At least for another round of the postseason tournament, the City of Caribou remains the basketball capital of Maine.
That’s because both the Caribou High School girls and boys won the Class B state championship last year, giving the Vikings the only state basketball title sweep of the season.
And in addition to the titles on the court, the Vikings can also boast championship-level support from their fans — and not just in the playoffs, but throughout the year.
“It’s crazy. Our community supports us extremely well,” said first year girls head coach Mackenzie Turner. “Every home game, our stands are filled. I moved to Caribou within the last five years, and I really would say I learned about the dedication of our town when we went to states last year in Portland.”
A small army of Caribou fans traveled from Aroostook County to Portland last year to watch the boys and girls win their state titles. The girls championship was one of the most improbable in recent memory, with then-freshman Quinn Corrigan stealing the ball at the very end of overtime and making two last-second free-throws to win the game.
And Corrigan was instrumental Tuesday night as the girls secured another overtime win in the Class C North regional quarterfinal over Dexter.
She scored 22 points in the win.
“The boys always draw a big crowd, so playing back-to-back with them is even better for us,” Turner said after the overtime victory. “But we’ve really started to draw as big of a crowd as they have over the past few years with our success.”
The Caribou teams are now in Class C after a statewide reclassification, and both are on the hunt once again for a title. The boys also brought home a quarterfinal win on Tuesday night, with a comfortable 73-47 victory over Calais.
The boys team was also led by a Corrigan on Tuesday. Quinn’s older brother Owen Corrigan had 26 points in front of a large group of Vikings fans who once again made the trip to support their teams.
“The atmosphere’s great everywhere,” Owen Corrigan said, noting that’s still the case when the team travels across the state. “It’s a blessing to play in Caribou.”
Talk to the Caribou fans, and you’ll probably hear the same thing about having two returning champion squads.
“It’s great, especially when it’s your grandkids on each team,” said Ken Albert, grandfather to Quinn and Owen Corrigan.
Albert pointed out that, over the years, the Vikings have won Class A and B titles, and now have a chance at Class C after the reclassification.
Sue Richards is another proud fan and grandparent. Her grandson Carsen Richards is a senior guard on the boys team.
She said the teams always draw a lot of fans to the games, even on the road. And when they return to town from the tournament, they’re welcomed back in style.
“And then the bus comes back, and they’re all lined up,” she said. “It means a lot”
And it means a lot to the players, too.
“It’s amazing when you see all of them out here,” freshman forward Peyton West said about the Caribou fans at the Cross Center on Tuesday night. “It really motivates us to get going in a game.”
Caribou athletic director Evan Graves said there are a lot of factors that contribute to the atmosphere.
“It’s great support from the community, and honestly statewide,” said Caribou athletic director Evan Graves. “A lot of people recognize the hard work of the coaching staff, right down to our student athletes, to the support in the community, the band, the cheerleaders. Some of these long winter days, what better to do than come out and watch some basketball.”
Players, coaches and fans agreed that Caribou has felt like the basketball capital of Maine this past year with both state titles belonging to the Vikings.
“Those gold balls definitely helped,” Owen Corrigan said Tuesday night.
