Mike Farley, the girls’ soccer coach at Class A champion Scarborough, got a little emotional Saturday after his Red Storm defeated Bangor, 3-0.

He talked about the adversity the team had to overcome, especially the memories of the last three playoff losses.

Then he spoke about his seniors.

“I’ve got 12 of them,” he said. “I felt so bad for them the last couple of years because they’ve been such a big part of this team. For them to come out and lead this team the way they did, it’s really awesome. I can’t really describe it right now. It really hasn’t set in.”

The Red Storm dominated the first half, scoring twice. For a team that gave up just one goal all season, that was huge.

“They just wanted it,” said Farley. “They were in the game from the opening whistle.”

Senior back Heidi Bogdanovich knew exactly why the Red Storm won.

“We worked so hard, especially since last year, going out early in the first round,” she said. “We just really wanted to get this. A lot of us have been together for a really long team and we really wanted it.”

“We’ve been talking about this since middle school,” said senior forward Cortney Hughes, who scored the second goal. “Our last year in high school, it finally happened.”

SACOPEE VALLEY won its first Class C girls’ soccer title with a persistent offense, led by Emily Lane and Kara Singleton, with help from others, including fellow senior forward Amber Day.

But look at the other end of the field for a key to the Hawks’ success. There, sweeper Catherine Murch and goalkeeper Courtney Ross have been snuffing out chances all season.

“Putting an outstanding sweeper back there, our goals against this year was a total of 11,” Hawks Coach Kevin Murphy said. “That’s probably 25 less that what we normally average.

“That tells you what both Courtney Ross and Catherine Murch have done for our club. They’re just phenomenal.”

THE PORTLAND boys fell short of winning their first Class A soccer title, losing 3-2 to Bangor. The Bulldogs battled to the end of the game, which came down to the final seconds when the Bangor defense blocked several Portland attempts.

“The whole team, we never gave up,” said star Fazal Nabi. “Game by game, we tried our best.”

Rocco Frenzelli, coach of the Bulldogs, chose not to linger on the small controversy surrounding the winning goal late in the first half. Phil Frost scored on a direct kick from just outside the area. The Bulldogs thought head referee Darren Hall had signaled an indirect kick.

“I don’t want that (to be an issue),” he said. “We had chances. We just couldn’t finish. They did a great job down the stretch bottling everything up.”

Frost scored all three goals for Bangor and Frenzelli said that was the difference.

“He danced around us twice and then hit a great dead ball,” said Frenzelli. “He was deserving of the goals he got. We weren’t able to stop him on those plays. Those are the plays you have to make if you’re going to win a state championship. And he did it.”

WHEN WELLS beat Cape Elizabeth 14-7 in the Western Class B football regular season, Warriors quarterback Paul McDonough had a monster game, returning an interception for a touchdown and directing the offense flawlessly.

So when the teams met Friday in the regional semifinals, Wells Coach Tim Roche told McDonough to expect to carry the ball 20 times.

“I guess I lied to him,” said Roche after Wells’ 47-7 win.

McDonough didn’t carry the ball once.

“It just happened we didn’t need to do it,” said Roche. “Why run him out there and maybe get hurt?”

Wells had plenty of offense. Chad Whitten had a 79-yard touchdown run, and Louis DiTomasso gained 102 yards and scored twice, on runs of 68 and 31 yards.

“The way our offense is, we spread the wealth,” said Roche. “They’re all getting the ball so nobody is going to have these unbelievable stats. But that’s what a team is. That’s what makes these guys so great. They don’t care. They just want to win.”

MOUNTAIN VALLEY and Wells will meet in the Western Class B football final. When they played in September, the Falcons won, 14-6. The difference was a fluke play. With the score tied 6-6, Mountain Valley punter Rashad Lavoie could not handle a low snap and had to run. He ended up with a 75-yard touchdown.

“The biggest offensive play of the game was the punt,” Mountain Valley Coach Jim Aylward said. “Other than that, we had about 5 yards of offense. We have to play better or (Wells) will beat us.”

Mountain Valley actually had more than 5 yards in that game, but the two touchdowns tied a season low. The unbeaten Falcons are averaging 37.8 points per game.

TREY THOMES has given Deering a big lift with his running and his play in the defensive secondary. On offense, he is a shifty runner who doesn’t need much of an opening. A junior, Thomes had an interception against Bonny Eagle and recovered a fumble on a punt that led to Deering’s second touchdown in a 28-6 Western Class A semifinal win.

Thomes broke some bones in his arm during Deering’s first preseason scrimmage against Marshwood. He returned Oct. 2 against Thornton Academy.

MIKE HALEY is in his second year as an assistant football coach for Oak Hill High in Wales. Haley, who lives in Auburn, is working for head coach Dave Wing. Haley was a longtime head coach at several Central Maine schools before becoming a school administrator. Now retired, Haley decided to help a fellow UMaine graduate. Wing is also a longtime coach and administrator. Haley was a running back at Maine in the mid-1960s, and Wing was a quarterback for the Black Bears in the late 1960s. The Raiders lost to Yarmouth 28-7 in the Western Class C semifinals to finish with a 5-5 record.

— Staff Writers Mike Lowe, Kevin Thomas and Tom Chard contributed to this report.

 

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