Winter sports season passes midway point- Portland edition

(Ed. Note: For the complete Deering-Edward Little and Waynflete-North Yarmouth Academy boys’ basketball and Waynflete-NYA girls’ basketball game stories, see pressherald.com/forecaster-sports/)

The winter sports season has passed the midway point and is making the turn for home and all signs suggest that the best is yet to come.

Here’s a look back at the week that was, as well as a glimpse ahead:

Boys’ basketball

Deering’s Loki Anda grabs a rebound during the first half of the Rams’ 71-59 loss at Edward Little Saturday. Russ Dillingham / Sun Journal.

Waynflete’s boys’ basketball team fell from the ranks of the unbeaten last week, but remains one of the top teams in Class C South. The Flyers suffered their first setback, 59-51, then improved to 9-1 and third in the Heal Points standings after downing host North Yarmouth Academy (65-38) and visiting Lake Region (49-37). Dominick Campbell had 21 points and Solomon Levy 13 in the setback. Against the Panthers, Waynflete erupted on a 30-8 first half run to pull away and prevail behind 17 points from Campbell and 11 from Jared Johnson.

“We had a team meeting (after losing to Cape Elizabeth) and got together and talked about being more accountable,” Campbell said. “We practiced hard and got ready for today.”

“It was very important for us to get back in the win column after the Cape game and the kids were focused on that,” Flyers’ coach Rich Henry said. “I appreciate the effort they had tonight. We’ve worked on some things. It’s far from a finished product, but I’m pleased.”

In the win over the Lakers, Diraige Dahia had 15 points and Campbell added 12. Waynflete was home versus Traip Academy Monday, went to A.R. Gould Tuesday and welcomes St. Dom’s Monday of next week.

In Class AA North, Deering extended its win streak to seven games with home wins last week over Scarborough (61-47) and Oxford Hills (72-65), then fell to 8-2 with a 71-59 setback at Edward Little. Against the Red Storm, Askar Houssein led the way with 21 points, while Loki Anda and Darryl Germain each added 10. In the win over the Vikings, Houssein had 23 points and Anda contributed 16. In the loss, Houssein had 18 points, while Germain and Max Morrione each added 10.

“You have to go through adversity, but so far, so good,” said Rams’ coach Todd Wing. “The good thing is that in AA North, we play each other twice now. We’ll take the film and we’ll learn from it and adjust. Obviously, we have some warts we have to remedy, but I’ll take this team to the end. We’re a team on the rise.”

Deering (second in Class AA North) was at Sanford Tuesday, hosts Windham Friday and Monday visits Lewiston.

Cheverus suffered losses to visiting Thornton Academy (74-66) and at Windham (46-37), then snapped a four-game skid and improved to 4-7 Saturday with a 63-53 overtime home win over Lewiston. Against the Golden Trojans, Macklin Kelly had 22 points, Dylan Morrison added 16 and Evangelo Kapothanasis 10. In the loss to the Eagles, Kelly led the way with 13 points. In the victory, Nick Galli had a team-high 19 points, while Morrison added 14 and Nolan Sanborn finished with 13. The Stags (fifth in the region) were at undefeated South Portland Tuesday and host Oxford Hills Friday.

Portland fell to 2-8 and seventh in AA North following losses last week to visiting South Portland (48-31) and at Bangor (49-36). Samuel Gerber had a team-high 11 points versus the Red Riots. The Bulldogs were home versus Gorham Tuesday and go to Thornton Academy Friday.

Girls’ basketball

Waynflete’s Margaret Ojut goes up for a shot during last week’s loss at North Yarmouth Academy. Brianna Soukup / Portland Press Herald.

On the girls’ side, Portland ran the gamut of emotions last week, winning at South Portland (50-42), then losing at Bangor (49-36). Gemima Motema had 16 points, Elizabeth Yugu 13 and Davina Kabantu 10 in the victory at the Red Riots, the Bulldogs’ first since Dec. 20, 2013. Portland (8-2 and second in the Class AA North Heal Points standings) travels to Gorham Wednesday, then welcomes Thornton Academy Friday.

Cheverus was 8-3 and fourth in Class AA North following a 53-35 victory at Thornton Academy, a 48-37 setback at Windham and a 63-33 home win over Lewiston. Against the Golden Trojans, Lillie Singleton had 12 points and Lauren Jordan added 10. In the loss, Madison Storey paced the Stags with 11 points and Jillian Lizotte added 10. Against the Blue Devils, Jordan led the way with 16 points and Lizotte added a dozen. Cheverus was home versus South Portland Tuesday (see our website for game story) and travels to defending Class AA champion Oxford Hills Friday.

Deering fell to 0-10 and eighth in Class AA North following recent losses at defending Class AA South champion Scarborough (68-40) and Oxford Hills (72-25) and at home to Edward Little (37-30). Grayson Soldati had 11 points versus the Red Storm and Ella McGowan led the way with seven points in the setback to the Red Eddies. The Rams were home versus Sanford Tuesday, go to Windham Friday and welcome Lewiston Monday.

In Class C South, Waynflete fell to 0-9 and 19th in the Heals following losses last week at home to Cape Elizabeth (42-17), at NYA (44-26) and at Lake Region (52-19). Against the Capers, Devan Sherry had a team-high four points. In the loss to the Panthers, Margaret Ojut set the tone with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Kilee Sherry added six points and Jesse Connors had five points and nine rebounds.

“For three quarters, we defended and stayed in it,” said Flyers’ first-year coach Andrew Leach. “The fourth quarter, we gave up offensive rebounds and that killed us.

“I feel like we’re making progress. We’ve progressed so much from November, but we’re running out of time. We have to get healthy. If we continue to do what we’re doing, we’ll get in the win column. It’s just a matter of time.”

In the loss to the Lakers, Ojut had a team-high six points. Waynflete sought its first win Monday at home versus Traip Academy. After going to Hebron Academy Wednesday, the Flyers host St. Dom’s next Monday.

Boys’ hockey

Cheverus’ boys’ hockey team improved to 7-1 and second behind defending state champion Greely in the Class B South Heals after a 2-0 home win over Lake Region last week. Jack Chaput and Jackson Wilson had the goals. The Stags went to Gorham Tuesday and visit Mt. Ararat/Morse/Lisbon Saturday.

In Class A, the South Portland/Waynflete/Freeport co-op squad was 4-2-1 and fifth following last Thursday’s 3-2 overtime home victory over Cape Elizabeth. Gus Lappin scored two goals, including the winner. The team goes to St. Dom’s Wednesday and welcomes Lewiston Saturday.

Portland/Deering was 2-5 and seventh at the start of the week. The squad hosts Bangor Saturday.

Girls’ hockey

Defending girls’ state champion Cheverus started the week 10-3 and third in the South Region Heals after a 2-1 loss at York and a 6-0 home victory over Gorham last week. The Stags were at Falmouth Tuesday, host Mt. Ararat/Morse Saturday and welcome Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland Monday.

Portland/Deering fell to 7-6 and fifth in the South Region after last week’s 7-2 loss at Mt. Ararat/Morse. The squad hosts Biddeford Wednesday and welcomes Winslow Saturday.

The Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/SP co-op team improved to 9-2-1 and second in the South Region after home wins last week over St. Dom’s (3-0) and Yarmouth/Freeport (9-0). Bella Schifano had all three goals against the Saints. In the victory over Yarmouth/Freeport, Schifano scored five times. Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/SP visits Edward Little Wednesday, hosts Lewiston Thursday, goes to St. Dom’s Saturday and visits Cheverus Monday.

Indoor track

Last weekend brought another round of SMAA indoor track meets in Gorham.

Cheverus and Deering took part in a six-team meet. The Rams boys were second behind Thornton Academy, while the Stags finished fifth. In the girls’ meet, also won by Thornton Academy, Deering came in fourth and Cheverus was fifth.

Portland joined four other teams. The Bulldogs boys and girls each placed fourth.

Three Cheverus athletes won events at Saturday’s Dartmouth Relays in Hanover, New Hampshire. Emma Gallant took the girls’ 300 in 41.27 seconds, Victoria Bossong won the girls’ 400 in 57.16 and Frank Morang took the boys’ long jump in 21 feet, 7.5 inches.

Swimming

Cheverus’ seven-time defending Class A champion boys’ swim team defeated Deering, 95-24, Friday. The girls’ squad also beat the Rams, 98-58.

Skiing

Portland’s girls’ Nordic team finished first at Saturday’s Roy Varney Hornet Classic race. The Bulldogs had two of the top six individuals, as Lucy Medd came in third (in 18 minutes, 50.5 seconds) and Annabelle Brooks was sixth (19:18.4). Deering placed third (Megan Cunningham finished ninth individually, 19:26.8), Waynflete was ninth and Cheverus came in 16th (Leska Whitmarsh was eighth individually in 19:21.3).

In the boys’ meet, won by Falmouth, Portland finished third (Ben Horrisberger was eighth individually in 17:22.1), Waynflete was 11th (Nicholas Wermer finished 12th individually in 17:49.8), Cheverus 18th and Deering 19th (Will Jordan was third individually in 16:28.1).

In Alpine action last week, Cheverus’ girls’ squad placed first in a five-team slalom meet. Tellie Samaris was first individually with a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 47.90 seconds. The Stags’ boys were fifth.

Wrestling

Cheverus’ wrestling team defeated Portland/South Portland (41-30) and Kennebunk (36-33) and lost to Portland/SP (42-28) last week and took a 14-2 dual meet record into Wednesday’s home meet versus Deering and Wells. The Stags will host the Cheverus Invitational Saturday.

Portland/SP was 8-9 following losses to Cheverus (41-30), Kennebunk (41-36) and Biddeford/Thornton Academy (48-36) and victories over Scarborough (42-34) and Cheverus (42-28) last week. After hosting Marshwood Wednesday, Portland/SP goes to Massabesic Monday.

Deering takes a 5-9 record into Wednesday’s meet at Cheverus.