It wasn’t always easy last week to get games started or completed, but teams still managed to enjoy some promising results.

We’re still early in the campaign and the best is yet to come, but there’s a lot of good things to recap from the week that was:

Football

South Portland’s longstanding and storied football program had a unique experience last weekend, starting its home game versus Lewiston Friday, having it postponed by lightning, then finishing it in on a sizzling Saturday afternoon.

Friday, the Red Riots had a great chance to score first on a 15-play drive in the first quarter, but it stalled at the Blue Devils’ 10 with an interception. Lewiston then marched 17 plays in nearly 11 minutes to go on top, 8-0, with 36 seconds left in the first half. The game was then halted by lightning and when it persisted, was postponed to the following day.

Saturday, then sun was out and the heat was a factor as the teams picked up where they left off. The Red Riots couldn’t score in the final seconds of the first half and the game moved right into the third quarter, which was scoreless. The Blue Devils then doubled their lead to 16-0 with just over six minutes to play. That brought South Portland to life and behind a 56-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Easton Healy to Matthew Berry, a two-point conversion rush from Healy, then, after the Red Riots got the ball right back, a 7-yard Healy TD run and a Healy two-point conversion rush tied the score, 16-16. But just when it appeared South Portland had all the momentum, Lewiston passed its way down the field and kicked a 22-yard field goal with 9.5 seconds on the clock and pulled out a 19-16 victory, dropping the Red Riots to 1-1 on the season.

“Early in the season, we have to find out what we’re made of,” said South Portland coach Aaron Filieo. “I feel like the kids can play at the top level. For a minute there, it was questionable, but they battled back and I’m proud of them for that.

“I told the guys after the game that Lewiston made the plays they had to. Plain and simple. They made tough catches. Their quarterback made some big throws. Sometimes you have to give the other team credit for making plays. They made plays, we made plays, but they had the ball last.”

The Red Riots go to 1-0-1 Sanford Friday.

“Our guys know now that we’re never out of it,” said Filieo. “We’re pretty physical, but we’ve got to work on our pass coverage. There were guys who were wide open. We have to do a better job. The kids are competing and they’re young. I think Sanford will be a similar game. A big game. A quick turnaround. They have a really big back we’ll have to wrap up and we have to square away our pass coverage. Hopefully we’ll turn it around and get back on track.”

Scarborough also had an interrupted game, at home against Bishop Guertin of New Hampshire, but this one wasn’t completed. The Red Storm trailed at halftime, 13-10, as they scored on an interception return and a field goal from Caleb Wandell. At press time, it was unclear if the game will be declared a no contest and not factor into the final Crabtree Points standings or a loss that would. Scarborough (0-2) is at Oxford Hills (2-0), the reigning Class A champion, Friday night.

In Class C South, Cape Elizabeth fell to 0-2 after a 45-7 home loss to Leavitt, the reigning state champion. Mike Foley scored on a 1-yard run for the Capers late in the third period, before the contest was called an official game with bad weather in the vicinity. Cape Elizabeth welcomes Cheverus (2-0) Friday night.

Boys’ soccer

Cape Elizabeth’s boys’ soccer team improved to 3-0 with a 2-1 home win over Greely last Thursday, as Sam Cochran scored early and Keegan Lathrop produced the winning goal. Tuesday, the Capers built an early 2-0 lead at home against Freeport thanks to goals from Rory O’Grady and Harry Converse, but the Falcons came back and the game ended in a 2-2 draw. Cape Elizabeth hosted Yarmouth in a rematch of last year’s regional final Thursday (see our website for game story), then welcomes Fryeburg Academy Tuesday of next week.

Scarborough fell to 1-1-1 after a 3-1 home loss to Windham in a regional final rematch Tuesday. The Red Storm fell behind by three before Kilson Joao scored late.

“I thought we played a lot better second half,” said longtime Scarborough coach Mark Diaz. “Windham’s a good team. They’re dangerous up front and we made a couple mistakes, but you have to give them credit. They capitalized. They didn’t have any cheap goals. I thought we battled back well and we’ll learn from it. If we got another one, it would have been interesting. We had some chances. We’re a young team, so that was good to see from us.”

Scarborough was at Kennebunk Thursday and hosts Sanford Tuesday of next week.

“I feel like we can compete with anyone,” said Diaz. “It’s a smart bunch of guys, so we’ll get better from this. The schedule doesn’t get any easier and that’s fine.”

South Portland was 1-1-2 after a 1-0 loss at Falmouth and a 1-1 home tie against Bonny Eagle. Michael Zaccaria made four saves in the loss. Che-Hao Saito scored the lone goal against the Scots. The Red Riots have a showdown at longtime nemesis Gorham Tuesday.

Girls’ soccer

On the girls’ side, Scarborough, the reigning Class A state champion, improved to 2-0 last Wednesday with a 5-0 home win over Noble. Delia Fravert scored three goals and Lana Djuranovic added two. The Red Storm visit Kennebunk Friday, go to Marshwood Saturday, welcome Thornton Academy Monday and play host to Cheverus Wednesday of next week.

South Portland settled for a 1-1 home tie against Cheverus last Wednesday. Stella Henderson scored the goal. The Red Riots (1-0-1) hosted Bonny Eagle Wednesday, visit Windham Saturday and go to Gorham Wednesday of next week.

Cape Elizabeth in up to its usual dominant tricks in Class B South, improving to 4-0 with recent victories at Greely (4-1) and at home against Freeport (2-1). Against the Rangers, Hailey Gorman scored twice and Addison Miller and Heather Campbell added one goal apiece. In the win over the Falcons, CC Duryee scored both goals. The Capers were at reigning Class B champion Yarmouth Thursday (see our website for game story), then go to Fryeburg Academy next Tuesday.

Field hockey

Scarborough’s field hockey team got to measure itself against the region’s gold standard, reigning Class A South champion Cheverus, Monday and despite hanging tough for awhile, went down to a 7-1 defeat. The Red Storm, thanks in large part to goalie Jamila Mohamed (17 saves), were only down by a goal late in the first half, but the Stags scored just before halftime, then broke it open with four goals in the third quarter.

“We knew they’d be great,” longtime Red Storm coach Kerry Mariello said, of the Stags. “We held strong for awhile, but it’s tough. It’s too hard to hold off a great team for as long as we did based on the experience we have. We struggled in the third quarter. Cheverus has thousands and thousands of field hockey in them compared to us.”

Emma Lally scored late for Scarborough.

“You have to put it in perspective,” said Mariello. “Who knows what the next time will show? It was a great lesson for these girls to take what they’re showing us. Maybe we can incorporate their skills into our game.”

“We have potential,” Mariello said. “The older group has to keep teaching and hopefully the younger girls will get game experience and incorporate that.”

The South Portland/Westbrook co-op team was 1-2 after a 2-0 home win over Portland/Deering and a 3-0 loss at Falmouth. The squad was home versus Sanford Wednesday and goes to Kennebunk Wednesday of next week.

Cape Elizabeth improved to 3-0 after a 2-1 overtime win at Gray-New Gloucester last Wednesday, then fell at home to Leavitt Saturday, 3-1. The Capers were at longtime nemesis York Thursday and host Lake Region Monday.

Volleyball

Scarborough’s powerhouse volleyball team took a 4-0 record into Thursday’s showdown at defending Class A champion Biddeford. The Red Storm blanked Noble, then eked out a thrilling five-set (20-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-14, 17-15) win at Gorham last week before blanking visiting Thornton Academy (25-14, 25-18, 25-19) Tuesday. Scarborough hosts Gorham Tuesday of next week.

Cape Elizabeth improved to 3-0 after a four-set (14-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-19) win at Falmouth and a five-set (24-26, 25-21, 25-15, 21-25, 15-8) victory at Brunswick. The Capers hosted York Thursday, go to Messalonskee Saturday and welcome Yarmouth Tuesday of next week.

South Portland was 1-3 after a four-game (25-19, 22-25, 9-25, 23-25) home loss to Cheverus, a straight-set loss at Falmouth and a five-set victory at Bonny Eagle (13-25, 25-23, 17-25, 25-21, 15-13). The Red Riots visited Gorham Thursday and host Kennebunk Tuesday of next week.

Cross country

On the trails, Scarborough took part in a four-team meet at Bonny Eagle last week. The boys were second to the Scots and were led by Ethan Keller (second, 16 minutes, 50 seconds). The girls’ squad also came in second to the hosts, as Kyleigh Record placed third (19:59).

South Portland took part in a five-team meet at Biddeford. The boys were runners-up to Cheverus. Evan Small had the top individual time (16:56.38). The girls were third (Cheverus was first). Elsa Henriksen placed sixth (23:20.58).

Cape Elizabeth competed in a seven-team meet at Poland. The girls came in third (York was first). The top individual was Ellie Mainville (ninth, 23:14). The boys finished fourth (York was first). Finn Morris placed ninth (18:48).

Golf

On the links, Scarborough improved to 5-0 after recent wins over Deering (12-1) and Portland (13-0).

South Portland fell to 1-4 after losing to Cheverus (10.5-2.5) and Falmouth (11-2).

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. 

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