Without even playing a game, Maine Central Institute’s record jumped to 5-0. Last week, Camden Hills forfeited the remainder of its season. The Windjammers were 0-3, and with a low number of players decided they could not safely continue play this season.
MCI was scheduled to host Camden Hills this week in its homecoming game. While the remaining teams on Camden’s schedule will be awarded wins, beginning with Ellsworth this past weekend, the Huskies weren’t eager to pick up a bye week, particularly on homecoming weekend.
Morning Sentinel Weekly Honor Roll
• Winslow’s Kenny Rickard ran for 101 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Madison, and also was a key defender in holding the Bulldogs to 154 yards of offense.
• Braden Monteryo of MCI caught touchdown passes of 19, 48 and 4 yards from Greg Vigue in a 61-0 win over Mattanawcook.
• Sam Baker of Skowhegan caught touchdown passes of 58 and 33 yards in a 21-14 win over Brewer.
• Mt. Blue’s Christian Whitney intercepted two passes and ran for 130 yards in a 32-6 win at Hampden.
MCI athletic director made some calls, and found his football team a game for this week. The Huskies will host the Hyde School of Bath in an exhibition game on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
“Hyde’s got some good players,” MCI coach Tom Bertrand said. “It should be a good game.”
Hyde plays football in the Evergreen League, a private school league that includes Maine schools Kents Hill and Hebron. Hyde opened its regular season last week, and with a bye week on the schedule, was happy to play MCI. One of Hyde’s running backs is Trevor Saucier, a former Mount View player. Saucier returned a kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown in the Phoenix’s opening game loss to Tilton.
“We’ll treat it as an exhibition game. We’re going to rest some kids, for sure,” Bertrand said.
The undefeated Huskies are in first place in the Little Ten Conference. Should MCI hold on to one of the top two spots in the standings, they’ll earn a bye out of the first round of the playoffs. A second week with no game in the middle of the season would not have been ideal, Bertrand said.
“I think it’s important to just compete,” Bertrand said. “I worry about kids not playing and they lose that edge.”
MCI will jump back into LTC play Oct. 10 at Medomak Valley.
• • •
Skowhegan improved to 4-0 with a 21-14 win over Brewer on Friday. While Skowhegan’s offense has been impressive all season, this game was the Indians’ best defensive effort of the season.
The Witches, who entered the game averaging 33 points per game, marched down the field and scored after Skowhegan fumbled its first snap. After that, Skowhegan’s defense tightened up and slowed Brewer’s strong running game.
“We started playing our assignments better,” Skowhegan coach Matt Friedman said. “We did a better job of getting off blocks.”
Defensive tackle Owen Boardman and middle linebacker Bradyn Fitzmaurice were pivotal in stalling the Witches attack.
Next up for Skowhegan is its second undefeated opponent in as many weeks. The Indians play at defending conference champion Brunswick, which improved to 4-0 with a 35-7 win over Messalonskee.
“They have one of the best running backs (Will Bessey) in the state, and they can also throw the ball a little bit this year,” Friedman said of Brunswick. “That will make it tougher to contain them.”
• • •
Before Saturday’s homecoming game against Madison, Winslow honored former coach and athletic director Harold “Tank” Violette, who died in August.
Black Raider captains Luke Fredette, Trenton Bouchard, Alec Clark and Jake Trask, along with head coach Mike Siviski, presented flowers to Violette’s family. Former Winslow athletic director Bob Nixon, Violette’s longtime friend, said a few words about the coaching legend.
Violette coached Winslow football from 1969 to 1984, winning state championships in 1973, 1976 and 1982. Violette also coached ice hockey at Winslow, winning six state titles.
• • •
Around the state: With Thornton Academy’s loss to Windham, Portland is the only undefeated team in Class A. The Bulldogs have a tough game this weekend against rival Cheverus… Of the 12 teams still unbeaten, the most surprising has to be Medomak Valley. A first-year varsity team, the Panthers play at Mount View on Saturday… A Little Ten Conference game with big playoff implications this weekend is Orono at Houlton. Both teams are 2-2 and fighting for a playoff spot.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
<URL destination=””>tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
</URL>Twitter: <URL destination=””>@TLazarczykMTM
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