Portland: Spring sports season was triumphant, therapeutic

Let’s face it.

A full sports season was just what the doctor ordered.

And the 2021 spring campaign delivered in every way.

After being deprived of a season in 2020 due to COVID, spring athletes and coaches were primed to make up for lost time and they certainly did so from start to finish.

For the first time since the winter campaign of 2019-20, we had a full regular season and postseason and plenty of memories were made.

On the diamond, city squads were on a collision course, as Portland eliminated Deering in a play-in game, then the Bulldogs took Cheverus to an extra inning and another and yet another before the Stags prevailed in the quarterfinals.. Cheverus then bowed out in the semifinals, losing to eventual state champion South Portland. The Waynflete/North Yarmouth Academy co-op squad enjoyed its best season to date, posting double-digit victories before losing to Lisbon in the quarterfinals.

Cheverus’ softball team eliminated Deering in a play-in game, then lost to top-ranked Marshwood. Portland sprung a Round of 16 upset at Sanford, then lost to Thornton Academy in the quarterfinals.

Boys’ lacrosse produced a champion in a dominant Waynflete squad, which lost only one game en route to a Class C title. In Class A North, Deering was ousted in the preliminary round, while Cheverus and Portland were eliminated in the quarterfinal.

On the girls’ side, Waynflete brought home a Class C championship as well, in fairy tale fashion. In Class A North, Cheverus and Portland both fell in the quarterfinals.

The outdoor track state meet produced plenty of highlights, including a transcendent performance from a Cheverus standout.

Tennis saw the Waynflete boys win their 13th championship in succession, while the Waynflete girls featured a jaw-dropping individual effort.

We’re already enjoying summer, but let’s take another look back and pay tribute to some of the best moments of the spring.

Team state champions

Waynflete Flyers boys’ lacrosse, Class C
Waynflete Flyers girls’ lacrosse, Class C
Waynflete Flyers boys’ tennis, Class C

Individual state champions

Track

Victoria Bossong, Cheverus, Class A girls’ 100
Victoria Bossong, Cheverus, Class A girls’ 400
Victoria Bossong, Cheverus, Class A girls’ 800
Frank Morang, Cheverus, Class A boys’ triple jump
Frank Morang, Cheverus, Class A boys’ long jump

Michael’s top five stories/moments

5) A walk-off, two-strike squeeze bunt

Cheverus’ Nick Giancotti slides home with the only run in a playoff win over Portland, one that was decided by a squeeze bunt. Brianna Soukup / Portland Press Herald

The baseball playoffs had no shortage of memorable moments, but perhaps no finish was as dramatic as the one that occurred June 10 when Portland, the No. 15 seed, which had eliminated No. 18 Deering in the play-in game, then upset reigning champion Scarborough, the second-ranked squad, in the Round of 16, gave No. 7 Cheverus fits in a classic pitcher’s duel. Bulldogs ace Danny Tocci didn’t give an inch, nor did Stags starter Sam Clark or reliever Brian Connolly. Both teams had golden opportunities to win it before Cheverus finally did so in the bottom of the 10th, when Nick Giancotti tripled and came home on Chris Murphy’s two-strike squeeze bunt. An instant classic it was.

“It was a wonderful game,” said Cheverus coach Tony DiBiase. “A very exciting game. You can’t ask for a better day. We’ve played three really good games against (Portland) this year and we’ve been fortunate to be on the winning side each game. This one was special because it’s a tournament game.”

“I’ve coached against Tony DiBiase for a long time and we’ve had some good ones,” said Portland coach Mike Rutherford. “That might be one of the better ones. A classic game.”

4) The Bossong remains the same

Cheverus’ Victoria Bossong wins the 100 at the Class A state outdoor track meet. Bossong scored 38 points by herself in that meet. Ben McCanna / Portland Press Herald

Everyone knew Cheverus senior standout Victoria Bossong was going to steal the show at the Class A outdoor track and field state meet June 5, the only question was could Bossong win four individual events? She almost did. Bossong won three, setting meet records in the 100 (11.73 seconds in the semifinals, before posting a time of 11.81 in the final), 400 (55.08 seconds) and 800 (2 minutes, 10.66 seconds). Bossong hoped to add a first-place finish in the 200 as well, but her time of 25.41 seconds was second to Bangor’s Anna Connors, whose time of 24.51 eclipsed Bossong’s existing-record time of 24.8.

“Even if I had run fresh in the 200, it still would have been a really close race,” Bossong said. “(Anna) ran really amazingly. I mean, I’m a little disappointed, but I’m also really proud that I went out and did it, so I wouldn’t change a thing about the events I ran.”

3) Flying oh-so high

Waynflete’s Harry Millspaugh, left, and Sam Whipple celebrate a goal during the Flyers’ Class C state final win over Oak Hill. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

Waynflete’s boys’ lacrosse team entered the 2021 campaign highly touted and focused on unfinished business. The Flyers, who had won the inaugural Class C championship in 2018, then were upset by eventual champion North Yarmouth Academy in the semifinals in 2019, didn’t get a chance to return to the pinnacle during a doomed spring a year ago, but finally, this season, they returned to action in impressive fashion. Waynflete won 11 of 12 regular season games, then steamrolled the Class C playoff field, earning a measure of revenge with an 11-4 win over NYA in the state semifinals before capping its second title run in four years with an emphatic 17-5 victory over Oak Hill on State Championship Saturday.

“This means everything,” Flyers coach Andrew Leach said. “These guys play in big moments in big games. We put everything into this game. We pride ourselves on our defense. (The Raiders) averaged about 18 goals a game. For us to put this together and hold them to what we held them to and play together as a team, that was motivation enough to come out here and do right by the seniors.”

2) Morgan refuses to lose

Waynflete’s Morgan Warner produced her share of drama in the state single tournament. Shawn Patrick Ouellette / Portland Press Herald

Waynflete senior Morgan Warner didn’t bring home the state singles title, but she did produce one of the most inspirational individual efforts you’ll ever see along the way. Warner, ranked third, rolled into the semifinals, where she and second-seeded Blair Hollyday of Cape Elizabeth produced a match for the ages. It took nearly three hours before Warner advanced, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5. Warner broke Hollyday’s serve on multiple occasions in the third set to survive. Warner finally met her match in the final, losing to No. 1 Sofia Mavor of Yarmouth, 4-6, 0-6, but she’ll be most remembered for how she got to that final match.

1) Making Mom proud

Waynflete girls’ lacrosse coach Cathie Connors embraces her daughter, junior Jess Connors, after the Flyers’ Class C state final victory. Michael Hoffer / The Forecaster

It was the stuff dreams are made of and more than a week after the fact, you can’t fault longtime Waynflete girls’ lacrosse coach Cathie Connors or her standout junior daughter Jess Connors if they’re still pinching themselves, wondering if was just a fantasy. The Flyers, in their first year in Class C, chasing a state title they last celebrated in 2013, put it all together during the course of the season, thanks in large part to Jess Connors’ heroics. Connors scored an overtime goal to beat Gorham, scored the winner late to beat North Yarmouth Academy and also helped her mother become the first girls’ lacrosse coach in Maine to reach the 300-victory plateau. And all of that was wonderful, but she was just getting warmed up. On the evening of June 19, in the Class C state final against top-ranked Freeport, Jess Connors scored five goals, then broke up a final Falcons possession in the waning seconds to give Waynflete a dramatic 9-8 victory. Connors raced into her mother’s arms and it’s likely the celebration hasn’t stopped yet.

“I just wanted to make my Mom proud,” Jess Connors said. “I’ve watched my Mom win state championships since I was a baby and there’s no better feeling to be on the field and to win one myself.”

“Every goal of Jess’ that went in, I was nearly in tears,” Cathie Connors said. “I could tell, because I obviously know her so well, that she wouldn’t stop until the game was over.”