Mountain Valley High School’s gridiron has played host to countless glories since the football program was introduced in 1989.
Chet Bulger Field at the Hosmer Field athletic complex has been the site of at least a dozen championship games and regular-season showdowns too numerous to mention. Next up is Friday night’s game against Cape Elizabeth. Hosmer is one of the best-kept facilities in the state.
That’s the glory. The grit and guts are formed less than a mile up Hancock Street, on a practice field adjacent to the high school. The Falcons go through their paces on it from mid-August usually until mid-November, ensuring that few blades of grass remain intact by Halloween weekend.
It symbolizes dedication and an overcoming spirit, two qualities that the current Mountain Valley seniors forever will ascribe to a fallen classmate.
Now, no future Falcons will wear the cobalt blue-and-silver without honoring that athlete’s memory. On Tuesday, Mountain Valley dedicated its weekday facility as the Daniel J. Garneau Practice Field.
Garneau was projected as a starting lineman this season. He would have turned 18 on Nov. 13, coincidentally the day of the Western Class B championship game.
Between his sophomore and junior years, Garneau was diagnosed with leukemia. He attended as many Mountain Valley games and practices last year as his treatment schedule would allow.
The cancer claimed Garneau’s life on April 29.
Also a baseball and basketball player, Garneau awaited induction into the National Honor Society at the time of his death.
Mountain Valley (8-0) has clinched the No. 1 seed in the regional playoffs.
Head in the game
Lisbon High School’s treatment of senior defensive captain Mike McNamara is a credit to local schools’ renewed focus on treating head injuries with caution.
McNamara suffered a concussion Oct. 2 while making a special teams tackle in Lisbon’s game against Yarmouth.
Trainers and coaches kept McNamara out of the lineup the next two weeks in Lisbon’s wins over Sacopee Valley and Traip before clearing him to return last Saturday.
The 5-foot-7, 140-pound linebacker made a team-high 14 tackles and recovered the Winthrop fumble that set up Lisbon’s winning touchdown in a 14-6 triumph.
“I was nervous until that first hit,” admitted McNamara. “The way I play, I tend to lead with my head, which probably is not the smartest thing. I had to come out of the game a couple times, but for the most part I felt pretty good.”
No. 2 Lisbon (7-1) hosts No. 7 Jay (5-3) in the Western Class C quarterfinals Saturday.
“Winning (the Winthrop game) gives us a chance to be at home for two weeks, but Jay is a tough team,” McNamara said. “We can’t look past them at all.”
Ramblers seek U-turn
Coaches harp on “peaking at the right time” and needing to play their best football entering the playoffs.
You might think that puts Winthrop coach Joel Stoneton in a tough spot. After a 6-0 start in which the Ramblers rarely were tested, they sustained back-to-back losses to Jay and Lisbon, each at least somewhat due to freak circumstances in the final three minutes of regulation.
But nobody’s pounding the panic button in Winthrop, where the Ramblers remain the No. 3 seed and will host Dirigo on Friday night.
“I’m not discouraged by this at all. Our first goal at the start of the season was to get into the playoffs, and we took care of that,” Stoneton said. “This (Lisbon game) was for second and third and a couple of home games if you’re fortunate enough to get to the second round of the playoffs, which you can’t assume in our league.”
Winthrop has reached the regional semifinals each of the last three years, including a Western C title in 2008.
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