(For the complete Deering-Portland, McAuley-South Portland, McAuley-Thornton Academy and Waynflete Yarmouth girls’ basketball and Cheverus-Falmouth and Cheverus-Yarmouth boys’ 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 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

Portland’s boys’ basketball team is again setting the pace. The 2014 Class A champion and 2015 Class A runner-up opened with a decisive 75-56 home win over South Portland (Amir Moss had 20 points and freshman Pedro Fonseca debuted with 14), then won at Bonny Eagle, 75-49 (Amir Moss and Terion Moss both had 20 points), at Oxford Hills, 74-57 (Griffin Foley led the way with 19 points, Amir Moss had 18 and Joe Esposito and Terion Moss both added 13), and at Lewiston, 85-39 (Terion Moss led the way with 20 points and Esposito finished with 17). The Bulldogs hosted Edward Little Tuesday and play host to Noble Tuesday of next week.

Deering won its first five games, downing visiting Windham (82-60), host Noble (105-33), host Edward Little (76-62), visiting Sanford (67-38) and host Bangor (66-60). Against the Eagles, Ben Williams had 23 points. Malik White had 19 points and Williams and Raffaele Salamone each added 17 in the win over the Knights. Anthony Lobor led the way against the Red Eddies with 18 points, while Williams had 16 and Manny Chikuta added 14. Williams went off for 27 points against the Spartans and White and Max Chabot both had 13 points in the win at Bangor. The Rams were home with Lewiston Tuesday and go to Gorham Tuesday of next week.

Cheverus was also 5-0 at press time after defeating visiting Sanford (39-24, behind Jack Casale’s 22 points), host Windham (59-39, as Austin Boudreau had 16 points and Jesse Matthews added 15), visiting Bangor (53-39, behind 26 points from Boudreau), host Scarborough (62-58, behind 33 points from Casale) and visiting Edward Little (52-40, as Casale led the way with 16 points). The Stags were at Oxford Hills Tuesday and welcome Noble Monday.

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In Class C South, Waynflete opened with wins over visiting Sacopee Valley (57-24) and host Freeport (63-23) and after losing at home to Yarmouth (58-44), the Flyers beat visiting North Yarmouth Academy (72-30) and Wells (55-40). Against the Hawks, Abel Alemayo led the way with 15 points. Milo Belleau led Waynflete with 14 points in the loss. Against the Panthers, Will Nelligan led the team with 18 points. Belleau had a team-high 21 points in the win over the Warriors.

“I’m very pleased,” said Flyers coach Rich Henry. “We’ve had to overcome injuries and illness. I think we have good pieces.”

Waynflete returns to action Saturday, Jan. 2, at Old Orchard Beach.

Girls’ basketball

On the girls’ side, McAuley is up to its old tricks. The Lions opened with a 46-37 home win over South Portland, as Jess Willerson had 20 points and Brooke Howard added 12.

“We had opening night jitters and we have a lot to work on, but I’m very happy with the way we played defense tonight,” said McAuley coach Billy Goodman.

The Lions then won at Massabesic (48-34, behind 22 points from Willerson), at Bonny Eagle (59-38, as Willerson had 19 points and freshman Catherine Reid added 11), at Noble (71-29, behind 15 points from Reid and 12 from Mazur) and at home over Thornton Academy, 41-31, in a rematch of last year’s regional final which McAuley lost. In that one, Emily Weisser had 12 points and Mazur excelled defensively with eight steals.

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“This was good for us,” Mazur said. “(Thornton’s) a very good team.”

“There’s obviously a rivalry there,” Weisser said. “I think it’s fun, good, healthy competition. For us, it’s been someone different every game. We did well as a team. We wanted to win. We had a drive to win.” 

“I told the team it wasn’t about getting revenge, it was about showing everyone how much we’ve improved,” added Goodman, who improved to 89-3 at the Lions’ helm. “I feel like we’ve really improved a lot. Sometimes it showed and sometimes it looked like we’re beginners.”

The Lions were at Scarborough Tuesday.

Deering opened with a 65-47 home win over Portland, as Tasia Titherington had 30 points, Abi Ramirez added 15 and freshman Delaney Haines debuted with a dozen.

“Overall, I’m very pleased,” said Deering coach Mike Murphy. “On Opening Night, no matter the sport, no matter the age, you fight jitters. The kids got off to a fast start and responded very well.”

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The Rams then lost at South Portland (40-37, despite 16 points from Titherington) and beat visiting Edward Little (61-47, Amanda Brett had 19 points and Haines added 13), host Sanford (47-32, Brett led the way with 20 points and Ramirez finished with 13) and host Bangor (46-41, as Haines had a team-high 13 points). Deering was at Lewiston Tuesday and hosts Cheverus Tuesday of next week.

Cheverus won its first three games: 70-19 over visiting Noble (Brooke Dawson led the way with 15 points), 56-46 at Portland (Emme Poulin had a team-high 19 points) and 49-37 over visiting Bangor (Abby Cavallaro led the way with 20 points), then lost at home to South Portland (58-34, despite nine points from Cavallaro) and at Edward Little (57-41, Cavallaro again led the team with 14 points). The Stags looked to get back on track Tuesday at home against Oxford Hills. Cheverus goes to Deering Tuesday of next week.

Portland started 0-5, losing at Deering (65-47, despite 12 points apiece from Margaret Hatch and Taylor Sargent), at home to Cheverus (56-46, despite 10 points from Shayla Eubanks), at home to Oxford Hills (62-46, despite 19 points from Cierra Burnham), at Bonny Eagle (62-39, despite Kate Johnson’s 14 points) and at home to Lewiston (65-46, despite Sargent’s 12 points). The Bulldogs hoped to get in the win column Tuesday at Edward Little.

In Class C South, Waynflete opened with a 38-34 come-from-behind home win over Sacopee Valley, as Annika Brooks had 16 points. The Flyers then lost at Wells (47-28, despite 13 points from Brooks), at home to Freeport (64-34, despite 14 ponits from Brooks) and at Yarmouth (42-23, as Brooks had 11).

“Eventually we’ll get some breaks,” Waynflete’s first-year coach Mike Jefferds said. “I’m trying to keep the girls up and get them to see the big picture and get them to progress to the point where we can win some games and get in the tournament.” 

The Flyers got back in the win column with a 49-23 home victory over NYA, as Brooks and Lydia Giguere both had 16 points. Waynflete returns to action Saturday, Jan. 2 at Old Orchard Beach.  

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Boys’ hockey

Cheverus’ boys’ hockey team, a regional finalist in 2014-15, has been up-and-down this winter. The Stags opened with a 5-4 overtime win over Falmouth, as Sean Walsh had the decisive goal and Luke Trickey scored twice. After a 5-0 loss at defending Class A champion Scarborough, Cheverus beat host Brunswick, 7-1, as Cam Dube had a pair of goals. The Stags then lost at home to Yarmouth (4-3) and at Falmouth (5-1).

Cheverus hopes to end its slump Wednesday at Biddeford. The Stags also go to St. Dom’s the following Monday to end the 2015 portion of their schedule.

“We’ll have to try and win the next one,” Cheverus coach Dan Lucas said. “Guys have to take on more responsibility and not wait for the other guy to do it.”

The Portland/Deering co-op team opened with a 7-1 win at Leavitt (Mason Martell scored twice), then lost at home to Lewiston (13-0), at Biddeford (7-0), at Noble/Wells (6-5, in overtime, despite two goals from Lucas Harris) and at home to St. Dom’s (8-2). Portland/Deering hopes to get back in the win column Tuesday of next week at Falmouth.

Waynflete has several players on the South Portland/Freeport/Waynflete co-op squad which started the season 2-3.

Girls’ hockey

On the girls’ side, Cheverus, which has players from Kennebunk and Old Orchard Beach this season, has already eclipsed last year’s win total. The Stags extended their win streak to five games and improved to 7-2 with victories last week at Brunswick (4-1) and at Gorham/Bonny Eagle (8-2, behind hat tricks from Sophia Pompeo and Caroline Ray). Cheverus hosted Mt. Ararat Tuesday and goes to Portland/Deering Wednesday. 

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The Portland/Deering co-op team, which already matched last year’s win total, fell to 2-5 after losses last week at Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland (5-1) and at home against St. Dom’s (11-1). 

Waynflete has girls playing with a Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland co-op squad which started the season 3-6.

Indoor track

Early season indoor track results have been promising.

Cheverus and Deering started the season against each other, Biddeford and Bonny Eagle. The Rams were first in the boys’ meet, while the Stags placed fourth. In the girls’ meet, Deering was second to Bonny Eagle, while Cheverus came in fourth.

McAuley joined Gorham, Marshwood and Massabesic in its first meet and placed fourth.

Portland’s boys and girls were third against Scarborough and Noble.

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On the second weekend, Deering’s boys were a close second to Thornton Academy in a meet which also included Massabesic and Noble. Paolo DeMarco won the 200 (23.16 seconds) and 400 (51.96). Abdiaziz Hassan won the 800 (2 minutes, 9.61 seconds) and the mile (4:51.57). A pair of school records fell as well, as Jack Lynch broke the junior 200 mark (25.04) and Nick James set a new junior 400 standard (56.44).

The Rams girls were also second to Thornton Academy. Nicola Ciccomancini won the 55 in 7.95 seconds.

Cheverus, McAuley and Portland joined South Portland for a meet.

The Stags were second and the Bulldogs third behind the Red Riots on the boys’ side. The Stags were led by freshman Tre Fletcher, who won the long jump (19-6) and high jump (6-0). Aaron Merrill was first in the shot put (34-2.75). The Bulldogs got wins from Ryan Lizanecz in the 600 (1:29.70)

In the girls’ meet, Cheverus was second to South Portland, while Portland placed third and McAuley fourth. The Stags were led by Sarah Mount, who won the 200 (28.63), Emily Turner, first in the long jump (15 feet, .25 inches), and Hannah Abbott, who won the shot put (30-2.25). The Bulldogs got first-place showings from Ella Altidor in the 55 (7.68) and 400 (1:04.64) and Maggie Hosmer in the 800 (2:31.53). The Lions got a win from Samantha Witkowski in the pole vault (6 feet).

League meets resume Saturday, Jan. 2.

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Swimming

Cheverus’ defending Class A boys’ swimming state champion opened with wins over Deering (93-37) and Falmouth (108-56).  The Cheverus girls opened with an 99-64 win over Deering, then lost a close one  to Falmouth (86-81). The Stags visit Cape Elizabeth Wednesday. 

After losing its opener to Cheverus (93-37), Deering’s boys lost to Scarborough (131-23) and to Cape Elizabeth (119-16). The Rams girls followed up a 99-64 loss to Cheverus with a 109-60 defeat to Scarborough and a 116-65 setback at the hands of Cape Elizabeth. Deering visits Portland Wednesday.

The Bulldogs boys beat perennial power Greely in the opener, 79-71, then lost to Sanford (103-62). Portland’s girls lost to defending Class B champion Greely (111-44), then were beaten by Sanford (98-63).

McAuley opened with a 109-82 loss to Gorham and a 114-82 loss to Westbrook before falling to Falmouth (108-60) and Greely (60-24). The Lions go to Scarborough Wednesday of next week.

Waynflete’s boys’ team beat Gorham (80-44) and lost to Sanford (108-49). The girls were defeated by Gorham (114-52) and Sanford (113-44).

Wrestling

Portland’s wrestling team has, as expected, been very competitive this season. To date, the Bulldogs have enjoyed victories over Windham (66-12), York/Traip (45-30), Cheverus (48-15) and Scarborough (48-27) and lost to Wells (57-24), Noble (75-0) and Biddeford (60-21). Portland also placed fifth at the 18-team Tiger Invitational.

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Deering started 3-4, beating Windham (48-24), Cheverus (35-28) and Windham (36-18) and losing to Biddeford (56-12), Scarborough (42-24), Sanford (66-18) and Scarborough (48-18). The Rams were also 11th out of 18 teams at the FSB tournament at Mountain Valley.

Deering hosts Portland (and Bonny Eagle) Wednesday in the final meet of 2015.

Cheverus started 0-5 with losses to Portland (48-15), Bonny Eagle (66-18), York/Traip (48-24), Deering (35-28) and Scarborough (42-27). The Stags host Biddeford Wednesday. 

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

Sidebar Elements


Waynflete senior Willy Burdick comes up with a steal during the Flyers’ loss to Yarmouth, their lone setback to date.

McAuley’s Eva Mazur goes up with the left hand during the Lions’ 41-31 home win over Thornton Academy in a regional final rematch Friday.

Cheverus’ Matt Dilios fires a shot during the Stags’ 4-3 loss to Yarmouth last week.


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