Stacen Doucette implemented several changes in his first season as Oak Hill football coach.

He overhauled the playbooks, altered the schemes and helped turn the Raiders (3-1) into a legitimate Western C Campbell Conference playoff contender.

Next up: His homecoming, of sorts.

Doucette will coach against his friend and mentor, Dick Mynahan, on Saturday when Oak Hill plays at Lisbon (2-2). Doucette was an assistant to Mynahan beginning in 1994.

“I’m sure there will be some emotions but my focus is squarely on the Raiders,” said Doucette, a Lisbon resident. “Dick is a good friend, but my job is to get the Raiders ready to play. It’s what I’m focused on.”

Oak Hill is one of six conference teams that are either 3-1 or 4-0. The conference is as wide open as any in the state.

“Everybody has a chance,” Doucette said, “especially in the playoffs. There are any number of teams this year. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

• • •

Cony (3-1) is riding a three-game winning streak for the first time in at least 10 years.

The Rams, who’ve scored at least 40 points a game in that streak, are fourth in the Pine Tree Conference Class A Crabtree points.

“We’re clicking right now,” Cony quarterback Ben Lucas said.

Lucas leads the PTC A with 1,018 passing yards and 13 touchdowns. He’s thrown for 792 yards and 11 touchdowns during the winning streak.

“I’m feeling a lot more confident,” he said.

So, too, are the Rams, who face their biggest test of the season Friday night when they play at Brunswick (4-0).

• • •

It’s been a rough stretch for Winthrop (1-3).

The Ramblers haven’t scored since the season opener against Sacopee, losing three straight games by a combined 132-0.

“We’re frustrated with that,” Winthrop coach Joel Stoneton said. “We have a lot of work to do.”

The Ramblers (1-3) have played a tough schedule to open the season. Their three setbacks — to Traip (4-0), Lisbon (2-2) and Oak Hill (3-1) — have come against teams with a combined 9-3 mark.

By comparison, Winthrop will close the regular season with four games against teams that are a combined 6-10.

Still, Stoneton is shifting players around with the hopes of reversing the slide.

Captain Zach Nadeau has moved from middle linebacker to strong side defensive end. Nate Cook shifted over to middle linebacker.

“We’re hoping to find the right combinations and I think we’re on track,” Stoneton said. “The kids know what’s going on. We know that in the first four weeks we’ve played some of the top five contending teams. We’ve played some tough opponents but we feel we match up with some teams in the second half.”

Winthrop travels to Bethel for a game against Telstar (0-4) on Friday night.

• • •

Maranacook (4-0) kept its momentum going with a tough 30-12 win over Boothbay last Friday.

The Black Bears next face Dirigo (4-0) in a pivotal showdown between the top two teams in the North Division of the Campbell Conference.

“We’ll have to work hard all week,” Maranacook coach Joe Emery said. “Dirigo is going to be a tough test. We need to get better.”

Maranacook also needs to be more disciplined. It racked up 165 yards in penalties against Boothbay, including 95 in the first half alone.

“It was ugly,” Emery acknowledged. “We just didn’t show up to play. We didn’t tackle well and we didn’t block well. It was a 16-12 game in the fourth quarter before we finally got into a groove and executed some long drives. Either way, we need to be better.”

• • •

Messalonskee athletic director Tom Hill said he expects to name an interim head football coach this week, and that coach will be in place for Friday’s game at Edward Little High School in Auburn.

“Nothing’s official or settled. No decision has been made at this time,” Hill said on Monday afternoon. “Hopefully by (Tuesday). Definitely by this weekend’s game.”

Former Messalonskee head coach Wes Littlefield resigned on Thursday, following an incident with a player at Wednesday’s practice.

When the Eagles played at Oxford Hills on Friday night, assistant coaches Rob Rodrigue and Chapin LaBelle split the game management duties. Rodrigue ran the offense, while LaBelle ran the defense. Messalonskee won, 41-0, to improve to 4-0.

Hill said the interim head coach will come from the current staff.

“We’re not going outside the existing staff,” Hill said. “We’ll continue to use the coaches we have.”

• • •

Around the state: Brunswick’s Jared Jensen became the first player in the state to run for 1,000 yards this season when he ran for 332 yards in a win over Edward Little on Friday… Since giving up a touchdown to Sanford in the third quarter of the season opener, Cheverus has outscored opponents 161-0. The Stags host Gorham (0-4) on Saturday… There are 15 unbeaten teams heading into this weekend’s games, but by Saturday night, at least three of those teams will have a loss. There are three games this weekend that are matchups of unbeaten teams: Scarborough at Thornton, Orono at Foxcroft, and Maranacook at Dirigo.

Travis Lazarczyk contributed to this report.

Bill Stewart — 621-5640

bstewart@centralmaine.com

 

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