South Portland quarterback Matt Crockett throws a pass during the Red Riots’ 42-14 loss at Deering last weekend.

Scarborough’s boys’ soccer team celebrates a goal during Tuesday’s 4-0 win at Cheverus.

South Portland’s Charlie Cronin launches a shot during Tuesday’s home game against Portland. Cronin scored with 44 seconds left to give the Red Riots a 1-0 win.

(Ed. Note: For the complete South Portland-Deering football and Scarborough-Cheverus and South Portland-Portland boys’ soccer game stories, with additional photos, see theforecaster.net)

The temperature continues to drop and the days get ever shorter, but the fun is just beginning if you’re a high school sports fan as the fall season is just heating up. 

Here’s a look at where things stand as September gives way to October:

Football

Cape Elizabeth’s football team continues to set the tone and is 4-0 and atop the Class C South Crabtree Points standings at press time. The Capers rolled over visiting Freeport, 42-6, last Friday. Cape Elizabeth opened up a 22-0 lead after one quarter thanks to a 33-yard touchdown run by Peyton Weatherbie and two TD throws from Jeb Boechenstein (one to Camden Turner for 36 yards and one to Nat Spicer for 21). Two more touchdown passes (a 1 yard pass from Andrew Hartel to Marshall Peterson and a 6-yard strike from Boechenstein to Peterson) made it 35-0 at halftime. After a scoreless third period, the Capers got their final points on a 3-yard Brett McAlister run. The Falcons scored on the game’s last play to account for the final score.

Cape Elizabeth is at 2-2 Mountain Valley Friday. Last year, the Capers beat the visiting Falcons, 20-12.

In Class A South, Scarborough earned a key road victory Friday, 21-12, at Sanford. The first half was a defensive struggle, but the Red Storm took a 7-0 lead on a long touchdown run from Owen Garrard in the first period. In the third, Garrard broke free for another touchdown for a 14-0 lead. The Spartans got a TD back, but missed the extra point and that loomed large. Garrard’s third scoring run, in the final stanza, made it 21-6 and while Sanford scored late, it couldn’t produce a two-point conversion and the Red Storm improved to 3-1 with a 21-12 victory.

Scarborough (third in Class A South) has a chance to make a powerful statement Friday when two-time defending Class A champion Thornton Academy (4-0) pays a visit. Last year, the Golden Trojans won the regular season meeting, 48-7, in Saco, then blanked the Red Storm in the semifinals, 35-0.

South Portland fell to 1-3 with a 42-14 loss at Deering. The game was scoreless after one period, but the Rams went ahead, 14-0, at halftime. Two more Deering TDs in the third quarter and one in the fourth made it 35-0 and started a mercy rule running clock, but the Red Riots answered with a 60-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Crockett to Zack Johnson. After the hosts scored again, former Ram Moses Oreste scored on a 56-yard scamper to account for the final score.

South Portland mustered 234 yards, with half of that coming on two scoring plays. The Red Riots weren’t penalized and turned the ball over once.  Crockett finished 8-of-14 passing, good for 118 yards and one touchdown. He also ran 11 times for 27 yards. Johnson caught four passes for 91 yards and a TD. Oreste gained 66 yards and had a touchdown on his five rushes.

“I’m very proud of the kids,” said South Portland coach Steven Stinson. “We’re testing the bottom of our depth chart, but the kids responded and stepped up. Their effort is admirable. It’s a great group of high quality kids.”

South Portland (sixth in Class A South) hopes to rebound Friday when it goes to 0-4 Bangor, a team the host Red Riots lost to, 20-14, in overtime a year ago. 

“Being where we are, we just have to get better and continue to learn,” Stinson said. “We have a great opportunity every week to learn. When all is said and done, we’ll be an improved football team.”

Boys’ soccer

After a tough start to the season, Scarborough’s boys’ soccer team has returned to form. Last Thursday, the Red Storm dominated visiting Biddeford, 9-1. Garrett King had two goals and Jarred Greenleaf, Marc Guerette, Justin Perry, Spencer Pettingill, Cam Smith, Noah Stracqualursi and Brandon Wasser all scored one. Tuesday, Scarborough went to Cheverus for a regional final rematch and improved to 14-1-1 all-time against the Stags with a 4-0 victory. King and Stracqualursi both scored twice.

“I think if we keep our work ethic, we’ll be a hard team to beat,” Stracqualursi said. 

“We’re still Scarborough, so we get everyone’s best game,” King said. “We have to work through that. We just want to win.”

“We’re playing better,” added longtime Red Storm coach Mark Diaz. “We’re more composed now. Cheverus is well organized. They’re a good team, so we’re happy with the result today.” 

The Red Storm (ranked fifth in the Class A South Heal Points standings at press time) goes to Portland Friday, hosts Westbrook Tuesday and has a key showdown at Thornton Academy Thursday.

South Portland improved to 4-3 Tuesday night after a dramatic 1-0 home win over Portland on Charlie Cronin’s goal with 44.2 seconds to play. Goalkeeper Riley Hasson made nine key saves.

“It felt amazing,” Cronin said. “This has happened twice, against Bonny Eagle and again now. It’s the best feeling of my soccer career. It happened so fast. I do it in practice almost every day. I got that through-ball, I drove past one defender, another comes in, I did a quick cut and it was just me and the goalie and I slipped it right under him. It’s all instinct.”

“We’ve gone to overtime twice, so I felt confident going into overtime, but I told the guys they’re taking years off my life,” Red Riots coach Bryan Hoy said. “We did not play well in the first half and they took it to us. I told the guys at halftime, ‘We’re lucky not to be down, 3-0 or 4-0.’ We played much better in the second, spreading the field, playing quicker.”

The Red Riots (10th in Class A South) were at Westbrook Thursday and visit Windham Saturday. South Portland plays at Thornton Academy Tuesday and welcomes Cheverus Thursday of next week in a playoff rematch.

In Class B South, Cape Elizabeth got back on track Saturday with a 2-1 home win over Greely. Quinn Hewitt scored on a penalty kick early and David Hare had the decisive goal in the second half. The Capers improved to 6-2-1 Tuesday with a 6-1 victory at Kennebunk. Connor Thoreck had three goals and Noah Bates, Matt Concannon and Tate Perkins all added one. Cape Elizabeth (third behind Maranacook and Yarmouth in the Heals) was at Gray-New Gloucester Thursday and hosts York Tuesday.

In Class D South, Greater Portland Christian School beat host Chop Point (3-2, in overtime) last week. Ethan Spaudling had the first goal and Killian Patterson had the other two, including the score in OT. Monday, the Lions lost, 3-2, to visiting A.R. Gould, despite goals from Hammond and Christian Patterson. Tuesday, GPCS improved to 2-5-1 with a 7-2 home win over Highview Christian. Spaulding and Jeremiah Hammond both scored three times and Cade Garrison had one goal. The Lions (13th in the Heals) were home with Seacoast Christian Thursday, go to Highview Christian Tuesday and visit A.R. Gould Thursday of next week.

Girls’ soccer

On the girls’ side, Scarborough took a three-game win streak and a 4-2-1 mark into Wednesday’s home tilt with resurgent Cheverus (a win would give longtime coach Mike Farley his 150th victory with the program, see theforecaster.net for game story). Last week, the Red Storm blanked visiting Maine Girls’ Academy (5-0) and host Biddeford (10-0). Gaby Panagakos scored three goals in both wins. Suzanne Woodridge had two goals against the Tigers, while Josie Couture, Leah Dickman, Katie Farino, Ashley Perriello and Natalie Russell all added one. Dickman scored twice against MGA. Scarborough (eighth in the Class A South Heal Points standings at press time) hosts Portland Saturday (see theforecaster.net for game story) and goes to Westbrook Wednesday of next week.

South Portland enjoyed a 6-1 home win over Biddeford, then settled for a 1-1 tie at Maine Girls’ Academy last week. Against the Tigers, Julia Banks, Sophie Chase, Meghan Graff, Callie O’Brien, Juliana Selser and Jattie Tetzlaff all scored. O’Brien had the goal against the Lions. The Red Riots (11th in Class A South) were at Portland Wednesday (see theforecaster.net for game story), host Westbrook Friday and welcome Thornton Academy Wednesday of next week.

In Class B South, Cape Elizabeth lost at Yarmouth (3-0) and at defending Class B champion Greely (2-1) last week. Mariah Deschino had the goal against the Rangers. Tuesday, the Capers evened their record at 4-4 with a 2-1 home victory over Kennebunk. Tory McGrath and Riley Dall had the goals. Cape Elizabeth (fifth in the Heals) was home with Gray-New Gloucester Thursday and visits York Tuesday.

In Class D South, GPCS tied host Rangeley, 0-0, last Saturday, then fell to 1-6-1 with a 2-1 home loss to Highview Christian Tuesday. Grace Mears had the lone goal. The Lions (seventh in the Heals) go to Searsport Friday, visit Highview Christian Tuesday and welcome Vinalhaven Thursday.

Field hockey

Scarborough’s field hockey team extended its win streak to seven after knocking off visiting, defending regional champion Thornton Academy (2-0) and host Westbrook (2-1, in double overtime). The Red Storm avenged last year’s playoff ouster against the Golden Trojans thanks to goals from Ashley Levesque and Lily Nygren. In the win over the Blue Blazes, Nygren scored to tie the game and Kristen Levesque won it in OT. Scarborough (now second behind Falmouth in the Class A South Heal Points standings) hosted Biddeford Thursday, goes to South Portland Monday and visits Portland Wednesday.

South Portland beat host Windham, 5-2, last Wednesday, then fell to 3-6 after a 3-1 home loss to Biddeford and a 7-1 loss at Thornton Academy Tuesday. In the win, Amelia Papi had two goals and Sophia Cummings, Abby Darling and Lydia Henderson had one apiece. Darling scored against the Tigers. Lydia Grant had the goal in the loss to the Golden Trojans. The Red Riots (10th in Class A South) were at Sanford Thursday, host Scarborough Monday and go to Noble Wednesday.

Cape Elizabeth continues to be anything but boring. Last week, the Capers defeated visiting Wells (3-1) and Lake Region (3-0) to go over the .500 mark, then losses at Poland (2-1, in overtime) and at home to Yarmouth (3-0) dropped them to 4-5. Against the Warriors, Taylor Young scored twice and Emi Logue had one goal. Young had two more goals and Katie Zajkowski had the other in the win over the Lakers. Logue scored against the Knights and goalie Kinnon McGrath made 13 saves. Cape Elizabeth (ninth in Class B South) was at Kennebunk Wednesday, hosts two-time defending Class B champion York Friday and is at Freeport Tuesday and at Falmouth Thursday of next week.

Volleyball

Scarborough’s defending Class A champion volleyball team had won eight straight matches at press time after 3-0 victories over visiting Brunswick (25-8, 25-6, 25-10), visiting Mt. Desert Island (25-14, 25-14, 25-9) and host Deering (25-12, 25-14, 25-22). After hosting Falmouth Thursday (see theforecaster.net for game story), the Red Storm (second behind Greely in the Class A Heal Points standings) visit Cape Elizabeth Tuesday and Massabesic Thursday of next week.

South Portland has won four straight matches, beating visiting Deering in four sets (25-21, 25-23, 19-25, 25-18) last week and blanking host Brunswick (25-18, 25-9, 25-13) Tuesday. Amanda Bouchard had 33 digs, Kayla Brown finished with 18 assists and Molly Mawhinney had 13 kills and 11 aces versus the Rams. The Red Riots (11th in Class A) were at Biddeford Thursday, visit Yarmouth Tuesday and play at Windham Thursday of next week.

Cape Elizabeth dropped a three-set (7-25, 13-25, 9-25) home decision to Greely last Thursday, then improved to 5-3 with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-10, 25-14) victory at Gardiner Tuesday. The Capers (10th in Class A) were at York Thursday, host Scarborough Tuesday and welcome Yarmouth Thursday of next week.

Cross country

South Portland hosted Scarborough, Maine Girls’ Academy and Noble in a cross country meet last weekend. In the boys’ race, the Red Storm, led by individual winner Connor Coffin (14 minutes, 41 seconds), placed first as a team, while the Red Riots, who produced the runner-up, Xander Keiter (14:41), placed second. In the girls’ meet, Scarborough, paced by individual champion and new course record holder Bethany Sholl (17:36), placed first and South Portland came in second. The Red Riots were led by runner-up Thaovy Duong (19:15). 

Cape Elizabeth joined York at Kennebunk. The Capers boys were second to the hosts as Jack Bassett was second individually in 18:02. In the girls’ race, Cape Elizabeth placed second to York and Kelsey Kennedy led the way with a fifth-place showing (20:59). 

Next up, is the Festival of Champions in Belfast Saturday.

Golf

Cape Elizabeth’s powerhouse golf team completed another undefeated regular season with wins last week over York (4-3), Freeport (6-1), Poland (7-0) and Lake Region (5-2). The 10-0 Capers will host Fryeburg Academy in a Western Maine Conference final four matchup Monday. The winner will meet the winner between Yarmouth and York.

Scarborough was 7-2 entering its final match at Portland Thursday after downing Falmouth (10-3), South Portland (10-3) and Deering (12-1).

South Portland was 2-7 entering its finale at Falmouth after losing to Scarborough (10-3) and Cheverus (10-3).

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

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