Morning Sentinel
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Preseason experiment works
BY GARY HAWKINS Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 08/30/2008

GARDINER — Placing the Cony-Gardiner football rivalry in preseason remains a work in progress, but Friday night’s 131st meeting between the two schools at Hoch Field went off without a hitch.
First-year Gardiner athletic director Jeff Turnbull estimated the crowd “in the mid to high 3,000s,” based on ticket sales. And the concessions, he said, approached some records.
“One of the ladies commented, ‘Nobody must have eaten before they got here,’ ” Turnbull said. “There was a constant line throughout the game.”
A rally Thursday night in Gardiner helped create more enthusiasm for the game, and it helped that Gardiner high school students reported to school on Thursday as well. In Augusta, students don’t begin school until next week, but Cony athletic director Paul Vachon noted that the exceptional turnout for parents night this week might also double as a rallying point for the game.
“We had a huge crowd, so I think we’ll be able to do both at one time,” Vachon said. “Thinking back, we could have done that, but you live and learn. We’ll do something like that next year.”
Had the game been held Friday in Augusta, it might have turned into a traffic nightmare. A couple thousand runners and spectators showed up for the Laliberte Invitational cross country race, and most of them left about the time the football crowd would have shown up.
The night was certainly aided by the effort put in by both teams, each with less than a week in pads.
“You could see the intensity,” Turnbull said. “It was a wonderful night. What more could you ask for?”

• • •

There were some former coaches on hand, as well, and all had been involved in some intense games throughout the rivalry.
“Kids don’t play football for an exhibition game,” said John Burgess, who coached football at both schools. “Football players play football. If you have a helmet and pads, it’s football.”
Burgess stirred the crowd Thursday at the rally on the Gardiner waterfront and said the rivalry has not lost its luster. In fact, he presented Gardiner coach Jim Palmer with the traditional boot that goes to the winner of the annual game.
Former Cony coach Ralph Peterson pointed out that the two schools did play three preseason exhibition games in the late 90s, but none of those counted in the official series standings since the schools played one another later in those seasons.
Matt Brown, who coached the Tigers to the Class B state championship last season, was likewise impressed with the level of play this early in the season.
“I thought both coaching staffs and teams get A-plus for the night,” Brown said. “Cony’s making you defend the whole field. They’ve got some quick receivers and they pass and catch the ball.
“They’re two completely different styles of football. Gardiner’s going to mash down your throat and Cony’s going to execute on the perimeter.”
• • •

Long-time Gardiner chain gang members Bill Leavitt and Sonny Gamache were presented with championship rings before the game. Both were on the sidelines during the game. Gamache has been part of the crew for more than 50 years.

• • •

Bass Chadwick watched his younger brother Forrest take over his running back slot Friday night. Bass led the Pine Tree Conference in rushing with more than 1,100 yards last season and scored 26 touchdowns in his first year of varsity football.
He’s since graduated and will attend the University of Southern Maine, where he’ll play hockey.
Forrest rushed for 127 yards on 17 carries Friday night, and his older brother conceded, “He’s doing all right.”
The game, he said, is better played in preseason. Last year, the Tigers played six days after their Class B championship win and lost 32-14.
“Last year it was kind of meaningless to us,” Chadwick said. “I know it meant a lot to them. This way it kind of evens out.”

• • •

While many fans agreed the preseason format works best for a number of reasons, including the weather and getting a set date before the season begins, there were a few dissenters.
“I’m a traditionalist,” Monmouth Academy principal Scott Bell said. “Your last game as a Cony-Gardiner football player was your last game. It’s a tradition.”
Bell attended Hall-Dale High School, but has ties to both schools. His mother graduated from Cony, where she was a cheerleader, while his dad played football at Gardiner. Bell rarely misses a game.
“I’ve had it drummed into me at an early age,” he said of the game’s importance. “That’s what I’ve always known.”

• • •

There were plenty of scouts in the stands Friday night. Several players wearing Mt. Ararat jerseys were on the Gardiner side of the field. The Eagles host Cony next Friday in Topsham.
Lawrence coach John Hersom also watched the game closely while taking notes since his Bulldogs face Cony the following week.
Oak Hill coaches scouted Gardiner since the Tigers play the Raiders next Friday in Wales.

Gary Hawkins — 621-5638
ghawkins@centralmaine.com

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