Gray-New Gloucester fall sports preview
Sport: Football
Coach: Chris Nelson
Last year’s record:1-8
2008 season: The Patriots had a tough start to the 2008 season as they fell to defending Class B West champion Mountain Valley 68-8.
Key players: Taylor Valente, Nick Audet, Trevor McCutcheon, Lenny Sherwood, Heath Martell and Zeth Horr
Key games this season: vs. York (Sept. 19) and at Cape Elizabeth (Oct. 3)
Season outlook: Despite the loss to Mountain Valley in the opener, Nelson believes that the Patriots have the talent to improve on last year’s record and sneak up on some teams this season. “If we can be tough on the offensive line, we have a good chance of winning some games,” Nelson said.
Sport: Golf
Coach: Aaron Talon (7th year)
Last year’s record: 7-3
2008 season (as of Sept. 8): 1-0, beat Sacopee Valley 13-0 on Sept. 4
Key golfers: Orrin Googins (senior), Ben Farynaz (senior), Owen Chaplin (senior) and Cody Edmiston (junior)
Key matches this season: Lake Region and St. Dom’s
Season outlook: Talon said he thinks the Patriots are poised for a good year on the golf course, especially since the team has a great deal of experience. “Everyone returns from last year’s team that qualified for the Class A state tournament,” Talon said. “With hard work, the team believes that it can again qualify and compete at the state level.”
Sport: Boys Soccer
Coach: Mike Dehetre (2nd year)
Last year’s record: 3-11
Key players: Kyle Orlando, Hans Nielsen and Evan Kenney
Key games this season: According to Dehetre, the Patriots face a tough Western B Maine schedule this season, with games against teams like Cape Elizabeth, Greely and North Yarmouth Academy, to name a few.
Season outlook: Dehetre said that he is looking for his team to use their heads on the field this season, and that will lead to success. “We need to play smart and minimize mistakes and capitalize on scoring opportunities,” he said. “Hopefully, we will take a big step forward as the season progresses.”
Sport: Girls Soccer
Coach: Dave Miliner
Last year’s record: 2-10-2
Key players: Senior captains: Britt Adell-midfield, Kelsey Redmond- striker and Rachel Clement-back
Juniors: Laura Getchell-back and Morgan Wilson-midfield
Sophomore: Alicia Valente-striker
Season outlook: Miliner is hoping that the Patriots get out of the gate fast and use that to springboard to a successful season. “Some early success would set the tone for the season and be a nice reward for the effort the girls have put in this pre-season,” he said. “So we won’t be looking past the first week when we host both St. Dom’s on the 9th and Cape on the 12th.”
Miliner said he believes the Patriots have a core of experienced players that can lead the team to a playoff berth. “We have a solid group of returning varsity players as well as some talented younger players who can step right in and contribute,” he said. “Our goal is to reach the playoffs and to be playing good soccer when we get there. The girls have shown a willingness to put the work into everything the other coaches and I have thrown their way to achieve that.”
Sport: Field Hockey
Coach: Debra Downing
Last year’s record: 1-13
Key players: Amanda Redmond, Michaela Sangillo and Katie Hotham
Key games this season: Sept. 15 at Cape Elizabeth, Oct. 11 at Lake Region and Oct. 15 vs. Greely
Season outlook: Downing said the Patriots begin the 2008 season in a rebuilding mode, but she is optimistic that the team will be able to mesh. We lost seven starters from last year’s line-up,” she said. “So, our focus for the first few games will be learning how to play with a very different field. But I do not see this as a problem – we have a terrific group of players, many of whom are perfectly capable of playing several different positions.”
Sport: Cross Country
Coach: Adam Zukowski
Key runners: Boys: Ben Schaeffer, Jeremy McGrath-Holmquist, Dylan Fowler, Jackson Marshall and Brandon Correia
Girls: Amanda Cormier, Rachel Edson and Elizabeth Pflugradt
Key games this season: WMC league meet, regional meet
Season outlook: Zukowski said that with such a young team, the future is bright for the Patriots boys cross country team. “The boys will be young,” he said. “We currently have nine freshman on the roster. They are all exited about running and will all improve as the year goes on. Our two returning letter winners from a year ago, Ben (Schaeffer ) and Jackson (Marshall), are both looking great so far this year.”
On the girls side, Zukowski said he will lean on his experienced runners to help lead the program. We have two returnees, Amanda (Cormier) and Rachel (Edson), who will look to make an impact this season,” Zukowski said. “Also, our new freshman, Elizabeth (Pflugradt), has been running very well and is a great addition to our program.”
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