The Gardiner football team failed to reach the Pine Tree Conference Class B final for the first time in three years after it lost to Mt. Blue in the semifinals last Friday.
The loss capped a whirlwind season for the Tigers (7-3), who went through a few coaching changes before a single snap this fall.
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Rick Lovely was named Gardiner coach in early June, but he resigned later that month citing health concerns. The job ultimately went to Burgess, who was hired in July.
Burgess said Monday he learned a lot this fall.
“It’s the first time I had to know what was happening on both sides of the ball,” said Burgess, who previously coached at Bridgton Academy. “I always coached one side or the other before. We used to switch all the time. But I had to focus on both sides of the ball here.”
Burgess made it a point to diversify the Tigers offense this season, and the numbers suggest he did just that.
Alonzo Connor rushed for more than 1,400 yards and 27 touchdowns this season in just nine games. He rushed for 2,032 yards and 32 scores last season.
Quarterback Dennis Meehan threw for 1,055 yards and 11 touchdowns this season to lead a revitalized Gardiner passing game.
“I was proud of what we accomplished this season,” Burgess said. “I really appreciated all the hard work the kids put in. We’re ready to put in the offseason plan. We’ll be back.”
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Kents Hill (3-4) beat Holderness Academy 35-34 last Saturday with two touchdowns in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter.
Coach Steve Gritti said it was his biggest victory in his three seasons at Kents Hill.
“Hebron is always our biggest game, and we’ve never lost to them since I’ve been here, but this was the biggest because of the level Holderness is at.”
Holderness is a perennial playoff contender in the Evergreen League.
“It was a huge win,” Gritti added.
Postgraduate quarterback Bret Kidik threw for 485 yards to give him more than 2,000 this season. Wide receiver O’Shea Bell has 1,000 receiving yards and three kickoff return touchdowns.
“We have some really good players,” Gritti said. “Every year we have such turnover, but we have some good ones this year.”
The Huskies host rival Hebron in the regular season finale at 1 p.m. Saturday.
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Shaun Carroll is healthy, or at least healthier, and it couldn’t come at a better time for the Lawrence football team.
The Lawrence senior running back rushed for a game-high 192 yards and a touchdown in a Pine Tree Conference Class A semifinal victory over Messalonskee last Friday.
Next up for Carroll — who’s been slowed by a groin injury — and the top-seeded Bulldogs (10-0) is a showdown with No. 2 Bangor (8-2) in the conference championship game at 7 p.m. Friday at Keyes Field.
There’s a good chance Carroll will see time at cornerback for the first time in about a month.
“He seems a lot better,” said Lawrence coach John Hersom. “He’s looking stronger each day. He continues to do his treatment, but he is showing that he is getting a lot stronger. We’re hoping he doesn’t tweak the injury this week. He hasn’t had any reoccurrence of the injury in two weeks now. He seems to be over the hump.”
And that could mean more plays for one of the team’s top playmakers.
“We could possibly keep him in longer, maybe even keep him in defense,” Hersom said. “He hasn’t played defense for quite some time. We’re working him in to have a bit more depth at that spot. He’s a senior leader and we want to give him opportunities to make plays.”
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Mt. Blue and Leavitt can run and throw the football. Both teams also spread an array of weapons across the field, making them tough to prepare for and even tougher to defend.
The teams also share something else as they head into the PTC B championship game: Both rarely were tested this fall.
No. 1 Leavitt (10-0) host No. 2 Mt. Blue (9-1) at 7 p.m. Friday in Turner.
“They’ve had one close game,” Mt. Blue coach Gary Parlin said.
And it was Parlin’s team that gave the Hornets a close game. On Oct. 7 in Farmington, Leavitt beat Mt. Blue 22-17. It was the only game either team played this season that was decided by fewer than 17 points.
“We both have good depth and we know what the other will do,” Parlin said. “Neither team is going to change a lot. It’s going to come down to execution. The first time we played them we had three turnovers. If we do that again w
Bill Stewart — 621-5640
bstewart@centralmaine.com
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