Sports Reporter
PRESQUE ISLE — The Wildcats have been unable to avoid the injury bug this season, but second-year coach Joe Greaves said the ability of other players to step up their game is a major reason the team is still an impressive 4-2-3 and in fifth place in the latest Eastern Maine Class B Heal Point rankings.
“Injuries have been a thorn in our side the first half of the season,” Greaves said, “but guys are stepping up and carrying the load.”
Greaves said senior Jonah Stephenson and sophomore Ben Nickerson have “put the offense on their shoulders and have done a great job putting the ball in the net.”
Senior Jake Williams, who suffered an injury himself Sept. 22 and has been sidelined, has joined classmate Mike Guerrette in controlling the middle of the field, while the defensive trio of sophomores Alex Michaud and Chase Norton and senior Josh Morrow have done a great job filling in for their injured teammates.
Greaves said that it has been the defense which has had to make the most strides after some huge losses to graduation last year. Sophomore Colin McKay missed some time early on, but has been one of the key defenders along with seniors Brandon LeBlanc and Dakota Fox and junior Tyler Seeley. Junior Cody Lyford is in his first season as the starting goalkeeper and Greaves said Lyford “has been awesome in making some very big saves and keeping the team in every game.”
Greaves has welcomed back junior Ansu Morrow and senior Khyver Lowe after the two had missed significant time with injuries.
Thomas Freeman, Ryder Soucy, Aaron Kofstad and Keegan Lowe are the team’s other players. Aubrie Gross, Hannah Guerrette and Brooke Lovely are the managers and Tim McCue serves as Greaves’ assistant.
The Wildcats made it all the way to the EM championship last year, upsetting Ellsworth along the way and falling by a 1-0 score to Camden Hills in the finals. But 11 seniors were on that team, which has meant a massive rebuilding effort for the coaching staff.
“We have eight seniors on this team that need to understand that this is their team now and they need to come to each game and practice with a certain level of intensity,” Greaves said. “If that happens and we learn to work together as a team, we’ll have a successful season.
“And obviously it’s very important that we stay healthy. It’s hard to get the team to come together when we always have a couple guys out for practices and games,” he added.
