DIXFIELD – The Rev. Richard McInnis can’t say for sure that the Dirigo High School girls’ basketball team saved his life.
Three Februarys ago, however, a little long-distance dose of the Cougars’ mystique gave the retired Roman Catholic priest some needed medicine that doctors couldn’t prescribe and nurses couldn’t deliver.
McInnis was stuck in a hospital. Miles away, his great-niece, Alexa Kaubris, and the Cougars were on their way to another tournament triumph at Augusta Civic Center.
“I was all stretched out on the bed, tubes going in and out of me,” McInnis said. “I had to fight for a TV. It was really the first time I ever watched a game.”
However, now McInnis wouldn’t miss one for the world. There would be worried glances and silent prayers on the court if players didn’t see his warm smile in the crowd.
The clergyman has familiarized himself with a different sort of religious experience: Life in a basketball-crazy community that’s admittedly spoiled rotten by winning. He’s captivated by every home game. He takes road trips to coastal communities he couldn’t pick out on a map before and nibbles his nails with every fourth-quarter free throw at playoff time.
Friday evening, McInnis will follow his passion to Bangor Auditorium, where the Cougars lace up their sneakers in the Class C girls’ championship game for the 11th consecutive year. For the third straight final, Dirigo meets Dexter.
Al Smith will be there, too. Smith, a spry septuagenarian, is also a great-uncle to Kaubris and related to just everybody who’s anybody in Dirigo hoop lore. His sister-in-law, Sally Clark, coached the girls’ program to back-to-back Class C crowns in the 1970s.
Two rows down and three seats over, or thereabouts, will be Eric Snowman. He’s like every player’s big brother, shy and reserved until you ask about his all-time favorite Cougar. Then he’ll rattle off a roster of names longer than the grocery list for a team spaghetti dinner.
Dirigo calls them Super Fans. Drawn from various checkpoints on the highway of life, they’re united by a love of the Dixfield, Peru, Canton and Carthage communities and an admiration for what a Little Basketball Program That Could has accomplished.
“I like their offense,” Snowman said. “I like the way they always win.”
Cougars keep them going
McInnis never paid much attention to high school basketball until fate and health turned the priest into a captive audience that winter night. The Kaubris family gave him a connection.
So did coach Gavin Kane, whose family hails from nearby Wilton. McInnis, who wasn’t ordained until age 48, spent five years shepherding a church in that town. Later, he helped officiate at Kane’s wedding.
During Alexa’s sophomore year, McInnis started accompanying her parents, Matt and Pam, to games. He was hooked.
“It’s given me a whole new life,” McInnis said. “I’ve been retired 10 years. I go to church once in a while, but that’s about it.”
Smith says he has followed high school sports in Northern Oxford County since 1947. That’s when his playing career tipped off at Mexico High School.
He loved watching his own children play. He got a kick out of nephew Matt’s role on the great Rumford High teams of the 1970s. He marveled at Andy Bedard’s raw talent when Matt Kaubris coached Mountain Valley to a Class B title in 1994.
The Cougars give him as much joy as any memory along that road.
“Yes, I’m a super fan, and a big Gavin Kane fan,” he said. “The thing with Dirigo is the way they play defense. Gavin’s a great coach. I’ve seen a lot of coaches, and I don’t know any better.”
Unforgettable games
Snowman’s favorite current Dirigo player is junior Michelle Holmquist. She’s the last name in his own personal Chain of Fame that includes Gretchen Curtis, Rebecca Fletcher, Mary Gill, Tara Gagnon and Niki Dominiczak.
Smith still raves about Fletcher’s final game, a wild win over Calais in a state final.
“It’s like Babe Ruth hitting his 60th home run. A million people say they were there to see it, right? But I was there,” said Smith, “and it’s the closest thing to a perfect game I’ve ever seen from a basketball player.”
McInnis doesn’t get as involved in the history or histrionics. He’s simply thrilled to have a social event to occupy those endless winter nights.
“I’m not much of a hooter or hollerer,” McInnis said. “I always laugh at the way other people holler at those poor referees.”
But don’t you dare think he goes unnoticed.
This week, McInnis presented Alexa Kaubris and another senior starter, Brooke Weston, with copies of a newspaper photo. They were in it together, playing defense, making another playoff opponent’s life miserable.
“Hopefully, it’s something they’ll look back on and remember,” McInnis said. “I enjoy it so much. The only outlet I have is those girls. There’s nothing else that I really do.”
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