Lyford joins Penquis 1,000-point club

By Stuart Hedstrom 
Staff Writer

    MILO — Entering the Jan. 20 game vs. Hermon High School, Penquis Valley High School senior Trevor Lyford needed just a single point to reach the career 1,000-point milestone. While the Patriots needed a few possessions to get on the scoreboard, the fifth time Penquis had the ball a Lyford field goal opened his team’s scoring and put him over 1,000 points in a Patriot uniform.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

    ELITE COMPANY — During the first quarter of a home game against Hermon on Jan. 20, Penquis senior Trevor Lyford became the eighth player in school history to reach the 1,000-point milestone. Six of the previous seven were in attendance to congratulate Lyford on his accomplishment. From left is Jordan Allen; Isaiah Bess, a teammate of Lyford for three seasons; Kerri Russell-Wiles, whose sister Megan is the other member of the 1,000-point club; Erin Weston, who is a cousin of Lyford’s; Lyford; Lyford’s sister Erica who scored her 1,000th point almost five years to the day before her brother; and Jeremy Allen.

    “This means a lot,” Lyford said after the game as Penquis overcame a six-point deficit late in the fourth quarter to win in overtime 55-49 against one of the higher ranked teams in Class B East. Lyford finished with 30 points, putting his career total at 1,029 and counting.
    “You got to look at this community, we filled this place tonight,” he said as the crowd cheered not just during the early moments as he neared point No. 1,000 but with roars later on as the Patriots rallied and then took control in overtime. “All the people here, I’m going to remember that for a long time.”

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

    ALL IN THE FAMILY — Trevor Lyford’s 1,000th career point came nearly five years to the day after his sister Erica reached the milestone during a home game in 2009. Their cousin Erin Weston is also one of the eight players in Penquis history to record 1,000 points in a Patriot uniform.

    Before the game the home team fans at Walter “Eddie” Oakes Gymnasium were given red, white and blue sheets of paper printed with the number 1,000. The crowd stood and clapped in unison on the first several Penquis possessions in anticipation of the milestone shot.
    The first attempts to get on the scoreboard did not work out for the Patriots, but on the fifth possession Lyford took the pass and drove to the hoop nearly five minutes into play. He pulled up for a short jump shot from, the right that swished through the net and was met by an eruption of cheers from the crowd — including the Hermon fans who joined their counterparts in the standing ovation. Lyford gave a salute to the Penquis faithful as play was stopped for a brief ceremony.
    Athletic Director Tony Hamlin, who was Lyford’s head coach during his first three seasons with the Patriots, informed the crowd that Lyford had just become the eighth player in school history to score 1,000 points. Lyford’s parents Marilyn and John Lyford then came down to the court to congratulate their son, and Lyford brought a bouquet over to his grandmother sitting courtside.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

    THANKS MOM — Trevor Lyford gets a hug from his mother Marilyn during a ceremony after he went over the 1,000-point mark in the opening minutes of a Jan. 20 game vs. Hermon. Looking on is Lyford’s head coach Jason Mills as Lyford’s father John was also welcomed to come down from the bleachers.

    Six of the seven other players to reach the milestone were in attendance and Lyford’s former teammate Isaiah Bess, who scored his 1,000th point during the 2013 tournament, met him at center court as the two embraced in a hug.
    Hamlin said in the Penquis Valley School’s over 40 years of existence, “For my money you would never see his kind come through here again, this couldn’t have happened to a nicer kid.”
    In addition to having been teammates with Bess for three seasons, Lyford has a direct connection to two of the other players who preceded him with 1,000 points. Nearly five years to the day earlier, Lyford’s sister Erica scored her 1,000th point during a home game. Their cousin Erin Weston reached the milestone in 1998.
    “I’m talking with a couple of coaches and I have applied to a few places,” Lyford said about his plans to play college basketball. He mentioned Div. III Worcester Polytechnical Institute in Massachusetts and Tufts University in Medford, Mass. as possibilities. “I’m going to go for academics first and then we will see what happens.”

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

    COACHES PAST AND PRESENT — During Lyford’s first three seasons Tony Hamlin, right, was his head coach. Current head coach Jason Mills served as an assistant prior to taking over the head job, and Mills also was Lyford’s head coach in soccer for all four of his seasons on the pitch for the Patriots.

    The win improved Penquis to 10-3 in 2013-14 as the Patriots stood in fourth place in the Class C Heal Point standings, which would be good for a trip directly to Bangor for quarterfinal play. As a junior Lyford was one of the star players on the Penquis team that won the Class C state championship in the final tournament game played at the Bangor Auditorium in March 2013
    The 21-1 record in the 2012-13 season followed teams that advanced to the Class C East semifinals in both Lyford’s freshman and sophomore seasons. After the victory on Jan. 20 Lyford’s four Penquis teams had a combined record of 62-13, for a winning percentage of over 82.6 percent. His talents are not limited to the hardwood, as Lyford also starred for the Patriot soccer and baseball teams.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

    A LOT TO CHEER ABOUT — The Penquis fans salute Patriot senior Trevor Lyford after his 1,000th point came early in the first quarter on Monday evening against Class B Hermon. The evening got even better as Penquis rallied from a six-point deficit with less than a minute and a half to go to force overtime and then win 55-49 for victory No. 10 of the season. Lyford scored 30 points to put his career total at 1,029 and counting.