When the high school basketball tournament starts next week, the smallest schools in northern Maine will vie for the newly-created Class S regional title.
Class S, which was formed as part of a statewide reclassification, has a clear favorite in the boys North region.
Jonesport-Beals has been delivering some quality basketball Down East. The Royals were 11-7 in the regular season and look well-situated heading into the regional tournament at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
But even though it’s under .500, there’s another Class S boys team that could take Bangor by storm.
Katahdin of Stacyville went 7-8 in its first 15 games, but those numbers don’t tell the whole story. Among those eight losses, only one came at the hands of a fellow Class S school. The others came against Class D competition. And Katahdin finished strong to complete the regular season with a 10-8 record.
After making it to the Class D regional final a year ago, Katahdin could be back in the mix with another late push in the Class S tournament.
In girls Class S North, this looks like a two-team race between Wisdom of St. Agatha and Katahdin, who had combined for a 33-3 record during the regular season.
Wisdom won both match-ups during the regular season.
Ava Lerman has been one of the top regional point guards throughout her career. She can score from anywhere and distribute. She is also a good defender. Lerman is complemented nicely by Peyton Roy, Madi Roy and Emma Soucy.
Katahdin has one of the top freshmen in the region in Polly Cullen who was pacing the Cougars in scoring (12 ppg), rebounding (11), assists (4) and steals (4). Ayanna Lester is also a consistent point-producer.
