HEBRON — Other Cony High School football players certainly had gaudier statistics than Brandon St. Michel in the 2012 season. Head coach Robby Vachon said you can’t look at St. Michel’s contributions just by glancing at statistics.
“We don’t get to where we were last year without Brandon,” Vachon said. “He loves football.”
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St. Michel helped Cony go 8-3 last season, reaching the Pine Tree Conference championship game for the first time in 20 years. This week, St. Michel is at Hebron Academy, where he’s practicing as a member of the East squad for Saturday’s Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl.
The annual football game to benefit Shriner’s hospitals kicks off at 4 p.m. Saturday at Waterhouse Field in Biddeford.
In Cony’s wide open spread offense, St. Michel did a little bit of everything. St. Michel led the Rams in rushing with 524 yards and six touchdowns on 81 carries in the regular season. St. Michel also was a big part of Cony’s passing game with 23 catches for 275 yards and five touchdowns. Doing a little bit of everything earned St. Michel first team all-PTC honors.
One of the things St. Michel is most proud of is helping keep quarterback Ben Lucas upright.
“I’d do everything I could to block, make sure nobody leaked through,” St. Michel said.
Added Vachon: “Running, he was at a disadvantage, because he was starting 5 yards deep in the backfield (in Cony’s shotgun formation). He has really good vision. He’s a good finisher. I don’t think he had a bad game.”
St. Michel’s ability to make tacklers miss in the open field made him particularly valuable in Cony’s screen game. When the Rams played at eventual conference champion Lawrence in the regular season, the Bulldogs focused on stopping St. Michel from catching screen passes.
“They put a linebacker on (St. Michel) as a spy. They changed their defense,” Vachon said.
After the Lobster Bowl, St. Michel will join the Southern Maine Raging Bulls semipro team, where he’ll play football with his older brother, Kyle.
“My brother’s been on the team for four years and I always wanted to play a sport with him,” St. Michel said.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound St. Michel will play free safety with the Raging Bulls.
“I played (free safety) a little bit at Cony, but not too much,” St. Michel said. “Everyone’s a lot bigger than me and more physical.”
The Raging Bulls play at a faster speed than the high school game, St. Michel said, but practices with his new team helped prepare him for the week of Lobster Bowl training camp.
“I think it’s slowed down here for me a lot more,” St. Michel said.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
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