There were fewer COVID-related postponements last week, which is a most positive sign.
Even better, the games that were played resulted in drama and even some history.
With just a couple weeks left in the regular season, the fun is just beginning.
Here’s a glimpse of the week that was and where locals stand in the big picture:
Boys’ basketball
South Portland’s boys’ basketball team shook off its lone loss and improved to 13-1 and first in the Class AA South Heal Points standings after recent victories at Deering (66-52), at home over Massabesic (69-41) and at Scarborough (57-24). J.P. Estrella went off for 32 points, 18 rebounds and eight blocked shots, and Owen Maloney added 14 points in the win over the Rams. Estrella scored 28 points versus the Mustangs. In the win at the Red Storm, Jaelen Jackson had a game-high 22 points and Estrella added 16. The Red Riots host Bonny Eagle and go to Noble Tuesday of next week.
Scarborough fell to 0-10 and seventh in Class AA South with losses to host Gorham (50-35), visiting Lewiston (57-38) and visiting South Portland (57-24). Nate Glidden and Rowan MacDonald both scored 11 points against the Rams. In the loss to the Blue Devils, Reid Deniso scored 14 points and Blake Harris added 11. Glidden had a team-high seven points versus the Red Riots. The Red Storm was at Noble Thursday, visits reigning Class AA champion Edward Little Friday and goes to Sanford Tuesday of next week.
Cape Elizabeth was 7-6 and ninth in Class B South following a 65-51 home win over Greely and an 83-75 home loss to Lake Region. In the victory, Jake Frame had 20 points, Evan Reeves 15 and Will Bowe 11. In the setback, Reeves scored 24 points and Frame added 23. The Capers were at Freeport Thursday, host Fryeburg Academy Saturday and welcome Yarmouth for a key showdown Tuesday of next week.
Girls’ basketball
Scarborough’s Ayden Harris plays defense during Saturday’s loss at Lewiston. Andree Kehn / Sun Journal
On the girls’ side, Scarborough extended its win streak to five games last Friday, beating visiting Cheverus, which came into the game unbeaten, 45-40, behind 15 points from Emerson Flaker (on five 3-pointers) and a dozen points from Elisabeth LeFebvre. Saturday, the Red Storm lost at Lewiston, 47-39, despite 11 points from LeFebvre.
“Second quarter through the second half we had heavy legs,” Scarborough coach Mike Giordano said. “There’s no excuses, I thought Lewiston played phenomenal and their three shooters are as good as I’ve seen. We didn’t do a good job of closing out on them and they got in a rhythm, and I thought from the second quarter they kind of controlled the game, so compliments to them.”
Tuesday, the Red Storm improved to 8-3 and second in Class AA South after a hard-fought 33-28 win at South Portland. Lindsay Fiorillo led Scarborough with nine points. The Red Storm hosted Noble Thursday and welcomes Edward Little Friday before playing host to Sanford Tuesday of next week.
South Portland fell to 3-10 and sixth in Class AA South following losses to visiting Deering (44-41), host Thornton Academy (67-54) and visiting Scarborough (33-28). Ava Bryant had a team-high 11 points versus the Rams. In the loss to the Golden Trojans, Ruth Boles had 13 points and Anna Dearborn 10. Boles scored 14 points versus the Red Storm. The Red Riots go to Bonny Eagle Friday, visit Falmouth Monday and play host to Noble Tuesday of next week.
Cape Elizabeth fell to 1-8 and 14th in Class B South following a 47-30 setback at Greely and Tuesday’s 42-30 loss at Lake Region. Olivia Manning scored 15 points in the loss to the Rangers. The Capers hosted Freeport Thursday, go to Fryeburg Academy Saturday and visit Yarmouth Tuesday of next week.
Boys’ hockey
Scarborough’s Wyatt Grondin tries to get to the puck during Monday’s win at Portland/Deering. Brianna Soukup / Portland Press Herald
On the ice, the South Portland/Waynflete/Freeport co-op boys’ team was 6-3 and third in the Class A Heals despite losses last week at home to Scarborough (2-1) and at Biddeford (5-4). Cullen Adams had the goal and Jasper Curtis made 27 saves against the Red Storm. SP/Waynflete/Freeport hosts York Thursday, visits Lake Region Monday and goes to Windham Wednesday of next week.
Scarborough improved to 6-4 and fifth in Class A following wins at South Portland/Waynflete/Freeport (2-1) and Portland/Deering (7-1) and a 6-2 loss at two-time reigning Class B champion Greely. Sam Rumelhart had the decisive goal in the first win and scored four times in the victory over Portland/Deering.
“I wanted a hat trick bad,” Rumelhart said. “If you have two goals, you might as well get three.”
“I’m happy with how we responded after a tough (loss to Greely),” said first-year Red Storm coach Eric Wirsing. “I’m really proud of the boys for coming back together and putting in a solid effort. Having that time off took away from our momentum. The guys had a lot of energy when they had came back. The boys are happy to back on the ice and be back together.”
Scarborough was at Biddeford Thursday and goes to Marshwood Saturday.
“We still need more structure in our system play and that’s something we’ve been working on and we’ll continue to work on it,” Wirsing said. “We have the skill. I’d like to think we’ve put ourselves in position to be successful. If we play our game, I think we can play with anyone.”
Cape Elizabeth was 6-2-1 and second to Greely in Class B South following recent home wins over reigning Class A champion Lewiston (5-2) and Portland/Deering (6-0). Nick Laughlin scored two goals in the Capers’ win over the Blue Devils, in the teams’ first countable meeting since 2006. Cape Elizabeth hosts Cheverus/Yarmouth Saturday.
Girls’ hockey
On the girls’ side, Scarborough played its first game in over three weeks last Friday, losing at Cheverus, 2-1, then improved to 7-2-1 by downing Cape Elizabeth/South Portland/Waynflete (2-1) and Falmouth (5-2). In the setback, Evelyn Boardman scored the goal and goalie Ariella Swett made 23 saves.
“We had three days to kind of get our legs back under us,” Scarborough coach Taylor Fowler said. “We did home workouts when we were shut down, so that helped.”
In the win over Cape/SP/Waynflete, Boardman, Maeve Davis, Meagan Donovan and Ashley Farrington all scored. The Red Storm (first in the South Region) hosts Portland/Deering Friday and visits York Tuesday of next week.
Cape Elizabeth/South Portland/Waynflete was 7-2-1 and third in the South Region after an 8-1 win at Biddeford and a 4-2 home loss to Scarborough. The squad hosted Falmouth Thursday and welcomes Cheverus Saturday before going to reigning state champion Lewiston Wednesday of next week.
Indoor track
In last weekend’s indoor track action, South Portland’s boys didn’t just beat Scarborough, Kennebunk and Biddeford, the Red Riots handed the Red Storm its first league loss since 2009 in the process, tallying 180 points to the Red Storm’s 142 while improving to 13-0.
“Our team is fortunate this year to have a very large, talented and focused group, and because of that, we were able to cover virtually all events with two or three potentially scoring athletes,” said South Portland coach Dave Kahill. “We had a number of athletes who scored in multiple events, including Chase Porter, Che-Hao Saito, Gavin Nicholson, Arnaud Sioho, Matt Berry, Matt Frey, Sam Stocks, Carson Blake, Petros Engelhardt, Brady Guay, Kyle Hartford, Jack Nickerson, Jacob Ramos, Harrison Jones, Lucas Lefebvre and Leo Lomangino.
“In terms of scoring, the junior division was a strength as we outscored Scarborough 92-52, and we did so in the senior division as well, 52-40. In the open events, Scarborough outscored us 50-36. Based on the performance report, it appeared that we were the favorite by about 40 points and both teams had a few athletes out due to a variety of factors. Scarborough still will be one of the favorites to win the SMAA and state championships.”
Cape Elizabeth took part in a 13-team Western Maine Conference meet and both the boys and girls placed fifth.
Swimming
Scarborough’s boys’ swim team beat Deering/Portland in its most recent outing, 105-63, while the girls lost, 110-52.
South Portland swept Sanford, with the boys prevailing, 105-30, and the girls winning, 108-39.
Cape Elizabeth swept Gorham, with the boys winning, 106-50, and the girls prevailing, 99-43.
Press Herald staff writer Travis Lazarczyk and Sun Journal staff writer Adam Robinson contributed to this story.
Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.
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