Staff Writer
FORT FAIRFIELD – The Tigers and Eagles rallied their troops of basketball fans together for a fast-paced Class D matchup at Fort Fairfield High School last Tuesday, Jan. 15. The ball ran from red to black-clad athletes during a full 32-minute fight that kept both sides guessing at the outcome. However, a late fourth-quarter surge by senior Tiger Ryan Noyes set FFHS up for the 54-43 victory.
Staff photo/Meridith Paterson Senior Eagle Matt Enman shoots up a two-pointer in the game against Fort Fairfield.
“They had high energy for all four quarters,” said Tiger head coach Todd Alley of their Eagle opponents. “But we stepped up and responded when we needed to.”
Fort Fairfield opened the scoring with a three-pointer, but senior Eagle Matt Enman answered back with one of his three three-pointers in the game and another layup. Enman carried the Eagles and had the game-high of 19 points.
Both teams pressed in defense; Fort Fairfield running a stringent man-to-man that displayed their athletic endurance, and the Eagles tripped up the Tigers with their 1-3-1 spread past the halfcourt line.
Limestone head coach Ryan Deprey had a tough game-plan going into the Fort Fairfield scrimmage after the Tigers defeated the Eagles at the Limestone court. “We knew we had to disrupt their timing,” said Deprey. The coaching staff planned a halfcourt trap to slow up the Tiger prowl.
“Instead of passing to beat the press,” explained Alley, “we tried to dribble through it and came up against the brunt of the force.”
Still, FFHS intensity kept the Eagles fighting from behind. Tiger Austin Dufour put up 15 points in the game, and opened up scoring in the first quarter for Fort Fairfield. Noyes totaled 11 points, and Otis Edgecomb powered in another 10 for Fort Fairfield.
Deprey knew the Tiger shooting capabilities would prove difficult to overcome. “Goal number-two was to keep them off the glass and to one shot, and unfortunately we fell short of that,” said Deprey.
Alley looked to improve the team’s composure and unforced turnovers after the game, but he wasn’t disappointed in their performance overall. “They could’ve collapsed when Limestone had a run, but they hung tough.”
Tigers pounce
The Fort Fairfield boys leapt at rebounds and stormed the Stacyville court in their attempt to defeat Katahdin last Thursday, but the Cougars couldn’t be stopped, 56-49.
Tiger Matt Cresenzo slammed in a game-high 28 points for the FFHS effort.
The Fort Fairfield girls stalked Katahdin from behind in Class D basketball minutes at Stacyville last Wednesday. The Tigers couldn’t overcome the Cougars, 58-48.
Kaitlyn McLaughlin and Courtney Churchill put in 14 points each for FFHS.
