BY DAVID MCLAUGHLIN

Correspondent

The Cony High School girls will compete in the playoffs for the first time, while the Cony and Mt. Blue boys return to the playoffs after a brief hiatus. Traditional power Messalonskee remains in the hunt as well.

In 2004, Mt. Blue had a 12-2 record before losing to Brunswick in the Eastern A finals. After some hard times, Mt. Blue now plays in Eastern B and is back in the tournament mix.

No. 6 Mt. Blue (7-5) faces No. 3 Oak Hill (10-2) at 4 p.m. today in Wales. Oak Hill defeated Mt. Blue twice during the regular season. Most recently the Raiders came from behind to edge the Cougars 9-8 in overtime in the last game of the regular season.

"We are excited about going back down to play Oak Hill," Mt. Blue first-year coach James Black said. "We will be implementing the same game plan as the last time. Tough defense mixed with some new offensive ideas. Hopefully, we can put together four quarters of play together."

Zac Conlogue and Lance Dwight have powered the Cougars offense while Tyler Pomerleau and Nicholas Brown gear up the attack for the Raiders. Pomerleau and Brown notched three goals each in the last win over Mt. Blue.

"They are both great players," Black said. "I am confident we can slow them down enough to win."

The winner will move into Saturday's semifinal game against the winner of No. 2 Morse and No. 7 North Yarmouth Academy.

Messalonskee has proven to be a title contender over the years and will be looking to find a way through the Eastern A tournament this season. Saturday, the No. 3 Eagles (8-4) match up against No. 2 Brunswick (11-1) for the right to play in the regional final next Wednesday.

Brunswick beat Messalonskee 8-6 and 5-3 during the regular season.

"Defensively, we played well in both games," Messalonskee coach Tom Sheridan said. "We need more motion and movement on offense."

Matt DelGiudice, Trent Luettich and Chris Pelletier have been the key components for the Eagles on attack this season. All three will need to be involved in the attack for Messalonskee to be successful. DelGiudice has 18 goals and 26 assists to lead the Eagles attack, while Luettich has 28 goals and 15 assists and Pelletier 19 goals and 12 assists.

"This season we won all the games we should have," Sheridan said. "We need to hit the switch and find that big win against a top team."

Tonight, the Cony boys team will host Mt. Ararat in a 6:30 game at Alumni Field. Cony (6-6) claimed the No. 4 slot in Eastern A while the Eagles (3-9) squeaked into the final spot at No. 5.

Cony defeated Mt. Ararat twice during the regular season but the Eagles have played extremely well against the top teams. Cony, once a mainstay in the tournament, returns after a three-year absence.

"We achieved a big goal in making the playoffs," Cony first-year coach Andy Haskell said. "None of the players on the team have tournament experience. We just need to make sure we make the adjustments necessary to beat Mt. Ararat a third time."

Justin Genest leads the Rams attack with 23 goals and Joey Gagnon with 17. Cam O'Brien will be in goal, giving the Rams a solid opportunity to advance to Saturday's semifinal round against top seed Lewiston (11-1).

"Mt. Ararat is a tough matchup for us," Haskell said. "Cam has been fantastic for us in the goal and will need to continue to anchor the defense."

In its first season of varsity competition, the Cony girls finished 7-5 and earned the No. 3 seed in the Eastern A playoffs. The Rams will face No. 4 Lewiston, which finished 8-4, this afternoon at the Franklin Athletic Complex in Lewiston. Cony beat Lewiston 4-3 in the regular season. In that game, Cony allowed three goals in the first six minutes of the game.

The winner advances to Saturday's semifinals and will play No. 1 Brunswick (12-0).

"We are very excited about making the playoffs in our first year," Cony coach Gretchen Livingston said. "The girls are thrilled and excited about what they have done."

Holly Parker paces the Rams with 29 goals and 11 assists while teammates Jessica Lucas (11-18) and Cassie Diplock (23-3) are ready to contribute to the Rams' strong offensive attack.

"We feel confident. We know that they have improved and we've improved, so we expect a higher-scoring game," Livingston said.

"Lewiston likes to run the ball. We need to be ready for that defensively."