Staff Writer
FORT FAIRFIELD – All the Tiger seniors scored in the final regular season game for both the Washburn and Fort Fairfield boys in last Thursday night’s Class D competition. Fort Fairfield head coach Todd Alley played all his seniors for at least the whole first quarter giving them the chance to toss in their final basket as a high school athlete. The team shooting swayed the decision in the red team favor, 60-32.
Staff photo/Meridith Paterson Fort Fairfield’s Courtney Churchill powers up to the basket over Washburn’s Morgan Berube during last week’s regular season finale.
“It was a good team win for us,” said Alley. “Ryan Noyes led as usual.”
Senior Noyes put up 12 points for FFHS and grabbed 12 rebounds. Matt Cresenzo shot for another 10 points.
The Tigers now look to their preliminary match tonight. “We’ve won seven out of our last eight, so it’s just going to be a question of stepping up to the level of the competition,” said Alley.
Four-year starter and senior point guard Cody Closson generals the motion of the game, and expects to make a showing at tournament due to the team’s dedication. “We’ve really learned how to play together and put our differences aside,” said Closson. “It makes us play better together during a game.”
Thursday’s game ended the season for the Beavers, but head coach Randy Norsworthy has high expectations for next year. Nick McIntosh, who put in the game-high 15 points, will return to the squad with his brother Alex McIntosh bolstering the team.
“We’re going to have really good quickness next year,” said Norsworthy.
Fort Farfield’s senior girls sprang onto their home court last Wednesday with plans to bid farewell to their fans with a Tiger triumph over the Washburn Beavers. However, WDHS freshman Rebecca Campbell showed her shooting form to push the Beavers past the red team, 45-33.
The Tigers gameplan included a ferocious full-court press that caused the Beavers to turnover the ball. Fort Fairfield had the advantage by one point after the first quarter, 11-10.
“It was pretty much the same kind of game we played last time with Fort Fairfield,” explained Beaver head coach Ron Ericson. “They were pretty aggressive and forced a few more turnovers than we usually have.”
FFHS athlete Whitney Clark proved the prime example of the Tiger attack on the ball. In the second quarter, Clark smacked a ball out of the hands of a Beaver opponent who’d just grabbed the rebound at the Tiger basket. Clark pushed up the ball for an easy layup.
However, the Fort Fairfield pressure led to many fouls, and Washburn’s starters hit their free throw mark.
Campbell led Washburn scoring with two three-pointers and a total of 17 points. However, she had her own foul trouble in the third quarter, and had to take the bench. Coach Ericson played more reserve players than he normally would in a game.
“I was happy with how the bench played, but they need to improve on free throws,” noted Ericson.
Clark shot for the Fort Fairfield team-high of 13 points.
Tiger head coach Larry Gardner looks for the floor-shooting percentage to improve before their preliminary match. “We had a good first quarter, but we left Campbell open too much. They went to a two-three zone in the third quarter and that gave us some trouble. Clark was getting looks at the basket, but they wouldn’t go in,” said Gardner.
The Fort Fairfield boys blasted past Hodgdon on Tuesday, Feb. 5 to more than double the visiting team’s score, 75-33.
Doug Sharpe led the Tiger scorers with two three-pointers toward his 13 points. Noyes and Otis Edgecomb planted their feet to put in 11 each. Andrew Forsman tossed in 10 more points for the red team.
Limestone works for tourney position
The scoreboard showed in the Eagle boys’ favor by one with the remaining seconds of the fourth ticking off the clock in last Thursday’s game against Madawaska. However, a last-ditch three-point effort by Madawaska’s Michael Cannan sealed the score for the Owls, 44-42.
Limestone’s Caleb Foster pitched up 13 points for the Eagles. Matt Enman popped in 10 more in the final regular season game. Limestone will play at Woodland today in their attempt to secure a tournament game.
Hornets outpace Eagles
It was anyone’s game last Friday at Ashland as the Hornet girls met against the Limestone Eagles. Both teams had a goal of winning their last regular season game and played to a tie at the end of the third quarter, 30-30. However, Ashland’s home fervor led the Hornets to their 13th win, 45-39.
Senior Melanie Allen sailed in the high Eagle score with 18 points. Stacy Bernier contributed 13 points for Limestone.
Staff photo/Meridith Paterson Tiger Matt Cresenzo (left) watches his layup go in as Beaver Brian Campbell and Otis Edgecomb look on. The Tigers ended their senior night with a victory over Washburn.
