DOVER-FOXCROFT — Football players participating in the Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl have a new training camp home, and while the players and coaches have only been at Foxcroft Academy for a few days, they agree it’s a good fit.

“They’ve rolled out the red carpet here. It’s been nice,” said Mike Haley, the Lobster Bowl’s athletic director.

The 26th annual Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl will be played on Saturday at Waterhouse Field in Biddeford. The game features the top recently graduated high school senior football players in the state, as well as raises money for Shriner’s Hospitals for children. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

For the past several years, training camp was held at Hebron Academy. When the cost at Hebron began to rise, the game’s directors began looking for a new home. Dan White, the Chief Financial Officer at Foxcroft Academy and also the school’s head football coach, suggested his school’s campus.

Foxcroft Academy has two practice fields, and the dorms are equipped with Wi-Fi and air conditioning, an amenity unavailable in the dorms at Hebron Academy.

“The sleeping conditions are a lot better from what I heard my brother (Tom Cox) went through at Hebron,” Waterville’s Ben Cox, an offensive lineman on the East squad, said.

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“The dorms are awesome,” Gardiner’s Jake Truman added.

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Cox is one of a few players from central Maine who is following in an older brother’s footsteps by playing in the Lobster Bowl. Cox’s brother, Tom, played for the East in 2013. Ben said his brother’s advice for the week was simple.

“Just work hard. Basically, be a sponge and absorb everything the coaches tell us. It’s going good so far,” Cox said.

Jake Dexter’s brother Sam played for the East in 2012.

“He just told me how it was, a little bit. He just told me some stories,” said Jake Dexter, of Messalonskee.

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Cony standouts Mitchell Caron and Tayler Carrier were offered advice from their former offensive coordinator, B.L. Lippert, who was promoted to head coach at Cony last month. Lippert played for the East in 2000 and was an assistant coach last year.

“(Lippert) was actually here this morning,” Caron said on Tuesday. “He said ‘Remember this forever, work hard and have fun.'”

Winthrop’s Jeremy Mihalakis spoke with his former coach, Joel Stoneton, who played for the West in 1993 and was the West head coach in 2012.

“Even before I knew I was going (Stoneton) talked to me about the Lobster Bowl. I’d gotten picked for (Campbell Conference) all-star team, and I was the only (Winthrop player) picked, so he had a pretty good idea that I was going to be the one to go into the Lobster Bowl. He pretty much just said have fun,” Mihalakis said.

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As of late Tuesday morning, the teams had practiced enough so that players on both sides of the ball were starting to develop a feel for the new plays and schemes.

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It helps that in an all-star game every player is quick to adapt.

“Practice-wise, you normally don’t get a look team that’s as good or better than you. Practice is three times harder just because everybody is better,” Waterville defensive lineman Corey Huerfano said.

Added Cony wide receiver Tayler Carrier: “It’s fun to play against kids who want it just as much as you do. A lot of high school teams have two or three kids that are standouts. Now, everybody’s a standout.”

Some players are playing positions that are either new, or they haven’t played for a while. For example, Noah Kershner of Nokomis is playing in the East defensive secondary after playing linebacker for the Warriors. Kershner played some defensive back as a freshman and sophomore at Nokomis, he said.

“You’re set back a little deeper, and you’re more pass than you are run. It just means you get more yards to gain speed and hit someone,” Kershner said.

East quarterbacks Caron and Bobby Chenard of Winslow are each learning the team’s spread offense. While it’s similar to the offense Caron ran at Cony, Chenard’s Winslow offense was more run-heavy. When asked to throw, Chenard was successful, including three touchdowns on nine passes in the Eastern Class C championship game last November.

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“It’s different, but it’s coming along pretty well. We’re getting to learn it pretty fast, and it’s looking good,” Chenard said.

“It’s a lot of the same,” Caron said of the East offense. “We have very good running backs here, so we’re running the ball more.”

One of the highlights of the Lobster Bowl each year is watching former rivals become friends. Madison’s Cody Soucier said he’s enjoyed getting to know Belfast’s Steven Davis. In a wild 82-60 win at Madison in the regular season, Davis scored seven touchdowns against Madison. In a 20-12 win over Madison in the playoffs, Davis ran for 346 yards.

“He’s one of my roommates. We’ve actually gotten to know each other pretty well. It was a long season with him,” Soucier said. “It’s pretty exciting to be with guys we played against, and guys we didn’t know.”

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Maine Central Institute hasn’t had more than one representative in a Lobster Bowl since 2001, when it sent three players to the game. Like that season, MCI is coming off a regional championship and once again has three players on the East roster.

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Wide receiver Austin Tolman, nose guard Eric Hathaway and offensive lineman Nick Deckert are playing for the East after helping MCI win the Little Ten Conference title last fall.

“It’s unusual for MCI to get so many kids. After the success we had, it’s nice to have a few guys here, and play together for one more week,” Deckert said.

Added Tolman: “To come from a small town like Pittsfield and to be able to represent Class D East in the biggest game high school football in Maine has to offer, it’s a big honor.”

Hathaway said he’s honored to not just represent MCI, but also Class D East and the LTC.

“We have Stewart (Bucksport’s Matt Stewart) and (Jake) Drew from Houlton and a couple guys from Stearns. It’s pretty cool that we’ve got a few guys from the smaller class that can play. It’s cool that we’re doing it for such a good cause,” Hathaway said. “It kind of amps you up a little bit. I get goosebumps every time I make a play, because you’re going up against the best.”

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Two-time defending Class D state champion Oak Hill has four players in this year’s Lobster Bowl, a rarity for any school, especially one from the smaller divisions.

“We won those state championships. This just proves that there’s going to be a legacy to uphold,” said Adam Merrill, who will kick and play wide receiver for the West.

Merrill, a late addition to the West roster, is joined by his Oak Hill teammates Kyle Tervo (defensive back), Alex Mace (receiver) and Kyle Flaherty (running back).

“We’ve all been dreaming about coming here for so long, and to have four of us get here is unreal,” Tervo said.

“I think it brings a lot of pride to our community, as well,” Flaherty said.

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For the first time, Nokomis had two players selected to the Lobster Bowl — Kershner and offensive lineman Jake Nichols. The two Warriors get to spend the week with their Nokomis coach Matt O’Connell, an assistant coach with the East.

“It’s really special to be in the Lobster Bowl and be here with him one more week coaching us,” Kershner said.

Added Nichols: “I’m loving it. What we’re playing for, it’s a good cause. It’s good stuff.”

Nichols’ position coach this week is O’Connell’s brother, Dan O’Connell, the head coach at Bangor’s John Bapst High School.

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While the football players train at Foxcroft Academy, the cheerleaders train this week at Central Maine Community College in Auburn.

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Representing central Maine schools on the East cheering squad are Emily Walsh of Mt. Blue, Paige Castonguay and Mikaela Wyman of Lawrence, Molly Dow of Gardiner, Mikayla Pelkey of Nokomis, Toni Candelmo of Madison, and Leeann Robertson of MCI.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM


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