Nearly 11 months since he resigned as Messalonskee football coach, Wes Littlefield has found a home at, well, his old home.

Littlefield is back in the game as an assistant to Mike Siviski at Winslow.

“Things are going well,” Littlefield said. “It’s good to be back around the game. It’s such a big part of my life.”

Littlefield resigned Sept. 20, 2012 after an incident with a player at practice. The Oakland Police Department charged Littlefield with assault after he allegedly made contact with his hand to a player’s helmet.

However, District Attorney Alan Kelley decided against filing charges, citing a lack of evidence.

When asked if he had learned anything from the ordeal, Littlefield said, “There’s always something to be learned. I’m just going to continue to do what I’ve been doing for so long. I love the kids.”

Littlefield, who was on Siviski’s staff for 11 years prior to becoming coach at Messalonskee, said he will work with the offense and defense this season. He will watch the games from the press box and provide an “extra set of eyes” on the field.

“Wes will be the backfield coach,” Siviski said. “He will coach the outside sections of our defense, the defensive ends. He’ll work on the edge.”

Prior to the current hands-off period, Winslow held what Siviski called a “little mini camp.” He added about 30 kids came out each night.

“It’s just great to be back,” said Littlefield, a Winslow High School graduate. “It’s great to go back home and see everybody. This is where I graduated from. It’s always interesting to walk the hallways where you went to school. I’m looking forward to the season.”

* * *

Winthrop/Monmouth coach Joel Stoneton said his summer workout sessions drew more than 50 players, a large increase from last year at this time.

“We had 33, maybe 34 last summer,” he said. “We’ll be in the high 50s when everything is said and done this year. We had great showings at our summer workout sessions.”

Winthrop/Monmouth will compete in the new Western D. Stoneton said he expects at least 20 Monmouth players to stick with the varsity team.

“The kids coming from Monmouth are varsity football players,” Stoneton said. “They’ve developed through a system. We are three deep at every position, which is great. Things are changing for us. We can now take an injury in a game and be able to move on. It’s early, but things look OK.”

* * *

Cony participated in an number of 7-on-7 tournaments once again this summer.

On July 12, the Rams competed at Bonny Eagle for a playday that feature 16 teams. They then traveled to Turner that evening for the opener of Leavitt’s 7-on-7 league.

Cony coach Robby Vachon, whose team reached the Pine Tree Conference Class A final last season, said they played about 14 games that day.

“We tried to guess how many passes (quarterback) Ben (Lucas) threw that day,” Vachon said. “We thought it was around 500. He’s thrown a ton this summer.”

Cony also participated in a 7-on-7 league at the University of Maine at the end of the July.

“We’ve been busy,” Vachon added. “We’ve had a busy summer. It’s been tough competing with American Legion, summer basketball and summer hockey, but we’ve had a good commitment to football.”

Cony graduated standout receiver Chandler Shostak, but returns plenty of capable players to fill the void. Tayler Carrier, Jonathan Saban and Anthony Brunelle are poised for breakout seasons.

John Bennett, Charlie Hallak and Reid Shostak will vie for roles in the backfield.

* * *

Few teams in the state face a more daunting schedule this fall than Gardiner.

Six of its eight opponents made the playoffs last season. The Tigers will play two teams that played in state championship games last season — Lawrence (Class A) and Mt. Blue (Class B).

Gardiner will also play Cony, Brunswick, Hampden and Skowhegan.

Gardiner opponents went a combined 52-23 last season.

Bill Stewart — 621-5640

bstewart@centralmaine.com