The announcement came about 11:30 am. Then things got a little crazy.

“Hectic,” Cony football coach Robby Vachon said. “It got pretty crazy here.”

Cony, like some schools state-wide, cancelled after-school activities with Hurricane Sandy bearing down on the region. That meant no practice — Mondays are customarily spent watching film — for the playoff-bound Rams.

No. 2 Cony (7-2) will host No. 3 Brunswick (7-2) on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Alumni Field. The game was originally scheduled Friday night but a week of unstable weather forced a change.

It also forced changes in routines for a few area playoff teams, something that almost never sits well with coaches.

“It’s been kind of like this all year,” Vachon said. “We’ve learned how to deal with it, but this is out of the ordinary. When they made the announcement, I had kids coming down to see me. This is unprecedented for us.

Advertisement

“We’re not happy about it but everybody is in the same boat. We’re losing a day. Mondays are film days and we’re losing that. We’ll have to make adjustments. The day off does give the kids a rest day, but we wished we had them. It’s definitely a setback.”

One central Maine team — Gardiner — decided to practice Monday.

“It’s breezy but it’s not bad,” Gardiner coach Matt Burgess said. “We’ll do our lifting and conditioning. We’ll look at film and do some Xs and O’s.”

No. 4 Gardiner (6-3) will play at No. 1 Mt. Blue (9-0) in a PTC B semifinal game that as of Monday afternoon was still scheduled for Friday night.

Vachon said he’s unsure if the Rams — who defeated the Dragons 34-7 in a regular season game Sept. 28 — will even practice today.

“We just don’t know,” he said. “It’s tough, but what can you do?”

Advertisement

Oak Hill coach Stacen Doucette said he is taking a “wait-and-see approach” to the weekly schedule.

Like the Rams, the Raiders didn’t practice Monday.

The No. 2 Raiders (8-1) host No. 3 Dirigo (7-2) in a Campbell Conference Class C semifinal game at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

“We’re discussing our options,” he said. “We are going to look at it differently, though. This will be a good rest day for the kids. Hopefully, we can go (today) and they will come ready to work hard.”

• • •

Vachon said junior quarterback Ben Lucas, who leads the PTC A with 30 touchdown passes, will play Saturday despite suffering an ankle injury against Oxford Hills in the regular-season finale last weekend.

Advertisement

Lucas injured the left ankle when he was sacked midway through the second quarter. He returned to start the second half but was limping around in the pocket a bit.

“He’s good,” Vachon said. “He’ll definitely play against Brunswick.”

The status of wide receiver Tayler Carrier is a bit more uncertain. Carrier, who also starts at cornerback, suffered a neck injury against the Vikings and sat out the second half. He will be evaluated throughout the week.

“He’s day to day,” Vachon said. “Our trainers will keep evaluating him, and on Friday they will either give him the green light or tell us he can’t go.”

Should Carrier sit Saturday, the Rams will have to look elsewhere to replace his production, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.

“We are plenty deep at wide receiver, but it will change what we do defensively if he can’t go,” Vachon said. “He is such a good defender, especially against the run.”

Advertisement

• • •

With Hoch Field a mess and the practice field not much better, Gardiner will practice Wednesday and Thursday on the turf at Kents Hill.

“With the swamp that is Hoch Field, we wanted to make sure we were good to go,” Burgess said. “So we’ll go up to Kents Hill and get some time in up there.”

• • •

Oak Hill senior quarterback Parker Asselin has rushed for about 300 yards, and each one of them has come on the same play.

“The quarterback wedge,” Doucette said. “We have not run one option play with him. He loves the play, too.”

Advertisement

Asselin, a three-year starter, does benefit from a big offensive line, but he has the ability to squeeze through holes of all sizes.

“He sees a crack and he can get through it,” Doucette said. “Parker is a real leader for us. He’s like a coach on the field. He’s stepped up his game and is having a nice season.”

• • •

Maranacook lost to Traip in the Campbell Conference Class C semifinals for the second consecutive season.

The Black Bears were shut out in both games, losing 21-0 in 2011 and 28-0 on Saturday.

“I was pretty pleased with our season,” Maranacook coach Joe Emery said. “We had a few games we could’ve done better in, though.”

Advertisement

The Black Bears started 5-0 but then lost their final four games by a combined 125-36.

Injuries and a one-game suspension of quarterback Caleb Castonguay certainly didn’t help the Bears down the stretch.

Adam Betts and Richie Antanavich, two key players on the line, both suffered injuries and played sparingly against Traip.

“It hurt our defense,” Emery said. “But we kept playing hard. We never quit.”

Bill Stewart — 621-5640

bstewart@centralmaine.com


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.