At the end of last Friday’s Class B boys state final, the Bangor Auditorium’s scoreboard read Maranacook 56, Cape Elizabeth 46, but that doesn’t tell the whole story of Cape’s season.
Yes, the Capers came up short in their quest to capture Cape’s first state championship since they beat Ellsworth in 1988, but as Coach Jim Ray said after the game, while winning the Gold Ball would have been sweet, nothing will tarnish the memory of this season, which saw the Capers win 16 straight games, going 19-3 and capturing their first Western regional title in 20 years.
“It’s been a great ride,” Ray said.
As the closing seconds wound down Friday night, the disappointment on the Cape bench was evident as the players struggled to hide their emotions, with some players hiding their heads in their jerseys as they fought back tears. But Ray remained positive, making his way down the bench, pausing to shake each Cape player’s hand and to thank them for their work during what he felt was a great season. “You’ve got to love the guys’ effort,” Ray said. “I love them for that. They’ve worked as hard as any team I’ve ever had, you can’t take that away from them.”
And all that hard work has created quite a close-knit team of guys who genuinely enjoy being around one another. “They are so much fun and they all have fun together,” Ray said.
‘They should be proud’
On Friday night, after Cape captains Alex Bowe, Ian Place and Tommy Ray raised the runner-up plaque in front of the hundreds of Cape fans who made the long road trip north to support the team, Ray told his team in the locker room that there is no shame in second place, and the Capers shouldn’t let the results of the last game color their memories of this special season. “I tried to reinforce the fact that they have nothing to hang their heads about,” Ray said. “I felt they should be proud about how they represented their program, their school and their community.”
Ray said that, despite the final score, his kids played their hearts out in Bangor, and even fans from the other side noticed. After Friday night’s game, Ray said that a fan from Maranacook made a point to come up to him and shake his hand and pass on a compliment to the Capers. “He said, ‘Make sure you tell your guys how well they did, they were fun to watch,'” Ray said.
‘We really epitomized the concept of team’
Looking back on the season, Ray said that he believed that his team won, not on talent, but on effort and teamwork. “Night in and night out, we were not, despite what some people might think, the most talented team. But we played very well together,” Ray said. “Really, there was a core eight guys, and those core eight guys really worked well together throughout the season. We really epitomized the concept of team by the way we played together.”
And it wasn’t just one star driving Cape. Ray said that on any given night, a different player had the potential to step up and lead the team. “We were (getting contributions) from different guys,” Ray said. “None of them were afraid to go in.”
One turning point of the season came on Jan. 11 when undefeated and top-ranked Yarmouth came to Cape to take on the 7-2 Capers. Ray said that his brother, Creed, who works as the public address announcer for Cape’s home games, gave his team a subtle reminder about how strong their opponent was during the pregame introductions. Ray remembers Creed saying ‘Now starting for the undefeated Yarmouth Clippers,’ as he introduced the visitors, stressing the Clippers’ record.
Despite the reminder, Cape didn’t start the game out strong. The Clippers opened the game with an 11-0 run, forcing Ray to call a time out to calm his team down. Ray said he told his team to relax and remember what they worked on in practice.
It worked, the Capers settled down, and closed the gap to 15-8 by the end of the quarter and outscored Yarmouth 43-19 in the second half to win 71-50.
Ray said that win gave the Capers a huge boost. “The kids fought back,” he said. “And that gave them confidence.”
Following the Yarmouth game, Cape had another struggle against Traip Academy, which came into Cape on Jan. 25 undefeated in Class C and gave the Capers everything they could handle.
The Rangers moved out to a 27-16 lead at the half, and held a 40-29 lead going into the fourth quarter before the Capers came roaring back. Led by Andrew Dickey, Woody Tabery and Bowe, the Capers outscored Traip 27-6 in the final quarter to win 56-46.
Ray said he was proud of the way his team responded against the Rangers. “That was probably our worst three quarters of basketball this season,” he said. “And we got to the fourth period and the guys found a way, they showed a tremendous amount of heart in that game.”
It’s not just the starters
Looking at his entire roster, Ray pointed out that every kid on the team played a role in getting the Capers to the finals. While the starters get most of the attention, Ray sung the praises of the “White Team,” a group of players who don’t get many minutes in the games, but play a vital role in helping the team prepare.
Ray explains that in practice, he splits the team into two squads, the Red Team, which is primarily made up of starters, and the White Team, who help simulate an upcoming opponent so the team can prepare for the upcoming game.
Ray said players like sophomore Will Pierce, junior Sean Anderson, freshman Cam Brown, junior Andrew Guay, sophomore Conor Moloney and junior Joe Atkins, all spent time on the White Team this season and worked hard to help Cape win, and in doing so, gained valuable experience for the future.
“These guys deserve so much credit,” Ray said. “Most of those guys were swing players, they got most of their minutes with the JV, but they practiced with the varsity, but they never complain, I think they understand their turn is coming.”
Ray also cited junior forward Conor Lawler, who did see varsity minutes this season, calling him “a great role player.”
Cape’s future is bright
With this season now just a memory, Ray admits that he is having trouble getting used to the fact that there are no more games to get ready for. “I don’t have a practice to prepare for,” he joked. “I don’t know what to do with myself.”
But all joking aside, Ray said he feels that Cape will be able to build on its success this season and use that experience to build a program that will be a consistent state championship contender.
The Capers will only be losing four seniors this year, Ray, Tabery, Shaine Burks and Place, and the roster is full of returning players like Dickey, who was named the most valuable player of the Class B Western tournament and Bowe, who led Cape with 15 points in the Class B final.
With that solid core returning, Ray said he believes Cape’s championship drought will soon be a memory. “We’ve got a solid program,” he said. “I think our future’s bright.”
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