if you don't know the road, you better be paying attention. You gotta be paying attention and there's at least two spots where if you don't know that the road turns here, it's gonna split and you're on some dirt road five minutes later. It's just no fun. I hear you. Um, all right. So let's pivot to basketball. I think, um, what are some of in your coverage area? What are some of the schools you think are going to? Like be a surprise, you know, that if we're up, if, if someone's up in Bangor, they'd be like, geez, I had no idea they were going to be this good this year. Yeah. You know, I haven't even really even started thinking about basketball yet. You know what I'm hearing, uh, you know, down here on the boy's side, during supposed to be very good. South Portland couldn't be very good. You know, Portland, I expect we'll always be there. I think Chevros will be very good too. You know, as far as, and Falmouth. I think in class A is goi to be certainly get to th like his chances. Yes. An he'll probably blow right way this is going. But, u good. I think on the girl for me is how good will S they lost Maddie Fitzpat Maine. Ruth Bowles had th had last year. They did b the Lamson girl from T. A. to play point guard. So that gives them a boost. But, you know, are they gonna be championship caliber? I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait and see. I've got a ton of new coaches down here in this area on the rural side. So, uh, yeah, I think five or six of the schools in this area have new coaches. Um, so, you know, including south Portland, who could be very good. Uh, Brianne Maloney, you know, a former Red riots player is now coaching and, you know, they came close last year. Can they, can they make that, that jump? Um, it's, it's gonna be a fun season and, you know, once I can get through all this football stuff, I'll really start thinking about it in earnest, but, you know, ask me again in a month. I, I, I think I could. All right. Speak a lot more intelligently at that point. Have you gotten a sense. The team that I kind of have circled down there, and I don't know if they're in your coverage area or not, but, um, the team I have circled down there is the Biddeford girls. Yeah, as a team that looks interesting. Right. And I think they were on the cusp of doing something last year. They're not in my coverage area, but I am familiar with them. I think I saw them once or twice last season. And yeah, I think they have the potential to, I don't know who the clear favorite, you know, Brunswick probably has taken a step back. Um, you know, I don't think, I don't think so, you know, who steps into that void this season, that's going to be interesting, you know, free portals and competitive, you know, they have a new coach, uh, You know, Greeley isn't the powerhouse that they once were. So yeah, someone's going to have to step up their Mount Air. I was really close last season. I think graduation took its toll on them too. So that seems like to me, at least without knowing a whole lot, like that's going to be a wide open region. Well that and Biddeford's in the south because they got relegated. Oh, you're right. Okay. They'll still be there for another year, which is another region that has a big void. Yes. All of a sudden. Yes, it does. I was going to say a brain sized void. Yes. Yeah, cool. No question. Yeah, I mean, that, that's changed dramatically overnight. So, um, Yes, that's a region I have no idea who did win that. Yep, no, that's a great point. It could be Biddeford if they put it all together. Yeah, I just remember I saw them, so I saw them in the prelims, because they played Lincoln Academy in the prelims, and that's five minutes away. And then that quarterfinal game against Oceanside when, um, What's her first? Krump, I think is her last name. Um, when she just started shooting NBA threes, and they're all going in, and you're like, what? That's your offense, man. That's just, let her do that the whole game. Absolutely. If she's hitting, it's going to be tough to match up. Yeah. Um, All right. So how are we doing on time? We're doing all right. Okay. How, do you think we're going to get shot clocks? I have to ask everybody this. I asked this so much that a football official was giving me grief about it. What do you think the timeline is on shot clocks? Between here and the end of time? I don't know. I just don't, I, I still don't see The movement with the powers that be that would make it happen. I know why people want it. I'm sure the vast majority of fans and coaches want it, but I, I still don't think it's, it's right around the corner. It's not that imminent. You probably know more than I do, but that's, that's my impression is, you know, I'm not hearing big things about it happening soon. I'm hearing rumblings. Um, there's, so some states do a thing where the bigger schools get it first. And so like we would have maybe say double a and a would do it. Okay. And then. And then very quickly, it gets like added to all of them because then C and D and B go, wait, well, we want the shot clock too. Sure, of course. I would, I would think if anything, maybe the class D schools would get it first, you know, They would need it. They would need it more, I would think. I don't know. Or maybe loosen the rules a little bit where it's like, you don't have to have the official one that's got the, you know, the really expensive one, maybe get a cheaper one. I have a strategy that will get, solve it instantly and no one will ever do it because it's too, it's too good of an idea. You just say, we turn, we're going to turn the shot clocks on for the tournament. And. If you want to have Shot Clocks during the regular season, great. And if not, then you can adjust during the tournament to having the Shot Clock. And I think a lot of schools will find money for a Shot Clock real fast. No, I agree with you, because all of a sudden you're at a disadvantage if you don't have it, no question. All these schools that are like, oh, we can't afford it, they'll be like, oh, look at that, we found one. Right. I just happen to have one stored away in a, in a back closet somewhere. Now, you know, the fact that they're doing instant replay and selects instances now is big time progress. So, you know, maybe I'm wrong. I just, I, I'll believe it when I see it. You know, I've been doing this for almost 25 years and it's always been a topic of conversation. And, uh, you know, until, until, and I certainly see the aesthetically pleasing reasons for having it. But again, you know, I, it's just, you know, Until I see it, I, I'll, I'll believe it then. Yeah. Okay. So let me ask you this. So you, this is a question I ask a lot of people that, so they are going to, let's say we put you in charge of the MPA for a day. Okay. I may have asked you this last time you were on, but we'll do it anyway. Um, they give you dictator power. You can do whatever you want. What's the thing you do? What's the rule you change for any sport? What I do is strictly for selfish reasons for me Is I split I split up some of these championships like field hockey and soccer have them be a week apart instead of the same Saturday Baseball, softball, lacrosse. They don't all need to be that. Say lacrosse should be the week before have baseball, softball, finish things up. I would love to see basketball go back to where the big tournament was separate. Um, I feel like now it, especially the quarterfinal round when it's getting played on campus. It doesn't feel like a tournament environment whatsoever. Um, so I mean, things like that, that again, largely are due to the fact that I'd like to be able to see as many things as I can, uh, those, those would certainly be at the top of my list. Can I pitch you an idea for the state games for basketball where each class gets their own day? I'd love it. I feel like wasn't it years ago where like class D would be on a Thursday and then like B would be on a Friday and it used to be spread out a little bit more. No, I believe me. I, well, I would like to, you know, again, I say, let's do, you know, A, B, C and D. One weekend and then finish up the double A's, have them finish up the season. The following week Friday, Saturday noon. Yeah. I think the more exposure. You get to a state game. All eyes should be on you. You wouldn't need much to pitch me on that because it's so cool. Like the B game has its own day and it's all by itself and everybody watches the B game and no one watches the D game because it's just the same time. Yeah. It's just a strange phenomenon. Yeah. I think that would be great. And I think, you know, I think that would be awesome for the D schools, the C schools, and, you know, we kind of owe it to them in a sense. Absolutely. And let's televise them, please. And then, you know, because sometimes that doesn't always happen either. But yeah, I mean, the tournament, it's a unique thing in Maine high school sports. It's the crown jewel. You know, I always say that those couple of weeks, there's nothing like it. It's intensely busy and all that. But you know, if you're a Maine high school sports fan, that, that gets more attention than anyone else. And yeah, I really feel like that all those teams, all those games really should be in the limelight as much as possible without having to share it. Yeah, I 100 percent because you're not going to watch the D game if double A game, of course you're not, of course you're not, unless you're invested in one of those teams now, right? Unless it's your team or your kids are on that team or whatever it is. What are the agreements? Awesome. What's the best improvement you've seen in your time doing this? Like, what's like one thing that in the years you've been doing this? Has made the biggest difference. Oh my goodness. I, that's, uh, that's something I'm not even sure I could answer. I mean, I think, you know, as, as time goes on, certainly I think the quality of play in a lot of sports is better. I think you can argue in some cases, and maybe not so much, but I feel like there's more opportunities. more exposure, certainly more opportunities and out of season for a lot of kids, not for everyone because not everyone can afford it. But, you know, I think you see that, you know, the ability to play year round certainly elevates the quality of play during the high school seasons. And in a lot of, you know, certainly sports like soccer, you definitely see more of that now. And, and it's, you know, it's great to see. In basketball, some of these best players from Maine are going on and really, really stealing some headlines now, uh, on a national level. I mean, that's, that speaks well for a sport that, you know, I don't think nationwide, too many people think of Maine as being a basketball powerhouse. Yeah. We were talking about that at the, during the Camden Scarborough game on the sideline there, but how much. The level of play has improved in soccer and trying to figure out what the factor was there. And I was kind of wondering, is part of it that in the 80s, you couldn't watch soccer. No. Like anywhere. Right. Like, like Pele. Now it's everywhere. That's right. Absolutely. And before, like the 94 World Cup, there was no, there was a long stretch where there was no professional league and certainly nothing on television. So yeah, I mean, now you want to get up on a weekend morning, you can go find a game anywhere from overseas. And we'll get the fact we're going to have the World Cup here again in a couple of years. Yeah. I mean, I think soccer is burgeoning and it's only going to get bigger and bigger. Yeah. And then, um, yeah. To your basketball point. So I was talking to, I was at a summer game this, this past summer and someone comes up, I won't say what it was and they go, this Cooper flag thing. There's a limit to this, right? There's a ceiling somewhere. I was like, he hasn't hit it yet. No, no. And I'm just every, every day, you know, you're watching him at Duke. You're like, okay, well, let's keep going. No, I mean, it's, it's, it's wonderful for. Kids from Maine to be able to look up to someone like him and say, you know, I mean, everyone says they want to go play here or there or the NBA or whatever, but 99, 99, 000 times out of a, you know, a hundred thousand, it's just, it's total pipe dream, but you know, he's making it tangible and, uh, you know, I think it's just, it's wonderful for basketball fans, certainly around here. And, uh, you know, he's done incredibly well for himself and he's just, he's really just getting started if you think about it. I know that's what's crazy about it. It's not even like two games into his college career. Three games, maybe. Yeah. Um, how much of an impact you think ace is going to have in Orono? Anytime the University of Maine can get a big name and or bring or keep someone home, so to speak. It's just better for the family. That seeing that program be viable, I think would be wonderful. Yeah. Uh, it would be great if they could compete for an America East title and just, you know, be, be one of the last team standings and, you know, the, the women's team has done so well over the years, uh, going way, way back to Coach Palumbo and, you know, coach Lon has done a great job. year after year. It would see the men's program do a lot of really good tale they could just keep home is just going to create t for the casual fan. Speak No, I have not. It's a who's who of main high school basketball players. Yeah. Uh, Brady Saunders just had 39 points. That's good. I think last night for them. And it's, they got like two of the Ebert kids. Okay. And Colorado from South Portland. Oh, wow. Yeah, that's, and there's, there's like five or six names where you go, oh. Oh, I like that kid. He's good. Well, that's great. Like, get back to my point, there's a lot of talent in this state, so you know, the more people you can keep home, the better, you know. So many people have dreams of going away and playing somewhere else. And honestly, more often than not, they wind up coming home anyway. So, you know, keep them home to begin with. And all these local schools are just going to benefit that much more. Yeah. I think one of the things I always talk about is you're always going to have like the Cooper, well, you're not always going to have the Cooper flag, but you get a Cooper flag. They're always going to go to Montverde because they should, but it's, can we make it so the Landon Clarks stay? Okay. Right. You know, and the kids like that. And, you know, you look at Mr. Basketball this year, the top six kids in that class are gone. Six, seven, something like that. And so, you know, Mr. Basketball is going to be a guy who wouldn't have been a finalist. Right. And I think it's probably Jameer Rose is the front runner. Probably the favorite at this point, I would say so. Yeah, and it's just crazy that it's that much of a talent has left the state to go prep. And I think, you know, somehow we got to figure out how much of that can we keep. Yeah. And let's, I mean, let's hope it's, you know. The majority, because, like I say, that there's no shortage of really good kids that would really contribute strongly. I mean, these local schools would really benefit from having them, not just as players, but as bringing some interest into a program that might not have it just the fact that there's local kids playing there. Yeah, I mean, the interest at the comments that 1 year was just off the course, and you probably won't see anything like that again, but it's a great example of how much interest does exist when there's reason for it to. Yeah, that's. You know, anytime you see a school that's been down for a while. Oh, we saw with Noble, when last year, when Noble got that tournament run. Great story. They had, like, they had people coming out of the woodwork to go to that game. Right, and look at Grainer Gloucester winning for the first time in 50 years. That's a community that, that, that does support its teams really well. So it's cool to see all that, see that validated at a level where you can win a championship. Yeah, and you know, we'll see who it is this year. I'm sure there'll be somebody who comes out of the woodwork. Can't wait to talk about it more once that's like center stage, but this fall stuff We still got a couple more weeks to get through. All right I will let you go because you still have 5, 000 words to write and in your preview. Um, Thanks so much for joining me. Uh, where can people find all of your novellas? Oh, let's see. The easiest way is to, uh, go to PressHerald. com slash for the Forecaster. net or dash net out of wherever it is these days. But, uh, that's, uh, it lives, it lives on the Varsity Maine family of of websites. And, uh, you know, I tend to send a lot of stuff out on my Facebook page as well. But, you know, the easiest thing is just go to Varsity Maine and stuff gets updated on a daily basis. And I get it up as quickly as I can, even if I have to stay up till the wee hours of the morning. Awesome. And it's, you know, it's always you're the gold standard of of main high school sports journalism. I think or at least 1 of the gold standards. I don't want that's kind of you. Thank you. There's a lot of good people out there. There are, and you've always been very supportive of me, so I appreciate that. No, my pleasure. You do great work. It's nice to have all these different. Voices and opinions and just different ways to look at things. I think that's wonderful. And if you're a fan, I think it's great to be able to have a lot of different places to go and, and be able to read about your favorite teams and players and get different perspectives. I think that's just great for everybody. All right. Thank you so much for joining me. And thanks for having me somewhere very soon. I'm sure. All right. All right. That's the show. Thanks again to Michael Hoffer for joining me. You can read him at the Forecaster at Varsity, Maine. Follow him on Twitter. Um, all the places. Uh, I've actually started a blue sky account because Twitter's not doing right. Um, so if you're on blue sky, you can find main basketball rankings at M. E. B. ball rankings dot. BSKY dot social. That's how blue sky works. So I start transitioning over to there a little more, my personal account. I think I've dumped Twitter. I think I'm done with it for my personal account, but there's a lot of the basketball stuff is still on Twitter and a lot of teams post their scores there. So I kind of have to be over there and able to get scores in order to get scores. Um, so anyway, that's it for the show. This has been a production of main basketball rankings dot com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball from Ashland to York and everywhere in between. This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts and a bunch of places you don't. If you enjoy it, please leave a nice review because it really does help out with algorithms. Tell your friends, tell your enemies. Thanks for listening. ### Happy Basketball Day URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/happy-basketball-day/ Last updated: 2024-11-18T12:25:32.000Z But first, some football _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Falmouth Navigates to a B North Title URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/falmouth-navigates/ Last updated: 2024-11-16T12:11:11.000Z Let's start with the Gold Ball games. Last year, OOB was an absolute freight train all year long, only to fall short at the end. They're back this year, cruising along with a +486 scoring differential in 10 games. That's a lot. But not as much as last year and it's also against the easiest schedule in the state. What happens when they're finally tested? There are 79 football teams in the state and their highest-rated opponent is #56 Spruce Mountain, who they beat 60-14 last week. They'll play a Stearns team that's 2-1 against the Top 40, with wins over Orono and Houlton and a loss to Greely. You could tell me any number of outcomes here and I'd believe them all. Speaking of Greely... [Football: Greely, Mt. Ararat each looking for redemption in Saturday’s championshipThe second-seeded Rangers and fourth-seeded Eagles vie for eight-man Large School championship in Kennebunk on Saturday.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-8.png)Press HeraldCooper SullivanThe Times Record![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_1025.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/11/14/football-greely-mt-ararat-each-looking-for-redemption-in-saturdays-championship/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) When they met all the way back on October 19th, Greely beat Mt. Ararat 30-26 in a thriller. The Model thinks that's just about right, making them 4.6 point favorites (roughly a 55%/45% proposition). [WHOU](https://whoufm.com/broadcast-schedule/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) will have the stream. They also have the C North and B North games at Hampden. --- All year, Falmouth has had the stingiest defense in the state, allowing fewer than 7 points a game and no more than 14 in any contest. It stood to reason that Lawrence was going to have to keep the score low to pull off the upset. With less than a minute left in the first half, Falmouth got the ball back up 7-0 and proceeded to drive down the field. After a big play got them down to the 9 yard line, Lawrence needed a stop . > With 2 seconds left in the half, Tres Walker finds Logan Mcveigh 14-0 Falmouth at the half > > — [Maine Basketball Rankings (@mebballrankings.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rxc4dkus4nfuyonvilyznixx?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2024-11-15T23:50:26.397Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rxc4dkus4nfuyonvilyznixx/post/3lazkxmlbv223?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Side note: props to the parent who yelled "PUT ANOTHER SECOND ON THE CLOCK!" Great job telling everyone you don't know ball. Falmouth went on to roll in the second half to a 35-7 win over the defending Regional Champs, putting the cap on a remarkable turnaround of a program that was in turmoil after last year's 2-6 season and player-initiated coup led to the hiring of new head coach Spencer Emerson. I caught up with him after the game. You can listen to my interview with him from earlier this year on the podcast. [Behind the Scenes of Falmouth's Resurgence](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0SVXvb1fb6AYQyvHNBGsh6?si=d5547e1a22f24a51&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Contrary to popular opinion, the Model thought the Kennebunk/Deering was more or less a toss-up, with Kennebunk favored by just under a point. And at the half, with the game tied at 14, that was looking pretty good. The second half was all Kennebunk. [Football: Kennebunk pulls away in 2nd half, beats Deering in Class B South final, 35-14The reigning state champions are tested in the first half before taking control with three straight touchdowns in the third quarter.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-9.png)Press HeraldSteve CraigPress Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/40332082_20241115_Football_9.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/11/15/football-kennebunk-pulls-away-in-2nd-half-beats-deering-in-class-b-south-final-35-14/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They'll face Falmouth for the Gold Ball next Saturday in Portland. --- I wrote in yesterday's newsletter that the Friday night games probably wouldn't be close (with the potential exception of Kennebunk/Deering) and they sure weren't. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-15-at-10.18.39-PM.png) We'll try and do better today. --- Mike Mandell has a nice story about Winslow turning their season around by shuffling their offensive line. [Football: Midseason slide over, Winslow back on solid groundThe Black Raiders have won four straight games and face Foxcroft Academy in the Class D North final.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-10.png)Kennebec Journal and Morning SentinelMike MandellKennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/40333107_20241112_winslowfeature_0y18.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2024/11/14/football-midseason-slide-over-winslow-back-on-solid-ground/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The final rankings are in for soccer and field hockey. [Fall Sports RankingsGOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-8.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/soccer-rankings-1-2.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) --- There's a new show from Tennessee called High VOLume and our very own JP Estrella is on the first episode. > High VOLume OUT NOW 🔥[@jestrella\_13](https://twitter.com/jestrella%5F13?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) & [@cameroncarr43](https://twitter.com/cameroncarr43?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) sit down for the debut episode of Rock Media’s New [@Vol\_Hoops](https://twitter.com/Vol%5FHoops?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Series 🏀 [pic.twitter.com/wWlURmX05C](https://t.co/wWlURmX05C?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rock Media (@TheRockMediaCo) [November 16, 2024](https://twitter.com/TheRockMediaCo/status/1857578476636627078?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Bluesky revolution continues. [Bluesky brings the fun, weird vibes of old Twitter back to lifeAs more users flee X, a clearer, sunnier social media age is dawning.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1.png)VoxAdam Clark Estes![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/GettyImages-1990311754-copy.jpg)](https://www.vox.com/technology/385433/what-is-bluesky-twitter-social-media-use-future?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I made a [Starter Pack](https://bsky.app/starter-pack-short/M23Ej9P?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) of coaches, journalists, etc to help you get up to speed. If you join and want to be included, let me know! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/image-2.png) --- The Model's picks today are a little wacky, fair warning. The Hermon/Medomak Valley line flipped overnight thanks to Foxcroft Academy, so you can choose to believe today's line or yesterday's line. I won't judge. If you're a Hermon fan, it went from -0.4 to +0.6\. The line on the Stearns/OOB seems high, but I think it checks out. Whether or not it holds up is a different story. But the TA/Noble line feels like a miss. If it was on DraftKings, I'd take Noble. But we'll see! It should be a great day of football. The Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Football Regional Friday URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-regional-friday/ Last updated: 2024-11-15T11:38:26.000Z As promised in [this week's podcast with Michael Hoffer](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0U1uRJB15QsMd2aPmezi68?si=0a387c27c7684a38&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), there's a WILD story out of Rhode Island. Mt. Hope sued the RIIL (Rhode Island's MPA) over their seeding in the playoffs, which is certainly a choice. Surely there's more? Oh yeah. So Mt. Hope is a program that hasn't been good for a while, but they're having a good year, finishing 6-2, but getting the 5th seed in RPI, which is what Rhode Island [started using this year](https://rst6-livesite.rschooltoday.com/sites/riil.org/files/files/Private%5FUser/ri/RIIL%5FRPI%20FAQs%20%2009.05.24.pdf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), and is calculated like so: RPI = (0.60 × Modified Win Percentage) + (0.40 × Opponent Win Percentage) If you think that looks a lot like Crabtree, you're right. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-14-at-9.41.37-PM.png) One difference is that the game you played against your opponent is not counted in the Opponent Winning Percentage, which eliminates the problem of you being undefeated and beating a team, thus lowering your opponent's winning percentage and your Crabtree. This still doesn't fix the primary flaw that it (and Crabtree) doesn't care who you beat, but I digress. The problem starts in Mt. Hope scheduling a team from out-of-state and not telling anyone before the deadline of August 1st. They juuuust missed it when they noticed on September 23rd. The RIIL accepted the form anyway. You can imagine how annoyed they were. Then, Mt. Hope noticed the out-of-state team wasn't given the weight they thought they should be given--they're a co-op team and Mt. Hope assumed the combined enrollment of the schools would be used. It wasn't and Mt. Hope tried to claim that they wouldn't have even scheduled that school if they had known! Mind you, it took them 2 months to even realize they hadn't submitted the paperwork, but they definitely would have scheduled a different school if only someone had told them. Act like you've been there before, guys. So they sued, hoping a court would delay the playoffs until they could be rightly installed as the #1 seed and not the insult that was the #5 seed. Time being of the essence, lawyers were arguing this case as players were getting on buses to go to their first round games. Ultimately, a judge weighed in. > Certainly, this court is sympathetic to the notion that it is a hardship to play a lower-seeded team, which could make path to a championship more challenging," he said. "However, stopping all games and forcing high school football players across the state to push their playoffs and the championship to an unknown date is certainly more burdensome than having the games continue with Mt. Hope starting at the fifth seed. As for Mt. Hope? They lost in the first round. Ball don't lie. [Games will go on after judge dismisses Mt. Hope’s complaint over football playoff seedingA day-long court hearing was prompted by the Bristol-Warren school district filing a restraining order request over the football team’s playoff spot![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-1.png)The Providence Journal, The Providence Journal![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/75621855007-20-mt-hope-char-10102024.JPG)](https://www.providencejournal.com/story/sports/high-school/2024/11/08/sources-bristol-warren-sues-riil-over-football-teams-playoff-seeding/76123249007/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- J.P. Estrella put up 8 points in 9 minutes as Tennessee blew out Montana, including this nice run. > what a sequence for [@JPESTRELLAFAN](https://twitter.com/JPESTRELLAFAN?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/53yHBim8BR](https://t.co/53yHBim8BR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tennessee Basketball (@Vol\_Hoops) [November 14, 2024](https://twitter.com/Vol%5FHoops/status/1856878754401763574?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Brunswick alumni and 2024 State Champions Dakota Shipley and Maddy Werner found themselves in the unfamiliar position of having to guard each other in UNE's 58-44 win over USM. [Strong Second Half Leads UNE Past Southern Maine 58-44 - University of Southern MaineBIDDEFORD, Maine – Sydney Jenisch scored a game-high 18 points to lead the University of New England Nor’easters to a 58-44 win over the University of Southern![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/site-2.png)University of Southern MaineUniversity of Southern Maine![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/5S6A9203.JPG)](https://southernmainehuskies.com/news/2024/11/13/womens-basketball-strong-second-half-leads-une-past-southern-maine-58-44.aspx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Knowers of ball already have started working on their Mr and Miss Basketball shortlists. But true knowers of ball? Pure hoop heads? They're working on the pronunciation guides. > It’s almost that time of year again! Madelynn Deprey will likely be in the Miss Basketball running, so please… say it with me. > > DEPP-RAY. Not Duh-pray, or Do-pree. > > DEPP-RAY! [pic.twitter.com/mEDmME2b4H](https://t.co/mEDmME2b4H?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Steve Carmichael (@Carmichael15) [November 10, 2024](https://twitter.com/Carmichael15/status/1855423382675697807?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) While we're at it, let's start putting pronunciation guides on the rosters! And if you're still sorting it by anything other than uniform number, for the love of god stop. --- Wemby went off. > Victor Wembanyama with 50 points in 26 minutes The future is now, old man. > > — [Justesbaraheni (@justesbaraheni.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:7ojr2dbeti5hphv32gi6pszw?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2024-11-14T03:06:14.110Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:7ojr2dbeti5hphv32gi6pszw/post/3lauuxv5juc2t?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The migration of social media from Twitter to Bluesky is moving fast. [Sports media’s migration from X to Bluesky has accelerated post-electionBluesky and Threads saw a wave of new users fleeing X following the election. Will sports media finally leave Twitter behind?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-AA_Logo_L-270x270.jpg)Awful AnnouncingSean Keeley![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/BLUESK.jpg)](https://awfulannouncing.com/twitter/sports-media-social-migration-x-bluesky-threads.html?utm%5Fsource=dlvr.it&utm%5Fmedium=bluesky#google%5Fvignette) As people have noted, once sports reporters and, crucially, the teams and leagues move over, it might just be Game Over for the Website Formerly Known as Twitter. Also, things are getting worse by the day over there. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/image-1.png) When Stephen King says you've gotten too dark... Anyway, claim your handle. Check it out. Follow me and I'll add you to the [Starter Pack](https://go.bsky.app/M23Ej9P?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/image.png)](https://go.bsky.app/M23Ej9P?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- This is very cool and 100% my jam. Jeff Wall has put together this [data viz](https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/20225689/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGiMvdleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHaixd%5FdNx4-iaMZNv9T5w3Cw3zJFRYLfDpAeW4JaXq7CMM171GtrS6MWVA%5Faem%5FwkCQmq01ccbdhQOM49IewQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) showing the progression of State Championships by school over the last 100 years. --- ## Regional Finals First off, I'll warn you that tomorrow's games might not be good. All of these teams have played each other this year and none of the games were close. The best of the bunch was Wells/Winthrop, won by Wells 30-13 in week 8\. However, the Model seems to think Kennebunk and Deering could be the best of the bunch. Kennebunk won the regular season matchup 41-0\. That was one of the bigger surprises of the season, but the Model wasn't thrilled with the Rams needing overtime to get by Marshwood last week and was impressed with Deering blanking Massabesic. It's worth noting the playoffs are worth twice as much as regular season games. It also, by design, doesn't care that Team A beat Team B, because that's not, by itself, a reliable indicator for the rematch. We'll see! If you're thinking of streaming, [WHOU](https://whoufm.com/broadcast-schedule/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) has some of the games this weekend (and the state games). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-14-at-8.26.49-PM.png)](https://whoufm.com/broadcast-schedule/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I believe I have the rest of the streams on the Scoreboard and I'll update it in the afternoon if anything changes. [ScoreboardToday’s scores.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-7.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/scoreboard-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) As always, the Model's picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Gold Balls (and Wind) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-balls-and-wind/ Last updated: 2024-11-13T11:07:34.000Z Saturday was a full day of Championship Soccer and Field Hockey (with a little bit of football for good measure), a beautiful day with a couple of instant classics made even more interesting by some windy conditions. Oh man, the wind. I started the day in Bath for the Boys Class A title game between Camden Hills and Scarborough, a game the Model pegged as ever-so-slightly in Scarborough's favor (52.4%) And for a while, that looked to be on-point. Scarborough was the better team in the first half. I'd say they controlled possession 60/40, but the second half was primarily Camden and as the half rolled on, we started to wonder on press row how much of that was the wind. Because the wind was absolutely a factor. It was probably 30 MPH, on average. When the keeper kicked into the wind, the ball would be held up. Crosses would curve away from the goal. There was a real question if the game would be decided by the wind doing something weird. And how would you even score going against it? In the end, after 2 overtime periods, we went to penalties. Camden's keeper got a save on (I believe) the second shot, so Camden's 5th man needed to bury this to seal the Gold Ball. > Camden wins the Gold Ball on penalties > > — [Maine Basketball Rankings (@mebballrankings.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rxc4dkus4nfuyonvilyznixx?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [2024-11-10T04:03:47.032Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rxc4dkus4nfuyonvilyznixx/post/3lakwd4bdys2d?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's Camden's first Boys Soccer Gold Ball in 33 years. Side note: I'm going to start putting stuff on Bluesky now, as Twitter seems to be getting worse by the day, so if you've got an account, [come find me](https://bsky.app/profile/mebballrankings.bsky.social?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Oh yeah, on [Threads too](https://www.threads.net/@mainebasketballrankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Both Threads and Blusky are having a moment as users leave Twitter, a trend that started when Musk bought it and has increased as the site has gotten more chaotic. Blusky, specifically, reminds me of Twitter before it went public (i.e. the good old days). I'll be adding people to this Starter Pack of Maine Sports accounts (coaches, teams, journalists, etc) as they join and/or I find them. [Maine SportsJoin the conversation![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Bluesky Social![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/3las2ufvauq2h)](https://go.bsky.app/M23Ej9P?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- In the girls game, Scarborough scored first in the second half--into the wind!--but Bangor added 3 goals with the wind at their back to seal the Gold Ball. --- Here's the Karter Eldridge goal that gave the Hall-Dale boys their first-ever Gold Ball in soccer. [Clip from 2024 MPA C Boys Soccer Championship Hall-Dale vs Washington Academy - 11/09/2024 | Live & On DemandWatch high school sports and events nationwide, live and on demand, via the NFHS Network. Stream regular season and playoffs online from anywhere.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-1.png)Follow Us On![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/gamb7878e3cde_1730994938842.png)](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/clips/uclca8483d39b1731209792940?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The podcast is back after a slight delay, this time with the great Michael Hoffer of the Forecaster. We go over the Gold Ball games from Saturday and preview the football Regional Finals (which kind of look bad?) And, obviously, we get into basketball and talk about a couple of teams from Hoffer's coverage area that could have good seasons (spoiler: he thinks Dave Halligan will get to 600 wins). This is a really fun chat. You can watch it on YouTube or listen wherever you consume podcasts. [Listen on Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soccer-gold-balls-and-a-look-ahead-to-the/id1675940033?i=1000676629830&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Don't forget to subscribe and if you like it, leave a nice review. It truly helps. --- From the Fort Kent sideline during their game against NYA: "Our Players are homegrown not handpicked" This is an A+ sign if you appreciate trolling. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-10-at-12.00.50-AM.png) photo by Ryan McLaughlin It kind of looks like it says "Our haters are homegrown...", which is also fantastic. --- Rounding up some of the other games. > Dramatic last second win for Richmond in 'D' championship, giving Peter Gardner his 8th championship. [pic.twitter.com/pzN1E0GmHy](https://t.co/pzN1E0GmHy?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [November 10, 2024](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1855450182843822556?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Imagine having not one, but two overtime game winners in a State Championship game in your career. > Play #1 Madeline Wagner caps off a [@Ramblerathleti1](https://twitter.com/Ramblerathleti1?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 4-peat with the overtime game winner against Dexter....Second time she has scored overtime game winniner in overtime of a state final in the last three years [pic.twitter.com/oKEib6Mroa](https://t.co/oKEib6Mroa?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [November 10, 2024](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1855657673511100630?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I don't know who the Peter Webb of soccer is, but...yikes. --- The Model finished the Soccer and Field Hockey playoffs with the following record: Boys Soccer: 68-18 (79.1%) Girls Soccer: 69-15 (82.1%) Field Hockey: 42-5 (89.4%) --- Brewer's Brady Saunders had a huge game for USM. [Brady Saunders Leads Southern Maine Over UMPI 100-96 - University of Southern MaineGORHAM, Maine – Sophomore Brady Saunders (Brewer, Maine) was lights out from the field scoring a career-high 39 points to lead the University of Southern Maine![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/site-1.png)University of Southern MaineUniversity of Southern Maine![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/5S6A9549.JPG)](https://southernmainehuskies.com/news/2024/11/8/mens-basketball-brady-saunders-leads-southern-maine-over-umpi-100-96.aspx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you've got a minute, the USM roster has a heavy contingent of Maine kids, including a strong freshman class. --- ESPN has a nice story about Cooper that is a companion piece to the story Chad Finn wrote a couple of months ago. [‘There’s disbelief about him because he’s just that good’: Inside Cooper Flagg’s improbable riseFrom grade school, Flagg has faced test after test -- all designed to define his ceiling. He has passed them all, fueled by lessons from one of the greatest teams in NBA history.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/espn-icon-180x180.png)ESPNBaxter Holmes![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/i)](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/%5F/id/42271118/the-tiny-town-legendary-1980s-nba-boston-celtics-team-built-cooper-flagg?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Cooper had a big game last night against Kentucky and a not great final minute. He'll figure it out, I'm pretty sure. --- Windham lost a valuable member of their basketball community. [Pat Moody, beloved member of Windham community, passes awayA man beloved in his Windham community, who just had basketball courts dedicated in his name, has died.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32.png)WGMEWGME Staff![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/c596c5f3-af57-4d8f-8b1e-fb4a65fc187b-moody2.JPG)](https://wgme.com/news/local/pat-moody-beloved-member-of-windham-community-passes-away-aaa-northern-new-england-courts-basketball-maine?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's people like this all over the state, heroes who are rarely known outside the limits of their school district, but are essential to making the basketball community thrive. He will be missed. --- The Celtics lost last night in the NBA Cup, but in the Knicks/Sixers game, everyone lost. > [pic.twitter.com/qyilcg5DHj](https://t.co/qyilcg5DHj?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — nba paint (@nba\_paint) [November 13, 2024](https://twitter.com/nba%5Fpaint/status/1856498644414845009?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Finally, Andrew Hart of MaineHighSchoolFootball.com sent me this PBS documentary about high school basketball in Montana that you might enjoy. [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/live/3FaULNDPFzU?si=5hs5yfV07f6Hdzi5&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Almost basketball season! ### Mt. Ararat Goes Large URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/mt-ararat-goes-large/ Last updated: 2024-11-09T11:35:34.000Z The 8-Man Large School class was shaping up to be an epic bracket, with all 4 teams in the semifinals (or, more accurately, the Regional Final, which is what we're calling the semifinals in this 1 Region class) have more or less an equal shot at winning. On paper, it should produce three great games. So of course it didn't. Camden entered the game as the 1 seed, but without Hollis Schwalm, their QB1 who is out for the remainder of the season with an injury With Schwalm under center, the regular season matchup was a classic. [‘Man, that was a football game’: Camden Hills rallies back, holds off Mt. AraratWindjammers stay undefeated after recovering fumble near end zone late in the game, handing the Eagles their first loss of the season.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-5.png)Press HeraldCooper SullivanThe Times Record![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/DSC02719-1728097526.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/10/04/man-that-was-a-football-game-camden-hills-rallies-back-holds-off-mt-ararat/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Without him it was a different story. Mt. Ararat took control early, scoring on the first possession. They were up 12-0 when Camden caught a break. A fantastic punt pinned Mt. Ararat deep in their own territory and they quickly fumbled, leading to this: > After a fantastic punt and Mt Ararat fumble, [@CamdenHillsBB](https://twitter.com/CamdenHillsBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) is on the board > > 12-6 > > EDIT: Camden recovers the onside kick [pic.twitter.com/Sj37whvMfZ](https://t.co/Sj37whvMfZ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [November 8, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1855031247283577200?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Camden recovered the onside kick, but the next drive resulted in an interception and on 4th and Goal, Mt. Ararat barely got in the end zone to make it 18-6\. Things spiraled from there and we finished with running time. Mt. Ararat advanced to the Gold Ball game with a 48-12 win. They'll face Greely. The Rangers blew out Lake Region 40-6. --- In the Game of the Day, Noble out-lasted Bonny Eagle, getting revenge for a loss on October 25th. [Football: Noble earns 28-24 playoff win at Bonny EagleThe victory sends the Knights to a regional championship game for the first time in 27 years.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-6.png)Press HeraldTravis LazarczykPress Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/2deck-Varsity-Maine-logo-display-image-1639793462.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/11/08/football-noble-earns-28-24-playoff-win-at-bonny-eagle/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Cooper had a great first half against Army before cramping up in the second half (also it was a blowout) > Cooper Flagg at halftime: > > 13 points > 10 rebounds > 2 assists > 1 steal > 2 blocks > > 🔥🔥🔥 [pic.twitter.com/NoSW6da5Ch](https://t.co/NoSW6da5Ch?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Blue Devils (@BlueDevils) [November 8, 2024](https://twitter.com/BlueDevils/status/1855037052259385650?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Ellsworth's Grace Jaffray went off for 39 points in her collegiate debut. [Women’s Basketball vs Salve Regina on 11/8/2024 - Box Score - Johnson & Wales University ProvidenceThe official box score of Women’s Basketball vs Salve Regina on 11/8/2024![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/site.png)Johnson & Wales University Providence![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/logo_handler.ashx)](https://providence.jwuathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?id=9485&path=wbball&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- A Timelord 3? > FIRST CAREER 3 FOR ROB 👀🔥 [pic.twitter.com/YyXyXLL9g6](https://t.co/YyXyXLL9g6?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) [November 9, 2024](https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1855082766347780133?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- On a personal note, earlier this week my Uncle Dale McNelly passed away after a long illness. Older readers may remember Dale as a key member of the legendary [1963 Morse team](https://www.mainebasketballhalloffame.com/inductee/morse-high-school-stearns-high-school-1963/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) that battled Stearns. The Bangor Daily News named him a second team All-State selection that season and he was a first team All-State the following season. He used to tell a story from Morse's epic '63 run. As he tells it, their practice at the Boston Garden was scheduled right after a Celtics' practice so naturally they showed up early to watch. Bob Cousy invited them down at the end of practice and Dale somehow found himself in a game of HORSE with Bill Russell--a game of HORSE he claimed to have won ("Russell couldn't shoot from outside"). I have a distinct memory of my Grandmother showing me a Parade Magazine with Lew Alcindor on the cover and a picture of my Uncle Dale inside. For the life of me, I can't find any evidence it actually exists, but it's a nice memory. He will be missed. [Obituary: Dale E. McNellyDale E. McNelly, 78, of Bath, passed away on Nov. 5, 2024\. He was born in Bath on April…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-7.png)Press Heraldmodify your screen name here![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/527859mcnelly.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/11/08/obituarydale-e-mcnelly/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ## Game of the Day It's a Gold Ball Saturday for soccer and field hockey, so there's no shortage of great matchups. Belfast and Yarmouth will square off in a field hockey title game for the ages between the teams ranked 3rd and 5th overall. Or, you can go to the Class C game between #6 and #8 overall. Those will all be at Edward Little. In soccer, Scarborough has a double-header in Bath, starting with Camden at 10am. Or you can check out the B and C state games at Cameron in Bangor. Greely also has a double-header. The girls game against Hermon appears to be the one to watch. There's even a couple of football games. So get out and see a game! Because winter is coming. The Model's picks for all of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Hawks Take Flight URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/hawks-take-flight/ Last updated: 2024-11-08T18:37:27.000Z Let's start at Hampden Academy for the B North Regional Finals. In the boys game, John Bapst and Medomak Valley (playing in their first-ever Regional Final, boys or girls) traded goals in an evenly-matched game. With a 2-1 lead late, Medomak was pressing for an equalizer, but Bapst picked up a penalty after a counter and Oscar Martinez punched this in for insurance. > Bapst adds insurance with 1:32 to play [pic.twitter.com/6m54brDIZP](https://t.co/6m54brDIZP?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [November 6, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1854293265371058551?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In the girls game, Hermon and Medomak played the highest-scoring 0-0 half I've seen in a while. Both teams had chances. The Panthers hit the crossbar and the Hawks had a couple shots juuuust miss wide right. Hermon's Payton Guerette did manage to kick this field goal. > Kick is good! [pic.twitter.com/y3I90WSmm6](https://t.co/y3I90WSmm6?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [November 6, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1854308172191744128?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) She had to be helped off in the first half with what appeared to be a knee injury a few minutes after this, but she returned and absolutely DOMINATED the second half. Hermon scored 3 goals in the first 10 minutes, Medomak hit the crossbar again, this time from the 40 yard line, and Natalie Tardie had a hat trick, but the story was Guerette. She took over the game without scoring a goal as Hermon turned a 0-0 halftime score into a 5-1 rout. Oh, and she's a freshman. Thankfully there was no chant. --- There will be no repeat in Class C boys. > There will be a new state champion in Class C boys soccer. Hall-Dale 2, Mt. Abram 1 [pic.twitter.com/akD6oadw6K](https://t.co/akD6oadw6K?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rob Kennedy 🌲 🏒 (@RobKennedy70) [November 6, 2024](https://twitter.com/RobKennedy70/status/1854292613299376483?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Skowhegan's field hockey program is stuff of legend. They came into this season having won 22 consecutive Regional Titles. Twenty two in a row. Without a doubt the most mind boggling record in Maine High School sports. An entire generation of girls only knows winning Regional Titles. Enter Brewer. > ITS A FINAL !!!!!!! > > Brewer 3, Skowhegan 0 > > The Witches head to the schools first ever field hockey state championship game- Saturday at Edward Little High School in Auburn. Time TBA. > > Amazing job ladies! [#WitchesWin](https://twitter.com/hashtag/WitchesWin?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 🏑 [pic.twitter.com/aUZXVBstvn](https://t.co/aUZXVBstvn?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Brewer Witches (@BrewerWitches) [November 6, 2024](https://twitter.com/BrewerWitches/status/1854309241525608486?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Witches end the most impressive run in state history and will take on Edward Little for a Gold Ball. --- If you read this newsletter, then you already know Simon Allen can hoop, but it's still fun to see the Cameron Crazies find out. > .[@MaineMBB](https://twitter.com/MaineMBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) student manager Simon Allen went viral this week after putting on a show for the Cameron Crazies before warmups! > > Allen was a 1000 pt scorer at Central HS. > > The team calls him “Simon Boogie”! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#BlackBearNation](https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackBearNation?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > [pic.twitter.com/3X1zDrAaVP](https://t.co/3X1zDrAaVP?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jack Webb (@Jackiemoon\_25) [November 7, 2024](https://twitter.com/Jackiemoon%5F25/status/1854645311257416132?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- An update on the Model's performance in the playoffs: Football: 18-1 (94.7%) Boys Soccer: 65-16 (80.2%) Girls Soccer: 66-13 (83.5%) Field Hockey: 40-4 (90.9%) --- Gold Ball Odds are updated. [Fall Gold Ball OddsWhat are the odds your team can win it all?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-6.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/fall-gold-ball-odds-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) --- Before the soccer playoffs started, I recorded a pair of "Let's pick a Cinderella!" podcasts. The premise is simple: I throw out the team the Model has picked as the favorite and attempt to read the tea leaves and figure out who might win the region if the favorite doesn't. So how did I do? Pretty good. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-07-at-8.43.07-PM.png) Of the 20 regions, the Model got 11 right. I guessed correctly on 6 of the remaining 9\. That left 3 and 1 of them (Greely) was essentially a co-favorite, so I didn't let myself pick them. If you want to listen, you can find the podcasts in the feed. [The Maine Basketball Rankings PodcastBasketball Podcast · 47 Episodes![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-180-2.png)Apple Podcasts![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/1200x1200bf-60-1.jpg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's no podcast this week, due to a scheduling snafu. ## Game of the Day The vast majority of the football playoffs are tonight (there's 2 games on Saturday). Let's go to 8-Man Large School where, uh, things are close. (There's no regions in this class, so the Regional Final is the Gold Ball game, hence the X) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-07-at-9.21.55-PM.png) That truly is the definition of a toss-up. I couldn't even do a Cinderella pod here because there's no favorite, just a 4-way who the hell knows? These semi-finals are the top 2 games in the Stax Index, so you can't go wrong either way and it nicely broke geographically so the two southern teams are playing each other and the two Midcoast teams are playing each other, although some would argue Mt. Ararat is slightly outside of the Midcoast. I'll be at Camden/Mt. Ararat because when the Game of the Day is less than an hour from my house, I gotta be there. Come say hi. NFHS has this game, so if you want to watch it, them's the breaks. But! If you do sign up for NFHS, use this [affiliate link](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/PyLXJR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). It means they get less money. You might need it for basketball season anyway. [Live Stream MPA Sports | NFHS NetworkWatch high school sports and events nationwide, live and on demand, via the NFHS Network. Stream regular season and playoffs online from anywhere.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Follow Us On![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/39c2e200b5_1645459428693.png)](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/PyLXJR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model's picks for all of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Penalty Kicks URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/penalty-kicks/ Last updated: 2024-11-06T11:25:30.000Z I'm writing this around 9pm on Election Night, which is an important distinction because by the time you read this, we might know who's going to be President. Or not. So if there's a big shift that makes this moot, don't blame me. Anyway, I'm distracted and this is going to be quick. But we had some Regional Finals in soccer and much like everything else, they were really close. > Because today isn’t stressful enough. [https://t.co/AjTvy9ZCKn](https://t.co/AjTvy9ZCKn?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Amy Bass (@bassab1) [November 5, 2024](https://twitter.com/bassab1/status/1853929921803911586?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We had three different games go to penalty kicks! The Greenville boys beat Carrabec 6-5 on penalties to win 8 South. Richmond beat Monmouth 4-1 in penalty kicks to win Boys D South. And then Camden beat Lewiston 4-3 to take A North. [Boys soccer: Camden Hills beats Lewiston on penalty kicks to claim A North titleThe Windjammers dethrone the Blue Devils by winning PK shootout 4-3.![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldNathan FournierSun Journal![](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/40239129_20241105_lewistoncamden_0y21.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/11/05/boys-soccer-camden-hills-beats-lewiston-on-penalty-kicks-to-claim-a-north-title/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We finish up the soccer Regional Finals today and play the Field Hockey Regional Finals. Assuming, of course, the world isn't ending. [Fall Gold Ball OddsWhat are the odds your team can win it all?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2024/10/fall-gold-ball-odds-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) ## Game of the Day There's a couple of really nice field hockey games today. Skowhegan is going for their 70th(?) consecutive Regional Title in Field Hockey (that number might be wrong, but regardless it's probably the most impressive record in the state. Also: Medomak Valley and Greely have boys/girls doubleheaders today. This will be Medomak's first Regional Final in boys soccer. The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Cooper Flagg vs. Maine URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/cooper-flagg-vs-maine/ Last updated: 2024-11-05T11:05:09.000Z Let's start with a trip to North Carolina, where our man Cooper Flagg made his college basketball debut. Here we go! > [pic.twitter.com/fvy4S9FpuQ](https://t.co/fvy4S9FpuQ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — No Context College Basketball (@ContextFreeCBB) [November 5, 2024](https://twitter.com/ContextFreeCBB/status/1853588545723887799?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Cooper started slow. At least it looked that way on my phone as I watched at a school function--scheduling! On some level, it must have been a little surreal to play *against* a team with "Maine" on their chests. But you knew it was coming. > Cooper Flagg. The DiriGOAT [https://t.co/YJPT0bn3Kg](https://t.co/YJPT0bn3Kg?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — James Corrigan (@RealCorrigan) [November 5, 2024](https://twitter.com/RealCorrigan/status/1853638026162831855?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I don't know if that nickname is a Corrigan original, but I like it. If you're familiar with the Cooper Flagg Experience, it was pretty much what you expected (minus the usual blocked shot highlight), but in case you missed it or you're new here... And the reviews were pretty good. > Cooper Flagg diving on the floor up 29 points late in the second half says everything about who he is. > > — Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) [November 5, 2024](https://twitter.com/KevinOConnorNBA/status/1853615991101522156?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Cooper finished 6/15 from the floor (18 points) and added 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. All in all, a really nice debut. As for UMaine, I thought they acquitted themselves nicely. There's some real bright spots to be found in that tape for Chris Markwood and company. Keelan Steele had a nice game. If they can play like that consistently, they'll make some noise in America East. Up next for the Black Bears? > Maine hosts UMaine-Fort Kent on Wednesday, which of course is the usual opponent for most teams right after they play Duke. > > — Chad Finn (@GlobeChadFinn) [November 5, 2024](https://twitter.com/GlobeChadFinn/status/1853608460107055120?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- As for the UMaine women, Windham's Sarah Talon had 18 points as the Black Bears handled [La Salle in the Pit](https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/boxscore/%5F/gameId/401713848?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). But the big news for Amy Vachon's team was this weekend's announcement that they'd [picked up a local recruit](https://www.midcoastvillager.com/sports/basketball/home-is-where-the-hoops-are-bailey-breen-commits-to-umaine/article%5F740da9d4-9966-11ef-b937-1f7588dd5605.html?utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&utm%5Fcampaign=user-share&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0FgPOTiskcHNGowxgF4CBtUjzKnHchtWTgrmYN3jp4-iHXfBNFhHKPvrE%5Faem%5FgAL-b12%5FWUz0MhTb8JiaEw). > I’m coming home 💙🐻[#commited](https://twitter.com/hashtag/commited?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/OzoK3Vhgjx](https://t.co/OzoK3Vhgjx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — bailey breen (@baileybreen11) [November 3, 2024](https://twitter.com/baileybreen11/status/1853136138904408512?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Earlier this fall, Breen transferred to Montverde, continuing the now-fruitful Maine-to-Montverde pipeline, and now she joins Ace Flagg in going from Montverde to Maine. Big things are happening in Orono! --- College basketball is so back. > return of the W [pic.twitter.com/7KG4WCPPPO](https://t.co/7KG4WCPPPO?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tennessee Basketball (@Vol\_Hoops) [November 5, 2024](https://twitter.com/Vol%5FHoops/status/1853627402704105859?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- It is, of course, Election Day. Maybe you've seen the 8,000 ads? > We all face moments when things feel overwhelming, and that’s okay. Remember, you are not alone. [pic.twitter.com/X8nDSiRMK3](https://t.co/X8nDSiRMK3?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Sesame Street (@sesamestreet) [November 4, 2024](https://twitter.com/sesamestreet/status/1853459690036109650?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Make sure you get out and vote because you can't rely on Super Grover to make everything all better if you don't. He'd also likely [make it worse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOF5s9k-cLA&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Obviously, I'm referencing the huge vote in Maine over the future of the flag. [Why are Mainers voting on a new state flag?In this episode of Maine Explained, we dive into the history of Maine’s state flag and how Question 5 came to be on Maine’s ballot in 2024.![](https://www.mainepublic.org/apple-touch-icon.png)WMEHEsta Pratt-Kielley![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5ed3f09/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1280x672+0+24/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Fa5%2F9da4ebc94424aeab941b53183fa9%2Fmaine-explained-yt-thumbnail-state-flag-03.jpg)](https://www.mainepublic.org/politics/2024-10-24/why-are-mainers-voting-on-a-new-state-flag?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I don't know why this requires a vote or why we need to pick between two flags. We should just keep the Dirigo flag as our Icon flag. The Pine Tree design can be our Statement Edition Flag that we fly on special occasions and nationally broadcast games on Sunday. Think of the merch sales! We could add a City Edition and do a new one every year! --- Speaking of UMaine, Pat Ricard got in the end zone on Sunday. > FULLBACK TOUCHDOWN ALERT 😂🚨[@PRic508](https://twitter.com/PRic508?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | Tune in on CBS! [pic.twitter.com/zqoKzeHYf5](https://t.co/zqoKzeHYf5?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) [November 3, 2024](https://twitter.com/Ravens/status/1853167274804293847?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ## Game of the Day We kick off the Regional Finals today with the first half of the soccer matchups. The Regional Finals will always be good matchups, but the girls A North final between Bangor and Camden is one you could easily call the Game of the Year. Bangor is a very slight favorite, despite losing the regular season matchup 3-0\. This is one where I would probably pick against the Model, despite the Model being 58-11 so far in Girls Soccer. Camden is actually playing a Regional Final doubleheader, as is Monmouth in D South (and Greely and Medomak Valley tomorrow). The Model's picks for all of today's Regional Finals are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Friday Night Quarterfinals URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/friday-night-quarterfinals/ Last updated: 2024-11-02T14:35:06.000Z As the football playoffs kicked off, I headed to Gardiner for a B North quarterfinal between the Tigers and Messalonskee and despite the warmer weather, fall was definitely in the air. 0:00 /0:06 1× Considering their close game in the regular season and Gardiner's win over Oceanside last week, the consensus was this could go either way. Varsity Maine was [slightly tilted in Messo's favor](https://www.centralmaine.com/2024/10/31/week-9-high-school-football-predictions-5/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and the Model had Messo by 1.9\. But the game was all Messalonskee. They controlled the game and when they weren't in control, they were converting on 3rd and long and even managed to bait Gardiner into jumping offsides on 4th and short, which led to this: > “WHY DON’T YOU TELL THEM NOT TO JUMP OFFSIDES???” > > sage advice from the crowd. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [November 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1852508631855493618?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If only the coaches had thought of that! What an innovative concept they should consider. Maybe they could also just run the plays that lead to positive yardage or only dial up the blitzes that will get to the quarterback. If only the coaches would try that. Some days you long for the COVID season with no crowds. --- The game to go to, without a doubt, was Houlton and Orono. > Orono falls 56-50 to Houlton in the 8 Man Northern Maine Small School Semifinal [#mespkrts](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mespkrts?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — MaineSportsBlog (@MaineSportsBlog) [November 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/MaineSportsBlog/status/1852535569236013189?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) **Fifty Six to Fifty.** That sounds like an absolute banger. Put it on ESPN classic right now. Or WHOU Classic. --- Elsewhere: > Lake Region blanks MDI 22-0\. There'll be a new state champ in Eight Man Large School. > > — Ryan McLaughlin (@rmclaughlin23) [November 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/rmclaughlin23/status/1852535302771896583?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And > FINAL Oceanside Football 40, Hampden Academy 30\. Zeb Foster 230 Yards (unofficial) and 4 TDs, Robbie Blair 207 Yards (unofficial) and a TD. Aiden Kochendorfer TDs and Gavin Monyak TD run and TD pass for HA. Oceanside at Hermon next Friday night at 7 in Northern C Semifinals. > > — Don Shields (@DonShieldsMaine) [November 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/DonShieldsMaine/status/1852527796578349482?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I don't have the numbers, but Zeb Foster \[basketball player\] is having a hell of a year. --- That'll give us updated [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) for Soccer, Field Hockey, and Football. Spoiler: Messo will be a pretty big underdog against Falmouth, as will everyone else. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-02-at-12.41.52-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) --- Here's an updated tally of the Model's picks in the playoffs so far: Football: 15-1 (93.8%) Boys Soccer: 52-8 (86.7%) Girls Soccer: 49-10 (83.1%) Field Hockey: 27-1 (96.4%) Running pretty hot. --- A Bangor player who's had a few concussions has taken a proactive step to ensure he can help future football players after he's gone. [Bangor High football player will donate brain for concussion researchFionn Parker-Cummings suffered concussions while playing football, and hopes his experience can help contribute to sports medicine.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsLarry Mahoney![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/11/Bangor-Brewer-FB-E-LCO.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/11/01/sports/high-school-football/bangor-football-player-donate-brain-concussion-research/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) For a high schooler to have this sort of awareness and empathy is so encouraging. --- In the Celtics' game last night, Grant Williams didn't exactly make people wish he was still in Boston. > Grant Williams was ejected for this foul on Jayson Tatum. > > [pic.twitter.com/g70jYCGaeU](https://t.co/g70jYCGaeU?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) [November 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1852522433498022070?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We'll always have that Game 7. --- The long-awaited college basketball debut of Cooper Flagg (against Maine!) is Monday. [UMaine men’s basketball opener will be Cooper Flagg’s Duke debutUMaine’s Athletics Department will be compensated $90,000 by Duke for playing the “guaranteed” game versus the nation’s top talent on the road.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsSam Canfield![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/09/jaden-clayton-win-poplaski-1.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/09/11/sports/college-basketball/umaine-mens-basketball-opener-cooper-flagg-duke-debut/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ## Game of the Day The soccer and field hockey schedule today is loaded with fantastic matchups. I'll be at the double-header at Medomak Valley, but Scarborough @ Falmouth looks like it could be an absolute classic. The Model has Falmouth as a very slight favorite, partly because they won the regular season matchup back in September. Since then, Scarborough has gone 8-0-1. On the girl's side, C South is looking great, with the top 2 games being the semifinals of #2 Hall-Dale vs. #3 NYA \[82.8 Stax Index\] and #1 Maranacook vs. #4 Traip \[82.6 Stax Index\]. If you're further south, #3 Freeport visits #2 Cape Elizabeth. Cape won the matchup in September, 2-1, and they played to a 0-0 draw at the end of the year. Cape is favored by just under a goal. The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Let's Start the Football Playoffs URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/lets-start-the-football-playoffs/ Last updated: 2024-11-01T09:42:35.000Z Let's start in Windham, where the 1 seed Eagles trail #9 South Portland 1-0 late in a quarterfinal matchup. The pressure mounts. Maybe things [get a little chippy](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/clips/uclaf3c88dd141730335211502?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1WyywSYNx0FKslmLjb4DfYGzaLMsbn1t9BPIdEQP3giPhDPL%5FtOval48w%5Faem%5FmM3k5UWC4lKB7vrBC7TXrQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Finally... > TIE GAME IN WINDHAM: [@rsu14athletics](https://twitter.com/rsu14athletics?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ties it with just over 3 minutes left in regulation against South Portland [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [October 30, 2024](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1851763615994454526?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The game goes to Overtime (one of many quarterfinal soccer games to go to OT) and then, the Peter Webb All-Stars intervene. 0:00 /0:21 1× I feel like I'm a broken record on this, but if you're going to make a call that essentially determines who wins a playoff game, it's got to be a no-brainer of a call. This looks like something you might call at midfield in the first half. Not in overtime to award a penalty kick. We ask high school kids to understand the impact of their decision based on the situation in front of them. Shouldn't we ask the same of the adults? Time and score! --- I got into that a little bit in the podcast intro before my conversation with Ryan McLaughlin of the *Ellsworth American*. We talk about Stearns football, preview the soccer playoffs a bit, and a lot more. My thinking with the podcast, based on some conversations with readers, is that a short audio version of the newsletter would be a welcome addition to the morning commute. So I'm toying with that idea, which still doing some longer interviews. If you've got an opinion on it, let me know! [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6WCqZcqLyPOg9E00YGW2wM?si=3beab31e778e4b34&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Model in the playoffs so far... Boys Soccer: 44-7 (86.3%) Girls Soccer: 43-8 (84.3%) Field Hockey: 25-1 (96.2%) Normally it gets less accurate during the playoffs because, you know, the games tend to be closer, but it's doing quite well this year. --- We have a new record in girls soccer. > Hodgdon High School's soccer star Ava Ezell scored 4 goals yesterday afternoon to lead the Hawks in a quarterfinal victory over Woodland. Ava's fourth goal of the game was also her 62nd goal of the year! Ava is now the state record holder for most goals scored in a season!! > > — Hodgdon High School Athletics (@HodgdonHawks) [October 30, 2024](https://twitter.com/HodgdonHawks/status/1851607243369926957?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 62 goals in 14 games! Ezell scored 4 goals in a quarterfinal and it brought her average down. To put that in perspective, Camden's Kristina Kelly, who was a 2-time Gatorade POTY and the 2019 United Soccer Coaches National High School Player of the Year, scored 49 goals in her senior year --- Gold Ball Odds are updated for Soccer and Field Hockey and as of 12:32 this morning, football, which is to warn you that it might be missing something. I've been fighting with it a bit (spreadsheets, man). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-01-at-12.12.21-AM.png) [Check Out Your Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) ## Game of the Day The last time Oceanside's football team played Hampden, the Broncos shocked the region, snapping their 3-game losing streak and knocking the Mariners out of first place with a 31-18 victory. The teams have gone in different directions since then. Hampden added a win over Brewer, but Oceanside has lost 3 in a row, falling all the way down 4th in the Crabtree for C North. They meet again in the quarterfinals, with the winner getting another chance against a Hermon team that beat them both (but only beat Hampden by 1). Or if soccer is more your thing, the Gorham girls only gave up 19 goals all season, but 4 of them came in the season finale against Scarborough, a 4-0 drubbing that broke a 7-game winning streak. They'll try for some revenge against a team they tied 1-1 all the way back in September. The Model's picks for all of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Ace Comes Home URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ace-comes-home/ Last updated: 2024-10-30T10:55:11.000Z First, the big news. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/image-3-1.png)](https://www.instagram.com/flaggace/?hl=en&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This is awesome and not just for UMaine. There's an upside here for Ace that I don't think exists in some of the programs higher up in the [KenPom rankings](https://kenpom.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) (257). If he can lead the Black Bears to the Promised Land (a 16 seed), it'll be awesome. If he can win a game in the NCAA Tournament? He's a made man. Plus, the in-state NIL money in Maine has to be far more lucrative than it would be in the Mountain West or wherever. Speaking of NIL, Cooper signed with Gatorade. > NEW: Duke freshman Cooper Flagg has signed with Gatorade. > > Flagg boasts a $2.6M On3 NIL Valuation💰[https://t.co/xumoyatLfx](https://t.co/xumoyatLfx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/KPFVBQwmKr](https://t.co/KPFVBQwmKr?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — On3 (@On3sports) [October 29, 2024](https://twitter.com/On3sports/status/1851265836931067914?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) A pretty good day for the Flagg twins. --- The Presque Isle girls also had a pretty good day. After driving 224 miles each way to knock off Oceanside in the prelims, the 11th seeded Wildcats followed that up with a 214 mile drive each way to eliminate #3 Erskine. They'll *only* have to go 177 miles to take on #2 Hermon. We can't find some neutral sites for some of these games? --- [Fall Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) are updated to include yesterday's games (well, the games that were reported) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-30-at-12.23.17-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) I already went through the girls soccer brackets to pick some Cinderellas (and Ellsworth has already failed me. Now, it's time to do the same for the boys. You can also check it out on Apple Podcasts. [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Make sure you smash that subscribe button. --- [Football rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) are updated as we head into the playoffs. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-30-at-1.43.43-AM.png) ## Game of the Day The boys soccer quarterfinals take the pitch today, highlighted by a couple of 4/5 games and a very long road trip for Gardiner (257 miles each way!) But the Game of the Day is a 2/7 field hockey game between Lawrence and Cony. My first reaction is to question this, but yesterday the Model picked a 1/8 field hockey game and that turned out to be closer than the projection. But also maybe the Stax Index is overvaluing field hockey a little. I'll keep an eye on it. The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Girls Soccer Quarterfinals URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/girls-soccer-quarterfinals-2/ Last updated: 2024-10-29T10:50:16.000Z The soccer quarterfinals kick off today with the vast majority of the girls games, but we've already had some drama over the weekend. > #11 Presque Isle girls make the trip down to #6 Oceanside and pick up the 2-1 victory to move on to the quarterfinals. Second year in a row they’ve gone down as the lower seed and beaten the Mariners. Wildcats move on to play Erskine Academy. > > — Steve Carmichael (@Carmichael15) [October 25, 2024](https://twitter.com/Carmichael15/status/1849910978311487746?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you're going to drive 224 miles each way, you might as well bring back a W. That's the good news. The bad news is they've got to go 214 miles each way to play #3 Erskine today. But just how likely is it that Presque Isle can come away with another win? Can run the table from the 11 seed? Maybe! Thanks to the updated [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/), you can see the odds that every team wins it all and their chances to make each round. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-28-at-9.58.42-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) It looks different on the website and this is absolutely a Varsity level page (i.e. $$$). [Fall Gold Ball OddsWhat are the odds your team can win it all?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2024/10/fall-gold-ball-odds-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) Every basketball season, I do a fun exercise before the tourney starts where I pick against the Model and try to find the Cinderella in each region. I get a lot of them wrong, naturally, but I also get some right. And people yell at me! In today's new episode of the podcast, I went through all the girls regions (boys tomorrow). This is audio-only because you do not need to see my hair right now. Check it out. Or, on Apple Podcasts. [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- There's news out of Lisbon. You never want to hear them use the term "culture of hazing" because nothing good comes from that. [Investigators find a ‘culture of hazing’ on Lisbon High School football teamThe hazing has included players whipping one another with leather belts, at least once until bruising occurred, and at least one incident of a freshman student being hit headfirst into a trash can, a report found.![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldDaniel KoolPress Herald![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/10/39954740_vm.lisbonhazingupdate.10102411-e1728578930138-1730153467.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/10/28/investigators-find-a-culture-of-hazing-on-lisbon-high-school-football-team/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You can read the entire report. It's not pretty, although I will say some of the rumors floating around on social media are worse. [Lisbon HS Investigation | PDFHazing investigation![](https://s-f.scribdassets.com/scribd.ico?26a0f7aa0?v=5)ScribdMaine Trust For Local News![](https://imgv2-1-f.scribdassets.com/img/document/785370633/original/f1fa674e95/1730154840?v=1)](https://www.scribd.com/document/785370633/Lisbon-HS-Investigation?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Lisbon is looking at a 2 year ban from the MPA. By rule, if you can't finish your season, you're given 2 years off to get your...stuff...together. They can appeal, under extenuating circumstances. I have zero inside information on this, but I can't imagine that appeal will be successful. Extenuating circumstances tend to be, "hey, we've run out of offensive linemen" or there's some other situation outside of anyone's control where you *have* to cancel games. Not "we had a culture of hazing and word got out." I'd be shocked if they play next year. Also. Kids, this stuff is always a terrible idea. It was a terrible idea in the 90's when no one had a video camera in their pocket and it's a much, much worse idea in 2024\. Be smart! --- The legendary Larry Mahoney was inducted into the Maine Press Association's HOF. > Last Saturday, longtime [@bangordailynews](https://twitter.com/bangordailynews?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) sportswriter Larry Mahoney was inducted into the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame! 📰 > > I sat down with Larry to discuss his induction, what's made him stick around for 50+ years, what keeps him going to this day, and more.[#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/bnGOODpT95](https://t.co/bnGOODpT95?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jack Webb (@Jackiemoon\_25) [October 26, 2024](https://twitter.com/Jackiemoon%5F25/status/1850233237999923244?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- As Cooper Flagg continues to turn heads around the basketball world, ESPN is asking the question. > The battle-tested fifth-year senior or the uber-talented freshman? Proven college production and All-American accolades or potential ceiling and the projected No. 1 draft pick? Davis or Flagg, who is ESPN's No. 1 men's college basketball player? I know who has my vote. [The 100 best men’s players entering the new seasonAfter a lot of number-crunching -- and a legit debate for the No. 1 spot -- these are the names to watch as the 2024-25 season begins.![](https://a.espncdn.com/wireless/mw5/r1/images/bookmark-icons-v2/espn-icon-180x180.png)ESPNClose![](https://a3.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2024%2F1027%2Fcbb_player_rank_1296x729.png)](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/%5F/id/42001025/mens-ncaa-basketball-player-rank-2024-25-preseason-top-100?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Everyone in New England knew this was going to happen. > PAYTON PRITCHARD DOES IT AGAIN 😱 [pic.twitter.com/FgIO7vCZ67](https://t.co/FgIO7vCZ67?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA TV (@NBATV) [October 29, 2024](https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1851073078345736346?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ## Game of the Day The Game of the Day is actually a Field Hockey game. And it's a 1/8 field hockey game? Ok... But there's a lot of options. There's a 4/5 girls soccer game between Falmouth and Cheverus and one between Winslow and Bapst. Or maybe Hermon/Ellsworth is more your speed. Regardless, it should be a fun day of games. The Model's picks for all of today's quarterfinal action are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### When A Tie Isn't a Tie URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/when-a-tie-isnt-a-tie/ Last updated: 2024-10-25T11:34:20.000Z We've come to the end of the regular season for soccer and field hockey (one step closer to basketball!) and we've got a tie! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-24-at-9.21.37-PM.png) Ties are pretty rare, especially when teams don't beat the same teams, but we've got one. Marc Calnan from Eastern Maine Sports alerted me to this and it checks out. So we nearly got a bonus play-in game in 8-Man North, but Ashland went 1-0-1 against Van Buren in the regular season, which is the first tiebreaker, so they get the final playoff spot and a date with a Calais team that's +44 on the season. Anyway, I tweeted that I was checking this by hand and got this message from Erik Atwell from the Penobscot Bay Press, which I do read. Erik does nice work up there. > I cover GSA sports for the local peninsula paper. The Class C volleyball standings... Make it make sense why Woodland is the 3 seed and GSA is the 4\. I'll wait. Thx. > > — Erik Atwell (@ErikAtwell) [October 23, 2024](https://twitter.com/ErikAtwell/status/1849106193911775572?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I don't cover volleyball, but heal points are heal points. Anyway, I get into this some on the [podcast](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Js4x1mDsWQ0oTFEYsTzNi?si=d123852fa3ce4b55&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). It's weird. [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Js4x1mDsWQ0oTFEYsTzNi?si=d123852fa3ce4b55&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Let's break it down. Here's the final standings in Class C Volleyball. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-24-at-8.23.25-PM-1.png) That's really, really close. There's not a lot of ways to get that little amount of separation. Both teams played 14 games and a full C schedule. And both teams beat opponents that won a combined 39 games, so that isn't it. If you throw out shared wins (they both beat Calais, for example), the combined Preliminary Index points were 252 for each team. So it should be a tie. But it isn't. Enter the MPA. From the MPA [website](https://www.mpa.cc/page/3174?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-24-at-8.46.06-PM.png) Back in the olden times, the Heal Points were calculated by hand, much like my first fantasy baseball league. Back in those dark days, we had to wait for the standings to come in the mail before we knew whether or not we won. It sucked. But that's where I taught myself Excel, because I had to know. Anyway, if you're doing it by hand, you obviously can't take this out to infinite decimal places. There's a limit in what you can ask a person to do. Also: imagine doing heal points by hand for 130 schools. Yikes. Here's the wins for each team with the Preliminary Index taken out to 11 places. As you can see, the 11th spot is lower than 5, so you round down. Except for Jonesport-Beals, which is equally divisible by 14. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-24-at-8.40.13-PM-1.png) If you do a normal function of SUM(), the GSA total is 36.0, but if you round it at 10 places--that's ROUND(n,10)--you get a total of 35.999999999, which is less than 36\. Hence, the tie is broken. I've been waiting for this situation for a while. It almost happened several years ago in girls basketball, but Cony screwed it up and won on the final night of the season. At first glance, I kind of suspected that was what what going on--again, not a lot of things can cause that little amount of seperation--but I was surprised that the MPA's website was on top of this. It's the sort of archaic thing that you usually don't think to program in. But they did! So credit where credit is due. But maybe we don't need to do it like this anymore? We have computers, after all. It seems like we can just do it the normal way? ## Got a friend who would enjoy this newsletter? Sign them up! You know you want to. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- With the regular season over, here's how the Model did. Boys Soccer: 671-151 (81.63%) Girls Soccer: 652-141 (82.22%) Field Hockey: 414-75 (84.66%) Not bad! --- You can see how your team finished the regular season in the rankings. [Fall Sports RankingsGOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2023/09/soccer-rankings-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) And I've got the odds that your team will be taking home a Gold Ball in soccer or field hockey (football's coming). Are they a contender? Or is it time to start focusing on more important things like basketball? [Fall Gold Ball OddsWhat are the odds your team can win it all?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2024/10/fall-gold-ball-odds-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-gold-ball-odds/) --- Speaking of football, I went down to South Portland to watch the Red Riots host Noble and it did not disappoint. I'd never been to SoPo before and it was a great atmosphere and a really nice night for October football. Noble had a lead late and SoPo twice drove down with a chance to tie, only for Jamier Rose to do this (twice): He's pretty good. The win gets Noble into the Top 10\. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-24-at-9.55.26-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) [Football Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) --- Speaking of Portland, people are saying it's the best minor league sports city in the country. [Minor League Markets: Fans Love PortlandIn a New England port town known by outsiders for its lighthouses and shipyards, great beer and lobster, flannels and L.L. Bean boots, Portland, Maine, has evolved into a quintessential minor league sports town.![](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/favicon.png)SBJ Sports Business Journal)David Broughton![](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/-/media/Images/Journal/2024/10/21/Minor-League-Markets/pg-22-MLM-Portland-lead-Getty.ashx)](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/10/21/minor-league-markets-portland-maine?publicationSource=sbj&issue=7fead4f3a5c642478a7b139183852d95&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We have some basketball coaching news. > With Matt Regan leaving the OOB boys basketball job, Dean Plante will step in to be the varsity boys head coach. Plante retired in after the 2022-23 season after 20 seasons leading the girls program at OOB and winning the C title in 2023. > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [October 23, 2024](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1849126633044664724?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Regan is going to York, which I'm hearing might be a top 4 seed in B South. --- A good friend of mine who coaches youth soccer in the Midwest sent me this and I said I'd share it, as someone will surely have some experience with this. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/image-1.png) If you have any advice on this, please put it in the comments. --- The NBA is testing out a rule chance in the G League. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/image-2.png) I love this. BUT, did you know that in high school basketball, a heave is not a shot attempt? It's true! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-24-at-10.24.03-PM.png) You get the idea. Anyway, no need to hold back and protect your FG%. Let it rip! --- Lisbon has (finally) called their season. > Lisbon football season is officially over...they didn't wait this week and have forefeited their final game against Oak Hill on Friday as the hazing investigation continues > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [October 21, 2024](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1848370373990941054?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This should have happened 2 weeks ago. I'm not sure what the delay was. I get that it's sensitive information and the police are involved, but it was clear their season was over a long time ago. To string people along like this is kind of a dick move. --- Finally, there's some tragic news in college basketball. [USF men’s basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim dies at 43The second-year coach died from complications during a surgical procedure Thursday.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Tampa Bay TimesJoey Knight![](https://www.tampabay.com/resizer/v2/NJ3JJUWYTNFLRHD2BRLQS5E47Q.jpg?auth=c1919ff6df9585f192f9be2124e6d46038c49bdc5ef8ed2c5262a09c25db13d2&height=675&width=1200&smart=true)](https://www.tampabay.com/sports/bulls/2024/10/24/usf-mens-basketball-coach-amir-abdur-rahim-dies-43/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Model's picks for the Week 8 football games are after the jump. I'm hoping to come back with prelim picks, assuming I can wrangle all the dates. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Week 7 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/week-7/ Last updated: 2024-10-18T10:21:29.000Z I went to Augusta this week for the Cony/Medomak Valley game and took my son Rhys to his first-ever football game. I'd never been to Cony for a football game before and the atmosphere was fantastic. Plus, it was Youth Night and Youth Night is always a good time. However, making this video was Rhys' favorite part. 0:00 /0:21 1× Rhys' pick could not have gotten off to a worse start. Medomak's Jaydiin Ruiz picked off Parker Morin on the 3rd play of the game, then again on the next possession, and after Cony fumbled the kickoff, it was 14-0 and the Rams had the kind of nightmare start that causes coaches to drink. Cony rallied, tying the game at 14, but Medomak put their foot down behind Ruiz, who rushed for nearly 200 yards and two touchdowns. C North is now a 3-way tie at 4-2, with Hermon hosting Oceanside this week in a battle for the 1 seed (probably). Ruiz, for his part, was named one of [MaineHighSchoolFootball.com](https://www.leaguelineup.com/topnews.asp?url=mainefootball&itemid=2137400&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)'s [Super 6 of week](https://www.facebook.com/MaineHighSchoolFootball/posts/pfbid0ExUPtRmwKpdqu3RK32vQ8JqMTkj93UdoP6rFbj9HNA2P1YN95VHr9zFa69B7SKDCl), a weekly award highlighting top players around the state. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/image.png)](https://www.leaguelineup.com/topnews.asp?url=mainefootball&itemid=2137400&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I keep forgetting to put this in the newsletter each week. If you aren't already using this site for all your high school football needs, you really should be. --- The win (along with Hampden's win over Oceanside) vaulted Medomak into the top 10 in the Power Rankings. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-17-at-9.00.09-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) [Football Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) They moved up 14 spots, which I explain in the open of this week's podcast, where I run through the updated Top 10\. Then, Rob Kennedy of WHOU joined me to overreact to week 6\. We go over a bunch of games and teams that caught our eyes. Plus, we talk about basketball, including Rob's call of the Maine Event last winter, and a whole lot of other things. This was a great conversation, despite how bored I look in the screenshot. You can also listen on Spotify or wherever you consume podcasts. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2S6NdFJIRkpiXQtfERanNu?si=0ea45a3795ff47d3&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Don't forget to subscribe and all that. --- While watching Drake Maye restore hope to New England, I updated the missing games for soccer and field hockey, so Heal Points should be in pretty good shape. But, there's always a chance I'm missing a game (or the score is reported wrong), so let me know if anything is amiss. Also! I added a twist to the Heal Points where it's calculating what the Crabtree might be for soccer--and also calculates the Heal Points for football. That's just the kind of nerd I am. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-17-at-10.30.31-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-heal-points/) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-heal-points/) --- And, of course, Soccer/Field Hockey rankings are updated. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-17-at-11.07.34-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) [Fall Sports Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) --- Big, big game in Saco this week. > It's a state title rematch on Saturday in Saco as Portland (5-1) travels to Thornton Academy (5-1). It's our game of the week. [pic.twitter.com/L3Cmh7oyxb](https://t.co/L3Cmh7oyxb?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [October 17, 2024](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1847044614680654144?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Yesterday afternoon, Lisbon cancelled their third game in the wake of the hazing scandal, to the surprise of no one. [Lisbon High forfeits third football game in wake of alleged hazingLisbon Schools Superintendent Richard A. Green said Thursday all football team activities are still suspended until further notice.![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldHaley JonesSun Journal![](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/39954740_vm.lisbonhazingupdate.1010249-e1728579006187.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/10/17/lisbon-high-forfeits-third-football-game-in-wake-of-alleged-hazing/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm not sure why they haven't just pulled the plug on the entire season yet. Does anyone think they're going to play Oak Hill next week? Are they going to wait until next Thursday to call it? --- I'd been holding out hope that he'd come back to Boston, but it looks like Aron Baynes is hanging it up for good. > Aron Baynes has retired from the NBA after 9 seasons, per [@AgentMoldovan](https://twitter.com/AgentMoldovan?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > Baynes was a 2014 Champion with the Spurs 🙌 [pic.twitter.com/nbWbrD37X0](https://t.co/nbWbrD37X0?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) [October 16, 2024](https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1846669298514739207?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Baynes was one of my favorite recent Celtics. If you didn't know, Baynes suffered a scary freak accident during the Tokyo Olympics that sidelined him for quite a long time. [The mysterious fall and harrowing story of an NBA centerIn his first public comments since the Tokyo Olympics, NBA center Aron Baynes details the freak injury that left him unable to walk and alone inside a Japanese hospital.![](https://a.espncdn.com/wireless/mw5/r1/images/bookmark-icons-v2/espn-icon-180x180.png)ESPNBrian Windhorst![](https://a4.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2022%2F0126%2Fr966344_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg)](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/%5F/id/33153946/the-mysterious-fall-harrowing-story-nba-center?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- There's a nice slate of games this week. 8 games have a Stax Index over 80, which is generally the standard for Game of the Day. But the top game is Wells at Fryeburg, a cross-class battle between two exceptional teams. But there's also Lawrence/Fryeburg, Noble/SoPo, Noble/Massabesic, Gorham/Deering, and Greely/Mt. Ararat. The Model's picks for all of this weekend's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Week 6 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/week-6-2/ Last updated: 2024-10-11T12:38:20.000Z They say football is a game of inches and usually, that's just something color analysts say to fill time. But sometimes, it really is. We go to Rockland, where Medomak Valley, down 20-14, needs to convert a crucial 4th and short against Oceanside. So close! After the stop, Oceanside would score on the next possession to put the game away. Zeb Foster had another huge game for the Mariners. > Final Oceanside Football 28, Medomak Valley 14\. OHS 4-1, zeb Foster 234 yards (unofficial) and 3 TD, Robbie Blair 88 Yards & 1 TD. Medomak 3-2 got 85 yards and 2 TDs from Jaydiin Ruiz > > — Don Shields (@DonShieldsMaine) [October 5, 2024](https://twitter.com/DonShieldsMaine/status/1842372342904705329?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- A little north, Camden rallied down 24-0 to stay unbeaten. > WHAT A GAME! Camden Hills with the comeback win after being down 24-0 to keep their perfect season alive! [pic.twitter.com/mh9SPsl0cf](https://t.co/mh9SPsl0cf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Connor Magliozzi (@MagliozziMedia) [October 5, 2024](https://twitter.com/MagliozziMedia/status/1842413933396656526?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Down south, Noble gave Thornton Academy everything they could handle. With the win, TA moved to #1 in the rankings (until Fryeburg's win last night). --- But the score that really jumped out was Kennebunk dismantling Deering. Michael Hoffer has an excellent-as-usual writeup. [Deering handed first setback at KennebunkRams have no answers on either side of the ball in a 41-0 loss.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-3.png)Press HeraldMichael HofferForecaster/Leader/Sentry![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/kennebunk-v-deering-cropped-1728317322.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/10/04/deering-handed-first-setback-at-kennebunk/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- On the podcast, Fox Bangor's Tyler Krusz joined me to overreact to Week 5 and since we share a love of the Hurley brothers (Tyler has a great story about Danny Hurley triggering a 911 call), I wore my old Sacramento Kings Bobby Hurley jersey. Obviously, we got into basketball a little bit, including some teams that we think will have a good year and we sort of cobble together a short list for Mr./Miss Basketball. I'm very tired in this and living on a very gross energy drink, so if you want to hear me be terrible and make some dumb mistakes, this is the show for you. On the other hand, Tyler brought it, so...yeah. As always, you can listen to this on Spotify. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Jk3DV49pKl9c3fIezITlq?si=a67fff8106944c2d&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And subscribe! --- In the open, I run down the new top 10 and if you go to the [rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) now, you'll notice some small changes due to last night's games. [Football RankingsThe Model takes on the gridiron.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-5.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/football-rankings-1-3.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) --- You've probably heard the Lisbon football story. They forfeited last week and are forfeiting this week because of a hazing situation. The police have been called, which is never a good sign. And now, 7 players have been removed from the team. [Lisbon High removes 7 players from football team in wake of hazing investigationThe announcement comes one day after the school forfeited a second football game in the wake of hazing allegations.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-4.png)Press HeraldSteve CraigPress Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/39954740_vm.lisbonhazingupdate.1010241.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/10/10/lisbon-high-removes-seven-players-from-football-team-in-wake-of-hazing-investigation/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) So, I don't want to speculate, but there's stuff floating around that looks really bad, like something you'd see in a *Porky's* rip-off from the 80's that we would all agree has aged terribly. Assuming it's true, to see something like that in 2024 is staggering. Regardless, it's pretty clear that what happened is very bad. It's hard to imagine they'll play another game this year, which means I have to rethink how the Model handles forfeits. --- There's a cool milestone in hockey. [Jessica Campbell makes history and becomes first ever female assistant coach in the NHL | CNNJessica Campbell made history on the opening night of the National Hockey League (NHL) season by becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the league.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon.png)CNNThomas Schlachter![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/gettyimages-2177493038.jpg)](https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/08/sport/jessica-campbell-history-female-coach-nhl-spt-intl/index.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- This...doesn't seem great. How many times have you seen a coach quit mid-season? You could probably count it on one hand. [MMA football coaches resign midseason - Penobscot Bay PressCASTINE—The two top football coaches at Maine Maritime Academy’s rekindled football program have resigned halfway through the season and just days away from a home game in Castine. Head coach Calvin Powell and assistant coach Dan McKenna have resigned, leaving the football program that had been dormant since 2020\. It was rebooted in 2023, with the help of more than \[…\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon.png)Penobscot Bay PressJACK BEAUDOIN![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/1p1-1200x628.jpg)](https://penobscotbaypress.com/articles/latestnews-castinepatriot/mma-football-coaches-resign-midseason/?pubid=castinepatriot&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- > Nick Mayo (2019 PIT, Eastern Kentucky) delivered 17 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals for Hiroshima (Japan) in a 79-71 loss to Gunma. Mayo is starting his 6th professional season in Japan. [@EKUHoops](https://twitter.com/EKUHoops?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@OVCSports](https://twitter.com/OVCSports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — P.I.T. (@PIT\_Basketball) [October 6, 2024](https://twitter.com/PIT%5FBasketball/status/1843074001398374798?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- This week's football schedule doesn't look great. Last week we had 10 games with a [Stax Index](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-stax-index/) over 80, which is generally what you need for "Game of the Day" status. This week we have 5 and I don't love any of them, which means we're about to get an instant classic out of left field. Anyway, the Model's picks for this weekend are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Week 5...Loading URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/week-5-loading-2/ Last updated: 2024-10-04T09:39:02.000Z We're going to do this somewhat quickly because today was a lot at the day job. First, you gotta love this play from Cam Beal last weekend. > Play #1...Cam Beal scrambling all over the place on 4th and long and he finds Christian McMaster for the game winning score [@BrunswickAD](https://twitter.com/BrunswickAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/tVbeJsP94F](https://t.co/tVbeJsP94F?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [September 22, 2024](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1837885568048333034?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Steve Craig has a great story on the use of Guardian Caps in Maine. [‘I like my brain cells’: More high school football players in Maine wearing protective ‘Guardian Caps’ — but not in gamesThe use of the caps, which are now allowed in NFL games, has increased significantly in Maine for practices in the last 2 years but has not carried over to games.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-2.png)Press HeraldSteve CraigPress Herald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/39727805_20240919_MVfootballfeature_0y12-1727385112.jpg)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/09/27/i-like-my-brain-cells-more-high-school-football-players-in-maine-wearing-guardian-caps/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- In keeping with the last couple of weeks, I did another Overreaction podcast, only with an opening segment going over the new top 10 in the football rankings. I'm trying out different ideas on how to use the podcast. I really enjoy the conversations. It's just a question of how to best utilize it. The last couple of overreaction podcasts had been southern Maine focused. I wanted to make sure to get a perspective from someone north of Augusta, so I enlisted Marc Calnan of [Eastern Maine Sports](https://easternmainesports.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)\--an essential resource--especially if you're looking for coverage in that part of the state. We cover the surprises of week 4, including Stearns' huge win over Orono, Dexter's blowout of football Valley, a couple of athletes that have impressed Marc so far, and a bunch more. Check it out! Of course, you can also listen at the usual podcast places. [Spotify](https://spoti.fi/3zAjwy6?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Apple Podcasts](apple.co/3Nw5UY5) And subscribe! Leave a review! All that dumb stuff that feeds the algorithms. --- As for the full rankings, they're updated for Football... [Football RankingsThe Model takes on the gridiron.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-3.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/football-rankings-1-2.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) And for Soccer and Field Hockey... [Fall Sports RankingsGOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-4.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/soccer-rankings-1-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) And, of course, the Heal Points. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-03-at-11.37.38-PM.png) A lot of stuff is updated, is the point. --- If you don't already know, legendary receiver Randy Moss' son plays for UMaine. And last week, he pulled off something very cool. > Like father, like son! > > Appreciate the shout-out, [@RandyMoss](https://twitter.com/RandyMoss?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 🫡[#BlackBearNation](https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackBearNation?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | ⬆️ | [@ESPNNFL](https://twitter.com/ESPNNFL?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [@NCAAFootball](https://twitter.com/NCAAFootball?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [@CAAFootball](https://twitter.com/CAAFootball?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/uBVmYC0fBx](https://t.co/uBVmYC0fBx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Football (@BlackBearsFB) [September 29, 2024](https://twitter.com/BlackBearsFB/status/1840420757299507497?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- There's a lot of Cooper Flagg stuff that's surreal, but Bill Simmons making a joke about a NFL team playing like they're tanking for a kid who a couple of years ago was playing his home games in Newport is way up there. > That first hour of NFL action was bonkers. The Eagles look like it’s Game 82 of the NBA season and they’re tanking for Cooper Flagg. > > — Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) [September 29, 2024](https://twitter.com/BillSimmons/status/1840453022524071952?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- He's already committed to Princeton, but Landon Clark (formerly of Bangor and Maine United) has been upgraded to a 4 star prospect by ESPN. > Grateful to be named a 4 ⭐️ on [@espn](https://twitter.com/espn?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/WhYZiqGTJk](https://t.co/WhYZiqGTJk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Landon Clark (@LandonClark\_0) [September 30, 2024](https://twitter.com/LandonClark%5F0/status/1840546923935158297?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's easy to think of the Flagg twins as a generational one-off (two-off?), but I think Maine basketball talent is having a moment. I can't think of a time where there was more Maine talent, both boys and girls. Speaking of which, Mackenzie Holmes was on a college football pregame show. No big deal. > Mackenzie Holmes' favorite memory as an [@IndianaWBB](https://twitter.com/IndianaWBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) player? > > If you know the [#IUWBB](https://twitter.com/hashtag/IUWBB?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) legend, you know the answer 💯[#B1GWBBall](https://twitter.com/hashtag/B1GWBBall?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) x [@kenzieholmes\_](https://twitter.com/kenzieholmes%5F?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/BQyJRwFieK](https://t.co/BQyJRwFieK?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Big Ten Women's Basketball (@B1Gwbball) [September 28, 2024](https://twitter.com/B1Gwbball/status/1840043243490164909?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The MPA is looking to expand on Unified Basketball (as they should). [Unified Basketball Continues to Grow in MaineAROOSTOOK COUNTY, Maine (WAGM) - The Maine Principals Association continues to expand the Unified Basketball program in Maine.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png)WAGMRene Cloukey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/RCM2WLLLIRFBPLZHGCTM6OAGYQ.bmp)](https://www.wagmtv.com/2024/09/30/unified-basketball-continues-grow-maine/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Finally, RIP to one of the greats. [‘He is truly invaluable’: Dikembe Mutombo is still the NBA’s greatest ambassador for AfricaDAKAR, Senegal — There was a thunderous beat of the drums as the trumpets enthusiastically blared. Men proudly dressed as lions posed, growled and intimidated. …![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-andscape-icon.png)AndscapeMarc J. Spears![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/GettyImages-1238662393-e1647314675987.jpg)](https://andscape.com/features/he-is-truly-invaluable-dikembe-mutombo-is-still-the-nbas-greatest-ambassador-for-africa/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you were watching the NBA in the 90's and early 2000's, you couldn't help but love Mutombo. Sorry, Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (as they loved to tell us during broadcasts. The finger wag was stuff of legend. I still say the finger wag shouldn't be a technical--out of respect. --- Generally, a Stax Index of 80 is enough to get you Game of the Day during basketball season. We have 10 games this weekend that meet that criteria. So there's probably a pretty good game near-ish you. Anyway, the Model's picks for all of this weekend's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Navigating a Rebuild URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/navigating-a-rebuild/ Last updated: 2024-09-27T10:32:01.000Z It's a big day in the basketball media landscape as ESPN lost Woj to college and then turned around fired their most talented writer, Zach Lowe. > Letting go of Zach Lowe right after you lose Woj and JJ Redick is an all-time baffling business decision. > > — Jason Gallagher (@jga41agher) [September 26, 2024](https://twitter.com/jga41agher/status/1839340720152580554?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) By all accounts, this is purely a financial decision. Zach Lowe is paid well, but it's not insane. He's not making Stephen A. Smith money, by any means. It makes zero sense for ESPN. But I think this is probably a blessing in disguise for Lowe. Everyone thinks this is a travesty and Lowe will either get a better offer elsewhere or go out on his own (there's a lot of value in not having to answer to anyone!). He's already loved by everyone, has a wildly popular podcast, and an audience that will follow him anywhere. Meanwhile, ESPN is left with analysis like this. > "If you take Jayson Tatum off the Celtics and put Donovan Mitchell, they still win, and he still averages 25 points a game." > > \- Richard Jefferson > > (Via [@ESPNNBA](https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ) [pic.twitter.com/ZmqYkwIHSn](https://t.co/ZmqYkwIHSn?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) [September 25, 2024](https://twitter.com/TheDunkCentral/status/1839045319092482223?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And this. > .[@KendrickPerkins](https://twitter.com/KendrickPerkins?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) says it will be difficult for the Celtics to repeat next season because their competition has improved 📈 > > "No one in the NBA is scared right now of the Boston Celtics. I'm just letting you know this." 😳 [pic.twitter.com/EEepHIsRtc](https://t.co/EEepHIsRtc?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) [September 24, 2024](https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1838659419988512836?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 🙄🙄🙄🙄 --- The football rankings are updated in advance of week 4. [Football RankingsThe Model takes on the gridiron.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small-2.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/football-rankings-1-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) I talked through the top ten [on the podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Then, WHOU's Ethan Snow joined me to overreact to Week 3, including a sportsmanship move that some might consider questionable. This is turning into a pretty fun weekly discussion where a guest and I talk about the week's games with varying degrees of seriousness (mostly serious). [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2LjQCCVzkyf4mCNbn1GFPB?si=7d35706c3af64d4c&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We covered a lot of teams in this. Deering! OOB! Fryeburg! But one team we were really high on was Falmouth--probably the surprise team of the early season, especially after last year. [Falmouth football players call for resignation of head coachThe petition follows an exodus of players and a rate of concussions and fractures six times higher than the national high school average.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1-2.png)Bangor Daily NewsSam Canfield![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/Football.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/01/24/sports/high-school-football/falmouth-football-players-call-resignation-head-coach/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I mentioned in the podcast that I should probably get someone from Falmouth on the podcast (also I was wearing an old Falmouth shooting shirt Athletic Director James Coffey sent me years ago) and lo and behold, Falmouth's new head coach, Spencer Emerson reached out. We had a great conversation about the challenges of re-building a program, Emerson's progression on the coaching ladder, getting buy-in from the players, the overlap in athletes that play multiple sports, and what he would change if he had unlimited power over the MPA (I LOVE this answer). My kid even crashed the party. Or you can listen to it on Apple Podcasts. [Behind the Scenes of Falmouth’s Resurgence with Head Coach Spencer EmersonOne of the early surprises of the football season has been Falmouth. After a season in which they had to forfeit a game to Portland and players petitioned for a![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-180-1.png)Apple Podcasts![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/1200x1200bf-60.jpg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/behind-the-scenes-of-falmouths-resurgence-with/id1675940033?i=1000670766531&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Again, if you enjoy these podcasts, subscribe and leave a review. It really does help. --- Mike Mandell has a great story about a couple of coaches leading the way. [Game-changers: Cony and Leavitt football coaches instrumental to sport’s evolution in MaineMike Hathaway and the Hornets are set to host B.L. Lippert and the Rams on Saturday night in meeting of offensive innovators.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display-1.png)Kennebec Journal and Morning SentinelMike MandellKennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/39790875_20240924_FootballFeature_9832.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2024/09/26/game-changers-cony-and-leavitt-football-coaches-instrumental-in-sports-evolution-in-maine/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Someone went to the trouble of ranking all the NBA refs by how many Last 2 Minute report calls of theirs are wrong. Truly the Lord's work. You're not going to believe this, but the names at the top are not the names you're used to seeing in big games. [L2M reports: Which NBA referees make the fewest mistakes?No one is perfect, not even the best at their craft. That’s the case with NBA officials, who have to make decisions in tenths of a second while overseeing some of the fastest and most physica…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/cropped-HoopsHypeIcon.png)HoopsHypeHoopsHype staff![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/20073673.jpg)](https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-referees-mistakes/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I hope you were sitting down. Tony Brothers? 46th. Scott Foster? 51st! --- Here's your reminder that Heal Points are updated. I might be missing some games [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-27-at-12.13.14-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-heal-points/) --- Is there a higher compliment? > Kevin Garnett says he sees superstar potential in Cooper Flagg: > > “We ain't had no bad a\*\* cold a\*\* white boy like this in a long time.” > > (via [@allthesmokeprod](https://twitter.com/allthesmokeprod?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) [pic.twitter.com/od08CNJLLy](https://t.co/od08CNJLLy?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) [September 22, 2024](https://twitter.com/LegionHoops/status/1837979317151977832?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We've got a lot of really interesting matchups this week. Falmouth takes on Fryeburg. Deering travels to Massabesic. Bonny Eagle heads to Saco to play Thornton Academy. And Leavitt hosts Cony, hoping to avoid going to 1-3\. The Model's picks for this weekend's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Week 3 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/week-3/ Last updated: 2024-09-20T11:00:01.000Z So that Patriots game...yikes. At least the under hit. And it might be Drake Maye time? --- Last week's Game of the Day was near my house, so I decided to check it out. The Model had Foxcroft Academy slightly favored over Oceanside, but when Zeb Foster went nearly 70 yards on Oceanside's first play and then the Mariners added another big run to go up 14-0 on the next drive, there were a lot of raised eyebrows on the sideline. Foxcroft didn't quit. They answered and then late in the second half, they got this TD pass to tie the game. 0:00 /0:11 1× But they weren't done. Foxcroft scored the final 30 points to win in convincing fashion, 30-14\. Foxcroft is GOOD. The breaking point in the game was when Oceanside stuffed Foxcroft on 4th and goal on the 1 yard line--Momentum!--and then Foxcroft got a safety on 1st down. Momentum gone. --- Football rankings are updated. There's some wonkiness inherent in the Model after 2 weeks. Two games isn't a lot to go on, so the rankings can move quite a bit based on very little, especially since teams are clustered very close together. A late game touchdown can move you several spots. Another week of games will bring more clarity, but for now there's weird stuff where Leavitt has fallen after their loss to Winthrop and blowout win over a Brunswick team that isn't worth anything in the rankings. It's hard to tell how much weight last season should have in an 8 game season. Anyway... [Football RankingsRankings start with a fraction of last season’s final rankings.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2022/11/football-rankings-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) --- This week on the podcast, Jarod Richmond (of WHOU and Spruce Mountain and everything else) joined me to overreact to the games of week 2\. It's a great conversation. Jarod has insight on a ton of teams, as you'd expect. Plus, we get into basketball (obviously) and dig into the B South Girls tourney for this coming winter. Check it out! [Week 2 Overreactions with Jarod RichmondWeek 2 is in the books so it’s time to overreact to what we’ve seen so far. I’m joined this year by one of the hardest working guys in Maine, Jarod Richmond. On![](https://podcasts.apple.com/assets/favicon/favicon-180.png)Apple Podcasts![](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts116/v4/bb/e7/40/bbe7403b-62eb-8ed9-bead-d265d042c975/mza_7389094507697811808.jpg/1200x1200bf-60.jpg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/week-2-overreactions-with-jarod-richmond/id1675940033?i=1000669802412&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Or, if you prefer Spotify. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0sL46lR25YiPIMVmanhpRj?si=bac0a351dd004337&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Heal Points are updated in the formatting you've come to prefer to the MPA's version. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-19-at-10.49.28-PM-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-heal-points/) These are wildly superior to the MPA's version of Heal Points. Upgrade to get those same Heal Points. [Upgrade](#/portal/account/plans) --- Falmouth's legendary coach added a new trophy to the case. > Congratulations to our Coach David Halligan for being inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame today at the Merrill Auditorium. [pic.twitter.com/dpxSlNFGNt](https://t.co/dpxSlNFGNt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Falmouth Navigators (@FalmouthAD) [September 15, 2024](https://twitter.com/FalmouthAD/status/1835398933264175322?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Cooper was balling in Rucker Park while Ace took his official visit to UMaine. > Cooper Flagg @ Rucker Park , NYC [pic.twitter.com/gQK9aOxRos](https://t.co/gQK9aOxRos?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Hoops (@HoopMixOnly) [September 16, 2024](https://twitter.com/HoopMixOnly/status/1835698920422261144?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- That's it! The Model's predictions for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A Coven of Witches URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/a-coven-of-witches/ Last updated: 2024-09-13T10:22:15.000Z Week One brought us some fantastic action and the usual share of surprises. But the Ramblers gave us the biggest one of all. [Watch: Winthrop football opens with an impressive shutout win over LeavittThe Ramblers convert turnovers into points and deal the Hornets their first setback since November 2021.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Kennebec Journal and Morning SentinelNathan FournierSun Journal![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/39575661_SJ.SPTleavittwinthropfbP.09072414.jpg)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2024/09/06/football-winthrop-opens-with-an-impressive-shutout-win-over-leavitt/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) People were understandably high on Winthrop, but I don't know how many people were *this* high. Sure, Leavitt has lost a bunch of talent since last year, but thirty to nothing? I don't think anyone expected that. Week one is nothing if not a reason to overreact, so I had Adam Robinson join me on the podcast to overreact to everything about Week 1\. This was a really fun conversation, even if you ignore the fact that neither Adam nor I remembered that Halloween weekend is a playoff weekend. That's on us. We'll do better. You can watch the video on YouTube: Or you can listen on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or anywhere else you podcast. [Week 1 Overreactions with Adam RobinsonWeek 1 of football season is in the books and it was awesome. The Patriots won!!! Notre Dame lost!!! Leavitt got shut out?!?! OOB scored HOW MANY? Adam Robinson![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-180.png)Apple Podcasts![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/1200x630wp-60.jpg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/week-1-overreactions-with-adam-robinson/id1675940033?i=1000669128110&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6rh7m2S0L0cMekAcsSih99?si=038f90ad20104391&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In the podcast, I mentioned a tackle I saw in the Medomak Valley/Hermon game (spoiler: Hermon is really good) and I was able to find the video of it, courtesy of Eastern Maine Sports, who apparently was there? Guys, come say hi! --- Overall, the Model did pretty well in the first week. Football: 26-15 (63.41%) Boys Soccer: 90-29 (75.6%) Girls Soccer: 110-25 (81.5%) Field Hockey: 60-17 (77.9%) That's not a great start for football, but a fantastic start for girls soccer! Hopefully football rallies. Remember that the Model will take a couple of games to adjust to the new talent levels for each team, so maybe wait a week or so before yelling at me online. [Fall Sports RankingsGOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/soccer-rankings-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) Also, the Heal Points you've come to prefer to the MPA's website are up and running. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-12-at-10.43.46-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-heal-points/) Of course, this is a paid feature, but well worth it! [Upgrade](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-heal-points/) --- This week, there's a great lineup of games, but two things stood out. First: > This Friday night will be the 8th annual Autism Awareness Night across the state. It’s grown from two teams participating in year one to a record number of 38 football teams this weekend. > > Every person matters in a school and in a community. This night celebrates that concept. [pic.twitter.com/VogK31WzZv](https://t.co/VogK31WzZv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — BL Lippert (@coachlip) [September 8, 2024](https://twitter.com/coachlip/status/1832758983427248315?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This is obviously a fantastic cause and hopefully it spreads to basketball in the winter. In Brewer, we have a one-of-a-kind matchup, featuring a team from Massachusetts? > Rivalry Week! This week your Salem Witches are taking the trip to Brewer, Maine to take on the Witches of Brewer in the next edition of the Ken Perrone Witches Classic! [#BeatBrewer](https://twitter.com/hashtag/BeatBrewer?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#ALLIN](https://twitter.com/hashtag/ALLIN?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#GoWitch](https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoWitch?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/LpXLgLJvQI](https://t.co/LpXLgLJvQI?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Salem High School Football (@SalemHSFootball) [September 8, 2024](https://twitter.com/SalemHSFootball/status/1832885093301383465?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's only two schools in the country who use the Witches mascot--our own Brewer Witches and a team from a certain town in Massachusetts that, uh, doesn't have the greatest history with witches, but ok. This is actually the first time a football team from Maine has played a team from Massachusetts in a countable game. > official itinerary for the 2nd Ken Perrone Witches Classic. A COUNTABLE battle for the CAULDRON CUP between [@SalemHSFootball](https://twitter.com/SalemHSFootball?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) & the Brewer Witches. [pic.twitter.com/CDyWVs8DSl](https://t.co/CDyWVs8DSl?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Brewer Witches (@BrewerWitches) [September 12, 2024](https://twitter.com/BrewerWitches/status/1834215016414789813?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You'll notice in the predictions below that it has Brewer playing "New Hampshire". I'm not going to make an entire MA Model just for one game, because the hell with that, so all teams from away are lumped in under the heading of "New Hampshire" and treated as one team. It should be a great time in Brewer. --- J. Kyle Mann from [The Ringer](https://www.theringer.com/video/2024/9/12/24242622/cooper-flagg-is-running-toward-the-grind?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) has a very cool profile out on Cooper Flagg. Mann goes in-depth on Flagg as a prospect and his growth over the last several years (there's a lot of footage from Maine high school games in here) and even gets into some heady areas. Did you know there's 3 type of leapers? I did not. It's absolutely worth your time. [Cooper Flagg Is Running Toward the GrindIs Cooper Flagg’s bid for stardom legitimate or far-fetched? The Ringer’s J. Kyle Mann attempts to find out.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/icon/favicon-196x196.0.png)The RingerJ. Kyle Mann![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/thumbnail/TheRinger_Flagg_TitleCard_condensed.jpg)](https://www.theringer.com/video/2024/9/12/24242622/cooper-flagg-is-running-toward-the-grind?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I go to a lot of games and more and more I find I want to be as far away from the parents as humanly possible. The press pass helps. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/09/image.png) I was at a field hockey game the other day and the parents went back and forth between asking what the rules are and screaming at the refs for blowing the call. It wasn't great. It also wasn't a surprise. ## Game of the Day The slate of games this weekend has a ton of potential, with 4 games sporting a Stax Index over 80, including a Massabesic/Cheverus game that's a literal toss-up. But the top game is a really interesting matchup between Oceanside and Foxcroft Academy. Class C looks like it's more winnable than it was last year and Oceanside is in the mix as much as anyone. Meanwhile, Foxcroft put up 71 in their Week 1 win over Belfast. But will they be able to hang with a Winthrop team that just dismantled Leavitt? The Model's picks for this and the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Football! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football/ Last updated: 2024-09-06T10:56:10.000Z The air is starting to get a little bit crisp, which means it's time to break out your hoodies and kick off the fall sports season! [Football RankingsRankings start with a fraction of last season’s final rankings.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2022/11/football-rankings-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) If you're new here, the Model starts with last year's final rankings (well, a fraction of last year's rankings) as good teams tend to stay good and bad teams tend to stay bad. This does a couple of things. First, it allows the Model to make a prediction on Opening Day. Second, it helps ensure the Model doesn't overreact to the first game. This is a bigger issue in basketball. If, say, the Falmouth boys lose their first game of the year, the Model assumes that they'll probably be ok. Now, if they start 0-3, that's a pattern. Anyway, Leavitt starts the year in first place. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-02-at-2.32.34-PM-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) If you're interested in the math at all, I made a not-small change in how the Model calculates playoff games. There was a situation where if you got smoked in the playoffs--like really smoked--the Model would punish you to the extent that it was possible to fare worse than the team you beat in the previous round. The fix for that ended up shuffling some teams around in the final rankings. One other note on football: a couple of teams play games against teams "from away". This happens every year, except this year there's a cool matchup between Brewer and Salem, Mass--the two schools with a Witch mascot (note to self: maybe worth a road trip to Brewer?). I really don't want to build an entire model for one team from Mass to play one game against Brewer or for the handful of New Hampshire teams that play southern Maine teams every year, so I just bunch them all together as a team called "New Hampshire". Is it a great fix? No. But it works for now. --- On the latest episode of the podcast, I talked to Andrew Hart of the incredibly valuable [MaineHighSchoolFootball.com](https://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=mainefootball&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) to preview the football season. We talked about the rise (and fall?) of 8-man football, Leavitt's dominance, the impact of enrollment, the contenders in each region, and which Maine coach would make the best candidate for Vice President. You can listen to the full conversation at the YouTube link above, on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings/videos/1239014617133154), or your standard podcast platforms. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/5ZCGRUkRLWj8LNe61uRZHN?si=9f687663bebe4d17&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Apple Podcasts](https://apple.co/4cRIxCv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you enjoy the podcasts, make sure to subscribe on your platform of choice and leave a nice review. It helps with algorithms and all that fun stuff and makes it easier to do more of them. It really does go a long way! --- If soccer and field hockey are more your vibe, there's rankings for that as well. [Fall Sports RankingsGOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2023/09/soccer-rankings-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) This also starts with last season's final rankings. --- Over the Labor Day weekend, Oceanside middle schooler Olivia Breen announced her transfer to Montverde, followed a couple of days later by her sister Bailey. [Girls’ basketball: Breen sisters to continue careers at Florida prep powerBailey Breen, 17, and Olivia Breen, 14, will play this winter for Montverde Academy, the three-time national champions.![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldDrew BonifantPress Herald![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/08/39044626_20240717_oliviabreen_1-1723917652.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/09/03/girls-basketball-thomaston-middle-school-standout-transfers-to-florida-prep-power/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This has been long-rumored, but is now official. Bailey Breen was very likely going to win Miss Basketball. The door is now open for other contenders. The early word on Olivia Breen is that she would dominate in B South, perhaps even more than her sister has, so the move to Montverde makes a lot of sense and it'll be awesome to see two Mainers playing on the biggest stage. This also creates a wide-open Class B girls. Oceanside should still be in the mix in B South, but one can now imagine any number of teams representing the region in the Gold Ball game. Make your picks in the comments! --- Some scary news from Orono. > Edward Little great John Shea is stepping away from basketball and the University of Maine men’s basketball team because of a heart condition called dysautonomia. [pic.twitter.com/Lbnu4iC8dv](https://t.co/Lbnu4iC8dv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [August 28, 2024](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1828600769408319949?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The fall schedules are all loaded and hopefully accurate. I've found the usual mistakes (one team entered their JV games as varsity games...again). You can find the day's games at the scoreboard. [ScoreboardToday’s scores.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2023/01/scoreboard-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) If you've got a score, feel free to enter it! And if you know a postponement, please put that in the PPD? column. If you happen to know the new date, putting that in the column is a massive help. --- If you find yourself stuck with NFHS Network broadcasts (I'm so sorry), it turns out they have an [affiliate program](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/affiliate-program?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) where NFHS will get less money. It's a thing you apply for. I have no idea how hard it is to get approved, but they approved me, so this NFHS link will do the trick. [Live Stream MPA Sports | NFHS NetworkWatch high school sports and events nationwide, live and on demand, via the NFHS Network. Stream regular season and playoffs online from anywhere.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Follow Us On![](https://social.nfhsnetwork.com/39c2e200b5_1645459428693.png)](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/PyLXJR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But you might be able to get your booster group approved and then some of that money could stay in your community. Just saying. --- Over Labor Day Weekend, Ryan Metiver repeated at the [Last Man Standing Ultramarathon](https://www.facebook.com/lastmanultra/posts/pfbid02ZA59NEBicmQR4DXwJ3DaQbbBgY7eoQ7GgF4yVDq1nVYEpacGQmn4CYY7Y3kLipkul), setting a new course record with 39 laps. Last Man Standing is a "backyard ultra", where you run a \~4.2 mile lap and every hour, if you can get back to the starting line, you run it again. Whoever lasts the longest wins. It's one of the more difficult running formats around. --- Mark Haskell of the Courier-Gazette weighs in on the [Cooper Flagg craze](https://knox.villagesoup.com/sports/haskells-hotstove/cooper-flaggs-popularity-turning-casual-maine-fans-into-cameron-crazies/article%5F25ed940e-6959-11ef-b1cf-7ba48e6039a2.html?utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&utm%5Fcampaign=user-share&fbclid=IwY2xjawFDARRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHSJGYKYIvPWfD10kvx15%5FSH-dGaxIbg2MPZvShpiB7cJmLM5-4qI4qf%5Fnw%5Faem%5F3WIVzR14qjZxJJCsxRCZJg), as does the NBA. > If [@Cooper\_Flagg](https://twitter.com/Cooper%5FFlagg?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) is in the paint, forget about it 🙅‍♂️[#NBADefenseWeek](https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBADefenseWeek?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/bJEcRq1eUv](https://t.co/bJEcRq1eUv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA Future Starts Now (@nbafuturenow) [September 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/nbafuturenow/status/1830714996801618303?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I'll hold off on any Game of the Day stuff until next week. Expect a weekly newsletter for the fall and then we'll be back on the daily schedule for basketball season. --- The Model's picks for all of today's games (which are 100% based on last season) are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Fall Sports! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-sports/ Last updated: 2024-08-27T00:01:28.000Z The start of another school year is right around the corner and if you're reading this, you probably already know that practices for the fall sports season have already started. Maybe you've already been running early morning laps or maybe you just dropped the kids off at practice on your way to work, but either way, we'll be playing countable games before you know it. Just like last year, I'll be tracking Heal Points for soccer and field hockey in the manner in which you've grown to...prefer. I also do it for football, in case you want to see how it differs from Crabtree. [Fall Heal PointsThe basketball heal points format you’ve grown to rely on, but with Fall Sports. Upgrade to Paid![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2022/10/maine-basketball-banner-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-heal-points/) I'll also have rankings for football, soccer, and field hockey and the newsletter will have predictions for the football games each week. So, if you're one of the people who pauses their subscription in the summer, here's your reminder to start it back up. [Turn Your Subscription Back On](#/portal/account/plans) Soccer in the County has already started, of course (no, the MPA's Heal Points aren't working yet), but I can't really start the rankings because the schedules haven't all been loaded yet (I believe the deadline is the 30th) and if I have to pull the schedules multiple times it becomes a hot mess almost instantly. So stay tuned! --- I took a little bit of a hiatus from the podcast this summer to focus on wrangling the edit for my feature film into better shape. It currently looks like this, if you're curious. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/08/Screenshot-2024-08-25-at-4.05.32-PM.png) Currently I'm fine-tuning the cut and then it's sound mixing and color correcting and all those fun finishing steps. Anyway, I'm lining up some episodes previewing the fall season, but first, I spoke to Steve Carey of CMCC and Southern Maine Sting about recruiting players for college basketball, the role of parents in that (good and bad!), how that relates to AAU, and a bunch of other stuff. Check it out on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vqDCo6Pswg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Or Spotify, Apple, or wherever you podcast. [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/196v4dMGfyUC6lI4ugFpPp?si=484abd0811564bbd&nd=1&dlsi=5e8a807e898c4f3f&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Apple Podcasts](https://t.co/4IAXv9IqfK?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you enjoy these, make sure you leave a review. It helps other people find the show, as algorithms love that sort of stuff. --- If you missed it during the Olympics, Greg Levinsky did a "what if?" for the BDN of [what if Maine hosted the Summer Olympics](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/08/05/sports/if-maine-hosted-the-summer-olympics-heres-where-you-might-catch-your-favorite-event?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)? Can you imagine the traffic? [Read the Article](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/08/05/sports/if-maine-hosted-the-summer-olympics-heres-where-you-might-catch-your-favorite-event/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR337d5AjrRSGwFecjL6h1yrF5e62G0giQr4YzAQh%5Fh4YXJp8Q2lLSkaxbg%5Faem%5FsBq9BpLu4H2mwBEOiM8fsg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- WHOU has their early broadcast schedule out. > 🚨BROADCAST SCHEDULE ANNOUNCEMENT🚨 > We are excited to release our first broadcast schedule for the fall season! We start with our southernmost school [@OOBathletics](https://twitter.com/OOBathletics?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)! We will cover Girls Soccer and Football starting with an opening day doubleheader on Thursday 9/5! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/X3wm5T1pQy](https://t.co/X3wm5T1pQy?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — WHOU.live (@WHOU\_Live) [August 22, 2024](https://twitter.com/WHOU%5FLive/status/1826644548078239806?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And a pretty good football schedule: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/08/image.png) Also, if you find yourself stuck with NFHS Network broadcasts (I'm so sorry), it turns out they have an [affiliate program](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/affiliate-program?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) where NFHS will get less money. It's a thing you apply for. I have no idea how hard it is to get approved, but they approved me, so this NFHS link will do the trick. [NFHS link](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/PyLXJR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But you might be able to get your booster group approved and then some of that money could stay in your community. Just saying. --- One person who had a pretty big summer was Ryan Martin. > WATCH 📺🏀 - Former Mr. Maine Basketball & current Lake Region Boys Hoops Head Coach Ryan Martin set a new world record last Friday: > > 1,134 made three-pointers in an hour. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#GuinnessWorldRecord](https://twitter.com/hashtag/GuinnessWorldRecord?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@GWR](https://twitter.com/GWR?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/1ehXeOVWpv](https://t.co/1ehXeOVWpv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jack Webb (@Jackiemoon\_25) [August 13, 2024](https://twitter.com/Jackiemoon%5F25/status/1823494217764888632?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Finally, if you're into hockey, Ben Kennedy (my oldest friend in the world) has started a hockey podcast. Check it out! [Pucks From The Pine Tree PodHello and thank you for checking out my podcast. The intent of this channel is to provide regular news & notes coverage from all 32 NHL teams, Boston Bruins post game reviews & breakdowns, along with additional coverage spanning the PWHL, the Maine Mariners of the ECHL, the University of Maine hockey program and Maine high school hockey features. The channel is becoming part of the Black N Gold Productions & Cyclone Sports Podcast Network. So be on the lookout for us there and check out all the other great hockey coverage from the Black N Gold Family! https://blackngoldhockey.com/ -Ben![](https://www.youtube.com/s/desktop/b9bfb983/img/favicon_144x144.png)YouTube![](https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/3HT-lzQUoNvSyXei9t8HUbGKgT9AGuAwaKwtFeU9hYVWxmUJIoBALWlse9KyPJoFiGyqOpYu=s900-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)](https://www.youtube.com/@pucksfromthepinetree?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Summah Leagues URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/summer-leagues/ Last updated: 2024-06-24T12:00:24.000Z First, the important news. In case you haven't heard, Al Horford is coming back! > Not sure if people saw this, but Al Horford confirmed to TMZ that he is coming back next season: > > "There's no question about it. I don't know why those speculations were out there, that I was, like, retiring. But I'm still playing and I'm very excited for next season." > > — Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzellNBA) [June 22, 2024](https://twitter.com/NoaDalzellNBA/status/1804591960512147624?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Let's run it back, shall we? With the Celtics winning in 5, that means that the guests on the podcast previews of the playoffs got every single round right. Quarterfinals: Mike Mandell – Celtics in 5 (lose game 2) Semifinals: Griffin Conlogue – Celtics in 5 (lose game 3) Eastern Conference Finals: Jon Duke – Celtics sweep Finals: Adam Robinson – Celtics in 5 (lose game 3) Make sure you subscribe. Lots of new episodes on the way! [‎The Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast on Apple Podcasts‎Sports · 2024![](https://t1.gstatic.com/faviconV2?client=SOCIAL&type=FAVICON&fallback_opts=TYPE,SIZE,URL&url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033&size=128)Apple Podcasts![](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts116/v4/bb/e7/40/bbe7403b-62eb-8ed9-bead-d265d042c975/mza_7389094507697811808.jpg/1200x630wp.png)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Summer League play has started. The Presque Isle Invitational was this weekend up in the County. Word is the Caribou boys were one of the standout teams of the weekend. WHOU had coverage of the entire event, if you'd like to check it out. [Presque Isle Invitational 2024 - WHOU.livePresque Isle hosts their Invitational tournament again this year June 21 - 23\. 43 games total! Caribou 1 & 2 Mattanawcook Academy Hodgdon Fort Kent Presque Isle 1 & 2 PVHS Carrabec Fort Fairfield Erskine Academy Spruce Mountain Madawaska Valley Southern Aroostook MDI Belfast![](https://dr56wvhu2c8zo.cloudfront.net/whouvideo/assets/7ef7c64d-c7c8-464f-9bf3-25bfe4f16873.png)WHOU.live![](https://vhx.imgix.net/whouvideo/assets/c25a5e96-60a5-4390-99e8-266aeae3a9c7.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=720&q=75&w=1280)](https://www.whou.live/presque-isle-invitational-2024?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Further south, the Cony/G&E Roofing Summer League kicks off today at 3pm. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-24-at-3.18.20-AM.png) The full schedule is at the link below (you should be able to download it). [2024 Cony Summer League Sched2024 Cony Summer League Sched.docx17 KBdownload-circle](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/content/files/2024/06/2024-Cony-Summer-League-Sched.docx "Download") And for added fun, here's the middle school schedule. [2024 Cony MS Summer League2024 Cony MS Summer League.docx14 KBdownload-circle](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/content/files/2024/06/2024-Cony-MS-Summer-League.docx "Download") Even further south, there's this seemingly-unnamed league full of mostly AA schools. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-24-at-3.46.31-AM.png) Plenty of opportunities to watch some basketball this summer. If you've got more schedules, send them my way. --- Finally... Cooper has started practicing with Duke. Seems to be going ok. > Cooper Flagg is about to be a STAR for Duke‼️ [pic.twitter.com/5fYV8SLG9j](https://t.co/5fYV8SLG9j?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Blue Devils (@BlueDevils) [June 23, 2024](https://twitter.com/BlueDevils/status/1804911830310977863?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### KP Panic Time? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/kp-panic-time/ Last updated: 2024-06-12T08:37:25.000Z If you haven't heard, there's some Kristaps Porziņģis injury news and it's...not great. [Porzingis has ‘rare injury’; questionable for G3Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis suffered what the team called a “rare injury” to his left leg and is considered questionable to play in Game 3.![](https://a.espncdn.com/wireless/mw5/r1/images/bookmark-icons-v2/espn-icon-180x180.png)ESPNTim Bontemps![](https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2024%2F0610%2Fr1343987_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg)](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/%5F/id/40328074/kristaps-porzingis-rare-leg-injury-nba-finals-status-uncertain?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's only 1 reported case of this in the NBA (and that was part of a traumatic injury), so no one knows what to expect. I even read somewhere that there were only 32 reported cases of this injury...ever. I find that hard to fathom, but whatever. Everyone is understandably nervous, but if you want some encouraging news, there's this: > Dr. Daniel Kharrazi, an orthopedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai and former [#Lakers](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lakers?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) consultant, told [@BostonGlobe](https://twitter.com/BostonGlobe?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) he's seen a injury like Porzingis' once in 25 years. He was optimistic about Porzingis' ability to play: > "A lot of times the ankle and the tendon can be taped to allow… > > — gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) [June 11, 2024](https://twitter.com/GwashburnGlobe/status/1800654506578821585?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Maybe we can unlock this version of Kornet. > Why are we acting like we don’t have another Porzingis on our team? [pic.twitter.com/F7iQsyIqrs](https://t.co/F7iQsyIqrs?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — c4☘️ (@C4BOSTON\_) [June 11, 2024](https://twitter.com/C4BOSTON%5F/status/1800602372961448115?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm sticking with my pick of Celtics in 5. --- I've got two new podcasts for you to check out. First, if you're tired of the ESPN talking heads who were all picking the Mavs to win in 6, Adam Robinson joined me to preview the Finals (and so far we look pretty, pretty on-point). You'll also notice we're both wearing some Maine Sting gear, courtesy of Steve Carey (thanks, Steve!). You can watch that on YouTube or listen on Spotify or wherever you consume podcasts. Make sure you subscribe and leave a review and all that algorithm stuff. [LIsten on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/7JjzWwnWl8siM73o35tmp4?si=2d5b061ab9354a90&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I also spoke to UMaine distance runner Connor Daigle, who took up running to get in shape for basketball season (how many of us did that?) and fell in love with the sport. [‎The Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast: UMaine Distance Runner Connor Daigle on Apple Podcasts‎Show The Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast, Ep UMaine Distance Runner Connor Daigle - Jun 8, 2024![](https://t3.gstatic.com/faviconV2?client=SOCIAL&type=FAVICON&fallback_opts=TYPE,SIZE,URL&url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/umaine-distance-runner-connor-daigle/id1675940033?i=1000658290262&size=128)Apple Podcasts![](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts116/v4/bb/e7/40/bbe7403b-62eb-8ed9-bead-d265d042c975/mza_7389094507697811808.jpg/1200x630wp.png)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/umaine-distance-runner-connor-daigle/id1675940033?i=1000658290262&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You might remember Connor from his cross-country state championship where he fell 6 times and still managed to win. We talked about track vs. roads, training for the heat, goals going forward, and his hopes to 3-peat at [The Waldoboro Day 5K ](https://runsignup.com/Race/ME/Waldoboro/WaldoboroDay5K?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)this Saturday. If you're into running, The Waldoboro Day 5K is a scenic route that just happens to be the only race that has a whoopie pie station. [Waldoboro Day 5KThe Waldoboro Day 5K is on Saturday June 15, 2024.![](https://d368g9lw5ileu7.cloudfront.net/img/nonversioned/favicon/runsignup/icon.svg)Waldoboro Day 5K![](https://d368g9lw5ileu7.cloudfront.net/races/race47717-social1200x630.bMbgkv.jpg)](https://runsignup.com/Race/ME/Waldoboro/WaldoboroDay5K?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's a lot of fun! I've also figured out pricing for advertising on the podcast, so if you'd like to advertise your small business, basketball camp, or whatever, just email me for more information: mainebasketballrankings \[at\] gmail \[dot\] com Also, you can add Illinois to the list of states that embrace the shot clock. ![May be an image of 1 person and text that says 'Justice Keene @JusticeKeene1 Follow BREAKING: #IHSA officially announces 2026-27 as the school year a 35-second clock will be required 11:24AM 6/11/24 From Earth 121K Views'](https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/448207989_970588705078057_8356771881086657796_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=Lm9XcPYE3OwQ7kNvgEsWs2y&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=00_AYBVKtUw9rfTOPc_OtQC10RzXqo6LYszD1B_NZ_LAFXdjw&oe=666F2ABC) How many more states are we going to watch do this before we get it together? ### Pacers/Celtics Preview with Jon Duke URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/pacers-celtics-preview-with-jon-duke/ Last updated: 2024-05-22T01:02:22.000Z The Celtics are back in the Eastern Conference Finals, much to the chagrin of every talking head on ESPN, so Jon Duke joins me to preview the series, talk about why the media is so hell-bent on burying Tatum & Company. Plus, we talk about Joe Mazzulla, do a quick preview of next year in A North, and more! [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0rJu38DuEWF3BAwETKxIM6?si=74fd1d6724ae4edb&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Or Apple Podcasts [‎The Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast: Pacers/Celtics Preview with Jon Duke on Apple Podcasts‎Show The Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast, Ep Pacers/Celtics Preview with Jon Duke - May 21, 2024![](https://t0.gstatic.com/faviconV2?client=SOCIAL&type=FAVICON&fallback_opts=TYPE,SIZE,URL&url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pacers-celtics-preview-with-jon-duke/id1675940033?i=1000656329650&size=128)Apple Podcasts![](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts116/v4/bb/e7/40/bbe7403b-62eb-8ed9-bead-d265d042c975/mza_7389094507697811808.jpg/1200x630wp.png)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pacers-celtics-preview-with-jon-duke/id1675940033?i=1000656329650&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) As always, make sure you subscribe at your favorite podcast hub and leave a review (it helps!) ### Stolen Seasons and Leavitt Football URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/stolen-seasons-and-leavitt-football/ Last updated: 2024-05-21T11:44:05.000Z If you're following softball at all, you probably noticed that the MPA's Heal Points site got all wonky all of a sudden. Games are missing (but also not missing?). It's all weird. The Heals on the site are in considerably better shape. There's some missing games and weird schedule quirks, but it's working! If I'm missing a score, let me know. [Spring Heal PointsHeal Points done right.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2023/03/Spring-heal-points-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring-heal-points/) You can also see updated rankings for baseball, softball, and lacrosse. [Spring Sports RankingsBaseball. Softball. Lacrosse.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2024/04/spring-rankings-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring-sports-rankings/) --- Well this is cool. > Congratulations to Magic and St. Paul’s 6’8 2025 Landon Clark on being selected for NBA Top 100 Camp! Landon will head to Orlando June 8-13 for one of the most prestigious camp’s in the country! [#NBATop100](https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBATop100?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#MagicFamily](https://twitter.com/hashtag/MagicFamily?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 🔵⚪️⚫️ [pic.twitter.com/3vVbj6PEo2](https://t.co/3vVbj6PEo2?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Middlesex Magic (@MiddlesexMagic) [May 13, 2024](https://twitter.com/MiddlesexMagic/status/1789829268328865985?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This is a very cool thing for Landon, who was on the Maine United team that played so well at Peach Jam after transferring from Bangor to St. Paul's. You might remember the NBA Top 100 camp from Cooper Flagg's performance when he was invited. It's awesome that Maine has produced a generational talent and it's crazy to think that in the next NBA Draft Lottery, the big prize is going to be a kid from Maine. But, as I like to say, "Jimmy Chitwood can grow up anywhere." The real test is when we start producing more than just one outlier talent and Landon Clark's invite to the Top 100 camp is a sign that we're on the right path. --- I'm determined to keep the podcasts going all off-season because I think they have potential (and I enjoy them), so if you aren't subscribed, there's 2 more for you to check out. First up: Legendary sportscaster Dave Eid and Thornton Academy AD Gary Stevens have teamed up to write a book about how the Maine sports community rallied to overcome COVID. And not just high schools. There's chapters on Beach to Beacon, UMaine, and so much more. Gary joined me on the podcast to talk about the genesis of the book, but also about how the role of an Athletic Director has changed over the course of his career. I enjoyed this conversation a lot more than the thumbnail of this video would have you believe. There's a ton of great stuff in here if you're an AD or coach. The book is well worth the read. You can purchase it online or at a number of bookstores around the state. [Stolen Seasons![](https://assets.squarespace.com/universal/default-favicon.ico)Stolen Seasons![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65ea6ae7f97ae66e8b78a000/fc465439-7d45-4f1c-9acc-e1ce006a4d5f/Front_LG.jpg)](https://www.stolenseasons.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You can also listen on Spotify or wherever it is you consume podcasts. [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ZU0XNpe14W746KZOVdsYf?si=5bad39eaf0614fb5&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Much like a certain website started with one sport and has slowly expanded, the Maine Elite Passing Camp has evolved to include receivers, lineman, and defensive players. Leavitt head coach Michael Hathaway came on the podcast to talk about that evolution, the process by which he built Leavitt's dominant football program, the value of assistant coaches, and a whole lot more. This is a really awesome episode. That conversation is available on Apple Podcasts and (of course) wherever you consume podcasts. [‎The Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast: Building Leavitt’s Dominant Football Program (with Michael Hathaway) on Apple Podcasts‎Show The Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast, Ep Building Leavitt’s Dominant Football Program (with Michael Hathaway) - May 16, 2024![](https://t0.gstatic.com/faviconV2?client=SOCIAL&type=FAVICON&fallback_opts=TYPE,SIZE,URL&url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/building-leavitts-dominant-football-program-with/id1675940033?i=1000655849678&size=128)Apple Podcasts![](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts116/v4/bb/e7/40/bbe7403b-62eb-8ed9-bead-d265d042c975/mza_7389094507697811808.jpg/1200x630wp.png)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/building-leavitts-dominant-football-program-with/id1675940033?i=1000655849678&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you enjoy these, make sure you subscribe on your podcast platform of choice and if you can, leave a review. It helps other people find the show and all that jazz. The next episode of the podcast will be a preview of the Pacers/Celtics series that'll go live on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) and [Twitter](https://x.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) around 7pm. Tune in! --- In a move that will surely be discussed rationally, the MPA has updated their transgender policy to come into compliance with a change in state law. I'll repeat that: *to come into compliance with a change in state law*. Drew Bonifant has a really great story about the impact of this change in the Portland Press Herald, which you should absolutely actually read before you go into a blind rage about anything. [Transgender athletes to face fewer barriers to compete under new policyUnder a policy approved Wednesday by the Maine Principals’ Association, schools will allow transgender athletes to compete on teams either according to their birth-assigned gender or gender identity.![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldDrew BonifantPress Herald![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/05/38428961_20240424_Leo_Eichfeld_2-1715734245.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/05/15/transgender-athletes-to-face-fewer-barriers-to-compete-under-new-policy/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#:~:text=Local%20%26%20State-,Transgender%20athletes%20to%20face%20fewer%20barriers%20to%20compete%20under%20new,assigned%20gender%20or%20gender%20identity) _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Building Leavitt's Dominant Football Program (with Michael Hathaway) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/building-leavitts-dominant-football-program-with-michael-hathaway/ Last updated: 2024-05-17T09:03:37.000Z How do you build a program like Leavitt's? _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Stolen Seasons of COVID URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-stolen-seasons-of-covid/ Last updated: 2024-05-09T16:03:59.000Z The COVID-19 pandemic was probably the biggest collective challenge of our lifetimes. Now Thornton Academy Athletic Director has co-written (with Dave Eid) the definitive record of that time: what happened, how the sports world of Maine responded, and how we ultimately overcame it. We talk about that, plus the evolving role of an Athletic Director as Gary plans to retire at the end of this, his 17th year at Thornton Academy. More about Stolen Seasons: [⁠https://www.stolenseasons.com/](https://www.stolenseasons.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Listen on Spotify: [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ZU0XNpe14W746KZOVdsYf?si=c3d159ef77044083&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Listen on Apple Podcasts: [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-stolen-seasons-of-covid-with-gary-stevens/id1675940033?i=1000655035595&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and if you like what you see, rate it and leave a review and all that fun stuff that fuels the algorithms. If you've got an idea for a guest, let me know! ### Celtics/Cavs Preview with Griffin Conlogue URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/celtics-cavs-preview-with-griffin-conlogue/ Last updated: 2024-05-07T03:14:27.000Z Look, you probably didn't watch a lot of Cleveland games this year. But Cavs fan Griffin Conlogue did and he'll join me to talk about the matchup and what the Celtics have to do to advance to the conference finals. Plus, we talk about Mount Blue and go over Griffin's Four Faves on Letterboxd. Griffin's Letterboxd: [⁠https://letterboxd.com/gc\_93/](https://letterboxd.com/gc%5F93/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We streamed this LIVE. Watch on YouTube: Of course, you can listen to it on Spotify: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/4x64bO65Jzgu2Tb14nyrFq?si=abbaabd8161f49df&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Or Apple Podcasts: [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/celtics-cavs-preview-with-griffin-conlogue/id1675940033?i=1000654749780&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Weird Baseball URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/weird-baseball/ Last updated: 2024-05-06T11:36:54.000Z In MLB Twitter there used to be a thing called "Weird Baseball" (maybe there still is) that my old friend Kevin Goldstein of [Baseball Prospectus](https://www.baseballprospectus.com/author/kevin%5Fgoldstein/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) started where if a game goes so long that it goes past midnight, you get to eat ice cream. Kevin's not on Twitter anymore (because he works for the Twins now), but there's still some evidence of it. > If a game goes past midnight in the time zone it’s being played in, it’s WEIRD BASEBALL and you get to eat ice cream. Also, I cut many promos for So Weird when I worked at Disney Channel. So. Worlds collide. [https://t.co/4lHZb5r8n4](https://t.co/4lHZb5r8n4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) [July 25, 2018](https://twitter.com/rianjohnson/status/1021984851132600324?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I mention this because there's got to be a version of Weird Baseball for games where they don't have lights, because Foxcroft Academy and Washington Academy went 18 innings the other day and if that isn't Weird Baseball, I don't know what is. Anyway, Foxcroft's Jack Day walked off in the 18th *after* pitching 8.2 innings of scoreless relief. Thankfully, [Eastern Maine Sports](https://easternmainesports.com/2024/05/04/jack-day-walk-off-sends-foxcroft-to-win-over-washington-academy-in-18-inning-instant-classic/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2-%5FiQFZcJw732Ur8T9zmGTS0%5FLcj6Z4hsh0jQN7UuFfR1YqE66QU8Asog%5Faem%5FASpZb0ZPJYwlBpTff4UdLoNT1Kivh76iZB6U34A9AMpEm5KMJM-0nVzCxxdr0f%5F7%5FcG7mmLDKHwIyP17igxwvJOw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) was there. [Jack Day walk-off sends Foxcroft to win over Washington Academy in 18 inning instant classicDOVER-FOXCROFT– Jack Day ended a marathon, intense game with a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 18th inning that scored Aiden Harvey and gave the Foxcroft Ponies a dramatic 4-3 win over Wash…![](https://easternmainesports.com/favicon.ico)Eastern Maine SportsPublished by %s![](https://easternmainesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_4662.png)](https://easternmainesports.com/2024/05/04/jack-day-walk-off-sends-foxcroft-to-win-over-washington-academy-in-18-inning-instant-classic/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2-%5FiQFZcJw732Ur8T9zmGTS0%5FLcj6Z4hsh0jQN7UuFfR1YqE66QU8Asog%5Faem%5FASpZb0ZPJYwlBpTff4UdLoNT1Kivh76iZB6U34A9AMpEm5KMJM-0nVzCxxdr0f%5F7%5FcG7mmLDKHwIyP17igxwvJOw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Both teams were undefeated, so it was a big Heal Points win for Foxcroft. [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring-heal-points/) Let me know what games I'm missing. --- The Spring Sports Rankings have also been updated. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-05-at-11.12.19-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-05-at-11.11.28-PM.png) [Spring Sports Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring-sports-rankings/) Yes, I know it says Goals instead of runs. Again, let me know what games I'm missing. --- The Celtics have sent #HeatCulture home in shame so it's time to move on to Cleveland. And just like the Heat series, I found one of the very few Cavs fans in Maine for a podcast to preview the series. Mt. Blue's Griffin Conlogue is going to join me LIVE at 8pm today to try and convince me that Dean Wade will go nuclear from 3 for two weeks. Or on Facebook [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/events/1368217841247265) And you can listen to the podcast wherever you podcast. I'm working on getting some more podcast guests (some cool ones are in the works), so subscribe! ### We Have to Go Back...to Four Classes URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/we-have-to-go-back-to-four-classes-2/ Last updated: 2024-04-26T05:33:19.000Z A couple of weeks ago, Bob Beatham, Jr. wrote an ⁠open letter⁠ on [Eastern Maine Sports](https://easternmainesports.com/2024/04/10/maine-high-school-basketball-needs-to-return-to-4-classes?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) making the case for a return to the 4 class system for basketball. We talk about his case for 4 classes and a couple other things he'd change to improve Maine high school basketball. Read the letter: ⁠ [Maine High School Basketball Needs to Return to 4 ClassesSince Maine High School Basketball shifted from 4 classes to 5 prior to the 2015-’16 season, I have been a strong advocate for the return to 4 classes. Here is a letter I have sent to the Ma…![](https://easternmainesports.com/favicon.ico)Eastern Maine SportsPublished by %s![](https://easternmainesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_2418-300x200.jpeg)](https://easternmainesports.com/2024/04/10/maine-high-school-basketball-needs-to-return-to-4-classes?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Watch the video version on YouTube: Or if audio is more your thing... [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ZdMAt8rLh2BcRhiEL3R2C?si=aab297fb16c94aae&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Listen on Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-have-to-go-back-to-four-classes-with-bob-beatham-jr/id1675940033?i=1000653447889&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### The Case For Four Classes URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/we-have-to-go-back-to-four-classes/ Last updated: 2024-04-24T14:56:04.000Z If you've been reading the newsletter for any amount of time you're probably aware that I am not a fan of our current 5-class structure...for a lot of reasons. So, when Bob Beatham, Jr. published an [open letter at Eastern Maine Sports](https://easternmainesports.com/2024/04/10/maine-high-school-basketball-needs-to-return-to-4-classes/?fbclid=IwAR2ohKQbmz-WdwuTNQMSYsPfUFlVKAG3o%5FosB8FSOjaO--YW-1gnWLIyZ54%5Faem%5FAbwKa%5F-OTYedQ6--Vx-Kw3hxWm0j%5FiZd9nKz9V7W1pi0VsU5wwcIkIHgorCIJWWNDtMwtfTRDCN3G%5FAhQmOm8B2q&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) calling for a return to 4 classes (i.e. The Way Things Should Be), I was all ears. Obviously, I had to have him on the podcast to talk about that and some other changes he would make. As always, you can listen to this wherever you podcast. [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ZdMAt8rLh2BcRhiEL3R2C?si=a73e7cbd0813427b&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- With the NBA playoffs starting, earlier this week I talked to our resident Heat fan, Mike Mandell of the Kennebec Journal about Miami's chances in the first round against the Celtics (not great). We also discussed spring sports and a couple other things. I even broke out an old Red Claws hat for the occasion. [Listen on Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-heat-celtics-preview-with-mike-mandell/id1675940033?i=1000653083470&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Speaking of Spring Sports... [Spring Sports RankingsBaseball. Softball. Lacrosse.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2024/04/spring-rankings-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring-sports-rankings/) Spring Sports Rankings are here! After working through a mountain of spreadsheet quirks (and surely there's more to find), I've got ranking for baseball, softball, and lacrosse. These are a tiny bit different from basketball in that they don't use last season as a starting point, because I don't have last season's stats to work with. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-24-at-10.48.02-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring-sports-rankings/) This is all going to be behind the paywall, because it falls under the definition of "extra". Basketball and Football rankings will remain free. [Spring Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring-sports-rankings/) When you find an issue (and you will), let me know. Which also means, let's take a look at the Model's picks for today... _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Spring Sports Opening Day? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring-sports-opening-day-2/ Last updated: 2024-04-11T14:28:52.000Z It's Opening Day! Maybe. For some reason, I thought it was Monday and looking at the weather today, it might be, especially for baseball and softball games played on grass. If the fields look anything like my lawn, they're in rough shape. As of this writing, I've got the baseball schedule loaded and I'm working on getting softball and lacrosse up. The heal points will probably be up this weekend. [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) The scoreboard is pulling from the streaming links database for basketball, so that could be different (but a good place to start looking). I'll also have rankings for baseball/softball/lax and the newsletter will have updated for those, but probably not every day, unless the response warrants it. Stay tuned! --- If you missed it, the Celtics broke a dubious record against Milwaukee. > No team in NBA history has played a game without a free throw attempt. > > — Dick Lipe (@DickLipe) [April 10, 2024](https://twitter.com/DickLipe/status/1777872210062905660?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) To be fair, they had a lot of help. --- Speaking of the refs, I had one of Peter Webb's All-Stars on the podcast. This was a really fun conversation with Chris Barstow with a lot of insights about how refs call the game, how they've progressed in recent years on things like the Euro Step, the impact of sportsmanship and rowdy fans, some news I hadn't heard on the expansion of replay for next season(!), and a lot more. Plus, I found out how you can do a Mutombo finger wag without getting a technical. You can watch the whole thing on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGzqUxHVe68&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) or [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings/videos/1115660716440105/) or you can listen to it on your favorite podcasting platform. [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/7Dl4DYkiqWzBARgpBiaqqr?si=376d9b1ac587446b&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Listen on Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-webb-all-star-chris-barstow/id1675940033?i=1000652062973&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) As with any podcast, if you enjoy these, make sure you rate it, subscribe, share and all that jazz. It really does help with the algorithm. And if you've got a suggestion for a future guest, let me know! --- Stacey Porrini Clingan's kid had a pretty good tournament. > Donovan Clingan wears #32 in honor of his mom, who passed in 2018. > > She was a dominant center at Bristol Central in Connecticut—just like Donovan—then led Maine to three NCAA Tournaments. > > He's now played in two NCAA Tournaments—and won back-to-back national titles with UConn. [pic.twitter.com/9r957HnSgA](https://t.co/9r957HnSgA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Front Office Sports (@FOS) [April 9, 2024](https://twitter.com/FOS/status/1777553480795799660?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The women's National Championship got HUGE numbers. > BREAKING: The Iowa-South Carolina national championship game averaged 18.7 million viewers. > > That makes it the most watched basketball game — men's or women's, college or professional — in five years. > > What a MASSIVE month for women's basketball. [pic.twitter.com/qCXRcpt392](https://t.co/qCXRcpt392?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) [April 8, 2024](https://twitter.com/JoePompliano/status/1777438327857140093?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Mackenzie Holmes has declared for the WNBA draft, but she's also not going to be playing this season. [IU women’s star Mackenzie Holmes to undergo knee surgery, out for entire 2024 WNBA seasonIndiana women’s basketball’s all-time leading scorer Mackenzie Holmes announced Wednesday she will undergo knee surgery, sidelining her until the 2025 WNBA season.![](https://s3media.247sports.com/Content/Img/247touch.png)247SportsJared Kelly![](https://s3media.247sports.com/Uploads/Assets/480/355/12355480.png)](https://247sports.com/article/iu-womens-star-mackenzie-holmes-to-undergo-knee-surgery-out-for-entire-2024-wnba-season-230229611/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [ESPN's latest WNBA mock draft](https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/%5F/id/39912308/wnba-mock-draft-2024-clark-iowa-angel-reese-kamilla-cardoso?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) has Holmes going to Connecticut in the 2nd round. [Beyond Women's Sports](https://www.beyondwomenssports.com/wnba-mock-draft-3-0-final-edition/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) has her going to Indiana in the 2nd. But it's unclear if that's factoring in the injury news or not. My guess is that WNBA teams already had her ongoing knee issues factored into their draft boards, so if the surgery can clear that up, it's got to be a net-positive, long-term. It's not like this is a new injury concern. The draft is Monday, so we'll know soon. That's it for now. Stay dry out there! ### Mackenzie and Anna and JP URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/mackenzie-and-anna-and-j-p/ Last updated: 2024-04-01T13:18:32.000Z Our dream of a Mackenzie Holmes vs. Anna DeWolfe Elite 8 matchup didn't happen, but Maine still had a pretty good showing in March Madness. Holmes, of course, was the big star, even getting the ultimate honor of the [ArtButMakeItSports treatment](https://twitter.com/ArtButSports/status/1772440346925924510?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). > Leonidas at Thermopylae, by Jacques-Louis David, 1814, 📸 by [@Janzaruk](https://twitter.com/Janzaruk?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/VYe2DI9Olp](https://t.co/VYe2DI9Olp?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) [March 26, 2024](https://twitter.com/ArtButSports/status/1772440346925924510?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) What a career. Holmes will now (very likely) head to the WNBA, where a couple mock drafts I've seen have her going in the 2nd round to Indiana, which makes a lot of sense. They seem to have adopted her there (although she'll always be a Mainer). One would think Anna DeWolfe isn't done either. She was instrumental in getting Notre Dame to the Sweet 16\. Hopefully she can find a career overseas. --- Speaking of playing overseas, I had a really fun conversation with Troy Barnies on the podcast, talking about staying healthy deep into your 30's, playing overseas, the importance of a shot clock and so much more. You can check out the video of it on YouTube... Or listen to it as a podcast everywhere you podcast. [Listen on Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/troy-barnies/id1675940033?i=1000650341486&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Drew Bonifant has an article in the Portland Press Herald about the MPA's decision to keep relegation (which they should). [Basketball: MPA panel chooses to keep classification drop-down rule into next yearThe Basketball Committee opted against changes this season to the rule, which gives struggling teams a chance to play down a class.![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldDrew BonifantPress Herald![](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/38130640_20240224_DSouthFInalGirls_3930.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/03/26/basketball-mpa-panel-chooses-to-keep-classification-drop-down-rule-into-next-year/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's hard to argue year 1 of relegation wasn't a success, even if some people have some very inaccurate opinions that teams like Noble stole a playoff spot from another team. > Bonny Eagle Athletic Director Eric Curtis said he was in favor of keeping the rule that two-thirds of teams in a region qualify, and not adding spots to account for teams playing down. > “The Noble boys situation, yeah, they took somebody’s spot, but did that team belong in a tournament? Or are we continuing to water it down?” he said. This is just not true. There were 8 playoff spots in A South last year. Adding Noble (and Massabesic) got the region to 13 teams, which automatically added a spot. Because that's how it works. I spoke to Noble's coach about that very thing. Plus the challenges of building a winning culture from scratch. And for some reason I wore the same sweatshirt in each of these podcasts. [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/51fp2hmrHTNPP6EoyrUOTc?si=35e3cb3eaaff4aa5&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you were watching UConn's absolutely dominant second half, you undoubtedly caught this. > Love ⁦[@CBSSportsCBB](https://twitter.com/CBSSportsCBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)⁩ honoring Donovan’s mom just as the Big D is dominating. Loved coaching her. Love her always. ⁦[@UConnMBB](https://twitter.com/UConnMBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)⁩ headed to the Final Four! [#intimidation](https://twitter.com/hashtag/intimidation?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#familygenes](https://twitter.com/hashtag/familygenes?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#overwhelming](https://twitter.com/hashtag/overwhelming?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/HCb4sKq1lW](https://t.co/HCb4sKq1lW?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joanne P. McCallie (@CoachP4Life) [March 30, 2024](https://twitter.com/CoachP4Life/status/1774222554162397226?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Are we adopting Donovan Clingan as an honorary Mainer? I don't know who makes these decisions. Is it Tim Sample? --- If you were watching the Purdue/Tennessee game yesterday, you saw JP Estrella get his career high in minutes playing fantastic defense on POTY Zach Edey. > Maine native JP Estrella just did a terrific job against Edey. > > Pressed into service due to foul trouble and gave the Vols some HUGE minutes. > > — Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) [March 31, 2024](https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/status/1774531544981311946?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Hell, there was so much Maine influence this weekend that over in the *other* Portland, they paid homage to our crooked Expo floor by playing with the wrong 3-point line. [Uneven 3-point lines in NCAA Women’s Tournament: Officials say Portland court wrongly measured for five gamesThe error was discovered before Texas and NC State met in the Elite Eight, but they agreed to play the game to avoid a delay![](https://sportsfly.cbsistatic.com/fly-0662/bundles/sportsmediacss/images/core/webclips/apple-touch-icon-180.png)CBSSports.comJack Maloney![](https://sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/r/2024/03/31/73953817-1c66-4748-8b31-251f7cd4d796/thumbnail/1200x675/5f11c7cddd807a61461cf573a744e12d/ncaa-court-measuring.jpg)](https://www.cbssports.com/womens-college-basketball/news/uneven-3-point-lines-in-ncaa-womens-tournament-officials-say-portland-court-wrongly-measured-for-five-games/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You play the lines on the floor, I guess. --- To the surprise of no one, Cooper Flagg is the national Gatorade Player of the Year. Duke lost last night, which annually gives a lot of people joy. If you're one of those people... > Get your laughs out now, Maine. Duke is your team next year! > > — Thomas Curtis (@ThomasCurtisGHS) [March 31, 2024](https://twitter.com/ThomasCurtisGHS/status/1774581510370205745?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Ohio State vs THE University of Maine URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ohio-state-vs-the-university-of-maine/ Last updated: 2024-03-22T10:52:15.000Z How's your bracket doing? > Five years ago, Jack Gohlke was a redshirt freshman at Hillsdale College (Division II). > > Tonight, he made 10 three-point shots and scored 32 points as Oakland upset Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament. > > Anarchy? > > Nope. Just College Basketball. > > — Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) [March 22, 2024](https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/1770988040590184737?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Gotta love March Madness. --- As I'm sure you've heard, the women from THE University of Maine play Ohio State today in the first round and who better to give us an idea of what to expect than the longtime voice of the Black Bears, Hall of Fame broadcaster Don Shields. Don joins me from Columbus to give a preview of Ohio State and, since I had him, we did a quick look at what the Midcoast teams he covers all year might look like next season. As always, a conversation with Don is a delight. You can watch it on YouTube... Or you can listen to it on Spotify or wherever else you do podcasts. [Or Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3HfCQOWQzEuVZXcgjENACb?si=1d41fa41907946f3&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Subscribe so you get new episodes as they're released. And obviously you should mute the TV and listen to Don's call of the game. --- I also recorded a podcast with Sam Federman of [Mid-Major Madness](https://www.midmajormadness.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) previewing the tourney, including why Indiana State didn't make it and a lot more. He's a very smart guy. --- Sometimes, you don't know what to expect from your boss when you interview for a new job, but sometimes you do. Long Beach State fired their coach prior to the conference tournament and players went ahead and won the tournament anyway. It's one of the great stories of the year. And then their AD went and said this: > “My belief and hope is that by doing what I did and the timing of it, they would play inspired, and that’s what they did,” Bobby Smitheran told The Associated Press. “I’m not trying to pat myself on the back, but it worked.” DUDE. NO. You're not going to believe this, but he's had the job a whole 6 months. Hopefully he doesn't make it to the end of March. [Monson’s boss says timing of ouster at Long Beach State was designed to inspire March Madness runLong Beach State’s athletic director says the timing of his decision to part with coach Dan Monson was done with the hope it might trigger the exact run that led the team on its unexpected trip to March Madness.![](https://apnews.com/apple-touch-icon.png)AP NewsEDDIE PELLS![](https://dims.apnews.com/dims4/default/7e5fac0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5137x2890+0+268/resize/1440x810!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2F52%2F4c%2F90c450bf4138d05d6fda4a77d2a0%2Fcc648d7ccd144c699051169f62d06b38)](https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-monson-ad-175027347e88d799fdccfe92dd182b6d?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We got JP Estrella minutes last night. > JP ⬆️⬆️⬆️ [pic.twitter.com/XnC8OAxqwL](https://t.co/XnC8OAxqwL?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tennessee Basketball (@Vol\_Hoops) [March 22, 2024](https://twitter.com/Vol%5FHoops/status/1771010214751281267?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Also, he has his own hype account. > WE HAVE ESTEELLA MINUTES !!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL !!! > > — JPESTRELLAFAN (@JPESTRELLAFAN) [March 22, 2024](https://twitter.com/JPESTRELLAFAN/status/1771009080867307966?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) He finished with 6 points and a rebound as my St. Peter's money line bet didn't work out. --- There was some speculation that the MPA should move the Heal Points weights back to 5 points (ok, it was mostly me) to try and rectify the issue of teams like Maranacook and Mount View that have their seeding either elevated or suppressed by playing schedules outside of their class. So I re-ran the Heal Points for those two regions using the old 5 point weights. Here's B North. Maranacook drops to 3, but they still have a bye. There's a difference, but it's marginal. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-04-at-8.34.52-PM-1.png) And here's C North Boys. Surprisingly, Mount View doesn't move. BUT, they were pretty far behind GSA and in the old weights they're right on the heels of #5 Hodgdon. Also, Machias and Fort Fairfield flip. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-04-at-8.47.00-PM-1.png) I think the takeaway here is that we can move the weights back, but what needs to change is the schedules. I'll say it again: don't let the conferences close their schedules, every team has to play X games in their region (8? 10?), fill out the rest from there. --- Last call. Submit your players for All-State consideration or explain to their parents why you didn't. [All-State TeamsSubmit your player today!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2023/02/all-state-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/all-state/) --- In other awards news, Orono's Pierce Walston is the Gatorade Player of the Year. [Pierce Walston 2023 - 2024 MAINE BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEARPierce won the 2023 - 2024 Gatorade Player of the Year in Maine for Boys Basketball![](https://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/favicon.ico)2024 MAINE BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR![](https://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/content/images/g_hamburger_vertical.png)](https://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/winner/pierce-walston/40228?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Cooper Flagg was Florida's POTY, which means that Maine produced TWO Gatorade POTY winners. > How many Gatorade Player of the Year winners did your state produce this year? One? [pic.twitter.com/UmTEvfowuX](https://t.co/UmTEvfowuX?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [March 21, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1770806565458555054?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Finally, we lost one of our own and way too soon. Reid Durost was an essential part of the experience at Husson and tourney games in Bangor. I never had the opportunity to meet Reid in person, but he made a point of reaching out to me when he had every reason not to and was nothing but generous and kind with his time. And from what I've read since his far-too-early passing, that was just who he was. I was hoping to finally meet up with him in Bangor this year, but clearly that wasn't an option. He will very much be missed. [Eastern Maine sports community mourns loss of two contributorsEvery local sports community needs people like George Bishop and Reid Durost.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsLarry Mahoney![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/03/Reid-Durost.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/03/18/sports/eastern-maine-sports-george-bishop-reid-durost/?fbclid=IwAR05viy-2nlxSzASbKYpZQD-yjhi997mhh9aYrZICbebNmPRhmGdJApPcjE&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### This is March URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/this-is-march/ Last updated: 2024-03-18T11:50:53.000Z The Madness is here! In case you haven't heard, the Maine women punched a ticket to the tourney over the weekend with a dominant win over Vermont in the Pit. By all account, the scene was electric. It certainly seemed to be on TV. The Black Bears came out swinging, got a big game out of Windham's Sarah Talon, and made short work of the Catamounts. They'll be heading to Ohio State to try and pull off a 2/15 upset. Or, more accurately, Ohio State will try to prevent THE University of Maine from advancing. to the second round. --- Our hero, [Cream Abdul Jabbar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOstogYxSjY&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), wasn't so lucky. > Indiana State is highest ranked NET team to ever be left out of the field. > > They were ranked 29th in NET😳 > > (CC: [@mid\_madness](https://twitter.com/mid%5Fmadness?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ) [pic.twitter.com/wtz7IG39Tk](https://t.co/wtz7IG39Tk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) [March 17, 2024](https://twitter.com/TheFieldOf68/status/1769506440622784792?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The NCAA committee makes a lot of head-scratching decisions, but there was hope they would at least put the kid going viral in the tournament, especially since they had a very strong case to make it (and were on the first four out list). But, no. Gotta make room for a Virginia team that's 69th at [KenPom](https://kenpom.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- The epidemic of stalling in the tournament has got people talking about shot clocks again (as they should). These things are coming, people, and sooner rather than later. I did a solo podcast to break down some of the obstacles and hurdles preventing us from getting shot clocks. I should make it clear that the people standing in the way are not at the MPA. They are largely Athletic Directors. [‎The Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast: Shot Clocks Are Coming (Eventually) on Apple Podcasts‎Show The Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast, Ep Shot Clocks Are Coming (Eventually) - Mar 17, 2024![](https://t3.gstatic.com/faviconV2?client=SOCIAL&type=FAVICON&fallback_opts=TYPE,SIZE,URL&url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033?i=1000649491647&size=128)Apple Podcasts![](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts116/v4/bb/e7/40/bbe7403b-62eb-8ed9-bead-d265d042c975/mza_7389094507697811808.jpg/1200x630wp.png)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033?i=1000649491647&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you believe in the value of the shot clock, I started a petition to hopefully show the people in the way that the people want it. So, sign it. Share it. If we can get a lot of names on this, hey, it might help move things along! [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/03/Brooklyn_Nets_vs_NY_Knicks_2018-10-03_td_23_-_Pregame--1-.jpg)](https://www.change.org/p/give-maine-a-shot-clock?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Sign & Share the Petition](https://www.change.org/p/give-maine-a-shot-clock?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I also did a podcast with Tyler Krusz right before the Mr./Miss Basketball banquet. If you haven't seen the "One Shining Moment" video he did for the tournament, you really should check it out. > Every year, sports fans all over Maine stop what they're doing and flock to support their teams in Bangor, Augusta, and Portland for the HS Basketball Tournament. And every year, everyone involved gives us hundreds of shining moments- so here is 'One Shining Moment'... [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/RmES3xqrXY](https://t.co/RmES3xqrXY?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [March 5, 2024](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1764806662374723703?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm working on lining up some more guests. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. --- Rounding up some awards... Chance Mercier and Maddie Fitzpatrick took home Mr. and Miss Basketball, respectively. [Ellsworth player named 2024 Mr. Maine BasketballThe 6-foot-1 small forward led the Eagles to two Class B North regional titles during his tenure, highlighting one of the most entertaining offenses in Maine.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsSam Canfield![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/03/Ellsworth-Orono-boys-semi-D-LCO-1.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/03/08/sports/high-school-basketball/ellsworth-player-chance-mercier-2024-mr-maine-basketball/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Fitzpatrick took home the Gatorade POTY for the second year in a row (boys will be announced this week). [Maddie Fitzpatrick 2023 - 2024 MAINE GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEARMaddie won the 2023 - 2024 Gatorade Player of the Year in Maine for Girls Basketball![](https://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/favicon.ico)2024 MAINE GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR![](https://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/content/images/g_hamburger_vertical.png)](https://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/winner/maddie-fitzpatrick/40177?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And, to top it off. No surprise here, but Cooper Flagg is the Naismith POTY. > 🚨THE WAIT IS OVER🚨 > > Our [@jerseymikes](https://twitter.com/jerseymikes?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Naismith High School Boys’ Player of the Year is Cooper Flagg from Montverde Academy 🏆👏 > > 🔗: [https://t.co/94yBjiS8GT](https://t.co/94yBjiS8GT?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/Yy3oa4S2MN](https://t.co/Yy3oa4S2MN?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Naismith Awards (@NaismithTrophy) [March 8, 2024](https://twitter.com/NaismithTrophy/status/1766147103011619262?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I'm still working on putting together my All-State teams, but there's the small roadblock that some of the leading contenders haven't been submitted for consideration. So....please do that. Or, you know, they won't make the team. [All-State TeamsSubmit your player today!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2023/02/all-state-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/all-state/) --- This is interesting. [In-Season Men’s College Basketball Tournament to Offer $2M in NIL DealsThe eight-team event will pay out $1M to each school, and another million to the winner.![](https://frontofficesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-FOS_Icon_Black-1.png?quality=100&w=192)Front Office SportsAmanda Christovich![](https://frontofficesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ncaa-basketball.jpg?quality=100)](https://frontofficesports.com/new-mens-college-basketball-tournament-nil/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm guessing we're about to see a lot more events like this. ### And Now We Come to the End URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/and-now-we-come-to-the-end/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T03:19:33.000Z I took a couple days off after the State games on Saturday and I'm going to do this newsletter a little differently. It's been a couple of days and you've all read recaps from writers better than me, so I'm just going to write about a few things I noticed from Championship Saturday. --- The Mount View/Monmouth game was a classic, with Sammy Calder and Monmouth erasing a double-digit first half deficit. It all came down to this. 0:00 /1:16 1× video courtesy of MPBN Much like the Celtics game last night, Mount View took too long to get going and you probably shouldn't get bailed out by the refs if you end up with a shot like that. It's the end of a fantastic run by a Mount View team that just destroyed the C North region. > In an instant classic, Monmouth Academy survived a Mt. View rally to take home the Class C boys title. It's their first ever, and they earned every bit of it. Bravo to all involved. Mt. View was the SEVEN seed, too! What a ride. [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/gy4rFwV5FX](https://t.co/gy4rFwV5FX?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/6hvfuOCIuw](https://t.co/6hvfuOCIuw?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan Sudol (@RyanSudolWVII) [March 3, 2024](https://twitter.com/RyanSudolWVII/status/1764184217494106590?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Speaking of officials, there was a long delay in Augusta during the Valley game when one of the refs had to leave with an injury and they had to track down a replacement. > And the referee has emerged, garnering the loudest ovation for an official you have ever heard. Complete with chants of ‘MVP’ [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan Sudol (@RyanSudolWVII) [March 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/RyanSudolWVII/status/1763998213571325983?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Can't say I've ever seen a ref get a "MVP!" chant --- In the early set in Portland, the Brunswick girls finally broke through in Coach Sam Farrell's 15th season. The Dragons led by 2 after the first quarter and then out-scored Cony 35-6 to leave no doubt about it. Dakota Shipley had 21 points and 8 rebounds. --- In the boys' game, Hampden's Zach McLaughlin had a chance to make a case for Mr. Basketball (or Gatorade POTY), as he was the last finalist to play. They actually led by 2 at the half, as GNG's best defender, Aidan Hebert, spent most of the half on the bench with foul trouble. McLaughlin had 8 in the half (albeit on 3/10 shooting) and 6 rebounds. But when Hebert returned, things went south. He was 1/10 in the second half and finished 4/20 from the floor with 5 turnovers and an Efficiency Rating of -2\. Meanwhile, Nate Hebert took over. He had 9 points on 3/4 shooting in the third quarter as GNG took the game over for good. Hebert finished with 19 points and 8 rebounds and GNG won their first Gold Ball in 49 years. So to compare the stat lines from the Gold Ball games: Zach McLaughlin: 10 points / 4/20 (20%) / 8 reb / 2 asts / 5 to / -2 EFF / -11 Carter Galley: 9 points / 3/15 (20%) / 2 reb / 4 asts / 2 stl / 2 to / 2 eFF / -8 Pretty similar stat lines. Galley's EFF is better because he scored on fewer shots and had fewer turnovers. Since we didn't get the clarity we were hoping for, I got Adam Robinson back on the podcast to sort out the Mr. Basketball race. We've already heard from multiple parents. Most were very reasoned and supportive and one was not, which is an interesting strategy if you're trying to convince people your kid should win an award that has a sportsmanship component, but we all handle life differently, I guess. You can also find it on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/63kMCosHMAyfeaMDEKTaNm?si=60314a5b617040e7&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-the-real-mr-basketball-please-stand-up/id1675940033?i=1000648118069&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings/videos/891014123036887), or wherever it is you podcast. If you can, subscribe, rate, review, all those good things. I'm trying to do more of them this year and all of those things help. > and heres pierce walstons take on mr basketball [pic.twitter.com/mg8xGtPi8R](https://t.co/mg8xGtPi8R?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — chris ck (@chrisck\_mp4) [March 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/chrisck%5Fmp4/status/1763817202833141789?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I made a poll where you can rank the 3 finalists. The [poll is here](https://strawpoll.com/BDyNEaW7OZR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) if the embed doesn't work. Loading... --- Speaking of helpful, the great folks at First National Bank were kind enough to sponsor the LIVE stats for the ten Gold Ball games. Thanks so much to them. They've been doing great things for basketball programs up and down the coast for years now. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/03/IMG_0153.jpg) --- The Hockey Rink Formerly Known as the Civic Center gets a lot of criticism as a venue and for good reason. It's clearly the worst of the 4 and even a AA semifinal is kind of a slog. A class D quarterfinal in there would be a disaster. But the building can get up for a big game and when you get enough people in there, it gets LOUD. It was pretty loud in the girls AA game as Maddie Fitzpatrick made short work of Gorham. She had 14 points and 11 boards. Then, for the boys game, it got REALLY loud. 0:00 /0:31 1× Windham came out white-hot and for a while, it looked like we might have a blowout on our hands. But Gorham battled back behind a tremendous performance from Gabe Michaud. He finished with 27/6/5 and for stretches single-handedly kept Gorham in the game. This was a classic. [Windham wins overtime battle with Gorham for boys Class AA championshipWindham lost its grip on an early lead, but it held strong for a 62-58 victory to claim its first state title.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsSam Canfield![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/03/windham-gold-ball-1-scaled.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/03/02/sports/windham-wins-ot-battle-with-gorham-to-earn-boys-class-aa-championship/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But I want to talk about something that happened late in the game, when things were mostly decided. Let's go to overtime. 0:00 /0:13 1× video courtesy of MPBN This looks bad at first. It happened right in front of me. Gorham's Caden Smith goes to foul Windham's AJ Moody and at first glance, appears to tackle him. But it was very clear from the look on Smith's face that he had no intention of doing that. And why would he? They're down 2 with 8.6 seconds left. A comeback is not impossible here. I think we all know that a lot of officials in Maine would call this an intentional foul. But Jeff Mertzel didn't. You can see on the replay that he's very much on top of the play and saw that Smith's intent wasn't trying to tackle Moody. So he got in there, took control of the situation, and diffused it. You can't see it in the clip, but he basically says "not on my watch". He wasn't going to let a game that good end like that. Good for him. And then we got one of the better displays of sportsmanship you'll see. Caden Smith's leg cramped up (maybe part of the reason they fell?), so AJ Moody--with 8.6 seconds left in overtime of a State Championship game--grabbed Smith's foot and helped him stretch out the cramp. It was a really remarkable thing. In the end, Windham won, the student section got louder. 0:00 /0:13 1× video: me And out came the championship shirts. ![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GHt-FDKXUAAixQb?format=jpg&name=large) Windham Coach Chad Pulkkinen holds up his state champion shirt. \[photo: me\] Don't worry. I asked the important question: the shirt were made by someone in the community, unbeknown to the team. If they had lost, they would have been on the next boat to a third world humanitarian aid situation, never to be seen again. --- And so ends another season. If you're curious, my Tournament totals were: 40 games scored. 43 watched. 1,273 miles driven. 12,898 words in the newsletter. This season has been exhausting. And awesome. And exhausting. Thanks so much to everyone who reads this newsletter every day. And thanks to everyone who came up to me during the tourney to say such nice things about what I do. It truly means a lot. I was overwhelmed by the kindness everyone showed me. And, of course, I'm extra thankful for everyone who subscribes and makes it possible for me to continue to do this. It means the world. And stay tuned for spring sports. You'll be complaining about baseball rankings before you know it. --- Also... It looks like Ace Flagg is on Scal's AAU team. > Team White Mamba Ready to Rock!! All about that Work, Competition, and pushing each other. You will see us at ⁦[@madehoops](https://twitter.com/madehoops?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)⁩ ⁦[@GymRatsClub](https://twitter.com/GymRatsClub?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)⁩ Live ⁦[@NERRHoops](https://twitter.com/NERRHoops?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)⁩ ⁦[@ZeroGravityBB](https://twitter.com/ZeroGravityBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)⁩ [pic.twitter.com/Q8w4QcOWWW](https://t.co/Q8w4QcOWWW?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Brian Scalabrine (@Scalabrine) [March 5, 2024](https://twitter.com/Scalabrine/status/1764804340118630663?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- And if you haven't seen some of the videos this kid is making for the Celtics' social pages, you really should check them out. [Meet Gage Duchon, the 20-year-old filmmaker behind the Celtics viral social media videosThe Celtics video producer learned how to use cameras and Adobe editing softwares on his own and is bringing a filmmaker’s perspective to help document a historic Celtics season.![](https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/uploads/blog/sbnu_logo_minimal/175/touch_icon_ipad_retina_celticsblog.com.minimal.png)CelticsBlogNoa Dalzell![](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NkF8b14N5xanW4HmZbAwqAjap5M=/0x154:960x657/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25320092/1Uc4wQ4F.jpg)](https://www.celticsblog.com/2024/3/5/24091523/gage-duchon-the-20-year-old-viral-c-boston-eltics-videos-taking-the-nba-world-storm?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Orono Repeats URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/orono-repeats/ Last updated: 2024-03-02T12:57:57.000Z The Cross Insurance Center was nearly full last night for the Class B Gold Ball games. In the girls game, Old Town started well, doubling and tripling Oceanside's Bailey Breen. But it didn't take long for Breen to start finding shooters. She had 3 assists in the first quarter and Renee Ripley knocked down 2 threes and the Mariners raced out to a 16-7 lead after the first quarter. In the second quarter, Old Town went ICE cold from the floor (1/12 for 8.3%), but Oceanside freshman Grace Mackie did not. She hit 3 3's, including one from the college line. Oceanside went 5/8 from 3 in the first half and posted an eFG% of 89% (to Old Town's 25%). Coming out of the break, Old Town's defense adjusted. They continued to double and triple Breen, but suddenly her shooters weren't open and she had to kick to non-shooters. The offense slowed to a crawl. Old Town held Oceanside to 1/10 from the floor and forced 4 turnovers and started to crawl back in the game. They kept it up in the 4th quarter--Oceanside made one (1) field goal in the second half--but Old Town couldn't score themselves. Down 6 with \~2:15 to play, Old Town attempts to foul multiple times, it isn't called, and when they finally get a foul, they're called for an intentional foul. After Oceanside scores on the bonus possession, Makayla Emerson hits a 3 to cut it back to 6 (she led all scorers with 14), but it's too little too late. Is it a bad call? Yes. Did it decide the game? No. But it sure did take Old Town's chances from very difficult to nearly impossible. Just call the common foul. Or call the first two fouls. Oceanside held on to win despite Bailey Breen being held to 4 points. In fact, not a single Mariner scored in double-digits. When was the last time a team won a Gold Ball without a player scoring 10 points? --- Last year, Oceanside and Orono played a classic. This year's game started great. Orono raced out to a quick start behind Pierce Walston, who seemed to have something to prove? If you're just joining us, Walston was left off the finalist list for Mr. Basketball, which a lot of people thought was a mistake. He had 6 points and 2 assists in the first quarter as Orono opened up a 19-14 lead. Walston had 5 more in the second as they played to a draw. As often happens in games where defenses sell out to stop the Galley twins, Zeb Foster kept them in the game with 11 points on perfect shooting (3/3 from the floor, 5/5 from the line)...or maybe it was 12? This was called a 2 in the book. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-02-at-3.19.20-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-02-at-3.19.43-AM.png) Granted, that ref has a pretty bad angle, but still. Anyway, at the half, Orono led 29-25\. And we went into the halftime show. > They’ll put anyone on tv nowadays [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/VuZBsOaw7O](https://t.co/VuZBsOaw7O?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [March 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1763739659090251946?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you want to see the full interview (or, you know, the game), you can find that here: Much like Grace Mackie in the girls' game, Oceanside got a huge performance from freshman Trevin Ripley. He had 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots and took over the game for a stretch to keep Oceanside in it. He scored with 6 minutes left to tie it. Orono strung a couple of stops together to open a 4-point lead. And then Orono went into a stall and a fantastic game turned into a very boring game almost instantly. It's understandable from Orono's perspective, I guess. They were up 4 with several minutes to go. If you take the air out of the ball, you give Oceanside fewer chances to catch up. But, it's painful to watch. If this year's tournament has taught us anything, it's that stalling is out of control and last night was a a perfect example. We desperately, desperately need a shot clock. The new FT rule is making it more necessary. We all know this. > [@coachterrill74](https://twitter.com/coachterrill74?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) was all over it last week. The biggest thing the 5 foul a quarter rule has done has magnify the need for a shot clock in Maine. > > — Jarod Richmond (@juniorrich) [March 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/juniorrich/status/1763721142198530235?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We all know it's coming. The people stopping it are at the ADs and admins at your school. Put pressure on them. This is VERY easy to fix. There's just people standing in the way. And they aren't at the MPA. Carter Galley hit a big 3 to cut it to 2, but the Francis brothers answered and Oceanside would get no closer. Pierce Walston finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. A pretty, pretty, pretty impressive performance. > Mr. Basketball? > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [March 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1763771449783767121?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) When Adam and I [did the podcast](https://youtu.be/5ox5zlu6KdY?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) the other day about Mr. Basketball, we both wondered what would happen if Walston had a big game and led Orono to a second title and...that's exactly what happened. It sure seems that, at minimum, Walston has one of the 3 best arguments for Mr. Basketball and a very strong case for winning the whole thing. His exclusion from the finalist list was confusing a couple of days ago and it's downright bewildering now. Do they have to stick with the finalist list? This is a serious question. > Mr. Basketball Committee members [pic.twitter.com/OC5FKCnxmY](https://t.co/OC5FKCnxmY?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [March 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1763748844238442872?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The thing is, no one knows. Because for some reason these awards are very secretive. If one of the 5 people on the Mr. Basketball Committee is reading this (and I suspect that's likely), you have an open invitation to come on the podcast and talk about the process behind the decision. I'll be nice. I promise. There's clearly a ton of interest in what goes into making the sausage and I think shining some light on the voting would do a world of good. You can even do the distorted voice thing if you want. --- And thus ends one of the more embarrassing chapters in Maine Basketball history. I want to be clear that the Oceanside players did absolutely nothing wrong and have been staggeringly mature in the face of all of this--unlike some adults. Ok, a lot of adults. It wasn't as bad as the dunk technicals, but a national controversy over literally nothing because the people behind an IG account with a press pass can't read or exhibit basic journalistic ethics was not a good look. Thankfully, we've learned nothing. But we do have jokes! > DANA WHITE WHAT HAPPENED [@danawhite](https://twitter.com/danawhite?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/Ipom6GnGZt](https://t.co/Ipom6GnGZt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [March 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1763751208538276224?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm sure the discourse around this will be nuanced and respectful. --- COACHES: A lot of you still need to submit your players for All-State. [All-State TeamsSubmit your player today!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2023/02/all-state-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/all-state/) --- Mic LeBel of the Lincoln County News has a nice story about the college career of Cony's Simon McCormick. [Whitefield Athlete Closes College Basketball Career on a High NoteSenior captain Simon McCormick scored 13 points to lead all Bates College scorers during a 79-54 loss to Wesleyan University on Feb. 10 in Lewiston. The Senior Day match was the final game of the W…![](https://lcnme.com/wp-content/themes/LCNews/images/favicon.ico)The Lincoln County NewsMic LeBel![](https://lcnme.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/bates-bb-mccormick3.jpg)](https://lcnme.com/sports/whitefield-athlete-closes-college-basketball-career-on-a-high-note/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Wells' own Chad Finn has a nice piece on the strides Joe Mazzulla has made this season coaching the Celtics. [Nine months ago, I called for Joe Mazzulla to go as Celtics coach. I’m glad he stayed. - The Boston GlobeBrad Stevens gave him a more coachable roster this season — and he’s a better coach and has earned greater trust.![](https://www.bostonglobe.com/pf/resources/images/icons/apple-touch-icon.png?v=bostonGlobe&d=458)The Boston GlobeChad Finn![](https://bostonglobe-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/w2qJ0yOdKSL-VcpiSQiFlUIHItU=/506x0/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/bostonglobe/UH2WFSUROPCXKKBHJUIV4SPKWQ.JPG)](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/03/01/sports/joe-mazzulla-celtics-coach/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/03/game-of-the-day-1.png) It's almost 4am and I'm tired. #1 offense in class C. #1 defense in the state. Gold Ball on the line. What more do you need? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-02-at-2.02.39-AM.png) The rest of the Model's picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Oceanside vs. Orono, Part II URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/oceanside-vs-orono-part-ii/ Last updated: 2024-03-01T12:59:33.000Z As you might imagine, I kind of collapsed at the end of Tourney Week, but let's do a quick summary of Saturday's Regional Finals. In Portland, Maddie Fitzpatrick spent the first half in foul trouble, yet nearly had a triple-double in only 18 minutes as Cheverus beat Oxford Hills. It was an incredibly impressive performance. In the other game, Ellie Gay had 18 and Gorham held off a Scarborough rally to punch yet another ticket to the Gold Ball game. In the boys' game, Portland had Windham on the ropes, but instead of going for the kill, they opted for a stall and it backfired. Windham went on a 13-2 run to take the lead and then went into their own stall, which gave me time to do some quick math: 75% of the 36 games I saw last week had a stall. I swear to God I saw a team stall up 5 in the third quarter. It's getting painful. The new free throw rule has only made things worse. Getting rid of the 1-and-1 was a terrible idea. In Augusta, Mount Abram held Sammy Calder to 5 points and went on a 10-0 run in the final 2 minutes to tie the game, but Monmouth got a bucket from Lucas Harmon to seal it. In Bangor, Mount View continued their Cinderella(?) run through C North. > Noah Hurd. DAGGER. No. 7 Mount View leads top-ranked Calais 38-22 at halftime of Class C North regional final! Hurd with 20 for the Mustangs.[#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/WZbHoUcXn9](https://t.co/WZbHoUcXn9?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — VillageSoup Sports (@VS\_Sports\_ME) [February 25, 2024](https://twitter.com/VS%5FSports%5FME/status/1761563874845712772?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's nice to see a series of upsets in tournament play that completely makes sense. I'm sure there's a lot of people surprised to see a 7 seed in the State Game, but people in the know have been pegging this team as a spoiler since mid-January when it looked like they might be the 12. --- I'll be in Bangor tonight for LIVE stats of both games, which are now brought to you by the new presenting sponsor, [First National Bank](https://www.thefirst.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Their ["First Hoop"](https://shop.villagesoup.com/archives/brief/first-hoop-celebrates-its-18th-season-with-32500-contribution?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) program does amazing things for the schools in their coverage area, so I'm thrilled to partner with them. [LIVE Stats Presented by First National BankLive stats of selected games![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/LIVE-STATS-first-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) --- The Tourney Guides have a new Gold Ball Edition available for paid subscribers. It updates all the stats for the 20 teams playing for Gold Balls this weekend, but it also has some additions for the teams that we were able to do live stats for. Like so: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-02-29-at-10.05.02-PM.png) Now imagine if we could do this for the entire tournament. Or, in a perfect world, the regular season. [Gold Ball Edition](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/media-guide/) For example, we could have individual and team stats for every player in the tournament. I've added a number of teams to this already and am slowly chipping away at it. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-02-29-at-10.21.39-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-stats/) [Tourney Stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-stats/) --- The Mr. Basketball finalists are out and there's been some controversy, to put it lightly. There's a LOT of people who feel that Pierce Walston was snubbed from the list of finalists and that, should Orono win tonight, he has a very strong case to win the entire thing. Adam Robinson caught up with Walston before today's game. [Pierce Walston is focused on championshipsOrono’s champion point guard is leading the Red Riots into a rematch of the Class B title game against Oceanside, he doesn’t have a lot of time for Mr. Basketball snub talk.![](https://substackcdn.com/icons/substack/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png)Maine Sports TodayMaine Sports Today![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1200,h_600,c_fill,f_jpg,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb7e44479-80f1-4655-a50e-1cd3c8c360cb_6000x4000.jpeg)](https://mainesportstoday.substack.com/p/pierce-walston-is-focused-on-championships?r=2ecvjc&utm%5Fcampaign=post&utm%5Fmedium=web&triedRedirect=true) Partly because of the Mr. Basketball drama and partly in anticipation of today's Oceanside/Orono game, I dusted off the podcast video recording setup and talked to Adam about who should be the three finalists and his thoughts on whether or not Orono could take down the Mariners. We had a couple of issues with the internet cutting out, but hopefully we covered it well. Also, I'd been wearing a Medomak Valley hat all day and it was a choice between wearing the hat or the disaster that was my hair. I need more hat options. It's also available wherever you podcast. --- Speaking of the podcast... Thomas Curtis and Cole Purvis recorded a new podcast episode breaking down the AA State games. As often happens in the Maine High School Basketball media ecosystem, I'd only talked to Thomas and Cole online prior to Tourney Week. I was able to spend a little bit of time with them and came away impressed with their professionalism and work ethic that far exceeded their ages and experience. They've both got bright futures. --- For the [Bangor Daily News](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/02/29/sports/tourney-time/standout-south-tournament-players/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), I wrote about some of the players who impressed in the games at the Expo last week. > Tournament week has a way of elevating a player in the eyes of the state. Throughout the year, you hear about players doing exceptional things — gaudy stat lines or a video clip on social media — and as great as that can be, it’s not the same as the bright lights of the Tournament. It’s one thing to score 30 points on a random Tuesday in January. But it’s an entirely different thing to do it on the Big Stage in front of thousands of people. I like to joke that “Portland points are worth more,” but there’s a truth to it. Performances mean more during Tourney Week. [Here are players who stood out in the South tournament“I like to joke that ‘Portland points are worth more,’ but there’s a truth to it. Performances mean more during Tourney Week.”![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsLucas McNelly, Sports Contributor![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/02/Standout-Tourney.png)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/02/29/sports/tourney-time/standout-south-tournament-players/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- For the State Games, we switch to [Maine Public Television](https://www.mainepublic.org/maine-high-school-basketball-championship-weekend?fbclid=IwAR39qbup1Vyzn7rXlffLjPt6XODNxvJ7FmdgvG3Zkj2r0X23VDZzu51LDcc&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). But, if you've gotten used to WHOU, you can also find it there. > Once again this year - WHOU will be simulcasting with MPBN for all the State Championship games. A great partnership between two local companies. > > — Steve Carmichael (@Carmichael15) [February 27, 2024](https://twitter.com/Carmichael15/status/1762614186041839975?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I love this. Having different rounds be on different platforms is a hassle for everyone, so anything we can do to make that experience as simple as possible for people who just want to watch the games is more than welcome. --- If you haven't yet, don't forget to submit your players for All-State consideration. [All-State TeamsSubmit your player today!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2023/02/all-state-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/all-state/) If they aren't submitted, they won't make the team. --- We're up to 34 members of the 1K club this year, the largest number since @TheStatsGuy started tracking it 20ish years ago. > Recently learned of 1 more 1000 point scorer from 2023-24 making a total of 34\. [#updated](https://twitter.com/hashtag/updated?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/Pmj8FsKisv](https://t.co/Pmj8FsKisv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — TheStatsGuy (@TheStatsGuy262) [February 28, 2024](https://twitter.com/TheStatsGuy262/status/1762813934371766586?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Mackenzie Holmes hit another milestone. > Her first bucket of the night and she's now second all-time in all-time scoring at Indiana (men or women). [pic.twitter.com/IsUaTu8R1o](https://t.co/IsUaTu8R1o?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Indiana Women’s Basketball (@IndianaWBB) [February 28, 2024](https://twitter.com/IndianaWBB/status/1762630786212077837?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you haven't gotten on the Indiana State and Robbie Avila train, there's still time. And he now has the best nickname in college basketball. [Internet Dubs College Player ‘Cream Abdul-Jabbar’ After He Dropped 35 Points for Indiana StateIndiana State center Robbie Avila has a new nickname courtesy of social media.![](https://images.complex.com/complex/images/w_144/complex-icon_m74wk2/complex-favicon.ico)ComplexByJose Martinez![](https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2024-02/29/23/enhanced/586116cdf737/original-2991-1709250790-4.jpg?crop=1920:1005;0,0%26downsize=1250:*)](https://www.complex.com/sports/a/jose-martinez/college-player-cream-abdul-jabbar-indiana-state-robbie-avila?d%5Fid=7361717&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=twitter&utm%5Fcampaign=sportstw) --- Finally: Rob Munzing (of Munzing Media) and his family are dealing with a fire. ![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GHWsWJHWgAEvA1O?format=jpg&name=large) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/03/game-of-the-day.png) It's a Gold Ball game rematch! If you can't get excited about a game like this, I don't know how to help you. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-02-29-at-9.14.04-PM.png) The Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Regional Final Friday URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/regional-final-friday-2/ Last updated: 2024-02-24T12:59:05.000Z The Regional Finals kicked off yesterday afternoon at the Expo. I'm finally home at 1am, so let's get to it. Last year, the Spruce Mountain girls ended Oceanside's season in the B South Regional final and had hopes of doing it again, while the Mariners were looking for revenge. Things started well for Spruce. > Avery Bessey just broke the B South Regional record for 3's with 9 > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 23, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1761106545935262186?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Bessey went 8/11 from three in the first two games and when she broke the record, it tied the game at 3-3\. The first half was a bit of a slog and at the half, we were tied at 14\. In the second half, Oceanside got quick threes from Renee Ripley and Bailey Breen to open up a 6 point lead and a couple of minutes later, Ripley hit another to stretch it to 10\. Spruce never really recovered. Breen had 19 points and 11 rebounds. The Mariners will face Old Town for the Gold Ball. A lot of people had already written Ellsworth into the state game--being the defending champ with an 18-0 record will tend to do that--but Old Town hadn't. Even without Taylor Loring, the Coyotes blew out Ellsworth 58-42 behind a big night from Saige Evans (26 points and 16 rebounds). [Old Town girls knock off Ellsworth to claim Class B North basketball crownOld Town’s senior experience and poise prevailed on Friday night.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsBDN staff and wire reports![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/02/Old-Town-Girls-Basketball-vs-Ellsworth-KAH-4.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/02/23/sports/tourney-time/old-town-girls-knock-off-ellsworth-to-claim-class-b-north-basketball-crown/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Old Town will be going for their first ever Gold Ball. --- After Carter Galley was held without a field goal in the semifinals (he did have 5 assists and played well defensively), there was some speculation about the state of the Mr. Basketball race. This is one of the most wide-open races in years and with a number of semifinalists have lackluster games in the semifinals it got even messier. Couple that the fact that Lincoln Academy had nearly beaten Oceanside in Rockland and there were a lot of questions going into the Regional Final. Well...Lincoln Academy came out kind of tight--the Regional Final is a whole other level of the Big Stage--and Carter Galley did not. Galley was 5/6 from the floor in the first quarter. Late in the second quarter, he was shooting from well behind the NBA line. He had 23 at halftime on 9/12 shooting (5/7 from 3) as Oceanside raced out to a 44-20 lead. People had been waiting for the Oceanside offense that had drawn so much discussion during the season in the first half, they saw it. It's kind of like a pressure cooker. You can keep the lid on it for stretches, but eventually it'll explode. Oceanside ran clock in the 2nd half as Lincoln Academy tried to mount a comeback. Galley finished with 35 and could have easily made a run at Andy Bedard's record of 43\. Cohen Galley finished with 13/9/9\. A couple of times every year, the refs will give a foul to a player who's sitting on the bench. It happens. But usually it happens because the table isn't paying attention. In this one, the refs gave a foul to Oceanside's #14, only he wasn't on the floor (#15 was, though). So the table called the officials over and after a consultation (I was sitting right behind the table), they decided the foul was on #10\. The only problem was that #10 hadn't even entered the game yet. Ultimately it didn't matter, but geez. Casey Duncan had 17 for Lincoln Academy. It was an impressive tourney for a kid who wasn't in the starting lineup a couple of weeks ago and for a team that was 0-18 as recently as the 2019-20 season. Oceanside with get another shot at Orono. Mr. Basketball semifinalist Pierce Walston had 16 of his game-high 29 in the second half as Orono used a 19-5 fourth quarter to put the game away. [Orono boys take down rival Old Town to earn B North titleThe reigning state champion Red Riots will play in the Class B state title game against Oceanside at 7:45 p.m. Friday, March 1 in Bangor![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsSam Canfield![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/02/Orono-Boys-Basketball-vs-Old-Town-KAH-5-1-scaled.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/02/23/sports/tourney-time/orono-boys-take-down-rival-old-town-to-earn-b-north-title/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- In the evening session, the Mt. Ararat girls faced Brunswick in a rivalry matchup. The Eagles blocked 4 shots in the first couple minutes and led 10-5 after the first quarter and had Brunswick's Dakota Shipley in foul trouble. There was a lot of defense in this one. Mt. Ararat had an [eFG%](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effective%5Ffield%5Fgoal%5Fpercentage?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) of 38% in the first half, while Brunswick's was a minuscule 8.3% Mt. Ararat led 17-13 at the half. Meanwhile, thanks to my collaboration with the MPA, we were able to keep an eye on the score of the A North game in Augusta (and by "we", that includes a bunch of fans leaning in to look at the score as they walked by). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/IMG_0111-1.jpg) photo: me So far, 57 games have been scored live and there's [box scores archived](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) for every one of them. Hopefully next year we can get the Bangor games added and have every tourney game. Brunswick started to click a little bit when Shipley came back in. She hit a 3 to get them within 1 mid-way through the 3rd. They really found their offense in the 4th quarter, posting an eFG% of 75% as they turned a very close game into a 39-30 win. In the State Game, they'll face...Cony? The Rams pulled of an upset very few people saw coming. Lawrence led by one at the start of the 4th quarter, but Cony held Lawrence to 1/9 from the floor and Morgan Fichthorn scored 7 of her 16 in the 4th quarter to lead Cony to the upset. Believe it or not, but it's been 17 years since Cony won a Gold Ball. As for Brunswick? They've never done it. --- Which leads us to the final game of the night: Noble and GNG. And the Expo was PACKED. > I don’t know if Portland has seen this much red since the British were here. This is gonna be fun. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/5aEmKoBhTq](https://t.co/5aEmKoBhTq?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [February 24, 2024](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1761207829715722612?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I was told there were 2,600 at the Expo for this game and it might have been more. All four games had big crowds. And the word is that there were equally big crowds in Augusta and Bangor. Maine High School Basketball is thriving! The talent has never been better and in a fractured landscape with a million different things to do, there's still nothing better than a big tourney game to bring in a crowd. But first, let's do some scoreboard watching. In Augusta, Messo's Merrick Smith put up 23 & 16 and with a 7-point lead late in the third quarter it looked like the Eagles were going to pull off the upset. And then Zach McLaughlin said NOPE. He scored 10 of his 24 in the fourth quarter and, well, let's go to the tape. You want to go to 1:17:30. [Watch on WHOU](https://www.whou.live/augusta-tournament-games-2024/videos/messalonskee-at-hampden-boys-class-a-basketball-north-final-2-23-24?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's...certainly a foul call. Sure looks like a block, though. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/IMG_0116.PNG) McLaughlin hit all three free throws to give Hampden the lead. He later missed 2 free throws with 2.7 left that could have made the lead 3\. Messo's desperation shot went wide and Hampden will advance to the Gold Ball game. So back to GNG and Noble at the Expo. Jamier Rose has been one of the breakout stars of the tourney, but he struggled early as GNG built a lead behind Nate Hebert, who was clearly snubbed for the Mr. Basketball semifinalist list. The Expo, however, was electric. I get that it's a smaller venue, but the atmosphere was awesome. I have issues with the building, but that place gets very, very loud for a tourney game, as opposed to the Hockey Rink Formerly Known as the Portland Civic Center, which is cold and cold. We should put state games at the Expo on a regular basis. GNG is so fast and so talented and Noble struggled to keep up. They blew a bunch of layups in the first half and Rose wasn't scoring. In fact, he had zero points after 3 quarters. In the fourth quarter, Jamier Rose found his footing. GNG--God bless them--didn't stall for the entire quarter. They played it straight, even as Noble started to rally. Rose had 14 in the fourth quarter as Noble cut it to 8, but GNG didn't play scared. They answered every Noble punch in an impressive performance to win their first Regional Title since 1975\. > The [@GNG\_AD](https://twitter.com/GNG%5FAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) boys survive a [@NobleKnightsAD](https://twitter.com/NobleKnightsAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) rally to win their first Regional Final since 1975, 71-59. > > John Patenaude 20/4r/1a/1s > Nate Hebert 17/3r/1a > > Bryce Guitard 18/3r/1a/1s > Jamier Rose 14/8r/4a/10s > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 24, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1761232200035394003?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Baring some surprise blizzard, that's a wrap on the Expo. > Until next year, Expo [pic.twitter.com/QHViFV9HEV](https://t.co/QHViFV9HEV?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 24, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1761245289904587018?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-18.png) D North was supposed to be the Region of Death, but the semifinals were a real bust. Hopefull the Regional Final can make up for it. Dexter swept the season series. Can beat a team three times in one year? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-24-at-3.46.08-AM.png) _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Free Basketball URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/untitled-2/ Last updated: 2024-02-23T12:59:45.000Z The Expo was dark yesterday (it's a blizzard buffer in the schedule), so I went to the Hockey Rink Formerly Known as the Portland Civic Center for the AA boys semifinals. The first game was the most anticipated game (flex scheduling?) between Cheverus and Portland. Portland led most of the way in this one, but never by more than 8, as Cheverus struggled from the field. You knew the Stags would make a run, and they strung a couple of baskets together to take the lead early in the 4th quarter for the first time since it was 2-0\. That ended up being part of a 13-2 run that pushed the Cheverus lead to 8 with about 2 minutes to go. It sure looked like it was pretty much over. But no one told Portland. Jeissey Khamis got a bucket to stop the bleeding. Then after a Leo McNabb offensive foul, Jeissey Khamis was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all 3 shots. After a McNabb miss, Kevin Rugabirwa found Lucas LeCage for a 3 and all of a sudden, Portland had cut it to 1\. In all, a 10-3 run in just over a minute. Out of a Cheverus time out, Khamis fouled McNabb around half court, ending his night with 10 points and 12 boards. McNabb missed the first free throw (they would have been in the double bonus under the old system) and made the second to make the lead 2\. [Watch on WHOU](https://www.whou.live/portland-arena-tournament-games-2024/videos/portland-at-cheverus-boys-class-aa-north-semifinal-basketball-2-22-24?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Coming out of Portland's final time out, the Bulldogs missed their third straight look at tying the game, Cheverus grabbed the rebound and Portland fouled, only for Cheverus to miss both free throws. With no time outs, Portland raced down the floor. Rugabirwa's runner was no good, nor was Cordell Jones' put-back, but James Johnson's put-back at the buzzer was, sending the game to OT. CUT TO: under 2 in OT. Gio St. Onge hit 2 free throws to tie the game. After some controlled chaos, Cordell Jones made one of 2 free throws to give Portland the lead. Leo McNabb's attempt from three was no good and it was Portland ball with 0.8 to go. But wait! Portland TRAVELED ON THE DESIGNATED SPOT to give Cheverus one more chance. When was the last time you saw that in a big situation? It was the right call, by the way. Would we get our first ever replay moment? 0:00 /0:16 1× Video credit: Me It would have been good, had it gone down. Leo McNabb finished with 14 on 4/16 shooting. St. Onge added 12 for the Stags. Portland will play #1 Windham, who pulled away from Lewiston late. Blake McPherson lead the Eagles with 17\. Creighty Dickson had 15 rebounds. --- Earlier in the day in Augusta, the Valley girls took care of Greenville behind 19 points from Kirsten Bigelow and Madeline Hill's double-double (18/11). Nola Mason put up 16 points and 19 boards in the loss. In the other D South girls semifinal, Waynflete's Lucy Hart juuuust missed a triple-double with 13/9/9. --- Up in Bangor, Cami Shields led Southern Aroostook to their 6th consecutive Regional Final. Six straight. I don't care what class you're in. That's incredibly impressive. [Southern Aroostook girls pull away from Jonesport-Beals to advance to sixth straight regional finalBANGOR- Cami Shields scored 17 of her game-high 20 points in the second half on Thursday, leading the two-time defending state champion Southern Aroostook Warriors to a 57-35 win over Jonesport-Bea…![](https://easternmainesports.com/favicon.ico)Eastern Maine SportsPublished by %s![](https://easternmainesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/received_823737599514924-200x300.jpeg)](https://easternmainesports.com/2024/02/22/southern-aroostook-girls-pull-away-from-jonesport-beals-to-advance-to-sixth-straight-regional-final/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#google%5Fvignette) They'll face Katahdin in the final, who continued their Cinderella run with an upset of Wisdom. Hunter Hartsgrove led the way with 22\. Lily Roy had 23 for Wisdom. Honestly, this a pretty mild upset. Katahdin was the 7, but the Model thinks they should have been the 5\. Wisdom was only favored by 1.3. --- Speaking of under-seeded 7 seeds. Mount View came out slowly, but then turned up the defense to turn an early deficit into a rout. Mount View started the tournament with a 2.1% chance to win the whole thing. They're up to 12.7%. I think that's still too low. Part of the reason for that is #1 Calais had their own blowout, beating Hodgdon 42-27\. > The Blue Devils are back! No. 1 Calais boys defeated No. 5 Hodgdon in the C North semis on Thursday! They spread the wealth like crazy and that's been the key to their success all year. C North final vs. No. 7 Mt. View on Saturday! [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/YTqQ4ox0hH](https://t.co/YTqQ4ox0hH?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/EY7hr1hPsN](https://t.co/EY7hr1hPsN?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan Sudol (@RyanSudolWVII) [February 23, 2024](https://twitter.com/RyanSudolWVII/status/1760887025094328714?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And over on the other side of the bracket, Mount Abram destroyed Carrabec 70-33\. Payton Mitchell had 23/7r/6a/6s to lead the Roadrunners, This is turning into a very strong bracket. And I haven't even mentioned that Sammy Calder scored 35 points to will Monmouth to a comeback victory over Hall-Dale in overtime. [C South boys basketball: Sammy Calder leads Monmouth Academy to OT win over Hall-DaleSenior forward scores 35 points to lead the Mustangs to the regional final.![](https://www.sunjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/12/icon-apple-touch-sm.jpg)Lewiston Sun JournalDave DyerKennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel![](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/38114730_20240222_MonmouthHallDaleBBB_3144.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.sunjournal.com/2024/02/22/c-south-boys-basketball-sammy-calder-leads-monmouth-academy-to-ot-win-over-hall-dale/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Hall-Dale's Nick Brown had 15 and 10 before fouling out in overtime. Still, if you gave me odds on DraftKings, I'd put a couple bucks on Mount View to win this. [Updated Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- In Girls action at the ACC, Madison pulled off a small upset in C South. NYA was the 1 seed and Madison the 4, but the Model thought NYA was over-seeded and Madison under-seeded and that's a pretty good recipe for an upset. Madison got 14 & 12 from Raegan Cowen in the win, but NYA got the consolation prize of one of the best assists of the tourney. > The play referenced [@NYAPanthers](https://twitter.com/NYAPanthers?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/jYwX7gwHdM](https://t.co/jYwX7gwHdM?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/ccqWmLb6CZ](https://t.co/ccqWmLb6CZ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [February 22, 2024](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1760777363762335803?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They'll take on #2 Hall-Dale who, to the surprise of no one, rolled. The Model is quite sure they should be the 1 seed. --- Yesterday, when talking about Old Town winning while going 0/19 from 3, I wrote that the rule that you can't win shooting that badly wasn't always true. But what about the reverse? Can you lose while shooting the lights out? Probably not. > Scarborough shoots 90% from 3 in the first half and 10/15 for the game to make short work of TA, 73-55 > > Liam Garriepy 19/10r/3a > Liam Jefferds 12 (4/4 from 3) > > Robert Eldred 26/3r > Wyatt Benoit 15/6r/4s > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 23, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1760835654189998539?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 9/10 from three in the first half. And it wasn't just one guy getting hot. It was multiple people and it was quite impressive to watch. They'll get Gorham in the Regional Final. Gorham swept the regular season, winning by 3 and 7, but based on what I saw last night, I think Scarborough might pull it off. And if they shoot 90% from 3 again, they'll definitely do it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-17.png) This is an exceptional slate of games today. The Stax Index (which is what determines the Game of the Day, factors in a bunch of different numbers, and is basically looking for the most entertaining game, something worth driving to. On the boys side, the numbers look like this: GNG/Noble: 87.8 Orono/Old Town: 87.5 Oceanside/Lincoln Academy: 87.2 Hampden/Messo: 86.7 That's crazy. All of these games look awesome. Jamier Rose is probably the breakout star of the tourney so far, leading a Noble team in their first real tourney experience in almost 40 years...Lincoln Academy is in their first Regional Final since 1989 and they'll try to finish the job they couldn't complete when they nearly beat Oceanside in January. Meanwhile, Oceanside is looking for their first Gold Ball since Rockland and Georges Valley merged as they work through a season made unnecessarily more difficult by ADs and IGs outside of their control (can't wait for Dana White to show up 🙄)...And after the front-runners all had underwhelming semifinals, Zach McLaughlin is making a late push for Mr. Basketball against a Messo team that has turned into a legit contender. Hell, Tyler Krusz even made a hype video for Orono/Old Town. > Tomorrow. Orono vs. Old Town. 7:45 p.m. The classic rivalry takes over the Cross Center for the Class B North Championship. > > Public Service Announcement: You’re going to want to be in Bangor for this one.[@OronoHighSchool](https://twitter.com/OronoHighSchool?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@othscoyotes](https://twitter.com/othscoyotes?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/YZIXAfdtxQ](https://t.co/YZIXAfdtxQ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [February 23, 2024](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1760848763680141698?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But none of those are Game of the Day. Because the Game of the Day is Brunswick and Mt. Ararat. I'm a little surprised by this because Brunswick has looked unbeatable thus far in the A South tourney and Mt. Ararat has looked vulnerable, but they've gotten the job done. You can look at this a lot of different ways. If you want to deep-dive into the Model, Brunswick has gotten a slightly easier draw and yadda yadda yadda. They split the season series. They're rivals. They're the 1 seed and the 2 seed. If you need more convincing than that, I can't help you. Just go to the Expo today. Session 1: Spruce/Oceanside and Lincoln/Oceanside. Session 2: Mt. Ararat/Brunswick and Noble/GNG. All 4 of those games have the potential to be classics. I think all of these lower seeds can win. I really do. I'll be there. Come say hi. Maybe bring caffeine. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-23-at-2.47.53-AM.png) _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Three Venues URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/three-venues/ Last updated: 2024-02-22T12:32:39.000Z One thing you hear a lot after a loss is, "well, you're not going to win very many games when you shoot like that." It's a way to justify a bad game, because bad games are painful. But sometime, you *do* win when you shoot that badly. Let's go to Bangor. Or, to be more precise, I went to Bangor for the B North Boys semifinals. The Old Town boys shot 0/19 from 3 for the game. Zero for Nineteen. In fact, no one made a three until MDI's Spencer Laurendeau hit one with under a minute to play. What Old Town did get was 20 rebounds from Emmitt Byther (to go with 11 points). They'll play Orono in the B North Regional Final. The defending champs came out swinging, including this play to end the first quarter. > [@WHOU\_Live](https://twitter.com/WHOU%5FLive?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) top play. Walston to Will Francis [pic.twitter.com/TcTtCfSARR](https://t.co/TcTtCfSARR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Steve Carmichael (@Carmichael15) [February 21, 2024](https://twitter.com/Carmichael15/status/1760437917917278579?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I was court-side for that and oh man was it nice from 30 feet away. For all the talk of B North being wide-open, Orono certainly came out and made a statement. They held Chance Mercier to 8 points and led the entire way, eventually pushing the lead to double digits in the second half before Ellsworth went with the unusual strategy of burning through their fouls to get to the bonus with over 4 minutes to go. It didn't work. One thing that's become apparent as this season goes by is that it's harder to to execute the strategy of fouling to get back into the game without the possibility of your opponent missing the front end of a one-and-one. Especially if there's no shot clock to force them to give up the ball. Maybe someone will figure out some novel strategy that'll work better. After that, I headed south, but apparently I missed a good one. > After fifteen points, including the game tying free throw and the game WINNING bucket, Old Town's Mikayla Emerson is the lone recipient of our Game Ball from the evening! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/1BLyUEnAhB](https://t.co/1BLyUEnAhB?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [February 22, 2024](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1760532350025228479?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Tyler's got the video in there of Mikayla Emerson's game winner against MDI. Old Town will face Ellsworth in the Regional Final. --- I got to Augusta in time for most of the second half of the Hampden/Cony girls game. But I'd been following the games in Augusta, thanks to my LIVE stats partnership with the MPA. They've been doing stats for the games from the ACC, while I get (most of) Portland. [LIVE StatsLive stats of selected games![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/LIVE-STATS-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) It's going well and I'm hoping it can be expanded eventually to cover every game in the tournament. It's pretty nice to check on the score from other venue. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-19-at-4.03.17-PM-1.png) Plus, you can see the play-by-play of each game, box scores, visuals, and more. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-22-at-12.54.04-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-22-at-12.55.24-AM.png) I'm working on uploading game reports. So I knew Jonathan Tangilamesu put up a double-double for St. Dom's and Valley Harry Louis had just missed a triple-double with 27 points, 12 assists, and 9 rebounds as Valley rolled. Anyway, Hampden had been up by double-digits in the first half, but Cony had slowly chipped away. The Rams took the lead for good in the third quarter and never looked back, pulling away down the stretch to win by 12\. Abby Morrill led the way with 15\. In the other Girls A North semifinal, Lawrence raced out to a 21-3 lead and that's around the time I packed up my stuff and left. Lily Gray led the Bulldogs with 20 & 12\. --- Down in Portland, the Girls AA semifinals were underway at the hockey rink formerly known as the Portland Civic Center. And we got some free basketball! > Headed to OT! [pic.twitter.com/7folLHg7Gn](https://t.co/7folLHg7Gn?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Thomas Curtis (@ThomasCurtisGHS) [February 21, 2024](https://twitter.com/ThomasCurtisGHS/status/1760397197403644338?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Oxford Hills would win this in OT. They'll face Cheverus in the final. I'll be there today for the Boys Semis, as the Expo is dark on Thursday (it's a built-in buffer in case of blizzard). --- I made it down to the Expo for the Boys A South Semis, which drew 2,050 fans for the session. In the first game, Noble put together a 22-6 second quarter to take control of a tight game against Westbrook. Jamier Rose was everywhere for the Knights and we were on triple-double watch in the second half. He finished with 22/9a/8s/5r and, man, he's fun to watch. As for Noble, they earn their first-ever spot in a Regional Final. What a great story. --- Meanwhile, back in Augusta... > BUZZER BEATER! Messalonskee is up 26-9 going into the second half. [pic.twitter.com/dZfcP998Om](https://t.co/dZfcP998Om?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Connor Magliozzi (@MagliozziMedia) [February 22, 2024](https://twitter.com/MagliozziMedia/status/1760463418539352450?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) So in my podcast episode where I pick a Cinderella in each region, I picked Messo. They beat Hampden by 30+ at the end of the regular season and a couple people there told me that they would have won even if Zach McLaughlin had been available. So I wasn't surprised they won. I was surprised they held Evans Sterling to only 7 points. --- We spend a lot of time during basketball season complaining about the worst of basketball parents, whether they're freaking out about a student section turning around or spending 32 minutes proving they don't know the rules or undermining the coach at every turn, so it's good to see there's some who are just living their best life. > Hampden student section "Where's your daddy?" > > A Camden dad stands up and the rest of the fan section cheers and directs attention to him[@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [February 22, 2024](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/1760489306530218443?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If we're not having fun with this, then what are we even doing? Anyway, this was a battle, but Hampden was able to pull away later. JJ Wolfington had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Broncos. Will Duke had 18 for the Windjammers. Hampden will face Messalonskee in the final, a team they lost to by 33 at the end of the year. That was without Zach McLaughlin, but also part of what now is a 9 game winning streak. The Eagles dominated Mount Blue last night, holding Evans Sterling to 7 points on 3/10 shooting in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the score. Merrick Smith had 14 points and 19 rebounds --- The semifinals were rather rough for our Mr. Basketball front-runners. Evans Sterling scored 7 in a loss. Chance Mercier scored 8 in a loss. Carter Galley won, but was held without a FG. The door might be open for a dark horse. --- The final game of the night was GNG and Freeport and it was electric. Freeport kept up their hot shooting from the quarterfinals, going 11/23 from 3\. JT Pound was 4/6 from distance as part of his 18 points. But GNG matched them, going 10/21 from 3\. But the real issue for GNG wasn't Freeport's shooting. It was foul trouble. Nate and Aidan Hebert each had 3 in the first half (Aidan would eventually foul out). The teams matched big shot after big shot and Freeport had a chance to tie with under a minute to go, but it rimmed out and GNG made their free throws to advance. The A South Regional Final is going to be a lot of fun. --- This LSU game-winner is awesome. > holy crap what a finish between LSU and Kentucky 😳😳😳 [pic.twitter.com/sH8ybJ6UR9](https://t.co/sH8ybJ6UR9?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) [February 22, 2024](https://twitter.com/cjzero/status/1760518680595587120?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-16.png) You want to see a wide-open semifinal? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-22-at-2.01.56-AM.png) Mattanawcook is the only team to beat Dexter this year and nearly beat them in the second game, so Dexter can't be happy to see them in the semifinals. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-22-at-2.06.25-AM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Midcoast Maine Day at the Expo URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/midcoast-maine-day-at-the-expo/ Last updated: 2024-02-21T12:26:46.000Z If your a fan of back-and-forth basketball games where whoever holds the ball last is likely to win, yesterday was not your day. Let's start in Portland with the B South girls semifinals, where we started with a little bit of history. > Introducing Calvin Christoforo, the first ever replay official for Maine High School Basketball. [#nopressure](https://twitter.com/hashtag/nopressure?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/VbuMQCYqJt](https://t.co/VbuMQCYqJt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 20, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1759996248684175459?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Spruce Mountain came out with a bit of a junk defense on Medomak's Kytana Williamson and it worked. Medomak got off to a slow start and after 1, it was 13-4 Spruce. Avery Bessey was the hero in this one. She hit 2 3s in the 2nd quarter, each of them stopping Medomak's efforts to make some progress and it was 24-12 at the half, with a lot of the scoring coming from the free throw line and probably a lot more of it should have, as both defenses were active and physical. There were a combined 10 steals and 41 turnovers in the first half. Bessey's 2nd 3 was actually a buzzer-beater, which gave WHOU a live game situation to further test the replay. 0:00 /0:10 1× Medomak had cut the lead to 8 when Sara Nelson fouled out with 5 minutes left. She led the Panthers with 11 and had 2 big 3s. But Medomak wasn't done. Center Maya Cannon stole the ball on consecutive possessions and her third steal led to a Chloe Fox layup that would have cut it to 1, but it rolled out. Jazmine Pingree made her free throws down the stretch and Spruce survived, 40-34\. Kytana Williamson and Jadyn Pingree combined for 3 made field goals. Both teams did a fantastic job taking away the other team's star. And THAT was the closest game of the day. In the second game, Lake Region's hot shooting gave them an early lead, but Oceanside put Bailey Breen on a block and just kept feeding her until Lake Region proved they could stop it. In the first half, Oceanside made 1 shot from further than 5 feet. The Lakers adjusted in the second half, but the damage was already done. Oceanside won 53-37 to set up a rematch of last year's Regional Final. Breen had 26 points and 6 rebounds. --- Up in Augusta, the Richmond girls raced out to an 18-3 lead over Poland before coasting to victory. Izzy Stewart had 19 to lead the way...the Hall-Dale girls started slowly, but still had a double-digit lead by the middle of the second quarter. Torie Tibbetts led the way with 14...The Madison girls used a 12-2 run to pull away from #12 Monmouth....And the NYA girls held #8 Carrabec to 19 points as they advanced. --- Things weren't much better in Bangor. The Calais boys scored 25 straight to take care of Piscataquis...The Dexter girls were up 23-1 at halftime...Mattanawcook's Addison Cyr dropped 28 on Machias in a blowout. There was, however, a lone bright spot. #5 Hodgdon pulled of a slight upset of #4 Machias. Sam Canfield has the story. [Hodgdon boys defeat Machias in C North quarterfinalThe No. 5 Hawks will play the winner of No. 1 Calais and No. 8 Piscataquis on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 3:30 p.m.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsSam Canfield![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/02/Tourney-Time-2024.png)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/02/20/sports/tourney-time/hodgdon-boys-defeat-machias-in-c-north-quarterfinal/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Back in Portland for Part II of MidCoast Maine Day at the Portland Expo (5 of the 8 teams in the B South semis are from Lincoln Academy, Medomak Valley, and Oceanside. The Expo was packed. > Midcoast Maine Day at the Portland Expo continues with the night session [@LincAcad\_Ath](https://twitter.com/LincAcad%5FAth?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and [@yorkhoops\_boys](https://twitter.com/yorkhoops%5Fboys?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) are up next. > > Line is Lincoln by 0.2 > > LIVE stats. [https://t.co/XTCl4GIlil](https://t.co/XTCl4GIlil?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/omDCLh1vmO](https://t.co/omDCLh1vmO?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 20, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1760073849708724694?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Lincoln Academy went back and forth in the first half like two heavyweights. York led for most of the first half until a Gabe Hagar 3 gave Lincoln Academy the lead. *Just a quick note that, yes, I know I accidentally wrote Gabe Lash instead of Gabe Hagar in yesterday's newsletter. I got a LOT of emails.* The Eagles finished with a 6-0 run to take a 25-22 lead into the half. And if you want to talk about an evenly matched half: FG% Lincoln Academy 40.0% York 40.9% Turnovers Lincoln Academy 6 York 7 REB Lincoln Academy 15 York 13 Lincoln had opened the half with a 6-0 run when Lukas Bouchard fouled Tucker Stiles and then got a tech for throwing the ball at Stiles. You can see it on Travis Lee's Hoops 8 highlights (spoilers of the last game): > Oceanside and Lincoln capture boys semifinal wins. [pic.twitter.com/Q2QukWWiE1](https://t.co/Q2QukWWiE1?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [February 21, 2024](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1760161742380822716?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's an obvious tech. It was also Bouchard's 4th foul. Lincoln hit all 4 free throws and Casey Duncan (who has been fantastic filling in for starting center Tyson Ball) scored to make it a 6 point possession and that was pretty much it. The full run was 21-0\. Gabe Hagar led the way with 14 points and 8 rebounds and Lucas Houghton had a 12 & 10 double-double. I've seen Lincoln Academy something like 7 times this year and I swear they've been better in every single game. They're legit. I believe there's still room on the bandwagon. --- The final game was Medomak Valley and Oceanside. Always an event. Just like they did in the regular season, the Panthers tried to slow Oceanside down and after a quarter it was 8-4\. Eight to four. Oceanside shot 15% in the quarter and Medomak had 6 turnovers. Just the game everyone expected from the #1 and #11 offenses in the state. At the half, it was 22-11\. Oceanside shot 25% from the floor and Medomak shot 17%. It was kind of a rough watch. The offenses finally got going in the 4th quarter, as each team scored 16\. Medomak held Oceanside to a season low 46 points and Carter Galley did not make a field goal, but Cohen Galley had 17\. Gabe Lash had 13 for Medomak. Oceanside advances to play Lincoln Academy. > Medomak is filled with juniors and will be back. Gabe Lash, Maine United member with the Flaggs, is a talented player. > > Oceanside is good and can score in bunches but are definitely beatable. > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [February 21, 2024](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1760121472230580658?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You can add KD to the Cooper Flagg Fan Club. > Kevin Durant says [#Duke](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Duke?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) signee [@Cooper\_Flagg](https://twitter.com/Cooper%5FFlagg?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), the nation's No. 1 prospect for '24, has the potential to be "one of the top players in the league for 15 years." [pic.twitter.com/zWZbkF7esT](https://t.co/zWZbkF7esT?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Blake Munroe (@BlakeMunroeOTF) [February 20, 2024](https://twitter.com/BlakeMunroeOTF/status/1760018229940850876?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-15.png) We're back in B North. This is pretty simple. It's Chance Mercier vs. the defending champs. Let's look at the Gold Ball Odds for B North. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-at-2.58.02-AM.png) [Updated Gold Balls Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) You can't get much closer than that. These two teams split the season series. The winner of the rubber match will advance to the regional final. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-at-2.53.02-AM.png) The Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Day 3 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/day-3/ Last updated: 2024-02-20T15:25:27.000Z What did I tell you about Mount View? As far as 2/7 upsets go, this wasn't all that hard to call. I was pretty bullish on them in [yesterday's newsletter](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/day-2/) and even more so off-line (The math is the math, but I try to hedge my bets on what I say I think will happen because these are kids playing, after all). They'd beaten the 1 seed in C South and pushed the 2 and 4 seeds in B South to the limit. Their issue was they just missed the opportunities for Heal Points on their schedule, so their seed was deflated. As everyone in Bangor saw, this is a very good team. We had a similar situation in Augusta when #7 Hall-Dale blew out #2 Richmond. Richmond went 13-0 against Class D and 3-2 against Class C. Hall-Dale went 3-3 against Class B. I don't believe for a minute that a higher class automatically means a better team, because it just isn't true. But as a whole, as you go up a class, the competition gets a little stronger. It just does. Is the 4 seed in A North automatically better than the 4 seed in B North? Not at all. But 1-8 in A is usually better than 1-8 in B. There's a lot of talk today about Heal Points, and I'd like to point out that Heal Points aren't the problem. The problem is the schedules. The teams don't play each other. And they don't play each other for a lot of reasons. Some conferences won't play teams outside their conference. Some just boils down to how big Maine is. Mount View to Fort Kent is a 4 hour drive. Maranacook to Caribou is 4 hours and 15 minutes. You can't do straight W-L record. Look at this. How many tiebreakers would this require? 6? 10? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-19-at-10.45.04-PM.png) I think we need to do a couple things here. First, we should take the class weight in Heal Points back to 5 points. It was lowered to 2 to encourage more cross-over games and that's definitely what we got. But, the pendulum may have swung too far. Second, conferences have to open their schedules. I've yet to hear a good reason to keep them closed. Go back to Maranacook. How can Maranacook play teams in B North if the conference with most of the teams has a closed schedule? Third, there should be a minimum games played in your region. It doesn't have to be crazy. It could be as low as 6\. 10 or 12 feels right. You're never going to get an everyone plays everyone schedule and until the day we do, we need the Heal Points. Plus, find me another system where every game matters. [Updated Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- I went to Augusta for a couple D South girls games and saw what might be the stat line of the tourney so far from Waynflete's Lucy Hart: > [@waynfletesports](https://twitter.com/waynfletesports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) has 27 steals in a not-close win over Islesboro, 58-16 > > Lucy Hart 19 (4 3s)/8r/6a/13s/1b (line of the tourney?) > Lauren McNutt Girouard 29 (4 3s)/4a/3s > > Anna Zlotkowski 5/8r/2s[@mpaACCbbsite](https://twitter.com/mpaACCbbsite?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 19, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1759622922136879292?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Lucy Hart had 8 steals in the first quarter and did all her scoring in the first half. The Girls D South tourney record for 3s in a game is 5\. Both Hart and McNutt Girouard had 4 at the half and didn't bother to try for the record. Go break records, kids! You only get so many games on the big stage. I promise the other team will be fine. But, also: if you're going to lose 58-16, would you rather lose 58-16 or lose 58-16 because they broke the record for 3s made in a game? One sounds a lot better to me. --- After that game ended, I raced down to Portland to try and catch the start of the GNG/Greely girls game, but I didn't make it in time. Neither did GNG's hopes of joining the boys in the semifinals. GNG got dominated by a team they beat by 42 all the way back on January 30th, which just goes to show that Tourney Week is a special beast. Nathan Fournier has the full story. [Girls’ basketball: Greely upsets Gray-New Gloucester in Class A South quarterfinalsLauren Hester paces the sixth-seeded Rangers with 15 points and Asja Kelman adds 14 in a 52-31 victory over the No. 3 Patriots.![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldNathan FournierSun Journal![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/12/2deck-Varsity-Maine-logo-display-image-1639793462.jpg?w=250)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/02/19/girls-basketball-greely-upsets-gray-new-gloucester-in-class-a-south-quarterfinals/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Immediately after that, Brunswick dominated Freeport. You've got to think they're the favorites in the region now. --- But of all the upsets tonight, this was the biggest one of all... [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-19-at-11.04.35-PM.png)](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1759600494132297819?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm teaming up with the MPA(!) to bring you live stats from both the Expo and the Augusta Civic Center. I know, I know. I'm as surprised by this as you are. It's also pretty cool to glance at the computer and see a live score from Augusta. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-19-at-4.03.17-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) You can also see box scores and visuals from all of the completed games. [LIVE Stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) --- Westbrook's Lyla Dunphe had the shot of the night. > They may not win...but Lyla Dunphe with the shot of the night...half court heave to end the third for Westbrook [pic.twitter.com/vlqvpRC3Gf](https://t.co/vlqvpRC3Gf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [February 20, 2024](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1759735701065666929?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This was called good on the floor, but if you slow it down, you can see that she was, in fact, late on the shot. Not by much, but late. And that's a good segue to explain that with the semifinals kicking off tomorrow at the Expo, that means that replay is now an option for end of game buzzer-beaters. It's not available for the quarterfinals, because NFHS can't handle it. Seriously, that's the reason. But WHOU can! So we might be using replay tomorrow. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-14.png) It's Midcoast Maine Day at the Expo today, as 5 Midcoast teams are in the B South semifinals for the second year in a row. In fact, when you add Spruce Mountain, 6 of the 8 teams are closer to Augusta than Portland. Lincoln Academy is trying to get to their first Regional Final since their Gold Ball campaign in 1989\. They've won 7 straight and in dominant fashion. Led by 1,000 point scorer Gabe Hagar, they've got the 8th best offense in the state. They take on a York team that stumbled a little down the stretch before righting the ship against Spruce Mountain in the quarterfinals. They were the 5th most dominant team in the state and had the 2nd best defense in Class B The might be a situation where the team that controls the pace controls the game. Either way, it's going to be a great night of basketball at the Expo. We might even get to use replay! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-20-at-12.45.51-AM.png) *Note: in the email version of this, I accidentally wrote Gabe Lash instead of Gabe Hagar.* The Model's picks for tomorrow's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Day 2 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/day-2/ Last updated: 2024-02-19T12:42:03.000Z First things first. Saturday's newsletter was accidentally completely behind the paywall because I forgot to put the line in that makes most of it free. You can [read it all here](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/day-1/). These are things that happen on very little sleep. Quarterfinal Saturday is a lot. The one thing you learn when you start doing a full day in one venue--especially Quarterfinal Saturday--is that you quickly end up in a bubble with little to no idea what's going on in the other two. If something crazy happens, you might hear about it, but other than that, you're in the dark. So I'll do my best after doing 12 games at the Expo in 31ish hours. Let's start with the 9am game at the Expo between the Spruce Mountain girls and Yarmouth. Both teams started slowly, like a true 9am game. Spruce shot 11% from the floor in the first quarter. Yarmouth isn't your typical 6 seed and their length was bothering the Pingree sisters, but as great teams do in tournament play, they found scoring elsewhere. In this case, it was from Avery Bessey, who went 5-8 from 3 to give Spruce a much-needed jolt of caffeine. You need that in a 9am game. Yarmouth hung close, but with thirty seconds to play, Spruce had a 6 point lead and seemed poised to advance. Then, Cate King scored on a put-back, Spruce missed a 3, Lauren Keaney (who had left the game for a spell with an injury) hit a 3 with 6 seconds left. But Yarmouth failed to call time, despite having 3 timeouts remaining, and Spruce ran out the clock. They dodge a bullet. They'll face the Medomak girls in the semis. Medomak Valley got an early break when York's standout big McKayla Kortes picked up her second foul 38 seconds into the game. The Panthers opened up a 7-point lead before Kortes checked back in, but she promptly picked up her third. It was around that time Kytana Williamson decided she had seen enough. > Kytana Williamson scores the last nine points of the half as No. 2 Medomak Valley seizes a 28-15 halftime lead over No. 7 York.[#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/V4pZaiwGPp](https://t.co/V4pZaiwGPp?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — VillageSoup Sports (@VS\_Sports\_ME) [February 17, 2024](https://twitter.com/VS%5FSports%5FME/status/1758888517898309713?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) She finished with 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. --- Up in Bangor, in the Game of the Day, Caribou took the defending champions of Orono to the limit. From the BDN: > Leading 48-47 with 35 seconds to go, Orono junior Will Francis hit two clutch free throws and then made a high-flying block on the other end, where senior Pierce Walston recovered the loose ball and found senior Ben Francis for an emphatic and-one play to seal it. [Orono edges Caribou in B North boys quarterfinalOrono will play the winner of No. 1 Ellsworth and No. 9 Winslow in the semifinals Wednesday.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsSam Canfield![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/02/Orono-Caribou-boys-C-LCO-scaled.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/02/17/sports/tourney-time/orono-edges-caribour-b-north-quarterfinal/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- In Augusta, #7 Telstar had #2 St. Dom's on the ropes. > Potential upset alert: Into the fourth number 7 Telstar leads number 2 St. Dominic 45-38 > > — Connor Magliozzi (@MagliozziMedia) [February 17, 2024](https://twitter.com/MagliozziMedia/status/1758891942451282344?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But St. Dom's was able to put the hammer down, ratchet up their press, and eventually win by 7. --- After years of futility, you have to imagine the Wiscasset boys were feeling good about winning their first quarterfinal game since 1995 and you would be right. > This has to be one of the best ways I've ever heard someone describe the feeling of winning a game [pic.twitter.com/rdWcteamOG](https://t.co/rdWcteamOG?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Connor Magliozzi (@MagliozziMedia) [February 17, 2024](https://twitter.com/MagliozziMedia/status/1758933122442514727?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It didn't come easily either. They beat #4 Buckfield 49-47. --- Back in Portland, it looked like Wells sophomore Megyn Mertens was going to be too much for Lake Region. She had 21 and Wells led 35-27 in the fourth quarter. But then Margo Tremblay took over. Her 10 4th quarter points fueled a 12-0 Lake Region run to take control of the game. After 2 Maxons fouled out, Payton Fazzina's 3 in the final seconds got Wells within 2, but they couldn't get off a final shot at the buzzer. Lake Region advances to play Oceanside, who won handily (Bailey Breen had 33 & 15), but Biddeford's Jordyn Crump made it interesting by going 5-5 from the NBA line. --- On to the evening sessions. In Augusta, Camden brought a bassoon. > Bassoon in the band? Bassoon in the band. [pic.twitter.com/xFmxYuomuI](https://t.co/xFmxYuomuI?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Mike Mandell (@MichaelJMandell) [February 18, 2024](https://twitter.com/MichaelJMandell/status/1759010433703227572?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There was only 1 band at the Expo and we need more. Lake Region's band was fantastic. Even if you can't get a full band, go the Messalonskee/Machias route and have 3 guitars and a drum kit and just rock out. We will love it. I promise. They also brought Will Duke and Nolan Ames. > The duo of Will Duke and Nolan Ames continues to wow as No. 5 [@CamdenHillsBB](https://twitter.com/CamdenHillsBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) defeated No. 4 Nokomis 56-46 in the A North quarterfinals on Saturday. They get No. 1 Hampden next, and that's a potential upset special! [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/9ZTfbf7S45](https://t.co/9ZTfbf7S45?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/KTI4FWURhM](https://t.co/KTI4FWURhM?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan Sudol (@RyanSudolWVII) [February 18, 2024](https://twitter.com/RyanSudolWVII/status/1759090237102285270?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Windjammers were an underdog in the seeding, but favored by the Model. In the end, favorites in A North went 8-0, which I'm pretty sure is a first since we went to 5 classes. --- The favorites were not so lucky in Bangor, where the Central Aroostook girls were favored by 13 over Katahdin. And apparently Hunter Hartsgrove took exception to that, because she went off for 37 in a blowout. Eastern Maine Sports spoke to her after the game. --- But the biggest upset was in Portland, where 2-time defending regional champion Falmouth squared off against Westbrook. The storyline with Falmouth has centered on 2 things: Chris Simonds and coach Dave Halligan's quest for his 600th career win (he's at 598). For all their pedigree, Falmouth came out cold. Westbrook came out hungry, the definition of a team playing with house money. The Blue Blazes held Simonds to 9 points and forced 25 turnovers to beat Falmouth 50-43\. And it could have been worse. Westbrook lost David Mbuyamba (15 & 8) and Gio Staples (8 points) for stretches with injuries and Mike Shungu missed 2 monster dunks that would have brought the house down. The Blazes will face Noble, who made a statement with a 76-50 win over Greely. Jamier Rose was everywhere for the Knights. I had him at a near triple-double with 24 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, and 5 steals as Noble won their first quarterfinal game since 1985\. Kade Ippolito had 24 points and 11 rebounds for Greely. --- Back in Bangor, the Ellsworth girls set the girls all-class record for 3s made in a game. [Ellsworth sets girls tournament 3-pointer recordThe Eagles now own the Maine high school girls tournament record for all classes after hitting 14 3-pointers in a win over Presque Isle.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsLarry Mahoney![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/02/Ellsworth-PI-girls-C-LCO-scaled.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/02/18/sports/tourney-time/ellsworth-sets-girls-tournament-3-pointer-record-xoasq1i29i/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Speaking of 3s, the Freeport boys went 10-15 from three in their win over Kennebunk. The Rams were able to force 18 turnovers to keep it close. At this point, I'm really fading. But there's one more game! The Fryeburg boys led #1 GNG by 8 in the first quarter, but then the Patriots found their rhythm. They went on a 14-2 run to take the lead. Fryeburg made some noise in the 3rd quarter, but GNG was just too much. Jagger Helwig kept Fryeburg alive in this one. He broke the southern A tournament record by going 8-10 from 3\. He had 26\. Noah and Nate Hebert each scored 18 for GNG. And that's it. > After this game, I'm going to challenge [@TheEthanSnow](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) to walk the sideline and see who's more tired. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 18, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1759049674407776661?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 12 games is a lot. I'm sure there were people in each of the venues who worked all 12 games over two days, but I want to mention Ethan Snow, because I watched him do it. So if you enjoyed any of the streams from the Expo this last weekend, he worked them all, in one capacity or another. --- There will be more live stats today from Portland, as I'm planning to cover the Girls A South quarterfinals, but first I'll hit Augusta for some of the Girls D South quarterfinals. I always try to catch some class D games because they tend to get ignored, plus you get some great games, like last year when the Vinalhaven girls came back down 20 points in the 4th to win in overtime and then had to race to catch the ferry. [LIVE StatsLive stats of selected games![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/LIVE-STATS-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) If you haven't checked out the LIVE stats yet, they're pretty cool and look like this: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-17-at-4.40.31-PM.png) --- Also apparently there was a dunk contest. > JAYLEN BROWN HAD ENOUGH OF THE JOKES [pic.twitter.com/yjCSo1aNDt](https://t.co/yjCSo1aNDt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) [February 18, 2024](https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1759063642153120040?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-13.png) This is a game of contrasts in scheduling. On the one hand, you have Fort Kent. The 2 seed in C North played 10 games against Class D schools, going 8-2\. They also have 6 losses, which is a lot for a 2 seed. They also played 10 games against team inside the top 51, so despite the games against D, they actually played a pretty hard schedule. As luck would have it, they'll play Mount View. The seventh-seeded Mustangs went 9-6 against Class B. They beat Mount Abram early in the year and "only" went 2-6 against tourney teams. Those 6 losses? Medomak Valley (x2), Lincoln Academy (x2), Oceanside, and Winslow. And in 4 of those losses, they had a real shot at winning. They're the ranked 2nd in C North against teams in the top 25\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-19-at-12.17.35-AM-1.png) Oh, and they didn't play a single team in their region during the regular season, which is fun. It would not shock me if they made a run. If they do, it starts today. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-18-at-9.16.16-PM.png) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Day 1 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/day-1/ Last updated: 2024-02-17T13:41:36.000Z Oh, man. The Tournament, it does not disappoint. Let's start in Portland, where #6 Spruce Mountain was taking on #3 York. The Wildcats led for most of the first half, but neither team was shooting well, so the biggest lead they'd been able to get was 6\. In the second half, they traded the lead a couple of times, and you started to wonder if Spruce was going to end their rough streak of quarterfinals games. With just under 5 to go, Jace Bessey knocked down a transition 3 to tie the game, but it got waived off. Offensive foul on the screen by Cai Dougher. It was a pretty bang-bang play. That gave Dougher 4 fouls. Up until this point, Dougher was their leading scorer with 11\. He finished with 11\. In the next Spruce possession, he get called for another offensive foul for using his off-hand to drive baseline. If it was a foul, it was minimal. He fouls out. In the next 2 possessions, Spruce gets called for 2 more iffy calls. York capitalizes on each one and suddenly, over the course of a minute and change, a tie game is a 12-point lead. York advances. Meanwhile, in Bangor: > Class B North Boy’s Basketball QF > Halftime - [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > #10 MDI - 27 > > #2 Maranacook - 17 > > — Tyler Hewey (@TylerHewey) [February 16, 2024](https://twitter.com/TylerHewey/status/1758630075363115118?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) MDI would stretch this to 48-26 and Maranacook would rally, but it was too little, too late. [MDI boys stun second-seeded Maranacook in B North quarterfinalThe Trojans will play No. 3 Old Town (16-3) at the Cross Center at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsSam Canfield![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/02/MDI-Maranacook-boys-LCO.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/02/16/sports/tourney-time/mdi-boys-stun-second-seeded-maranacook-in-b-north-quarterfinal/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And there goes my bracket. --- Over in Augusta, Girls A North went according to seed and they didn't seem to be all that close, which is very unlike A North and might be a bad sign for some of the higher seeds on the Boys side tomorrow. We'll see. Having said that, don't sleep on Camden. > No. 4 [@CamdenHillsBB](https://twitter.com/CamdenHillsBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) showed off their defensive might against No. 5 Skowhegan, winning 43-21 in the A North quarterfinals. They have No. 1 Lawrence in the semis and it could be a problem for the Bulldogs! [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/Vkw0snlAjE](https://t.co/Vkw0snlAjE?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/dUzuxPiVyY](https://t.co/dUzuxPiVyY?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan Sudol (@RyanSudolWVII) [February 17, 2024](https://twitter.com/RyanSudolWVII/status/1758719132143407281?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Back in Portland for the Game of the Day, everyone assumed Medomak Valley and Yarmouth would have some fireworks. And they sort of did, just not what anyone expected. Medomak started strong. They got early 3s from Mason Nguyen and Kristian Schumann to build an 8-2 lead despite Yarmouth's Evan Hamm blocking everything in sight. He finished with 4 of Yarmouth's 6 blocked shots. It was 13-8 after 1\. And then Yarmouth scored to make it 13-10 and you could feel the anticipation. But Medomak strung some baskets together to stretch it back out to 9, then answered some Yarmouth buckets to get it to 11\. Mason Nguyen beat the buzzer to make the lead 27-14 at the half. > Medomak Valley’s Mason Nguyen lays it in at the buzzer to cap an 8-0 run as the Panthers lead Yarmouth 27-14 at halftime.[#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/J640JHc3YS](https://t.co/J640JHc3YS?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — VillageSoup Sports (@VS\_Sports\_ME) [February 17, 2024](https://twitter.com/VS%5FSports%5FME/status/1758656443845423358?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Everyone spent the half expecting the Yarmouth run. But it was Medomak who went on a run. They shot 9/13 from the floor in the third as part of a 24-2 run to put the game out of reach. They won 61-33\. Kory Donlin led the way with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists. Steve Craig has a write-up for the PPH. [Boys’ basketball: Medomak Valley overwhelms Yarmouth, 61-33The fourth-seeded Panthers dominate a rematch with Yarmouth, earning a spot in the Class B South semifinals.![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldSteve CraigPress Herald![](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/38073479_20240216_Yarmouth_Medomak_5.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/02/16/boys-basketball-medomak-valley-overwhelms-yarmouth-61-33/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And so ends the careers of Matt Gautreau and Evan Hamm, two of my favorite players to watch in this region. I have one last request: > I need a PPV of Gabe Lash and Evan Hamm playing 1-on-1 > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 17, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1758667700753363137?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Back in Bangor, the #3 Maranacook girls were hoping to fare better than the boys as they also played MDI, only this time the 6 seed. MDI opened up to a 20-0 to end the game before it even started, giving the Big East teams a pair of resounding wins to open up quarterfinal play. I'm sure Facebook will be calm and reasonable about this. But let's see what that does to the Gold Ball Odds... ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-17-at-1.06.43-AM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- Back in Portland, we finish with the Oceanside boys and #8 Mountain Valley. Mountain Valley's Tanner Henry kicked off the scoring with a three. Then his steal led to a Ben DeSalle bucket. Then he picks Cohen Galley's pocket, which leads to another DeSalle bucket. Timeout Oceanside. Out of the timeout, Carter Galley turns it over and Henry hits another 3\. 10-0 and the Mountain Valley crowd is losing their minds. Zeb Foster scores to get them on the board (he had 12) and a little over a minute later, we're all tied up. Oceanside out-scores Mountain Valley 40-11 over the rest of the half. It was Cohen Galley who had the hot hand, but as we learned later in the game, there was a reason for that. 0:00 /0:26 1× video: me He needed 38 to join his brother in the 1K club and he got exactly 38\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/IMG_0050.jpg) There were some murmurs in the crowd about why he was still in, but this makes sense to me. You've got an opportunity to get it out of the way. It's one less distraction going into a semifinal that figures to be very competitive. And what happens if you take him out 8 short and he's in foul trouble all night and only scores 4 in a loss? Get it out of the way. --- I was supposed to publish this yesterday, but Thomas Curtis is back with a look at the first round of AA Quarterfinals. [The AA Round-Up: February 15, 2024AA kicks off the quarterfinals![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsThomas Curtis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2024/02/aaroundup.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-aa-round-up-february-2/) --- Load up on caffeine. It's gonna be a long day. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-12.png) Let's go to B North Boys, courtesy of Jay Baines' [superior brackets](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17nS%5FRsELzKDXkzQDLiYKSmFJNDPpDD9PubtJ-KaRj3g/edit?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#gid=650332082). (Hire him, MPA!) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-17-at-7.08.54-AM.png) Caribou is here thanks to a prelim win over their rivals in Presque Isle. They have the third best offense in the region, at 61.1 ppg and other than a hiccup at Hermon on January 20th, have taken care of business. They've struggled with Ellsworth and lost a close one early in the year to Old Town, but they still rank as the 5th most dominant team in the region. It's a tough region. Orono, of course, is the defending champs, and evidence of their victory still hangs in the rafters of the Expo. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/IMG_0041.jpg) They're 4th in scoring, 4th in Point Differential, and the Model thinks they should be the 2 seed. If you want to pick them to repeat as champions, I won't argue with you. The thing that might give you pause: one of their three losses? At Caribou. Can the Vikings do it again? Or will the Red Riots continue to defend their crown? Either way, I gotta finish this up because they tip at 9am. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-17-at-1.05.48-AM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The AA Round-Up: February 15, 2024 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-aa-round-up-february-2/ Last updated: 2024-02-17T11:45:39.000Z Tourney time!!! **Boys: (6) Thornton Academy 59, (3) South Portland 43** A 17-2 run in the 4th quarter sparked the 6 seeded Golden Trojans' upset over number 3 Red Riots. Wyatt Benoit had 15, but Josh Vallee was the story: > 3:39 4Q | TA: 50, SP: 39 > > Legacy game for Josh Vallee, offensive meltdown from SP. Lots of time still. > > — Cole Purvis (@Cole\_Purvis) [February 16, 2024](https://twitter.com/Cole%5FPurvis/status/1758298581671317616?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Legacy games, that's what this tournament is all about. Thornton Academy will see Scarborough in the semifinals at the Cross Insurance Arena. **Boys: (5) Deering 65, (4) Sanford 53** Deering visited Sanford and ran all over them. After a 20-3 first quarter, the Spartans tried to close back in, but the Rams' zone forced them to continue a cold shooting night and didn't allow much of anything in the paint. Deering sophomore Tayshaun Cleveland was impressive inside, he had 14 points by my unofficial count. Side note: No box score on Varsity Maine... We'll have a 3rd battle of the Rams in the semi-finals. Gorham blew Deering out in the first, Deering scraped out one of Gorham's two losses in the second meeting. I know Gorham's hungry for revenge, but Deering has to have some confidence after winning one in the regular season. **Girls (4) Sanford 63, (5) Thornton Academy 59** Emma Lizotte's 28 points weren't enough to push the Golden Trojans past the Spartans. Julissa McBarron poured in 21 and Paige Sevigny dropped 18 in her first career playoff game. The freshman has stepped up to the challenge every time she's been asked. When McBarron was out, when the Spartans needed a 3 in a big spot, or in a playoff quarterfinal against a team who was crowned a favorite in AA before the season. Sanford meets Gorham in the semi-finals as they did a year ago. **Elsewhere...** Kevin Rugabirwa had 30 in Portland's route of Edward Little, South Portland's girls had 4 players in double-figures in a win over Bonny Eagle... and the Lewiston boys survived Oxford Hills at home. ### TOURNEY WEEK!!! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-week/ Last updated: 2024-02-16T13:43:14.000Z The Tournament is here!!! The best 9 days of the year start today at 4pm as people from all over the state descend on Portland, Augusta, and Bangor. Upsets will happen. Legends will be born. New champions will be crowned. And at least one kid will hit a shot he'll be talking about in bars thirty years from now. It's going to be epic. But first, we had some AA Quarterfinals last night. Kevin Rugabirwa went off for 30 points as Portland blew out Edward Little in the AA North 3/6 game. They face the winner of Cheverus and Bangor, which will almost certainly be Cheverus (they're favored by 27). --- With Addison Sulikowski out, the Thornton Academy girls got a huge 28 points and 17 rebounds from Emma Lizotte and led Sanford by 10 in the second half, but the Spartans rallied. Playing with 4 fouls, Julissa McBarron scored 21, Paige Sevigny added 18, and Sanford [used a huge third quarter](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/02/15/girls-basketball-blistering-third-quarter-helps-sanford-take-down-thornton-academy/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) to survive. --- South Portland's season started badly, to say the least. The defending champs started 0-5\. But they recovered. They finished by winning 5 of their last 6 and you could start to make the case that maybe they could make another run. Their quarterfinal matchup with TA seemed like a formality. They had swept the season series, although both games had been within single digits. But TA had lost 12 in a row before finishing with a win over Bonny Eagle and teams that lose 12 straight leading into the playoffs usually don't last very long. They got started early. Josh Vallee hit a couple threes to give them an early lead. He finished with 21\. It was tied after 3, but TA pulled away in the 4th quarter to pull off the upset, 59-43\. We'll have a new champion in AA boys. --- **Reminder of Streaming Access:** **Quarterfinals are on NFHS.** **Semis and Regional Finals are on WHOU.** **State Games are on MPBN.** --- Before the tournament starts every year, I do an exercise where I pick against the Model and try to find that sleeper team that could pull off the shocking upset. Sometimes I nail it (the Wells girls in their Gold Ball run, Caribou's Gold Ball run, etc.) and sometimes that team loses their prelim game. It starts with the [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/), like this for Boys B North: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-at-8.15.11-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) This is one of the more wide-open regions in the state, but Ellsworth is the favorite to win the Region at 30.12%, but Maranacook, Old Town, and Orono are all strong contenders and Caribou and Hermon are lurking. Any of those 6 could theoretically win it. So using the [Tourney Guides](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/media-guide/), I try and read the tea leaves of who makes the most sense. This year, I dusted off the podcast feed so you can listen to it in the car on the way to the games and get good and riled up if your team wasn't picked. This also functions as something of a tourney preview, and includes thoughts on Mr. Basketball, relegation, and a couple of other things. It should be available wherever you podcast, or [on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/1rpMkqgdQty4sTRQ61xWDi?si=AN3DgCLzSUO6QSRYHgKY5A&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- I'll be at the Expo today and tomorrow with LIVE stats for every game, so if you're stuck at work or want a second screen or refuse to pay for NFHS, that's your ticket. [LIVE Stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) We might have some games from Bangor as well this year, as part of my long-term goal to have this running at all 3 sites simultaneously eventually. If that's something that would interest you, let me know! --- CentralMaine.com has a cool video of the workers putting together the floor at the ACC. I don't know about you, but 30 seconds in and I can already feel the energy in that building. --- The nominations are open for the Maine Basketball Rankings All-State teams. The process is simple: submit the stats for a deserving player. That'll get calculated into an EFF stat, adjusted based on your team's Strength of Schedule, and that'll determine the All-State teams. No hype. No reputation bonuses. No Southern Maine bias. It doesn't matter how much you're on Instagram. Just your stats. Submit your players! [All-State TeamsSubmit your player today!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2023/02/all-state-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/all-state/) --- Do you want to see a wild half-court game winner? Of course you do. > ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?! > > XANDER RICE BANKS ONE IN TO WIN IT AT THE BUZZER!!![@MonmouthBBall](https://twitter.com/MonmouthBBall?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) || [#FlyHawks](https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyHawks?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/ZSSDiFqvUu](https://t.co/ZSSDiFqvUu?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Monmouth Hawks (@MonmouthHawks) [February 16, 2024](https://twitter.com/MonmouthHawks/status/1758313853597733090?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-11.png) I think we all suspected this Medomak Valley and Yarmouth have played each other in basketball twice. The first meeting, in the 2022 Regional Final, found Yarmouth shaking off a 12-1 Medomak run to rally to victory. They would go on to win the Gold Ball. In the second, Medomak rallied down 9 in the final two minutes of regulation to force overtime. They would go on to win in double overtime. Part three of Maine's hot new rivalry figures to be just as good. Yarmouth has played the toughest schedule in B South and has won 10 of their last 12 since the loss to Medomak, including an impressive win over third seeded York on February 1st. They are the highest-ranked team in B South over the second half. None of the top 4 seeds wanted them in the quarterfinals. Medomak has the 11th best offense in the state, the 2nd best defense in B South, and has beaten everyone on their schedule who isn't Oceanside or Lincoln Academy. They've got a 2-headed attack of Kory Donlin and Gabe Lash who provide matchup problems for anyone. This will be worth the trip to the Expo. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-at-12.17.43-AM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Boys Prelims URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/boys-prelims/ Last updated: 2024-02-15T14:35:59.000Z The Game of the Day was a bust. I [wrote yesterday](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/upset-number-2/) that points might be few and far between Hermon and Washington Academy and that was partly true. Washington Academy was held to 28, but Hermon didn't quite get the message. They won 47-28 and will face Old Town in Bangor. Old Town swept that season series, but the game on January 11th in Hermon was a 3-point margin. --- I went to the Girls B South 8/9 prelim, which was also a bust. > I’m at [@LincAcad\_Ath](https://twitter.com/LincAcad%5FAth?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) for a girls 8/9 prelim with [@BiddHSAthletics](https://twitter.com/BiddHSAthletics?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > Winner gets Oceanside > > 6:30 tip > > Live stats: [https://t.co/XTCl4GIT7T](https://t.co/XTCl4GIT7T?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/QjbdlXLSNo](https://t.co/QjbdlXLSNo?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 14, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1757907711789060270?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Biddeford came out in a full-court press that Lincoln Academy was not equipped to handle. The Tigers were up 21-6 before Lincoln got their feet under them. The Eagles put together an 8-2 run to get it back to single digits. Then, Jordyn Crump picked up her third foul mid-way through the 2nd quarter and Biddeford left her in, you could see the formula for the comeback. Lincoln couldn't capitalize. Biddeford then put the hammer down with a 21-3 third quarter to blow it open. Crump finished with 18 points and 8 steals. They'll face Oceanside next. --- Sometimes, the 8/9 game lives up to the billing, like in Boys B North. > On Wednesday, No. 9 [@WinslowAthletic](https://twitter.com/WinslowAthletic?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) boys hoops survived an OT SCARE 57-55 after No. 9 Foxcroft Academy's furious comeback. They now move to the B North quarterfinals on Saturday morning against top-seed Ellsworth. [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/XFMyePJGUJ](https://t.co/XFMyePJGUJ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/RgwXEf5LJo](https://t.co/RgwXEf5LJo?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan Sudol (@RyanSudolWVII) [February 15, 2024](https://twitter.com/RyanSudolWVII/status/1757995568989688160?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- You never want to draw a team in the prelims that beat you by 17 in the regular season. Sure, things change and it was just one game, but that's probably not your best draw. But that's what #7 Bucksport faced last night in #10 MDI. MDI raced out to a 20-point lead and Bucksport's rally wasn't enough and the Trojans punched a ticket to the quarterfinals. They'll face #2 Maranacook. --- On the other hand, the #6 George Stevens Academy boys had to feel pretty good about drawing #11 Dexter in the prelims. They'd already beaten them twice, by 10 and by 9, and Dexter had lost their last 5 games, while GSA had won 9 of their last 11\. This was probably not the game you'd circle for an upset. But that's why you play the games. Dexter went in and held the second highest scoring offense in C North to 2 points en route to a convincing 40-31 win. They'll get Fort Fairfield and the #2 defense in the quarterfinals. --- AA doesn't have enough teams to fill out a full region, so everyone goes directly to the quarterfinals, which means teams are in the quarterfinals who should be done for the year. It's one of the stronger arguments for going back to 4 classes. Last night's girls AA South quarterfinals were another data point in that case: #3 Scarborough beat #6 Massabesic by 32 #2 Oxford Hills beat #7 Portland by 31 #1 Gorham beat #8 Noble by 73!!! Hopefully the 4/5 game will be competitive. Elsewhere... Scott Chadbourne had 28 as Piscataquis beat Mattanawcook...Stearns' Caleb Shearer's 24 led them to a win over Lee Academy...Spencer Booth dropped 25 on Bonny Eagle as Scarborough advanced to the semis...Mountain Valley got 22 from Jake New in beating Cape...OOB's Brady Plante had 23 but it wasn't enough to upset #7 Hall-Dale. [Updated Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- If you haven't gotten your Tourney Guide yet, now's the time! [Tourney GuideAll the data![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2023/02/media-guide-bann.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/media-guide/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-10.png) We've got most of the remaining AA quarterfinals today. Thornton Academy is the 5 seed, but they've beaten Sanford twice, by 16 on Opening Night and by 8 on January 30th on the road, the last of a 4-game losing streak for Sanford. The Spartans are going to have to keep the #1 offense in the region in check if they want to get to the semifinals. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-15-at-9.27.54-AM.png) The Model's picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Upset Number 2! And 3! And 4! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/upset-number-2/ Last updated: 2024-02-14T14:12:14.000Z NOW it's a tournament. Let's go to Thorndike, where the Mount View girls are up 11 with a minute and a half to play. Central hits a three, then gets a steal at half-court and a layup and one for a quick 6-0 burst. Sorry, I don't have rosters for this. Mount View puts up a not-great shot, Central races down for a layup to make it 47-44 and suddenly we've got a game (and shades of Erskine's rally against MCI the night before). Out of a Mount View timeout, Central forces another turnover, then gets a clean corner 3 that I thought went in live, but it missed and Mount View was fouled in the rebounding action. She then proceeds to miss both free throws (this is why coaches drink). In the final 20 seconds, Central has a deep 3 come up short, then 2 more don't fall and Mount View survives the rally to punch their ticket for Bangor. --- On February 5th, Lake Region lost at home to Wells by 16, which is never a good sign when you might get that team in the tourney. Well they did. And they must have figured something out because they escaped Wells with a 51-48 win to advance to the Expo. They'll face Lincoln Academy. Speaking of Lincoln Academy, I will be at their girls prelim with Biddeford today and will have LIVE stats. [LIVE StatsLive stats of selected games![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/LIVE-STATS-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) --- Everyone knows that if you're going to fill out a bracket, you have to pick a 5/12 upset. This is Tournament 101 stuff. So... > GBB PRELIM UPSET WATCH: At halftime, #12 Monmouth Academy leads #5 Sacopee Valley 26-18 at halftime. Can the Hawks mount a comeback or will Monmouth hold on. > > Winner faces Madison a week from tonight. > > — Rob Kennedy 🌲 🏒 (@RobKennedy70) [February 13, 2024](https://twitter.com/RobKennedy70/status/1757549481254367550?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You would expect Sacopee Valley to make a game out of it, but they did not. Monmouth ran away with this one and they're heading to Augusta after starting their season 0-6. And C South Girls now looks like this: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-14-at-9.05.49-AM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) Elsewhere... Aleyah Matheson's 26 in the absence of Anna Oliver (she's out for the year) gave Hodgdon a prelim win over GSA. They'll get Penobscot Valley next...Katahdin's Hunter Hartsgrove posted a triple-double against Stearns with 38 pts, 10 rebounds and 12 steals, and 7 assists. They have Central Aroostook in the quarters, a team they nearly beat twice in the regular season...the Presque Isle girls squeaked past Washington Academy, 42-41. --- The Tourney Guides are all done and I've already thought of an improvement for next year. Maybe I'll add it for the Gold Ball games. Let's see how tired I am. All told, it's about 150 pages long and included every single team in the state. It's included in a paid subscription. So if you're looking for a reason to upgrade, it's a good one. Plus it helps cover my gas going back and forth to Portland and Augusta. [Tourney Guides](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/media-guide/) --- Jayson Tatum did a great thing for his community in St. Louis. [Jayson Tatum announces partnership to support low-income, single-parent families in St. LouisBoston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum announced a new partnership with SoFi to support low-income, single-parent families in St. Louis.![](https://celticswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/39/2017/09/cropped-celticswire-favicon.png?w=192)Celtics WireCameron Tabatabaie![](https://celticswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/39/2023/12/USATSI_22064035.jpg?w=1024&h=576&crop=1)](https://celticswire.usatoday.com/lists/nba-boston-celtics-jayson-tatum-generational-wealth/?taid=65cb933da16ddd00014aeea0&utm%5Fcampaign=trueanthem&utm%5Fmedium=trueanthem&utm%5Fsource=twitter) --- And obviously if I see a half-court game winner, I gotta include it. > FROM HALF COURT FOR THE WIN! [pic.twitter.com/7ryFfEa37p](https://t.co/7ryFfEa37p?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Mid-Major Madness (@mid\_madness) [February 14, 2024](https://twitter.com/mid%5Fmadness/status/1757600903094321244?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-9.png) Let's go to Hermon for a B North prelim. Washington Academy stumbled into the tournament, losing four of their final 5 (including a loss to 2-16 John Bapst) to fall to the 11 seed. They'll make the 2 hour trip to Hermon to face an Eagles team that has dropped 3 of their last 4\. WA has the #1 defense in B North and Hermon's is 3rd, so points may be few and far between in this one, just like they were in their 2 regular season meetings. Hermon won both of those (32-26 and 40-38), but if you're Washington Academy, you've got to feel like you can break through and punch a ticket to Bangor. What do they say about how hard it is to beat a team 3 times? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-14-at-8.37.28-AM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Upset Number 1! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/upset-number-1/ Last updated: 2024-02-13T14:45:51.000Z Well the Tourney is off to a great start. The Erskine and MCI girls just couldn't wait to get started, kicking off the prelims a day early, and since it's less than an hour from my house, I just had to make the trip. The Erskine gym (which, by the way, is a black hole of cell phone coverage) can get pretty loud for a regular season girls game. For a prelim? Oh it was packed and raucous. But not during the introductions of MCI's starters. Because during the introduction of the starters, the Erskine student section pulled out newspapers--oh the humanity! Hopefully the MPA won't have to step in with some SMU-level sanctions. Erskine starts 3 freshmen and a sophomore and you always wonder how a group like that will respond to their first taste of postseason play. At first, it didn't go great. MCI struck first, opening a 7-4 on a Kayleigh Dunton bucket as Erskine shot 3/15 in the first quarter. But they forced 10 MCI turnovers and after 1, MCI led 9-7\. MCI went on a 9-2 run to open the 2nd behind Skyla Dean. She had 8 in the quarter and 22 in the game. MCI's lead fluctuated between 4 and 8 until a 9-2 Erskine run at the end of the 3rd quarter got them within 1 and a Serena Hotham three (Eskine's first of the game) tied the score early in the 4th. MCI answered with a 10-0 run and with just under 2 minutes to go, it looked like it was all over. But Erskine's freshmen found their playoff legs. Kelsie Dunn scored to cut it to 8, then off a turnover fed Olivia Childs for a 3 to cut it to 5\. After a free throw, Dunn scored again to cut it to 4, hit 2 free throws after a time out to cut it to two, then scored again off her own steal to tie the game at 41\. Dunn finished with 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 steals. Erskine had 2 chances to win it in regulation, but Jyllian Riendeau and Aleah Harris came up with huge blocked shots to send it to overtime. Caleigh Crocker scored first in overtime off a MCI turnover, but Dean answered. Kayleigh Dunton scored with 20 seconds to go left to give MCI the lead (she finished with 9 points, 17 rebounds, and 5 assists), but missed the and 1 and freshman Isabella Winchenbach was fouled on the rebound. She was 0/5 from 3 on the night, but she calmly went to the line to knock down both free throws. But! MCI raced down the floor. Dean fed Aleah Harris for a layup with 5 seconds left. Erskine had one more chance. 0:00 /0:39 1× MCI pulls off the upset! If this is any indication, we're in for one hell of a tournament. --- All the boys Tourney Guides are up and I'm building the girls ones now (had to wait for Cheverus and Portland to finish the regular season last night), so they'll be uploading as I finish them. [Tourney GuideAll the data![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2023/02/media-guide-bann.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/media-guide/) --- If you're looking to stream games, here's where you can find them: Prelims: Depends on the higher seed ([check the Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/)) Quarterfinals: NFHS Semis & Regionals: [WHOU](https://www.whou.live/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) States: [MPBN](https://www.mainepublic.org/maine-high-school-basketball-championship-weekend?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's Tourney Time!!!! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-8.png) Tuesday is Girls Prelim day, but apparently we're doing a couple boys games too. Mt. Ararat and Fryeburg met once this season, a 54-47 Fryeburg win at home. But since then, they stumbled down the stretch, losing 3 of their last 4, including a loss at home to 3-15 Brunswick. Mt. Ararat finished by winning 3 of their last 4, including a 9-point win at Brunswick. Is there something in the tea leaves there? Winner gets GNG. Loser gets ready for baseball season. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-12-at-11.55.21-PM.png) The rest of the Model's picks for today are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### And Away We Go URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/and-away-we-go/ Last updated: 2024-02-12T16:26:31.000Z I'm going to make this quick, because I'm scrambling to get ready for the full slate of prelims and wasn't really planning on there being games today. But there are! We still have to finish the regular season, as Portland and Cheverus will make up the game delayed from last week. The game has zero impact on seeding. Also: the MCI girls will travel to Erskine a day early to kick off the B North prelim round. --- Some quick highlights from the last day of the regular season. The Spruce boys had a big shooting night, knocking down a school-record 23 shots from distance. > Senior Night 2024 > School record 23 three pointers > Our 2 Seniors > Griff and Ian combine for 11 > Their last game at The Nest. [pic.twitter.com/oQyUQIapd2](https://t.co/oQyUQIapd2?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Scott Bessey (@BesseyScott) [February 9, 2024](https://twitter.com/BesseyScott/status/1755995535113158931?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- TA's Emma Lizotte joined the 1,000 point club. > Congratulations to Emma Lizotte who tonight scored her 1,000th varsity point! She becomes the fifth Trojan to reach this amazing milestone. Congratulations on an incredible career for [@Cheverus\_Stags](https://twitter.com/Cheverus%5FStags?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and TA! [pic.twitter.com/EMRNKXBjbc](https://t.co/EMRNKXBjbc?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Thornton Academy Athletics (@TATrojanSports) [February 9, 2024](https://twitter.com/TATrojanSports/status/1755761905048670226?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Medomak girls hit their help points flush draw and passed Spruce for the 2 seed in B South. That's the highest they've been seeded since they were the 1 seed in 1978\. --- If you think your team had a tight finish, check out how close it was between the Woodland and Mount View girls for the 7 seed in C North. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-12-at-11.10.34-AM.png) I would not want to be sweating that. ## Tourney Guides The boys [Tourney Guides](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/media-guide/) are out. The girls versions are waiting for the Portland/Cheverus game to be played tonight and finish off the regular season Anyway, this is what it looks like this year: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-11-at-5.21.37-PM.png) Thanks to Jay Baines for the research on tourney histories. His definitive brackets can be found here: [TOURNAMENT 2024Schedule Time Mon Feb 12,6:30p,B,North,Girls,Preliminary,N7,ERSKINE,N10,MCI,High Seed Tue Feb 13,4:00p,D,North,Girls,Preliminary,N8,DEER ISLE-STONINGTON,N9,EASTON,High Seed Tue Feb 13,4:30p,B,North,Girls,Preliminary,N8,PRESQUE ISLE,N9,WASHINGTON ACAD,High Seed Tue Feb 13,6:00p,A,South,Boys,Preli…![](https://ssl.gstatic.com/docs/spreadsheets/spreadsheets_2023q4.ico)Google Docs![](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docs/AHkbwyJqWbbHqEv2sn41lVgtAeG4G0hP5RfdobZNGcDTcFOcK_YVsewWKpZ5LiniGQym5GonzqzOBwUlTQqKhKO4Rb_b7_QEh9Qhn0iNnKTtLISZOwM=w1200-h630-p)](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17nS%5FRsELzKDXkzQDLiYKSmFJNDPpDD9PubtJ-KaRj3g/edit?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#gid=1545605765) For paid subscribers, you can get the Tourney Guides at the following link: [Tourney GuideAll the data![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2023/02/media-guide-bann.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/media-guide/) --- Mackenzie Holmes is now Indiana's record holder for scoring. > Enough said. [pic.twitter.com/v7FP7ZvNyK](https://t.co/v7FP7ZvNyK?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Indiana Women’s Basketball (@IndianaWBB) [February 11, 2024](https://twitter.com/IndianaWBB/status/1756798536371347494?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Maine football community lost a legend. > We lost a great friend, coach and mentor. One of my first stories in Maine more than 30 years ago was on Lawrence Football and their legendary head coach Pete Cooper. I will miss our Friday night pregame talks at Bonny Eagle. Rest in peace coach. [pic.twitter.com/nkJDAJH3ak](https://t.co/nkJDAJH3ak?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) [February 9, 2024](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME/status/1756023406334497258?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you missed WMTW's Tourney Preview, Joe Bailey's tweet has all the links you need. > Below should be links to each part of our special...no guarantees...my brain is toast from editing and writing etc.[https://t.co/6JkgfLjwLJ](https://t.co/6JkgfLjwLJ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)[https://t.co/bjzI6sIFNH](https://t.co/bjzI6sIFNH?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)[https://t.co/d0dQedrckv](https://t.co/d0dQedrckv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)[https://t.co/MsY9LQ6FiE](https://t.co/MsY9LQ6FiE?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)[https://t.co/wj4D1Qla1z](https://t.co/wj4D1Qla1z?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)[https://t.co/MVKIm82Q4T](https://t.co/MVKIm82Q4T?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [February 11, 2024](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1756496356380656015?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Included in there is your Mr. and Miss Basketball semifinalists. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-7.png) Not a lot of choices today, so we'll head to China for the 7/10 prelim in B North Girls. In a weird scheduling quirk, these teams played each other twice this year, on January 15th and 17th, with Erskine winning both games (by 7 and 26). But MCI finished the season strong, winning 5 of their last 6. Can they pull off the upset? Or will Erskine get the sweep and punch a ticket for Bangor and a date with Old Town? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-12-at-10.56.19-AM.png) The Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Final Countdown URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-final-countdown/ Last updated: 2024-02-08T18:03:08.000Z It was a big night in the \[Maine Principal's\] Association, so we'll start with the big story: the third game in the epic series between the Madawaska girls and Van Buren. If you're just joining us, back in December the Madawaska girls took a 10-2 lead into the locker room, got shutout in the second half, and [hung on by their fingernails for a 10-9 win](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/10-9/). In the re-match, the scoring improved dramatically and [Van Buren won 29-25](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/29-points/) in a game where both teams improved on their season high in scoring. Neither team is going to make the tournament, but as luck would have it, they play 3 times this year. So here we go! Madawaska drew first blood, but Van Buren went on a 6-0 run to finish the first quarter. Then the defenses traded stops for a little over 8 minutes and Van Buren took a 7-4 lead into the locker room In the third, Van Buren hit their second 3 of the game (Yes, I watched the whole game) to stretch their lead to 12-6 with roughly 4 minutes left in the 3rd. At the end of 3, Van Buren led 12-8\. Then more defense until Van Buren scored in consecutive possessions in the final 2 minutes. They win the rubber match, 16-8. --- In the Game of the Night, Penobscot Valley beat Mattanawcook to clinch a bye in C North. They'll be the 3\. Mattanawcook will be the 4\. --- Easton's Owen Sweeney entered last night's regular season finale 58 points shy of 1,000\. Easton is comfortably in the tournament, so reaching the mark in the quarterfinals was well within reach. But as saying goes, tomorrow isn't promised to anyone. So when he scored 15 in the first quarter and 17 in the second, why not go for it? He didn't quite get there, but he poured in 56 points to get so very close. But, he did break the school scoring record of 46, set by Mark Page all the way back in 1981\. --- Elsewhere... Tessa Ferguson had a career-high 27 as OOB rolled...Carter Norton led Mount Blue with 21 in their win over Gardiner...Brayden Monto gave Buckfield 29 to lead the way against Islesboro...Peyton Reckards' double-double of 28 & 14 and Nathan Corey's 24 paced Temple...Lilly Roy had 32 for Wisdom...Jaydn Pingree had 22 for Spruce. --- It's the last day of the regular season, the day I really, really hope I don't have a score wrong...somewhere...and a lot has been settled.. [Updated Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) But a lot hasn't! I built a quick and easy version of the Tourney Odds in Google Sheets that automatically updates every 10 minutes after a score is put in the Scoreboard, so we should know pretty quickly. I've embedded them below the Tourney Odds, so we'll see how well it holds up under pressure. --- Travis Lee has a fantastic story about Cape's Andrew Perruzzi that you really should watch. > Andrew Perruzzi faced adversity and made playing on senior night his goal. A goal he accomplished. [@ceathletics](https://twitter.com/ceathletics?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/tHLTo5Vc9j](https://t.co/tHLTo5Vc9j?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [February 7, 2024](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1755377080588501003?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We have yet another team blatantly flaunting the laws of common decency and sportsmanship, but before we get there, I need to make sure you're sitting down. Imagine this is that kid's book where Grover doesn't want you to turn the page, because what's on the other side is so heinous, so egregious, that the MPA will surely have to get involved. Ready? The Searsport student section turned around during the Sumner player introductions. That's it. HOWEVER. > This is electric. Maine is back. [pic.twitter.com/jpWuFUKogg](https://t.co/jpWuFUKogg?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [February 7, 2024](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1755364033740308520?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) These people presumably lived through the 90s. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-07-at-10.56.20-PM-1.png) If you go to the [Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story%5Ffbid=10225604116758262&id=1488581968&mibextid=xfxF2i), the comments are ridiculous, a real one-upmanship of prove you have no idea what you're talking about. It's been shared a lot of times and I'm considering it a badge of honor that of all the people who have sent me this, none of them were outraged. They all thought it was incredibly dumb. But you should read the comments, because these are real people who theoretically go to as many as one (1) basketball game a year. I'd lay a hefty bet on DraftKings that they can't explain the over and back rule. I'd lay a bigger bet on this: ![](https://scontent-ord5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/423063015_733383178756700_770717976655920509_n.png?_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8cd0a2&_nc_ohc=TiZT7i-tVjIAX91Lce_&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-2.xx&oh=03_AdS8e26IwuAi7XVq3M0HAYr6iGoimKXnB_yncvZfs5TXlg&oe=65EBBFC0) One of the great things about high school sports is a lively, vibrant student section giving their all to help the team. It's an essential part of the atmosphere. Do they cross a line sometimes? Of course. Should they? Absolutely. Did the Searsport students? Not even close. Just imagine the Sumner parents reacting to this: > Haircut free throw distraction 🤣 > (via [@OaklandMBB](https://twitter.com/OaklandMBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) [pic.twitter.com/NIwMVQally](https://t.co/NIwMVQally?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Overtime (@overtime) [February 4, 2024](https://twitter.com/overtime/status/1753948330504130868?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Or this: Or anything the Cameron Crazies do. --- You've probably seen this elsewhere, but tickets are cashless this year. You've got to get them online. [GoFan - The largest high school ticketing solution in the U.S.![](https://gofan.co/static/favicon.ico)The largest high school ticketing solution in the U.S.![](https://production-gofan-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/gofan-link-preview.png)](https://gofan.co/app/school/MPA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-6.png) We'll head to the big city, where Cheverus will host Portland in a AA North matchup. The math here is simple: winner get the 2 seed and a quarterfinal matchup with 1-16 Bangor. Loser gets the 3 and 5-12 Edward Little. Cheverus won the first matchup, but that was all the way back before Christmas. Should be a good one! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-08-at-12.52.26-PM.png) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### In the Pit URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/in-the-pit/ Last updated: 2024-02-07T15:14:45.000Z Let's start in the Pit, where Orono and Old Town traded punches like heavyweight prize fighters. > This one lived up to the hype for sure! It was all tied at 37 after 3, and [@othscoyotes](https://twitter.com/othscoyotes?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) even took a late lead before [@OronoHighSchool](https://twitter.com/OronoHighSchool?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) used a late run to seal the win! Big win for the Riots ahead of [#Tourney24](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tourney24?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/2ewowUvNL0](https://t.co/2ewowUvNL0?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [February 7, 2024](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1755082540723917283?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But the defending champs would not be denied. Mr. Basketball candidate Pierce Walston hit back-to-back 3s to put the game away in a fantastic atmosphere. Can we get more games at the Pit, please? Looking at the Tourney Odds, that takes us from this (yesterday's update): [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-06-at-12.14.32-PM.png) To this: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-07-at-9.37.33-AM.png) This is pretty messy for late in the season. You're going to hear a lot of opinions this week on how the Heal Points will shake out. Some are good. Some are just flat-out wrong. I saw a half-dozen yesterday from people who should know better (and don't subscribe to Tourney Odds). This stuff is hard. There's 562,949,953,421,312 different Heal Points scenarios still in play on the girls' side. Hell, just this morning I eyeballed something and almost gave someone bad information before double-checking the spreadsheet. [Subscribe!](#/portal/signup) --- At the Stable, Mount Blue visited Hampden-still without Zach McLaughlin-for a chance to lock up the 1 seed in A North. Hampden's Liam Heneghen, after a full game of holding Evans Sterling to 11 points, stepped to the line and drained a free throw to give Hampden a 48-47 win. Now, with the win, Hampden is in second place in A North and find themselves in the driver's seat for the 1 seed. That's quite a turnaround from the loss to Messalonskee on the 1st. --- Falmouth's legendary coach Dave Halligan won his 598th career game last night in Falmouth's 56-30 win over Freeport, which means we are now on a 600 wins watch. --- I think it's fair to say the Belfast boys haven't had the...best season. They entered last night 0-17 with a point differential of -608 and they got dragged into a media firestorm by an Instagram account who had nothing better to do than start trouble where there was none. So you'd understand if they had mailed in the final game of the year. AND YET. Let's go to Waterville, where Belfast is up SEVENTEEN after 3\. This is the point where you could excuse Waterville if they packed it up. They'd already been eliminated from the tourney, but pride is a hell of a thing. They proceeded to go nuclear from 3\. Freshman Eli Cullen hit 5 3's in the 4th quarter as Waterville went 10-12 from 3 in the final quarter and cut the lead to 74-73 with a minute to play. After a Belfast turnover and a missed Waterville 3, Belfast missed both free throws to give Waterville a final chance. Their shot in traffic came up short and Belfast hung on for their first win of the year. Andrew Haas led Belfast with 27\. You love to see two teams playing their hearts out in a situation like this. But with the magic of Heal Points, it begs the question: does this swing a seeding somewhere? --- Down south, GNG's Nate Hebert opened the scoring against Fryeburg in the best way possible: by scoring his 1,000th point. 0:00 /1:25 1× video courtesy of Sherry Hebert GNG would win 70-50\. Hebert finished with 18\. Lorenzo Catana had a game-high 27 for Fryeburg. GNG will be the 1 seed in A South. Fryeburg will host Mt. Ararat in the 8/9 prelim. That region is pretty much settled. --- Elsewhere... Carter Galley dropped 33 on Winslow...Houlton's Isaiah Erwin went for 27 against Fort Fairfield...Dylan Burpee's 20 wasn't enough as Southern Aroostook lost to Katahdin...Jacob Thompson had 20 for Kennebunk...Casey Duncan had a double-double (15 points and 10 rebounds) and Lincoln Academy finished on a 12-2 run to put away Mount View...Gabe Galarraga's 23 led SoPo by Bonny Eagle...Natalie Santiago scored 25 in Deering's win over Greely...Isabelle Tice went for 21 for Marshwood...Cony's Morgan Cunningham score 22 against Messo...Oxford Hills got 25 from Ella Pelletier in a win over Lewiston...Stella Jarvis' 21 led Windham...Easton's Owen Sweeney had 37 points and 10 steals against Central Aroostook, who got 25 from Jahleel Joseph. --- It looks like we missed a 1,000 point scorer yesterday. > [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) molly hay from carrabec also scored her 1k last night > > — xwitterer (@tija1428) [February 6, 2024](https://twitter.com/tija1428/status/1754926340401160505?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The MABC's Coaches of the Year awards were announced yesterday. [Maine Association of Basketball Coaches Announce Coaches of the YearThe Maine Association of Basketball Coaches announced their Coaches of the Year for the 2023-24 season. Coaches of the Year were voted by their peers. Congratulation to the 20 Coaches Selected![](https://townsquare.media/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/WEZQFM.png?w=144&h=144)92.9 The TicketChris Popper![](https://townsquare.media/site/496/files/2019/01/GettyImages-822221620.jpg?w=1200&h=0&zc=1&s=0&a=t&q=89)](https://929theticket.com/maine-association-of-basketball-coaches-announce-coaches-of-the-year/?fbclid=IwAR3T4BRgs8bmGpd52vISkptJLfqWmdUtmeFldtEkDbBakQKnZLwq9aiVARM&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Congratulations to all the recipients. --- Hampden grad Bailey Donovan broke [Husson's 45 year old rebounding record](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid08DU5VtDPsfYdG2pYEgxvAbi9dPtJ1HLGsd5SDJMxPMcxY4mEW58Y79pLwsFAtb2vl&id=100064346785865) last night with 26 rebounds against UMaine Presque Isle. 26! [Women’s Basketball vs University of Maine at Presque Isle on 2/6/2024 - Box Score - Husson UniversityThe official box score of Women’s Basketball vs University of Maine at Presque Isle on 2/6/2024![](https://hussoneagles.com/images/logos/site/site.png)Husson University![](https://hussoneagles.com/services/logo_handler.ashx?image_path=/images/logos/site/site.png&width=150&height=150)](https://hussoneagles.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats/2023-24/university-of-maine-at-presque-isle/boxscore/12464?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) She finished with 32 points and 26 boards and is averaging 13.7 RPG on the year. --- Sam LaFrance at [CelticsBlog](https://www.celticsblog.com/2024/2/6/24057052/boston-celtics-2-for-1-breakdown-jayson-tatum-brian-scalabrine-joe-mazzulla-jaylen-brown-porzingis?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) took a look at the value(?) of a 2-for-1 opportunity. [Is the 2-for-1 possession good for the Celtics?I went back and rewatched all of them (so far) so you don’t have to.![](https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/uploads/blog/sbnu_logo_minimal/175/touch_icon_ipad_retina_celticsblog.com.minimal.png)CelticsBlogSamLaFrance![](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/45ANsOhjPJ6qVOBVIGrSf6NhGWg=/0x0:5064x2651/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25258968/1398550410.jpg)](https://www.celticsblog.com/2024/2/6/24057052/boston-celtics-2-for-1-breakdown-jayson-tatum-brian-scalabrine-joe-mazzulla-jaylen-brown-porzingis?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's some interesting stuff in here, although I'd really like to see how the Celtics' Points Per Possession was impacted in those possessions. The C's currently score 1.21 PPP, what does that drop to in a 2-for-1? 1.09? That'd be the worst number in the league. But 1.09 x 2 is still better than 1.21 x 1\. It'd have to be pretty, pretty bad for the math to not work out. It'll be really fun, when we finally get a shot clock, to see how quickly coaches (and players pick up this strategy. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-5.png) Let's head up to the meat grinder that is C North girls, where there's a lot left to decide (basically everything from 1-5) and Penobscot Valley hosts Mattanawcook. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-07-at-10.08.26-AM.png) You don't need me to tell you this is very much in flux. But check out the Tourney Odds anyway. [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-07-at-10.06.25-AM.png) A Mattanawcook win puts them in position to grab the 1\. A loss drops them to 4 and looking for help to get to 3\. Penobscot Valley is hoping to avoid falling to 5 and getting a prelim. They could also get to 3 with a win. It's a mess! Regardless of where they end up, this region should be a bloodbath in Bangor. These are two of the three highest-scoring teams in class C, so there should be buckets aplenty and a ton of seeding at stake. Penobscot Valley won the first matchup on the road. Can Mattanawcook return the favor and steal the 1 seed? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-06-at-11.32.23-PM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Dueling 1K URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/dueling-1k/ Last updated: 2024-02-06T17:31:31.000Z The Game of the Day delivered. Noble opened up a 15-point lead at home over GNG. The Patriots rallied behind Nate Hebert to take the lead but Jamier Rose hit a step-back three to re-take the lead and Noble held on for the win in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Rose finished with 29 on the night. Hebert had 28, which puts him only 2 away from 1,000\. Safe to assume he'll get there. --- The Pingree sisters had a big night in Jay. They combined for 45 points (Jaydn 24; Jazmine 21) as the Phoenix made short work of Winthrop to move into 2nd in B South. They've won 10 straight. But will they stay there? That's very likely going to come down to help points and it might be *really* close. [Updated Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- Last week, we saw the Valley boys have 2 players reach 1,000 points in the same game, which was the 3rd time that had happened (that we know of), but what about players on opposing teams reaching 1,000? Let's go to Thorndike where Mount View is hosting Mount Abram and we're on a double 1K watch. Mount View's Noah Hurd got there first on this triple. Very on-brand for him. > Mount View’s Noah Hurd gets his 1,000th career point![#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/ccElJz6lhI](https://t.co/ccElJz6lhI?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — VillageSoup Sports (@VS\_Sports\_ME) [February 6, 2024](https://twitter.com/VS%5FSports%5FME/status/1754673651788439581?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Then, with 5:40 left in the game, Mount Abram's Payton Mitchell joined him. > HUGE WIN FOR THE MUSTANGS! 60-52 Final > > Two opposing teams have a player that score their 1000th point in the same game? Has this ever happened before?? [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) @Benbartv [@VS\_Sports\_ME](https://twitter.com/VS%5FSports%5FME?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@Carmichael15](https://twitter.com/Carmichael15?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/4iytO8uvAw](https://t.co/4iytO8uvAw?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Mount View Athletics (@MountViewathl) [February 6, 2024](https://twitter.com/MountViewathl/status/1754676242173854008?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The win moves Mount View to 7th in C North, a region with 10(!) 10-win teams. According to the Tourney Odds, that's their floor now. They've also got 2 pretty big games left and could get as high as 3\. They'll host Lincoln Academy tonight. Mount Abram has two games left to catch Richmond for the 1 seed in C South. --- If you want a trip down memory lane, the [Lincoln County News](https://lcnme.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) dug into their archives for the coverage of Lincoln Academy's dual 1K scorers back in 1989. [Lincoln-County-News-Page12-1989-02-09Lincoln-County-News-Page12-1989-02-09.pdf232 KBdownload-circle](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/content/files/2024/02/Lincoln-County-News-Page12-1989-02-09.pdf "Download") --- We're now at 28 members of the 1K club this season. According to the [Frank Spanky site](https://sites.google.com/site/mainehighschoolbasketball/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), the high for a year is thought to be 33\. --- Up North, Wisdom's Lilly Roy broke Tracy Guerrette's school scoring record of 1,549\. ![May be an image of 2 people, people playing basketball and text](https://scontent-ord5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/426138045_782257403929145_8791699141409185964_n.jpg?stp=cp6_dst-jpg&_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=3635dc&_nc_ohc=3lmhpqZ7A7QAX9Q9335&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-1.xx&oh=00_AfA_AFp0LYrnnsoAlVl83M04bv9OmZSog9h7d-ok9ZDK-Q&oe=65C7C602) Photo: Wisdom High School Congratulations to her. I would imagine she'll be on the Miss Basketball semifinalist list. --- Courtesy of the folks at Richmond, here's Kenny Mecham throwing it up off the backboard to Wyatt Cassidy for the jam. 0:00 /0:20 1× Cassidy finished with 22 as Richmond rolled. --- Elsewhere... Brady Plante led OOB with 29...the Freeport girls rallied down 7 to win at Falmouth. They're done, but still have a pretty wide range. They are most likely the 7 seed in A South...Caroline Hartley's 21 led Scarborough past TA...Lake Region got a big win in Overtime over Wells...The NYA girls survived a late 12-0 rally by OOB. Sarah Davis had 25 for the Gulls...Carter Blanche had 23 for Scarborough...Wells' Jeremy Therrien dropped 25 on Lake Region...Traip's Nick Martine's 21 wasn't enough to upset unbeaten St. Dom's. Kai Taylor had 23 in the win. --- The National Labor Relations Board dropped a bombshell on the NCAA yesterday, ruling that the Dartmouth men's basketball team should be considered employees and, therefore, allowed to unionize. The value of unions is a hot political issue these day (because apparently everything is), but they undeniably have more power than individual employees do. [NLRB Rules Dartmouth Men’s Basketball Players Are EmployeesNLRB rules Dartmouth men’s basketball players are considered university employees under U.S. labor law and therefore eligible to unionize.![](https://frontofficesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-FOS_Icon_Black-1.png?quality=100&w=192)Front Office SportsAmanda Christovich![](https://frontofficesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/F877BD3F-424E-4B64-BFB3-E483BA5A9A78.jpeg?quality=100)](https://frontofficesports.com/nlrb-rules-that-dartmouth-mens-basketball-players-are-employees/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Dartmouth players, like all Ivy League players, aren't paid, nor do they even receive scholarships. That would likely be the first thing to change. My guess is this is inevitable, but Dartmouth will almost definitely appeal and the NCAA is already trying to prevent this on a national level. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-4.png) Let's go to the Pit and see if we can finally sort out B North. Here's the Heal Points: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-06-at-11.33.43-AM.png) Last time they met, Old Town won in a thriller, 56-54. Now let's look at the Tourney Odds. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-06-at-12.14.32-PM.png) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Oh boy. Maranacook finishes with Madison, who they just beat by 32 and will likely finish with 9 wins. So a Maracook win and Old Town loss is most of their path to 1\. Old Town is showing as 48.7% to win this game and 49.8% to get the 1, so there's some scenarios where they could lose this game and back in to 1, but they're remote. I'm not seeing an scenarios in the spreadsheet where they win and finish 2\. Things are simpler for Orono. Win (and get some help) and they get that bye. Otherwise, they're the 5\. The Model's prediction was run with the assumption that Orono would be at home I'd forgotten about the move to the Pit (pre-tournament head cold). The original projection was Orono by 0.5\. But on a neutral floor, it's Old Town by 1.5. [Ticket TV](https://929theticket.com/category/ticket-tv/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) will have the stream. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-06-at-10.41.24-AM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Comeback Kids URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/untitled/ Last updated: 2024-02-05T12:39:18.000Z In the Game of the Day, the Old Town girls raced out to a 14-3 lead in Caribou. It was 17-9 after 1\. But the Vikings would battle back. They got it to within 3 at the half and took the lead mid-way through the 3rd. From there, they traded punches. Old Town would extend the lead to 4 or 5 and Caribou would answer. [Watch on WHOU](https://www.whou.live/videos/old-town-at-caribou-girls-basketball-2-3-24?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) With 7.2 seconds left, Madelynne Deprey hit 2 free throws to give Caribou the lead, but Caribou would foul with 2.3 left. Taylor Loring hit both free throws to tie it and send it to OT. Old Town would survive in overtime. --- Things didn't look great for the Mt. Blue girls on Saturday. After one quarter, they were down 13-1 to Skowhegan. And it got as bad as 15-1\. But the Cougars battled back. They went on an 8-0 to get back in the game, but they were still down 25-13 at the half. For a team that only averages 37.6 points a game, a 12-point deficit at the is daunting, to say the least. [Watch on Mt. Blue TV](https://www.facebook.com/100063509982886/videos/348722961400487) After 3, they had cut the lead to 8, 32-24\. A 6-1 run to start the 4th got them within 3 and suddenly, we've got a game. They tied it at the line with about 1:30 to go to complete the comeback on a foul that fouled out Skowhegan's Annabelle Morris. Things slowed way down after that. Skowhegan missed a 3 (I don't have a roster). Mt. Blue couldn't get a shot off and we got to overtime. Mt. Blue has yet to lead. Skowhegan scored 1 point in the 4th quarter and their point guard has fouled out. The Cougars took their first lead on a three in the first possession in overtime, then got a steal and lay-up and all of a sudden they've got a 5-point lead. It was all Mt. Blue after that. They win 47-37 in overtime in a game where they didn't lead for a second in regulation. Kensley Malcore led the way with 21 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Freshman Lauryn Northrop came off the bench to key the comeback. She was +22 on the game. --- Sacopee Valley's Silas Nielsen broke out in a big way with a triple-double (10 points, 11 boards, and 10 blocks) and Dylan Capano had a double-double (14 points & 10 boards) in a win over Pine Tree. --- Easton's Chase Flewelling notched a triple-double of 21 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists --- Elsewhere... Lilly Roy had 24 for Easton...Fort Kent's Lily Oliver had 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 steals...Tyler Abell hit 7 3s en route to 22 points as Mt. Blue beat Skowhegan. Evans Sterling added 24\. Adam Fitzgerald had 26 for Skow...The Forest Hills girls finished with an 8-0 run to close out Buckfield...J.J. Wolfington's 18 led a short-handed Hampden over Camden. Zach McLaughlin spent the game in street clothes and a walking boot...The Madison boys used an 18-0 run to come all the way back down 20 at the Beach and beat the Seagulls by 10. --- Telstar's Morgan Zetts joined the 1,000 point club this weekend. Telstar didn't have a team during Zetts' freshman year, so she was able to do this in 3 seasons. And, yes, there have been a lot of new members in the club lately. > Maine High School 1000 point club (boys and girls) has ballooned recently to 24 members. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — TheStatsGuy (@TheStatsGuy262) [February 3, 2024](https://twitter.com/TheStatsGuy262/status/1753793573152080066?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Press Herald's Drew Bonifant has a nice piece on why female athletes are more likely to get knee injuries. There's charts and graphs! [Why female athletes are more prone to grueling knee injuriesGirls and women who play sports are three times as likely to tear the knee’s anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL – an injury with a recovery period that can take up to 12 months.![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldDrew BonifantPress Herald![](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/20240123_ACL_02.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/02/04/why-female-athletes-are-more-prone-to-grueling-knee-injuries/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The tournament is fast-approaching and that means it's almost time for the Maine Basketball Rankings Media Guide. If you're new here, this is an example from last year: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-04-at-11.14.11-PM.png) I'm working on a couple of tweaks for this year, but this is the gist. Don't worry, it comes with an explanation. If you're a paid subscriber, you'll get a PDF of this for every team in the tournament. Every. Team. [Upgrade!!!](#/portal/account/plans) --- This is awesome. > Referee Roger Ayers correctly predicts he's "about to get booed real bad" after a foul review during the final minute of UNC's win over Duke. [pic.twitter.com/PiW4v0fkK3](https://t.co/PiW4v0fkK3?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) [February 4, 2024](https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1753958383269363794?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you missed the Marcus Smart tribute video for his return to the Garden, you're gonna want to watch it. > The Marcus Smart tribute video [pic.twitter.com/uOtATueNNi](https://t.co/uOtATueNNi?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) [February 4, 2024](https://twitter.com/JaredWeissNBA/status/1754284869557817563?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-3.png) Let's go to A South, where we have some seeding to settle. The GNG boys have basically locked up the 1 seed. The Tourney Odds have them at 100%. Behind the Heberts, they have the highest-scoring team in Class A and the best scoring differential. They'll head to North Berwick for their first (ever?) matchup against Noble. Noble is trying to stay out of the 4/5 game in their first year in A South (although that would likely mean a matchup with a Kennebunk team they beat by 22 a month ago). The Tourney Odds think they have a 24.1% chance of getting the 3, which is less than their odds of winning this game. So they need to win out and get help. But the first step is winning this one. Can they keep the Heberts at bay? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-04-at-8.55.01-PM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 1K, Times 4 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/1k/ Last updated: 2024-02-04T01:05:31.000Z This is coming really, really late, as I had a big script deadline last night and this morning was the first day of little kid basketball, so apologies. --- The Windham boys survived a scare from Oxford Hills. Check out A.J. Moody's game-winning three on Instagram. [Buzzer-Beater](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C23k-uOtdYa/?igsh=MWk1dGQ4MG91dmNtYw%3D%3D&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You can read more about that and the rest of last night's AA action in today's edition of the AA Round-Up. [The AA Round-Up: Windham at the BuzzerWindham survives a scare.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsThomas Curtis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2024/02/aaroundup.jpg.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-aa-round-up-windham-at-the-buzzer/) --- GNG survived a furious rally from Freeport. > Tremendously entertaining game in Freeport. Falcons trailed by 12 at halftime and came back to tie midway through the 4th. Then the Patriots caught fire and pulled away 64-56. > > — Rob Kennedy 🌲 🏒 (@RobKennedy70) [February 3, 2024](https://twitter.com/RobKennedy70/status/1753591716781674865?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Spruce Mountain's Jadyn Pingree scored 21 points last night, getting her to 1,000 points AND making her the girls all-time leading scorer at Spruce Mountain with 1010 points. > Hoops 8 girls recap: Pingree reaches milestone in [@PHOENIXATHLETI2](https://twitter.com/PHOENIXATHLETI2?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) win, [@wellshsAD](https://twitter.com/wellshsAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@GNG\_AD](https://twitter.com/GNG%5FAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@athleticslhs3](https://twitter.com/athleticslhs3?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) also win [pic.twitter.com/jLzhAGtzZ3](https://t.co/jLzhAGtzZ3?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [February 3, 2024](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1753817338330095810?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's quite the night! --- I went to the Lincoln Academy/Leavitt game to catch Gabe Hagar scoring his 1,000th point. He's the 9th Lincoln Academy player to get there. Here's the immediate aftermath. 0:00 /0:16 1× There was a nice moment just after the video ended where Leavitt coach Michael Hathaway went over to congratulate Hagar. You love to see stuff like that. Hagar finished with 22 points and 8 steals in a game that was...not close. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/IMG_0002.jpg) --- --- In the rarest of moves, the Valley boys had 2 players reach 1,000 points in the same game. Both Harry Louis and Fisher Tewksbury are sophomores who have been starting since the 8th grade for the Cavaliers and both scored 18 last night to get to 1,000. The [Press Herald's round-up](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/02/02/fridays-boys-high-school-roundup-windham-withstands-challenge-from-oxford-hills/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) reports this is believed to be the second time this has happened. *UPDATE: Lincoln Academy's Chris McKenney and* Kyle O’Bryan *each scored their 1,000th point on the same night in 1989.* --- > Make that 17 straight! Schenck Wolverines boys hoops push their record to 17-0 tonight with a big win on the road over Class C Dexter! [@DRHSSports](https://twitter.com/DRHSSports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/XuqrScuvtf](https://t.co/XuqrScuvtf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [February 3, 2024](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1753637076875055341?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Elsewhere... Gabe Lash went for 24 & 14 in Medomak's win over Erskine...Jamier Rose had 26 and Bryce Guitard added 20 in Noble's win over Greely...Freshman Jack Fontaine had 17 in Maranacook's win over Dirigo...Mariam Delisle scored 24 in Lincoln Academy's win over Leavitt...Kytana Williamson had 11 points and 9 steals for the Medomak girls...Alex Fournier's 23 led Cony past Lawrence...The Central girls closed with a 10-0 run to beat Bucksport 32-28...MCI's Drew Shorey dropped 27 on Morse...Addisen Sulikowski had 24 and Emma Lizotte added 23 in TA's win...Ruth Boles' 19 & 11 double-double led Cheverus...Ashton Leclerc's 22 led Gorham's come-from-behind win over SoPo...Maren Maxon's 24 led Wells to a win over Cape. --- This piece from The Athletic on Cooper Flagg is getting roasted online for pointing out that Newport doesn't have a professional sports team, but don't hold that against it too much. [Cooper Flagg and the small New England town that raised basketball’s brightest young starThe NBA hasn’t drafted a Maine native in 40 years. This high schooler from Newport could be the 2025 No. 1 pick.![](https://theathletic.com/static/img/cropped-cropped-favicon1-270x270.png)The AthleticBrendan Marks![](https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2024/02/01204536/0202_CooperFlagg.png)](https://theathletic.com/5245996/2024/02/02/duke-cooper-flagg-nba-draft-2025/?utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fcampaign=twhq&source=twitterhq) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-2.png) We've talked a lot about what a gauntlet the top of B North boys is this year and that continues today in the County as Caribou hosts Old Town in a game that I think has already started. If Caribou wants a bye, I'm pretty sure they need to get this one, but the Tourney Odds are still running. As for Old Town, they're trying to hang on to the 1 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-03-at-12.37.45-PM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The AA Round-Up: Windham at the Buzzer URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-aa-round-up-windham-at-the-buzzer/ Last updated: 2024-02-03T17:44:19.000Z **Boys: Windham 57, Oxford Hills 54** Oxford Hills (6-10) is at the top of the newsletter for the second time in as many editions, for good reason, this time against top seeded Windham (15-2). Let's start right in the 4th quarter with 8.9 seconds to play in regulation. Vikings' senior forward Holden Shaw stands at the free throw line and swishes both shots. The Eagles inbound to their point guard Quinton Lindsay, who drives to the near elbow, draws a two defenders, and kicks to a wide open A.J Moody in the corner. Moody nails it as time expires to help Windham escape with a shorthanded victory, as they were missing Creighty Dickson. Lindsay had 15, Moody and Blake McPherson tied with 12, and Tyrie James dropped in 11 of his own. The Eagles picked up 13.67 heals and gave themselves a bye to the regional semi-finals with the win. --- **Girls: South Portland 38, Gorham 31** I felt a little bit of déjà vu during the Game of the Day, it felt like the season opener way back on December 8\. The Red Riots (14-3) dismantled Gorham's (13-3) full court pressure, easily passing through it in the back court and finding lanes to the basket all day. Other then 4 free throws, 34 of their 38 points came from the paint or in the mid range. They did not hit a 3\. The Rams couldn't get past a stifling South Portland defense that entered the game allowing only 35.9 points per game all season. Ellie Gay had 16, but nobody else touched double figures for the Rams. The loss ended an 11 game win streak for Gorham, South Portland's increased to 13\. > After the SoPo girls beat Gorham last night, they’re within 0.1 heals of the Rams for 1st place in AA South. > > The Red Riots play Sanford in their final game, whose PI is 23.11\. The Rams have Noble on senior night, whose PI is 1.00\. [pic.twitter.com/qknvh0Enof](https://t.co/qknvh0Enof?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Thomas Curtis (@ThomasCurtisGHS) [February 3, 2024](https://twitter.com/ThomasCurtisGHS/status/1753785835416076564?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The 30.11 heal point win boosts SoPo to within 0.1 heals behind the Rams for 1st in AA South. They host Sanford (4th, 23.11 PI) next Thursday. As I mentioned in the post that followed the one above, it's simple: If South Portland wins, they will claim the 1st seed. if they lose, it will be Gorham who doesn't have to play a quarterfinal. --- **Boys: Gorham 63, South Portland 51** What did I say about déjà vu? We got the same results in the same double header less then two months apart from each other. The Caden Smith-less Rams (15-2) struggled to find a groove in their first full game without their senior captain, allowing the Red Riots (7-9) to jump out to a 31-27 lead at the break. SoPo junior Tom Maloji exploded for a season-high 18 points, 16 of those coming in the first half. He led the team in points. Gorham used a 21-6 3rd quarter to take the lead for good. Atticus Whitten stepped up with a 3 threes, freshman Colten Jewett connected on his first three of the year, and Jack Karlonas added one as well. It was nice to see the role players step up in Smith's absence. Ashton Leclerc collected 22 points and Gabe Michaud added 17 of his own. With the win, Gorham solidified their place atop AA South before their final game at Scarborough (2nd, 30.22 PI). The Rams are at 142.28 total heals and their PI is 34.67, so Scarborough at 105.00 total heals won't be able to catch up even if they win Thursday. --- **Elsewhere:** Ruth Boles (19 points) was Cheverus' leading scorer instead of Maddie Ftzpatrick, who had 11 in their win over Bangor... Addison Sulikowski poured in 24, Emma Lizotte dropped 23 in the Trojans win over Massabesic... and Bonny Eagle upset Sanford (55-52) behind LucasDrinkwater's 18 points. ### Ball Don't Lie URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/balldontlie/ Last updated: 2024-02-02T17:11:17.000Z As expected, Hampden was without Zach McLaughlin, which certainly changed the dynamic of the Game of the Day. Losing one of the best players in the state is a big loss. But how big is it? Because Messalonskee absolutely smoked Hampden, 72-39, to make a statement that they are a force to be reckoned with in the A North tournament. [Boys basketball: Messalonskee snaps Hampden Academy’s 12-game win streak in blowoutEagles take advantage of Broncos missing top player Zach McLaughlin.![](https://www.centralmaine.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Kennebec Journal and Morning SentinelMike MandellKennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel![](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/37979180_20240201_messohampboys_0y6.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2024/02/01/boys-basketball-messalonskee-snaps-hampden-academys-12-game-win-streak-in-blowout/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Merrick Smith led Messo with 23 points and 16 rebounds --- Staying in A North, let's go to Farmington, where it is Youth Night. > [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) it's youth night at Mt. Blue tonight with every kid that comes wearing a uniform coming away with an autographed Evans Sterling 1k point photo [pic.twitter.com/YqZn6BZsZp](https://t.co/YqZn6BZsZp?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Griffin T Conlogue (@\_GC93) [February 1, 2024](https://twitter.com/%5FGC93/status/1753198422818242567?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This is very cool. But let's jump to the 4th quarter, where Camden is clinging to a 1-point lead against Mount Blue thanks to a Will Duke 3-pointer shortly after a timeout. He finished with 36. Facebook Live doesn't let you jump to a time, so you're going to want to go to 1:17:40\. [Watch](https://www.facebook.com/100063509982886/videos/2762026730602478) Mt. Blue TV does a great job. I have one quibble: show us the clock! Anyway, after the 3, Duke then gets a rebound on the next possession and Camden starts to run out the clock. Mt. Blue traps, Camden calls a timeout, and then it gets messy. We're about to put the ball back in play when the home scorekeeper calls the refs over to the table, as the home book and the scoreboard are in disagreement. It's 57-56 at this point and we had a timeout at 56-54\. There was only one scoring event in the interim: the Will Duke 3\. But we have a discrepancy. By rule, the home book is the book of record (unless the officials believe it is wrong) and that has the score tied at 56\. Thanks to some forensic research last night by Camden, we know that the score was, in fact, 57-56\. Camden is understandably upset. So instead of Camden being up 1, the score is tied. That changes a lot! No one scores in the rest of regulation (which is chaotic) and we go to overtime, even though the game should be over. But to quote the great philosopher Rasheed Wallace, "Ball don't lie." Camden pulls away in overtime, but that could have been a lot worse. Mount Blue drops to 13-2 and with Messalonskee's big win, the door opens a little wider for Hampden (yes, Hampden) to potentially get the 1 seed. Evans Sterling led them with 29\. I have no actual authority, but I believe it is time to declare A North wide-open. --- Speaking of wide-open, B South got a little messier last night as Yarmouth went in and beat York by 15 on the road. After starting year 1-5 with those overtime losses, they've won 9 of their last 11, with the two losses coming to GNG. And they almost beat GNG on the road. They've climbed to 5th in the Heal Points and are approaching "team you don't want in the quarterfinals" status. --- Further south, Scarborough fended off a furious rally from Deering. Michael Hoffer was there with the game story. [Boys’ basketball: Scarborough turns back challenge from DeeringThe Red Storm build a lead with good outside shooting, then hold on for a 61-60 win.![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldMICHAEL HOFFERThe Forecaster![](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/38004964_20240201_scardeer_0569.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/02/01/boys-basketball-scarborough-turns-back-challenge-from-deering/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I think that's going to more or less settle the quarterfinal matchups in AA South, baring something weird happening. [Updated Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- Elsewhere... Gabe Hagar had 22 as Lincoln Academy blew out Belfast. He's now 11 from 1,000...Richmond's Izzy Stewart dropped 27 on North Haven...The NYA girls turned a 3-point game into a rout with a 24-3 fourth quarter...Logan Zoulamis had 22 as Richmond blew out North Haven...Sammy Calder had 25 points and an assist on the game-winner as Monmouth beat Valley by 1 in the final seconds...Zach Kristan's 21 & 10 led Gardiner over Brewer...Peyton Reckards dropped 24 on Vinalhaven. --- Here's a nice half-court shot. > Must see...Lewiston's Abdirahman Dakane from half court! [@LHSBlueDevils](https://twitter.com/LHSBlueDevils?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/3lVxth0dv5](https://t.co/3lVxth0dv5?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) [February 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME/status/1753229708706136517?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day-1.png) Let's head down to AA South. All the way back on Opening Night, the South Portland girls got a 2-point win over Gorham, 33-31\. They then proceeded to lose their next 3, opening the door for the Rams to take control in the Heal Points. Since then, they've won 12 straight. After starting 2-2, Gorham has won 11 straight and sits atop the Heal Points. This is pretty simple. The Tourney Odds have Gorham as a favorite to get the 1 seed, but if SoPo can win out, it'll be theirs. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-02-at-12.06.54-PM.png) [Updated Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-02-at-12.08.50-PM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Warriors URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/warrior/ Last updated: 2024-02-01T16:30:55.000Z In a quiet night, the Game of the Day delivered. The Fort Kent girls opened up a [17-point lead](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid08gL6Brm9Y1eQohac5bbCfYr2tFBNkL1qMUVsnQaTJJoMXcGmvqMrxY5z1HWEb4Cdl&id=100064346785865) in the first half against Caribou, but the Vikings rallied, going on a 25-10 third quarter run to get the lead down to 2\. But then, with 5 minutes left, Caribou's Madelyn Deprey fouled out (she had 16), Lily Werntgen hit her 5th 3 and Fort Kent was able to hold off Caribou down the stretch. Lily Oliver led Fort Kent with 31 points, 9 steals, and 4 blocked shots. The win moves Fort Kent ahead of Mattanawcook for the 2 slot in C North and improves their prospects slightly, but not as much as you'd think. C North is really crowded! Their 2 seed odds go from 19% to a little over 30% and they're now 41% to get the 3 seed, so they're probably in the 2/3 side of the bracket. [Updated Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- Hall-Dale's Hayden Madore banked in a half-court shot at the end of the half and then, in the second half, she went and scored her 1,000th point. Fortunately, the fantastic Munzing Media was there. > Hayden Madore's 1000 career point. Congratulations to Hayden. Happy [@MunzingMedia](https://twitter.com/MunzingMedia?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) was there to capture it. Great call by [@RobKennedy70](https://twitter.com/RobKennedy70?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/5o7zvzcQpf](https://t.co/5o7zvzcQpf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rob Munzing (@MunzingMedia) [February 1, 2024](https://twitter.com/MunzingMedia/status/1752895621340487772?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- And here's Saige Evans of Old Town scoring her 1,000th point. Also, I believe that's a 15 yard penalty. --- Jaydn Pingree had a big night for Spruce Mountain, going off for 37 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 steals as the Phoenix continue to rise in the Heal Points. She's averaging 22 a game. Spruce is all the way up to 4th in the Heal Points now, but the Tourney Odds [doubt they'll stay there](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). --- Elsewhere... Arianna Bradeen scored 21 as Mount View outlasted Erskine...Josh Martin had 21 in Katahdin's win over Central Aroostook...Abby Haines' free throw gave Central Aroostook the lead for good. She finished with 21\. Hunter Hartsgrove had 22 for Katahdin...Easton's Owen Sweeney dropped 27 on Ashland. --- Some bad news from up North. > Hodgdon guard Anna Oliver will miss the remainder of the season with an injury. A devastating blow for a talented team, she scored her 1,000th point earlier this season as a Junior. > > — Steve Carmichael (@Carmichael15) [February 1, 2024](https://twitter.com/Carmichael15/status/1752847849757262255?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Oliver had missed the last couple of games for Hodgdon (they've lost 3 of their last 4) and I'd heard this was a possibility, but obviously they'd hoped she could come back for the tournament. They're currently in 4th, clinging to the final bye, and are not favored to stay there. --- Thomas Curtis has another edition of your favorite newsletter about AA. [The AA Round-Up: January 30th, 2024Oxford Hills upsets Portland in overtime.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsThomas Curtis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2024/01/aaroundup-3.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/aa-round-up-january-30th-2024/) If you haven't subscribed to this yet, you really should. He does a great job. --- We've got another milestone, as Dexter's Jody Grant won his 300th game last night. [Peach and Adams dominate to help Coach Jody Grant get 300th career winGUILFORD- On a night that a lot of money was raised for a great cause, and a coach reached the 300 career win mark, Mazie Peach and Desiree Adams each recorded a double-double to help Dexter defeat…![](https://easternmainesports.com/favicon.ico)Eastern Maine SportsPublished by %s![](https://easternmainesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IMG_0714.jpeg)](https://easternmainesports.com/2024/02/01/peach-and-adams-dominate-to-help-coach-jody-grant-get-300th-career-win/?fbclid=IwAR08A%5FS9MjK-QE2qA3A0nL%5Fei2tybmeopKj04q7gZokac8STN0%5Fl38Vk2hc&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- On the national front, Mackenzie Holmes is a finalist for the Wooden Award. [Holmes Named To John R. Wooden Award Presented By Principal Late Season Top 20 Watch List - Indiana University AthleticsIndiana graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes has been named to the 2023-24 John R. Wooden Award Presented by Principal Late Season T…![](https://iuhoosiers.com/favicon.ico)Indiana University Athletics![](https://iuhoosiers.com/images/2024/1/30/holmes.jpg)](https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2024/1/30/womens-basketball-holmes-named-to-john-r-wooden-award-presented-by-principal-late-season-top-20-watch-list?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) She had 23 & 10 last night as Indiana won again. --- Winslow's Jason Reynolds was named Rookie of the Week at UMF. [Former Winslow Black Raider Jason Reynolds excelling in college basketball for UMaine-FarmingtonHe was recently named the MMBCWA Rookie of the Week![](https://webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wabi/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png?d=384)WABIBen Barr![](https://gray-wabi-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/PEB4EXIEV5DN3AAJYNTM5OM4HE.png?auth=a199dddd59103bc9265e473a79c6841d0c20fef292846c12b651ff64eb958b60&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)](https://www.wabi.tv/2024/02/01/former-winslow-black-raider-jason-reynolds-excelling-college-basketball-umaine-farmington/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Van Buren's Addion Davis has been busy. In addition to basketball, he's going to graduate from high school AND college at 16 years old! He's making us all look like slackers. [Van Buren teen graduating high school and college this yearAn average student in the early college program finishes high school with six college credits. Addion Davis earned 64.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsChristopher Bouchard![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/01/Addion-scaled.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/01/31/aroostook/addion-davis-maine-graduating-high-school-college-n6hjn1me0n/?fbclid=IwAR3KFDUNR%5F6OzxpL8HF6nExNK9cviIhPcojnhZEzy4b1001BWhEWVSAt%5F3A&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- How to get ejected: > Chris Collins gets ejected, a dramatic thriller: > > 1\. Runs onto the court during play > 2\. Gets right in ref’s face > 3\. Has to be held back > 4\. Screams “I’M GOOD!” > 4\. Still shakes Matt Painter’s hand > 5\. Daps up Zach Edey > 6\. Pumps up crowd as he exits > > No notes. [pic.twitter.com/edXFtNYTZl](https://t.co/edXFtNYTZl?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) [February 1, 2024](https://twitter.com/BenScottStevens/status/1752878348601110941?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/game-of-the-day.png) We're heading to A North for a seeding battle between Hampden and Messalonskee. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-01-at-9.15.06-AM.png) The twist here is that Hampden might be without the services of Zach McLaughlin, who left the Cony game with an injury. If he is indeed out, that changes things quite a bit for the Broncos. Hampden still has a shot at the 1 seed. And Messo can put themselves in good position to move up to 2 with a win tonight. Hampden won the first matchup by 10 in the Stable. Can Messo even the series? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-01-at-8.14.05-AM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The AA Round-Up: January 30th, 2024 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/aa-round-up-january-30th-2024/ Last updated: 2024-01-31T22:24:49.000Z Finally, an upset! **Boys: Oxford Hills 60, Portland 59 (OT)** The model favored Portland (12-3) by 14.1 points entering their Tuesday matchup at Oxford Hills (6-9), but the Vikings had other plans. Quickly they took a 16-10 lead over AA North's 3rd seed after one quarter. They actually led 41-32 after 3 quarters as well. Joe Russo's squad had fight left in them late in regulation, using a 20-11 4th quarter to tie it up and send it to OT. In overtime, Holden Shaw gave the Vikings 4 of their 8 total points, which edged out the Bulldogs 7\. Jeissy Khamis' 24 points led all scorers and Shaw dropped in 17 to lead the Vikings. In the grand scheme of things, the loss doesn't matter much in the standings for Portland. They entered the game at 87.4% to end the season in 3rd, and I wouldn't expect that number to change very much. Oxford Hills picked up their 6th win on the year and jumped Lewiston for 4th place in the North. **Boys: Gorham 62, Bonny Eagle 48** We've got our second class AA player to surpass 1,000 points on either side, last night it was Gorham senior Ashton Leclerc. Class AA's leading scorer knocked down a three for the first points of the contest on either side. > WATCH: Gorham senior Ashton Leclerc connects on a a fadeaway three for his one thousandth career point! > > Leclerc would go on to lead all scorers with 32 in the Rams’ 62-48 win over Bonny Eagle. [pic.twitter.com/DJZb1ReD8a](https://t.co/DJZb1ReD8a?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Thomas Curtis (@ThomasCurtisGHS) [January 31, 2024](https://twitter.com/ThomasCurtisGHS/status/1752527980176249245?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) When I talked to him earlier this morning, he told me he was shooting it as soon as he caught it, no matter where he was on the floor. A 30 foot fadeaway three for your one thousandth career point? Talk about doing it with style. He finished the game at 1,029 career points, 32 in the contest. Griffin Gammon was behind him at 15\. While 98% of the night was good spirits and smiles, the other 2% was the fact that Caden Smith left the game after rolling his ankle on the way down from a transition layup. The hope is that he'll be back before the playoffs, but it's certainly a situation to monitor. **Girls: Thornton Academy 59, Sanford 51** Addison Sulikowski (22 points) and Emma Lizotte (20 points) got back on track in the scoring column while continuing their quest to right the Trojan ship in their senior season. Thornton led 32-17 at halftime but had to survive a 23-14 4th quarter run from Sanford, one that included 7 three pointers. The Spartans were without Julissa McBarron after she exited Saturday's game vs Gorham with injury, but freshman Paige Sevigny stepped up in her absence. She had 20 with 4 3's, leading the late Sanford comeback. Sanford now sits in 4th, Thornton right behind them in 5th. The teams have similar paths for their last three contests. Sanford: 7\. Bonny Eagle, 6\. Massabesic, 2\. South Portland Thornton Academy: 6\. Massabesic, 3\. Scarborough, 7\. Bonny Eagle Matching 2 bottom 3 teams in the South and two teams fighting for a potential bye. Say TA wins out and Sanford drops one, they'll take over the 4 seed and Cole Purvis will get to call a home quarterfinal game for TATV. Sanford controls their own destiny though, if both teams win out it would be the Spartans who host the 4/5 game because they already lead TA by 5 heals and have a chance to pick up 5 more since SoPo's PI is +5 over Scarborough. **Boys: Windham 55, Cheverus 51** The Eagles' balanced offensive attack boosted them past 2nd place Cheverus (13-3) on the road. Leo McNabb poured in 33 of his own for the Stags including 22 in the second half, when he went on a 20 point stretch by himself between the 3rd and 4th quarters. He was followed by Jameson Fitzpatrick at 8 and then two more players at 4\. I think it's really encouraging, if you're a Windham fan, to see the Eagles go into Cheverus and beat the team directly below them in the standings. They've got two losses on the year and it was at Gorham (67-40) and at Portland (55-54) just last Thursday, so to be able to buckle in and win a big road game is enormous for them heading into the playoffs. **Elsewhere:** South Portland blew Deering out behind 21 from Gabe Galarraga, Manny Hidalgo added 18... Maddie Fitzpatrick's 20 points kept the Cheverus undefeated train going over Windham... Sanford's boys survived a scare from TA but pulled out a 52-50 win... Ella Pelletier had 17 in Oxford Hills' 7th straight win... and according to VarsityMaine.com SoPo's Darius Johnson put up 5 points and 20 (TWENTY) rebounds! ### Lincoln Breaks Through URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/lincoln-breaks-through/ Last updated: 2024-01-31T17:04:03.000Z When I said last night was due to be bonkers, that wasn't a goal to be met. And yet. Let's start with the Game of the Day. Windham was up 10 at the half over Cheverus in a battle between the top two teams in AA North. And then Leo McNabb took over. He scored twenty straight points for the Stags to get them within 3, but Windham held on, escaping with a 55-51 win. McNabb finished with a career-high 33. --- In the long-awaited, completely unnecessary rematch with Belfast, Oceanside scored 95 points in the first 3 quarters before slowing all the way down. They won 103-28\. --- I went to the Medomak Valley/Lincoln Academy boys game last night. > Lincoln Academy trying to get out of the 4/5 game as they face Medomak Valley > > Medomak is favored by 5 > > I’ve got LIVE stats[https://t.co/XTCl4GIlil](https://t.co/XTCl4GIlil?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/OkcUitsm2l](https://t.co/OkcUitsm2l?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [January 30, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1752474777254543787?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Eagles couldn't have asked for a better start. They hit their first 3 shots to race out to an 8-0 lead and Medomak called time a mere 1:22 into the game. A minute later, Gabe Lash left the game with a knee injury and Lincoln extended the lead to 15-3 before Lash was able to return at the end of the first quarter. He was fouled on a three at the buzzer and made all 3 free throws to cut the lead to 8\. That was the closest Medomak got to making a 3 on the night. They missed all 9 of their shots from deep. But they weren't done. A Luke Cheeseman FT gave them their first lead of the game as part of a 7-0 run to open the third quarter and it looked like they might have found their footing. Lincoln Academy answered. Drew Hunt hit a 3 to stop the bleeding and the score was tied going into the final period. In the past, this is usually where Medomak Valley asserts themselves, but they went cold from the floor, shooting 1-7 in the 4th with 6 turnovers and Casey Duncan--in the game because Drew Hunt fouled out--scored 8 of his 10 points and Lincoln Academy snapped their losing streak to their rivals. Gabe Hagar led the way with 16 for the Eagles. He also had 8 in the 4th quarter. Kory Donlin had 16 and 10 rebounds for the Panthers. That's also going to open the door for Lincoln Academy to potentially get the 3 seed in B South. They'll have to go to Mount View and beat a tough Mustangs team that nearly won in Newcastle earlier this month, but if they can run the table, the 3 seed is in play. [Updated Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- Let's go to Waterville, where the MCI girls have just hit 2 free throws to give them a 3-point lead with 6 seconds left. You can probably guess where this is going. Lucia Wilson knocked down an open 3 with 10 seconds left to give MCI the lead for good and they get a much-needed overtime win on the road. They're currently sitting in 10th in B North. --- Elsewhere... Portland's Jeissey Khamis had 24, but Oxford Hills pulled off the upset in overtime...Evans Sterling went for 30 again, this time against Lawrence...Penobscot Valley survived in OT at Mattanawcook...Waynflete's Jed Alsup dropped 30 on OOB and Pauli Mukerangingo added 12 & 12...Camden Pelletier scored 25 for Wisdom...Adam Fitzgerald 28 pts, OT skow...Morgan Cunningham had 21 for Cony...Morse girls missed 3 at the buzzer...Addisen Sulikowski had 22 and Emma Lizotte added 20 for the TA girls as they held off a late Sanford flurry from deep...Gabe Galarraga had 21 points and Darius Johnson pulled down 20 rebounds as SoPo handled Deering...Chris Simonds' 19 led Falmouth by Kennebunk...Campbell Perryman went for 23 in St. Dom's win over Sacopee Valley. Dylan Capano had 20 in the losing effort...Buckfield needed all of Krosby Harvey's 22 in beating Silas Yeaton (26) and Pine Tree...Dakota Shipley's 23 & 14 led Brunswick to an easy win...Alexandra Portas went off for 7 3's and 33 points for GNG...Maddie Fitzpatrick had 20 for Cheverus...Cate King's 17 & 13 led Yarmouth over Wells...Kytana Williamson had 20 points and 9 steals for Medomak Valley...Noble's Jamier Rose just missed a quadruple-double. He had 21 points, 11 assists, 12 steals, and 9 rebounds. --- Last night's Edward Little/Bangor game was pretty eventful. First, a ball got stuck in the rafters in the JV game. And then this: ![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GFI0V-RWoAAm2II?format=jpg&name=large) --- Ashton Leclerc had a big night. He hit 7 3s and erupted for 32 points, including this one to eclipse 1,000 points. > WATCH: Gorham senior Ashton Leclerc connects on a a fadeaway three for his one thousandth career point! > > Leclerc would go on to lead all scorers with 32 in the Rams’ 62-48 win over Bonny Eagle. [pic.twitter.com/DJZb1ReD8a](https://t.co/DJZb1ReD8a?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Thomas Curtis (@ThomasCurtisGHS) [January 31, 2024](https://twitter.com/ThomasCurtisGHS/status/1752527980176249245?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-26.png) Let's head North, where the Caribou girls are traveling to Fort Kent in a cross-class battle. Caribou is sitting in 3rd place in B North, just a little bit ahead of Belfast in the Heal Points. That's the good news. The better news is Belfast doesn't have a lot of Heal Points left on their schedule. They've got Waterville and Winslow, who they should beat, but those teams have a combined 3 wins. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-31-at-11.55.15-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Caribou's schedule has a lot of Heal Points left and they're probably going to need to get one of them to stay ahead of Belfast. [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Fort Kent's situation is a little more muddled. They're sitting in 4th, just behind Hodgdon, who they will almost certainly overtake. Their range is pretty wide. They could still go as high as 1\. They could also fall into the prelims, because the C North girls bracket is packed. This should be a good one. WHOU will have the stream. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-31-at-11.43.54-AM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Brothers URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/brothers/ Last updated: 2024-01-30T15:26:19.000Z It was an unusually quiet night in the (Maine Principal's) Association, which means tonight will be bonkers. The Game of the Day was a bust, as Class D Bangor Christian made short work of Class C Dexter, 58-29\. That's quite a shift from their 2 point loss on the 20th. With the win, the Patriots add some more distance between themselves and Katahdin. Elsewhere... Nate Oney's free throw gave him 21 points and NYA the win in overtime...Monmouth's Sammy Calder dropped 38 on OOB...Jacoby Bardsley had 20 as Lake Region beat Mountain Valley...Piscataquis' Ava Goulette notched her fifth double-double of the year with 15 & 12...Aleyah Matheson had 22 as Hodgdon won without Anna Oliver... The Winthrop girls raced out to a 32-3 lead as they beat Mount Abram...Finn Harkins had 22 as Boothbay beat Madison. --- Yes, I've seen the Dana White thing. Yes, I know they're running with the Instagram rumor. (It's quite a mess they've created in the pursuit of clicks over journalism, isn't it?) No, it isn't good. You can stop sending it to me. --- ## AA Round-Up Thomas Curtis has the largest AA Round-Up yet. [The AA Round-Up: Another Weekend in the BooksEverything you need to get caught up on AA![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsThomas Curtis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2024/01/aaroundup-2.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-aa-round-up-another-weekend-in-the-books/) And Cole Purvis joined him for a new episode of the podcast. --- Here's a nice story from the County. Long-time ref Dan Girardin has a brother who is also a ref and lives in Kansas. He is currently in Maine and they're doing games together, thanks to some coordination that Rene Cloukey goes into in his story. [Brothers officiate basketball games for the first time together.Brothers officiate first basketball game together.![](https://webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wagm/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png?d=383)WAGMRene Cloukey![](https://gray-wagm-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/Q7RCXYJC4ZH63GGVWSTDJUHQME.bmp?auth=4bb26e4f1406cbd1e85abac9016bec198bf72816ed8aa72f9aa9893b9f053349&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)](https://www.wagmtv.com/2024/01/29/brothers-officiate-basketball-games-first-time-together/?fbclid=IwAR1Sd0N3CBXDPiGwA%5Ftyej7YT7ezLJR8NnfOkITnfCjLSbhiMA4aUQi6Pck&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I guess that's one way to alleviate the shortage of officials. Maybe I've seen too many *Frasier* episodes, but I also wonder what happens when they disagree on a block/charge call. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-25.png) It's a big one down south, as Cheverus hosts Windham for control of AA North. This is pretty clean. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-30-at-10.15.01-AM.png) The winner of this will very likely be the 1 seed, which comes with a bye to the semifinals, as there's only 7 teams in the region. Windham won the first matchup back on January 2nd in an overtime thriller. Can Cheverus even the score in what very well could be a Regional Final preview? The Model thinks so. [Cheverus' YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@cheverusathletics422/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-30-at-9.54.02-AM.png) _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The AA Round-Up: Another Weekend in the Books URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-aa-round-up-another-weekend-in-the-books/ Last updated: 2024-01-29T18:40:07.000Z Another 2-for-1 as I try to get the newsletter all caught up. Thursday **Boys: Scarborough 57, Bonny Eagle 48 (2/OT)** How much disparity is there between the top and bottom seeds in AA South? This game gave us a fairly clear answer. One that was tied at the beginning, middle, and end of regulation turned into a classic in Scarborough. The Scots led 13-10 after one, but were tied 16-16 at the half after scoring only 3 points in the second. Scarborough took a 32-26 lead into the 4th quarter and it looked like they would close out a tight game with a 39-36 regulation win over the 2-11 Scots, but Colin Moran had other ideas. He nailed a left wing three to add an extra period. Go to 1:08:52 to watch the chaos unfold after a missed Scarborough free throw. Bonny Eagle's luck didn't run out after that. The Red Storm once again led by 3, this time with 3.0 seconds to play in overtime. It was Terrell Edwards' turn to save the Scots. Skip to 1:21:35 to see a sweet half-court buzzer beater from the senior guard. The momentum didn't carry over into the 2nd OT, and Scarborough scraped out 11 points to survive a a massive upset. **Boys: Portland 55, Windham 54** Let's go to the Expo, where the Bulldogs took a tight one over Windham. Kevin Rugabirwa and Jeissy Khamis played like true veterans with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Khamis (14 rebounds) and company dominated the boards. The Eagles got 18 points from Tyrie James and 12 from AJ Moody, but fell just short. Portland picked up 30.11 heal points in the win, which simply pulls them further ahead of 4th place Lewiston in the North. They've got a shot at the 2 seed if they take care of business at home vs Lewiston (5-10) and Bangor (1-13) before they travel to Cheverus for their final game of the regular season. That matchup only matters if Windham can rebound off this loss and beat the Stags in Cheverus tomorrow night. **Girls: Gorham 57, Thornton Academy 50** Make it 10 in a row for the Lady Rams. A season high 19 points for Julia Reed, 14 from Ellie Gay, and 12 more from Kalin Curtis was exactly what Gorham needed to complete a regular season sweep of Thornton Academy. Head Coach Laughn Berthiaume told the[ Portland Press Herald](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/01/25/girls-basketball-gorham-keeps-rolling-with-victory-over-thornton-academy/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) that the team is "finding consistency in a number of different spots," and he's absolutely correct. Gay and Reed, Gorham's two leaders in 3P% (min. 20 attempts) combined for 6 threes. Kalin Curtis has become a force on the glass and scoring the ball down low, scoring all 6 of her buckets in the post. Perhaps the most important part of it all is their defensive anchor, Summer Gammon. She's averaging 3.5 steals and bringing down 3.1 defensive rebounds a night, ending 6.6 defensive possessions per game with the ball in her hands. Thornton Academy played one of their better games since they lost Kylie Lamson, but still only shot 33% from 3, which killed them. The Trojans have Massabesic, Scarborough, and Bonny Eagle to end off their season. Winning out gives them a slight chance to overtake Sanford in the 4th seed if the Spartans can't get by South Portland at home. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screen-Shot-2024-01-29-at-11.49.35-AM.png) Girls AA South [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) **Boys: Cheverus 49, Edward Little 46** Speaking of Cheverus: The upset alarms were sounding at halftime of this one because the Red Eddies led 26-17 at the break. The lead grew to 12 (42-30) for Edward Little after 3 quarters, but it seems like Cheverus was never worried. > 2:18 left in Portland: [@Cheverus\_Stags](https://twitter.com/Cheverus%5FStags?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) currently on a 14-0 4th quarter and lead [@ELHSEDDIES](https://twitter.com/ELHSEDDIES?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 44-42\. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [January 26, 2024](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1750691897423622208?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They used a 14-0 run to begin the 4th to take a lead they would never give up en route to their 13th victory of the year. This is an excellent win for Cheverus. Only real contenders come back and make this type of game interesting, much less win it. **Girls: Bangor 49, Lewiston 44** Bangor has responded to their 3 game losing streak by winning 3 in a row, their most recent addition to the streak being a win over the Blue Devils. Mimi Quinn poured in 19 the old-fashioned way: 8 2-pointers and 3 free throws, no threes. Natalie Beaudoin paced Lewiston with 21. To summarize AA North, the top 3 seeds (Cheverus, Bangor, Oxford Hills) are surging. All are on 3+ game win streaks. For 4 and 5, not so much. Lewiston and Edward Little are on 3+ game losing streaks. It's sort of becoming a 3 team race like the boys side has been all year. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screen-Shot-2024-01-29-at-11.58.18-AM.png) Girls AA North [Heal Point Standings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) **Boys: Gorham 69, Thornton Academy 60** The Rams made another road game close, but ultimately handed the Trojans their 9th straight loss dating back to December 29th. Ashton Leclerc returned to double figures with 21 points and 5 three pointers in his quest for 1,000 points (more on that later). Caden Smith put up 17 to match his 17.6 PPG through 15 games. Wyatt Benoit led Thornton in scoring for the 11th time this year, scoring 22 points. Saturday **Boys: Gorham 69, Sanford 57** The Rams big 3 handled the brunt of the scoring to round off a 3-1 mid-season road trip. Ashton Leclerc entered the night at 974 career points scored, and after a 23 point performance he sits at 997 before his senior night on Tuesday vs Bonny Eagle. If you want to watch him try to surpass four digits in total scoring, [join me on NFHS](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/gorham-high-school-gorham-me/gam401b94b9ab?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). I'm calling that game in what might be my last home game for the Gorham boys. Anyways, Gabe Michaud put up 19/3/2 and Caden Smith tailed him with 15 points. Makai Bougie paced the Spartans with 20 points. **Boys: South Portland 70, Thornton Academy 62** A tale Trojan fans are probably getting sick of is the opposing team winning the three point battle. Saturday was no different, the Red Riots outshot TA from distance 8-to-3\. SoPo's Carmine Soucy matched Thornton's total in the first half. Manny Hidalgo and Gabe Galarraga dominated the second half, finishing with 24 and 22 respectively. With those contributions, South Portland was able to erase a 9 point halftime deficit and lead 51-46 after 3 quarters. Galarraga took over in the 4th, helping put the Trojans away for good. Benoit once again led the Trojans with 20 points. Looking ahead Two big matchups to look for Tuesday night: **Windham (13-2) travels to Cheverus (13-2)** that could give the winner a bye straight to the Civic Center. Windham won the first game between the two, 67-62. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screen-Shot-2024-01-29-at-12.37.14-PM.png) **South Portland (6-8) visits Deering (6-8)** in a matchup that could end up deciding who gets a home playoff quarterfinal. Deering took the first matchup 57-47 back in December. ### The 1500 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-1500/ Last updated: 2024-01-29T15:58:16.000Z Let's start with the Game(s) of the Day, shall we? I got there about 40 minutes before the girls game to find a line out the door. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/IMG_9985.jpg) 📷 Me This is where it helps to have a press pass. The bleachers were full before the tip of the girls game and they locked the doors at halftime. It was standing-room only by then, with an estimated crowd of around 1,500 people. Oceanside raced out to a 7-2 lead against a Medomak team that looked tentative and the Mariners led by 12-6 after 1, with Bailey Breen scoring 8 of their points (she would finish with 14) and Medomak shooting 21% from the floor. Oceanside stretched the lead to 18-11 before Medomak's defense keyed a 10-0 run to take the lead (this was a night of runs). They had 6 steals in the 2nd quarter. Oceanside then answered with a 6-0 run of their own to take the lead at the half. They stretched that run to 12-0 in the 3rd. Back came Medomak. Kytana Williamson's 3 at the buzzer capped a 13-1 Panther run (she led all scorers with 15) and, man, that gym was LOUD. They traded punches for most of the 4th quarter and with 3:50 to go, it was tied at 38-38\. Then Aubrianna Hoose got a steal and a bucket to break the tie (she had 12), and it was Oceanside's turn to go on a run, this time an 11-0 run (5 of them coming at the line as Medomak fouled late) and Oceanside held on for a 49-40 win to stay unbeaten. > Oceanside girls pull away at the foul line down the stretch and remain unbeaten with a 49-40 win over Medomak Valley.[#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/I5MEzkYBGz](https://t.co/I5MEzkYBGz?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — VillageSoup Sports (@VS\_Sports\_ME) [January 28, 2024](https://twitter.com/VS%5FSports%5FME/status/1751396944683860375?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In the boys game, Medomak came out in a pace you could certainly call deliberate, probably wise against an opponent averaging well over 90 points a game, and focused on slowing the Galley twins (easier said than done). So it was Ben Tripp who scored Oceanside's first 5 points and after 1 quarter, it was all tied at 12\. In the 2nd quarter, Medomak built a 5-point lead, but Zeb Foster put the Mariners on his back. He had 7 of his game-high 20 points in the 2nd quarter to keep the Mariners around as the Galleys were held scoreless until a Carter Galley put-back with 18 seconds left in the half (he had 11 on the night). Medomak's suffocating defense held the twins to 1-13 from the floor in the first half. > Carter Galley 1/7 > Cohen Galley 0/6 > > No one’s calling the MPA tonight > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [January 28, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1751407714625044520?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In the 3rd, Medomak stretched out to a 9 point lead before Carter Galley finally hit a 3 with 2:01 left in the third quarter. That kicked off a 13-0 Oceanside run to take the lead. In the 4th, Oceanside found their offensive rhythm. They scored 21 points in the quarter on 7/8 shooting from the floor and 5/7 from the line (that's a TS% of 95%!) to hold on for a 57-47 win. Gabe Lash (11 & 11) and Kory Donlin (11 & 17) each had a double-double for the Panthers. To say it was a playoff atmosphere is an understatement. That was a late-round playoff atmosphere. If either of those were a Regional Final preview, we're in for a treat. I'm pretty sure all 1,500 will make the trip. As will, I assume, most of the additional 1,500 who [watched the live stream](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ukTMVOxxvY&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- Lincoln Academy saw a blow to their tourney prospects when starting center Tyson Ball [broke his leg](https://lcnme.com/sports/lincoln-boys-handle-mci/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) in the win over MCI on Saturday. [Lincoln boys handle MCILincoln Academy boys basketball team defeated visiting MCI 67-32 on Saturday, Jan. 27\. The physical game saw Eagle starter Tyson Ball break his leg in the first half. Lincoln was led in scoring by…![](https://lcnme.com/wp-content/themes/LCNews/images/favicon.ico)The Lincoln County NewsPaula Roberts![](https://lcnme.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/la-bb-hagarduncan.jpg)](https://lcnme.com/sports/lincoln-boys-handle-mci/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Eagles are in the midst of their best season in a while and had just pushed Oceanside to the limit, so this is a big loss. Hopefully Tyson can make a full recovery. --- Let's head North, where Machias (12-1) is up 1 on Schenck (12-0) with 25 seconds left. Side note: there's a number of small schools that have gotten pretty good at streaming games. Machias is a school with 166 kids and this is better than most southern Maine school-run feeds. Greenville's (enrollment: 58) is one of the best in the state. There's some pretty great things happening north of Augusta. Anyway... I am on record (many, many times over) saying I don't like the Intentional Foul call when we all know the team has to foul, but that sure doesn't look like a common foul to me. That's a bit much. But they called it a common foul. Machias missed the 2nd free throw and Schenck raced down to score in transition to tie the game. They would prevail in overtime. You know, all you want is consistency. But, also: make your free throws. --- Let's go to Skowhegan. That's Ryan Parent calling GAME at the buzzer for Messo. Elsewhere... Scott Chadbourne had 28 and Brady Gaw added 20 as Piscataquis beat GSA...Searsport's Julianna Sprague had 21, but it wasn't enough to beat Pine Tree...South Portland erased a 9-point deficit at the half to beat Thornton Academy. Manny Hidalgo had 24 and Gabe Galarraga added 22...Kade Ippolito's 22 wasn't enough for Greely, as they lost to Yarmouth. They had 4 players in double figures...Brady Plante had 24 in OOB's win over Poland. The Knights got 25 from Nick Jamo...Brunswick (2-11) opened with a 17-1 run, but Freeport (12-3) came all the way back to claim the win...Evan Legassey's 21 led Deering over Bonny Eagle...Nate Oney's 24 wasn't enough as NYA fell to Hall-Dale...Brock Gibbons's 20 led Lake Region over Cape...Lyla Dunphe's 3 sealed Westbrook's win over Fryeburg...Breanna Bartlett's go-ahead 3 in overtime led Poland past OOB...Maya Gayle had 16 & 9 as Deering beat Kennebunk...Winthrop's Madeline Wagner dropped 25 on Waynflete. --- Parker Sergent joined Cony's 1K club and--hey--that's Simon McCormick! > Congratulations to Cony Rams star Parker Sergent who scored his 1,000th career point tonight! [@ConyRamsAth](https://twitter.com/ConyRamsAth?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/SHiqcTX9cO](https://t.co/SHiqcTX9cO?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) [January 28, 2024](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME/status/1751443308566425909?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Sean Stackhouse posted a pretty interesting thing about the state of JV basketball. > We need a fundamental change to subvarsity basketball in this state. I've seen so many awful attempts at the sport this year, and read about many more. Nothing of any value is gained from a lopsided JV game. Frankly very little is gained from actual games. You learn through… > > — Sean Stackhouse (@StaxRL) [January 28, 2024](https://twitter.com/StaxRL/status/1751687520457211953?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The full text: > We need a fundamental change to subvarsity basketball in this state. I've seen so many awful attempts at the sport this year, and read about many more. Nothing of any value is gained from a lopsided JV game. Frankly very little is gained from actual games. You learn through preparation - practice, primarily. You apply that to games and then you gain feedback on what works or doesn't, and you make changes. > > My proposal: Subvarsity games shouldn't just automatically be scheduled with varsity games. Instead, they should be controlled scrimmages scheduled with teams of similar ability. Run X possessions each way, and set up some time & score situations. You can bang a whole bunch of these out on a Saturday with several teams in a sort of round robin rotation, and if it happens to line up that you have a varsity game with two relatively equal JV teams, then run it as a game too. But automatically having a JV/freshman game when they're literally 40 points apart, there is no value there. I like this idea a lot. No one cares if the JV team wins. It's a weird flex. And I've never understood these JV tournaments. But doing situational stuff? I love that. JV basketball should be all about teaching kids, so putting them in learning situations is a fantastic idea. --- We've got another coaching milestone, this time at MDI. > [pic.twitter.com/3HL8N2voV9](https://t.co/3HL8N2voV9?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — MDI Athletics (@MDItrojans) [January 28, 2024](https://twitter.com/MDItrojans/status/1751639381851468037?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Also, the Falmouth football story has been picked up by all the wrong places. The Maine Wire is not a news outlet. They're a joke. Here's a real journalist. [Falmouth High football coach resigns in wake of players’ petitionJohn Fitzsimmons had resisted pressure from parents, but after players asked the school board to replace him, he said ‘it wasn’t fair for them or for me to stay.’![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldSteve CraigPress Herald![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/01/20210916_SportsCovid0103-1706117379.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/01/25/falmouth-high-football-coach-resigns-in-wake-of-players-petition/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I never played football (we didn't have youth football) and I'm not going to pretend to have any additional information about this, but... What I do know is that a petition like this requires a lot of courage from the kids. It goes beyond parents being difficult. And they definitely don't deserve to be dragged through the mud by some tabloid. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-24.png) We're heading to Dexter, where the Tigers are sitting in 9th place in C North. But the Tourney Odds think they have very little chance of staying there. They've got a wide range still. They could go as high as 5th or as low as 14th, but to stay at 9 is only 14.7%, so they'll need every Heal Point they can get. [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) They've got an opportunity tonight with Bangor Christian, currently sitting in 3rd in D North. But they're also unlikely to stay there, as they project as most likely in the 4/5 game. Bangor Christian as the top scoring defense in the state. Dexter has the 15th best scoring defense. Points will be at a premium in this one. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-28-at-6.09.46-PM.png) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Rivalry Doubleheader URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rivalry-doubleheader/ Last updated: 2024-01-27T15:28:43.000Z It was a quiet, mostly snowy night around the (Maine Principal's) Association, but still we got some games in. The big story comes from Ellsworth, where junior Grace Jaffray was 12 points away from 1,000\. And here you go. > 1,000 for Grace Jaffray! [pic.twitter.com/94ZfqaPlZg](https://t.co/94ZfqaPlZg?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan McLaughlin (@rmclaughlin23) [January 26, 2024](https://twitter.com/rmclaughlin23/status/1751025857538220505?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Ellsworth rolled to an easy win. --- A surprising score showed up on the Scoreboard last night, as the Widsom girls beat Hodgdon 54-31\. As you might guess, Anna Oliver wasn't available for the Hawks, and Paige Fitzpatrick was a late scratch with a knee injury. The essential [Aroostook County Hoops has the full story](https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story%5Ffbid=775906844564201&id=100064346785865). Lilly Roy had 32 for the Pioneers. --- Locked in a tight battle with Falmouth, the Windham girls went on a 13-0 to blow the game open, which is a lot when the final score is 38-30. --- Cooper Flagg and Montverde won by 87 yesterday, so they should expect a call from the MPA sometime over the weekend, unless the opposing team just shook it off and went on with their lives. . > No. 1 [@MVABasketball](https://twitter.com/MVABasketball?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ran like a well-oiled machine in its 127-40 romping of Imani Christian on Thursday. > > Tonight at 7 p.m. ET the 🦅 face Oak Ridge in the [#MAIT](https://twitter.com/hashtag/MAIT?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) semifinals! > > (📺➡️ [@NBA](https://twitter.com/NBA?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) app) [pic.twitter.com/GsykPWIkHK](https://t.co/GsykPWIkHK?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — League Ready (@LeagueRDY) [January 26, 2024](https://twitter.com/LeagueRDY/status/1750974482116665527?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Falmouth's football coach has resigned. [Falmouth High football coach resigns in wake of players’ petitionJohn Fitzsimmons had resisted pressure from parents, but after players asked the school board to replace him, he said ‘it wasn’t fair for them or for me to stay.’![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldSteve CraigPress Herald![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/01/20210916_SportsCovid0103-1706117379.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/01/25/falmouth-high-football-coach-resigns-in-wake-of-players-petition/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Based on some things I've already seen, I'm sure the discourse on this will be nuanced and not toxic at all. 🙄 Just a friendly reminder that these are kids. --- A couple of days after Joel Embiid became the 9th player in NBA history to score 70, Luka went and scored 73\. > St. Veronica, by Lorenzo Costa, 1508, 📸 by [@vernonbryant](https://twitter.com/vernonbryant?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/3wn5McSoCA](https://t.co/3wn5McSoCA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) [January 27, 2024](https://twitter.com/ArtButSports/status/1751097561153212680?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-23-1.png) Glad I saved this from yesterday. I think the consensus is that the Game of the Day would be the Oceanside @ Medomak Valley boys game. It makes sense. Two of the top teams in B South. Rivals. All of the recent drama online. But that's not the Game of the Day. Because the Game of the Day is the Oceanside @ Medomak Valley *girls*. A boys/girls matchup has never gotten the top 2 spots in the Stax Index. And it's a doubleheader. AND there's a cancer bump. I'm pretty sure this will sell out. ![May be an image of text that says 'PAWS for the CAUSE 7th ANNUAL PINK OUT GAMES to benefit Local Breast Cancer Charities The Medomak Valley Athletic Department & the MVHS Boosters invite you to get your PINKo Medomak Valley Panthers vs. Oceanside Mariners Varsity Girls @ 5:00 Varsity Boys @ 6:30 January 26, 2024 Medomak Valley High School gymnasium'](https://scontent-ord5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/422453885_7447956338550091_6312782978661439163_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=dd5e9f&_nc_ohc=jb58mzZ5TbEAX9PJjo6&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-2.xx&oh=00_AfDI0jjSn-MOrVJUcradpSTYQW4oIgtXK9xGdxIeVhDizA&oe=65B7EB51) Let's start with the boys. We all know what's going on with Oceanside. They survived a scare from Lincoln Academy after the drama caused by an Instagram account. Their offense has come crashing down all the way to 92.5 points a game. Obviously that's the top number in the state. Their offense is explosive and can overwhelm a good team, much less a team that [shouldn't be on their schedule](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/01/22/sports/high-school-basketball/maine-high-school-basketball-blowouts/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). In the first matchup, Medomak led at the half, but Oceanside used one of their scoring burst to open up a lead in the 3rd quarter and win 71-54\. But that was all the way back on December 15th. We were all so young. Oceanside has locked up the 1 seed. Medomak and York are essentially in a coin flip for the 2 seed. There's some outlier situations where Medomak could get to 1 or fall to 4, but they're comfortably in the 2-3 range. They've won 11 straight. The series stands at 14-12 Medomak Valley. Oceanside has won 5 straight. Prior to that, Medomak had won 5 straight. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-27-at-12.38.01-AM.png) As for the girls... Things looked dim in Waldoboro after the Panthers started 1-2 under new coach Lindsay Vinal. Since then, they've won 10 of their last 11, with the lone loss coming to Yarmouth in a game where they squandered an early 8-0 lead. Other than that, only 1 team has gotten within 20 points of them, a 40-27 win at Leavitt. They'll [almost definitely be the 2 seed](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) for the first time in program history. It's the first time they been a top 2 seed since they were the 1 seed in the 77-78 season. Oceanside, of course, is unbeaten and only one team had stayed within 20 of them. That team? Medomak Valley lost by 8 in their 1-2 start. Can the Panthers make a statement against Bailey Breen and the Mariners? Oceanside has won 12 straight in the series. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-27-at-12.43.10-AM.png) These teams have won a combined 44 straight games. LCTV will stream both of these games on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@lincolncountytelevision8228?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). And I will be there with LIVE Stats. [LIVE StatsLive stats of selected games![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/LIVE-STATS-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Rebel Moon URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rebel-moon/ Last updated: 2024-01-26T16:39:12.000Z It was a wild night last night. Where to start? The craziness started in Jay. > Spruce gets fouled then hits a 3 after, the building goes nuts but the foul was well before the shot. Correct call from the official but this place was obviously not happy about it. [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [January 26, 2024](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/1750685519816634401?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Monmouth's Sammy Calder had just stretched the lead to 3 when this happened. [Watch on FB Live](https://www.facebook.com/100083874054861/videos/2101707556862720) Go to 1:23:30 to see it. That's clearly a foul on the floor, but it is the sort of thing that used to get called a continuation in the NBA until we all agreed it was getting ridiculous. But, man, what a shot. And since Monmouth had fouls to give, Spruce had to inbound and couldn't get a good look. Monmouth held on to win by 3\. --- Let's go to Readfield, where Maranacook is hosting Class D Telstar. Why are they playing a Class D school? For the same reason they just played Mount Blue (in a game they gave the presumptive 1 seed in A North everything they could handle): because they have a really weird schedule. Telstar is 3-8 in D South, but they've only got 2 games against D schools in their schedule and they lost the only one they've played so far. They play 5 games against schools in B and the rest are C. Anyway, the Model thinks Maranacook wins this game 90.9% of the time. After all, they've still got a shot at the 1 seed in B North. But Telstar got hot from the floor in the 2nd half. Let's jump to the final seconds. Telstar is down 1 with the ball. 0:00 /0:11 1× Video credit: "Anonymous" DM The video stops before the final 3 seconds, but reports are that Maranacook had trouble getting off a final shot for...reasons, but I'd want to see the full video before printing more. If anyone's got that video, send it along. --- At the Expo, Tyrie James hit a free throw with 12 seconds left to tie the game for Windham, but Kevin Rugabirwa countered with a free throw of his own to give Portland a big 55-54 win. --- In South Paris, Oxford Hills' Gabbie Tibbetts made 2 free throws to give the Vikings a 4-point lead with 7 seconds left. And it's a good thing she did, because Cony raced down to drill a three, but the clock ran out and Oxford Hills survived. --- Bonny Eagle traveled to Scarborough, hoping to improve on their 2-10 record and find a way out of last place in AA South. Let's jump to 10.5 seconds left. Scarborough is at the line to shoot 2\. That's a pretty good buzzer-beater by Colin Moran! But it's got nothing on the end of the first overtime. We'll go to 20 seconds left. Scarborough has the ball. Wow I criticize the officials a lot around here, but kudos to them for putting time back on the clock. Liam Garriepy's go-ahead 3 went through the rim with 3.9 seconds left and the clock actually stopped with 0.8 left. Without the benefit of replay, adjusting it to 3.0 is some good work. Plus, they got the call right at the buzzer. The shot left Terrell Edwards' hand with 0.7 left. Scarborough would finally pull away in the final minute of the 2nd overtime. Bonny Eagle will get another shot at this in the quarterfinals. --- Upset alarms started sounding around social media when the Edward Little boys and their 4-10 record opened up a 42-30 lead on Cheverus (12-2). And then the Stags dug in and ripped off a 19-4 fourth quarter to erase the Eddies' lead. Edward Little had one more chance to force overtime... > This was how close we were to a tie game at cheverus tonight at the end of the 4th. (Our Scoreboard had a discrepancy, it was 49-46) [pic.twitter.com/kU13wHL3Wm](https://t.co/kU13wHL3Wm?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [January 26, 2024](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1750717584675094947?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Elsewhere... Fisher Tewksbury dropped 36 in Valley's win over Piscataquis...Ashton Leclerc his 5 3s and scored 21 in Gorham's win over TA. Wyatt Benoit countered with 22...Ryan Cummins had 20 in York's win over Wells...Trevor Gerrish's 23 & 9 wasn't enough for Brunswick as they lost to Westbrook and Aiden Taylor's 19...Yarmouth's Evan Hamm went off for 33, but GNG got 25 from Jonny Patenaude to improve to 12-1...The Windham girls used a 14-2 run to get by Portland...Ella Giguere had 21 & 12 as NYA rolled by St. Dom's...Greely needed every one of Asja Kelman's 20 points to beat Marshwood 41-40...Freeport got 20 from Abby Giroux in a win over Kennebunk...Dylan Burpee had 21 for Southern Aroostook...Abby Haines led Central Aroostook with 22 in their win over Lee Academy. --- If you enjoy this newsletter, consider sending it to a friend (or enemy). If it's a friend, you can talk about it during JV games. If it's an enemy, you can talk trash whenever their team fails to beat the spread. Everyone wins! --- Wells' own Chad Finn has a fantastic piece on the Flagg family. [The NBA’s hottest prospect is a 17-year-old from Maine. Meet Cooper Flagg. - The Boston GlobeFlagg’s rise has been accompanied by two recurring questions: How good is he really? And how did this happen?![](https://www.bostonglobe.com/pf/resources/images/icons/apple-touch-icon.png?v=bostonGlobe&d=449)The Boston GlobeChad Finn![](https://bostonglobe-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/C-I2ATstKnqcUAHD1VW5Yeh13io=/506x0/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/bostonglobe/NMFEOBMW4ZHFZH5QIJTYSINVOY.jpg)](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/01/25/magazine/the-hottest-prospect-in-basketball-is-a-17-year-old-from-maine-meet-cooper-flagg/?event=event25&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-22.png) I've written and deleted 4 of these now and I have zero confidence that Hampden and Lawrence are going to play, so let's just punt on this today. The Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### RIP My Mailbox URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rip-my-mailbox/ Last updated: 2024-01-25T15:17:54.000Z We'll do this as quickly as possible, because I've gotta go find my mailbox after a plow truck took it out last night. Up North, in the Game of the Day, Southern Aroostook used a big third quarter to stretch a 4-point lead out to 15 and sweep the season series against Hodgdon. That'll effectively end the Hawks' quest for the 1 seed in C North. They've also still got some work to do to lock up a bye. [Updated Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- The big story last night was the Hermon boys knocking off Ellsworth. [Hermon Beats Ellsworth 53-47 \[STATS\]In a game seen on Ticket TV, the Hermon Boy’s Basketball Team picked up a significant win over the Ellsworth Eagles, 53-47, Wednesday night, January 24th in Hermon. Here are the stats from the game![](https://townsquare.media/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/WEZQFM.png?w=144&h=144)92.9 The TicketChris Popper![](https://townsquare.media/site/591/files/2024/01/attachment-EHS-Hermon.jpg?w=1200&h=0&zc=1&s=0&a=t&q=89)](https://929theticket.com/hermon-beats-ellsworth-53-47-stats/?fbclid=IwAR29mg5ogMMZ7sgUItmwT%5FkCq4ItENCmyXz0Qr6Ya5jAVmaCXjZ0OfEgXYs&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Hermon entered this game with a 1% chance of getting a bye in the ultra-competitive B North. The win doesn't help that as much as you'd think--it only improves to 4%. What it does is improve their standing as the 6 seed (from 60% to 73%) and takes away a bunch of scenarios where they could fall to 8-10\. They're now pretty solidly in the 6, with a shot at the 5 if they can run the table. Ellsworth finds their shot at the 1 seed evaporating. That's down from 17% to 3%. This could be a wild bracket come tourney week. Elsewhere... Inyas Janoch's 33 wasn't enough for Ashland as they lost to Madawaska...Mazie Peach had 27 & 17 in Dexter's win over Central...The Stearns girls beat Lee Academy in overtime...Zach McLaughlin had 26 in Hampden's win over Brewer. --- Thomas and Cole are back with a new podcast to talk about Deering's big upset, the Miss Basketball race, and more. It's available wherever you podcast. --- At first, I thought MaxPreps had made a mistake (again). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-24-at-9.02.37-PM.png) But, no. They're really in California as part of a pretty unique tournament. [Record Turnout Set for PUC’s Annual Academy Basketball Tournament | Pacific Union CollegePacific Union College, in collaboration with PUC Preparatory School, is set to host the Pioneers Invitational Academy Basketball Tournament from January 24-27\. This year marks a record turnout for the![](https://www.puc.edu/favicon.ico)Pacific Union CollegePacific Union College![](https://www.puc.edu/__data/assets/image/0016/210076/bball.png)](https://www.puc.edu/news/archives/2024/record-turnout-set-for-pucs-annual-academy-basketball-tournament?fbclid=IwAR1t242tDOKRNxqfEv9n2-i3REt6A6atN7GAIwigxcFL5G%5FeFrSEe%5FWjEOE&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you're not following [WHOU on Twitter](https://twitter.com/WHOU%5FLive?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) (and very few people are), you should. They've been posting nice highlight packages of some of the games they cover. They also do this on Facebook, I'm pretty sure. > More highlights from the county last night! Houlton hosted [@CHSGoVikings](https://twitter.com/CHSGoVikings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) on their senior night! Caribou picked up a 58-32 win over the Shires! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/6whqFI9chN](https://t.co/6whqFI9chN?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — WHOU.live (@WHOU\_Live) [January 24, 2024](https://twitter.com/WHOU%5FLive/status/1750223809443979276?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Bangor Daily News has more on the petition by the Falmouth football team to have their coach replaced. I'm no expert on football safety, but this doesn't look great. > Prior to the 2023 football season, more than 40 percent of the Navigators’ players left the team, and only 29 players finished the 2023 season, according to the petition. Additionally, one third of the roster suffered a fracture or concussion during the 2023 season — a rate six times higher than the national average for high school football players, as reported by the Journal of Pediatrics in 2020. [Falmouth football players call for resignation of head coachThe petition follows an exodus of players and a rate of concussions and fractures six times higher than the national high school average.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsSam Canfield![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/01/Football.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/01/24/sports/high-school-football/falmouth-football-players-call-resignation-head-coach/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-20.png) Let's head down to the B South girls, where Wells and York will square off. First, the lay of the land. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-25-at-10.06.13-AM.png) Wells, led by the [Maxon sisters](https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/sports/high-school/2024/01/17/maxon-sisters-wells-high-school-girls-basketball/72197319007/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), currently sits in 3rd place, just a tiny bit above Lake Region. They can't get to the 2, and there's very little chance of them not getting a bye, so they'll fall somewhere between 3 and 6\. Obviously, they want to stay at 3 and not be on Oceanside's side of the bracket *and* avoid a potential 4/5 game with Lake Region or Spruce Mountain, who's just lurking. York currently sits 6th, but that 6-8 is messy. York would need to run the table and get a ton of help to get to 5 (Spruce has 2 more games left and they're all worth points), so their big concern is holding on to that final bye at 6\. Besides this, they've got Yarmouth and Biddeford left on their schedule. I think they need 2 out of those 3 to get it. That quest starts tonight. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-25-at-12.57.07-AM.png) The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Broken Records URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/broken-records/ Last updated: 2024-01-24T16:28:10.000Z Oh boy. I usually start with the Game of the Day, but we'll come back to that. I can't remember a situation where two people–a boy and a girl–from the same school each had a shot to break the school scoring record on the same day and knowing Don Shields would be at the Oceanside/Lincoln Academy boys game, I headed over to the girls game in Newcastle. That way, both would be covered in some way and with the live stats, we'd know who got there first. Bailey Breen had 11 quick points and 17 in the first half to get within 11 of the record as Oceanside led by 21\. Meanwhile, in Rockland: > At Halftime Lincoln Academy Boys 37, Oceanside 33, Tucker Stiles 12 & Gabe Hagar with 11 for LA, Cohen Galley 18 for OHS on 106.9 FRANK FM with the audio streaming at [https://t.co/IgK1VxwcYn](https://t.co/IgK1VxwcYn?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Don Shields (@DonShieldsMaine) [January 24, 2024](https://twitter.com/DonShieldsMaine/status/1749946789216891221?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It was still up-for-grabs as Oceanside put together a 31-11 3rd quarter to put the game out of reach, but Breen ended the quarter on the bench with foul trouble. That gave Carter Galley time to break the record while Breen was still 7 away. Breen re-entered the game in the 4th and passed Audrey Mackie on a fast break lay-up with 4:15 to play and Oceanside promptly emptied the bench. Breen finished with an even 30\. Sophia Daggett added 19 rebounds. > so blessed 🙏🙏[@BayStateJags](https://twitter.com/BayStateJags?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@LaurieBollin](https://twitter.com/LaurieBollin?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@CoachJSkarka](https://twitter.com/CoachJSkarka?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@mattbreen44](https://twitter.com/mattbreen44?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/UHx72XxhWx](https://t.co/UHx72XxhWx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — bailey breen (@baileybreen11) [January 24, 2024](https://twitter.com/baileybreen11/status/1749961099770765590?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Back to Rockland, where Oceanside had turned an 11-point deficit into a 63-53 lead over Lincoln Academy. But the Eagles weren't done. They ripped of a 10-0 run to tie the game. Carter Galley scored his 23rd point of the game with 4.6 seconds to play to give Oceanside a 67-65 lead and Lincoln couldn't get off a shot. Oceanside survived. Cohen Galley led all scorers with 32\. Lucas Houghton had 20 for Lincoln Academy. Quite the last couple of days for them. --- But we're not done. Wells and Cape needed 3 overtimes to settle things. > Wells tops Cape in 3OT thriller as Therrien scores 29\. [@wellshsAD](https://twitter.com/wellshsAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/syZqFnzAxw](https://t.co/syZqFnzAxw?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [January 24, 2024](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1750017713596973406?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- TJ Maines spent another game on the sidelines for Cony. This was an interesting one, as Cony led by 18 in the 3rd quarter, but Camden battled back. Will Duke had 13 of his 25 in the 4th quarter and Nolan Ames had 23, but the rally fell short. > Maines' leads Cony on the sidelines, Cony tops Camden. [@ConyRamsAth](https://twitter.com/ConyRamsAth?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/Dd0hd2bN18](https://t.co/Dd0hd2bN18?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [January 24, 2024](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1750018208986243285?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Suddenly, Cony has won 4 out of 5\. They're 6th in A North. Parker Morin had 27 for the Rams and Parker Sergent led the way with 28\. He's now 28 from 1,000 career points. In the girls game (the Game of the Day), Camden led by 20, but Cony had a big rally of their own, only to come up a little bit short. Camden avenges the loss on Opening Night and they move to 2nd place in A North. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-24-at-9.05.16-AM.png) [Updated Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- As expected, Evans Sterling scored his 1,000th point. He finished with 17. But in the end, it was Messalonskee's night. Merrick Smith had 24 points and 11 rebounds to knock Mt. Blue from the ranks of the unbeaten and A North is officially wide-open again. --- Let's go to Greely where the Rangers are tied with Brunswick in a must-win game for the Dragon. 4 seconds left. Greely ball. YouTube won't let clips of broadcasts be embedded and I don't want to just take someone else's content without asking, so we'll hold while you go to YouTube to watch the clip. [Go to YouTube for the Clip](https://www.youtube.com/clip/Ugkxwk0IaKydvHCYsHVA9X5b5JZMSIDWsuO3?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Granted, that's not the best angle, but it sure doesn't look like a foul from there. Once again: Time & score. It's a tie game! If you blow the whistle there, the game is over. If you don't, they play overtime. So unless it's an obvious foul, put your whistle away! Anyway, Jackson Leding hit all three free throws and Greely won by 3\. Brunswick, by the way, had a 3.7% chance to make the tournament before that call. That's going to be a wrap. Elsewhere... Dakota Shipley's 31 points led Brunswick past Greely. The Dragons went 19 of 22 from the free throw line...Arianna Bradeen had 25 and Savannah Lorenz added 20 in Mount View's win over Waterville...Maddie Fitzpatrick had a triple-double against Lewiston with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 steals. Natalie Beaudoin led Lewiston with 23...Sarah Theriault's 14 & 12 paced Marshwood...Breonna Dufresne had 12 & 10 and Izzy Stewart added 20 for Richmond's win over Boothbay...Tessa Ferguson's 26 wasn't enough for OOB as they lost to Monmouth. Haley HeHahn had 24 in the winning effort...Gabe Lash's 26 & 13 led Medomak Valley to their 13th win...Freeport's JT Pound dropped 35 on Massabesic...Manny Hidalgo's 28 helped SoPo stave off a Noble rally down 14 and win in overtime...Chris Simonds went off with 25 points and 21 rebounds against Marshwood...Makai Bougie's 20 got Sanford past Scarborough...Jackson Leding was fouled at the buzzer and hit all three free throws to give Greely a 3-point win over Brunswick...Gage Suitter's 22 led Morse to a win over Leavitt...Yarmouth put up 100 on Poland, led by Evan Hamm's 38...Boothbay needed all of Finn Harkins's 8 3-pointers and 35 points to upset previously unbeaten Richmond. --- Take a look at Spruce Mountain's Owen Kelvey throwing it up off the backboard for sophomore(!) Cai Dougher to throw down. > 👀 [pic.twitter.com/ZydXi91WPb](https://t.co/ZydXi91WPb?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Scott Bessey (@BesseyScott) [January 24, 2024](https://twitter.com/BesseyScott/status/1750008377474752641?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- In a developing story, the Falmouth football team would like a new coach, please. > [https://t.co/blMIztLKHl](https://t.co/blMIztLKHl?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/igtIsTly77](https://t.co/igtIsTly77?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Lee Horton (@LeeHortonSJ) [January 24, 2024](https://twitter.com/LeeHortonSJ/status/1750060491492282573?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Buckle up. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-19.png) This was the Game of the Day once before, with Southern Aroostook winning by 12 and I don't like to repeat games, but the pickings, they are slim today. Southern Aroostook has locked up the 1 seed in D North. They've more than doubled anyone else's Heal Points. Hodgdon, however, is in third place in C North, just a hair behind Dexter in a very competitive region. When the [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/intentional-foul/) come out later today, they're going to look like this. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-24-at-11.16.35-AM.png) No one has locked up a bye and it's anyone's guess how the top of this region will shake out, but a win against Southern Aroostook would go a long, long way. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-24-at-10.19.03-AM.png) The Model's predictions for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Intentional Foul? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/intentional-foul/ Last updated: 2024-01-23T14:31:05.000Z In the Game of the Day, Ellsworth took a 17-point into the locker room at the half against unbeaten Old Town. That would normally trigger a major upset alert, if the Model hadn't picked them to win. Mr. Basketball contender Chance Mercier scored 20 of his 28 in the first half. But Old Town wasn't going away. Let's go to the 4th quarter where Ellsworth has the ball up 59-56 with 19.3 seconds to play. Obviously Old Town is going to foul. We all know this. [Tyler Krusz](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) was kind enough to provide a better angle. 0:00 /0:06 1× video credit: Tyler Krusz And that's gonna be called an Intentional Foul. And then a technical foul on Old Town coach Garrett Libby for expressing what we're all thinking. That's at minimum a questionable call in a crucial spot in a game with major seeding implications. Don't give someone a technical because they disagree. Time & Score! Old Town has every right to be angry about this. So now, Old Town is down 62-56 with 19.3 seconds to play and Ellsworth still has the ball. Old Town obviously has to foul, but this foul is deemed acceptable. Ellsworth misses both free throws. But the math is completely different now for Old Town. Down three with 19 seconds left is a long shot, but doable. According to [this calculator](http://stats.inpredictable.com/nba/wpCalc.php?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), you win in that situation 3.1% of the time. They could miss both free throws (like they did with 17 seconds left), which would improve the odds to 9.2% and Old Town could hit a three to force overtime. Down 6 with 19 seconds left is 0.1%. That's Reggie Miller miracle territory. With the win, Ellsworth moves into 2nd in the Heal Points. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-23-at-12.08.47-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) We'll see how this shifts the Tourney Odds later today, but I would expect this to put Ellsworth in the driver's seat for the 2 seed and open a window for them to potentially get all the way to 1 (but they'll probably need to run the table and get another Old Town loss). [Tournament Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- Elsewhere... Hunter Mason's 21 kept Richmond undefeated...All 5 St. Dom's starters scored in double figures in their win over Dirigo...Anna Oliver had 22 as Hodgdon blew out East Grand...Tristen Robbins' 24 led Caribou over Bucksport...OOB's Cate Clark dropped 26 on Kents Hill. --- An update on the race to break Oceanside's scoring record. I wrote a couple of days ago that both Carter Galley and Bailey Breen were in range of Audrey Mackie's school scoring record. Coming into tonight's games, the leaderboard looks like this (courtesy of Don Shields): Audrey Mackie 1269 Carter Galley 1258 Bailey Breen 1244 Both teams play Lincoln Academy tonight (boys @ Oceanside; girls @ Lincoln) and both tip at 6:30, so Galley will probably get there first. Don is covering the boys game for Frank FM, so I'm going to go to the girls game and do [LIVE stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/), in case Breen manages to beat him. --- Speaking of Oceanside, I wrote for the Bangor Daily News that maybe the biggest lesson from this whole fiasco is that we need to find a way to get some of these games off the schedule. [How Maine high school basketball can prevent more blowoutsIf there’s a game on your schedule that you cannot win, that’s not good. If there are four, then you need a different schedule.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsLucas McNelly, Sports Contributor![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2023/03/ocenaside-orono-class-b-basketball-4.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/01/22/sports/high-school-basketball/maine-high-school-basketball-blowouts/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-18.png) We're heading to Camden (well, Rockport) for an A North battle between the Windjammers and Cony. As recently as 2018, these were the 2 worst teams in A North, so for them to both be in the top 25 *and* the Game of the Day is a real testament to the work a number of people have put in. These teams are separated by less than a point in the Heals, with Cony sitting in 2nd and Camden in 3rd, but Hampden is also less than a point from Camden and then there's a big game before you get to Brewer. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-23-at-9.23.37-AM.png) So there's a couple of levels to this. You want to stay out of the 4/5 game, because you don't want to be on Lawrence's side of the bracket. You also want to get the 2, because the difference between Brewer/Skowhegan and Gardiner/Mount Blue is significant. The Tourney Odds say the order of 2-4 is pretty much up for grabs, so whoever wins this one will get a major boost. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-23-at-9.22.03-AM.png) They already played once this year, with Cony winning by 2 at home on Opening Night. Can Camden return the favor? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-23-at-1.10.05-AM.png) The rest of the Model's picks for today are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The AA Round-Up: Last Weekend URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-aa-round-up-last-weekend/ Last updated: 2024-01-22T17:45:56.000Z It's been a little while because I had midterms, was preparing for broadcasts, and also wrote a big feature, but now I'm back. Let's discuss last weekend. Friday **Boys: Deering 62, Gorham 61** Woah. A 15-5 start for Deering (5-8) gave them a lead they would never relinquish, although Gorham (10-2) made it interesting. Evan Legassey led the charge for Deering with 21, including 4 made threes in the first half. I was doing color for WHOU.live and his ability to score at will is impressive. Step backs, catch and shoot, dribbling off screens, it doesn't matter. At the half, Deering had a 26 point lead, 46-22\. Gorham roared back in the second half by limiting Deering to 26 points and scoring 39 but it simply wasn't enough. Despite Ashton Leclerc being cold (5 total points) Caden Smith and Gabe Michaud stepped up big time. They combined for 40\. Griffin Gammon hit a few big free throws and somehow came up with a steal in the back court with less then a minute left, then passed it to Michaud. Michaud swung the ball right back to Gammon, who nailed a corner three to cut Deering's lead to 60-59. Tayshaun Cleveland added to the lead with 2 free throws on the other end, then Leclerc matched them on the other end. After an inbounds pass was kicked out of bounds by Deering in the back court, Gabe Michaud's final shot rimmed out. The win moved Deering up to the 3rd seed in AA South, and they've got a 66.3% chance to hold off Sanford and South Portland to secure a home playoff game. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screen-Shot-2024-01-22-at-11.50.56-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) AA South Tourney Odds --- **Girls: Oxford Hills 57, Lewiston 52** Ella Pelletier, Gabbie Tibbets, and Maddy Miller combined for 50 of Oxford Hills' (6-5) 57 points in a gritty win over the Blue Devils (8-5) in Lewiston. Lewiston led at the half but their 16 second half points couldn't hang with the Vikings' 30\. Koral Morin paced Lewiston with 17 points. The three scored in a multitude of ways. Tibbets poured hers in almost exclusively from range, Miller had 8 buckets inside the arc, and Pelletier hit 5 free throws to go along with her 5 2's and lone three pointer. Oxford Hills is now up over .500 and into 3rd place in AA North, overtaking Lewiston in the heal point standings. --- **Girls: Gorham 53, Scarborough 35** A balanced offensive attack led by Ellie Gay's 24 points and a steady defensive effort helped the Rams (9-2) complete the regular season sweep of the Red Storm (8-5). Gorham had 8 players get in the scoring column, and their 9-to-4 advantage from downtown kept the lead in double digits for the majority of the game. The stifling Gorham defense is allowing 23.8 PPG in their last 5 contests. They held Caroline Hartley to 13 points and everybody else on Scarborough's side under 10\. The win, worth 18.67 heal points, gave the Rams a boost into first over Scarborough and South Portland who were previously tied for the lead in AA South. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screen-Shot-2024-01-22-at-12.11.19-PM.png) AA South Heal Point Standings --- Elsewhere: Maddie Fitzpatrick scored her 1,000th point in the Stags' win over Thornton Academy... Blake McPherson's 20 points (6 3PM) and Creighty Dickson's 16 point, 13 rebound double-double got Windham back on track vs Edward Little... Marshal Adams poured in 23 in the Red Eddies' loss... Kevin Rugabirwa had 18 in a win over South Portland Saturday... Julissa McBarron submitted a 22 point performance as Sanford moved to 9-2 vs Massabesic... and Scarborough's boys beat TA 53-50 behind Liam Garriepy and Nate Glidden's contributions. ### Patriot Games URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/patriot-games/ Last updated: 2024-01-22T12:20:45.000Z In the Game of the Day, GNG used a 21-5 run to turn a 5 point deficit into an 11 point lead at the half. From there, it was the Aidan Hebert show. He scored 18 of his game-high 24 in the second half to give GNG a 71-57 win over York and move them into 3rd place in a top-heavy A South. Nate Hebert added 20\. But, if you look at the Tournament Odds, they are unlikely to stay there. The Model projects they move up to at least the 2-seed and potentially all the way to the top. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-21-at-9.25.06-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) As for York, the loss ends their quest for the 1 seed in B South. That's gone now. They could drop down into the 4/5 game, although that's a real worst-case scenario. They're now 64.6% to finish with the 3 seed. [Your Team's Tourney Outlook](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- Up at Maranacook, the Black Bears were hosting undefeated Mount Blue. Maranacook led early (Keagan McClure has 18), but Mount Blue slowly pulled away in the second half behind Evans Sterling's 29\. That 29 is an important number, as he's now 4 points away from 1,000\. My guess is he'll get there. Elsewhere... Kevin Rugabirwa led Portland with 18 in their win over SoPo...Poland's Damon Martin dropped 25 on Oak Hill. They were led by Eli Desmond's 26...Levi Laverdiere went off for 6 3s and 28 as Monmouth raced by NYA...Cape got 23 from Eli Smith to beat Leavitt by 4...Marshwood's Isabelle Tice had 22 as they blew out Noble...Oxford Hills' Ella Pelletier out-scored Windham 24-23...Izzy Morelli led GNG with 19 in a win over York...Dirigo out-lasted Boothbay in overtime. Aleiah Ward had 13 & 10, while Emily Woods added 15 and 8 steals. --- The Tourney Odds are updated and the playoff picture is slowly growing clearer. So far: 120 teams have essentially punched their ticket. 11 teams are out. 133 have some work to do. These punched tickets are not a mathematical clinch like you'd have in a system other than Heal Points. That would take an incredible amount of computing power to find every single remaining combination of results. How many possible combinations of results are there? A whole hell of a lot. We'll use GNG as an example. They're currently 11-1 and it finds this range of final records. There's some where GNG runs the table and there's a handful where they only win one more game, but it couldn't find any where they lose their last 6\. It could happen and that might be a scenario where they miss the tourney, but that's very, very unlikely. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-21-at-10.18.35-PM.png) Check out where your team is, what sort of seeding range you're looking, and who you might get in the tourney. [Tourney OddsWill your team make the tournament?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2023/01/tourney-odds-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- We have another coaching milestone, as Waynflete's Rich Henry racked up his 250th W. > With Friday's win over Poland Waynflete boys basketball coach Rich Henry earned his 250th win with the Flyers. Thanks for 20 years of service and dedication to Waynflete 🏀![#GoFlete](https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoFlete?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/NEqI3RohWm](https://t.co/NEqI3RohWm?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Waynflete Athletics (@waynfletesports) [January 20, 2024](https://twitter.com/waynfletesports/status/1748853404175139265?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Elsa Daulerio, a Mt. Ararat grad, had a nice game-winner for Bates. > What a buzzer-beater from Bates women's basketball's Elsa Daulerio to beat Tufts 62-60 Saturday at Alumni Gym! And what a pass by Alexandra Long! > > Bates is 4-0 in [@NESCAC](https://twitter.com/NESCAC?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) for the first time![@SportsCenter](https://twitter.com/SportsCenter?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), if this isn't [#SCTop10](https://twitter.com/hashtag/SCTop10?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) worthy, we don't know what is! [#d3plays](https://twitter.com/hashtag/d3plays?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#d3hoops](https://twitter.com/hashtag/d3hoops?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/O1UiwsFZCL](https://t.co/O1UiwsFZCL?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — BatesSports (@BatesSports) [January 20, 2024](https://twitter.com/BatesSports/status/1748835938997014566?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-17.png) We're starting to get a little bit of clarity in B North Boys, as Old Town has opened up a little bit of a lead in the Heal Points. They're 12-0 and you don't need me to tell you they'll likely be the 1 seed. They'll go to Ellsworth to face the Eagles, winners of 7 of their last 8\. But that 1 loss? You guessed it. Old Town, a 64-52 game on January 4th. They are in a packed, 3-way race for the 2 seed, with Caribou lurking. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-21-at-10.31.56-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Thanks to the Tourney Odds, we can see that Orono, despite being 2nd at the moment, probably won't stay there. Ellsworth, though, has a real shot at the 2 and, more importantly, staying out of that 4/5 game and Old Town's side of the bracket. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-21-at-10.32.40-PM.png) A win today would do a LOT for that goal. The Model likes their chances. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-21-at-10.45.10-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's predictions for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Sportsmanship URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/sportsmanship/ Last updated: 2024-01-20T17:46:26.000Z In the Game of the Day, with Jamier Rose and Chris Simonds both in foul trouble, Noble fell behind by 14\. They rallied, but two attempts from 3 in the final seconds didn't fall and Falmouth held on to the win to keep pace with Freeport at the top of A South. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-20-at-12.10.02-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) [Updated Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- In Portland, Deering raced out to a 23-5 start on Gorham, who was favored by 17\. The Rams responded, but Deering held on for the massive upset. Evan Legassey led Deering with 21\. Caden Smith had 21 for Gorham. > Take a look at the final 11.5 seconds of tonight’s thriller between [@DeeringProud](https://twitter.com/DeeringProud?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and [@gorhamrams](https://twitter.com/gorhamrams?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)! Deering held on for the 62-61 upset win! Evan Legassey had 21 to lead all scorers! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/TWcRHfpMxJ](https://t.co/TWcRHfpMxJ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [January 20, 2024](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1748534712203645436?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Camden and Brewer had a great game up in Brewer. > An instant classic on Friday as [@CamdenHillsBB](https://twitter.com/CamdenHillsBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) defeated [@BrewerWitches](https://twitter.com/BrewerWitches?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 72-71 in DOUBLE OT! Nolan Ames had 23 for the 'Jammers including the game-winning FTs with seconds remaining. Great stuff from all involved! [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/kQxxVwNnat](https://t.co/kQxxVwNnat?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/mINRQmvn5j](https://t.co/mINRQmvn5j?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan Sudol (@RyanSudolWVII) [January 20, 2024](https://twitter.com/RyanSudolWVII/status/1748561572623008198?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Big night for Maddie Fitzpatrick, as she got her 1,000th point. > Cheverus tops Thornton Academy 62-44 in girls basketball action tonight at Linnell Gymnasium. Maddie Fitzpatrick scores 30 points for the Stags, including her 1000th career point. > > Hoops for Hope was a big winner tonight with $19,000 raised by TA basketball community. > > — Gary Stevens (@GarySteTAAD) [January 20, 2024](https://twitter.com/GarySteTAAD/status/1748544921831961001?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I broke out the [LIVE stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live/) for a regular season game at Lincoln Academy. > I’m at Lincoln Academy where the Eagles are hosting Winslow > > Lincoln is favored by 9 > > And oh yeah: LIVE STATS[https://t.co/XTCl4GIlil](https://t.co/XTCl4GIlil?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/KpmtVlAsy4](https://t.co/KpmtVlAsy4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [January 19, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1748483533520196020?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'll probably keep doing these at regular season games the rest of the way (assuming an internet connection). I do them for the tourney and people seem to enjoy them. What would be awesome would be to have someone at each venue doing them during Tourney Week, but that would require some sort of presenting sponsor. Just throwing that out there! Elsewhere... Dylan Capano had 29 & 10 and Silas Nielsen had a triple-double (14/11r/11b) as Sacopee Valley beat Traip...Temple beat Wiscasset. Peyton Reckards had 15 points and 25 boards...Marshall Adams' 23 wasn't enough for Edward Little as they fell to Windham. Blake McPhereson scored 20 points on 6 3s and Creighty Dickson had 16 & 13 for Windham...Medomak Valley raced out to a 24-4 lead against Leavitt. Gabe Lash led the Panthers with 23...NYA's Nate Oney dropped 34 on OOB, but Trot Moody's 25 for the Beach won the day....Wyatt Benoit's 24 wasn't enough for TA...Biddeford used a 23-6 run and held on to beat Portland by 1\. Baleria Yugu had 22 for the Bulldogs...Abby Haines had 22 for Central Aroostook...Bella Smith's 20 led Freeport against Lake Region...Arianna Bardeen had 22 and Savannah Lorenz had 14, including the winning free throw with 1.3 seconds left as Mount View beat MCI...Athena Gee had 22 on 6 3s in NYA's win over OOB...Old Town raced to a 16-0ver MDI...Gorham's Ellie Gay had 24 in the win over Scarborough...Lauren McNutt-Girouard had 17 of Waynflete's 39 as they beat Poland. --- Word came down last night that T.J. Maines was back on the sideline. > Live look at TJ Maines coming back to fill in for Cony Coach Braithwaite (injured)[#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/JfUn38a3wj](https://t.co/JfUn38a3wj?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [January 19, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1748484758005276748?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Braithwaite was recovering from surgery and should be back on the sideline soon. Despite Maines' return, Mount Blue wouldn't be denied. Sterling Evans had 32 as they won their 11th straight. --- Let's talk more about the Oceanside thing, I guess. The Bangor Daily News has a summary. [Oceanside boys basketball coach told to make games ‘more contested’ after lopsided winsDespite Oceanside coach Larry Reed’s efforts to curtail his team’s high scoring, the boys have churned out lopsided victories.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsSam Canfield![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/01/ocenaside-orono-class-b-basketball-2.jpeg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/01/19/sports/high-school-basketball/oceanside-boys-lopsided-wins-mpa/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And Dave Dyer wrote a really good piece. [Boys’ basketball: High-scoring Oceanside vows to ‘ease off the throttle’ in light of complaintsCoach Larry Reed says the school was contacted by the Maine Principals’ Association after his team defeated winless Belfast by 88 points.![](https://www.centralmaine.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Kennebec Journal and Morning SentinelDave DyerKennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel![](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/37942992_20240119_Oceanside_02.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2024/01/19/boys-basketball-high-scoring-oceanside-vows-to-ease-off-the-throttle-in-light-of-complaints/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I've spent way too much time on this thing that should never have been a story. But it is, because it's easy to run with a rumor and get the clicks. The early reporting was an incredibly irresponsible overstatement of the situation, which put a lot of people in a bad spot, especially the kids in the Oceanside and Belfast programs, who have done nothing wrong. > Erskine Academy 71, Belfast 38\. For what it’s worth, Belfast kids played tremendously hard throughout after a tough day for them. Says a lot about them [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Matt Barry (@MrMattyBarry) [January 20, 2024](https://twitter.com/MrMattyBarry/status/1748526921309208780?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The later reporting, by journalists, has been fantastic, but the damage had already been done. Having talked to too many people, I'm 99.9% sure of what actually happened and what I will say is that an outlet jumped the gun and blew up everyone's day. That's the issue here. There was a conversation with the MPA about sportsmanship and the expectations involved, sure. And the MPA Handbook allows for a team to be banned from postseason play for sportsmanship reasons, sure. But that's in there in case some team is starting fights in the parking lot. Not because you're getting too many layups. This is the sort of behind-the-scenes stuff that happens on a somewhat regular basis and is usually dealt with quietly. The media attention has blown it up and created a situation where Oceanside is hesitant to play the style they usually play (because who needs more of this nonsense in their life?). Last night at Morse they got to 96 points and then stalled the rest of the way, prompting the Morse faithful to boo the stall, because if there's a program that understands what it's like to have a dominant offense, it's Morse. Apparently I am on the MPA payroll AND biased in favor of Oceanside. Fun day! If we want to take something positive out of this fiasco, it should be that scheduling needs a lot of work. And if you get relegated to Class C, go to Class C. --- Lawrence raised $1500 for cancer research. > Tonight in Fairfield the together the Lawrence and Nokomis girls basketball teams, along with our boosters raised $1500 to donate to cancer research. A great example of kids working for a greater cause. Fantastic work by both of the teams!!! [pic.twitter.com/KozMtGyy7h](https://t.co/KozMtGyy7h?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — AthleticsLHSME (@athleticslhs3) [January 20, 2024](https://twitter.com/athleticslhs3/status/1748512762391585063?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-16.png) We're headed to GNG, where the Patriots are 10-1, but sitting in 4th place in the Heal Points. Prior to Falmouth's win last night, they actually projected as the 1 seed 35% of the time. That number will definitely go down when I run it again, but a win over York would be huge for their seeding. York, on the other hand, is currently third in B South, with a big gap between them and Lincoln Academy at 4\. If they want any shot at the 1 seed, this is a must-win, otherwise, they'll be looking at either the 2 or the 3\. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-20-at-11.48.39-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of the Model's picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 29 Points URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/29-points/ Last updated: 2024-01-19T18:49:33.000Z Let's start in the County, with a rematch of the legendary 10-9 game from earlier this year. Oh, you don't remember the 10-9 game? Let me refresh your memory. [10-9A softball score on a warm day in December.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2023/12/121623-3.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/10-9/) 10-9 was not an aberation. Nor was it a case of stalling. It was just a hard-fought basketball game between two evenly matched teams with plenty of room for improvement. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-18-at-7.06.25-PM-1.png) You would expect scoring to be at a premium. The Model's pick for this one was Van Buren by 4.2, which is a bold pick. 4 points is a LOT in a game with this little scoring. Let's go to Van Buren, where [WHOU has only sent a camera](https://www.whou.live/videos/madawaska-at-van-buren-vg-vb-basketball-1-18-24?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and maybe not the best one they have. In the first half, both teams came out firing, with Van Buren taking a 17-12 lead back into the locker room. If you're coming from, say, an Oceanside game, that might not seem like much, but when your best scoring night on the year is 26 (Van Buren) and 15 (Madawaska), 17-12 is a high-scoring game. If you recall the game in December, Madawaska led 10-2 at the half and then held on to win despite getting shut out in the 2nd half. I had never seen that before. After 3, Van Buren had stretched that lead to 23-15\. But Madawaska rallied. They put together a 10-3 run(?) over the course of the 4th quarter to pull within 1, 26-25 with 25 seconds left. In this situation, fouling is a solid strategy, but Van Buren made their free throws. They win the re-match 29-25 (hey, 4 points!) to win their first game of the season. These two teams will meet for a third time on February 7th in Madawaska. --- Big Time Hoops is reporting that the MPA told the Oceanside boys to stop blowing people out with a threat of a postseason ban. I was looking into this story yesterday (this stuff always gets to me) and decided not to publish it without any further information. They do not appear to have any further information. They appear to have less. I'm going to hold off on saying any more about it until I know more. What I do know is that Oceanside is outscoring their opponents by 42.18 points a game, which is the highest in the state by a staggering 0.4 points a game. I haven't heard any reports of the Penobscot Valley girls getting the same warning. I also haven't heard of any warnings to the Wisdom girls last year, who outscored their opponents by over 44 points a game. Or to the Southern Aroostook girls. Or anyone, for that matter. I can also tell you tonight's Oceanside/Morse game will stream here: [Oceanside @ Morse](https://www.youtube.com/@TheHuxSports/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We've got yet another 1K scorer. > CONGRATULATIONS MADELYNN DEPREY ON SCORING 1000 POINTS! GO MADELYNN! 15th VIKING to accomplish this feat! [#hardwork](https://twitter.com/hashtag/hardwork?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#dedication](https://twitter.com/hashtag/dedication?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#VIKINGS](https://twitter.com/hashtag/VIKINGS?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/5o29XXxRBk](https://t.co/5o29XXxRBk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Caribou High School Athletics (@CHSGoVikings) [January 19, 2024](https://twitter.com/CHSGoVikings/status/1748136422618308769?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Deprey is a junior and the latest Caribou Deprey to reach the milestone. > Madelynn Deprey reaches 1000 in style [pic.twitter.com/T9VaN5F5GZ](https://t.co/T9VaN5F5GZ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ricky Goupille (@rgoup\_2) [January 19, 2024](https://twitter.com/rgoup%5F2/status/1748147599608070555?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Getting to 1,ooo points as a junior can go a long way toward your Mr./Miss Basketball case, which is an awkward segue into this next section. I wanted to know the state of the Mr. Basketball race (Miss Basketball will almost definitely be Maddie Fitzpatrick of Cheverus.) So I asked 22 people from around the state--a collection of Media, Coaches, and ADs--to get an idea of where we are. All of the ballots are anonymous and I didn't include a coach or AD from a school with a top candidate. I asked each of them to rank their top 5 and in the end, 16 different players received a vote. No one was on every ballot. Remember that Mr. Basketball is a career award. First, this was my ballot. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-18-at-11.16.27-PM.png) My thinking was Mercier might be ahead at the moment, but Galley will probably get Oceanside to at least the Regional Final and score over 100 points in the process and that'll look pretty, pretty good to the voters. And we all know that points scored in Portland are worth more than points scored in Bangor. Here's the results (first place votes in parenthesis): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-19-at-1.49.20-PM.png) It's close! --- > Tonight is the annual Hoops for Hope fundraiser and double header basketball game. We hope to see you at Linnell Gym! [pic.twitter.com/BilNnNdcop](https://t.co/BilNnNdcop?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Thornton Academy Athletics (@TATrojanSports) [January 19, 2024](https://twitter.com/TATrojanSports/status/1748329855693869217?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-15.png) Well this is a first. Noble, long the cellar-dweller of AA, is in the Game of the Day. Last year, they started their up-swing, but not enough to avoid relegation, so they're down in A South, where their improvement continues. They've got the highest scoring team in the region and are second in the Heal Points. They head to Falmouth. The defending regional champs are humming along, like always. They're 2nd in scoring despite playing one of the hardest schedules in the region. Can Noble make a statement in their new region? Can Falmouth widen their lead in the Heal Points? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-19-at-11.45.06-AM.png) The Model's predictions for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 126 Points URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/126-points/ Last updated: 2024-01-18T15:45:02.000Z In the Game of the Day, the Ellsworth girls [used a 21-9 third quarter](https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/sports/lockdown-defense-timely-shooting-fuel-ellsworth-girls-past-old-town/article%5Fa7931094-b5a2-11ee-b622-1bd35cff5295.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) to turn a 1-point game into a rout, as the Eagles beat Old Town by 19\. Ellsworth entered the game with an 86% chance to get the 1 seed, so it's safe to say that's settled. There's a chance Caribou can catch Old Town for the 2 seed, but it's unlikely. --- So. Last night in Rockland. > Game 2 Final Oceanside Boys 126, Belfast 38\. Carter Galley 35, Cohen Galley 25, Zeb Foster 21 & Zac Woodman 21 for OHS.(11-0) Eli Veillieux with 17 for Belfast (0-11) > > — Don Shields (@DonShieldsMaine) [January 18, 2024](https://twitter.com/DonShieldsMaine/status/1747786885379055842?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Right. I'll start with this: in case you didn't know, I'm a Medomak Valley guy. Grew up in the program. Spent my middle school years cheering for Josh Nash. My brother was the girls varsity coach until recently. So keep that in mind when I say: Oceanside did nothing wrong here. This Oceanside team is a relentless offensive machine. They're averaging 94.5 ppg for a reason. Only one team has held them under 75 points (Medomak Valley!) and they've gone over 100 four times. I know what you're thinking: against who? Well, this is actually the hardest schedule Oceanside has played since they were in A North. They hung 110 on Cony. They're legit. The problem isn't that Oceanside scored 126 on Belfast. The problem is that Belfast was on their schedule in the first place. I've seen both of these teams and if they played 100 times, Belfast *might* get within 40\. Maybe. The same goes for Belfast vs. Medomak. There's no point in these games. A ton of factors go into scheduling. From what I've been told, it sounds like the world's worst game of Tetris. So I don't have a solution. I just know this game shouldn't be on the schedule. Nor should the next one on the 30th. I'm not sure what people want Oceanside to do here. Leave the Galley twins home? They'd still blow them out. Have the JVs run a stall for the entire second half? That's way more insulting. They got the starters to their season averages and let the JVs play a bunch. That's exactly what they should do. --- There's a fun situation developing with Oceanside. Both Carter Galley and Bailey Breen are fast approaching the school record for points scored (Audrey Mackie, 1271). Entering last night, Carter Galley was 79 points from tying the record and Bailey Breen was 89 points away. The odds of two people being that close to the school record are...insane. Of course, Oceanside is a recent combination of Rockland and Georges Valley. Travis Magnusson holds the Georges Valley record with 2,159\. The Rockland record is less clear. According to Don Shields, Terry Kenniston is assumed to be the Rockland record holder, but no one is sure of the exact total. Bailey Breen had 37 last night against Belfast. Carter Galley had 35\. So that means Bailey needs 52 and Carter needs 44\. So Carter might get there first, but Bailey has a full season left, so unless she takes her talents to South Beach, she'll end up with the record. At their current averages, they likely both pass Mackie on the 23rd against Lincoln Academy. Unless one of them decides to go for it against Morse on Friday. The real question is whether or not she makes a run at Magnusson's number. What would we call that? The district record? I'm just speculating here, but I wouldn't be surprised if, after watching the Breen put up 35 in the girls game, they left Galley in long enough to keep pace. That's what I would do. --- Elsewhere... The Maranacook boys trailed by 2 at the half before they put their foot down. They beat Mountain Valley by 25\. Keagan McClure had 19 in the win....Harry Louis had 33 and Fisher Tewksbury added 29 & 10 as Valley doubled up Forest Hills...Waynflete used an 11-0 run to put away Hall-Dale...Nolan Brown had 20 for Wells in a win over Poland, who got a double-double from Spencer Carter (13/10r)...Dylan Capano's 25 & 10 led Sacopee Valley to a win over Pine Tree...Portland's Kevin Rugabirwa dropped 32 against Edward Little...Chris Simonds' 19 led Falmouth over Biddeford...Althea Thornton's 22 led Poland over Oak Hill...Izzy Morelli had 22 for GNG against Lake Region...Aubri Hoose added 24 for the Oceanside girls. --- > Junior Madeline Hill scored her 1,000th point tonight for Valley. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [January 17, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1747760951590375590?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Hill had 33 points as Valley crushed Forest Hills. --- Mackenzie Holmes had a huge game last night. > Mackenzie Holmes vs Minnesota: > > 32 PTS > 7 RBS > 2 AST > 2 STL > 2 BLK > 15-17 FG (88.2%) > > #16 Indiana gets the dub, 85-62![@IndianaWBB](https://twitter.com/IndianaWBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [@kenzieholmes\_](https://twitter.com/kenzieholmes%5F?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [#NCAAW](https://twitter.com/hashtag/NCAAW?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/P8CSZM7Ygw](https://t.co/P8CSZM7Ygw?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — I talk hoops 🏀 (@trendyhoopstars) [January 18, 2024](https://twitter.com/trendyhoopstars/status/1747815014524969355?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-14.png) The Game of the Day is supposed to be the MDI boys at Old Town, but we were just there, so I'm calling an audible. The Maranacook girls are in B North this year after a couple years in B South, but they aren't playing a B North schedule. They have 2 games against B North opponents, 1 against a Class A opponent, 4 in their old B South stomping grounds, 1 in D, and 10 against Class C. Go figure. So far, they're 3-2 against Class C. They host Winthrop tonight. The Ramblers are 6-2, but thanks to their, uh, light schedule (121st in the state), they're sitting in 10th in the Heal Points. They're a tricky team to get a read on. They nearly beat NYA, but got annihilated by Hall-Dale. They've only beat 1 team in the Top 100 (OOB). The [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) have them climbing to 6th, because the schedule is about to shift, starting tonight. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-18-at-10.26.05-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's predictions for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Pine Tree Travel URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/pine-tree-travel/ Last updated: 2024-01-17T12:49:47.000Z Believe it or not, we actually had a game yesterday. The Pine Tree boys were in Vinalhaven for one of the day/night doubleheaders on the island. They play at night. They sleep somewhere. And then they play the next morning with enough time to catch the ferry. So they were able to get a game in before the storm rolled through. And then they took an hour and fifteen minute ferry to Rockland before driving an hour and 45 minutes home. And by that point, I have to imagine the roads must have been getting pretty dicey. --- With the snow day, that gave me a chance to update the [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). It looks like we've got quite a bit of clarity in AA North boys. Ignore the bit where it says 99.9% instead of 100%. That's a dumb thing I have to fix where I told it to round down last year for reasons I can't remember. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-16-at-9.09.59-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Even with the loss to Gorham, Windham controls their destiny for the 1 seed. Portland has locked up the 3\. It's rare to see a team this locked this early. But it's not unprecedented. One year, the Greely girls (Anna DeWolfe version) were at 100% for the 1 seed on January 1st. (Spoiler: they were the 1 seed) [See Where Your Team Is](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- Thomas and Cole are back with another episode of the AA Round-Up. I'll just say that Thomas is Gorham's play-by-play guy, so he might have been a little excited about their win over Windham. --- This is kind of interesting. The Clippers' new stadium is going to have a wall of fans. > The LA Clippers have released rules for "The Wall" — the Intuit Dome's new section of 51 uninterrupted rows of fans. > > • Cannot cheer for opposing team > • Cannot wear opponent gear > • Tickets can only be resold in Clippers marketplace > > A season on "The Wall" ranges from $5K-$25K. [pic.twitter.com/7hQEfDizdo](https://t.co/7hQEfDizdo?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Front Office Sports (@FOS) [January 16, 2024](https://twitter.com/FOS/status/1747367357750628775?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I guess I have two questions: who shoots at this basket in the second half? And there are enough Clippers fans to fill this? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-13.png) We got to B North girls, where Ellsworth has pretty much locked up the 1 seed. Ellsworth is doing a great job of defending their title so far. After Hall-Dale got shut down by Spruce, they're now the highest scoring girls team in the state and also lead the state in scoring differential, which is usually Southern Aroostook's claim to fame. They've been dominant. They'll host an Old Town team that's got the inside edge on the 2 seed and could still get the 1 if they run the table (and get some help). They met already this year and Old Town gave Ellsworth their biggest test of the season, losing by 5 at home. Can they pull off the upset? [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-16-at-7.58.49-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's predictions for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Last of the AA Undefeated URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/last-of-the-aa-undefeated/ Last updated: 2024-01-16T16:02:34.000Z At halftime, the Game of the Day looked like it was living up to the billing. Undefeated Windham led Gorham by 1 and people were in my Twitter notifications telling me that Windham should obviously be #1 overall and that my math was flawed. And then Gorham responded. The Rams put together a 25-7 run to end Windham's perfect season in convincing fashion. And suddenly my Gorham pick doesn't look so dumb. Ashton Leclerc led Gorham with 27\. --- In a cross-class rivalry matchup, the Hall-Dale girls (the 2nd highest-scoring team in the state) had an 11 point lead with 6:52 to go in the 3rd. But then Spruce Mountain proved the old truism that you should never underestimate the heart of a \[regional\] champion. They closed on a 25-5 run to pick up the win. They're now sitting in 7th in B South, but coming into tonight, projected as the likely 3 seed. I can think of at least one high seed who would rather not see them in the quarterfinals. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-16-at-12.04.21-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- Up north, the Presque Isle boys trailed Bucksport 43-24 at the half. But they rallied, coming all the way back. Wyatt Young [hit the winning 3](https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxoRDWkHWSv1JKxJ3n1Fr2xOHjmdZ7PAEf?si=BGIh25siw1fufwVD&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) with 48 seconds to complete the comeback. PI had a chance to extend the lead at the line and missed both free throws, but Bucksport couldn't capitalize. Practice your free throws, kids. [Eastern Maine Sports was there](https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxoRDWkHWSv1JKxJ3n1Fr2xOHjmdZ7PAEf?si=BGIh25siw1fufwVD&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Elsewhere... Kory Donlin went for 31 & 10 and Mason Nguyen added 20 as Medomak Valley waxed Morse...the Medomak girls used a 31-point 2nd quarter to put the that game out of reach...Leo McNabb had 24 in Cheverus' win over Deering...Pierce Walston went for 23 as Orono handled Houlton...The Mattanawcook boys outlasted Dexter in 2OT...the Scarborough boys let a 23 point lead get down to 1 before putting SoPo away...St. Dom's Taylor Varney had 23 on 5 3's...GSA's Hallie Clifford's 19 led them past Woodland in a tight one...Carter Galley dropped 28 in 3 quarters on Spruce. Cohen Galley chipped in 21...Nyeerah Padgett put up 18 & 12 for SoPo against Scarborough...the Yarmouth girls erased most of a 21-9 disadvantage, but the shot at the buzzer missed and Biddeford held on by 1...Maddie Fitzpatrick dropped 31 on Greely...Melinda Worcester had 15 & 11 for Forest Hills...Reece MacDonald had 24 as York made short work of Traip...Terrell Edwards led Bonny Eagle with 23...Braiden Welch just missed a triple-double for Forest Hills. He finished with 17 points, 10 boards, and 9 assists...Rachel Penny's 7 3's and 23 led Edward Little. --- > Nothing classier than getting kicked out of a blowout JV girls game. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [January 15, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1746941923162497146?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Ok, so there's 2 sides to this: 1) don't get yourself thrown out of a blowout JV girls game. That's pretty obvious. 2) this was pretty soft. I was maybe 8 feet away, so I had a good view. The fan was providing some, uh, real-time feedback. There was no cursing, but he was standing out, partly because he was in the front row and the ref was right next to him. But he wasn't belligerent and there were a lot of angry fans, some of them related to me. I don't remember exactly what he said initially to get a warning from the ref, but he followed it up with "then do better", which got him tossed. It was kind of funny. It was also a blowout, so maybe he wanted an excuse to leave. It probably doesn't help that later in the game, the ref tried to award free throws after an offensive foul and it took several minutes to sort it out. I like to say that the NBA should adopt a replay rule where if a player gets a tech for arguing a call and they're right, they should take away the tech. Probably everyone could have done better. --- This is so cool. Oshae Brissett's grandmother cooked the post-game meal for the Celtics last night. > Guys I wrote about this in November but since it’s Oshae’s grandma here it is no paywall lol [https://t.co/6kihTMDxVR](https://t.co/6kihTMDxVR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/Tbl5CFCZoL](https://t.co/Tbl5CFCZoL?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) [January 16, 2024](https://twitter.com/AdamHimmelsbach/status/1747111661838700776?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- In running news: > Teanne Ewings of Houlton goes sub 5 - fourth fastest in history now [pic.twitter.com/RI18t59Wxp](https://t.co/RI18t59Wxp?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — MaineTrackXC (@MaineTrackXC) [January 15, 2024](https://twitter.com/MaineTrackXC/status/1746970276657508600?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- There's definitely going to be some postponements today, so if you know one, put it in the "PPD?" column on the Scoreboard. It's a big help, not just for me, but people who might try to go to the game. [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) And if I get word that a game is actually happening, I'll put "ON" in there and it'll turn the game green. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-12.png) I'm going to skip the Game of the Day today because, it very likely isn't happening anyway. But, just in case... The Model's predictions for the rest of tonight's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Nachos URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/nachos/ Last updated: 2024-01-15T13:00:13.000Z Saturday was a very light schedule. In the Game of the Day, Spruce Mountain took care of Dirigo to move to 8-2\. The win gets them to 5th place in B South. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-14-at-10.23.37-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) [Updated Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) They're very likely going to play Lincoln Academy in the 4/5 quarterfinal, unless Yarmouth can run the table. Elsewhere... Brody Little had a season-high 19 for Hodgdon as they blew out East Grand 93-28\. Aaron Fortier had 20 of East Grand's 28...Harry Louis' double-double (25/15r) and Fisher Tewksbury's 24 led Valley over Piscataquis...Hodgdon's Anna Oliver dropped 26 on East Grand...the Yarmouth girls used a 24-2 run to finish off Cape...Jackson Libby had 21 and Jacob Bardsley added 20 in Lake Region's win over Poland...Tanner Henry had 23 for Mountain Valley as they beat Winthrop... I went to the Medomak/Belfast game Saturday night. Not the best matchup, but it was the only one within the range of miles I felt like driving. According to Don Shields, Belfast entered the game 2-51 all-time against the Panthers and had not won in Waldoboro in my lifetime (the 1971-72 season, to be precise). Would this be the night they finally broke through? Nope. Medomak was up 15-0 in the first 2 minutes. I believe Gabe Lash had 3 steals in the first 4 possessions. It was 26-0 before Belfast scored. > Nachos! > > 48-9 in the 2nd. [pic.twitter.com/TZxE7GvVCv](https://t.co/TZxE7GvVCv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [January 13, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1746313998633734454?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Kristian Schumann led the Panthers with 21\. These teams have to play again but why bother? Belfast still has 2 games against Oceanside. Carter Galley might go for 100 all by himself. After the nachos are gone and the JVs are getting their varsity minutes, one wonders if it'd be possible to flex games out of the schedule? It's one thing to schedule the games you have to schedule, but in a situation like this (and there are a lot of situations like this around the state), what if you could find better matchups, both for the good team to get a test and for the not-good team to play someone closer to their level. It's probably far too complicated. --- We're on the back half of the season, so it's officially scoreboard watching season. And the [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) are your best resource. There's a number of teams who already know their (very likely) seed and there's a handful of teams who already have an idea who they're playing in the first round. And then there's C North girls. They're really going to need this. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-14-at-6.46.29-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) This take a while to update (it's a really big file), so it usually gets updated in the afternoon. [Check Out Your Team's Chances](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- To the surprise of no one, Noah Carpenter is your Fitzpatrick winner. [Leavitt quarterback Noah Carpenter wins 52nd Fitzpatrick TrophyThe honor goes annually to the top senior in Maine high school football.![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldSteve CraigPress Herald![](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/37878861_20240114_FitzpatrickTrophy_0011.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/01/14/leavitt-area-high-quarterback-noah-carpenter-wins-52nd-fitzpatrick-trophy/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Cooper Flagg had another great outing at Hoophall. Greg Levinsky was there. > Cooper Flagg gets the loudest greeting of any player in Hoophall thus far. [pic.twitter.com/XvrSOyJvE3](https://t.co/XvrSOyJvE3?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Greg Levinsky 📰 🎙️ (@GregLevinsky) [January 15, 2024](https://twitter.com/GregLevinsky/status/1746691299204338074?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And Bleacher Report has a good summary. [Duke Commit Cooper Flagg Excites CBB Fans With 2024 Hoophall Classic Performance2024 No. 1 player Cooper Flagg and his No. 1 Montverde Academy Eagles have not had too many close games this season. However, a matchup against California’s…![](https://bleacherreport.com/img/favicon/appleTouchIcon.png)Bleacher ReportJack Murray![](https://media.bleacherreport.com/image/upload/c_fill,g_faces,w_3800,h_2000,q_95/v1705284845/l2bbxj5iqid01mna6ofm.jpg)](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10105090-duke-commit-cooper-flagg-excites-cbb-fans-with-2024-hoophall-classic-performance?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I can't tell you how much I love this. > Tony Brothers is top 3 😂 [pic.twitter.com/QclsmviTqr](https://t.co/QclsmviTqr?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ziggy (@ZiggyOfAk) [January 14, 2024](https://twitter.com/ZiggyOfAk/status/1746374055840665932?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And also this coaching rant (different game). > Mike Brown lights into the refereeing tonight in the Kings loss in Milwaukee. Brings out a laptop in his press conference to show film of the non-foul and foul that has him ticked off. Here is the five minute soundbite. [pic.twitter.com/Q8InpkFh8B](https://t.co/Q8InpkFh8B?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) [January 15, 2024](https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/1746732267110531476?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Also, if you're not familiar with this Twitter account, I highly recommend it. > The Red Kerchief, by Claude Monet, 1868 [pic.twitter.com/bxNWNeZoId](https://t.co/bxNWNeZoId?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) [January 14, 2024](https://twitter.com/ArtButSports/status/1746346354555654226?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We have a full schedule today and with a little planning, you could probably catch a game in the afternoon and in the evening. I believe the times on the Scoreboard are correct. I did a quick pass last night. [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) There's a lot of options! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-11.png) This is a pretty obvious choice. Windham is the last remaining undefeated boys team in AA. They've opened up a lead in AA North and project to get that top seed in 73.8% of [season simulations](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). They head to Gorham to take on the Rams, who have basically wrapped up the top seed in the south. They rebounded well from their [loss to Cheverus](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-aa-round-up-january-9th-2024/) the other day, easily getting by Deering. Gorham's [NFHS feed should have the stream](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/R5o3n7?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Could this be a Gold Ball preview? [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-14-at-8.51.41-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's predictions for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Hundo Watch URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/hundo-watch/ Last updated: 2024-01-13T17:11:43.000Z In the Game of the Day, Chris Simonds (21 points) and Falmouth survived a Thornton Academy rally to move to 8-2 on the year. They're in second place in A South. TA falls to 4-7\. They've lost 6 straight and there's not an easy win on their schedule until February 8th. Things could get worse before they get better. --- You won't find a more unlikely comeback than this. The Bucksport girls probably felt pretty good about their night. After 3 quarters, they led Sumner 21-9\. But then Sumner ripped off a 17-5 final quarter to force overtime. Bucksport would prevail in the extra period, but imagine a team essentially doubling the points they scored in the first three quarters in a comeback. --- Elsewhere... Bryce Guitard's 31 led Noble to a win over Biddeford. Travis Edgerton had 23 for the Tigers...Gavin Lunt's 26 wasn't enough for Lawrence against Camden. The Windjammers were led by Will Duke's 21...Ashton Leclerc hit 7 3's en route to 26 points. Caden Smith added 21 for Gorham...Caleb Murphy's go-ahead 3 in the final seconds gave Mt. Ararat a win over Greely...In the girls' game, Mt. Ararat raced out to a 25-0 lead and held Greely to 12 points...Kevin Rugabirwa's 20 led Portland to a win over Oxford Hills...Carter Blanche hit 5 3's and scored 22 points to lead Scarborough...Inyas Janoch had 26 for Ashland in a win over Van Buren...Morgan Fichthorn had 21 and Morgan Cunningham added 19 as Cony beat Skowhegan...Maddy Christman's free throw with 5 seconds left gave Falmouth a win in overtime. She finished with 18 points and 20 rebounds...Freeport's Maddie Cormier's 23 wasn't enough against Marshwood and Isabelle Tice's 17...Hodgdon's Megan Peters dropped 29 on Washburn...Lawrence's Maddie Provost went off for 37 against Camden...Bailey Breen also put up 37 for Oceanside against Lincoln Academy...Maddy Werner's 23 points and a 21-3 run fueled Brunswick's win over Westbrook. --- Here's Koral Morin's buzzer-beater for Lewiston. > BUZZER BEATER ALERT: [@LHSBlueDevils](https://twitter.com/LHSBlueDevils?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) senior Koral Morin calls game with a buzzer beating three pointer to lift the Blue Devils to a 46-43 win over Bangor! Definelty a lock for our top plays next week! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@bigtimehoopsME](https://twitter.com/bigtimehoopsME?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/rJlLB25LTH](https://t.co/rJlLB25LTH?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — WHOU.live (@WHOU\_Live) [January 13, 2024](https://twitter.com/WHOU%5FLive/status/1745987645136572914?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I went to the Lincoln Academy/Oceanside boys game last night because I like to see buckets and it's near my house. > I’m at [@LincAcad\_Ath](https://twitter.com/LincAcad%5FAth?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) as the Eagles host Oceanside. > > #1 offense in the state > > vs > > #9 offense in the state. > > First team to 100 wins. [pic.twitter.com/SAPOAFf7C7](https://t.co/SAPOAFf7C7?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [January 12, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1745951304940146858?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We very nearly got to 100\. Lincoln Academy started strong. Gabe Hagar had a big 1st quarter (he finished with 22) and the Eagles led early, but Carter Galley got Oceanside to a 4-point lead after 1\. I hadn't seen Oceanside in person since the state game, but it quickly becomes apparent just how relentless their offense is. You can survive it for stretches, but not forever. Coaches love to say that the team has to engage for the full 32 minutes, but against Oceanside you really have to. Because if you don't, they'll whip off a 12-0 run and ruin your night. The Mariners stretched their lead to 50-32 at the half. On pace for 100! But Lincoln wouldn't quit. They opened the second half with a 9-2 run. And then things got interesting. So to set the stage, I'm standing in the corner by the Oceanside bench (that's where the best view of the court and the scoreboard is) when someone runs up to me saying something about a medic. I am not a medic. I am bad with blood. But I look at the stands and there is clearly someone in distress. People start yelling for a medic and I add to it (I have no idea where the medic is. Again, I'm useless in this situation). Not to get into someone's medical issues, but it's a 911 situation and a lengthy delay (I'm told she's fine). > Timeout for a medical issue in the stands. > > Oceanside 68 > Lincoln 48 > > 1:46 3rd > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [January 13, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1745971187912519813?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'd been monitoring the Medomak/Mount View game via Mount View's stream and Mount View was up 6 in the 4th quarter. So with the delay, I'm watching the feed and suddenly I'm surrounded by Oceanside parents and players who are curious about how their rivals are doing. Some good, old-fashioned scoreboard watching. Do you remember even 5 years ago when we had no idea what was happening in other games? We'd often not find out who won for a couple of days. Meanwhile, Medomak had erased Mount View's lead and were up 2 with a couple seconds to play. This should take you to 1:48:41 for a wild finish. After that, we were on Hundo Watch. In the end, Oceanside got to 95 in a game that was pretty competitive, all things considered. For most of the game, it felt like if Hagar or Tucker Stiles got hot for Lincoln Academy, they could get back in the game. I guess what I'm saying is Oceanside put up 95 and at no point did it even remotely feel like they were running up the score. I guess that's the difference. When I was playing in the 90's, a 20-point deficit meant game over. But now? That might just mean you haven't caught fire yet. What's crazy is Oceanside got to 95 and they were the third highest scoring team on the night. The Valley boys put up 96 on Rangeley and Hampden dropped 98 on Gardiner. --- This is an awesome shot. > Belfast junior guard Ethan Abbott is the winner Friday Night Fast Break's "You Gotta See This" for Week 5! One of the better lay-ins you'll see this year as just catches Eli Veilleux's pass off the bounce and converts at full speed! [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/Y8QmFnGf9B](https://t.co/Y8QmFnGf9B?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/OYbnWEo553](https://t.co/OYbnWEo553?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan Sudol (@RyanSudolWVII) [January 13, 2024](https://twitter.com/RyanSudolWVII/status/1746041454600822894?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Cooper had a big day at Hoop Hall. > 20 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 blocks, 2 steals in just 22 minutes for Cooper Flagg in front of a big crowd of NBA executives at the [@HoophallClassic](https://twitter.com/HoophallClassic?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Ridiculous display of intensity, versatility and skill. Montverde up big on Oak Hill, so Flagg might be done for the night. [pic.twitter.com/dmKxbwW3fw](https://t.co/dmKxbwW3fw?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) [January 13, 2024](https://twitter.com/DraftExpress/status/1745984257195995637?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And the stellar reviews keep coming. > Flagg creates advantages at guard, wing or center. Best athlete on floor, special passer, elite defender, owning O-glass—and now he’s drilling 3s and hitting ISO stepbacks. Most complete 17-year-old prospect since who cares. Hard not to rave/say something about him every viewing. > > — Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) [January 13, 2024](https://twitter.com/NBADraftWass/status/1745977881791009194?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Is there a coach in the state that doesn't relate to this? > Another clip to add to my “trying desperately to call a timeout” highlight reel😅 [pic.twitter.com/p9oecnJVOX](https://t.co/p9oecnJVOX?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Coach Chevrier (@rileychevrier) [January 12, 2024](https://twitter.com/rileychevrier/status/1745823719300440537?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The scoreboard is up and there's a lot of postponements coming in, so check before you drive anywhere in this weather. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-13-at-11.57.25-AM.png) If you know of one, you can of course add it. You can also add a notable performance in the "Notable" column. [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-10.png) This was supposed to be Machias and Schenck and I wrote up a whole thing and then it got PPD'ed. So we'll head to Dirigo. They host the Spruce Mountain boys (maybe). Coming into last night's action, Dirigo had a wide spread in the [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). They could still get the 1 seed, but they could also fall all the way down to 13\. More likely, they look to be in the mix for the final bye, so Heal Points will be at a premium. One of the best opportunities on their remaining schedule is Spruce Mountain. The Phoenix are in their own Heal Point battle. They're 7-2 and sitting 5th in a 5-team logjam at the top of B South and they currently project to stay there, potentially looking at a rematch with Lincoln Academy. They've got a very slim chance at climbing to 3, but a bigger chance of falling to 6\. They don't want to fall to 6\. These profiles are pretty, pretty similar. The only real difference is Spruce has played more games. Should be a good one! [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-13-at-12.00.21-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### All's Wells URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/alls-wells-2/ Last updated: 2024-01-12T14:24:58.000Z The Game of the Day was something of a bust. The Wells girls used a 19-1 run to put away York, 51-31\. Megyn Mertens had 18 points and 12 boards in the win. The win moves Wells into 2nd place in B South, within striking distance of Oceanside, who will likely extend that lead when they play Lincoln Academy today. ![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GDm0WR6WMAA81WX?format=png&name=medium) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) In what was nearly the Game of the Day, the Ellsworth boys (8 point underdogs) held Pierce Walston to 5 points and Chance Mercier went for 23 in a convincing [62-49 win over Orono](https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/sports/mercier-palmer-spearhead-ellsworth-boys-to-big-win-over-defending-state-champ-orono/article%5F38394aa0-b0e4-11ee-9e22-8fb47896d833.html?utm%5Fcampaign=blox&utm%5Fsource=facebook&utm%5Fmedium=social&fbclid=IwAR06hGAbDFrT72CF90y7uadTrRHsiwXULoA8HU6IqoNV4Fae%5FBmr6WJiy2Q%5Faem%5FAZ362FftWagmJcWi90n%5FcuFDQPL3YCVkrKLcUxOiQjeX88s93Mi725b4EQy5XuAfaro). After starting the year 8-0, the defending champs have lost 3 straight. They've got a couple of days off before they have to right this ship on the 16th at Houlton. --- In overtime against Lake Region, Waynflete's Nico Kirby's called game. > [pic.twitter.com/ohgm7YTeDA](https://t.co/ohgm7YTeDA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Waynflete Athletics (@waynfletesports) [January 12, 2024](https://twitter.com/waynfletesports/status/1745744967534829996?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) He had 32\. Lake Region's Jackson Libby had 26 in the losing effort. Elsewhere... The Presque Isle boys had 4 players in double figures in a win against Houlton. Isaiah Ervin scored 20 in the loss...The Evans Sterling experience continued in Brewer. He had 20 and Mount Blue stayed undefeated...Fort Fairfield's Ethan Willard dropped 26 on Easton...Old Town outscored Hermon 32-16 in the second half to pull out a 3-point win...NYA's Nate Oney dropped 23 on Traip...Dylan Capano had 21 and 13 boards for OOB...Chance Mercier's 23 led Ellsworth to a win over Orono, who has suddenly lost 3 straight...Cape got 29 from Alex Van Huystee and 28 from Eli Smith in a win over Poland. Anthony Warren had 22 in the loss...Parker Sergent had 27 as Cony beat Skowhegan. Suddenly, they're on a little bit of a roll. After starting 1-6, they've won 2 in a row. No word on if they wore the lucky warm-up shirts...Evan Hamm's 24 helped fuel a Yarmouth rally down 15 against Spruce Mountain...Derek Parsons and Reece MacDonald each hit 5 3's and Lukas Bouchard went for 12 & 12 in York's win over Wells...Maddie Fitzpatrick had 21 with 7 assists in Cheverus' win over Edward Little...Athena Gee went for 21 and Grace Bila put up 15 points and 12 steals as NYA coasted...OOB's Emma Boulanger just missed a 20/20 double-double with 19 & 20 in a win over Sacopee Valley. --- We had two 1,000-point scorers last night. First up, Monmouth. > Monmouth's Sammy Calder just scored his 1,000th point![@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [January 12, 2024](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/1745606964896268617?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There was also a flop technical in this game. --- And then in the County. > Abbie Haines of CAHS scored the 1,000 point of her career this evening. She ended with 28 points against Madawaska. > > — Rene Cloukey (@CloukeyRene) [January 12, 2024](https://twitter.com/CloukeyRene/status/1745597446141378990?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you go to Central Aroostook's Facebook page, you can see the best "[my daughter is scoring her 1,000th point tonight shirt.](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057653131666)" --- The new center court logo at the Cross is a hit on social media. > I can’t get over how perfect this logo is.[pic.twitter.com/ARQ6HFeqz2](https://t.co/ARQ6HFeqz2?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Mid-Major Madness (@mid\_madness) [January 11, 2024](https://twitter.com/mid%5Fmadness/status/1745588811592094148?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) One account joked that Paul Bunyan was going to be Cooper Flagg until he signed with Duke. --- The big news, of course, was the Belichick decision. The end of an era, for sure. I, for one, always enjoyed Belichick's interactions with the media. There's a kind of high-level performance art to it, like he's channeling an Andy Kaufman character. So this video was a delight. > I've been asked many times if the Patriots ever told me to "chill" with my questions to Belichick. Never happened once. Bill was always willing to play ball. I have never had more fun as a professional than covering his press conferences. [pic.twitter.com/XrPMivEo27](https://t.co/XrPMivEo27?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Mark Dondero (@MarkDondero) [January 11, 2024](https://twitter.com/MarkDondero/status/1745556756036510014?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-9.png) After starting the year 3-0, Thornton Academy has dropped 6 of their last 7 against a pretty rough schedule. 4 of those losses have come against teams in the top 10\. They've played the 4th hardest schedule in the state so far. There's a pretty big logjam in AA South between 3 and 6 and the top 2 seeds have separated themselves, so it looks like we might be playing the matchup game the rest of the way. They'll host Falmouth, currently in 3rd place in A South. If the Navigators are going to keep pace with Freeport and GNG, they're going to need these Heal Points. Plus, there's a new sideline camera. > TONIGHT it’s a pivotal cross-class boys’ hoops matchup, as Thornton Academy takes on Falmouth, one of the top teams in Class A. Watch live, 7:30 on TATV! [@TATrojanSports](https://twitter.com/TATrojanSports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FalmouthAD](https://twitter.com/FalmouthAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > Also, it’s the season debut of the sideline camera 💪[https://t.co/jLHxKteuP0](https://t.co/jLHxKteuP0?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Cole Purvis (@Cole\_Purvis) [January 12, 2024](https://twitter.com/Cole%5FPurvis/status/1745810881349660809?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-12-at-1.19.33-AM.png) _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 4 Games URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/4-games/ Last updated: 2024-01-11T13:22:59.000Z It was a really light slate of games last night. Only 4 games tipped off (plus that great Celtics win), thanks to a small schedule and a bunch of postponements. In the Game of the Day, the Lawrence girls found themselves down 14-5 in the first quarter to Hampden, but the defending champs fought back. They got within 1 at the half and then used a big 3rd quarter to break the game open, coasting to a 12-point win. Lawrence moves to 9-0 and finally into first place in A North. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-10-at-10.53.50-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) [Updated Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) In Jay, Spruce Mountain bounced back on the second night of a back-to-back with a 9-point win over Cony. Avery Bessey's 12 points led 4 Phoenix in double figures. --- We're still looking for scores from a couple of schools (*cough* Deer Isle *cough*) that are very bad at reporting scores. So I want to encourage you to put scores in the scoreboard and ask you to tell the people you know at other schools to get it together. Also, some of these schools are in AA, so don't assume it's a class D problem, because I promise you it is not. ALSO: tell your friends about this site. We could use more subscribers and every subscriber further justifies the amount of time I spend looking for scores on random Facebook pages or YouTube streams that may or may not be working. It's...a lot --- Thomas Curtis is back with a look at the 3 big AA games from earlier this week, including his beloved Gorham losing to Cheverus. [The AA Round-Up: January 9th, 2024Gorham falls to Cheverus![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsThomas Curtis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2024/01/11024-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-aa-round-up-january-9th-2024/) --- It's really easy to get caught up in the players, but if you go to games at the same school enough times, you get a sense of the other people there. Maybe it's the concession volunteers or the guy taking tickets or the cops making sure nothing goes wrong or the PA announcer. They're all essential, like Edward Little's Bim Gibson, who just did his 500th game. [Bim Gibson celebrates 500th game announcing Red Eddies basketballLongtime Edward Little High School sports announcer Bim Gibson celebrated his 500th game Tuesday night when the Red Eddies faced Scarborough High School. Even though he’ll be retiring as a teacher in the spring, he plans on extending his 25-year tenure as announcer for the foreseeable future.![](https://www.sunjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/12/icon-apple-touch-sm.jpg)Lewiston Sun JournalJoe CharpentierSun Journal![](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/37885233_SJ.CITbimgibson.011024-4.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.sunjournal.com/2024/01/09/bim-gibson-celebrates-500th-game-announcing-red-eddies-basketball/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I know a lot of people don't like Joe Mazzulla (I've got money on him as Coach of the Year at +750), but this is some great trolling/not getting fined for criticizing the officials. After the last 2 minute report of a controversial loss tried to tell people it was ok to hit people in the head, he responded with this: > Incredible Joe Mazzulla moment just now. > > He ended his press conference today like this: “Before I forget, no one’s ever asked me what my favorite scene from The Town was. I know you guys all know that’s my favorite movie but no one’s ever been curious about what my favorite… [pic.twitter.com/3Qbe3CpTEx](https://t.co/3Qbe3CpTEx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jay King (@ByJayKing) [January 10, 2024](https://twitter.com/ByJayKing/status/1745212268269220087?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) A+. No notes. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-8.png) We're heading to B South girls, where Wells hosts York. Wells is 7-3, coming off a loss at Fryeburg. In yesterday's Tourney Odds (prior to Spruce's win), Wells projected as the 4 seed in B South, just ahead of York, so there's a strong likelihood this is a preview of a quarterfinal matchup at the Expo. But they'll also play again, so hopefully one of them moves off these seeds. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-10-at-11.39.26-PM.png) The Model's predictions for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The AA Round-Up: January 9th, 2024 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-aa-round-up-january-9th-2024/ Last updated: 2024-01-11T01:58:36.000Z One unbeaten remains. **Boys: Cheverus 51, Gorham 37** The Rams' (8-1) first game away from Gorham since December 18th started off about as badly as you could think, with only 2 points at the end of one quarter. They didn't make a shot from the field in the first, Ashton Leclerc's two free throws late in the period were the only time they connected with the bottom of the net. Sammy Nzeyimana and Shema Rwaganje led a stifling Cheverus (9-2) defense that forced bad shots and a season low 4 made threes for the visiting Rams. Leo McNabb paced the Stags and all scorers with 19 points. Caden Smith led Gorham with 16\. **Windham 59, Falmouth 41** Windham (9-0) is the only remaining undefeated squad in all of AA. They've beat Cheverus and Portland, the two teams below them in the North, got past Scarborough (#2 in AA South), and pulled away from Falmouth (#2 in A South, 7-2) last night. Blake McPherson continued his hot streak, leading the Eagles with 19 points. Tyrie James added 10. Windham held Chris Simonds to only 12 points. They've shut me up all season after I questioned in the preseason how they would handle bigs around the state without a true Center on their roster. **Portland 58, Deering 51** Drew Veilleaux's 15 points (3 3PM) helped lead Portland (7-2) past the Evan Legassey-less Deering Rams (4-6). The Bulldogs had 4 players in double figures, including 13 and 12 from Kevin Rugabirwa and Cordell Jones, respectively. Once again, the Rams play a AA powerhouse tough but fall just short. They're a +4 on the season despite their record. It just feels like they're one year away. --- Elsewhere... Spencer Booth dominated Edward Little on his way to 21 points... Noble beat TA 80-74... South Portland made it 2 wins in a row vs Sanford... and that's it for what was a light schedule on a rainy/snowy Tuesday evening. --- Edward Little's Bim Gibson celebrated his 500th game on the mic last night. They got him a commemorative basketball for the occasion, which I think is a really nice gesture. > Congratulations to Bim Gibson "Voice of the Red Eddies" EL Varsity Coach Mike Adams along with Captains Eli St Laurent and Marshal Adams present Bim with the Game Ball to celebrate his 500th Varsity Basketball game behind the mic! [pic.twitter.com/VIOZTq9bKm](https://t.co/VIOZTq9bKm?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — ELHS RED EDDIES (@ELHSEDDIES) [January 10, 2024](https://twitter.com/ELHSEDDIES/status/1744897850792919464?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ### OT in OT URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ot-in-ot/ Last updated: 2024-01-10T17:45:43.000Z We're late today because I just got power back, so let's get at it. A lot of people in my notifications thought the Game of the Day should have been Cheverus and Gorham. After all, it was a big AA game between the top 2 teams in the rankings, but the Model sees things, sometimes. Cheverus led by 13 at the half, holding the 9th highest-scoring offense in the state to 11, and held on for a 51-37 win to end Gorham's quest for a perfect season. Ok, so the Model had Gorham winning by 10\. You win some, you lose some. Let's go to the actual Game of the Day: #3 Orono visiting #4 Old Town. The Model had Old Town favored by 1.2 points. > The [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) game of the day sure delivered! Here is a video recap of the end of regulation and overtime between [@othscoyotes](https://twitter.com/othscoyotes?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and [@OronoHighSchool](https://twitter.com/OronoHighSchool?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/s1PDTJoxRy](https://t.co/s1PDTJoxRy?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — WHOU.live (@WHOU\_Live) [January 10, 2024](https://twitter.com/WHOU%5FLive/status/1745084069937897921?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's 2 losses in a row for the defending champs and all of a sudden, Old Town has built themselves something of a cushion in B North. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-09-at-11.35.17-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) [Updated Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- We had a buzzer-beater in Brewer. We head to the 4th quarter, where Brewer (4-4) trails Bangor (7-1) by 1\. If you're wondering, Bangor is favored by a little more than 10\. > 💰 [pic.twitter.com/6mznHybdES](https://t.co/6mznHybdES?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Brewer Witches (@BrewerWitches) [January 10, 2024](https://twitter.com/BrewerWitches/status/1745109672439214262?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's Gabby Roberts with the winner. --- In Thomaston, the Oceanside boys put up a Leavitt football score on the Hornets. But in the first quarter. > [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Six touchdowns and some 2 point conversions for Oceanside. Just a single TD for Leavitt. [pic.twitter.com/WUFTmpLcBt](https://t.co/WUFTmpLcBt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Murf (@MaineMurf) [January 9, 2024](https://twitter.com/MaineMurf/status/1744851835184095400?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Oceanside would put up 72 and the half and 102 after 3 quarters. They finished with 113--that's their 3rd 100 point outburst this year and they're *averaging* 92.6 ppg. That's 14.8 more than anyone in the state (Hall-Dale girls, 77.8). The Mariners had 3 different players score 20 points, including Cohen Galley (28) and Carter Galley (26). Now we wait for the next Leavitt/Oceanside football game. --- Elsewhere... The Valley girls are now 10-0 on the year...Julianna Allen had 22 as Mt. Ararat cruised by Westbrook...The Lake Region girls were surprisingly favored by 3, but backed it up by beating Spruce Mountain by 11 at home...Bailey Breen had 32 for Oceanside...Erskine's Kelsie Dunn hit 7 3's and scored 30 points, but lost a duel to Lincoln Academy's Mariam Delisle (28)...Jenny Chaput's 25 wasn't enough for Edward Little as they fell to Scarborough...Paige Sevigny scored 21 to lead Sanford by Greely...Maddie Fitzpatrick dropped 36 on Lewiston...Bryce Guitard had 33 and Jamier Rose added 31 for Noble...Arianna Bradeen's 27 led Mt. View...Lauren McNutt Girouard had 23 for Waynflete, but it wasn't enough as they lost to NYA...Evans Sterling had 25 for Mt. Blue as they stayed unbeaten...Hermon out-lasted Washington Academy in double overtime and word on the street is there was some drama after the final horn...Spencer Booth's 21 & 12 led Scarborough against EL, who were led by Diing Maine's 19 & 12...Travis Edgerton had 22 in Biddeford's win over Massabesic...Spencer Carter's 13 points, 10 boards, and 7 assists got Wells over Fryeburg...Gabe Hagar dropped 30 & 11 on Erskine...Austin Armandi led the Spruce boys with 21 against Lake...Will Duke had 23 and Nolan Ames added 20 for Camden...Ethan Daigle's 27 paced Fort Kent...Nate Hebert had 31 and John Patenaude had 28 in GNG's win over Yarmouth. --- We had 2 1,000 point scorers last night. > Lily Oliver of Fort Kent scored her 1000th career point this evening when the Warriors stopped Easton. Oliver reached the milestone in the first half of the Warriors victory over Easton. [pic.twitter.com/dqPm1ufvxD](https://t.co/dqPm1ufvxD?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rene Cloukey (@CloukeyRene) [January 10, 2024](https://twitter.com/CloukeyRene/status/1744886761061298646?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I always say, if you're going for your 1,000th point, make sure you get there. Hampden's Zach McLaughlin needed 8 (or 10) points to reach 1,000 on his storied career. He went off for 38\. > It was a big night in Hampden for the Broncos! The boys took down Skowhegan, avenging a previous loss, and Zach McLaughlin poured in 38 points including the 1,000th of his career! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/TwQVsv7dce](https://t.co/TwQVsv7dce?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [January 10, 2024](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1744933613924176318?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I added a column to the Scoreboard called "Notable". This is mostly for me to take notes for the newsletter, but if you want to add that a kid scored x points or had a double-double or whatever, go nuts. This is a good way to highlight the kids on your team in the newsletter. I'm usually looking for 20 points or a double-double or something like that. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-09-at-11.40.45-PM.png) --- Grizzlies fans are learning why we love Marcus Smart so much. > Marcus Smart just hit a 3 with a dislocated finger. All HEART [pic.twitter.com/ZdfAcWiQdn](https://t.co/ZdfAcWiQdn?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — ☘︎ (@CelticsRepublic) [January 10, 2024](https://twitter.com/CelticsRepublic/status/1744925421861249091?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-7.png) We're back in A North today, where the defending champs of Lawrence very well might be hosting Hampden. We'll see! Lawrence is undefeated and lead A North in scoring and point differential, but they've done so against the easiest schedule in the region. As for Hampden, they've got 2 losses on the year--one opening night to Brewer and one to Cony. So the Model has Hampden very slightly favored, despite being lower ranked and on the road. It's a quirk of the system where the rankings are cumulative, but the predictions adjust for games played (Hampden has gotten to #40 in two fewer games). If it were me, I'd pick Lawrence here, but I guess we'll see. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-10-at-12.30.30-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's predictions for all of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Road Running URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/road-running/ Last updated: 2024-01-09T12:47:55.000Z In the Game of the Day, Mount Abram's offense won the battle. They put up 79 points on Madison, more than double their average on the season. Madison, for their part, were unable to keep pace, posting their lowest score of the season. But the best part (for me) is this quote in the Kennebec Journal: > “Maine Basketball Rankings, we looked at their post (online) today and it said (the matchup) was (an offensive team vs. a defensive team),” Mt. Abram head coach John Chase said. “I told our guys, ‘Hey, let’s work on defense tonight. Think defense, defense, defense.’ I’m entirely happy with that win.” [Boys basketball: Mt. Abram cruises past Madison in battle of unbeatensRoadrunners tally 31 points in first quarter and never look back in win over Bulldogs.![](https://www.centralmaine.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Kennebec Journal and Morning SentinelDave DyerKennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel![](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/37866686_02hoops.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2024/01/08/boys-basketball-mt-abram-cruises-past-madison-in-battle-of-unbeatens/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Bryce Wilcox led the Roadrunners with 23\. Mount Abram moves to 8-0 and within striking distance of Richmond. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-08-at-11.00.52-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Elsewhere, on a light night full of teams that aren't great at reporting... Madison Parks ha 13 & 14 to lead Fort Fairfield...Emma Landry paced Southern Aroostook with 28...Pete Vicneire had 24 as Carrabec beat Forest Hills...The Belfast girls beat Lincoln Academy 33-30\. Don't look now, but they're 7-1. --- Thomas and Cole have another podcast episode available wherever you podcast. They run through, well, a lot. > Lots of good discussions including… > \- The Maine Event > \- Three horse race in Boys’ AA North > \- Unpredictability in Girls’ AA South > \- Gorham teams rolling > \- TA’s recent struggles > \- Should Mr. Maine B-ball be a 4-yr award? > \- Lots more ⬇️ [https://t.co/NTYhpG3u7Y](https://t.co/NTYhpG3u7Y?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Cole Purvis (@Cole\_Purvis) [January 8, 2024](https://twitter.com/Cole%5FPurvis/status/1744498993898435032?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Be sure to check it out! --- Mike Mandell has a great write-up on the Cooper Flagg experience. [Sidelines: How did Cooper Flagg make this happen? ‘Come on’Making sense of the way the Newport native captivated in his return home is easy, Mike Mandell writes.![](https://www.centralmaine.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Kennebec Journal and Morning SentinelMike MandellKennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel![](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/37860216_20240106_montverde_0833.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.centralmaine.com/2024/01/08/sidelines-how-did-cooper-flagg-make-this-happen-come-on/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I'm loving how WHOU is embracing their new Twitter profile. > \*Repost\* Introducing WHOU Top 5 Plays of the Week! Starting today we will compile the best five plays seen on our broadcasts! This week Features: > Meghan Peters-Hodgdon > Parker Sergeant-[@ConyRamsAth](https://twitter.com/ConyRamsAth?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > Megan Dearborn-[@Cheverus\_Stags](https://twitter.com/Cheverus%5FStags?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > Emmitt Byther-[@othscoyotes](https://twitter.com/othscoyotes?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > David Tuttle-Hodgdon [pic.twitter.com/vKEy6QZN68](https://t.co/vKEy6QZN68?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — WHOU.live (@WHOU\_Live) [January 8, 2024](https://twitter.com/WHOU%5FLive/status/1744405240118435895?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- A lot of tomorrow's games are on the move, because of the storm. The pro-active schools are playing earlier. Some might push. So check with a school before you drive to a gym. So check the Scoreboard. And then double-check with the schools, just in case. [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-6.png) My social media notifications last night were full of people asking me about the Gorham/Cheverus boys game. It makes sense. It's #1 vs #2 in the Power Rankings and if this game had been last week, before Cheverus lost to Windham, it's maybe the Game of the Day. But Gorham has separated itself lately, so it's not. **\[Stax Index: 82.4\]** *The Stax Index is a formula that tells you how interesting a game should be. The highest Stax Index is the Game of the Day.* Also in Cumberland County, the Deering boys host Portland. Portland is 6-2 and Deering is 4-5, but the Model thinks this could be a really close one. **\[Stax Index: 84.7\]** The Windham boys, unbeaten and coming off wins last week over Cheverus and Portland, host a Falmouth team that's 7-1 with the only loss coming to Gorham. **\[Stax Index: 86.1\]** As good as Falmouth has been, they're sitting behind a surprising Freeport team in A South. The Falcons have won 6 straight and host York, 8-1 and sitting in 3rd place in B South. **\[Stax Index: 87.8\]** A little further north, Old Town hosts Orono in the convoluted B North Boys. Old Town is 8-0 and in first place in the region, while Orono is 8-1 and coming off a loss at Caribou on Saturday. If you look at the statistical profiles of these two teams, they're really, really similar. They are 24th and 25th in scoring and 14th and 18th in scoring differential. They're 54th and 59th in Strength of Schedule. And more importantly, they're #3 and #4 in the Power Rankings. This should be a barn burner. **\[Stax Index: 91.4\]** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-08-at-11.23.13-PM.png) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Ram Tough URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ram-tough-2/ Last updated: 2024-01-08T12:36:03.000Z In the Game of the Day, Gorham's defense showed up. The shut out Scarborough in the first half and led 19-5 at the half. Ellie Gay had 20 in the win that puts Gorham back in first place in AA South. The boys game was considerably better, as Gorham outlasted Scarborough by 7 to extend their lead in the Heal Points. [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- I was taking stuff to the dump when I got a notification on my phone that the Lincoln Academy/Mount View game had just started, and since I had my press pass on me, I headed over. Lincoln Academy was up 23-9, but Mount View battled back. Noah Hurd's buzzer-beater 3 cut the lead to 5 at the half. 0:00 /0:14 1× Mount View would take the lead, but Lincoln answered. The score was tied at 51-51 and Mount View missed one of those "omg how am I this open?" layups (those are the worst) and Lincoln put together a 13-2 run to finish off the Mustangs. Gabe Hagar led Lincoln Academy with 26\. Noah Hurd had 23\. Don't tell my wife I went. She thinks there was a really long line at the dump. I have a small Lincoln quarrel. They have a fantastic logo right now. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Lincoln-Academy.png) The Eagle as part of the A is *chef's kiss*. Honestly, it's a top 20 logo. Simple. Clean. Effective But when you're at a game, there's 4 different "LA" wordmarks in view and none of then are this one. If I was in charge, I'd go all-in on this logo. Elsewhere... Bailey Breen had 28 and Sophia Daggett had 13 & 10 as Oceanside crushed Erskine...Nathaniel Wainwright had 24 for Dirigo...Arianna Bradeen had 21 as the Mount View girls beat Lincoln...The Gorham Boys rallied down 12 to beat Scarborough. Gabe Michaud had 25 for the Rams and Aston Leclerc had 23...Gabe Galarraga's 20 paced SoPo...Jameson Fitzpatrick had 20 as Cheverus beat Bangor...Evan Legassey put up 22 in Deering's win over Bonny Eagle...Nate Hebert had 26 (with 6 3's) and John Patenaude had 25 (5 3's) as GNG rolled...Damon Martin scored 20 in Poland's win. Sacopee Valley's Dylan Capano had 16 & 10 and Silas Nielsen had 12 & 21(!) in the loss...St. Dom's Taylor Varney dropped 27 on Traip. --- You hear all the time that "Maine is really a small town" and if you want evidence of that, look no further than the Chance Mercier ejection story. [EjectionThe refs determine the outcome of a game.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2024/01/1524.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ejection/) Within a couple of hours of publishing the newsletter, I'd learned what Mercier said to warrant the tech (and let me tell you, it did NOT warrant a tech), had it confirmed a couple times, and heard stories of other incidents involving this ref. I now know more about this guy than I need to know. And it wasn't Ellsworth fans. It was people from all over the state. It's a weird little community we've got here. But also, a great community. --- Let's look at the B North Tourney Odds on Saturday morning. ![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GDNLdWKWsAAdH8j?format=jpg&name=large) And then Caribou went and beat Orono, 57-50\. The Model had Caribou as one of the top 15 teams in the state and this is where I remind the Caribou faithful that in that championship run, this was the first outlet to say they could do it. And now? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-07-at-10.33.10-PM.png) This is obviously going to be an insanely tough bracket, but remember that in realignment, there was a plan that got pretty far down the road where Oceanside, Medomak Valley, and Lincoln Academy would move to B North. So we'd have 8 of the current top 27 in one region. That would have been nuts. [Check Out Your Team's Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- Honestly, this is an improvement from last year. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/IMG_2813-2-1.jpg) That photo is from Saturday night's game. It didn't matter, but, you know. It might! Of course, Saturday night was another triumph for the Flaggs. > Cooper Flagg put on a show and picked up the win at The Maine Event! > > 29 PTS > 9 REB > 3 BLK > 2 STL [pic.twitter.com/4TfiWgH7ZV](https://t.co/4TfiWgH7ZV?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA Future Starts Now (@nbafuturenow) [January 7, 2024](https://twitter.com/nbafuturenow/status/1743795148046082164?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But also for WHOU, who did another stellar job, this time with Brandon Terrill on play-by-play and Greg Levinsky on the sidelines. I think there's a couple of takeaways from these two games: 1) the Maine high school basketball community is STRONG. 2) The local media talent we have in this state is higher than it should be. 3) The Flagg twins are awesome basketball players and better representatives of our state. And I think a lot of Maine kids learned just how much stronger and faster top-end D1 talent is. Here's hoping Duke schedules a game next year in Maine and until then... > THANK YOU MAINE!! [pic.twitter.com/dE1R6XUQNL](https://t.co/dE1R6XUQNL?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ralph Flagg (@flagg\_ralph) [January 8, 2024](https://twitter.com/flagg%5Fralph/status/1744180952824205363?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Speaking of media talent in Maine, you can't have that conversation without mentioning Don Shields, who reached a milestone with the UMaine women. > ⒷⒾⓃⒼⓄ > > Congratulations to [@DonShieldsMaine](https://twitter.com/DonShieldsMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) who, today, calls his 𝟱𝟬𝟬𝘁𝗵 career game on the Black Bears Sports Network![#BlackBearNation](https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackBearNation?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/RRn9FHm2fa](https://t.co/RRn9FHm2fa?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Women's Basketball (@BlackBearsWBB) [January 6, 2024](https://twitter.com/BlackBearsWBB/status/1743673280374956314?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Don and his "Bingo!" call are a staple in the Midcoast and he's long been generous toward up-and-coming broadcasters (and people who make large spreadsheets). There's a joke during Tourney Week that if the scoreboard disagrees with Don Shields, the scoreboard is wrong. Here's to another 500\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-5.png) We head to Madison where the Bulldogs will be hosting the Mount Abram Roadrunners (big fan of this logo too), two of the final 3 unbeaten teams in C South. Mount Abram is 7-0, but they've only played 1 team in the top 50, a 4-point home win over Maranacook. Other than that game, they've outscored opponents by over 35 points a game, but 5 of those 6 teams are outside the Top 100\. So this is the second highest scoring team in the state (Oceanside, 89.7), but it's hard to know how much weight to put into that. Madison, on the other hand, lives on the defensive end. They're one of the lowest-scoring teams in all of Class C, but they only give up 39.8 points a game. It's a weird resume, because even against an Oak Hill team that gives up 60 a game, they only scored 35\. They won, but still. Can Madison score enough to stay with the Roadrunners? Can Mount Abram score on Madison's defense? It's the age-old question of offense vs. defense. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-07-at-9.35.52-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Flagg Day URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/flagg-day/ Last updated: 2024-01-06T14:43:06.000Z In the Game of the Day, Southern Aroostook built an early lead and held on to knock off Hodgdon, 65-53\. Cami Shields had 24 for the Warriors. Anna Oliver had 20 in the loss. The win gives Southern Aroostook a commanding lead in D North. Hodgdon misses an opportunity to elevate above the pack in C North. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-05-at-11.28.09-PM.png) [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- The Evans Sterling bandwagon is starting to fill up. > Not enough people are talking about Mt. Blue's Evans Sterling. He put up some swell numbers in tonight's 70-58 win over Skowhegan: 35 points, 8 rebounds, 7 blocks, 4 assists. Took over in the 4th. > 6-foot-3 guard. Athletic. Long. Efficient. Leading an inexperienced team to 7-0. > > — Lee Horton (@LeeHortonSJ) [January 6, 2024](https://twitter.com/LeeHortonSJ/status/1743431494385934731?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) He's been in the newsletter pretty much every game this year with a nice stat line, so if you're reading this, you're probably already on the bandwagon, but if not, get your seats while you can. Elsewhere... The Gorham girls had a 28-3 run to put away Massabesic...Nate Oney had 26 as NYA beat Poland by 1...Robert Conover's 26 wasn't enough as Islesboro fell to Buckfield...Lily Oliver had 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 steals for Fort Kent... --- Man, what an event last night in Portland! First we had the Cony/Nokomis game. Both teams brought their home whites--awkward--so Cony cut the sleeves off their warmup shirts (since they had numbers on them) and played in those. > With thousands looking on, Cony boys basketball upset Nokomis at [@madehoops](https://twitter.com/madehoops?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)' Maine Event in Portland on Friday! A comeback effort, the former last place team in A North might start a roll off this kind of high. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/IHUM8phsEX](https://t.co/IHUM8phsEX?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/ytDuakgXNj](https://t.co/ytDuakgXNj?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan Sudol (@RyanSudolWVII) [January 6, 2024](https://twitter.com/RyanSudolWVII/status/1743523114007384351?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Parker Sergent was awesome in the second half for Cony. He finished with 25 as Cony got a big win. How big? Cony entered the game in last place with a 14.6% chance of making the tourney. After beating Nokomis, the Rams' odds are up to 48.2%. That's a huge swing. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-06-at-8.54.13-AM-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) They're currently sitting in the 8 spot in the Heal Points. [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) On to the big events. > One of the biggest crowds I have ever seen at the Cross Insurance Arena! [pic.twitter.com/AxCcOVyYwJ](https://t.co/AxCcOVyYwJ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) [January 6, 2024](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME/status/1743431691224637631?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Just watching the WHOU feed on the NBA App, no big deal. > Cooper Flagg stuns the defense with the hesitation then explodes to the rim with authority! > > The Maine Event | Live on the NBA App > 📲: [https://t.co/zuCdeNaPz7](https://t.co/zuCdeNaPz7?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/prDVzVk2gW](https://t.co/prDVzVk2gW?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA Future Starts Now (@nbafuturenow) [January 6, 2024](https://twitter.com/nbafuturenow/status/1743450026888536225?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We all know the story here (most of you were there), so I won't rehash it. Plus, Greg Levinsky did it better anyway. [Back at home, basketball phenom Cooper Flagg and his twin bask in the adulation at the ‘Maine Event’ - The Boston GlobeThe consensus top-ranked high school basketball player in the Class of 2024 and Duke commit, Flagg and his twin brother, Ace, played in their native Maine for the first time in nearly two years.![](https://www.bostonglobe.com/pf/resources/images/icons/apple-touch-icon.png?v=bostonGlobe&d=446)The Boston GlobeGreg Levinsky Globe Correspondent,Updated January 5, 2024, 8:18 p.m.![](https://bostonglobe-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/loQ_c1wcyAFBJXq3ch-ZAentsu0=/506x0/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/bostonglobe/I3AXAHT4R6ZFGEY6SGSUEL76EU.jpg)](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/01/05/sports/back-home-basketball-phenom-cooper-flagg-basks-adulation-maine-event/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But, that is one hell of a stat line against a very good opponent. > Cooper Flagg stuffed the stat sheet during his homecoming at The Maine Event! > > 23 PTS > 10 REB > 9 BLK > 5 AST > 2 STL [pic.twitter.com/oJkv8Tsee2](https://t.co/oJkv8Tsee2?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA Future Starts Now (@nbafuturenow) [January 6, 2024](https://twitter.com/nbafuturenow/status/1743458182461091909?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Ace Flagg also had a pretty good night, putting up 6 points and 5 boards. A lot of the talk will be about Cooper and Ace, who were fantastic last night, but I want to talk a moment to highlight how our other local talent did. I can imagine the MADE Hoops people were probably wary of letting locals handle the broadcast. There are some extremely mediocre broadcasts at the college level, so an outlet that specializes in high school sports? In Maine? I'd be hesitant. The entire WHOU crew did a fantastic job last night (shout out to Steve Carmichael, Jarod Richmond, and Ethan Snow). We're very lucky to have them. But the MVP was Rob Kennedy, who sounded like someone who had been calling games at this level for years. And not just in "the call", but Rob had clearly done a TON of homework. It was impressive. I haven't watched a lot of Rob's high school basketball broadcasts because a lot of times, I'm in the building (or in the other building) and I knew he'd be good, but I didn't expect him to be this good. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-4.png) It's a busy schedule today, as most of southern Maine took last night off and there's a number of good matchups around the state, but we're heading for a doubleheader between Scarborough and Gorham. Scarborough and Gorham current occupy the top 2 spots in AA South--a region where all 8 teams make the tourney. But it's looking like there's only 5 playoff-caliber teams in the region this year, so it's important to stay in the top 3 to avoid a tougher quarterfinal. Gorham's won 3 in a row, including a tight one over TA, but if opponents in common is your thing, Scarborough just beat them by 19 on the road. Should be a good one. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-06-at-9.32.01-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The AA Round-Up: January 4th, 2024 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-aa/ Last updated: 2024-01-05T21:02:28.000Z **Boys: Gorham 84, Sanford 55** Will Gorham (7-0) ever miss from behind the arc? Ashton Leclerc and Caden Smith sank 5 3's apiece on their way to identical 19 point performances in their route of Sanford last night. This one was over before the halftime buzzer. > 2:41 2:41 I 48-11 GHS > > I mean… > > — Thomas Curtis (@ThomasCurtisGHS) [January 5, 2024](https://twitter.com/ThomasCurtisGHS/status/1743068170095579307?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Gorham held the Spartans (5-3) to 2 points in the second quarter aside from a half-court shot at the horn from Makai Bougie, who led Sanford with 12. I wasn't in the booth for this one, so I almost missed the fact that they hit 19 3's. That's almost 65% of their points coming courtesy of the deep shot. **Boys: Scarborough 62, Thornton Academy 37** The Golden Trojans (6-3) continue their mid-season skid. They were once again without Josh Ney and Trey Eldred due to illness, so you can take the score with a grain of salt, but those two aren't going to fix an 11-to-2 3PM advantage for the Red Storm (6-1). Scarborough didn't have a player score more than 12 points in this one, but six players score 6+. Carter Blanche and Nate Glidden scored their 12 points in polar opposite ways. Blanche connected from deep four times for his only four buckets, while Glidden hit five 2s and two free throws. Early in the season, the talk of AA was how deep and versatile Cheverus was. Scarborough flew under the radar, but they have a similar amount of depth and players that fit their roles perfectly. Gorham and Scarborough matchup in a Saturday afternoon contest worth a boatload of heal points in AA South. Additionally, Scarborough sent Gorham home on their home court in the quarterfinal last season. It's going to be electric. **Girls: Scarborough 59, Thornton Academy 40** There's a new number 1 in AA South. Gorham held the title for two days after they downed the Trojans (6-3), last night it was Scarborough (7-1) who jumped up into the top seed. Thornton has missed sophomore guard Kylie Lamson badly. Without a strong perimeter shooter other than Addisen Sulikowski, the Red Storm could pack the paint. They regularly sent triple teams to the block to slow Emma Lizotte down, and it worked. They held her to only 11 points. Scarborough was on fire from deep, hitting 11 threes. Emerson Flaker paced them with 16, and Helena Bukarac nailed three 3's. Scarborough also sees #2 Gorham Saturday afternoon. **Girls: Cheverus 58, Oxford Hills 54** The reigning champs gave unbeaten Cheverus (8-0) a scare, but Megan Dearborn's late three pointer closed the door on an upset. The Stags got 20 points from Maddie Fitzpatrick and 12 points from Dearborn. Oxford Hills (3-5) has been swept by Cheverus this season, but last time out was a 29 point loss. A 4 point loss solidifies the thought that they're stepping in the right direction. --- Elsewhere... **Boys** Evan Legassey and Justin Jamal poured in 17 and 16, respectively, in Deering's 57-47 victory over South Portland (1-6)...Leo McNabb, Gio St. Onge, and Rocco Depatsy all put up 12 point effort's as Cheverus beat Oxford Hills... Tyrie James and Abdirahman Dakane both dropped 23 for opposing sides, James and Windham moved to 7-0 over Dakane and Lewiston (1-8). **Girls** South Portland held Bonny Eagle to only 17 points all night...Sanford jumped out to a 24-0 lead over winless Noble and never relinquished it, moving to 5-3. --- On Saturday, the Game of the Day will most likely be Gorham/Scarborough (Boys or Girls, you pick) but the Portland boys visit Windham at 2:30 and that's a clash of #1 vs #3 in AA North. Could certainly be the most entertaining game AA sees tomorrow. ### Ejection URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ejection/ Last updated: 2024-01-05T17:05:11.000Z In the Game of the Day, Brunswick built a 16-point lead in front of a full house, but Mt. Ararat stormed back. They got within 4, but the Dragons held on for the win. Dakota Shipley had 13 & 10 in the win. --- We had some drama in B North boys as Old Town hosted Ellsworth. (why wasn't this a boys/girls double-header?) Much like the girls game, this was a big one (and was nearly Game of the Day). First, Old Town had this nice buzzer-beater to tie the game at the half (video courtesy of [Ticket TV](https://929theticket.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) 0:00 /0:41 1× The game was close until with a little over a minute to play, this happened. 0:00 /3:26 1× This is my third attempt at this, as the information keeps changing/clarifying. So this has been a little tricky to parse out what Peter Webb's All-Stars have done. There's a double-technical against Chance Mercier, who is merely trying to provide some free job performance feedback. He's ejected from the game by one of the officials. You can clearly see that in the video. Let's start with that. It's not super hard to figure out what the tech is for, maybe Mercier said one of [George Carlin's 7 dirty words.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbZhpf3sQxQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Still, you can't eject a key player from the game with a minute left for language. You just can't. Because essentially the refs ended any opportunity Ellsworth had to win with the two technicals. Intelligent people disagree on this point. I know some refs who very much disagree that a game should be called differently in the final minutes (even though we all know it is). One dude even created a Twitter account specifically to make this point (which is weird). But, wait, there's more! According to the Ticket TV broadcast, the first technical was Mercier's 5th foul, meaning his night was over, but it's unclear if that's the case or not. So it's possible the second technical was completely unnecessary. Either way, with the ejection Mercier will be suspended for Ellsworth's next game (tomorrow against Houlton) and Old Town was given 4 free throws to extend their lead from 5 to 9 with a minute to go. Plus Ellsworth lost their best player. It's hard to swing a game more than that. There's been a bunch of confusion about this sequence of events, so it'd be nice if they would announce these things over the microphone, like the NBA does. It wouldn't be hard. If you're curious: for a while, the word was that the first technical wasn't his, which opened up a very interesting hypothetical. And that's why the newsletter is so late today. --- We *finally* got another team over 100, as Oceanside beat Morse 106-49 at home. Carter Galley had 33, which actually lowers his scoring average on the year all the way down to 36.3 ppg. Cohen Galley led the way with 38. --- Elsewhere... Megan Dearborn hit 2 clutch 3's to clinch a win for Cheverus...Bailey Breen dropped 44 on Morse...Kytana Williamson had 21 in Medomak's win at Erskine. The Panthers forced 39 turnovers...Mariam DeLisle's 22 led Lincoln Academy by MCI...Keagan McClure dropped 20 on Boothbay...Kory Donlin (27 & 14) and Gabe Lash (14 & 14) each had a double-double for Medomak...Gabe Hagar paced Lincoln Academy with 20...Gorham hit 19 3's in routing Sanford...Evan Hamm had 26 in Yarmouth's win over Wells...Silas Nielsen's double-double (15 & 11) paced Sacopee Valley...Nate Hebert had 22 as GNG rolled...Tyrie James dropped 23 as Windham finished with a 26-5 rally to beat Lewiston by 12...Maddie Cormier's layup was the game winner in 2OT as Freeport survived Westbrook...Maren Maxen had 10 & 12 to lead Wells over Yarmouth...Deering needed all of Natalie Santiago's 26 to beat Kennebunk in OT...The Sanford girls raced out to a 24-0 lead against Noble...Ali Portas had 21 as GNG came back down 16-4 to beat Falmouth...Ava Goulette had 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 blocks as Piscataquis held on to beat Schenck. --- Today is the first day of the Maine Event in Portland, which apparently I will not be attending, as my weeks of trying to navigate the maze of getting media credentials as been unsuccessful. But I guess there's still time. --- Greely's Cheat Code, Anna DeWolfe, scored her 2,000th point last night in Notre Dame's win over Pitt. > The shot that made 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟬 😮‍💨 > > 📺 ACCN [#GoIrish](https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoIrish?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)☘️ // [@annadewolfe20](https://twitter.com/annadewolfe20?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/HSYy7LXI4N](https://t.co/HSYy7LXI4N?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Notre Dame Women's Basketball (@ndwbb) [January 4, 2024](https://twitter.com/ndwbb/status/1743048273022120257?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- This game-winner from Jokic is pretty awesome. > Watch EVERY ANGLE of Jokic's 39-foot [#TissotBuzzerBeater](https://twitter.com/hashtag/TissotBuzzerBeater?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)! [pic.twitter.com/dZrmrxAEMZ](https://t.co/dZrmrxAEMZ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA (@NBA) [January 5, 2024](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1743156586829238583?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-3.png) Nokomis and Cony is, in a lot of ways, the Game of the Day, but it also isn't. We're heading all the way north where Anna Oliver and Hodgdon host Southern Aroostook. Hodgdon is unbeaten and untested so far this year, waxing opponents by an average of 35.9 ppg (that's 5th best in the state) behind the dynamic Oliver, who earlier this year scored her 1,000th point. They are, so far, the second most dominant team in the state. Southern Aroostook is, of course, a powerhouse in D North. They've won 4 of the last 5 state titles and find themselves in their usual position atop the standings. But, they've got a loss on their record, a 49-47 stumble against Fort Kent at home. The same Fort Kent team Hodgdon has beaten twice by a combined 40 points. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-05-at-8.57.22-AM.png) The rest of today's game are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Heart of a Champion URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-heart-of-a-champion/ Last updated: 2024-01-04T15:05:34.000Z After 3 quarters, it looked like the Old Town girls might exact some revenge from their loss in last year's Regional Final. They'd used a 12-2 run to turn a back-and-forth game into a 6-point lead after 3\. But, the Champs are the Champs for a reason. Ellsworth answered with an 8-0 run to take the lead and turned it into a 17-6 final quarter to stay undefeated. Chris Lessner has a nice writeup for [Eastern Maine Sports](https://easternmainesports.com/2024/01/03/jaffray-helps-ellsworth-girls-knock-off-old-town-in-battle-of-unbeatens/?fbclid=IwAR0qQR9GD9iOjLFoLdEgNWsMOjDD8MZ7jv7jUueFtl-COugIAh2UOsT8NKI&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). [Jaffray helps Ellsworth girls knock off Old Town in battle of unbeatensGrace Jaffray had a game-high 28 points on Wednesday night, as the Ellsworth Eagles outscored the Old Town Coyotes 17-6 in the fourth quarter in a 53-48 Class B girls basketball win in a battle of …![](https://easternmainesports.com/favicon.ico)Eastern Maine SportsPublished by %s![](https://easternmainesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/received_1425340631526683-scaled.jpeg)](https://easternmainesports.com/2024/01/03/jaffray-helps-ellsworth-girls-knock-off-old-town-in-battle-of-unbeatens/?fbclid=IwAR0qQR9GD9iOjLFoLdEgNWsMOjDD8MZ7jv7jUueFtl-COugIAh2UOsT8NKI&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Grace Jaffray led Ellsworth with 28\. Sage Evans had 17 & 13 for Old Town. Ryan Sudol was there with highlights. > What a game on Wednesday as Ellsworth girls basketball defeated Old Town 53-48 in a battle of unbeatens! A rematch of last year's B North title game, it might just end up being this year's matchup too. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/3OfSwJX3B7](https://t.co/3OfSwJX3B7?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/KINrMHGzHs](https://t.co/KINrMHGzHs?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan Sudol (@RyanSudolWVII) [January 4, 2024](https://twitter.com/RyanSudolWVII/status/1742766221022441607?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Up north, Hodgdon had a game-winner in OT. > On behalf of [@impotter14](https://twitter.com/impotter14?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), here is the Hodgdon game winner in OT over Fort Kent 58-55\. The hawks hit 2 free throws with 0.9 left in regulation to force OT. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/ceeKPJpxDG](https://t.co/ceeKPJpxDG?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [January 4, 2024](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1742710813947826296?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's David Tuttle calling game for Hodgdon. Aroostook County Hoops has [another angle of the shot](https://www.facebook.com/100064346785865/videos/875463114243430/) over on their essential Facebook page. Also, it looks like [WHOU has a new Twitter handle](https://twitter.com/WHOU%5FLive?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Hopefully that means more highlights. Elsewhere... The Houlton boys got a 32-5 deficit down to 4, but ultimately came up short on the road against John Bapst...Jazmine Pingree's 22 helped Spruce give Maranacook their first loss...Will Duke and Nolan Ames dropped 28 & 27 respectively as Camden outlasted Skowhegan and Adam Fitzgerald's 27...Morgan Cunningham had 34 in Cony's win over Messo...Tatum French had 13 & 10 for Boothbay...Anna Oliver dropped 22 on Fort Kent... --- In a Heal Point quirk that you'll either love or hate, depending on how you feel about Heal Points, the Camden girls are now in first place in A North with a record of 5-4\. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-03-at-9.48.32-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) It's pretty simple. The teams Camden beat have a combined 14 wins (5 come from B), while the teams Lawrence beat only have 13 (all in A, plus they get that point for winless Messalonskee). And because, of course they are, the Camden boys are in 3rd place at 4-5. [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- Time & Score: it's not just for players! > Interesting scenario at the end of the half. With 8 seconds left Greely had a foul to give and was trying to give it, the ref didn't call it (he should have) and instead Falmouth hit a 3 at the buzzer. Greely's coach was pissed and rightfully so.[@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [January 4, 2024](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/1742706579038711901?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I've seen a couple of games this year where a team was clearly trying to foul to stop the clock and couldn't get a call. Invariably they'd try harder, the other team would get upset at a hard foul, and then tensions start to escalate. --- If you missed it yesterday, Thomas Curtis' latest dispatch from AA is out. [The AA Round-Up: January 2nd, 2024Thomas Curtis is back with a tour around AA![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsThomas Curtis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2024/01/aa-round-up.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/january-2nd-2024/) --- Let's check in on Emily Archibald and Providence. > Emily Archibald from behind the arc🎯 [pic.twitter.com/xLjX4h8L0L](https://t.co/xLjX4h8L0L?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — ProvidenceWBB (@ProvidenceWBB) [January 3, 2024](https://twitter.com/ProvidenceWBB/status/1742588515328618771?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Kennebunk's own scored a season-high 10 points to go with 9 boards on the night. Last night was her 10th consecutive start. --- To the surprise of no one, Leavitt's Noah Carpenter is your Gatorade Football POTY. > Truly an honor and blessing to be named 2X [@Gatorade](https://twitter.com/Gatorade?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) player of the year.🙏🏼 > > Would love to thank all my teammates, family, and coaches, who have made this possible for me! ❤️ [pic.twitter.com/fnfA6yDBHY](https://t.co/fnfA6yDBHY?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Noah Carpenter (@N\_Carpenter6) [January 3, 2024](https://twitter.com/N%5FCarpenter6/status/1742636161707717118?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-2.png) It's a "Battle of the Bridge" as Mt. Ararat hosts Brunswick in girls basketball. For years, this wasn't much of a game, but Mt. Ararat has really elevated its program over the last couple of years under the guidance of Julie Petrie and now finds itself as one of the contenders in A South. They're 6-1 on the year, with wins over GNG and Camden, but are coming off a loss Tuesday at Deering. Brunswick, of course, is a perennial power in the region, with their only loss coming at the hands of Oxford Hills just before Christmas. The scene should be electric for a rivalry game between two of the top teams in A South, a region that features 10 teams in the top 42\. There's going to be a good team in this region that doesn't make the tournament and Heal Points will be at a premium. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-04-at-9.47.00-AM.png) This should be a good one. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-04-at-1.18.06-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The AA Round-Up: January 2nd, 2024 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/january-2nd-2024/ Last updated: 2024-01-04T02:47:07.000Z **Boys: Windham 67, Cheverus 62** Blake McPherson's 24 points were enough to lift the Eagles over Cheverus, the previous AA North 1 seed, Tuesday night. He knocked down a game high 6 threes while Tyree James trailed behind him with 3\. Cheverus looked unstoppable to begin the year, but after the Christmas break they've stumbled a little bit. A 59-51 loss to Cheverus rounded out their 2023, and now they open up 2024 with one to Windham. Leo McNabb's 23 points weren't enough for the Stags, who only had one scorer in double figures behind him. **Girls: Gorham 38, Thornton Academy 34** The Rams entered this one at 3-2 coming off a big win over 5th ranked Sanford (5-2) last Friday. Before our broadcast, I wrote that Gorham just needed to stay competitive in this one to have some confidence rolling into the second half of the schedule. The Golden Trojans entered this one at 6-1, scoring 75 points a contest. Gorham was going to have to flip their poor offensive start to the season on its head if they wanted to pull off an upset. Or not...? Gorham led at half, by the small margin of 14-13\. Their third quarter was one of the most abysmal displays of shooting I've ever seen. Somehow, after the Rams scored only 6 points in the penultimate frame, they were only down 28-20. Someone must have snuck down on the court with a ladder to pull the lid off the rim in between quarters, because the Rams finally came alive to start the fourth. Ellie Gay, who finished with 15, kickstarted a 10-0 run with a corner 3 on the first possession of the final period. The run was enough to put Gorham ahead for good, giving them a big win to open up the New Year and a boost up to first in AA South. **Boys: Gorham 71, Thornton Academy 41** A depleted Thornton Academy team, missing two starters (Josh Ney, Trey Eldred) due to illness, just never found it in a game where Gorham never lost it. Ashton Leclerc set a Gorham High School record by making 9 three pointers in a game where he finished with 31\. The thing that got me about his performance: It didn't seem like he was doing anything special. It was just, "Ashton can't miss tonight". That's how talented a scorer he is. Without Ney or Eldred, Gorham could focus most of their defensive efforts on Wyatt Benoit. Gabe Michaud did an excellent job to hold Benoit to only 8 points on the night, an impressive feat against one of the best scorers this class has to offer. --- Elsewhere... Maddie Fitzpatrick put up another 20/10 in the stat sheet to keep Cheverus unbeaten... Ruth Boles added 19 of her own in that one... Makai Bougie's 26 points were enough to push the Sanford boys past Bonny Eagle... and Sanford's girls got back in the win column over Bonny Eagle with 3 double-digit scorers. --- Both Thornton Academy teams have a chance to bounce back with a big heal point opportunity against Scarborough tomorrow. The boys are immediately back in the conversation for a title run with a win. The girls have to solidify another scoring option after an injury to sophomore guard Kylie Lamson, it will be a great test against Caroline Hartley and the Red Storm. Thursday should be fun. ### Fly Eagles URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fly-eagles-2/ Last updated: 2024-01-03T13:52:49.000Z The Windham boys entered last night's game against Cheverus as a notable (but not impossible) 10-point underdog to the Stags. Cheverus led by 14 in the first half, but Windham came all the way back and led by 3 in the final seconds. Only, Leo McNabb was fouled on a 3 and made all 3 free throws to force overtime. Windham prevailed in the extra frame, 67-62\. Blake McPherson led the Eagles with 24\. McNabb finished with 23 for the Stags. The win vaults Windham to first place in AA North. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-02-at-9.22.53-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) [Good Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- Ashton Leclerc made some history last night for Gorham. > Ashton Leclerc set the school record for three pointers made tonight with 9 in the Rams 73-41 win over Thornton Academy! > > — Thomas Curtis (@ThomasCurtisGHS) [January 3, 2024](https://twitter.com/ThomasCurtisGHS/status/1742360942170517615?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) He finished with 31\. --- I was in Newcastle along with a full house for the Lincoln Academy boys and Medomak Valley. > I’m in Newcastle where [@LincAcad\_Ath](https://twitter.com/LincAcad%5FAth?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) hosts Medomak Valley. > > Lincoln is unbeaten, but yet to be tested. > > Medomak leads B South. > > Full house. [pic.twitter.com/62z6HJgvRz](https://t.co/62z6HJgvRz?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [January 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1742323637825282211?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This is usually a big crowd, but with Lincoln Academy returning to the playoffs last year and starting off 5-0, there was extra juice locally. Medomak picked up right where left off in 2023, starting hot from the field and never looking back in a statement win. Kristian Schumann led the way with a career-high 21 and Maine United's Gabe Lash added 20 to a stellar defensive game. The Panthers win their 5th straight to improve to 7-1. --- Speaking of double-overtime, the Yarmouth boys snapped their streak of 3 straight overtime game in a trouncing of Lake Region, but forgot to tell the girls about the new plan. > Great game! Final score in girls 🏀 OT > Clippers: 47[@LakeRegionHoops](https://twitter.com/LakeRegionHoops?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com): 45 [pic.twitter.com/0Hu2ymK3QK](https://t.co/0Hu2ymK3QK?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Yarmouth Athletics (@YHSClippers) [January 3, 2024](https://twitter.com/YHSClippers/status/1742359318995812500?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I think we can call that 4 straight OT games for Yarmouth. They go to Wells next for a boys/girls doubleheader on Thursday. Elsewhere... Jeissey Khamis had 18 & 16 for Portland...Sanford's Makai Bougie dropped 26 on Bonny Eagle...Lukas Bouchard had 20 & 15 in York's win over Cape...Finn Harkins' 40 wasn't enough as Boothbay lost to Waynflete in OT...Nick Martin had 22 as Traip beat Sacopee Valley...Ellie Gay had 9 in the 4th as Gorham rallied to beat TA. Emma Lizotte had 15 & 18 in the loss...Maddie Fitzpatrick had 20 & 10 to pace Cheverus...Jordyn Crump had 19 points, 8 boards, 5 assists, and 7 steals in Biddeford's win...Haley Kirkpatrick had 21 & 10 in Morse's win over Leavitt...Brunswick broke open a close game with a 16-3 4th quarter to put away GNG...Waynflete's Lauren McNutt Girouard dropped 33 on Boothbay...Finn Harkins' 42 wasn't enough for the Boothbay boys against Waynflete...Carter Galley had 32 in Oceanside's win over Winslow. --- We had a fantastic ending to the first half in Bath. > Furious 2nd quarter ending helps spur Morse to win over Leavitt. [@ShipbuildersAD](https://twitter.com/ShipbuildersAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/x3Y1xFZm1U](https://t.co/x3Y1xFZm1U?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [January 3, 2024](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1742409244291301646?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Trace MarFarland finished with 25 for Morse. --- You might have noticed the Scoreboard was a little slower last night, especially on mobile. I'm guessing the logos are slowing it down. I'm going to try and use smaller versions and see if that helps, but if the team logos go away, that's why. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-03-at-8.29.43-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day-1.png) Let's to to Girls B North, where 2 unbeaten teams are battling for the top seed. Ellsworth, of course, is the defending champs. Back when they were 2-0, I wrote that they were ranked too low (they'd only played 2 games when a lot of teams had 4) and it turns out they were. Since then, they beat a very good Caribou team by 15 on the road and that's the closest anyone has gotten to them. They lead the state in scoring differential and they're 2nd in scoring at just over 75 points a game (Hall-Dale, 84.0). They'll head over to Old Town. They're also 6-0 and also own a win over Caribou and trounced Houlton up in the County. They've out-scored their opponents by nearly 29 points a game, good for 10th best in the state. At just under 92, this is our highest Stax Index game of the year so far. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-03-at-12.22.51-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) Ticket TV will be on hand to stream it. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/tickettv.jpeg)](https://929theticket.com/category/ticket-tv/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Call it a Comeback URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/call-it-a-comeback/ Last updated: 2024-01-02T13:14:44.000Z The last time Yarmouth faced Medomak Valley in basketball was the very first meeting between the two schools, a Regional Final in which Yarmouth stormed back from a 12-3 early deficit en route to an eventual state title. Saturday Medomak traveled to Yarmouth for the second-ever meeting and for a while, it was déjà vu. The Panthers raced out to a 14-point lead in the first half, but Yarmouth rallied, erasing that and building their own 9-point lead with 2 minutes to play. However, Medomak wasn't done. They ripped off a 9-0 run to close out regulation and force Yarmouth into their third consecutive overtime game. Medomak eventually prevailed in double-overtime, 63-58, evening the all-time series 1-1\. Can you have a rivalry after two games? Michael Hoffer was there and had his usual stellar dispatch. [Boys’ basketball: Medomak Valley rallies, beats Yarmouth in double OTThe Panthers overcome a nine-point deficit in the final two minutes of regulation, then go on to a 63-58 win.![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldMICHAEL HOFFERThe Forecaster![](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/37834329_20231230_YarMedomak_11.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.pressherald.com/2023/12/30/boys-basketball-medomak-valley-rallies-beats-yarmouth-in-double-ot/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And if that's not enough, the Yarmouth girls erased an 8-0 deficit in the girls game. --- Further north, the Presque Isle girls were looking at a long bus ride home. Trailing John Bapst 36-12 at the half, things didn't look good for a team scoring a little over 40 points a game. But something clicked at halftime, because the Wildcats held Bapst to 7 points in the second half coming all the way back from 24 down to stun the Crusaders, 47-43\. --- And then, for fun, we had some buzzer-beaters to close out 2023. First in Houlton. > Crazy ending in Houlton today. Bucksport’s Trent Goss making a baseball pass the length of the court to find Caden Blackwood who lays it in at the buzzer to give Bucksport the 54-52 victory over Houlton in overtime! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#whou](https://twitter.com/hashtag/whou?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/wtvbglHE03](https://t.co/wtvbglHE03?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Isaac Potter (@impotter14) [December 30, 2023](https://twitter.com/impotter14/status/1741215001136738759?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And then at Cony. > Zach McLaughlin’s game-winner for Hampden today [pic.twitter.com/6df71UY01G](https://t.co/6df71UY01G?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [December 30, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1741220726927982789?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Elsewhere... Nate Hebert's 5 3s and 29 points paced GNG. Noah Hebert added 4 and 22...Evans Sterling had 36 as Mount Blue crushed Camden...Monmouth's Sammy Calder dropped 34 on Boothbay...Tristan Robbins had 26 & 16 for Caribou...Madelynn Deprey had 32 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, and 9 steals in the girls game...Eli Mosher had 21 to lead the Presque Isle boys...Anna Oliver had 25 for Hodgdon. --- The New Year is a time for reflection and goals. The subscriber count for this newsletter is up 288% over last year, which is fantastic. Thank you to each and every one of you. --- Boys Tourney Odds are up and running. If you're new to these parts, here's how it works. The Model makes projections for every game in the state and using a random number generator and a Monte Carlo Simulation--actually 130 Monte Carlo Simulations inside a large Monte Carlo Simulation--it simulates the rest of the season 1,000 times and calculates Heal Points standings for each of those 1,000 seasons. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-01-at-5.11.19-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) If you make the Tourney in all 1,000 of those simulations, it projects you into the Tourney. If you make it in 0, you're out. 1K simulations isn't enough to find the combination where the 6-0 team loses their last 12, but it will easily find a 6 loss season for a 6-0 team. It will also tell you the likelihood you get it depending on your record. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-01-at-11.26.59-PM.png) If you're wondering, no one has ever made the tourney after being designated as "OUT" and no one has missed the tourney after being designated as "IN". It's very accurate. It will also tell you what seed you're likely to be. This is definitely a paid feature. [Are You Dancing?](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) The Girls numbers should be up soon. --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/game-of-the-day.png) We've got some good options today. An unbeaten Bangor team takes on a 2-2 Oxford Hills team that's much better than their record. A Lincoln Academy team that's probably ranked too low hosts a rivalry game. But for the Game of the Day, we go to Gorham, as a Rams host TA. Gorham is 4th in the [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/), despite being the second-best team in the region in the Power Rankings. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-01-at-11.51.58-PM.png) Thornton Academy has the best scoring differential in AA, but they've also played the second-easiest schedule in AA. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-01-at-12.30.13-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) Thomas Curtis should have this on [Gorham's NFHS stream](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/R5o3n7?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Ladies Night URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ladies-night/ Last updated: 2023-12-30T15:10:57.000Z So we had what--we think--is a little bit of history last night. In Boys' basketball, Ashland beat East Grand 60-33\. That's not the interesting part. The Ashland boys are coached by Lizz Theriault, who is a woman, and the East Grand boys are coached by Sueanne Lindsey, also a woman. Gender politics aside, I'm not sure I've ever seen a situation where two men's teams are coached by women. It may or may not be a first (no one's really sure), but it's very, very rare. Thanks to Ken Holck for the heads up. Elsewhere... Massabesic rallied down 13 to force a tie at 30-30, but Marshwood scored the final 4 points to escape with a win on the road...Windham used a 22-8 run to stay unbeaten...Holden Shaw had 19 as Oxford Hills outlasted Mt. Ararat in overtime. Andrew Clemons had 22 in the loss...Jagger Helwig's 16 led Fryeburg to a win over Lake Region...Natalie Beaudoin's 19 paced Lewiston. [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- Here's a weird story. Jason Knight, the NYA boys coach, earned his 100th win. You saw that in yesterday's newsletter. BUT on the same night, NYA's girls' coach Tom Robinson, collected his 150th win. The odds of both coaches doing this on the same night is crzy. ## The AA Round-UP Thomas and Cole are back with another podcast. They ask the essential question: can Cheverus go 18-0? They're doing a pretty great job so far. You should subscribe wherever you podcast. --- It's sort of a mixed schedule today. We've got some makeups. If you know of a makeup I've missed, don't hesitate to let me know--some of these schools are allergic to the internet. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-30-at-9.59.04-AM-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) Some of these times are an artifact from November (and I have a theory that a couple of schools just put in 7pm for every game, knowing they'd figure it out later), so if a time is wrong, just put it in the PPD column and I'll try and update it. Also, if you have updated streaming information, let me know. I found out last night that Massabesic switched to Hudl, for example, and there's one-offs like Eastern Maine Sports, who has the Caribou/Foxcroft games. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-17.png) It's a classic A North battle tonight when Messalonskee hosts Nokomis. It's looking like a vintage A North year where everyone can beat everyone and the 8 seed just might win the whole thing. Anyway, Nokomis is currently the 2 seed at 4-2, with quality wins over Camden and Brewer. They'll head to Oakland to take on the Eagles who are the 3 seed at 4-1\. Neither team has played a great schedule and neither has been particularly dominant, considering they're 2 of the top teams in the region. Just another indicator that maybe A North is completely up for grabs, so today's heal points could be very important. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-30-at-12.29.11-AM.png) You'll need [NFHS](https://nfhs-network.pxf.io/VmK3Bk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) for this one. The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Coaching Milestones URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/coaching-milestones/ Last updated: 2023-12-29T15:21:15.000Z The Game of the Day was pretty much a done deal when GNG opened the game with a 17-1\. And since they aren't the Detroit Pistons, they didn't give it back, coasting to a 57-39 win over Wells. The win moves GNG into first place in A South. Wells remains in 2nd in B South. --- In Caribou, the Vikings didn't get the message. They rallied down 13 in the fourth quarter to stun Washington Academy, 48-47\. Caribou was, ironically, a 13-point favorite in that one. A Sam Hebert 3 was the game winner for the Vikings. --- Down in AA, the Scarborough boys (18-point underdogs!) handed Cheverus their first loss of the season. The win temporarily moved them from 5th to 1st in the Heal Points (until Gorham's win last night). I expect you'll read more about that in Thomas Curtis' next AA Round-Up. [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Elsewhere... Maddie Fitzpatrick had 14 & 15 in Cheverus' win over Scarborough...Kytana Williamson's 28 helped Medomak overwhelm Morse...Savannah Lorenz had 25 in Mount View's win over Erskine...Caribou's Madelyn Deprey exploded for 37...Dakota Shipley's 14 & 10 led Brunswick over Westbrook...Ella Giguere had 15 points and 16(!) steals in NYA's win over Dirigo...Caden Smith hit 7 3's en route to 24 points as Gorham held off Westbrook...Kory Donlin had 22 & 9 in Medomak's win...Lewiston needed every one of Lonnie Thomas' 20 in a 44-43 win over Deering...Johnny Patenaude had 26 points on 8 3's as GNG rolled...Evans Sterling had 20 & 11 in Mount Blue's win...And Sacopee Valley's Silas Nielsen's triple-double (11 points, 13 rebounds, 10 blocks) wasn't enough to overcome Telstar. --- We had a couple of coaching milestones this week. On Wednesday, Penobscot Valley's Nate Case got his 100th win. [Coach Case earns 100th win as PVHS girls roll past OronoAt Sereyko Gym in Howland on Wednesday, the PVHS Lady Howlers hosted the Orono Red Riots. PVHS started the game on a 20-2 run and never looked back in rolling to a 74-21 win. The victory earned hea…![](https://easternmainesports.com/favicon.ico)Eastern Maine SportsPublished by %s![](https://easternmainesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/received_308699698189209.jpeg)](https://easternmainesports.com/2023/12/28/coach-case-earns-100th-win-as-pvhs-girls-roll-past-orono/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In Yarmouth, NYA's Jason Knight also got to 100. > FINAL: [@NYA\_Basketball](https://twitter.com/NYA%5FBasketball?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 46 - Boothbay 41\. A special CONGRATS to Coach Knight on victory 100! 🖤🧡🏀🥳[#NYApantherpride](https://twitter.com/hashtag/NYApantherpride?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#together](https://twitter.com/hashtag/together?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NYA Athletics (@NYAPanthers) [December 28, 2023](https://twitter.com/NYAPanthers/status/1740471264635134120?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And in Bath, Medomak Valley's Nick DePatsy earned his 400th(!) victory with a win over Morse. > The celebration is on in the Medomak Valley boys locker room for Nick DePatsy’s 400th win![#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/W7MVTXyi3d](https://t.co/W7MVTXyi3d?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — VillageSoup Sports (@VS\_Sports\_ME) [December 29, 2023](https://twitter.com/VS%5FSports%5FME/status/1740531092224975037?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) According to the [Maine Association of Basketball Coaches website](https://mabc1.org/index.php/award-recipients/coaching-victories-honor-roll?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), DePatsy is the 31st coach to reach 400 wins. Dick Barstow holds the record with 664\. --- I tweaked the Scoreboard design. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-29-at-1.15.40-AM-1-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) Was it needed? No. But, you know. So I added times, which is nice if you want to go to the game, but is super unreliable, as I'm pulling data from November. So if you know the time is wrong, put it in the PPD column and I'll fix it. --- Would you like to see a good, old-fashioned buzzer-beater? Of course you would. > Shades of Bryce Drew 🧅 [pic.twitter.com/5wexVoCUOo](https://t.co/5wexVoCUOo?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Mid-Major Madness (@mid\_madness) [December 29, 2023](https://twitter.com/mid%5Fmadness/status/1740583788382753194?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-16.png) Things are a lot different this year for the Gardiner girls. Lizzy Gruber is at Saint Joseph's and Coach Mike Gray has retired to the bleachers, but the beat goes on. After an 0-3 start, Britney Gero's squad has rolled off 3 wins in a row to put themselves firmly in the mix in A North. They're currently the 5 seed. They'll travel to Fairfield to take on the defending champs, a team going through their own transition without Hope Bouchard and company. The Bulldogs haven't lost yet. They're 4-0, but that's come against the weakest schedule in Class A. Last year, these two teams played a couple of classics, including that memorable Regional Final. Let's see what this year's rosters can do. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-29-at-10.10.29-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Holiday Hoops, Part Deux URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/holiday-hoops-part-deux/ Last updated: 2023-12-28T06:23:31.000Z The Game of the Day was a bit of a bust, as Fort Fairfield made short work of Katahdin. The Model was pretty low on this on, so it's hardly a surprise. At the Expo, the Freeport boys beat Cape (no score yet 🙄) to drop the Capers to 0-5\. Naturally, this creates a tough road for Cape to make the tourney, which has been more or less assumed for a long time. How long? I went through the MPA's archives that go back to 1988\. Assuming the rule that 2/3rd of teams get in (I'm not trying to remember some change in 1993 or whatever and I know there was that period of "everyone gets in", but...) Cape has made the tourney every year since 1988\. If you want the best look at the standings, you need to upgrade to the varsity plan (it's worth it!) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-28-at-12.43.49-AM.png) [Upgrade](#/portal/account/plans) In other games around the state... Brewer's Allie Flagg dropped 27 on Nokomis at the ACC...Mackenzie Robbins had 26 as Madison beat OOB at the ACC...Anna Oliver's 31 kept Hodgdon undefeated...Lilly Oliver had 25 points and 15 steals as Fort Kent crushed Easton...Hunter Hartsgrove's 35 led Katahdin over Fort Fairfield...Julissa McBarron had 26 in Sanford's win over Lewiston...Wisdom's Lilly Roy exploded for 42 against East Grand...Jahleel Joseph's 28 wasn't enough for Central Aroostook against Hodgdon...Peyton Reckards put up 19 & 20(!) in Temple's win over Islesboro...Jaxson Desjardins – who I think is in the 8th grade – carried on the family tradition with 23 for Forest Hills. --- I made an update to the Scoreboard. Instead of a generic streaming icon, the icon now tells you where you're going. There's YouTube and NFHS (turns out they have an affiliate program) and other providers like WHOU, TicketTV, LCTV, Munzing Media, and more! Check it out. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-28-at-12.35.02-AM-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-15.png) GNG is off to a 5-1 start, with their only loss coming to #6 Mt. Ararat. GNG is higher in the rankings by virtue of their harder schedule (33rd vs 40th). The Heal Points have Mt. Ararat ahead of GNG, but I won't argue with you either way. As for Wells, they're 5-1 with the loss coming at Greely. They're fighting Oceanside for the 1 seed in B South. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-28-at-1.02.25-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Holiday Hoops URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/holiday-hoops/ Last updated: 2023-12-27T12:33:23.000Z Hopefully your Christmas was a nice break with family (and a convincing Celtics win), but it's back to basketball! The big events are the holiday hoops events. The [Holiday Hoops Showcase at the Expo](https://www.pressherald.com/holidayhoops/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) kicked off yesterday with a full schedule of non-countable games, but today's slate has a countable game and tomorrow's has two (those games have an \*). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-26-at-8.51.17-PM.png) An adult day pass is $10\. Here's a thing I learned on Twitter last night: these games count for the New York schools. The [Twitter account](https://twitter.com/NYS%5FBasketball?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) for the New York equivalent of this website reached out looking for scores because those game counted for their standings! Check out their site. [New York High School Basketball![](https://newyorkstatehighschoolbasketball.com/favicon.ico)New York State HS Basketball![](https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1587179195666292736/mmQ4Cn1P_normal.jpg)](https://newyorkstatehighschoolbasketball.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I've been talking to him on DM and New York's system makes the MPA look like...who's a movie character who accidentally has it together? Mr. Magoo? If I understand it correctly, different regions (sections?) have different systems for seeding teams? It's...wow. Anyway, Falmouth beat Construction (a school from the biggest class in NY) 56-51 and SoPo got their first "win" of the season against Transit Tech, who drops to 8-3\. These Maine teams are pretty good! Up at the Civic Center, a whole bunch of Heal Points will be handed out. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-22-at-9.35.22-AM-1.png) --- We're going to do a quick rundown, because I spent the 23rd desperately trying to replace the Christmas presents that didn't show up via Amazon (all of them). Evans Sterling had 32 as Mount Blue beat Lawrence...Jamier Rose had 24 in Noble's win over Bonny Eagle...Leo McNabb's 20 and Gio St. Onge's 16 kept Cheverus undefeated...Speaking of undefeated, Ashton Leclerc had 23 to keep Gorham's sheet clean...GNG got 24 from Nate Hebert and Johnny Patenaude...Biddeford used a 25-5 run to bury Cape Elizabeth who is suddenly 0-4\. Could Cape miss the tourney?...Lukas Bouchard had 16 & 12 as York beat Fryeburg...Kory Donlin put up 16 & 10 in Medomak's win over Winslow...Finn Harkins dropped 33 on Sacopee Valley...Maddie Fitzpatrick's 31 paced Cheverus over Deering...Hannah Smith had 18 & 13 for Biddeford...Lake Region's Ava Smith dropped 24 on Leavitt... Another day, another 1,000 point scorer. This time it's Oceanside's Bailey Breen at home against Spruce Mountain. > Oceanside's Bailey Breen secures her spot in Mariner history with her 1,000th point [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/h49zkB2T3U](https://t.co/h49zkB2T3U?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — VillageSoup Sports (@VS\_Sports\_ME) [December 24, 2023](https://twitter.com/VS%5FSports%5FME/status/1738716528265015332?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This is her Junior year. Hopefully I haven't missed anyone, but here's the list so far: 12.23: Bailey Breen (Oceanside) 12.22: Ethan Daigle (Fort Kent) 12.21: Carter Galley (Oceanside) 12.19: Dylan Burpee (Southern Aroostook) 12.17: Hunter Hartsgrove (Katahdin) 12.13: Anna Oliver (Hodgdon) 12.10: Pierce Walston (Orono) Breen finshed with 20\. Aubri Hoose had 23 for the Mariners --- York's Emma Joyce drilled 7 3's in a win over Fryeburg. [Seacoast Roundup: York’s Emma Joyce hits seven 3-pointers in win over Fryeburg Academy\\![](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/sites/seacoastonline/images/favicon.png)Portsmouth HeraldStaff reports, Portsmouth Herald![](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2023/12/24/NPOH/72022198007-emma-joyce.jpg?auto=webp&crop=2225,1252,x0,y499&format=pjpg&width=1200)](https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/sports/high-school/2023/12/23/seacoast-roundup-emma-joyce-sets-york-record-for-3-pointers-in-game/72022103007/?utm%5Fcampaign=snd-autopilot&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- MDI coach Brent Barker won his 250th game. > FINAL: Cheverus 67, Deering 60 > > Stags improve to 5-0\. Leo McNabb 21 points, Gio St. Onge 18\. > > Deering falls to 2-4\. Evan Legassey leads the way with a game-high 25\. [@bigtimehoopsME](https://twitter.com/bigtimehoopsME?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Greg Levinsky 📰 🎙️ (@GregLevinsky) [December 23, 2023](https://twitter.com/GregLevinsky/status/1738668229566869709?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Marcus Smart is BACK > MARCUS SMART DRAWS THE CHARGE IN THE CLUTCH 🔒[pic.twitter.com/aGzVHdjzt6](https://t.co/aGzVHdjzt6?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) [December 27, 2023](https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1739857761091895395?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-14.png) It's a weird schedule today where the best games are exhibition games, but if we're talking countable games, we're in Fort Fairfield. Fort Fairfield is 4-1 on the year and first in C North, with a loss to 2-4 Houlton. They'll take on a Katahdin team that's 4-0 in D North, but both teams have played possibly the easiest schedules in their region, so it's hard to put a lot of weight into their profiles. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-26-at-11.06.43-PM.png) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### SoPoooooo....... URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/sopoooooo/ Last updated: 2023-12-23T12:56:13.000Z The South Portland boys, your 2-time defending state champs, fell to 0-4 on the season with a 46-39 loss to Portland. Jeissey Khamis had 21 & 11 in the win for the Bulldogs. It begs the obvious question: when is the last time a defending champ started 0-4? I can't think of any, but if you can, add it to the comments. --- For the Dexter girls, Mazie Peach had a triple-double (15/16r/10b) and Hannah Dean had a double-double (10/11r) in their 39-34 win over fellow unbeaten Penobscot Valley. It's a big win for Dexter that moves them up all the way to...6th in C North? [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-23-at-1.31.05-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) C North is usually very deep and this year seems to be no exception. If you're a Dexter fan, you're encouraged by the fact that the Tigers are the 5th of 6 teams currently in the top 20\. I'd expect that number to go down for a number of reasons. But C North has a habit of going into the tournament without a statistical favorite and with that many play-in games, chaos reigns. Let's hope that happens again this year. --- In the on-going battle of the MPA vs the vendor they paid to do their Heal Points, may I present the Dirigo boys? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-22-at-11.37.22-AM-1.png) They're 1-0 in the MPA's standings, but... ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-22-at-11.37.51-AM-1.png) They're actually 2-0 and the second win just doesn't count for...reasons. But also: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-22-at-11.38.28-AM.png) They're actually 3-0\. They're also not in 12th place. They're in 5th. Big difference! Will the MPA get it right eventually? Sure. Do you want to spend hours of your life waiting? I'm guessing no. [Upgrade for Good Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- Elsewhere, on a light evening... The Ellsworth boys pulled away from Caribou late in the Game of the Day...Grace Jaffery had 33 as Ellsworth moved to 3-0 with a win over Caribou...Freshman Nora Curtis' putback was the game-winner in Presque Isle's 44-43 win over MDI...Lilly Wernget drilled 6 3's for the Fort Kent girls... --- Fort Kent's Ethan Daigle is your latest 1,000 point scorer, getting there in last night's win over Wisdom. --- > Bangor Christian's Jalen Reed is my Game Ball pick for this week! His 16 points were instrumental in the Pats' BIG win against Machias, and his skills are just part of the reason why BCS is making some noise in D North. [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/Dq3JG4N0dI](https://t.co/Dq3JG4N0dI?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/GMVo7wXjvJ](https://t.co/GMVo7wXjvJ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan Sudol (@RyanSudolWVII) [December 23, 2023](https://twitter.com/RyanSudolWVII/status/1738432768239943806?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I added game times to the Scoreboard. Keep in mind these are the game times that were announced at the start of the season. If I get changes, I'll make them. But, you know. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-23-at-12.42.36-AM-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) Lot of day games today. I don't know about you, but I'm probably going to fit a game into my Christmas shopping. Don't tell my wife. I have a couple more tweaks coming to the scoreboard. [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) --- I don't cover wrestling, but this is a pretty great story from the wrestling world. An Ellsworth wrestler saved his opponent's life at a meet. [Read the Story](https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/sports/ellsworth-wrestlers-quick-thinking-helps-save-opponents-life-at-meet/article%5F2038b4fe-a031-11ee-827a-ffa928a8dfac.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-13.png) We're still in B North, where Old Town and Foxcroft are currently fighting for the 4 seed. Based on early returns, it looks like the top 2 seeds are a long shot and the newcomer Maranacook is sitting in the 3 seed. That might leave a battle for the 4 seed and the bye to Bangor. Old Town has played the easier schedule, with their only competitive game coming against Caribou, a game they won. Foxcroft is 3-1\. They have an expected loss to Ellsworth and a decent win against Washington Academy. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-23-at-12.02.01-AM.png) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The AA Round-Up: December 21st, 2023 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-aa-round-up-122123/ Last updated: 2023-12-22T16:16:12.000Z --- In the Game of the Day, Cheverus used a 15-0 first half run to boost themselves over the Portland Bulldogs, 49-45. Leo McNabb and Jameson Fitzpatrick led the Stags with 14 and 10 points as Cheverus picked up a valuable early season win for AA North heal points. Jeissy Khamis was a force down low, he posed a size advantage over Cheverus' relatively small starting five giving him an opportunity to pour in 19 points for the Bulldogs. With the win, Cheverus grows a considerable heal point lead over Windham for first place. --- Makai Bougie and Brady Adams' 20+ point performance's helped Sanford stave off Noble, 88-75. The Knights got a significant boost from Jamier Rose's FORTY FIVE point effort. This week is Noble's "AA Week", as they beat Lewiston Tuesday, Lost to Sanford last night, and welcome Bonny Eagle Saturday afternoon. If they go 2-1 this week and the only loss comes in a game where Rose had 45, the Knights have to be happy. Both teams move onto 3-2. --- Gorham traveled to Class A Falmouth for their first game since their win last Tuesday over Greely 9 days ago. They ran out to a 10-2 lead with five minutes left in the first and never relinquished their lead, coming out with a 73-56 win. Ashton Leclerc was on fire, 23 of his 35 total points were scored in the first half. He was getting it done inside, outside, and boasted an impressive mid range game off the dribble. Gorham's 6'0" tall senior guard Gabe Michaud defended Falmouth's 6'8" big man, Chris Simonds. Simonds finished the game with 19 points, but for a team without a player over 6'4" on the court Gorham did a fairly good job defending one of the states' best bigs. --- The Cheverus girls rolled past rival Portland at home, 72-35 behind Maddie Fitzpatrick's 29 points and 15 rebounds. That's her second double-double in as many nights. --- The Windham girls won their first game of the year over Bonny Eagle, 69-34. Mallory Muse dropped in 18, while three other Eagles saw double figures. --- Saturday holds the final games before the Christmas break, including a few Boys' cross division matchups. Edward Little at Gorham, Lewiston at Scarborough, and Cheverus at Deering should be interesting North/South clashes. --- For the girls, Noble visits Thornton Academy only 10 days after the Trojans put up 107 in North Berwick. ### Stag Sweep URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/stag-sweep/ Last updated: 2023-12-22T15:11:18.000Z In the Game of the Day, Cheverus used a 15-0 run in the first half to take a lead they didn't give back and banked a huge win over Portland at the Expo. The win gives them a commanding lead in AA North. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-22-at-9.16.28-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Cheverus has now opened the season by sweeping all four of last year's Regional Finalists and while it's clear all four of those teams aren't at that same level this year, it's impressive nonetheless. It's also pretty helpful in building a cushion in AA North. In less of a surprise, the Cheverus girls also moved to 4-0 in a doubleheader sweep at the Expo. --- > Ejection! > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [December 22, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1737994896424739260?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I always say, if the game can't be close, let it be memorable. We go to the 4th quarter where Medomak Valley is up 17 with 6-ish minutes to play. I was at this game, so let me provide some context. Mount View was playing HARD and the game was physical on both ends. Nothing bad, just a lot of bodies flying around. And yet, a total of 1 foul was called in the 2nd quarter. No one was giving the refs 5 stars in this one. If you want to make the case that they had lost control of the game, I won't argue with you. I like to sit behind the table, so I can watch the coaches. Mount View coach Brandon Hurd had just received a technical for, let's say, volunteering to do a performance review. I've seen way worse said to those officials in that gym, but I guess they'd had enough. It was a perfectly reasonable tech, but not an obvious one. And then this happened (this *should* embed a clip of the LCTV broadcast of the game, but you can also go to [1:09:00 of this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubFBEpGJ7iM&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) to get the first technical) The ejection comes very soon after. [Play the Clip](https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxDQH9DU%5F8HQ-cl2kz03fPzChiI6gCrpXV?si=apXqHf73a8hX%5FNcU&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I didn't hear what Noah Hurd said, but I'm guessing it was a magic word, because that tech was a surprise. And then Coach Hurd came out of his chair and it was an automatic ejection. But I think this was an ejection built in that 2nd quarter. Once that was put in motion, the Rube Goldberg device of it all made it somewhat inevitable. Kory Donlin finished with 25 points and 14 boards for the Panthers, who are [second in B South](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) at 3-1\. Elsewhere... Maddie Fitzpatrick's 29 & 15 led Cheverus to 4-0...Megyn Mertens put up a 15/15 double-double as Wells swept their back-to-back...The Medomak girls used a 23-5 run to put away Mount View...Mariam Delisle put up 17 points and 10 steals for Lincoln Academy over Lisbon...Noble's Jamier Rose exploded for 45 points but it wasn't enough as Sanford won 88-75...Ashton Leclerc had 35 in Gorham's statement win over Falmouth...Travis Wright's 21 paced Dirigo to 3-0...Camden's Will Duke dropped 27 on Mt. Ararat...Nate Hebert had 33 as GNG coasted past Lake Region...Kade Ippolito had 14 points and 19 boards for Greely...Gabe Hagar scored 25 as Lincoln Academy crushed Lisbon. --- Can I just add some praise for the Heal Points standings on this site? Before the game, someone asked how good Mount View was and I remembered that they were 2-0, but wasn't sure about who they'd played. Within 10 seconds, I had the answer. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-21-at-11.42.13-PM.png) If I was dependent on the MPA's site, I'd still be waiting for the answer. You're going to want this information a dozen times between now and the start of the tourney. You won't get this at the MPA site or anywhere else. And it's cheaper than NFHS or Varsity Maine, who currently has their Scoreboard behind the paywall. The Scoreboard! Not the long-form journalism, but the scores! And *that's* why you should upgrade to the Varsity Plan. [UPGRADE](#/portal/account/plans) --- I'm working on adding a feature to the Scoreboard. It's already the best source for scores around the state by a lot, but I felt like it could be better, so I took my list of home team streams and added it to the scoreboard, like so: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-22-at-12.08.32-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) That projector icon will take you to the home team's usual streaming method. It's not a guarantee that the game is streamed, but if you have a modicum of web savvy, you should be able to find the game (expect for those situations where a bigger outlet has it instead or the school just didn't bother to stream it). [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) --- Fittingly on a 3-pointer, Carter Galley is the newest member of the 1,000 point club. > And with that, Oceanside's Carter Galley crests 1,000 points [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/dvJ9lRrLVX](https://t.co/dvJ9lRrLVX?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — VillageSoup Sports (@VS\_Sports\_ME) [December 21, 2023](https://twitter.com/VS%5FSports%5FME/status/1737985156919562321?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Galley finished with 34\. He's averaging 38.3 ppg on the year and is 18/33 (54.5%) from 3\. If it seems like we're getting one of these a day, it's because we pretty much are. Who's next? --- There's 27 games at this year's Holiday Hoops Showcase at the Expo. [Basketball: Holiday Hoops Showcase returns to Portland Expo for 33rd yearThe tournament, scheduled for Dec. 26-29, includes more than three dozen high school teams – including some from New York and New Hampshire.![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldDrew BonifantStaff Writer![](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/33840665_20221227_HolidayHoopsGirls_03.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.pressherald.com/2023/12/21/basketball-holiday-hoops-showcase-returns-to-portland-expo-for-33rd-year/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And the schedule is out for the [Capitol City Hoop Classic](https://www.augustaciviccenter.org/events/capital-city-hoop-classic?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) in Augusta. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-22-at-9.35.22-AM.png) This is a nice schedule, but can we please bring back the Christmas tournaments? The MPA could add an exception to the exhibition rule. It wouldn't be hard! --- Bangor Christian has a big day of games at the Cross Center today, headlined by a doubleheader with Machias. ![May be a graphic of basketball and text that says 'BANGOR SCHOOLS CHRISTIAN AT THE CROSS CENTER FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22ND CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA Photo Backdrop, Christmas Coloring Activity tables, and Face Painting will be available throughout the day Game -10:00am "B" Boys vs Center Drive Game 2 11:30am "A" Boys Center Drive Game 3- 1:00pm "A" Girls Center Drive Half Time -Pee Wee Cheer Performance Event Intermission All fans are asked to exit the arena from 2:30-3:30 Game4 -4:00pm JV Boys vs Machias Game -5:30pm Girls Varsity vs Machias Game -7:00pm- Boys Varsity vs Machias WHOLE DAY ADMISSION: $10- ADULT $5 -STUDENTS (2ND GRADE'](https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/411900985_972110614363683_8622071593771118368_n.jpg?_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=3635dc&_nc_ohc=Nu-MwobLp2kAX_DC9m0&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=00_AfBTkTGzDrJN2_w4X_e102C1vdekAQ5rZ2DumyhPJAS7fg&oe=6589FB77) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-12.png) We're back in B North as Ellsworth heads north to take on Caribou. The Eagles are currently 2nd in the region at 3-1, with their only loss coming at home against the defending champs. Speaking of the champs, there's a little bit of a consensus that B North is Orono's to lose, but I've heard that before (in B North, even) and it rarely turns out that way. No one knows this better than Caribou, a team almost no one gave a chance in the December of their title-winning season. Could either of these teams knock off Orono come tourney time? Maybe. They're each going to get a good idea of where they stand today. WHOU will have the stream. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-22-at-10.03.45-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Assessing... URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/assessing/ Last updated: 2023-12-21T14:43:19.000Z With a big chunk of the state still dark, games were few and far between last night and information about them was pretty sparse, so we've got a shorter newsletter today. Maren Maxon had 20 points to lead Wells to a 46-45 win over Marshwood. That win moves them to 4-0 on the year. Cally Gudroe was one of 3 Dexter players in double figures against Central. She had 20\. Dexter is now 3-0 on the year and in 6th place in a very competitive C North. [Dexter girls basketball has three players in double figures in win over CentralEAST CORINTH- Cally Gudroe poured in a game high 20 points to lead the Dexter Lady Tigers to a 59-35 win over Central on Wednesday night. Mazie Peach scored 14, while Hannah Dean had 10 points and …![](https://easternmainesports.com/favicon.ico)Eastern Maine SportsPublished by %s![](https://easternmainesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_9522.jpeg)](https://easternmainesports.com/2023/12/20/dexter-girls-basketball-has-three-players-in-double-figures-in-win-over-central/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#google%5Fvignette) [Updated Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) ## The AA Round-Up Gorham's Thomas Curtis is back with the second edition of the AA Round-Up, a new newsletter focusing on the largest group of schools in the state. [The AA Round-Up: Stags Make a StatementThe Stags are the team to beat in AA.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsThomas Curtis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2023/12/121623-4.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/december-19th-2023/) If you subscribe to the AA Round-Up, you'll get those in your inbox and I know Thomas will appreciate that. [The AA Round-Up](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/december-19th-2023/) And! He's also teamed with Thornton Academy's Cole Purvis for a podcast about AA, which you can listen to wherever you podcast. [Listen to the Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/episode/5ifCZQPm22yqfQTq38ZUNs?si=9f865e6a736e4eef&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Over on Facebook, WHOU has the [video of Dylan Burpee's 1,000th point](https://www.facebook.com/whoufm/videos/724014419610983/). --- You can add the legendary Dicky V. to the fans of Cooper Flagg. > I saw [@Cooper\_Flagg](https://twitter.com/Cooper%5FFlagg?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) last night & he was way better than I expected . Cooper is multi skilled & plays with great intensity . [@DukeMBB](https://twitter.com/DukeMBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) fans r going to really LOVE watching him perform . [https://t.co/CbpxI3F0ka](https://t.co/CbpxI3F0ka?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dick Vitale (@DickieV) [December 19, 2023](https://twitter.com/DickieV/status/1737229446573076508?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Your national soccer coaches of the year have been announced by the United Soccer Coaches and there's a familiar name on the very short list. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-21-at-8.27.57-AM.png) --- We've got a full schedule today, but they're already dropping like flies. There's 11 postponements already and I suspect more will roll in. The Scoreboard is going to be your best source of what games are actually happening, so make sure you check that before you get in the car. [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-11.png) We're back in AA where Cheverus continues their daunting early schedule, opening the season with each of last season's Regional Finalists. They're 3-0 so far and they'll finish the run with Portland in what is starting to look like an early battle for the top seed in AA North. If we've got a 3-way race for the top in a 7 team Region, the top seed becomes extremely valuable, as not only do you get a bye, but you don't have to play in the 2/3 semifinal game. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-21-at-9.37.24-AM.png) Portland will be [streaming this on their Hudl account](https://fan.hudl.com/usa/me/portland/organization/8469/portland-high-school/schedule?date=2023-12-17T05%3A00%3A00.000Z&range=Week&s=U2NoZWR1bGVFbnRyeVB1YmxpY1N1bW1hcnk2NTc3YmRkMzllNDdjODE3ZDRlMDQ5N2Y%3D&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), if you've got enough electricity to watch it. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-21-at-9.20.08-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The AA Round-Up: Stags Make a Statement URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/december-19th-2023/ Last updated: 2023-12-20T22:13:17.000Z Cheverus reminds everybody that they're still a top team in AA. --- Maddie Fitzpatrick's 22 point, 12 rebound double-double was enough to boost Cheverus past Thornton Academy in Emma Lizotte's return to Keegan Gymnasium, 54-40. Lizotte was contained in the scoring column by a routine double or even triple team from Cheverus, although she led all players in rebounds with 14\. The Stags' suffocated the paint, leading to 19 Trojan turnovers. With all the hype the Trojans got in the preseason Cheverus felt a little underrated. Seniors Fitzpatrick and Ruth Boles proved with their 35 combined points that they're still here. It sounded like a playoff atmosphere in the gym. > It’s also a tournament atmosphere > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [December 19, 2023](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1737252254392975739?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Cheverus didn't keep the winning on the Girls' side. The Boys slipped by Thornton Academy 66-64 in Saco despite another explosive performance from Wyatt Benoit. Benoit poured in 37 more to add to his season total, bringing his average to 29 PPG. Cheverus' backcourt controlled the scoring, but their bench depth and size has been the story. They out rebounded the Trojans and protected the paint better than I've seen any team do this season. --- Class A Falmouth visited South Portland and put on a clinic on their way to a 59-50 win. Chris Simonds led the Navigators with 17 points, Manny Hidalgo showed out for South Portland with 28, but got essentially no help behind him. The Red Riots drop to 0-4, Falmouth is 3-0 with a chance to make another statement Thursday when they host Gorham. --- In other news, Portland got by Deering behind Drew Veilleux's 20 point effort, 56-46\. Deering has fought with TA and now Portland, so even though they're 1-3, they haven't played like a 3 loss team. Thursday holds Cheverus-Portland at the expo, an early season match between two AA North Titans. If you can get there to see those backcourts clash, you should. --- Cole and I just released the first episode of our weekly podcast. I'm sorry about the audio quality. I'm going to blame it on zoom for using my AirPods instead of my external mic. We're going to try to drop it weekly, highlighting big wins and individual performances while also making predictions and picks for upcoming games. Hope you enjoy. ### 10-9 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/10-9/ Last updated: 2023-12-20T15:06:39.000Z And you thought there wasn't going to be any basketball last night. Let's start at Camden. The Windjammers entered the evening at 2-1, with wins over Cony and Brewer and a loss to Medomak Valley. They're hosting Oceanside, who are 2-0 on the young season, with the high water mark of 110 in a win over Cony and a comeback win over Medomak. At the half, the Mariners are down 15\. But this is a rivalry game and this is a blink-and-you-miss-it offense. With 2 minutes left, they'd worked the Camden lead down to 66-58 and hopefully you didn't leave to get a hot dog, because you would have missed this: > Carter Galley! Three-pointer at the buzzer, Oceanside and Camden Hills heading to OT tied at 70![#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/PKSP7kj8ya](https://t.co/PKSP7kj8ya?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — VillageSoup Sports (@VS\_Sports\_ME) [December 20, 2023](https://twitter.com/VS%5FSports%5FME/status/1737284250406138294?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's a 12-4 run to close regulation and they just kept going, scoring 16 in the extra frame to survive in overtime. Carter Galley had 37 for the Mariners. Nolan Ames had 25 for Camden, who is looking like a sneaky good 2-2 team. Oceanside moves to first in what looks like a deep B South. [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- Next, we'll go to Madawaska. I've watched a lot of basketball in my life and I've never seen anything like this. The Madawaska/Van Buren girls game was expected to be a low scoring affair. Van Buren entered the game averaging 17 points a game while Madawaska was averaging 4.5\. Yes, 4.5\. At the half, Madawaska takes a 10-2 lead into the locker room. Lucky for us, WOWL had to re-start their feed with 34 seconds left and the Owls clinging to a 10-8 lead with Van Buren in the Red Zone. How did Madawaska manage to hold a lead without scoring in the second half? It doesn't seem like they stalled, but I'll be honest: I didn't watch the whole thing. Anyway, after an airballed three that Madawaska failed to corral, Van Buren has one more shot with 3.4 to go. The shot misses and the putback misses and then the putback is GOOD! But they waive it off. Foul on the initial shot. 0.2 to play. There should be 1.5 seconds on the clock, but details. Van Buren's entire team, minus the shooter, is talking to their coach when the officials put the ball in play for the first free throw, which is missed. Her teammates rejoin her for the second one, which she also misses. Madawaska thinks the game is over. But! We have a lane violation on the Owls (this is why coaches drink). Now we have confusion and a timeout. (This is also confusing if you're watching it on mute in the corner of your screen) With 0.2 left, that's not enough to catch and shoot (that extra second sure would be handy here), so Van Buren needs to miss the FT and get the tip-in for overtime. Naturally, the shooter makes the free throw, much to her frustration. 10-9\. Timeout. And we have to reset the clock, which now reads 0:00\. I should point out that by now, several parents are convinced the officials are to blame for all of this. So it's Madawaska's ball under their own basket. 0.2 left. All they need to do is throw it somewhere someone--anyone--will touch it. They throw it out of bounds. But the scorekeeper thought someone touched it. So we have to reset the clock again and we have another timeout. Van Buren has the ball on the baseline, but they can't get someone in position for a tip and the inbounds pass goes to Madawaska. Game over! And that's the story of the team that won without scoring in the second half. If you're wondering, that final 0.2 seconds took 4 minutes and 28 seconds to complete. --- We were so close to adding a team to the 100 Point Club. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-19-at-11.11.01-PM.png) That's the Lawrence girls over Noble. I kind of have a different view on sportsmanship than most people and maybe it comes from playing on a team that got blown out a lot. I never cared how much teams scored on us. There's no difference between 99-9 and 100-9\. Go get the round number if you can. You never know if the opportunity will present itself again. I'd be more pissed off we only scored 9\. Score 99 or 199\. What's the difference? Elsewhere, around the state... Bryce Guitard had 21 of his 29 in the first quarter as Noble blew out Lewiston...Manny Hidalgo had another huge game for South Portland, but his 28 couldn't keep them from falling to 0-4 as they lost to Falmouth...Speaking of big AA scorers, Wyatt Benoit's 37 wasn't enough for TA against Cheverus. Leo McNabb had 17 for the Stags...Tanner McCann had 21 as Sanford beat Edward Little...Lukas Bouchard had 12 & 12 for York...Natalie Santiago's 20 led Deering to a win over Portland...Izzy Morelli's 27 fueled GNG's big 3rd quarter over Greely. --- We have another 1,000 point scorer up north. > Dylan Burpee of SAHS scored his 1000th point this evening in win over Hodgdon. > > — Rene Cloukey (@CloukeyRene) [December 20, 2023](https://twitter.com/CloukeyRene/status/1737288035853541633?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- It can be tricky on mass postponement days to know what's happening, but [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) did a pretty good job of keeping up (a better job than some media professionals were Tweeting...yes, the game in your coverage area postponed at 8am was still postponed at 4pm) and I added a feature when when a game was confirmed to be on, it went from gray to green, like this: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-19-at-3.12.09-PM.png) The Falmouth/SoPo game hadn't been confirmed yet. But you can easily see the games that were happening, the game that had already been rescheduled to Jan 2nd, and the PPDs with no set date. Pretty handy! And then scores roll in. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-20-at-12.54.02-AM-1-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) We might have more today, especially in the harder hit areas, so check out the [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) for updates. --- This is a nice get for UMaine. > WelcoⓂ️e to the Brotherhood! > > Noah Carpenter > 6'1" | 195 lbs | ATH > Turner, ME / Leavitt[#BlackBearNation](https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackBearNation?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/o2o1t9XKqc](https://t.co/o2o1t9XKqc?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Football (@BlackBearsFB) [December 20, 2023](https://twitter.com/BlackBearsFB/status/1737479880504214007?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Here's an interesting thought. Anyone got an idea? > Often wondered, "What school has the oldest basketball gym in Maine?" [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — TheStatsGuy (@TheStatsGuy262) [December 20, 2023](https://twitter.com/TheStatsGuy262/status/1737461059961643262?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-10.png) Speaking of deep regions, may I interest you in B North? Caribou is 6th in the region in the Power Rankings and currently 12th in the Heal Points with a 2-1 record. They're going to need all the Heal Points they can get. They'll get an opportunity with Fort Kent, currently first in C North and coming off a road win over Southern Aroostook. [WHOU will have the stream](https://whoufm.com/broadcast-schedule/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-20-at-9.22.36-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's game are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Power Out URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/power-out/ Last updated: 2023-12-19T12:32:56.000Z This kind of says it all, right? > You can't get there from here. [pic.twitter.com/jGuydwP7CA](https://t.co/jGuydwP7CA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Chris Legro (@OceanStWx) [December 18, 2023](https://twitter.com/OceanStWx/status/1736844819144786288?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We got 2 games last night, as best I can tell. The Katahdin boys beat Stearns 59-44 and the Schenck girls beat Stearns 39-27\. With half the state without power (as of last night) and bridges and roads out of commission all around the state, it wouldn't be a shock if a number of today's games were postponed because you can't play with the lights off. If you've got information on when a game has been postponed (or you'd like to know), the Scoreboard updates pretty well. [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) If you know a new date and want to add it, that makes it so much easier to keep track of schedule changes, like so: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-18-at-10.40.15-PM.png) It's a pretty handy resource, especially since Varsity Maine has been having issues. --- One thing I missed the other night is that Central's Mary Allen had a MONSTER night--a quadruple-double! Eastern Maine Sports has the details. [Mary Allen has quadruple-double in leading Central girls basketball to win over PCHSGUILFORD- Mary Allen had a quadruple double to lead the Central Lady Red Devils to a 55-42 win over Piscataquis Community High School (PCHS) on Friday evening. Allen finished with 26 points, 12 ste…![](https://easternmainesports.com/favicon.ico)Eastern Maine SportsPublished by %s![](https://easternmainesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_9317.png)](https://easternmainesports.com/2023/12/16/mary-allen-has-quadruple-double-in-leading-central-girls-basketball-to-win-over-pchs/?fbclid=IwAR3gSsRR-zbysEv6Jp9Ot2cE-rFUg4gVQ6U9l1I8LKIpcVbEGuWPNxtde9w&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Without any games, let's check in on some alumni. Teigan Pelletier had a big game. > NE Storm and [@spsmbb](https://twitter.com/spsmbb?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 2025 6'6 Guard Teigan Pellitier was a monster again vs Brunswick. 30pts 8rbd 4ast w/ 6 3s made. Teigans versatility is crazy good! [@NEStormBball](https://twitter.com/NEStormBball?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@NERRHoops](https://twitter.com/NERRHoops?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@DylanThayer0](https://twitter.com/DylanThayer0?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)[https://t.co/wcmknQWOI8](https://t.co/wcmknQWOI8?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Matt Regan (@NEStormNHDir) [December 18, 2023](https://twitter.com/NEStormNHDir/status/1736801423139254726?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And Cooper did his usual things. > Cooper Flagg, ladies and gentlemen. Montverde Academy beat Cannon 110-57\. > > [pic.twitter.com/f8c6De8RTc](https://t.co/f8c6De8RTc?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — John Fanta (@John\_Fanta) [December 19, 2023](https://twitter.com/John%5FFanta/status/1736945622014415183?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Mackenzie continues to make fans. > Love this Indiana women’s team. Mackenzie Holmes so tough to stop down low, Yarden Garzon so versatile, Sara Scalia elite shooter, Chloe Moore-McNeil runs team/so unselfish and Sydney Parrish has expanded her game. > > Also really like the depth with young players: Lexus Bargesser… > > — Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) [December 19, 2023](https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/status/1736924492905988255?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-9.png) It's a battle of undefeated teams in AA when Cheverus travels to Saco to take on the Trojans. Thornton Academy is all alone in first place in AA South. Wyatt Benoit has been the standout so far. He had 26 in a win over Bonny Eagle. Cheverus is 2-0 with wins over two teams that are trying to figure out what they're going to be this year, so I'm not sure we have a solid read on the Stags yet. This will go a long way. Thomas will have a lot more about this in his [AA-centric newsletter](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/december-15th-2023/). Have you subscribed to that yet? Because you really should! [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-18-at-11.06.49-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump...maybe. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Monsoon Monday Redux URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/monsoon-monday-redux/ Last updated: 2023-12-18T12:46:10.000Z Saturday's Game of the Day didn't look great at first. Maranacook raced out to an early lead that peaked at 18 in the first half. But Spruce Mountain battled back. They got it down to 14 at the half then used a strong 3rd quarter to whittle it to 5 before finally forcing overtime. In the overtime period, Jace Bessey fouled out rather early, but the Phoenix didn't die. They forced a second overtime and nearly a third before Keagan McClure drilled home the game-winner with 2 seconds left. Maranacook win 76-74 in double-overtime. Meanwhile, up north. > Old Town boys hoops are 3-0 after a double OT thriller on Saturday against Caribou. After being down six at the half, the Coyotes went shot for shot with the Vikings until finally going on an 11-3 run in the second OT to get the win! [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/J4SpLMsam6](https://t.co/J4SpLMsam6?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/3IbKCxlULu](https://t.co/3IbKCxlULu?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan Sudol (@RyanSudolWVII) [December 17, 2023](https://twitter.com/RyanSudolWVII/status/1736204924923289892?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We've got our third 1,000-point scorer of the year. Entering the game, Katahdin's Hunter Hartsgrove needed 32 points to get to 1K and with 5:41 left in the 3rd, she got it with a jumper. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Katahdin.jpeg) 📷 Jan Vose --- It isn't often that either of the Southern Aroostook teams lose and even less often do they lose at home. But to both lose at home on the same night? > Fort Kent Boys and Girls teams pulled a rare feat as they both travelled to Southern Aroostook and won. Boys 48-43 and Girls 49-47\. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — TheStatsGuy (@TheStatsGuy262) [December 17, 2023](https://twitter.com/TheStatsGuy262/status/1736373607545049204?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Power Rankings are starting to get to the point where they're stabilizing, with one notable, yearly exception. Every year there's teams that are rated too low. Everyone knows they're rated too low. You know it. I know it. The people who go out of their way to tell me online *definitely* know it. And the reason is always the same: they haven't played anyone. The concept is pretty simple. If you only play teams you should blow out, that doesn't tell us anything. We only get a sense of how good a team is when they're tested. Eventually, someone will test them. Sometimes, they fail that test and sometimes they pass it. Either way, that's when we find out what a team is made of. Take, for example, Forest Hills. They've played #123 (twice), #131, and #115\. None of those games have been close and there aren't any points to earn toward the rankings: #123 Vinalhaven: 0.417 (x2) #131 North Haven: 0.002 #115 Temple: 1.958 Meanwhile, Valley (their next opponent) is ranked 1 spot below them and they're 1-2\. But... #19 Richmond: 5.580 (48-49 loss) #12 Mount Abram: 5.355 (47-57 loss) #123 Vinalhaven: 0.417 (81-27 win) We have a lot better idea of how good Valley is. There's a bunch of these teams around the state. The Ellsworth girls. The Spruce Mountain girls. The Hall-Dale girls. The Lawrence girls. The St. Dom's boys. They'll all get their chances. [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) --- Would you like to see some of the worst college basketball highlights you've ever seen? > Remember North Dakota State’s 94 point win over Oak Hill Christian a couple days ago? > > Well I found the highlights from the game and let me just say.. there’s no way this is real: [pic.twitter.com/aQiBR8uqzN](https://t.co/aQiBR8uqzN?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — CBB Content (@CBBcontent) [December 17, 2023](https://twitter.com/CBBcontent/status/1736233928736817607?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Maine Celtics wore some special Lewiston-themed uniforms last night. > 🔥 [@jbrandonslater](https://twitter.com/jbrandonslater?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) was on fire last night! He’s your [@LLBean](https://twitter.com/LLBean?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Outsider of the Game. [#bleedgreen](https://twitter.com/hashtag/bleedgreen?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/On0L5PR8Fk](https://t.co/On0L5PR8Fk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Celtics (@MaineCeltics) [December 17, 2023](https://twitter.com/MaineCeltics/status/1736453358754410667?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-8.png) It's been a good start to the year so far for Freeport, currently sitting in 2nd place in what figures to be a competitive A South. The Model has them 4th in the region after their loss on Friday to Greely. They'll host a Biddeford team that's 1-2 and sitting in 10th, but they've lost by a combined 5 points on the road to Wells and Fryeburg. They could easily be 3-0\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-17-at-6.02.12-PM.png) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Trojan Victory URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/trojan-victory-2/ Last updated: 2023-12-16T17:02:27.000Z For a while, it looked like Bonny Eagle would get their revenge. A strong third quarter put the Scots up 4 going into the final period. But Thornton Academy reeled off a 23-8 fourth quarter, including going 11-12 from the line, to get the win. Wyatt Benoit had 26 for the Trojans, including 12 of their 27 free throws. --- In a rivalry double-header in Rockland, Oceanside got a sweep over Medomak Valley, but not without some stress. In the boys game, Medomak led at the half, but Oceanside ripped off a 31-8 third quarter. The Panthers couldn't come back and the Mariners move to 2-0 on the year. Carter Galley had 31 in the win. Kory Donlin went for 28 & 13 in the loss. In the girls game, Oceanside led by 16 at the half, but the Panthers kept chipping away, eventually getting within one late in the 4th quarter before Oceanside ended on an 11-4 run. Bailey Breen had 26 for Oceanside, while Kytana Williamson led Medomak with 20\. --- Let go around the state! Freeport's 21-9 4th quarter wasn't enough as Greely held on to win by 8...Gabe Hagar's 22 led Lincoln Academy over Winslow...Evans Sterling had 26 as Mount Blue beat Messo...Brady Plante's 24 led OOB to victory...Jameson Weir had 30 for MDI in their win over Bapst...Izzy Stewart put up 21 & 18 for Richmond over Carrabec...Avery Clark had 20 as Bangor cruised...Maddie Fitzpatrick had 26 as Cheverus crushed Oxford Hills...Maya Gayle's 12 & 11 got Deering by Falmouth...Caitlyn McCoy's 22 led Leavitt to a win over Erskine...The Mt. Ararat used a 14-5 4th quarter to stun Marshwood. Sarah Theriault had 15 & 17 in the loss...Tessa Ferguson's 26 fueled OOB...Emma Lizotte had 26 as TA crushed Bonny Eagle to move to 3-0...Kirsten Bigelow and Liana Hartwell each had 10 steals for Valley...Molly Hay's 26 weren't enough as Richmond beat Carrabec 44-43. --- If you were worried about the relegated teams dominating in the lower classes (and a lot of people were), you probably shouldn't have. The Waterville boys are 0-3 in C North, as are the Wiscasset girls in D South. Somewhat predictably, the Noble boys (2-1) are doing well in A South, but there were a lot of people who felt that Noble should refuse the demotion. At least, there were in my DMs. Obviously, I'll keep an eye on it. But so far, it looks like it was the right move. --- In awesome news, this website is expanding. The news today is that Gorham's [Thomas Curtis](https://twitter.com/ThomasCurtisGHS?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) will be doing a newsletter dedicated to AA basketball, which you should absolutely subscribe to. If you're new, just click the subscribe button, but if you're already signed up, you can easily add it. [Add Newsletters](#/portal/account/plans) If you click on "Account" in the top right corner, you'll see this. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-15-at-11.02.21-PM-1.png) Click on "Manage" and you'll see an option to subscribe to the new newsletter. I'm really excited about what this will add to the site. And he's already got his first entry. Check it out! [December 15th, 2023Thomas Curtis is here to cover the AA beat.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsThomas Curtis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2023/12/AA-round-up.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/december-15th-2023/) --- In football news, we have our Fitzpatrick finalists. > The Fitzpatrick Trophy Finalists have been announced! Congratulations to the following players: Noah Carpenter-Leavitt, Terrell Edwards-Bonny Eagle, Cohen Galley-Oceanside & Michael McGonagle-Yarmouth. The winner will be announced on January 14th. > > — Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) [December 15, 2023](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME/status/1735781795293962367?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-7.png) When last we saw Maranacook--newest members of B North--they were playing a thriller against C South's Mount Abram. Tonight, they're back in their old stomping grounds of B South, hosting Jace Bessey and the Spruce Mountain Phoenix. Bessey, of course, is one of the more electric scorers in the state and is coming off a school record 44 points (in 23 minutes) in the opener. But Maranacook has their own scorer in Keagan McClure, younger brother of Mr. Basketball. Could we have an old-fashioned shootout on our hands? Hopefully! [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-16-at-11.54.47-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) As always, the rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The AA Round-Up: December 15th, 2023 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/december-15th-2023/ Last updated: 2023-12-16T17:12:28.000Z Welcome to a new section of Maine Basketball Rankings, where I recap and breakdown what happened in the night of Class AA basketball. If you don't know anything about me, I've broadcasted Gorham basketball games for the past three years and covered AA for the past two. I've written a few articles independently, a few for Big Time Hoops, and now Lucas has given me a platform to review big stories in AA a few times per week. Now for the games we had last night. --- In the Game of the Day, the Thornton Academy boys downed Bonny Eagle, 69-58\. If you like three point shooting, this wasn't your kind of game. The teams combined for 6 total threes made. Wyatt Benoit kept up his hot start to the season with 26 points while Trey Eldred poured in 14. Lucas Drinkwater paced the Scots with 18\. Cole Purvis posted a few highlights on X. > [@TATrojanSports](https://twitter.com/TATrojanSports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) takes down Bonny Eagle 69-58 tonight from Linnell Gymnasium. Wyatt Benoit led the way for TA dropping 26 points. > > Trojans were dominant in the paint. Here were a couple key and-1s ⬇️[@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/IjqMVSTW7d](https://t.co/IjqMVSTW7d?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Cole Purvis (@Cole\_Purvis) [December 16, 2023](https://twitter.com/Cole%5FPurvis/status/1735863388457066675?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- On the girls side, Thornton Academy's big 3 combined for 55 of the Trojans' 73 points en route to a 73-32 win over Bonny Eagle in Standish. Emma Lizotte led the group with 26 points, Kylie Lamson dropped 19 with 3 three pointers, and Addisen Sulikowski got 10 of her own. I don't know who's stopping TA this winter. --- Windham has started 3-0 after a 76-59 win in Bangor. The Eagles began the game with a dominant 16-0 run and never looked back. Tyrie James led all scorers with 21. Before the season started I questioned who was going to be their interior presence, but through three games junior Creighty Dickson has proved it's going to be him. He put up 9 points and 14 rebounds tonight to give him 10.3 PPG and 12.3 RPG on the young season. Windham visits Gorham next Tuesday in an early season battle of undefeated squads. --- Portland squeaked by Edward Little with a 53-49 win in Auburn. I don't have any stats for this one, but Edward Little has fought hard in their last two losses, losing by 3 to Mt. Blue and only 4 to the defending Class AA North champions. I'm expecting the Red Eddies to be a true threat in AA North if they can pull a few things together. --- There's no AA games at all tonight or even Monday, so enjoy the weekend off before a full slate on Tuesday where all 14 teams are in action. ### Top of the Mountain URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/top-of-the-mountain/ Last updated: 2023-12-15T15:58:41.000Z The Game of the Day lived up to the billing. On the road, the Maranacook boys led 31-26 at the half. Keagan McClure finished with 20 for the Black Bears. But Mount Abram didn't quit. They got the lead down to 1 after 3\. And then it was Payton Mitchell Time. He scored 9 of his 25 in the final period and the Roadrunners came away with a big 68-64 win. They move to [first place in C South](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) with the win. --- A note on the Heal Points. It appears the MPA has fixed their wacky Heal Point COVID math that everyone hated, so it should be less confusing this year. But the platform they use is still...awful and...slow. If you're not using the Heal Points here, you're really missing out. The data on the hover alone is worth it, especially when you want to know what a team really has left on their schedule. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-14-at-10.26.41-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) [Give Me the Good Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- Orono's title defense is going pretty well. [Orono boys’ basketball triumphs in anticipated rematch with EllsworthEllsworth had swept Orono in the regular season last year, but the Red Riots flexed their championship pedigree on Thursday.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsSam Canfield![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2023/12/20230217194211_029A8285-crop.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/12/14/sports/high-school-sports/orono-boys-basketball-triumphs-ellsworth/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Ellsworth was understandably out for blood in this one, as Orono upset them in the Regional Final and went on to claim the Gold Ball, but Orono was ready. They raced out to a 20-8 lead, but Ellsworth hung around. They got it to within 5 before the champs pulled away. Pierce Walston led the way with 25 points, 12 boards, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Orono is your new #1 in the [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/). --- No one got to 100 points last night (lame), but we did get a school scoring record, as Jace Bessey put up 44 in 23 minutes as Spruce blew out Lisbon, 83-33\. According to Spruce Coach Scott Bessey, the 44 is actually a combined Spruce/Jay/Livermore Falls record, besting the 42 by Jay's John Cornelio in 1984. 0:00 /0:12 1× 🎥 Finley Sports So to recap: Tuesday: 110 points, Oceanside scoring record (51, Carter Galley) Wednesday: 107 points (TA girls), 1,000-point scorer (Anna Oliver, 46 points) Thursday: Spruce/Jay/LF scoring record (44, Jace Bessey) This is turning into an awesome week. Who's next? --- Elsewhere, around the state... Forest Hills used a 20-2 second quarter to pull away from Temple. They're already 4-0 on the season in only 6 playable dates...Sammy Calder had 24 as Monmouth beat Mountain Valley...Tyler Easterbrooks had 25 & 11 and Silas Nielsen had 22 & 16 as Sacopee Valley won their first game of the year...Manny Hidalgo had 32 (with 6 3's) but it wasn't enough to keep South Portland from falling to 0-3...Spencer Carpenter had 13 points and 17 rebounds as Wells moved to 3-0. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-6.png) We head to Southern Maine, where Thornton Academy looks to move to 3-0 on the year. They host Bonny Eagle and, well... > The last time TA and Bonny Eagle played? [https://t.co/vF9grlSM8k](https://t.co/vF9grlSM8k?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/BkwXNKTYHN](https://t.co/BkwXNKTYHN?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Cole Purvis (@Cole\_Purvis) [December 15, 2023](https://twitter.com/Cole%5FPurvis/status/1735657419055714368?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm sure everyone at Bonny Eagle has completely forgotten about that there's no hard feelings whatsoever. I don't know who's in charge of AA scheduling, but this really should have been at Bonny Eagle...on Opening Night. But, hey, this works too. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-15-at-10.55.54-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 107 Points! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/107-points/ Last updated: 2023-12-14T14:07:59.000Z One night after the Oceanside boys erupted for 110 points against Cony, we have another offensive explosion, this time in girls basketball. Thornton Academy 107 Noble 34 That's a 73-point margin of victory, the biggest of the year so far. Addisen Sulikowski led the way with 29 for TA. I've been trying to track down a box score of this, but considering that Noble also gave up 82 to Scarborough and is -127 through 2 games, this might just be a situation where the TA bench is better than the Noble starters. They'll play again in the last game before Christmas. Who's going to be the next to crack 100? Elsewhere, on a light schedule with even lighter reporting. Grace Jaffray had 28 as Ellsworth rolled over Foxcroft....The Easton boys raced out to a 41-1 lead over Van Buren before calling off the dogs...The Ellsworth girls dropped 94 on Foxcroft...Freshman Cryan Ciarleglio had 31 in a Hodgdon blowout. --- We're 4 days into the season and we've already got our second 1,000 point scorer, as Hodgdon's Anna Oliver put 46 to get herself over the threshold in a 71-15 win over Washburn. ![No description available.](https://scontent-ord5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/403412956_291056433402416_6438247064331895425_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8cd0a2&_nc_ohc=zo_6M2nn38UAX_9CEfo&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-1.xx&oh=03_AdQCPND6bx-s39o5Cqt_i7KktnFKT1lGTLTa1MUntmu4Og&oe=65A1A541) Hodgdon Coach Matt Day, Anna, and Matt Oliver. 📷 courtesy of Scott Carleglio --- Next time you consider complaining about your hour and a half bus ride, keep in mind Buckfield's day yesterday. > Left my house at 545 this morning just got home at 8:30pm ! Class d is a haul > > — Coach Cadman (@coach\_cadman) [December 14, 2023](https://twitter.com/coach%5Fcadman/status/1735111494776271352?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Buckfield is an hour and 45 minutes from Rockland, which is where you catch the ferry to Vinalhaven. You can't play in the evening because the last ferry back to Rockland leaves at 3:15, so you're looking at an 11:30am start. I don't know about you, but I always hated those early starts. Anyway, the ferry itself takes an hour and 15 minutes. And that's how you get a really long day. Anyway, Buckfield won 81-27\. They had 5 players in double figures. If you're gonna spend that much time on the bus, you might as well get everyone theirs. --- I was supposed to get this in yesterday's newsletter. We lost one of the legends of northern Maine basketball. Courtesy of the essential [Aroostook County Hoops](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid02d8TycfL4CQJhowDD91RcPw3zp2YdN1snUDTuqQ8kT56LFCoPku8WQ9KkpDqjVV6Ul&id=100064346785865&%5F%5Fcft%5F%5F[0]=AZW2IZzS4pdgtF2TGxqcizMmFsUTIicHvjCpqSCbOHPdo8sfC%5FUkKBQqfGUSzfJRB4J9hZxBqpEkMRLDfuH9u2nMc1ZWVL-vrB2bBw22E9jrkt1o5XfWrq7OWSQFzOnUUjM8HFSLKAjk7yCDV1hoXOL26gCgJ252Be2cJmqgpKze-SKsKPg1-eW9xXy%5F8Bf0-us&%5F%5Ftn%5F%5F=%2CO%2CP-y-R): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-13-at-7.40.33-PM.png) --- Wisdom's Lily Roy is going to Husson. [Women’s basketball adds Roy to 2024-25 recruiting class - Husson UniversityThe Husson University women’s basketball team added another talented recruit to its 2024-25 recruiting class on Tuesday. Wisdom Middle High School standout, Lilly![](https://hussoneagles.com/images/logos/site/site.png)Husson UniversityHusson University![](https://hussoneagles.com/images/2023/12/13/Lilly_Roy_Committed_Graphic.jpg?preset=large.socialmediaimage)](https://hussoneagles.com/news/2023/12/13/womens-basketball-womens-basketball-adds-roy-to-2024-25-recruiting-class.aspx?fbclid=IwAR2XVk7vtUm%5F4Jc9HGMJyuOu0qNeD5J1K2bMvIMBMY3fKgu6ouKpzrWk6G0&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- And speaking of blowouts, The BDN has a story on Carter Galley's 51-point game. [Oceanside senior scores 51 points in blowout home basketball opener“I just got super hot,” Carter Galley said. “Catch-and-shoot threes, pull-up jumpers — everything was falling.”![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsSam Canfield![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2023/12/carter-galley-oceanside-bball-horiz.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/12/13/sports/high-school-sports/oceanside-carter-galley-51-points-basketball-opener-n6hjn1me0n/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-5.png) We've got a bunch of good games on the boys side today, with 4 Stax Indexes over 80 and they're someone spread out around the state, so if you want to take in a game in a gym you might not normally visit, you've got options. The Maranacook boys are off to a 2-0 start in their new home of B North. And in a fun twist, they've already played their only game against a B North opponent, a 62-55 win over MCI. They have 4 B South opponents left on their schedule, 9(!) C South opponents, a C North opponent, and they play games against A and D schools too, just for fun. There's so much going on here. They'll travel to Mount Abram, where the Roadrunners are 9th so far in scoring differential, but 106th in SOS. They've played a B South school and a D school and despite being in C South, play more games against B North opponents than Maranacook does. This should be a good early test for both teams. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-14-at-9.02.42-AM-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 110 Points URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/110-points/ Last updated: 2023-12-13T15:31:41.000Z LOT of action last night. Let's start with a buzzer-beater. We're at Deering, where the TA and Deering boys are tied at 50\. > TA Boys Basketball gets a buzzer beater win over Deering! Wyatt Benoit gets the friendly roll as time expires and the Golden Trojans beat the Rams, 52-50\. [@VarsityMaine](https://twitter.com/VarsityMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@ThorntonHoops](https://twitter.com/ThorntonHoops?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@TLee\_WMTW](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@DaveEidWGME](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/VTqmviZ4Gi](https://t.co/VTqmviZ4Gi?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Thornton Academy Athletics (@TATrojanSports) [December 13, 2023](https://twitter.com/TATrojanSports/status/1734751569940492693?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Benoit finished with 29 on the night. --- In Rockland, the Oceanside boys birthed a thousand concerned Facebook posts with a 110-59 win over Cony. Carter Galley had 51(!) for the Mariners. 51 is definitely out high-water mark for scoring this season and according to Don Shields is very likely the school record. Of course, Oceanside is a combination of Georges Valley and Rockland, so if you want to go further back in the archives, there's some Travis Magnusson performances to contend with. You're going to see a lot of people freaking out about this today because obviously this the worst thing that's ever happened to high school basketball. But...I don't have a problem with it. You have so few nights where everything is clicking and 51 points is a rare thing and Cony is hardly Our Sisters of Mercy. I say, go off. Travis Lee and WMTW picked the right night to go up the coast and grab some highlights. > Carter Galley puts up 51, Kory Donlin with a big night and Lincoln rolls past Cape. Midcoast highlights. [pic.twitter.com/9bZV3MUQc7](https://t.co/9bZV3MUQc7?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [December 13, 2023](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1734797919297900641?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) What I do have a problem with is the Waynflete girls beating Traip 21-11\. Twenty-one to Eleven! No one needs to be subjected to that. Elsewhere around the state... Kory Donlin put up 31 & 12 and Gabe Lash added 23 & 17 as Medomak Valley survived a rally from Camden. Quincy Messer had 24 for the Windjammers...Gabe Galarraga had 26, but it wasn't enough to prevent SoPo from falling to 0-2...Brock Gibbons scored 20 to get Lake Region to 2-0...Lucas Houghton's 18 & 11 got Lincoln Academy past Cape...Cooper Daigle had 14 & 11\. Forest Hills is the first team to 3 wins...Skowhegan got 49 from Adam Fitzgerald (25) and Ryan Donoghue (24) in beating Hampden. The Broncos were led by Zach McLaughlin's 25...Keagan McClure dropped 21 for Maranacook...Spencer Carpenter's near triple-double (14/11/8) and Eli Roy's late steal helped Wells squeak by Biddeford...Chris Simonds dropped 30 for Falmouth...Ashton Leclerc had 14 of Gorham's 34 first quarter points as Gorham rolled by Greely...Sam Calder's 24 led Monmouth past OOB...Edward Little nearly erased a 15-point halftime deficit in losing to Mount Blue...Maddie Fitzpatrick had 28 of Cheverus' 48 as they rolled by South Portland...Kelsie Dunn had 24 as Erskine rallied past the new look Gardiner Tigers...The Fort Kent girls held Madawaska to 4 points. That's the low on the year...Abby Giroux's 4 3's and 25 points keyed a Freeport rout of Morse...Bailey Breen had 29 & 11 as Oceanside rolled in their opener....Izzy Stewart had 25 and 10 as Richmond blew out Wiscasset...Natalie Beaudoin had 32 as Lewiston rolled over Messo. --- If you didn't get tickets to the Maine Event (Montverde's games in Maine), WHOU has grabbed streaming rights. This is awesome. WHOU is far and away the best streaming platform we have and I'd argue they'd be better than whatever ESPN+ setup they'd cobble together. If you don't already have a WHOU subscription, you should fix that before January 5th. [WHOU.live Secures Exclusive Streaming Rights for The Maine Event - WHOU 100.1 FMSUBSCRIBE NOW Houlton, Maine – Tuesday, December 12, 2023 WHOU.live, Maine’s premier streaming platform for high school and sporting events, is thrilled to announce it has been awarded the exclusive …![](https://whoufm.com/wp-content/uploads/cropped-logo_square_500x500-180x180.png)WHOU 100.1 FMFred![](https://whoufm.com/wp-content/uploads/MaineEventSlider-1.png)](https://whoufm.com/whou-live-secures-exclusive-streaming-rights-for-the-maine-event/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The new Brewer facility looks pretty great. [Brewer’s massive multi-sport athletic complex is nearly completeBrewer Athletic Director David Utterback described it as “one of the largest continuous sheets of turf north of Augusta.”![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsKathleen O’Brien![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2023/12/1000001228.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/12/12/sports/high-school-sports/brewers-heddericg-field-athletic-complex-nearly-complete-joam40zk0w/?fbclid=IwAR0IHEP2rh7Se7juIcmJC5RpyuIlTd1hf5gZ2cTHfgnDeXbNDfLlo92DagU%5Faem%5FAbkldwNQYQQe8PV1aS4AJ2kysxKvgXx-dXvXvLuj9ad2wA1uxn5IE%5FFOQMYEMHnoyWE&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The NBA refs, who are on a roll that would make Peter Webb proud, ejected Jokic on Serbian Heritage Night. > Nikola Jokic is immediately ejected from the Bulls-Nuggets for arguing a no-call and even Bulls announcers Adam Amin and Stacey King are in disbelief. > > "The people didn't come to see the officials, let's be honest, they came to see the players." > > It's Serbian Heritage Night in… [pic.twitter.com/w8ejIp4AMX](https://t.co/w8ejIp4AMX?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) [December 13, 2023](https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1734760884994523604?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And Draymond, who has just about reached Kanye levels of...whatever this is. > BREAKING: Draymond Green has been ejected [pic.twitter.com/ZRphQekEPX](https://t.co/ZRphQekEPX?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) [December 13, 2023](https://twitter.com/TheDunkCentral/status/1734796088190624135?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-4.png) Hey, look who's back. I don't like to repeat teams in consecutive games here, but the rest of the schedule is pretty light, so here we are. Mattanawcook has been on a roll early, winning handily against Central and Calais to move to the top of C North. They'll host Penobscot Valley. The Howlers absolutely destroyed Schenck in their season debut, 77-12\. But, that's a Class D school ranked near the bottom of the state. This will be their first test of the year in what should end up being worth a lot of Heal Points to the winner. They'll meet again on February 7th. Could that be a battle for the 1 seed? [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-13-at-10.15.17-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Strongest Lynx URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/strongest-lynx/ Last updated: 2023-12-12T12:34:31.000Z Yesterday, I was a little bit skeptical of the Mattanawcook girls. Yeah, they demolished Calais. But still I wasn't sure. Turns out I was looking at data from 2022 and not 2023 (hey, there's a lot of teams to keep track of and it's early in the year). Anyway, apologies are in order because they went into Corinth and *smoked* Central, 62-44. I'll get up to speed. Elsewhere, in a light schedule around the state (with even fewer reported scores): Maren Maxon fueled a late Wells rally as they snuck by Biddeford to move to 2-0...The Katahdin boys went to Dyer Brook and handed Southern Aroostook a rare home loss, 53-50...Foxcroft Academy held Chance Mercier to 12 points, but still got blown out. Ellsworth is your new #1 in the Power Rankings. Like I said, it was a really light schedule. --- Is there a way I can block all discussions of the Chiefs offsides penalty? Get over it. --- If you haven't seen, that $700M Ohtani deal? $680M of it is deferred. I, for one, am thrilled that [Bobby Bonilla Day](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/bobby-bonilla-day-why-does-new-york-mets-star-bobby-bonilla-gets-1-2-million-on-july-1/articleshow/101423397.cms?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) will continue with a new cast. If you're wondering, it's entirely legal in the current CBA. It's amazing how few talking heads know this. > Luxury tax evasion. This deal will not be approved as is. Other owners won’t allow it. [https://t.co/fXaoWPlD4U](https://t.co/fXaoWPlD4U?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) [December 11, 2023](https://twitter.com/darrenrovell/status/1734345192734605707?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- A wild, wild stat from last night. > The Titans are the first NFL team ever to be down 14 points with less than 2:55 left and win without overtime. > > — Quirky Research (@QuirkyResearch) [December 12, 2023](https://twitter.com/QuirkyResearch/status/1734435293707534833?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- This has nothing to do with basketball, but 'tis the season. > A Charlie Brown Festivus. [pic.twitter.com/tkLNwPNwcp](https://t.co/tkLNwPNwcp?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Festivus Web (@FestivusWeb) [December 12, 2023](https://twitter.com/FestivusWeb/status/1734363244482224185?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-3.png) I'm going to call an audible here, as we just saw SoPo in the Game of the Day and I suspect they might be in the middle of a, uh, market correction. When we last saw the Falmouth boys, they were on the wrong side of a heartbreaking loss in the Gold Ball game. But Falmouth being Falmouth, they're right back in the mix of it again this year. They beat GNG by 21 on Opening Night. Falmouth swept the season series last year and rather handily, including a semifinal drumming at the Expo. Meanwhile, Westbrook is coming off a win over Greely. Can they break through against the Navigators? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-12-at-12.37.48-AM.png) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Monsoon Monday URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/monsoon-monday/ Last updated: 2023-12-11T13:12:04.000Z It didn't take long to get our first 1,000 point scorer of the night, as Pierce Walston hit the benchmark as Orono kicked off their title defense with a win over MDI. > Defending Class B champs Orono boys hoops received their rings on Saturday in a special pregame ceremony! It may have been 9 months ago, but this moment showed many on the squad what being a state champion truly means to a community. [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/ITgBjPdlvy](https://t.co/ITgBjPdlvy?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/JyID9EnFBk](https://t.co/JyID9EnFBk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan Sudol (@RyanSudolWVII) [December 10, 2023](https://twitter.com/RyanSudolWVII/status/1733667213939196024?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Sumner's long road trip finally came to an end Saturday, and by all accounts, it was worth the wait. > Can confirm the new Sumner gym is NICE [pic.twitter.com/2VMQe11wgj](https://t.co/2VMQe11wgj?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Cole Hurlbert (@TheColeHurlbert) [December 9, 2023](https://twitter.com/TheColeHurlbert/status/1733572721408127245?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And if you were fortunate enough to make the trip for the game, you got a treat, a 88-85 overtime win for Machias. Elsewhere... Forest Hills had 5 players in double figures as they moved to 2-0 with a win over Vinalhaven...JT Pound's 26 led Freeport past Noble...Peyton Reckards's 31 and 18 wasn't quite good enough for Temple, as they fell to Wiscasset in overtime. Wiscasset is now 1-0 for the first time in a long time...Mackenzie Robbins hit 5 3s as Madison won their opener...Liana Hartwell had 25 as Valley won at the ACC. --- If you don't follow the cross-country scene in Maine, you might not have heard, but we currently have arguably the greatest high school running career the state has ever scene from Orono's Ruth White. White has won the New England regional a stunning 3 times and then she went and [finished 6th at Nationals](https://www.milesplit.com/videos/675994/ruth-white-leads-northeast-with-a-6th-place-finish-at-fln?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), a mere 0.1 seconds from the top 5. > Ruth White with an excellent race at Footlocker Nationals finishing 6th in the country. [pic.twitter.com/lDGF3BJROJ](https://t.co/lDGF3BJROJ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — MaineTrackXC (@MaineTrackXC) [December 9, 2023](https://twitter.com/MaineTrackXC/status/1733544625883730246?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- In college basketball, the UMaine men are off to a pretty good start. They're now ranked 3rd in America East (courtesy of [Tanner McGrath](https://twitter.com/tannerstruth/status/1733903816636948598?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)). ![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GBAQJZTXcAALrfg?format=jpg&name=large) They're up to 209th overall on [KenPom.com](https://kenpom.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Pretty good for a team that was in 320 range last year. --- If you haven't heard of the "Silent Night" tradition at Taylor University, you're in for a treat. > The moment the silence was broken 🤫 > > One of the coolest environments I have ever been in for college sports, more video on Taylor University's "Silent Night" to come! > > (Video via [@taylortrojans](https://twitter.com/taylortrojans?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) [pic.twitter.com/IH4hmgwV6I](https://t.co/IH4hmgwV6I?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ethan Dahlen (@ethanjdahlen) [December 9, 2023](https://twitter.com/ethanjdahlen/status/1733319918878142891?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Once a year, they stay completely silent until the home team reaches 10 points, then mayhem. There's also singing. > Imagine being in the crowd of the Silent Night game at Taylor University 😯[pic.twitter.com/mJVTbn6ng8](https://t.co/mJVTbn6ng8?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) [December 9, 2023](https://twitter.com/CBSSportsCBB/status/1733561115072708886?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Over at his podcast, Adam Robinson has an interview with Chance Mercier, one of the top candidates for Mr. Basketball. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-2.png) We go to C North girls where Mattanawcook rocketed up the rankings with a 38-point win over last year's 2 seed Calais. That's a win that looks really impressive now, but will probably not look so great in a week or two. The [rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) are really volatile until we get 3-4 games deep. They'll travel to Central to take on the Red Devils. They made short work of GSA in their opener. I'm guessing the Model is too high on Mattanawcook, but we'll see. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-10-at-11.45.20-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) We've already got one postponement on the docket for today. You can see others as they come in on the Scoreboard. [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Opening Saturday URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/opening-saturday/ Last updated: 2023-12-09T13:06:35.000Z As we kind of suspected, the Game of the Day turned out to be a bit of a bust. Gorham raced out to a 21-5 lead and held on for a 64-51 win over the defending champs. Ashton Leclerc led Gorham with 25. It was a big night around the state as we kicked off the season. The [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) struggled a little bit to keep up, but in the end it did ok. And there hasn't been a lot of movement in the Heal Points yet, obviously, but those are updated too. [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) With all the coaching turnover, it was inevitable that a bunch of coaches would get their first career wins last night. > Congratulations to Coach Joel Gabriele on his first career victory. The Windjammer beat [@ConyRamsAth](https://twitter.com/ConyRamsAth?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 58-48\. [@willduke\_11](https://twitter.com/willduke%5F11?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) had 26 for the Windjammers to lead both teams. [pic.twitter.com/laay0PH6SQ](https://t.co/laay0PH6SQ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — CamdenHillsBasketball (@CamdenHillsBB) [December 9, 2023](https://twitter.com/CamdenHillsBB/status/1733332164098302176?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But Brewer's Tanna Ross went above and beyond. > Kate Brydges iced the game at the free throw line and Allie Flagg drops 29 in the opener to lead the Brewer girls over Hampden Academy for the first time in many years. > > Congratulations to head coach Tanna Ross on her first career varsity coaching victory [#WitchesWin](https://twitter.com/hashtag/WitchesWin?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 🏀 [pic.twitter.com/goKookapMX](https://t.co/goKookapMX?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Brewer Witches (@BrewerWitches) [December 9, 2023](https://twitter.com/BrewerWitches/status/1733309390004912540?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you're in D South, you probably already know this, but it seems like there's another Desjardins kid. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-08-at-11.17.11-PM-1.png) And you've got to love this hustle play from Bangor's Jaiden Ramos. > For our first 'You Gotta See This' of the season, Bangor's Jaiden Ramos got down and dirty, trading some court burns for an offensive rebound and a hockey assist in the Rams' game against Portland tonight! Sometimes it's the grinder that catches the eye! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/Q44NIJxRbN](https://t.co/Q44NIJxRbN?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [December 9, 2023](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1733346153054257567?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Let's take a trip around the state. Trevor Gerrish put up 28 points and 12 rebounds as Brunswick beat Marshwood...Nathaniel Wainwright had 24 as Dirigo kicked of their pursuit of a 3-peat...Marshal Adams had 23 as Edward Little beat Oxford Hills...Lincoln Academy had 14 different players score as they blew out Morse...Liam Mason scored 41 of Greenville's 54 points in their win over Rangeley...Jace Bessey had 23 as Spruce rolled over Hall-Dale...Poland freshman Nick Jamo had 5 3's and 33 points in a loss to Waynflete...Mike Shungu's 23 led Westbrook over Greely...Creighty Dickson had 12 & 14 in Windham's win over Lewiston...Lukas Bouchard had 20 & 11 as York beat Yarmouth...Mina Milosevic's 27 points fueled Fryeburg over Biddeford...Ava Smith had 22 in Lake Region's win over Cape...Medomak Valley used a 19-0 run to break away from Leavitt. Kytana Williamson led the Panthers with 20...Lydia Desrochers scored 22 as the Massabesic girls returned to action after a year away with a win over Bonny Eagle...Ella Pelletier had 32 for Oxford Hills...Annabelle Morris had 22 as Skowhegan beat the new look Gardiner Tigers...and Emma Lizotte had 24 as TA beat Sanford. All of the Model's picks for today are after the jump. If you're wondering, the Model went 58-23 yesterday (71.6%), which isn't bad considering it's entirely using last year's data. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Start Your Engines URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/start-your-engines/ Last updated: 2023-12-08T13:09:22.000Z It's been a long, dark summer, but basketball is finally, officially, back. Last night, the St. Dom's girls outlasted Pine Tree 51-43 at home to kick off the season and move into sole possession of first place in the state. We have 81 games on the schedule for Opening Night. The [scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) is up and running, so you can see what happened at a glance. You can also input the score from the game you were at and the [Heal Points page](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) will be updated every 5-10 minutes as the scores roll in. --- In addition to the Ashland girls opting out this year, the Penquis girls were unable to field a team and had to drop out last week. I always feel terrible for the kids in these situations, because you know there's at least 2-3 really talented, dedicated players who are just dying to play. Eastern Maine Sports has the story of one of those players, Penquis' Addison Conklin. [Addison Conklin joining Foxcroft Academy girls basketball team one week after Penquis cancels seasonThe Last week has been full of emotions for Addison Conklin. The senior found out last Thursday night (November 30th) that the Penquis Patriots were canceling varsity girls basketball season…![](https://easternmainesports.com/favicon.ico)Eastern Maine SportsPublished by %s![](https://easternmainesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_8974.jpeg)](https://easternmainesports.com/2023/12/07/addison-conklin-joining-foxcroft-academy-girls-basketball-team-one-week-after-penquis-cancels-season/?fbclid=IwAR3PrLY7HOo%5Fytfe5Bbye2%5FN3rXHkamUwlosfO7QOy5%5FiyC5fB%5FMhn9wxAU&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Remember, there's new free throw rules this year. ![upload in progress, 0](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/05/Screen-Shot-2023-05-16-at-12.47.25-AM.png) As basketball junkies, you already know this, but in case the guy sitting near you in the stands doesn't, it's a nice reminder. Maybe ADs can add this to the program? There's a TON of changes this year. A bunch of top players transferred to prep schools for this season in hopes of improving their college prospects, and good for them. You've only got one shot at this. There's also more coaching turnover than I can ever remember. There's your usual situations of the parents forcing a coach out because he made their kids run laps or whatever, but a bunch of successful coaches stepped away on their own, for various reasons. Hopefully they come back in a couple of years. If not, I'm sure they have some fantastic stories. --- If you remember last year, the Sumner gym was unusable, which led them on a season-long road trip. But the gym is fixed! [Ryan McLaughlin has the story](https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/sports/sumner-basketball-teams-eager-for-homecoming-in-sparkling-new-gym/article%5Fffb8683e-9381-11ee-ab92-cfdfb8dc26ac.html?utm%5Fcampaign=blox&utm%5Fsource=facebook&utm%5Fmedium=social&fbclid=IwAR0LXeii9pVDqyDG9vIvJ5dJtk3UqPJeKSVx5T-WHIbgUemgLj3X%5FusZ7wU). --- ## Sign up for Maine Basketball Rankings Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. And with Opening Day comes previews. The [Bangor Daily News](https://www.bangordailynews.com/sports-2/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) has a new reporter on the boys basketball beat (the legendary Larry Mahoney, as always, covers the girls). Here's Sam Canfield's boys preview: [Boys basketball preview: Orono and Ellsworth poised to be the season’s biggest rivalryIn addition to Orono and Ellsworth, Old Town and Caribou are also returning key players and could definitely make some noise in the tournament.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsSam Canfield![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2023/12/Orono-Boys-vs-Ellsworth-Regional-Championship-KH-6.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/12/07/sports/high-school-sports/high-school-boys-basketball-preview-n6hjn1me0n/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's a bunch of other stuff on there for you to [check out](https://www.bangordailynews.com/sports-2/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- Down south, Varsity Maine has their usual collection of previews. They published the girls previews yesterday. [Girls’ basketball: 10 teams to watch in southern MaineThornton Academy, Brunswick and Gorham are among the teams that enter the winter as title contenders.![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldDrew Bonifant![](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/02/34672262_20220224_GBGNGBrun_11.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.pressherald.com/2023/12/06/girls-basketball-10-teams-to-watch-in-southern-maine-3/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- In the last couple of years, there's been more independent coverage (like this website!) as the barriers to publication fall by the wayside. Some of the really cool stuff comes from students like Gorham's [Thomas Curtis](https://twitter.com/ThomasCurtisGHS?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). [Class AA Preseason Power RankingsA preview and ranking of Maine Class AA teams for 2023–24.![](https://cdn-static-1.medium.com/_/fp/icons/Medium-Avatar-500x500.svg)MediumThomas Curtis![](https://miro.medium.com/v2/1*kFrc4tBFM_tCis-2Ic87WA.png)](https://medium.com/@gorhambasketballbroadcasting/class-aa-preseason-power-rankings-f8300258f800?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Love to see this sort of stuff. --- On the Cooper watch, the NBA is changing their rules. Are we calling it the Cooper Flagg rule? No. But we're not not calling it that. [NBA to allow scouting of top prospects in VegasThe NBA will allow scouts to watch Cooper Flagg and other elite high school prospects during the In-Season Tournament in Las Vegas.![](https://a.espncdn.com/wireless/mw5/r1/images/bookmark-icons-v2/espn-icon-180x180.png)ESPNJonathan Givony![](https://a4.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2023%2F1026%2Fr1243765_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg)](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/%5F/id/39047474/nba-allow-scouting-top-prospects-vegas?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you're wondering, there's only 12 boys games scheduled for January 5th, the day Montverde plays at the hockey rink in Portland and none of them are anywhere near Portland. So if you're looking for a coach or AD that night, they're probably going to all be in one place. --- In other news, Brewer has a 6'6" 8th grader. > Nice introduction for Team Maine’s Oli Higgins. Skilled 6-6 2028 wing with a naturally versatile offensive skillset. Brewer, ME native. > > East Circuit S1 📝 [@madehoops](https://twitter.com/madehoops?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/HECMZSbjSy](https://t.co/HECMZSbjSy?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Max Feldman (@MaxFeldman6) [December 2, 2023](https://twitter.com/MaxFeldman6/status/1730968947942437299?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The talent pool in Maine has probably never been deeper. It's an exciting time. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day-1.png) We start with the defending champs. When last we saw SoPo, Ben Smith was 8-9 from the floor en route to 19 points and the Red Riots were your back-to-back AA State Champs. Of course, Smith is gone now, one of 8 seniors Coach Millington has to replace, along with Jayden Kim, who transferred to a private school. The Model knows none of this. So it might be a bit high on SoPo. The question here is, can the next wave step in? As for Gorham, they've got Ryan Deschenes (via GNG) on the sidelines now and with a new coach will naturally be looking to make a splash in AA. Beating the defending champs would do the trick. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-07-at-10.26.25-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The Model's picks for this and the other 80 games tonight are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Calm Before the Storm URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-calm-before-the-storm/ Last updated: 2023-12-07T16:22:24.000Z Basketball is BACK! I've got a big newsletter coming tomorrow with predictions for all 81 games on the schedule, but first, some small updates. There's a master schedule up for every game. That'll update as we go along and give you extra data on each and every game played across the state. All of them. [Every GameBelow you’ll find the master schedule of every game in the state, as updated as I can make it. If you have a missing score, let me know! This will work better on a computer. Below, for Varsity members, you’ll see the database with every game and the Model’s picks,![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w1200/2022/10/maine-basketball-banner-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/every-game/) There's also matchup data for every game being played tomorrow, but it isn't all that helpful just yet. But it will be! [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-07-at-9.56.54-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) You'll notice that teams are already ranked. We start with last year's final rankings and go from there. It's very rare that the landscape completely resets. The good teams tend to stay good and the bad teams tend to stay bad. This prevents the Model from overreacting to early games. For example, a couple of years ago, Cape Elizabeth got blown out on Opening Night. Without the previous year of data, we'd have worked under the assumption they were bad for a while. Turns out they were their usual selves. Go figure. Anyway, start your subscription. Or turn it back on. Whatever works for you. [Subscribe](#/portal/account/plans) --- Some updates from around the state... Mountain Valley is looking to get back into 11-man football. > Mountain Valley is applying to move back to 11-player football! [pic.twitter.com/6Ev02oZ71o](https://t.co/6Ev02oZ71o?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [December 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1732606124166189321?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you're looking for games to watch this weekend, you can't beat this deal at the ACC. ![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GAgjLq_WYAARXOl?format=jpg&name=large) The Ashland girls are the latest program to fall victim to the numbers crunch. [Ashland won’t have girls varsity basketball team this season due to low participation - The CountyAshland District School currently has 32 female students from grades 9-12.![](https://thecounty.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/cropped-site-icon-512x512-1-180x180.png)The CountyPaul Bagnall![](https://thecounty.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SH_AshlandGirlsHoopsPreview_120222-1-1024x684.jpg)](https://thecounty.me/2023/11/27/sports/ashland-wont-have-girls-varsity-basketball-team-this-season-due-to-low-participation/?ref=fb-from&fbclid=IwAR0MzXoWfd9w6cxq40bMrEq3y1u4XZRV7ekwUYHZHSt2eCZa5wSfDw1j05c%5Faem%5FAXsJExCHphNy-ZwICWRpVldNUKeICwJUB5EYYZ30On4RfjVjnuBtVoX4hhSbAE3biuA) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/game-of-the-day.png) There's only one game, so we'll do this quick. Pine Tree kicks things off early as they travel up to Auburn to take on St. Dom's in girls basketball. As far as I can tell, it isn't streaming. Just like with the rankings, the Model is making a prediction on this based entirely on last season. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-07-at-11.18.04-AM.png) Remember, this isn't DraftKings and you shouldn't be gambling on Class D girls basketball. Pine Tree is the favorite by 10.4 points. That's it for now. Tomorrow's the big day! ### Football Championships URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-championships/ Last updated: 2023-11-18T13:35:49.000Z Finally, we come to the end of the fall sports season. But first, you should really check out Adam Robinson's writeup of the Lewiston soccer championship. [“It feels like a dream.” Lewiston wins Class A state title in overtime weeks after tragedyTegra Mbele scored with a minute left in the first overtime period to give the Blue Devils the 3-2 win and its fourth state championship since 2015.![](https://substackcdn.com/icons/substack/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png)Maine Sports TodayMaine Sports Today![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1200,h_600,c_fill,f_jpg,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c58f230-129a-4c2f-bf19-42de82ede3b2_6000x4000.jpeg)](https://mainesportstoday.substack.com/p/it-feels-like-a-dream-lewiston-wins) --- In the Beat the Model contest, Mike Mandell wrapped it up with his picks last week. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-17-at-5.15.13-PM.png) He'll do a victory lap this week, but you can check out all the picks. [Beat the Model](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/beat-the-model/) --- Basketball season is nearly here (YAY!!!) and soon you'll start to hear the drumbeat of how we need officials. It's true. There's a desperate need for refs and a couple of groups are trying to do something about it. First up, there's this story from Rene Cloukey about a program where high school students are reffing middle school games, which is awesome. [Junior Officials in the County working Middle School Basketball GamesJunior Officials work Middle School Basketball Games.![](https://webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wagm/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png?d=360)WAGMRene Cloukey![](https://gray-wagm-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/15KcDCcXWw6-ofUuUwAS_boQjeo=/1200x600/smart/filters:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/CPWSPIPVAJHL7PUNKUDP6EM2W4.bmp)](https://www.wagmtv.com/2023/11/17/junior-officials-county-working-middle-school-basketball-games/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Down in Texas, they're taking a slightly different approach. [Lubbock ISD will soon be offering students a course in sports officiatingThe new course could filter students in to a profession that is experiencing a major shortage.![](https://webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/kcbd/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png?d=360)KCBDSydney Lowther![](https://gray-kcbd-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/qF2rLTSCUCd2AWn-qJ4mvcyA3RQ=/1200x600/smart/filters:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/MDFE4JIYZRDC5DLMHLDIRYVRUY.png)](https://www.kcbd.com/2023/11/14/lisd-will-soon-be-offering-students-course-sports-officiating/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Both of these are awesome. If you don't want to build a massive spreadsheet, reffing is a great way to stay involved in the game. You just have to be ok with people giving you real time feedback on your job performance. Speaking of refs...kids, don't do this. > Providence’s Garwey Dual might not play in the next game after this. [pic.twitter.com/GYrjohjVYE](https://t.co/GYrjohjVYE?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) [November 18, 2023](https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/status/1725691096028557394?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- College basketball is in full swing and [things are a mess at LSU](https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/%5F/id/38922740/angel-reese-not-lsu-game-southeastern-louisiana?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Does that open the door for the Indiana women to make a run at the title? Maybe! In the preseason, Mackenzie Holmes picked up another honor. Although, it'd be a shock if she wasn't on the initial list of 50\. > Preseason Top 5️⃣0️⃣ ![@kenzieholmes\_](https://twitter.com/kenzieholmes%5F?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) is on the Wooden Award Watchlist. > > — Indiana Women’s Basketball (@IndianaWBB) [November 14, 2023](https://twitter.com/IndianaWBB/status/1724513362984439832?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You would assume she's on a very short list. --- Duke posted a video to celebrate their landing of Cooper Flagg. > This is 🔥🔥🔥🔥 [pic.twitter.com/fia7QoBTPp](https://t.co/fia7QoBTPp?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Blue Devils (@BlueDevils) [November 17, 2023](https://twitter.com/BlueDevils/status/1725311173795492066?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Marcus Smart will miss the game against the Celtics on Sunday, which is just proof that the Basketball Gods do not approve of him playing for Memphis. Also, you don't hear a lot of people complaining about the Celtics' bench these days. I'm probably not the only person confidently putting Sam Hauser in parlays. Are those parlays hitting? No. But not because of Hauser! If you've ever wondered what the NBA would look like with Heal Points, I've got you covered. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-18-at-1.11.27-AM.png) The Timberwolves are GOOD. --- We've got 4 Gold Ball games today. Two of them are foregone conclusions, at least on paper, but as we saw in the Regional Finals, sometimes an overwhelming favorite has to scramble to survive. The Class A game looks to be a good one. The Model's picks for the 4 state title games are after the jump, in addition to the NBA picks, which--full disclosure--are in a slump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Football Regional Final Saturday URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-regional-final-saturday/ Last updated: 2023-11-11T13:43:28.000Z It's time for the football Regional Finals! We've already done one, as Wells made short work of Winthrop yesterday, rolling to a 35-6 win. They'll face the winner of Foxcroft and Bapst. Today we've got the rest of the football Regional Finals, the 8-person Gold Ball games (can Orono actually test OOB?), and the Soccer Gold Ball games. --- I really like the In-Season Tournament, but this is MPA levels of tone deaf. > Per source, Celtics asked league if center strip could be painted in a parquet pattern. The request was denied. [https://t.co/ln9RUjadKK](https://t.co/ln9RUjadKK?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Steve Bulpett (@SteveBHoop) [November 10, 2023](https://twitter.com/SteveBHoop/status/1723110871600132169?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) How do you not let them have parquet involved in the court? That's insane. --- I got the NBA Model up and running. It's purely for entertainment purposes, of course (*wink)*. Just remember that the Model has no idea if Giannis is sitting or LeBron is hurt or Derrick White just had a kid or Kyrie has gone on a vision quest. So keep that in mind. Anyway, I will say that since I caught it up, the Model is 16-8 ATS. Today's picks for that and all the playoffs games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Devilish URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/devilish/ Last updated: 2023-11-08T13:17:20.000Z Well I didn't hit my ballot measure parlay, but we did ban some money from elections and if that means we get less junk mail and see fewer ads in 2024, then I think we all won. If you didn't notice, the NBA has started a new thing where they take Election Day completely off to encourage voting. The NCAA only had 9 games involving D1 schools. The NHL...didn't get the memo. But on to last night's winners. Imagine scoring 4 goals in a Regional Final. > Final Score from Biddeford: Madison wins first regional title since 2017 with a 5-2 win over Rangeley in the 8-person girls south final led by a 4 goal night for Raegan Cowan. They’ll play either Penquis or Katahdin at Cony HS on Saturday for the gold. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [November 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1722015501067427884?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Or the drama of it being decided on Penalty Kicks. > The Penquis Patriots claim the Girls Small sided soccer title. Penquis and Katahdin tied at one at the end of regulation and two overtimes. Game was decided by Penalty Kicks. Penquis made 3 and Katahdin made one. > > — Rene Cloukey (@CloukeyRene) [November 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/CloukeyRene/status/1722034802512011609?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Or being 5 minutes away from a State Game and it all goes away. > What an amazing turn of events at Pottle Field. PVHS score twice in the final five minutes to take down Wisdom, 2-1, and advance to the Class D Girl’s State Championship Game. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Hewey (@TylerHewey) [November 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/TylerHewey/status/1722023422140600491?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Meanwhile, in Lewiston... Obviously, there's a lot of extra emotion attached to any Lewiston playoff games, but a 1-0 win at home (*cough* neutral field *cough*) is a nice moment for anyone outside of the Camden/Rockport general area (but not very far south because then you get hostile Oceanside folks). > LEWISTON. [pic.twitter.com/yLxcQSD29c](https://t.co/yLxcQSD29c?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [November 8, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1722061469410275645?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Adam has a nice writeup at his Substack. [“We did it for the community.” Lewiston boys soccer reaches Class A state final.A goal from Caden Boone midway through the first half earned Lewiston its sixth state title game appearance in nine years.![](https://substackcdn.com/icons/substack/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png)Maine Sports TodayMaine Sports Today![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1200,h_600,c_fill,f_jpg,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F70371971-7d1e-4255-aba8-f7e18ebbf3ba_4032x3024.jpeg)](https://mainesportstoday.substack.com/p/we-did-it-for-the-community-lewiston?utm%5Fsource=post-email-title&publication%5Fid=1647248&post%5Fid=138685393&utm%5Fcampaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1k4fu&utm%5Fmedium=email) --- In college basketball, the Blue Hose (what a mascot) snapped the longest losing streak in college basketball (18 games) and beat Vandy! > Vanderbilt just lost to Presbyterian - a team that was 5-27 overall and 1-17 in league play a year ago. The Blue Hose are 50 games under .500 in the last four years. > > Jerry Stackhouse is without Tyin Lawrence (ankle), Ven-Allen Lubin (hip) and Lee Dort (foot), but STILL ... > > — Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) [November 8, 2023](https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/status/1722088322321764856?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I know you're wondering, so I [looked it up](https://gobluehose.com/news/2008/3/2/1505337.aspx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#:~:text=The%20nickname%20%E2%80%9CBlue%20Hose%E2%80%9D%20began,hose%E2%80%9D%20interchangeably%20over%20the%20years.). > The nickname “Blue Hose” began in the early 1900's, when sportswriters referred to the Presbyterian College athletic teams as the “Blue Stockings” because of the blue socks they wore. Writers used the terms “stockings” and “hose” interchangeably over the years. So, naturally, that led to a *Braveheart* style thing. ![Presbyterian Blue Hose Secondary Logo - NCAA Division I (n-r) (NCAA n-r) - Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net](https://content.sportslogos.net/logos/33/5053/full/presbyterian_blue_hose_logo_secondary_20101464.png) --- This came across my Facebook feed yesterday. Would you like to know the actual rules to [BASEketball](https://letterboxd.com/film/baseketball/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)? From the director of the film? Yes, of course you would. [BASEketball Director David Zucker Clarifies the Rules of the GameThis evening The Local Voice received an email from Adrieanne Perez, the Executive Assistant of BASEketball Director David Zucker, who read Jaime Adams article from TLV #296 and he wanted to clarify the rules of the game. BASEketball Rules The game usually lasts 7 innings, but in tournaments, 5\. The…![](https://www.thelocalvoice.net/oxford/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/cropped-TheLocalVoiceLigature-large-270x270.jpg)The Local Voice™TLV News![](https://www.thelocalvoice.net/oxford/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/2018-02-05-BaseketballRules.jpg)](https://www.thelocalvoice.net/oxford/baseketball-director-david-zucker-clarifies-the-rules-of-the-game/?fbclid=IwAR2A%5FqPUTTjb0W8H9Jt-lXwHKA2ASGW5MsCudUddCKd1Za97-GAa%5FbOFLQg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It does seem that ska bands are optional (but clearly necessary). Kids, the 90's were a wild ride. We didn't have cell phones, but we kind of had the internet (but no YouTube). Ask your parents. --- Here's how the Model is doing so far in these playoffs. The football number would be better if teams had bothered to show up for some quarterfinal games. Football: 38-11 (77.6%) Boys Soccer: 64-16 (80%) Girls Soccer: 66-9 (88%) Field Hockey: 39-8 (83%) We'll finish off the soccer regional finals today. Those picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Ram Tough URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ram-tough/ Last updated: 2023-11-07T13:43:22.000Z The Kennebunk fans must have thought they were well on their way to a Regional Final at halftime last night. They were heavily favored (74%) and led Westbrook 20-8 at home. Westbrook didn't quit. They scored the next 16 to take a 22-20 lead. But Kennebunk is the 1 seed for a reason. They marched down the field and with 13.1 to play... > Kennebunk's Jonah Barstow kicks the game winning field goal with 13.1 seconds left in MPA Class B Regional Semifinal vs. Westbrook [@KennebunkAD](https://twitter.com/KennebunkAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MPA\_sports](https://twitter.com/MPA%5FSports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#Varsitymaine](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Varsitymaine?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#football](https://twitter.com/hashtag/football?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/LbIbNUaLNl](https://t.co/LbIbNUaLNl?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dave Arnold (@photog24) [November 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/photog24/status/1721722932315996595?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Rams will face Massabesic in the Regional Final. They out-lasted Marshwood 14-7. In Class A, we had three blowouts and Oxford Hills won a defensive battle, 6-0 over Windham. Those games pushed Mike Mandell to a pretty definitive lead in the Beat the Model competition. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-06-at-11.51.30-PM.png) --- Well this sucks. > Portland Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III is facing potential season-ending surgery to repair bone and ligament damage due to right kneecap injury, sources tell me and [@ShamsCharania](https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Williams and doctors could also choose cleanup procedure with 2-to-3 month timetable. > > — Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) [November 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/JaredWeissNBA/status/1721681882796999143?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- J.P. Estrella had a promising debut for Tennessee (who went 16 deep) in a blowout. > Tennessee leads 28-8 at the under 4 timeout of the first half. > > A couple really nice minutes from freshman J.P. Estrella who scored his first points as a Volunteer and just blocked 7'2 Tennessee Tech center David Craig. > > — Jonathan Lidskin (@JonathanLidskin) [November 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/JonathanLidskin/status/1721681149712306401?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And James Madison went and knocked off #4 Michigan State. > We will be reliving this moment for a LONGGGGGG TIME. [#GoDukes](https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoDukes?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/ax6HenQg0s](https://t.co/ax6HenQg0s?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — JMU Men's Basketball (@JMUMBasketball) [November 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/JMUMBasketball/status/1721755365757386899?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We kick off the Regional Finals in Soccer today with 8-person, A, and D. It's a lot of 1 vs. 2 matchups. But in A South we have the rare 3 vs. 4 matchup with Portland and Deering. And in A North, Camden is going for the sweep. The Model's picks for tomorrow's Regional Finals are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Class A Playoffs URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/classaplayoffs/ Last updated: 2023-11-06T20:31:28.000Z The Class A playoffs kick off today. They go straight to the semis, so we pick things up there. We've also got most of the B semis. Doing this quickly. All apologies. --- The Cheverus field hockey team took home the state title in dramatic fashion. > The [@Cheverus\_Stags](https://twitter.com/Cheverus%5FStags?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) game winner. > > 🎥 Lucy Nolan [pic.twitter.com/1AetFzR5dZ](https://t.co/1AetFzR5dZ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [November 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1720882311787422007?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) With the win, Cheverus finishes with the biggest gap between #1 and #2 in the rankings on record. --- Happy College Basketball Opening Day to all who celebrate! The UMaine men kick off in Charlotte against the 49ers where they are...[8.5 point underdogs](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=401577558&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). The women are in Quinnipiac. There's no line on that game. But that doesn't really matter because apparently we're not allowed to wager on UMaine, so if you wanted to put $1 on them to win America East and finally make the tourney, you can't. But if we could, Vegas has them 4th in the [pecking order](https://www.vegasinsider.com/college-basketball/america-east-tournament-picks-predictions-odds/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- Seems good. > Jayson Tatum is the only player in NBA history to log 10,000 PTS and 1,000 3PM before turning 26\. [pic.twitter.com/qkEX0P2ak5](https://t.co/qkEX0P2ak5?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) [November 5, 2023](https://twitter.com/taylorcsnow/status/1720969728892485832?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### From Thorndike to Fort Kent URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fromthorndike/ Last updated: 2023-11-04T12:27:46.000Z It's a 3 hour and 47 minute drive from Mount View to Fort Kent. 224 miles! That's a loooong way to play a soccer game. It's a lot of time on the bus. Well, Mount View must have put that to good use, because the 6 seeded Mustangs went in and knocked off #2 Fort Kent, 2-1 to advance to the Regional Final. I'm guessing the bus ride back felt a lot shorter. [Updated Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- Happy Sports Betting Day in Maine to all who celebrate. I clicked on a refer-a-friend link on Twitter and got a bunch of bonus bets (Celtics to win the title at +380!), so I'll pass that along. [Click here for the bonus.](https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/r/sb/lmcnelly/US-ME-SB?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You can bet the Celtics and you can bet darts, but it seems you can't parlay Mac Jones turnovers with anything, but I could be doing it wrong. --- This week's Beat the Model picks are in. Mike Mandell seems to have this all wrapped up, but we'll see. [Beat the Model](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/beat-the-model/) --- Tyler Krusz spoke to Cooper about the Duke decision and a bunch of other stuff. > 📺ICYMI: Big thanks to [@Cooper\_Flagg](https://twitter.com/Cooper%5FFlagg?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) for taking the time to chat after his commitment to [@DukeMBB](https://twitter.com/DukeMBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) earlier this week! It's been a long road from Newport, Maine to one of the best college hoops programs in the country- hear about what got him to this point, the decision, and more! [pic.twitter.com/7GAQZCsTM3](https://t.co/7GAQZCsTM3?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [November 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1720650611111203288?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We've got a strong slate of football games today. The A playoffs kick off today. Plus, the field hockey state games are today. A mere 2 days after the regional final, which is...something. And the Model's picks for those games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Deering and Portland and Skowhegan, Oh My! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/deering-and-portland-and-skowhegan-oh-my/ Last updated: 2023-11-03T12:04:55.000Z We had some great games last night. The Deering boys soccer team beat Falmouth with 12.3 seconds left in 2OT to advance to their first Regional Final since 1999 (per Michael Hoffer). They'll play #4 Portland, who stunned Windham, the #1 overall team in the Power Rankings. > The boys of [@PTown\_DogsAD](https://twitter.com/PTown%5FDogsAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) knock off #1 Windham to setup a Portland showdown next week! [pic.twitter.com/4XhazTLrpe](https://t.co/4XhazTLrpe?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Brett (@Brett004103) [November 3, 2023](https://twitter.com/Brett004103/status/1720237355808780658?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In field hockey, Cony upset Belfast 3-0 to win B North and Skowhegan won A North for the 22nd consecutive time to set up a state game with Cheverus. 22 seasons. If there's a more impressive program accomplishment in Maine high school sports, I don't know what it is. Skowhegan is a sizable underdog against Cheverus in the title game. You can check out the likelihood of your team winning the whole thing below. [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- In the aftermath of the Battle of the Bridge, Adam Robinson wrote a fantastic recap of the game and the totality of the Lewiston shooting. It's a great read. > But since the shooter was found and people have been able to come outside and embrace each other, the only emotion I’ve felt is pride. Lewiston is a tough-ass town. It doesn’t take much shit. It shouldn’t. A reporter at the football game told me “Mainers are so stand-offish.” You obviously haven’t been paying attention. [Wednesday’s football game was one big community hugBeing able to come together as a community on Wednesday and watch a football game was much-needed closure after last week’s tragedy.![](https://substackcdn.com/icons/substack/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png)Maine Sports TodayMaine Sports Today![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1200,h_600,c_fill,f_jpg,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc1fd693e-09d0-47a4-ab4c-27873211bd9d_6000x4000.jpeg)](https://mainesportstoday.substack.com/p/wednesdays-football-game-was-one?fbclid=IwAR3ouvk714hL7Qd84DFFPJklDX8g0b%5FjAkiK4nngOE-RW5y%5F32WbgXL3eto) If you haven't subscribed to Adam's Substack yet, you really should. --- Tyler has turned things around in "Beat the Model", posting 2 straight 8-3 weeks after his 0-11 week. And Mike has stretched out to a pretty good lead. ![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F9-IVOVXcAAL-jJ?format=jpg&name=4096x4096) --- So...Wemby is good. He put up 38 last night as the Spurs beat the Suns. The Spurs lucked into another one. Yes I am still angry about Tim Duncan. Why do you ask? --- We pretty much finish out the soccer semifinals today. There's a couple of interesting matchups here. I'm planning to be at the Ellsworth/Medomak girls game. Feel free to say hi. The Model's picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Battle of the Bridge URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/battle-of-the-bridge/ Last updated: 2023-11-02T12:00:56.000Z The Battle of the Bridge was obviously a lot different this year. There were hype videos, like this one. > A special thank you to Will Ferrell for thinking of our Twin City Community ... a smile & laugh is so good for us today! And yeah, there is a big football game tonight to bring us together! [pic.twitter.com/VhA7I5vRI1](https://t.co/VhA7I5vRI1?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — BlueDevil Athletics (@LHSBlueDevils) [November 1, 2023](https://twitter.com/LHSBlueDevils/status/1719700633194750242?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This was always going to be a big game, but the circumstances of the last week added so much to its importance. > Here is Lewiston super intendant Jake Langlais’ speech before the 2023 Battle of the Bridge between Lewiston [@LHSBlueDevils](https://twitter.com/LHSBlueDevils?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and Edward Little [@ELHSEDDIES](https://twitter.com/ELHSEDDIES?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/xPwrZjkWW2](https://t.co/xPwrZjkWW2?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [November 1, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1719845697845923929?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The legendary James Taylor showed up to sing the National Anthem. > James Taylor sings the National Anthem at the Battle of the Bridge football game in Lewiston, ME tonight. [pic.twitter.com/ZoKDN1Kx4A](https://t.co/ZoKDN1Kx4A?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — AndreaWBZ (@AndreaWBZ) [November 1, 2023](https://twitter.com/AndreaWBZ/status/1719841383622607177?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Edward Little struck first, racing out to a 12-0 lead. Then Joseph Dube got Lewiston going at the end of the half. > Lewiston is on the board! With 1:01 left in the first half, Joseph Dube runs in the touchdown for the Blue Devils. Edward Little leads 12-6\. [pic.twitter.com/kVPRfXkp7Q](https://t.co/kVPRfXkp7Q?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [November 1, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1719855938918645962?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) After that, it was all Blue Devils. They finish the regular season with an emotional 34-18 win and lock up the 4 seed in the A North playoffs. [Maine HS football rivals play week after shootingLewiston, Maine took another tentative step in its recovery from the state’s deadliest mass shooting as a storied high school football rivalry resumed Wednesday night.![](https://a.espncdn.com/wireless/mw5/r1/images/bookmark-icons-v2/espn-icon-180x180.png)ESPNJay Bilas![](https://a2.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2023%2F1102%2Fr1247219_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg)](https://www.espn.com/espn/story/%5F/id/38796517/high-school-football-rivalry-game-maine-played-1-week-mass-shooting?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Gold Ball Odds are up for Class A football and have been updated for everything else. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-01-at-11.40.42-PM.png) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- In soccer news, Yarmouth is having a good tourney. > Both [@YHSClippers](https://twitter.com/YHSClippers?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) soccer teams advanced to the regional final[https://t.co/yH9enxwxnv](https://t.co/yH9enxwxnv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [November 2, 2023](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1719919761541226516?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Celtics continue to roll. > According to our stats guru, Dick Lipe, the [#Celtics](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Celtics?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) have put up 75 points in the first half of consecutive games for the first time since as far as the record books go back tracking halftime scores in 1950-1951\. > > So, it very well could be the first time in franchise history! > > — Abby Chin (@tvabby) [November 2, 2023](https://twitter.com/tvabby/status/1719881330320724166?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Is 155 points to go to 4-0 good? Because it seems good. Oh, and the Heat have the second-worst record in the NBA. If, like me, you are a Klaytheist, yesterday was a good day. > THE ENDING TO WARRIORS-KINGS 😱 > > \- Steph floater to go up by 1 with 0:32 left > \- Sabonis jumper reclaims the lead at 14.5 > \- Klay calls GAME with 0.2 on the clock > > WOW. [pic.twitter.com/ZtJYrFsoJt](https://t.co/ZtJYrFsoJt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA (@NBA) [November 2, 2023](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1719935006112416217?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In the NCAA, it sure looks like Mackenzie's recovery from her knee injury is coming along nicely. [What we learned from IU women’s basketball 40-point exhibition win over D-II NorthwoodSure, it was an exhibition against a Division II team, but IU women’s basketball looked dominant on Wednesday night.![](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/gannett-web/properties/indystar/logos-and-branding/logo-icon.png)The Indianapolis Star, The Indianapolis Star![](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2023/11/01/NHEN/71414671007-iu-nw-wbb-1-h-holmes-1.jpg?auto=webp&crop=1541,866,x0,y577&format=pjpg&width=1200)](https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/indiana/2023/11/01/indiana-womens-basketball-blasts-northwood-in-first-exhibition-mackenzie-holmes-iu-sara-scalia/71379557007/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The game lost one of the all-time greats. Throw a chair across the room in his honor. I hope they [bury him upside down](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/college-basketball/article-12700089/Hilarious-Bob-Knight-speech-1994-resurfaces-online-death-aged-83-want-bury-upside-critics-kiss-a.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). [‘The game has lost an icon’: Bob Knight dies at 83Bob Knight, whose Hall of Fame career was highlighted by three national titles at Indiana, has died at 83.![](https://a.espncdn.com/wireless/mw5/r1/images/bookmark-icons-v2/espn-icon-180x180.png)ESPNJeff Borzello![](https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2020%2F0208%2Fr663324_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg)](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/%5F/id/38796141/legendary-basketball-coach-bob-knight-dies-83?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Field Hockey Regional Finals are today (and the State Games are Saturday?) and we're getting the bulk of the soccer semifinals. As always, the Model's picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Spooky URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spooky/ Last updated: 2023-11-01T12:14:17.000Z It was a collection of blowouts and upsets yesterday in playoff football. Camden won 44-0\. OOB won 68-0\. Greely won 38-0\. Cony beat Mt. Blue 53-6\. This can tend to happen when you have 6 teams in a region. But we did have some upsets. MDI beat Morse 32-3\. Stearns rolled Bucksport 46-14\. More blowouts. But! #6 Old Town beat #3 Belfast 14-12\. #5 Nokomis beat #4 Hampden 14-13\. And Sanford outlasted Noble, 21-20\. > Couldn't make it to Sanford...Jordan Bissonnette scored a touchdown and then added two point conversion to lead [@SanfordSpartans](https://twitter.com/SanfordSpartans?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) to 21-20 win over Noble....and the Spartans seem to lock down the final playoff spot in Southern A [pic.twitter.com/M31k2ht20W](https://t.co/M31k2ht20W?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [November 1, 2023](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1719561865397760069?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Field Hockey semifinals were mostly chalk. Biddeford knocked off Gorham, but in everything else the seeding held. The Gold Ball Odds have been updated. [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) All in all, a pretty busy Halloween. Which leads us to Noirvember. ![](https://media.tenor.com/2LWnfXf3QAIAAAAC/the-third-man-orson-welles.gif) --- Hopefully, the shoveling party in Greenville went well yesterday. ![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F9yhKVgW0AAUU39?format=jpg&name=large) --- Tell me again how unstoppable the Suns are. > The Suns led the Spurs for 47 minutes, 58.8 seconds. But this is the definition of stealing the win: [pic.twitter.com/uL1P9fBXMi](https://t.co/uL1P9fBXMi?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) [November 1, 2023](https://twitter.com/KevinOConnorNBA/status/1719574189710180462?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The investigation into the Lewiston tragedy is getting worse. [State police waited hours to track Lewiston shooter after finding vehicle, had ‘radio silence’ with local officersAn Androscoggin County Sheriff’s deputy has harshly criticized the Maine State Police’s handling of communication in the manhunt for Robert Card, while another official says it took 12 hours before police began tracking Card from his abandoned vehicle.![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/06/apple-touch-icon-iphone-retina-display.png)Press HeraldEmail Writer![](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/10/37530684_kj.sj_.ph_.PoliceCriticism.11014-1698781042.jpg?w=1024)](https://www.pressherald.com/2023/10/31/state-police-waited-hours-to-track-lewiston-shooter-after-finding-vehicle-had-radio-silence-with-local-officers/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- It's a light schedule today, which means that all eyes will be in Lewiston, where the Battle of the Bridge will never be more poignant. > REMINDER: Lewiston & Edward Little take the field on Wednesday, Nov. 1st in the Battle of the Bridge .... 6:00 pm. > > Arrive early to be a part of the pregame festivities [pic.twitter.com/yZVjpWcJxf](https://t.co/yZVjpWcJxf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — BlueDevil Athletics (@LHSBlueDevils) [October 30, 2023](https://twitter.com/LHSBlueDevils/status/1719101571189833923?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Today's games are, as always, after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Crazies Win URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-crazies-win/ Last updated: 2023-10-31T12:17:41.000Z You'd forgive the Brunswick fans driving down to Yarmouth yesterday if they weren't super optimistic about their semifinal matchup. Sure, they were coming off a big quarterfinal victory over GNG, but there's a big difference between a 1-win team that's only in the playoffs because there aren't enough team to fill out the region and the defending champion 1 seed that beat you by 44 points only 17 days ago. The Model had them as a 17-point underdog and that felt low. That's why we play the games. > Cam Beal to Liam Scholl with 226 left and Beal connects with Trevor Gerrish as Brunswick takes lead 48-40 over Yarmouth. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/GNgEQzOAhc](https://t.co/GNgEQzOAhc?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Eric Maxim (@emaxim45) [October 31, 2023](https://twitter.com/emaxim45/status/1719155867986059560?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Yarmouth would score with 1:05 to play, but Brunswick stopped the 2 point conversion and just like that, the Dragons are in the Regional Final. --- We have the white smoke. ![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F9sKSTyaIAAC0aJ?format=jpg&name=large) This is hardly a surprise. Most people expected it. UConn tried to make it interesting at the end, but we're about to see a lot of Duke gear at the ACC for the foreseeable future. Jayson Tatum had thoughts. > Jayson Tatum earlier today on Cooper Flagg's commitment to Duke: "It was great. Excited. He's a hell of a player. He's going to be in the league here soon. Happy for him and his family. Obviously happy for Duke but it's like, where else would you go? That's where all the best… > > — Jay King (@ByJayKing) [October 30, 2023](https://twitter.com/ByJayKing/status/1719125426503573665?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The big question is: will Duke schedule a game in Maine? They've done this a number of times in the past. They played a game in Alaska when Trajan Langdon was there. Of course, that game happened in Langdon's senior year and Cooper probably isn't playing 4 years of college basketball. That's a safe bet. --- The Celtics are off to a 3-0 start and look pretty great so far. If you missed this last year, [Pete Rogers](https://twitter.com/petemrogers?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) designed a different jersey for every win and he's at it again. They're all pretty awesome, but this one is just fantastic. > designing a new celtics jersey after every win ☘️ > > record: 3-0 [pic.twitter.com/SBBau9dqLH](https://t.co/SBBau9dqLH?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — pete rogers, professional diaper changer (@petemrogers) [October 31, 2023](https://twitter.com/petemrogers/status/1719164603320406224?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You can buy some of the jerseys at [Banner18](https://shopbanner18.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and according to Twitter, these will be available later today with part of the proceeds going to the victims in Lewiston. --- Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, we're getting more information about the response in Lewiston. [Police were warned twice since May that Robert R. Card II was armed and paranoidThe Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office released documents on Monday showing the office had records of two prior interactions containing warning signs on Robert R. Card II’s mental status and his access to firearms.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsSawyer Loftus![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2023/10/Pictures-of-the-Week-North-America-Photo-Gallery.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/10/30/news/police-warned-twice-since-may-that-alleged-maine-shooter-was-armed-and-paranoid/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The more we learn, the more clear it seems that the minimal systems set up to prevent this from happening failed over and over again. We need new systems. And some of these people need to no longer be in charge of them. That's the polite version of that. --- We've got a good slate today. Lot of football matchup and the bulk of the field hockey semifinals. The Model's pick for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Back At It URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/back-at-it-2/ Last updated: 2023-10-30T12:43:52.000Z Our long, state-wide nightmare is technically over, but there's a ton of work left to do. > Don’t lose sight of the victims. People still died. Families broken. Do not forget them. Do what you can to help and TELL YOUR LOVED ONES YOU LOVE THEM. > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [October 28, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1718075879123829217?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Tyler Krusz put together a wonderful tribute to the victims. > All week, officials have emphasized keeping the focus of the tragedies in Lewiston on the victims and their families. Tonight, [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and I paid tribute to the 18 lives lost and those impacted. As Maine begins to heal together- remember, we are all [#LewistonStrong](https://twitter.com/hashtag/LewistonStrong?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com).… [pic.twitter.com/ZIXCXDlrs4](https://t.co/ZIXCXDlrs4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [October 28, 2023](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1718112753498394756?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's a number of things you can do to help the families. Like this t-shirt, for example. > With all of the support for our community this week, I’ve been inspired to keep that spirit alive for what we can be in the future. We are one. ALL proceeds will benefit families impacted by the mass shootings. [#LEWISTONSTRONG](https://twitter.com/hashtag/LEWISTONSTRONG?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/VkJ7eikb08](https://t.co/VkJ7eikb08?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/rb75NnJS8L](https://t.co/rb75NnJS8L?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/svLvb0qCWK](https://t.co/svLvb0qCWK?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Natalie (@Natalieb\_14) [October 28, 2023](https://twitter.com/Natalieb%5F14/status/1718290343102226893?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Maine Community Foundation set up the "Lewiston-Auburn Area Response Fund" which is designed to help the victims, survivors, and broader recovery efforts in the area. [Lewiston-Auburn Area Response Fund – Maine Community Foundation![](https://www.mainecf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/favicon-32x32-1.png)Maine Community Foundation Logo![](https://www.mainecf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/LEWISTON-1200-x-600-px-1024x512.png)](https://www.mainecf.org/initiatives-impact/lewiston-auburn-area-response-fund/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- This is, quite possibly, one of the best inbounds passes you'll ever see. > Joker casual half-court baseball pass lob 🤷‍♂️ > > DEN/MEM - Live now on the NBA App: [https://t.co/htyakZeFve](https://t.co/htyakZeFve?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/NH5HP8n50u](https://t.co/NH5HP8n50u?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NBA (@NBA) [October 28, 2023](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1718069916119548138?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We've got our Miss Field Hockey finalists. > The Maine Field Hockey Association has named three finalists for Miss Maine Field Hockey. Congratulations to Lily Johnson, from Cheverus High School, Laney Leblanc of Skowhegan high school and Layla Conway, also from Skowhegan. > > — Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) [October 29, 2023](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME/status/1718655673712398446?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And the Celtics are 2-0 and they already broke Jimmy Butler. > Jimmy Butler is listed as OUT for tonight's game due to rest. > > It's the third game of the season 😂 [pic.twitter.com/m9stO7JGKC](https://t.co/m9stO7JGKC?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Bookmakers Review (@BMRReviews) [October 28, 2023](https://twitter.com/BMRReviews/status/1718340388778299854?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- It looks like the Edward Little/Mt. Ararat quarterfinal will be completed on Tuesday, which will conclude the soccer quarterfinals. The semifinal for that is currently scheduled for Saturday, the 4th of November. --- Mike Mandell has built up a pretty good lead in the [Beat the Model](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/beat-the-model/) contest. It seems like it's insurmountable, but you never know. [Check Out This Week's Picks](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/beat-the-model/) Plus, the Gold Ball Odds have been updated to include football. Leavitt's number seems low. [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- Best I can tell, it's a light schedule today as we get back into the swing of things. The Model's picks are, as always, after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Not Great URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/not-great/ Last updated: 2023-10-27T12:29:43.000Z Well...they haven't found him yet (or at least they hadn't as of 2am) and it seems like either he killed himself in the woods or he planned this and had a second car or a jet-ski ready to go and if so, yikes. It's not great. People are obviously scared. Hannaford was closed for a couple of hours. But, also: > LL Bean is closed. I spoke to a rep on the phone and they may reopen in the afternoon but as of this morning they are closed. That tells you all you need to know. > > — TVTEDDY (@TVTEDDY) [October 26, 2023](https://twitter.com/TVTEDDY/status/1717519377728426144?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) LL Bean was closed! If my memory serves, they closed LL Bean for the first time for COVID. Anyway, stay safe. --- As with any tragedy... ![Perceptions and the Helpers - Beyond Housing](https://beyondhousing.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/528_med.jpg) So let's find some helpers. The Bruins (unlike the Celtics) have really stepped up. Maybe it's the Jim Montgomery influence. I love this. > In response to the tragic events in Lewiston, the Boston Bruins Foundation has created a fund to benefit the families of those affected and pledged a minimum of $100,000 in support. > > To learn more about how you can contribute, please visit [https://t.co/ZoZAhKs8lx](https://t.co/ZoZAhKs8lx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). [pic.twitter.com/QmzEduoe5O](https://t.co/QmzEduoe5O?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) [October 26, 2023](https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1717631133582504120?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And this. > [pic.twitter.com/Z0JtO2GLll](https://t.co/Z0JtO2GLll?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Coach Cadman (@coach\_cadman) [October 26, 2023](https://twitter.com/coach%5Fcadman/status/1717669924628279596?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And I really love this. > Players from the [#NHLBruins](https://twitter.com/hashtag/NHLBruins?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and the Ducks will be auctioning off player-signed sticks wrapped with blue tape -- representing the state of Maine -- to benefit the victims of the Lewiston shooting [https://t.co/wkzPSzVN5J](https://t.co/wkzPSzVN5J?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — WBZ Boston Sports (@wbzsports) [October 26, 2023](https://twitter.com/wbzsports/status/1717638965564465383?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But. Why is it blue? Shouldn't it be forest green or whatever color a pine tree is? If you want to help people more directly, GoFundMe has created a page for verified campaigns, so you can be sure that you're giving to the actual victims and not some scammer. > GoFundMe has created a verified landing page for fundraisers to help Lewiston shooting victims and their families. It's not the only way to give, but if you're interested: [https://t.co/7uDJkkhdyI](https://t.co/7uDJkkhdyI?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Steve Collins🦞 (@SteveCollinsSJ) [October 26, 2023](https://twitter.com/SteveCollinsSJ/status/1717677050704613805?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The MPA has pushed some games and pretty much left the scheduling up to the schools. There's no good solution here. We still need to finish a soccer quarterfinal game. And everything else is a mess. There's no way to know what games will happen today. It's like a blizzard that could go on for days and days. But, the Model's picks for what might be today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Lewiston URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/lewiston/ Last updated: 2023-10-26T09:42:19.000Z There are no words. But I'll try. You've all seen the news--the horrific news we all hoped would never happen in Maine--and our hearts are all broken for the families that are dealing with that impossible grief right now, the grief C.S. Lewis called an "amputation". But Lewis' grief was private and this is very, very public and the next couple of days are going to be very, very hard. Some of the worst people are going to show up in Lewiston and make it all about them. > Just want to make it clear to a world that doesn't know Lewiston that it is typically a safe, interesting place with a vibrant immigrant community, an elite college and a rich history. Don't pay any heed to a racist minority that loves to badmouth the place. > > — Steve Collins🦞 (@SteveCollinsSJ) [October 26, 2023](https://twitter.com/SteveCollinsSJ/status/1717392072422900170?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We should be talking about the opening night for the Celtics and the 3 games yesterday that were decided by penalty kicks, but instead some dipshit has us doom scrolling Twitter and wondering if we should send our kids to school today. > Lewiston. [pic.twitter.com/6N03UBG24I](https://t.co/6N03UBG24I?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [October 26, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1717395628332871717?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm kind of fumbling through this, but I know a couple of things. I know that a lot of people are about to learn just how resilient and amazing Mainers are. > The thing about Maine is Maine is one big, small town. To the rest of the country, we might as well be Canada. Right now neighbors are checking on neighbors. This guy picked the wrong state. > > — Joe (@NewsProJoe) [October 26, 2023](https://twitter.com/NewsProJoe/status/1717381966561976704?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I know we're being reminded of the value of a local media. For a long stretch, the Sun Journal's Sports Editor was the most reliable source of updates. > Three separate incidents are being investigated: Sparetime, Schemengees and Walmart Distribution Center. > Rumors of more, but they aren't confirmed. [https://t.co/KvrLxvBfLG](https://t.co/KvrLxvBfLG?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Lee Horton (@LeeHortonSJ) [October 26, 2023](https://twitter.com/LeeHortonSJ/status/1717340515006390557?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Stick with the local media through this. They've actually been to Lewiston before. The Edward Little / Mt. Ararat quarterfinal game was suspended with the score 2-2\. I don't envy the person who has to figure out when and how to finish that game. That's going to be a tightrope to walk for the schools and the MPA. Sports does an amazing job of bringing communities together and there won't be a dry eye when they finish that game. I didn't update any of the scores tonight. I'll do that later today. Oddly enough, there was only a single football game on the schedule today, but I'm guessing that's not happening. Also, it's 5:30am and they still haven't caught the asshole. Stay safe. --- Back when Jon Stewart did *The Daily Show*, they did a "Moment of Zen", kind of a palette cleanser of the news. Maybe they still do it. So I thought maybe a "Moment of Joy" might be nice, a reminder of how things can be. I happened to be at one of the three games decided by penalty kicks, and it was electric. ### Girls Soccer Quarterfinals URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/girls-soccer-quarterfinals/ Last updated: 2023-10-25T12:17:37.000Z One day in and we've already lost a 1 seed as the Oceanside girls soccer team fell to Presque Isle, 2-1\. So far, Presque Isle has traveled to Oceanside twice and Erskine once. Next, they get to go to Hermon. Hopefully the bus driver gets a raise. Or at least a case of beer. Elsewhere, Brewer pulled off an upset in boys soccer. > Brewer upsets defending state champ in boys soccer quarterfinals [@Utter1824](https://twitter.com/Utter1824?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/hddbU7xtDF](https://t.co/hddbU7xtDF?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [October 25, 2023](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1717021024946896985?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Gold Ball Odds for soccer and field hockey are updated. You can see the damage Brewer has already done to the A North bracket. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-25-at-12.07.22-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- The Women's AP All-American team looks pretty, pretty, pretty good. And, oh hey, look who's there. > Preseason AP All-Americans: > Cameron Brink > Paige Bueckers > Caitlin Clark > Mackenzie Holmes > Elizabeth Kitley > Angel Reese[https://t.co/DFMyQrRLcr](https://t.co/DFMyQrRLcr?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN\_WomenHoop) [October 24, 2023](https://twitter.com/ESPN%5FWomenHoop/status/1716872465643942087?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Today we've got the other half of the field hockey quarterfinals and the bulk of the boys soccer quarterfinals. As always, all of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. The Model is now 68-8 on these playoffs. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Rules, Rules, Rules URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rules-rules-rules/ Last updated: 2023-10-24T12:07:34.000Z You know basketball season is fast-approaching when we start to hear about all the new rules. Dave Eid has a summary: > Maine H.S. Basketball rule changes for upcoming season! [https://t.co/Gb9m5owJPK](https://t.co/Gb9m5owJPK?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) [October 23, 2023](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME/status/1716588426206613657?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But the big one is this: ![upload in progress, 0](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/05/Screen-Shot-2023-05-16-at-12.47.25-AM.png) No more one and one! This is going to be so weird. Having the team fouls reset at the quarter is nice, but I think we're taking away something from the game here. There are few things more gut-wrenching than having a player step to the line down one in the final minute and miss the front end of the one and one. It's going to take a while to get used to this. --- There's also a rule change coming next year and can it start now please? [NFHS Basketball Rule Changes Include Contrasting Jersey and Number Colors - National Sporting Goods AssociationINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (May 15, 2019) — Numbers can no longer be the same color as the jerseys, effective with the 2024-25 season, as one of seven rule changes made in high school basketball. Five of the seven rule revisions recommended by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NF…![](https://nsga.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/favicon.ico)National Sporting Goods AssociationEddie Pasa![](https://nsga.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/og-image.png)](https://nsga.org/news/nfhs-basketball-rule-changes-include-contrasting-jersey-and-number-colors/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's right. No longer can teams wear those awful uniforms where the number is the same color as the jersey and only visible by an outline. So one more year of that nonsense and then it's to the fire pit. --- In case you haven't seen it, there's photos from Cooper Flagg's visit to Duke. > Cooper Flagg on his Official Visit to Duke! 😈 [#TheBrotherhood](https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheBrotherhood?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > Via ( ig: cooper\_flagg ) [pic.twitter.com/iNvoKzRag4](https://t.co/iNvoKzRag4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Blue Devils (@BlueDevils) [October 24, 2023](https://twitter.com/BlueDevils/status/1716606716211527832?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) As someone who has a Bobby Hurley Kings jersey in his closet, I'll just say the Laettner jersey is a nice touch. --- The Quarterfinals are starting today, with the bulk of the girls soccer games. You can, of course, check out the Gold Ball Odds for Soccer and Field Hockey. [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) And the Model's picks for all of today's games are after the jump. BTW, the Model went 28-2 in the prelim round. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Tyler's Revenge URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tylers-revenge/ Last updated: 2023-10-23T12:10:53.000Z After going 0-11 last week, Tyler Krusz was out for some revenge, and he got it. ![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F88weufW0AAbZDD?format=jpg&name=large) If you're wondering, the streak ran to 0-15(!!) before he got a game right. And then he went on a run. We'll see how they do when the games really matter. --- The shorter turnaround from the regular season to the playoffs for Fall Sports caught me off-guard (no weekend to get caught up like in basketball!), but the Fall Sports playoff stuff is pretty much ready to go. You'll probably remember this from basketball, but the Model generates the likelihood that every team can take home the Gold Ball, like this: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-23-at-2.45.56-AM.png) You can see this for Boys and Girls Soccer and Field Hockey and Football is on the way. [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- There's only 2 prelim games left on the schedule (assuming the one I found is correct, which is...maybe?) and both of them are in B North Boys Soccer. MDI visits Erskine and Presque Isle travels to Oceanside. Pity the bus driver who had to drive from Presque Isle to Erskine on Friday for a girls soccer prelim and has to go to Oceanside today. That's a total of 14 1/2 hours of driving. But something tells me if PI completes the upset double, the bus driver might not mind so much. The Model's pick for both those game is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Week 8 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/week-8/ Last updated: 2023-10-20T15:44:31.000Z The Fall regular season is over (save for football) and I'm busy putting together some Gold Ball Odds for all 3 sports in-between last-minute trips to get more firewood. --- Gold Ball Odds are up for Field Hockey (the data viz is acting weird, but the math is good) and soccer should be up tomorrow. [FH Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- After last week's nearly impossible Beat the Model performance, Tyler was keen to rally, but when Oceanside only beat Medomak by 6, his streak continues. I'm not sure which games came in first, but he went 0-3 on the games of Saturday the 7th, so we know he's at least on a 0-15 streak. He's the Joe DiMaggio of getting games wrong. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-19-at-8.43.33-PM.png) --- Congratulations to Westbrook's girls soccer team. > The streak is finally over for the Westbrook girls soccer team. They snap a 55 game winless streak with a 4-2 win over Massabesic. > > Congrats![@WGME](https://twitter.com/WGME?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FOX23Maine](https://twitter.com/FOX23Maine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/Ok7KSuGTgm](https://t.co/Ok7KSuGTgm?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Peterson (@JeffWGME) [October 17, 2023](https://twitter.com/JeffWGME/status/1714101461586448683?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I'm in a bit of a rush, but today's games are, as always, after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### We Decline URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/we-decline/ Last updated: 2023-10-17T12:26:40.000Z We're nearly to the end of the Fall Sports season, and the playoff picture is coming into focus. Either with Heal Points or Crabtree, which...yeah. Because the Crabtree Index is so...subpar, I calculate Heal Points for football. [Fall Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/Fall-heal-points/) According to the press release issued by the MPA yesterday (which I've FINALLY started getting), we have the official seeding of the 8-man football tournament. There's something, uh, weird in it. See if you can spot it. ![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F8mJ7qxXEAANQFr?format=png&name=900x900) Telstar opted out of the playoffs. It happens. They're one of several teams to do so. Spruce Mountain was one of them. > Spruce had been outscored by an aggregate 364-62 in struggling to a 0-7 campaign and only dressed 15 kids when they came to MDI in Week 6 (a 50-14 Trojans' win). MDI gets a week off and will play at Morse next weekend. Day/time TBA. > > — Ryan McLaughlin (@rmclaughlin23) [October 16, 2023](https://twitter.com/rmclaughlin23/status/1713924837754708181?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you can't field a team, you can't field a team. One wonders how this is different than the MPA's rules about not being able to finish a season. Maybe it's a technicality of it being an "Invitational Tournament" and you can decline an invitation. Sure, whatever. But the big question is: why does #3 Maranacook get the only bye ? Why don't Mount View and Traip slide up a slot, giving the bye to OOB? After all, they've clearly earned it. I can't imagine what the rationale is here. If we're just calling it a forfeit, then that's what you would do in a forfeit, but declining an invitation isn't a forfeit. You've recused yourself from the tournament entirely, so you wouldn't be seeded at all. I don't see how you can have both sides of this. Either it's a forfeit and Telstar didn't finish the season (which carries penalties) or it's they declined the invitation and OOB gets a bye. Mount View can't be thrilled. --- Check out this catch from the Leavitt/TA game: > Catch from the win over TA Saturday [pic.twitter.com/obTqDfVop6](https://t.co/obTqDfVop6?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Will Keach (@willkeach1) [October 17, 2023](https://twitter.com/willkeach1/status/1714078701531341131?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Cooper's doing Cooper things at [Top Flight](https://ballislife.com/florida-eagles-take-top-flight-invite/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) in leading his team to the title. > Cooper Flagg's averages at the GEICO Top Flight Invitational (3 GP): > > ▫️19.7 PTS (89.5% TS) > ▫️8.0 REB (2.3 OREB) > ▫️3.7 AST (1.83 AST/TO) > ▫️2.7 BLK (4.0 STK) > ▫️71.4% 3PT (2.3 3PA) > > Best prospect since...? [pic.twitter.com/1bfci8jfib](https://t.co/1bfci8jfib?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Logan Adams (@LoganA\_NBA) [October 16, 2023](https://twitter.com/LoganA%5FNBA/status/1713948073406464414?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Feel free to put your "Best prospect since...?" answer in the comments. --- Rankings for Fall Sports are all updated. [Soccer/FH Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) These seem to be holding up, which is a good sign. I have some ideas for how to do these low-scoring games going forward. As always, the picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Kicking the Hornet Nest URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/kicking-the-hornet-nest/ Last updated: 2023-10-16T12:21:40.000Z Things weren't looking great for Leavitt's football team in the first half of their game at Thornton Academy. They trailed 21-6\. The student section had begun to heckle them. Had they finally met their match? > Although it ended in a 35-21 loss, TA brought the fireworks in the first half today. Here were a few calls from our TATV broadcast. [pic.twitter.com/OsKIc022uB](https://t.co/OsKIc022uB?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Cole Purvis (@ColePurvisTATV) [October 14, 2023](https://twitter.com/ColePurvisTATV/status/1713288554208461028?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) At halftime, they regrouped. Noah Carpenter went 58 yards to cut it to 21-14\. He scored again to tie it. Then Colten Taylor scored from 19 yards out. They scored 21 straight in just under 6 minutes to take the lead. > This is why you never start an “o-ver-ra-ted” chant in the first half. > > — Rob Kennedy 🌲 🏒 (@RobKennedy70) [October 14, 2023](https://twitter.com/RobKennedy70/status/1713275229194146004?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They tacked on another TD for good measure and fended off a late Thornton Academy rally for a 35-21 win. > What an impressive win by Leavitt, 35-21, over [@TATrojanSports](https://twitter.com/TATrojanSports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Dominant second half to come back from 21-6 down. Overpowering line play. Big play strikes. Best team in state indeed. > > — Mike Lowe (@MikeLoweretired) [October 14, 2023](https://twitter.com/MikeLoweretired/status/1713278903677026356?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They are, of course, overwhelming favorites to repeat as Class C champs. They would be pretty strong favorites if they were put in the A tournament. A fun thought exercise: how often would a team in a lower class be a considerable favorite in the class above them? (and not just a thing where, oh, the Brewer boys last year could have won AA. The Favorite with a capital F.) And what about 2 classes above them? It's a short list, for sure. --- Few impartial people were more interested in the outcome of the game than Mike Mandell and Tyler Krusz, who had one game left to pull off perfection...of one kind or another. It didn't look great at halftime, but the Leavitt's second half did the trick. Perfection! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-14-at-7.24.46-PM-1.png) --- Rankings are updated for football (it's Leavitt, obviously). [Football Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) But also the rest of the fall sports, which are less clear. [Soccer & Field Hockey](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) --- Basketball season is fast approaching and, if you didn't see the news, the Celtics made another big move. [Celtics hire Jeff Van Gundy as senior consultantThe Boston Celtics hired former longtime head coach and ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy as a senior consultant in their basketball operations group.![](https://a.espncdn.com/wireless/mw5/r1/images/bookmark-icons-v2/espn-icon-180x180.png)ESPNTim Bontemps![](https://a4.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2015%2F0522%2Fnba_u_gundy1x_1296x729.jpg)](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/%5F/id/38660110/boston-celtics-hire-jeff-van-gundy-senior-consultant?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Van Gundy will be splitting his time between Boston and Maine, which means we should be getting a bunch of JVG sightings in Portland. Maybe he'll show up at a high school game or two? --- Also. This 2-point conversion worked somehow. Didn't the Cowboys try something like this and it failed spectacularly? > I cannot believe this 2 point conversion worked [pic.twitter.com/BshACQkhc2](https://t.co/BshACQkhc2?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) [October 14, 2023](https://twitter.com/cjzero/status/1713299057144135840?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And, finally, did you see this Wemby dunk? > Thomas Bryant’s reaction to Wemby’s dunk 😭 > > (via halnicolee/TT) [pic.twitter.com/dO2tlnzb5G](https://t.co/dO2tlnzb5G?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) [October 14, 2023](https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1713197577733091537?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Have I mentioned yet that basketball season is almost here? Almost time to turn your subscription back on. You may have noticed the newsletter is starting to ramp back up. [Upgrade to Paid](#/portal/account/plans) Oh, and today's soccer and field hockey games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Saturday the 14th URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/saturday-the-14th/ Last updated: 2023-10-14T12:29:42.000Z If you're going to have 3 people picking football games, you'll get some variance in how they do, but usually not a ton. There's a consensus, usually, but to get outliers you need a large sample size. Generally more than three. But to get something like this? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-13-at-9.30.18-PM.png) Tyler's 0-10 is pretty hilarious. Mike's 10-0 is very impressive. But to get them both on the same games AND have Adam go 5-5? ![](https://media.tenor.com/Fr4iVGDwFWwAAAAC/love-it.gif) You're not supposed to root for teams, but can I say that I'm rooting pretty hard for Leavitt to cover? Because that would be awesome. No pressure! --- OOB completed their unbeaten season. > Final Score at the beach: [@OOBathletics](https://twitter.com/OOBathletics?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) caps off an unbeaten regular season for the first time since 1993\. 64-13 is the final over Mt.View. Gulls most likely host the mustangs again next week. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [October 14, 2023](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1713002126807273683?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They're +426 over 7 games. That's 60.8 PPG! That's insane. --- Speaking of insane, Oceanside beat York 60-40 in 11-man action. Honestly, I'm not sure how you even get that many possessions...Elsewhere, Massabesic burned up the scoreboard, beating Biddeford 56-32 and Mountain Valley beat Waterville 68-8...But it wasn't all offense. Old Town beat Madison 6-0 in overtime. There were two field hockey shutouts yesterday with more scoring (Cony & Cheverus). Speaking of which: > The Boston Red Sox have outscored the New England Patriots in the month of October 6-3\. The Red Sox played 1 game. > > — Brando (@brandon\_\_\_\_\_\_w) [October 13, 2023](https://twitter.com/brandon%5F%5F%5F%5F%5F%5Fw/status/1712834257897607195?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's a WILD stat. --- Cooper got a new mixtape. > Cooper Flagg OFFICIAL MIXTAPE just dropped 🚨🔥 > > WATCH: [https://t.co/fJZFc9Nk98](https://t.co/fJZFc9Nk98?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/lgJhnWRgkH](https://t.co/lgJhnWRgkH?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — SLAM HS Hoops (@SLAM\_HS) [October 12, 2023](https://twitter.com/SLAM%5FHS/status/1712544865769390184?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Does anyone know how to get a press pass for those games in Maine? --- ## Game of the Day Obviously, this game has major implications for Tyler and Mike's picks, but it's also a massive game. Leavitt, who's football team has played more cross-class+1 games this year than any basketball team has attempted in...forever, is facing a team that has over double the enrollment (and is the 2nd largest school in the state) and won the Gold Ball very recently. And they're favored. On the road. The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Friday the 13th URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/friday-the-13th-2/ Last updated: 2023-10-13T12:07:30.000Z Gather 'round, alumni of Camp Crystal Lake, as we enter the peak of the Spooky Season and also the tail end of the fall sports season. Just, you know, be careful out there. --- Last week, Adam Robinson of [Maine Sports Today](https://mainesportstoday.substack.com/) moved into the lead of the [Beat the Model](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/beat-the-model/) contest. He's now 14-8 against the Model's spreads (the Model itself is 16-6 straight up in those games). Can he extend his lead this week or will Tyler and Mike catch up? [See This Week's Picks](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/beat-the-model/) --- It sounds like the Montverde games in Maine are scheduled. > .[@Cooper\_Flagg](https://twitter.com/Cooper%5FFlagg?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and [@FlaggAce](https://twitter.com/FlaggAce?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)'s homecoming games with Montverde Academy are SET! They will face South Shore (N.Y.) and CATS Academy (Ma.) on January 5th & 6th in Portland! This is going to be must-see!!! [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/r5kMWGmkOy](https://t.co/r5kMWGmkOy?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/alDE0DYZVD](https://t.co/alDE0DYZVD?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan Sudol (@RyanSudolWVII) [October 11, 2023](https://twitter.com/RyanSudolWVII/status/1711908630742622484?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Friendly suggestion to ADs: maybe don't schedule any big games that weekend? --- In other news, Hodgdon has new coaches. > Hodgdon has two new basketball coaches. > Sam Henderson has been named new boys coach He replaces Matt Oliver who stepped down. > Matt Day is the new girls coach replacing Wendell Harvey who stepped down. > Henderson and Day are Hodgdon graduates and have coached at the varsity level. > > — Rene Cloukey (@CloukeyRene) [October 11, 2023](https://twitter.com/CloukeyRene/status/1712110820337893732?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's a lot of new coaches this year. The landscape is going to be a lot different. Also the Celtics are back! And they look great! (unlike the Patriots) Basketball season will be here before you know it. --- But first, there's Fall Sports to take care of. The rankings are updated for soccer and field hockey (and football!) [Soccer/Field Hockey](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) [Football RankingsWho’s the best football team in the state of Maine?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/football-rankings-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/) And the Heal Points are updated, including how football would work with Heal Points instead of Crabtree. [Fall Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-heal-points/) ## Game of the Day The big game is obviously tomorrow, but there's a good one in Fairfield today between an unbeaten Messalonskee team and a 4-2 Lawrence squad that has given Leavitt one of their toughest tests of the season. This is a classic situation where one team (Messo) has played a much easier schedule and what happens when the stakes get raised? They've only been tested once this season, beating #23 Cony 39-21\. Lawrence, on the other hand, blew out Cony. The Model thinks the 4-2 team beats the 6-0 team. We'll see! --- I've done some tweaking of the Model's projected point spreads for soccer and field hockey, so I think they make more sense now. But you can see for yourself after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Week 6, Part 2 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/week-6-part-2/ Last updated: 2023-10-07T16:31:20.000Z The Model's been hesitant on Old Orchard Beach as they laid waste to everything in their sight. It does that when it isn't sold on a team's strength of schedule. But with their obliteration of Maranacook last night, the Model is convinced. They're up to 6th in the [rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/). They've outscored their opponents by 375 points now. Elsewhere, it was a busy night. Cony won an emotional game. Oxford Hills came back to beat Bonny Eagle. Medomak came back against Cape. Leavitt blew out another Class A school. And Bucksport outlasted Ellsworth. --- There's a good slate of games today. Although, you might get pretty wet watching them. A couple of these games got played yesterday, because of the rain. And some have already finished (I got a late start today). Remember the scoreboard is going, if you want to keep up with today's action. [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) Today's Model picks are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Week 6 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/week-6/ Last updated: 2023-10-06T16:48:00.000Z Foxcroft Academy threw down a statement win in Waldoboro in the Game of the Day, beating Medomak Valley 35-0\. I went to the game and Foxcroft is legit, but that matchup is probably more like Foxcroft +10\. Medomak dropped a pick 6 and failed to convert 2 fourth and goals and there's a very real version of that game where Foxcroft wins 28-21. What do coaches always say about how a couple of plays can swing a game? Also there was a chicken BBQ fundraiser that was fantastic. --- The OOB boys continued their dominance with an 82-0 win over Sacopee Valley. OOB led 60-0 at the half, which is just a staggering thing to even consider. They have now outscored their opponents 328-0 over 5 games. That's 65.6-0 per game. That's insane. > (Thread) After todays dominate victory for [@OOBathletics](https://twitter.com/OOBathletics?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), I spoke post game with [@gullscoach](https://twitter.com/gullscoach?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and three seagulls about coach’s 100th win, making history, and looking ahead for the final two games! (#1 Dean Plante) [pic.twitter.com/3Gfg7tRd6N](https://t.co/3Gfg7tRd6N?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [September 30, 2023](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1708240711793967469?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- After one week, Adam and Mike are tied for the lead in the "Beat the Model" contest for bragging rights. They both went 8-3 last week ATS, while Tyler went 7-4\. We'll see how they do this week. [This week's picks](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/beat-the-model/) --- A programming note as I have finally gotten caught up on the fall sports. So we have the fall heal points page, which should be pretty current, save for the issue with the weight of 8-person soccer, which I still need to fix (and, you know, missing games) This will also show you what football would look like with Heal Points instead of the Crabtree Index. [Fall Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fall-heal-points/) Plus, there's now rankings for football, boys soccer, girls soccer, and field hockey. These are currently not behind the paywall, but they may move there soon, because it's a lot to keep track of and I've got them all in 1 spreadsheet and it's massive. That might have been a mistake. In the meantime, see how your team is doing. Find the inevitable mistake in the spreadsheet. I'm sure there's a typo or a mis-reported score or something. [So Many Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) ## Today's Games The [scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) is now fully functional, and will have all of the day's games in 1 place. Plus, you can input scores there, which always helps. And below the jump, you'll see the Model's picks for all of today's football, soccer, and field hockey games. It's a lot of games! I'm still trying to dial in these spreads. Pretty sure the soccer and field hockey ones are too low. The Stax Indexes might be too. I'll investigate. But in the meantime... _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Week 5 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/week-5/ Last updated: 2023-09-29T12:46:31.000Z So the soccer model is doing pretty good so far. It's 51-15 (77.3%) on the season. I'm assuming that soccer is harder to pick, what with goals being at a premium and the margin of error and point differential being lower. And yes, I'm working on getting schedules up for the other sports. In the meantime, we've put together a fun challenge. [Adam Robinson](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) (formerly of the Bangor Daily News and currently of the [Maine Sports Today](https://mainesportstoday.substack.com/) newsletter--which you should subscribe to) and [Tyler Krusz](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) of Fox Bangor will be picking against the Model's spread (and failing spectacularly) on 10 games each week. You can keep track of how badly their doing at the following link. [Beat the ModelCan a man defeat a machine?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/09/beat-the-model-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/beat-the-model/) This week, Tyler selected the 10 games they predict. I have some thoughts. Adam clearly is playing the underdog card. Let's see how that works out for him. This is a reminder that Belfast +5.5 means Belfast is favored by 5.5, because I didn't want people thinking I was encouraging gambling on high school sports. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-28-at-10.54.37-PM.png) ## Game of the Day Foxcroft Academy has given up a grand total of 6 points on the season--to John Bapst in Week 1--and has outscored their opponents by 213 points in 4 games. That's a lot. They'll face their toughest test of the season with a Medomak Valley team that's 4-0 after losing to Leavitt in the State Game last year. Foxcroft is favored, but can the still new Panthers make a statement? The Model's picks for all of today's football and boys soccer games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Euro-Football URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/euro-football/ Last updated: 2023-09-26T12:26:29.000Z Saturday's game between Leavitt and Oxford Hills lived up to the hype, as the Hornets held on to a hard-fought 21-14 win over the Vikings. The Model had Leavitt as a slight favorite in that one and the win solidified their spot as one of the top teams in the [football rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/), as that's currently a 2 team race at the top. For a detailed write-up of the game, you really need to head over to Adam Robinson's Substack. [Leavitt’s showdown with Oxford Hills was years in the makingAs middle schooler’s, this year’s senior class played each other many, many times.![](https://substackcdn.com/icons/substack/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png)Maine Sports TodayMaine Sports Today![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1200,h_600,c_fill,f_jpg,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3086ef7c-802c-4f75-b31d-0a22f7817c2c_6000x4000.jpeg)](https://mainesportstoday.substack.com/p/leavitts-showdown-with-oxford-hills) You probably remember Adam from his work at the BDN. Now he's on his own with a newsletter and podcast that are quickly becoming an essential part of the media landscape. [Subscribe to Adam's Newsletter](https://mainesportstoday.substack.com/) --- There's a tweak coming to the football rankings in the coming days. One of the issues you get in football that doesn't happen in basketball is a shutout (I guess you could get shutout, but...yikes). And not just a shutout, but a shutout that's a close game. A 6-0 win is a lot different than a 48-0 win and the latter should naturally be worth more than the former. One of the Model's formulas involves dividing by the losing team's score, so dividing by zero isn't ideal. I think I have a solution to this, but to really test the idea of rankings where teams fail to score, there's only one way to do it right. And that's with... [Soccer RankingsGOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/09/soccer-rankings-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) Ah, yes. Soccer rankings. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the biggest soccer fan in the world. But a ranking is a ranking, so here we go. This should function similarly to basketball, although the projected margins of victory are certainly lower. Also a lot lower is the Stax Indexes for these games. But I think that's fair. A basketball game is more...dynamic...than a soccer game. Some of these games have a Stax Index below 10\. Check it out. See if anything looks weird. Right now it's just the boys. [Soccer Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/soccer-rankings/) Also...guess what's back? The scoreboard! [ScoreboardToday’s scores.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/scoreboard-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) --- ## **Game of the Day** If you look at Varsity Maine's media poll, they're very high on Portland, much higher than the Model. There's the usual reasons why, but the Bulldogs have only given up 1 goal on the year in that 5-0-1 start and have a 21-1 goal differential, so it's not that hard to justify. But as we see so often in basketball, the schedule matters and Portland's hasn't been very hard. In fact, it's been the easiest schedule in all of Class A so far. They've played 1 team in the Top 25 and that was the draw. Scarborough, on the other hand, has a draw and 2 losses, but one loss was to Windham and the other to a pretty good Kennebunk team. Despite that, they've got a 19-5 goal differential. Take out the Windham game and it's 18-2\. They don't have the media poll votes, but do they have enough to win this? The Model thinks they might. Or maybe Portland finally gets a chance to show how good they really are. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Vikings and Hornets URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/vikings-and-hornets/ Last updated: 2023-09-23T18:26:03.000Z Last night, without thinking about it, I went to a homecoming game wearing a hoodie of that school's rival (who they weren't playing) and let me just say...you get some looks. Anyway, it was a field hockey game and while I don't really understand the rules of field hockey, it turned into a really exciting finish. But maybe not as exciting as this. > Maybe the play of the night as Elijah Farias has a 100 yard interception for the Tigers to seal the game for the Tigers as they beat Edward Little in a wild one 35-26 [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/7nDGO9K9UG](https://t.co/7nDGO9K9UG?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rob Munzing (@MunzingMedia) [September 23, 2023](https://twitter.com/MunzingMedia/status/1705427988286755157?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In the Game of the Day, Kennebunk made short work of Deering to improve to 4-0\. > Kennebunk wins battle of the Rams, moves to 4-0 [@KennebunkAD](https://twitter.com/KennebunkAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/BKYi0WclGe](https://t.co/BKYi0WclGe?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [September 23, 2023](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1705433362582642876?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Overall, the Model went 22-6 yesterday, good for 78.6%, which is a little low for the Model in basketball, but I'll take it. ## Game of the Day The Game of the Day is an easy one, as Leavitt hosts Oxford Hills in a battle of heavyweights. You might notice both teams have fallen back a little in the rankings from #2 & #3, but that's just a function of a bunch of teams playing last night and everyone being so close in the rankings. The Model thinks this could be a close one. Leavitt is averaging 51.0 points a game--that's 2nd best in the state for 11-man squads (Foxcroft Academy). Can they score enough against an Oxford Hills team allowing a mere 4.7 points a game? We're about to find out. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Return of the Model URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/return-of-the-model/ Last updated: 2023-09-22T02:19:30.000Z So...how's everyone doing? We're starting the newsletter a little late in the fall sports season because yours truly was [directing a movie](https://lcnme.com/currentnews/maine-noir-films-in-waldoboro/?mibextid=S66gvF&fbclid=IwAR2hV8zy2OXDaHS3pN48%5Fb1PkCaWZ0pgc0PJe6vcB2kcerl85ia1yDEOuDM&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), a modern noir about a woman who finds $$ hidden in the walls of the house she inherited. It goes badly. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/09/375770518_10161338804036204_6514189109246383649_n.jpeg) Behind-the-scenes on our little old production There's more stuff on the way (like soccer heal points) as I recover from the shoot and catch up on my sleep, but we'll start with [football rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/). The rankings operate pretty similarly to the basketball rankings you're used to. It's more interested in your strength of schedule and your scoring differential in those games than it is in wins and losses. It doesn't care at all if Team A beat Team B because, hey, upsets happen and you can very quickly twist yourself in knots when Team B beats Team C who then beats Team A. It's a whole thing. So how is Thornton Academy #1 in the rankings? Well, they've played 3 teams the Model currently has in the top 15, got points out of all of them, came from a good starting point from last year, and it's only been 3 games. The other quirk is there's not nearly enough data to figure out how to treat 8-man vs. 11-man. Right now, the 8-man large schools are given the same weight as Class C and the small schools are Class D. Which...maybe? ## Game of the Day The Deering Rams have started the year hot, allowing a total of 13 points across 3 games. That's the 6th stingiest defense in the state so far. They'll head to Kennebunk to face a Rams team that has allowed 12 points, good for 5th in the state. Someone's going to 4-0\. The Model sees this coming down to a field goal. **#20 Deering @ #14 Kennebunk (Kennebunk +3.8) \[80.2\]** *To refresh your memory from basketball season, this reads that Kennebunk is favored by 3.8 and the Stax Index is 80.2.* The rest of the Model's picks for today's football games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### (Spring Sports) Opening Day! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring-sports-opening-day/ Last updated: 2023-04-13T12:31:17.000Z It's finally stopped snowing long enough to be outside for a couple of hours and the blackflies aren't here yet, so it must be time to start the spring sports season. To kick it off, I had the legend himself, Michael Hoffer, on the podcast to preview the baseball & softball seasons and explain to me a little bit of how lacrosse works. You can check that out on YouTube (don't forget to subscribe): Or if you don't want to look at me for an hour (I get it), there's also Spotify. [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2xIZTXwNmtwXy4rG3L3RwW?si=sJWJimhxRtGQLz3QVPjYNQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's also available anywhere you podcast. Regardless of where you check it out, make sure you like and subscribe and do all the algorithm things. It truly helps. And with the NBA playoffs ready to go, don't miss my conversation about the Celtics and more with Jon Duke from Celtics Stuff Live. --- Spring sports schedules are due today, so the [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring-heal-points/) should be up pretty soon after I tell the spreadsheet which school to assign the 11 school co-op teams to. That, of course, will go behind the paywall in a couple of days. So if you took a month off, it might be time to re-start. ### Ep. 7: Should We Be Worried About the Celtics? with Jon Duke URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/should-we-be-worried-about-the-celtics/ Last updated: 2023-04-03T21:03:12.000Z _No content available._ ### Ep. 6: Coaching North of Bangor with Dillon Kingsbury URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ep-6-dillon-kingsbury/ Last updated: 2023-03-31T20:12:26.000Z Dillon Kingsbury first broke on the scene as the barely-older-than-his-players coach of the Easton Bears who upset then-undefeated Jonesport-Beals. Since then, he's won a Gold Ball with the Central Aroostook girls as the 6 seed and took over his alma mater at Presque Isle. Naturally, he pulled off another upset this year over #2 Winslow. We talk about his coaching journey, what he's learned along the way, and what's unique about basketball in the County. *Transcript (via Deciphr.com for SEO)* 0:00:00 A: All right. 0:00:03 B: My guest today, live from Presque Isle, is Dillon Kingsbury. Dillon, thanks for joining me. 0:00:10 C: Yeah, thanks for having me. 0:00:11 B: Lucas, I wanted to have you on because it'll come to us as a surprise to a lot of people that there are basketball teams north of Bangor. And so I thought I would have one of them on here to give people a perspective of how that happens, like how many snowmobiles you have to take to games, things like that. But also, I want to talk to you because you have got like, an interesting track. You were basically, I first became aware of you in Jeez. It was forever ago now, but it was back in the NBR days when I think it was your Eastern team knocked off Jonesport Beals, and everybody on the forums was like, Jeez, this kid, he's like twelve, this coach. 0:00:56 B: How did you end up coaching a varsity team that young? What's the path there? 0:01:02 C: Well, right out of high school, I kind of made the decision. I went to ampi for my Bachelor's of Science in Physical Education. I thought about playing, but I went to one of my younger sister's travel team practices. I was asked to come in to help, and I was like, you know what, I kind of like this. So I went to the local newspaper and saw that Washburn Middle School was looking for a junior high coach. So I applied for that and I coached there for a year. 0:01:40 C: And then the next year, I saw Easton varsity. I was 19\. I thought Easton was looking for a team, and my mother is the one that's like, you need to apply. I'm like, they're not going to hire me, I'm 19\. She said, just apply. You never know, right? So I put myself in and sure enough, I got a phone call from their superintendent at the time, Frank Keenan, who's actually a Prescott connection. And I got an interview and I went in kind of just like, you know what, I'm going to brush off on my interview skills. It's not a bad thing, hopefully for the future. 0:02:15 C: And then they called me and said, it's yours if you want it. And I said, okay, let's do it. So, I mean, I was 19 at the time and walking into a veteran team who had 17 and 18 year olds, but that's kind of how I got the ball rolling to start. 0:02:33 B: Was it tricky being so if you're you're like, barely older than them, you're basically like, these are guys that you could have been on the same team as them if you had gone to Easton? Was that tricky to get them to listen to you. 0:02:50 C: Now, where I'm at now, and looking back at it, it probably was tricky, but in the moment, I was young and let's just do this. And a lot of a lot of credit goes to those guys. I mean, it's, it's easy for me to come in and go, hey, you know, like, I'm 19, but that doesn't matter, I'm your coach, we're going to do it my way or not. But credit goes to them to go, you know what, let's do it. Let's listen to this guy that's one year older than us that easily could have gone to high school with us, and they responded well. 0:03:29 C: So in a different situation or maybe a different team, maybe it doesn't work out. But credit to those seniors in Easton and that team I started with, they were awesome. They were very responsive and accepting of the position they were in, and we had a decent first year. 0:03:49 B: So was it a little bit of you maybe didn't know what you didn't know? And so there's that thing of the novice just tries things and doesn't know what he's not supposed to do, and sometimes that works. 0:04:03 C: Yeah, no, I think you're exactly right. Like I said, me looking back at 19 year old me, if I were to go back, I would have messed it up because I would overthought it. But then, like you said, I didn't know what I was doing. I just said, let's do it. Maybe like you said, I just kind of going into a green might have been the best thing for me at the time. 0:04:25 B: So it wasn't a thing where you were like, twelve, and you were like, oh, man, you're like watching Rick Patino or something, and you're like, oh, I want to be a coach. When you're playing, they're like, Boy, Dylan, he's really a coach on the floor and that whole thing. 0:04:39 C: Yeah, no, it was. I played for Tim Prescott, and I always remember him saying I was the type of player that was I don't know if it's PC, but he always said, you know what? You're the type of player that might steal a car. I'm sneaky and I can see you coaching the prison team, is exactly what he said. I could see you coaching the prison team. That was my senior year, but I was close. Easton Junior Senior High School is not a far cry from prison, but I've had players like that, that you kind of coach and you go, you know what? That guy's an extension of me on the floor. And I'd like to think that's kind of the way I played. 0:05:21 C: I wasn't great or even good, but I had to I wanted to be on the floor. I had to use my brain because my athleticism wasn't going to keep me up with them. 0:05:29 A: Right. 0:05:29 B: So one on one, who was better, you or Steve Carmichael? Because I know you were on the same team. 0:05:34 C: I might not have been good, but I was better than him, at least. 0:05:38 B: All right, fair enough. All right, so then you're at Easton, you've got to play Jonesport Beals, who were they're undefeated at the time? And that was kind of the break. Was that the breakout moment for you coaching wise? Do you think that upset because they had Garrett Beal? 0:05:52 A: Right. 0:05:52 C: Yeah, we played them the first year. My first year, we went 14 and four. We were the 8th seed, I guess you could argue either way. I thought the first year they had Matt Alley and Garrett Beal, and they had another Alley, and they were really good, and it was a nine point game at halftime, and then it kind of got away from us, and we ended up losing by 17 or 18\. And then the next year we played him again. 0:06:23 C: And it was surreal. I remember thinking in my head, I'm like, you know what, Gary? He's not that big. And then I'm on the sideline and he comes running out by the bench. I'm going, yeah, he's that big and he's that good. But it was one of those things. That group I had was gritty. They were awesome. I know it's so cliche, but we lose them 99 out of 100 times, but we just caught them on that one time where it just didn't happen. 0:06:56 B: Did you have coaching at that age? Did you have any trouble? I mean, every coach has trouble with the parents. Was that more problematic, the parents? Because they would probably I mean, I'm in my forty s and I would see a 19 year old as very little difference than the 17 year olds he's coaching. 0:07:15 C: Yeah, for sure. And you know what? I've credit to my administration at Easton. They were great. I know there's always behind the stuff as I continue in my coaching career. I know that stuff goes behind the scenes all the time, and I know there must have been phone calls or situations, but you know what credit to them where they fielded that, and it never really got to me. I mean, I had your normal groans and moans and maybe no true confrontations, but to really answer your question, no, I didn't. And I think that goes a credit to my administration that did a good job protecting me at a young age. 0:07:58 A: Yeah. 0:07:58 B: I can't even imagine the reactions that you didn't hear when they announced that you got the job, because I can imagine there was a lot of, like, Are you out of your mind? 0:08:08 C: There must have been something, I'm sure. 100%. We golf occasionally. The superintendent who hired me, and he openly admits it, he goes, I got phone calls asking if I'm crazy or what am I doing? And I just kept saying, you know what? Just give him a chance. We like, what we see and go from there. And I'm really thankful that he did take a chance on me. 0:08:36 B: It's like the opposite of *Hoosiers* when the town gets really mad that they hired a guy who hasn't coached in 20 years. But it's the reverse. 0:08:42 A: Right? Exactly. 0:08:43 C: Yes. 0:08:44 B: All right, so from there you go to Central Aroostook, right? Or is there a stop in between? 0:08:52 C: I went four years at Easton. Then I figured I needed an actual job to pay the bills, so I got a teaching position at Katahdin Junior Senior High School. 0:09:04 A: Okay. 0:09:05 C: And I went and coached the Houlton Boys for one year. 0:09:08 A: Okay. 0:09:09 C: And then I got a job back in Presque Isle. So I took a year off, and I actually got board certified and officiated for a year. 0:09:19 B: Interesting. 0:09:20 C: And then I took the Century job. So there's a two year gap in there that actually I learned a lot in that two year gap. 0:09:28 B: What's the thinking in becoming a board certified ref? Are you thinking at that point, I don't know if coaching is going to work for me, or are you thinking, I'm 23 24 at this point, let's just try things? 0:09:44 C: I think it's a combination of everything. I mean, I was at the point where I had my real job, kind of where I wanted to be. I wanted to be phys ed and Prescott born and raised. That's where I live. I got that part done and I'm like, I'm a basketball junkie. I'm like, what am I going to do? Am I going to go do a middle school? Which would be fine. I hate saying that would be going backward, but I got to the varsity level and I kind of wanted to stay there. 0:10:12 C: So I'm like, let's so many perks. 0:10:14 B: At the varsity level at Easton. I'm sure you get used to the travel and the accommodation. 0:10:23 C: And I'm like, you know, let's take the course, do some games, better myself as a coach through that side of the you know, that side of the ball. And you know what? I think that every coach should take the course. I think that any school system should. If I were to the Ad, I'd say, you know what? If you want to coach here, we'll pay for your course. Take the course, take the test. You don't have to officiate ever. But it's good for you to learn that side of the ball, and it's going to make you a better coach. 0:10:58 B: Down the road because you would have a better sense of the rules, you know, what the officials are looking for, things like that. 0:11:10 C: Yeah, of course. Just little things. I mean, some rules that you're like you know what? I guess I didn't realize that was the interpretation of the rule or coverage areas or things like that. Just little maybe points you might steal because you know something along those lines. 0:11:29 B: You never know when you're going to steal a call because you know an obscure thing that just happens to come up. There's some weird little doohickey in the rules, and that gets you a technical at the beginning of the game for the other team. And then you've got two free throws and you start out two nothing with the ball. 0:11:49 C: Exactly. Something yeah, anything like that. 0:11:52 B: Interesting. So it was always a thought of, this will help me coach. It wasn't a, I'm going to be an official now for the rest of my life. 0:12:00 C: No. Like you said, I was 24 at the time, and coaching was still like, that's what I want to do, and anything I do is going to help me become a better coach. It was never like, maybe I'll be an official for ten years. That's not really something that crossed my mind. 0:12:23 B: It's almost like in film, they tell directors to take acting classes and they're like, you don't have to act or be in a movie or even be in a play, but you should know that this person that you're working with, because ultimately you're working with the officials, although some coaches think otherwise, but you ultimately are right. 0:12:45 C: I'd be a hypocrite to say if sometimes I didn't feel like I was not working with them. Having taken that officiating course makes me feel like like I'm I know more. Which hurts me sometimes because sometimes you're right. Gets the best. 0:13:05 A: Yeah. 0:13:06 B: But I mean, you are working with them because you're trying to communicate what your team is doing, and you're trying to communicate with the official in a way that's going to benefit you and get you calls and maybe not get you other calls and not get your kid a technical. Because of course, for sure. 0:13:25 C: No. Yeah. You got to have an open communication with the officials, and the officials have to have an open communication with you. If one doesn't work, where one is belligerent on the coach's side, that just doesn't work. And on the flip side, if an official isn't communicating with you or whatnot, like you said, it's working with them within the game. 0:13:56 B: Having had both those perspectives, what would be your advice to a coach who's not going to take the course? Because they're not going to, but something that you could tell them that where they would be able to take it with them to their next games and like a perspective that maybe another coach wouldn't have, if that question makes any sense at all. 0:14:18 C: No, I get what you're saying. I guess I can't really pinpoint it. It's just a little bit of everything I remember now. I know a lot of the veteran coaches, probably the majority of the coaches know this, but when I first started, the little things like out of a time out or whatnot, what side the officials holding the ball, the hip on is which direction the ball is going. Just little things like that you look at and you go, okay, he's got it on his left hip. That means it's going to be white ball coming out of the timeout. 0:14:55 C: So you don't have to waste the official's time going, hey, whose ball? 0:15:00 B: Yeah, they don't like that. 0:15:01 C: Because now that I'm an official, if I have it on my hip, and you ask me whose ball it is, I'm going, this guy has no clue what's going on. Because if he knew anything about anything, he'd know that if the ball is on my left hip, it's going with the white team. As minor as that is, there's many of those little things that I picked up on that I was like, you know, that's nice to know. 0:15:26 B: But yeah, if you're asking that twice a game, they're going to get tired of listening to those questions, and they're going to be like, right? I think a lot. 0:15:36 C: Yes. They're going to feel like your knowledge of the game is not great or good, but if you can, like you said, that communication, and they understand that maybe this guy knows something and we can have an open dialect here, maybe that helps your team down the road. 0:15:58 B: Yeah, I like to sit behind the scores table. If I'm just at a game, like maybe ten, eight rows up, something like that, and watch the coaches interact with the officials. And you can definitely see situations where coaches are getting calls because they're in a dialogue with the official and not in a screaming match with the official. 0:16:18 C: No, for sure. But like I said, if any young coaches out there contemplating it, just do it. There's so many little rules and nuances and just little things that the officials do or look for that can help you on the coaching side of things. 0:16:35 B: Okay, so from there, then you went to Central Aroostook, right? 0:16:40 A: Correct. 0:16:40 B: And you coached the girls team. What was the difference between coaching girls and coaching boys, other than the obvious speed of the game? 0:16:55 C: You know what? You are like one of 50 people that have asked me that or asked me that. What's the difference? I even had my own team this year. Go, Coach. Was it hard coaching girls, or was it different? And I think it kind of made me laugh because they said, this is coming from one of my players. She goes, you obviously couldn't yell at them like, you do us, do you? And I'm like, yeah. Actually, the biggest thing I found with coaching girls is they want to be coached just as hard as the boys do. 0:17:27 C: They want to win just as bad as the boys do. They want to compete just as bad as the boys do. They are athletes. They're boys girls. They're athletes. They're competitors. They want to be coached and they want to win. Just go down the list. If you were to say difference, good, bad. The saying I always go back to is boys aren't as good as they think they are and girls are better than they think they are. 0:18:04 B: I like that. 0:18:05 A: Yeah. 0:18:06 B: Because there's so much societal stuff baked into that in terms of what boys are told they can do and girls are told they can do and all that. That makes a lot of sense. 0:18:20 C: I really enjoyed coaching because I coached my sister through the AAU circuit and stuff like that, but that was my first experience with girls basketball. I coached Presque Isle girls soccer, but different. I enjoyed it. I really liked it. Obviously. I mean, you win a state championship. Of course you enjoyed that. I had a really good group. I had a really good group, and I was fortunate. 0:18:49 B: Okay, so the year I may not have done 100% of my research, but you were the coach. 0:18:56 C: That's what I'm here for. 0:18:57 A: Great. Perfect. 0:18:58 B: I asked Steve Carmichael some of this stuff, and then I forgot this, and I thought of it, like, five minutes ago. So correct me if I'm wrong, but you were the coach for the central Aroostook team. That was the one seed the year they were the one seed in boys and Girls, and they both lost in the first round. 0:19:11 C: Right, right. 0:19:13 A: Okay. 0:19:13 B: That's what I figured. Because the next year, you guys won. 0:19:15 A: The whole thing, right? 0:19:17 C: Right. Because the first year I got there, we were 13 and five, the 6th seed, and we drew Callus, who was Lauren Cook and Mcvicker and Huckinson there they were all underclassmen. They came up and beat us. And then the next year, we were the one seed and lost the Stearns. 0:19:39 A: Okay. 0:19:40 C: The next year we ran it and won it. 0:19:42 B: I remember that game very much. So because the model picked Stearns. It had Sterns by three, and it's very rare that you're going to pick an eight over a one or I guess it was a nine over a one. And then to get it right, it made the model look really good, which is not great for you, but it was a fun little oh, my goodness moment. 0:20:02 A: Yeah. 0:20:03 C: And it was it was Class C, like, we thought we're going to talk about classification here. 0:20:11 A: Right. 0:20:11 C: Class C was so many teams, and it was like, half the teams, there was not any overlap of, like there was, like, three separate divisions in Sea. There was the county teams, and then there was, like, the Mill knocket teams, and then there was the Down East teams, and the Down East teams didn't play the Mill knocket teams with the Stearns and Lincoln and even Holton. And if there was no crossover and we did our job and we won the county, but if we were playing, like, stearns and all those guys on. 0:20:49 B: It, you might not have been the. 0:20:51 C: One schedule I'm not saying we wouldn't have won games, but the seedings probably would have been a little bit. And that's where the model comes in. 0:20:58 B: Yeah, that's where the model saw that. 0:21:00 C: Because we went down to watch Houlton Stearns in a prelim, and we lost Houlton twice that year by ten or 15\. And it's just how it worked out. 0:21:12 A: Yeah. 0:21:12 B: That's where, you know, you have your work cut out for you in the quarterfinals. When the team that beats you loses in the quarterfinal, you're like, oh, man, that's not good. That's not my trouble. Well, I went back because I wrote the article about it, because that doesn't happen very often. And I went back and reread that, and it was very much a thing where you guys had half of your schedule were these D schools who had really inflated win totals. 0:21:36 B: Because I think what was happening, if I'm remembering correctly, and if I'm reading between the lines in the article, is they sort of beat up on some one and 17 teams. And so then you had some teams that weren't very good that had seven, eight wins, who should have been maybe two win teams, and that sort of inflated your heel points. 0:21:57 C: Oh, for sure, yeah. 0:21:58 B: And it's a little bit of the issue with Spruce Mountain sometimes down south is you get these inflated Heal points, sometimes sort of a secondary offset. But what was no, for sure. Oh, go ahead, finish. 0:22:13 A: No. 0:22:13 C: And that was just like that year, like you said, we beat those teams that beat the teams that were owing 18, and then, wait a bit, we split with Southern Aroustic, and that propelled us to one there, right? 0:22:25 B: That'll do it. Okay. So if you've got a situation where both of your one seeds lose in the quarter finals and then you got to drive all the way back, that's a long drive home, back to Mars Hills. Mars Hill. How do you coach them? Because you still got to coach them. Even the season is over, and it's like both boys and girls. So that's like a funeral ride back. How far is that? It's like 3 hours, something like that. 0:22:53 C: Yeah, it's probably 2 hours and 15 minutes. 0:22:56 B: Yeah, you've got to get them to the point where they I mean, you've got the whole summer to get over the game, but you got to start laying the groundwork for that on the bus ride. 0:23:08 C: Right, yeah. I think that as I continue my coaching career, I've realized that coaches wear it on their sleeve and think it way more than the kids do. 0:23:24 A: Right. 0:23:24 C: I mean, in my head, I come into the first summer basketball, and I'm thinking, like, these girls are going to be devastated and they're not going to be able to play basketball, because that's all I've thought for the past four months. And I laid awake at night, like, what happened? But they're kids. They get over it. I mean, it's in the back of their head, but they're like, okay, we're ready to work. Let's do it. 0:23:48 B: They're like, I watched five TikTok videos. I'm good. 0:23:53 C: Exactly. Not that they don't care. They care, but they don't dwell on it and obsess over it like a crazy person, like I would. 0:24:02 A: Right. 0:24:02 C: So it was easy to motivate them because they were over the devastating part of it, but they still had the chip on our shoulder type attitude and they were ready to work. So it made my job easier on the bus ride. Some coaches might, but we don't say anything. I mean, you kind of just kind of get a read for your team, their emotions. They don't need to be reminded of what happened. They know, right. 0:24:34 B: They don't need the rah rah speech or anything like that. So then the next year, you're the 6th seed, right? Yes, you're the 6th seed. And if I remember that correctly, that was the year where C North was just a nightmare region. If I remember the gold ball odds, it was like the number one seed was like 12% or 15% to win the region, and the seven seed was 9% and it was a free for all. You're just like, oh, well. And this is just going to be like a battle royale death match situation. 0:25:13 B: So how do you get them ready for that? Is the loss of the previous year, is that more of an issue coming into the tournament or is it that you're the 60? 0:25:24 C: So it's like helps us be honest. I think it helps us that year because I think a lot of teams were like, well, they're a pretender because they're inflated because of their schedule. They're a class D team playing in class C. That's why they're the succeed, because they play all these weak teams. And last year they lost the stearns and class C North runs through stearns and Dexter and Narraguagus and Calais and I think so that was kind of like, okay, we'll just fly on the radar. 0:25:58 C: We got a good draw in the quarterfinals. Obviously, Fort Fairfield was tough and they were 16 and two, but we had beat them twice on the year. Okay, so I think that was a nice, like, let's get our feet wet and get the ball rolling and win that one, and then let's just kind of see what happens after that. 0:26:18 B: You had the hardest possible draw there, right? You had the three and then you had the two and then the one and the one, right? 0:26:25 C: Because then we played Dexter and Peyton Grant and phenomenal player, and that was like a grinded out game and whatnot. And then the beauty of Lovely classy tournament where we had to play back to back with no practice, right? And that helped us all. The stars had to align. I mean, they did. I'll be the first to admit it. We beat Dexter. We don't have time to overthink it. If I had a practice, I probably would have done something completely different because we're playing Stearns with the Alley girls. 0:27:04 C: I mean, they're phenomenal players. I would have maybe tried to scheme. 0:27:10 B: It up or something to it or something. 0:27:13 C: Yeah, we didn't have time, so we just said, okay, let's just roll the dice on what we've been doing and what's got us here and let's see if we can keep the momentum going. 0:27:23 B: So then you beat them, and then you got to come down to Augusta. How many of your players had been that far south at that point? I'm curious because I know that people don't come as just the same way that Portland people don't go north of Bangor. 0:27:42 C: I'm going to say, I know I had a few that have traveled to Augusta or Portland or whatnot, but not half might be generous. 0:27:51 A: Okay. 0:27:52 B: And then the entire town came down, of course. 0:27:55 C: Oh, yes, the entire town. 0:27:57 B: And then, if I'm remembering correctly, did the Central Aroostook boys lose to Dexter in the Buzzer? Is that the Buzzer Beater year or is that a different year? 0:28:08 C: That was the Buzzer Beater game. 0:28:09 B: Buzzer beater game. And so then you guys were on the same side of the gym. 0:28:13 C: Yeah, that was that game, which was. 0:28:15 A: A choice by the MPA to put. 0:28:17 B: You on the same side of the gym. 0:28:18 C: It was such a bittersweet night because we beat Stearns, and the place going crazy, and then an hour and a half later, this huge controversy erupts, and that's all people could talk about. And I'm like, well, we won, but I get it. 0:28:37 A: Yeah. 0:28:38 B: And so then you guys had to play Winthrop, and Winthrop had just if I remember correctly, they blitzed through the C South Tournament, and they were the one seed, and I think they were eight. They were undefeated. And I don't think a lot of people gave you guys much of a chance in that game. I don't remember what the prediction was for that, but you got a six seed versus an undefeated one seed or a dominant one seed. 0:29:03 B: And it felt a little bit going into this like, well, hopefully they can keep it close. But you guys didn't keep close. You shot the lights out from three. 0:29:15 C: Yeah, we go on that run. We didn't have time to think. We just did. And then everything kind of comes to a stop. Now you have a week to think, and I'm just thinking, like, what do I have to do to keep this momentum going? I mean, don't do something to mess it up. 0:29:36 A: Right? 0:29:36 C: Because I was petrified. I like to think we're going to go down there and win, but in my head, I'm like, I just don't want to go lay an egg. I don't want to get on that stage and be like, oh, yeah, you. 0:29:49 B: Don'T want people turning the game off. 0:29:51 C: No, exactly. Tuesday comes and you want to go down to practice, we'll get you a practice down there like, you've never been down there. I'm like, no, let's just stay home. 0:30:02 B: You opted out of the practice on the floor. 0:30:04 C: Opted out of the practice? 0:30:06 B: Really? 0:30:07 C: Out of the practice. And I don't know. 0:30:11 B: That's an interesting choice. 0:30:13 C: Opted out of the practice. I don't know. And then we got down there and we're. Being interviewed, and this is a weird place to shoot. What do you think? And all the girls were like, I don't know. I'm just take the ball and shoot it like it's a gym. Yeah, that's what their attitude was. And then we came out. They came out, and they played awesome. They fearless. They didn't know. Like I said, they just came and we're playing basketball. Let's do it. 0:30:43 B: But you did by not coming down, you did lose your opportunity to do the hoosiers thing where you have them hang the tape, measure the rim, and then measure to the free throw line. You could have done the whole thing. 0:30:56 A: I could have, yeah. 0:30:57 B: That's a missed opportunity. 0:30:59 C: I think I'll remember that next time. 0:31:02 B: So then in the game, the thing I remember most about the game is you had your best player whose name escapes me. 0:31:11 C: Macy Beal. 0:31:12 B: Yeah, that's it. 0:31:13 A: Okay. 0:31:13 B: And she played great, but then there was a girl who she was a big, and she just stepped out and shot a three, and everyone's like, oh, okay. That went in. 0:31:23 A: Yeah. 0:31:24 C: Liberty. 0:31:24 A: Yeah. 0:31:24 B: And she must have made five or six threes in that game. 0:31:28 C: Yeah, I think it was four four or five. She didn't play in the Northern Main game. She was out with the flu. She didn't play the semifinal or the Northern Main game. 0:31:40 B: So they wouldn't have been able to scout her, really. They wouldn't have had much taken. 0:31:43 C: Right. Because that's kind of how she played that style all year. I mean, she was outside streaky, shooter, came off the bench, kind of was the microwave type for us. Caught it, wasn't afraid to let it fly. And she played awesome because Bradbury, our forward there, got in foul trouble early. 0:32:08 A: Right. 0:32:09 C: And Liberty came in and buried a bunch of threes. And then Macy picked up her coach, let her pick up four fouls, and, like, the third. So she was out for the entire third. And then Liberty came in and played great. I mean, in a game like that, you got to have everybody play big. 0:32:25 B: You got to have the person come off the bench to hit a couple of big shots. Something's got to happen. But that was really the turning point, it felt like, in the game, where she came in and really injected a lot of life into it. 0:32:38 C: No, for sure. 0:32:40 B: So at this point, you're, what, 26, 27, and you're holding the gold ball. What does that feel like? 0:32:53 C: Incredible. I'm sure if you put on a coach that was 55 or 62, he'd probably say the same thing. There's nothing like it. 0:33:00 B: It'd be different, though, because if it's 55, like, if it was Scott Grapham, who hasn't won a gold ball? There's like this bitter sweetness to it and this lifetime of chasing, and then you're just like, oh, yeah. Why is this so hard? Jeez. 0:33:18 C: Yeah, I know. I think I was being young and naive in through my early twenty s, I was thinking, oh, I'm never going to win one, but I'm 24 right? After thinking that. 0:33:33 A: Yeah. 0:33:34 B: And then everything's so 24\. It takes so long. 0:33:39 C: If I had nine seasons up to that point, that was probably one season where I was like, you know what? It's probably not going to happen this year. And then, sure enough, that's when it starts happening and you're like, what's going on? So holding the gold ball and it was just awesome. I mean, your whole family is there, friends are there, the entire town of Marcel, Blaine Bridgewater, they're all there supporting you. 0:34:06 C: It's surreal. 0:34:07 B: And then that's a much better bus ride home. It's much longer bus ride. 0:34:13 C: Much. Well, correct. I think we ended up staying over. 0:34:16 A: Okay. 0:34:17 C: Either way, it was a nice car ride home. 0:34:21 A: All right. 0:34:22 C: I think the gold ball made its rounds in Augusta. 0:34:25 B: Very cool. So then COVID hits, right? Is that the year code hits, or is the next year code hits? 0:34:32 C: Literally like a week later, right? We win the state championship, and then like a week later, the entire world shuts down. 0:34:39 B: And it's always amazing to me that we got that tournament in and that it didn't become a super spreader event, because can you imagine the timing for that to become a super spreader event? It wouldn't have been hard if you had gotten one infected person in the Civic Center who had flown in to. 0:35:00 A: See. 0:35:03 B: Their grandkid play and come in from wherever, Florida or whatever, and then you could have had an infection there, and then everybody would have spread. You would have gone back up to the county, and Winthrop would have gone back there and Southern Maine, and it just could have been a disaster. 0:35:20 C: I know the timing. I'm just glad it happened the way it happened. 0:35:27 B: If the timing had been a little different, you might not have a gold ball right now. 0:35:31 C: I might not. 0:35:32 B: You might just have a championship. 0:35:35 C: Yes. I think about that often because, I. 0:35:38 B: Mean, Maranacook probably lost a gold ball because of this. 0:35:44 C: Yes. 0:35:46 B: Okay, so then COVID and then you end up as an assistant at Prescott, right. For the girls. 0:35:53 A: Correct? 0:35:53 C: Yes. COVID happens. And then actually, one of my good friends, Ralph Mitchell, who I coach soccer with in Presque Isle, was Jeff Hudson's assistant, and he retired because he goes to Florida in the winter. Lucky him. Now I'm kind of thinking, what's my future going to look like right. In my head, I want to get back to Presque Isle at some point, some way, shape or form in its entirety. I have a job. I want to coach soccer there. I want to coach basketball. 0:36:38 C: I say finish my career, but start my career in my head. Right when I get there. 0:36:43 B: You've already got a gold ball, but okay, sure. 0:36:45 C: Right. So I end up taking a leap of faith. I knew Jeff was contemplating getting done. I know he's done there forever. We've had conversations. He just want a little bit of a change or whatnot? So I said, all right, and take the opportunity to be on the bench with Jeff Hudson, one of the best girls basketball coaches in main history. I was fortunate enough to do that as well, so that only helped me. 0:37:21 B: And so what would you say was the big thing you learned from him? 0:37:28 C: That's a good question. Put me on the spot. 0:37:30 A: Now. 0:37:33 C: I don't know. There's a lot I realize that we're similar. He did things and I was like, Well, I did that. And then he'd go, yeah. Don't be afraid to take and steal from other coaches. 0:37:53 A: Right. 0:37:55 C: You can't be so stubborn that you say, whatever I do is the way it's got to be done. I mean, don't be afraid to look. 0:38:02 A: At. 0:38:04 C: The patsy and go, oh, jeez, I like what he's doing. I'm going to do that. Or take what Kyle Corgan is doing in Caribbean and go, you know what? That works. Let's do it. Yeah, let's try it. Jeff was always good with that. Not afraid to steal and borrow and take from other coaches and make it work for him. 0:38:28 B: Oh, sorry. Keep going. 0:38:31 C: Now that I've had a chance to think about it, I think that the little things are more important than the big things. Like Jeff and even some of my former coaches like Coach Prescott were always harped on the little things like the way we looked or how we dressed. And we were all in practice uniforms and we all looked the same and harp those little things that might not think directly relate to Wins but I think that was almost more important than the X's and O's the Prescott brand of girls basketball and the tradition and the rituals they did and the things that they emphasize were the little things. And I think that's what made them great for all those years. 0:39:18 B: Is that an extension of fundamentals? 0:39:21 C: Yeah, I think so. 0:39:25 B: Interesting. 0:39:26 C: I agree. 0:39:27 B: And then so then you end up with the Presque Isle boys job and you pull off another big upset this year. 0:39:34 C: Yeah. No, because I was jeff got done and I was kind of ready to hop on board with the girls program, and then Terry decided to get done to be a dad and whatnot. So I kind of was like, okay, well, now where do I go? I mean, not that I like to think I had a choice, but I had a choice to which one to apply to. 0:40:01 A: Right. 0:40:02 C: So I said, you know what? When I first started coaching, I said, I want to coach where I played. And I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't take the opportunity when it presented itself. That's kind of why I went on the boys side. And I'm glad I did. Then it worked out for my sister, who ended up taking the girls. 0:40:25 B: Well, there you go. That's perfect. Do you feel like this is in your I'm put you on the spot. 0:40:32 C: Here a little bit. 0:40:33 B: Do you feel like this is a terminal job for you, or are you in five years, are you going to go, boy, a college job might be maybe you Maine, Prescott, something like that. Or do you see yourself as a lifer or a 20 year guy? 0:40:52 C: I do. I see myself as a lifer. As long as they want to put up with me, I don't have any desire right now to go anywhere else. I mean, I got a young family. This is where, like I said, born and raised friends here. I love the program. I mean, the program has provided so much for me. I just feel like I can give a lot back to it, and that's what I want to do. And I have no desire to go anywhere else for the foreseeable future. 0:41:20 B: But that fairly dickinson job is open now, so if they call, you could do that for like, a couple of years and put some money away and they come back. 0:41:32 C: I looked online. I honestly think that's a stipend position. I think he only made like 35,000 plus housing. 0:41:40 A: Wow. 0:41:41 C: Which I'm not saying that's better than my good, but he's making more nowadays. 0:41:47 B: He's doing a little better now at Iona. 0:41:48 A: Yes. 0:41:49 B: So that's a definite move where you take that raise. 0:41:53 C: That's where I've always been envious of bigger cities or whatnot. I mean, you get an upset win and you got five people calling and saying, we got jobs for you, and then you win again or make a run in the tournament, and then you got people calling you. 0:42:12 A: Yeah. 0:42:14 C: Who's going to call you? Who's going to call you? Exactly. Who's going to call you? 0:42:20 B: It's not like Edward Little. 0:42:21 C: He's going to call you because right, exactly. So I've always been envious of that because I watch guys, the Lob City there. What am I his name Andy or something? Andy Enfield. 0:42:38 A: Yeah. 0:42:39 C: He goes on a run and then USC calls him, says, here's 30 million, come coach for us. 0:42:45 B: All right, fine. All right, so let's talk about classification. So a lot of people don't realize I think a lot of people don't realize how different things are up there, the people who live in maybe Portland or in Augusta or things like that. So what are the concerns of classification with what everybody's trying to sort out from the Northern main perspective? Would you say. 0:43:15 C: It'S tough? Because if we're talking, like, classification, like northern Maine is 95% D and C, right. With like I mean, you and Caribou, you look at yeah, like central Maine or whatnot. It's a pretty wide range. Bangor, Hamden, Brewer, then you got Bangor Christian, and then you got the little ones around. Penaltieska valleys in there. I said, but with us up north, I'm not going to lie. When I first saw the first one, like February or January, right, I was like, because we were the smallest. 0:43:58 C: We were the smallest. 0:43:58 B: Nobody wants to be the smallest and. 0:44:00 C: Nobody wants to be the smallest. And I was like, we got gardener coming down Lawrence Coney. But then in my head, I'm like, I'm not saying they're going to be in our conference, but nobody wants to travel up north. 0:44:17 B: Really, the really trivial part, I don't. 0:44:19 C: Want to travel every Saturday either, but we have to. I try to embrace it because we have to, but it's not fun. So in that regards, then it got changed around. But when I think of classification, I looked at that and I go, okay, we got to play Coney and Lawrence. And I tell myself, why don't we move the number down? Okay, we moved the number down now orno is back in B. 0:44:47 A: Right. 0:44:47 C: And I'm going, I don't want to play Orno either. 0:44:49 B: No, they're good. 0:44:51 C: So at the end of the day, I sit back and I go, whatever, wherever you move the number, just tell me who we have on our 18 game schedule and let's do it. Because if you move it up yeah, go on. 0:45:06 B: I do always find it funny when people in northern Maine complain about the travel, and it's like, you do live in a rustic county. What did you think was going to happen? 0:45:21 C: Now I know. And you know what? Most of us up here embrace it. More times than not, anytime we travel, we bring a crowd just as big. 0:45:33 B: As, oh, Prescott travel. 0:45:34 C: A home crowd. 0:45:35 A: Yeah. 0:45:35 C: I mean, unless we're like an Mdi or Ellsworth on a Friday night, our crowd is usually we travel awesome. 0:45:44 B: I've seen you guys travel for summer league games, for girls summer league games, and I'm like, who are all these people? And they're like, oh, that's the Prescott crowd. Okay. And I remember a State game where the Prescott girls came down to Portland and packed that place almost as much as the Caribbean boys did. 0:46:02 C: Yeah. I mean both prescott caribbean. Our fan base is awesome. Rooster county basketball is tradition. Even when I was in Easton or Central Roostic, I don't know if you've had the pleasure of coming up to the barn in Easton, but I've never heard of it. 0:46:20 B: I've not been to Easton. Yeah. 0:46:23 C: I would play in who have I been up to? There the barn. It's like a Kwanza hut. 0:46:28 A: Yeah. 0:46:30 B: It's like a stage on one side, right? 0:46:33 C: Yeah, it's packed. I mean, there's three rows of Bleachers on both sides, but the atmosphere is great. There might only be 150 or 200 people, but it sounds like there's 1000. 0:46:46 A: Yeah. 0:46:47 B: I thought it was interesting when they would they had the thing that I thought was weird is when they had Lincoln Academy in b north. And I'm looking at that and I'm going there's going to be a Lincoln Academy prescott or Lincoln Academy Caribou prelim game. And holy hell. 0:47:09 A: I know. 0:47:10 B: Because it's 2 hours from there to Bangor and it's what, 3 hours from Bangor to you? 0:47:18 C: Yeah, it's probably 3 hours to care. 0:47:19 B: Both I was like, can you imagine a five hour bus ride to play in a twelve five game? 0:47:29 C: No, I know. 0:47:29 B: I mean, that would be what do you think of I guess at some point they used to and maybe this would impact you guys more than almost anyone. They used to play prelim games at neutral sites is what I've been told. 0:47:44 C: I guess I wasn't aware of that. Makes sense, I guess. 0:47:47 B: Yeah. 0:47:49 C: I wouldn't want that. 0:47:50 B: You wouldn't want that. Unless you're the road team. Then you wouldn't want that. 0:47:54 C: Yeah, but I'd even risk rolling the dice because if a team has to travel to Prescott on a Tuesday night to play a prelim game, I know what kind of crowd we're bringing. 0:48:07 A: Right. 0:48:08 C: I know the atmosphere is going to be I would take the risk of being on the flip side of it where we have to travel opposed to just like saying no matter what, it's going to be neutral. 0:48:20 A: Right. 0:48:20 B: So if you got Mount View in the prelim, you wouldn't want to play it in like orno or something like that on something in the middle. 0:48:31 C: Right. 0:48:32 B: There's not much in the middle. 0:48:34 C: I would if I was traveling, but I'd be a hypocrite. Like I said, I'd want it the. 0:48:38 B: Other okay, all right, that's fair. 0:48:43 C: It's tough. And like you said, that, then the classification came where I saw Madame and Oceanside and B North, and I'm like. 0:48:51 B: B North is that looked like a nightmare reach. 0:48:55 C: I know. I'm like, I don't know where we fit into that mix. So I don't know if I'm going to sleep the next nine months. And then I don't want to say magically. Then magically they're back to south, which. 0:49:07 B: Is I think they got balanced back to south. And I think it's an easier drive to Portland because Madame to Bangor is all back roads, pretty much, which is super fun when it snows, the one tournament game of snows and otherwise just a straight shot down route One at 95 to Portland. And I think it was partly a balance thing and they seem to not want to split those two teams up. 0:49:33 C: They seem to make together. That was a good, smart move, whoever did it. That was, I think, the right move, obviously, for you. 0:49:40 B: Of course, that did look like a real team, where the Nine would be a really good team because Adam Robinson and I were looking at that and going, my God, who's even the favorite in that region? 0:49:56 C: No, I know, but it did balance it there and I was happy about that. But like, we were talking about the small schools up here. It's tough. I mean, I always thought it's hard with the numbers because schools up here, the enrollments, we're not growing or dwindling. 0:50:18 A: Right. 0:50:19 B: What was the thought up there on the S class? That I liked the S class. I thought that was an interesting idea. 0:50:27 C: Yeah, there wasn't much chatter about it. It boils down to like we just talked about nobody wanted to be the small class. Nobody wanted to be the small person in Central Roostic. I've actually been this is the second time because when I went to Holton was the first year, they did the five class and they were the smallest school in B, so I inherited that. And then when I went to Centreoustic is when they reclassified and Centeroustic was the smallest school in Class C and the community and everybody's like, this is not right. We can't compete. We can't do this petition and this isn't fair. 0:51:18 C: And then I even had my ad even stood up in front of the 70 MPA people and pled our case, and they were in executive session contemplating it. And then we win the state championship that year. We didn't do anybody any justice. Anybody that's going, the NPA going, hey, we're the smallest class, we can't compete. We didn't help that much anyway. Like I said, they were the one. 0:51:51 B: Seed and then they were won the state championship. So I think they're fine. 0:51:54 C: It's like one or the other. Yeah, right. The Class S wasn't people were on board with that. They're on board with the zero to 150\. They're on board to zero 129\. It's tough up here because it's like no matter what happens, they're not going to get away from Southern Roostic. 0:52:21 A: Right. 0:52:22 C: The only thing that Southern Roostic could if Penovska Valley came in. But if you're talking to Ashley or Easton or Madawaska, there's nothing that they can do where they're going to get away from Southern Aroustic. So it doesn't really matter to them if it's zero to 150 or zero to 120. 0:52:44 B: Southern Roostic is still the elephant in the room. Yeah, that makes sense. Hamden is like that, and Greeley and programs like that. You're like, well, do we still have to play these guys? Because if we still have to play these guys, then it doesn't really matter who else is in the region. We got to get through them or we're not winning the championship. 0:53:04 C: Exactly. 0:53:05 B: I think the S thing I want to say, that maybe the south teams were more against it because there's fewer of them and they're a little more spread out would be my guess. Like a Seacoast Christian or a Vinyl Haven or Forced Hills, maybe, because that's Forced Hills has like a ridiculous amount of travel to play anybody. 0:53:26 C: Yeah, that makes it tough. We all have our own answer to the problem, but I don't know what it is. 0:53:36 B: Yeah. 0:53:36 C: All I know is whatever they come up with the general consensus will be that's wrong, that's terrible. That's just the way people are programmed. I mean, that's the way I mean, I'm the same way they come out and go, Why don't that's not right. Why don't they do that? 0:53:52 B: But a lot of states just do a thing where they're like Indiana, they just cut it into four. They're like, okay, well, we have 400 schools and we have four classes, and so the 100 biggest are in the biggest class, and you all can deal. And the big ones tend to do better, but you have a lot of situations where the small ones do just fine. And in a one game tournament, as we just watched play out around the country, pretty much anything can happen in a one game tournament if you get hot from three, something like that. 0:54:28 C: Yeah. No, it's true. I don't know. Obviously, I grew up in the four class system. It was great. But if looking back, if we would have been five classes when I played, the teams that were better than us would not have been there. Like Camden Hills. 0:54:49 A: Right? 0:54:50 C: We always in the Camden Hills with the Tyler McFarland and the Keegan Pierre. And we were good. I played on some really good teams. We were a semifinal team, but we lost to Camden Hills and Camden Hills. 0:55:02 B: They're not could have probably won a correct. They were arguably the best team in the state. Or they were up there because I remember because Madamek petitioned up, if my memory serves, into a in those years or maybe not those years. No, those are different years. 0:55:19 C: No, I'm thinking of the don't know if you remember it. You probably do. 0:55:23 A: Yeah. 0:55:24 C: We played Alex, Wooldrip and Mackenzie. The Mackenzie boys. 0:55:28 A: Okay. 0:55:29 B: I'm thinking of the 90s. I'm thinking that you're as old as I am. 0:55:32 C: I'm not that old. I'm only 30. 0:55:37 B: Okay. All right, so we got four minutes left here. This is the question I'm going to start asking everybody, okay? They have put you in charge of the MPA for one day. You can do one thing and it'll stick. No one will complain. You're the king of the MPA for one day. What do you change and why? And it can't be to move Caribou to southern Maine. 0:56:05 C: I was going to say backyard. That's a good question. I don't know the answer. I don't know. I don't know if I have an answer for you. 0:56:27 B: What is it? Is it a shot clock? Is it a restricted circle? 0:56:33 C: Okay, now we're talking. Yeah. You know what? As much as my style might not be conducive to the shot clock, I think the shot clock actually, I'll go ahead and answer your question. I would put a shot clock in, and the only reason I would do it if I was in control of the NPA is I can control how much time we don't need a 32nd shot clock, 42nd shot clock. I'd put that in so I could beat him to the punch because I think it's inevitable becoming right. 0:57:06 B: So you're thinking of 40 seconds. So then you can still stall a little. 0:57:11 C: We can still slow it down a little bit. You can slow it down. I was talking to Steve and Carmichael and we be careful at home. Like, it was 37 to 35, and the comment was made like, shot clock, shot clock, shot clock. And I said, okay, I'll go back through the game tape and see how many shot clock violations we would have had. 0:57:32 B: Oh, interesting. 0:57:32 C: We would have had one. 0:57:34 B: Okay. 0:57:36 C: So it's not as like and it kind of shocked me a little bit. 0:57:40 A: Right. 0:57:40 C: I was like, maybe we'd have, like, nine. But it was one. It was one shock clock violation. If it was 35 seconds and was that in my head? I go, 35 seconds is a long time. 0:57:53 B: Is that a possession where you were trying to score? 0:57:58 C: We're always trying to score when we're slowing it down, but we're just super selective. 0:58:04 B: Well, I mean, there's some where you're just clearly trying to bleed a minute off the clock, correct? 0:58:10 C: No, it was like midway through the third. 0:58:12 A: Okay. 0:58:12 C: We were being patient, looking for maybe a slip, trying to get a loan or catching a defender sleeping, but we weren't, like, deliberately, like four corners. Like, we're holding the ball, you can't come get it. 0:58:26 A: Right. Okay. 0:58:26 B: See, that's interesting to me because if you're playing at a deliberate style, I always wonder and I keep meaning to go through a game, and then that just seems like it will take a while and figure that chart, that exact thing, like, how many actual shot clock violations would there be in a game? And I think that there would be maybe two or three a game of where teams are trying to score situations. 0:58:51 C: Yeah. I think we're all under the same thought of, like, the shot clock isn't to improve the first three quarters. 0:59:00 A: Right. 0:59:01 C: It's to improve the last three minutes of the game where now you have to go, okay, we're down by four. They have the ball with a minute, 15 seconds left. Are we defending? It'd be nice if you defend. We know we're going to get the ball back. I've been fortunate on the stall side of it more than the other, but, you know, when the ball gets to three minutes or two and a half minutes, it's, okay, come file us or whatnot? 0:59:37 C: I think the viewer side of it would be much improved if we had a shot clock for the last half of the fourth quarter. 0:59:45 B: Agreed. 0:59:46 C: I'm on board with that. 0:59:47 A: Yeah. 0:59:47 B: And I'd like to see some teams try to get a two for one at the end of a quarter or something. That'd be fun. 0:59:54 C: I agree. 0:59:55 B: All right, well, that is our time. Thank you, Dylan. So much for joining me. Where can people find you? On the Internet. 1:00:05 C: Are you on the Internet? Yes, I'm on the Internet. I have a Facebook page. I have Instagram and all that stuff. 1:00:12 B: Cool. Thank you so much for joining me. This has been great. And best of luck to you going forward. 1:00:21 C: Thank you. 1:00:21 B: And this is the part where I tell people that if they like this, to subscribe and to hit like and do five stars and all that nonsense, because algorithms and we will see you next time. ### LIVE Podcast Tonight URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live-podcast-tonight/ Last updated: 2023-03-27T19:39:37.000Z First things first. The next episode of the podcast is tonight and it's LIVE. I'll be talking to Presque Isle's Dillon Kingsbury about all things related to basketball up in the County. You can watch it on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/events/1359253044866354) or (maybe) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and, of course, [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ04-c%5FzyuWSmpj6mfQskbQ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) (subscribe!). If audio is more your speed, it'll be on all your podcast platforms tomorrow morning, just like last week's episode with Sean Stackhouse (a.k.a. Stax). [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3f6Fa9wjJrzFiZIqspFQtd?si=6QiSqFdGRK-4TCueM5LOOQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And a \~11 minute solo thing I did on the Classification mess. [Listen on Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/5-on-classification/id1675940033?i=1000605615090&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Then there's all the normal stuff I'm supposed to say like rate it 5 stars and subscribe and all that jazz, but those things really do help the algorithms. --- The spring sports Heal Points spreadsheet is up and ready for the schedules to all be released. [Spring Heal PointsHeal Points done right.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Spring-heal-points-1.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/spring-heal-points/) Someone's going to have to explain lacrosse to me. --- We have another coaching retirement. > After 35 years I want to announce that I have retired from coaching. Words cannot sum up the wonderful experiences I was privileged to be a part of. Even more, I was blessed to work with absolutely amazing people, players, coaches, and parents along the way. Thank you all. > > — Lee Petrie (@leepetrie7) [March 24, 2023](https://twitter.com/leepetrie7/status/1639234953052585985?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It'll be hard to replace Lee at Seacoast Christian. --- Oh, and if you haven't done this, get on it. > BASKETBALL COACHES: We at the BDN have sent out surveys about teams of the year and if you have not responded or received the survey, let me know! > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [March 27, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1640343234680324096?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's it! It's finally starting to feel like spring! ### Replay and Classification and Podcasts, Oh My! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/replay-and-classification-and-podcasts-oh-my/ Last updated: 2023-03-23T21:55:22.000Z We've got a little more clarity on Classification. Teams have petitioned to avoid relegation (but not very many) and after hours upon hours of backroom discussions, this is what we're currently looking at. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/336741665_2827698770698924_2894300368126599818_n.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/336675228_804119467794762_4389277479667858648_n.jpeg) This really does feel like a long road to nowhere with little to show for it but relegation, which is something! I did a quick solo podcast episode going through the basics of this and threw out an idea that the AA setup, while terrible, might (*might*) have a small upside. Check it out at [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3fKbcXcyHsXf5xu7oiyceq?si=uT0ew9i3TYG74viQ6m0WRw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/5-on-classification/id1675940033?i=1000605615090&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), or [wherever you podcast](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mainebasketballrankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). And, you know, subscribe and 5 stars and all nonsense. Because, algorithms. I don't hate this quick 10 minute format. It's easy to do on my phone. So if this is a thing people like, I can keep doing it. If not, I won't. Also, please keep sending me your alternate classification proposals, no matter how radical. Actually, the more radical the better. --- As far as the normal podcast, I'm going to try and do those weekly. This week, I talked to Sean Stackhouse (a.k.a. Stax), who a lot of you know as the public address announcer in Bangor. We talked about how he got into that, how he got into broadcasting Rocket League, and how he managed to be the inspiration for the Stax Index. He also has thoughts on how UMaine will do next year, so you'll definitely want to check that out. --- In other news, the MPA officially announced that they are going to look into adding replay, a process they started earlier this month. From my Bangor Daily News article earlier this month: > We just have to come up with a set of guidelines for the schools to vote on. When I talked to MPA Executive Director Mike Burnham on Feb. 25, he said the MPA hadn’t explored what adding replay would involve. But when we spoke a couple of days later about [classification](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ive-got-the-new-classification-proposals-and-they-definitely-break-teams-into-4-or-5-classes/), it sounded like that plan might come from hockey, which already has replay and has already come up with a working system. So it sounds like this is potentially in the works, which is encouraging. Here's the full column: [This blown call proved Maine needs video replay in the basketball tournamentA “buzzer-beater” allowed Thornton Academy past Bonny Eagle in the Boys AA South Semifinals, but the call doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsLucas McNelly, Sports Contributor![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2023/03/reftourney.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/03/04/sports/high-school-sports/blown-call-video-replay-tournament-joam40zk0w/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Finally, remember that your varsity program is only as strong as your youth program. Get them started early with programs like this. > We’re getting them started even younger here at UMaine❗️ > > Inviting all 3-7 year olds to our “Little Dribblers” summer program. Visit the following link for more info. & to sign up: [https://t.co/mSwidMxw3E](https://t.co/mSwidMxw3E?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/jfVOjF6kGW](https://t.co/jfVOjF6kGW?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Women's Basketball (@BlackBearsWBB) [March 23, 2023](https://twitter.com/BlackBearsWBB/status/1639005981978894339?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ### Ep. 4: Sean Stackhouse on Esports, UMaine basketball, and the Index that Bears His Name URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ep-4-stax/ Last updated: 2023-04-01T00:48:59.000Z Sean Stackhouse (a.k.a. Stax) is a busy man. When he's not court-side at UMaine or MCI games, he's broadcasting Rocket League matches and helping build an esports program at a local high school. But sometimes, he's just looking for an excuse to drive 4 hours to watch a basketball game. Sean on Twitter: [https://twitter.com/StaxRL](https://twitter.com/StaxRL?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3f6Fa9wjJrzFiZIqspFQtd?si=y9sSz6%5FWQz6MrywIOXsc-A&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) *Transcript (for SEO)* 0:00:00 Lucas: It. All right, we are live. My guest today is the one and only Sean Stackhouse. He is a play by address announcer. He is an Esports expert. What is that? 0:00:19 Sean: That's going well. 0:00:21 Lucas: Oh, you know, I have my YouTube tab open. I should turn that off. 0:00:24 Sean: Yeah, that'll do it. 0:00:25 Lucas: I should mute that. 0:00:26 Sean: All right. 0:00:27 Lucas: Yeah. Okay, we're muted. All right, we'll try that over. We'll start over. We're doing it live. 0:00:33 Sean: All right. 0:00:35 Lucas: He is a public address, an Esports expert, and much better at this than I am. Thank you for doing this and helping me figure out how bad I am at it. 0:00:47 Sean: Hey, my pleasure. It is an honor to be here with the founder of the Stacks Index. The man, the myth, the legend behind Main basketball rankings, and the brother of a coach who beat the holy heck out of us earlier this year. 0:01:04 Lucas: I know. And I missed that game because I had COVID, and I really wanted to go to that one because I was like, oh, I'll get to meet Stacks and Easter. Main sports was there? I'd get to meet those guys. And then I was in bed with a fever of 103. 0:01:18 Sean: That's about what I felt like Cash was going to score on us every time he played against us. So I was relieved to at least see him gone. But, yeah, I'm thinking of Miranda Cook, not Madame. 0:01:29 Lucas: Yeah. You're thinking of Miranda Cook. Yeah. 0:01:31 Sean: They both begin with M. They both end with K. They're the same thing. 0:01:34 Lucas: They're both a long drive. 0:01:36 Sean: They both can beat us by 50 on a given night. It's fine. 0:01:39 Lucas: And that was an interesting game because we had targeted that game as that was a big hillboy game, because the MCI girls, they finished like twelve and six, something like that. 0:01:50 Sean: Something like that, yeah. I feel like with the girls, same thing I think happened in soccer. It's like, yeah, they'll win a bunch of games, but boy, that schedule is rough. Not very point worthy. 0:02:05 Lucas: Yeah, they had a weird schedule where they had I was just looking at it in mid December and I'm like, I have no idea how good this team is because they've played a bunch of 18, one and 17 teams and they've beat them. And then they've played like, teams that finished like 17 and one and like 13 and five and got beat. And I'm like, that's a big range. 0:02:29 Sean: If it makes you feel any better, when the season was over, after they I think they went up to Prescott and got beat, we still didn't really know how good they were, so it's fine. 0:02:38 Lucas: Well, there you go. Yeah, we need some more games for that. So let's talk about the Stacks index. Since you brought it up, and I wasn't sure what we were going to start with. So you're definitely driving the ship here. Okay, so let's tell the story about the Stacks index. This is before you were a famous broadcaster, right? And you were just a famous public address announcer. 0:02:59 Sean: Yeah, I mean, I was doing the broadcasting thing at the time, but it is certainly not blown up to the point where it is now. Definitely. But I got really bored one night, and when I say bored, I mean really bored. And I'm like, hey, you do this thing where you tell everybody what the good game of the night is. So what's the best game tonight? And you came up with there was something like I think it was like a deer ago game or something in western Maine or southern Maine. 0:03:26 Sean: And then the alternative was way up in Aroostook County for Easton and I don't know, Fort Fairfield or something. 0:03:34 Lucas: Something like that. I remember. It was Easton. 0:03:36 Sean: Yeah, and I remember it was Easton, too. Boy, walking into that place was an eye opening experience. That is a really cool looking gym. But I figure, you know what? WHOU is probably going to do that game because it's the only good game that I had up there. So I'll just go up there, I'll make fun of Carmichael for an hour or so, surprise everybody up there that I actually made the trip, and then I'll come home and get home at like two in the morning. 0:04:01 Sean: So go up there. I think Grammys was still open, actually, like the original Grammys, not whatever it became afterwards. 0:04:10 Lucas: Right. 0:04:11 Sean: But place if you'd never been. It was just these big portions. It was amazing. And I've had some big portions in my life. So go up there, stop a Grammys, get a bite to eat, go to the game. And it turned out to actually be a pretty decent game. But after that, you decide. I think it was the next day. You just decided, well, this is kind of a cool thing that I do. I'm just going to call it the Stacks Index now. And so now I am forever immortalized until I do something that upsets main basketball rankings. And you come up with a trick for it'll. 0:04:47 Lucas: Be the not stack. 0:04:48 Sean: Yeah, until I get canceled. It is the Stacks Index. 0:04:51 Lucas: Yeah. So I came up with that pretty quickly, and it kind of stuck. And I haven't really figured out a way to improve it, although I'm sure there's ways to improve it of maybe something like driving distance or if there would be a way that you could make it so that it impact on seating in the tournament, that would be the big thing improvement for it, I think. 0:05:16 Sean: But that would be one day this year that I was going to make a crazy trip. I almost went up to Fort Kent because I got your newsletter, and I almost went up for the Fort Kent Wisdom double header. And eventually, by the time I decided, hey, I might want to go to this, I remembered that it's like a four hour drive. And I like basketball, I don't like it that much. So I didn't go. And it turned out I think the boys game went to double overtime or the girls game went to double overtime and the other game had like a big comeback. So, I mean, both games were epic and I missed out, but I also missed out on 8 hours of driving. So it kind of balances out. 0:06:04 Lucas: That's the sort of drive where you want to be like, okay, I have a friend up there with a couch that I can crash on and come back the next day during the daylight. So the Stacks Index, for people who don't know, this is the thing that determines the game of the day. And it's a couple of factors. It's basically what it's looking for is the perfect game is the two best teams in the state in a one point game in like the 90s, that would be your perfect your 100 on the Stacks Index in that scenario. So I was looking for how good are the teams, both of the teams, because there's no fun to watch Brewer play vinyl Haven, that would not be super entertaining. It might be for Brewer, but probably not. 0:06:47 Sean: It might be good for the end of the Brewer bench. 0:06:49 Lucas: It might be real good for the end of the Brewer bench. So how good are the two teams? How closely matched are they? How high scoring are they? Because like a wisdom Eastern game might be the girls game might be 25 to 24\. And as much fun as it is to see a close game, 25 to 24 is not as fun as 79 to 78. 0:07:15 Sean: I had that on the radio starting out with my broadcasting career. Coming out of college. I was doing play by play for WSKW and I was assigned Monmouth Madison girls at Madison. And I was supposed to have a partner do the game with me. They didn't show up, so I did the game solo. And when I say solo, the scoring was so low, I think the final was 22 20 or 24 22 or something like that. There's this stretch, the final, like 10 seconds of, I think Monmouth trying to score a game tying basket and it's a shot. Offensive rebound put back. Offensive rebound put back. 0:08:00 Sean: And the whole time I'm hyped up because it's the end of this game and it's close and the people care. But the subtext behind everything I'm saying is, please, dear Jesus, do not let this ball go in invent a foul against whoever was trailing, I think it was Monmouth. Just please let this end. Nobody wants to see this game go to overtime. Sure enough, last rebound goes out of bounds, madison ball, time runs out. It's like you're just begging for someone. 0:08:34 Lucas: To get on an odd number. 0:08:35 Sean: A, because I'm solo and I've run out of water, and b because this is a perfect example of not all good games are close and not all close games are good. 0:08:46 Lucas: Yeah, that's a version of the Vinyl haven. Parents who were like, this game can't go another overtime because we got to get on the ferry. 0:08:55 Sean: Right? Exactly. 0:08:56 Lucas: But you're like, I'm out of water. I got nothing left. Man, I am out of fun things to say about this game. 0:09:03 Sean: All credit to the girls out there. They were trying really hard. It's just sometimes everybody's seen enough. And in that particular game, we had all seen enough. 0:09:17 Lucas: When I was doing broadcasting in college, the Sid or maybe his assistants or somebody, they came up with what they call the Misery Index, the Misery rating, which is total fouls, plus total turnovers in the game. And they would track that for every game. And so some days we just go over at halftime, so how are we looking on that? They're like, oh, it's not good, because you get some of those and you're just like, oh, my God. Will someone just make a shot? 0:09:49 Lucas: Just please make a shot. Stop kicking the ball into the stands, for the love of God. 0:09:56 Sean: And those are the games where the parents are yelling the most or yelling the loudest. 0:10:00 Lucas: Oh, yeah, they're the most angry. And it's definitely the ref's fault that their kid keeps kicking the ball into the stands. 0:10:08 Sean: It doesn't matter. Guy or girl goes down to the floor, and the parents go, how do you think they got there? Because they've got three left feet, dude. What do you want? 0:10:17 Lucas: Are you unfamiliar with your child? 0:10:19 Sean: Right. Yeah. 0:10:20 Lucas: They are not the most coordinated person in the world. I hate to break it to you. So how did you get into going from broadcasting to being the public address announcer and doing that? Because you do that for MCI, right? And for humane. 0:10:36 Sean: Yeah. Okay. I started with broadcasting in high school, and then when I got up to Nescom, I was asked by Shane Graham. He was the John Baptist baseball coach at the time. He sent me a message. He's like, hey, you're at Hussein now, or, you're at Nescom, and we play our games at Hussen. Are you interested in doing some PA? Because I guess he knew that I did some PA for MCI. Or maybe Wooden Bat League in pitchfield. 0:11:10 Sean: So for some reason, he reached out and asked why I wanted to do PA. And I'm like, Well, God, I've never really done. I don't have a lot of experience. It's kind of an intimidating job. I know Reed Duras is here on campus. If you reach out to him about a month later, I still see this message sitting in my inbox, and I just go, Damn it, sex. Just grow a set, would you, and try this on. So I sent him a message again, like, hey, is that job miraculously still open? He's like, yeah, dude, I was waiting for you to message me back for it. I'm like, okay, all right, I guess I'll try it. 0:11:50 Sean: So, yeah, I did PA announcing alongside the broadcasting stuff, and that John Bapst gig led to me getting replaced without me knowing, because I don't think a new ad came in at Bapst. I think it was Rick Sinclair, actually, and I don't think he knew that I was doing PA. So then he hired Reed a few years into that. 0:12:11 Lucas: You're saying that Reed snaked your job? This is what I'm hearing, yes. 0:12:16 Sean: Under me getting the old Town baseball job. 0:12:19 Lucas: Okay. 0:12:20 Sean: And their first game was against John Bapst. They smoked Old Town. But Dave Utterback was the Old Town coach. He was also the chair of the Maine Baseball Coaches Association. So when it came time to get a PA announcer for the senior all star game, he hired me. That was up at UMaine steve Trimper, the main baseball coach at the time, walks up to the press box, offers me their baseball PA gig, and then that snowballs into doing soccer and hockey and basketball and slowly taking over the humane campus in addition to doing MCI and then eventually Brewer when Utterback moved over there. 0:13:02 Sean: I owe Shane Graham and Dave Utterback probably the most for getting the PA announcing part of my career jump started. 0:13:11 Lucas: Do you prefer that to broadcasting and doing play by play? 0:13:16 Sean: Initially, I did, because as an announcer, even if it's at the Cross Center, when I'm visible to everybody, nobody's paying attention to me. They'll listen to what I say. My voice is a lot better than my looks, so I don't have to worry about looking great for a camera or anything. But as time has gone on and I've kind of settled into this broadcaster gig, I am much more comfortable doing everything I do with Rocket League now and just esports in general, because it's something that you build up over time, especially the confidence aspect of it. 0:13:59 Sean: Once I did it for a little while and I wasn't deemed too ugly for the camera, it's like, okay, well, if they're not going to fire me based on my looks, then I guess I got a shot at this. 0:14:08 Lucas: Yeah, that's so much of it is confidence because when I did it in college and I haven't done it in 20 years, it was those first couple. You're like, I don't think I know what I'm doing, but it's college. And they're like, well, you're the only one who wants to do it, so you and this other guy, and then. 0:14:24 Sean: You get and with esports, I think it's worse getting started out the first few times you're in front of a real audience. Starting out in esports, a lot of times you might work in front of five viewers on a twitch stream or something. You're doing some really small time event. There are five viewers. There's actually only one person in the chat that's interested at all in this. Maybe there's friends and family, there's not a lot. 0:14:56 Sean: But when I started out, the streams I was on were hundreds of viewers, sometimes thousands if the more popular pros were playing in that tournament. And so you find out real quickly when there's a chat right there on the screen where people can react to what you're saying and doing in real time. You find out real quick whether or not you have the fortitude for it if you have thick enough skin. And fortunately I survived that part of it and I made it enough of a strong first impression, I guess, that people started kind of liking it. And as that went on, everything just kind of snowballed into a few years into it, finally getting a proper studio gig and that's kind of ballooned into all of this. 0:15:51 Lucas: Is there a rule of thumb with like because in blogging and in writing articles and stuff like that? The rule is don't read the comments. 0:15:59 Sean: Yes. 0:16:00 Lucas: Because nothing good happens in the comments. 0:16:01 Sean: Yeah. 0:16:02 Lucas: Is the same thing with the chat up right now? 0:16:06 Sean: Rule number one, I don't have the chat up right now. 0:16:08 Lucas: No, but rule number one, they're yelling at you. 0:16:10 Sean: Of course, do as I say, not as I do because I will tell newcasters all the time. Don't pay attention to what Chad is saying. There's a whole bunch of NPCs in the chat. They're going to tell you a lot of things. They're going to say they dislike everything you say and do. If you say something stupid, they're going to ride you for it for a good 5 minutes. It doesn't matter. What matters is that you are constantly growing and improving, especially when you're starting out. 0:16:40 Sean: But then what do I do? I absolutely have the chat up all the time and when I make a funny little quip, I have to wait like 10 seconds for the delay and I look at the chat and then I see lol. Okay, cool. That didn't go over like a fart in church. So I guess we want a few more over. 0:17:01 Lucas: Well, when you're starting, it's probably pretty distracting to be able to look at the thing while you're talking and trying to figure out what's going on in front of you. And remembering people's names, that was always the hard part for me was remembering the names of the opposing team and not getting them all mixed up and then learning how to pronounce them was a whole different question. 0:17:22 Sean: I mean, fortunately for Rocket League, it's very simple. It's three on three. Do I have my notebook? I do. Can I reach it? 0:17:28 Lucas: Yes. 0:17:28 Sean: Even better. 0:17:29 Lucas: Look at that. 0:17:30 Sean: I just keep all my notes. I mean, you're not going to be able to read this, but it's just like this is Columbia College versus UT Arlington. I've got cam, Cosmic, Encryptic, Adverse, Nava, Samba, Ads, mark goal assist. Goal assist. The score of each game along here. And then any notes like, what am I throwing to you at the end of the match? Am I throwing to a desk? Am I throwing to a break with this match coming up? Whatever. 0:17:57 Sean: Any notes about I mean, that's collegiate Rocket League. So I'll try and write down some things about college traditions at each school or just anything about the teams in general. But it can all just be contained. Whether it's CRL or RLCs, it can be contained on either page of this. Rocket League is very simple like that. I am thankful that it's very simple because I've done a few games with Eastern Main Sports doing basketball and football. 0:18:27 Lucas: And I'm like, oh, football is a nightmare. 0:18:30 Sean: Yeah, if I had to make my living doing those, I wouldn't have this house. I'd be living in a box somewhere on Main Street. 0:18:38 Lucas: I did football some, and it's so hard to keep track of the linebackers and everything that's going on. And basketball is just like you can always just rely on who has the ball, which is a nice thing to fall back on. Okay, so I am not a gamer at all. I played Bond on the 64, and I played Mario Kart, and I spent half a semester trying to beat Quackshot on the Sega Genesis. 0:19:11 Sean: Which was really hard, really exposing yourself, which was really. 0:19:15 Lucas: Hard because you couldn't save anything. So if you died, you just died and you had to start the whole thing over again because that's how old I am. So explain Rocket League to me, because I have no idea what it is. 0:19:29 Sean: Okay, so Rocket League, first of all, keep in mind everything I'm saying. It's a video game, right? 0:19:37 Lucas: That part I get. 0:19:38 Sean: Yeah. So it's supersonic Acrobatic, rocket powered battle cars playing soccer in a dome. Rocket powered. They can fly, they can run into each other, they can demolish the opponent, take them off the field for like 3 seconds. You get boost, you fly around. But ultimately it is kind of a soccer hockey hybrid. The game mode that's primarily played, we call it soccer because it's soccer with cars. Imagine. 0:20:07 Sean: But if you were to watch like, a wide angle view of the field, especially off from the side, it would very much look like hockey, except it's hockey with no goalie. There's no dedicated goalie. Usually you play three V three. Everybody kind of rotates around and it's just the ball is whipping back and forth. Especially at higher levels. You can literally score from your own back wall all the way down to the other end in the blink of an eye. It can move that quickly. And you almost have to shut your brain off at the pro level to just read and react to everything. 0:20:47 Sean: And when I first discovered it, it was May of 2015, they were just coming out of Beta. It was free for a month on PlayStation Plus. I was actually renting the upstairs of the house I now own from an old lady that used to live here. And I just kind of put it off and put it off a couple of friends who told me, hey, this Rocket thing is kind of cool. And I'm like, yeah, but it looks kind of weird. And I just didn't think I'd be good at it. 0:21:20 Lucas: Right. 0:21:21 Sean: Finally, near the end of the month downloaded it and it became my obsession for the rest of 2015\. Like, I was playing a lot of MLB the show at the time. I dropped the show and I'm just like, I'm just playing Rocket League now, and for the next year I might have played three other games the entire rest of the year. It was all Rocket League all the time. Just instantly got hooked on it. And I did the thing that every kid does when they're playing basketball in their driveway. 0:21:51 Sean: They start doing commentary on their own game, and everybody's probably done it when they play Madden or two. K. You just kind of start doing your own commentary and it's like, yeah, I did go to school for this. 0:22:03 Lucas: Right. 0:22:04 Sean: Well, at least see if there are any opportunities to do it. 0:22:07 Lucas: I do have this degree. Maybe I should use it a little bit. 0:22:11 Sean: Yeah, I'm going to be in debt for the rest of my life. I might as well get something out of it. And the opportunity kind of presented itself in the spring of 2016\. And that's when I got a gig doing online tournaments and built up enough of a reputation that we just kept going and going and going and parlayed that into a studio show, into finally just on the other side of the pandemic or just on the other side of 2020\. I mean, we're not really out of it yet. Yeah, we're still in the pandemic, but the height of it. 0:22:48 Sean: I was in Poland working on a show and the director of Esports at the time had a video call with me and it's like, so you can't tell anybody until the fall, but you're going up to the main broadcast. Sweet. And the first thing I did was I went to all my friends and go, hey, so you can't tell anybody, but I'm going up. 0:23:15 Lucas: Nice. So do you start by just doing it, like on Twitch or something like that? 0:23:19 Sean: Just for yourself? Yeah, I mean, there were a lot more opportunities to get started in it when I was getting into it than there are now. At least there are a lot more high profile opportunities now. What I tell people, because every month or so I'll get a message like, hey, Stacks, first of all, I love what you do. I want to do this. How do I get started? I told him, the best thing you can do is just go do it. 0:23:45 Sean: When I was putting together like a demo reel, just 5 minutes of doing play by play. I literally loaded up a Bots game and just did commentary over it. I think I still have it like as an unlisted video somewhere on YouTube where that's what I sent into market when I was trying to get hired. And then I would also take a VOD of a tournament or something and record myself doing play by play over that and kind of critique that and see what I thought sounded good, what I thought sounded bad, and just kind of work on it from there. 0:24:27 Sean: And so what I tell people to do now is exactly that. Record yourself doing it, figure out what you like, what you don't like, what needs to improve, and just always keep improving because unfortunately, you have to come to like, the sound of your own voice to do this and go far in it. And it's something that still happens now, even if we go do like the grand final of one of the North American regionals and you think, okay, well, boy, that was a cool broadcast, there's a great opportunity. 0:25:00 Sean: There's still something that I screwed up somewhere, and there's something to learn about. There have got to be ways to vary my vocabulary or find even more ways to say the same thing so that it doesn't get repetitive. Don't constantly fall into just doing straight play by play. Like try to add some insight and some color and kind of have a conversation with your cocaster and all that. It's constantly evolving. 0:25:28 Sean: None of us are to the point where we're like Joe Buck or Jim Nance, right? So there's always room to keep kind of raising the ceiling. 0:25:38 Lucas: Well, if nothing else, you can listen to it and go, you know, I say really a lot, like a really, really lot. Or you fall on not even that because that's kind of an obvious one. Or you just fall on a thing that isn't quite a catchphrase, but it's not you're still saying it a lot and you catch that sort of stuff. 0:25:58 Sean: The best thing that ever happened to me I was on the Rival series, and our talent manager, JC. Should go by Gillyweed, and she would meet with us every week and give us what she liked about the broadcast, what she thought needed improvement. She would ask you, hey, when you said this, what were you thinking about there? And that was the nice way of going, you're an idiot. And I'm like, got it. And she would especially, I think there were three or four of us, she would print out like a thesaurus entry and she would say, what's the word that you feel like you use way too much? 0:26:45 Sean: Let's find different ways to use that word or describe that action. And a bunch of us benefited from that. It was a season and a half where she really went hard on helping us improve. But it was the best thing that ever happened to me. 0:27:02 Lucas: Did you ever do, like, a word cloud sort of thing where you're like, oh, yeah. 0:27:08 Sean: Not actively, but that was kind of the concept where it's like, find different ways to say this and just expand your vocabulary. Even if it sounds really weird, just say it a couple of times and then don't rely on that as the crutch because that's exactly what would happen. I'd come up with a new way to describe the ball being sent around the corner. I'd say, wrapped around the boards. Well, then I would say wrapped around the boards. Wrapped around the boards. Wrapped around the board. 0:27:36 Sean: And I would notice it, and I would just kind of go I'd mute myself and just kind of go and eventually fix it. But you notice it enough times. And I know that if I notice it, then somebody else is noticing it. Right. And so it's just something that you kind of got to learn to correct on the fly. 0:27:56 Lucas: Yeah. And that whole, like, just learn by doing it, it's the same thing in film. Whenever you talk to a filmmaker, they go, just pick up your camera on your phone. It's not the don't have to go get film stock developed. You have a 4K camera on your phone, probably, and editing software that's free. And just figure it out and you will learn 1800 mistakes that you've made and your first, like, ten will be terrible. 0:28:27 Sean: Yeah. And you have to be your own critic because what invariably happens, it happened all the time. And I'm guilty of this too. I'll do a broadcast with someone and afterwards, whether it was good or not, let's go. Hey, good job. And then we'll just kind of go our separate ways. And it was funny because we've had some people come in from other outside of Rocket League and they'll ask, so do we do a POSTMORT after this? 0:28:56 Sean: No, we just kind of disperse. We go to all the different directions of the wind and call it a day. 0:29:02 Lucas: We go to the bar. 0:29:03 Sean: But in professional broadcasting yeah. You kind of do kind of post mort critique how the broadcast went. And what ends up happening is we just kind of do that amongst ourselves. We don't really involve our cocaster unless maybe we're like a longtime duo. Because if I have what I feel like is a good broadcast but my broadcast partner struggles, I don't know how to approach them and go, yeah, you kind of sucked. Hey, let's try this, this and this. Next time. 0:29:36 Sean: It's tough to have that conversation and without sounding like a jerk, occasionally I'll offer some advice if I think somebody's struggling. And we're working together quite a bit, but I don't want to step out of my lane, per se. 0:29:55 Lucas: Right. Are you looking to do other esports broadcasting, or is it like a specialty thing? I don't know how it works at all. 0:30:05 Sean: Yeah, you definitely can. When I signed on with Character Select Agency, they wanted me to try and explore doing sports titles. And I had a few contacts that I probably could have turned into gigs. I think I probably could have done maybe some NBA two K or Madden stuff. It's just finding time to do that while still being kind of on call for Rocket League and I just never took that leap, basically. I think now if I were to do anything with different titles, it would be more like stage hosting stuff and event McGing, basically. 0:30:51 Sean: I don't know that I could pick up play by play for, say, Valerint or Mario Kart or any of these. It would be very tough. And it would also be very tough to establish yourself there because there are so many people now that have already been doing it, and breaking in kind of feels like you're almost trying to rip a job away from somebody. I know I would hate it if that happened to me. So I'm too much of a goody two shoes or too much of a nice guy, I guess, to and you. 0:31:25 Lucas: Probably that out, and it sounds like you got in on like, really early. 0:31:29 Sean: Yeah, very early. I think if anybody wanted to make it to the level that the current main RLCs cast is at right now, they would have to work incredibly hard to do so. Whereas a lot of the guys that are there now got in literally on the ground floor. They were just doing some community tournaments and the first season of RLCs came around and Twitch was in charge of it at the time. And I think Golden Boy was doing some of the talent selections or whoever was doing them and just kind of pick like, hey, you do commentary? You sound okay. Let's go. 0:32:11 Sean: A lot of them are still there now. 0:32:13 Lucas: So what was the process in bringing all of this to MCI? Because you're working with MCI to do Esports there, and I think you're working with some other people, like the community colleges. 0:32:27 Sean: I'm not working directly with the community colleges as much. I'm available as a coaches liaison for the Main Principals Association. I'm on the state's esports committee. But what really started all of this? 0:32:40 Lucas: You're all in with the MPA? 0:32:42 Sean: I am, yes. Not nearly as much as you might like, because I don't have any influence on basketball, but can you fix classification? You know what? If Esports ever goes to classes, then I can help you there. But otherwise, no, I can't influence anything there. 0:33:01 Lucas: I had to ask. 0:33:02 Sean: Yeah. The worst thing that happens is somebody tells you no. 0:33:06 Lucas: Exactly. 0:33:07 Sean: I've heard no a lot when it comes to Esports. So in 20, 19, 15 years ago, I'm at a swim meet for MCI, and our Ad at the time, Jim Leonard, just kind of corners me in the hallway and goes, hey, you're into the C sports stuff? Yeah, I'm like, yeah, kind of, yes. Good, it's coming. The NBA is going to have it next year, I guarantee it. You're going to be my coach. 0:33:42 Lucas: Okay, thanks for letting me know. 0:33:44 Sean: Yeah, sure do just about everything else when Jim calls and asks. So sure enough, then 2020 comes around, the whole world goes to hell, and we really start hearing it throughout the spring and summer of 2020\. Like, well, gee, we're probably not going to have football, we might have soccer, we're certainly not going to have the indoor sports. So this might be the only show in town because you can do it from home. 0:34:21 Lucas: You can do it from home. Yeah. 0:34:23 Sean: And so the MPA got a partnership going with Play vs. And they have state and regional leagues. And we started out I wish I could find the photo. I'm sure I could with a little bit of effort. We started out in the fall of 2020 with a room on the ground floor of the Math Science Building, and I kid you not, we had three desks that had the monitor built into the desk. Like you pull like a lever and it flips. 0:34:59 Sean: And the computers we were using, honest to God, this is more powerful than those pieces of junk. I think they would have thought about running Excel. They were that bad. There's like these Lenovo think tank things and we tried playing Rocket League on them. I think we did like a practice where we got the game to run by some miracle at like 25 frames per second. I'm like, well, this sucks. I'm thinking, okay, so how in the world are we going to get this? I mean, I can't ask the school, hey, school, give me $5,000 to buy a bunch of PCs, right? 0:35:48 Sean: Well, I had built up enough money and saved up enough money through Rocket League stuff, especially after 2020\. 2021 was a very good year for broadcasting, especially without having all the travel stuff, all the travel costs. 0:36:07 Lucas: You're still doing a virtually in 2021. 0:36:09 Sean: Yeah, so I literally just went to Best Buy and got, I think, seven PCs by the end of the year, just out of my own pocket and just like, here we go, here's taxes, latest tax deduction, go. And that's what we've been using basically. And I think over the past three years now, we've probably, I say we, I have probably put a good 1012 thousand into the program to get it off the ground. And now finally, I feel like we are off the ground. The school fully supports it. 0:36:58 Sean: They just ponied up for the unlimited plan for us so we don't have to worry about paying per player or per team or anything. We're set now through the end of next school year. We have all the equipment we need and it's like, yes, we've made it. 0:37:14 Lucas: Did you broadcast those games too, or. 0:37:16 Sean: Do you just no, it's tough because there are a lot of schools that have a lot of interesting philosophies on what should and should not be allowed to go through their networks. And for some reason on the MCI networks, we can't get onto Twitch. Like, we can go physically to Twitch TV and browse, but when it comes time to actually load a stream, none of them stream or none of them load because of some network setting, but YouTube you could watch just fine. 0:37:49 Sean: The only things I've done for main esports as far as broadcasting goes, I broadcasted the 2021 Spring Final. I think it was dear ago. And Mount era Rat, I think. Or Mount. Yeah, Mount era Rat. I just literally set it up at my computer, came up with a crappy little overlay, threw some graphics on there, and broadcast the games. And this past fall, we finally had our first live Esports championship. It was at CMCC, and I basically did what I do now for Rocket League events. I was just kind of an MC for the start of the show, so I showed up with the white suit, the white hat, all stuff that I got down in Fort Worth at the World Championship. I definitely looked like a pimp and just introduced all the players and the teams, and we won the Smash Bros. 0:38:59 Sean: Championship. And then I had to leave. Like, I was able to introduce the Rocket League teams because they were playing second, and then I had to leave because one of our Smash players had a flight leaving in like 2 hours, so we had to book it down to Portland to get him on his plane to go away for the holidays. Wow. This time around, I don't think we're going to have anything like that because the final is like, April 29 and there's no pressing need to fly anybody home. 0:39:34 Sean: So in theory, I should be able to do like the whole day and do a proper hosting job for it and looking forward to it. Cool. 0:39:42 Lucas: All right, so let's pivot to UMaine because it's the madness. So you're at every home game, right? 0:39:51 Sean: Most of them, yeah, most of them. 0:39:53 Lucas: So you have a pretty good idea. Let's talk about the UMaine men, because they famously have never been to the tournament, but according to Ken Pom, they're only a couple of ticks away from Farrelly Dickinson now. So next year it could be them. You never know. They could be the 16 seed winning over everyone's heart, right? 0:40:16 Sean: You never know, especially now with men's basketball. Anybody who scores 15 points in a game suddenly enters the transfer portal immediately after the season ends. So your starting five is not set until you get everybody on campus. I love this group that we have at Maine now. I'm kind of sad that I'm pretty sure Getty doesn't have any more eligibility because man. Imagine watching him for another year, be crazy alongside, like, Clayton and Tynes and whatever other bigs that they're able to bring in. 0:40:53 Sean: And that has been a fun team to watch. I wish, like, Joshante had come in maybe a year or two later so that he had a little more eligibility as well, because, again, this group has been so fun to watch. And now, finally, you've got Mark Wood at the helm. And boy, oh, boy, what a breath of fresh air for a program that has just been struggling and struggling to get out of the basement of America East. 0:41:19 Sean: And you could just tell he knows what he's doing. He's got it all figured out. The whole team loves him, and they're willing to play hard for this guy. And he's obviously got the connections. You can sometimes tell when a school has kind of hired the guy. They've hired the guy at Maine. 0:41:41 Lucas: I've noticed a lot more chatter in the national press about him, and way more than probably the five years prior combined. When they hired him, everyone was like, oh, this is a great hire. We all like him, we actually know who this is, things like that. But what sort of things have been have felt different? Is it just a sense of confidence? 0:42:06 Sean: You go back to the start of the season and some of the wins they were able to pull off, and even some of the games. I hate to fall into the trap of calling out quality losses, but there are games that in the past decade would be 2030 point losses that turn into five point wins, ten point wins. Games that you'll watch like the top of America East come in, whether it's Vermont or UMBC or whoever. And by halftime, the coach is kind of leaning at the table, chatting with us. 0:42:47 Sean: You guys watch us all year. Yeah, Coach, we do. But now we get to send psychopaths like Duquette into a raging frenzy when we beat them, because he can't believe that Maine is able to play with and beat Lowell, and used to be like Will Brown's punching bag when Albany would come into town, and now all of a sudden, Albany is in a much different spot. We're able to beat I think at one point, we beat the top of America East twice in a row. I think it was Lowell was at the top, beat them. 0:43:25 Sean: Binghamton then took the top spot and we turned around and beat them. It's like, okay, well, these are games we lose by 40 in the past. This is kind of fun now. 0:43:36 Lucas: Yeah, that's always helpful. It's never a good sign when the table says, yeah, I don't think you guys have to worry about winning this game. 0:43:46 Sean: I feel really bad I missed the Bryant game senior night, and the football team showed up to all the games coming down the stretch at the pit, and we had just grasso and Bryant just fuming, like, clearly got under their skin because there's no atmosphere like the Pit anywhere else in America. East and especially for Bryant to come in, very new to the conference and see that for the first time. They didn't play with that at any time in the conference they used to play in. 0:44:23 Sean: Nobody has that in America. East with just imagine how big a football team is in the first place, and they're standing right over you as you walk out off the court. Trust me, it's not Cameron Indoor, but boy, it's about the closest you can get in the Northeast. Yeah. 0:44:44 Lucas: And there's a lot to be said for that in terms of translating to on the court stuff. Yeah, it can throw you a little bit. It doesn't take much. 0:44:52 Sean: It absolutely threw teams, especially early on when we'd host the semifinals, because we couldn't host it at the Cross Center because bull riding was taking over there. Load me into a cannon and shoot me into the sun. But we would have to host semifinals at the Pit. Albany would come in, or Hartford or whoever would come in, and they were not ready at all, especially the first few games we had there. You couldn't hear yourself think, and I know that's cliche. It's overstated. 0:45:26 Sean: No, you cannot hear a damn thing when that place is rocking. 0:45:32 Lucas: I played some high school games where in some tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny gyms where it would get so loud that I would have to scream at my brother from like six inches away just to be heard. 0:45:45 Sean: Yeah. 0:45:46 Lucas: So I can imagine it was probably something like that. 0:45:48 Sean: And I'm surprised the women are as successful at home as they are. Amy is not loud. She is not a very loud, boisterous presence. She struggles to get her team's attention when that place is rocking, but then so does the other team. And at least we're used to it. At least she has. We play a dozen games or so every year in it, so we know. But man, other teams come in and they are lost. 0:46:18 Lucas: All right, so give me a prediction for the boys, for the men for next year. What do you think? Put you on the spot? 0:46:30 Sean: Yeah, everything should be good. 0:46:33 Lucas: We can cut this out if you're way off. 0:46:35 Sean: Yeah, right. It's all going to come down to which fifth or 6th year transfer comes in from East Des Moines Community College. Right. I would imagine that next year, if the men don't host a quarterfinal, I think I would be very surprised. A lot of that hinges on Kellen times maybe coming back and Jaden Clayton being a great one two punch there and keeping the size I've got adding to it. I feel like with a coach like Mark Wood, there's only just this natural progression forward that I'm very confident that we're going to see that team host a quarterfinal. So top four in America east. 0:47:23 Sean: And from there, however long time they Clayton want to hang around, they're not seniors. So at that point kind of go as far as they'll take us. 0:47:37 Lucas: Do you think they could get into the big dance in the next five years? 0:47:42 Sean: I think the big dance in the next three. 0:47:44 Lucas: Oh, wow. That'd be something. Yeah, we could be the 16 seed. 0:47:48 Sean: I would be very surprised if it happened next year. 0:47:51 Lucas: Okay. 0:47:51 Sean: I'd be a little less surprised if it happened in two years, but it wouldn't be like nobody saw this coming. But within three years, yes, that would be very cool. 0:48:02 Lucas: All right, so the women how do the women look? They lost in I'm going to try to remember this correctly the semifinals. 0:48:09 Sean: Yes. They went down to Albany or excuse me, Hudson Valley Community College, because I guess Sefcue Arena was undergoing renovations, so they had to play all their home games at HVCC. Whatever. That court just looks like an abomination. I can't believe an actual basketball team. 0:48:26 Lucas: Plays there, but it looks hideous on whatever I watched. 0:48:33 Sean: It felt like you kind of hollowed out an old YMCA and just stuck some seats in there. But, yeah, they're going to miss Anne. But then I said they're going to miss Door and they're going to miss Mave, and they're going to miss Blanca. And all they've done every year is reload. And I think this was actually even though they didn't win the America East conference, this is probably one of Amy's most impressive coaching jobs because they had to play so long without Anne. 0:49:03 Sean: We lost Anne Simon. There was a knee injury and then had to play Albany, granted, at home without her. And all of a sudden this firecracker named Adriana Smith pops up and she just takes over the season. And she'd kind of done that already, but that was the game. I think we found out just how good she really is. And again, transfer Port will be damned. You hope that she hangs around and kind of stays there because they need her to stay. 0:49:38 Sean: You get a lot of great contributions out of, like, Olivia Rockwood. JC. Christopher had an outstanding season. You've got a good core there that on paper, you'll look at and go, okay, mid to high, America East, probably you expect them to be somewhere in the top four, and then because of Amy Vachon, they'll end up in contention for the number one seed, and then. 0:50:08 Lucas: It'S the one and done crapshoot. 0:50:11 Sean: Right? Yeah. And then you go into the tournament and you try to go as high as you can so that you can play as many games in the pit as you possibly can because that place has been worth a lot of points. 0:50:27 Lucas: What was I going to say? I had a good question for you. Okay, so let's get your prediction for them for next year. Do you think they win the thing? Do you think they win the tournament? 0:50:37 Sean: See, trying to remember who all is like, almost certainly coming back. 0:50:42 Lucas: Right. The transfer portal is not as active on the women's side. Right, right. I would assume that. 0:50:48 Sean: Right. It doesn't seem like it is, but then again, it just gets covered less, unfortunately. 0:50:54 Lucas: I hear that's Adam Robinson's fault. 0:50:57 Sean: Yeah, probably. 0:50:58 Lucas: I saw some commenters saying that it was his fault that things were going badly previously. 0:51:02 Sean: Exactly right. Yeah. Come on, Bdn, with all like, three of your people cover more. I don't even work there. 0:51:11 Lucas: Don't count me. 0:51:12 Sean: It's true. Yeah. Two and a half. 0:51:14 Lucas: I just make some videos before the games and write some columns to try to piss people off. 0:51:18 Sean: Yeah. Again, just because I expect that Amy Vachon could coach a bunch of 8th graders to at least a home quarter final in America East. I think that they should be in contention for the top seed again, just no matter who they have, as long as they have like, Addie there. And from there it's just a matter of can they win the games they're supposed to? Which is against most of America east. I think the basement of America East is rising a little bit like some of the really bad teams out there that we've just never cared about in the past, or at least respectable now, and they can go on runs like at UMBC. That team was not particularly good, but they had I can't remember her name now, but their point guard, who I mean, she was like the Kellen Times of the women's side. She would have just a ton of steals and if you weren't sure handed with the basketball out front, just have active hands and make it a game. 0:52:21 Sean: If they're not in the top two, I think I would be very surprised. And they would definitely have a legitimate shot at going to the dance again. 0:52:29 Lucas: Going to the dance and maybe making some noise. 0:52:31 Sean: Yeah. 0:52:32 Lucas: When was the last time the women won a game in the dance? 0:52:37 Sean: Oh, in the tournament. Would that have been the Stanford upset? 0:52:41 Lucas: That sounds right. When was that? 0:52:45 Sean: It was the 90, I think. I know they've been since, but I don't think they were beating anybody. 0:52:56 Lucas: I thought they won in the early two thousand s I thought they beat somebody in the early 2000s. 0:53:01 Sean: Yeah, if they did, I can't remember. And unfortunately, I'm not much of a main basketball historian. My knowledge of main basketball really goes down to I watched an America East championship game sometime in the my grandparents house. I couldn't tell you who they played, I just know they won it. And after that I'm a kid, I didn't have the capacity to care. And then when they hired Richard Barron, they had an open audition for the women's basketball PA job. Five of us or four of us showed up. 0:53:40 Sean: We all sucked nobody even got a call back. They hired Brett or Brent something. The guy that does play by play for MPBN. I've never had to say his name, so it eludes me how to say his last name. 0:53:55 Lucas: Cheever. Right. Dave Cheever? No. 0:53:58 Sean: Brett Solikowski or something like that. And then that first season, the women's team, they had won two games and I got called in to do they were still playing at Alfond Arena because Bangor Auditorium still existed. 0:54:18 Lucas: Right. 0:54:18 Sean: And so Brett was doing play by play for MPBN. They called me to do the game up at Alfond. It's their pink game against Vermont. And that's kind of how I ended up taking over the job because I think I ended up doing the women's games full time this season after I'm being told 99 over Stanford. 0:54:46 Lucas: Seeing the only one. Chris Lesner and RJ Robertson are letting us know it's 99 perfect. 0:54:52 Sean: So I show up and do that game. The team's won two games all year. Vermont's number 14 scores. Couldn't tell you who it was. I go. Michael augustoson. I look down at the roster, damn it, that's R 14\. And I just wanted to but game goes on. We have this these I think they were both fresher at the time. Liz Wood and Lauren Bodine. Just go off. I think Bodine set or tied the school record for threes in a game. 0:55:21 Sean: It was their pink game. The big gimmick was they were trying to raise a bunch of money and if they raised a certain amount, richard Barron was going to have his head shaved at half court. 0:55:31 Lucas: Nice. 0:55:32 Sean: Bear in mind, I don't know anything for certain, but based on what I was told, there's no way in hell we came anywhere close to actually reaching the donation goal. Baron comes, takes the mic after we beat Vermont. Thanks everybody for being there, thanks the seniors and thanks everybody for their generous donations. We reached our goal and by God, they brought the chair out and he shaved his head. 0:55:54 Sean: And I'm like at that point I just kind of knew, like, man, there's a different culture here and this guy is actually just winning over all the fans. Then they had their bus accident. They didn't play in the America's tournament because of that bus accident. And then the next year the turnaround started. 0:56:16 Lucas: Very cool. 0:56:17 Sean: All right. That's where my knowledge of main women's basketball starts from there. 0:56:22 Lucas: Got you. So we've got 4 minutes left before Mackenzie Holmes tips off. And I feel like that's when we lose our entire audience, of course. So I'm going to throw a thing at you. They put you in charge of the MPA for one day. 0:56:37 Sean: We're all screwed. 0:56:38 Lucas: One day you can do whatever you want. 0:56:41 Sean: Go. We have a shot clock because we magically come up with the money for everybody to actually have one and staff it. The sports are more closely officiated the way college games are almost across the board, but especially basketball. Yes, you can catch the ball and set your stance without it being a travel. As long as you're not doing the Kendrick Perkins 14 step travel, just little things like that. 0:57:21 Sean: Just streamline the whole experience and make it. I mean, it is entertainment. At the end of the day, people are not paying $10 ahead to go into the Cross Center during tourney time or even more whatever it is now, just to watch children have this great educational experience. They want to see their team beat the other team's ass, and they at least want to see an athletic sporting event. And I think that's true across the board. 0:57:53 Sean: I think you play up the entertainment aspect of that. I don't know that you can really extend seasons because everything's so tight and the way schedules are or schools are. The layout of the state, it's really tough. But if I can get even just a little bit more power, I consolidate a lot more schools, which I know kills some local rivalries. But I think I read somewhere that the school district of Houston has as many students k through twelve as the entire state of Maine, and they have one superintendent. 0:58:34 Sean: I don't think we need all these different districts as close as they are to be their own entity. I think we can start merging some high schools, merging some districts, and maybe come up with just bigger talent pools in general, and maybe grow the games just a little bit more. 0:58:53 Lucas: Yeah, I mean, that's probably inevitable just in terms of budgeting and things like that. Some of that's going to happen no matter what. If you go to Frank Spanky, there's just a long list of schools that no longer exist. 0:59:07 Sean: Yeah. 0:59:07 Lucas: Like down here we have George's Valley in Rockland. Not a thing anymore right now. It's odd. 0:59:12 Sean: And you don't have jay and livermore falls anymore. The one I'm shocked that hasn't happened. Stearns and Skank and I think they're starting to do some co op stuff, and it's like, when should happen? MCI Nokomis, two schools 7 miles apart, for crying out loud. I mean, I think it's inevitable that at some .1 school is going to merge into the other. And it could be ten years from now, it could be 20 years from now, but I think eventually that's going to happen. 0:59:40 Sean: And God help us all when the entire waterville area decides, you know what? Tired of Thornton Academy being the biggest school. That's just waterville. Winslow meso. 0:59:49 Lucas: Just Lawrence is right there. 0:59:52 Sean: Yeah, Lawrence as well. Erskin, just bring them all in. Bring them all in. Temple can be its own thing. It's fine. 1:00:01 Lucas: All right, well, that is our time. Where can people find you? 1:00:06 Sean: Oh, just about everywhere. I'm on Twitter and Twitch TV at Stacksrl. S-T-A XRL. You find me at main baseball games. I think I haven't been told that I'm doing those games this spring, but I assume I am, and you can find me on Twitch TV Rocket League as well when we have our collegiate Rocket League Lcqs at the end of the month and our winter major in the first week of April at Dreamhack San Diego. 1:00:40 Lucas: Fantastic. All right, well, thank you so much for doing this. This has been fun. I learned video games, which is always a new thing. 1:00:48 Sean: If you're watching pleasure being on here. 1:00:51 Lucas: If you're watching this, do the subscribe thing and the liking and all that bullshit. Because algorithms are a thing, like comment subscribe. 1:00:59 Sean: Tell a friend to tell a friend to tell your mom. 1:01:01 Lucas: Exactly. Thank you so much and I'll see you all next time. Bye. ### The Madness URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-madness/ Last updated: 2023-03-20T11:56:12.000Z How's your bracket doing? I had Purdue in the title game, but I didn't feel good about it. 0:00 / 1× You want your bracket to do well, but also you want all the chaos. How low was FDU in the NCAA heirarchy? This low. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/image.png) All I'm saying is this could be Maine next year. You never know. --- The big news, of course, is the never-ending soap opera of Classification. The newest twist being that AA rejected the idea of a state-wide class because it eliminates the regional championship, but I dunno, is that more important than making sure teams have to win a basketball game to make the quarterfinals? And if Regional Championships are so important, what is AA North? Isn't it just Bangor? Aren't they the automatic "Regional Champions"? At the end of the day, you can't do all three of these: 5 Classes Relegation Regions There aren't enough teams. Meanwhile, Indiana has 4 classes of \~100 for 403 schools. I get that AA doesn't like 5 classes (hell, I'm interested in a 3 class system), but apparently the votes aren't there. The more I talk to people around the state, the more I'm convinced this is broken. The big schools are mad at the small schools and the small schools are mad at the big schools and everyone is annoyed this is taking so long and the discussions are all being held in Executive Session. Communication seems to be broken. Meanwhile, there seems to be too many schools who are only interested in how the classification impacts them. ![](https://media.tenor.com/zSGAaqqVUHQAAAAC/society-seinfeld.gif) So on this new podcast thing, I'm going to try to put together a conversation in public. I'd like to get a coach or AD from each of the 5 classes and have a discussion in public. This shouldn't be so hard. If you're interested in participating, let me know either in the comments or email me: mainebasketballrankings \[at\] gmail. --- There seems to be a rash of notable coaches hanging it up. > After 8 years at the helm, Coach Chris Cameron has stepped down from his position as Girls Varsity Basketball coach. Coach Cameron took his teams to 4 regional finals and 2 state finals. during his tenure. His teams won 75% of their games in this span. Thank you Coach!! [pic.twitter.com/3g1xF6kJsc](https://t.co/3g1xF6kJsc?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Hermon Hawks (@HermonHawks) [March 17, 2023](https://twitter.com/HermonHawks/status/1636735335655788545?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Gardiner's Mike Gray and Brewer's Ben Goodwin also called it quits. I'm sure I've missed a few. It sounds like these are coaches going out on their own terms and not being forced out by toxic parents, which is something. Still, it'll leave a void. --- I'm trying out a new element of this podcast today. I'll be recording LIVE at 7pm with Sean Stackhouse (aka, Stax). We'll talk about the Stax Index, UMaine basketball, esports, and more. We were going to do this at 8, but Mackenzie Holmes plays at 8\. So we'll record it live and then it'll be available in podcast form the next day? I'm figuring this out as I go. --- If you haven't seen it yet, you can listen to my conversation with BDN's Adam Robinson wherever you listen to podcasts. [Listen to the Podcast](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mainebasketballrankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Listen and review because...algorithms! --- Some extra stuff as a bunch of people are at Harbor House (and apparently a fan got ejected?). [How Orono’s latest basketball state championship united the entire communityThe 2023 Class B champions got plenty of input and guidance from members of the ’81 team that defeated the Eagles for the title.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsAdam Robinson![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2023/03/oronovictory.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/03/17/sports/high-school-sports/orono-state-championship-ellsworth-rivalry-joam40zk0w/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) EMS is holding a vote for girls player of the year. [Eastern Maine Sports girls basketball player of the year voting – 2022/2023Below is a list of nominees for 2022/2023 Eastern Maine Sports girls basketball player of the year. You can vote as often as you would like until Wednesday, March 22nd at 7 PM. It is free to vote, …![](https://easternmainesports.com/favicon.ico)Eastern Maine SportsPublished by %s![](https://easternmainesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CF4E2A35-0576-4043-9DAA-56E9302ABF62.jpeg)](https://easternmainesports.com/2023/03/19/eastern-maine-sports-girls-basketball-player-of-the-year-voting-2022-2023/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Until next week. ### Ep. 3: Awards Thoughts and a Look at Next Season with Adam Robinson of the Bangor Daily News URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ep-3-adam-robinson/ Last updated: 2023-04-01T00:11:30.000Z Adam Robinson of the Bangor Daily News joins Maine Basketball Rankings’ Lucas McNelly to talk about the awards for Mr. and Miss Basketball and the Gatorade Player of the Year. Then, they discuss which teams are the early contenders for next year’s Gold Balls. After that, they go over classification and take a quick look at March Madness. \*\*\* Adam Robinson’s Twitter: [https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Read Adam at the Bangor Daily News: [https://www.bangordailynews.com/author/arobinson/](https://www.bangordailynews.com/author/arobinson/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3NODz2ofFkafbIimxWiDMK?si=3BbFL0kFQf2wqaSZ6Gwl3w&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) *Transcript (via Deciphr for SEO)* 0:00:01 Lucas: You. 0:00:03 Adam: My guest today is the one and only, live from Jackman Maine, apparently, Adam Robinson of the Bangor Daily News. Thanks for joining me. 0:00:12 C: Thank you very much for having me. 0:00:13 Adam: So tell people about this hat we were just talking about a minute ago. They were just handing these out at the Forest Hills game. 0:00:18 Lucas: Yeah. 0:00:19 C: At the Southern Aroostook Forest Hills d final, boys. The Forest Hill fans came with just huge, like, trash bags full of them, and they were giving them out to everybody in the stands and gave them out to all the media people. So I didn't wear it during the game, but I figured now would be a great time to wear it. It's a great hat. 0:00:37 Adam: I think you're not allowed to wear it during the game, probably. 0:00:39 C: No, I think that would be frowned upon since I was writing about the game, but awesome hat. 0:00:47 Adam: They'd be like, he's clearly biased. He's wearing a hat, bright orange hat that says Jackman on it. 0:00:53 C: Right, exactly. 0:00:55 Adam: All right, so I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things here. So first off, since we just finished awards season, let's talk a little bit about awards season. Will Davies just got the Gatorade player of the year and Mr. Basketball, and Maddie Fitzgerald got Gatorade player of the year for the girls, and it was Lizzie Gruber for Miss Basketball. If I had asked you two weeks ago, how many of those would you have gotten? 0:01:21 Lucas: Right. 0:01:21 C: Do you think I would have probably gotten just Lizzie Gruber? Right, okay. 0:01:27 Adam: That's what I'm thinking, too. You don't want to take away from what anybody's accomplished or anything. And I think we all said go all the way down the line that the boys race was completely wide open and no one had any idea who was going to win that. So, yeah, I think the thing for me is, I think we need some more transparency, because I don't know if anyone would have gotten all four of those. 0:01:53 C: Right. Yeah, right. No, I don't think anybody probably would have picked all four of them. And right. This isn't to take away from Maddie Fitzpatrick, who had a great season for Chevrolet, and Will Davies, obviously really strong season. I saw his stats today, like 22, I think seven and seven or something around there. Really good. Really good season for Thornton Academy. Obviously deserving. But like you said, I think there were five, six guys that were deserving for the Gatorade player of the year. And then I thought a couple of people could have been up for Mr. Basketball, too. So? 0:02:38 Lucas: Yeah. 0:02:38 C: I don't know. They say that for Mr. And Miss Main basketball, they say that there's former coaches and media members that have voted, and I don't know of any media members that are voting for it, but maybe they just don't send it to me. They don't send me much. 0:02:55 Adam: You don't even get the press releases now. 0:02:57 C: Yeah, right. But yeah, no interesting picks. I think they're all deserving, but I would have probably been one for four in my predictions. 0:03:09 Adam: I reached out to the Gatorade Player of the Year people because I was like because the wording on it is so weird, and it's basically like an elite group of experts, and it sounds like the Illuminati or something makes these selections. And I was just like, well, who are these people? And I'm like, I don't even want to know their names. Are these people all in Florida? Are they all in New York? Are any of them in Maine? Are they talking to people from Maine? 0:03:38 Adam: Do they know where Madam Juan Cook is? Yeah, exactly. 0:03:42 C: Have they been to Ellsworth? 0:03:44 Adam: Have they ever heard of Ellsworth? 0:03:46 C: Right. And they point to Ellsworth on a map. Right. 0:03:50 Adam: Could they get to the Augusta Civic Center without directions? Any number of things. And they flat out said, we refuse to give you this information because of privacy concerns. Meanwhile, you can Google the people who are on the Nobel Prize Committee and they will tell you who they are. Yeah, the Nobel Prize, which comes with a million dollars, and the Gatorade Player of the Year comes with a banner that you can hang up in a gym. 0:04:19 Adam: And I think that's pretty much it. 0:04:22 C: Yeah, that is pretty much it. 0:04:25 Lucas: Yeah. 0:04:25 C: No, it's just weird because you follow the whole state and I try to follow the whole state, and I've been to a billion different games. I was counting in my notebook. I think I have, like, 34 box scores, and that's just in that notebook. I've seen a lot of players, and I don't know who these Gatorade players voters are going to see. I mean, last year, Cooper Flag, that was a pretty big layup of a choice. That was pretty easy. 0:04:52 Lucas: Yeah. 0:04:54 C: But yeah, I don't know who's making the choices or whatnot, but maybe one day they'll tell us. 0:05:01 Lucas: I don't know. Maybe. 0:05:02 Adam: I mean, I thought if it was going to be AAA kid, I thought it was going to be Sylvano Silvano. 0:05:06 Lucas: Yeah. 0:05:06 C: Silvano. Yeah. 0:05:07 Adam: That seems like the obvious choice if you were going to Goa. And I think we both thought it was going to be Chance Mercier. Mercier. Mercier. 0:05:16 C: Mercier. Yeah. Depending on, I guess, what part of Maine you're in. But I thought it was going to be Chance Mercier, too. I thought he was the best player that I saw this year. Saw him a few times, and he was really special. And I saw Silvano once against Hamden up here, and he completely took over that game. He did it all for Chevrolet this year, and Will Davies did it all for Thornton, too. So I guess it's pick who you want. But yeah, it would be nice to know who's voting and what they've seen, if they've just seen highlights or if they're just talking to coaches or what it is. But it'd be nice to know the. 0:05:59 Adam: Thing I'd like them to do because they have in the thing where it's like it's about your grades and your character stuff and do you hold the door for old ladies and your stats, but they always seem to end up with one of the three best players in the state, which is weird if you have all these other criteria. Just once I want them to pick someone who's, like, second team All Conference, but they got, like, a perfect Sat score and they're like, doing the Peace Corps in the offseason. 0:06:33 Lucas: Yeah. 0:06:34 C: Just a saint of a person. 0:06:35 Lucas: Yeah. 0:06:36 Adam: Mother Teresa off the floor. Second team all conference on the floor. And they're like, no, this is our Player of the Year now. Because the Internet would implode. The Facebook comments would be amazing. 0:06:48 C: Yeah, the Facebook comments, exactly right. I know I never was around for, like, Mbr and the Forum days, but I know that Facebook comments and your mind mentions on Twitter would be pretty electric for a couple of days. 0:07:03 Adam: We definitely shut them off. 0:07:04 Lucas: Yeah. 0:07:06 Adam: All right, so let's look ahead to next year. Okay, so on the boys side, who is least likely or most likely to repeat? Would you say winners? 0:07:21 C: Let's see. So in AA, it's probably not South Portland because they graduate Jalen Jackson and a couple of other guys, and they're finally kind of out of holdovers of those back to back teams. 0:07:34 Adam: Of course, we didn't think they'd win this year after they losing JP Estrella. 0:07:38 C: Yeah, exactly. Lost JP and then lost Owen Maloney, who's now on the Humane men's basketball team. So I didn't think and I talked to Portland reporters that watched them a lot this year, and they didn't think that South Portland was going to get there. I didn't think Portland was going to get there to get through Oxford Hills, but they did. 0:07:55 Adam: Yeah. 0:07:57 C: In class a It's not going to be Brewer just because they're losing everybody five. We're all seniors, right? 0:08:03 Adam: Yeah. 0:08:04 C: So they're going to be kind of starting from scratch a little bit. And then I think I get that you got to go Orono. Orono or Southern Aroostook and D because Dylan Burpee is a junior this year. He'll be coming back and a couple of other kids, and it's just Southern Aroostook and Class D. Right, right. They've got a chance every year, but I think it'd probably be Orono just because they lose. I think one senior in their starting five, and they only had a couple total. 0:08:34 C: They bring back Pierce Walston and Ben Francis and Will Francis. They're going to have to compete again with Ellsworth, who brings back Chance Mercier. That'll be probably the best region. Again. That class B north. But I think you'd have to give it to them. 0:08:50 Adam: And what's going to be interesting about them is they could just as easily see Oceanside again because the Galley twins are juniors, and I think they're losing. I think the big guy, the big kid is a senior. Collins, so they'll lose him. But that's one of those programs that just reloads, and the Galley twins, you would assume are going to be even better next year. 0:09:16 C: Yeah, right. And then on the same side in girls, spruce Mountain could very well be there again. They were full of juniors, and Ellsworth girls were full of sophomores and juniors as well. The B final that came down to the wire, and Ellsworth won. So those two on the girls side could definitely see each other again. 0:09:37 Adam: Yeah, because I think wasn't a lot of the talk on Ellsworth was whether or not they were a year away. And they got there early, and I. 0:09:46 C: Thought Orono was a year away on the boys side. And I picked oceanside. And in mine, in Larry Mahoney's video that we did, I picked Oceanside by a couple just because they scored a bunch and Orono is still pretty young, but they proved me wrong. Their defense stood up and they got the job done. 0:10:06 Adam: Let's talk about Southern Aroostook for a minute. First of all, I've been to Dyer Brook, like, a lot of times. My family has a hunting camp there, and my grandfather was from there. I don't know where they're finding all these kids because I've never seen a basketball player in all the times I've been to Dire Brook. Like, not even in the grocery store. 0:10:28 C: I know. And then they just turn guys and girls into just stars. I think they what the girls team had, I think, 3000 point scores on the team this year, something like that. And they lose Maddie Russell, so I think they still have two more left on the team. And then the boys team, there's just a bunch of Burpee boys, I guess, like Hunter Burpee was there was great. Dylan Burpee was phenomenal this year. 0:10:55 C: He was really fun to watch. Then they just make Camden Porter their shooting guard or small forward type of thing, an all state, all region selection for seniors. And then Graham Silts, their big man, who just grabbed every single loose ball and rebound that there was. I mean, they make them into great basketball players. And I guess it's just it's got to be their youth program there, that it would have to be outstanding. Right? 0:11:23 Lucas: Yeah. 0:11:23 Adam: Because they just keep coming with guys. 0:11:26 Lucas: Yeah. 0:11:27 C: It's unbelievable. I want to do a story. I'm trying to talk to Cliff Ercart soon and talk to the boys coach there about just about that same topic. Just what is going on up there that makes it work? Yeah. What's the secret sauce? 0:11:44 Adam: Yeah, there's just not a lot going on up there in general. And like a lot of places up there, it's economically not doing as great as it was even 20 years ago, much less 40 years ago. And it seems to be a lot of hunting camps and stuff like that. 0:12:03 C: And basketball, I guess. 0:12:05 Adam: Yeah, that's what I was going to do. 0:12:07 C: Yeah. In the state, if you're not playing hockey, you're probably playing basketball as a kid, and some programs can capitalize on it. 0:12:19 Adam: So who's going to come for that crown in D, do we think? 0:12:24 C: Well, on the boys side, I think it's Bangor Christian they bring back I think they have three or four juniors coming back that will be seniors next year, and they're really confident in what they have. Jalen Reed is really an awesome player to watch if you ever get the chance. So I think it'll be them that tries to go after the crown there. And on the girls side, I'm not sure in south, there's not a whole lot that can even really compare to what Southern Aroustics put together. It's kind of wisdom in D North that I'll try to knock them off before they get to another state game. Right, right. 0:13:11 C: That's kind of how D is right now. 0:13:14 Adam: Well, and then you wonder if Valley can get over the hump, but I don't know how many people they're graduating off the top of my head. 0:13:25 C: Right. I don't remember either. And then I know that with the classification moving around and all that, like St. Dom's boys. I know the coach the boys coach there and Josh Laprell, and he's real confident in what they've got coming, and he's confident in the team. If they can move down to D, which is kind of where I think St. Dom's belongs anyways, they can give D South the run and see what happens. So I think the boys side is a little bit more close maybe than the girls. But wisdom showed they were a loose ball away from knocking off Southern aristic this year. In the girls side, I guess, really, anything can happen still. 0:14:09 Adam: And your friends and Jackman, I think they are out of desjardins now. 0:14:14 C: I think they're out of Desjardin's kids. Yeah. 0:14:16 Adam: Okay. 0:14:17 C: Which is a bummer. But Mason went out swinging, and then he won the academic award. He has, like, a 4.0\. I think he's got a bunch of college credits already, the kids. 0:14:26 Adam: Wow. 0:14:27 C: Yeah. But yeah, I think they're out of Judge Jardens, so I don't know who else in D South is going to come take that, but yeah, it didn't seem like they're ever going to run out. 0:14:38 Adam: We just learned how to spell it, too, and now it's useless information to us. 0:14:43 C: Yeah. 0:14:44 Adam: All right, so in C, what do we think for C? Dirigo obviously, is losing pretty much everybody. 0:14:51 Lucas: Yes. 0:14:52 C: Dirigo is going to lose everybody. That's a lot of seniors. 0:14:56 Adam: And Charlie Houghton was one of those guys that I think a lot of people thought was going to be in the Mr. Basketball running and the running for the Gatorade Player of the Year. 0:15:04 Lucas: Yeah. 0:15:05 C: I thought he should have been a finalist for Mr. Basketball just because of his resume, two state titles, and then they picked I learned that the voting for that happens around the regional games, the regional final games, so it changes things. You can't wait until to see if Thornton or if Thornton can win a state title, or you can't wait to see Brady Saunders win a state title with Brewer. 0:15:32 Adam: But that doesn't really make sense because it's like a week later. It's not like they're handing it out before the state game. 0:15:41 C: No, right. They've got time, they should be able to wait. 0:15:43 Adam: Like this isn't the thing we're doing by mail or by carrier pigeon or anything. 0:15:48 C: Right? No, you send an email. 0:15:52 Lucas: Yeah. 0:15:52 C: And the Mr. Basketball and Miss Basketball is like a career award. So you're looking at a resume and you're looking at are you a good person? And community and school and all that stuff, which Charlie is. So? 0:16:07 Lucas: Yeah. 0:16:08 C: I don't know. I'm usually going to disagree with a couple of the picks, but it's not like anyone picked wasn't worthy. Charlie had one 3000 hundred points, 800 rebounds, two state titles. I thought he should be in the running. But to get back to your point, Dirigo loses everybody, and Calais loses a lot. Jace Cook and Jacob Soccer Basin. So those two state final teams will probably be out. You would think, but who knows, right? 0:16:44 C: And then Dexter, the boys side, loses Will Cousiners, who led them to the state game last year, and then semifinals this year. 0:16:54 Adam: Yeah. 0:16:57 C: They will look different. And so probably someone like Fort Kent right. That had a really good season. And then we'll probably wait on to see in the south who can come up. And then we have to wait for the classification classification stuff. Right. Moving up and down and what teams will look like. You'll probably get a lot of the same stuff. Old Orchard Beach will be good again, I think Monmouth will be good again. 0:17:23 C: We'll see. But yeah, I think C on the boys side is kind of wide open. 0:17:28 Adam: C south especially could be really wide open because I honestly have no idea who would be other than the teams you just named. But it wouldn't surprise me if Mount Abram was there, if Booth Bay was there, if Oob, any number of teams or whoever ends up dropping down from B to be in the mix. Yeah, I think that's probably the most wide open. So then B is the least wide open. Yeah, I think. But I wouldn't count out spruce in the south. I wouldn't count out York or Yarmouth. 0:18:05 Adam: Well, Yarmouth is losing a lot, aren't they? 0:18:07 C: I think Yarmouth is, but they made it further than I thought they would this year after losing after getting to that state title game and losing their big guys there. But yeah, I think B North is kind of a two, maybe three team race if Old Town can get in there again. But I think it's Orange, O and L's worth again, just two powerhouses. 0:18:31 Adam: You know what we're forgetting because we're idiots? 0:18:33 C: Who. 0:18:34 Adam: Oceanside is going to the north. 0:18:37 C: Oh, that's right. 0:18:38 Adam: In the classification. Oceanside and Medomak are heading north. 0:18:41 Lucas: Wow. Yeah. 0:18:42 C: So that'll make it so the south. 0:18:44 Adam: Gets real wide open now. 0:18:46 Lucas: Yeah. 0:18:47 Adam: And now we have a really interesting regional final, potentially. 0:18:52 C: Right. 0:18:53 Adam: And someone should look this up. Would this be the first time so let's say they get there to the regional final. Would this be the first time that two teams met in the state final one year and then in the regional final in the next year or any point in the regional tournament? Really? 0:19:11 Lucas: Yeah. 0:19:12 C: No, I wonder if that's true. But yeah, that just makes an already clogged at the top region even better. Holy cow. 0:19:20 Adam: Yeah, that's going to be a murderer's row of teams. Like one through eight. 0:19:27 C: Yeah, pretty much this year. It was my favorite region to watch just because one through four, you had Winslow, who got knocked out in the first round by Presque Isle. Malachi Cummings was phenomenal. But Caribou brings back a lot, so you would think a little bit better. Old Town Foxcroft is usually up there, too. Yeah, the B North will just be crazy with Oceanside up there. Also Oceanside and Medomak doesn't lose very much. 0:19:58 C: No, Medomak doesn't lose very much. So they'll be there. And then I'm looking at B south. 0:20:03 Adam: And yeah, I guess spruce and spruce and York. 0:20:10 C: Yeah, right. It's spruce and York. And maybe Yarmouth will just reload because that's kind of what they've been doing recently. 0:20:17 Adam: Cape, I would assume Cape is going to be there in some, right. 0:20:19 C: Cape doesn't go far away usually. And Spruce, you just talked to him, but Scott Bessie likes what he has. Jace is going to be a junior, and that much bigger and better. Yeah, that'll be a fun kind of wide open region. But B north, man, that'll be tough. 0:20:41 Adam: That'll be like the year where I asked Coach how many teams could win A North, and he said, ten. 0:20:54 C: Really? 0:20:54 Adam: How many can win? The whole thing goes 1010. 0:20:57 C: Yeah, there you go. 0:20:58 Adam: Eight are getting in, but ten of them could win it. 0:21:01 C: Yeah, I felt like five teams could make a run in B North, and I felt in A North that there were a whole lot of teams that could make a run at Brewer to get through there, too. 0:21:14 Adam: All right, let's go to A then. So Brewer we assume Brewer is going to come back to the pack and I'm going to hear about this already. I can tell by even suggesting it. So then what does that leave us with? Coney should be okay. Mount Blue. 0:21:33 C: Mount Blue, I believe still has Evan sterling, so they'll be strong. Nokomis loses Madden white, but they still have Dawson. And the Hartsgrove kid, and I think Alex Grant, the junior point guard, I think they'll still have so they'll be strong. Skowhegan loses Adam Savage, who really good player down low. 0:22:01 Adam: And the lapages. 0:22:02 C: Right. And the le pages. 0:22:03 Lucas: Yeah. 0:22:03 C: So they'll be a totally different team, but they have Adam Fitzgerald, who's I think going to be a sophomore next year, a guard who can just shoot the lights out. And he was a big reason they beat Brewer in that regular season game. He hit four threes in the first half wow. And gave him a lead. 0:22:19 Lucas: Yeah. 0:22:19 C: He was unbelievable. So he'll be fun to watch. So I think it'll be a lot of fun. It's going to be oh, and the Messalonskee team. 0:22:27 Adam: I was going to say that Messalonskee kid. I forget his name, but he looked vastly improved. Even, like, over the course of the tournament. Looked like he was getting better. 0:22:36 Lucas: Yeah. 0:22:36 C: I'm trying to look up his name, but he's, I think, like six foot nine and can really do it all. Hang on. Oh, merrick Smith. 0:22:49 Lucas: Yeah. 0:22:49 C: He's going to be a junior next year. He beat number two, Nokomis in the first round on a buzzer beater. He's really good. They'll be a strong team. Camden Hills, who gave Brewer a run in the first game of the tournament. They'll be strong again. I think they bring back a good amount, and I think they're sort of. 0:23:08 Adam: In a rebuilding process that's starting to take hold. 0:23:13 C: Right. 0:23:14 Lucas: Yeah. 0:23:14 C: They went a couple of years ago. They were one in 17 or something like that. Yeah. 0:23:19 Adam: They were really down around the time that Jeff Hart retired. And then so the new coach has been sort of putting things back together. 0:23:27 C: Right. So that'll be a really fun really even grouping up top with I'm sure Brewer will. Ben Goodwin said he's got a couple of sophomores that are going to be juniors that are going to be strong, and a couple of kids off the bench. 0:23:42 Adam: That kid, number twelve, looked like he had some real potential coming off the bench. 0:23:50 Lucas: Yeah. 0:23:51 C: Cayenne philbrick, I think yeah, he's the one that got hit in the head with the ball from Adam Savage in that game, but yeah. No, he's really talented. He's got a lot of athleticism, and he'll get a much bigger role next year. They only really played like seven guys down the stretch, so they're going to have a lot of more kids getting time. So they'll be an interesting team, too. So a lot of teams at the top of a north, boys that could make some noise. 0:24:20 Adam: That's always an interesting region. It's always deep and there's always a lot of talent in it. And I think depending on how the classification shakes out, hamden might be coming back into that group yes. 0:24:36 C: With this proposal right now, Hampden is going to be in that group, and they've got Landon Gabriel and Zach McLaughlin coming back so if they're down in A, I think you have to make them the front runners. I totally thank you for that because I totally forgot about that point. 0:24:53 Lucas: Yeah. 0:24:53 Adam: They had that one year where they were bad, which I'm not sure what happened there, but they were just terrible for one year. And then they seem to be back on the business. 0:25:03 Lucas: Yeah. 0:25:04 C: Zach Mcgollin can score with the best of them and shoot from anywhere. He's really fun. And so, yeah, they'll be a real good team. And I think probably the top of the pack, them and Nokomis and Cony, that'll be a really fun group. 0:25:18 Adam: And then in the South, I just always assume Falmouth is going to be in the mix because it just seems like they're always in the mix. It seems like you can't kill them no matter what you try to do. 0:25:31 C: Yep. 0:25:32 Adam: So who else you would greeley will probably be making seems like they had their bad year this year, where they were like, only the what, the five? 0:25:43 C: Yeah, only the 510 and eight. Very down. 0:25:49 Adam: The depths of Mediocrity there. 0:25:55 C: No, they'll probably be right back up again. Westbrook had a real good season, and I'm sure they'll be there. Gray Nugster, they had a really strong I don't know that people saw 15 and three coming from Gray, but Ryan De Chain is a really good coach. They'll be there and then Falmouth. 0:26:14 Lucas: Yeah. 0:26:14 C: I just assume in basketball and soccer that they're just going to have guys that play really hard and shoot well and just make it really tough on you, like they tried to do against Nokomis and then they really did against Brewer. They slowed it down and made it tough on them. So, yeah, they'll probably be at the top, too. 0:26:35 Adam: It's good to have those programs that you can count on to be there every year, because then except for the year that they're bad and you're like, I don't understand what's happening. What's wrong with the world? Why is Hampden two and 16? What multiverse are we in now? I'm confused. 0:26:52 C: Right? 0:26:53 Lucas: Yeah. 0:26:53 C: No, dave Halligan is too good. It seems to have too many of those years. It's like Edward Little. This year was in a North Boys was six and twelve. It's like, what happened? 0:27:06 Adam: And some of those programs, you don't even look at the roster. You're just like, well, they'll be fine. 0:27:12 Lucas: Yeah. 0:27:13 Adam: I don't know. 0:27:13 C: They'll figure out somebody to put in. 0:27:15 Lucas: Right? Yeah. 0:27:17 Adam: It's like when Medomak lost their entire starting lineup from last year to this year, and I was like, oh, no, they'll be the four seed. 0:27:26 C: Yeah. Oh, darn it. 0:27:30 Adam: Sure enough, they were the four seed. 0:27:32 Lucas: Yeah. 0:27:32 C: Right now, some groups just reload, man. 0:27:36 Adam: I mean, that's the youth program, right? If you have a good youth program, it's really easy to reload. 0:27:42 Lucas: Yeah. 0:27:43 C: Ellsworth, they've talked to me about theirs. Edward Little. I know, being from Auburn, that all any kid does in the summer is go to the gym and play basketball there at the school. Oxford Hills is building. That Bangor Brewer. They usually have good youth programs. So yeah, some of these groups, they just get it greeley. Like we said, they'll be back up just because they're greeley. There's a lot of teams that I'm excited about. We haven't gotten to AAA North, though. 0:28:15 Lucas: Yeah. 0:28:15 Adam: Let's do AAA north. Or just, I guess AAA. 0:28:18 C: Yeah, it's just right. You're right. It's just double A this year. 0:28:20 Adam: Now, assuming this goes through yeah. 0:28:22 C: Which we have the appeals meeting tomorrow, which they'll probably kick me out of until the end. 0:28:29 Adam: Well, it's your fault. This is what I was told. 0:28:31 Lucas: Yeah. 0:28:32 C: No, it is. It's my fault, which is fair. Yeah. I knew what was happening and Dave Dyer was tweeting a couple of things too, but I'm not putting him under the bus. I've already talked to him about it. I was like, it was our fault and mostly my fault, and he said, yeah. So anyways, they have their appeal meeting. I'm sure there will be a couple of teams that won't be happy about it, but we should have a statewide next year. So what do you think about that? 0:28:58 Adam: I think anything that gets a real region out of AA is a good idea. I think somebody's going to be upset no matter what ends up happening because that's just how the way the world works. But I mean, you can't have a region with seven teams in it. That's so stupid. 0:29:17 Lucas: Yeah. 0:29:18 C: No, it doesn't serve any kind of purpose. So I am glad that they're just making it one thing. I think they should probably try that with D as well. 0:29:29 Adam: I thought it made more sense for D. Yeah. Honestly, because from a company, it's a real question with D whether or not teams will be able to feel the roster in a given year. If you're in North Haven and you've only got eight girls in the whole school and you can't exactly get schools from a neighboring town because you can't really rely on school choice and it's probably pretty hard to recruit people on the sly. 0:30:03 Adam: So really, I think the statewide thing helps you there a lot because you don't have to worry about there only being six teams in D South some year and then the next year maybe there's twelve. 0:30:16 C: Yeah, right. Random teams had to bow out this year just because of numbers like rangeley, which usually really strong programs, especially on the girls side. They couldn't even field a team. And then Massabesic, which AA team makes no sense, but that's just how main high school sports are going, I guess, in the trajectory. 0:30:41 Adam: But they were able to field a JV team and play JV games, so they could have put together a team. They just didn't want to get blown out every night. 0:30:52 C: Right. 0:30:52 Lucas: Yeah. 0:30:52 C: And I think. Losing and then getting to the point where you can't field the team and then you don't want to. What is it? You have to miss, like, two years. 0:31:03 Adam: If you can't complete the season. Yeah, but I feel like that's probably flexible. 0:31:11 Lucas: Yeah. 0:31:14 Adam: Let's say you're Seacoast Christian and you have six kids and one of them breaks their leg and another one tears an ACL and you can't complete the season. I can't imagine the MPA is going to be like, no, too bad. 0:31:28 C: Sorry. 0:31:29 Adam: Two year man. 0:31:30 C: Right. Shout out to them, by the way. 0:31:32 Lucas: Oh, yeah. 0:31:33 Adam: That was impressive. That Forrest Hills game where they had four fouls on three players, and those three players are just not playing defense for the last four minutes of the game. 0:31:44 Lucas: Yeah. 0:31:45 C: Right. 0:31:45 Adam: And I don't mean that in a derogatory way. They're just straight hands up. 0:31:49 C: Yeah. 0:31:49 Adam: I'm right here. I'm not touching anybody. 0:31:52 C: Not even giving the reps a choice, right? 0:31:54 Lucas: Yeah. 0:31:54 Adam: Not giving you anything that you could even theoretically call on. Me just staying in the game. 0:32:00 Lucas: Yeah. 0:32:00 C: It was awesome. Sorry. Go ahead. 0:32:06 Adam: Okay, so, Double A, what do we think? Let's assume it's one region for fun. 0:32:10 Lucas: Yeah. 0:32:11 C: So what do we got? So Bonny Eagle loses Bouchard, I think, right. The tall six foot nine kid who I guess a coach was telling me that he runs his own business and he has, like, six employees. Like, has no intention of playing basketball in college. 0:32:33 Lucas: Yeah. 0:32:33 C: He's just got a plan and he's going with it. So that's awesome. Good for him. 0:32:36 Lucas: Yeah. 0:32:37 C: Gorham boys. Had a good season. I don't really know too much about what they bring back, but they were 13 and five this year. 0:32:44 Adam: Lewiston loses decayne. 0:32:46 Lucas: Yeah. 0:32:46 C: In the north. Lewiston loses decayne. He's going to Palmfrit School to play for his former assistant coach, Ronnie Turner. So that's very cool. Oxford Hills is going to lose Tegan Pelletier to a prep school because he's going to go play on that Maine United team with Cooper and Ace Flag. 0:33:06 Adam: I don't know a ton about AAU. So does he have to reclassify to get on that AAU team? 0:33:12 C: Yeah, he's got to reclassify a year down. That's what Landon Clark had to do as well, leaving Bangor. So he can't come back to Oxford Hills by doing that. So he'll be gone. 0:33:24 Adam: It's not based on your age. It's based on what class you're in. 0:33:28 C: It's graduating year. 0:33:30 Adam: Okay. 0:33:31 Lucas: Yeah. 0:33:31 C: So they all have to be on the same line. So he'll be gone. So that makes Oxford Hills a weaker team. And also Cole Palkin graduates. I think the guards at Portland, remy, Joanne and the other guy that was just in the McDonald's game, he's gone also. So they're going to be weaker. Cheverus loses. Silvano Hanbin is going to drop. Edward Little still has Marshall Adams. Mike Adams kid for another year. He can shoot the lights out. So they might take a step up, but it looks like AA might be. 0:34:09 Adam: Pretty open and a couple of teams are going up, right? No. 0:34:14 C: Yes. 0:34:14 Adam: Depending I'm trying to remember which one we're on now, but I know on some of them, teams were going up. Yeah, noble might be going down, but they might petition to stay up. 0:34:28 C: Right. That was the thing. There's a couple of groups that can go down that might not want to go down or stuff like that. 0:34:36 Lucas: Yeah. 0:34:36 Adam: I think what I've heard a little bit about Noble is that they might petition up. 0:34:45 C: Okay. 0:34:45 Adam: But I don't have anything solid on that. I don't know that they want to play. Do they even want to play an A South schedule? 0:34:53 C: Yeah, that, too. 0:34:55 Adam: Or they want to keep playing the teams that are already playing and they are on the rebound. They finally got in the tournament after so many years. Well, they always were in the tournament, but because it's stupid. But they finally got into the competitive part of the tournament. And I don't know if it's me and I'm coaching that team, I'm like, no, we're staying. We fought this much to get this good again, and let's see what we can do with it. 0:35:28 C: Yeah, no, I would try to run it. I also wish that we can move down, but I wish that we could also move up if teams wanted to move up A class. Oh, that's true. Yeah, that's true. They can just nobody does, because that's what Cheverus does. Cheverus says they want to play in the top group. 0:35:52 Adam: How funny would it be if Cheverus just said, no, we're good. 0:35:59 C: What would it be like? 0:36:00 Lucas: Yeah. 0:36:00 Adam: B or C. We'll play in B or C. Sure. Just for fun. 0:36:05 C: Just over. 0:36:06 Adam: Give it a shot. 0:36:08 C: Yeah. Oh, my God. The teams that they were let's go to Sea South. Who would they they'd be playing old Orchard Beach. 0:36:14 Lucas: Yeah. 0:36:15 C: A lot of Boothbay, Waynflete. I'd just be mean. 0:36:21 Adam: It'd be pretty entertaining if they did. 0:36:22 C: It for, like, two years. It would be pretty fun. They'll probably be pretty good. Chevrolet, I'm trying to think, oh, Scarborough has this freshman that trophy mode made a video on my friend Matt, class of 2026\. So I think that means he's going to be a sophomore next year. Spencer booth for Scarborough. They'll be strong because that AAA South also loses a lot. Thornton loses Will Davies. South Portland loses that's Mr. Basketball. 0:36:53 Adam: Will Davies to you. 0:36:54 C: Yeah. Mr. Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year. Will Davies. 0:36:58 Adam: Get it right. 0:36:59 Lucas: Yeah. 0:37:00 C: My bad. No, I mean, if you win it, you should have that on your title. 0:37:04 Adam: If you win an Oscar, they'd call you Academy Award winner for the rest of your life. It seems fair, right? 0:37:09 C: No, that's on me. So it looks wide open. Do you have any thoughts on AA? 0:37:15 Adam: Not really. I just am thrilled that they're going to most likely have to play a real regular season and that they're going to have to learn how to do heal points again because for the longest time, they were just all in the tournament. And I love the idea that now they aren't guaranteed a playoff spot and they have to actually earn their way in like everybody else. 0:37:38 Lucas: Yes. 0:37:38 Adam: I think it's going to be good for my site traffic. 0:37:41 Lucas: Yes. 0:37:42 C: And then it's good because I think one of the reasons they did this was because people were complaining that playing the first round of games at the higher seed didn't feel like the playoffs. And so they want to, by doing this, have eight teams and be able to play the games in Portland and make it actually feel like a tournament. 0:38:02 Adam: Would they all play the Cross Insurance Arena, the hockey rink, or they would play all of them. 0:38:10 C: Yeah, the CIA. So they always say that it's very expensive there, but they'll get they played. 0:38:16 Adam: At the Expo one year for double. 0:38:21 C: Probably from what I remember, just in my couple of years doing this, it's been at the Cross Insurance Arena, at least for like I would do Edward Little games and stuff. Maybe the south plays game or two in the Expo. 0:38:33 Adam: I have heard some rumors that they might start flexing stuff a little bit, which would be interesting. And I think the B title game was an example of that, where, from what I've heard, if they could have gone to the Civic Center for that, they would have gone to the Civic Center for it instead of the Expo. But the expo did fine. It did great for that night. But every single team in that game, the Civic Center is closer. 0:39:02 Lucas: Yes. 0:39:04 C: Right. 0:39:05 Adam: It would have made a lot of sense to send them there. Or if you've got AA playoff game between Edward Little and Bangor. 0:39:16 C: Right. 0:39:17 Adam: Maybe play that at the Civic Center. And then maybe if you've got Old Orchard Beach playing, whoever do that, send that from Augusta to the Expo, which makes a lot of sense for everybody. 0:39:33 Lucas: Yeah. 0:39:33 C: And that's what they wanted to do with that short lived Class S idea that they had. Rest in peace. They wanted to do flex tournament scheduling through the whole thing. So it would just be like by matchup, and they would have openings where they just plug in games. 0:39:50 Adam: Yeah, it's just looking like, oh, we could just swap these two things here. What I want them to do is and I was pitching this to somebody at the MPA during tournament week is if you've got that block of quarterfinal games and you got like the 09:00 P.m game have that be the two teams that are the closest to the arena and not don't have that one be Caribou versus Presque Isle. Just because Caribou Presque Isle is the one eight game. 0:40:23 Adam: Do that one earlier so those people can get home sometimes before four in the morning. 0:40:28 C: Right. 0:40:28 Adam: And maybe don't make vinyl haven play the 830 in the morning game when. 0:40:34 C: They have to compare it to what they have to do. Right. Yeah. That was incredible. They were in overtime and people were packing up and leaving because they have to go get catch the ferry. 0:40:44 Adam: And it almost went double overtime. 0:40:46 Lucas: Yeah. 0:40:47 C: Right. Which would have just you can just see the parish. 0:40:50 Adam: No double overtime. Just lose the game. We're not winning the state title this year. 0:40:56 C: Right. 0:40:57 Adam: We had a comeback. 0:40:59 Lucas: Yeah. 0:41:01 Adam: All right, so do you want to make predictions of our state winners for next year so that we can freezing cold takes it a year from now or you can do a victory lap a year from now. 0:41:15 C: Yeah, true. Okay, so let's see. 0:41:20 Adam: Okay, so AA. Give me your state champion. 0:41:23 C: State champion. And AAA. Man, it's so hard because we just went through all these teams that are losing people because I figure Cheverus. Cheverus. You know what? I'll go Cheverus. I'll pick Cheverus to win because they have Leo McNabb and they have another kid that I think is on that main united team. So I'll pick them. 0:41:49 Adam: Okay, so Cheverus. All right. So I kind of agree with you. Just to be difficult, I'm going to take south Portland because if they're going to lose everybody yeah, why not? Yeah. Clearly they're doing something there. 0:42:05 Lucas: Yeah. Right. 0:42:06 C: Something's working. 0:42:08 Adam: Something's working. All right. What do you think? 0:42:13 C: Oh, man. So we've gone over that. Nokomis brings back some people. Coney and mount blue. Do falmouth probably, right? Assume so. They lose judd Armstrong, though, who I really love watching. He had a real strong year. Let's see. I got to make a pick. We'll go with so hard. 0:42:44 Adam: I need the jeopardy. 0:42:45 C: Theme right now. Hampden is dropping down. If Hampden drops down, I'll pick. 0:42:50 Adam: There you go. I'm going to go with greeley because ten and eight is too far into the wasteland for them, and I feel like they'll write the ship. It might take them overtime, but they'll do it. 0:43:02 Lucas: Yeah. 0:43:03 C: No, I don't hate that at all. 0:43:05 Adam: All right, so, b, what do we think? 0:43:08 C: Well, with oceanside going up, that's crazy. 0:43:12 Adam: It's the winner of b north probably wins the state game 100%. 0:43:16 Lucas: Yeah. 0:43:17 C: And it's crazy because if you'll have Ellsworth, oceanside and Orono three teams that could win the state title and one of them is not going to get to the regional final, I will pick ellsworth to win. It seems like kind of a lame pick just because they've lost once or twice in the last two years, but I think that chance mercier will get them there. 0:43:48 Adam: I tend to agree with you. I feel like I'm not allowed to pick Oceanside because I will be disowned. So there's that. I kind of feel like old town. Yeah, maybe. 0:44:08 C: Why not, right? 0:44:09 Adam: Yeah, why not? Okay. 0:44:10 C: See, this is a tough one. We've gone over. Calais loses people. Dexter loses people. Fort Kent, they should be good, but it's like, who do they bring back? And then it's the competition. They play it's that kind of MVC thing. They play just MVC teams and they come tournament and stuff. I'll go Mount Abram just to be different. I like what they're building there. And I'll just go mount Abram. 0:44:46 Adam: I'm going to go Old Orchard Beach with the caveat that they get rid of those color on color uniforms. If they keep those white number on the white uniform uniform, then I rescind my pick. 0:45:01 C: That's fair. 0:45:02 Lucas: Yeah. 0:45:03 C: Good take. 0:45:03 Adam: All right. 0:45:04 C: So d Class d it's too easy to just pick Southern Aroostook again. 0:45:10 Adam: Yeah, it's no fun. 0:45:11 C: No. So I'm going to take Bangor Christian. 0:45:14 Adam: It's a good one. Let me think. I'm going to go out on a limb with Valley, all right. Because I feel like they might be the best team left in D South with no Desjardins around. I think that might be valid window. 0:45:37 C: And I'm wearing the Forest Hills hat, so no disrespect, but yeah, I think they're out of Desjardins and that's a pretty big loss every time they lose one. 0:45:50 Adam: Was Cooper Daigle. Was he a senior? 0:45:54 C: Cooper DAGLE three. 0:45:56 Adam: I think he had the longer hair. 0:45:58 C: Yeah, I believe he was. 0:46:01 Adam: That's a lot to lose. 0:46:03 C: So I don't hate valley, but I like the Bangor Christian team. I love Jalen Reed. And they gave Southern Roost, like, a really good run in the quarter finals, no semifinals. So I'll pick them. 0:46:17 Adam: All right. Is Machias losing people because they had a really strong regular season? 0:46:25 C: Yeah, they had a very strong season, and it was because of Shane Feeney, who was an all region McDonald's guy, but he does leave, he's a senior. And so they'll drop a little bit just because Shane Feeney did it all for him. He was six four. He should have been their big man, and he was at times, but he was also their best ball handler, so he was the offense. So they lose him and that the Ferguson kid who shot it well in the tournament. So yeah, they'll drop a little bit just because of graduation. 0:46:58 C: Right. 0:46:59 Adam: Okay. So do we think this classification thing is going to pass? 0:47:06 C: They're running out of time, right? 0:47:08 Adam: I mean, they got to do something. They have to make a decision. 0:47:12 C: I think it will I think you'll have a couple of teams that will complain, but you literally can't make every single team in the state happy. 0:47:22 Adam: Right. 0:47:23 C: And I think that this five class thing makes a lot more sense than the four class one just because with the four class one, you had teams dropping like, two classes with the relegation stuff. So I think the five class thing will pass, and I think we'll have a clear idea of things pretty soon. 0:47:41 Adam: Do we want to make a prediction of how many teams petition to stay up? 0:47:47 C: To stay up when they can stay down? 0:47:49 Adam: Yeah, when they could they could drop, because the clarification I got from Mike Burnham is they're not petitioning to go down. They petition to stay up. Because, honestly, it's a better look for the school to say, no, we believe in our kids, and we think they can compete in the higher class versus, please send us down to a lower class. You can't take this anymore. It's a very different look for the athletic department between those two things. 0:48:19 C: Yeah, that's a real good point. I think it's probably about, like, two teams a class. Right. That could drop down. 0:48:27 Adam: Yeah, it's something like that. There's three and a couple, but then some only have one. 0:48:35 C: I'll say, like, 50%. I wanted to say, like, 75% of the teams will stay up, but I think there will be teams that will be like, okay, yeah, we're good to drop. But actually, I'll say 75% stay up because I've talked to some coaches, and the Ads don't like that the boys and girls are split up, because then scheduling anything is that much harder for regular season stuff. I think there will be a lot of the tournament try to stay together. 0:49:05 Lucas: Yeah. 0:49:05 C: And then it was the tournament, too. 0:49:13 Adam: If your boys team is playing in the Civic Center and your girls team is playing at the Expo, that could be tricky. 0:49:20 C: Yeah, exactly. For a whole lot of reasons, then in the regular season, it's just trying to schedule games and practices around those games against different people and different times. And so, yeah, I think there will be a lot of teams that try to stay together as best they can. 0:49:36 Adam: Cool. All right, so now let's talk March Madness, because that's starting. This is going to be released on Thursday, which will be March Madness Day. So, I realized that I've been watching so much high school basketball. I've watched almost no college basketball this year. Did you know that Coach Kay retired? 0:49:58 Lucas: Yeah. 0:50:02 C: It was a pretty funny way. He lost his last regular season game to North Carolina, and then I think he lost in the Final Four to North Carolina. So if you don't like Duke, it was a pretty funny way to go out. Right. But they're right back into they're playing their best basketball at the right time because, of course they are. They're Duke, so they're a scary team. I think they're, like, a five seed. 0:50:22 Adam: They're a five, but they also have, like, the scariest twelve seed from what I the five minutes worth of research I did. 0:50:29 Lucas: Yeah. 0:50:30 C: I don't know where my bracket? I can pull it up on my. 0:50:32 Adam: Computer here, but, yeah, I'm going to pull mine up. We'll give everybody our final four picks. 0:50:37 Lucas: Yes. 0:50:38 Adam: So I did no research, which means I will have a perfect bracket. 0:50:42 C: Yeah, you'll do really well. 0:50:43 Adam: I'm going to do amazing all right, so here's what I got. I have Baylor, Purdue, which I don't feel good about at all. Houston and Gonzaga is my Final Four, and then I have Houston winning the whole thing. 0:50:58 C: Okay. All right. I'm still trying to get to mine. I don't know why this is so difficult. I know that I had you said you had Purdue. 0:51:07 Adam: Yeah, and I feel not great about that. Yeah, but I've done it. It's done. What's done is done. 0:51:12 C: Yeah, exactly. What are you going to do it's there? Let me get to it. I have Alabama. I really like Alabama. 0:51:22 Adam: Did they have a kid who's going to jail or is that somebody else? 0:51:25 C: Yeah, they had a kid who has been, I think, arrested for possible murder stuff, and then they have a kid who their best player, Brandon Miller got roped into it. But it seems like the guy that did the killing, from what I heard, left his gun with Brandon Miller in his car and had Brandon, like, bring it back. And he's like, okay, yeah, I'll give. 0:51:57 Adam: It a murder weapon. 0:51:58 C: And then that gun was used to kill people, I guess, allegedly. So he got roped into it, but the cops didn't charge him with anything. So, yeah, it's a whole big thing. But as a basketball team, I really. 0:52:12 Adam: Like Alabama as a collection of individuals. 0:52:15 C: Maybe not exactly sure. So I have Alabama, and then I have Memphis beating Purdue and then beating Duke for some reason, and I have them getting to the national championship. That's where I was like, I don't know what happened, but here we go. 0:52:34 Adam: I love how everyone has a bracket where they're like, I don't know how I have St. Mary's in the Final Four. 0:52:39 C: I don't know how that happened for a second. Yeah, I've got Indiana on the other side, and then I have UCLA also, but I'm an Indiana fan. 0:52:49 Adam: I was going to say, did you forget that you were doing the boys bracket while you did the Indiana part? 0:52:54 C: Right. Mackenzie Holmes yeah, so well, no, I know. I've watched a lot of Indiana, and I think they can beat anybody and they can also lose to anybody. 0:53:06 Adam: That's always fun. Yeah, that's who you want to really stake your bracket on. Can they win the whole thing? 0:53:12 Lucas: Yes. 0:53:13 Adam: Could they lose in the first round also? Yes. 0:53:15 C: Also yes. 0:53:16 Adam: Ride or die. 0:53:18 Lucas: Yes. 0:53:18 C: My team then I have Alabama winning it all. 0:53:21 Lucas: Okay. 0:53:24 Adam: Who's the team you're most excited to see in the tournament or what's the game? Is there a first round game where you're like you've already told the Bangor Daily News that you will not be available for anything for these 2 hours. 0:53:38 C: Right. So let's see. The Memphis FAU game will be really fun just because Memphis just won their conference and they're really strong, and FAU has, like, a seven foot white kid who I guess is really good. So that'll be fun. And what I'm really scared about is Indiana's first game against Kent State. That's a four and 13 matchup. Who. A lot of people have picked that 13 to win. So that's the game that I'm very nervous about. 0:54:11 Adam: So your bracket might just die real? 0:54:13 C: Yeah, we could lose it all in the first day, but that's all right. That's why we do it. 0:54:18 Adam: I mean, yeah, that's the whole point. You try to explain to people they're doing their first bracket, they get, like, devastated when their picks are wrong. It's like, yeah, your picks are all going to be wrong eventually. 0:54:30 C: Right, exactly. 0:54:32 Adam: Enough years, you have a year where you're just, like, completely toast on the first day. 0:54:37 C: Right. 0:54:38 Adam: And then you'll have some years where you're like, holy shit, I won the whole thing. 0:54:41 C: Yeah, right. Even getting to the weekend and you still have, like, three of your four final four teams is a win in my book. 0:54:49 Adam: My wife, one year, who watches zero college basketball, one year, she got to the what was it? She was in the 100th percentile. 0:54:58 C: Wow. 0:54:58 Adam: She's, like, in the top on the ESPN thing. She was in the 100th percentile on, like, I think it was in the Sweet 16. 0:55:05 C: Holy cow. 0:55:06 Adam: Something like that. She went real deep. It was crazy. And my brother was freaking out. 0:55:11 C: Right. 0:55:12 Adam: He's like, you don't even know anything about any of these teens. She's like, no, not really. 0:55:19 C: I worked in an elementary school for a couple of years last and last year we did a bracket with some of the kids, and I just told them what the mascot were, and we just picked mascots. We didn't do well. That's all right. 0:55:32 Adam: You would think they would do well with that. It's a good system. 0:55:35 C: Yeah, I did it with one kid where I just told him two names and he just told me which names to pick, and we were in, like, the 95th percentile until the final game on Friday when San Diego State, like, a seven seed lost, and that was in his final. So we lost everything. We were killing it for a little bit. 0:55:57 Adam: Yeah. All right, well, do you have anything you've got coming up at the BDN right now? Any cool stories that you can leak? 0:56:08 C: Yeah, I talked to Ed Kotala, the Orono head coach, boys basketball coach, about just the state championship and how it compares to the 81 championship and all that. That's a cool thing. And then in a couple of weeks, we'll have our basketball teams of the year coming out for boys and girls for the whole state. So you can get mad about that. 0:56:29 Adam: So you're picking one boys team and one girls team for the whole state. 0:56:33 C: 1St, second, and third teams for boys and for girls. 0:56:37 Adam: Oh, the normal players. The BDN does has been doing forever since, what, at least since the 60s? Because my uncle was in it in the it had been going on for a while then, I think. 0:56:55 Lucas: Yeah. 0:56:55 C: Whole state. We're sending out polls to a bunch of coaches to see who they like to watch, and I'll go from there. But not everyone's going to be happy. But that's all right. 0:57:06 Adam: That's the whole point. 0:57:07 Lucas: Yes. 0:57:08 Adam: And it'll just be there forever of your choices and the time you pissed off half the state. 0:57:15 C: Yes. 0:57:16 Adam: It'll be beautiful. And then you've got your show. Are you and Larry still doing the show in the offseason, or are you just going to pivot it to, like, spring sports? 0:57:23 C: I think we'll just pivot it to spring sports in a couple of weeks when baseball and softball get going here. Pretty soon. 0:57:30 Adam: If it stops snowing. 0:57:31 C: Yeah, if it ever stops snowing. But yeah, keep an eye out for that. And that's what we got. 0:57:38 Adam: Cool. Well, thank you for joining me. 0:57:40 Lucas: Yeah. 0:57:41 C: Thanks, Lucas. 0:57:41 Lucas: Yeah. 0:57:42 Adam: This has been a lot of fun. We'll have to do it again. 0:57:44 C: Yes, anytime. ### Awards Season URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/awards_season/ Last updated: 2023-03-16T11:51:11.000Z If you're like me, you probably spent a lot of time watching *Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom* and *Goonies*, so this Oscars moment was pretty damned cool. > A full circle moment for Harrison Ford and Ke Huy Quan at the [#Oscars](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oscars?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). 😭 [pic.twitter.com/3Ij846mobL](https://t.co/3Ij846mobL?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — E! News (@enews) [March 13, 2023](https://twitter.com/enews/status/1635132972499357697?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) My friend Sam Fragoso has a fantastic podcast called *Talk Easy*. He interviewed Ke Huy Quan in advance of the Oscars and, well, Quan has quite the story (and Sam's a really good interviewer). It's definitely worth a listen. [Ke Huy Quan – Talk Easy with Sam FragosoKe Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”) on his return to the screen, this historic moment in Hollywood, and his path to the Oscars.![](https://i0.wp.com/talkeasypod.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/cropped-favicon.png?fit=192%2C192&ssl=1)Talk Easy with Sam Fragosokaroline ribak![](https://talkeasypod.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Ke-Huy-Quan-Clean-1024x1024.jpg)](https://talkeasypod.com/ke-huy-quan-oscars/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I loved this movie so much. When I saw it a couple of months ago, I thought it might get nominations for editing and screenplay and actress, but was too bold and weird to win anything. So I'm thrilled that it cleaned house. Speaking of the filmmakers, I also loved *Swiss Army Man* and *The Death of Dick Long*, which you should definitely check out. Also, *The Banshees of Inisherin* is great. As is *Tár*, from the director of the [best movie ever made in Maine](https://letterboxd.com/film/in-the-bedroom/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- But those aren't the awards we're here to talk about. At the Maine Association of Basketball Coaches banquet the other day, they handed out the Mr. and Miss Basketball Awards. Just a quick reminder that this is a 4 year award. This is NOT Player of the Year. As expected, Gardiner's Lizzy Gruber won Miss Basketball. She put up video game numbers all season and had really been doing so since the first game of her freshman year. This has been a foregone conclusion since Opening Night and I'm pretty sure I said she would win this on the old website platform when she was still a freshman. Mr. Basketball was anyone's guess. You could have made a solid argument for 5-6 kids. Initially was going to be a clear-cut choice. If J.P. Estrella doesn't transfer to Brewster, he wins this in a rout. But that's clearly the smart move for him, so it left the door open for... Will Davies. We'll leave the replay jokes out of this. As I'm sure you know, Will's father Bob won Mr. Basketball in 1994 for OOB. This is the first father/son duo to win Mr. Basketball, which will make for some fun family gatherings. If you're a Brewer fan, you could make a pretty strong argument for Brady Saunders. The Cheverus faithful were all-in on Silvano Ismail. Dirigo is pretty annoyed that Charlie Houghton wasn't a finalist. Then yesterday, the Gatorade Player of the Year went to...also Will Davies. This was more of a surprise because I think a lot of people thought Chance Mercier was the front-runner and while Davies had a good year, usually when someone wins both of these awards, it's an obvious call. Like I said before, Davies is a deserving choice. I guess I'm surprised to get a sweep in a year that felt *so* wide-open. Mr. & Miss Basketball is decided by a 5-person selection committee consisting of media members and retired coaches. Which retired coaches? No one knows. The Gatorade POTY is decided by "an elite group of high school sport evaluators" and the Gatorade people refused to answer any of my questions for "privacy reasons". You know who *doesn't* do that? The Oscars. The Nobel Prize. The NBA MVP award. The Baseball Hall of Fame. The KVAC All-Conference awards. The list goes on. I guess all I'm saying is some transparency would be nice. Oh, and also the votes of this award are public knowledge: > ⭐️ AP All-America First Team. ⭐️ > > Congratulations [@kenzieholmes\_](https://twitter.com/kenzieholmes%5F?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ‼️ 🎉 > > — Indiana Women’s Basketball (@IndianaWBB) [March 15, 2023](https://twitter.com/IndianaWBB/status/1636034794847973377?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Hot damn. There's also some closing thoughts from the end of the season. We had 25 players reach the 1,000 points milestone. > 2023- 1,000 point scorers (updated) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/FqC24GO05J](https://t.co/FqC24GO05J?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — TheStatsGuy (@TheStatsGuy262) [March 10, 2023](https://twitter.com/TheStatsGuy262/status/1634199779310698497?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Orono boys are trying to get rings, so if you want to chip in, they [set up a GoFundMe](https://www.gofundme.com/f/orono-high-school-boys-varsity-basketball-team?utm%5Fcampaign=p%5Fcp+share-sheet&utm%5Fcontent=undefined&utm%5Fmedium=copy%5Flink%5Fall&utm%5Fsource=customer&utm%5Fterm=undefined). The transfers to prep schools have already started. > Yusuf Dakane announces he’s leaving Lewiston to attend Pomfret. Ronnie Turner, a former basketball coach at Lewiston and Bates, is the head coach at Pomfret. [pic.twitter.com/D2Jo1xumBv](https://t.co/D2Jo1xumBv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [March 10, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1634205938277072899?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Finally, in [Episode 3 of the Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mainebasketballrankings/episodes/3--Awards-Thoughts-and-a-Look-at-Next-Season-with-Adam-Robinson-of-the-Bangor-Daily-News-e20gtkk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) (available anywhere you do podcast things), I spoke to Adam Robinson of the Bangor Daily News about awards, classification, the early favorites for next year, and so much more! This was [pretty fun](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mainebasketballrankings/episodes/3--Awards-Thoughts-and-a-Look-at-Next-Season-with-Adam-Robinson-of-the-Bangor-Daily-News-e20gtkk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and we only screwed up, like, 3 times. There's the audio version on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/01kY6fE0w1X5ebm1EnUU27?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maine-basketball-rankings-podcast/id1675940033?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), etc, or you can watch the video version on YouTube. Subscribe! ### This is the End URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/this-is-the-end/ Last updated: 2023-03-09T01:23:57.000Z Let's start in Bangor. The Old Orchard Beach/Dexter game was projected to be the closest game of the slate, but maybe the Model didn't completely account for Elise MacNair, who had 21 of OOB's 35 points. > Old Orchard Beach defeats Dexter 35-24 and is your Class C girls state champ [pic.twitter.com/PfqsqsqUXn](https://t.co/PfqsqsqUXn?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan McLaughlin (@rmclaughlin23) [March 8, 2023](https://twitter.com/rmclaughlin23/status/1633260526032519169?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Elise MacNair leads Old Orchard Beach girls past Dexter for 1st Class C state titleOld Orchard Beach senior Elise MacNair poured in 21 points to lead her team to its first Class C state title, defeating Dexter 35-24.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsLarry Mahoney![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2023/03/Old-Orchard-Beach-vs-Dexter-Girls-State-Championship-KH-6-scaled.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/03/07/sports/tourney-time/old-orchard-beach-class-d-girls-state-champions/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's OOB's first girls Gold Ball. Pier Fries for everyone!!! --- We move to Portland, where thanks to the snowstorm and scheduling, we had a state game at the Expo for the first time since 1968\. Here's the radio broadcast from that year's small school game. As for the big game... > Last State Game at the Expo: 1968 Stearns 59 South Portland 57 OT > > Posted by [Maine Basketball Rankings](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings) on [Tuesday, March 7, 2023](https://graph.facebook.com/100063808093623/posts/647401507396780/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We didn't get an overtime last night, but we damn near got close. Closer than the floor was to being straight. > Welp [pic.twitter.com/8EbrXxmvas](https://t.co/8EbrXxmvas?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [March 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1633227933618782210?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) To say the Spruce Mountain girls came out of the gate cold is an understatement. In *Invasions of the Body Snatchers*, aliens take over the bodies of real Americans and everything is a little bit off, which is kind of how Spruce Mountain started the game. They were a half a step slow and couldn't buy a basket and looked very much like the team that hadn't had a chance to shoot at the state venue. Ellsworth built a lead behind Abby Radel (17 points) and Grace Jaffray (10 points and 16 rebounds). They had it as high as 21 in the 3rd quarter and it looked like we'd be seeing some JV minutes. Except, there were signs of life. After scoring 15 points in the first half, Spruce scored 18 in the 3rd quarter and after shooting 18% in the first quarter, they were 50% in the 3rd. But they were having trouble putting together stops, as Ellsworth kept responding. Spruce didn't quit. They got it to 15 after 3, which isn't amazing, but it was progress. And then they went on their run. They got it to single digits with 6 minutes left and you could sort of see the path to a comeback. The Phoenix forced 7 Ellsworth turnovers in the final quarter and went 10-13 from the line as the Eagles got into foul trouble while no one was paying attention. Spruce got it to 7 with 5 and a half minutes left when the officials decided it was a good time to fix the net. Everything stopped. We waited. It took 4 minutes, but it felt like forever. Spruce kept coming, fueled by Olivia Mastine and Jadyn Pingree (9 each in the 4th) and when Mastine gave Spruce Mountain their first lead of the game with 2:07 to play, the Expo was rocking. Radel answered almost immediately to re-gain the lead, then Jaydn Pingree took it back at the free throw line, giving Spruce a 2-point lead with 49 seconds to play. Ellsworth nearly turned it over on the next possession, but Addison Atherton kept the play alive and then knocked down a jumper from the free throw line to tie it. Spruce couldn't answer, Megan Jordan was fouled in the rebounding action, hit the first free throw, missed the second and Atherton came down with the rebound of her life. Atherton missed her free throw, Mastine grabbed the rebound and, well, the ending will be dissected in Jay until the end of time. > One of the great games in recent memory Ellsworth comes back to defeat SpruceMountain 57-56 to win the Class B State Championship! The Phoenix erasing a 15 point deficit to start the 4th!! [pic.twitter.com/pMBEzymXX5](https://t.co/pMBEzymXX5?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) [March 8, 2023](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME/status/1633267445593939970?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Maine Public has the replay up if you want to check it out. The high water mark for the Ellsworth lead was 40-19, if you just want to watch the rally. In the Class C Boys game, Ryan McLaughlin was there with updates as Dirigo won their second consecutive Gold Ball. Dirigo held Jace Cook to just 10 points in the game, but Calais was there until the very end in a back-and-forth game. Dirigo scored the final 6 points of the game. [Dirigo boys defeat Calais to repeat as Class C state championsThe Cougars from Dixfield withstood every punch Calais threw at them to win their second consecutive Class C state championship 65-58 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsRyan McLaughlin![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2023/03/Dirigo-vs-Calais-Boys-State-Championship-KH-13-scaled.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/03/07/sports/tourney-time/dirigo-boys-class-c-state-champions/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) After the ending of the girls game, the Expo was buzzing ahead of the B Boys game between Oceanside and Orono. Orono came out flying around. Ben Francis had 7 in the first quarter as the Red Riots raced out to a 20-12 lead. Oceanside made runs--they got that lead down to one mid-way through the second, but Orono always answered. Much like in the girls game, the team that had already played 3 games in the Expo was the one struggling to score. They were only 2-8 from deep in the first half while Orono was shooting 61.9% from the floor. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Orono started to pull away. Will Francis scored to put them up 11 with under a minute to go in the quarter. In the 4th quarter, they stretched the lead to 13 and led 60-49 with a 1:24 to go. And then the rally started. Carter Galley hit a 3 to get it to 8\. He hit a 3 to get it to 5\. Orono kept missing free throws (they were 3-9 from the line in the 4th). Carter Galley hit a NBA 3 to get Oceanside within 2 with 5.2 seconds left. He had 15 points in the 4th quarter and 27 on the game. Caden Gray hit a free throw, Alex Collins missed a half-court heave, and the Red Riots survived. > ORONO WINS CLASS B [pic.twitter.com/dugZGKpNgh](https://t.co/dugZGKpNgh?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [March 8, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1633294471889559552?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- And that's a wrap. All told, I saw 44 tourney games this year at 3 different venues and did live stats for [42 of them](https://public.stattracker.com/2022-23-mpa-tournament?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). I'm so very tired. Thanks so much to everyone who subscribed to this website and newsletter and made that possible. I had so much fun and it was a great season. This offseason, the plan is to keep the podcasts going, so subscribe on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/01kY6fE0w1X5ebm1EnUU27?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) or Apple Podcasts, and I'll have accurate Heal Points for the spring sports. The newsletters will keep coming, just less frequently. Because, hey, we've still got awards to hand out, like this one: > Our very own, Madigan Fitzpatrick, is the girls basketball Gatorade Player of the Year! We are so beyond proud of your accomplishments, Maddie! 💜💛 [pic.twitter.com/iehNsRrgZ7](https://t.co/iehNsRrgZ7?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Cheverus Athletics (@Cheverus\_Stags) [March 8, 2023](https://twitter.com/Cheverus%5FStags/status/1633614850793304065?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you're in the Midcoast, I'll be at the Midcoast All-Star Game at the MAC on Friday. It should be fun. Come say hi. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/unnamed.png) ### Ball Don't Lie URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ball-dont-lie/ Last updated: 2023-12-09T06:26:39.000Z But what if it's the wrong ball? That's the situation we found ourselves in during the 2nd quarter of the Girls AA Title game. With Gorham nursing a small lead and Oxford Hills ice-cold from the floor (they shot 3-18 in the first quarter), the officials called time disappeared into the bowels of the hockey area to get a new basketball. According to Oxford Hills coach Nate Pelletier, the ball was flat, so they subbed in a new ball. And boy did Oxford Hills prefer that new ball. After the new ball came in, Oxford Hills went to NBA Jam levels of hot, shooting 53% the rest of the way and blowing the doors off Gorham, even with the Rams getting this gift from the Peter Webb All-Stars. > It’s almost like the basketball gods are begging us for replay…………[@FunkFlashyRob](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@highiqreffan](https://twitter.com/highiqreffan?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/OkCQyARRYc](https://t.co/OkCQyARRYc?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — John Trull (@Jtrull23) [March 6, 2023](https://twitter.com/Jtrull23/status/1632889553185910784?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This was late at the end the of the half and looked late live, but it was certainly closer than the TA shot. Just to be clear, though, that would not be reviewable if we added replay, as you probably already know because you [read my column in the Bangor Daily News](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/03/04/sports/high-school-sports/blown-call-video-replay-tournament-joam40zk0w/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) on replay. There was no deliberation from the refs on this. Anyway, what looked like a brewing upset turned into a rout. Sierra Carson was simply too much for the Rams. She ended up with 9 steals and 5 assists, all of them seemingly to Tristen Derenburger for 3's. In the boys game, we had what can generously be described as a rock fight. > Portland: 3-21 (14.3%) > South Portland: 4-17 (23.5%) > > SoPo 17-13 at the half. > > This is not a good basketball game. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [March 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1632915711411597315?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Portland couldn't buy a basket and it was a lot of "put-back missed" on the iPad. South Portland's defense was a big part of it, but man was this a physical game that the refs weren't ready for. At all. There were multiple sequences where a player got hammered, only to keep going and get a touch foul later in the possession. It was the sort of game where both fan sections were booing the refs and I'm not sure I blame them. Even when Portland was trying to foul late, it was hard to know what they'd call. You know who had a great game? The Portland and South Portland student sections. > So good! So good! [pic.twitter.com/VxYufnuCPS](https://t.co/VxYufnuCPS?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [March 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1632918064369901568?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's too bad they're so far from the court. Portland never found the bottom of the basket--they hit some 3's late to make it sort of interesting, but shot 28% for the game--and South Portland won their 13th Gold Ball. --- In Bangor, Forest Hills brought presents. > Southern Aroostook and Forest Hills are warming up for the Class D boys final. The Forest Hills fans brought hundreds of these orange JACKMAN hats. Incredible. [pic.twitter.com/trR05AfB8n](https://t.co/trR05AfB8n?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [March 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1632903409928921089?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But it wasn't enough. [Southern Aroostook boys defeat Forest Hills for 2nd straight Class D state titleSouthern Aroostook finished off its undefeated season with an 83-56 victory over Forest Hills to win its second consecutive Class D gold ball.![](https://i0.wp.com/bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/06/BDN-logo-144x144-1-1.png?fit=144%2C144&ssl=1)Bangor Daily NewsAdam Robinson![](https://bdn-data.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2023/03/D-Boys-States-A-LCO.jpg)](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/03/06/sports/tourney-time/southern-aroostook-boys-class-d-state-champions/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Southern Aroostook sweeps the D games for the second year in a row. I'm not sure if that's ever been done before. --- At the Classification Meeting we got some more clarity on next season. As suspected, we're sticking with the 5 class system, but (as rumored) AA will be one region, so no longer will an 0-18 AA school automatically make the tourney! The MPA went into Executive Session for 3 hours for this, which feels excessive, but apparently they don't want people live-tweeting the back and forth of the discussion, which is fair. If you're wondering, the type of organization they are--legally--means they can go into Executive Session whenever they want and for whatever reason they feel like. I'm told there's still some errors and kinks to work out (Gardiner in A South?), but here's what we have right now. ### Boys ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-06-at-3.24.38-PM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-06-at-3.25.30-PM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-06-at-3.25.21-PM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-06-at-3.25.01-PM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-06-at-3.24.46-PM-1.png) ### Girls ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-06-at-3.23.15-PM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-06-at-3.23.06-PM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-06-at-3.22.49-PM-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-06-at-3.22.39-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-06-at-3.22.20-PM-1.png) The next meeting is March 16th ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/game_s_-of-the-day-2.png) It's the final day of the season and we've maybe saved the best for last, as all 4 games would normally be a shoe-in for the Game of the Day. I had Spruce Mountain coach Scott Bessey on to talk through all the games, scheduling, and more. This is working its way to podcast platforms, but it's already on Spotify, so you can listen in your car. Subscribe! [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/01kY6fE0w1X5ebm1EnUU27?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-07-at-10.18.40-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-07-at-10.18.24-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-07-at-10.17.58-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-07-at-10.17.40-AM.png) The Model's picks for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Witching Hour URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-witching-hour-2/ Last updated: 2023-03-06T19:08:17.000Z The atmosphere was electric in the Augusta Civic Center Friday night for the A State games. After 2 days of watching the weather reports, it was awesome to be watching actual basketball. In the girls game, Lawrence went on an 8-0 run in the first quarter to blow a close game open. By the third quarter, the Bulldogs had built a 13-point lead. Brunswick went on a 7-0 at the end of the third to get within striking distance, but Lawrence wasn't fazed. They got the lead back out to double-digits and coasted to a 58-43 win and their 6th Gold Ball. You're going to hear that Lawrence shot the lights out, but they really didn't. Hope Bouchard was 8/17 from the floor and the rest of the team shot 29%, which is their worst shooting performance of the tournament. What happened is that Lawrence did exactly what they had been doing for weeks and Brunswick didn't respond. They gave Hope Bouchard open looks and she made them pay and a lot of people were introduced to the Madalyn Provost Experience. As the student section helpfully reminded us, she's a freshman (can we please retire that chant? We get it.). --- In the Boys game, Brewer came out firing. They shot 60% from the field in the first quarter, racing out to a 15-5 lead behind several very open looks from 3\. But Falmouth adjusted and suddenly Brewer didn't have any open looks from deep. The Witches went 0-8 from 3 the rest of the way and 25% from the field. The vaunted Falmouth defense got to Augusta a little late, but they got there. Meanwhile, the Navigators put together a 9-0 run in the second quarter to get back in the game and a 9-2 run to start the third that put them in control. They pushed the lead to as high as 7\. But you knew Brewer would come back. They chipped away at the lead, finding points wherever they could get them. Down 2 with a minute and a half left, Brady Saunders missed a 3, Brewer fouled to stop the clock, and Lucas Dilworth hit 2 free throws to push the lead to 4 and it looked pretty bleak for the Witches. Ryder Goodwin made 2 free throws to get Brewer back within 2, but with Falmouth milking the clock, it would either come down to free throws or something strange. > Prediction: This game swings on a block/charge call > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [March 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1631838351652433920?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There were a lot of charges called in this game. But this wasn't one of them. 0:00 / 1× video courtesy of Maine Public It's kind of interesting that, in retrospect, this wasn't a bigger deal and playing on a loop on Twitter for the last 2 days. That's Ryder Goodwin attempting to take the charge and he'd already gotten 2 flop technicals in the A North Regionals. I think that's a legitimate charge, but it's certainly debatable. Paul Dilworth walked to the line already 4-5 from the line. And then he missed both of the free throws. If you're a Brewer fan, this is a classic example of "[Ball Don't Lie](https://fadeawayworld.net/nba-media/rasheed-wallace-reveals-where-his-iconic-line-ball-dont-lie-came-from?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)". The missed free throws meant Brewer didn't need a 3 to tie. They only needed a bucket. And they found one. Let's look at 4 different angles, shall we? > CAM HUGHES WINS IT FOR BREWER [pic.twitter.com/ldoCouHIEo](https://t.co/ldoCouHIEo?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [March 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1631842538477723651?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > Brewer wins states in a thriller! [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/ssYBrf7cbK](https://t.co/ssYBrf7cbK?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Bob Sacamano (@maineguy\_) [March 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/maineguy%5F/status/1631844778479419392?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > Brewer game winner 42-41 [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@bigtimehoopsME](https://twitter.com/bigtimehoopsME?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/EtppDxd8pe](https://t.co/EtppDxd8pe?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — James Butler (@jamesbutler2021) [March 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/jamesbutler2021/status/1631841660639346688?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > Blessed to be a STATE CHAMPION!! [@FunkFlashyRob](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@Coach\_Dugs](https://twitter.com/Coach%5FDugs?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@CoachStevensFB](https://twitter.com/CoachStevensFB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/Gs3uM2GJnI](https://t.co/Gs3uM2GJnI?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Cam Hughes (@camnhughes5) [March 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/camnhughes5/status/1632148862071627777?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You can really see how all alone Cam Hughes was for the game winner at the end of Tyler's video. > Tonight's hero- Cam Hughes. Forever champs- the Brewer Witches. They trailed all fourth quarter and most of the fourth- until 2.7 seconds to play. Hughes took a pass from a double teamed Brock Flagg and laid it in for the lead, and the win! [@BrewerWitches](https://twitter.com/BrewerWitches?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/73IRk2fekG](https://t.co/73IRk2fekG?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [March 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1631886978785394689?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Falmouth's defense was incredible for 23 minutes and 50 seconds, but those 10 seconds at the end and the 8 minutes in the first quarter was enough to get Brewer their first ever Gold Ball. > AGGGGGGGH STATE CHAMPS > > — Brewer Witches (@BrewerWitches) [March 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/BrewerWitches/status/1631841307609153537?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You can [purchase this as a t-shirt now](https://thewitchwardrobe.com/collections/2023-state-champs-gear?page=1&fbclid=IwAR19GA17Ymz-MlzNj1YxqKk8fA5hqwOkzAZMBA6cQ2DmeqbS1h8yPkYguUg&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- The Peter Webb All-Stars made an appearance in the Sun Belt. > Here's the reason why Troy protested the end of the game vs. Old Dominion in the Sun Belt Women's Tournament. > > Monarchs up 1 with the ball in final seconds. > > They also had SIX players on the floor. ODU scored a bucket to go up by 3\. Trojans missed tying 3 at buzzer. > > 86-83 final [https://t.co/sZ6Kd38eFe](https://t.co/sZ6Kd38eFe?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/nqmyPTqfdd](https://t.co/nqmyPTqfdd?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Chris Hudgison (@ChrisHudgison) [March 3, 2023](https://twitter.com/ChrisHudgison/status/1631788293531525120?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Seems like a fun way to have your season end. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/game_s_-of-the-day-1.png) I'm trying something a little different for today. It's become painfully obvious that I need to start a podcast (it was inevitable), so I invited Ethan Snow to talk through the AA and D state games today. This will find it's way to all your places that you listen to and/or watch podcasts. Subscribe! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-05-at-10.32.08-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-05-at-10.33.29-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-05-at-10.33.45-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-05-at-10.32.35-PM.png) The Model's predictions for today's Gold Ball games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Games? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/games/ Last updated: 2023-03-03T12:00:42.000Z In case you didn't see, the state games have been plunged into a completely shocking state of disarray by a surprise storm bearing down on us that we just started tracking...\[checks notes\]...last week. And yet it took until 4:23pm on Thursday for the MPA to send out the plan of what they might do and a large chunk of *that* depends on the hope that maybe the weather forecasts are wrong? Chris Popper of WDEA was first to report this. Here's what we know so far: Class A will play tonight. All Systems Go! Class B, originally scheduled for the Saturday afternoon session, will tentatively moved to Saturday night in Augusta with the girls at 7:05 and the boys at 8:45, which is roughly when the snow is supposed to stop and doesn't give people much time to dig out their cars and get there. If that doesn't work, they'll play Tuesday at the Expo (ugh). Class AA stays in the Saturday night slot at the hockey rink in Portland, but could move to Monday night. Class D moves to Monday night in Bangor. Class C likely stays as scheduled in Bangor on Saturday night. So the dream scenario for the MPA has games playing in Portland, Augusta, and Bangor on Saturday night, but there's a not small problem with that. Ready? > ┳┻| > ┻┳| > ┳┻| > ┻┳| > ┳┻| > ┻┳| > ┳┻| > ┻┳| > ┳┻| > ┻┳| > ┳┻| > ┻┳| > ┳┻| \_ > ┻┳| •.•) The MPA's plan means games > ┳┻|⊂ﾉ aren't on TV > ┻┳| > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [March 3, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1631446534486147072?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) MPBN only has 2 trucks. Which means they can only broadcast 2 games at a time. So if this plan works, there's a good chance the AA games won't be on TV. With some luck, they'll be streamed by someone. With more luck, the plan won't work. Of course, the storm might shift overnight and AA would push to Monday, which would solve that problem. If we're taking bets on it, I'd put the over/under on games played tomorrow at 3. In talking to people involved in the discussions this week, I learned there was an option on the table where A would play Friday night, D & C would be unchanged in Bangor on Saturday, and AA and B would move into Monday and Tuesday. And you know what? I really like that. It gives every class their own time in the spotlight and avoids the awkward situation where everyone's paying attention to the AA finals and, oh yeah, there's another game going on. It would be really cool if that was the normal schedule, if everyone got their 15 minutes. Anyway, we'll hopefully know more this morning and regardless of how it all settles, make sure you drive safely wherever and whenever to hit the road. If you're looking for the most up-to-date information, [Twitter is your best bet](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Or you can wait for the press release. --- Ever since the big classification meeting on February 14th, I've been trying to track down the MPA's proposals that'll be considered at the meeting on March 6th. I had the 4-class proposal for a long time and eventually got an exclusive look at the full breakdown, as well as confirmation and clarification from the MPA themselves. There's a lot involved here, so dig in and see where your team might be going. [I’ve Got the MPA’s New Classification Proposals and They Definitely Break Teams Into 4 or 5 ClassesWant to know where they have your team going now?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/classified.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ive-got-the-new-classification-proposals-and-they-definitely-break-teams-into-4-or-5-classes/) --- In the before times, back before COVID, I used to do All-State teams. It's a pretty simple concept. So many awards are influenced by reputation (i.e. all of them), so why not have one that's entirely determined by what you do between the lines? Well the girls teams were announced the other day. [2023 Girls All-State TeamNo surprise at the top![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/2023-all-state-girls.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/2023-girls-all-state-team/) There's still time to nominate people for the boys team, but you better hurry. If a player isn't nominated, they can't make the team. --- WHOU's Ricky Goupille has done the essential work of tracking the amount of time the student sections in Bangor chanted "You Can't Do That!" by game. (You should never chant that. It's dumb.) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-03-at-12.13.46-AM.png) Maybe some day we can cross-reference this with the creative writing departments of the schools. Also: please also stop chanting "He's a Freshman!" --- In case you missed this, Maine was on ESPN! > It certainly was the best thing we saw 👀 > > Take another look at the GAME-WINNING shot by Kristians Feierbergs![#blackbearnation](https://twitter.com/hashtag/blackbearnation?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [#PackThePit](https://twitter.com/hashtag/PackThePit?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/AEw6EiL5ym](https://t.co/AEw6EiL5ym?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Men’s Basketball (@MaineMBB) [March 1, 2023](https://twitter.com/MaineMBB/status/1630931955414884352?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Defensive Player of the Year! > 🎉 Congrats to the [#B1GWBBall](https://twitter.com/hashtag/B1GWBBall?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Defensive Player of the Year - [@IndianaWBB](https://twitter.com/IndianaWBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)'s Mackenzie Holmes! 👏 [pic.twitter.com/CGdESDJrmk](https://t.co/CGdESDJrmk?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Big Ten Women's Basketball (@B1Gwbball) [February 28, 2023](https://twitter.com/B1Gwbball/status/1630616148604600335?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Cooper Flagg is a second team All-American as a sophomore! > HERE ARE your [@jerseymikes](https://twitter.com/jerseymikes?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Naismith Boys’ High School All-America Teams! 👏 > > 🔗: [https://t.co/QKS6FSNwo8](https://t.co/QKS6FSNwo8?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/zBITdy8DC8](https://t.co/zBITdy8DC8?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Naismith Awards (@NaismithTrophy) [March 1, 2023](https://twitter.com/NaismithTrophy/status/1630976023217963027?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Media Guide page now has a Gold Ball Edition, which updates all the teams left standing through the Regional Finals. [Media Tournament GuideAll the data![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/10/maine-basketball-rankings-logo-small.png)Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/media-guide-bann.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/media-guide/) --- Whenever they do play, WHOU will be simulcasting the State Games carried by MPBN, so if you're having trouble figuring out how to stream the games, your WHOU subscription has you covered. I love love love that these two organizations got together to make this happen. > For those with a [https://t.co/U6dZT7SAYt](https://t.co/U6dZT7SAYt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) subscription, the state championship games will be simulcast there as well as on the numerous ways one can watch via MPBN (TV, Boxcast, FB Live, YouTube, MPBN website). > > — Rob Kennedy (@RobKennedy70) [February 28, 2023](https://twitter.com/RobKennedy70/status/1630642689287831552?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) On to the games! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/game_s_-of-the-day.png) The class A boys game is a classic battle between offense and defense. On one side you've got the Brewer Buzzsaw, one of the highest-scoring teams in the state and the most prolific offense in Class A. On the other side, you've got Falmouth, one of the very best defenses in the state and the stingiest team in Class A. Does Brewer have enough weapons to overwhelm the Falmouth's defense? Will the Navigators' experience in state games give them the edge? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-02-at-9.16.10-PM.png) In the girls game, Hope Bouchard and the Lawrence Bulldogs aim to make Cindy Blodgett proud with their barrage of shooting. They own the top scoring offense in Class A. Here's what's crazy about this matchup. We have the top team in each region in scoring, defense, and differential. Brunswick is playing for their first Gold Ball. Lawrence has obviously been there before. Do the Bulldogs have enough to pull off another upset? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-02-at-9.16.26-PM.png) The predictions for today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 2023 Girls All-State Team URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/2023-girls-all-state-team/ Last updated: 2023-03-01T13:53:32.000Z It's time for the Maine Basketball Rankings All-State Teams! It's the only post-season awards that don't care about your reputation or how often you were on TV or your newspaper coverage or what social media thinks or any of that other noise. All that matters is what you did between the lines and who you did it against. Some notes on how this works: players must be submitted for consideration and I had to get their full stats for the season in order to calculate an Efficiency Rating. That Efficiency Rating was then adjusted by their team's Strength of Schedule. The weaker your schedule, the bigger your stats needed to be. **If the stats needed to calculate EFF were not submitted for a player, they were not considered. Full stop.** In all, 19 teams submitted players for the girls team, so while I'd like to see that number up in the 50s or 60s, this is an impressive collection of talent. I'd take that first team against any 5 players in the state. There were some players who put up impressive seasons who were not submitted. I can think of a couple who might have made it, but one thing I've learned doing this in the past is that sometimes a player who seems like a sure-fire 1st team selection based on reputation barely makes the 3rd team. Angel Huntsman and Sara English were submitted and would have led off the second team, but NYA didn't track turnovers and FGA, which you need to calculate EFF (and potentially could have dropped her out of the running). So we'll consider Huntsman and English honorable mentions and wish Huntsman well in her recovery. The Boys submissions are still open. [Submit for All-State](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/all-state/) Let's get to it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/player-of-the-year.png) ## Lizzy Gruber - Gardiner | 23.311 aEFF **20.7 PPG 15.7 RPG 2.3 APG 2.1 SPG 5.6 BPG** To no one's surprise, the future Miss Basketball is your Maine Basketball Rankings Player of the Year. Gruber has put up video game numbers all year in leading Gardiner to a perfect regular season and reached milestones of 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in consecutive games. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/first-team-all-state.png) ### Lizzy Gruber (Gardiner) | 23.311 aEFF *20.7 PPG 15.7 RPG 2.3 APG 2.1 SPG 5.6 BPG* ### Bailey Breen (Oceanside) | 19.948 aEFF *23.8 PPG 9.8 RPG 3.4 APG 2.7 SPG 1.9 BPG* ### Sierra Carson (Oxford Hills) | 19.765 aEFF *17.4 PPG 6.9 RPG 4.0 APG 2.9 SPG 0.3 BPG* ### Ella Pelletier (Oxford Hills) | 19.453 aEFF *14.6 PPG 10.8 RPG 4.4 APG 2.0 SPG 0.4 BPG* ### Elise MacNair (Old Orchard Beach) | 18.934 aEFF *24.9 PPG 10.3 RPG 4.4 APG 4.7 SPG 1.3 BPG* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/2nd-team-all-state.png) ### Addisen Sulikowski (Thornton Academy) | 14.416 aEFF ### Madelynn Deprey (Caribou) | 13.447 aEFF ### Anna Oliver (Hodgdon) | 12.938 aEFF ### Addison Cyr (Mattanawcook) | 12.697 aEFF ### Abby Morrill (Cony) | 12.549 aEFF ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/03/3rd-team-all-state.png) Jaydn Pingree (Spruce Mountain) | 12.458 aEFF Ellie Leech (Seacoast Christian) | 11.357 aEFF Hannah Cook (Thornton Academy) | 11.340 aEFF Audrey Mackie (Oceanside) | 11.187 aEFF Abby Waterman (Oceanside) | 11.086 aEFF --- Congratulations to all the winners. ### I've Got the MPA's New Classification Proposals and They Definitely Break Teams Into 4 or 5 Classes URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ive-got-the-new-classification-proposals-and-they-definitely-break-teams-into-4-or-5-classes/ Last updated: 2023-02-28T21:38:47.000Z It's been a long road to a new classification plan for basketball. As you probably already know, there was a plan that was soundly rejected by the members on Valentine's Day, throwing everything into a state of disarray. Since then, rumors and alternate plans have been circulating. Over the course of several discussions, I was able to get some clarification on this during Tourney Week, but haven't until now seen the entirety of the plan. I don't know that we'll end up with either of these plans, at least not exactly like this. There's just too many red flags. There also seems to be some errors that are easily fixable. The teams in lighter gray are teams that would be eligible to petition down a class based on the criteria of winning fewer than 25% of their games over the last several years. One key difference in petitioning down is it isn't exactly how you're thinking of it. According to my conversation with Mike Burnham at the MPA, teams will be sent down with the option to request that they can stay where they are and the committee will reserve the right to keep a team in their class despite otherwise being a candidate, should they have a strong class of players on the way (i.e. the Cooper Flagg situation) or should they get sent down and have a certain level of success at the lower class. Having said all that, here's the proposed 5-class layout. ### Boys 5-Class ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.43.14-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.43.33-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.43.46-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.43.58-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.44.09-AM.png) ### Girls 5-Class ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.45.20-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.45.32-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.45.44-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.45.56-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.46.08-AM.png) I've heard some talk about AA potentially being one large class, which makes some sense. It was always weird to have Portland in the North, but it's even more illogical to have 11 teams in the South and 7 in the North (and that's if Massabesic can manage to find enough girls to field a team). But even if you make this one big class, you've still only got 18 teams for a 16 team tournament. Part of the problem is there just aren't enough "large" teams to fully justify AA but too big of a difference in size between schools like Thornton Academy (1,345) and, say, Skowhegan (707) There's some other weird stuff down the line. Some of it is a by-product of the challenge of trying to balance regions and some is an error. For example, the Morse girls and boys are both relegated here, but one to the North and one to the South, which would be a cruel trick to play on their bus driver. However, currently Lincoln Academy and Mt. Ararat(!) move to the North. For Mt. Ararat, that just means a trip to Augusta instead of Portland, but for Lincoln Academy, that means potentially heading to Bangor, which is a hike. Class C is for schools with enrollment of 130-309, but Houlton (331), Foxcroft (322), and Washington Academy (317) are there. That appears to be an error. It's worth noting that in the cover letter for this proposal, Burnham freely admits there are likely errors, as this is several steps away from being a final draft and the ultimate goal is to solicit input from membership. On to the 4-Class proposals. ### Boys 4-Class ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.44.22-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.44.36-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.44.50-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.45.04-AM.png) ### Girls 4-Class ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.46.21-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.47.14-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.46.56-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-28-at-11.46.39-AM.png) Personally, I prefer this. You've still got Lincoln Academy in B North with Caribou. That's doesn't make a ton of sense when you could keep them in the South and then you've got balanced regions. But Lincoln Academy (and Medomak and Richmond and a couple other schools are on that fuzzy line between North and South). One big question here is does the membership have the stomach to put Richmond and Gardiner in the same region? I'm not sure they do. I've written at length about how we quite simply don't have enough teams to support a 5-class structure. The Thornton Academy girls got a bye to the semifinals. The semifinals! That's ridiculous. Imagine how much more interesting it would be if the AA season started in December along with everyone else and not with a "quarterfinal" round before the actual season starts in the semifinals. The 4-Class proposal fixes this. But from what I'm hearing there's a lot of competing interests that make this difficult. Teams that don't want to have to play larger schools. Schools that don't want the extra travel. And a bunch of other reasons. But someone has to get a raw deal. There's no perfect puzzle you can put together here. The key isn't to please the loudest people. The key is to make it as equitable as possible. It was a bad sign when the S-Class died a quick death. --- I firmly believe this is the sort of thing that should be exposed to as much scrutiny and input as possible prior to going into Executive Session and before you know it, Caribou is driving 256 miles one-way to play a 5/12 prelim in Newcastle. March 6th is the next meeting. Got any thoughts on where your teams might end up? Put them in the comments. ### Seven At One Blow! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/seven-at-one-blow/ Last updated: 2023-02-28T12:01:37.000Z I was going to do this earlier, but then I slept for something like 12 hours and took a day off. I have some stuff coming up this week for the title games, some clarification on the replay conundrum, and more. And then a bomb dropped this afternoon. > After 19 seasons, I have resigned from my position as head coach of the Gardiner girls basketball team. It has been a tremendous honor to lead this program, and I could not be more proud of the young women who have played for me over the years. > > — Mike Gray (@mikegray79) [February 27, 2023](https://twitter.com/mikegray79/status/1630294976562331648?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Things are going to be awfully different at Gardiner next year. Mike Gray is one of the best coaches in the state. He will be missed on the sideline, but I'm guessing he'll still spend the majority of Tourney Week at the Augusta Civic Center like always. --- If Friday was the day of basketball-adjacent drama, then Saturday was the day of pure basketball chaos. Because we lost 7 #1 seeds on Saturday. Seven. It was probably an indication of what was to come with the very first game of the day: the battle most people were waiting for in D North girls between Southern Aroostook and Wisdom. > What a wagon this Southern Aroostook team has been these past few years, and even though Wisdom fought them for every inch, the Warriors still came away with the victory at the end! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/SkVEjoFbm5](https://t.co/SkVEjoFbm5?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [February 26, 2023](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1629707509530230784?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But this time, the 1 seed would survive. Others were not so lucky. The first domino fell in Augusta as Seacoast Christian, just days after barely having enough players to finish their semifinal game against Forest Hills, used a big 3rd quarter and 37 points from Ellie Leech to knock of #1 Valley and reach their second straight Gold Ball game. In Portland, we started with a AA thriller. A Sierra Carson steal and back-to-back Tristen Derenburg 3's gave Oxford Hills a win over Cheverus in double overtime. Carson had 29--24 of them in the 4th quarter and overtimes--to go with 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Maddie Fitzpatrick had 28 and 17 for Cheverus. Emma Lizzotte had 15 and 16\. The Oxford Hills boys, however, weren't so lucky. After the previous day's fracas, the Vikings were short-handed and came out flat against Portland. They shot 2/11 in the first quarter. The Bulldogs slowly took command. Oxford Hills had no answer for Jeissey Khamis, who took over for long stretches. He had 18 points and a monster 21 rebounds. Portland held Teigan Pelletier to 8 points in a convincing 46-35 win. That's two. In Girls B North, Old Town had been the favorite all year and with Oceanside losing the night before, was considered by many to be the overwhelming Gold Ball favorite. Only, when no one was looking, Ellsworth had snuck into the conversation. They entered the game as only a [slight underdog ](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fight-club-2/) and as I wrote in Saturday's newsletter, *"This kind of looks like the Spruce/Oceanside game all over again, so don't be surprised if we have a Gold Ball game here without a 1 seed."* And that's what we have. Ellsworth came out swinging, survived the inevitable Old Town comeback, and closed it out on a 9-1 run. They face Spruce Mountain for the Gold Ball. > This game was amazing. I couldn't hear myself think when Ellsworth went on that fourth quarter run. Old Town gave a performance that would be banner worthy on any other day, and Ellsworth wins their first regional title in 31 years. Can't wait for the '24 rematch! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/mHich8Cx80](https://t.co/mHich8Cx80?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [February 26, 2023](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1629706696200278018?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's three. It had been a looming question with the NYA girls of how far they could go after Angel Huntsman's season-ending injury and after OOB raced out to an 11-0 lead, it looked like that question had been answered. NYA rallied and forced overtime, but that's as far as they went. Elise MacNair (26 points) and the gulls were too much and NYA fell, 39-36. That's four. Just like in the B North girls game, the underdog in the B North boys game came out swinging. Orono jumped out to a 18-6 lead after the first quarter and overcame 27 points from Chance Mercier to advance to their first title game since 1996\. > And this one was a heavyweight bout- the Eagles gave it all they could late, but Orono came out looking to prove something- and that they did. Incredible performances from both [@PierceWalston](https://twitter.com/PierceWalston?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and [@ChanceMercier3](https://twitter.com/ChanceMercier3?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), and the Riots are headed to states [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/XuF7bjJchI](https://t.co/XuF7bjJchI?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [February 26, 2023](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1629707198648532992?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's five. Of course, some of the 1 seeds survived. Charlie Houghton had 28 points and 12 rebounds as Dirigo kept their title defense alive...The Southern Aroostook boys hit 14 3-pointers as they rolled past Machias...Mason Desjardins dropped 27 on Valley...The Dexter girls overcame the stifling defense of Penobscot Valley. And that takes us back to the hockey rink--the source of all our Friday drama--for the AA South Finals. The Gorham girls got hit pretty hard by the injury bug this year, so a lot of people (like me) figured that, combined with their 9 losses on the season, would spell an early exit from the tournament. They were a large underdog to Thornton Academy. But, as the saying goes, no one remembered to tell the team. The Golden Trojans went up early behind Addisen Sulikowski. They led for most of the first half and led by 4 mid-way through the 4th quarter. But Gorham didn't quit. They out-scored TA 13-6 the rest of the way to shock the heavy favorites. Ellie Gay had 20 to lead the Rams. That's six. And that brings us to the main event. By this time, this Tweet of the end of the TA/Bonny Eagle game was well on the way to going viral after Bill Simmons re-tweeted it. > The craziest 20.9 seconds in Maine HS basketball history. > > Four lead changes. Two dramatic and 1 layups. And a shot that people will be talking about for a long time. > > This is how we had it. [#MaineMadness](https://twitter.com/hashtag/MaineMadness?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/Acp5u0sDn0](https://t.co/Acp5u0sDn0?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — James Corrigan (@RealCorrigan) [February 25, 2023](https://twitter.com/RealCorrigan/status/1629356894497263616?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You might notice that my Twitter handle is in the original Tweet and oh my god the notifications. I had to silence it. The South Portland student section had invited Bonny Eagle fans to join them under the classic rule that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. They were not subtle. There were multiple chants of "You Don't Belong Here!" The game was close early. Both teams struggled to find offense, but in the 3rd quarter, SoPo found theirs. The Red Riots shot 64.7% in the second half (Ben Smith, Jaelen Jackson, and Jayden Kim went a combined 9/10) and Thornton Academy went 0/10 from 3\. Ball don't lie. > The Basketball Gods have spoken. > > South Portland beats Thornton Academy 55-44\. > > Jaelen Jackson with 17 & 8 > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 26, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1629680404746711040?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) After all the drama of Friday, it was fitting that the two teams at the center of it saw their seasons end early and spare us the week of all the takes. Instead we'll just get some of the takes. It's a shame that Bonny Eagle didn't get a shot at South Portland--they earned that opportunity and very nearly beat them on January 27th (that was one of Jaelen Jackson's buzzer-beaters). But at least they didn't have to watch the team they rightfully beat cut down the nets. There's some small solace in that. > That’ll do [pic.twitter.com/9heBeaGcZH](https://t.co/9heBeaGcZH?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 26, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1629683549757493248?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And that's seven. ### Fight Club URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fight-club-2/ Last updated: 2023-02-25T16:25:29.000Z We're not supposed to talk about fight club, but we're going to talk about fight club. The semifinal matchup between Oxford Hills and Cheverus was turning into a great duel between Teigan Pelletier and Silvano Ismail when it sort of went off the rails. Ismail fouled out with 2 minutes left and Cheverus down three on a...creative sequence of calls...and then things started to get a little chippy. Then things got a lot chippy. > [pic.twitter.com/lYaMISZeVm](https://t.co/lYaMISZeVm?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — CoachHuntington 💙 (@SEHuntington13) [February 24, 2023](https://twitter.com/SEHuntington13/status/1629244906970443778?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The fight was not great, obviously, but in the moment it didn't occur to me the importance of the ejection. An ejected player player is automatically suspended for a game, which is a big problem for Oxford Hills. Immediately after the game, there was a huddle around the WHOU monitor court-side, as everyone wanted to see what happened. I had seen the initial scuffle from my perch in the hockey press box, but missed St. Onge getting flattened. Eventually it became our version of the Zapruder footage. ![](https://media.tenor.com/xDlON0igZOsAAAAC/backn2theleft.gif) Once everything was sorted out, it became clear that the wrong player was ejected and that someone else *had* to be suspended, which left the MPA with two options: 1) they suspend the player who committed the unsportsmanlike act and let the ejection of the innocent party stand or 2) change the ejection. So they brought back the official who made the call. He watched the footage and confirmed that the number was wrong. > Oxford Hills/Cheverus fight [pic.twitter.com/UIJPAsqOG6](https://t.co/UIJPAsqOG6?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 24, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1629268676070236160?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In the end, they did the right thing. But AA wasn't done! > The craziest 20.9 seconds in Maine HS basketball history. > > Four lead changes. Two dramatic and 1 layups. And a shot that people will be talking about for a long time. > > This is how we had it. [#MaineMadness](https://twitter.com/hashtag/MaineMadness?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/Acp5u0sDn0](https://t.co/Acp5u0sDn0?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — James Corrigan (@RealCorrigan) [February 25, 2023](https://twitter.com/RealCorrigan/status/1629356894497263616?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Here's a shot of just the game winner. > Will Davies’ game-winner.[@VarsityMaine](https://twitter.com/VarsityMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/tmwr4r5oER](https://t.co/tmwr4r5oER?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Lee Horton (@\_Lee\_H) [February 25, 2023](https://twitter.com/%5FLee%5FH/status/1629316882313379842?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Lee's got maybe the best angle I've seen for this. You can see the light on the backboard go off in this still. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-25-at-12.26.17-AM.png) But you'll notice that the clock still reads 0.2\. By rule, the light on the backboard takes precedent, should we be allowed to use replay, which we aren't. And if that isn't enough, here's the first still where the clock reads zero and the ball is still on his fingertips. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-25-at-12.26.53-AM.png) Here's another angle. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-25-at-12.37.34-AM.png) photo from @TomCharron2 I think we all agree this basket shouldn't have counted and Bonny Eagle should be moving on (some hardcore TA fans might disagree), but the real question is: why could they use replay for one and not the other. Well they could and they couldn't. We can't use replay for this instance because by rule we can't. That was a NFHS rule, but recently they [allowed states to implement it](https://www.hotsr.com/news/2019/oct/26/instant-replay-approved-for-basketball-/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Most just do it for a state game and some do it for a state game and a regional final, but you can't just pull up the streaming feed or the footage from someone's phone. It has to be adopted by the state first. And as good as WHOU's setup is, we would probably need a better one, at minimum a second camera. So should they have used replay last night? No. It wasn't an option. Should we implement it for buzzer-beaters going forward? Absolutely. I'm going to try to get some more clarification on this (I have a few questions I couldn't find answers to) and it's looking like that might take the form of a BDN column. As to why they were able to use replay on the ejection and not the buzzer-beater? Well, I think I know the answer to that, but there's some stuff I'm not sure of. I'll be in Portland today looking for answers. Stay tuned! --- At the Expo, the Spruce Mountain girls knocked off Oceanside, ending their 53-game winning streak. > Spruce Mountain wins Class B South Final 56-47 over Oceanside! [pic.twitter.com/cFQ9oEO8AX](https://t.co/cFQ9oEO8AX?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) [February 24, 2023](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME/status/1629217778048565248?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Spruce was certainly an underdog, but probably not the underdog a lot of people thought they were. The Model had Oceanside as 3 point favorites, which is roughly the same advantage you'd get from playing at home, which is to say this isn't a shock. Spruce Mountain is really good! For all the talk of Spruce Mountain's MVC schedule not preparing them for the tournament, it's worth noting that Oceanside played arguably the easiest schedule in all of Class B. --- On that note, there's been a lot of talk this week of doing some pretty interesting things with scheduling going forward to address things like this, both from the usual parties and places you might not expect. So that's something to keep an eye on this off-season. --- Not to be out-done, there was free throw drama in the Brunswick/GNG game, as the officials let the wrong player shoot a free throw. They did catch it before play resumed, and since that *is* a correctable error, they were able to fix it. The Brunswick girls won. They'll play for their first Gold Ball against... Lawrence. The Bulldogs came out red-hot from the field and raced out to a 19-12 first quarter lead behind 12 points from Hope Bouchard. They extended the lead out to 13 in the second quarter. The crowd kept waiting for Gardiner to make their run, but Lawrence had an answer. They gave Lizzy Gruber enough trouble to slow her down. She had 26 & 17, but shot only 10/21 from the floor. Maybe more importantly, they had an answer for Taylor Takatsu, who killed them in the second regular season game. But probably the most important work they did was at the free throw line. They made 25 of 30 free throws, a crucial rate as Gardiner got it to within 8 with 4:30 to go, but could only get within 6\. Miss 4 or 5 of those free throws and we're talking about a different ball game. Bouchard was 12 of 14 from the line by herself. Then the Brewer Buzzsaw ended the night. Brewer avenged their only loss of the season by blowing the doors off Skowhegan. They led 20-6 after 1 on their way to a 70-33 win that featured 5 minutes of JV action. Brady Saunders had 26\. They'll meet Falmouth in the final, as the Navigators beat Marshwood 40-31. --- Lost in all this drama is Yarmouth nearly pulling off an epic rally against Oceanside in B South boys, the Dirigo boys outlasting Mt. Abram (Charlie Houghton had 27), Penobscot Valley putting the clamps on Anna Oliver and Hodgdon, the Dexter girls rallying to beat Central, and more. Whew. --- Earlier in the day, the C South girls put on a show in their semifinals, as Elise MacNair was too much for Kents Hill and I was sad to leave the NYA/Hall-Dale game early, because there was a lot going on. First, NYA's band was awesome. > [@NYA\_Basketball](https://twitter.com/NYA%5FBasketball?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) bringing a different vibe [pic.twitter.com/BD6qb7KgcO](https://t.co/BD6qb7KgcO?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 24, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1629156789982842881?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) They paired the Clash with the Fresh Prince at halftime and I was fully expecting to hear either Neutral Milk Hotel or Wet Leg and honestly both. Plus: > If you had asked me which region would feature a kid with a shaved head and multiple tattoos down one arm, I would not have picked C South girls. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 24, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1629162189511864320?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) A LOT going on in C South girls. NYA will face OOB today in what should be a very good game. Someone send updates of the NYA band's playlist, please and thank you. Because I'm following the drama down to Portland But that isn't the Game of the Day. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-18.png) The Old Town girls have long been the favorite in B North, but Ellsworth has been inching up on them. They tied the record for 3s in a game in their quarterfinal win and followed that up with a blowout of Caribou in the semifinals. They're all the way up to 6th in the Power Rankings, one spot behind Old Town. This kind of looks like the Spruce/Oceanside game all over again, so don't be surprised if we have a Gold Ball game here without a 1 seed. They met once this year, with Old Town winning on their home floor by 2\. Back in December. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-25-at-11.09.47-AM.png) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Regional Final Friday URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/regional-final-friday/ Last updated: 2023-02-24T12:13:19.000Z Hopefully you're able to dig yourself out of this storm in time to get to today's set of games. I wrote yesterday about Wednesday's games, so check that out if you haven't already. [Wednesday Recap](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/snow-day-rest-day/) --- We've got a super-sized Friday, thanks to the snowstorm, and man there are a lot of options. Today's schedule is intense and 18 games deep. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-23-at-7.37.40-PM.png) This is from Jay Baines' [essential brackets](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UyneHcaxhyRX7Kat7Ht6HZGC7yjsZ4T3NoY3u5uhni8/edit?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#gid=2128126769). Do you go to Bangor for C North? Or do you go to Augusta, take in the C South semifinals and then go get dinner and come back for A North? Or do you go to Portland and make the choice between the Regional Finals at the Expo or the AA semifinals? Or do you really gamble and try to hit the early Augusta games and see if you can get to Portland by 2pm? Choices, choices, choices. As I'm writing this, I still don't know where I'm going, other than the A North Finals in Augusta tonight. But wherever it is, I'll have live stats. [LIVE Stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live-2/) I've also uploaded the Game Reports for every game I've done so far. They're behind the paywall below the LIVE Stats and are downloadable PDF files that have box scores and shot charts for every player, plus breaks down shooting by quarter. Here, for example, is Brewer's record-breaking shooting night. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-23-at-10.33.18-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-23-at-10.33.42-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-23-at-10.33.56-PM.png) --- Only two days left and all the 1 seeds are still alive. Anyone remember the last time that happened? Seriously, anyone? Because I don't. Put it in the comments if you do. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-17.png) The AA playoffs don't really start until the semifinals. The girls started Wednesday and the boys kick off today at the Cross Insurance Arena. There's no bad matchup here, but the Stax Index says this is the best of the bunch. Oxford Hills is the 1 seed in AA North, but they aren't the favorite, partly because the Model sees Cheverus as a tougher semifinal opponent than Portland has with Lewiston, but not by much. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-23-at-8.52.33-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) This is *very* close. People get hung up on favorites sometimes and the topline numbers. These 4 teams are all very good. They could all win this region. This is about as close of a semifinal breakdown as you could hope for. WHOU will have the streaming of this one (and every game until the State games). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-23-at-8.13.58-PM.png) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Snow Day (Rest Day) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/snow-day-rest-day/ Last updated: 2023-02-23T18:43:59.000Z Priority one, before you read anything else, is to make sure you go cancel your NFHS subscription. You don't need that anymore. We'll wait. Ok. WHOU is here for you the rest of the way (until we get to the State games). It's going to be like when your grandma traded in her old TV with rabbit ears for a HD model. ## All-State Consideration I was hoping to have the All-State teams out today, but in looking at the list of players submitted (or, more accurately, not submitted), I'm going to keep it open a little longer. **A total of 34 schools have submitted at least 1 player.** Submit your players! It's easy! If they don't get submitted, they aren't making the list. I don't care if they're the Gatorade POY. [Submit for All-State](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/all-state/) --- To the games I skipped the first 2 games at the ACC yesterday, but got there just in time to meet some mascots. > It’s the Greenville mascot! [pic.twitter.com/OMzSxbSfi2](https://t.co/OMzSxbSfi2?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 22, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1628428812525486080?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That, of course, is the Greenville mascot (and also Forest Hills, I guess). I'm not sure if the mascot has a name or is the "Laker". I got there for the end of the Greenville/Valley game (Valley won) and just in time for a Forest Hills/Seacoast Christian boys/girls doubleheader. The Seacoast girls only have 6 players on their roster, so when Breckyn Winship picked up her 3rd foul with 4 minutes left in the first half, the Guardians had little choice but to keep her in. Then, in the final play of the half, Ellie Odess picked up her 3rd foul and we were officially on "finish with 4 players" watch. Early in the 3rd, Bri Cluff picked up her 3rd foul. But that wasn't enough for the Forest Hills fans. > These Forest Hills fans did not drive all the way from Jackman to sit quietly in the stands when there is a clear officiating injustice in front of them. > > (fouls are 6-5 in their favor) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 22, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1628441986431852544?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) After Cluff's 3rd, it was 10-5 and they had only gotten louder. With 2:40 left in the 3rd, Winship picked up her 4th. Then Cluff picked up her 4th and a couple minutes later got a pretty questionable charge call. Meanwhile, Seacoast is clinging to small lead with 3 players on the floor who aren't exactly playing aggressive defense and the Forest Hills fans are getting louder by the minute. Cluff fouled out with a minute left, leaving Seacoast with 5 players and a 4 point lead. But Forest Hills was unable to take advantage and the Guardians survived. Then came the boys game, with the same Forest Hills crowd, angry about the officiating injustice. But then something happened you don't see all that often: Mason Desjardins silenced his own fans. Because Desjardins went OFF, scoring 15 points in the first quarter and essentially doing whatever he wanted. He finished with 33 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals as the Tigers blew out Seacoast Christian. Honestly, if he had wanted to go for a 50-10-10 triple-double, he probably could have. Speaking of scoring outbursts, over in Bangor, Chance Mercier went off and Ellworth needed every bit of it to beat Old Town. > Class D semis going on right now- but here's a few highlights from Chance Mercier's incredible 38-point performance in [@EllsworthEagle](https://twitter.com/EllsworthEagle?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)'s 60-55 semifinal win over Old Town earlier today![#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/bYIs33x2eC](https://t.co/bYIs33x2eC?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [February 22, 2023](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1628537805650419713?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Meanwhile, down at the Expo, the A South semis went chalk. At the Cross Insurance Arena, the Cheverus girls beat Bangor and Oxford Hills took care of Hampden. That'll set up a pretty compelling AA North final between the Stags and the Vikings. In AA South, the Gorham girls were a seeding underdog, but the Model had them favored by 2.7\. > FINAL: Gorham 40, Sanford 37 (OT)[@gorhamrams](https://twitter.com/gorhamrams?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) paced by Ellie Gay (21 pts), Kalin Curtis (6 pts, 11 rb, 5 ast, 6 stl & 2 blk) & Summer Gammon (5 pts & 8rb) > > Julissa McBarron leads [@SanfordSpartans](https://twitter.com/SanfordSpartans?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) w/ 18 pts, 10 rb, 4 ast & 3 stl. Ava Hudson & Riley Hebler 6 pts each > > — Greg Levinsky (@GregLevinsky) [February 23, 2023](https://twitter.com/GregLevinsky/status/1628566662566797317?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Hey look at that. They'll face Thornton Academy in the Regional Final. Back in Bangor, Grace Jaffray's 24 led Ellsworth in a slight upset over Caribou. They tied the record with 11 3's. The Southern Aroostook boys and girls won, as did the Wisdom girls, which means we're getting the Southern Aroostook/Wisdom girls Regional Final a lot of people were hoping for. Let's go back to Augusta for the A North semis. The Lawrence girls, led by Hope Bouchard, came out swinging. They drilled 7 3's in the first half en route to a 10 point lead. Then they followed that up with a 23-8 3rd to put it away. They ended with 10 3's (1 short of the record) and probably break that pretty easily if the game was closer. Bouchard went 5-7 all by herself. In the second game, the Nokomis girls came out with a game plan to make anyone other than Lizzy Gruber beat them and for a while, it was working. It also helped that they came out shooting 63% from the floor. But they couldn't maintain that shooting and they couldn't contain Gruber and Gardiner slowly took back the game. The Tigers went on a 5-0 run to close the half up 5\. But Cam King and the Warriors wouldn't go away. Gardiner got it to 9 and Nokomis answered. Then they got it to 10 and King fueled a 7-0 run. Gardiner called time. And then they did what you have to do if you have title aspirations: the shut the door on Nokomis with an 11-2 run. Gruber finished with 27 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks. The Skowhegan River Hawks were a popular preseason pick to win A North, but an 0-3 start put an end to that talk. Last night might have reminded a lot of people why they were such a trendy pick. Messalonskee led 1-0 and a Kyle LePage bucket put Skowhegan up for good. The River Hawks kept the game at a modest 4-8 point lead for a while before the wheels fell off for Messo. Skowhegan went on a 15-0 run in the fourth to blow the doors off the ACC, punctuated by this Adam Savage dunk. > Check out Skowhegan's Adam Savage with the late game dunk. Savage explained after the game that him staying on the rim was in an effort to protect an opposing player. [pic.twitter.com/xK7vYzO4r1](https://t.co/xK7vYzO4r1?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Connor Magliozzi (@MagliozziMedia) [February 23, 2023](https://twitter.com/MagliozziMedia/status/1628579870463889411?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Savage got a technical for this one. I can see it, but I don't like it. There was a player underneath him! But also he did add a little extra. Skowhegan will face the team they undoubtedly wanted in the final as the Brewer Buzzsaw re-emerged against Cony. Brock Flagg was an absolute Monster for the Witches. They raced out to a 21-5 over a stunned Cony. It was 35-14 before Brady Saunders, one of the contenders for Mr. Basketball, took his second shot! Flagg put up a huge first half: 16 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. The rout was on. Late in the 3rd, the Brewer bench realized they were 1 3-pointer from the record for 3's in a game, so the starters went back in, hit a couple 3's (Brady Saunders with the record-breaking make), and promptly sat back down. As they should have. > Brewer makes a record 14 3's, giving them 19 on the tournament (that record is 30). > > Brock Flagg with 16 points, 23 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 23, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1628591726515585024?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) A lot of these records for 3's are going to get broken over the next couple of years. We all know this. That Brewer record might last 3 years. Maybe. So I say, go for it. Get your name in the record books while you can. I don't buy into the argument that they shouldn't do it in a blowout. They earned that. Cony is a really, really good team capable of stopping them. But they couldn't. Brewer was just that good last night. --- In college ball, the Cheat Code called GAME. > Anna DeWolfe drains the game-winner!!!! [pic.twitter.com/j5AevbQker](https://t.co/j5AevbQker?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Fordham WBB (@FordhamWBB) [February 23, 2023](https://twitter.com/FordhamWBB/status/1628579887056584707?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Huge finish to this game in Michigan (I think). > There’s no better way to inform the students of a snow day than at the end of a big boys basketball win. Way to go, Dr. Lusk! > > Sophomore broadcaster Aiden Lynch with the call of the century on the live broadcast! 😂👏 > > Stay safe tomorrow, Hawkeyes! [pic.twitter.com/azAiZbp57t](https://t.co/azAiZbp57t?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Zach Harig (@zach\_harig) [February 22, 2023](https://twitter.com/zach%5Fharig/status/1628209528566079491?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I'll have another update tomorrow looking ahead at Friday's action. In the meantime, the Model's picks for tonight's NBA action are after the jump. Model is 79-52 ATS (60.3%), by the way. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Tidal Wave URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tidal-wave/ Last updated: 2023-02-22T14:02:47.000Z It was a big day in Portland for the B South semifinals. I previewed it for the Bangor Daily News and...yeah. I don't love the frame YouTube chose here... The B South semifinals had the 3 highest Stax Index games on the slate, so it was a no-brainer to get to Portland. In the opener, Spruce Mountain and Wells were tied at the half, but then Olivia Mastine took over. She had 11 points in the second half and beyond that controlled the action in nearly every way. It helped that Wells went 0-9 from the field in the 4th quarter. This will be the first-ever Regional Final appearance for a Spruce Mountain team. Up next was the Oceanside/Medomak Valley semifinal. As the brother of the Medomak Valley coach, I had a vested interest in this one. And also some inside information. > Haley Puchalski is wearing borrowed shoes today. [pic.twitter.com/vVr6OQOd7Y](https://t.co/vVr6OQOd7Y?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 21, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1628113884312657921?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm supposed to say she "out-worked her shoes", but that felt forced. Anyway, it didn't go well for the Panthers. Medomak missed their first 8 shots and went 10% from the floor in the first half and you'll win very, very few games shooting 10% for a half and you certainly won't beat a team of Oceanside's caliber. Bailey Breen had 22/15/5\. Oceanside blocked 10 shots. In the evening session, the Lincoln Academy fans came out in force and some of them were styling. > These hats are 🔥🔥🔥 [pic.twitter.com/O56Nu4p0oc](https://t.co/O56Nu4p0oc?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 21, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1628177224997249025?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This one went back and forth. Stevie Walsh had 23 for Yarmouth and Evan Hamm had 16 and a couple of dunks (but no technicals!). The Clippers were up by as many as 9 before Lincoln Academy came back, tying it with a Jacob Masters 3 early in the 3rd. Yarmouth pushed it back out to 8 and Lincoln Academy came back again. But in the end, Yarmouth was too much. They won 54-50 (Model had them by a shade over 4) and the champs survive. The last game was the second half of the Medomak/Oceanside doubleheader. This was close early until Oceanside's min-rally gave them a 20-10 lead after 1\. The Panthers answered with a 6-0 run, including a Vishal Mellor 3\. Then Cohen Galley had a 6-0 run of his own. Oceanside led by as many as 12 before Medomak slowly chipped away at it, getting it all the way down to 2\. But Alex Collins was too much inside (16 & 8) and Oceanside went 17-20 from the line to seal it. In Bangor, Chloe Daigle only scored 1 point in Central's win over Mattanawcook, but she definitely made it count. > Central’s Chloe Daigle drills the free throw with 3.8 seconds left to give Central the 44-43 win over Mattanawcook! Her only point of the game! [pic.twitter.com/CNqMYQgCk2](https://t.co/CNqMYQgCk2?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [February 21, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1628159847966429187?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Izzy Allen had 21 as Central advanced. They'll get a Dexter team that blew out Fort Kent. Fort Fairfield's Micah Daigle had 23 as the Dragon rallied down 7 in the 4th to beat Woodland in the 4/5 game. They take on Calais, who put away a pesky Penobscot Valley. In Augusta, NYA blew out #9 Madison. Hall-Dale blew out #5 Richmond. They'll face off in the semifinals. Elise MacNair dropped 30 as OOB was too much for Winthrop. And Kents Hill rallied down 8 in the 4th to surivive against #6 Monmouth. --- Tyler Krusz and Adam Robinson did some fun green screen breakdowns. > ICYMI: We brought back the X's and O's breakdowns, and [@FunkFlashyRob](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) joined me tonight, both of us making our green screen debuts, to break down some of the semifinals matchups coming up! [@EllsworthEagle](https://twitter.com/EllsworthEagle?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@othscoyotes](https://twitter.com/othscoyotes?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@HodgdonHawks](https://twitter.com/HodgdonHawks?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/FUpKwAcOEQ](https://t.co/FUpKwAcOEQ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/irKiflPovW](https://t.co/irKiflPovW?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [February 22, 2023](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1628252024885153793?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The big story today is that we're going to get hammered with snow on Thursday, so all of those games have been pushed (honestly, the day off sounds glorious). Which means that today and Friday get super-busy. > New Wednesday and Friday schedules for the Cross Center and Augusta taking Thursday postponements into account. Looking like a typical regional Saturday in Bangor [pic.twitter.com/G0gwdcEKjf](https://t.co/G0gwdcEKjf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [February 21, 2023](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1628125509975478280?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This is, I think, the [full schedule](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-22-at-8.43.12-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-22-at-8.43.30-AM.png) If you're looking for LIVE stats, I'll be in Augusta for most of the day. I'm clearly not going to make the 8:30am Vinalhaven/Valley game. I'm targeting the Forest Hills/Seacoast doubleheader and the A North semis. You can also find box scores of the 21 games I've already done live stats for at the link below. There's also some interesting visual stuff. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-22-at-8.51.49-AM.png) [Box Scores](https://public.stattracker.com/2022-23-mpa-tournament?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-16.png) This is about to tip as I'm typing this, so I'll just say: This looks like a great game! You can watch it on WHOU! [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-22-at-8.38.54-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The full schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Island Life URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/island-life/ Last updated: 2023-02-21T15:26:35.000Z If you were in Augusta for Monday's morning session, you had no idea what you were in for. The first 2 games went about as expected--they were low-scoring, not close Class D girls games. A lot of people dread these games but I like them. Any time you've got a team with only 6 or 7 kids on the roster, there's an extra level of dedication. Especially with a team like North Haven that has only 8 girls on their roster because, as Mark Haskell pointed out, they've only got 8 girls in the entire school. Imagine if every kid in your school went out for basketball. But after 2 not-close games, you'd be excused if with 6 minutes left in the third quaterer of Vinalhaven/Pine Tree game you starting thinking ahead to the C South quarterfinals later in the day. After all, Pine Tree was up 31-12\. For a Vinalhaven team that averaged 27 points a game in the regular season, a 19-point deficit in the 3rd quarter might as well be a million. It's the equivalent of, what? The Oceanside boys being down 50? Also, they hadn't even attempted a 3-pointer yet and weren't in any hurry to do so. > 43 seconds left in the 3rd and we have our first 3PA for Vinalhaven > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 20, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1627729571637514240?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) While no one was paying attention, the Vikings started to chip away at the lead. Scoring picked up a little for each team and by the end of the 3rd, the margin was 12\. But, still. Twelve points for a team that scores 27 a game? But Vinalhaven didn't quit. Instead, they started to press, getting the ball out of Chantal Bazizane's hands (she dominated the first half) and forcing mistakes. They forced 14 Pine Tree turnovers in the 4th quarter. Led by Chelsea Waite's 6 4th quarter steals, Vinalhaven went on a 13-0 run to pull within 1\. With 22 seconds left, Lydia Wentworth scored to send it to overtime. For a while, I was convinced we were going to double overtime. It had that feel. Other people had other concerns. Because when you're an island school, you can't just go to overtime. There are factors. > Vinalhaven currently winning in overtime. Just overheard a parent getting her kids packed up to leave as soon as it’s over because they all have to fly outta the ACC to make the ferry! [#mainethings](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mainethings?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Kristen Pray (@CoachKPray) [February 20, 2023](https://twitter.com/CoachKPray/status/1627738019754307585?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Both teams had chances. So. Many. Chances. It was both painful and exhilarating. Vinalhaven went 5/22 from the line in the 4th quarter and overtime and nearly every one of them felt like it would determine the game. Pine Tree shot 17% from the floor in the 4th quarter and overtime as they desperately tried to hold on to the lead and, again, every time they broke the Vinalhaven press you felt like the dam was going to break. But it never did. There were 82 turnovers and it was pretty awesome. In the end, Maddie Miller made 2 free throws with 8 seconds left and Lydia Wentworth stole the inbounds pass. Vinalhaven won 48-46 and, yes, that's their highest scoring output of the year. Oh, and: > 5 players played the entire 36 minutes. > > Chantal Bazizane > Julia Brown > Adelle Wadsworth > Lydia Wentworth > Maddie Miller > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 20, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1627743982267797504?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you don't love a game like this, then you don't love basketball. --- With the impending snow storm on Thursday, the MPA proactively moved a bunch of games to Wednesday, including Vinalhaven's semifinal matchup with Valley. That was slated to be the first game of the Thursday session and it's now the first game of the new Wednesday morning session that starts at 8:30am. But...the ferry. Would it kill the MPA to flip the games around? This has long been a pet scheduling peeve of mine. We lock these seeds into these time slots, but what if we didn't? What if it was a little dynamic so that the teams that are 20 minutes away play the first/last games of the sessions and not the teams that have 2 hour drives? It wouldn't be that hard. Call it a safety issue. --- Anyway, back to Augusta. At the time, it felt like a nice warmup for the rest of the day. We had an impressive performance in the first half of the Forest Hills/Pine Tree boys game as Mason Desjardins went 5/8 from 3 in the first half and Forest Hills was threatening to break the record for 3's in a game, but he didn't bother to take a shot in the second half. Luke Carey put up a fantastic 33/7/4 as Carrabec pulled off the upset that was bigger than an upset: > [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That was the first ever Carrabec Boys win on the Civic Center floor!!! > > — Drew Ferrari (@arferra24) [February 20, 2023](https://twitter.com/arferra24/status/1627796035350237189?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You gotta love to see a team break through like that. Go Cobras! In the end, none of the games were close at all with most of them being 15 point margins in the first quarter. When the games aren't close, you find other things to follow and one of my favorite tournament things is the random cool kids you find. > Richmond has: > > A PG with a Cindy Blodgett mullet > A kid who looks like he roadies with Everclear all summer > A kid named Max who's wearing a headband. > A kid named Zander Steele > > Somehow they're down 14-0 > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 20, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1627777619335995392?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) So let's go to Portland for the Girls A South quarterfinals, which started off with a bang. > Freeport stuns Mt. Ararat advancing with a 58-53 comeback win! [@FreeportFalcons](https://twitter.com/FreeportFalcons?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MTA\_Eagles](https://twitter.com/MTA%5FEagles?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/JXhpZNTFJx](https://t.co/JXhpZNTFJx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) [February 20, 2023](https://twitter.com/DaveEidWGME/status/1627755111328976915?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This is definitely a big upset. Mt. Ararat was an upper-tier A South team that a lot of people thought would be in the Regional Final. But this was a topic of discussion in Augusta. Freeport had won 6 of their last 7\. They beat Spruce Mountain. They were kind of sneaky good. They were a team you could talk yourself into picking, no question about it. If this were March Madness, they'd be the "smart" upset pick. In the next game, Greely got off to a slow start. > Seventh-ranked Greely finally gets on the board with 36 seconds to go before halftime, but at the break, No. 2 Gray-New Gloucester is in control, 18-5[#VarsityMaine](https://twitter.com/hashtag/VarsityMaine?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Michael Hoffer (@foresports) [February 20, 2023](https://twitter.com/foresports/status/1627767973397123089?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I know they're the 7 seed, but it's still Greely. The Rangers improved in the second half and got to 25, but that's still a shocking result. In the other games, Anna Turgeon had 22 as Falmouth advanced. They'll face a Brunswick team that blew out Westbrook. In Bangor, Southern Aroostook took care of Jonesport-Beals, but not before the Royals had a moment. > Jonesport-Beals’ Damon Beal scores his 1,000th point of his career! [pic.twitter.com/s53pqHawrd](https://t.co/s53pqHawrd?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [February 20, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1627754827160686614?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We had some nice history for the Bangor Christian boys. > RECAP- Bangor Christian boys get past Easton for first tournament win since 2009 [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#tourney2023](https://twitter.com/hashtag/tourney2023?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)[https://t.co/cGgFA2Bhxl](https://t.co/cGgFA2Bhxl?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Eastern Maine Sports (@EasternMESports) [February 20, 2023](https://twitter.com/EasternMESports/status/1627774083780825116?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) But Bangor went chalk. Augusta went largely chalk. Portland had the 1 upset. Here's what I know about tournament basketball: there's *always* a chalk day. Looks like yesterday was that day. But a chalk day is usually followed by a day of sheer chaos. So buckle up. --- Here's your periodic reminder that you can do more than yell from the stands. > This guy in the Dirigo section is very confident he could do a better job than the refs on the floor. > > It's a pity we keep our best officials in the bleachers. It seems so inefficient. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 21, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1627859120043986946?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I will say that the officiating in the tournament has been noticeably worse than it was in the regular season. I actually remember thinking that the quality of officiating had gone up, but that's certainly not been the case at the Expo. So if you think you can do better, you might be right! But take the classes and get your zebra outfit or STFU. --- It's a big day in Midcoast Maine as 5 of the 8 teams in the B South semifinals are separated by 25 miles of US Route 1\. So it's fair to assume most, if not all, of Lincoln and Knox Counties will be in Portland today. Lincoln Academy, coming off their first tournament win in forever, will try to take down the defending champs from Yarmouth, and then we've got a Oceanside/Medomak Valley doubleheader. But that's not the Game of the Day. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-15.png) If you're going to the Expo for the Midcoast Maine triple-header, make sure you get there in time for the first game in the session. Spruce Mountain went 17-1 this year, with the lone loss coming to Freeport (that loss looks a lot better today), and nearly got the 1 seed in B South. Despite all the questions about their conference schedule, they came in and blew the doors off York in the quarterfinals. They're deep and tough and they could very much win the entire region. They'll face a Wells team that's been a little bit of a surprise. After their graduation losses, I think people thought they might have a little bit of a down year, but they've been in the mix all year. Wells' Kendall and Maren Maxon combined for 26 points in the quarterfinals. Spruce's Jaydn and Jazmine Pingree combined for 26 points in the quarterfinals. Who's going to the Regional Final? I'll be there with [live stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live-2/). It should be electric. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-21-at-10.18.59-AM.png) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Saturday Quarterfinal Chaos URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/saturday/ Last updated: 2023-02-20T12:01:02.000Z So Saturday was a LOT. We had blowouts and buzzer-beaters and some fantastic performances around the state. It's overwhelming and exhausting to do a full 8 game slate at a site. By halftime of the last game you're struggling to remember who played at 9am and then there's 2 other sites that might as well be on the moon. So I figured I'd do a recap of some of Saturday's highlights, mostly by sharing Tweets from the people you should be following to keep track of the rest of the tournament. --- For the Bangor Daily News, I previewed some of Saturday's most intriguing matchups, with varying degrees of success. I'll be doing this for every day of the tournament, so subscribe to the BDN's YouTube channel for those. --- NFHS was more or less out of commission for long stretches and when it was working, it was delayed by several minutes, so if you were trying to stream the games, it was tough going. > NFHS is having a nationwide server issue, which is having an impact our Maine high school broadcasts this morning. But we are up in Portland, [@taylormannix103](https://twitter.com/taylormannix103?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and [@TheEthanSnow](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) on the call for Wells vs Maranacook girls! > > — Isaac Luken (@Isaac\_Luken) [February 18, 2023](https://twitter.com/Isaac%5FLuken/status/1626949249282805761?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And when they were working, there were other issues. I count at least 5 here. It's like one of those kid's magazines where you have to circle the mistakes. > Spellcheck [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/QQLo7M8eHQ](https://t.co/QQLo7M8eHQ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Dan Burdin (@danburdin) [February 18, 2023](https://twitter.com/danburdin/status/1626969508157046784?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) As much as I'd like to have a summer home on Vinylhaven, I hear it's about to be overrun with hipsters. Anyway, it's almost time for WHOU to take the wheel. ### We started in the morning sessions... In Bangor, Houlton (did they bring their band?) made short work of Washington Academy in a seeding upset (the Model had them by 6) and Old Town didn't have much trouble with Presque Isle. In Augusta, the D Quarterfinals went chalk, including a blowout by Valley. Down in Portland, Wells took care of Maranacook and Spruce Mountain, clearly hampered by their conference schedule, blew the doors off York. In the B South 4/5 game, Maya Cannon had 24 rebounds as the Medomak Valley girls reached the semifinals for the first time since 2011\. I may have jinxed Lake Region, as I tweeted that they were 3/5 from 3 early in the game and they proceeded to go 0/8 the rest of the way. So that's my bad. --- Here's a good spot to let you know that there are box scores for all the games I do live stats for. I've done [10 so far](https://public.stattracker.com/2022-23-mpa-tournament?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). These are a free feature, but the more subscribers there are, the more games I can justify doing and the more tournament coverage I can bring you, so if you haven't already, subscribe! [Subscribe Today](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/signup) --- In the last game of the girls B South session, Yarmouth led by 9 as late as 3:45 left in the 3rd quarter, but Oceanside went on an 11-0 run to get back in it. They went back and forth from there, but the Mariners got a little bit of a lead, Yarmouth couldn't convert, and Audrey Mackie made her free throws down the stretch to seal it. She finished with a game-high 20\. Speaking of the Expo, we had some small issues with the floor. > 🤦‍♂️ [pic.twitter.com/1s5bhNSDQn](https://t.co/1s5bhNSDQn?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 18, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1626988604617633792?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) As one ref said, "I guess we call the white lines". ### Afternoon/Evening As the afternoon sessions kicked off, we got a big upset in Bangor. > In a Class D North girls upset, sixth-seeded East Grand — with just seven active players on its roster — stunned third-seeded Machias 45-27.[https://t.co/lK2QUWRWzy](https://t.co/lK2QUWRWzy?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/nDaTNjYr7u](https://t.co/nDaTNjYr7u?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Bangor Daily News (@bangordailynews) [February 18, 2023](https://twitter.com/bangordailynews/status/1627076600666951683?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) East Grand was an 11-point underdog to the team [I picked as my Cinderella](https://youtu.be/W9eUmHI2Uho?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) in D North. Wisdom got 29 from Lilly Roy to beat Jonesport-Beals and Schenck beat Katahdin. And then in the finale, Shane Feeney put on a SHOW. > RECAP- Feeney goes for 35 points and 21 rebounds as Machias boys roll past Wisdom in a Class D quarterfinal on Saturday night [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#tourney2023](https://twitter.com/hashtag/tourney2023?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/Rfln87KABE](https://t.co/Rfln87KABE?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Eastern Maine Sports (@EasternMESports) [February 19, 2023](https://twitter.com/EasternMESports/status/1627170561444007938?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Down in Portland, Marshwood beat Fryeburg and Westbrook got white-hot from 3 as they rolled to the semifinals. > Westbrook Boys have just tied the Class A south/west regional tournament record for three point field goals in a game. 10 three pointers ties the 1999 MT Ararat and 2004 Cheverus boys who accomplished the same feat-First reported by [@JeffMannix](https://twitter.com/JeffMannix?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) on the broadcast! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [February 19, 2023](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1627119860005191681?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Kennebunk got out to an early lead over GNG behind Theo Pow (20 points) and led 32-23 at the half. But Nate Hebert would not go quietly. He had 17 as the Patriots came all the way back to win 55-51\. In the nightcap, Judd Armstrong had 17 & 12 as Falmouth took care of Mt. Ararat. In Augusta, Skowhegan's LePage brothers were too much for Lawrence. They put up 14 (Kyle) and 18 (Collin). And then #7 Messalonskee took down the defending champs in a thriller. > The [@MessoAthletics](https://twitter.com/MessoAthletics?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) game winner [pic.twitter.com/RmYzrmvfTQ](https://t.co/RmYzrmvfTQ?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Joe Bailey (@joebaileysports) [February 18, 2023](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports/status/1627093385688522752?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Game of the Day turned out to be a bust as Cony used a 20-9 2nd quarter to blow out Mt. Blue. Parker Sargeant had 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists for the Rams. Oh, and the MPA has a Twitter account that's just tweeting out shot charts, because apparently we're in the future now. > 48% shooting gets it done. Cony advances [pic.twitter.com/nmG91gdfN0](https://t.co/nmG91gdfN0?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — mpaACCbbsite (@mpaACCbbsite) [February 19, 2023](https://twitter.com/mpaACCbbsite/status/1627124634943475713?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And then we come to the last game of the night, between Camden and arguably the best team in the state. First, we almost lost Mike Mandell. > A look at another near-death tournament experience for [@MichaelJMandell](https://twitter.com/MichaelJMandell?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/qehjvmeCxW](https://t.co/qehjvmeCxW?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Bryan Sidelinger (@SidelingerWABI) [February 19, 2023](https://twitter.com/SidelingerWABI/status/1627195524750225409?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Brewer was struggling early, but they were still leading. And then Camden got hot. > 🚨🚨 This is not a drill 🚨🚨[https://t.co/UFsoEsrRZh](https://t.co/UFsoEsrRZh?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/JWgdzo6T1f](https://t.co/JWgdzo6T1f?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 19, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1627134673339183104?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Brewer has been tested a couple of times this season, but very few people outside of Camden (and maybe Rockport) saw this coming. How would the Witches respond? To start, they got this free throw from Brady Saunders early in the 3rd quarter. > Brewer’s Brady Saunders scores his 1,000th point of his career! [@BrewerWitches](https://twitter.com/BrewerWitches?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/QWssmY6c9p](https://t.co/QWssmY6c9p?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [February 19, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1627138743906758656?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That helped fuel a 15-2 run for the Witches over the first 6 minutes of the half and then they went into a stall. In the 3rd quarter. Stalling is generally a bad idea and it's painful to watch, but it's a really bad idea when you're up 5 in the third quarter and you have the more talented team. You want more possessions in that scenario, not fewer. Because what if you bleed the clock and then Camden goes on a 8-0 run or something? Then what? But Camden went 3/19 from the floor in the second half, even after Ryder Goodwin fouled out on a flop technical. Yes, a flop technical. It was definitely worth staying up late for this one. Brewer survived. > No. 8 [@CamdenHillsBB](https://twitter.com/CamdenHillsBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) gave No. 1 [@BrewerWitches](https://twitter.com/BrewerWitches?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) a SCARE early! But the Witches controlled the Jammers in the 2nd half to win 59-46 and advance to the regional semis. Congrats to Brady Saunders on his 1,000th point, too! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/6ChZ2x95UA](https://t.co/6ChZ2x95UA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan Sudol (@RyanSudolWVII) [February 19, 2023](https://twitter.com/RyanSudolWVII/status/1627181807710924805?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And then as I was leaving Augusta, the truck in front of me hit a deer. Saturday really did have everything. --- Monday we'll do it all over again. I think I'll be in Augusta most (all?) of the day and I'll have live stats as always. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-14.png) I've had my eye on this one for a little while. OOB has won 8 of their last 9 games with the 1 lost coming to a pretty good York team. They went 13-0 this year against C South teams and very few of those games were very close. But C South is really deep and OOB didn't have enough Heal Points on their schedule so they fell to 4th. They'll face #5 Mount Abram in the 4/5 matchup. The Roadrunners, living up to their name, are the 4th highest scoring team in the state. They've won 8 straight, including a shellacking of Hall-Dale in the prelims. The trick with both of these teams is their schedules are some of the weakest in C South. If one of those teams is going to make a run, that schedule is going to get a lot harder. I'll have live stats for this one, if you can't make it to the ACC. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-19-at-11.37.24-PM.png) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Midcoast Madness URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/midcoast-madness/ Last updated: 2023-02-18T12:47:48.000Z One of the great things about tournament basketball is the unexpected. No matter how much you scout or practice, no matter what sort of fancy computer models you build, there will always be something that surprises you. And you never know where it'll come from. With about 6 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter, Medomak Valley was struggling. Their starters were all either struggling from the field or on the bench in foul trouble. Jaiden Starr went to the bench with his second foul and in came sophomore Vishal Mellor, who was probably the smallest player in the B South quarterfinals. He's in the game for about 20 seconds before he front-rims a shot and then he just flies into the paint and rips the ball away from a York player who had probably 5 inches and 40 pounds on him. And you immediately thought, maybe this is a moment. A couple of plays later he assists on a Kevin Sincyr 3 pointer to get Medomak within 1\. York stretched the lead out back out to 5 and Medomak brings in freshman Luke Cheesman, who isn't much bigger than Mellor. He gets steals on consecutive possessions, Mellor takes a charge and starts to get to the line and all of a sudden Medomak enters halftime with momentum. In the second half, Gabe Lash started to get going (he finished with 16 & 13) and Sincyr got hot from 3 (he had 20 to lead all scorers), but it was Mellor (9 points in 13 minutes) and Cheesman who keyed the rally. Medomak stretched the lead to 10 before York got hot and hit 4 3's in the final 2 minutes, but it was Mellor and Cheeseman who were on the floor to close it out. --- In the late game, Sam Lombardo very nearly had a shooting night for the ages. He was 9 of 11 from the floor as Cape led by as many as 13 in the 3rd quarter. But you knew Oceanside would make a run and, sure enough, they did. Oceanside went on an 11-0 run to get back in it, as the Galley twins took over. Carter had 19, including some very clutch 3's and Cohen had a couple of ridiculous finishes around the rim to get 15\. Lombardo finished with 21 for Cape. --- And before all that, Tucker Stiles hit 2 free throws with 0.1 seconds left on the clock to force overtime in a very foul-heavy game (not to mention the litanny that weren't called). Lincoln Academy ramped up their defensive pressure to 11 in the extra period to pull away from Spruce Mountain. --- Over in Bangor, we had a stunner that sent a ripple through the crowd in Portland. > It's only Friday, but we have our biggest upset of the tournament so far! No. 7 [@high\_isle](https://twitter.com/high%5Fisle?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) got hot in their quarterfinal matchup over [@WinslowAthletic](https://twitter.com/WinslowAthletic?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and never looked back![#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/zfRv6I0nn0](https://t.co/zfRv6I0nn0?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/9G8vIaIitW](https://t.co/9G8vIaIitW?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [February 18, 2023](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1626809917553225728?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Adam has a [full story](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/02/17/sports/tourney-time/presque-isle-winslow-b-north-boys-quarterfinal/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) over at the BDN on it. --- And there's this stat from Augusta that I can't even wrap my head around. > Cony girls back on the floor with halftime coming to an end. A win here for the Rams, who lead the River Hawks 24-19, would be huge — they haven’t won a tournament game at the Augusta Civic Center since 2014\. [#MESports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/MESports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#VarsityMaine](https://twitter.com/hashtag/VarsityMaine?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/9z26eLOUoU](https://t.co/9z26eLOUoU?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Mike Mandell (@MichaelJMandell) [February 17, 2023](https://twitter.com/MichaelJMandell/status/1626697504447254554?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I'm also having trouble with this stat. > Caribou girls advance to semifinals for first time in over 15 Years. They stop Foxcroft Academy 68 39\. Madelynn Deprey led the way with 28 points. Caribou will play Ellsworth on Wednesday. > > Posted by [Rene Cloukey - Wagmtv](https://www.facebook.com/renecloukeywagmtv) on [Friday, February 17, 2023](https://graph.facebook.com/100063477161964/posts/657016973090869/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Oh, and Ellsworth just tied a record, no big deal. > And last but not least tonight... ironically was our first matchup.[@EllsworthEagle](https://twitter.com/EllsworthEagle?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) dominates, ties a playoff record for 3's in a game, 11 of them, as they roll to a big win over [@MDItrojans](https://twitter.com/MDItrojans?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)![#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/GmPsxBlouN](https://t.co/GmPsxBlouN?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/9jj1EEQMhR](https://t.co/9jj1EEQMhR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [February 18, 2023](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1626810707923591169?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- It feels like there were a hundred game and I'm sure I missed a lot. Here's a reminder to get your All-State nominations in, like, today. [All-State](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/all-state/) Here's your updated Gold Ball Odds: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-18-at-7.23.17-AM.png)](Good morning! Gold Ball odds are updated! https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) [Gold Ball Odds](Good morning! Gold Ball odds are updated! https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) Here we go with Day 2! Remember there's live stats today from the B South Quarterfinals at the Expo and, depending on factors, either the A South Quarters or the A North Quarters. [LIVE STATS](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live-2/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-13.png) Today's Game of the Day is in Augusta, where Mount Blue takes on Cony in a 4/5 matchup. Mount Blue is led by Evans Sterling (17.6 PPG) and Chandler Briggs (13.3 PPG). They're a high-scoring team, with the 2nd best point differential in A North behind Brewer and were the first team to put a scare in the Witches. Cony is led by junior Parker Sergent (20.1 PPG) and are famously no strangers to the high-pressure environment of the ACC. As is their tradition, they are in the top 10 in the state in scoring. This has the looks of a high-scoring affair. Get a good seat. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-18-at-7.34.32-AM.png) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Tourney Time! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-time/ Last updated: 2023-02-17T13:52:15.000Z Last night at the Expo, in a AA North quarterfinal, the Portland boys survived an upset bid from Windham. The Bulldogs were 21-point favorites but trailed by 1 after three. Windham got stayed close and had multiple opportunities to re-take the lead late, but Portland held on. Kevin Rugabirwa led Portland with 15\. In other quarterfinal action, Yusuf Dakane had 28 as Lewiston cruised by Edward Little and finally beat an Eddies team that had already beaten them twice...Teigan Pelletier scored 23 as Oxford Hills cruised by Bangor...TA had 5 players in double figures as they crushed Massabesic. There's a lot going on as we get ready for the real start of the chaos tomorrow, so let's run through them. --- First, if you're a coach and you haven't submitted your players for All-State (or Region) consideration, make sure you do that. Let's say the deadline is tomorrow-ish. I'll try to run this on Sunday. [Submit for All-State](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/all-state/) --- I've been chipping away at posting updated Media Guides that include the prelim games, but my computer's been making life difficult. B South is definitely done, as they kick things off and B North should be done by the time you read this. [Media Guide](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/media-guide/) --- I went through the boys regions and picked some upsets. --- I'll be in Portland today for the boys B South quarterfinals and tomorrow for the B South girls and then I might jump up to Augusta for the A North boys. Come say hi! As usual, I'll have [LIVE stats](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/live-2/) of the games, which is perfect if you're stuck at work or you're in Bangor and want to keep tabs on a different location or you just want to look at it on your phone while you're at the Expo or if you're just a data nerd like me. It should look something like this on the [full version](https://public.stattracker.com/2022-23-mpa-tournament?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-17-at-12.26.17-AM.png) The website should have a mobile-friendly version with a link to the full version. My goal for this is to eventually have it running at all 4 locations at once and then we'd have stuff like full player stats for the entire tournament. The app, if you're wondering, is [this](https://appadvice.com/app/basketball-stat-tracker-live/1310715077?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- Imagine you're the Mount View. You just spent 2 1/2 hours on the bus and the other team comes out to this. > come play for Houlton High [pic.twitter.com/e8y4eR3ksM](https://t.co/e8y4eR3ksM?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL (@edsbs) [February 16, 2023](https://twitter.com/edsbs/status/1626237346755801089?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) One of the best parts of Tourney Week is seeing some of the bands, especially some of the less-traditional ones like this and Messalonskee. I'm just going to throw this out there as a suggestion. It's probably not something that can happen this year, but...full ska band. I'm just saying. --- Jeff Goodman(!) has some thoughts on who should be the National Player of the Year. > Post-game after another [@IndianaWBB](https://twitter.com/IndianaWBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) win with my daughter [@goodmansport](https://twitter.com/goodmansport?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and my pick for National Player of Year [@kenzieholmes\_](https://twitter.com/kenzieholmes%5F?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/2XMkuhkof8](https://t.co/2XMkuhkof8?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) [February 17, 2023](https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/status/1626438183679565825?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- For full Tournament coverage, especially Bangor, the Bangor Daily News has all sorts of stuff in the works. [Bangor Daily News](https://www.bangordailynews.com/tourney-2023-maine-high-school-basketball-tournament/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And remember, NFHS has the streaming rights to the quarterfinals. WHOU will have the semifinals and Regionals. The Tourney is here! Bring on the chaos. Bring on the upsets. Inject some game winners into my veins. ![](https://media.tenor.com/htsbIAATwZAAAAAC/hoosiers-basketball.gif) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-12.png) The 4/5 matchup is always a potentially close game and today's Game of the Day is no different. But this is a strange one because as I dig, I'm not really sure what we're going to get. On the one hand, we've got a Medomak Valley team that lost their entire starting lineup. But that's a basketball factory and they looked fine when they started the year 8-1\. Then they struggled, as young teams do. They'd look great against Maranacook and then struggle against Leavitt. Same thing with York. One night they'd blow out OOB and then lose to Poland. This could be a blowout in either direction or it could go down to the final possession. I don't really know what to expect. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-16-at-11.11.23-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Chalk Talk URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/chalk-talk/ Last updated: 2023-02-16T13:32:06.000Z It was a quiet night around the state as we worked through the boys prelims. For a bit, it looked like we might have a classic 5/12 upset, NCAA-style. #12 MDI led by 8 at the half, but Foxcroft figured it out in the second half to punch a ticket to Bangor. > Big comeback for [@foxcroftacademy](https://twitter.com/foxcroftacademy?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) tonight, posting the big second half comeback over [@MDItrojans](https://twitter.com/MDItrojans?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) to advance to the Class B Quarters![#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/r1PftrjaAA](https://t.co/r1PftrjaAA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/LdLmbOyfs4](https://t.co/LdLmbOyfs4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [February 16, 2023](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1626071059060367362?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) After Tuesday's fireworks, we were all hyped up for some prelim chaos, but it went mostly chalk. The higher seeds on the boys side went 14-1 last night, with the sole upset coming from #10 Traip over #7 Boothbay. Ben Hawkes had 19 for Traip in the win. They'll face #2 Monmouth in the quarterfinals. Only two games ended in a 2-possession margin of victory and both were in B North. Up in the County, #7 Presque Isle beat #10 Bucksport by 5 and #8 Washington Academy beat a Mount View team by 3 that they had lost to by 37 back in December. That's a long bus ride home. There was also a seeding upset in Girls B South. #10 York blew out #7 Leavitt, but as I [wrote yesterday](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scarborough-in-ot/), that result was expected. It's really a shame for Leavitt. After only winning 1 game last year, they started the year 5-1 and full of promise, but injuries can be cruel. Elsewhere... Joel Gehrke exploded for 29 points and Luke Carey had a double-double (25 points and 10 assists) as #6 Carrabec took care of #11 St. Dom's...Callan Franzose went for 25 & 10 for Madison...Cam Grey's 25 for Mount Abram overcame 28 from Hall-Dale's TJ Wilson...Bella McLaughlin (sorry, *Miss Basketball Semifinalist Bella McLaughlin*) had 21 in Hampden's quarterfinal victory over Windham. --- Every year, I do a long post in which I go through the state, region-by-region, and pick against the favorite. Anyone can pick chalk, so it's an exercise in trying to figure out where the upsets might come from. Sometimes I'm right. Sometimes my pick gets blown out in the first round. I don't do nearly as well as the Model does. This year, since I'm no longer anonymous, I can do stuff like this on video and this seemed like a good bit of content to do as a test. I'm a little out of practice. Anyway, depending on how this goes over, I'll either do more of it or abandon it completely. As the kids say, smash that subscribe button! --- We have another contender for Parent of the Year at the prelim girls game at Foxcroft Academy on Tuesday night. 0:00 / 1× Super classy, dude. Thanks to Marc at [Eastern Maine Sports](https://easternmainesports.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) for sending the video over. --- The Mr. and Miss Maine Basketball semifinalist lists are out. Congratulations to everyone who made the list. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-15-at-11.58.31-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-15-at-11.58.38-PM.png) At a glance, this seems about right. Nothing jumps out as a major omission. There are, however, some issues. Jaelen Jackson obviously plays for South Portland and these are the semifinalists and not the finalists and an earlier version of the awards had GNG in B South, but other than all of that, everything is fine. Details, right? The Miss Maine Basketball award is pretty much settled, but Mr. Basketball feels as wide-open as it's been in a long time? Maybe that's because Cooper and JP Estrella were such big stories last year or maybe it's just a testament to how much talent is in the state right now. But either way you could probably talk me into at least 5 of these people winning the whole thing. --- Speaking of which, get your players in for All-State consideration! [All-State](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/all-state/) --- The prelims are all done and the proper start of the tournament is Friday, but that doesn't mean there aren't games today. Because there's AA quarterfinal games. Not all of them, because that would make too much sense. But some of them. There's no rhyme or reason to it. Hopefully this will be the [last year of the AA experiment](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/02/14/sports/high-school-sports/mpa-new-basketball-classification-system/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), but if we're going to continue, can we put all the AA quarterfinal games on the same day? Thursday would be perfect. It's a little weird to have AA quarterfinal games happening at the same time as C South prelim games and, honestly, unnecessary. Give those prelim teams their moment in the spotlight. They deserve it. They actually all earned that spot. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-11.png) Very few of these AA quarterfinal matchups look very good on paper because, well, when you only have 8 teams in a region, your quarterfinals are going to suck. Maybe you'll get lucky and get an upset, but more likely not. AA North is a good example. There's only 9 teams in the region, but 8 go to the playoffs. If you go solely on Heal Points, only 5 AA North teams would have made the tournament in "full" regions like A South and B South. Edward Little would be the 11 seed in B North and the 12 in C South. So this shouldn't be all that close, except Edward Little actually swept the season series with Lewiston, winning 61-59 on December 15th and 42-41 on February 9th. There's the old saying that it's hard to beat a team 3 times, which is generally nonsense, but it is really hard to beat a team 3 times that's a double-digit favorite over you. If Edward Little can get the trifecta, they'll get the winner of Portland and Windham. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-16-at-12.56.18-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Scarborough in OT! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scarborough-in-ot/ Last updated: 2023-02-15T15:24:27.000Z I was having trouble coming up with a compelling way to open the recap from the first night of play-in action. And then. > Stay up late for Hoops 8 > Nate Glidden, the game winner for [@redstorm\_sports](https://twitter.com/redstorm%5Fsports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/5BPb8mt7Mf](https://t.co/5BPb8mt7Mf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [February 15, 2023](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1625708149301735424?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > Maine. Madness. > > Scarborough pulls off the opening round shocker over Gorham 59-58 after one of the wildest games you will ever see. > > Hoops 8 with [@TLee\_WMTW](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) has exclusive highlights tonight on [@WMTWTV](https://twitter.com/WMTWTV?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). > > And next week? The madness truly begins…[@RobKennedy70](https://twitter.com/RobKennedy70?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/NbI8uHWvlC](https://t.co/NbI8uHWvlC?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — James Corrigan (@RealCorrigan) [February 15, 2023](https://twitter.com/RealCorrigan/status/1625673947021729792?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Scarborough pulls off the massive upset! Gorham won the 2 regular season matchups by 18 and 14. Scarborough was a 19 point underdog on the road in a playoff game in front of a packed house. Teams that were at least a 19-point underdog this year went a combined 4-218 (1.8%) on the year. Somehow, 3 of those games involved Central Aroostook (go figure). The other was the Brewer loss. So perhaps "shocker" is an understatement. There are 8 vs 1 upsets that aren't on this level. My AA quarterfinals hot take is that if they're going to play at the higher seeds, they should do it on Thursday so they don't pull focus from the smaller schools playing their prelim games on Tuesday and Wednesday. --- We had 2 other upsets last night. #11 Central Aroostook blew out #6 Calais as a 10.5 point underdog and #10 Sumner beat #7 Narraguagus. They were a 4.1 point underdog. The Gold Ball Odds are updated to include all of last night's games and will be updated daily. As you can see, C North is already a mess. (this is the Excel version. It's a little prettier.) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-14-at-10.22.51-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) [Gold Ball Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) --- The Peter Webb All-Stars are up to their old tricks. > 1st quarter of a prelim….. Both coaches warned for having a foot out of the box & a player sent out for a corner of his shirt out of his shorts😂 It’s tourney time✅ > > — PT (@ptrue14) [February 14, 2023](https://twitter.com/ptrue14/status/1625641630882533377?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Sounds like a dunk technical is on the way. --- If you've been digging into the Media Guide, you may have noticed a few bugs. There's a weird thing where some teams are being ranked by their 2020 classification. So teams like Oceanside and Medomak were being ranked in stuff like Strength of Schedule as if they were still in B North and A North, respectively. I taught myself a new Excel trick that should fix that. The Traip girls had a random glitch on one game. Some stuff like that. I'll be pushing out an update after the prelim games are all done and you should be able to easily grab that prior to heading to the tourney on Friday. So read it now and print it after the update. [Media Guide](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/02/14/sports/high-school-sports/mpa-new-basketball-classification-system/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Earlier today, the MPA had their meeting on what might become the new classification plan. Maybe. Adam from the BDN was there for the [2.5 hour Executive Session](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/02/14/sports/high-school-sports/mpa-new-basketball-classification-system/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) (If you're going to have an Executive Session that long, let Adam go get lunch. Do the white smoke like when the Vatican has a new Pope.) The short version is there's proposals. There's a 4-class proposal and a 5-class proposal. I've seen them. They're both an improvement over the current system. But I get the sense that more proposals are on the way. But the big news is that we seem to have cleared the way for teams to petition down, provided they've won fewer than 25% of their games over the last 5 seasons. 25% is 4-14\. That feels high. 4-14 is kind of competitive, but also it's relative. Who did you beat? You can go 6-12 without getting off the bus or you can go 6-12 and get the 7 seed. It depends! You'd think a state that uses the Heal Points to determine playoff seeding would understand that inherently. If only there was a system in place that accounted for things like that and would tell you which teams were much better (or worse) than their record. We'll know more in March. Or maybe we won't. --- Today we've got the majority of the boys prelim games. I'm pretty sure there's at least 1 upset here. On the girls' side, Leavitt's Caitlyn McCoy is out for the year. They're a much better team with her on the floor, so they're probably an actual underdog (instead of a 1 point favorite) to a York team that snuck into the tournament on the final day and nearly beat Wells in the finale. We could be seeing the early stages of a Cinderella story. --- Between MaineBasketballRankings.com and the [Bangor Daily News](https://www.bangordailynews.com/tourney-2023-maine-high-school-basketball-tournament/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), we're going to have a ton of tournament content for you, covering all 3 tournament sites. I'll be bouncing between Portland and Augusta and Larry and Adam will have Bangor under control. It's going to be fantastic. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-10.png) The Hall-Dale boys started the season 6-2, but since then things haven't gone well. A team that was looking like the 8 seed in December fell to the 12 seed after finishing 1-9. On the other hand, Mount Abram has won 11 of their last 12 and already beat Hall-Dale by 19 in December. This feels like a miss from the Stax Index, which probably means Hall-Dale will have a chance to win this in the final minute. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-14-at-7.25.50-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Girls Play-In Day (aka Valentine's Day) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/girls-play-in-day-aka-valentines-day/ Last updated: 2023-02-14T13:39:26.000Z If there was ever a year to avoid the play-in round, it's this year. No one wants to be in the prelims, we'd all prefer to go directly to Augusta/Bangor/Portland, and no one wants to play on Valentine's Day, especially the coaches with spouses that have been ignored enough already this season. But being in a Valentine's Day prelim is much better than being out of the tournament entirely, so I guess it's all relative. --- Yesterday, winless North Haven took on winless Pine Tree at Kennebec Valley Community College, a site that's equally inconvenient for both teams. Since there's only 9 teams in D South and 2 of them didn't win a game, we needed a tie-breaker game. Pine Tree was favored by 12 and for the second time this year, they beat the spread. They led 54-9 at the half and coasted to a victory. They earn the right to play Forest Hills in the quarterfinals and since they can't play on Saturday for religious reasons, that throws the schedule into a little bit of disarray (this happens pretty much every year). --- After many hours and a panicked moment where I got an error message saying Excel had run out of resources, the Media Guide is available! The Media Guide has more information than you could probably want about every single team in the state. It's...a lot. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-13-at-7.56.28-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/media-guide/) It's also confusing, which is why it comes with a handy page explaining everything. All told, there's 160 pages of information, more than enough to make you the smartest person in your section of the stands. If you're a paid subscriber, you can download it now. If you'd like to purchase it by itself, it's $5 for a region or $20 for the entire state. Enjoy! [Media Guide](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/media-guide/) --- Mackenzie Holmes had another good game for IU. > Another 30-piece in the Schott. 🤩[@kenzieholmes\_](https://twitter.com/kenzieholmes%5F?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) has her third 30-point game with a CAREER-HIGH 33 points on 15-for-18 from the floor. [pic.twitter.com/ztDAAKcHiT](https://t.co/ztDAAKcHiT?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Indiana Women’s Basketball (@IndianaWBB) [February 14, 2023](https://twitter.com/IndianaWBB/status/1625308681725431810?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The "official" brackets, much like the Heal Points page, are pretty terrible, but not to fear, there's a better solution. > It's the most wonderful time of the year... when we all take time off workworkworkworkwork and watch local kids shine bright like a diamond on the big floor. It's tourney time, and the magic brackets are available here: [https://t.co/DvFzZEMctP](https://t.co/DvFzZEMctP?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)[@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jay Baines (@JDBaines\_II) [February 13, 2023](https://twitter.com/JDBaines%5FII/status/1624948641495498754?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) These are fantastic. I don't even look at the official ones, especially since you can't count on them to be accurate. [Brackets](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UyneHcaxhyRX7Kat7Ht6HZGC7yjsZ4T3NoY3u5uhni8/edit?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#gid=9549336) --- Coaches! Get your All-State stats in! [All-State](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/all-state/) --- Finally, we're probably going to see some buzzer-beaters, but none of them will probably top this one. > PORTLAND STATE WITH A JAW DROPPING GAME WINNER 😱 > > (via [@psuviksMBB](https://twitter.com/psuviksMBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com))[pic.twitter.com/NuNfU8RBe4](https://t.co/NuNfU8RBe4?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) [February 11, 2023](https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1624548711660494849?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Finally, the [Gold Ball odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) are up. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-14-at-8.37.29-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-ball-odds/) It's tourney time... ![](https://media.tenor.com/CTGqMuWwUIwAAAAC/the-dark-knight-joker.gif) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-9.png) If we had a way to judge a game solely on the logos on file, this is an easy call, as this is a top 5 logo vs a bottom 5 logo (come on, Madison! You can do better!) At a glance, this looks like maybe the Model is underselling Madison. They have a similar Strength of Schedule and have a much better point differential. But if you dig deeper, Madison has 1 win against a team in the top 50 and that's a blowout of Carrabec in early December. Carrabec has a win over #38 Winthrop, a win over #40 Valley, and a 2-point loss to #22 Hall-Dale. They've been tested more. So while the first glance says that Madison should win this, the Model disagrees. And, hey, maybe there's a reason Carrabec is the 8 seed and Madison is the 9 (even if it was really close). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-13-at-11.26.38-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) As always, the rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Calendar Overtime URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/calendar-overtime/ Last updated: 2023-12-07T01:31:45.000Z We were supposed to be done, but with all the scheduling chaos, the MPA made today the new final day. So it's basically an overtime period for people who forgot to factor in the possibility of snow. In the Game of the Day, Andrew Perry converted an old-timey 3 point play and hit a layup with 4 seconds to play to give Marshwood a 43-41 win over Westbrook. They will be the 3 seed in A South. But the real game of the day was in Wiscasset. Yes, Wiscasset. The Wolverines entered the day with a 68 game losing streak and seemed destined to carry that into the off-season. They were a 21.9 point underdog to a 6-7 Vinalhaven team, but I guess no one told them that. The Wolverines won 47-41 to snap that streak and jump all the way to [16th in the Heal Points. ](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) The entire game is on YouTube, but I made a clip of the ending. [Wolverines Win!](https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxtTAVwk%5Fo0Q2k1trwBSnEM5WL3OqFeP-X?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The camera person got so excited about the win that they forgot to pan with the team to follow the celebration. These are the little things you learn on the road to building a winning program. The Wiscasset win nearly flipped some seedings in C South and B South, which is just further proof that the Heal Points are amazing because Every. Game. Matters. --- Speaking of which, the Mountain Valley girls came into yesterday's action feeling pretty confident about their chances to make the tournament. The [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) had them at 91.6% to get in and for good reason. They had guaranteed help points that would move them from 11 to 10 and still had a game against Monmouth that could have gotten them as high as 7\. So they should be ok. Except...York had a win over Kennebunk and Kennebunk had a game left against Falmouth and the Rams were an 11-point underdog (24.3%) on the road. But, as they say, that's why we play the games. Kennebunk upset Falmouth and now it looks like Mountain Valley is on to softball season. Sometimes the Heal Points can be a cruel mistress. Elsewhere... Julius Silva tied Biddeford's school record with 7 3's as the Tigers sunk the Shipbuilders...the Deering boys got in the win column against Scarborough...Charlie Houghton dropped 26 on Mountain Valley...Maya Gayle forced overtime at the free throw line and Deering was able to capitalize on the extra minutes to beat Scarborough...The Lincoln Academy boys saw 10 different players make a 3 as they blew out Belfast...Nathan Corey hit 7 3's for Temple...Ella Pelletier had 22 as Oxford Hills beat Hampden...Will Davies dropped 26 as TA overcame a halftime deficit to beat Sanford. --- ## Coaches!!! It's time to submit your players for the Maine Basketball Rankings All-State team consideration. It's been a while, so a quick reminder of how this works. The All-State team doesn't care about social media or TV highlights or the politics of All-Conference voting or what AAU team you're on or even mentions in this newsletter. It doesn't care if you're in Portland or Ashland. All it cares about is what you do inside the lines. There's a form to submit your player's stats. Those stats then get [converted to EFF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efficiency%5F%28basketball%29?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and that is then adjusted by the strength of your schedule (so that player in Ashland will need better stats than the player in Portland). That's it! Having said that, I do need all of those stats. So if you don't track player turnovers, I can't use it. I'll announce these before the quarterfinals, so get your stats in now! [All-State Consideration](https://forms.gle/TmCSMqbYKeJ2o2SRA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I wrote yesterday about how the GNG boys would be the 3 seed in A South. Turns out that was incorrect. The Tourney Odds spreadsheet wasn't giving them credit for beating Freeport. Once I fixed that glitch, they went from the 3 to the 2\. There's something like a combined 22 million cells in the Tourney Odds spreadsheets and 1 cell on the GNG page screwed everything up. Details matter. I apologize for the error. --- Last night was the last game at the old Edward Little gym, baring some miracle where Troy Barnies swoops in and buys it. We pick this up with seconds to go and Edward Little trailing Lewiston 41-40 (ignore NFHS' scoreboard). > Unreal finish! [pic.twitter.com/IHV8s8WInD](https://t.co/IHV8s8WInD?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Coach Cadman (@Jcadman21) [February 10, 2023](https://twitter.com/Jcadman21/status/1623858410075586560?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you've got to go out, go out in style. Just throwing this idea out there into the world: what if we keep the gym and get rid of the NFHS streaming? Just saying. --- On to Brunswick for a rivalry double-header with Mt. Ararat. > TREVOR GERRISH FOR THE WIN!!! [@BrunswickAD](https://twitter.com/BrunswickAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@clarkbb1144](https://twitter.com/clarkbb1144?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/dyR7KtuZVp](https://t.co/dyR7KtuZVp?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jacob Gleason (@GleasBball) [February 10, 2023](https://twitter.com/GleasBball/status/1623858285114802176?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And then further south where SoPo wins at the buzzer AGAIN. > Jackson hits another game winner; SP wins battle of the Hasson's. [@SPREDRIOTS](https://twitter.com/SPREDRIOTS?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/pa7uTs1ipA](https://t.co/pa7uTs1ipA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [February 10, 2023](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1623905686651539456?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Whew. --- Lizzy Gruber put up a 20/15/12 triple-double on Senior Night as Gardiner reached a couple of milestones. > I can’t even begin to put into words what this group of seniors means to me… I’m so proud of them, for what they’ve done on the court and who they have become off the court. > > Tonight’s win closes the door on an 18-0 regular season, and a perfect 36-0 career record at home! [pic.twitter.com/68bcT4GJls](https://t.co/68bcT4GJls?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Mike Gray (@mikegray79) [February 10, 2023](https://twitter.com/mikegray79/status/1623891440345440257?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In addition to the 36-0 record at home, that's the first 18-0 regular season for Gardiner. They've won 38 straight at home, dating back to a loss to a Skowhegan team with some freshman named Jaycie Christopher. --- A [New Hampshire school district](https://www.wmur.com/article/nashua-manchester-school-sports-fight-new-hampshire-223/42820255?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) is limiting games to "immediate family" only after a fight broke out. This, of course, is on the heels of that Vermont middle school game where someone died after a fight broke out. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news here, but I don't see how limiting a game to immediate family members is going to fix things when the problematic fans are very often the parents. --- I've been toying with the idea of doing some extra content, potentially video-related, so I set up a YouTube channel. As the kids say, smash that subscribe button! (did I do that right?) [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Maine.Basketball.Rankings?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- There's not a lot left on the [schedule](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/). But there's still a little bit of work to be done. One note: if you're looking at the [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/), there's a flipped Hermon/MDI boys score that's skewing the final spot in B North. There's a fix on the way but that might not finish processing until the game tips off. I thought I was done with that spreadsheet for the year, but nope. The score is correct in the Heal Points. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-8.png) And now we come to the end. There's not a lot in flux for this game, but it isn't completely meaningless. Let's look at the Heal Points. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-10-at-11.12.22-AM.png) Orono is currently sitting in 4th in B North. A win tonight should be enough to get them past Old Town and into the 3 seed. With a win they get the 3 seed 85% of the time, so there's some combination where Orono wins and stays 4, but honestly I'm too tired to figure out what it might be. My guess is that's a combination of 2 upsets. For Caribou, they're currently sitting 6th. Obviously a win tonight would get them past Foxcroft, but Foxcroft is also playing (Presque Isle). If they both win, Foxcroft would go to \~123 and Caribou to \~125, not counting any help they might get. They split on the season, so those help points would cancel each other out. That wouldn't be enough for either to pass Orono for the bye, as Orono has enough built-in help coming. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-10-at-11.02.25-AM.png) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### It's the Final Countdown! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/its-the-final-countdown/ Last updated: 2023-02-09T15:19:36.000Z That song's going to be in your head all day now. I'm sorry. In the Game of the Day, Old Town didn't have much trouble with Orono, winning 54-41\. That, coupled with Caribou's loss, clinched a bye for Orono and Old Town. The only question that remains is who will get to be on the same side of the bracket as Ellsworth? [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-09-at-9.50.48-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Winslow plays tonight and Orono plays tomorrow in Caribou. Elsewhere... Conner Smith's 20 points helped Freeport rally past Fryeburg...Leavitt got double-doubles from Brett Coburn (23 points, 12 rebounds, & 7 steals) and Wyatt Hathaway (20 points & 10 assists) to beat Belfast...Payton Mitchell dropped 34 as Mt. Abram put up 101 on Buckfield...Cal Nice's 13 & 11 helped NYA by Sacopee Valley...Angel Pillsbury's 6 3's led to 26 points as Freeport won...Hayden Madore had 23 for Hall-Dale...Izzy Stewart's 21 & 12 led Richmond against Boothbay...Ellie Leech just missed a triple-double (24/12/9) for Seacoast Christian...Valley's Madeline Hill dropped 32 on Greenville...Logan Carey hit 6 3's for St. Dom's...Fisher Tewksbury had 25 for Valley...Evan Hamm scored 29 as Yarmouth beat Poland...Jacob Fogg's 14 & 10 helped York hold on against Wells...Colin McDougal's 3 forced overtime, allowing Bucksport to prevail over GSA...Jaiden Philbrook had 19 as the Belfast girls upset Houlton. --- 207 had a great story about WHOU and their growth from radio to the dominant streaming giant in Maine. I've long been a big fan of WHOU and I really hope that as soon as the contracts allow, we can get rid of NFHS for good and just let WHOU handle everything except the state games, because there's no reason to use NFHS when we have 10x the service in-state. Having said that, I'd hate to see MPBN lose the state games. There's a certain cachet about playing on TV. --- Did you really step out of bounds or is maybe the floor wrong??? Because every so often, the floor is wrong. > So as you can see, one baseline is not a straight line. The unevenness stretches to half court. > > I’ve been told the start of the UMaine/Vermont game has been pushed to 7:30 and they’re going to try to fix the floor. > > The floor was just put down wrong. [pic.twitter.com/JS8HjYbzYE](https://t.co/JS8HjYbzYE?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [February 8, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1623467372332949504?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This story got picked up by various Twitter accounts (like Barstool Sports) who just copy/pasted Adam's photos and reported it without giving him credit. That's obviously not cool, but it's not isolated to this situation. This happens a lot. Ethics are important! --- If you're like Adam and you don't always read to the bottom of the newsletter, you might be pleasantly surprised to learn there's NBA picks down there. I just ran the numbers and so far it's 49-27 Against the Spread (64.47%), which I think is pretty good? I don't have a ton of confidence in the pick for the Bulls/Nets game tonight (Nets -3.7), which probably means it'll nail it. --- Netflix has a new [2-part documentary](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/bill-russell-legend-review-netflix-1235319275/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) about the original GOAT Bill Russell. It's pretty good. Everyone's in it, from Cousy and Jerry West to Tatum and Larry Bird. I wish it was longer, because there's so much to dig into with his legacy. It'll definitely give you feelings, even if you aren't a Celtics fan. If you're just a basketball-obsessed person (and if you're here, you already are), this is something you will love. --- Part of the genius of the Heal Points is that every game matters. Every. Single. Game. And on this, the final-ish day of the regular season, there's no better example than C South boys (thanks to Drew Ferrari for pointing it out). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-09-at-9.41.15-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Richmond, OOB, and Monmouth are all done. And while they're close, they aren't super close. There's some separation there. But wait! The Tourney Odds don't agree! [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-09-at-9.44.04-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) They have Richmond going all the way to 2! Part of the reason for that is today at noon, Vinalhaven plays Wiscasset. They'll probably win. And Temple still has to play Pine Tree and North Haven and they'll probably win those. And that *should* get Richmond to 2\. Three games involving winless teams could be the difference between a 2 seed and a 4 seed for a team that isn't involved in any of them. I love it. Having said that, the Heal Points data visualization decided to go rogue late last night (great timing!) and I think it's working now, but if you see anything weird, let me know. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-7.png) We have a little bit left to settle in A South, where we have one of my favorite Heal Point scenarios. Falmouth is all settled in the 1 seed. And if you were some random guy in the stands, looking at the Heal Points, you'd think GNG had the 2 seed pretty well in-hand. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-09-at-10.05.38-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Nope! Because tonight, Westbrook will play Marshwood and they're both worth a lot of points. So what we're looking at is this: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-09-at-10.01.43-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Falmouth is the 1\. GNG is the 3\. And the winner of this game will get the 2 seed and gets to be on GNG's side of the bracket. The loser goes to 4 and gets to be on Falmouth's side. So, pick your poison, I guess. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-09-at-10.01.55-AM.png) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Takatsu Takes the Reigns URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/takatsu-takes-the-reigns/ Last updated: 2023-02-08T20:45:12.000Z In front of a packed house, the Game of the Day lived up to the hype. In the first half, Lawrence went on a 13-0 run to take a 28-20 lead at the half and that's when I got there. > Made it [pic.twitter.com/aHl3iJswIA](https://t.co/aHl3iJswIA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 8, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1623120283853881348?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I always pay tribute to the Cindy shrine. I was in Waterville for a different game, but that ended early and it's only a couple of miles away, so we jumped over and were able to get there by halftime. Parking was difficult, but it was worth it. Because the atmosphere was electric. Lawrence was understandably focused on Lizzy Gruber, but they weren't ready for Taylor Takatsu, who had a monster second half. Gruber did Gruber things, but Takatsu took over the game for multiple stretches as Gardiner pulled away in the final five minutes. She finished with 16 and 10 and it felt like nearly all of that came in the 4th quarter. Gardiner survived and has one game left to complete an 18-0 season. --- We had even more overtimes in A South as Mt. Ararat and Biddeford went the distance (and then some). > Mt. Ararat strengthens playoff chances with 3OT win at Biddeford [@MTA\_Eagles](https://twitter.com/MTA%5FEagles?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@BHSTigerHoops](https://twitter.com/BHSTigerHoops?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/skTavslRnA](https://t.co/skTavslRnA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [February 8, 2023](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1623179790390857730?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Eagles entered the evening clinging to the 8 seed in A South. Today they've [clinched](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). So, a big, big win. --- In Auburn, Marshal Adams tied a school record with 9 3's in a single game! --- Madison's Callan Franzose scored his 1,000th point last night in a win over Oak Hill. Elsewhere... Shane Feeney had 27 points and 28(!) rebounds as Machias crushed Bangor Christian...Maya Cannon's 10 & 12 led Medomak Valley...The Bonny Eagle boys beat TA by 1\. Eliot Bouchard had 17...Chris Simonds had 22 & 10 as Falmouth beat Westbrook...Mason Desjardins led Forest Hills with 29 and 8th grader Mason Cuddy had 22 because Jackman just keeps producing scorers...Cody Dingwell's late free throws got the Gardiner boys past Lawrence...Emily Abbott's 23 led Falmouth...Bella McLaughlin scored 19 points in a quarter as Hampden rolled. She finished with 25...Cassandra Mackenzie hit 7 3's for Kennebunk...Keagan McClure had 26 as Maranacook blew out Belfast...Andrew Perry had 26 for Marshwood...Kylie Lamson had 7 3's and 28 points for TA. --- I don't want to know how this happened (I have a guess!), but whoever is responsible should get a lifetime ban from basketball. All basketball. You can't coach. You can't play. You can't watch NBA games on TV. You have to like soccer now. > Eagles win the offensive shootout against Anadarko. [#GoEagles](https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoEagles?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/gWqF8FKS0G](https://t.co/gWqF8FKS0G?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Weatherford Eagle Athletics (@WfordEagles) [February 8, 2023](https://twitter.com/WfordEagles/status/1623157231523880962?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This is a crime against basketball. --- You may have seen last night that LeBron passed Kareem for all-time points scored. In a loss. To the Thunder. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-08-at-8.24.29-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-08-at-8.19.37-AM-1.png) There's 3 days left in the season! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-6.png) Let's go to the eternally competitive B North boys. Back on December 31, Orono beat Old Town 62-52 on the road. Since then, Old Town has ripped off 11 straight wins to put themselves in position for a bye directly to Bangor. You definitely want a bye in B North, where crazy things can happen in the play-in round. Tonight they'll get a chance to get a little bit of revenge as they head to Orono. But there's a little more than revenge on the line. Both teams have done most of the work toward that bye, but neither has locked it up and Caribou lurks, waiting for one of these teams to falter. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-08-at-3.22.54-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Beyond that, an Orono win makes them a favorite for the 2 seed over Winslow. Old Town will need a win to have a shot at staying out of the 4/5 game and avoiding a potential semi-final matchup with Ellsworth. There's a lot of Heal Points on the line. It's a rivalry game. What more do you need? [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-08-at-3.15.08-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump... _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Viking Quest URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/viking-quest-2/ Last updated: 2023-02-07T17:37:02.000Z Last week, the AD of Brunswick, Aaron Watson, reached out to invite me to last night's Brunswick/Oxford Hills game, correctly thinking it might just be the Game of the Day. I had a schedule opening and I'd been meaning to see both of these teams, so I made the trip. It was a packed house. The drumline was in the building. It was a good time. > Brunswick HS Drumline[@BrunswickGBB](https://twitter.com/BrunswickGBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@oxford\_hills](https://twitter.com/oxford%5Fhills?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@foresports](https://twitter.com/foresports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/6k8uRbgr48](https://t.co/6k8uRbgr48?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — 𝘽𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙃𝙎 𝘼𝙩𝙝𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨 (@BrunswickAD) [February 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/BrunswickAD/status/1622749693527707649?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Brunswick used to be on my brother's team's schedule, so I'd been there before, but let me tell you that watching the Dragons play at home is so much less stressful when you're a neutral 3rd party. When the game started, Brunswick got out to a quick lead, but Oxford Hills was able to keep them in sight and battle back. Having said that, the Vikings weren't exactly catching fire. > Oxford Hills has air balled 4 3s and hit a fan in the head with an errant pass. > > They’re up 1. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1622747850714103809?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It was a golden opportunity for the Dragons to build a lead, but they couldn't capitalize, as both teams tried to get a feel for each other. Oxford Hills extended the lead out to double-digits when Brunswick couldn't buy a bucket early in the 3rd, and when the Dragons did start to put together a few scoring possessions in a row, they kept running into a problem. > Updated Brunswick needs > > 1\. Buckets > 2\. Answer for Sierra Carson > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1622754996964950016?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Carson took over the game for a good 10 minutes, but just when it looked like the Vikings might run away with it, Oxford Hills missed a couple of 3's, Dakota Shipley fueled a 10-0 run and the Dragons were back in it. But Oxford Hills held on for a 4-point win on the road. They ascend to the top of AA North with the win. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-07-at-11.30.30-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- It was a game of quarters at Mount Abram, as the Roadrunners led Spruce 14-3 after one, only to watch the Phoenix go on a 33-12 tear over the middle two quarters. But Mount Abram rallied with a 19-5 final quarter to get the win. Sounds like the sort of game that gives coaches ulcers. Elsewhere... The Presque Isle girls beat Hermon in double OT...Madison needed 6 players in double figures to overcome Mason Desjardins' 44 in a victory at home...Breckyn Winship had 28 & 17 for Seacoast Christian in a win...Elise MacNair had 36 as OOB beat Hall-Dale...The Freeport girls beat Greely for the first time since 2001...Stephen Walsh had 24 as Yarmouth knocked off Wells...Winthrop handed Kents Hill their second loss in a row...Freshman Nolan Ames had 27 for Camden as they beat Morse. --- So just a quick note that as much as I enjoy trying to figure out the heal point scenario of "what if this team wins and this team loses and this other team loses? Oh but wait, what if they win instead?", the spreadsheets don't spit that out and I generally have to figure that out by hand--just like you would!--and it takes a long time. The real short-cut is the [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/), which will answer a lot of those questions for you. If it says 5% for a seed, then you need to thread a needle. If it says 95%, then you just need some weird scenarios to be cleaned up. If it's like 40% then you need to win a game and get some help. If it's 75%, you likely control your own destiny. If it says 0%, it ain't happening. You get the idea. As much as I would love to answer everyone's questions, I can't. Get the [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). That's why they're there. Also, they help keep this website running. [Tournament Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- The Maine Basketball Hall of Fame inductees were just released. It's a pretty good list of names. > The Maine Basketball Hall of Fame has announced its 2023 inductees! [pic.twitter.com/EiTQDvT9bE](https://t.co/EiTQDvT9bE?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [February 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1622973842586230784?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Busy day on the schedule! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-5.png) We're heading to A North girls. We've heard a lot this year about Gardiner and their probable Miss Basketball Lizzy Gruber and her video game numbers. They've locked up the 1 seed in A North and are undefeated, but it hasn't been all blowouts and JV minutes. They survived Cony in overtime the other day, but early in the season they were pushed to the limit by Lawrence. Save for the losses against Gardiner and Bangor back in December, the Bulldogs have been quietly blowing people out. They actually have the top point differential in the region (second in Class A) and are the highest-scoring team in Class A. They'll be looking to prove they belong in the conversation of contenders in Class A and exact a little bit of revenge from that 4-point loss on December 14th. There's also the business of keeping Cony out of the 2 seed. If you go, make sure you pay your respects to the Cindy Blodgett shrine. If you can't, [EpicVue Studio will have the stream](https://www.youtube.com/@EpicVueStudio2/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-07-at-10.22.47-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Final Week URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/final-week/ Last updated: 2023-02-06T18:03:09.000Z Just to be honest off the bat, I was going to write a longer newsletter today, but then the Kyrie trade happened and I've been really busy making and/or reading jokes. I'm not sure what Dallas is doing. It seems like Kyrie and Luka might work short-term, but I can't imagine that wins the Mavericks a title, so I'm not sure what their thinking in Dallas. Because long-term this will end badly. The good news is, Kyrie loves to take time off for...reasons and there's a perfect hobby right there in town. > Sending Kyrie to the city where JFK got assassinated opens up all kinds of avenues for him to do some exciting research > > — Alex Kirshner (@alex\_kirshner) [February 5, 2023](https://twitter.com/alex%5Fkirshner/status/1622326476828803072?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And for the Nets fans (both of you), I'd be remiss to not mention that Chad Finn [TOLD YOU SO](https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/celtics/2019/07/05/dear-nets-fans-here-what-you-getting-kyrie-irving/UTqQ90PMOv1mWTFq4wkN8H/story.html?event=event25&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- I spent the weekend trying desperate to clean up the master schedule and updating dates and finding scores and I've seen 8,549 spam ads for streams of games and so yesterday I published a master list of what we know about every region in the state--who's in, who's out, who's locked down a seed, what's in play for each seed in the state--it's a lot. I can't promise there isn't an incorrect score in there somewhere that's screwing it all up, but I've done my best to find them. There might be one in D South boys. Check it out. [Where Things Stand](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/where-things-stand/) --- In Saturday's Game of the Day, Nate Hebert scored 9 of his 25 in Overtime as GNG survived a York rally and a Reece MacDonald's buzzer-beater at the end of regulation to claim a 70-61 win. The win moved GNG into the probable 3 seed in A South. Elsewhere around the state... Seamus Raftice's 25 led a Greely team that put up 89 on Poland and has suddenly followed up a 36 point game with 117, 60, and 89...Lindsay Hamilton had 21 for Carrabec...Sierra Carson had 25 as Oxford Hills blew out Bangor...the Windham girls had a 22-0 run to put Portland away...Sunny Johnson had 25 for Seacoast Christian as they denied Pine Tree their first win, 49-47...Jace Bessey's 5 3's fueled a big second half for Spruce Mountain...Breckyn Winship had a triple-double (21 points, 20 rebounds, 11 steals) for the Seacoast girls. --- Wisdom had not one, but two players reach 1,000 points on (I think) the same night. In a boys/girls doubleheader against East Grand. Olivia Oullette scored her 1,000th [in the girls game](https://fiddleheadfocus.com/2023/02/01/news/wisdom-basketball-standout-olivia-ouellette-joins-1000-point-club/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), and then Dominick Gendreau [joined her](https://fiddleheadfocus.com/2023/02/01/news/gendreau-sinks-1000th-basketball-point/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) during the boys game. --- It's the final week of the season and much like me in every class I ever took in college, people are starting to realize that project is due, like, soon dude. > North Haven is going to attempt to play 42% of their schedule this week. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 5, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1622377810005221377?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Part of that involves a trip to Forest Hills (or wherever they play it). There's a little more to this: the North Haven boys need to play all 5 games to get to 12 and be eligible for the tournament. They didn't play a game between December 15th and January 9th. --- If you're only going to go 2 OTs, make sure you get your money's worth. > This is a BRUTAL way to lose a game. [pic.twitter.com/RBI7YVcYAn](https://t.co/RBI7YVcYAn?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) [February 5, 2023](https://twitter.com/TheFieldOf68/status/1622271601109618689?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Also, some free advice for parents: > If you're in the stands at a kids basketball game, you don't have to yell coaching advice. > > — Kevin Pelton (@kpelton) [February 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/kpelton/status/1622019687965130752?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- We've got a pretty good schedule, full of scoreboard watching opportunities, but the Game of the Day has very little of that. Still, it's a good one. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-4.png) Tonight we've got a huge game down in Brunswick as the Dragons host the Oxford Hills girls. Brunswick is locked into the 1 seed in A South and Oxford Hills controls their own destiny for the top slot in AA North, so there's not a lot of variables in play, but I feel like that doesn't matter. You can parse these numbers any way you want and you'll always come up with the same answer: these are 2 of the best teams in the state. And what we have tonight is a late-season inter-class matchup that is a fantastic primer for the tournament, even if these two teams won't play each other. Can it live up to the hype? I'm planning to be there, so if you're in Brunswick, come say hi. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-06-at-8.01.48-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Where Things Stand URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/where-things-stand/ Last updated: 2023-02-05T20:20:30.000Z One week to go in the regular season. Do you know where your team will land? Here's what you're looking at. Using the [Tournament Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/), this simulates the rest of the schedule 1,000 times, looking for as many combinations of Heal Points as possible, with a preference on how likely they are. It then assigns a percentage of how often a team lands on a certain seed. For this, I'm going to call anything that's over 95% (more or less), so it's possible one of these might not come through. Crazier things have happened. If anyone's locked into a seed or it's down to 2-3 teams, I'll list those. But if it looks like this, I'm just going to tell you how many teams are in the mix. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-05-at-11.08.10-AM.png) These take a LONG time to run, so if I found your score after I started running this, it won't be reflected here. Also let me know if anything looks weird, because typos do slip through. If you want more detail, sign up for a paid subscription and look at the [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). They're awesome. It'll answer a lot of your questions! Plus you'll get good Heal Points, the Media Guide for the Tournament, and much, much more. [Tournament Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Here we go! ### AA North Boys *In: 7 (Oxford Hills, Lewiston, Portland, Cheverus, Hampden, Edward Little, Windham)* *Out: 0* 1: Oxford Hills 2/3: Lewiston/Portland 4: Cheverus 5: Hampden 6: Edward Little 7/8: Windham/Bangor/Deering ### AA North Girls *In: 7 (Cheverus, Oxford Hills, Bangor, Windham, Hampden, Edward Little, Deering)* *Out: 0* 1-3: Cheverus/Oxford Hills/Bangor 4-5: Windham/Hamdpen 6-7: Edward Little/Deering 8-9: Lewiston/Portland ### AA South Boys *In: 8 (Everyone)* *Out: 0* 1: TA 2/3: Gorham/SoPo 4: Bonny Eagle 5/6: Noble/Sanford 7: Scarborough 8: Massabesic ### AA South Girls *In: 7 (Everyone)* *Out: 0* 1: TA 2/3: Sanford/Gorham 4: Scarborough 5: SoPo 6: Bonny Eagle 7: Noble ### A North Boys *In: 7 (Brewer, Nokomis, Skowhegan, Cony, Mount Blue, Lawrence Messo)* *Out: Gardiner* 1: Brewer 2: Nokomis/Skow 3/4: Nokomis/Skow/Mt. Blue/Cony 5-7: Skow/Mt. Blue/Cony/Lawrence/Messo 8: Camden/Erskine [Tournament Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) ### A North Girls *In: 8 (Gardiner, Lawrence, Cony, Camden, Nokomis, Skowhegan, Erskine, Brewer)* *Out: 2 (Mt. Blue, Messo)* 1: Gardiner 2/3: Lawrence/Cony 4: Camden 5: Nokomis 6: Skowhegan 7: Erskine 8: Brewer ### A South Boys *In: 7 (Falmouth, Westbrook, GNG, Marshwood, Greely, Fryeburg, Kennebun)* *Out: Morse* 1: Falmouth/Westbrook 2-4: Falmouth/Westbrook/GNG/Marshwood 5-7: Greely/Fryeburg/Kennebunk 8: Mt. Ararat/Brunswick/Freeport/Biddeford ### A South Girls *In: 5 (Brunswick, Mt. Ararat, GNG, Marshwood, Greely)* *Out: 3 (Kennebunk, Morse, Biddeford)* 1: Brunswick 2/3: Mt. Ararat/GNG 4-9: Marshwood/Falmouth/Greely/Freeport/Westbrook/Fryeburg ### B North Boys *In: 8 (Ellsworth, Orono, Winslow, Old Town, Foxcroft, Caribou, Mount View, WA)* *Out: Belfast* 1: Ellsworth 2-4: Orono/Winslow/Old Town/Foxcroft/Caribou 5/6: Old Town/Foxcroft/Caribou 7-12: 8 teams ### B North Girls *In: 10 (Old Town, Caribou, Ellsworth, Houlton, MDI, WA, Foxcroft, Presque Isle, MCI, Hermon)* *Out: 4 (Waterville, Winslow, Orono, Bucksport)* 1: Old Town 2: Caribou 3: Ellsworth 4: Houlton/MDI/WA/Foxcroft 5-13: Yikes (10 teams) ### B South Boys *In: 8 (Oceanside, Yarmouth, Spruce, Medomak, York, Maranacook, Lincoln, Cape)* *Out: 2 (Poland/Oak Hill)* 1-3: Oceanside/Yarmouth/Spruce 4/5: Medomak/York/Maranacook 6: York/Maranacook/Lincoln/Cape 7-10: 7 teams [Tournament Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) ### B South Girls *In: 7 (Oceanside, Spruce, Wells, Medomak, Lake Region, Maranacook, Yarmouth)* *Out: Poland* 1/2: Oceanside/Spruce 3: Wells/Oceanside/Spruce 4/5: Medomak/Lake Region/Maranacook 6: Lake Region/Maranacook 7-10: 6 teams ### C North Boys *In: 8 (Dexter, Calais, Fort Kent, Lee, Woodland, Fort Fairfield, GSA, Penobscot Valley)* *Out: 2 (Central Aroostook, Narraguagus)* 1/2: Dexter/Calais 3: Fort Kent 4-13: 13 teams (kind of a mess) ### C North Girls *In: 7 (Dexter, Penobscot Valley, Hodgdon, Central, Mattanawcook, Calais, Fort Kent)* *Out: 3 (Searsport, Lee Academy, Madawaska)* 1: Dexter 2-4: Penobscot Valley/Hodgdon/Central 5: Mattanawcook 6: Calais 7-13: 9 teams [Tournament Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) ### C South Boys *In: 9 (Dirigo, OOB, Monmouth, Richmond, Mount Abram, Boothbay, Carrabec, Waynflete, Madison)* *Out: 3 (Buckfield, Telstar, Wiscasset)* 1: Dirigo 2-4: OOB/Monmouth/Richmond/Mount Abram 5/6: Monmouth/Richmond/Mount Abram/Boothbay/Carrabec 7-13: 9 teams ### C South Girls *In: 11 (NYA, OOB, Kents Hill, Hall-Dale, Richmond, Monmouth, Winthrop, Carrabec, Madison, Traip, Sacopee Valley)* *Out: 4 (St. Dom, Buckfield, Boothbay, Wiscasset)* 1: NYA 2/3: OOB/Kents Hill/HD 4-13: 11 teams ### D North Boys *In: 8 (Southern Aroostook, Machias, Bangor Christian, Schenck, Easton, Katahdin, Jonesport, Wisdom)* *Out: 0* 1: Southern Aroostook 2-4: Machias/Bangor Christian/Schenck/Easton 3-6: Machias/Deer Isle/Katahdin/East Grand/Jonesport 7/8: Katahdin/Jonesport/Wisdom 9/10: Van Buren/Ashland/Shead/Deer Isle ### D North Girls *In: 6 (Southern Aroostook, Wisdom, Machias, Deer Isle, Katahdin, East Grand)* *Out: Van Buren* 1: Southern Aroostook 2: Wisdom 3-6: Machias/Deer Isle/Katahdin/East Grand/Jonesport 7-10: East Grand/Jonesport/Ashland/Washburn/Schenck/Easton [Tournament Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) ### D South Boys *In: 7 (Forest Hills, Valley, Seacoast, Islesboro, Greenville, Vinalhaven, Temple)* *Out: 0* 1: Forest Hills 2: Valley 3-5: Seacoast/Islesboro/Greenville 6: Greenville/Vinalhaven/Temple 7: Temple, probably 8: North Haven?/Pine Tree ### D South Girls *In: 5 (Valley, Forest Hills, Seacoast Christian, Pine Tree, Vinalhaven)* *Out: 0* 1: Valley 2/3: Forest Hills/Seacoast 4: Pine Tree 5-8: Everyone else ### The Witching Hour URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-witching-hour/ Last updated: 2023-02-04T19:02:49.000Z The truly great news from Friday night was that my car started after the game, but oh man it didn't want to. The Game of the Day didn't really pan out. Jason Reynolds put up 20 & 9 and Winslow used a big 3rd quarter to pull away from Medomak Valley, 57-44\. On the other hand, the Game to Check the Steam For the Score, Just In Case (really do need a new name) went exactly as expected. The Panthers had 11 players score as they went early and often to the end of their bench in a 76-16 rout. I'm still looking for that [triple-double from a JV player](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/01/10/sports/high-school-sports/maine-high-school-basketball-blowouts-xoasq1i29i/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Turns out the Stax Index isn't perfect. Because it really should have been in Brewer. The drama began early in Brewer with a Unified Basketball game against Bucksport. The Witches survived a rally to notch a 53-49 win. Then there was a boys/girls doubleheader with Skowhegan. The girls game went down to the wire and Jenna McQuarrie was fouled down 1 with no time on the clock. > Brewer’s Jenna McQuarrie drills to free throws with no time left to life the Witches over Skowhegan, 43-42 [@BrewerWitches](https://twitter.com/BrewerWitches?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/DAR3jRqaKN](https://t.co/DAR3jRqaKN?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [February 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1621664624843055108?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Then we still had the boys game. You may remember that the Skowhegan boys were the pre-season coach's pick to win A North and all that vanished when Brewer blew them out 60-37 on Opening Night. Brewer went on to become an unstoppable force, destroyer of worlds, while Skowhegan struggled. They started 0-3 and had lost 2 of their last 3, but you have to imagine they had circled last night on the schedule. And they came out swinging. The River Hawks led by 11 at the half and stretched the lead in the 3rd before Brewer came storming all the way back. Brewer had a chance to tie at the buzzer, but Brady Saunders was fouled on a 3\. He needed to make all three free throws to force yet another overtime game for the Witches. And then. > Final moments of Skowhegan’s win [pic.twitter.com/3YnyK3obm2](https://t.co/3YnyK3obm2?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) [February 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1621691011595468801?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I love the saltiness of this. Maybe it's a product of growing up when sportsmanship was...less of a priority, but back in my day, this was a lot more common and it was awesome and I miss it. Anyway, guess who's going to be in the 4/5 game and could play Brewer in the A North semifinals? If you're wondering, Brewer was favored by 24.5\. In retrospect, it wasn't the best night to be a huge favorite. > Fryeburg pulls off big upset, knocks off Gray-NG in OT. [@FryeburgAcademy](https://twitter.com/FryeburgAcademy?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/IW1icWdnvA](https://t.co/IW1icWdnvA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [February 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1621736859779956739?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) GNG was favored by 17.7\. Mina Milosevic had 25 for Fryeburg. The Winthrop boys were down 31-9 to Monmouth, in a game Monmouth was favored by nearly 8, and the Ramblers very nearly added to the list of upsets. > Boys Basketball > Monmouth 52 > Winthrop 49 > Final > Braden Branagan's 3 point attempt at the buzzer doesn't go down! Great game! Awesome atmosphere tonight on Senior Night! The Ramblers comeback effort falls just short. [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jeff Miles (@JeffMiles9) [February 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/JeffMiles9/status/1621679152104411136?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Elsewhere... Owen Tighe had 23 as Cape beat Poland...Silvano Ismail had 29 has Cheverus nearly got to 100 against Massabesic...Jace Cook had 41 for Calais...Lindsay Hamilton dropped 27 for Carrabec...Jace Brophy had 33 for the Dirigo girls...Ashley Mullen had 23 as the Messo girls got their first win....Riley Hebler's 29 led Sanford over Bonny Eagle...Madeline Hill dropped 28 for Valley. --- There's been this looming question over the last week or so of whether or not teams will be able to get their games in. Yesterday, PI & Foxcroft got permission from the MPA to play a game on the 10th, which was a surprise. But not as big a surprise as this: > The last playable date has been extended to Friday, February 10. > > — Michael Bisson (@MikeBissonMPA) [February 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/MikeBissonMPA/status/1621662893828710401?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Not the part about the 10th. I always kind of figured the Friday was a built-in fail-safe. You kind of have to have a fail-safe because what if there's a blizzard on the final day? I'm talking about the part where someone at the MPA replied to one of my tweets with meaningful information. What timeline is this? Anyway, now that the word is out, a bunch of games have already gone to the 10th. Expect more. --- Someone sign this kid! > Meet Jarid Lundeen. > > A 7th-grader. From Minot, North Dakota. > > He needs to make a layup, a free-throw, a three pointer, and a half-court shot in under 25-seconds — to win $10,000… > [pic.twitter.com/yvWMXGc0vt](https://t.co/yvWMXGc0vt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) [February 2, 2023](https://twitter.com/RexChapman/status/1621220207795503112?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The Game of the Day should be the Bangor/Oxford Hills girls game, but we've kind of been all over that region, and then it was going to be a B North boys game that got postponed, so now we're on to option 3. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-3.png) They've already started playing, but the Game of the Day is in Southern Maine, where the temps have soared above zero. The GNG boys are in a [virtual tie for 2nd](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) in the Heal Points with Westbrook, but the Blazes have a lot more points at their disposal, so if GNG is going to hold on to the 2 (very unlikely), they'll need to win twice. More likely, they go to 3, and could fall to 4 if they lose their last 2\. They'll host York, who has more range in their outcomes. York has about a 55% shot at the 4/5 game in B South with 3 to play. They could drop to the 6, if they lose all 3 and there is a worst-case scenario where they fall into the play-in round, and someone like Mountain Valley sneaks into the bye, but that requires they beat Dirigo and York loses out and then they probably need some help. GNG is up 5 at the half. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-04-at-1.47.28-PM.png) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Brrrr URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/brrrr/ Last updated: 2023-02-03T19:48:53.000Z In the Game of the Day, Sierra Carson's 5 3-pointers and 27 points made short work of Gorham as Oxford Hills bounced back from their first loss of the season in a 72-47 win. Elsewhere in a pretty light schedule. Days after watching a double-digit lead disappear against Gardiner, the Cony girls rallied down 18 against Camden...Chance Mercier had 34 as Ellsworth won again...Elise McNair's 33 led OOB to victory...Callan Franzose had 29 & 12 in a Madison win...Jace Bessey had 26 as Spruce Mountain beat Hall-Dale...Bella McLaughlin led Hampden with 24 in a win over Deering. --- The tournament is fast-approaching and that means it's almost time for the Media Guide! If you're new around these parts, here's an example of what it looked like back in the olden, pre-pandemic times. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-03-at-12.17.28-PM.png) There will probably be some tweaks this year, but as you can see it's a LOT of information. This will be available for every team in the tournament--in pdf form--for paid subscribers, along with some other tourney-specific stuff. It also comes with an explanation of what all this means. Essential reading for in-between games. [Subscribe Today](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/signup) --- Terrible news out of NYA. > A tough break for a lock [https://t.co/Lp9tDVG04A](https://t.co/Lp9tDVG04A?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) semifinalist. Angel Huntsman of NYA is out until early March at best with a knee injury. She was averaging 10 assists a game for the Panthers who were unbeaten when she got hurt. [pic.twitter.com/ExYQUeeXhC](https://t.co/ExYQUeeXhC?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [February 3, 2023](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1621332564647596033?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Huntsman was having a fantastic year and hopefully she can recover quickly. This is obviously a big blow to NYA's title chances. --- In good news, Cooper Flagg is a semi-finalist for the Naismith Prep Player of the Year > 🚨YOUR TOP TEN [@jerseymikes](https://twitter.com/jerseymikes?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Naismith Boys’ High School POY Semifinalists🚨 > > Check it out 😎 > 🔗: [https://t.co/9tGbPhZaaG](https://t.co/9tGbPhZaaG?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/MoJKSGVCyY](https://t.co/MoJKSGVCyY?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Naismith Awards (@NaismithTrophy) [February 2, 2023](https://twitter.com/NaismithTrophy/status/1621191795085377538?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Wow! The [full list of winners](https://basketball.realgm.com/highschool/awards/3?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) is a mix of people you've definitely heard of (Jared Sullinger!) and some you might have (LeBron James?). In case you were wondering, it has gone to a senior every single time. --- I'm at a loss as to how this happened. > Duke coach Kara Lawson said the teams played with a men's basketball for the first half of a loss to Florida State on Sunday. The 16th-ranked Blue Devils lost to the Seminoles 70-57 in Tallahassee, Florida. [https://t.co/VJYmQe1NKE](https://t.co/VJYmQe1NKE?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN\_WomenHoop) [February 3, 2023](https://twitter.com/ESPN%5FWomenHoop/status/1621386867651538949?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) No one checked the ball? The refs didn't notice? Maybe the craziest part of this story is that FSU and the ACC are disputing it happened at all. --- It's insanely cold out, so if you're going to a game tonight, don't do anything stupid. Apparently every game in the County has been postponed, so our scheduling chaos continues. We've already got a game that's been moved to the 10th. It does look like nearly everyone else is making an effort to squeeze these games in. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-2.png) So in a fun quirk, the Game of the Day and the, uh, Game to Check the Steam For the Score, Just In Case (i.e. the lowest Stax Index number of the day) involve the same 2 schools. I think this is a first? It's tricky. In order to be the Game to Check the Steam For the Score, Just In Case (probably need a better name), you can't just have two bad teams. Because that might be close. You need a game between a team that's at least pretty good and a team that very much is not. To have both, you need a really good team and a really bad team at the same school. Enter Winslow. The Winslow girls are -664 in scoring differential on the year--that's 3rd worst in the state. They've got 7 freshmen on the Varsity roster, so hopefully it's just a rebuilding year. But the Winslow boys are an entirely different story. They've got the 20th best scoring differential the state. The main reason for that is the play of the dynamic Jason Reynolds, who leads the KVAC in scoring (30.1 PPG) and rebounding (14.3 RPG). Reynolds has had a monster year and I feel like it's kind of slipped under the radar. Maybe people didn't take Winslow seriously early in the year. They lost to Lincoln Academy on December 20th before we knew that Lincoln was actually good this year and they beat Oceanside on December 27th when we weren't yet sure how good Oceanside is. So maybe that's why the win over Lawrence was the win that got people's attention (or maybe it's class bias, I dunno). But the point is: Winslow is really good. Should they be ranked higher? Yes. Their schedule isn't very good and that's holding them back, but when they've played good teams, they've done well. They beat Leavitt by 11\. They beat Lawrence by 2\. And they beat Mount View by 26. They're currently 3rd in a [very tough B North](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/). They can't get to 1\. Ellsworth ran away with that a while ago, but they could get to 2 and they've got a little bit of work to do to avoid 5th and a play-in game. They'll get their first opportunity against Medomak Valley. The Panthers have struggled a little lately. They were as high as 10th in the Power Rankings, but have fallen after a sub-par showing the last time they were in this space and a loss at home to a Leavitt team that's clinging to the 10 seed. The Panthers locked up a bye with a win over Lincoln Academy. A win here would go a long way toward getting them to the 3 seed in B South. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-03-at-12.16.35-AM.png) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Zero Overtimes URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/zero-overtimes/ Last updated: 2023-02-02T16:53:15.000Z There were zero overtime periods last night. We used them all up. The Southern Aroostook Revenge Tour ended with a loss as the Warriors fell to Penobscot Valley 42-31\. Thirty-one points is far and away the fewest Southern Aroostook has scored this season. This is the first 3 loss season for Southern Aroostook since 2015-16, when they went 13-5. It's worth noting that the Warriors have gone out of their way to play a harder schedule this year. --- In Farmingdale, the Spruce Mountain girls found themselves in trouble in a rivalry matchup with Hall-Dale. The Phoenix trailed by 9 with under 5 minutes to play, but rose from the ashes to pull off the win and keep their hopes alive for the 1 seed in B South. You can watch the ending on [Munzing Media](http://www.munzingmediasports.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). The final possession is pure chaos. [Your Team's Tournament Outlook](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Elsewhere... Calais and Machias lit up the scoreboard. Jace Cook had 42 points, including 8 3's in Calais' 85-82 win...Parker Sargent had 24 as Cony beat Gardiner...Brayden St. Pierre dropped 27 in Thorndike as Maranacook beat Mount View...The Oxford Hills boys held on to beat Cheverus 59-58 and tighten their grip on the 1 seed in AA North...Kents Hill beat Monmouth to stay undefeated...Natalie Mohlar had 6 3's en route to 32 points as Maranacook blew out Mount View. Maranacook won the 2nd quarter 29-0...Peyton Reckards had 23 & 19 as Temple beat Vinalhaven on the island. --- We have a photo of the book from the Greely/Fryeburg game. > Thanks to the [@GreelyRangers](https://twitter.com/GreelyRangers?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) boys basketball scorekeeper for sending in some photos of last night's 8 overtime scorebook. This is how it looked after 7 OTs. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/qSERLG5P0I](https://t.co/qSERLG5P0I?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Middays with Mannix & Mannix (@MannixBrothers) [February 1, 2023](https://twitter.com/MannixBrothers/status/1620830593348165632?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) So I did a little more digging and it turns out there was a SIXTEEN overtime girls game in my old stomping grounds of Chattanooga back in 1969\. I found a write-up from [Sports Illustrated](https://vault.si.com/vault/1969/01/27/scorecard?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-02-at-12.19.53-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-02-at-12.20.02-AM.png) "There's no accounting for women." Way to denigrate teenage girls, 1969 Sports Illustrated. But also, talk about needing a shot clock. Imagine sitting through 11 scoreless overtime periods. --- If you're in Class B North, you might have noticed a shift in the Heal Points this morning. > 🚨 If you are using the MPA's site for Heal Points, there seems to be an issue with the divisor. > > For example, these Preliminary Indexes are all wrong (Ellsworth is the red flag. Should be 38.000). > > Just spoke to [@MikeBissonMPA](https://twitter.com/MikeBissonMPA?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and they are looking into it. [pic.twitter.com/R3InrETkod](https://t.co/R3InrETkod?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 1, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1620885558565433344?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Reader Rich Rotella reached out to me, wondering why he couldn't match the math on the MPA site, especially Ellsworth, which if you're going to use the floating divisor, should have a Preliminary Index of 38.000 (they play an all-B schedule). I started to go down the list and found that Winslow was correct, but Foxcroft and Old Town weren't. This could be a real problem in a week, so I took the very unusual step of calling the MPA. On the phone. I figured this would be a very easy fix or a very hard fix and if it was the latter, they might need all the time they can get. Mike Bisson seemed surprised to hear from me, but we had a nice conversation--we even chatted about the Greely/Fryeburg game--and within a couple of hours the problem was fixed. Turns out it was a glitch with Houlton being a co-op team this year and not giving teams credit for beating them in their Preliminary Index. Hopefully that's the only issue, but if you find another one, don't hesitate to reach out. --- You may have seen this going around, but [spectator died](https://nypost.com/2023/02/01/man-dies-after-fan-brawl-at-middle-school-basketball-game-in-vermont/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) in a brawl at a middle school game in Vermont. A middle school game. Middle school. > A man dies after a brawl breaks out during a middle school basketball game in Vermont. No words! [pic.twitter.com/mZAECuxduR](https://t.co/mZAECuxduR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Chad Baker (@ChadBlue83) [February 1, 2023](https://twitter.com/ChadBlue83/status/1620905959391653888?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Like, come on. Grow up. Just watch the game and cheer for your kid. --- It got lost in the chaos of the overtimes, but I was on the radio, talking high school basketball. > Lucas McNelly aka [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) joined us today to discuss his website and touched on the Maine HS basketball landscape. [https://t.co/02ea289T5P](https://t.co/02ea289T5P?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Middays with Mannix & Mannix (@MannixBrothers) [January 31, 2023](https://twitter.com/MannixBrothers/status/1620501441726267393?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day-1.png) We're back in AA for Oxford Hills' second half schedule gauntlet. The other day, the Vikings lost their first game of the season, which put a big dent in their chances of getting the 1 seed in AA North. They can still get there, but they'll need some help. More attainable is the [2 seed (21%)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/), but they're looking like the probable 3 seed. The top 3 in AA North is stacked. In AA South, Thornton Academy is locked in as the 1 seed and it's a coin flip between Gorham and Sanford for the 2/3 seed. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-02-at-11.45.09-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Scarborough is currently in 3rd, but they've got virtually no Heal Points left on their schedule, so they'll likely fall to 4. The difference between 2 and 3 is pretty important. The 2 seed gets winless Noble. The 3 seed gets 8-8 Bonny Eagle. Gorham's going to need to get either this one or South Portland and hope Sanford doesn't run the table. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-02-at-9.37.07-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Overtime(s) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/overtime-s/ Last updated: 2023-02-01T16:34:24.000Z Let's start with the Game of the Day. The gauntlet of Oxford Hills' schedule caught up with them. Cheverus led by 1 at the half and slowly pulled away to win by 8\. Emma Lizotte and Madigan Fitzpatrick each had 15 for the Stags as they took Oxford Hills down from the ranks of the unbeaten. Cheverus now moves to first place in AA North and is the overwhelming favorite to be the 1 seed. Oxford Hills and Bangor will now have to fight it out for the 2\. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-01-31-at-11.09.30-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) BUT THEN A couple of days ago, people were calling the NYA girls some impossible to stop force that could only be contained, never beaten. Here they were a 9-point favorite, which is formidable, but isn't exactly Spruce Mountain vs. Wiscasset. Well it seems like the OOB girls read that, probably in-between skee-ball games, and took it to heart. They went toe-to-toe with NYA and won, avenging an 18-point home loss from earlier in the month, 45-40\. NYA falls from the ranks of the unbeaten. BUT THEN Down 15 in the 4th quarter to Cony with their future Miss Basketball saddled with 4 fouls, Gardiner decided they would rage against the dying of the light. They rallied. Gruber's layup sent the game to overtime and, as often happens in these games, Cony missed their opportunity at a knockout. Gardiner pulled away in the extra minutes, winning 68-62\. Despite the foul trouble, Gruber finished with 28 & 16\. The Miss Basketball race has been over for a long time, folks. Taylor Takatsu added 10 & 12 for the Tigers and Cony got 22 from Sage Fortin. BUT THEN In a game paired with a [fundraiser for a bus driver ](https://twitter.com/wellshsAD/status/1620484725826625536?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)who's battling cancer, the Wells girls took on Lake Region. Wells still has a shot at the 1 seed in B South and Lake Region is trying to avoid dropping to the 6 or--worst-case scenario--the 7 and a play-in game. A missed "and 1" on a 3 at the end of regulation sent the the game to overtime. And then they went to another overtime until Wells finally pulled away in the 3rd extra frame. Whew. Clearly that would be it. BUT THEN The Greely boys aren't having the best season by their standards. They entered tonight as a team that will have to bring their road uniforms to a quarterfinal matchup, which hasn't happened in...a while. Anyway, even if it doesn't end with a Gold Ball, this will be a season the Greely faithful will never forget. Because tonight, they went the distance. > Ocho OT's > Greely tops Fryeburg in historic eight overtime game. [@GreelyRangers](https://twitter.com/GreelyRangers?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/B7XNcKPNSf](https://t.co/B7XNcKPNSf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [February 1, 2023](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1620640848324227073?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) EIGHT OVERTIMES. EIGHT. I can't think of an eight overtime game, at any level. Greely was up 10 with 2 minutes to go before Fryeburg stormed back and the Rangers needed a buzzer-beating three to force a 5th OT at 100-100\. And then there were 3 more overtimes. Whew. You can watch the whole thing here, or just skip to the OTs. The last couple minutes are pretty electric. Greely won 117-115 and you have to think 115 is the most a team has ever scored in a loss. Tyler Pettengill hit 9 3's (including a buzzer-beater) en route to 39 points for Greely. The NBA record is 6 overtimes in a 1951 game between the Indianapolis Olympians and the Rochester Royals, which somehow ended with a score of 75-73\. The NCAA record is 7 overtimes, between [Cincy and Bradley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981%5FBradley%5Fvs.%5FCincinnati%5Fmen%27s%5Fbasketball%5Fgame?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), which also ended with a score of 75-73. If [this site](http://www.pahoops.org/overtimes.htm?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) is to be believed, it would be tied for the 3rd longest high school game ever, with the record being a 13 OT game in North Carolina with a final score of 56-54 (my god, the missed free throws). It would be the 4th 8 OT high school game ever, with one of them being a quarterfinal playoff game! Imagine having to stand in the tunnel at the ACC for that. If you have any familiarity with the scorebook that nearly every team uses, there's not a lot of room for overtime. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-01-at-12.12.03-AM.png) My question is pretty practical: how do you fit 8 overtimes into this? Do you start a new page? Do you grab a legal pad? They essentially played 2 games. How does this work? I guess maybe you go into the scoring summary? AND THAT'S IT Nothing tops that. But what a night. --- In less exciting news, the Monmouth and Oak Hill girls completed their game from January 12th that had been postponed at halftime when the power went out. They played the second half last night, with Monmouth winning 53-31\. And that explains why that score never got reported. --- This didn't end up being a good game (and certainly not by last night's standards), but at Lincoln Academy, they have a TV in their concession stand. Normally they stream the game so you don't miss anything while you get a hot dog, but the boys game 2 towns over was a pretty big game, so they were showing that instead. > The Medomak @ Lincoln girls game is over but they’re showing the stream of the boys game at concessions. > > Crowd forming. [pic.twitter.com/J3Rjf8qz3j](https://t.co/J3Rjf8qz3j?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [February 1, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1620587546802810880?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I love this. This was very nearly an event, but the boys game was still in the 3rd quarter, so everyone decided to rush home (I made it home with 3 minutes left), but in a less staggered scenario (or a longer drive) this would be awesome. And what's a basic TV? $200? Less? This seems like a great feature. It's too bad you can't sell beer after the game ends. I would love a world where we all gather at the concession stand to see if the other team won. It could be the next best thing to boys/girls double-headers. --- Elsewhere... Dirigo had 4 players in double figures as they rolled past Telstar...Cooper Daigle went for 26 & 18 as Forest Hills beat Greenville...Nate Hebert had 5 3's for GNG in a win over Freeport...Drew Meader hit 6 3's for Boothbay as they beat Mountain Valley...Maya Cannon had 9 points to go with 18 rebounds for Medomak Valley. That's 3 straight games of 15+ boards for her...Alexandra Portas hit 5 3's as the GNG girls beat Freeport...Caroline Hartley had 22 of Scarborough's 39 in a win over Sanford...Breckyn Winship had 25 & 14 as Seacoast Christian blew out Temple...Madeline Hill had 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists for Valley...Levi Tibbetts had 23 for Lisbon over Madison...Johnny Patenaude dropped 29 as Poland put a big dent in York's chances at a bye...De’Angelo Alston had 33 as Scarborough rolled...Sunny Johnson's 24 & 10 led Seacoast Christian...Winthrop's Morgan Fichthorn (23) and Madeline Wagner (22) matched Madison all by themselves. --- We have a virtual tie in the Stax Index today for the Game of the Day. The Cheverus and Oxford Hills boys will be slightly edged out for the honor, but if you want to say that's the Game of the Day, I won't stop you. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/game-of-the-day.png) The Southern Aroostook Revenge Tour continues tonight. It's not a long tour--they don't lose very often--and this is the last night, so catch it while you can. I don't believe there will be merch. Southern Aroostook has the 1 seed in D North, so there's not anything to play for, outside of the revenge. The top of C North, however, is pretty deep. We could potentially have over 10 10-win teams in the bracket. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-01-at-10.54.55-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) Dexter will be the 1, but as you can see, Penobscot Valley is right in the mix for one of the remaining byes. They're currently 3rd but obviously there's a lot of ways this could shake out. As far as the Howlers are concerned, they're 50% to get the 2 or they'll end up 3/4\. But that's a big distinction, because there's only 3 byes in C North. Penobscot Valley is 81.7% to get the bye (Hodgdon 75.5%, Central 42.8%). They've got a fall-back plan if they can't get this one, but this one would pretty much seal the deal. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-01-at-11.14.02-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Mustangs Can't Be Tamed URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/mustangs-ride/ Last updated: 2023-01-31T17:52:11.000Z The Game of the Day once again lived up to the hype as a packed gym brought playoff intensity between the Hodgdon girls and Southern Aroostook. The [Aroostook County Hoops Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid0ymoDAtXBMfNQK9UD9g4nBiHZXY4GyB2eccJR6fEWWoroHkztoja9QLniS8UC31Gl&id=100064346785865) has a great write-up of the action and it sounds like this one went back and forth. In the end, Southern Aroostook got their revenge, winning 56-54\. Hodgdon misses a prime opportunity to lock up the bye in C North. They've got a few more opportunities, including tonight at Katahdin, but none as juicy as this one. --- The Dirigo Cougars, defending Class C champions, took their 15-0 record into Monmouth last night and the Mustangs were not impressed. > BBB… For the first time this year, Dirigo goes down. Monmouth beats them 71-56 [#MeSports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/MeSports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ryan Palmer⚾️ (@cmskippa) [January 31, 2023](https://twitter.com/cmskippa/status/1620225335282524162?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Monmouth led by 14 at the half and Dirigo was never really able to string together a rally. Sammy Calder had 34(!) for Monmouth. The loss doesn't really impact Dirigo that much, other than giving them a chance to see how they react to getting punched in the mouth, but it's pretty big for a Monmouth team that needed a big Heal Point win to keep their hopes of a bye alive. That'll help. --- We had a bit of a scoring outburst last night, to put it mildly. > Grady Ritchie went off for 59 points in a 83-39 Katahdin win over East Grand. His 59 points are the third most in a game since the 3 point line was introduced trailing only Walker Oliver (64 Points) and Taylor Schildroth (61 Points) [pic.twitter.com/yUgTCgLf3r](https://t.co/yUgTCgLf3r?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — bigtimehoopsmaine (@bigtimehoopsME) [January 31, 2023](https://twitter.com/bigtimehoopsME/status/1620410739868708870?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) So that's the 3rd-highest output in the 3-point era, but what about all-time? According to the Frank Spanky page, (which I shouldn't link because I'm pretty sure the rule is you have to Google "Frank Spanky", but [here](https://sites.google.com/site/frankspanky/index/one-game-high-scorers?authuser=0&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) you go, I guess), the all-time number is 82(!!!) by Morse's William Perkins back in 1921\. But if you really want to see an example of someone who was a walking bucket, take a look at Anita Belanger's 1954-55 season for Mattawamkeag: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-31-at-10.17.59-AM.png) There's more if you keep scrolling down. She scored 2,209 points in her career and it seems like they were maybe all in 1 year. I don't care what sort of "they were playing against plumbers" mindset you want to have about the olden times, that woman could play. If you're wondering, Cindy Blodgett's highest total was 47, which a lot of us watched live because it was in the tournament. --- The Skowhegan girls came into last night's action with a 99.9% chance to make the tournament, but were a 12-point underdog to Hamden. > This was a BATTLE between [@HABroncosAD](https://twitter.com/HABroncosAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and [@SkowheganAD](https://twitter.com/SkowheganAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) on Monday night at the stable. Both teams traded blows, and when the final buzzer rang, it was Skowhegan hopping on the bus with a 42-36 W.[#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/LQwadswiY0](https://t.co/LQwadswiY0?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/NXOnQIPKpg](https://t.co/NXOnQIPKpg?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [January 31, 2023](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1620247620164915200?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Consider that ticket punched. All that's left in [Girls A North](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) is to see if Brewer can hold on to the 8\. Turns out the playoff races get a lot less interesting when you have 10 teams in a region. Who knew? --- Elsewhere in the state... The Hampden boys put a big dent in Skowhegan's hopes of staying in the top 5 in A North. Landon Gabric had 18 for the Broncos...The Marshwood boys survived a double OT thriller against Noble. Cooper Aiguier had 22 and Marshwood clinched a 10-win season....Jason Reynolds had 27 & 16 as Winslow moved to 12-1\. They've won 10 straight...Logan McDonald's 18 against Madison kept Kents Hill...Maddie Dow's 16 & 10 led Mountain Valley against Boothbay...Yarmouth's 18-7 4th quarter finished off Spruce Mountain...Lukas Bouchard had 13 & 11 as York beat Freeport...Amanda Trepanier's buzzer-beater got Hall-Dale by Carrabec in OT. --- This seems good. > Mackenzie Holmes, ESPN Player of the Week. 😏[@kenzieholmes\_](https://twitter.com/kenzieholmes%5F?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) | [#IUWBB](https://twitter.com/hashtag/IUWBB?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Indiana Women’s Basketball (@IndianaWBB) [January 30, 2023](https://twitter.com/IndianaWBB/status/1620086929063645184?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- As I was watching a JV game the other night with quite possibly the longest 4th quarter in the history of basketball, I started to wonder if Google Sheets could handle the NBA version of the Model. One of the big limitations is these massive Excel files tax my MacBook's RAM, but the Heal Points spreadsheet on Google Sheets doesn't have that problem. So I moved it all over to Google Sheets and uploaded the schedule and scores (much easier when there's a .csv file and you don't have to go searching!) long story short, Google Sheets can't handle it. But it was pretty easy to get it back to Excel, so here you go. [NBA Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/nba/) It also is kicking out predictions for each day's games, which are purely for educational purposes *wink*. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-31-at-12.44.02-PM.png) Pelicans @ Nuggets GOTD, y'all. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-24.png) The Oxford Hills girls continue their gauntlet second half schedule tonight against Cheverus. If you're just joining us, take a look at what the Vikings have to play down the stretch: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-31-at-11.34.37-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) LOTTA Heal Points in there. They've already beaten Cheverus once, as Tristen Derenburger hit 7 3's and Oxford Hills raced out to an early lead at home. Make no mistake about it. These are 2 of the best teams in the state. They score (9th & 19th in the state) and they defend (20th & 25th in the state) and they'll both be a top 3 seed (along with Bangor) in the AA North playoffs. There's a lot to play for here. AA North has separated into a couple of tiers. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-31-at-11.43.18-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) Quibble about Bangor vs Oxford Hills all you want, but there's some real benefit to getting the 2 seed instead of the 3 seed in the quarterfinal round and even more benefit in getting the 1 and not having to beat 2 of the top 3 to win the region. Both of these teams can get to 1\. Both can fall to 3\. [WHOU will be streaming](https://whoufm.com/livestream/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) this one. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-31-at-11.31.56-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Start Your Scoreboard Watching URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/start-your-scoreboard-watching/ Last updated: 2023-01-30T12:21:15.000Z In the Game of the Day, Caribou [rallied down 9](https://wdea.am/caribou-girls-rally-to-beat-ellsworth-55-52-stats/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and Ellsworth misses a 3 at the buzzer as the Vikings knocked off Ellsworth at home. Selena Savage had 20 in the win. The win gets Caribou to 2nd in B North and gives Caribou a [89.7% chance](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) at the 2 seed and Ellsworth is equally the 3 seed. B North from 4 on down is pretty much a mess, but the top 3 are pretty solid. What is in play, though, is a potential Caribou vs. Presque Isle quarterfinal matchup, which would be fun as hell. Lot of basketball between now and then, though and a lot of way the Heal Points could shake out. [Check Out Your Team's Tourney Chances](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- Woodland's Ethan Monk entered yesterday's game against Sumner (at Ellsworth, thanks to Sumner's gym issues), needing 22 points to reach 1,000 on his career. Let's go to the 4th, where Woodland is down 5\. 0:00 / 1× video courtesy of Marjorie Baron Woodland scored the final 12 points of the game to pick up the win. --- In Rockland, a day after hitting her 200th 3-pointer, Audrey Mackie became Oceanside's all-time leading scorer, passing Kennadi Grover's 1,118 record with--you guessed it--a 3-pointer. Bailey Breen added 24/18 as the Mariners pulled away from Medomak Valley in the 2nd half to continue their win streak. Maya Cannon had 16 rebounds for the Panthers. --- Scott's kind of burying the lede here, but that's Jace Bessey with the game-winner over Freeport. > Was great to dip the toes outside the MVC today. Tough gritty road win just before the buzzer then ate at the nicest McDonalds on the planet. Video of game winner courtesy of Finley Sports on Facebook. [pic.twitter.com/t73Dd2JiWD](https://t.co/t73Dd2JiWD?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Scott Bessey (@BesseyScott) [January 29, 2023](https://twitter.com/BesseyScott/status/1619506370797277184?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Spruce very likely locks up a top 4 seed in B South, but things are kind of getting messy. Don't look now, but [B South boys might be wide-open](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). Yarmouth has won 5 straight to insert themselves directly into the mix. Stevie Walsh scored 28 as they beat Greely on Saturday. Going into today's games, it looks something like this: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-29-at-7.56.26-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) We might know our Top 4\. Maybe. There's only 2 regions where more than 4 teams can get to the 1 seed, this one and C South Girls. 11 teams could still get to the bye, including a Lisbon team that's only 6.8% to get in, despite having the 5th best point differential in the region (they have quite a lot of Heal Points left). Part of the fun of this is there's some big ticket games outside the region that could be a factor. Teams like Dirigo, OOB, and Winslow that have big point values that could come into play down the stretch and jump a team a couple of places. It's [Scoreboard Watching Season](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/)! --- I'll add a plug here for subscribing. Bear with me. This is the time of year when I hear a lot of people, both in the stands and in the media, talking about how this team is still angling for this or that and sometimes that's accurate and sometimes it really isn't. The Heal Points are a wildly complex thing that very few people can do in their heads. I can't, which is how I ended up with a large spreadsheet. But the Tourney Odds give you a really good idea of what's possible. You could be one of the teams that are already scouting their first-round opponent. Plus it helps make this site possible! [Subscribe](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/signup) --- In Biddeford, the Tigers trailed by 14 at the half before erupting with a 21-4 third quarter. And then Drew Smyth finished it. > Tigers win on buzzer beater down 2 with 3 seconds left. Great bounce back win within 24 hours against a top 4 team. Harriman made 3 foul shots to get us down 1 with 6 seconds left. Smyth clutch 3, with great read by SIlva on pass. Great effort by Marshwood down top 2 players. [pic.twitter.com/lTSEkGA2hS](https://t.co/lTSEkGA2hS?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Biddeford Basketball (@BHSTigerHoops) [January 28, 2023](https://twitter.com/BHSTigerHoops/status/1619471784054767617?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Considering Biddeford's Tournament prospects were on life support, this is a massive shot and a massive win. Elsewhere... Chance Mercier dropped 42 as Ellsworth rolled past Caribou...Luke Carey's 32 points led the way as Carrabec gave Forest Hills a rare home loss in Jackman....Silvano Ismail scored 25 in Cheverus' big Heal Point win against Lewiston. The Stags will be the 4 seed in AA North...Dakota Shipley's double-double led Brunswick to a huge statement win in Bangor...The Freeport girls built a 12-point halftime lead and Spruce Mountain couldn't put together a comeback in losing their first game of the year...Amanda Trepanier 23 led Hall-Dale past Winthrop in a crucial C South victory...Nate Hebert hit 5 3's as GNG rolled by Lake Region...Cooper Scott had 24, including the game winner, as Oak Hill won their 3rd of the year. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-23.png) We're back up North for a matchup between two of the top girls teams in Northern Maine. We've been here before, when Hodgdon won a [47-46 thriller in Dyer Brook](https://thecounty.me/2023/01/10/sports/hodgdon-girls-defeat-sa-in-thrilling-playoff-atmosphere-game/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). It was Southern Aroostook's second loss in a row. Since then, they've recovered nicely, winning 6 in a row by an average of 44.2 points per game and locking up the 1 seed in D North. Hodgdon is still unbeaten, but outside of Southern Aroostook their schedule has been light on Heal Points and C North is deep. The [top 4 teams in the Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) have a combined 4 losses and only 3 of them are getting a bye directly to Bangor. Dexter has a stranglehold on the 1 seed and Hodgdon, Pensobscot Valley, and Central are battling for the other 2 byes. This is Hodgdon's best shot to lock up that bye. Southern Aroostook will be out for revenge. [WHOU will have the broadcast](https://whoufm.com/broadcast-schedule/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) as the second game of a boys/girls doubleheader. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-29-at-9.32.13-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A Red Riot Dagger URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/a-red-riot-dagger/ Last updated: 2023-01-28T15:58:01.000Z In the Game of the Day, Will Davies had 19 points as the Trojans opened a 36-15 halftime lead over Falmouth. They improved to 12-2 and have a [25 point lead](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) in the Heal Points. The Navigators drop to [2nd in A South](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) as Westbrook took care of business against Mt. Ararat. Both of those were predicted outcomes, so it shouldn't swing the [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) too much, but it will clean up some of Westbrook's "worst-case" outcomes. --- Over on Insta (I'm told that's what the kids call it), the youth at Orono were [throwing shade](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn60tD9Azwn/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) at Foxcroft. (Did I do that right?) But if you're gonna trash talk your rival, at least have the balls to say you're going to cover the spread (Orono was favored by 9). The good news for Orono is they won by 22, so they were able to back up the talk on the court. --- Let's go to Standish, where Bonny Eagle was clinging to a 2-point lead over South Portland. Jaelen Jackson called Game. He had 23 on the night. --- Over in Farmington... > Ludicrous finish at Mt. Blue in girls bball. Cony called for an intentional foul to send Mt. Blue to the line. Mt. Blue goes up 3 with 35 left. Mt. Blue almost goes up 5 on a putback. Cony hits a 3 with 11 seconds left and then gets a steal, hits a 3 to win 50-47. > > — Griffin T Conlogue (@\_GC93) [January 28, 2023](https://twitter.com/%5FGC93/status/1619147925724233729?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The action starts on [MBTV](https://boxcast.tv/view/mbtv-sports---varsity-girls-basketball-vs-cony-xzsyawzovkfrvz5o7jxh?fbclid=IwAR3%5FuT7UYmTzRqfXcqzJhsvc%5Fez0pRgCugUTDt3Dj60HXZQKREB2R49vb-c&mibextid=Zxz2cZ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) at the 1:29:00 mark. The intentional foul is...certainly a an interesting call to make at that juncture. Time & Score isn't just for players! Around the state... Lizzy Gruber had 25 & 22 (with 4 blocks) as Gardiner beat Nokomis...Maya Cannon's 18 rebounds and 4 steals helped Medomak Valley avenge an early season loss to Leavitt...Thomas Harvey's 30 led Brunswick past Biddeford in a squeaker...Luke Carey’s 21 paced Carrabec to a win...Sawyer Hathaway's 16 points and 10 rebounds led Leavitt to a win at Medomak Valley...Bailey Breen had 21 & 10 and Audrey Mackie hit her 200th 3 as Oceanside won their 45th straight. Carter Galley had 27 for the boys as the Mariners completed the sweep of Camden...The Lincoln Academy boys beat Maranacook to clinch their first 10-win season since 2015...Cali Pomerleau's 15 points and 7 steals got Mt. Ararat past Westbrook...Brooke Landry's 24 led Sacopee Valley to a win over Seacoast Christian...Teigan Pelletier had 28 to lead Oxford Hills, but Deering beat the spread (that's for you, Greg)...Remijo Wani had 17 & 13 as Portland won in Bangor...Liam Garriepy (24) and Landon Cougle (27) dueled as Scarborough beat Edward Little in OT 86-82...Freshman Nya Avery had 24 & 12 for York. --- You may or may not have seen this over on Celtics Twitter. This guy has been designing a [new alternate Celtics jersey](https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2022/12/05/pete-rogers-celtics-fan-jersey-designs/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) for every win. They're pretty fun. > designing a new celtics jersey after every win ☘️ > > record: 35-12 [pic.twitter.com/bZlrY2vLEM](https://t.co/bZlrY2vLEM?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — pete rogers, going down with the ship (@petemrogers) [January 22, 2023](https://twitter.com/petemrogers/status/1617289619741216769?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) There's a lot of games on today's [schedule](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) as teams scramble to get games in. 10 dates on the calendar after today. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-22.png) We're heading to the County! Entering last night's action, Old Town was locked in as the 1 seed and Ellsworth and Caribou are basically neck-and-neck for the 2/3 seeds. So in terms of seeding, this doesn't mean all that much. Both these teams will be on the same side of the bracket and this very likely could be a semifinal matchup in Bangor. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-28-at-10.24.22-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) As far as the game itself, Ellsworth can get BUCKETS. They're 3rd in the state in scoring and have yet to be held under 55 points and have only once been held under 70 in 2023\. They've won 7 straight, with their last loss coming to...Caribou. Caribou had won 6 straight before losing to MDI last night. They can score, just not at the heights of Ellsworth. They have played a tougher schedule. Both teams are on the 2nd half of a back-to-back and presumably Ellsworth stayed in the county after playing at Presque Isle last night, which should lessen Caribou's home court advantage a little bit. [WHOU will be streaming this one](https://whoufm.com/livestream/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-28-at-10.28.15-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. ### Boys ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-28-at-1.13.19-AM.png) ### Girls ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-28-at-1.14.41-AM.png) ### Clippers and Capers and Bears, Oh My! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/clippers-and-capers-and-bears-oh-my/ Last updated: 2023-01-27T14:48:09.000Z In the Game of the Day, Yarmouth got some wind in their sails in the 3rd quarter, turning a small lead into a double-digit margin. GNG rallied in the 4th quarter, but it wasn't enough. The win moves the Clippers to [4th in B South](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/). They are now 92% to get a bye. --- In Cape Elizabeth, as soon as they managed to get the [seals back in the ocean](https://www.facebook.com/CapeelizabethPD/posts/pfbid02KwCPZBJbeF1awoJ2q9xxZJugdMtuTMzZfQozpH2tKn6232U3vtySJ3fhmxNffeBdl), there was a leak in the roof and since there's not a bunch of extra time left in the schedule, they opted to give up a home game and travel to Freeport instead. The Capers started slowly--Freeport jumped out to a 18-7 lead after one and led 33-19 in the 3rd, but then Cape caught fire behind Owen Tighe, rallying to win by 2 on the road. --- In Wells, the Warriors rallied down 11 to Greely to win by 6\. The win moves Wells to [first in B South](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) (the MPA still has them 3rd), leaping over 2 unbeaten teams. Heal Points! [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-26-at-9.06.50-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) They started the day with a [2% chance](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) to get the 1 seed and Spruce and Oceanside each have 7 games left (in 12 days!), so this is probably temporary, but it's worth monitoring. [Check Out Your Team's Tourney Chances](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Elsewhere... Landen Johnson dropped 29 for OOB as they beat Traip...Natalie Beaudoin had 20 for Lewiston...Elise McNair had 37 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 steals as the OOB girls avenged an Opening Night loss...Julissa McBarron's 22 led Sanford past Gorham...Nico Kirby had 23 for Waynflete...The Mountain Valley boys beat Monmouth in double OT. --- If you haven't been following the Big 10, Mackenzie Holmes and Indiana have been on a tear. > Last 3 games for [@IndianaWBB](https://twitter.com/IndianaWBB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)'s Mackenzie Holmes: > > 30 pts, beat #21 Illinois > 25 pts, beat #13 Michigan > 26 pts, beat #2 OSU > > In last 20 years, only one other player (male or female) has had 3 straight 25-point games in the regular season, all in wins over AP Top 25 foes: Maya Moore > > — OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) [January 27, 2023](https://twitter.com/OptaSTATS/status/1618838877774700546?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) You have to imagine Indiana jumps up in the next AP Poll and is probably a 1 seed come March? [HerHoopStats.com](https://herhoopstats.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) has Holmes 5th in the country in Win Shares and it looks like 3rd in [PER](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player%5Fefficiency%5Frating?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#:~:text=The%20player%20efficiency%20rating%20%28PER,rates%20every%20player's%20statistical%20performance.). Put her --- This season is the 50th anniversary of [Title IX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title%5FIX?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and Brewer is doing something cool for tonight's game. > With the support of the Maine BB HOF and MPA, the [@athleticslhs3](https://twitter.com/athleticslhs3?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Girls at Brewer contest on Friday will be a celebration of landmark [#TitleIX](https://twitter.com/hashtag/TitleIX?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) legislation that was passed in 1972\. > > The Hall of Fame will be providing each team with t-shirts for pregame. [#GoWitches](https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoWitches?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#TitleIX](https://twitter.com/hashtag/TitleIX?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/MCSQnIRQLS](https://t.co/MCSQnIRQLS?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Brewer Witches (@BrewerWitches) [January 27, 2023](https://twitter.com/BrewerWitches/status/1618782480080977921?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- If you're in the Wells area and are looking for a good pasta dinner, you could do a lot worse than this. > [pic.twitter.com/3Y6yWhV5oB](https://t.co/3Y6yWhV5oB?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Wells AD (@wellshsAD) [January 26, 2023](https://twitter.com/wellshsAD/status/1618710102264930304?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) A good bus driver is one of the most underrated elements of a quality program. Best wishes to Richard in his fight against cancer. --- The [Stax Index](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-stax-index/) (the formula that determines the Game of the Day) doesn't factor in the importance of a game in the Heal Points and maybe it should, although that seems...hard. Really hard. So you could have a game with a really high Stax Index where both teams have locked up the 1 seed and they're really playing for bragging rights. We don't have that situation today, exactly, but we do have a situation where the back-up GOTD looks a lot more interesting. The Lincoln Academy Eagles, long the cellar-dwellers of B South, have come to life this year. They're 9-4 and currently slot in as hosting a play-in game with a 22% chance of going [directly to the Expo](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). For that to happen, they'll need to beat Maranacook, who has one of the widest ranges of outcomes in the state. They are 7-6 and could still get the 1 seed! They could also miss the tournament entirely. They are [62% to get a bye and 99.6% to make the tournament](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). Are they a sleeper or are they on the road in the play-in round? We're about to find out. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-27-at-9.24.32-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-21.png) A week or so ago, A South looked like it might be a real battle to the end, but Falmouth may have taken control of that with their big win over Westbrook. They're now 84% to get the 1 seed, which is far from a lock, but they're certainly the team to beat. What could really put it out of reach would be a win today over Thornton Academy. TA has a stranglehold on the 1 seed in AA South. They're [94% to get the 1](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/), even after the loss to Gorham. This will be your classic "good offense vs. good defense" game. The Navigators held Westbrook to 24 points, which probably is not going to happen against the 7th best offense in the state. Will Falmouth have enough offense to keep up? Either way, the winner of this is probably the top seed in their region. Maybe the loser too. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-27-at-9.00.16-AM.png) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump ### Boys ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-27-at-12.28.01-AM.png) ### Girls ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-27-at-12.28.26-AM.png) ### Cheverus Rising URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/cheverus-rising/ Last updated: 2023-12-07T01:42:34.000Z In the Game of the Day (that probably shouldn't have been the Game of the Day), Thornton Academy led early but then Cheverus went on a run in the second quarter and never relinquished the lead. > Cheverus takes down undefeated TA 49-35\. Maddie Fitzpatrick had 15 points and 18 rebounds and Emma Lizotte added 23 points and 9 rebounds for the Stags. Sulikowski lead TA scorers with 12 points. [@TATrojanSports](https://twitter.com/TATrojanSports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@Cheverus\_Stags](https://twitter.com/Cheverus%5FStags?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@bigtimehoopsME](https://twitter.com/bigtimehoopsME?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Zach Taranko (@zach\_taranko) [January 25, 2023](https://twitter.com/zach%5Ftaranko/status/1618379726153998338?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I [wrote yesterday](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rockstars/) that Cheverus was probably the 3 seed, but had a narrow path to the 2 if they could manage to beat both TA and Oxford Hills. Well, they got the first one. They're now [37.7% to get the 2 seed](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) and have opened up a line on the 1 seed. They would need to win out and it's mostly dependent on what Oxford Hills does with their schedule. Thornton Academy is still 100% to get the 1 seed. [Your Team's Tourney Chances](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- The Erskine and Gardiner boys entered yesterday a combined 1.1% to make the Tournament, but that doesn't mean they'll go gentle into that good night. Gardiner trailed by 5 after 3 and by 10 with 4 minutes left, but then Colby Moody took over, outscoring Erskine all by himself in the 4th quarter, including this game-winning dagger. 0:00 /0:22 1× Thanks to [Gardiner's Video Production](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086177587492) students for the clip. --- About once a day, the Model nails a game. Yesterday it had the Cony girls winning by 0.018 points. So naturally they won in overtime. --- Elsewhere... The Falmouth boys won a rock fight to reclaim first place in A South...Braidan Welch scored 29 for Forest Hills...Manny Calder knocked down 5 3's as Monmouth rolled past Boothbay...Avery Bessey's 20 helped keep Spruce Mountain unbeaten...and a lot of games got postponed. --- Tourney Week is fast approaching and it can be tricky to remember to eat, but what you don't want to do is what someone did during the Loyola/Duquesne game. > The commentary is excellent hahaha [pic.twitter.com/p01wRgGIRP](https://t.co/p01wRgGIRP?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Andy Dieckhoff (@andrewdieckhoff) [January 26, 2023](https://twitter.com/andrewdieckhoff/status/1618420427403190275?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Having said that, the food at the Expo does kind of suck... --- This would have been published earlier, but the Game of the Day keeps getting postponed. Maybe a "no school, no game" policy isn't the best idea? February 9th is just around the corner. ![](https://media.tenor.com/JQF3bnXUhb8AAAAC/tick-tock-samuel-l-jackson.gif) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-20.png) We're on Game of the Day #3. Nate Hebert and GNG head down to Yarmouth to take on the Clippers. If you've been here all year, you'll recognize Hebert's name. The junior dropped a school record 42 points earlier this year and has had a couple of big shooting nights. He keys a GNG offense that's 10th in the state in scoring and has the Patriots in the mix for a top 3 seed in A South. Yarmouth has had and up and down year. They're 7-4 and while the MPA's site has them in 5th place, they're [actually in 6th](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/). That's a crucial spot in B South, as 6 will go directly to the Expo. The Clippers are in pretty good shape. Entering last night's action, they had a 77% chance to finish in the top 6\. This is the biggest opportunity left on their schedule. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-26-at-11.40.53-AM.png) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Rockstars URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rockstars/ Last updated: 2023-01-25T19:00:41.000Z In the Game of the Day, Mount Abram gave Dirigo everything they could handle. The Cougars and Roadrunners went back and forth--Mount Abram led several times in the 4th quarter--but Dirigo survived to stay undefeated. > Good win against a very good Mt. Abram team. Dirigo with a 75-70 win. Charlie Houghton with 23, Dakota Tompkins 19, and Nathaniel Wainwright 16\. I believe Peyton Mitchell led Mt.Abram with 25\. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Cody St.Germain (@Cody\_StGermain) [January 25, 2023](https://twitter.com/Cody%5FStGermain/status/1618072582523351040?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The loss is a real missed opportunity for Mount Abram to grab one of the byes in C South--they drop from [53.2% to 43.7%](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) with the loss. They no longer control their own destiny for a top 4 seed. Dirigo has already clinched a bye and it looks like they need 2 wins and a little bit of help to clinch the 1 seed. It's hard to imagine they don't head to Augusta as the 1. [See Your Team's Tournament Chances](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Elsewhere... Maddie Fitzpatrick's 14/10/6 led Cheverus to a win over Windham...Rachel Penny hit 8 3's to fuel her 34 point outburst for Edward Little...Ella Beaudoin's buzzer-beater got Lewiston a W over Portland...Sarah English had 28 & 16 as NYA kept rolling...Silvano Ismael dropped 26 on Windham...Gabe Hagar's 24 led Lincoln Academy over Mount View...Callan Franzose had 32 for Madison...The Monmouth boys raced out to a 29-0 first quarter against Telstar...Ariana Thibeault (23) out-dueled Lindsay Hamilton (28) as Oak Hill beat Carrabec...The Oxford Hills girls survived another test in their schedule gauntlet, beating Bangor by 5...Peyton Reckards had 25 & 15 against Islesboro as Temple won...Kolbyn Dunphe was 2 rebounds shy of a triple-double as Westbrook rolled. --- I wrote in the Bangor Daily News about the [mess the schedule has become](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/01/24/sports/high-school-sports/high-school-basketball-schedule-chaos-xoasq1i29i/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). It isn't getting better and there's no reason it has to be like this. --- If anyone's looking for any ideas on how to increase the engagement of the student section, here's one: > Our student section has been bringing the energy, and it’s my turn to return the favor! > > The Rockstar and Espresso for our students for tonight’s game is on me. Let’s Ride!!⚓️⬇️[#MemorialMagic](https://twitter.com/hashtag/MemorialMagic?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/L1RNT5eUWq](https://t.co/L1RNT5eUWq?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jerry Stackhouse (@jerrystackhouse) [January 24, 2023](https://twitter.com/jerrystackhouse/status/1617918187072552961?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I don't see how this could possibly backfire. --- Thanks to the persistence of my mother, I have added another shirt to my (slowly) growing collection of shirts from around the state. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-25-at-1.26.57-PM.png) This guy definitely fought in the Aroostook War. The MPA has a rule that you can't wear team apparel if you're on a press pass, but I kind of wonder...if I'm covering a York/Yarmouth game, can I wear a Wisdom shirt? Obviously I couldn't wear a York or Yarmouth shirt, but a team in a different class? Hmm... ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-19.png) The Stax Index factor in a lot, but it doesn't factor in how much impact a game might have on the standings. Maybe it should, but that sounds hard. If it did, we'd probably have a different Game of the Day. The Thornton Academy girls have a 5 game and [30 Heal Point](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) lead on the rest of AA South and get the 1 seed 100% of the time in [Tournament Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). So I think we know who's getting the bye to the semifinals. Cheverus looks like they're in the mix for the top seed in AA North, but they really aren't. Bangor currently has the lead and Oxford Hills has a bajillion Heal Points left on their schedule, so the Stags will need both of those teams to completely fall apart to get the 1\. They're probably the 3 seed, with a fighting shot at the 2 if they can win tonight and beat Oxford Hills next week (weather permitting). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-25-at-1.30.51-PM.png) The rest of the schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The County URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-county/ Last updated: 2023-01-24T12:22:50.000Z Yesterday was almost entirely a wash, as everything south of Bangor got absolutely hammered with snow. We had a handful of games up north, but nothing substantial. Since we don't really have any games to talk about, let's catch up on some news from the County. First, some good news. > Cami Shield follows in the footsteps of her father and two uncles in reaching the basketball career milestone. [https://t.co/Ngl90djxZr](https://t.co/Ngl90djxZr?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Bangor Daily News (@bangordailynews) [January 23, 2023](https://twitter.com/bangordailynews/status/1617550332468264960?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And then some sad news. > The MIAAA is saddened to learn of the passing of Phil Faulkner. Phil served as an AS for all or parts of 5 different decades and was a successful basketball coach at Island Falls, Katahdin, and Southern Aroostook. > Phil was also a respected member of the MIAAA Board of Directors. [pic.twitter.com/8iF2H8a5Pq](https://t.co/8iF2H8a5Pq?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine IAAA (@MaineIAAA) [January 22, 2023](https://twitter.com/MaineIAAA/status/1617215971802091523?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The snow day threw even more chaos into the schedule, which was already straining under the weight of postponements, and it's going to get worse! > We're trying to play a basketball season here, Keith. [https://t.co/JB8KPPjglH](https://t.co/JB8KPPjglH?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [January 23, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1617641951477772288?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Just a friendly reminder that next year it's probably going to snow a lot again (because, Maine), so maybe look into playing more games in December? As it stands now, we've got some teams that have 9 games to play and only 15 open dates on the schedule. Bring on the doubleheaders! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-18.png) There's a lot of games on the schedule today, plus the possibility of some of the games that I haven't found a reschedule date for showing up, but we're heading to C South, where Charlie Houghton and the Dirigo boys host Mount Abram. At 13-0, Dirigo has the race for the 1 seed under control. They get that in over 90% of simulations. It's not hard to see how. They're first in scoring and differential. This game is much more meaningful for Mount Abram, who is neck-and-neck with Monmouth for the 4 seed and the final bye. They don't play again down the stretch, so there could be some serious scoreboard watching if one team doesn't take control of the 4\. Mount Abram could make a big move in that direction here, but it'll take a pretty big upset to do it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-23-at-11.14.20-PM.png) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Sail Away URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/sail-away/ Last updated: 2023-01-23T12:35:49.000Z Before a packed house in Waldoboro, the Game of the Day started slowly--Oceanside led 9-5 with a little over 2 minutes to play in the first quarter, but then the Mariners took off, exploding with a 21-5 run that Medomak Valley was unable to recover from. The win vaults Oceanside into [first place in B South](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/). It also makes them the [favorite for the 1 seed](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) come tournament week. The loss drops the Panthers to [3rd in Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) behind Spruce Mountain. In the other big matchup of the day, the Oxford Hills girls led the entire way in beating Cheverus. The Stags were favored in the game, largely because Oxford Hills has saved all of their hard games for the next couple weeks. This is what their schedule looked like before Saturday's game. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-21-at-10.36.09-AM.png) That's an insane stretch of games, one I'm not sure I've ever seen before. If the Vikings can get through that intact, they'll absolutely be battle tested for the tournament. --- In things you don't see every day... > Ummm…I think a certain varsity coach just got tossed from a JV game. > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [January 21, 2023](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1616930423963000834?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) If you were wondering (and I know you were), apparently if you get ejected from the JV game, you can come back and coach the varsity game. I'll let you go to Ethan's feed to get more details. You should be following him anyway. Greg Levinsky interviewed Lizzy Gruber at halftime of the OOB game. > Lizzy Gruber’s been absolutely dominant for Gardiner this year. > > I caught up with her yesterday on the WHOU halftime show. And yes, I’m standing 2 rows above her. [@mikegray79](https://twitter.com/mikegray79?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@AndreaGruber12](https://twitter.com/AndreaGruber12?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/yqkrUanDIT](https://t.co/yqkrUanDIT?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Greg Levinsky (@GregLevinsky) [January 22, 2023](https://twitter.com/GregLevinsky/status/1617003271108923393?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Elsewhere... Charlie Houghton's 33 kept Dirigo undefeated...Braidan Welch had a 19 point, 10 steal double-double for Forest Hills...The Brunswick girls made short work of Mt. Ararat in A South. The Dragons are now 95% to get the 1 seed...Forest Hills played a doubleheader on Saturday, winning 3 of the 4 games...But Kents Hill did one better. They played a doubleheader at 2 different locations, starting with a win at Wiscasset then driving almost an hour to play Mountain Valley at home...Maya Gayle's 20 led Deering past SoPo...Megan Gallagher's 20 led Gardiner in a rout of Mount Blue...Brooke Landry dropped 29 for Sacopee Valley...Cole Pulkkinen had 32 to lead Oxford Hills' big second half against Cheverus...Wyatt Cassidy had 30 as Richmond rolled past Buckfield...Ellie Leech's 20 & 16 got Seacoast Christian by Forest Hills...Noah Hurd had 28 to lead Mount View to a win over Washington Academy....And the Brewer boys survived in overtime again to stay unbeaten. Brady Saunders had 27 for the Witches. At the next level, Bates has a new scoring champ. > With this three at Tufts, Bates women's basketball senior captain Meghan Graff of South Portland, Maine, becomes the all-time leading scorer in program history! > > Video courtesy of Tufts University. > > Congrats Meg!! [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#d3hoops](https://twitter.com/hashtag/d3hoops?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#d3plays](https://twitter.com/hashtag/d3plays?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#GoBates](https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoBates?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@Sports\_SJ](https://twitter.com/Sports%5FSJ?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@PPHSports](https://twitter.com/PPHSports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/NCTt28P0DW](https://t.co/NCTt28P0DW?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — BatesSports (@BatesSports) [January 21, 2023](https://twitter.com/BatesSports/status/1616899475062259713?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- The weather forecast is obviously terrible for today, but we've already got teams scheduling doubleheaders and struggling to find refs, so I wouldn't be shocked if some schools tried to get games in. So let's pretend these games are happening. I'll keep the [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) updated as cancelations inevitably roll in. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-17.png) The Skowhegan boys were a pre-season pick to win A North, but they started the season 0-3, which kind of took them off a lot of people's radar. Since then, they've won 7 of their last 8 to get themselves back in the A North race. They've worked their way back up to [5th in the Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/), gotten their point differential to a positive number, and [clinched a playoff berth](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). Meanwhile, Brewer has run away with the 1 seed, leaving a vintage A North playoff race. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-23-at-12.08.53-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) There's a lot of different ways this could shake out. At some point (maybe even today!) Skowhegan will host a Mount Blue team that started 4-1, including wins over Skowhegan and Nokomis, but has since gone 4-3\. However, they lost to Brewer and Nokomis by a combined 9 points. They're 2nd in Class A in point differential and they have the profile of a nearly 9 win team. Whenever this game does get played, it'll tell us a lot about the race for 2-6 in A North, but if I know anything about this region, it's that this will change 15 times between now and the tournament (and then a couple more times during the tournament). We might be in for a fun stretch drive. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-22-at-11.56.12-PM.png) The rest of today's maybe schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### NYA+ URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/nya/ Last updated: 2023-01-21T15:22:30.000Z You'll have to excuse anyone who thought the NYA girls were in a little bit of trouble last night. > NYA leading 24-17 with 1:45 left in the second, but Angel Huntsman just picked up her 4th foul. NYA will have to go a long time without their top player or risk fouling out. > > — Greg Levinsky (@GregLevinsky) [January 21, 2023](https://twitter.com/GregLevinsky/status/1616593107545460736?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) When your best player has 4 fouls in the first half on the road against the best team you've faced all year, it's natural to wonder if the wheels are about to fall off. They did not. > Final Score from The Beach, [@NYAPanthers](https://twitter.com/NYAPanthers?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 55 [@OOBathletics](https://twitter.com/OOBathletics?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) 37\. The Panthers improve to 12-0, the Seagulls are 10-3\. [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Ethan Snow (@TheEthanSnow) [January 21, 2023](https://twitter.com/TheEthanSnow/status/1616605200378126339?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's a huge win for NYA, who is now clearly the favorite in C South. The Panthers also remain unbeaten against the spread. Elsewhere... The Lake Region boys got a big win over Greely, thanks in large part to this bucket from Evan Duprey. > Evan Duprey makes an impressive drive to the basket in the final seconds > 62-60 Final over [@GreelyRangers](https://twitter.com/GreelyRangers?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)![@VarsityMaine](https://twitter.com/VarsityMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@ptrue14](https://twitter.com/ptrue14?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@lrsportsinfo](https://twitter.com/lrsportsinfo?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@lrboosters](https://twitter.com/lrboosters?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/UazxANDwaD](https://t.co/UazxANDwaD?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Courtney Roberts (@CourtneyATC18) [January 21, 2023](https://twitter.com/CourtneyATC18/status/1616626361845653504?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Without looking it up, that's got to be Lake Region's first win over Greely in a while. The win also takes Lake Region from the outside of the playoff race to [9th in the Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/). So, yeah, that's a big win. I fully expected a total washout of last night's schedule, but by my count 23 games happened, including: Zach Poisson had 24 as Mount Blue beat Gardiner...Landen Johnson's 5 3s led the OOB boys in a comeback win over NYA...Portland and Falmouth went back and forth, but the Bulldogs were able to pull out a win. Remijo Wani led the way with 23....In the girls game, Anna Turgeon dropped 39 as Falmouth won at the Expo...Oh, and the other night [Walker Oliver scored his 1,000th point](https://www.facebook.com/100064416086935/videos/579722296867301/). --- As promised, I have some more thoughts on the big MPA meeting and the decision to reject the plan for 4 classes plus a "S Class" of the smallest schools. The caveat here is that I don't get invited to these meetings, so all my information is second or third hand. I thought the move to add the S Class was pretty smart. It's an open question every year whether or not a D school will be able to field a team and it doesn't look like that's a situation that's going to be improving any time soon, so creating a class with a lot of built-in flexibility was a really good idea. So naturally it got rejected. There were concerns about travel and a few other things, but there's always concerns about travel. Maine is a big state. There's lots of travel issues. There's no way to avoid that. I always find it a little weird when people complain about how much they have to travel when they live in somewhere like Ashland. Like, what do you think is going to happen? But on the flip side, people in Portland might have to leave Cumberland County every so often. It won't kill them. Talk to me when you've driven for 80 miles on back roads during a blizzard after a tourney game. Look, there's no perfect system out there. Someone has to travel a lot and someone has to be the smallest school in a region. But you get the feeling reading the coverage of these meetings that there's schools who won't be happy unless they're the biggest team in their region and they get 18 home games. You can't just vote based on what's best for your school. An organization like the MPA is only as effective as what the members allow. Sometimes you have to vote for something that's good for the rest of the state and not you. AA has been broken from the minute it was created and it's only gotten worse. Schools are reportedly complaining that they might have to play a Lewiston team that has won 1 playoff game in the 5 class era. One. Maybe they're scared of something else? I don't know. This is ridiculous and needs a massive overhaul. But do the members have the stomach for it? Or are they more concerned with making their path to a Gold Ball slightly easier? I guess we'll see. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-16.png) We're back in Waldoboro for one of the bigger rivalries in the state. Oceanside features the best offense in Class B--they scored 113(!!!) points against Belfast and have only twice been held under 65 points. The Mariners are currently in [first place in B South](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/), but their schedule isn't doing them any favors. They actually slot in as the 3 seed in the [Tournament Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/), behind Spruce Mountain and Medomak Valley. It's essentially those 3 teams playing for the top 3 seeds, with a slight chance of Maranacook sneaking in there. This is, by my count, the 18th consecutive 10-win season for Medomak Valley. Despite graduating their entire starting lineup, they are somehow the (slight) favorite for the 1 seed in B South, which is impressive even by their standards. Oceanside won the opener at home in a game that could have gone either way. Can Medomak get the split? Whoever wins tonight will have a leg up on the 1 seed in B South. [LCTV](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D4jst6Ie2M&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) will have the stream. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-21-at-12.55.21-AM.png) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. Boys ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-21-at-12.43.14-AM.png) Girls ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-21-at-12.44.02-AM.png) ### Snow Day? No Way. URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/snow-day-no-way/ Last updated: 2023-01-20T18:51:33.000Z In the Game of the Day, Penobscot Valley dealt the Dexter girls their first loss of the season. The win puts them in [3rd in C North](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/), tightly bunched with Dexter and Hodgdon, but it doesn't change much for Dexter's Tournament Odds. They're still 86% to get the top seed. It does, however, solidify the Howlers' quest for the bye. They've now got a fighting chance for the 2 seed and, more importantly, at[ 78.4% for a trip directly to Bangor](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). --- Central's Izzy Allen scored her 1,000th point on this 3 (h/t [Eastern Maine Sports](https://www.youtube.com/@easternmainesportsmedia2560?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)). By the way, she's a junior. > Central guard Izzy Allen with this three-pointer hit career point 1,000 on Thursday night in a 62-47 win over Mattanawcook. Video is courtesy of Dr. Miller [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/48WTGz3tqK](https://t.co/48WTGz3tqK?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Eastern Maine Sports (@EasternMESports) [January 20, 2023](https://twitter.com/EasternMESports/status/1616243339078295553?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I had the night off and the Lizzy Gruber experience was nearby, so I ignored the Stax Index and headed down to Newcastle to take in Gardiner @ Lincoln Academy. The game was not close, but Gruber didn't disappoint. > Gardiner has Gruber guarding the ball, which Lincoln’s PG did not enjoy. > > Gruber: 16/5r/7s in 9:27 > > It’s kind of like when Wilt decided to win the assist title > > Gardiner up 33-10 at the half > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [January 20, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1616224364495765506?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Lincoln Academy had no answer for the future Miss Basketball, who quite literally did whatever she wanted. She finished with a triple-double in only 15 minutes. Elsewhere... Gabriel Hagar had 22 for the Lincoln Academy boys in a win...Peyton Mitchell scored 22 in Mount Abram's OT win over Mountain Valley...Jamier Rose's 20 points for Noble gave TA a scare....The Brewer boys needed overtime to survive Nokomis...Aiden Hoffses dropped 29 as Vinalhaven rolled...Riley Clark had 10 points and 18 boards for the Valley girls. --- School here was canceled last night, so I woke up expecting the entire slate to be wiped out, but it looks like a lot of southern Maine schools are giving it a go. But definitely check before you drive to a game. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-15.png) We're back in C South girls, where not a ton has changed. The North Yarmouth Academy girls have been the definition of dominant this year. They're unbeaten (11-0) and they're still unbeaten against the spread. They're probably a couple of free throws away from having a %Perfect of 100%, which is insane this late in the year. They've out-scored opponents by a whopping 527 points (that's 47.9 a game). No other team in the state, boys or girls, is above +490. However, they have not played a team in the top 25 and their schedule has been one of the easiest in the state. Enter OOB. The Gulls are coming off their first loss since the season opener, a close game against Wells. They've got the weapons to score against the NYA defense. The [Tournament Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) have both of these teams getting a bye and NYA with a 60% shot at the 1 seed. This could also be a preview of a Regional Final. And word is they're playing this one. [OOB's YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@deanplante3119/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) should have the stream. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-20-at-1.07.13-PM.png) The rest of today's maybe schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### MPA Gonna MPA URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/mpa-gonna-mpa/ Last updated: 2023-01-19T20:42:38.000Z This is coming in late today because the thing I did today that I thought was going to take 2 hours took 6\. Here we go! Last night in the Game of the Day, Westbrook turned a 9-point halftime deficit into a victory with a 27-11 second half. They're now in [first place in A South](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) and we'll see later today how the Tournament Odds shake out in their favor. I fully expect that region to stay crazy right to the end. Elsewhere around the state on a pretty slow night... Will Duke had 23 for Camden in a win over Erskine...Kristan Gryffin had 7 3's as Boothbay blew out Buckfield...Owen Tighe had 19 as Cape beat Freeport in OT....Silvano Ismail dropped 26 on Edward Little...Addison McCormick (17/10) and Maya Cannon (11/10) had matching double-doubles as Medomak Valley swept Maranacook...OOB's Brady Croteau's 25 made the Model look good in a win over Wells. --- At the MPA's meeting today in Rockland, they [rejected the proposed new classification plan](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/01/19/sports/high-school-sports/mpa-rejects-high-school-basketball-classification-proposal/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), because...ugh...and now we're back to the drawing board. I'll have more on this tomorrow. --- There's also an update on that baseball story in Alabama and it's not a good one. > AHSAA's Central Board denies Hoover baseball appeal [https://t.co/9OonvslDND](https://t.co/9OonvslDND?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — AL.com sports (@aldotcomSports) [January 18, 2023](https://twitter.com/aldotcomSports/status/1615779814245371904?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's a really bad look for the AHSAA on the face and it doesn't get better if you read the article. So overall not a great 24 hours for governing bodies. It's a light schedule today but I've got a bunch of emails I have to get to that I think are rescheduled games, so for the most up-to-date info, check the [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-14.png) We go to Girls C North, where Dexter takes their undefeated record to Howland to take on Penobscot Vally. Dexter is in 2nd place in the [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/), but they're the [overwhelming favorites for the 1 seed](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). But the real drama is with Penobscot Valley, who's only 58% to get the all-important bye straight to Bangor. Since losing to Dexter, Penobscot Valley is averaging 69.5 PPG. Dexter hasn't allowed more than 34 points since that game. Something has to give. Dexter won the first matchup at home. Can Penobscot Valley get the split. I suspect Eastern Maine Sports will have this one. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-19-at-3.32.03-PM.png) The rest of today's games are after the jump. ### Boys ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-19-at-8.41.20-AM.png) ### Girls ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-19-at-8.42.04-AM.png) ### All's Wells URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/alls-wells/ Last updated: 2023-01-18T14:05:04.000Z At the Beach, OOB gave Wells everything they could handle, even leading into the 4th quarter, but Wells got hot late and came away with a 7-point win on the road. The win moves them within help points of Oceanside for the 2 seed. OOB falls to 2nd in C South as the NYA girls blew out Winthrop behind Angel Huntsman's 17 points and 16(!) assists and ascends to the top of the [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/). It was a little bit of a "Moving Day" in girls C South as the top 7 teams all had big Heal Point games and, as expected, it all got a little bit shuffled. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-17-at-6.30.57-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) There's 7 teams in this region in the top 50 in the Power Rankings and 7 (not the same 7!) who have a scoring differential of at least +100, so this could get chaotic down the stretch. Let's check in with the Dirigo boys, who were 17-point favorites at Carrabec. > FINAL: Dirigo boys come back from 13 points down in the fourth to top Carrabec 65-63 and stave off a major upset. [#MESports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/MESports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#VarsityMaine](https://twitter.com/hashtag/VarsityMaine?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/VGfN2zqyn7](https://t.co/VGfN2zqyn7?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Mike Mandell (@MichaelJMandell) [January 18, 2023](https://twitter.com/MichaelJMandell/status/1615511939651874816?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Charlie Houghton had 25 to lead the comeback as the Cougars continue to cling to a [very small lead](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) in C South boys. In Saco--in what should have been the Game of the Day (before I called an audible)--the Thornton Academy boys hosted a 9-2 South Portland team. > FINAL: TA: 82 SoPo: 61 > > Convincing win for the Trojans as Will Davies scores 26 with several big dimes. He finished one rebound short of a triple-double. I’m calling this the best performance from TA all season. What a W ‼️ [@TATrojanSports](https://twitter.com/TATrojanSports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@zach\_taranko](https://twitter.com/zach%5Ftaranko?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Cole Purvis (@ColePurvisTATV) [January 18, 2023](https://twitter.com/ColePurvisTATV/status/1615525250430533632?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I believe we call that a statement win. SoPo had a slim chance of the 1 seed in AA South, but unless TA falls apart, that dream is over. Around the state... Lizzy Gruber had a triple-double of 36 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 blocks as Gardiner cruised past Messalonskee...The Seacoast Christian boys closed on a 17-2 run to beat Sacopee Valley by 11....Harry Louis had 32 on the road as Valley beat Greenville...Rose Jenkins dropped 26 for Kents Hill as they stayed perfect...Kaitlyn Frost had 21 and Holly Hunt 22 as Monmouth survived a double OT thriller with Richmond....Madi Dow had 16 rebounds as Mountain Valley won in OT...Kayleigh Wagg had 15 & 10 as Mt. Ararat beat GNG...Addisen Sulikowski's 27 fueled a TA comeback over SoPo. --- Here's a great bit of sportsmanship from a JV game in Vermont. > Please take a moment and watch the video below. This is the end of the Danville School Athletics JV boys basketball game at Oxbow High School. Proud to be a BEAR! > > Sportsmanship: fair and generous behavior or treatment of others, especially in a sports contest. [pic.twitter.com/pqog77mSxF](https://t.co/pqog77mSxF?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — DanvilleAthleticsVT (@DanvilleVTAD) [January 18, 2023](https://twitter.com/DanvilleVTAD/status/1615507588434599944?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) No one is more excited than #21 on the opposing team. You love to see it. Now compare that to this situation in North Carolina. > ... and we've had an incident interrupt the game at the 6:44 mark of the 3Q -- fans are fighting ON THE COURT, in the lobby and in the stands. > > — Bryan Hanks (@BCHanks) [January 18, 2023](https://twitter.com/BCHanks/status/1615512750301609985?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That game was eventually postponed and charges are being filed. Be like the people in Vermont, not like the people in NC. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-13.png) I'm not sure how we managed to get this deep into the season without a trip to the A South boys, but here we are. (Actually, I do know. They always play on the same night as AA.) Anyway, let's start with the [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/), shall we? [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-18-at-8.44.13-AM-1.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) You don't need me to tell you that's packed. 8 teams will go directly to the Expo here with no prelims, so seeding could be everything. The top 4 all have a shot at the 1 and the 1/8 prelim game and in a region where 7 teams have a positive scoring differential, that's clutch. The MPA has Marshwood in first place, but they aren't. Coming into yesterday's action, Westbrook and Marshwood had a combined 36% shot at that 1 seed, which was greatly helped by Marshwood's win over Falmouth on Friday. This looks like a mess, but it's really rather simple: these 2 teams will play each other twice. Westbrook still has 2 games left with Falmouth, but it looks like Marshwood will have more Heal Points available to them down the stretch. Both these teams could still drop out of the top 4 and no one wants that. It's a crucial matchup for both teams. It looks like this is a [NFHS game](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/westbrook-high-school-westbrook-me/gam0759fa653e?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-17-at-11.57.36-PM.png) As always, the rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Wildcat Sweep URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/wildcat-sweep/ Last updated: 2023-01-17T12:15:30.000Z It sounds like a football play, but in fact there were basketball games yesterday. There were 70 games on the schedule and one after another they fell by the wayside until there were only 4 remaining--2 doubleheaders in southern Maine between York & Kennebunk and Gorham & Scarborough. In Kennebunk, Derek Parsons had 29 points to lead York past the Rams. In girls action, York got past Kennebunk in a game they very much needed in their quest to make the tournament. They started the day with a [34% shot at the tourney](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). > WVBball at York > York 44 > Kennebunk 35 > Final 🐾🏀 > > Nya Avery to Ava Brent for 3! [@YHSWildcats](https://twitter.com/YHSWildcats?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@bigtimehoopsME](https://twitter.com/bigtimehoopsME?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@JayPinceSMG](https://twitter.com/JayPinceSMG?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#VarsityMaine](https://twitter.com/hashtag/VarsityMaine?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@joebaileysports](https://twitter.com/joebaileysports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@TLee\_WMTW](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/ib97J4LwxA](https://t.co/ib97J4LwxA?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — YHS Wildcat Boosters (@YHSBoosters) [January 16, 2023](https://twitter.com/YHSBoosters/status/1615093110144475136?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) With the win, they're [over 40% to get in](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/), so there's still a lot of work to do. A lot of the games have been re-scheduled but 28 are still TBA. Some will get announced tomorrow and some will be surprises when they show up as final scores next week. --- I've gotten a lot of questions about the Heal Points and the difference between the ones the MPA is using and the ones I have. First, they will end up in the same place. Provided a game isn't outright canceled, once the scores are all in the systems and reported correctly and everything, the 2 systems will look the same. It'll just be a much better journey along the way. Second, the MPA hasn't actually changed their rules. They just aren't following them. From the MPA's handbook: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2022-12-30-at-10.40.44-AM.png) Scheduled games. Not games played. I don't know why they're using this method. I haven't heard anyone say they actually like it. Some people are used to it, but no one seems to like it, but it's good for subscriptions. So if you want to know what the Heal Point standings actually look like, according to the MPA's rules, there's only one place to find it. Here. [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) --- Speaking of MPA rules, if you think they've got some bad ones, this Alabama situation is awful. A baseball coach [might have to sit out the season](https://www.al.com/highschoolsports/2023/01/hoover-baseball-coach-adam-moseley-may-have-to-sit-out-2023-season.html?outputType=amp&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) because he coached one of his players on the USA Baseball Under 18 National Team. It's not hard to see why the rule is there, but sometimes allowances should be made and this is certainly one of those situations. --- The other day, I mentioned Ellie Leech's quadruple-double in the newsletter and now there's some highlights. > Seacoast’s Ellie Leech hitting 2 jumpers on her way to a Quadruple-Double with 24 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and 12 steals vs. Pine Tree Academy. [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@VarsityMaine](https://twitter.com/VarsityMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@bigtimehoopsME](https://twitter.com/bigtimehoopsME?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@bdnmainesports](https://twitter.com/bdnmainesports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/N5PyNLRYAt](https://t.co/N5PyNLRYAt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Lee Petrie (@leepetrie7) [January 16, 2023](https://twitter.com/leepetrie7/status/1615116407091470340?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- I suspect we'll have a lot fewer postponements today, but they called in a 2 hour delay around 6pm Monday night, so who knows. We've been in AA a LOT lately, so I'm going to call a bit of an audible. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-12.png) We're heading to the Beach--not to play Skee-Ball--but for a battle between two of the top girls teams in southern Maine. Led by 1,000 point scorer Elise MacNair, OOB is 10-1 on the year and in [first place in C South](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/). They've won 10 straight and no one has been within 25 points of them in that winning streak. They've outscored their opponents by 330 points on the year. They're the favorites for the 1 seed, but an unbeaten NYA team is right behind them and up next on the schedule, so they'll need to convert as many chances as possible. As for Wells, they've been quietly lurking in B South at 9-1 and in [3rd place](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/), slightly ahead of Medomak Valley and Maranacook (who also play tonight). They're a strong favorite for the 3 seed, mostly because they've got more points left on their schedule, including this one and Friday night at a 9-1 GNG team that just beat Brunswick. It's a huge week for both of these teams. We're going to learn a lot about both of them tonight. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-16-at-10.52.31-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) As always, the rest of today's schedule is after the jump. If you're wondering, the Model is now 976-267 (78.52%) ### Boys ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-16-at-9.42.00-PM.png) ### Girls ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-16-at-9.42.53-PM.png) ### Gruber, Again URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gruber-again/ Last updated: 2023-12-31T17:55:33.000Z As expected, it didn't take long for Lizzy Gruber to reach her second 1K milestone in a week. > Watch Lizzy Gruber hits 1,000 Career Points (Great day in Tiger Town as Lizzy Gruber hits 1,000 Career Points.) at [https://t.co/A9OqmmMQMR](https://t.co/A9OqmmMQMR?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rob Munzing (@MunzingMedia) [January 14, 2023](https://twitter.com/MunzingMedia/status/1614397364646592514?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Gruber scored the first 5 points of the game to give her 1,001 points to go with her 1,000+ rebounds. What was less expected was how much Gardiner would dominate Mt. Ararat, leading 42-15 after the 3\. Gardiner is now [89% to get the 1 seed in A North](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/), while Mt. Ararat finds their chances of catching Brunswick take a [major hit](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). Speaking of players who are a matchup nightmare, let's check in on our old friend Cooper Flagg. > Cooper Flagg started off the HoopHall Classic with a bang, scoring 14 points in 16 first half minutes. Stroke is looking clean. Just turned 16 three weeks ago. Looks like he's grown from the summer. Arguably the No. 1 prospect in high school basketball. [pic.twitter.com/TMzPdFEOWn](https://t.co/TMzPdFEOWn?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) [January 14, 2023](https://twitter.com/DraftExpress/status/1614402488341331969?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [Jonathan Wasserman](https://twitter.com/NBADraftWass/status/1614399527800143873?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) called him "One of the better defensive prospects I can remember scouting" and [Adam Zagoria](https://twitter.com/AdamZagoria/status/1614657749316501504?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) reported a NBA scout saying "As long as he continues to develop properly, get stronger, play the right way as he does and make shots, we are talking about the next \[Wembanyama\] like tank job for NBA teams." I just hope Brad Stevens has a plan for getting the #1 pick in a couple of years. --- Further south, we had another 1,000 point scorer. > Congratulations to Landon Johnson who scored his 1000th point this afternoon vs Waynflete! Great player, great kid! [pic.twitter.com/zaGCsW4EQ7](https://t.co/zaGCsW4EQ7?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — John Suttie (@Supt\_Prin\_OOB) [January 14, 2023](https://twitter.com/Supt%5FPrin%5FOOB/status/1614392341288345600?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Johnson came into the game needing 19 points and finished with 19 points. Efficiency! In other MVC action, the Spruce Mountain girls hosted Hall-Dale in a rivalry battle of undefeated teams. The Model had the Phoenix favored by 14.1, which I thought was maybe a little high and it turned out to be a very, very little bit high as Spruce rolled to a 14-point win behind 30 from Jadyn Pingree. It's a huge win for Spruce and their goal of getting the 1 seed in B South ([currently 37.6%](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/)). The 14-point margin of victory is good for the Model, of course, but bad for Spruce if they wanted to be the last team to stay unbeaten both on the floor and Against the Spread (I need a better name for this). Hall-Dale was also one of the teams on the list, so we lost 2 with one game. That leaves us with 3 teams: the Southern Aroostook boys, the Kents Hill girls, and the NYA girls. Elsewhere...Callan Franzose scored 28 points for Madison...Evans Sterling had 28 for Mount Blue over Morse...Sophia Ippolito hit 5 3s as Greely cruised by Cape...The OOB girls led Waynflete 35-0 at the half. Elise MacNair led the way with 23...And I missed this on Friday but [Will Kusnierz dropped 37](https://www.foxbangor.com/bangor-local-sports/kusnierz-scores-1000th-point-as-dexter-defeats-george-stevens-at-home/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), including his 1,000th point, in a win over GSA. --- It's MLK Day and you're going to see a lot of meaningless platitudes from people just using [Dr. King's legacy](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/biographical/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) for their own means. It's pretty gross. My old college professor leads a [bus tour of the Civil Rights movement](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064878722719) that takes you to all the major sites. I've gone twice and got a chance to meet a lot of the people who were there, people like [Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred%5FShuttlesworth?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), [Rep. John Lewis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John%5FLewis?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), [Billy Kyles](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/us/samuel-billy-kyles-obituary-martin-luther-king.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), [Rev. Robert Graetz](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/20/obituaries/robert-graetz-dead.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), and many, many more. It's a staggering experience, especially for a white kid from Maine. There's nothing quite like standing where a Klan bomb exploded with the person it was meant to kill. Dr. King's legacy is a complex one. One that can't be white-washed by a quote on Facebook from someone who probably would have celebrated his death. My point being, what you think you know about Dr. King's legacy and the Civil Rights Movement is maybe 1% of the whole story. And the movement is on-going. I can promise you if he could see where we are now, he would not be content. It's not too late to learn. --- It's 9 pm on Sunday, the one car that tried to drive down my road went roughly 5 MPH, and we already know that at least 46% of [tomorrow's schedule](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) isn't happening, so I'll believe there's a game tomorrow when I see a score come in, which is to say I won't bother with the Game of the Day. But just in case, the full schedule of games that don't already have new dates is after the jump. ### Boys ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-15-at-10.10.42-PM.png) ### Girls ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-15-at-10.09.49-PM.png) ### Viking Quest URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/viking-quest/ Last updated: 2023-01-14T16:15:16.000Z We start with the Game of the Day. Oxford Hills and Portland went back and forth, even extending to an extra frame, before the Vikings pulled away in overtime when Portland went cold from the line. > FINAL: Oxford Hills 62, Portland 52 (OT)[@oxford\_hills](https://twitter.com/oxford%5Fhills?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) led in scoring by Pelletier (15), Soehren and Shaw (13), Pulkkinen (12, 5 assists, 4 steals). [@PTown\_DogsAD](https://twitter.com/PTown%5FDogsAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) paced by Donato and Charles (11) and Wani (10). > > More than worth the wait. [@bigtimehoopsME](https://twitter.com/bigtimehoopsME?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Greg Levinsky (@GregLevinsky) [January 14, 2023](https://twitter.com/GregLevinsky/status/1614090061678510081?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Pelletier fouled out in regulation, which makes the fact that Oxford Hills did this in OT all the more impressive. We'll see how the [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) shake out later today, but this should breathe quite a bit of life into Oxford Hills' quest for the 1 seed. At minimum, it'll put them in the driver's seat for the 2\. --- This isn't an update on [yesterday's news of a potential state-wide class](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-mpa-kills-aa/), but a fun bit of history, courtesy of Jay Baines. Apparently they nearly went with a state-wide class all the way back in 1982 (this is from the Kennebec Journal) and if you really want to shed a tear, look at some of those enrollment numbers. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/image-1.png) --- There's was some history being made last night as Jason Reynolds became Winslow's All-Time leading scorer with 27 points in a win over Leavitt. He bested Mark McInnis' mark of 1,170 points and added 21 rebounds for good measure. The win moves Winslow into [3rd in B North](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/). Elsewhere...Ismail Silvano's 34/14 paced Cheverus past Hampden...The Lawrence boys used a 29-point 4th quarter to get past Skowhegan...Brayden St. Pierre's 24 got Maranacook by Lincoln Academy...Maya Cannon's 15/22 led Medomak Valley past MCI....Will Duke scored 19 of his 22 in the second half to lead Camden past Nokomis...The Deering girls were 11 point underdogs and won by 12, on the road...Ellie Leech had a QUADRUPLE DOUBLE (24 points/11 rebounds/12 steals/10 assists) for Seacoast Christian. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-11.png) I believe this is a first for the Game of the Day. We head to Gardiner, where Lizzy Gruber has been running away with the Miss Basketball race. The other night, she grabbed her 1,000th rebound in a [monster performance](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/aa-south-clarity-not-so-much/), then made a cursory performance against Morse, setting herself up to get her 1,000th point at home against Mt. Ararat. She needs 4 to become the 2nd Gardiner Tiger girl to join the 1,000 point club. As for the team, Gardiner has been lurking in the 11-16 range for most of the year. They're 9-0 (8-1 Against the Spread) and would be comfortably in the Top 10 but their schedule hasn't done them very many favors. Still, they're the probable 1 seed in A North and one of the Gold Ball favorites. That schedule will improve today with Mt. Ararat. With Brunswick's loss to GNG, the Eagles have a real shot at the 1 seed in A South. They've won 3 straight after a loss to Falmouth. I've seen them in person and they're a legitimately good team that can make a run in the tournament. This is the start of a daunting stretch for Mt. Ararat, as they get Gardiner, GNG, and Brunswick. If they can run the table, they're probably the 1 seed in A South, but that's a tall order. First, they'll try to ruin Gruber's big day. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-14-at-11.05.45-AM.png) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Friday the 13th URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/friday-the-13th/ Last updated: 2023-01-13T17:07:42.000Z Our lead story today, if you haven't already heard, is that the [MPA is coming for Class AA](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-mpa-kills-aa/), Jason Voorhees style. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/friday-13th.gif) The Basketball Committee's new, approved(!), classification plan ([reported first by yours truly](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-mpa-kills-aa/)) does away with the broken 5-class system and replaces it with a 4-class system with a twist. There's a lot to like about this plan and it could also use some work. This still has to get through the Classification Committee, but it's a very encouraging sign. --- In the Game of the Day, the Thornton Academy girls had 3 players in double figures as they beat Gorham, 50-45\. TA stays unbeaten. > Thornton Academy girls basketball improves to 10-0 following a 50-45 victory at Gorham this evening. > > The last time Thornton girls basketball had a ten-game winning streak was from December 10, 2013 to January 16, 2014\. The streak was broken by Gorham on January 20, 2014. > > — Gary Stevens (@GarySteTAAD) [January 13, 2023](https://twitter.com/GarySteTAAD/status/1613715390718156800?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This shouldn't change much in the [tourney odds](https://twitter.com/GarySteTAAD/status/1613715390718156800?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), other than locking up that 1-seed for Thornton Academy (barring some unforeseen collapse), as they were 95.6% to be the 1 before the game. Elsewhere, in a schedule with a surprising number of cancellations.... The Messalonskee boys outlasted Cony in a [double-overtime thriller](https://twitter.com/MessoAthletics/status/1613721632060628992?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). That's 2 wins in a row for a Messo team in a battle for the [final playoff spots in A North](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/)...Brewer kept rolling, this time past Nokomis, and they [re-claim the top spot in the Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/)....Trevor Gerrish led Brunswick past Kennebunk...Megyn Mertens put up 18/9 for Wells... We've got more cancelations today, so let's cross our fingers, shall we? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-10.png) We've been in AA a lot lately, but since this [seems to be their last go-round](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-mpa-kills-aa/), maybe it's fitting. Then again, #2 vs #3 is always going to be the Game of the Day. Tournament Odds for today aren't done yet (they take forever and it's been a busy morning), but there wasn't any action in AA boys last night, so these numbers should be close, if not exactly right. Looking at the Heal Points, Lewiston is currently [atop boys AA North](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/), but the Model's Tournament Odds currently have them as the likely 3 seed. Portland is a strong favorite for the 1, earning it in 72% of simulations, with Oxford Hills and Lewiston splitting the rest. That win over Thornton Academy the other night certainly helped. The Bulldogs have played a tougher schedule and they also have a tougher remaining schedule, which means they're going to have a lot more opportunities to pick up Heal Points. The Vikings, who really needed that Lewiston win, have a tough stretch ahead. After tonight, they go on the road to #7 Cheverus. If they can get both of those games, they'll get back in the conversation for the 1 and, at minimum, put themselves in a position to control the 2 seed. If we take the [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) as a guide, it looks like you really want at least the 2 seed in AA North. A 3/6 game with Hampden or Edward Little looks a lot riskier than Deering/Bangor/Windham. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-13-at-11.55.13-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-13-at-11.51.16-AM.png) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The MPA Kills AA URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-mpa-kills-aa/ Last updated: 2023-01-13T14:06:40.000Z Well this was a surprise. The calls from around the state have gotten louder lately to do away with AA--it was a broken system from the start--and it seems like the MPA might have listened. In a new classification plan, approved last night, the MPA has made the most drastic change since going to 5 classes. Naturally, I got a copy of it and have confirmed it with multiple sources. This is a [massive change](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/classification/) from what was leaked this fall. AA is gone. In its place is "Class S" (for "Statewide") of the smallest schools in the state. S is a 1 region class and this actually makes some sense, if you weren't just going to go back to 4 classes. The schools with fewer than 100 students naturally struggle to keep their rosters full so the size of the regions can fluctuate. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/2023-2025-Basketball-Classification-Draft-1-12-23.jpg) Beyond Class S is a structure that is essentially the 4 class system we all know and love, only not as robust. The new A North still only has 10 teams, while A South has 15, and C South, ironically, only has 10 instead of their current 18\. It seems like you could have easily moved Winthrop, Kents Hill, and Dirigo up from the new D. The breakdown of B/C/D South is pretty awkward. Class B is now the biggest class, with 16 & 17 teams per region. There's a lot to unpack here and the MPA still hasn't even attempted to do anything beyond drawing a line in the enrollment sand and calling it a day. There's no real effort here to address competitive balance. But killing off AA is not something I thought they would be willing to do, so this is certainly progress. One important thing to note at the end of the email is this: > The committee also recommended the ability for teams having a lack of success to apply down with the Basketball Committee’s approval and still be eligible for the tournament, similar to football. That could be pretty big. ## So What's Next? This is still a proposal and need to be fully approved. Teams have until January 19th to make their thoughts known before the meeting on January 19th, but they don't tend to stray too far from the approved version. If you really, really love AA, enjoy this final ride. ### Hawks and Rams URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/hawks-and-rams/ Last updated: 2023-01-12T17:30:59.000Z In Hodgdon, Anna Oliver poured in 28 of her 35 points in the second half as the Hawks finished off the sweep of Fort Kent to move to 10-0 and into [first place in C North](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/). In [yesterday's update](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/aa-south-clarity-not-so-much/), I wrote that Hodgdon would need a lot to go right to get the 1 seed and even with last night's win, they're only [17.7% to get there](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). The big reason is that outside of 3 games against the "Aroostooks", there's not a lot of Heal Points left on Hodgdon's schedule. Dexter has an extra game to work with and considerably more points to work with. They are, however, now [98.5% to get a bye](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/), which would obviously be the first priority. The top of C North girls looks pretty settled, which isn't usually the case, but the middle? There's a lot of ways this could shake out. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-12-at-11.50.52-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- Want to know what your team's tourney chances look like? Upgrade now! [Upgrade](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/account/plans) --- Elsewhere... Nate Oney's 23 points led NYA in an [overtime thriller](https://twitter.com/NYAPanthers/status/1613343436643471360?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)...Dirigo moved to 10-0 behind Charlie Hougton's 17...Sammy Calder had 25 and Hunter Frost 20 as Monmouth cruised past Oak Hill...Kaden Pillsbury scored 23 as Mount Abram raced out to a 30-2 first quarter lead. --- For the [Bangor Daily News](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/01/10/sports/high-school-sports/maine-high-school-basketball-blowouts-xoasq1i29i/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), I wrote about the [blowout problem in high school basketball](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/01/10/sports/high-school-sports/maine-high-school-basketball-blowouts-xoasq1i29i/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). You may have noticed, but the numbers back it up: games are overall less competitive this year. There's a bunch of factors in play. Some of them are in our control and some of them are not. Unless something drastic is done, it's going to get worse before it get better. In the article, I end with the thought that if we're going to have games with scores like 71-9, can we see if a JV/swing player can get a triple-double? Because that would be awesome. --- If you haven't already, you might want to get those masks out of storage. Take it from our house, this COVID variant is not fun at all. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-9.png) The other day, the Stax Index sent us to the Gorham/TA boys game and now it's the girls' turn. I know what you're thinking: didn't they already play this game? Yes. But with Massabesic [backing out at the last minute](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/27/sports/high-school-sports/3-high-school-basketball-teams-wont-play-this-year-joam40zk0w/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), some teams have had to play each other 3 times and this is one of them. TA has been rolling. They lead AA South in pretty much everything and has a [stranglehold on the bye to the semifinals](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). The first time around, TA won by 18\. The [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) make it look like a 3-way race for the 2 seed, but it probably isn't. It's really a race between Gorham (67%) and Sanford (27%). It's a pretty important seed to get. It's the difference between drawing a winless Noble or a 4-5 Bonny Eagle that nearly beat Gorham a couple of days ago. A win here for Gorham would go a long way toward that 2 seed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-12-at-12.18.51-PM.png) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### AA South Clarity? Not So Much. URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/aa-south-clarity-not-so-much/ Last updated: 2023-01-11T17:15:18.000Z In the Game of the Day, Gorham turned on the jets in the 4th quarter to extend a close game into a comfortable 10-point win over South Portland. The win moves the Rams into a virtual 3-way tie in the [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) for seeds 2-4 with SoPo and Bonny Eagle (who lost to Sanford, giving them some much-needed separation from Massabesic and the 8 seed). Except... The Thornton Academy boys lost to Portland! Their first loss of the season! Only, Portland was favored by 8.5 in the matchup, so all that really does is clean up some things around the edges. In the [Tournament Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/), TA drops from 88.8% allll the way down to 82.4% for the 1 seed and SoPo actually improves from 6.9% to 7.4%. If you're South Portland, this was the break you needed. The big winner here is Gorham (and people who love to obsess about Heal Points) as they go from being the little brother in this race for 2-4 to a full-fledged competitor. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-11-at-11.15.58-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) This could get fun down the stretch. --- Also... > 1000 career rebounds for Gardiners Lizzy Gruber after a 39 point 18 rebound performance against Nokomis last night [pic.twitter.com/vFgr5SUd5i](https://t.co/vFgr5SUd5i?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — bigtimehoopsmaine (@bigtimehoopsME) [January 11, 2023](https://twitter.com/bigtimehoopsME/status/1613198368335093767?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Lizzy Gruber has been the front-runner for Miss Basketball since, oh, Christmas of her freshman year, but she may have ended the race last night with a dominant 39/18 performance that saw her grab her 1,000th rebound as Gardiner clinched a playoff berth. She's nearly at 1,000 points as well, so expect that soon. GNG had a big night as the girls knocked off previously-unbeaten Brunswick and then the boys went ahead and beat the Dragons in OT. Nate Hebert (who else?) had a [3 at the buzzer](https://twitter.com/mryan0366/status/1612977900004986881?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) to force OT.....Also falling from the ranks of the unbeaten were the OOB boys, who lost to Maranacook. Keagan McClure had 29\. I guess it runs in the family....Shane Feeney [rallied Machias past Bangor Christian](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/01/10/sports/high-school-sports/machias-boys-basketball-rallies-bangor-christian/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). The Brunswick girls obviously didn't cover (neither did Gardiner), so we're down to 5 teams that are unbeaten both on the floor and Against the Spread: Southern Aroostook boys, Spruce Mountain girls, Hall-Dale girls, Kents Hill girls, and NYA girls. Who will be the last team standing? --- The football and soccer classification plans have been leaked and it looks like a repeat of basketball, except there's word of a [6 team region in football](https://twitter.com/coachlip/status/1612992691767222273?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Yikes. --- Finally, I spent an hour last night at Hannaford trying to get a prescription to paxlovid (much thanks to the pharmacy workers) and then drugged up on Theraflu watching *Hoosiers* and the scoreboard was still fully reported, so I think we can call [the scoreboard experiment a success](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-8.png) I'm going to pull a little bit of an audible here. The Game of the Day should be the Dirigo/Carrabec boys game, but the spread there is 18.5, so...no. The Hodgdon girls are still rolling after their win over Southern Aroostook. They're 9-0 on the year now and neck-and-neck with Dexter, but the Tournament Odds tell a different story, giving Dexter a [commanding lead for the 1 seed](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). They'll need every Heal Point they can get and it starts tonight with Fort Kent. Fort Kent almost certainly can't get a bye to Bangor (1.2%) so their focus will be on securing a home play-in game. They're currently sitting in the 7 spot in the Tourney Odds, but could realistically go as high as 5 or as low as 12. Hodgdon won the first one by 3 at home. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-11-at-10.17.30-AM.png) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Scoreboard Watching Season URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard-watching-season/ Last updated: 2023-01-10T13:49:31.000Z In the Game of the Day, Calais showed their offense was for real, making short work of Lee Academy and coasting to a 79-58 victory. Despite being in 4th place, Calais is now a slight favorite at 43% to get that all-important bye in C North. Lee Academy is still in 3rd, but they're 38% to get the bye. So this is a long way from being settled. Based on just the numbers, it's hard to know if this is a bell-weather or simply a case of Calais needing the win more than Lee did. They'll play again on January 30th. --- Elsewhere...Ayden Jefferson dropped 30 in leading Buckfield past Telstar...Callan Franzose went for 22-10-9 for Madison...Sierra Carson had 24 and Tristen Derenburger hit 7 3's as Oxford Hills blew out Edward Little. There's wasn't a ton of action, as you can see. --- If you're frustrated with scores not getting reported (and who isn't?), the [Scoreboard experiment](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) is going quite well. Last night, by the time the entire Boys slate was logged and the Heal Points updated (at 8:45 PM), one game had been reported to the MPA and, I think, 3 to Varsity Maine. So you can spend your night refreshing a page that isn't updating, but you don't have to. [Tonight's Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/) --- We've got a full slate today. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-7.png) Despite starting the season 8-1, the South Portland boys will need absolutely everything to go right in order to get the 1 seed in AA South. TA currently has a stranglehold on that and are 88.8% to get the 1 in the [tourney odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) that'll publish later today. That's not entirely their fault, as TA has more Heal Points available in their schedule. Which of course makes the fact that TA beat them loom large. All is not lost for SoPo. Despite being in 3rd place in the [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/), they're the favorite for the 2 seed. What they don't want to do is fall to the 4 (13.5%) and get Thornton Academy in the second round. That starts with tonight's matchup with Gorham. The Rams started the season 5-0 but have dropped 4 straight (by a combined 13 points), culminating with a heartbreaking 1-point loss to Bonny Eagle, the team they're currently fighting for the 3-seed. There's a lot of seeding implications here. I believe NFHS has the stream. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-10-at-8.09.02-AM.png) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 27 Games URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/27-games/ Last updated: 2023-01-09T12:17:52.000Z The minute I titled Saturday's update "[99 Games](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/99-games/)", I knew I was guaranteeing something would happen to the schedule and sure enough it did. The "Game of the Day" had the wrong date in the calendar, so there were actually 98 games, which is still a lot! It's still a really busy day! But it's not quite as cool. Not only did the full schedule go off without a hitch, but thanks to some helpful people [entering scores into the Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/), we got all the games logged and the Heal Points were fully updated by 10:30 pm. The MPA's site is only missing about 5 a day later, which is a vast improvement over previous years, so that's also been a big help. --- In the alternate Game of the Day, Silvano Ismail's 31 points wasn't quite enough to fuel a frantic Cheverus rally. They trailed Portland at the Expo by 13 with 4 minutes to go and nearly pulled it off, falling 46-43\. AA North is [starting to get hectic](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) at the top, with the prize of a quarterfinal matchup with a team that should be thinking about baseball season. On the girls side of AA, Gorham won a thriller at Bonny Eagle, capped off by a Kalin Curtis layup. > Gorham girls basketball rallies in the last 2 minutes and erase a 10 point deficit to get the win at the buzzer. Final score Gorham 42, Bonny Eagle 40\. [#gorams](https://twitter.com/hashtag/gorams?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tim Spear (@gorhamrams) [January 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/gorhamrams/status/1611809854515216385?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Elsewhere... Nate Hebert remains a walking bucket for GNG. > Nate Hebert had a personal scoring high of 42 tonight including 7 three pointers! [#patriotpride](https://twitter.com/hashtag/patriotpride?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/GGEDylo3Pv](https://t.co/GGEDylo3Pv?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — GNG Athletics (@GNG\_AD) [January 8, 2023](https://twitter.com/GNG%5FAD/status/1611886995202281472?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's a [school record](https://twitter.com/GNG%5FAD/status/1612075711610736645?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Jackson Libby had 30 for Lake Region in the loss. For Bucksport, Evan Donnell tempted the Peter Webb All-Stars twice and avoided a technical each time. > 👀 Evan Donnell with a couple of dunks on the night . The Bucks went on to the hard fought 63-45 victory over Belfast. [#GoGoldenBucks](https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoGoldenBucks?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)🦌 [#BeTheTraditon](https://twitter.com/hashtag/BeTheTraditon?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)🟣 [pic.twitter.com/Eq1RkbHTyq](https://t.co/Eq1RkbHTyq?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — BHS Athletics 🦌 (@GoBHSAthletics) [January 8, 2023](https://twitter.com/GoBHSAthletics/status/1611878100412817408?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) We had an old-fashioned scoring duel in Poland. > Boys hoops final: Freeport 78, Poland 69. > Fun game. The Knights were chasing from the beginning but didn’t back down. > Freeport’s JT Pound (29 points) is a good inside-out player. > Poland sophomore John Patenaude scored 33\. He sort of reminds me of Lewiston’s Yusuf Dakane. > > — Lee Horton (@\_Lee\_H) [January 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/%5FLee%5FH/status/1611814693080817665?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Also: Mt. Blue pushed Brewer to the limit. Brock Flagg had 18 for the Witches...13 different players scored as the Oxford Hills boys rolled past Massabesic...Addisen Sulikowski put up a 22/13 line as Thornton Academy stayed undefeated...Spencer Carpenter logged 17/12 for Wells...Winslow's Jason Reynolds continued his terrific year with 31 and 13 in a win over MDI...And I got a look at the [new Mt. Ararat gym](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1611800430811516928?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). I miss the old one. The Mt. Ararat girls, however, are legit. --- I used the off day to re-work the [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) in ways that will pretty much only be seen by me, but it should make it work much better in the back-end. I'm also going to make it a (FREE) subscriber feature because having it sitting there as it was is just begging some bot to spam it. And that would be a mess. I've had a lot of people ask about doing Heal Points for baseball & softball and this is kind of a trial run for that. Ultimately it'll probably come down to what the subscriber numbers look like. So if you want good Heal Points for spring sports, you should subscribe. Tell your baseball coach to subscribe. The time you'll save in not waiting for the MPA's site to load is worth it. [Subscribe!](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/signup) --- My mother has recently discovered [WHOU's streaming](https://www.whou.live/basketball-2022-23?html=1&sort=release%5Fdate&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and some of the [better logos](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/logos/) around the state, so if you get a phone call from some woman trying to buy a t-shirt, I promise you she's harmless. Just sell her a shirt. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-6.png) A couple of days ago, Lee Academy pulled off an upset on the road against Machias to move to 4-2\. It also moved them to 3rd in C North, an essential spot in a region where the top 3 get a bye to Bangor. They now have a [63% chance at getting that bye, according to the Tournament Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). That's the biggest win on the year for the Pandas, who I need a better logo for. This figures to be a high-scoring affair. Calais's season low is 62 points and they nearly put up 100 against a pretty good Woodland team. Calais has [pretty much locked up their tournament spot](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/), but they've got a lot of work to do to get that bye. Is this a must-win game to avoid a play-in game? Yeah, probably. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-08-at-10.19.17-PM.png) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. ### Boys ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-08-at-10.00.41-PM.png) Girls ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-08-at-10.01.43-PM.png) ### 99 Games URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/99-games/ Last updated: 2023-01-07T16:08:10.000Z The Hodgdon girls, facing a Southern Aroostook team fresh off their first loss in a long time, raced out to a 10-point halftime lead and held on to grab a 1-point victory and a lot of Heal Points. Hodgdon moves to 8-0 and now [sits atop a pretty crowded C North](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/). The last time Southern Aroostook lost twice in a season was in 2018\. The last time they lost 2 in a row? Oh man. I think that predates my spreadsheets. I was at a game when the score came in and a small murmur went through the crowd. Maybe it's because I sit with very basketball-savvy people or maybe it's because my family has a hunting camp in Dyer Brook. Either way, there was definitely a sense of surprise. Elsewhere... Kory Donlin's 27 led a late Medomak Valley surge over Lincoln Academy (who led most of the game) and Addison McCormick had 21 in the girls game as the Panthers swept. They've won a combined 12 straight...The Oak Hill girls picked up their first win of the season...The Gardiner girls, [minus their coach](https://twitter.com/mikegray79/status/1611463870740312065?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), rolled past Brewer to move to 7-0 ATS. --- Here you can see me looking uncomfortable on the tee vee. > This was probably one of my favorite 1-on-1 segments to date (sorry [@FunkFlashyRob](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)). But a huge shout out to [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) for coming on the show as we get to know the man behind the model.[#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@FoxABCMaine](https://twitter.com/FoxABCMaine?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [https://t.co/uEFdCvDFjU](https://t.co/uEFdCvDFjU?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/9JmO6O3C1b](https://t.co/9JmO6O3C1b?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [January 7, 2023](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1611584197608747009?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- Big schedule today! There are, by my count, 99 games on tap around the state. ![](https://media.tenor.com/ouKslryNIBcAAAAC/swag-jay-z.gif) That'll now be in your head all day. You're welcome. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-5.png) *EDIT: Apparently this game is happening in February. D'oh!* We go to South Paris, where Oxford Hills is 8-0 but in 3rd place in AA North, because that's how [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) work. They're 3rd in the state in point differential, but they've only played 1 game against a team in the top 25 (Hampden), which explains pretty well how they're only in 3rd place. However, we all have a sense of how good this team is. Are they the best in the state? That argument has been made. We'll get a better idea of that today as they host Gorham. The Rams have played a much tougher schedule, with only 1 game outside of the top 50\. It's [unlikely they can catch TA for the 1 seed](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) and get that bye to the semifinals, but it's not impossible. They'll need this one to do it. But, more practically, they want to stay ahead of Sanford for the 2 seed. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-07-at-9.33.51-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The full list of 99 games is after the jump. [Hit me!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ap5PUk6jWA&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Blue Devilish URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/blue-devilish/ Last updated: 2023-01-06T13:56:10.000Z As suspected, the Game of the Day between the Bangor and Brunswick girls got iced out, but the game that should have been there more than picked up the slack. Back and forth they go. > Lewiston hands Oxford Hills its first loss in boys AA hoops. [@LHSBlueDevils](https://twitter.com/LHSBlueDevils?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/lAaBL4FnUe](https://t.co/lAaBL4FnUe?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [January 6, 2023](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1611220989349617664?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Oxford Hills falls from the ranks of the undefeated, which is a huge win for Lewiston and suddenly AA North is channeling vintage A North energy. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-05-at-11.48.14-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) So let's say we've got 4 teams fighting for the top 4 spots--the Power Rankings and [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) tend to agree, the difference between the 1 seed and facing Bangor and being the 3 seed and facing, say, Hampden could be massive. It could literally be the difference between a Gold Ball and a first round upset. These are the perils of the [MPA not putting together a complete region](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/12/sports/high-school-sports/maine-high-school-basketball-classes-joam40zk0w/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). The caveat for the Vikings is that they were short-handed, but you have to play with the guys who are available. Elsewhere, the Foxcroft Academy boys held off Dexter 47-44\. Dexter loses their first game of the year and misses out on a key opportunity to lock up a bye. They entered the game with a 94.2% likelihood of a bye, but it's early and you want to lock out some of those outlier scenarios at every opportunity. Hell, Brewer once threaded a 5% needle to get in the tournament on the final day. Speaking of Brewer, they were favored by 36.4 over Gardiner today, which seems like a perfect opportunity for the Witches to fall from the ranks of teams unbeaten on the floor and Against the Spread, but Brewer won by 40\. There are now 8 teams remaining. Elsewhere... The Foxcroft Academy boys dealt Dexter their [first loss of the year](https://easternmainesports.com/2023/01/05/foxcroft-makes-big-plays-down-the-stretch-to-get-boys-basketball-win-over-dexter/?fbclid=IwAR0x-%5FkjZPAscZ9Y-6Najbp0CZ%5F6kd7NX6sSCKghe0drZuUvCL9gh3FQrRk&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)...Richmond erased a 7-point 4th quarter deficit to beat NYA...Not to be outdone, Waynflete rallied [down 7 with 1:34 to play](https://www.varsitymaine.com/game/waynflete-vs-sacopee-valley-2?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) to beat Sacopee Valley...Braden Camire's 6 3's paced TA in a win over Scarborough...Angel Huntsman dropped 31 as the NYA girls rolled...Emma Lizotte scored 22 and Maddie Fitzpatrick had a triple-double as Cheverus moved to 8-1\. But also: > Final from Farmington > > Erskine 40-30 Mt Blue > > Great battle. Erskine with a great stall in the last 4:30 of the game > > Bailey Farnham leads us with 14 points (4 threes)[#varsitymaine](https://twitter.com/hashtag/varsitymaine?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Mt. Blue Girls BBall (@MBLadyCougars) [January 6, 2023](https://twitter.com/MBLadyCougars/status/1611179288987930625?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Let's just be clear that there's no such thing as a "great stall" and certainly not for 4 and a half minutes. Is it time for a shot clock yet? --- It's a light schedule today, although I wouldn't be surprised to see some of yesterday's games get moved to today. I'll [keep this updated](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) as I hear of changes. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-4.png) When last we saw the Southern Aroostook girls, they were on the [wrong end of a shocking comeback](https://easternmainesports.com/2023/01/05/howlers-make-great-comeback-to-shock-southern-aroostook/?fbclid=IwAR123i-ccFxRoydejgwBCkrUuYr%5FVje5ElPxNgNHrtfcnD%5F6V%5FWbz9VcoQ4&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). They'll get a chance to show how they'll respond tonight as they host an undefeated Hodgdon team. If you're Hodgdon, hearing the news probably triggered two thoughts: 1) Oh man, they're beatable! and 2) Oh Lord, someone made them mad. The math on this game is pretty simple. Southern Aroostook is the most dominant team in D North and you could make a case that Hodgdon is the most dominant team in C North. They both lead their regions in scoring differential and scoring and feature suffocating defenses. Something's gotta give. [WHOU will have the broadcast](https://whoufm.com/broadcast-schedule/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-06-at-8.36.06-AM.png) The rest of today's schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Howl URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/howl/ Last updated: 2023-01-05T15:13:17.000Z It must have felt like a [Ginsberg-esque fever dream](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49303/howl?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) in Howland last night as the Penobscot Valley girls stormed back down 19 points late in the third quarter to stun Southern Aroostook 53-51\. You read all of that correctly. Southern Aroostook entered the game as arguably the most dominant team in the state, not just for this season but for the last couple of seasons. This is a team that was up something like 44-2 in the Gold Ball game last year. So to lose up 19 in the second half? WOW. As you might imagine, this win does very good things for Penobscot Valley in the [Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/). Don't sleep on the Howlers, by the way. The Model gave them a 37% chance to win that game, which is pretty good. They'll move all the way up to #20 in today's [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/). As for the Warriors? > Welp. RIP everybody else because all that's gonna do is piss them off right through states weekend. > > — Sean Stackhouse (@StaxRL) [January 5, 2023](https://twitter.com/StaxRL/status/1610835265274118146?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That was my thought too, but looking at the schedule, on Friday they'll host an undefeated Hodgdon team that's probably seeing blood in the water. That might be worth the drive to Dyer Brook. --- In losing, SA falls from the ranks of teams unbeaten both on the floor and against the spread, but the Spruce Mountain girls did not, using a 36-15 second half to turn a 2-point game into a rout. They now ascend to [first place in B South](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-05-at-9.07.10-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) There was an assumption that Oceanside would run away with this region, but it hasn't happened yet. If you're scoring at home, there are now 8 teams who are undefeated both on the floor and against the spread. --- Yesterday, a tweet (that I won't share) went around complaining about the mediocrity of the MPA's Heal Point webpage. I'm just going to say that we're a third of the way through the season and if you're still using that disaster, that's kind of on you. There's [a solution](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) right in front of you! So you can spend your winter waiting for a web page to load results that aren't even accurate or for a small cost you can spend that time on other things and have the most up-to-date information possible. Your choice! [Upgrade Me!](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/signup) --- Also, I built a small thing that I tested last night and it seemed to work. It's an [embed of Google Sheets](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) and it allows people to add scores of tonight's games and feed directly into the Heal Points standings. It's not an automatic update, as I still have to hit a button every so often, but it's a lot faster! Plus, it's one place to see all the scores I've managed to track down. Today's schedule should be up later, but you can see yesterday. [Scoreboard](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/scoreboard/) Please don't use this to simulate what the Heal Points might do. I'll probably limit that to free subscribers to minimize the chance it gets spammed. --- On this, the 25th anniversary of The Ice Storm, we have a little bit of ice (as tribute) and some games have already been rescheduled. So we're on a maybe schedule. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-3.png) I'm calling a little bit of an audible today, as the Stax Index has us back with Oxford Hills and I don't like to have two games in a row from a team as the Game of the Day. We go to Bangor (maybe) for a cross-class battle between two of the best girls teams in the state. Brunswick, the [probable 1 seed in A South](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/), has been on a tear. That's not unusual. They usually tear through their schedule until they get to Greely and then that game is a thriller, only this year Greely isn't their usual selves, so Brunswick has kept on rolling, winning by 35.2 PPG. They'll get their biggest test so far in Bangor. The Rams haven't looked as dominant on paper, but they have played 3 teams in the top 15 and handled them all quite well. The Dragons, on the other hand, haven't played anyone in the Top 25\. I think the Model is a little off here, but I said the same thing before the Brunswick/Greely game and the Model nailed it. I'm also skeptical this gets played today. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-04-at-11.35.26-PM.png) The rest of today's maybe schedule is after the jump. Some of these games have already been postponed. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### They Called Game URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/they-called-game/ Last updated: 2023-01-04T13:20:18.000Z There was a LOT of action last night. In the Game of the Day, the Oxford Hills and Portland boys battled for the pole position in AA North. Portland led most of the way, but Oxford Hills rallied late in a thriller. > Oxford Hills holds on, 48-47\. Cole Pulkkinen leads the way with 12 points for the Vikings, Teigan Pelleiter and Eli Soehren with 9 apiece. Kevin Rugabirwa and Brady Toher 10 points each for the Bulldogs > > — Greg Levinsky (@GregLevinsky) [January 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/GregLevinsky/status/1610448060848504833?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Gee, where have I seen that before? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-03-at-9.57.05-PM.png) This should put Oxford Hills in the driver's seat for AA North, but we'll know for sure when the [Tourney Odds finish calculating](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). From all accounts it was a great game. Sadly, there was no stream, but I guess it's unfair to expect a stream when the game is in such a remote location like \[checks notes\] the Portland Expo. Also in AA, the Noble boys stunned Gorham in overtime, beating the Rams for the first time in, well, in the 5 class era, for sure. --- Then things got a little crazy around the state... Trailing 45-44 in Caribou, Georganna Curtis with the game winner off the glass for Presque Isle! 0:00 / 1× Thanks to [WHOU](https://whoufm.com/broadcast-schedule/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) for the video. They do a fantastic job of covering northern Maine and the day we get rid of NFHS forever in favor of WHOU will be a banner day for Maine high school basketball. Not to be outdone, Dane Zawistowski's [buzzer-beater](https://wgme.com/sports/content/bulldogs-fantastic-finish?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) at home lifted Lawrence over Nokomis. Meanwhile, at the beach... > OOB girls up 40-13 at the half over SV. A huge Congratulations to Elise MacNair on scoring her 1000 career point with a 28 point first half effort. Congratulations on a huge accomplishment. Go Beach. [@OOBathletics](https://twitter.com/OOBathletics?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@Supt\_Prin\_OOB](https://twitter.com/Supt%5FPrin%5FOOB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Heath Floyd (@HFgullspride) [January 3, 2023](https://twitter.com/HFgullspride/status/1610413073667612674?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Pier fries for everyone! Oh and Nate Hebert just casually knocked down 9 3's for GNG. > Hebert's monster night carries Gray-NG past Fryeburg. [@GNG\_AD](https://twitter.com/GNG%5FAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/NgIA8BSNGE](https://t.co/NgIA8BSNGE?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [January 4, 2023](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1610498630384848897?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) To no one's surprise, a full slate of games gave us some great moments. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-2.png) We head to the MVC for a girls game between two teams that have just been crushing their competition. Zach Keene's Phoenix are 6-0 and in the mix for one of the top seeds in B South. They're the second most dominant team in the state (Kents Hill), with a nearly flawless %Perfect. They're probably a missed FGA against Mountain Valley from being 100%. They're also one of the 9 teams left in the state that are undefeated both on the floor and Against the Spread. However, that MVC schedule isn't doing them any favors. The best team they've faced in a countable game is #42 Carrabec. They'll take on a Winthrop team that's similarly laying waste to the competition. The Magic School Buses are 7-1, with that 1 loss coming to Carrabec. They're 9th in the state in scoring differential, but they've played a slightly weaker schedule than Spruce. Honestly, I think the Model's kind of low here. It can struggle with teams that haven't been tested because, well, you can't really know how good a team is until they've been tested. The Phoenix have done everything they can with the schedule they've been given. We'll see if that holds tonight. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-04-at-7.54.29-AM.png) The rest of the games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Battle of AA North URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-battle-of-aa-north/ Last updated: 2023-01-03T14:39:54.000Z There's good nights of high school basketball and then there's GOOD nights of high school basketball. In the Game of the Day, the Wisdom girls came from behind to beat Fort Kent 41-40, [according to Aroostook County Hoops](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064346785865). They move to 6-0, but just missed the Model's spread of 1.8 points, so they're now 5-1 on the year Against the Spread (more on that later). But then, in the boys' game, Wisdom and Fort Kent went double overtime(!) with Fort Kent prevailing 73-70\. A 1-point game *and* a double overtime game with each school getting a win? That's a fantastic night of basketball. --- Back to Wisdom's ATS record...with Wisdom's just missing the spread and the Gardiner girls beating the spread last night, I started to wonder how many teams were undefeated both in real life and Against the Spread. It seems like a fun thing to track. Turns out with Wisdom winning by 1 (and not 2), there's now 11 teams remaining. > There are 12 teams that are unbeaten on the court and ATS > > Boys > > Brewer > Dirigo > S. Aroostook > > Girls > > Gardiner > Brunswick > TA > Spruce Mt. > Hall-Dale > Kents Hill > NYA > S. Aroostook > Wisdom > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [January 3, 2023](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1610078221487276034?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Can any of these teams run the table? It's hard enough to go undefeated, but to do that *and* beat the spread 18 times? That's tough. --- If you're looking for a benchmark for your defense, the Central Aroostook girls held Easton to 3 points. Three. If you're wondering, that's the 6th single-digit girls score since Christmas. If offense is more your thing, Evan Carter and Owen Sweeney scored 23 and 20, respectively, for the Easton boys...Mason Desjardins dropped 36 on Valley as Forest Hills erased an 11-point deficit and punched their [tournament ticket](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/)...Molly Hay scored 21 in leading the Carrabec girls to their second win in a row...And Lizzy Gruber did Lizzy Gruber things, nearly out-scoring Erskine all by herself en route to a line of 23/18/4a/4s/3b. Oh, and I meant to get this in yesterday's update, but Presque Isle's Malachi Cummings scored his 1,000th point Houlton. A free throw did the trick. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day-1.png) There's not a lot of doubt about the Game of the Day when two top 5 teams play. The Oxford Hills boys take their perfect record to the Expo to take on Portland. Scott Graffam's Vikings, led by Teigan Pelletier, have out-scored their opponents by over 20 points a game and no one has kept the margin to single digits. As a result, they're 4th in the state in %Perfect. Having said that, half their schedule has been against teams outside the Top 75, which is not exactly a hard AA schedule. Portland, however, has played 5 of their 6 games against teams in the Top 50\. They've played 2 games that came down to the final seconds. So they're definitely the more battle-tested team. But can they score enough to keep up? Both of these teams are virtually assured a playoff berth, but, as I [wrote about in the Bangor Daily News](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/12/sports/high-school-sports/maine-high-school-basketball-classes-joam40zk0w/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), there's a real benefit to getting the 1 seed in AA. The Bulldogs enter the game as a [slight favorite](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) to get that spot, so this will clarify things quite a bit. Portland seems to have abandoned their streaming on YouTube, but I'm sure there will be highlights on the news. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-03-at-8.18.42-AM.png) The rest of the games are after the jump _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Happy New Year URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/happy-new-year/ Last updated: 2023-12-31T17:56:47.000Z So much for 2022\. Last year, in Old Town, the Red Riots went on an early 11-2 run to take a lead they never relinquished, [winning 62-52](https://easternmainesports.com/2022/12/31/four-red-riots-score-in-double-figures-as-orono-boys-beat-old-town/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Will Davies had 22/7 for the victors. Orono now is in 2nd place in B North and in the MPA's fantasy land, Old Town drops to 7th, but I wouldn't be that worried--they're really in 5th. More importantly, they're 78% to grab a top 4 seed and the all-important bye to Bangor. Orono's 82.7% to get a bye, so this was probably a win that was more important for the Red Riots, in terms of positioning. --- This isn't in Maine, but what a shot! > This is it. The craziest game-winning shot in basketball history [pic.twitter.com/oSoeJbFNZ1](https://t.co/oSoeJbFNZ1?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) [December 31, 2022](https://twitter.com/JomboyMedia/status/1609326855135412225?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) --- So the 31st was a light day and today is a light day, so I found myself going down a rabbit hole. When there's a full schedule and I go to a game that's more than an hour from home, the Heal Points sometimes don't get updated until almost midnight. It takes some time to run an update, but the Heal Points part of it doesn't really take very much computing power, so I built a skeleton version in Google Sheets that only does Heal Points. If the various connections work (fingers crossed!), I should be able to push updates multiple times a day. I could probably get a workflow that updates in real time, but those are expensive, which I guess is what the MPA is spending all their money on? Anyway, you should get the [same Heal Points experience](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/), just more of it. I know what you're thinking: this is just a ploy to get you to spend more time on the site and drive more ad revenue, but--oh wait--there's no ads. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/game-of-the-day.png) First things first--how great is the Wisdom logo? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-02-at-12.01.00-AM.png) Also, the Wisdom girls are playing some DEFENSE. Wisdom is 5-0 (one of 3 undefeated Girls D North teams). They have 3 games where they allowed fewer than 15 points. If you're a stickler for such things, they're actually 2nd in scoring defense because there's a couple Massabesic placeholder games still in the system and Massabesic has yet to allow a point, seeing as how they canceled their season. The true leader in scoring defense is Kents Hill at 19.3 PPG. But Wisdom is also getting buckets. They're 8th in the state in scoring and 3rd in differential (Southern Aroostook at +283 and Oceanside at +282). They've undoubtedly been great, but the 3 teams they held to fewer than 15 points were all outside the Top 100\. Fort Kent, on the other hand, has a quality loss, losing by 3 to undefeated Hodgdon, plus 2 dominant wins over #79 Katahdin. But, they also lost by 27 on the road to...this Wisdom team. So which Fort Kent team will we see? That one or the one that nearly beat Hodgdon? Bonus: this is a boys/girls doubleheader. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-01-at-11.27.36-PM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) FYI: there's also a Valley/Forest Hills doubleheader in Jackman, if that's closer to where you live. The rest of the schedule is after the jump _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Parent of the Year URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/parent-of-the-year/ Last updated: 2022-12-31T16:55:13.000Z Turns out we picked the wrong day to drive to Waldoboro and have pie at Moody's Diner. Even though the Medomak/Maranacook boys game was a bust, the Stax Index was high on last night's Medomak/Mount View boys game--it was the Game of the Day runner-up, if you will. Down early, Mount View went on a 19-2 run to take a 6-point lead (h/t [Don Shields](https://twitter.com/DonShieldsMaine?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)), but the Panthers finished with a 15-4 run to put it away. They move to 5-1 on the year and are [2nd in B South](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) behind Oceanside. They pass Spruce Mountain, who fell to Dirigo 68-41\. The Cougars knocked down 10 3-pointers, including 3 from Dakota Tompkins, to hand the Phoenix their first loss of the year. In the [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/), Dirigo is now slotted as either the 1 or 2 seed in C South, while Medomak is the favorite for the 1 seed in B South. [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- Fox 22 in Bangor has a nice story about [Sumner's travel woes](https://www.foxbangor.com/bangor-local-sports/sumner-basketball-embracing-road-warrior-season/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) this year. After a sprinkler issue made their gym unplayable, they've been on an extended road trip. They have 3 games in Ellsworth on their schedule that are functioning as neutral floors (although I *believe* after 3 games the NCAA would consider that a home floor, for tournament purposes) and 15 road games. That's a lot of time on the road. --- If you're looking for an example of how not to act, this fan got ejected in last night's Dexter/Searsport game. Look, we all wish the officials were better and we all know that there are officials who, uh, won't be recruited by the next level (although I've seen some very, very bad SEC refs), but there's a shortage of referees and they're doing their best. Also, I promise you that the worst ref in the world can't swing a game by 40 points. Maybe invest your energy in getting your kid better at basketball? Or you can [email Greta Thunberg your complaints](https://www.nme.com/news/greta-thunberg-claps-back-at-andrew-tates-small-dick-energy-3372184?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). --- Today's schedule is light, but that doesn't mean we can't have nice things. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/game-of-the-day-15.png) Ellsworth has pretty much [ended the discussion](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ellsworth-king-of-the-north/) of who will get the [1 seed](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) in boys B North, but there's still plenty to play for. Old Town and Orono are neck-and-neck for the 2 seed in B North. They're second and fourth in point differential in Class B and boast two of the top offenses and defenses. It's a rivalry game, so get there early! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-31-at-11.27.35-AM.png) The rest of the schedule is after the jump. ### Boys ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-31-at-11.25.34-AM.png) ### Girls ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-31-at-11.25.12-AM.png) ### Ellsworth, King of the North? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/ellsworth-king-of-the-north/ Last updated: 2022-12-30T14:14:10.000Z In front of a packed crowd, Ellsworth jumped out to a 21-6 lead after receiving their championship rings as last year's B North champions. Orono battled back, getting the game to single digits, but Ellsworth was too much. They move to 6-0 and have a stranglehold on the annually deep and loaded B North. How much of a stranglehold? They are now projected to [earn the 1 seed 98.6% of the time](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/). They haven't quite clinched yet, but if you're an Ellsworth fan, it's probably safe to make tourney plans. We're starting to get a sense of the B North playoff picture. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-30-at-8.35.40-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) --- *The Tourney Odds are now a feature for Varsity members. They take about 2 1/2 hours to run every day. They're worth it.* [Upgrade Today](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/signup) --- A note from yesterday that came in right after I hit "publish": the Carrabec boys beat Winthrop Wednesday, 49-42\. For the last couple of years, it's always noteworthy when Winthrop loses, but this one is especially noteworthy. According to Drew Ferrari, this was the first Carrabec win over Winthrop in school history--a drought of at least 35 years. Congratulations to the Cobras, who also happen to own one of the best logos in the state. Elsewhere, we had some issues in Bangor... > Here at the Cross Insurance Center for what was supposed to be a 1 PM start for a Waterville-John Bapst varsity doubleheader. It'll be slightly delayed due to a rim issue during the JV contest; the good news is, they've got it sorted and JV is back underway now! [pic.twitter.com/Oh8grjYTDE](https://t.co/Oh8grjYTDE?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Cole Hurlbert (@TheColeHurlbert) [December 29, 2022](https://twitter.com/TheColeHurlbert/status/1608524400046870535?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) In Girls B South, Maranacook beat Leavitt 34-31 to move into first place, according to the [actual Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/). I think I'm going to start calling them "Classic Heal Points" instead of "Accurate Heal Points" because some idiot is going to find a typo and give me hell. But they are infinitely more accurate than the MPA's version. And it loads faster, too! If you haven't already, check out the [Bangor Daily News Sports Show](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/29/sports/high-school-sports/watch-maine-high-school-basketball-class-xoasq1i29i/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), with Adam Robinson and Larry Mahoney. This week they break down the basketball landscape in each class. I haven't watched this yet, but the last one I watched was good enough to make this a blind recommendation. We've got some good games on today's schedule. The Mount View boys, who spent 260 miles on the bus to beat Washington Academy yesterday, will turn around and put another 70 miles on those tires to play Medomak Valley. That's a lot, especially for the bus driver. To put it in context for people in southern Maine, that's almost 3 round-trip visits to the Augusta Civic Center, which everyone in Portland knows is basically the Lewis & Clark Expedition. That was nearly the Game of the Day, but for that, we have to go a little further south. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/game-of-the-day-14.png) When last we saw the Dirigo boys, Charlie Houghton ([playoff hero](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-sports-stories-2022-no-233700849.html?guce%5Freferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce%5Freferrer%5Fsig=AQAAALk21%5FkkCjbLs7qrDg58Ns7JA5MdSJHCd6JvqOqLPa71KDMHLkBhyJh3nOBn-WfJNnI4YuENkLx6AKbze5gvpzDf5jTjmIG2TUf3hY7z3lqTcGr58vvw09RVRanxBoLr8h2zRQaTfQ6pa771tJhsDp2q-Zx%5FxSe6q3ZFAum4SU6Y&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)) was joining the 1,000 point club. Actually, when last we saw them, they were [supposed to be right here](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/snow-day/) playing this game, but it got snowed out. The projection has moved a little bit, but the story is still Houghton vs. Jace Bessey. Dirigo can SCORE...but they haven't yet played a team in the Top 50. Spruce's defense has been suffocating so far, but their highest ranked opponent has been #43 Monmouth. Looking ahead, the Phoenix are currently in the pole position for the top seed in B South and Dirigo is trying to [solidify their bye](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) in C South, so there's a lot of playoff implications on the line for both teams. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-30-at-9.02.58-AM.png) The line was Dirigo +1.1 when this was supposed to happen, if you're wondering. As always, the rest of today's schedule is after the jump. ### Boys ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-29-at-9.50.00-PM.png) ### Girls ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-29-at-9.49.31-PM.png) ### Trojan Victory URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/trojan-victory/ Last updated: 2022-12-29T14:43:16.000Z The Stax Index was back on course last night, finding a thriller at Thornton Academy, as the Trojans stormed back down 20-4 to beat Gorham 68-63\. Will Davies led TA with 23 points and 7 assists, including this beauty: > TA wins a nail-biter over Gorham 68-63\. Will Davies had yet another spectacular performance with 23 points & 7 assists. Trey Eldred also added 15 points & 5 rebounds. Watch this clip of Davies’ behind the back pass to Eldred for the lay in⬇️⬇️ [@TATrojanSports](https://twitter.com/TATrojanSports?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [@bigtimehoopsME](https://twitter.com/bigtimehoopsME?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/Fmdwueqvlc](https://t.co/Fmdwueqvlc?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Zach Taranko (@zach\_taranko) [December 29, 2022](https://twitter.com/zach%5Ftaranko/status/1608274476461867011?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Model had TA winning this by 15+, because it was underselling a Gorham team that hasn't gotten into the teeth of its schedule yet. These things happen in December. Or maybe it's just really confident in TA, who moves to #2 in the [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/). Gorham, for their efforts, moves into the Top 20, one of the many benefits of a system that rewards teams for losing close games to good teams. --- We (finally) got our internet back this morning, so I'm finally able to upload the massive data visualization that is the [complete Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/)\--boys and girls. This will look a lot better on a computer, where it'll tell you not only the chances your team makes the tourney, but where they'll probably land in the seeding. If you're a coach, you've probably already got this bookmarked. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-29-at-9.05.53-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) If we go to B South Girls, we see that Oceanside gets a bye to the Expo in 100% of simulations and they're the 1 seed in 65.8% of them. That doesn't mean they're a lock, though, as the Model's simulations has their worst-case scenario as 12-6 and as low as the 6 seed. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-29-at-9.08.29-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) Of course, they could theoretically lose their next 12 games and in that very unlikely scenario, they would miss the tournament. So they haven't clinched. It looks like 8 wins is probably a clinch for them. It is showing the Bangor girls as clinching, but on closer inspection it isn't finding any scenarios where they lose out, so I'm going to hold off on calling that one, as it might find those tomorrow. The Tourney Odds page is your new obsession and will definitely go behind the paywall tomorrow. [Upgrade to Paid](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/signup) If you're looking for a good game tonight, you've got a lot of choices. There's another TA/Gorham game, as the girls battle it out in Gorham. The Hampden girls take on very good Cheverus team. There's even a couple of Class C games, including the OOB & Richmond boys. In all, there are 8 games with a Stax Index over 80\. But there can only be one. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/game-of-the-day-13.png) The top 2 teams in the [Boys B North standings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) (even the MPA's website agrees!) and [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/) put their perfect seasons on the line in Ellsworth as the Eagles host the Red Riots of Orono. Ellsworth is rolling, with quality wins over #56 Mount View and a 2-point win on the road against #13 Old Town on Tuesday. They are 5th in the state in games against the Top 25, with a %Perfect of 64.22%, even if it was just the one game. Orono hasn't played anyone in the Top 25\. They own a nice 11-point win on the road against #43 Foxcroft Academy. So while they've been the more dominant team this year, relative to their schedule, the Model would like to see how they fare against the top teams in the state. They'll get their chance today. Winner stays perfect and in control of B North. In the [Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/), one of these teams is the 1 seed 96.8% of the time. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-29-at-9.25.34-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) The rest of the schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Panther Prowl URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/panther-prowl/ Last updated: 2022-12-28T17:31:57.000Z Hopefully if you made the trek to the midcoast for yesterday's Game of the Day, you made the extra time for pie at Moody's because the game didn't really live up to the hype. The Medomak Valley boys raced out to a 27-11 halftime lead and coasted to a 71-45 win over Maranacook. Despite graduating all 5 starters, the Panthers are 4-1 (5-0 Against the Spread) and are in [third place in B South](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) (or in 5th if you live in imaginary MPA land). Elsewhere... > The [@GNG\_AD](https://twitter.com/GNG%5FAD?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) boys make history with first win at Greely in nearly 20 years. > Game story: [https://t.co/eGgBoRkPeI](https://t.co/eGgBoRkPeI?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)[@GreelyRangers](https://twitter.com/GreelyRangers?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Michael Hoffer (@foresports) [December 28, 2022](https://twitter.com/foresports/status/1607939594300932096?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) At the ACC, the Brewer boys blew out Mt. Blue, which moves them to #1 overall for the first time in school history. Brewer and the Model have had a contentious history, so it brings me no pleasure to report this. Also, it looks like they're going to be there for a while. This is well-deserved by the Witches and they're clearly the force to beat in Class A. If you're following along, I *still* don't have internet (thanks, Spectrum) and I've used up all my hotspot data for the month, so hopefully this can go through on whatever throttled trickle of data they're giving me. ## Game of the Day The schedule is kind of light today. We go to AA where #9 Thornton Academy has been rolling, leading AA in scoring, defense, and point differential. They'll host a Gorham team that's 2nd in scoring and differential and are 4th in defense. The Model isn't sold on this being very close, but it has a chance to be a competitive game in the 70s. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-28-at-12.27.31-PM.png) The rest of the schedule is after the jump _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Hello from the Land of No Internet URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/hello-from-the-land-of-no-internet/ Last updated: 2022-12-27T18:52:26.000Z I'm still writing this from a hotspot on my phone, but I think Verizon is throttling me now. We'll make this short. The Girls Tourney Odds are done, but I can't get enough of a connection to upload them. Same with Heal Points. And Game Matchups. And pretty much everything. But a Spectrum truck drove by an hour ago, so at least they know we exist! Maybe I should swing by the ACC and see if the wifi works there. Let's skip to the Game of the Day. ## **Game of the Day** Make sure you save some time for pie at Moody's Diner as you head to Waldoboro for a re-match from last year's B South boys semifinals. Medomak Valley graduated their entire starting lineup, but you wouldn't know it to see them play. They're 3-1 on the year and 4-0 Against the Spread. These two teams actually have an opponent in common, which doesn't usually happen this early. They both lost to Oceanside. Medomak by 5 on the road and Maranacook by 9 at home. Based solely on that, you'd expect a close one and it looks like that's what we're likely to get. [LCTV will have the stream](https://www.youtube.com/@lincolncountytelevision8228/streams?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-27-at-1.42.44-PM.png) The rest of the schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Christmas Time Is Here URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/christmas2022/ Last updated: 2022-12-26T04:45:36.000Z So that storm was fun. I'm writing this from a 1-bar hotspot on my phone, because it's 8pm on Christmas and we still don't have internet back. It could be worse, though. The house next door still doesn't have power. I believe only 4 games managed to get played on the 23rd, but it's hard to say, what with the lack of internet and everything. Those should be added by morning, but as you'll see, I got sidetracked. I do know that the Game of the Day wasn't particularly close, but there were only 4 games to choose from and this happened: > Today is the day! #21 will finally be retired. Congrats to Julia Colby. An amazing athlete but even more importantly an incredible role model. Come see it all happen before the varsity game at 1pm. [#21out](https://twitter.com/hashtag/21out?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#family](https://twitter.com/hashtag/family?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#hungry](https://twitter.com/hashtag/hungry?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/sQxaCTL23n](https://t.co/sQxaCTL23n?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Nate Pelletier (@natepelletier) [December 23, 2022](https://twitter.com/natepelletier/status/1606295664756932608?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That got me wondering just how many numbers have been retired--I know there's a couple--and what the criteria for that might be. Each school would have their own criteria, of course. Winning Mr./Miss Basketball is probably too low of a bar to clear. Then again, if you were to win that at North Haven, they'd probably name the gym after you. Or a lobster boat. ## NIL Before the internet went out, I came across this story on Maine athletes with NIL deals: > NIL deals are having a BIG impact across the country and right here in Maine. [@PliableMktg](https://twitter.com/PliableMktg?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) is helping local student-athletes navigate the world of endorsement deals as they continue their athletic and professional journeys. Full Story:[https://t.co/gZjnpyvMaX](https://t.co/gZjnpyvMaX?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Sam Rogers (@slaminsamNCM) [December 22, 2022](https://twitter.com/slaminsamNCM/status/1606064952854188032?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) First off, this is awesome. I've long been a proponent of NIL deals for amateur players, especially those who will "go pro in something other than sports." Would it have been nice for Jayson Tatum to be able to do ads while at Duke? Sure. But he's doing just fine. Where the real benefit lies is for your NAIA quarterback, your DIII point guard, or the scrawny kid in *Hoosiers* who [makes clutch free throws](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=%5FgEt3iNmLyw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Those are the real winners here. A player like that might only be marketable for 2-3 years in a very small market, so it's amazing that they can capitalize on it while they can. However, there is one important clarification to make. The [NewsCenter article](https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/sports/maine-athletes-scoring-new-opportunities-through-name-image-likeness-deals-sports-business-money-community-social-media/97-a0857bf9-9c24-480d-a6f7-cc26bc1617b9?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) refers to the NIL rules in Maine as "an open book", which implies a wild west landscape where anything goes. That does not appear to be the case. While it went completely unreported at the time, last spring the MPA proactively implemented rules to govern NIL usage by high school athletes. They're to be commended for getting out in front of this and giving our student-athletes this opportunity. See, I can say nice things about the MPA! From [page 48 of the handbook](https://www.mpa.cc/sites/mpa.portal.rschooltoday.com/files/files/handbook2223.pdf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-23-at-1.05.06-PM.png) So if you were planning to wear your lacrosse uniform while promoting your cousin's new cannabis dispensary slash underground casino, I have some bad news. But there are plenty of other opportunities to make that paper. If you have any questions, check with your AD. ## One more thing... While the storm raged, I managed to get the [Boys Tournament Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) up and running. Some of you will remember this from 2019-20\. It's a [Monte Carlo simulation](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/montecarlosimulation.asp?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#:~:text=A%20Monte%20Carlo%20simulation%20is%20a%20model%20used%20to%20predict,in%20prediction%20and%20forecasting%20models.) (actually it's 130 simulations inside of a large simulation) that runs the rest of the season 1,000 times with a random number generator. The creates all sorts of combinations and gives us a range of where your team can finish and the likelihood they'll be making the tournament. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-25-at-8.13.53-PM.png) This looks more complicated than it is. Brewer ends up as the 1 seed more often than not, but they could go as low as 4\. Of course, they *could* go a lot lower than 4\. Brady Saunders could decide he wants to spend the rest of the winter ice fishing and they could fall all the way to 10th. And if I had a more powerful computer or some crazy-expensive program, we'd do 10,000 simulations and it'd find those crazy outliers. So don't think of this as the absolute range of outcomes, but the likely range. Moving down, you can see that Nokomis is likely in the 2-6 range. Same with Mount Blue. Camden could go as high as 2\. And so on. As you might imagine, this is a VERY popular feature with coaches. If you hover over Brewer, you get more information. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-25-at-8.20.25-PM.png) You get their current best and worst case scenarios and the number of wins they probably need to get in the tournament. Later, I'll add a 50/50 version to this which will be able to tell you if you've actually clinched. You also get the number of simulations in which the team finishes with a certain record. Here we see that in 35.2% of simulations, Brewer finishes 17-1\. They make the tournament in all of those seasons. If there was a number instead of a checkmark, it'd mean they make the tournament that percent of the time in seasons where they finish with that record. There *might* be a bug here or it might just be finding some wacky scenarios where teams win 13 games and miss the tourney. I'm not sure yet. [Show Me Tourney Odds](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/tourney-odds/) The first year I did the Tourney Odds, I saved the numbers from January 8th (the first day it occurred to me to do that). It had 95.4% of the tournament field correct and 72.2% of them either in the correct seed or off by one with an entire month left to play. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to run this each day for each gender (it's a MASSIVE Excel file), so this is obviously a paid feature. It's easily worth it. I should probably make this available at a higher tier, but that seems like a hassle. It'll be free for a day or two, to give you an idea of what it looks like. [Upgrade to Paid](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/signup) Girls will be up as soon as I can. --- A small aside on the subscriber front. When I relaunched this, I gave myself a goal around Thanksgiving of 100 paid subscribers by Christmas. It's not a huge number, but it felt ambitious. Well, on Christmas Eve, I hit the goal. ![](https://media.tenor.com/aU_fuKF8oqUAAAAC/holiday-seinfeld.gif) Onward to 200! It's a lot of fun to do this, so it means so very much that this many people are as crazy as I am and willing to support this little old website that's really just a spreadsheet that hates their team. --- There's only 2 countable games on the schedule tomorrow (East Grand and Hodgdon boys & girls) and neither rises to the level of a Game of the Day, so we'll skip that for this update. However, the Christmas tournament at the Expo looks promising. > Most up to date schedule of the holiday tournament at the Portland Expo. Thursday’s schedule is still being figured out. [pic.twitter.com/iare9NHmfj](https://t.co/iare9NHmfj?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Greg Levinsky (@GregLevinsky) [December 23, 2022](https://twitter.com/GregLevinsky/status/1606319625565765635?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) So on your way to return that toaster your mother-in-law bought you, check out some games at the Expo. The schedule of countable games, for the record, girls then boys. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-25-at-7.51.30-PM.png) And whatever holiday you celebrate, whether it's Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus, or [Whiskey Basketball Day](https://fansided.com/2017/12/20/whiskey-basketball-day-nba-nate-fridson/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#:~:text=We%20interview%20comedian%20Nate%20Fridson,25.), I hope it went as well as the Celtics/Bucks game. ### Brewer! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/brewer/ Last updated: 2022-12-23T12:00:00.000Z Brewer blows the doors off and then Oceanside drops 113. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Witch, Please URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/witch-please/ Last updated: 2022-12-22T14:35:09.000Z We'll get to Brewer in a minute, but first... > The Maine Event! > > 🇺🇸 [@Cooper\_Flagg](https://twitter.com/Cooper%5FFlagg?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) is the 2022 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year! > > — USA Basketball (@usabasketball) [December 21, 2022](https://twitter.com/usabasketball/status/1605607845206102017?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Well, shit. That's something. Flagg wins this for his efforts in [Spain this summer](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/21/sports/high-school-sports/cooper-flagg-usa-basketball-male-athlete-of-the-year/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), where he was phenomenal. He's the youngest to ever win the award, which has previously been won by Michael Jordan and LeBron James (and the great ["Thunder Dan" Majerle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekGw5oMe05E&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) \- ask your parents). And that's true! But there's some context here. The award is given to the best American male performance during the year's international competition. So in an Olympic year, it'll be someone on the Olympic team (MJ, LeBron, Durant, Dan Majerle) or it'll be someone from the Men's National Team during a World Cup (Carmelo Anthony in '06) or Pan-American Games (Tim Duncan in '03). This was supposed to be a FIBA World Cup year, which would have meant NBA players, but they changed the calendar in 2017 and now it'll be in 2023\. The U19's are also next year. That left the [U18 Americas Championship](https://www.fiba.basketball/americas/u18/2022/news/usa-take-u18-americas-championship-gold-after-dominating-brazil?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and the U17 FIBA World Cup. In short, whoever won the award this year was going to be the youngest to ever win it, so the breathless statements of "YOUNGEST TO EVER WIN AN AWARD WON BY MJ!!!" statements aren't exactly telling you the full story. It's a little clickbait-y, is all I'm saying. Having said that, being the MVP of any USA team in a World Cup tournament is an amazing accomplishment. --- It was a light schedule last night and very few games were even reported, but we do know that Calais' offense went off in a 97-70 victory. That's not a close game, but 167 points in 32 minutes is always a good time. The Stax Index, FTW. Today is definitely not a light day on the schedule, and figures to get busier as some teams move up to beat the storm. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/game-of-the-day-11.png) Brewer has been a consensus favorite in A North since the preseason and definitely after they blew out Skowhegan on opening night. They're all alone in 2nd place in A North. The MPA's website disagrees. They are wrong. The Model has been light on Brewer so far. They started in the teens, based solely on last year's Heal Points and haven't really moved because as impressive as they've been, the teams they've beaten have really struggled. Skowhegan is 0-3, Messalonskee is 0-2, and Hampden is 2-2\. So they've been dominant, but the schedule looks pretty soft so far. Of course, Skowhegan could turn things around, but they haven't yet. That all changes tonight as the Witches head to Augusta to take on Cony. The Rams are undefeated at 4-0 and all alone in first place. As is their custom, Cony is the highest-scoring team in Class A at 74.5 points a game and they have the highest scoring differential too. For the entire year, boys and girls combined, there are currently 7 games on the year that have a Stax Index higher than 90\. This is the 5th highest ranked game on the year. If you can't make it to Augusta, [CTV7 will have the stream](https://www.ctv7augusta.com/cony-sports/cony-basketball?fbclid=IwAR2ngnkWYMQIGwYS7GoUJ%5FqIm-9hNdb5a6LfjsRPqs5xdHHqOJazBWgA6O4&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-22-at-9.23.42-AM.png) The rest of today's games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Extra Frames URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/extra-frames/ Last updated: 2022-12-21T14:57:41.000Z The Orono and Foxcroft boys lived up the Game of the Day mantle, as Orono stretched a 1 possession lead with under two minutes to a 64-53 win on the road. Pierce Walton led the Red Riots with 30\. It probably wasn't the *best* game of the day, though. In Newport, the Skowhegan boys rallied to force overtime, but Nokomis was able to hold on for the win. The River Hawks fall to 0-3\. > FINAL: Nokomis defeats Skowhegan 49-45 in OT. River Hawks, who were the preseason No. 1 team in Class A North, fall to 0-3\. [#MESports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/MESports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#VarsityMaine](https://twitter.com/hashtag/VarsityMaine?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Mike Mandell (@MichaelJMandell) [December 21, 2022](https://twitter.com/MichaelJMandell/status/1605366388797108225?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And that is why the Power Rankings don't include any opinion polls. But, wait. There's more. In Fryeburg, the Leavitt boys erased a 9-point halftime deficit to beat the Raiders 58-57 in double overtime. Sawyer Hathaway had a cool 28/8 to lead the Hornets to their first win of the season. But if defense is more your jam... > Neither Bangor or Edward Little scored in the second quarter. Honestly, impressive. 15-6 at the half, Rams in the lead [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Tyler Krusz (@TylerKruszTV) [December 21, 2022](https://twitter.com/TylerKruszTV/status/1605353622648266753?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Eddies found their offense in the second half, but not enough of it, as Bangor held on 34-31\. Elsewhere, the Nokomis girls snapped Skowhegan's winning streak, the Camden girls won their first game since 2020, and the Noble boys went over .500 for the first time since this website started. It was a busy day. Today's a lot lighter (I've got [18 games on the schedule](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/)), so I wouldn't be shocked if some makeup games sneak into the results tonight. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/game-of-the-day-10.png) I'm not going to recommend you drive to Calais, but the Game of the Day is in Calais. I'm sure it'd be a lovely drive, though. The Blue Devils are off to a 2-0 start on the young season and feature the highest-scoring offense in Class C at 76.0 points per game, although they've faced one of the weakest schedules in the state, so the Model is in wait-and-see mode on them. They'll host a Woodland team that's second in Class C in scoring (68.75 ppg) and has played a considerably harder schedule (thanks, in large part, to a 4-point loss to Machias). Woodland's much higher in the rankings, so you'd expect them to be favored in this one, but the Model adjusts for the fact that they have played twice as many games. The stream should be on [Calais' Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/calaisschooldepartment). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-21-at-9.56.43-AM.png) *Edit: an earlier version of this had the wrong logo & mascot for Woodland.* The rest of the schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Injury Adjustments URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/injury-adjustments/ Last updated: 2022-12-20T14:14:42.000Z Without an injured Walker Oliver, we knew in advance that yesterday's Game of the Day probably wouldn't be stellar. One of the metrics the [Stax Index](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-stax-index/) uses is how high-scoring the game promises to be and you can't take that much firepower out of the game and hope it holds up. Sure enough... ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-19-at-9.31.17-PM.png) One of the questions I get most often is how does the Model account for a major injury and the short answer is that it doesn't. There's two reasons for this. First, my rule for the rankings is that I can't incorporate something unless I can incorporate it state-wide. Sure, Oliver was out, but was Southern Aroostook at full strength? What about in all the other games in the state? You can't just make random adjustments. What you can do, once you learn about an injury, is use that in evaluating a team going forward. Not in the rankings themselves, but in looking at them and trying to get a sense of a team. Second, even if I wanted to make an adjustment, how much is Oliver worth? You'd need complete player stats and full box scores to create some stat like EFF or [Box Plus-Minus](https://www.nbastuffer.com/analytics101/box-plus-minus/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com#:~:text=Box%20plus%2Dminus%20is%20based,relative%20to%20the%20NBA%20average.) and considering we can't even manage to [upload an 18-game schedule correctly](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1604926395087470594?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), we're a long way from that. The win moves Southern Aroostook to 3-0 and in sole possession of [second place](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) in D North. That's actually (and I hope you're sitting down for this part) the same as the MPA's standings. The second place part, that is. They've still got Southern Aroostook with over 139 points instead of just under 5, but baby steps. That's a nice transition to my [column this week in the Bangor Daily News](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/19/sports/the-pandemic-broke-maines-heal-point-rankings-joam40zk0w/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) about the MPA's nonsensical decision to mess with the Heal Points math and the fallout that they unwittingly caused. There's math, public documents about the MPA's PPP loans, an Allen Iverson callback, and so much more. What more do you need? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/game-of-the-day-9.png) Speaking of high-scoring games, there should be plenty of that on display in Orono. The Red Riots, fueled by a [breakout game from freshman Brady Hews](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/15/sports/high-school-sports/brady-hews-orono-boys-basketball-hermon/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), boast the highest-scoring offense in the state at 83.5 points a game. They'll host a Foxcroft Academy teams that's 4th in the state (and 2nd in Class B) at 78 points a game and first in Class B in scoring differential (Orono is 2nd). B North looks to be as deep as usual this year, with 7 teams still undefeated, so this is a good chance to pick up some crucial Heal Points. It looks like [Eastern Maine Sports has the stream](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcHPytNC4to&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), although now apparently the game is at Foxcroft Academy. If I had to pick between trusting the EMS team or the MPA's site, I'll bet on EMS every time. This will move the line to Orono by 1.6\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-20-at-8.53.19-AM.png) The rest of the games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Back at it URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/back-at-it/ Last updated: 2023-12-31T17:56:19.000Z After a couple of days of snow--and some of you got a LOT of snow--we appear to be back on track for a normal slate of games. In the games that did happen, the OOB boys [moved to first in C South](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) with a win over Waynflete. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-17-at-9.42.15-PM.png) If you're wondering, the MPA has Boothbay in first. With a Varsity subscription you can get access to the [real Heal Point standings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) for the entire state. [Upgrade](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/account/plans) As best I can tell, a total of 10 games were played over the weekend. I've moved as many to their new dates as I've found, but there's still a lot remaining, which you can see on the [Every Game database](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/every-game/). They'll be the ones that don't have a red x (or green check mark) next to them. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-18-at-9.09.30-PM.png) Without all those games to log, I put the time to good use and started to compile a list of each school's streaming sites. I've got a bunch so far and it seems like the vast majority of the non-NFHS ones. Check it out! [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/streaming-database-4.jpg)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/streams/) Let me know if you have anything to add. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/game-of-the-day-8.png) We're back in the County where the Southern Aroostook boys are out-scoring their opponents by 47.5 points per game. And while it's not the hardest schedule so far, it's still 47.5 points per game. They lead D North in everything. They've allowed 46 points this season. They'll welcome the Hodgdon Hawks and Walker Oliver, who's already scored more than that in a single game and is sure to test that top-ranked defense. *Edit: Greg Levinsky tells me Walker Oliver is out tonight with an injury. So it goes.* The Stax Index is high on this one. You can watch it on [Southern Aroostook's YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCqZeHgE2yU&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-17-at-10.24.25-PM.png) The rest of the games are after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Snow Day URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/snow-day/ Last updated: 2022-12-17T14:57:01.000Z The Game of the Day didn't happen (shocking!). In fact, nearly every game didn't happen. As best I can tell, there were 4 games in the state last night. The Central Aroostook boys beat Hodgdon by 1, but other than that, it was a lot of JV minutes. Today doesn't look much better. A bunch of games have already been rescheduled. But it looks like at least this will happen? > OOB @ Waynflete Basketball games are on for today. JV boys 11 AM, JV girls 12:30 PM, varsity girls 2 PM, varsity boys 3:30 PM > > — Waynflete Athletics (@waynfletesports) [December 17, 2022](https://twitter.com/waynfletesports/status/1604108617619210241?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) And it looks like the Massabesic makeup games have been sorted out. > Thornton Academy Athletics is announcing the following replacement girls basketball games: > > (Junior Varsity/Varsity) > Thursday, January 12 - Thornton Academy at Gorham - 6:00pm/7:30pm > Wednesday, January 25 - Cheverus at Thornton Academy - 4:30-pm/6:00pm [pic.twitter.com/HqTVv4r3dr](https://t.co/HqTVv4r3dr?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Gary Stevens (@GarySteTAAD) [December 16, 2022](https://twitter.com/GarySteTAAD/status/1603876427400634389?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I'm working on getting those games added to the [Every Game database](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/every-game/). If you've got the full list (with dates), please email me at mainebasketballrankings \[at\] gmail \[dot\] com. You may have seen this floating around social, but Hodgdon put together a highlight video of Walker Oliver's 52-point explosion on Opening Night. The video is from the reliably stellar WHOU. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/game-of-the-day-7.png) Well...um...let's pretend this will happen, I guess? Charlie Houghton and Dirigo are off to a hot start. Houghton has already joined the 1,000 point club and they've outscored their opponents by 87 points in 3 games. They'll host a Spruce Mountain team headlined by sophomore Jace Bessey, who will probably be a thousand point scorer by the time he's done. They're outsocring their opponents by a full 20 points a game. Thing is, neither team has come up against the teeth of their schedule yet, so we're about to see just how good they are. Or it'll get snowed out. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-17-at-9.47.50-AM.png) The rest of today's maybe schedule is after the jump for Varsity members. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Fly Eagles URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/fly-eagles/ Last updated: 2022-12-16T13:30:48.000Z As expected, yesterday's Game of the Day was a bust. Oxford Hills coasted in a blowout. But, also, I kind of thought they might. It's the early season and there's a lot of quirks in the Model still. Having said that, I was told the Poland/Wells boys pick was way off. > [https://t.co/aQOqYvg9l7](https://t.co/aQOqYvg9l7?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/niysXAk5K3](https://t.co/niysXAk5K3?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [December 16, 2022](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1603556468783218688?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) The Old Town girls moved to 3-0 with a blowout win over Hermon (not to be confused with the Orono boys, who also blew out Hermon). They're now +77 in three games, all of them on the road, and have moved to #1 in the girls [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/). In Topsham, Parker Bate sealed a win for Mt. Ararat with this buzzer-beater. > VBBB: Following the Berry steal on the defensive end, Senior Parker Bate knocks down the triple just before the buzzer to win it for the Eagles! > > MTA 48, Leavitt 45…Final. What a finish![#GoEagles](https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoEagles?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/hKHBEPpO09](https://t.co/hKHBEPpO09?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Mt. Ararat High School Athletics (@MTA\_Eagles) [December 16, 2022](https://twitter.com/MTA%5FEagles/status/1603573321605545985?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) It's pretty weird watching a Mt. Ararat home game and not seeing that overturned Noah's Ark gym they've had forever. The times, they are a-changing. A couple of Friday's games moved to Thursday in advance of the storm, but not as many as you'd think. Some have already announced new dates, but not very many. It seems unlikely that we'll get any games in today, but you never know. In the meantime, you can check out the [updated Heal Points](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/), which are now only available for Varsity members. If you haven't looked at them yet, they're pretty cool. Not only are they more accurate than the MPA's version, but they're faster and you can look at a team's schedule at a glance, instead of loading a whole new thing. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-16-at-8.02.49-AM.png) Compare that to the MPA's site, which only took 20 minutes to load. Progress! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-16-at-8.17.56-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/game-of-the-day-6.png) The Game of the Day was supposed to be the Edward Little boys and Lewiston, but they played a day early and went to overtime. It its place, we have the Falmouth boys taking on Marshwood. Maybe. Both these teams are 2-0 and in decisive fashion. Marshwood has outscored their opponents by 50 points and has the stingiest defense in A South thus far. The second stingiest defense? Falmouth. But both teams can also score, averaging 61 and 57 ppg. So this should be a good one whenever they play it. Maybe today! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-16-at-8.25.51-AM.png) The rest of today's maybe schedule is after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Gruber and Greely, Oh My! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gruber-and-greely-oh-my/ Last updated: 2022-12-15T13:39:24.000Z Let's start with yesterday's Game of the Day. Lizzy Gruber's two free throws with 18 seconds left stretched the lead to 4 and Gardiner held on for a 41-37 win. Gruber finished with a 19-19-6 line and is averaging 19 points and 20 rebounds so far this year. A little south, the Brunswick girls made short work of Greely in a re-match of last year's A South Regional Final. Brunswick raced out to a 29-4 lead in the first quarter and coasted to a 70-42 win. Earlier today, I wondered if perhaps the Brunswick/Greely game should have been the Game of the Day, but the Model is once again smarter than me. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-14-at-7.50.26-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-14-at-7.50.45-PM.png) (There's gotta be a better logo for Greely.) But maybe it was just the wrong Brunswick/Greely game. The Greely boys rallied down 7 in the 4th quarter, culminating in this: > Crazy finish to the Brunswick Geely game. @seamus\_raftice23 with the game winner as Greely beats Brunswick 43-42 > ‼️Video Courtesy of Victor Ranger YouTube [pic.twitter.com/Y8Rm9y5VAa](https://t.co/Y8Rm9y5VAa?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — bigtimehoopsmaine (@bigtimehoopsME) [December 15, 2022](https://twitter.com/bigtimehoopsME/status/1603206585488211970?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That's a hell of a shot. Also! Dirigo’s Charlie Houghton joined the 1,000 point club in a win over Buckfield. Dirigo goes to 3-0 and has done it in dominant fashion. They're up to 8th in the [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/). As I'm sure you've already heard, there's a storm on the way. Some teams have proactively moved their Friday games to Thursday. Some are waiting to see how it plays out. And some will let us know what they do when they report the score a week later. So I'm going to list all of the games for the next two days, but take the Game of the Day from today's schedule. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/game-of-the-day-5.png) With two state titles and a Regional Final appearance in the last 3 seasons (4 years), Nate Pelletier has turned the Oxford Hills girls into one of the best programs in the state. This year's team seems to be along those lines. They've outscored their opponents by 60 points in their first two games. Normally that's enough to vault a team into the top 10, but the schedule has been light so far, making it difficult to accumulate ranking points. That hasn't been an issue for Windham, who has played the 3rd hardest schedule in AA thus far. Windham is a young team and no longer features Sarah Talon. The Model is starting to learn that (although they are 2-0 against the spread). I'm pretty confident the Model is too low on Oxford Hills, so let's just say I'm glad the pick landed where it did. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-15-at-12.21.43-AM.png) The schedule for the next 2 days (as best I know) is after the jump. Also, the Model is at 75.8% (179-57) _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Mustang Missteps URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/mustang-missteps/ Last updated: 2022-12-14T13:52:57.000Z The Postal shipping deadline approaches for the [day job](https://longwinterfarm.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), so this will be a quick one. Christmas presents, oy vey. Last night, the Stax Index showed us it can be wrong sometimes too, as the Portland boys handled Bonny Eagle somewhat easily, 42-28\. The Bulldogs win their first game of the year. Also: > 🏀 | Boys Basketball Final: > > Noble - 74 > Massabesic - 55 > > Go Knights!⚔️ > > — Noble Athletics (@NobleKnightsAD) [December 14, 2022](https://twitter.com/NobleKnightsAD/status/1602837151246336001?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) According to Jackson Hett, this is Noble's first win against a AA opponent since December 10, 2019\. So hopefully they're on the road to being competitive. There's nothing quite like breaking a long losing streak. But in other Massabesic news... > Massabesic canceled its varsity girls' basketball season, athletic director Brendan Scully confirms. The reason? "Numbers," Scully said in an email. "We are following a JV schedule as best we can at this point." [@bigtimehoopsME](https://twitter.com/bigtimehoopsME?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Greg Levinsky (@GregLevinsky) [December 13, 2022](https://twitter.com/GregLevinsky/status/1602743316528779265?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Not a good week for Massabesic. This had been rumored for a while and Massabesic's games were off the schedule last week, but it's always a surprise when a AA school can't field enough players for a team. I would assume there's some scrambling among their opponents to try and pick up extra games, but that'll be tricky because there's only 7 teams in their region and most (all?) A schools are already at 18 games. There's the teams that were supposed to play Rangeley Lakes, but I can't see that happening. But now there's not even enough teams in AA South to fill up a bracket, which just furthers the point I made in my [BDN column](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/12/sports/high-school-sports/maine-high-school-basketball-classes-joam40zk0w/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). The 5 class system is broken. It was a mistake from the beginning and it's dying. Enough already. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/game-of-the-day-4.png) I sort of assumed this was going to be the Game of the Day and here we are. In A North, Lizzy Gruber has the Gardiner Tigers off to a 1-0 start. They'll host Lawrence with both teams trying to claim some early Heal Points. Gruber, of course, is the front-runner for Miss Basketball. The Bulldogs are coming off a blowout win over Erskine. There's a very good chance this is a preview of a semifinal or regional final matchup. I think the Model is probably underselling both of these teams, but it's underselling them in the same way. I wouldn't be surprised if both of these teams are in the Top 10 by January. This pick would feel a little more precise then, but it's probably not too far off. [Munzing Media](http://www.munzingmediasports.com/nac-softball-championship?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) will have the stream. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-14-at-8.24.46-AM.png) The rest of today's game are after the jump. Join the Varsity! _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Stax En Fuego URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/stax-en-fuego/ Last updated: 2023-12-09T06:17:11.000Z Once again, the [Stax Index](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-stax-index/) delivered. On a light schedule without any obvious must watch games, the Stax Index found the good one. > Machias 75 Woodland 71- final. [https://t.co/kHWANuKmW8](https://t.co/kHWANuKmW8?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Good call [@MEBBallRankings](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Eastern Maine Sports (@EasternMESports) [December 13, 2022](https://twitter.com/EasternMESports/status/1602468411291930624?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Look, you can argue all day that the Forest Hills boys beating Valley 90-83 was a better game (which the Model had at Forest Hills by 5.6) or maybe the Forest Hills girls beating Valley in OT, but a 75-71 game in the County is a hell of a game and worth a drive. Is it worth that drive? Eh...maybe. Also, did I watch the last 2 minutes of a parent's Facebook live stream to get the scores of the Forest Hills/Valley doubleheader? Absolutely. But what that Machias win does is temporarily launch the Bulldogs to #1 in the Power Rankings for the first time ever. They very likely will not be there tomorrow, so bask in the sunlight, Machias alumni! ![](https://media.tenor.com/dfqHkHPZCDUAAAAC/james-cagney-top-of-the-world.gif) In other news, my [first column for the Bangor Daily News](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/12/sports/high-school-sports/maine-high-school-basketball-classes-joam40zk0w/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) came out yesterday and no one is mad at me, so it might be a failure. (Can you believe the Bangor Daily News gave me a column?) In it, I argue that the 5 class system is broken beyond repair and we should go back to the old 4 class system. The big reason being we don't have enough schools. Did you know that New York is moving to 6 classes? But also they have over 500 schools. We have maybe 130\. This system we have is stupid and [borderline incompetent](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/classification/). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/game-of-the-day-3.png) We're back in southern Maine where the Portland boys host Bonny Eagle at the Expo. Portland dropped their first game of the season by 9 to Lewiston and Bonny Eagle dropped Deering by 11\. The Model is designed to not overreact to a single game (especially the first game) and is currently heavily weighted toward last year's Heal Points, so it doesn't know (or care) who graduated. It trusts that good programs stay good and bad programs stay bad. Anyway, this could be a good one. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-13-at-1.53.54-AM.png) The rest of the Model's picks are after the jump. Currently at 112-30 (78.9%) _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Off to a Hot Start URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/off-to-a-hot-start/ Last updated: 2022-12-12T12:15:11.000Z Well the Opening Weekend lived up to the hype. There were big performances all over the state. On Friday, Walker Oliver dropped 52 on Madawaska. > A couple of mind-boggling notes on Walker Oliver's 52-point barrage in Hodgdon's 83-57 win over Madawaska on Friday night. > > \- 22 points in the 1st quarter and 10 in each of the last 3 > \- Shot 12/13 in the 1st half including 6/6 from 3-point range[@bigtimehoopsME](https://twitter.com/bigtimehoopsME?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Greg Levinsky (@GregLevinsky) [December 11, 2022](https://twitter.com/GregLevinsky/status/1601962705316888577?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Then on Saturday, Gardiner's Lizzy Gruber kicked off her Miss Basketball campaign with this gem against Cony. She's likely the front-runner for the award. > FINAL: Gardiner girls defeat Cony 70-45\. Gruber with 19 points and 21 rebounds for the Tigers, who also got 17 points and 9 boards from Taylor Takatsu. Sage Fortin with 15 points to lead the Rams. [#MESports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/MESports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [#VarsityMaine](https://twitter.com/hashtag/VarsityMaine?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Mike Mandell (@MichaelJMandell) [December 10, 2022](https://twitter.com/MichaelJMandell/status/1601657338485620737?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) A little further north, Winslow's Jason Reynolds went off for 38 points and 17 rebounds in a win over Presque Isle and Mason Desjardins rang up 39 for Forest Hills. You could make the argument that the Stax Index undersold Saturday's Game of the Day, as Oceanside and Medomak Valley battled back-and-forth, complete with an error in the book that gave Medomak an extra point and a late 3 for the Panthers that did everything but go in. > FINAL - Oceanside Boys 64, Medomak Valley 59\. 11 lead changes and 9 ties. Carter Galley 18, Cohen Galley 16 and Alex Collins 11 for OHS, Gabe Lash 19, Blake Morrison 13 and Finn Parmley 11 for Medomak. Oceanside 11-22 from 3, Medomak 10-16 from 3 > > — Don Shields (@DonShieldsMaine) [December 11, 2022](https://twitter.com/DonShieldsMaine/status/1601776080448552963?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Basketball is back! Also back? The [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/rankings/). They're a little bit different this year in that they start with last year's Heal Points instead of rankings, so that's probably over-rating some C&D schools who put up monster regular seasons last year. So I've cut the weight of that in half, which seems to help. In a week, it won't matter at all. If you're wondering, the Model has gotten 77.6% of the games right so far. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/game-of-the-day-2.png) Monday's a lighter slate, but the headliner features a Machias boys team that lost to eventual champion Southern Aroostook in the Regional Final. They opened this season with a 3-point win over Schenck and will host a Woodland team that's making their season debut. On the off chance you don't want to drive all the way to Machias, [NFHS](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/machias-memorial-high-school-machias-me/gamec32ce3512?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) will have the stream. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-11-at-10.21.22-PM.png) Check out the rest of the schedule after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Opening Day, Part Duex URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/opening-day-part-duex/ Last updated: 2022-12-10T16:31:15.000Z I don't know about you, but it was fantastic being back in the gym last night. The place was packed. The gym was loud. The refs were watching a different game. It was everything you love about high school basketball. It was even electric if you were in Rockland, where Oceanside was hosting the Camden and Hampden boys, thanks to some [issues with the Camden gym](https://knox.villagesoup.com/2022/12/07/floored-windjammers-start-season-at-home-on-road/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). As usual, the Game of the Day was a thriller as the York boys knocked off the defending state champions. > York rallies and holds off Yarmouth in playoff rematch. [@YHSBoosters](https://twitter.com/YHSBoosters?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) [pic.twitter.com/8LY6RP3PWO](https://t.co/8LY6RP3PWO?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [December 10, 2022](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/1601442819620876291?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) That now means York holds the Class B title belt. Those are the rules of professional wrestling. They'll get their first title defense Tuesday against Marshwood. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-10-at-11.07.00-AM.png)](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/) The image is from the [Heal Point page](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/heals/), which you'll notice is a little bit better than the MPA's site. That'll go behind the Varsity level in a couple of days, so if you're thinking of a reason to upgrade, that's a very good one. State-wide, the Model got 67% of the games right last night, which is pretty good if you're a pundit or Nate Silver, but rather mediocre by the Model's standards, even for Opening Night. Part of the reason for that is because it was using last year's Heal Points as a starting point instead of last year's rankings, which naturally didn't exist and since the MPA doesn't maintain an archive of scores (that I could find), I wasn't able to re-create. This will only be a minor inconvenience in a week, but creates some weird picks at the moment. You can see how the Model did on [every game here](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/every-game/). Let me know if you've got a score from one of the missing games. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/game-of-the-day-1.png) The Stax Index has dialed up another great game for you tonight, a rivalry tilt as Medomak Valley heads north on Route 1 to face Oceanside. The Panthers were the B South runners up last season, but they've graduated their entire starting 5, including 1,000 point scorer Trevor Brown. The Model doesn't know this, of course. But you can be confident that Medomak will reload--they always do. You can also be sure that Oceanside will be hyped up for the matchup--they always are. If you're going, get there early. These two fanbases are large, loud, and they don't like each other. If you're looking for a stream, last year's games were on [Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/rsu13?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-10-at-11.23.47-AM.png) If you're a Varsity member, you can see this for every game on [today's schedule](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/). You can also see a list of the Model's picks after the jump. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### And We're Off! URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/and-were-off/ Last updated: 2023-12-09T06:17:57.000Z It's time for basketball season, the greatest of all the seasons. There's a ton of games today and a hundred different storylines. Can Nokomis stay competitive without the Flagg twins? Can Brewer finally break through? Can Oxford Hills make the jump? Can anyone beat the Oceanside girls? It's [going to be awesome](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/09/sports/high-school-sports/maine-high-school-basketball-will-still-be-fun-joam40zk0w/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). It's finally Basketball Day! > And like many families, we get to open up one present on Christmas Eve.... [pic.twitter.com/bOreoLcyhT](https://t.co/bOreoLcyhT?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Rob Kennedy (@RobKennedy70) [December 8, 2022](https://twitter.com/RobKennedy70/status/1600995938666917888?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Thanks to a scheduling conflict with the team formerly known as the Red Claws, the Portland and Lewiston girls kicked things off a day early. Lewiston rode a big 2nd quarter to a 9 point halftime lead, but Portland rallied to claim the first victory of the season, 44-35\. Portland is now all alone in first place. At least, they would be if they would report the score. I'd tell you more, but no one has filed a story on the game. Or a box score. Or anything. AA North Girls looks like this now, depending on your source. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.43.31-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.42.03-PM-1.png) You'll notice when that does get posted (or tonight when other games get reported) that the numbers here won't match the MPA's numbers. That's because the MPA has made the incredibly dumb decision to use a divisor of games played instead of games scheduled, so there will be wild fluctuations in the numbers. This was a byproduct of COVID that they should have never adopted and hopefully they'll abandon it soon. In the meantime, I'll be calculating it correctly, but it'll only be available at the varsity level. Honestly, it's probably worth the varsity level just for that. I will also be making fun of newspapers who use the incorrect version in their stories. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/game-of-the-day.png) We start in B South where Yarmouth kicks off their title defense against York. Peter Psyhogeos is gone and York is "young", but these are two programs you'd be crazy to bet against. I'm sure we'll see them both at the Expo in February. The Model, of course, doesn't know that Psyhogeos graduated, so for this game (and all of today's games) it's pretty much a shot in the dark. And because I couldn't find an archive of last year's games, our starting point is regular season Heal Points. Obviously, there's no numbers in the matchup data, but I'll show it to you anyway to get a sense of what it'll look like. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.04.22-PM.png) There's logos! It's fancy! Subscribers at the Varsity level will get [access to this](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/todays-games/) for every game in the state, every day. As my father would say, "a bahgain". Everything should be functional, although it might be buggy and I can't promise it'll look as good on your phone as it does on your computer. And now, for our Varsity team, the Model's picks for today's games. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Create a Perfect Region URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/perfect-region-contest/ Last updated: 2022-12-05T13:31:47.000Z How well do you know your region? I've got one more contest for you before the season starts. Think of this as your March Madness bracket on steroids. But since it's way too easy to pick a 16 team bracket, I'm making it a little harder. Can you get a region exactly right? Just like the [Opening Night contest](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/opening-night-prediction-contest/), you need to be a member in order to enter. If you can pull it off, you'll win a free year subscription. Just get your entry in before the games start. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Unmasking URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-unmasking/ Last updated: 2022-12-04T01:28:08.000Z In case you haven't seen it, Adam Robinson of the Bangor Daily News [dropped the unveiling](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/11/30/sports/high-school-sports/lucas-mcnally-maine-basketball-rankings-n6hjn1me0n/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) of this previously-anonymous website/spreadsheet/Twitter account, also known as the worst-kept secret in Maine. It's a very good article. [Read the BDN Article](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/11/30/sports/high-school-sports/lucas-mcnally-maine-basketball-rankings-n6hjn1me0n/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This site is run by me, Lucas McNelly, a [filmmaker](https://twitter.com/lmcnelly?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) from Waldoboro. I live in Damariscotta with my wife, Amanda. We have an [online soap business](https://longwinterfarm.com/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) that pays the mortgage. I used to be a crowdfunding consultant and I once spent a year living out of my car and volunteering on independent film sets around the country and documenting it for Filmmaker Magazine. I also organize the [Waldoboro Half Marathon](https://runsignup.com/Race/ME/Waldoboro/WaldoboroHalfMarathon?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)\--the hardest half marathon in the Eastern United States. My brother is the varsity girls coach for Medomak Valley. So why be anonymous for so long? Well when I started this, there wasn't really a plan. It was during the 4 class era and there were 2 groups of teams atop the heal points--the midcoast teams (Camden/Medomak/Oceanside) and the northern teams (Old Town/Orono/Presque Isle). They were all good but there was no common opponents between the two groups, so the debate was pretty heavy on who would do better in the tournament. Well that felt like a thing one could figure out, so I started toying with some ideas in Excel. I very quickly realized you couldn't just look at a couple of teams and down the rabbit hole I went. Eventually, I decided to post the results on the Old Man Forum, but I didn't want anyone to assume a bias, I wanted the work to stand on its own two feet, so I posted it anonymously. Naturally, the first complaint in the entire state? Oceanside should be higher than Medomak Valley. So then I *had* to stay anonymous, at least long enough for the model to prove itself. I also didn't want anything I said (and I definitely have opinions, just ask the MPA) to negatively impact my brother. So I stayed anonymous. I had some fun with it. > Fun thing I forgot to tell [@FunkFlashyRob](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) about the details of staying anonymous: > > Wanted to make sure I covered my digital tracks as well as possible, so whenever I needed to put my address anywhere, I used the address of the MPA's offices. > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [December 1, 2022](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1598122373550866433?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) I hope they got mail. That would be hilarious. A lot of people (like the MPA) wouldn't talk to an anonymous person, so I had to come up with an identity. I gave them one I'd been using for years for film work (it's common practice to use a different name to credit yourself as an editor or cinematographer) and made a note on the website that this was all done under a pseudonym. Along the way, the Model got stronger and while I got complaints that a team was ranked too low, there were fewer and fewer with each passing year. People also started to figure it out. A player was first, then several of his teammates. I believe my brother put it together soon after. From there, it would slowly spread. When my brother moved from being the boys JV coach to the girls Varsity coach, I told a couple of coaches in the region so there wouldn't be any assumption that I was trying to use the site to gain some sort of competitive advantage (I have no idea what that would even be, but still). So why now? Honestly, I wasn't even sure I was going to do it this year. This takes a lot of work and I don't have a fraction of the free time I used to. I've got a kid now and a day job and film projects to work on and it all adds up pretty fast. It's a lot of fun and it's a great excuse to teach myself how to do things in Excel or learn data visualization software, but it's very time-intensive and the response from the print media in this state has been...frustrating, to say the least. And then the Bangor Daily News called. Like any Mainer, I've been reading the Bangor Daily News my whole life and there's something about writing for a publication you grew up reading. It will never not be cool, you know? There's also a level of validation that the work I've been doing these past couple years is worth something. Plus they're paying me, which is nice. The only catch was I had to use my real name. So here we are. I'll be writing a weekly column for the Bangor Daily News and they won't all be about why we desperately need a shot clock, I swear. But one almost definitely will be. ### So You Think You Know Maine (Basketball)? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/opening-night-prediction-contest/ Last updated: 2022-11-26T01:12:48.000Z Opening night of the season is fast approaching, so we're going to have a little bit of a contest. Think you're right wicked smart? Do you know basketball better than anyone? Do you love a good 33 game parlay? Well I've got the contest for you. If you can correctly pick the most Opening Night games correctly (boys or girls), you win a free month subscription to this website. If you can get all of the games right for either gender, you'll win a free year subscription. And if you can run the table and get every single game in the state, you'll win a lifetime subscription (plus a ton of bragging rights). I'll also post the results here so you can see how you did compared to your friends. Entry to this contest is free! But it is limited to members, so you have to sign up for a free subscription in order to play (also in order to win). So start your scouting. The entry for is below the jump. Matchups are pulled from the MPA's website as of November 25. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Promotion/Relegation URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/promotion-relegation/ Last updated: 2023-12-09T06:16:38.000Z As fall sports wind down and some Gold Balls go to dominant programs that won last year (and in 2019 and in 2018 and in 2017 and in 2016) the chatter across the state turns back to competitive balance. It's one thing to be the Skowhegan field hockey team winning 17 titles in 21 years. They play at the state's highest level and we can't exactly ship them to New York or make them play against college teams. But winning 7 of the last 8 Gold Balls in Class B soccer? Winning 14 consecutive State Titles in Class C tennis? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/swingers-offsides.gif) If you win 14 straight titles, you're on too easy a level. No one is impressed. You aren't Bill Russell. Turn the settings up. Quit playing against your little brother and go find some competition. A program *should* petition up long before they win their 14th straight championship. But if we've learned one thing over the last couple of years, it's that some people won't do the right thing. Ever. They don't care. They're going to put more hardware in the trophy case, ethics be damned. Which is why it's imperative that the MPA step in and make them do the right thing. After all, that is quite literally their job--to be the adult in the room. People can (and will) [argue all day](https://twitter.com/allen%5Fdarren/status/1589301906824138752?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) about whether the issue is recruitment or facility access or AAU programs or number of McDonald's per capita or even the percentage of students on free lunch, but none of that really matters. If you're dominating a level, you should move up. A season of high school sports shouldn't exist where only 2 or 3 teams have a chance to win it all. And it should never extend beyond a couple of seasons. If it does, a lot of adults have failed. The MPA, like most states, currently assigns schools to classes based on enrollment numbers. It’s the simplest method, even though we already know that enrollment numbers [don’t correlate to success](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/does-size-matter/) and are a mediocre system for obtaining any level of competitive balance. There’s just so many more factors in play. Some schools are basketball schools. Some are soccer schools. Some are wrestling schools. A private school is more likely to be able to bring in an athlete from “away” whereas a public school is largely bound by who lives in their district. But even that isn’t a great indicator. There are private schools with dorms that have mediocre sports programs and are routinely trounced by their public school neighbors. In fact, there’s really only one reliable indicator of how good a team will be: the history of the program. I tend to think of the basketball programs as fitting into a couple of buckets: the yearly contenders, the middle of the pack, and the consistently mediocre. The yearly contenders are the teams that are always in the mix: MDI, Hermon, Greely, Falmouth, Hampden, Forest Hills, Winthrop, etc. We all know the list. A bad year for these programs is 10 wins. The middle of the pack programs will sometimes get up to the 1 seed, but are usually in the 4-10 range. When they get a strong class, they can make a run at a Gold Ball, but if they get to 2 Regional Finals games in 10 years, they’re very happy. They’ll probably miss the tournament entirely every couple of years. The final group of programs is schools that aspire to a play-in game. It’s not unusual for them to go 3-15 or 2-16\. Sometimes, those schools will find lightning in a bottle and make a run, but they’ll usually drop back out of the tournament when that class graduates. There’s sub-groups to this, but you get the idea. The middle of the pack programs, you can easily classify them by enrollment and it’ll work fine. They’ll have good years and bad years and be generally competitive. But the other two groups? That’s where the idea of promotion and relegation comes into play. ## The Premier League Method You’re probably already familiar with how this works across the pond. In UK football, there’s 9 levels, starting with the Premier League and going all the way down to semi-pro clubs. The criteria for promotion isn’t exactly uniform, but essentially the top 2 or three in each tier are promoted and the bottom 3 or four are relegated and move down a level. If you’ve watched the show [*Welcome to Wrexham*](https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/welcome-to-wrexham?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), you know that promotion is something teams aspire to, rather than avoiding because their success is being “punished”. Of course, there’s a financial component that we can’t replicate. But there's also a pride component. It's an achievement. You should want to challenge yourself. In theory, the Premier League method sounds great, but I suspect it might be excessive for our needs. The glaring issue is that if you do everything on the current 2 year cycle, how do you determine who the "best" team is? And if you were to do it on a yearly basis, what happens when the 4 seed that went 12-6 gets hot and wins a Gold Ball? Do you really want them getting promoted? What happens in a region where there isn't a team that needs to be moved up? I don't think this method will work. ## The Indiana Method To the surprise of no one, Indiana is [light years ahead of Maine](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/basketball-in-every-state-indiana/) when it comes to high school basketball. They have a variant on promotion called a "Tournament Success Factor" where teams accumulate points based on their post season play. A Gold Ball is worth 4 points. A Semi-State Championship is worth 3\. A Regional Championship is worth 2 and a Sectional Championship is worth 1\. If you get 6 points in a 2-year cycle, you’re promoted to the next level. Simple as that. And in the next cycle, if you fail to earn a point, you move back down. Sectionals are 5-7 schools of your size near you, so if you have 2 shots to win at least that to stay. There’s a lot to like about this. You earn the ability to play on a bigger stage! You don’t get stuck there for a long time if it doesn’t work! But I think it has flaws. ### The Problem with the 2 Year Cycle Remember the buckets? The problem with Indiana’s system becomes evident when you look at that middle of the pack bucket. Let’s as an example the Nokomis boys, which is an extreme case that does a good job of illustrating the issue. Here’s the last 8 years for Nokomis, pre-COVID: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-07-at-3.24.09-PM.png) That’s your standard middle of the pack program, albeit one on the lower end of the spectrum. Then we all know what happened last year. The problem is that with on a 2 year cycle with a standard relegation, those consecutive 1-17 seasons would have dropped them to B just in time for the Flagg twins to show up. We can assume they win the B title as well and then very likely would have been promoted to A. Had they stayed for 4 years, Nokomis probably gets promoted to AA after their senior years. After that? The generational talents are gone and one of the smallest class A programs is trying to hold their own in AA. That's just a lot of needless movement. Contrast that with Hampden: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-07-at-3.29.34-PM.png) When your worst season in 8 years is the 2 seed and you've got 3 Gold Balls and 5 Regional Titles, it's time to move up. Hampden has been an obvious candidate for promotion for a long time. *Everyone* knew they should have been in the initial batch of AA schools when we went to 5 classes, but they went to A because of their enrollment numbers. When they finally went up, it wasn't because of any competitive reason. It was because they added 31 students in 2 years and went over the 800 student cutoff for AA. They now have 801\. Hope that extra kid likes basketball. ## The 6 Year Method Indiana’s system of points is a good start. There should be a set criteria based on success instead of just promoting the top team or waiting for enrollment to rise. If you hit a certain benchmark, you automatically go up. No appeals. No arguing. We could use a variant on Indiana’s system that looks something like this: Gold Ball: 4 points Regional Title: 3 points Regional Runner-up: 2 points Make it to Augusta/Bangor/Portland: 1 point I did a quick survey of (nearly) every school in classes A-D that's been to 2 or more state games in the 6 seasons pre-COVID. Apologies to Maranacook and anyone else I left out. I also made the assumption that these teams all made the tournament every year, even though some didn't. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-07-at-2.55.05-PM.png) If you're wondering, Greely needs to add 165 students before they'll get moved up to AA. That's a North Yarmouth Academy. They are the 13th largest Class A school, but they seem to be doing ok. Based on this, it seems like the line should be around 15 points for a team or 25 points for a school. That's a total of 8 teams in the entire state that should be promoted (6 if you don't include Hampden). But how could you split up the boys and girls programs? Think of the schedules! Oh the humanity! I'd be willing to wager quite a bit of money that a program of this caliber will find a way to play a schedule that makes them as competitive as possible. Most of these schools already play games against the schools in the class above them. Greely routinely does (and usually wins). Hell, there's a number of schools that are already playing a schedule full of teams in the class below theirs because their conference requires it. You could modify this to include Regular Season wins. Say, 200 combined wins in 6 years and you move up. Or you could weigh postseason wins higher or use total Heal Points or do total wins with championship bonuses. The point is there’s a dozen ways to do it, but 6 years assures a team has some lasting success that will likely be maintained at the higher level. ## Relegation In Indiana, when a team moves up, another team must move down, in order to maintain the balance, but the MPA has shown it [doesn't care about balance](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/classification/), so it's less of a concern. What should be a concern is setting up a similar system where teams that are unable to compete at their current level are sent down. > are also struggling programs in larger classes that are better than the majority of the teams in the state. Why continue to make them go 1-13 every year when they could go to B, develop a winning culture, potentially even win a championship, and then the state has another - > > — Griffin T Conlogue (@\_GC93) [November 6, 2022](https://twitter.com/%5FGC93/status/1589256276709584899?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Griffin is talking about soccer, but the point holds. I'll leave the teams out of it, but who exactly does this benefit? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-07-at-4.49.55-PM.png) Would you want to play on this team? Would you want your kid to play on this team? In the same way that we need a benchmark by which a team is promoted, we should have one where they are relegated. And not relegated with some nonsense penalty that they're ineligible for the tournament. Do you really think this team is going to drop down a class and suddenly win a Gold Ball? Why do we constantly feel the need to punish kids for the failures of adults? I'd propose a benchmark that works on a shorter timeline, as there's no risk of a uniquely talented athlete skewing the results. This could be as short as 2 or 4 years and could be done with simple wins. Fewer than, say, 3 wins in 2 years or 5 in 4 and you're a candidate to be sent down. Although, with this I wouldn't make it automatic. Let's go back to Nokomis. They had back-to-back 1-17 seasons and would be a candidate for relegation, but everyone knew they had talent on the way, so relegation wouldn't be appropriate. Similarly, the Cony girls several years ago had a season where I think they only won 1 game, but they were very young and competitive. Relegation should be reserved for cases where a team doesn't have a prayer, not just a down cycle. But it should absolutely be on the table. Do we really need to sentence kids to 4 years of 1-17 seasons because of where their parents happen to live? Move them down and let them play competitive basketball. Let them feel what it's like to play on those tournament floors, to play for something meaningful instead of trying to hold their own against the other team's JV players. > I was a fan for many years. I ran a club, and one thing I’ve known, I’ve been convinced of, is that every fan has to have hope and faith. If you remove hope and faith from the mind of a fan, you destroy the fabric of the sport. It’s my job to restore it.” > – Bud Selig, in a Q&A from January 2000 When a team in your region has won 14 straight titles, there's no hope and faith. When you're getting outscored by *60 points a game*, there's no hope and faith. The MPA has a number of well-paid employees and their job is create and maintain a level playing field for high school athletics in the state of Maine. That's pretty much it. So to allow a situation where a team has won 14 consecutive titles is a dereliction of duty. Their job--their taxpayer funded job–is to make sure that doesn't happen. Implementing a system like this where teams can be promoted and relegated under reasonable benchmarks would go a long way toward that goal. ### Gold (Foot)ball Preview URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/gold-foot-ball-preview/ Last updated: 2022-11-16T16:33:14.000Z With snow falling across most of the state, our thoughts turn to basketball season, but first, there's some unfinished business. Below is a preview of all 4 11-man State Championship games with a look at some of the numbers behind the games. The rankings next to each team indicates where they are in the [Power Rankings](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-rankings/), not their seeding. ## Class A ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/OH-TA.jpg) These two teams met all the way back in early September, with Oxford Hills winning a close one. You'll notice that both teams played unranked "New Hampshire". The Model needs the opponents to have a profile and I'm not making a separate Model for New Hampshire teams, so all those teams are lumped together as one common opponent. Anyway, after that initial matchup, the Vikings have hardly been tested. Meanwhile, Thornton Academy's defense has been suffocating since the calendar turned to October, holding opponents to single digits in 5 straight games. They'll need that defense to show up against the 3rd highest scoring team in the state. ## Class B ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/skow-portland-1.jpg) If you take Skowhegan's game against Thornton Academy out of the equation, they look unbeatable. But it's worth noting that was their only game against a team in the top 10\. In basketball, this is usually a red flag, but the shorter season and smaller sample size has to be taken into consideration. Couple it with the fact that in the 7 games against teams outside the Top 20, the River Hawks gave up 5.7 points per game. But against teams inside the Top 20? That number jumps to 34. At a glance, it looks like Portland started slowly and then turned a corner and without even reading the newspaper coverage, I'd be willing to bet that's the narrative. But I present to you that maybe they just played the 2 best teams in the state in their first 4 games and it's really hard to win those games? Because they sure seemed fine after that. ## Class C ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/leavitt-medomak.jpg) Leavitt is clearly a juggernaut. They had one close game against Cape Elizabeth and everything else has been a blowout, including the Regional Final against Cape Elizabeth. And not just blowouts, but blowouts against a daunting schedule. It's not hard to see why they're the favorites. But that Medomak profile is interesting. They had 2 bad games in September. Is it a fluke, a bad week, or did they just run up against their ceiling? The Regional Final against Hermon was impressive, beating a team by 20 that most people (including the Model) picked to win. This is a young program in their first Gold Ball game. Do they have enough to pull off an upset? ## Class D ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Foxcroft-Lisbon.jpg) You would think the team ranked first in the [Crabtree Standings](https://www.leaguelineup.com/miscinfo.asp?menuid=44&url=mainefootball&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) would be ranked higher, but the Model isn't that impressed. Sure, they're first in scoring differential but they also played the easiest schedule in the state and it wasn't particularly close. The wins over Freeport and Winthrop are nice, but the Model isn't convinced yet that this team is for real. As for Lisbon...I don't know what's going on there. They got blown out by #37 Fryeburg, then beat Foxcroft and Medomak back-to-back on the road. But then they lost at home to a York team that was outscored by nearly 10 points a game. So which Lisbon team will show up? This could be a Foxcroft blowout, a Lisbon blowout, or come down to the final play and none of them would surprise me. ## The Model's Picks If you're new to this website, the Model predicts games at a solid clip. In the NBA's Bubble playoffs, it out-performed FiveThirtyEight.com predictions against the spread by a wide margin. It gets high school basketball games right at a rate in the low 80% range and as the spread goes up, it gets deadly accurate. New in this iteration of the website is that the picks are going to be for subscribers only, for the simple reason that they're worth it. Also, this is a very time-intensive endeavor and I don't have the amount of free time I had 3 years ago. For basketball, the picks will be at the paid level with some occasional days where they'll be free. This is one of those days. The picks are free with a free subscription. Subscribe! You'll get emails with fantastic basketball content all season long! There's no obtrusive pop-up ads! _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Classification for 2023-24? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/classification/ Last updated: 2022-11-15T03:33:12.000Z Every 2 years like clockwork, the MPA shuffles teams around in their latest classification plan and every 2 years there's outrage from somewhere, because you can't please everyone. Well the first draft of the plan for next year (2023-24) has been sent out for review and almost immediately forwarded to me by half a dozen people and confirmed by half a dozen more. --- *Subscribe to Maine Basketball Rankings to get updates like this directly in your inbox. Or upgrade to a paid subscription and get exclusive (and deadly accurate) data about your team's playoff chances. Be the smartest fan in the bleachers.* [Subscribe](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/signup/free) --- Let's dig in! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-14-at-8.37.36-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-14-at-8.37.45-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-14-at-8.37.53-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-14-at-8.38.05-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-14-at-8.38.16-PM.png) Look familiar? It should because despite the stated desire of nearly everyone to even out the regions a little (mainly spreading out the glut of teams in C) the powers that be have opted to...not. Here's the current alignment: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-14-at-9.22.10-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-14-at-8.28.57-PM.png) I'll draw your attention to the fact that the cut-offs haven't changed. At all. Not by one student. The only changes stem from the natural ebbs and flows of enrollment sizes. The only changes here come from typing the new enrollment numbers into the computer. I made a handy chart so you can see the changes. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-14-at-8.52.23-PM.png) As you can see, it's virtually the same. There are a couple of things that jump out: ### Deering Deering has been VERY competitive in AA and they now move down to A, which is going to make the existing members of A South(?) pretty unhappy. This also makes AA smaller, which is a terrible idea. It's bad enough we have 5 classes, but to have 2 regions with only 8 teams? No thank you. ### Hermon Hermon moves up to A. I'm actually working on a longer piece (that I now need to tweak) where I looked at whether or not Hermon (and other schools) should get promoted to A, so this is likely a good move. ### Mount View The Mount View boys went 13-5 last year in the always deep B North. Definitely makes sense to move them down to C. ### Lincoln Academy Lincoln Academy, however, moves up to A. The girls program has been competitive in B. They nearly won a tourney game last year. But the boys program has not. You could argue they would actually be a good candidate to move *down* to C. Maybe they could switch with Mount View? ### Cheverus Cheverus is now in B, but we can probably assume they'll petition up again. ## What to do? This isn't very hard. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-14-at-9.34.15-PM.png) Or something similar. Which gives you this: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-14-at-9.44.23-PM.png) It should be noted this is only a draft and first drafts rarely make it to the finish line. Still, this fixes nothing and does a pretty good job of making things worse. Or maybe we shouldn't be so reliant on enrollment numbers? More on that later this week. ### Football? Football? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/football-football/ Last updated: 2022-11-11T23:13:22.000Z Back before the pandemic hit and everything went to hell (or maybe it was in the early days of the pandemic? Who can remember?), I mocked up a rough version of the Model for football. And then everything went to hell and I never implemented it. I had an extra hour tonight so I loaded all the scores from this year's 11-man season and ran the Model for tomorrow's games. --- *Basketball season is nearly here and Maine Basketball Rankings is back with the most comprehensive coverage in the state. Subscribe to stay in the know.* [Subscribe](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/signup) --- Keep in mind that part of what makes the Model effective is I'm able to watch it in action and dial it in and this hasn't been test driven at all. So there's a good chance it'll do quite poorly. But, hey, let's find out together! Also keep in mind that I have paid zero attention to this football season. ## The Rankings Here's your Top 25\. Feel free to compare it to others. One note is that the Model weighs playoff games more heavily than regular season games. Leavitt moves to #1 on the strength of having played a playoff game. *EDIT: I am aware I have some teams in the wrong regions. Should be fixed for the next update.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-10-at-10.37.02-PM.png) ## This Week's Games Here goes nothing. ### The Semifinal Games ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-11-at-6.11.25-PM-1.png) ### The Regional Finals ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-11-at-6.11.41-PM.png) Feel free to tell me where I'm wrong in the comments. ### NFL Heal Points URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/nfl-heal-points/ Last updated: 2022-11-07T14:08:38.000Z Sometimes I get an idea in my head and I go down a rabbit hole in Excel. Honestly, that's how I learned Excel in the first place. This took roughly an hour and will be easy enough to update. --- [Like this? Subscribe!](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/#/portal/signup) --- During the NBA's Bubble playoffs, I did a full power rankings version for the NBA and it outperformed 538's NBA picks by a lot. I'd do this for the NBA this year, but I've got some stuff in the spring that's going to take up a ton of my time. Anyway, here's what the NFL heal points would look like going into Monday Night Football. The Pats look ok(ish)! They certainly aren't the worst 5 win AFC team. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-07-at-12.28.03-AM.png) ### Boys Preseason Poll URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/boys-preseason-poll/ Last updated: 2022-10-30T02:35:45.000Z The season is fast approaching. Who do you think is going to be good this year? Feel free to skip regions you don't know. ### New Site, Who Dis? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/new-site-who-dis-2/ Last updated: 2026-07-15T19:58:55.000Z The leaves are falling and we're getting solidly into the cool nights where it's perfect sleeping weather but not cold enough to turn on the furnace (God forbid). The football playoffs are in full swing and Marcus Smart is back on our TVs, which means it's almost high school basketball season. And after a year off, let me just say... \[taps mic\] ![](https://media.tenor.com/tkFlCawbsGEAAAAC/im-back-logan-roy.gif) Back with the Power Rankings and the daily projections and the tournament odds and the random fact-checking of the media outlets cursed with a crippling case of arithmophobia. And, of course, back with criticisms of the MPA and jokes about Peter Webb. > NBA: We could really use a Game 7[@NBAOfficial](https://twitter.com/NBAOfficial?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com): We got you [pic.twitter.com/yYz236jFaz](https://t.co/yYz236jFaz?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Maine Basketball Rankings (@MEBBallRankings) [May 28, 2022](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1530393808361476102?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Ok, those never left. You'll notice you're on a new website. A much faster website. Gone is the old clunky Wordpress site and in place is this new [ghost](https://ghost.org/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) site that doesn't have as many features, but it's a LOT faster. Ghost is kind of a more fleshed out version of Substack, so it works on the subscription model, which is essential because I have a fraction of the free time I had when I started this whole thing 8 seasons ago. Most of the old content is gone, but I'm slowing chipping away at importing some of it over. Anyway, there's a strong newsletter vibe to this. You can register for free and you'll get access to the Power Rankings, the public posts, the Live Tournament Stats, and part of the daily updates (including a write-up of the Game of the Day). Beyond that there's the paid subscription, which will get you the daily projections part of the Game of the Day write up, Tournament Odds, the daily updated Gold Ball odds during the tournament, the Every Game database, the Media Guide, and more! Oh, and because the MPA has apparently decided they can't be bothered to calculate Heal Points correctly again this year, you'll get that too. It's a right wicked good deal. It's also a ton of work. Also my kid took over the iPad I use to do live stats and I'll probably need to buy a new one, because there's no way he'll give that up for a day, much less a week. I hate paywalls as much as anyone. The goal here is to have an ad-free experience where the bulk of the "journalism" is free and the rankings are always free, but the deeper stuff, the content that requires the harder math, is behind the paywall. Is this where I mention that the Model out-performed Nate Silver's NBA model during the bubble playoffs (and by a lot)? That's mostly it for now. There's some other stuff in the works that I can't talk about yet, but for now, I'm dusting off the spreadsheets and downloading new versions of the data visualization programs. Basketball is almost here! ### February 19, 2021 URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/february-19-2021/ Last updated: 2022-10-27T03:53:18.000Z If you’re a girls basketball fan in the County, you had the Southern Aroostook/Presque Isle game circled on your calendar for a long time, and for good reason. With 2 of the top programs going head-to-head for the first time in history. > Undefeated Presque Isle girls play undefeated Southern Aroostook girls in a first ever matchup tonight. [#mesports](https://twitter.com/hashtag/mesports?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — TheStatsGuy (@TheStatsGuy262) [February 18, 2021](https://twitter.com/TheStatsGuy262/status/1362473339013394435?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) Only, it didn’t live up to the hype. Class B Presque Isle made short work of Class D Southern Aroostook, coasting to a 55-30 win and holding Southern Aroostook to their fewest points scored since a Regional Final loss to Shead in 2017\. It’s easy to look at that and just assume the big school is just better, but are they? Thanks to this season, they’ve actually played a lot of opponents in common. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2021-02-19-at-9.28.35-AM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2021-02-19-at-9.28.16-AM.png) If Presque Isle was indeed 25 points better, that should show up a little before this game, and certainly in the common opponents. But, SA has done better in all of the common opponent situations. This is not meant to diminish what Presque Isle did in any way–that’s a big win, even against a Class D school–but I would expect a rematch to be considerably more competitive. This is why having more of these cross-class games is so important. Then again, I’m not a big believer in one head-to-head matchup being more important than the rest of the games on the schedule. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/10/game-of-the-day.png) Speaking of which, you may remember the Camden boys trouncing Medomak 72-44 on February 3rd. It was one of the more surprising results of the year. Not the win. It’s never a surprise who wins a rivalry game. But the margin was certainly eye-opening. At the time, I wrote that it was unlikely that Camden is 28 points better than Medomak. Well, today I guess we’ll find out. At minimum, Medomak will get a shot at revenge in a game that could mean quite a bit for seeding in the Mid-Coast post-season pod. The #1 seed will be a 3-team race between Camden, Medomak, and Oceanside and getting it means you only have to beat 1 of the other 2 to win whatever it is you get for winning one of these post-season tournaments. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Basketball in Every State: Pennsylvania URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/basketball-in-every-state-pennsylvania/ Last updated: 2022-10-30T03:36:05.000Z We live quiet lives up here in Maine, partially sequestered from the rest of the country. It’s nice, but sometimes, as the old joke goes, it takes a while for things to get to us, which can lead to things being done the way they are because “that’s the way we’ve always done them”. Nothing good ever comes after that statement. So last year, I started a survey of sorts. A tour of the other 49 states to see how they do high school basketball. Inevitably, we’ll find a few things in other states that are really bad ideas, but we’ll also find things that are really good ideas, things that we should be incorporating up here. I started with [Indiana and our old friend Matt Randall](https://mainebasketballrankings.com/basketball-in-every-state-indiana/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Pennsylvania is an interesting state. James Carville famously described it as “Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in-between,” and while that’s a bit harsh, there’s some truth to it. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are two vibrant cities. Pittsburgh, especially, has made major strides over the past 30 years. And in the middle, well, there’s not a ton of cell phone coverage in the middle. There’s some REALLY rural areas. Like, northern Piscataquis county rural. To get an idea of the inner workings of Pennsylvania high school basketball, I talked to C.J. Iannini, the head coach of the 1A Rochester Girls program. Rochester competes in the WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League), the 7th of 12 districts in the state. Iannini just completed his third year at the helm at Rochester and they’ve done pretty well. In his second year, Rochester won the WPIAL title and followed it up this year by going 24-1 against a brutal schedule and repeating as WPIAL champs. And when I say brutal, I mean BRUTAL. Despite being in 1A (think class D), they posted wins over 6A (think AA) Erie McDowell (18-4), 5A Hampton, and a 19-3 4A Blackhawk team. Their one loss was by 2 to a 17-3 4A Central Valley squad. They were still alive when the playoffs were canceled. Imagine if the Southern Aroostook girls beat Hermon, lost by 2 to Waterville, beat Messalonskee, and beat Portland. All in the same year. Coach Iannini was kind enough to answer a lot of my questions over email. This has been condensed for clarity. #### ****Maine Basketball Rankings: Can you tell me what your calendar looks like?** Iannini: We keep our players as active as possible throughout the year. The beginning of the calendar for us is May in which there are non-school affiliated leagues in which teams participate. These leagues run through May-June. From there July and August are open gym sessions in which our players participate voluntarily with no coaching but the gym is open for them to come in and shoot and work on skills. Once school is back in session September-October is comprised of open gym sessions a couple of days a week. Once again, these are voluntary sessions with no coaching but the players come can come into a gym and work on their shots/skills. Also, during this time there are non-school affiliated fall leagues as well as Fall Team Shootouts (similar to AAU shootouts) in which teams can participate. Beginning in November, conditioning begins leading up to the first official day of practice (note: 3rd week of November). Season begins on the first Friday in December and if you’re good enough to make your district playoffs (note: 2nd week of February) then state playoffs, the season can run until the middle of March. #### ****You mentioned the open sessions with no coaching. What sort of rules are there around that? In Maine, we have hands-off periods where a coach essentially can’t have any contact with their players. Is it that sort of thing? Can you coach your team in the Fall League?** The major rule in PA is coaches during the off-season are to refrain from gaining a competitive advantage. Essentially, all head coaches need to be on the same level playing field with other teams. You can have contact with your players, have open gym sessions in which the players can come in and get better individually, but team mandated work is a no-go. In regards to fall league, I use that time to let my assistant coaches get some work in and allow them to coach the team during the fall leagues/shootouts. Great opportunity for them to get experience in a competitive environment without the pressure of a must-win type game. #### ****How are your classes organized?** Each district has schools in Class 1A (smallest based on enrollment) up to Class 6A (largest based on enrollment). In our region, the WPIAL, we have as follows for Girls Basketball 6A (16 teams) 5A (23 teams) 4A (23 teams) 3A (24 teams) 2A (22 teams) 1A (20 teams) #### ****What sort of range of enrollment do they have?** Enrollment figures are determined by the PIAA. Every two years the state requires your updated enrollment figures for total enrollment in grades 9, 10, and 11th. Based on how many boys (separate) and girls (separate) you have in those three grades combined, determines what Class you participate in for the next two-year cycle. Sizes of each class for grades 9, 10, and 11th total only: 6A= 473 5A= 303-472 4A= 205-302 3A= 142-204 2A= 92-141 1A= 1-91 For example: If your school has 175 girls total in grades 9, 10, and 11th grade you would participate in Class 3A for basketball. #### ****Can a school’s boys and girls teams be in different classes?** Yes, boys and girls teams can be in different classes because the enrollment numbers are calculated for boys and girls separately. One local example in our area is Lincoln Park boys play in Class 3A and Lincoln Park girls play in Class 5A. The simple reason, more girls attend Lincoln Park than boys. #### ****If 6A is 473 and up, what’s the biggest school? How high does that go?** In the WPIAL, for girls hoops, North Allegheny High School is the largest in our area. They have 998 girls total in grades 9, 10, and 11th. Essentially 333 girls per grade. I believe Reading High School has the largest girls enrollment in the state of PA. They have 1,933 girls total in grades 9, 10, and 11th grade. Essentially 644 girls per grade. Numbers shouldn’t be an issue in getting a team together in that district! In contrast, I coach at a 1A school, our enrollment numbers are 71 girls in grades 9, 10, and 11th grade. Essentially 24 girls total in each grade. We’ve been very fortunate the last few years having the success that we had winning back to back section titles, and back to back WPIAL titles with the homegrown talent we have in our community. ****This season alone we knocked off 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, and 2A playoff teams during our non-conference schedule**. Basically, numbers are a luxury and great to have, but you still have a job to do as a coach to develop the players in your district from elementary until the time they reach your gym floor as high school, players. Talent is talent, regardless of class size. **NOTE: Can you even fathom a Class D school in Maine scheduling playoff teams from AA, A, B, and C? And not only that but BEATING them? The [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran a feature on Rochester’s schedule](https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/high-school-basketball/2020/01/23/rochester-rams-cj-iannini-alexis-robison-corynne-hauser-jasmine-mack-wpial-girls-basketball/stories/202001220024?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com).* #### ****How many games do you play?** We play 22 games during our regular season. (That is the max amount of games you can play in your regular season in Pennsylvania.) #### ****What does your playoff structure look like?** District playoffs work as follows: the top four teams from each section in each respective class advance to the WPIAL playoffs. Making the playoffs are based solely on your end of season record against the teams that are defined in your section. The top four teams from each section are then reviewed by a basketball committee from the WPIAL and the teams are seeded based on section record, non-conference competition, overall record. Once the teams are seeded, every playoff team’s coach and Athletic Director in the District meet on the Tuesday before Friday’s first playoff game at the Hilton-Double Tree Hotel (right outside of Pittsburgh) for the formal releasing of the playoff brackets for each class. The district bracket is a single-elimination bracket, win, and advance. For the PA State playoffs, the PIAA determines how many schools from each district are represented in the state playoff. For the WPIAL 6 teams from each class make the state playoff. The four teams that make it to the district semi-final are in for the state playoff and then two wildcard teams are added based on if the team you lost to in the quarterfinal district playoff makes it to the final of the district playoff. #### ****Are there multiple sections in the WPIAL or do only 4 of the 23 5A teams make the postseason?** The WPIAL has multiple sections in each classification. The top 4 teams from each section make the playoffs. From there the WPIAL basketball committee seeds the teams for the class bracket. Here is the breakdown for girls hoops in the WPIAL, boys are similar. [http://wpial.org/wp-content/uploads/2019-2020-Girls-BB-Alignment.pdf](http://wpial.org/wp-content/uploads/2019-2020-Girls-BB-Alignment.pdf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) **NOTE: if you click on the link, you’ll see that the biggest section is 8 teams. The smallest is 7.* #### ****The criteria for the 2 state at-large teams, it’s who they lost to or is it just the best regular season teams? I’m looking at [this](http://wpial.org/wp-content/uploads/2019-2020-Boys-3A-BB-Brackets-4.pdf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Beaver Falls and Neshannock get the last 2 spots, but they didn’t lose to teams in the final.** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-29-at-11.15.46-PM.png) There is different criteria depending on how many teams the PIAA allows for the state playoffs. For example some classifications are allotted 5 teams, some are 6 teams and in the example you cited 7 teams make the state playoffs from the WPIAL district (PIAA makes that determination based on the number of teams in each class) Here’s the qualifier breakdown and how it works: - Classes with five qualifiers, the four semifinalists and the team that loses to the champion in the quarterfinals qualify. - Classes with six qualifiers, the four semifinalists and the two teams that lost to the finalists in the quarterfinals qualify. - Classes with seven qualifiers, the four semifinalists, the two teams that lost to the finalists in the quarterfinals and the team that lost to the team in the quarterfinals that lost to the team in the semifinals of the eventual champion. #### ****Those 6 spots are, I’m guessing, based on how big the district is and not something like, oh, the WPIAL is really strong this year, so they get 6 and next year maybe they get 5?** Exactly, the PIAA looks at the size of the classification and how many teams each class has per district. Remember, this all goes back to the enrollment review of every school in the state every two years. Classifications are set in stone every two years so you know how many teams will make the state qualifier in each two-year cycle. #### ****Where do they play the State Championship? Does it rotate between Pittsburgh and Philly?** The State Championships are played in Hershey at the [GIANT Center](https://www.hersheyentertainment.com/giant-center/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). It is not rotated to the East side of the state for a few years and then to the West side of the state. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/10/GIANT_Center._Home_the_Hershey_Bears--1-.jpg) The GIANT Center in Hershey, PA. Home of the Hershey Bears of the AHL. It seats 10,500.photo: Wikipedia #### ****Do you have a shot clock?** NO shot clock in Pennsylvania. #### ****What’s the general argument against the shot clock in Pennsylvania?** I don’t think there is an argument amongst coaches on a shot clock. They recently did polling of coaches in the WPIAL and a majority of the coaches polled in both girls and boys said “Yes” to having a shot clock. I believe in principle it sounds like a great idea and should be easy to roll out, but I think the problem lies in the implementation of the shot clock into every district. Who pays for it? Who trains those to use it properly? Who services it annually? Like everything else, I believe it’s a budgetary issue as opposed to coaches or anyone really being against it. Some districts are struggling to meet operational budgets and are forced to cut expenses, while other districts are thriving and sitting on a budget surplus. Unless the state pays for it, or the district, I think it will be some time before it comes into play. I think the state should look into adding a shot clock. I think this would help prepare kids that are looking to play basketball collegiately #### ****What sort of information are teams required to report? Is it just game scores or do they have to report game stats as well?** We are told to report our game scores after each game to our local newspapers as well as enter those scores into MaxPreps along with the game stats for those games. However, this are no repercussion if you do not. Most teams do report their scores, some add their stats. It’s all hit and miss. #### ****How would you like your state to handle it?** I think all scores for every game should be required to be added at the least. As far as stats that could be a daunting course of action as not all schools have the same resources in regards to budget personnel, and time compared to one another. I think scores and if the state wants stats should be mandated by each district for proper completion. Let the districts come up with the process and make sure it is uniform throughout the state. ****Thanks so much to Coach Iannini for answering all my questions.** **Do you know someone in another state who has an intimate knowledge of high school basketball is played? I’d love to talk to them.* **Email me* *!* ### Goliath vs. David URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/goliath-vs-david/ Last updated: 2022-10-27T00:50:24.000Z Football reclassification is in the news again, as the MPA considers how to shuffle the deck chairs on a ship where overall numbers are slowing sinking and an [increasing number of schools are jumping into the 8-man lifeboats](https://web.archive.org/web/20220124220518/https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/sports/sports-football/number-of-8-man-football-teams-to-increase-significantly-in-2020/). As always, there’s a contingent bemoaning the problem of the Big Schools and why, oh why can’t we compete??? And since this discussion will naturally lead to basketball and the enrollment “problem” there, let’s take a look at the enrollment problem, shall we? How can a school possibly compete? What’s a small school to do? I plugged the enrollment of every school into the Model going back to the beginning of last season. If there’s an enrollment issue, it’ll find it. First, I put the boys and girls in buckets by class and ran a [correlation calculation](https://web.archive.org/web/20220124220518/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlation%5Fand%5Fdependence) between a school’s enrollment and their Heal Points for last season. If Math isn’t your strong suit, that’ll kick out a number between -1 and 1\. Negative one indicates a perfectly negative correlation. So as the enrollment goes up, the Heal Points go down. A positive one means that as enrollment goes up, so do the Heal Points. Zero means they aren’t connected at all. So for the 18-19 season: - A Boys: -0.066 - A Girls: 0.284 - AA Boys: 0.211 - AA Girls: -0.169 - B Boys: 0.164 - B Girls: 0.507 - C Boys: 0.507 - C Girls: -0.217 - D Boys: 0.004 - D Girls: 0.404 That’s…not a lot of correlation. I’ve done this on various smaller sets before and the results are pretty much the same. There’s at most a slightly positive correlation, but nothing to get excited about. Honestly, I thought A Boys and D Boys would be higher and I already had a good idea how this would turn out. \[Photo missing\] But that’s full season totals and you could make an argument that it’s not enough data points. So I ran an enrollment filter on every game in the state over the past season and a half, 3,710 games in all. \[Photo missing\] Over that same time period, the home team won 54.02% of those games. The bigger school? 58.16%. So being the bigger school, no matter how much bigger, is only a little more valuable than playing on your home floor. If you like your data in chart form, here it is. The green area is home court advantage. The blue is the winning percentage of the larger school. To put this in perspective, 50% is roughly the difference between Houlton and MDI (56%). The trend line here is positive, but not drastically so. The 200%+ includes differences all the way up to over 800%(!) If a school has 4 times as many students as you do, I think we can all agree that’s not ideal. That’s what MDI would face if they had to play a super-team of Thornton Academy and Greely. The Trojans would probably lose. \[Photo missing\] I asked on [Twitter](https://web.archive.org/web/20220124220518/https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings) what people thought the Winning % might be for games in which the Big School had at least twice the enrollment. The answer, if you’re wondering, is 64.81% (326-177). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2020-01-14-at-2.15.01-PM.png) So what does that mean for enrollment and classification? Well we probably shouldn’t put Forest Hills and Hampden in the same region, but I don’t think anyone is going to suggest that. The odds of going back down to 4 classes is…low. Too many schools see a smaller class as an easier path to a Gold Ball and don’t care how it impacts anyone else. That’s pretty clear in the voting and the MPA is only as good as the votes of the members. But tying classification to enrollment is clearly a fool’s errand. There’s been a push from [some corners](https://web.archive.org/web/20220124220518/https://twitter.com/jclmorgan/status/1216744246662680576) for a soccer-style promotion/relegation model. Other states do this. I’ve always like the general concept. So let me throw out an idea I’ve been kicking around. ## **An Alternative** We start with where we are now. Or, we start where we are now and move some obvious candidates up/down a class. Hampden, Greely, MDI, the GSA boys. And so on. Simple enough. At the next classification cycle, we move two schools up a class and two schools down. But what’s the criteria? 1. Only the schools in the 2/3 of a class’s enrollment span are eligible to go up. Ideally, everyone would be, but this is a pretty solid compromise. Central Aroostook doesn’t need to be in Class B. 2. A school can only drop down one class. The Noble boys can’t go any lower than A, for example. 3. If the boys team goes up, the girls don’t have to go with them, but the school can opt to, if it’ll make life easier. When the MPA went to 5 classes, they dropped the class weight from 5 points to 2 to encourage cross-class games, so this shouldn’t be a problem. 4. The criteria is total Heal Points over a rolling 6-year period. 6 years is enough so that if a school has one amazing class or 2 or 3 good years, they won’t end up way over their heads when they graduate. Is this a perfect system? No. It would work better with some scheduling reforms. But it should rather quickly level the competitive playing field in the A-C classes and using Heal Points is a more reliable method than Gold Balls or Regional Titles, as those can be easily skewed by a couple upsets and Cinderella runs. But above all else, it gets us away from this madness of tying everything to enrollment. ### The Curious Case of Zach Keene URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-curious-case-of-zach-keene/ Last updated: 2026-05-20T20:34:54.000Z The story has become a cliche: a new coach is hired to great expectations, but after a couple of seasons, the parents get restless. Susie isn’t getting enough playing time. Uncle Jim saw something during the Celtics game and has ideas about strategy. A couple of close games go the wrong way and suddenly the parents want a new coach. But what if the parents weren’t the issue? What if a coach got fired and the parents insisted he stay? Such is the case at Spruce Mountain, where girls basketball coach Zach Keene was fired and the parents [immediately mobilized](https://www.facebook.com/removeleroy/), demanding he be reinstated. They organized via a [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/removeleroy/) and showed up en masse at a meeting, forcing the AD to come back early from his planned vacation. Sophomore guard Auriana Armandi told the Sun Journal she [wouldn’t feel comfortable](https://www.sunjournal.com/2019/04/01/girls-basketball-community-members-call-on-spruce-mountain-to-reinstate-keene-as-coach/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) playing for a different coach. It was a surprising (and refreshing) change in a state that’s become accustomed to helicopter parents running the show. The response was so overwhelming that a mere 12 days later, the administration at Spruce Mountain reversed course, bypassed a proposed 2-game suspension, and fully reinstated Keene. The firing was shocking, but the reversal even more so. What could possibly have changed in only 12 days? In an effort to get a handle on this, I spoke to dozens of people around the state to get a full picture of what happened, how Keene got fired in the first place, and what led to his reinstallation. I was planning to write a couple hundred words on why it’s dumb to fire your coach after three seasons and, well, you’ll see why this is a little longer. Keene just finished his third season at the helm for the Phoenix, compiling a 24-33 record and reaching the postseason twice–a far cry from the Spruce Mountain teams of a couple years ago that posted 3 consecutive 18-0 regular seasons under Gavin Kane and Chris Bessey. The easy assumption is that Keene was fired for his Win-Loss record, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. They went 7-11 and finished 11th in Bessey’s final season, indicating a talent wave (headlined by 1,000 point scorer Alexis Bessey) had graduated. They were 7th in our preseason fan poll the last two seasons, and while that’s not the best indicator of a team’s true talent level, it tends to give you a pretty rough idea. The Model, which in contrast to the fan poll *is* a reliable indicator, pegged them as the 10th best team in B South last year, so you could easily make the argument that they exceeded their talent level in finishing 8th, even though they lost their home prelim game to Maranacook. This isn’t a team with elite talent that [let everyone down](https://twitter.com/isjanosnba/status/1126312724760125441?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). This is a team that achieved what they should have achieved. Numerous studies have shown that changing the coach in these situations [tends to not help](http://freakonomics.com/2012/12/21/is-changing-the-coach-really-the-answer/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). So why was Keene fired? In Randy Whitehouse’s [excellent article for the Sun Journal](https://www.sunjournal.com/2019/04/01/girls-basketball-community-members-call-on-spruce-mountain-to-reinstate-keene-as-coach/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) on the community response to the news, he details a couple of reasons given to Keene for his firing (reasons the administration has declined to comment on). They include: “holding a practice on a snow day during the season, his sideline conduct, dwindling numbers in the basketball program, acquiring his required CPR certification late and allowing his team to wear warm-up shirts that displayed a company logo, which he said he was told was not allowed by the Maine Principals’ Association.” I was able to acquire an email sent by Interim Superintendent Robert Webster to a third party claiming that state law “gags” administrators from disclosing employees’ personnel records. The law he seems to be citing here is [Title 20-A: §6051](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/statutes/20-A/title20-Asec6101.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), which essentially treats as confidential any employment records beyond basic information like their role at the school, degrees earned, things like that. However, the [very next law](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/statutes/20-A/title20-Asec6102.html?fbclid=IwAR0XJ83MTfmcdbpCezxEiCxWZWS7zBYKNxuVVKcAPx%5FFVIOUK1BYa3fqHmE&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) allows employees to review those files. So they’re only as confidential as Keene wants them to be. Zach Keene politely declined multiple interview requests for this story. Let’s work under the assumption that the reasons reported by the Sun Journal are genuine and go though them, starting with the last one **Allowing his team to wear warm-up shirts that displayed a company logo.** Keene alleges he was told this was a violation of MPA rules. The MPA is not amazing at transparency, but they do publish a fairly comprehensive set of rules, which you can easily download from their website. Neither the 44-page [MPA Handbook](http://www.mpa.cc/images/pdfs/handbook1819.pdf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) or the 73-page [Coaches’ Handbook](http://www.mpa.cc/images/pdfs/coaches%5Fhandbook/coacheshandbook1819.pdf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) says anything about logos on warm-up shirts. In fact, the word “logo” does not appear in either document. I asked multiple Athletic Directors if they had heard of this rule. None had. So I went directly to the source, asking the MPA to confirm specifically whether or not such a rule exists. Executive Director Dick Durost promptly refused, saying, “*We will not comment on any hiring decisions by MPA member schools nor will we provide comments on any interpretations of policies that may or may not have been made by a school. Any questions you have should be directed to the school.*“ So I directed my questions about the MPA rules to several members of the RSU 73 administration and staff. Those that would speak to me were equally confused by the rule, as they do not work for the MPA. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/10/maci.webp) Photo: Maci Leali But there is a precedent here. The Nokomis girls basketball team wears warmup shirts with no fewer than 10 logos of local business sponsors. They wore them in their[ 2018 quarterfinal loss to Skowhegan](https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/mpa/gam353da846d2?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), in full view of dozens of MPA officials and continued to wear them for this past season. According to senior Maci Leali, no one at the MPA said anything. So if this is an MPA rule (and there’s not a single reason to think it is), it is clearly not enforced. I think it’s pretty safe to say that this rule does not exist. **Dwindling numbers in the basketball program** The youth program is the lifeblood of any high school program. Want to know why schools like Hampden and Greely seem to be constantly re-loading? It’s the youth program. But building a youth program isn’t an overnight thing. It takes time to grow excitement among 4th graders who have plenty of other options for their free time. Youth participation is [closely tied to median household income](https://www.activekids.com/football/articles/youth-sports-participation-by-the-numbers?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), and in the income brackets that most closely represent Jay and Livermore Falls, youth participation dropped nationally over 9% from 2016 to 2017, the [last year for which I found data](https://assets.aspeninstitute.org/content/uploads/2018/10/StateofPlay2018%5Fv4WEB%5F2-FINAL.pdf?%5Fga=2.58528745.237622833.1554647100-1401345568.1554647100&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). In 2017, 44.6% of kids in Spruce Mountain’s median household demographic bracket played youth sports. The next bracket up? 56.6%. RSU 73 is also bleeding students. At the time of Keene’s hiring, the “PK – 12” student population was 1,082, after taking out the high schoolers. In just 2 years, that same number has dropped to 1,050, according to the [minutes of the school board’s bi-monthly meetings](http://rsu73.org/board-of-directors/approved-board-minutes?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). The reason cited by the school board in those minutes? People moving away. I asked Spruce Mountain Athletic Director Marc Keller how much of a drop the youth program had seen under Keene’s watch, but he would not answer. In a perfect world, you’d expect youth sports participation for RSU 73 to drop by at least 55 students over the course of the last three years and by significantly more if the overall income trend continued at anything close to the projected levels. But is the decline in participation also influenced by changes in the community? I spoke to Zach Keene’s predecessor, Chris Bessey, about the state of the youth program and the charge that it had suffered under Keene, a claim he called “unfair and ridiculous.” “The youth program is still pretty strong, I would say same as it has been for a long time…The move to the KVAC was not a good one for Spruce, became one of the smaller schools in the conference and I think it discouraged some kids from playing. All sports at Spruce, regardless of gender are seeing low numbers.” Spruce Mountain was in the KVAC for only 3 years. They left the MVC [full of bravado](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/https://www.sunjournal.com/2013/10/25/spruce-mountain-high-school-might-join-kvac/?fbclid=IwAR02U%5FKRUQzjeFLRhQHmcZA559757mSKqEBF%5FN7eUGaZq3XQIRM7nzBkPMU). Board Member Clint Brooks claimed the tougher competition would be “better in the long run.” They didn’t last that long, [returning to the MVC in 2017](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/https://www.sunjournal.com/2017/03/14/spruce-mountain-headed-back-to-mountain-valley-conference/), citing a change in status: “enrollment here has gone from 560 when we made the move to 408,” former Athletic Director James Black (who was not the AD for the initial move) told the Sun Journal at the time of their return. According to Bessey, most of the coaches at Spruce Mountain saw the “change in status” coming prior to the move, which cost the school $4K to $5K a year in travel alone. That’s a significant expense for a dalliance. The drop in enrollment seems to have leveled out, but it’s not hard to imagine the sort of ripple effect that would have on the youth program. Leaving a conference with all your traditional rivals means fewer people are going to your games, which means less overall community excitement, which leads to less interest from 4th graders who have better things to do. I think it’s safe to say that these factors are outside of Keene’s control. **Holding a practice on a snow day during the season** There is no MPA rule concerning this. The MPA does make a distinction that any practices held on Sunday are at the discretion of the school district. This was not a Sunday practice and was clearly a practice held during the season. According to the [Sun Journal](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/https://www.sunjournal.com/2019/04/01/girls-basketball-community-members-call-on-spruce-mountain-to-reinstate-keene-as-coach/), the practice was optional and not held on school grounds. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/10/rsu-zach.png) More importantly, there is no written Spruce Mountain policy against this. The [Spruce Mountain coaches’ handbook](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/https://docs.google.com/document/d/10h9R%5FDE2I4e4IeluqYb4gkgs-gTUZ4fWuTg68q2tpbg/edit), which at the beginning of this investigation was unavailable to the public, does not contain a single word about practices being held on or off school grounds. RSU 73 has an [extensive list of policies on their website](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/http://rsu73.org/policy-manual) (as required by state law), including such things as their transgender policy and policy on medical marijuana, but there is no policy there about snow days. The only publicly available mention of a snow day policy on the district website is the [“Storm Cancellation Procedures.”](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/http://rsu73.org/storm-days) As you can see in the image attached, there’s nothing concerning after school activities on a snow day. According to emails obtained by Maine Basketball Rankings, Athletic Director Marc Keller told a parent that “you will not find \[the policy\] in the handbook.” I’ve since learned from multiple sources that the reason you will not find it in the handbook is because it does not exist. In fact, it has never existed. The image attached is the extent of their snow day policy. This is not an issue limited to Spruce Mountain. Fellow MVC member Hall-Dale’s [snow day policy](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded%5Ffile/126335/EBCE%5F-%5FSCHOOL%5FCLOSINGS%5FAND%5FCANCELLATIONS.pdf) is more expansive, but has a similar limitation. Just like the warm-up shirt, this is a rule that does not exist. **Sideline conduct** According to sources, Keene was assessed 3 technicals last season and 1 the previous year for 4 in 38 games. NBA coaches, on average, are assessed 5.4 technicals per 100 games, so Keene is getting a lot of technicals (10.5 per 100 games), but roughly in line with the upper limits of a NBA coach (if you’re wondering, Draymond Green has a rate of 21.8 technicals over the last 3 seasons). The MPA compiles a database of all technical fouls given out during a season, maintained by Commissioner Peter Webb. My attempt to confirm Keene’s technical history and how it compares to the rest of the coaches in the state of Maine from Commissioner Webb was ignored, but I have learned from other sources that one of his technicals was for being outside the coaches’ box. Keene is active on the sidelines ([you can watch for yourself](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/mpa/gam2c798eb4b5)) and in talking to referees off the record, you get the distinct impression that his interactions with the zebras could use some work. But, as [Kalle Oakes wrote in the Sun Journal](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/https://www.sunjournal.com/2019/04/07/the-hot-corner-spruce-should-extend-coach-an-olive-branch-for-once/), that’s something on which an Athletic Director would work with someone over the course of 3 seasons. Rapport with officials is the sort of thing a coach has to learn on the job and this is Keene’s first experience as the lead coach on a bench. He was an assistant under Chris Bessey, but had no previous experience as a JV or Freshman coach before being hired. There’s a big difference between being an assistant and being the person responsible for interacting with the refs. I reached out to several coaches who coached against Keene this season. They couldn’t be more complimentary of his sideline conduct. Monmouth’s Ricky Larrabee told me that “He has very good courtside conduct. His players love him, the parents want him to coach their daughters, and the community supports him. Those are all important things you’re looking for with a coach that’s trying to build a program.” Winthrop’s Joe Burnham describes Keene as “intense and intelligent. He is always very thoughtful in his actions, thoughts and words.” Burnham’s team was the beneficiary of one of Keene’s 3 technicals this year. He describes it as a coach defending a player: > One of his players had just been given a technical, for something that doesn’t usually warrant one. Zach, knowing this is not in her character, started to argue on her behalf and in her defense. He obviously went further than the official thought he should, and he was given the technical. After he was given the T, he said no other words. He had accomplished what he set out to do, protect his player. No wonder the players like him. **CPR Certification** The [Sun Journal story](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/https://www.sunjournal.com/2019/04/01/girls-basketball-community-members-call-on-spruce-mountain-to-reinstate-keene-as-coach/) reports that Keene’s CPR certification lapsed during the off-season and was resolved on December 16th. By that point, Spruce Mountain was 2-1 with a [17-point win against Mount Abram](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/https://www.sunjournal.com/2018/12/08/girls-basketball-spruce-mountain-comes-down-on-mt-abram/) and a [dramatic buzzer-beater over Dirigo](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/https://www.sunjournal.com/2018/12/13/girls-basketball-calley-bakers-game-winner-puts-spruce-mountain-over-dirigo/). On the 17th, they moved to 3-1 with a win over Richmond. Multiple attempts to verify the date Keene got his certification renewed were rebuffed, with the school claiming that his certification, normally a public document, had been moved to his confidential personnel file, effectively confirming the certification was a factor in his firing. In the public forum on April 1st, Keene observed that “if that’s fireable, I shouldn’t have been coaching up to that point to begin with.” The MPA’s rules clearly state that if a coach isn’t current on his or her certification, they are not eligible to coach. From the coaching eligibility section of the MPA Coaching Handbook (page 48): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/10/dfc87f_4bdef167f87c4d32b4626a8d5645f6d6_mv2.png) CPR is Component F under [Coaches’ Eligibility](http://www.mpa.cc/index.php/interscholastic-division/coaches-eligibility-policy?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), which reads: “*Every coach must have successfully completed a basic CPR/AED program and must maintain/ carry a current CPR-AED card.*” Keene did not have a current CPR-AED card and had been coaching for longer than 12 months. But, as you can see in the highlighted section above, that’s not his responsibility. The MPA rules are very clear on this point. Ensuring Keene is eligible to coach falls to Spruce Mountain Principal T.J. Plourde or his designee, presumably AD and Assistant Principal Marc Keller. Because Keene’s CPR certification is now in his confidential personnel file, the administration of Spruce Mountain is legally prohibited from discussing it, but Keene is not. He can access his personnel file and release whatever information he wants, which he effectively did in the public forum on April 1st. Interim Superintendent Robert Webster was able to tell me via email on April 11th that “administrators made a good faith effort to make sure the coach knew the deadline,” but the onus still falls on those administrators. That is quite literally their job. I’ve since learned that Keene was notified in writing that his CPR had lapsed on November 14th, 2018\. Spruce Mountain offered a CPR course, but it was cancelled because of inclement weather and rescheduled. The season, of course, started on December 7th. Keene could have been more proactive in finding another CPR course (the [Red Cross offers them](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/cpr?latitude=43.6590993&longitude=-70.25681889999998)), but officially the weight of responsibility falls on the administration. **Spruce Mountain** The minute the news of the firing broke, it was followed by a chorus of “[again?](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/https://twitter.com/RobKennedy70/status/1111808954454151169)” The frustration was echoed on Facebook, with multiple parents complaining that the district had run another good coach out of town. It wasn’t hard to find frustrated parents willing to discuss the situation off the record. The administration ran their football coach (Keene’s Father-in-Law) out of town. They tried to fire Principal T.J. Plourde and then when that backfired, it forced the [resignation of Superintendent Todd LeRoy](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/https://www.sunjournal.com/2019/01/10/leroy-resigns-as-rsu-73-superintendent/). Plourde is still the Principal. They tried to fire Plourde. They tried to fire Keene. They tried to join the KVAC. Maybe there’s a pattern? The amount of turnover at the district is staggering. Since the merger in 2011, Keene is the 3rd girls’ basketball coach. Keller is the 4th Athletic Director. They’re looking for a new Superintendent. Normally, if an organization has a habit of pushing people out, there’s someone with power who’s doing most of the pushing, but that isn’t the case here. In 8 years they’ve replaced everyone and the issues remain. Maybe it’s in the water? What you’re left with is a situation where a young coach was fired after his 3rd season for 1) breaking an MPA rule that doesn’t exist, 2) breaking a district rule that doesn’t exist, 3) a drop in the youth program that didn’t happen, 4) getting a couple of minor technicals, and 5) something that by rule isn’t his responsibility. Basically, they lied to him. Then, when the community protested, they tried to reinstate him with a 2 game suspension. And when the community protested *that*, they re-hired him with nothing more than an agreement of how to move forward. It begs the question: Why? What did the administration hope to gain by all of this? What could possibly be the motive? Did he not win enough games? Did he not wear the right color tie? Did he not kiss the ring? What’s crazy about this whole situation is that they could have just fired him. Brought him into a room and said, “Zach, we’re going in another direction.” They don’t have to give a reason. The [courts have ruled](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/https://www.f3law.com/newsflash.php?nf=261) that even the most tenured coach is nothing more than a temporary employee. What keeps coaches employed is one of two things: either their boss thinks they’re doing a good job or they don’t want to deal with the public blowback of firing them. This seems like the second category. But they gave Keene a reason. And there’s nothing in there that justifies a firing. If there were, the administration wouldn’t have folded so quickly. As Webster wrote to me concerning the CPR certification, “Draw your own conclusions.” --- It gnawed at me, this voice in the back of my head, “something isn’t right.” I knew that Zach Keene hadn’t been fired for anything close to a justifiable reasons. I could have published that, but the voice told me to keep digging. Something didn’t add up. So I kept digging. Even after Keene was re-hired, I kept digging. After researching the basics of this story and figuring out what had and hadn’t happened, I submitted a list of questions to Athletic Director Marc Keller asking for clarification of specific information. How many technicals did Keene get? What was the actual drop in numbers for the youth program? When did Keene’s CPR certification lapse? When was the MPA informed about CPR issue? Things like that. I sent a similar request to Interim Superintendent Robert Webster. On April 10th, Keene was reinstated. On the 11th, Keller wrote me this letter co-written and signed by Keene, which I received in the mail. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/10/dfc87f_4b4e8c3609104d508c20117c1a13dd92_mv2_d_2550_3300_s_4_2.webp) This is a rather ham-fisted attempt to get me to stop asking questions. The key piece of information here is Keller’s assertion that the CPR violation had been self-reported to the MPA and the Interscholastic Management Committee. Except, when I spoke to someone in the IMC on the 17th, they didn’t seem to know anything about it. The Interscholastic Management Committee, or IMC, is the group in charge of maintaining the MPA’s rules. They determine eligibility and handle violations. They are the judge and jury. If you remember that first parent meeting, Keene said that if the CPR certification was a fireable offense, then he shouldn’t have been coaching. He’s right about the second part. By not having current CPR certification and having been a coach for longer than 12 months, he was ineligible to coach an MPA member school. There’s a rule for this. From the MPA’s handbook: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/10/dfc87f_3a0b4995c0fd4a629ba4e0f211c9b064_mv2.png) The rule clearly states that the school is required to report an eligibility issue “immediately” and the reasons for that become obvious when you get to the 4th potential action. According to a former IMC member, when a school self-reports a violation and follows the protocol, the IMC generally lets the school police themselves. But if they don’t, if there’s a clear attempt to evade the rules or a lack of “[institutional control](http://www.ncaa.org/governance/institutional-control?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)“, then they take punitive action. Basically, mistakes happen, but if you don’t have your house in order, then they drop the hammer. On April 11th, Keller assured me in that letter that Spruce Mountain had self-reported the issue and was awaiting the IMC’s decision. On the same day, Webster told me the same via email. The IMC had met twice since the infraction, most recently on March 25th when they made a recommendation for where to place the Class C and D enrollment line. Surely they would have done something about it in either or those two meetings. [Previous incidents](http://www.mpa.cc/images/pdfs/interscholastic%5Fmanagement/minutes/minutes%5Fimc.pdf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) had been handled quickly and this was a clear-cut situation. If this had been reported immediately, Webster would have gotten resolution by now. On the advice of a journalist friend, I submitted a request for Spruce Mountain’s self-reporting under the [Freedom of Access Act (FOAA)](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/https://www.maine.gov/foaa/faq/index.shtml). That was ignored. So I consulted with the [Public Ombudsman](https://web.archive.org/web/20220516173743/https://www.maine.gov/foaa/ombudsman/index.htm) at the Attorney General’s Office and forwarded her response to Robert Webster. Within hours, I had a copy of the document and later learned that Marc Keller had reported the violation on April 14th, 3 days after his letter to me and nearly 4 months after the violation took place. Four months is no one’s idea of “immediately”. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/10/dfc87f_6cf1d1e222f3419ea28b5df1570a9a71_mv2.png) It’s hard to imagine this would have ever been reported, had no one asked. But you can draw your own conclusions. “Lack of institutional control” is a phrase you mostly hear from the NCAA. One of the tenets the NCAA uses to determine this is whether or not the school displayed “[swift action upon learning of a violation.](http://www.ncaa.org/enforcement/enforcement-process-charging?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)“ It’s hard to say what the MPA will do in a situation like this because sources in the IMC, while hesitant to speculate on an active case, couldn’t recall a coaching eligibility issue in the past. There’s not a lot of precedent here. But, forfeits have been handed down for ineligible players. The timing also puts the MPA in a difficult spot. MPA Assistant Executive Director Michael Burnham told me that in a case where the issue presents itself after the season, “*we would deal with the school and the adults that were involved when looking at any type of a consequence. If there was a championship then we would be forced to go back and look at declaring the championship void due to the use of ineligible coach.”* Clearly, if you win the Gold Ball and you’ve got [Brad Stevens coaching in disguise](https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/video/brad-stevens-looks-lot-2020-presidential-candidate-pete-buttigieg?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), the MPA is going to vacate your title. But where’s the line? Spruce Mountain was the 8th seed in B South with 43.1481 Heal Points. Nine teams got in. Lake Region finished 10th with 39.1358 Heal Points and missed the tournament. If they self-report this in December, the chances are that the IMC decides to do nothing. But what if the violation was reported in January and the IMC decided that Spruce Mountain had to forfeit the buzzer-beater win over Dirigo but not the blowout win over Mount Abram? Suddenly Spruce Mountain isn’t in the tournament and Maranacook is hosting Lake Region for a play-in game and the right to face eventual champion GNG. Oh, and Dirigo? Well that puts them in the C South tournament and knocks out a Madison team that shocked Hebron in the prelims. And if the violation is reported in February and the IMC drops the hammer? Mount Abram would also get in the class C tournament with a forfeit over Spruce Mountain and Traip would stay home. We’ll never know. By failing to comply with the rules, they’ve taken those options off the table. You could argue that Spruce Mountain didn’t report the violation because they went 2-1 and knew they’d need all the Heal Points they could get. The likelihood that any of this changes GNG and Boothbay’s title odds is microscopic, so the MPA isn’t going to make everyone replay the tournament, no matter how much [we’d like high school basketball to come back](https://twitter.com/FunkFlashyRob/status/1129857025888927745?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), but it’s not just about who cuts down the nets. It’s about who gets a chance to play at the Expo and the Civic Center. It’s about who gets a different matchup in the early rounds. The impact here isn’t just one team. The way the Heal Points work, there’s a ripple effect that impacts both the B and C tournaments. Maybe this is something that happens all the time and no one reports it. But when you fire someone under questionable circumstances, you invite a microscope. All this could have been so much simpler. Keller could have given Keene more time to get his CPR certification and when he didn’t, he could have held him out of games until he did. No one wants to start a season without a coach, so the urgency of Opening Day could have encouraged compliance. The violation could have been reported immediately and then the IMC would have had plenty of time to decide what to do. Instead, Keller did nothing. At the end of the season, he fired Keene without valid cause, alleging his coach had broken rules that don’t exist. When the town revolted and journalists started asking questions, he signed a document claiming to me and to his superintendent that he had reported the issue. But he hadn’t. Eventually he did, 4 months after the violation. So now we’re forced to wonder if the wrong teams made the tournament. Or maybe we should be asking if Spruce Mountain fired the correct person. You can draw your own conclusions. ### Reclassification URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/reclassification/ Last updated: 2022-11-06T23:25:12.000Z The MPA is voting on classification [tomorrow at the Samoset Resort in Rockport](https://www.pressherald.com/2019/04/24/new-football-classification-including-eight-man-football-expected-to-be-approved/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Let's just get it out of the way first and say that the MPA's football proposal is a joke. Anyway, the basketball numbers have been rumored for awhile and within 5 minutes of asking online, I had a couple of different emails/DMs with the information. Let's dig in! ![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/dfc87f_969721d01a944b5bb239242e1720aba2~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_1480,h_878,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/dfc87f_969721d01a944b5bb239242e1720aba2~mv2.png) ![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/dfc87f_d7f11e260b094cde897cf70b4a84c3c6~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_1480,h_896,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/dfc87f_d7f11e260b094cde897cf70b4a84c3c6~mv2.png) I'm posting these as 2 separate screen grabs so they'll be easier to read than 1 small one. Schools in red are moving. **Enrollment** Doing enrollment as a hard number is...not ideal. There's a [ton of evidence](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/post/cross-class-war) that enrollment has very little impact on how good a team is. One of the reasons for this is different schools have different priorities. You can have 2 schools with equal enrollment, but if team A has hockey and wrestling and a good jazz band and cheerleading and team B is a basketball-obsessed school, guess who's going to be better? Trying to draw a hard line is an exercise in futility. A better system would be to have an overlap and come up with some sort of system where some smart basketball minds figure out which schools in the overlap go up and which go down. You could make the AA/A overlap from 700-800 schools and pretty easily send Brunswick, Falmouth, Hampden, and Messalonskee up to AA. And that doesn't even factor in Greely. This would get even more helpful in cleaning up the Class C logjam. If you look at the better programs in each class, then look at where they are in the enrollment list, the cutoffs get even more ridiculous. **Relegation?** One way to facilitate this would be some sort of a promotion/relegation system. Greely would do just fine in AA. Same with Hampden. MDI and Hermon could easily be in A. You could move Noble down to A or B and they might actually be competitive. This way, if you put a team in a class where they clearly cannot compete, there's a system in place to fix it automatically. [Indiana does this and it works pretty well](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/basketball-in-every-state-indiana/). **A Region Minimum** Eight teams in a region is not only sub-optimal, but it renders the regular season completely meaningless. If you're only really playing for tourney seeding, all you're trying to do is avoid having to play a certain team in the first round. There's no real stakes. There should be no fewer than 12 teams in a region, with exceptions for class D, where often teams have a real struggle to put together a roster. Can't put 12 teams in a region? Maybe we don't need that region. If you moved the 4 biggest A schools to AA to ensure a 12-team region, then shuffled everyone else accordingly, you'd end up with some really interesting, competitive regions. **Quit Whining** It's no secret that certain teams are in certain regions because they...let's say influenced the proceedings. It's great that you don't want to lose a rivalry game or drive beyond a certain number of miles to get to your tournament site. We all understand that. We'd all like to play 18 home games. But there are 137 other schools involved and, to quote the great philosopher George Costanza, "[we're living in a society](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhe3RlzgTiQ&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)." If you've got a vote tomorrow, instead of worrying about how classification will impact your school, worry about how it impacts the overall competitive balance in the state. That is, after all, the whole point of this. Someone always has to be the smallest school in the region. No one wants it to be them. But the smaller schools can absolutely compete. **C/D** I'm trying to get clarification on the IMC's note that they recommend 0-140 for Class D, which obviously isn't reflected in these numbers. My guess would be that's one of the votes that'll take place tomorrow. This would be pretty helpful in thinning out C and helping keep D competitive. If you haven't noticed, balancing out the regions should really be a larger priority. Having 8 schools in AA North and 20 in C North isn't sustainable. *UPDATE: This is confirmed. There will be two proposals tomorrow. One with Richmond, Central Aroostook, Woodland, Ft. Fairfield, and Hodgdon in C and one where they'll move down to D.* **Portland** Portland drops 213 students because of how the MPA is allocating students in Casco Bay and they'll now have to petition up to stay in AA, because can you imagine? First of all, they'd have to play their tourney games in Augusta. Second, they've only been one of the dominant programs in the AA era. It'd be a really bad look for everyone involved if they dropped to A. Would, like in football, a bunch of A schools petition down to B? Would there only be 7 schools in AA North? What a mess. I have little to no doubt that this will get approved in some form. After all, this is essentially the same broken system as before. It needs a drastic overhaul, but that seems unlikely. \*sigh\* ### Cross-Class War URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/cross-class-war/ Last updated: 2022-10-27T12:07:09.000Z Ever since Maine basketball went to a 5-class system, it's been popular to assume that the schools in AA are far and away the best of the best, clearly the be all and end all of high school basketball in the state. You see this in [Facebook comments](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings/posts/829021714110244?sfnsw=cl) from people who assume that since Bonny Eagle was the AA runner-up, they must be one of the best teams in the state, neatly ignoring the fact that they lost a game earlier in the year by 33 points and lost by 12 to the third-worst team in their region. How the people in the [Varsity Maine poll](http://varsitymaine.com/varsity-maine-basketball-polls?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) have them 3rd in the state is beyond me. Actually, I know how. It's the biggest class, so obviously they're the best. Hey, it's an easy narrative. But here's the problem: If AA is so much better than the other classes, why do they lose so many games? Two years ago, I started tracking cross-class games. If the bigger schools were clearly better, it'd show up on the court. In those two years, there have been 1,363 games between a higher class and the class directly below them (I'm ignoring games like AA Noble barely beating C schools). The schools in the larger class have won 61.8% of those games. That's the equivalent of an 11-win team. Good, but you can win 11 games and miss the tournament. But, wait! I think we can all agree that Oxford Hills should beat a 2-16 Gardiner team (and they definitely did). If we take out games against teams in the lower class that didn't make the tournament, the higher class wins 51.0% of the time. That's the very definition of average. Home teams win 54.5% of their games, which means that home court advantage is a lot more important than enrollment. These numbers are helped quite a bit by Class C. They have the best winning % against the smaller class in both games against tourney and non-tourney teams (they are 130-4 against Class D schools that miss the tourney.) If you think about it, this makes sense. Enrollment numbers in Class D are such that if you're an able-bodied kid who can run up and down the floor, you're playing basketball. Pine Tree only has 6 kids on their team, and even that didn't stop them from beating a Class C school. But the fact remains that a D school playing an 8-grader is going to struggle with a team like Winthrop. And even if a D school has a good team, they can hardly afford to have anyone get sick. Still, Class D tourney teams beat Class C schools \~45% of the time, even against schools with 6 times as many students. You would also expect some separation when going to AA from A, since there's no cap on how big a school can be, and you get it a little. AA boys teams went 24-6 against A teams that missed the tournament, a far cry from those C vs. D numbers (although the AA girls did go 38-0). What little advantage the larger schools have pretty much disappears in classes A & B. If enrollment isn't that important, what is? Being good at basketball. While higher class teams struggle mightily in cross-class games, good basketball teams do not. In cross-class games, the higher ranked team according to the model wins 85.5% of the time. That's essentially the same winning % as games between schools in the same class. In those tougher games involving tournament teams, the better team wins 83.0% of the time. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/10/dfc87f_315aa7fb9d144e8f9b787bf76923ca0a_mv2.webp) If you want the rest of the numbers, here they are. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/10/dfc87f_1603954bd19946b6ab4a5f447429ceb8_mv2.webp) Apologies if this isn't super-easy to read. Which brings us back to rankings. These numbers are fueled by the rankings, so when someone complains that a AA school isn't ranked as high as a Class B school, I'm reminded that the model does an exceptional job predicting cross-class games. So if it says a Class B or C school is one of the best in the state, I'm inclined to believe it. The larger schools have consistently proven on the court that the difference between the classes is very small. Until they prove otherwise, I think it's same to assume the smaller schools would do just fine. ### Basketball in Every State: Indiana URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/basketball-in-every-state-indiana/ Last updated: 2022-11-06T23:22:11.000Z We leave pretty insular lives here in Maine. Sure, we go to Boston for the occasional Celtics/Red Sox/Patriots/Bruins game, but for the most part that's pretty much it. People in Portland famously won't leave their city unless they have to and folks in the County need a full day's drive just to go [win a Gold Ball](https://mebballrankings.storenvy.com/products/26026911-301-miles-t-shirt?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). The point is, outside of what we see on the internet and TV, we don't have a strong grasp of what goes on south of the Piscataqua River Bridge. I've criss-crossed this great land, Jack Kerouac style, so I thought I'd take us on a tour of high school basketball around the country. The premise is simple: I'll interview someone in every state and find out how they do things. And what better place to start than the state that epitomizes everything we idealize in high school basketball? Let's go to Indiana. Indiana high school basketball was made famous in [**Hoosiers**](https://amzn.to/2YoG5hP?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), without a doubt the greatest sports movie ever made. (Don't argue me on this. You will lose.) For years, they had an all-class tournament that resulted in mighty Milan (enrollment: 161) [defeating Muncie Central 32-30](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954%5FMilan%5FHigh%5FSchool%5Fbasketball%5Fteam?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) in the game made famous by Jimmy Chitwood's game-winning, "I'll make it" shot. And then Dennis Hopper was robbed of an Oscar. If you haven't seen **Hoosiers**, you need to fix that immediately. To learn more about Indiana high school basketball, I reached out to our old friend [Matt Randall](https://twitter.com/mattrandall%5F?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Matt grew up in Indiana and then came to Maine, [spending 2 years at Fox22 in Bangor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-ojIAQx7oc&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) and learning such essential things like how to pronounce the names of all the schools in C North and just how far you have to drive in Aroostook County before you get to your assignment. He's now back in Indiana, [covering local sports for ABC57](https://www.abc57.com/bios/matt-randall?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). I spoke to him via email as he worked the ACC tournament in North Carolina. This is condensed and edited for clarity. Matt's words are in italics. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/1b/6f1b07c4-89c2-426d-a60a-ca70e47e4639/content/images/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-06-at-6.15.09-PM.png) **Can you tell me what the calendar looks like?** *Boys and girls have different schedules here. The boys regular season runs from late November to late February (Nov. 20 to Feb. 22 this year). The girls schedule is about the same length but shifted a few weeks earlier. Girls postseason begins in late January/early February while the boys begin the last week of February.* There doesn't, from what I can tell, seem to be a set number of games, but most schools play a little over 20 regular season games, with 23 being the norm. **What's the reasoning for having the girls schedule start earlier? Seems like that'd be a real headache for ADs.** *I'm honestly not completely sure about the exact reason for having the girls and boys tournaments separate, other than it might just be easier to schedule the host sites at different times since there are so many schools (with everyone making the postseason). I actually do enjoy it though. It gives the girls a great stage to themselves.* **Do you have a shot clock?** *There is no shot clock. One of my bigger pet peeves in high school, but most teams here are fine about playing a good pace. Will often see 40-50 seconds of holding the ball at the end of quarters, though.* This is something that's been hotly debated in Indiana. A [Twitter poll](https://twitter.com/courierthescore/status/986661672701120513?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) by Courier & Press found that 69% of Indiana wants a shot clock, which is roughly in line with a [what I found on Twitter](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/969982930742374400?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). From the [Courier & Press article](https://www.courierpress.com/story/sports/high-school/2018/04/18/should-indiana-high-school-basketball-have-shot-clock/512361002/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com): "It is going to make us as coaches grow," said \[Bosse coach Shane\] Burkhart. "That shot clock allows you to be different. It doesn't always put you in a situation that is negative. I would welcome it with open arms. It would be such a great challenge and an opportunity as a coach to really step up my game. There are so many different avenues and I think the kids' interest would really peak." **What does your playoff structure look like?** *The postseason in Indiana is what sets it apart from most other states. Kind of a detailed explanation coming.* *It's mostly a normal bracket for the state tournament, but the first stage of the tournament is called Sectionals. Basically it's a group of 5-7 teams from the same class in the same city/area. Winning a sectional title is often talked about as the big accomplishment of the season (remnant of the old days in a one-class system/tournament when that's all any small town team could really hope for.)* *One difference from Maine is that each different round is held at a host high school. With so many large gyms here, they don't have to have one or two central locations until Finals day at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indy.* Bankers Life Fieldhouse is, of course, where the Pacers play their home games. The [10 largest high school gyms](https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/2019/03/08/indianas-largest-high-school-basektball-gym-changes-after-seating-count/3087204002/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) all hold more than 7,000 people. The Cross Insurance Arena holds 6,733. ![Seymour High's Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium. Capacity: 8,288. Largest high school gym in Indiana](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/dfc87f_7e01da42d1d84483bb378d6a94909655~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_899,h_503,al_c,q_85,enc_auto/dfc87f_7e01da42d1d84483bb378d6a94909655~mv2.jpg) **Are these neutral hosts or is someone playing at home?** *Each Sectional bracket is played at one high school, hosted by one of the teams in that Sectional. They move around who hosts each year to make sure everyone benefits financially every so often. It's determined before the season begins, so not like the best record gets to host or anything. So it's basically a neutral site unless the host school happens to keep advancing. The sectional is a huge boost for those schools since you'll have five or six tournament games over a few days. Sometimes three in one night.* *Every single team in the state qualifies for the state tournament, and regular season records don't matter. The brackets and pairings for sectionals are decided by a blind draw a couple weeks before the tournament begins. So yes, we had two co-conference champions (both top-10 teams in the state) in my area meet on the first night of the sectional while a 4-17 team got a bye. Sectionals take place during the week from Tuesday until Saturday.* **This blows my mind. I'm assuming one of those top 10 teams was then done for the year?** *The blind draw is pretty amazing, and is guaranteed to cause some sort of uproar from media types like us every time. But when you ask, everyone including coaches and players say "that's how it's always been done" or they'll say "whatever, we have to beat the best anyway." Not going to change unless the schools push for it, and I don't see that happening soon.* *Growing up in Indy, the Sectionals were always SO difficult for our teams. You have maybe 3 or 4 of the best teams in the state all playing each other in the first week. And yes, it's single elimination. You'll see some of the best games of the entire year in the first couple rounds of the tournament at Sectionals.* *Once you win a Sectional Championship, you advance to the Regionals the next Saturday, which is essentially the Sweet 16\. Each regional is made up of four teams, and it's a one-day tournament to determine regional champions. The winners of the two morning/early regional semifinals play later that night.* **The regionals you play twice in a day? So there's zero time to prep for that second game?** *Each regional site (again, a big High School for a neutral site that's predetermined) hosts four teams. The regional semifinals are usually played as a 10am tip and a noon tip. Then the final is usually around 7:30 or 8pm. So they do have a little bit of time to rest and prepare. It's a long day, but really the most fun for me to watch and cover. For the teams, they don't mind because they've had a week off since winning their sectional - they just want to play.* *Regionals is my favorite day of the year. It's the final 16 teams in each of the four classes. All of them coming off Sectional Championships and it's almost like playing with house money at this point if you're a not-very-good team that's made a great run.* *They also have a week off AFTER Regionals before they play Semi-State* \[My note: played at a different, bigger pre-determined site\]*. Then another week off before State.* *There are four regional champions - two from the north side of the bracket and two from the south. They play the next Saturday to determine who goes to the State Finals in Indianapolis.* **How are your classes organized? What sort of range of enrollment do they have?** *There are four classes in Indiana. It used to be one class and one tournament for every team, which is how the famous Milan-inspired "Hoosiers" story happened. They changed to classes in the late 90s, so basically right when I started paying attention.* *4A is the largest class. It has a huge range of enrollments, from about 1K students to the mega schools in Indy with anywhere from 3K to 5K students.* *3A is somewhere around 500 to 1K enrollment. 2A is about 250 to 500\. 1A is anything smaller than that.* So to put this in perspective: 3A would be everyone between Belfast and Sanford. 2A would be Old Orchard Beach to Belfast. 1A would be everyone smaller than OOB. Hermon and Portland would both be in 3A. In 2015-16, New Albany won the 4A title with a record of 27-1\. They're the 42nd biggest school in the state, enrollment: 1,843\. They beat the 45th biggest school in the final. You can see the full enrollment numbers [here](http://www.ihsaa.org/Portals/0/ihsaa/documents/quick%20resources/Enrollments%20&%20Classifications/Boys%20Basketball%20Enrollments%20and%20Classifications%202017-19.pdf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). *\*\*Big note here\*\* Enrollments aren't the only factor in a school's classification. There's something called a "success factor" which basically means if one school is dominating, they can move up a class. For example, we just had a 1A girls team that has two 6-foot twins going to St. Johns. They won back-to-back state titles and will be moving up to 2A next season.* Full details about the "Success factor" are [here](http://www.ihsaa.org/Portals/0/ihsaa/documents/Tournament%20Success%20Factor/Tournament%20Success%20Factor%20Provisions.pdf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Basically, if you win States/Regionals/Sectionals you get points. Accumulate enough points and you get moved up. When you get moved up, the smallest school in the class you're joining moves down to take your place in order to keep the classes balanced. **Do those teams tend to struggle when they move up because the players that got them there have moved on? Or is it kind of like how Hampden just reloads every year?** *Personally, I love the success factor. It keeps things interesting and creates some cool matchups. I don't know if I'd say teams necessarily struggle, since they mostly would play the same regular season schedule due to conferences and rivalries. I just did a story with a* [*3A boys team that might win their second-straight state championship*](https://www.abc57.com/news/cma-hoops-one-win-away-from-back-to-back-titles?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)*.* [\[They lost\]](https://silvercreekathletics.com/2019/03/28/boys-basketball-dragons-claim-creeks-first-ihsaa-state-title/?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) *They play teams from all different classes, so if they moved up to play 4A, I'm sure they'd be just as competitive. But they'd likely find themselves in a stacked 4A sectional and have a tougher time advancing to the later rounds.* --- In doing research into Indiana High School basketball, I also found this page: [John Harrell's Indiana Basketball](http://indianahsbasketball.homestead.com/boys.html?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). It's \*cough\* [linked on the IHSAA page](http://www.ihsaa.org/dnn/Sports/Boys/Basketball/tabid/66/Default.aspx?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) \*cough\* and is pretty similar to [Frank Spanky's page](https://sites.google.com/site/frankspanky/index?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com), but a little more focused on the current season. They also have [rankings from Jeff Sagarin](http://sagarin.com/sports/hsbsend.htm?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)(!), the guy who does rankings for all the major professional and college sports, including the BCS and the NCAA tournament. I could not, in several hours of googling, find anywhere that anyone (including Sagarin himself) had ever tested the accuracy of these rankings, but his college basketball rankings get [71% of games right](https://www.markmoog.com/ranking%5Fanalysis?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). I reached out to Sagarin and Harrell with follow-up questions, but haven't heard anything back. If I do hear from them, I'll do a second post about Indiana. ***Do you know someone in another state who has an intimate knowledge of high school basketball is played? I'd love to talk to them.* [*Email me*](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/contact-me)*!*** ### The State (Game) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-state-game/ Last updated: 2023-12-27T14:06:46.000Z Impact-Site-Verification: 0306f552-b617-4d58-86b5-a1863c91e11f I don't know if you've heard, but the Caribou boys have a [long drive](https://www.facebook.com/MaineBasketballRankings/posts/827251944287221?%5F%5Fxts%5F%5F[0]=68.ARAdd-C1dpzzG%5FGsPQ4r-ris64vf6PpJ38%5F1wVppgbC3n6oQ0TIn2psIinbZ25gRuj%5FjvkCh9B8P26Qar6dqdUMr52eXE4k8fGxfzUh0SF2y71846z2DsqBLe0ZgcULmrF%5FAYmXjp1H5j2MJjVgLM9-L42ehj8CcbEC9eOfWTJgdOyB24j3N99xVzfRqeuN7gBrpzagnEFUjx5dBi-NeNcZLCpSWA2N9wo7sRnZloYVT7Z3NdEZzd5275hiwTRg1wzDMbu34C7N-fN2SpZ0oiEG7fOWj3qbvMLs-rpAGEKtxRU9oG1sPm40sAyH4N18723v85NQg2BS0kVtQDBI&%5F%5Ftn%5F%5F=-R) to play in the Gold Ball Game. They'll have to drive 301 miles each way to Portland, which just happens to be further than their opponent will travel all year long (playoffs included!). Cape Elizabeth has a 5.5 mile drive, which isn't quite the distance of the Beach to Beacon 10K that uses Cape Elizabeth High School as a base of operations. It's the kind of thing that really grabs the attention of people who only have a passing idea of the travel issues inherent in the state and how it relates to fair play. I mean, one team has to travel further for 1 game than the other team travels in the entire year! That's clearly unfair! Something should be done! And who could have possibly predicted this? It's not like \[checks map\] nearly all of the schools in B North are at least 2 hours from Portland. But...Maine is a big state and a lot of it is pretty empty. And it's not like, say, Pennsylvania where there's a big empty space in the middle and a city on either side. Four counties that border Canada (Aroostook, Piscataquis, Washington, and Somerset) account for 53.7% of the land in this state and only 13.1% of the population. Nearly [40% of the state's population lives in the Portland "metropolitan" area](https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2010/cph-t/CPH-T-5.pdf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). That creates certain issues for a team like Caribou (or Fort Kent. Or Presque Isle.) Let's run through a couple things. **It's Maine** You're gonna have to drive. Get over it. If you live in a town called Caribou, the games aren't coming to you. We're not playing the State Game in Fort Kent. It's also winter. When thinking about travel times, it's worth keeping in mind that 2 hours on the interstate can be a lot easier than 1 hour on back roads, especially if it's snowing. Those 301 miles from Caribou to Portland? 299.9 of them are on what you'd consider "major roads". The other 1.1 are in Portland. Meanwhile, Forest Hills has 73.6 miles through the mountains on 201 before getting to Waterville. If it's snowing, you'd rather have Caribou's drive than a much shorter one. **The MPA's Role** The MPA's job, whether or not they want to admit it, is to provide a level playing field whenever possible. They are objectively terrible at this, but that isn't an excuse. No team, under any circumstances, should be playing a tournament game with a home court advantage. The fact that this is commonly allowed is deplorable. The NCAA not only won't let a (men's) team play a game on their home floor, but they can't even play on a floor they've played on 4 times during the year. So if Duke were to play 4 times at Madison Square Garden, they couldn't be in a region that plays there. By the way, 4 games translates to 13% of their regular season schedule. 13% of 18 is a little more than 2\. Playing on a floor 3 times in the week before a game? That's a home court advantage. In a perfect world, we'd play the state game at the third tournament site. That way, we're determining the Gold Ball at a truly neutral site. **Except...** Class A, C, & D. Class A plays in Portland and Augusta. Imagine telling those two teams they have to go to Bangor. C and D play in Augusta and Bangor. They aren't going to Portland. AA refuses to leave Portland anyway. Never mind that it's the right thing to do. Forget for a moment that it takes a certain Debbie Downer mentality to get to the Gold Ball game and complain about having to drive too far (oh noes!). That'll never happen. If the MPA were committed to fair play, they'd put the State Game in the 3rd site, regardless of the complaining, but they aren't, so someone is going to get a home court advantage. That unavoidable without either 1) a 4th site, or 2) a lot of driving. Honestly, I'm not familiar enough with the college gyms in the state to know if any of them are big enough to handle a Gold Ball game, even a Class D one, but if people think the Expo is a pro-level gym, I'm guessing not. Theoretically, you'd play the A game in Lewiston? If you think about it, to play in a neutral site, the team that plays their Regional Final in Bangor will almost always get ridiculous travel requirements. For every Old Town or Orono, there's 5 or 6 teams like Central Aroostook or Machias. **Expo** I can't believe I'm saying this, but you could play more games at the Expo. There's a certain romantic angle to playing the State Game in the state's biggest city. You can go to the Old Port! If you played the entirety of the A and B South regions in the Expo, you could preserve the neutral floor angle. This would obviously make the most sense for Class A. Since both AA regions play at the Cross Insurance Arena, you don't have to worry about them. This is the one part of the AA tournament that actually makes sense. **The Stax Proposal** I kind of like this. ![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/dfc87f_78a85dd4bda54c2280d2b8ef8f14703d~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_720,h_436,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/dfc87f_78a85dd4bda54c2280d2b8ef8f14703d~mv2.png) I'm a big advocate of the MPA making the schedule more flexible in regards to the actual teams. I'd like the quarterfinals to be shuffled so that the teams that drive the furthest don't have to play the first or last game of the day. You could easily announce the tourney sites on Sunday. That wouldn't be hard. **Cape vs. Caribou** This game should obviously be played in Augusta. We all realize that, right? The girls game between MDI and GNG? That should also be played in Augusta. This isn't complicated. **My Fix** Assuming there's no logistical issues I'm not thinking of, here's what I think you do: AA: Short of revamping the entire tournament, which they obviously should do because it is currently a farce, stay in Portland. A: Keep the A South Regional in the Expo (but spend some of that $325K you collect in member fees each year to get the scoreboard and wifi working first.) Play the State Game at the Cross Insurance Area. B: Augusta. This is a no-brainer.C & D: Minus a 4th site, I think you rotate these between Bangor and Augusta, depending on the teams playing. If it's Fort Kent vs. Buckfield, play it in Bangor. If it's OOB vs. GSA, play it in Augusta. This makes the game and travel as fair as one could reasonably expect, given Maine's limitations. Then we can work on organizing a coup to install Don Shields as the voice of the Gold Ball games on MPBN. ### Central Aroostook and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/central-aroostook-and-the-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-day/ Last updated: 2022-10-31T12:34:49.000Z The good folks of Mars Hill had every reason to be hopeful for the C North tournament, as both their boys and girls teams entered the tournament as the #1 seed. That generally means you're in for at least one solid tourney run and several trips to Bangor. Yesterday, they both lost in the quarterfinals. The girls got blown out by #9 Stearns and the boys lost at the buzzer to #8 Sumner. Shocking! Except it isn't. The model had Stearns winning that game by roughly 3 points and while it picked the boys to win, it was by a far smaller margin than you'd normally see in a 1/8 game (the same margin as the Cony/Medomak game, ironically) and it only gave them the 4th best odds of winning the region. So how is the model so low on both the 1 seeds? The first reaction would be to blame the schedules, but they each played an overall tougher schedule than their opponents. So let's dig. The girls played 10 Class D schools, and while I'm not a believer that scheduling inside your class is essential in terms of getting quality opponents, because the math just doesn't support that, that theory does start to gain some value when you get to Class D schools, partly because you hit a tipping point where it's hard to field a team. They played 5 teams outside the top 100 and naturally crushed them. But they also did well against Madawaska and Fort Fairfield, going 4-0, so it's not like they were a paper tiger who feasted on Our Sisters of Mercy Middle School. The model had them as the 7 seed in a very tough C North, which is nothing to sneeze at, and had Stearns as the 4\. So I think what you've got here is some really bad luck with the Heal Points. They had 4 wins against Washburn and Ashland, 2 schools outside the top 100 who happened to be worth a lot of Heal Points, plus 2 wins against #127 Van Buren, who rode the easiest schedule in the state to 5 wins. That's a lot of Heal Points from 6 mediocre opponents. The boys had a similar issue, to a lesser degree. The model had them 4th, playing a properly seeded Sumner team that had been outscored by 32 points on the year against the 101st toughest schedule in the state (15th in C North). There's no big red flag in Sumner's statistical profile that would have caused you to pick this upset. Like the girls, the Central Aroostook boys got quite a lot of value out of sweeping Washburn (6 wins). But, again, they weren't drastically over-seeded. Again, generally you don't suffer from playing teams in the class below yours in terms of getting quality opponents (unless you play the bad teams in that class, of course), but I think you hurt yourself in the sense that you go into a tournament where you have to play teams you aren't familiar with. Unless you're playing a tougher schedule than those teams, which Central Aroostook certainly is not. Part of the issue here in conferences. Part of it, I'm sure, is that Mars Hill is nearly in Canada and that's a lot of travel. If you're looking for a solution, here's one: We switch to a 24 game schedule (because we should do that anyway). You're required to play 14 games in your region (because of AA's 8 team regions). Conferences aren't allowed to have closed schedules (because that's dumb). The other 10? Play whoever you want. That way, you're not out of your depth come tourney time, the Heal Points have more time to eliminate outliers like the Central Aroostook girls, and you still get to schedule the schools near you, which means more rivalry games that'll bring in more fans. It's more travel, especially for the teams in the County, but it's better than driving 290 miles round trip to get blown out by the 9 seed. ### A North's Musical Chairs URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/a-norths-musical-chairs/ Last updated: 2022-10-31T12:41:13.000Z It's the final day of the regular season. Normally, this is pretty chaotic, but this year is pretty settled. Except, of course, for the A North Boys, which has [4 teams fighting for 3 spots](https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/projected-standings). (The A North girls are very settled). So let's run through this before I get another 15 emails. From yesterday's update: ![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/dfc87f_5337deb6ac68466fa8ba6dd6648c669b~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_1480,h_370,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/dfc87f_5337deb6ac68466fa8ba6dd6648c669b~mv2.png) **1\. The Top 4 are set.** Cony and Hampden will be the 1/2\. Lawrence and Mount Blue will be the 3/4\. Easy enough. **2\. Erskine is done.** The Eagles have finished their schedule. They're probably the 5 seed, but they could slip all the way to 7\. Basically, they'll either be scouting a potential first-round matchup and/or refreshing Twitter a lot. (Tip: notifications!) **3\. Medomak Gets Free Points** Medomak still isn't in with 12 wins, which has never happened under the current format (Madawaska missed the tourney at 10-8 in 2008, per [@TheStatsGuy262](https://twitter.com/TheStatsGuy262?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com)). One of the benefits of 12 wins is you tend to have a lot of help points. They're going to add a minimum of 4.94 to their Heal Points, no matter what. They have 2 wins against Camden and 1 against Morse. They play each other. They've beaten Gardiner and Lincoln Academy twice each. They play each other. No one else in this mess has any guaranteed Help Points. Which means that Medomak will pass Messalonskee via Help Points and move into the 6\. That's important. **4\. Win and You're (Probably) In** Here's the matchups for these 4 teams, along with what the Model thinks their chances are. Messalonskee @ Cony (22.8%) Medomak @ Oceanside (29.9%) Skowhegan vs. Lawrence (42.5%) Brewer vs. Mt. Blue (38.6%) No one is a favorite, but everyone controls their own destiny, except for Brewer. If Brewer wins, they're in 97.6% of the time. If everyone wins, Brewer likely stays home, unless they can manage to thread the needle of help points. Like they did last year. None of these opponents are locked into their seed, so they all have something to play for. **5\. Worst-Case** Let's say everyone loses and the help points fail. Medomak passes Messalonskee for the 6\. Brewer stays home. **6\. Mess-o?** Messalonskee was pretty much in 2 weeks ago, so much so that we weren't even listing them in [polls on Twitter](https://twitter.com/MEBBallRankings/status/1090643890112262150?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). Since then, they've lost 3 straight. Now they have to finish with a Cony team no one wants to play. Honestly, I could see them being the team that stays home. On the flip side of that, Medomak has won 6 of 7\. Brewer and Skowhegan have won 3 of 4\. I wouldn't assume any of those teams will be an easy out in the tourney. **7\. Help Wins** When you're looking at Help Points, the big thing is what I like to think of as "clean wins". Basically, if you beat a team no one else beat. In a 4-way race, that's pretty complex. But there's more clean wins than you think. Medomak has Lincoln Academy (x2), Morse, Mt. Ararat, and Gardiner. Messalonskee has Brewer and Waterville. Brewer has Cony and Skowhegan. Skowhegan has Winslow. Remember those guaranteed Medomak points? Some of them are clean. If, for example, Morse beats Camden, those are clean points. But if Camden wins, that'll help Brewer as well. Confused yet? Maybe this will help. Teams highlighted in green are clean. Teams in red help everyone (and no one). Teams that aren't highlighted help some teams and not others. ![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/dfc87f_f8ef15e16695475c96aa0c04018be9c0~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_1219,h_888,al_c,q_90,enc_auto/dfc87f_f8ef15e16695475c96aa0c04018be9c0~mv2.png) **So who's getting in?** The beauty of this is it'll be decided on the court. Everyone can essentially play their way in. Medomak has the biggest buffer. They get in 92.8% of the time with a loss. Messalonskee gets in 87% of the time and Skowhegan 66%. Brewer: 0%. The question is, can Brewer pull off another upset? And can the other 3 teams afford to assume they won't? ### This is a No Dunking Zone URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/this-is-a-no-dunking-zone/ Last updated: 2022-10-27T12:02:36.000Z In case you didn’t see this. > If you followed the tournament then you probably know why this technical foul call is controversial...but here we go again. [pic.twitter.com/EGEQmracbS](https://t.co/EGEQmracbS?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) > > — Travis Lee (@TLee\_WMTW) [February 24, 2018](https://twitter.com/TLee%5FWMTW/status/967221673794658304?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) This is a joke. It’s an embarrassment to the state. It needs to end. And it’s not just this one thing. While the refs in the tourney have been overall better than they have in the regular season, they haven’t been amazing. They’ve given away more than one game, which is inexcusable. The Boothbay boys have a legitimate gripe. If you went more than 5 or 6 games this regular season without finding one who’s outcome the refs influenced, then you made it further than me, and I saw over 60 games. This determines not only who makes the tournament, but seeding and matchups which can go a long way toward determining who hoists a Gold Ball. I saw 4 different games last year where a foul was clearly assigned to the wrong player (as in, the player assigned the foul is all by themselves, 20 feet from the play), and that mis-assigned foul was the difference in a player fouling out. It’s also a tough gig. There aren’t nearly as many refs in this state as there are aspiring refs in the stands, and those people have little-to-no concept of the rules, despite what they may think. The travel requirements are ridiculous and dangerous. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see someone get in a serious accident because they fell asleep at the wheel after working a double-header 4 hours from home. The pay isn’t amazing and people scream at them the entire time, regardless of their actual job performance. I mean, who needs that? It seems to me we have a 2-pronged problem: **1\. The parents are assholes.** OH MY GOD SHUT UP. Read a rule book. Or just [this](http://www.sdhsaa.com/Portals/0/PDFs/Officials/Basketball/MostMisunderstoodBasketballRules.pdf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com). And repeat after me, “There. Is. No. Such. Thing. As. Over. The. Back.” By all means, cheer for your kids. Loudly. But educate yourself and save your boos for when the refs really blow it. They’ll be much more effective. Because right now? You’re the boy who cried wolf. If you’re watching a game and you don’t agree with at least 80% of the calls, you’re part of the problem. And while we’re at it, your kid probably is getting the playing time they deserve. Sorry. Have them work on their defense. Coaches love kids who play defense. **2\. The refs are legitimately bad.** This dunking thing is a farce, but it’s just the easiest to pin-point part of the problem. There aren’t enough refs to go around and certainly not enough good ones. Probably 30% of the refs working varsity should only be doing JV. The different boards means that you’ll get different refs and different calls depending on where you play. Some refs are able to work in a 3-man crew, but others aren’t. We’ve all seen a game where 1 refs is making 75% of the calls. If you look closely, you can usually see the other 2 rolling their eyes. So if you actually know what you’re doing, can I strongly encourage you to become a ref? Pretty please? Some people will say, “well, the refs are bad everywhere and these are just amateurs…,” but is that really an excuse? Training needs to be better. Rules knowledge needs to be better. Communicating a call to a coach needs to be better (because then they can tell the kid what they did wrong). But most of all? We need to stop calling 2018 basketball by 1955 rules. And if the people in charge can’t make that happen, they need to find a new line of work. ### The Stax Index URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/the-stax-index/ Last updated: 2022-10-27T11:53:45.000Z It started on Twitter with [Sean Stackhouse](https://twitter.com/StaxRL?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) trying to figure out which game to go watch (this was before he got famous). I get this on so many levels. I'll often look at the schedule and try to figure out if there's a game close enough to me that it'd be worth the drive. Although, as a basketball junkie, it's always worth it to drive to a game. But, some games are more worth it than others, especially when the weather is sketchy. Naturally, this got me thinking. What's the actual best game of the day? And is it worth the drive? Stackhouse ended up driving all the way to Easton for a game against Fort Fairfield that ended up being not all that close. Still, he had a good time. But in determining if a game is worth going to, I think there's a couple of factors: **1\. Will it be close?** We all want to see a close game. A JV game that ends on a buzzer-beater is way more fun than a varsity game that's over in the first 5 minutes. The model is helpful here, as it'll give us a point spread, and while it isn't flawless, it historically correlates very well to actual results. So if the model says a team will win by 25, it'll almost never be close. If it says the game is a coin flip, it rarely is a blowout. You get the idea. **2\. Are these teams any good?** Good teams are more fun to watch than mediocre teams. We'd all rather watch the Warriors than, say, the Nets. So a matchup between two good teams that is projected to be a 10-point game is much more preferable than a matchup between two terrible teams. For the sake of simplicity, we'll just use their overall ranking, although I suppose I could make it more complicated at a later date. **3\. Are they equally matched?** While it's great to watch one of the top teams in the state do their thing, it's not nearly as compelling if the other team isn't as good. A game between #1 and #50 isn't likely to be as entertaining as a game between #49 and #50\. You'd think this would be the same as the first bullet point, but not necessarily. **4\. Buckets.** No one wants to watch a 4-2 game. No one. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to you. A 79-78 game is more entertaining than a 35-34 game. You know this already. So we'll use the combined scoring average for each team. The index is pretty simple. I did it on the back of a program during a JV game. But basically it's a weighted average of those 4 things, scaled to 100\. So a theoretical perfect score of 100 is #1 vs #2, where they are the 2 highest-scoring teams in the state and the model thinks the game is a coin flip. Of course, that's pretty rare. Call it The Game of the Century. In the girls' model (the boys' model got screwed up by the St. Dominic fiasco and I haven't had time to fix it), the current highest-ranking game is a 90.8, between GNG and Greely. The lowest-ranking game is 22.3, between Schenck and Lee Academy. 6.7% of games are higher than 80\. 16.5% are higher than 75.2\. 6.6% are higher than 70.3\. 9.5% are higher than 65.50\. 3% are higher than 60\. So anything over 80, you definitely want to go to. After that, it kind of depends on how far you have to drive. I'd guess that anything over a 70 is worth driving an hour or more. Unless you live in Portland, of course. Then you'd probably need a 95 or higher to drive outside the city limits. If you live in the County, you'd probably want to drive 2+ hours for anything over, say, 50. ### Does Size Matter? URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/does-size-matter/ Last updated: 2026-07-15T19:58:41.000Z Let's talk about school size, shall we? Ask anyone and they'll tell you that the bigger a school is, the better they are at basketball. There's some sound logic in this. The more kids you've got, the more basketball players you've got to choose from when putting together your team. Simple enough, right? But, still the dream exists of that small school that can beat the big school, the 16 seed that knocks off the 1\. There's a reason *Hoosiers* is the greatest sports movie ever made. People want to see the big upsets. They want Hickory to win the whole thing. They'll sit through blowouts in the hope of seeing a miracle. It's kind of one of the essential truths of sports. But here in Maine, we don't really allow for that. Even though our enrollment sizes are much more compressed than elsewhere. Take Indiana, for example. They have [4 classes](http://www.ihsaa.org/Portals/0/ihsaa/documents/quick%20resources/Boys%20Basketball%20Classifications%2015-17.pdf?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) (1A through 4A), with enrollment like this: 1A: 62-314 students 2A: 200-529 students 3A: 411-1094 students 4A: 738-4830 students Let's look at 3A. That's basically the range of Mountain Valley (418) to Oxford Hills (1074) in the same class. Basically they would lump our 5 classes into 3 classes (with quite a bit of overlap) and then have another one on top of that. We have 6 Class A schools that would be big enough to play in a class with a school that's the size of Portland, South Portland, Deering, Oxford Hills, and Edward Little combined. Imagine Brunswick having to play an all-star team of Portland, South Portland, Deering, Oxford Hills, and Edward Little. You can't, can you? Last season, the 4A championship featured the 31st largest school beating the 50th largest. The 3A champion 2 years ago has 700 students, basically what Hampden has. They went 54-2 over two seasons. The 1A champion has 74\. You know, 3 more than Valley. In Indiana, MDI and Portland would be in the same class. Hell, Portland and Winthrop could be in the same class. But in Maine, we put Portland in AA and MDI in B (and Winthrop in C), because MDI couldn't possibly compete with Portland. No one questions the logic in this. Yet, the smallest A school is undefeated. The second smallest B school is 12-3\. Even Portland, the #1 team in our Media Poll, is barely big enough for AA. Why are we so quick to assume that class size equates to talent? Luckily, we have cross-over games that can tell us quite a bit about how a small school would do against a big school. Going into yesterday's games, it looked like this: **W-L of Bigger School** AA v A: 19-14 (57%) A v B: 29-16 (64%) B v C: 54-33 (62%) C v D: 62-48 (56%) That's a decent win rate, but it isn't wonderful. If my computer model picked games at that right, I wouldn't show it to anyone. Let's break it down a little further: AA vs A (non-playoff): 8-2 AA vs A (all playoff): 11-12 AA schools are 8-2 against Class A schools that probably aren't going to the tournament. As they should be. But they're 11-12 against everyone else. That's not great. It's pretty mediocre. They're 3-7 against the Top 5 in A North & South, according to the Heal Points. Westbrook is 3-1 against AA. That's bad. Or, to put it more bluntly: If Class AA was in Class A, they'd be looking at a play-in game. But let's look at it differently. Let's run those games through the model, which makes adjustments for a variety of factors, including what class a school plays in. Here's those same games, broken down by who the model thinks should win, regardless of what class they're in: **W-L of Higher Ranked Teams in Cross-Class Games** AA v A: 27-6 (82%) A v B: 39-6 (87%) B v C: 66-21 (76%) C v D: 89-21 (81%) Basically, the higher ranked teams beat the lower ranked teams, no matter what class they're in. But that's a pretty small sample size and maybe it doesn't represent schools that don't play cross-class games? With that in mind, I pulled the enrollment numbers for each school and compared them to the Heal Points for an entire class. It's a little time-intensive, so I started with Class A, which looked largely representative of the other classes. ![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/dfc87f_86d4182d2d9c42649b246c76928c552e~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_259,h_691,al_c,lg_1,q_85,enc_auto/dfc87f_86d4182d2d9c42649b246c76928c552e~mv2.png) A correlation of -0.17 basically means that not only is there zero correlation between enrollment and results (i.e. results don't improve with more kids), but there's a (very) slightly negative correlation. I didn't bother doing the rest. In other words: **School size has zero impact on a team's ability to win. Zero.** The basketball reason for this is pretty simple: in high school basketball, 3 good players can win you a lot of games. One great player can win you a ton of games. You don't need the numbers you need in football. And as I like to tell people, the next Jimmy Chitwood could just as easily be born on Vinalhaven. You want another test for this? Just look at the standings for the boys and girls. A good basketball program can easily overcome some (but not all) of the disadvantages of size. So can a good coach. But both, paired with a talented group of kids? That can be everything. It's just easier in AA than it would be in D. You get more chances at it. Which brings me to my larger point: don't automatically assume a school in AA would destroy a school in C. The numbers aren't there. If you want to argue that a Class AA team would win because it's a bad matchup for a Class C school, ok. But in Indiana, schools with 1,500 students routinely beat schools with over 4,000\. That's a difference of 2,500\. Portland has 641 more students than Winthrop. That's nearly the difference between Portland and Thornton Academy. It doesn't seem to bother them. If you want to truly know if a Class C school could beat a AA school (and they totally could), there's only 1 way to know for sure: put them on the court with something to play for. ### How This Works. A Primer. (Reminder) URL: https://www.mainebasketballrankings.com/how-this-works-a-primer-reminder/ Last updated: 2026-07-15T19:58:19.000Z The other day, another fan base found the site, which led to a spike in traffic, which led to more people sharing, which led to more people assuming there’s a level of opinion and/or bias at play in the rankings. There isn’t. This happens all the time, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to run through the process of how the Power Rankings function, using that team as an example. So…let’s take a look at the Hermon Hawks. Fair warning: this is a little complicated. Hermon, of course, is the home of Dysart’s. So, maybe I am biased. Anyway, we start with the structure. At the core, the Power Rankings are built on the bones of the Heal Points. So, each team you play will have a Preliminary Index and you’ll get points for playing them. That number will go up the better that team does over the course of a season. So the game that didn’t seem all that important on Opening Night could easily be your signature win by Tourney Time. You already understand this (that’s why I used the Heal Points as a structure). But the PPR doesn’t just give you the same value for every team in a class when calculating the PI. Playing the MDI boys is not the same as playing Mattanawcook. It just isn’t. In fact, playing Mattanawcook isn’t nearly as impressive as playing George Stevens Academy or Hodgdon. Again, you already know this. But we pretend it is. So for the PPR, every class is put on a 10-point range. The worst team is at the bottom of the range. The best team is at the top. The ranges overlap by 5, so the worst Class B team is worth the same as the middle team in Class C. The best Class B team is the same as a middle-of-the-pack Class A team. Now here’s where we diverge further. For every game, instead of a binary win or loss, each team is given a Win% based on the score. To do this, we use [Bill James’ Pythagorean Expectation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean%5Fexpectation?ref=mainebasketballrankings.com) formula for baseball, which is adapted for our purposes and adjusted for where the game was played. The way the formula works, a 40-35 win is worth more than a 75-70 win, simply because in the former, points are harder to come by. There’s a big difference between being down 10 in a Class D girls game in the 30’s and being down 10 in a NBA game that’s in the 100’s. It also tapers off as the margin of victory increases and caps at 35\. Moving your victory from 5 to 10 will do a lot more than moving it from 20 to 25\. Moving it from 30 to 60 will do almost nothing. So put in the JVs for the love of God. We then take that Win% and multiply it by the opponent’s Preliminary Index. But we do it for both team. So if you get a 30% Win% against George Stevens by keeping it close-ish, that’s better than getting 0% and losing by 40\. Because it tells us more about how good you are. When Falmouth loses to Greely by 1 in overtime, that’s a lot more impressive than the team that got blown out. Again, we already “know” this, but now we quantify it. Oh, and we \*also\* apply a Pythagorean Expectation to a team’s PI calculation. That’s the bulk of how this works. Then, with that information, I can then flip it around and give a prediction of the likelihood that Team A beats Team B. In the boys’ model, when it has a confidence level of 80% or more, it has a record of 247-1\. That's 99.6%. The girls' model is even more accurate. Yeah. It’s pretty accurate. So, let’s look at the Hermon boys. ![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/dfc87f_707dce9753474596bbdf6ccf87227d56~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_451,h_538,al_c,lg_1,q_85,enc_auto/dfc87f_707dce9753474596bbdf6ccf87227d56~mv2.png) As I’m writing this (prior to running Monday’s games, which they won handily), Hermon is ranked 13th in the state. As you can see, 5 times they’ve exceeded 90%, which I think of as a nice measure of dominance. Twice they’ve failed to crack 20%, which isn’t good. You can see where they’ve left points on the board. There’s the losses to MDI, but also the win against Orono (64.3%) where they only won by 5\. But this is a tough schedule for a Class B team (25th in the state), so there’s opportunities to pick up points. This is not the profile of a dominant team, but this is a tested team. If they didn’t have the MDI losses, you could make a pretty good argument that they’re better (MDI’s schedule ranks 86th, 5th easiest in B North). That’s a lot of words to basically say a ranking comes down to a couple of things. 1) How many opportunities you have to pick up Power Ranking points. Basically, how tough is your schedule? And, 2) How well do you convert those chances? Hermon, conveniently, ranks 25th in the state in both categories. MDI is 86th in the former and 6 in converting. Sometimes, a team converts at a high clip because they haven’t played anyone. Conversely, a team might convert at a low rate because their schedule is ridiculous. So if you’re watching the schedule, that can tell you which teams might come on strong and which might fall apart down the stretch. A team might be "obviously too low" because they've been dominant but in playing an easy schedule, they haven't been able to pick up any points. It's never as simple as just the ranking, but from there, you can do quite a bit with the numbers, dig down, and find some fun stuff. And sometimes you get a team like Hermon that takes care of business against a tough, but not grueling schedule. It looks like they’ll finish the regular season right about where they are now (projected 16-2 and the 2 seed). That’s not an opinion. It’s just math.