A huge battle between new Class C boys’ basketball rivals and a hockey matchup featuring two of the top three teams in Class B North headline Friday’s slate of varsity sporting events in the region.
Central Aroostook makes the trip to Fort Fairfield to take on the Tigers at 7 p.m. The Panthers are 10-2 and in second place in the division, while the Tigers are 9-2 and in third, just four points back in the Heal Point standings. The teams met Jan. 8 in Mars Hill, with CA grabbing a huge lead before holding off FF down the stretch, 69-63.
The coaching matchup features a pair of former Panther standout players in Logan McLaughlin and Jason Woodworth. McLaughlin is in his fourth season at the helm of the Tigers, while Woodworth is in the midst of his second year at CAHS.
In other basketball games, Ashland makes the trip to Fort Kent for a doubleheader. The girls game starts at 5:30 p.m. and the boys are set to tip off at 7 p.m.
In addition, East Grand has a doubleheader at Wisdom, with the girls tipping off at 4 p.m., followed by the boys at 5:30 p.m. and Mattanawcook Academy travels to Houlton to take on the Shire girls at 7 p.m.
At the Forum in Presque Isle, the Wildcats host Old Town/Orono in a matchup of Class B heavyweights. Old Town/Orono is ranked No. 1 with a perfect 10-0 record, while Presque Isle stands at 6-2 and is in third place. The puck drops at 7:15 p.m.
Saturday has several different events going on. Alpine skiers meet up at Bigrock Ski Area in Mars Hill for a competition beginning at 9 a.m. In wrestling, Caribou and nine other teams will compete in a tournament in Ellsworth beginning at noon and the Carlisle swim team is back in action after a two-week layoff as they are in Brewer for a meet beginning at 1 p.m. The John Bapst hockey team heads north to take on Presque Isle at 7:15 p.m.
On the basketball court Saturday, Presque Isle hosts Foxcroft Academy in a doubleheader between Class B programs. The girls game is set for 3 p.m., followed by the boys game at 4:30 p.m. In another Class B showdown, Caribou travels to Orono. The girls tip off at 1:30 p.m. and the boys at 4:30 p.m.
Doubleheaders will also be played in Stacyville, Easton, Washburn and Stacyville. The Katahdin Cougars entertain Van Buren. The girls game is at 1 p.m. and the boys at 2:30 p.m. The Bears host Wisdom for a 4 p.m. girls game and a 5:30 boys game, while the Beavers host Central Aroostook, beginning with the girls contest at 5:30 p.m. and following with the boys matchup at 7 p.m.
Other Saturday games have the Shead girls from Eastport making the trip north to take on Fort Fairfield at 3:30 p.m. and the Houlton boys travel to Southern Aroostook for a 7 p.m. matchup.
Results of Thursday’s games are as follows:
Girls basketball
Central Aroostook 44, Fort Fairfield 39 — At Mars Hill, the Panthers erased a six-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Tigers in a Class C matchup. The victory gave Central Aroostook a sweep in the season series as the Panthers won in Fort Fairfield on Dec. 18, 44-37.
Breanna Bradbury scored 14 points, hitting all four of her fourth-quarter free throws and totaling eight points in the period, for Central Aroostook (9-4). Ashlee Harris and Katie Levesque chipped in with eight and seven points, respectively.
Sadie Edgecomb led Fort Fairfield (7-6) with 10 points.
Shead 58, East Grand 47 — At Eastport, Cassidy Wilder scored 16 points and Justine Cheney had 14 as Shead rallied from an 11-point first quarter deficit to even its record at 6-6.
Halle Sullivan had 10 points for Shead.
Jordyn Cowger’s game-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers, and Hayleigh Shay’s 18 led 0-9 East Grand of Danforth.
Southern Aroostook 69, Easton 30 — At Dyer Brook, the visiting Bears played competitively with Southern Aroostook in the first quarter, taking a 9-8 lead with two minutes to go. Southern Aroostook then went on a 9-5 run to close out the first quarter on top 17-13.
SA pushed its lead to 37-22 by halftime and held the Bears to just eight points in the entire second half.
Warrior Kassidy Mathers led all players with 21 points, while teammate Makaelyn Porter chipped in 14. Kylie Vining added eight for SA (11-1).
Isabelle Morin scored seven points to pace Easton (1-9).
Hodgdon 32, Washburn 20 — At Washburn, Sydney Howell and Sabra Scott combined for 19 points to lead Hodgdon to its sixth win in 11 games. Kylie Mooers added six points for the winners.
Kassie Farley and Alexis Carney each had eight points for 3-8 Washburn.
Boys basketball
Hodgdon 65, Washburn 43 — At Washburn, the visiting Hawks raced out to a 17-7 lead after the first quarter and never looked back.
Hodgdon (4-9) had a balanced attack with Josh Foster and Josh Palmer leading the way with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Andrew Tuttle added 12 points and Jacob Ritchie tallied 11 points.
Washburn (0-11) was led by Konner Jordan’s 12 points, while Colby Hewitt came off the bench to add eight points.
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- Fort Fairfield’s Liam McNamee gets a pass off while guarded by Fort Kent’s Josh Soucy during a Jan. 11 contest. The Tigers host Central Aroostook at 7 p.m. Friday in a game featuring two of the top three teams in the Class C North standings. (Kevin Sjoberg)
