DOVER-FOXCROFT — For many of the players participating in the annual Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl, Saturday’s all-star game is the final contest of their football career. It’s also a moment they’ve been thinking about for some time.

“I’m at peace with the end of my football career,” said Curtis McLeod, a lineman from Maine Central Institute.

The 27th Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl will kick off at 4 p.m. Saturday at Waterhouse Field in Biddeford. The game raises money for the Shriner’s hospitals for children. Players representing almost every school in the state will spend the week practicing at Foxcroft Academy to prepare for the game.

The Class C state champion in the shot put, McLeod will attend the University of Maine, where he plans to continue competing in track and field. When the Huskies lost to Oak Hill in the Class D state championship game last November, McLeod thought his football playing days were likely over.

“It’s going to be weird. It felt weird at the state game taking (the pads) off, not knowing if I was going to play in the Lobster Bowl or not,” McLeod said.

Like McLeod, Mt. Blue’s Nate Pratt-Holt will attend UMaine and is considering joining the track and field program.

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“I’ll definitely miss it. I’ll look back on my career and enjoy it,” Pratt-Holt said.

Kyle Robinson, a linebacker from Lawrence, will study to become a diesel mechanic. Knowing this is his final game gives Robinson a bigger appreciation for football.

“It’s a great experience, once in a lifetime. It’s my last football game so everything I’ve got is going to go into this game,” Robinson said.

Skowhegan’s Sam Baker, a tight end with the East team, said he’s proud to play his final football game for a good cause.

“Make it a good time and know the reason you’re here. Being here for the kids, that’s something special,” Baker, who will attend Maine Maritime Academy, said. “I’ll be OK with it because I’ll know the last thing I did was for a good cause, and it was for the kids.”

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High temperatures and humidity are in the forecast for the rest of training camp week. With three-a-day practices scheduled, West head coach Stacen Doucette of Oak Hill said coaches and players are prepared.

“It was hot (Monday) afternoon for practice and it’s going to get hotter. The humidity is going to go up,” Doucette said.

Each practice has built-in water breaks, as well as water at every practice station. Players also are allowed a break any time they want, Doucette said.

“We make sure the kids hydrate before and after practice,” Doucette said.

Temperatures in Dover-Foxcroft are expected to be in the high 80s and low 90s the rest of the week. The forecast for Saturday in Biddeford for kickoff is temps in the low 80s.

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No team in the state had as stingy a defense as Winslow last season, so it’s no surprise that the three players representing the Black Raiders are all playing defense for the East. Nat Beckwith is at defensive tackle, Alec Clark is at linebacker and Jake Trask is a defensive back.

“It’s a little bit different (than Winslow’s defense), but it’s all the basics,” Clark said.

Winslow posted seven shutouts in going 11-0 and winning its second straight Class C state title. The Black Raiders carry a 22-game win streak — the state’s longest active streak — into the 2016 season. The three Lobster Bowl alumni are interested to see how long Winslow can continue the streak.

“They’ve got a great coaching staff, great everything. As long as everything goes the way it should, they should be pretty good,” Trask said.

Added Clark: “They’ve got a lot of young blood and they’re ready to go.”

Clark and Beckwith will be teammates at Maine Maritime Academy in the fall. Trask will attend UMaine, where he’s considering playing baseball. While all three Black Raiders are on defense for the East now, Beckwith said he’s talked to some coaches about possibly playing some center on the offensive line. It’s a position he hasn’t played in a while. Relearning the position won’t be a problem if asked, he said.

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“I played center when I was a JV, and some varsity my sophomore year. Junior and senior year, I never touched the ball,” Beckwith said.

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For Doucette, the Lobster Bowl is a final chance to coach two of his players from Oak Hill, quarterback Dalton Therrien and defensive lineman Connor Elwell. Therrien and Elwell were key members of the Oak Hill teams that won the last three Class D state titles.

“It’s a pleasure. Over the years, those two guys and myself built pretty good relationships. It’s always a pleasure coaching the kids you’ve made bonds with. We’re making some new friends, new relationships as well. A lot of nice kids here,” Doucette said.

“It was a fun, great run as high school players. We had a lot of good teammates, a good community around us. To be able to come play here with all these great players from across the state is a good experience,” Elwell said.

This is Doucette’s seventh time coaching in the Lobster Bowl, his first as head coach.

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“It humbles you as a coach. You see things, you learn from other coaches. You learn different parts of the game. Most of all, you learn there are good kids everywhere,” Doucette said. “When you face teams, your opponents, it’s normal to want to beat them. When you get to know these kids from other teams, they’re pretty genuine. They have the same values and same goals as you. They’re really good kids.”

Doucette said one of his favorite things in Lobster Bowl week is seeing how players from the small school divisions gain confidence and mesh with their teammates from the large schools.

“I’m always impressed by the kids in the Class D and C ranks. When the light goes on, that they can compete at the same level. They’re shy, usually, and when that shyness goes away and it becomes just football, it’s great to watch,” he said.

For Elwell and Therrien, this week is a chance to play on opposite sides of the ball, a rarity for high school teammates who played both ways together for so long. Therrien showed off a bruise on his side, the result of a hard hit from Elwell in practice.

“He left me a nice mark. He got me. It was a good play,” Therrien said.

Added Elwell: “It’s always fun to beat up on the quarterback.”

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Therrien said he likes Oak Hill’s chances for a fourth consecutive state championship.

“I think with coach Doucette, there’s always a chance. As long as he’s sticking around then you can’t count us out,” Therrien said.

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For Chase Malloy, of Madison, and Therrien — quarterbacks for the East and West, respectively — this week is a crash course in learning a new offense. Therrien said much of what he’s doing is what he ran at Oak Hill.

“It’s very similar, with coach Doucette as head coach. We’ve changed some things up, since we’ve got a bunch of different guys who can do a bunch of different things. We’re working (and) putting the puzzle pieces together now,” Therrien said.

For Malloy, the East offense employs some spread elements he’s used to running at Madison, but also incorporates aspects of the Wing-T used by offensive coordinator Brad Bishop at Messalonskee High School.

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“It’s going to take some time to get used to that, since I’ve only run spread in high school, but I think I’ll be fine once a get a few more reps,” Malloy said.

One thing that makes learning a new offense quickly is the high football IQ shown by all the players in an all-star game.

“You tell everybody something once and you don’t have to tell them again. They’ve got it,” Therrien said.

With talented players at every position, Malloy said fans should expect variety from the East in Saturday’s game.

“We’re loaded at every position so we’ll probably run a little bit of everything,” Malloy said. “It’s like a fifth season to me. A whole week, getting to know the offense and the final game. I just want to leave it all out there. I’m honored to be here. There’s a lot of good quarterbacks in the state and I’m going to make everything of it.”

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Some players are learning new positions in training camp while others are trying positions they haven’t played in a while. For instance, Mount View’s Tyler Ripley is punting for the East.

“I punted my junior year. I didn’t punt my senior year. I was injured so they wanted to limit what I was doing,” Ripley said.

Ripley ran for more than 1,200 yards for the Mustangs last season, helping Mount View win seven games and reach the Little Ten Conference semifinals for the first time.

“I think we set the path for them. I think they’re going to take it and excel. It’s going to be good and look back on. It feels good to have that,” Ripley said.

Maranacook’s Kyle Morand is playing defensive end for the West after playing linebacker and some interior defensive line for the Black Bears.

“It’s a new thing, but I’m picking it up. I like it a lot,” Morand said. “It’s got some things in common with D tackle and linebacker. The coaches are good. They’ve made it pretty easy to adjust.”

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For players like Gardiner’s Isaiah Swan, even playing a familiar position like defensive back has been an eye-opening experience during camp.

“It’s a challenge. You’re really good in Gardiner and you’ve got to adjust to the great players you’re playing against,” Swan said. “There’s always someone tall, someone fast.”

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While the players train at Foxcroft Academy, the cheerleaders hold training camp at Central Maine Community College in Auburn. Among the cheerleaders representing central Maine schools are: Kelsey Dubay (Lawrence), Emma Harrison (Lawrence), Chelse Macomber (Mt. Blue), Gabrielle Walsh (Mt. Blue), Megan Griffeth (Skowhegan), Julia Hamilton (Waterville), Victorea Goodine (Winslow), McKenna Basford (MCI), and Lili Albright (Mount View).

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

<URL destination=””>tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

</URL>Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM


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