The Boothbay Region High School (BRHS) Seahawks beat the Seahawk faculty in leisure Unified basketball on Thursday, March 13, 39-18. Senior Eddie Carpenter was honored as the sole graduating Seahawk on the team’s senior day. Classmates, teachers, parents and dedicated fans were on hand to celebrate Carpenter’s legacy, including Unified alum Austin Orne. However, shortly after tipoff, the gloves were off, and team Teachers double and triple-teamed Carpenter for most of the game. His height advantage was too much for Teachers to overcome, and in the end, Carpenter tied Chloe Joneth for most points in the game (13) with 6’3 (alleged) Mike Cherry coming in second with eight points for Teachers.

The game was tipped off by Carpenter and Teacher Matt Brewer, with first possession going to the Seahawks. Both teams were unable to score on their first possessions: Carpenter was first on the board with a floater for two.

An early game technical foul called against Brewer seemed to set the tone for the Teachers: Over-confident, Teachers suffered countless airballs, missed passes and repeated travel calls. Teacher Christopher Liberti played the sort of game nightmares are made of: scoreless and at one point sitting cross-legged on the court, passing the ball to referee Tatum French and sending Matthew Jackson to the foul line.

It wasn’t altogether disastrous for the Teachers, though. Art student-teacher Gus Williams drained two 3-pointers, Brewer managed a layup and Tanya Hammond nailed a simply gorgeous jump shot. Teammates Tammy Blackman, Nicole Crupi and Nick Scott had good looks at the basket but were unable to get the bounce. Bobby Knight-ish Teacher coaches Cathy Hodgdon and Stacy Laird struggled to make necessary team adjustments at the half with the Seahawks up 22-9 and cost their team a foul by stepping outside the coach’s box (more than once) in the first half of play.

Junior Seahawk Joneth made her first appearance at the free-throw line, missing one and making one. Freshmen Matthew Jackson and Brandon Seigars contributed to the Seahawks' success, scoring four and three respectively. Jackson, quadruple-teamed at one point, shot a floater from his knees but missed the shot. “Hangman” Anthony Angelico drove to the basket scoring six points and had one steal. Seahawk rebounders were solid; Cole Hyson and Casey Phelps outmaneuvered the Teachers with ease, getting impressive air off the backboard, several blocks and countless assists. Phelps had an epic block of a Cherry layup. Denied. The individual matchup between mother and son, Hammond and Ronan Drage, was a show for the ages. The two were hip to hip most of the game, talking smack and taking each other to task on ball handling, rebounding and steals. At one point, both were tied up on the floor in a fight for possession. Seniors Bailey Lewis and Brian Abbe provided team support and on-court assistance.

Carpenter played a headline-worthy final game for the gold jerseys. He has played a mature game all season, finding open shooters, passing and rebounding for his teammates. He leaves big shoes to fill and no one will wear #32 the way Carpenter sported it. The Seahawks are losing a true athlete, gentleman and a great team leader. His points for the season total 212, his single best game, 43 points against Lincoln Academy. 

Halftime saw a cheer performance by pompom-shaking teachers and faculty, a dance party and antics from the Seahawk mascot (Principal Campbell). The Seahawks are coached by Dennis Dacus and Tanya Thibault. The game was officiated by French and Aidric Canada. Hannah Hills performed the national anthem.

Unified basketball is a community-level extension of Special Olympics Maine Unified Championship Club which promotes social inclusion, leadership and friendship for student-athletes with and without disabilities.