(For the complete Falmouth-Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth-Greely, Greely-Yarmouth and Yarmouth-Waynflete boys’ basketball, Falmouth-Greely, Greely-York, Greely-Gorham, Greely-Yarmouth, Yarmouth-Lake Region and Yarmouth-Waynflete girls’ basketball, Falmouth-Cheverus, Yarmouth-Cape Elizabeth and Yarmouth-Cheverus boys’ hockey and Falmouth-Yarmouth girls’ hockey game stories, with photos, see theforecaster.net)

It might not yet feel like winter, but the winter sports season has given us enough information to confirm that Forecaster Country is home to some of the best athletes in the state and that the next couple of months will be memorable.

Here’s a glimpse at what you might have missed in the first two weeks of the new season.

Boys’ basketball

There’s been a lot of excitement on the hardwood so far this winter.

Greely began with a splash, beating visiting, defending Class B champion Cape Elizabeth, 73-47, behind 21 points from Matt McDevitt and 17 from Ryan Twitchell. The Rangers then prevailed at York (81-67, as Jordan Bagshaw erupted for 37 points), at home against Brunswick (62-49, behind 20 points from McDevitt and 17 from Bagshaw) and at home over rival Yarmouth, 72-57, behind 15 3-pointers (McDevitt had eight for all 24 of his points and Bagshaw added seven en route to a game-high 27 points).

“I’m proud of our team,” Bagshaw said. “I’m happy with how we played and how the season’s going.”

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“I love how on our team anyone can have a good night,” McDevitt said. “Once the crowd gets into it, it gets into us and we keep shooting.”

“It’s no secret, when anyone shoots like that, it makes everything easier,” added Rangers coach Travis Seaver.

Friday, Greely dropped a 57-56 overtime heartbreaker at Gorham on a shot at the buzzer (McDevitt had 21 points in defeat), but 24 hours later, the Rangers erased an early 15-3 deficit and rallied to edge visiting rival Falmouth, 57-56, on two Bagshaw foul shots with 1.7 seconds left (Bagshaw had 23 points, while Caleb Normandeau added 11).

“It was Falmouth-Greely, a packed house,” said Normandeau. “We fed off the fans’ energy and each other’s energy on the floor and fought back. After last night, it shows we’re resilient, we can bounce back and we’re a tough team to play against.”

“It’s tough having two games in a row and last night was a tough one, but we focused on tonight and we played really well,” Bagshaw said.

“After last night, it was very difficult to turn the switch,” added Seaver. “The guys beat themselves up about last night and any competitor would. It was the best thing in the world to get back in the gym and compete.”

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The Rangers played at Morse Tuesday to close the 2015 portion of their schedule. They return to action Jan. 2 at Poland.

Falmouth was undefeated prior to losing to Greely. The Yachtsmen began with a 75-52 win at Kennebunk (Thomas Coyne had 29 points and Colin Coyne added 21), then held off visiting Cape Elizabeth, 69-66, as Thomas Coyne produced 35 points and Colin Coyne added 14.

“I think it’s a good sign when Cape shoots that well and we can still get a win,” Thomas Coyne said.

“Thomas takes a lot of pressure off me,” Coyne said. “He handles the ball as well as me. We help each other out.”

“It’s always a fun game with Cape Elizabeth,” added Yachtsmen coach Dave Halligan. “It was two good 3-point shooting teams going at it. They had players step up and so did we.”

Falmouth then won at home over Biddeford (71-41, as Thomas Coyne had 30 points and Colin Coyne added 18), at home over York (68-34, behind Thomas Coyne’s 32 points and 15 more from Colin Coyne) and at Brunswick (61-51, behind 21 points from Thomas Coyne, 13 from Colin Coyne and 12 from Sam Skop). In the loss to Greely, Thomas Coyne had 21 first half points, but managed just four in the second to finish with 25. Colin Coyne had 12 points and Skop added 10 points and 15 rebounds.

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“It was an outstanding game,” Halligan said. “All I can ask for. The kids are rivals and get up for each other.”

The Yachtsmen were home with Mt. Ararat Tuesday, then return to action Jan. 5 at home versus Lake Region.

Yarmouth also stumbled just once in the early going. The Clippers opened with wins over host Gray-New Gloucester (69-47, thanks to 15 points from Jonny Torres and 13 apiece from Musseit M’Bareck and Bailey Darling), visiting Lake Region (72-68) and host Waynflete (58-44, as M’Bareck led the way with 18 points).

“We moved the ball well and played great D,” M’Bareck said, of the win over the Flyers. “My teammates had my back and I had theirs.”

“I was telling the guys we’ve come over here undefeated two times before this and lost,” said Clippers coach Adam Smith. “Waynflete always gives us a hard time, especially here.”

Yarmouth then fell from the undefeated ranks, 72-57, at Greely, despite 21 points from Aleksander Medenica.

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“(Greely’s) very good here,” Smith said. “They had opportunities and they took advantage. That’s what a great team does.”

The Clippers got back on track with wins at Maranacook (70-60) and at home over Poland (61-38, as Medenica had a team-high 22 points). Yarmouth was home against Sacopee Valley Tuesday, then returns to action Jan. 2 at home versus Lincoln Academy.

Freeport began with home losses to Poland (56-42) and Waynflete (63-23), then fell at Spruce Mountain (70-38). Thursday, the Falcons snapped a 22-game skid by beating visiting Sacopee Valley, 53-30. After hosting Traip Academy Tuesday, Freeport is home with Gray-New Gloucester Wednesday of next week.

North Yarmouth Academy dropped its first four games, losing at Old Orchard Beach (60-26) and Richmond (54-32), at home to Traip Academy (51-45) and at Waynflete (72-30). Against Richmond, Haven Cutko had 15 points and Jake Malcom added 14). In the loss to the Rangers, Cutko finished with 18 points and Malcom had 14. Against the Flyers, Cutko had 14 points and Malcom finished with 10. The Panthers were at Pine Tree Academy Tuesday and play at A. R. Gould Wednesday of next week.

Girls’ basketball

On the girls’ side, defending Class B state champion Greely has stumbled a couple times, but has also shown that it is capable of doing great things again this winter.

The Rangers opened with a 45-24 win at Cape Elizabeth, as freshman phenom Anna DeWolfe debuted with 24 points. After a 78-64 home loss to York (despite 25 points from DeWolfe), Greely prevailed at Brunswick, 52-36, as Molly Chapin led the way with 14 points, DeWolfe had 13 and Isabel Porter added 11, and at home over Yarmouth, 40-27, behind 21 points from DeWolfe. The Rangers then did battle with preseason Class AA South favorite Gorham and dropped a 57-49 decision, despite 13 points from Lexi Faietta. Saturday, Greely got back on track with a 71-34 home win over Falmouth, as DeWolfe matched the Yachtsmen’s point production with a 34-point tour de force.

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“Anna’s pretty unique,” said Greely coach Joel Rogers. “Anna’s all about distributing the ball to her teammates. When I went deep into the bench, she tried to get looks for those kids. She wants to play well every night.”

The Rangers hosted Morse Tuesday, then are off until Jan. 2, when Poland pays a visit.

Yarmouth has shown some very promising signs in the early going. After opening with losses at Gray-New Gloucester, 36-27 (despite 12 points from Cory Langenbach), and at home to Lake Region, 39-29 (despite seven points apiece from Claire Brady, Alison Clark and Johanna Hattan), the Clippers beat visiting Waynflete, 42-23 (as Clark went off for 20 points and 17 rebounds).

“Coach (Chris Strong) said we need a winning mentality,” Clark said. “This win will help us the rest of the season.”

“We wanted to find Alison,” Strong said. “She was very impressive. She’s getting more and more confidence. That opens up the outside game for us.”

Yarmouth then lost at Greely (40-27), falling to the Rangers for the 20th straight time (despite nine points from Langenbach), but bounced back to beat visiting Maranacook, 65-22 (behind 18 points from Clark and 16 apiece from Kirk and Langenbach) and host Poland, 28-24 (Langenbach led the way with eight points) to even its record. The Clippers were at Sacopee Tuesday to close 2015 and return to action Saturday, Jan. 2 at Lincoln Academy.

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Falmouth won two of its first three games, then dropped three in a row. The Yachtsmen opened with a 41-30 home loss to Kennebunk (despite 10 points from Adelaide Cooke), then won at Cape Elizabeth (51-24) and Biddeford (42-27). Falmouth lost at York (76-46), at home against Brunswick (45-26) and at Greely (71-34). Candice Powers had 11 points against the Wildcats, Cooke had 10 versus the Dragons and in the loss to the Rangers, Abby Ryan led the way with 14 points.

“We hung in,” Yachtsmen coach Mari Warner said. “Honestly, we played some good basketball and I’m happy with that.”

Falmouth was at Mt. Ararat Tuesday and returns to action Jan. 5 at Lake Region.

Freeport lost its opener, 55-45, at Poland, then downed host Waynflete (64-34), visiting Spruce Mountain (58-56) and host Sacopee Valley (41-38) to eclipse last year’s win total. Megan Cormier had 16 points and Kayla Belanger 15 points in the loss. Against the Flyers, Belanger led the way with 15 points. Belanger had 19 points and Taylor Rinaldi added 14 in the win over the Phoenix. Against the Hawks, Belanger had a team-high 12 points. The Falcons went to Traip Academy Tuesday and host Gray-New Gloucester Wednesday of next week.

NYA lost its first four games this winter, falling at Old Orchard Beach (59-29), at Richmond (54-19), at home against Traip Academy (56-21) and at Waynflete (49-23). Maggie Larson had 14 points against the Seagulls, scored 19 of the Panthers’ 21 points against the Rangers and finished with 16 in the loss to the Flyers. NYA was at Pine Tree Academy Tuesday and is back in action Jan. 5 at Hyde.

Boys’ hockey

Yarmouth’s boys’ hockey team has awakened the echoes so far this winter. The Clippers, who started 0-5 in 2014-15, won their first five contests this year, downing visiting Gardiner (2-0) and Gorham (4-1) and host Kennebunk (5-1), Cheverus (4-3) and Cape Elizabeth (7-1).

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Against the Tigers, Bill Jacobs and Joe Truesdale scored, while Dan Latham had the shutout in goal. In the win over Gorham, the team which eliminated Yarmouth from last year’s playoffs, Jacobs and captains Walter Conrad, Patrick Grant and Noah Grondin had the goals. Conrad scored twice, while Grondin, Anders Newberg and Chris Romano scored against Kennebunk.

The Clippers got an early goal from Newberg against the Stags and took a 1-0 lead to the third period, where things got wild. After Jacobs made it 2-0, Cheverus got a pair of goals to pull even, but Grant put Yarmouth back on top. Again, Cheverus pulled even, but Conrad scored with just under three minutes to go to give the Clippers the win.

“Our ability to fight back really shows a lot about the guys in that (locker) room,” Grant said.

“We’re just stoked right now,” Conrad said. “We gave our all and when it shows up on the scoreboard, it makes us feel good.”

“It’s a good confidence builder,” added Yarmouth coach Dave St. Pierre. “This gives us a sense we can compete with anybody we get on the ice with.”

Monday, at Cape Elizabeth, Yarmouth fell behind just 3 minutes, 42 seconds in, but exactly five minutes later, Tyler Veilleux scored on a rebound to pull the Clippers even. After Yarmouth killed a 5-on-3 situation late in the first period, it came out clicking on all cylinders early in the second, as goals from Veilleux (30 seconds in) and Conrad (1:23 in) put the Clippers up by two. Yarmouth managed to kill another 5-on-3 and took a two-goal lead to the third period, where it ended all doubt. After Grant set up Newberg to make it 4-1, the Clippers’ fifth goal had to be seen to be believed, as Jacobs sent the puck in from center ice and it somehow wound up in the net for a 5-1 advantage. Two late goals from Grant, one shorthanded into an empty net and the other on a rebound, brought the curtain down on a decisive 7-1 triumph.

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“The win was big,” Jacobs said. “We wanted to get to 5-0. It feels really good.”

“It’s quite the start contrast from last year,” Grondin said. “It’s a good feeling.”

“I told the boys, ‘Thanks for the Christmas present and I’m proud of your effort and the room we have,'” added St. Pierre. “I have great kids. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

The Clippers return to action Jan. 2 at home versus Maranacook.

Falmouth dropped its opener in overtime, 5-4, at Cheverus (despite two goals from Robbie Armitage), but hasn’t lost since, winning at Bangor (4-2), at St. Dom’s (7-5), at home over Biddeford (4-1) and at home over Cheverus (5-1). Henry Norris had two goals against the Rams. Josh Noyes scored four times in the win over the Saints. Against the Tigers, Norris, Brendan Hickey, Jack Kidder and Louis Mainella scored. Norris had a hat trick to help beat the Stags.

“My linemates got me the puck in the right place at the right time and I buried it,” Norris said. “They set me up and help me.”

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“It’s redemption, no question,” said Yachtsmen coach Deron Barton. “It was fun. It’s a nice little rivalry.”

Falmouth was at Edward Little Wednesday, hosts Portland/Deering Tuesday and goes to Greely for the Dudley Cup Jan. 1.

Greely opened with a 2-0 home loss at Kennebunk, then fell at Thornton Academy, 8-2. After a 7-1 victory at Maranacook, the Rangers lost at Waterville (8-4) and at Gardiner (4-2). Greely hosted Leavitt Tuesday and play host to Falmouth New Year’s Day.

Girls’ hockey

On the girls’ side, Greely appears to be the gold standard, winning its first eight games by a composite 54-6 score. Last week, the Rangers won at Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland, 3-1, and at Winslow, 7-1. Ellie Schad, Bella Goodwin and Erin Molloy had the goals in the first victory. Greely was at Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland Tuesday (see theforecaster.net for game story) and hosts Falmouth in the Dudley Cup New Year’s Day.

Falmouth was also unbeaten at press time, improving to 7-0-2 with wins last week at Gorham/Bonny Eagle (12-0) and Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland (8-1). Abi Lebel had two goals in the first game and Sarah Hutcheon had a hat trick while Martina St. Angelo scored twice in the second win. The Yachtsmen are idle until hosting Greely Jan. 1.

The Yarmouth/Freeport/Gray-New Gloucester co-op team was 3-5 entering Monday’s home game against Scarborough. Next up is a game at Brunswick Wednesday of next week.

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Indoor track

The first Western Maine Conference indoor track meets were held last week.

Falmouth, Freeport and Greely joined Cape Elizabeth, Fryeburg Academy, St. Dom’s, Traip Academy and York.

In the boys’ meet, the Yachtsmen came in first, while the Rangers were fourth and the Falcons fifth. Falmouth got a pair of first-place finishes from Tony St. Angelo, who won the senior high jump (5 feet, 8 inches) and the open long jump (19-11.25).

Greely’s girls came in first, while Falmouth placed second and Cape Elizabeth came in eighth. The Rangers featured multiple event winners in Lizzie Brown, who took the junior high jump (4-8) and junior shot put (29-6.5), and distance standout Katherine Leggat-Barr, who won the mile (5 minutes, 20.18 seconds) and two-mile (10:57.42). The Yachtsmen were paced by Caitlyn Camelio, who won both the junior 55 (7.95 seconds) and junior 200 (28.14).

North Yarmouth Academy and Yarmouth joined Gray-New Gloucester, Lake Region, Poland, Sacopee Valley and Wells.

The Clippers were fourth on the girls’ side, while the Panthers placed fifth. Yarmouth was paced by Anneka Murrin, who took the 800 (2:26.65) and the mile (5:39.49), and Emma Egan, who came in first in the 55 (7.69) and the senior high jump (5-2). Linnea Hull won an event for NYA, taking the pole vault with a top vault of 8 feet.

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In the boys’ meet, Yarmouth finished fifth and NYA came in sixth. The Clippers were led by Tucker Whitney, who took the senior high jump (5-6), and Ian Murrin, who won the senior shot put (40-10). The Panthers got wins from Xander Bartone in the 200 (24.11) and Henry Quesada in the 800 (2:07.09).

League meets resume Friday, Jan. 8.

Swimming

Greely’s defending Class B champion girls’ swim team opened with a loss against Portland (111-44) and wins over Westbrook (117-57), McAuley (60-25) and South Portland (115-63). The Rangers boys lost to Portland (79-71), beat Westbrook (92-63) and lost to South Portland (90-73). Greely returns to action Jan. 6 at home versus Scarborough.

Falmouth’s boys opened with an 87-84 loss at South Portland, then were beaten, 108-56, by host Cheverus. The Yachtsmen girls beat South Portland (113-66), McAuley (108-60) and Cheverus (86-81). Falmouth was home against Scarborough Tuesday and visit Cape Elizabeth Wednesday of next week.

Yarmouth’s results weren’t available at press time.

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

Sidebar Elements

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Falmouth senior Thomas Coyne gets past Greely junior Matt McDevitt for two points during the Rangers’ thrilling 57-56 win Saturday night.

Greely freshman phenom Anna DeWolfe goes up for two of her game-high 34 points in the Rangers’ 71-34 home win over Falmouth Saturday.

Yarmouth’s Anders Newberg celebrates a goal with Tyler Veilleux during the Clippers’ 4-3 win over Cheverus last week.

Greely’s Samantha Pynchon clears the bar during the senior high jump at last week’s league meet.


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