The calendar has flipped and it’s time to start thinking about the best part of the fall sports season.
The playoffs.
While there is still some regular season business to attend to, the first champions will be crowned this weekend in golf and in a matter of a couple weeks, the postseason will be underway in just about every other sport.
Here’s a glimpse at where things stand after another memorable week:
Football
It was a tough weekend on the gridiron for local squads.
Yarmouth was the lone team to prevail, improving to 5-0 in eight-man, large-division play with a hard-fought, back-and-forth 42-34 victory at Morse Saturday. The Clippers took a quick 8-0 lead on a touchdown run from Spencer LaBrecque, fell behind, 12-8, went on top and took a 14-12 advantage after one quarter on another LaBrecque touchdown run, fell behind, 18-14, retook the lead on a touchdown pass from Sam Bradford to Braden Kloza (and a Bradford-to-Kloza two-point conversion pass), but the Shipbuilders returned the ensuing kickoff for a TD to hold a 26-22 advantage at halftime. Yarmouth marched to start the second half for a go-ahead score on a LaBrecque touchdown run and after Morse answered, an 81-yard kickoff return for a score from Michael McGonagle forged a 34-34 tie after three periods. McGonagle then put the Clippers ahead to stay with a 31-yard touchdown run in the fourth and they held on from there. Yarmouth hopes to go to 6-0 Friday when it visits winless Greely.
Falmouth fell to 3-2 after an 18-0 loss at Windham. Peyton Mitchell ran 10 times for 67 yards and Indi Backman had 30 yards rushing, as well as nine tackles.
“We were right with them, except we kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” Falmouth coach John Fitzsimmons said. “This was an all-time low, with the number of penalties. I’m surprised. We had a great week of practice. This is not the outcome we expected.”
The Navigators travel to 1-4 Brewer Friday.
Freeport dropped to 3-2 after a 28-7 loss at Fryeburg Academy. The Falcons’ points came on a 14-yard Aidan Heath-to-Max Peters touchdown pass. Freeport has a pivotal game at 3-1 Winthrop Friday in a rematch of last year’s Class D state semifinal.
Greely fell to 0-4 after a 38-22 setback at Mt. Ararat. The Rangers fell behind, 22-0, after one quarter and couldn’t quite rally. The Rangers host 5-0 Yarmouth Friday.
Boys’ soccer
Greely’s Tate Nadeau tries to keep the ball away from a Waynflete defender during last week’s loss. Shawn Patrick Ouellette / Portland Press Herald
Yarmouth’s two-time reigning Class B champion boys’ soccer team went to Cape Elizabeth for a pivotal showdown Tuesday evening (see pressherald.com/forecaster/forecaster-sports/ for game story). Last week, the Clippers improved to 8-0-1 with shutout wins over visiting Wells (7-0) and host Gray-New Gloucester (8-0). Against the Warriors, Zacarius Binda scored three goals and Adam McLaughlin, Cornelius Welsch, Zach Turkel and Justin Dawes also scored. In the win over the Patriots, Dawes had three goals, while Binda, McLaughlin, Luis Cardoso, Jon Fulton and Stevie Walsh also found the net. Yarmouth is home with Freeport Saturday and goes to York Tuesday of next week.
Greely was 6-3-1 after following up a 3-0 loss at three-time defending Class C state champion Waynflete with victories over host York (4-2) and visiting Fryeburg Academy (4-1). Against the Flyers, Landon Dominski made 11 saves, but the Rangers only managed four shots on frame.
“Finishing has been an issue,” Greely coach Mike Andreasen said. “I thought near the end of the first half, we carried play, then we started the second half strong, but it’s about sustaining it and playing hard all the time. Waynflete is a tough matchup.”
Against the Raiders, Owen Piesik had two goals and Tommy Bennert and Ethan Njitoh also scored. The Rangers welcome Cape Elizabeth Saturday and go to Freeport Tuesday of next week.
“We still have time to find ourselves, but we have no cupcakes on our schedule,” said Andreasen. “I’m not saying we’ll get it figured out, but we’ll keep working at it.”
Freeport fell to 2-3-3 after a 4-1 loss at Waynflete last week. Ben Grimm had the goal. The Falcons were at York Tuesday, go to Wells Thursday, visit Yarmouth Saturday and welcome Greely Tuesday of next week.
Falmouth was 4-4-1 after a 3-1 loss at Windham and a 1-1 home tie versus Cheverus last week. Mason Quiet scored the goal in the tie. The Navigators were at Biddeford Tuesday, then host undefeated Deering Thursday (see pressherald.com/forecaster/forecaster-sports/ for game story).
North Yarmouth Academy, which won Class D South a year ago, evened its record at 5-5 after wins last week over visiting Richmond (3-0) and at Sacopee Valley (5-0). Against the Bobcats, Cooper St. Hillaire scored two goals and Jack Byrne produced the other. In the win over the Hawks, Byrne, St. Hilaire, Ethan Brochu, Rodgers Crowley and Gavin Thomas all scored. The Panthers host Gray-New Gloucester Thursday and welcome Sacopee Valley Tuesday of next week.
Girls’ soccer
Falmouth’s Eve Gallagher fights for possession during last week’s win at Cheverus. Shawn Patrick Ouellette / Portland Press Herald
On the girls’ side, Falmouth snapped a three-game skid and improved to 5-4 with a 2-0 win at Cheverus. The Navigators’ goals came late, as senior captains Abbie Ford and Elise Gearan scored in the final six minutes. Freshman goalkeeper Abigail Pausman made six saves.
“We came off a rough week last week, but we’ve worked hard in practice, so this is just the win we needed to re-set,” said Ford.
“We stepped it up in the second half and worked hard,” said Pausman
“We’re trying to head in the right direction and get better every day,” first-year Falmouth coach Ben Johnson added. “Cheverus is a great team and we had to play the entire game. It’s a good result.”
After hosting Biddeford Tuesday, the Navigators go to Deering Thursday and visit Portland Monday.
“Any system, when you change coaches, there will be some growing pains,” said Johnson. “Hopefully, we’ll keep improving, we’ll be in the playoffs and we’ll be scoring more.”
NYA, the three-time reigning Class D champion, improved to 9-0 and extended its three-year win streak to 29 games after blanking host Richmond (7-0) and visiting Sacopee Valley (5-0) and Old Orchard Beach (4-0). Against the Bobcats, Lyla Casey, Hayden Wienckowski, Angel Huntsman, Vy Tran, Emily Robbins, Michala Wallace and Ella Giguere all scored once. In the win over the Hawks, Huntsman had two goals, while Robbins, Wallace and Sarah Moore also finished. Against the Seagulls, Hayden Wienckowski scored two goals and Robbins and Wallace had the others. The Panthers visit Gray-New Gloucester Thursday and go to Sacopee Valley Tuesday of next week.
Yarmouth enjoyed wins last week at Lake Region (4-0) and at home over Gray-New Gloucester (7-0), then fell to 7-3 Monday with a hard-fought, 1-0, home loss to three-time reigning Class B champion Cape Elizabeth. In the win over the Lakers, Ava Feeley scored twice and Aine Powers and Eleanor Ting also tickled the twine. Against the Patriots, Feeley, Powers and Taylor Oranellas all had two goals and Cate King scored the other. The Clippers look to bounce back Friday at Freeport (see pressherald.com/forecaster/forecaster-sports for game story), then host York Tuesday of next week.
Greely was 6-2-1 after a 4-0 home win over Wells and a scoreless home tie versus York last week. In the victory, Abby Lennox had two goals and Shaylee O’Grady and Molly Partridge also scored. The Rangers play at Cape Elizabeth Friday and host Freeport Tuesday of next week.
Speaking of Freeport, the Falcons improved to 5-4 after 1-0 victories at Fryeburg Academy and Wells last week. Against the Raiders, Claire Nadeau had the goal and Lauren Roussel made nine saves. In the win over the Warriors, Pearl Patterson scored and Roussel again stopped nine shots, including one on a free kick in the waning seconds. Freeport hosted York Tuesday, welcomes Yarmouth Friday and goes to Greely Tuesday of next week.
Field hockey
Freeport’s field hockey team had quite a stretch and was 6-3-1 at press time. Last week, the Falcons beat host Lake Region (1-0), then shocked visiting York, 1-0, and blanked visiting Poland (3-0). Monday, Freeport lost at home in overtime to Cape Elizabeth (3-2). Against the Lakers, Emily Groves scored the goal. In the win over the Wildcats, the first-ever for the Falcons against their nemesis, Anna Maschino scored in the first period, goalie Piper Williams stopped nine shots and as Freeport coach Marcia Wood said, “We held on for dear life for 45 minutes.” Against the Knights, Groves, Liza Flower and Reed Proscia all rattled the cage. Ava Gervais scored both goals in the loss and Williams made 10 saves. The Falcons host Greely Thursday and go to Yarmouth Monday.
Yarmouth improved to 5-4 with recent home victories over Wells (7-0) and Fryeburg Academy (5-3). The Clippers welcome Lake Region Thursday and host Freeport Monday.
Greely was 0-7-2 following a 4-0 loss at York and a 1-1 home tie against Gray-New Gloucester/NYA. After going to Freeport Thursday, the Rangers host Poland Monday.
Falmouth was 5-5 after a 2-1 loss at Thornton Academy, a 4-3 home loss to Windham and a 3-1 victory at Bonny Eagle. The Navigators host Scarborough Wednesday, welcome Sanford Friday and visit Marshwood Tuesday of next week.
Volleyball
Yarmouth’s three-time reigning Class B champion volleyball team improved to 9-1 following straight-set victories over visiting Wells (25-13, 25-13, 25-8), at Brewer and at home over Falmouth (25-17, 25-16, 25-22). Annie Vinnakota had 14 kills versus the Warriors and Brianna Torres had 17 digs in the win over the Navigators. The Clippers host York Wednesday, welcome Cape Elizabeth Friday and go to Windham Tuesday of next week.
Greely was 7-3 after a four-set (27-25, 25-13, 26-28, 25-20) home win over Westbrook, a 3-0 home victory over Nokomis and a straight-set home loss to York. Against the Blue Blazes, Sophia Ippolito had seven aces and 14 assists. In the win over Nokomis, Olivia Talley had seven aces and six kills and Ippolito finished with 10 assists. The Rangers go to Cape Elizabeth Thursday, welcome Windham Friday and play at Westbrook Tuesday of next week.
Falmouth was 5-7 after a four-set (20-25, 25-15, 18-25, 23-25) home loss to Cape Elizabeth, a four-game (7-25, 22-25, 26-24, 23-25) setback at reigning Class A champion Scarborough, a three-set home loss to Gorham and a three-game (17-25, 16-25, 22-25) loss at Yarmouth. Against the Capers, Victoria Abbott had three aces, 11 kills and 13 digs and Olivia Dickhaut added 20 digs. In the loss to the Clippers, Abbott had 10 kills and seven aces. The Navigators welcome Scarborough Wednesday and go to Thornton Academy Saturday.
NYA was 2-6 following a five-set loss at Lake Region and a straight-set setback at Brunswick. The Panthers go to Wells Thursday and welcome Jonesport-Beals and Bucksport Saturday before hosting Lake Region Tuesday of next week.
Cross country
The Festival of Champions cross country meet was held last weekend in Belfast.
In the boys’ race, won by Hampden Academy, Greely placed seventh. William Coull was the top Rangers’ individual, placing 27th in a time of 17 minutes, 5.28 seconds. Yarmouth came in 22nd and was led by Aksel Yeo (92nd, 18:02.96). Falmouth finished 43rd and was paced by freshman Connor Lund (187th, 19:06.27). Maine Coast Waldorf placed 51st and was led by Soren Stark-Chessa (185th, 19:04.02). NYA was 58th. The Panthers’ top individual was Chris Noreika (224th, 19:31.11).
The girls’ competition was won by Bonny Eagle. Falmouth placed seventh and was led by Maeve Ginevan (46th, 20:42.48). Greely came in 13th and was paced by Rowan Barry (44th, 20:38.88). Yarmouth finished 17th and was led by Madeleine Jones (26th, (20:00.87). MCW placed 39th and was paced by Rahel Delaney (37th, 20:2.92). NYA didn’t score as a team, but Cass McCarthy had the 92nd-best time (21:47.17).
Freeport, meanwhile, took part in a five-team meet at Wells. The boys were first, as Henry Horne set the pace as an individual (17:01). The girls were also first. Caroline Carter was second individually in 22:18.
Golf
Yarmouth and Freeport qualified for states at the Western Maine Conference match last week.
Falmouth and Greely qualified for states at the Southwestern Maine Activities Association qualifier Monday.
The state matches are Friday and Saturday at Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro.
Press Herald staff writer Drew Bonifant contributed to this story
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.
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