If he had less talent around him or a more selfish approach to soccer, Kent Mohlar probably could have scored 40 goals his senior year, Maranacook coach Don Beckwith said.

As it was, surrounded by one of the most talented teams in Class B and almost being a little too unselfish sometimes, as Beckwith sees it, Mohlar still scored 23 goals for the mighty Maranacook Black Bears.

But the midfielder’s imprint on his team went far beyond those goals and the 17 he assisted on this year.

One of the key contributors to Maranacook’s back-to-back Class C state championships the last two years, Mohlar put together his best season when the Black Bears needed him most, leading them within a goal of their third consecutive state title game — this time in Class B.

For his efforts, Mohlar is the Kennebec Journal Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

Mohlar’s athleticism and skills are quickly apparent to anyone seeing him play for the first time.

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“He’s got good size and the ability to break down people,” Beckwith said. “There are games where I see him make 10 different moves that I’ll never see again. He’s an incredible athlete. He works extremely hard in practice and he works really hard on the field. He works hard without the ball, too.”

Also apparent is his intensity, which is a reflection of his coach.

“Donnie always comes with an edge, and I think I picked that up from him from day one,” Mohlar said.

Day one was some time around the third grade when Mohlar, who is classmates and teammates with Beckwith’s son, KVAC player of the year Chris Beckwith, first started playing for him.

In fact, between scholastic and club soccer, Mohlar never played soccer for anyone other than his father, Phil — now an assistant coach at Maranacook — or Beckwith.

“Dad and coach Beckwith have had the biggest influence on my soccer career, by far,” Mohlar said. “Everything I’ve learned in soccer came from them.”

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“He pretty much knows what I feel and when I’m feeling it,” Beckwith said, “and he’s never let me down too much.”

Mohlar was the point man on Maranacook’s offense and defense. His seamlessness in transitioning from the latter to the former was the key to its quick-strike offense that often left opponents dazed and confused.

“His ability to go from defense to offense quickly, not a lot of kids have that,” Beckwith said.

“He’s always preached that to me since third grade and it just became natural,” Mohlar said. “It’s huge, because whenever you can turn defense into offense quickly you can catch people off guard and score.”

Ever since moving from outside to inside mid before his junior year Mohlar has been the Black Bear opponents needed to stop to have any hope of beating Maranacook.

From his sophomore year to the second-to-last game of his career, the Black Bears went 52 straight games without a loss.

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“For four years of high school he’s probably been one of the most consistent players we’ve had,” Beckwith said. “But the hardest games bring out the best in him,”

The hardest game the Black Bears faced in Mohlar’s four-year career was his final game, the Southern B championship against Yarmouth. He scored on a penalty kick to put them up 2-1 midway through the second half before the Clippers — the defending and eventual state champions — rallied to win in double overtime.

The Black Bears didn’t add a Class B Gold Ball to their trophy case as they had hoped. But Mohlar, who plans to play for Division I Siena College next fall, can take solace in how they proved they belonged in the company of the best soccer teams in the state and how he represented Maranacook.

“My four years there will be remembered for the rest of my life,” he said. “We drew huge crowds and got the whole community behind us. It’s been a hell of a lot of fun for me playing for Maranacook and that community.”

Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638

rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @RAWmaterial33


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