DOVER-FOXCROFT — It’s been a few years since the Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl was a defensive struggle. With each team eager to run a spread offense utilizing exceptional athletes, don’t expect a low scoring game this season.
“You know the West has got some pretty good athletes,” Eric Hathaway, a Maine Central Institute graduate and nose guard on the East, said.
The East won last year’s game, 32-13, and has won four of the last six Lobster Bowls. The West hold the overall series lead, 17-8. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Saturday at Waterhouse Field in Biddeford. The annual game raises money for Shriner’s hospitals for children.
With $4,313 raised, Gardiner’s Jake Truman was the biggest fundraiser among the players.
For the second straight season, one of the quarterbacks running the East offense comes from Cony. Mitchell Caron threw for more than 2,500 yards and 22 touchdowns last fall, and said the offense is similar to the one he ran with the Rams.
“You get to see new plays everyday. It’s a lot of fun,” Caron, who will continue his football career at Castleton (Vt.) State, said.
Joining Caron under center for the East is Winslow’s Bobby Chenard. Targets for Caron and Chenard include Cony’s Tayler Carrier, MCI’s Austin Tolman and Cody Soucier, of Madison.
The East’s backfield is led by a pair of powerful runners, Dylan Hapworth of Winslow and Joe Fitzpatrick of Cheverus.
“It’s just an honor to be playing out here with these guys for such a good cause,” Chenard said.
Among the offensive linemen providing the protection and running lanes for the East are Messalonskee’s Jake Doyon, a finalist for the Gaziano Award, Ben Cox, of Waterville, Nick Deckert, of MCI and Jake Nichols, of Nokomis.
Kyle Tervo, a defensive back for the West and two-time state champion at Oak Hill, is one of the players charged with slowing down the East offense. Joining Tervo on the defensive side of the ball for the West is defensive tackle Jeremy Mihalakis of Winthrop.
Offensively, the West features Marshwood’s Brent Gerry, who won the Fitzpatrick Trophy as the top player in the state, at running back. A trio of Oak Hill players — running back Kyle Flaherty, receiver Alex Mace and kicker/receiver Adam Merrill — also will see time for the West offense. Maranacook’s Josh Murphy is an offensive lineman for the West.
Joining Hathaway and the East defensive line is Corey Huerfano, of Waterville, and Truman, a defensive end. Skowhegan teammates Kaleb Brown and Gus Benson will play linebacker for the East along with J.T. Williams of Mt. Blue. Lawrence’s Cody Martin, whose uncle Tom Martin represented Lawrence in the 1992 Lobster Bowl, Messalonskee’s Jake Dexter and Noah Kershner, of Nokomis, are in the defensive secondary for the East.
“It’s great. There’s lots of competition and you’ve got to work really hard,” Cody Martin said.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
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.