Autumn is definitely in the air and the fall sports season is starting to wind down.

One sport, golf, has already given out team titles and while it’s not postseason time, yet, for football, soccer, field hockey, volleyball and cross country, every game, every match, every week and every day takes on more importance.

Here’s a look back and a glimpse ahead:

Golf

The golf state championships were held Saturday at Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro.

Mt. Ararat repeated as Class A state champion with a team score of 325. Falmouth and Greely each finished with a score of 327, but the Rangers placed second due to a fifth-place tiebreaker.

The Rangers were paced by D.J. Kenney, who tied for the fourth-best individual score in Class A with an 18-hole round of 78. Andrew Klein (79) tied for sixth, Connor Albert (85) and Dawson Jowell (85) tied for 23rd. Nick Montminy’s 86 gave Greely the second spot and Ben Rosenthal’s 87 wasn’t factored in.

“It was close,” said Rangers coach Brian Bickford. “The kids did a great job. In our (conference) we finished third and then today, finishing second in the state, I can’t complain.”

The Yachtsmen’s top scorer was Tyler Baker (79), who tied for sixth. Jack Stowell (80) tied for ninth, Charlie Pochepan (81) tied for 11th and Brady Pierson (87) tied for 35th. Jack Kolben’s 92 and Teddy Davis’ 99 weren’t factored in.

York won the Class B title with a team score of 342. Freeport was the runner-up with a score of 352. The Falcons were led by T.J. Whelan, whose round of 81 tied for second in Class B. Tom Robinson (87) placed eighth, Molly Whelan (91) tied for 14th and Matt Kempf (93) tied for 20th. Finn Sharpe’s 94 and Ian Carpenter’s 102 weren’t factored in.

Kents Hill  took home the Class C crown with a score of 332. North Yarmouth Academy (365) tied Houlton for fourth. The Panthers were led by Carson Gall (85), who tied for 10th. Cal Davies (91) tied for 16th. Bryce Poulin (92) tied for 18th. Anders Jonnson (97) tied for 24th. Derek Wolverton’s 101 and Will Jackson’s 101 weren’t factored in.

This coming Saturday, the top individual players will convene at Natanis for their opportunity at state glory.

Taking part will be Falmouth’s Stowell, Pochepan and Baker, Freeport’s T.J. Whelan, Greely’s Kenney, Klein and Rosenthal, NYA’s Davies and Gall and Yarmouth’s Quinn Federle and Sam O’Donnell.

Football

Freeport’s football team nearly stayed undefeated Friday at Cape Elizabeth. The Falcons made an immediate statement when it scored on its first possession, on a 49-yard scamper from Adam Ulrickson for a 6-0 lead. Cape Elizabeth answered with a touchdown, but by the end of the first quarter, Freeport was back on top, as Ulrickson’s 7-yard TD run made it 12-7. When Tre Morris added a 25-yard scoring run in the second period (Ulrickson added the two-point conversion rush) and sophomore Danny Casale kept the Capers off the board just before halftime, intercepting a pass, the Falcons were seemingly and stunningly in control, up, 20-7. But Cape Elizabeth opened the second half with a long TD drive, then went ahead with 1:59 to play. Freeport wasn’t finished, as Justin Cogswell returned the ensuing kickoff 63 yards to the Capers’ 12, apparently setting up the Falcons for the last laugh, but a fumbled snap ended it and Freeport fell to 3-1 with a 21-20 loss. Ulrickson ran for 124 yards and two scores on 19 carries.

“It’s an odd-shaped ball and it bounces in weird ways and it just didn’t bounce our way tonight,” Falcons coach Paul St. Pierre lamented. “I’m proud of the guys. We had a chance to really make a statement tonight and we let them back in it, but we’ll learn from our mistakes and get better.”

Freeport (fifth in the Class C South Crabtree Points standings) is idle this week and will get a win by forfeit over Dirigo, which had to disband its program earlier this fall.

Falmouth/Greely improved to 3-2 after holding on for a 24-17 win at Brewer Friday. Sam Pausman’s 24-yard field goal put the Yachtsmen up, 3-0, after one quarter. Nick Mancini had long TD passes to Max Orestis (57 yards) and Brady Nolin (37 yards) for a 17-10 halftime advantage. The Witches tied the score in third quarter, but Shane Allen’s 6-yard TD run in the fourth quarter was the winner. Mancini wound up 13-of-29 passing for 237 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Allen ran for 80 yards and a TD on 14 carries.

Falmouth/Greely (fourth in Class B North) hosts 5-0 Brunswick Friday.

Yarmouth’s eight-man squad snapped its three-game skid with a 64-36 home win over Gray-New Gloucester to improve to 2-3. Jack McGrath scored five touchdowns and Wyatt Sullivan added three TDs.

The Clippers (third in the large division) go to 3-2 Boothbay Friday.

Boys’ soccer

Yarmouth’s boys’ soccer team began the week 10-0 and first in the Class B South Heal Points standings after improving to 10-0 with wins last week at York (3-0) and at home over Cape Elizabeth (3-0). John Clinton, Alejandro Coury and Ian LaBrie had the goals against the Wildcats. In the win over the Capers, Coury, Will Dickinson and Will Nicholas tickled the twine. The Clippers welcome Freeport in a pivotal contest Thursday, go to Greely Saturday (see pressherald.com/forecaster-sports/ for game story) and visit Gray-New Gloucester Tuesday of next week.

Greely improved third in Class B South at 4-1-3 after a 2-2 tie at Cape Elizabeth and a 1-1 tie at Freeport last week. Against the Capers, Chris Williams and Lucas Goettel scored goals as the Rangers erased a two-goal deficit.

“I’m happy to get out of here with something,” said Greely coach Mike Andreasen. “It could have been a worse result. We knew (Cape would) come out strong tonight.”

The Rangers rallied again against the Falcons, tying it up with 20 seconds to play on Silas Cunningham’s goal. Greely hosts Wells Thursday, welcomes Yarmouth Saturday and plays at Lake Region Tuesday of next week.

Freeport was 6-2-2 and fourth in Class B South at press time after a 4-1 win at Poland and a 1-1 tie at home versus Greely. Owen Howarth scored twice and Finn Sheehan, Sam Tourigny and Will Winter each finished with one goal in the win over the Knights. Winter had the goal in the tie. The Falcons welcomed York Tuesday, play at Yarmouth Thursday and travel to Fryeburg Academy Tuesday of next week.

In Class A South, Falmouth increased its win streak to five games and improved to 8-0-1 and fourth in the Heals after downing visiting Windham (6-0) and host Biddeford (8-0) last week. Against the Eagles, Rion Dos Santos scored three times and Charlie Adams, Joshua LeFevre and Nicco Pitre had one apiece. In the win over the Tigers, Sam Gearan had three goals, Gus Ford added a pair (with two assists) and Dos Santos, Emmet Frueh and Macklin Williams each scored once. The Yachtsmen were at Thornton Aacdemy Tuesday, welcome Westbrook Saturday and host Scarborough in a pivotal contest Tuesday of next week.

Defending Class D champion NYA was 2-6-2 and sixth after a 1-0 win at Richmond and a 2-0 home loss to defending Class C champion Waynflete last week. Rogers Crowley scored the goal in the victory.

“It was a great ball from Seamus (Rohde) that was played to my head,” Crowley said. “I think the goalie was in the right side of the goal, so I just headed it across into the bottom corner.”

The Panthers were at Traip Academy Tuesday, visit Sacopee Valley Thursday and host Wells Tuesday of next week.

Girls’ soccer

On the girls’ side, Freeport was second to defending state champion Cape Elizabeth in the Class B South Heals at 8-1-1 following a a 7-0 home win over Poland and a 2-2 tie at Greely. In the win over the Knights, Catriona Gould scored three goals, Rachel Wall had two and Tia Peterson and Tara Migliaccio both finished with one. Wall scored both goals against the Rangers. The Falcons hosted York Tuesday, welcome Yarmouth in a pivotal test Thursday and host Fryeburg Academy Tuesday of next week.

Yarmouth was 7-2-1 and third in Class B South following a 4-0 victory at York, a 5-1 home win over Gray-New Gloucester and a 4-1 setback at Cape Elizabeth. Against the Wildcats, Hannah Dwyer had two goals, while Gabby Thibodeau and Anna Wallace each added one. Dwyer scored three times in the win over the Patriots and Wallace and Ava Feeley also found the net. Feeley had the goal in the loss. The Clippers visit Freeport Thursday, play at Greely Saturday and travel to Gray-New Gloucester Tuesday of next week.

Greely was 3-5-1 and 11th in the region after a 2-0 home loss to Cape Elizabeth and a 2-2 home tie versus Freeport. Paige Evans and Chelsea Graiver scored in the deadlock. The Rangers go to Wells Thursday, welcome Yarmouth Saturday and play host to Lake Region Tuesday of next week.

In Class A South, Falmouth was 5-1-3 and sixth following a 2-2 draw at Windham and a 2-0 home victory over Biddeford. Allie Cunningham and Eliza Gearan had the goals in the tie. Lexie Bugbee scored twice in the win. The Yachtsmen welcomed Thornton Academy Tuesday, go to Westbrook Friday and play at two-time defending regional champion Scarborough Tuesday of next week.

Defending state champion NYA was 8-1-1 and first in Class D South despite a 1-0 loss at Waynflete last week. The Panthers also enjoyed a 5-0 home victory over Richmond. Naomi Reischman had two goals and Natalie Farrell, Angel Huntsman and Serena Mower also scored. NYA was home with Waynflete Tuesday, visits Fryeburg Academy Thursday and goes to St. Dom’s Tuesday of next week.

Field hockey

Freeport’s field hockey team was 7-3-1 and second behind defending regional champion York in the Heals after a wins at Greely (4-1) and Cape Elizabeth (4-0) last week. Ally Randall had a hat trick and Autumn Golding also scored against the Rangers. In the win over the Capers, Golding, Randall, Aynslie Decker and Hannah Groves all had one goal. The Falcons went to St. Dom’s for a makeup game Tuesday, play at Poland Wednesday and welcome Yarmouth in their regular season finale Wednesday of next week.

Greely lost at home, 4-1, to Freeport, then downed host Lake Region (2-1) and host Yarmouth (2-0) to improve to 4-7 and ninth in Class B South (where eight teams make the playoffs). Megan Beaulieu scored the goal in the setback. Against the Lakers, Haley McAuslin scored both goals. McAuslin also had two goals in the win over the Clippers. The Rangers play at Wells Thursday, welcome Cape Elizabeth Saturday and finish at York Tuesday of next week.

Yarmouth was 6-6 and seventh in Class B South after sandwiching losses at Fryeburg Academy (5-0) and at home to Greely (2-0) around wins at Sacopee Valley (4-0) and at home over Poland (3-2, in overtime). Cassie Walsh made a dozen saves against the Raiders. Against the Hawks, Bella Solari had two goals and Samantha Bailey and Lizzie Guertler added one apiece. In the win over the Knights, Hannah Swift scored twice, including the winner in OT, and Abby Hill had the other goal. Walsh made five saves against the Rangers. The Clippers host Lake Region Friday and close the regular season Wednesday of next week at Freeport.

In Class A South, Falmouth was 6-5 and ninth after wins at Marshwood (3-1) and at home over Portland/Deering (5-1). Against the Hawks, Chloe Bush, Julia Danielson and Sammy Means all rattled the cage. Izzy Roy had a hat trick, while Bush and Danielson also scored in the win over the Bulldogs. The Yachtsmen welcome Biddeford Thursday, go to Bonny Eagle Monday and visit Sanford Wednesday of next week in the finale.

In Class C South, NYA was 4-8 and fifth after losing to visiting St. Dom’s (5-2), host Wells (5-1) and visiting York (6-1) and beating host Traip Academy (5-0). Katie Larson and Brynn McKenney scored in the loss to the Saints. Lilly Weinrich had the goal in the loss to the Wildcats. The Panthers go to Lake Region Wednesday and close the regular season at Sacopee Valley Wednesday of next week.

Volleyball

Falmouth’s defending Class A state champion volleyball team was 11-0 and first in the Heals after wins last week at Biddeford in three-sets, at Scarborough in four games (25-21, 25-14, 22-25, 25-22) and over visiting Brunswick/Mt. Ararat in straight sets (25-11, 25-15, 25-21). Against the Red Storm, in a battle of unbeaten teams, Annika Hester had 30 kills and Katie Phillips added 19 assists.

“The Scarborough rivalry is always big because I know a lot of their girls,” Phillips said. “They have awesome players and we expected an awesome game tonight and they gave us one.”

“It’s been a bruiser of a week,” said Falmouth coach Larry Nichols. “We looked at the schedule going into the week and on paper, it didn’t look good. It was stressful and exhausting, but the kids did it and I couldn’t be more proud of them. It speaks to how hard they’ve been working.”

The Yachtsmen welcomed Gorham in a state final rematch Tuesday (see pressherald.com/forecaster-sports/ for match story) and go to Windham Tuesday.

Yarmouth’s defending Class B champion stretched its win streak to nine and improved to 9-1 and first after downing host Wells in straight sets (25-7, 25–11, 25-19) and visiting Scarborough in four games (25-17, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19). Against the Red Storm, Maggie Murray led the way with 23 kills, nine aces and 15 digs. Avery Dube had 21 digs, Sophie Dickson finished with 39 assists and Evelyn Lukis added 15 kills. The Clippers host Greely Wednesday night (see pressherald.com/forecaster-sports/ for match story) and go to second-ranked Washington Academy for a pivotal match Saturday.

Greely was 5-4 and fourth in Class B following 3-0 wins over visiting Nokomis and host Cony. The Rangers visit Yarmouth Wednesday, welcome Brewer Saturday and play host to Westbrook Tuesday of next week.

In Class C, NYA was 5-6 and fifth after a 3-0 win at Nokomis and a 3-0 loss at Wells. The Panthers host Gardiner Friday.

Cross country

Falmouth, Maine Coast Waldorf, NYA and Yarmouth took part in the Maine Cross Country Festival of Champions in Belfast Saturday.

In the girls meet, Falmouth’s Sofie Matson was the top individual with a time of 17 minutes, 35.91 seconds. The Yachtsmen were eighth as a team. Yarmouth finished 18th, MCW was 21st and NYA didn’t score as a team. Olivia Reynolds of MCW was fifth (18:42.00). The Clippers were paced by Sadie Cowles (51st, 20:40.64). The Panthers’ top individual was Emma Collins (228th, 23:14.50).

In the boys’ race, Falmouth came in fifth as a team, as Benjamin Potter (third, 15:45.99) and Ben Greene (fifth, 15:59.1) led the way. MCW came in seventh and was led by Seamus Woodruff (35th, 17:08.20). Yarmouth finished 20th and was paced by Odeh Rizkallah (36th, 17:09.39). NYA was 40th and was led by Chris Hamblett (89th, 17:48.23).

Freeport hosted Fryeburg Academy and Waynflete last week. The Falcons boys were first as a team and were paced by top two finishers Martin Horne (16:40.42) and Henry Horne (18:15.96). Freeport’s girls also were first, as Jane Dawson (second, 20:46.66) and Jillian Wight (third, 21:08.50) led the way.

Thursday, NYA joins Old Orchard Beach, St. Dom’s, Traip Academy and Waynflete at Maine Coast Waldorf, Freeport and Greely run with Wells at Cape Elizabeth, Yarmouth joins Fryeburg Academy, Gray-New Gloucester, Poland, Sacopee Valley and York at Lake Region and Friday, Falmouth runs with Bonny Eagle, Gorham, Thornton Academy and Westbrook at Windham.

Press Herald staff writer Kevin Thomas and Times Record staff writer Eric Maxim contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

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