Southern: Postseason fun has arrived

Buckle up, the fall sports postseason is upon us.

It’s time for regional championships in cross country, playoffs in soccer, field hockey and volleyball and the end of the regular season for football.

And the best is yet to come.

Here’s a look at where things stand with the biggest games of the year on the horizon:

Football

South Portland quarterback Jaelen Jackson follows his blockers to one of his big gains during Saturday’s 27-7 win at Scarborough. Jackson rushed for 254 yards and three touchdowns. Michael Hoffer / For The Forecaster

South Portland’s football team made a powerful statement Saturday with a 27-7 win at Scarborough, as it improved to 5-2 on the season with its third consecutive victory.

The teams had to take the field for a 9:30 a.m. kickoff after poor field conditions forced the contest to be postponed from Friday night and considering the hour, it wasn’t a big surprise that neither squad could break through in the first quarter.

Red Riots quarterback Jaelen Jackson then broke the ice early in the second period when he ran away for a 73-yard touchdown run. The Red Storm answered, when quarterback De’Angelo Alston found Tom Hassett for a 15-yard TD pass on fourth down to tie it up, but the Red Riots chewed up most of the rest of the half before Jackson put them ahead to stay with a 1-yard run, making it 14-7 at the break. After an athletic interception from Nolan Hobbs on Scarborough’s first drive of the second half, South Portland made it 21-7 on a 4-yard Jackson touchdown scamper. The Red Storm weren’t able to rise off the deck and Jackson put it away with a 12-yard TD pass to Hobbs. Jackson finished with 254 rushing yards and three touchdowns, as well as another TD passing on his 18th birthday.

“I can’t complain, I’ll take it,” said Jackson. “Our mentality has changed. We just brought it to them for 48 minutes.”

“Our mentality was to come in here and dominate,” Hobbs said. “It doesn’t matter the opponent or time. Saturday morning, Monday night, we don’t care.”

“Our defense has really stepped up and played really, really well the past three weeks,” added Red Riots coach Aaron Filieo. “I thought our defense played very disciplined. We gave up one long (pass). We bent but we didn’t break. Scarborough has a lot of athletes, but so do we. We knew what they had to offer, so we had to just do our job. I’m really proud of them. Offensively, we’re finding things we like and Jaelen does what he does. I thought our offensive line played great today.”

South Portland (currently third in the Class B South Crabtree Points standings) closes with what promises to be a memorable Battle of the Bridge game Friday night at home versus red-hot Portland (4-3), which has also won three games in a row (see pressherald.com/forecaster/forecaster-sports/ for game story). It will be the first time since 2014 that both squads enter with winning records. The Bulldogs won last year’s meeting, 32-7.

“We have to win the Bridge back,” Jackson said. “We have a little revenge situation going on.”

Scarborough fell to 4-3 and third in Class A. Alston threw the ball 37 times, completed 20 passes and accumulated 198 yards. He was intercepted twice and threw for one TD. Hassett was the top receiver with 75 yards and a touchdown on three receptions.

“I think this week we didn’t come out of the gates with the same type of intensity and physicality we have the past couple of weeks,” Red Storm coach Packy Malia lamented. “They hit some big plays early and they executed well down the stretch while we were too inconsistent on offense. We had our chances, but we didn’t make the plays when we had to.”

Scarborough is home against 2-5 Edward Little Friday.

“We’ll watch the film and learn from it and move on,” Malia said. “We just need to continue to get better as a team, players and coaches, and focus on maintaining our intensity and consistency.”

Cape Elizabeth improved to 5-2 and fourth in the Class C South Crabtrees following last Friday’s 49-0 home win over York. The Capers opened the game with a nine-play, 59-yard drive that ended with the first of Nick Laughlin’s three consecutive touchdowns, this one a 7-yard run. With 1:50 left in the first quarter, Laughlin caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Michael Foley for a 14-0 lead.

Foley and Laughlin connected again just 56 seconds into the second quarter for a 35-yard scoring pass. With 6:03 left in the first half, Tom Hennessey caught a short Foley pass and scampered 61 yards for a touchdown. After the teams traded turnovers late in the half, Foley hit a wide-open Owen Tighe in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown and a 35-0 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Foley scored on a 24-yard TD run and Hennessey added a 7-yard touchdown rush.

Foley passed for 258 yards on 15-of-22 passing and threw for four touchdowns and he also ran for 64 yards and another score. Laughlin caught nine passes for 120 yards and two TDs. He also ran four times for 21 yards and a score.

“We played four full quarters of football, I think, as a team,” Foley said.

Cape Elizabeth closes the regular season at home versus 5-2 Cheverus Friday. It will be the teams’ first-ever countable meeting.

Boys’ soccer

Scarborough goalie Nicholas Ouellette makes a save during Tuesday’s home loss to Deering. Shawn Patrick Ouellette / Portland Press Herald

Cape Elizabeth’s boys’ soccer team capped its first undefeated regular season in three decades with recent home victories over York (4-0) and Freeport (3-0). Against the Wildcats, Philip Coupe, Grant Kelley, Sebastian Moon and Abu Shir all scored. In the win over the Falcons, Sam Cochran, Eddie Caldera and Alex van Huystee tickled the twine. The Capers (13-0-1) will host a quarterfinal round playoff game next week, likely versus rival Greely or Medomak Valley.

In Class A South, Scarborough will be the top seed for the first time since 2015, but the Red Storm weren’t able to complete a perfect regular season. Last week, Scarborough blanked host Bonny Eagle (7-0), but Tuesday, couldn’t hold an early lead and fell at home to Deering (3-1) to wind up 13-1. In the loss, Will Fallona scored early, but the Red Storm couldn’t hold the dangerous Rams in check and tasted adversity for the first time.

“Deering’s a good team,” said Diaz. “Everyone knows what they bring to the table. I thought we actually played pretty well. We did a lot of good things that often results in goals, but that’s how this game goes sometimes. We’ll learn from this and we’ll get better from it. I don’t think we handled playing catch-up great. Some of that is my fault. We’ll approach that better moving forward.”

Scarborough will host a quarterfinal round match next week, likely versus Kennebunk or Falmouth.

“I’m very proud of these guys and what they’ve accomplished,” Diaz said. “They won a really tough conference. We’ll look at the things we did wrong tonight and we’ll correct them.”

South Portland finished 10-4 after a 5-0 win at Noble and a 2-0 setback at Westbrook. In the victory, Josue Guerrero had two goals and Joey Hanlon, Ben Morin and Jayden Kim also scored. Thomas Caouette made seven saves in the loss. The Red Riots project to be the No. 5 seed for the tournament and if so, would host Cheverus in a preliminary round match.

In Class D South, Greater Portland Christian wound up 6-6 after a pair of wins at Vinalhaven last weekend, 12-1 and 8-0. Papa Osei had four goals total in the two victories, while Isaiah Irish added three goals. Nicholas Boyce and Kaden Patterson each scored twice. The Lions appeared pegged for the sixth spot in the region and will travel for the quarterfinals.

Girls’ soccer

On the girls’ side, three-time Class B state champion Cape Elizabeth finished 14-0 for the first time since 2018 after downing host York (5-1) and Freeport (2-1, in double-overtime) to close the regular season. Against the Wildcats, Evelyn Agrodnia scored twice and CC Duryee, Hailey Gorman and Noelle Mallory added one apiece. The Capers had to rally against the Falcons and extended their win streak to 22 games thanks to a tying tally from Mallory and Juliet Moore’s winner in the second OT. Cape Elizabeth is the top seed in Class B South for the fourth consecutive postseason and will host a quarterfinal round contest next week, likely against Medomak Valley or Wells.

In Class A South, Scarborough clinched the top seed and went 14-0 for the first time since 2018 after downing host Massabesic (9-0), visiting Bonny Eagle (5-0) and host Deering (4-0) to finish the season with a 80-2 goals differential.

The Red Storm made history in the win at the Mustangs, as senior Ali Mokriski scored three times and broke the all-time points record of 88 for the program, previously held by Maureen McHugh (Class of 2002). Mokriski, despite having her sophomore season abbreviated by COVID, now has 93 career points, including school records in career goals (61) and assists (32). Mokriski also owns the program record for single-season assists (14), breaking the record set last year by her current teammate, Lana Djuranovic, and has broken Djuranovic’s single-season points record (31) with 34 and counting. Not to be outdone, Djuranovic scored twice in the win at Massabesic and has 23 goals this season, eclipsing Gaby Panagakos’ single-season program record of 22 goals, set in 2016. Talia Borelli, Caroline Fallona, Sasha Ouellette and Sanibel Shinners all scored once against the Mustangs. Djuranovic had two goals against the Scots, while Talia Borelli, Mokriski and Delia Fravert each added one. In the win over the Rams, Mokriski, Borelli, Emma Blanchette and Maeve Davis all scored. The Red Storm will host a quarterfinal round game next week, with Sanford or Portland the likely foe.

South Portland wound up 4-10 despite a 9-1 home win over Westbrook in its finale. Marina Bassett had three goals, while Talia Bradbury finished with two and Alicia Ortiz, Ava Bryant, Brooke Lawton and Cassidy Clyde all added one. The Red Riots finished 14th in Class A South and fell short of a playoff berth (only 12 teams qualified).

Field hockey

Cape Elizabeth’s Jenna Tuttle plays the ball as teammate Meghan Conley looks on during the Capers’ 5-1 home win over Lake Region Monday. Photo courtesy Lisa Mims.

Cape Elizabeth’s field hockey team completed the best regular season in program history at 12-2 after closing with home wins over Poland (7-0), Gray-New Gloucester (5-0) and Lake Region (5-1). Against the Knights, Grace Gray went off for six goals and Abbie Homicz scored the other. In the win over the Patriots, Gray scored four times and Homicz rattled the cage as well. The Capers fell behind early against the Lakers on Senior Night, but rallied to prevail behind goals from Gray, Homicz, Meghan Conley, Katelyn McIntyre and Lulu Stocklein.

“We’re just really excited to be playing together,” said Gray. “These are some of my best friends since kindergarten, so I’m happy to share this night with them. Our seniors who graduated last year were a big impact on our team. This season, we’ve bonded and become one. That’s helped with our playing.”

“The girls have been working hard,” said Cape Elizabeth coach Maura Bisogni. “It takes a lot of mental toughness to show up every day and Class B is crazy this year. They’ve done a great job. (All the seniors scoring) is indicative of our season.”

The Capers are the second seed in Class B South behind York, the only team to beat them this year. They will host a quarterfinal round game next week, likely against Fryeburg Academy.

“I feel like our team has potential,” Gray said. “We work well together and we’re excited to see what happens. We treat every opponent like it’s our biggest opponent. You never know, especially this season, so we have to go into every game playing our best.”

In Class A South, Scarborough wound up 12-2 and third behind reigning champion Cheverus and Biddeford after closing with a 5-0 victory at Bonny Eagle last week. The Red Storm will host a quarterfinal round game next week, likely versus Windham.

The South Portland/Westbrook co-op squad wound up 2-11-1 after losses to visiting Biddeford (4-0) and at Cheverus (10-1). Emily Keefe made 13 saves against the Tigers and Leah Cromarty had the goal against the Stags. The team finished 12th in Class A South, but just 10 teams qualify for the playoffs.

Volleyball

Scarborough’s reigning Class A champion volleyball team finished 12-2 and second behind Biddeford in the Class A state Heals. The Red Storm will host a state quarterfinal this weekend, against Thornton Academy or Bonny Eagle.

South Portland ended up 3-11 and 15th in Class A, but just 13 teams qualified for the postseason. The Red Riots closed with 3-0 home losses to Thornton Academy and Kennebunk.

Cape Elizabeth finished 9-5 and third in Class B after straight set (28-26, 25-20, 25-19) victory at Falmouth in last week’s regular season finale. The Capers host a quarterfinal this weekend, against Mt. Desert Island.

Cross country

The cross country regional championship meet is this Saturday at Twin Brook Recreation Center in Cumberland where the state meet will also be held the following Saturday, Oct. 29.

Press Herald staff writer Travis Lazarczyk contributed to this story.