Two of the more successful football coaches in the state will match wits — and game plans — to help kick off Saturday’s Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl 7-on-7 tournament at Lewiston High School.
Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway and Marshwood coach Alex Rotsko will lead their respective rosters against each other in one of the first four games of the tournament’s pool play, which are scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Hathaway’s Team Green and Rotsko’s Team Purple are both in Pool A, along with Oxford Hills coach Mark Soehren’s Team Gold and Mountain Valley coach Devin Roberts’ Team Grey. Those two teams will face off in the other Pool A opening matchup.
Pool B will initially pit Lisbon coach Chris Kates’ Team Red against Gardiner coach Pat Munzing’s Team Orange, and new Oak Hill coach Chad Stowell’s Team Blue against Leavitt assistant Bill County’s Team Yellow. Stowell assisted County on the West squad in the 2019 Lobster Bowl, as did both Kates and Munzing.
The second wave of pool-play games features Gold vs. Purple, Green vs. Grey, Red vs. Yellow and Blue vs. Orange. The final set of pool-play matchups will see Hathaway and Soehren face off, with their respective sons, Wyatt and Atticus, at quarterback. Also, Purple will play Grey, Orange matches up with Yellow and Blue takes on Red.
After pool play is completed, the eight teams will be re-seeded for playoff rounds, which will culminate with a championship matchup in the evening.
The formula for re-seeding, according to Lobster Bowl president Joe Hersom, is “pool play record (and) total points for the tie-breaker. Flip a coin after that.”
The playoff rounds are the only chance for Hathaway and his Leavitt assistant County to match up, and if that comes to fruition, Hathaway earlier this month said of the possibility, “It will be fun to coach against each other.” The two have worked together in previous Lobster Bowls, Hathaway noted.
Soehren said County’s roster, which Soehren’s Team Gold wouldn’t see until a possible playoff matchup, has “some very good players” that he remembers from previous fall seasons.
“Should be a fun day,” Hathaway said. “Definitely some talent on the field.”
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