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BY BILL STEWART
Staff Writers 08/30/2008

AND TRAVIS LAZARCZYK

Staff Writers

Winthrop High quarterback Jordan Conant still remembers the sting of a 28-21 defeat to Boothbay in the Campbell Conference Class C championship game last season.

"Vividly," Conant said. "I remember it like it was yesterday. That feeling of disappointment, it's the worst feeling I've ever felt in the 17 years I've been around. It felt like something got ripped out of you. It stays with you. It stayed with us."

To say the Ramblers are motivated is a gross understatement. To say the Ramblers have a decent chance to get back to the conference title game is an understatement as well.

Winthrop returns eight starters from an offense that averaged almost 30 points a game last season. Conant will lead the show, along with wideouts Zach Farrington and Andrew Smithgall.

Tailback Jake Steele also returns from a left shoulder injury that sidelined him last season. Steele, Joe Morey and Skyler Whaley will see time in the backfield.

"We'll be explosive," Winthrop coach Joel Stoneton said. "We'll be fast and methodical."

At Madison, where just 31 players came out for football, including 16 freshmen, attitude is everything.

"They're really hard workers, they're doing very well," Madison coach Joe Hayden said. "They've been forced to get experience at a young age."

As has been the case in recent seasons, most Madison upperclassmen are going to have to play both ways. Senior Sam Perkins and junior Jeff Mercier were competing for the starting quarterback job in the preseason, but both will be on the field quite a bit.

Seniors Jake Linkletter and Nico Barney return to the offensive and defensive lines.

With the addition of Old Town and Calais, the Little Ten Conference has swelled to 12 teams, and that means the league will play an eight-game regular season. The four teams that don't qualify for the playoffs will play each other in week 9, ensuring that each team in the league will get at least nine games, Maine Central Institute coach Tom Bertrand said.

Bertrand's Huskies haven't reached the playoffs since 2003, but that streak could end this season. MCI doesn't have much size, but Bertrand is pleased with the team's overall speed. Running back Nick Miller, one of the top rushers in the conference last season, is back. Joining Miller in the backfield are quarterback Brandon Wilson, running backs Craig Reazor and Tyler Maloon, and fullback Shawn Bennett. Caleb Lasselle and Nick Cook will see time at wideout.

"We'll try to get as many of our athletes on the field as we can and use our speed," Bertrand said.

Andy Shorey, a co-captain with Wilson, Miller and Bennett, leads the linemen.

After 14 years as an assistant coach at Belfast, Jack Brady takes over as head coach at Mt. View. The Mustangs went 0-9 last season, their first as a varsity program, but Brady thinks his team can make great improvement this season.

"I think this team has incredible potential," Brady said.

Offensive lineman Rob Barnes is the only senior on the roster, and is a co-captain with tailback Tyler Redenour and center/linebacker John Shaw, both juniors.

The Mustangs will have a new quarterback this year with a familiar name. Sophomore Aaron Santana, the younger brother of Edwin Santana, the team's recently graduated quarterback, will take over under center. Brady hasn't changed the offense.

"We're trying to run pretty much what they ran last year," Brady said. "We're just trying to perfect everything."

Kents Hill, which will be playing on the new Harold Alfond Turf Fields this fall, is changing to a spread offense to utilize some of the team speed, coach Jim Smucker said.

"We need to get the ball to the perimeter and use our athleticism," said Smucker, whose team finished 3-5 last season.

Ganson Pollock will start at quarterback for the Huskies, who compete in the Evergreen League's North Division. The Huskies, who will try to challenge Holderness and Proctor in the division, also expect a big season from post-graduate student Mark Iritano, who will play wide receiver.

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