Portland: October arrives and postseason nears

While the regular season still has a couple weeks to go in most fall sports, golf is about to hand out the first postseason hardware.

There is still a lot left to be determined, but certain trends are emerging.

Local teams continue to jockey for playoff positioning and some big games loom, so buckle up, the best is yet to come.

Here’s a glimpse at the week that was and what’s on tap:

Golf

The Southwestern Maine Activities Association golf qualifier was held Monday, too late for this edition. Cheverus, Deering and Portland were all hoping to qualify.

Waynflete took part in the Western Maine Conference qualifier. The Flyers finished third in Class C and didn’t qualify as a team, but Sebby Ovigele (who shot an 18-hole round of 88) made the cut as an individual.

The team and individual state championships will be contested Saturday at Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro.

Football

Portland’s Aidan McGowen, who scored four touchdowns, gains yardage during Friday’s victory over Windham. Brianna Soukup / Portland Press Herald

Portland’s football team remains undefeated, but Friday’s home win over Windham came at a cost. The Bulldogs improved to 5-0 with a 35-7 victory, as Aidan McGowan scored on a pair of touchdown runs (2- and 6-yards) for a 14-7 halftime lead, then Portland opened the second half with an eight-minute scoring drive, capped by a 6-yard McGowan TD run. Reegan Buck then scored on a 3-yard run and McGowan added his fourth scoring run in the fourth quarter (from 21 yards out).

“We just needed to lock it in,” said McGowan. “When we were in the locker room at halftime, we knew we had to come out and give our all and have discipline. Our O line made the biggest change. We just locked down on technique and that was pretty much it.”

“We started off slow, but when we get momentum, we turn it up and go,” said Isaak Alkafaji, who blocked a punt to set up the first score. “We just had to bring some energy in for the second half. We did our jobs. We thought we’d do really well this year because of our work in the weight room. We knew we had a good squad coming back.”

“The first half was by far the worst half of football I’ve seen this team play,” first-year Portland coach Sean Green added. “We played terrible. Credit to Windham. They game-planned well and came to play. We were running core plays, but we were missing assignments, not making blocks, backs weren’t hitting gaps. The defensive line was undisciplined. Defense was better than offense in the first half, but we didn’t play our brand of football.

“In the second half, we established the run game, especially on the inside. We just needed to get after it in the trenches. That’s who we want to be as a football team. Violence and physicality is something I always preach. We want to establish the run game. When we don’t, we’re not going to be the team we should be.”

Late in the game, Buck suffered a broken clavicle and he’ll miss several weeks.

“It’s a bummer (Reegan) got hurt, but we’ll keep going,” McGowan said. “It’s next man up. We’ll control what we can control.”

“You never want to lose a Reegan Buck,” Green said. “First of all, the person he is, the leader he is. He’s never taken a play off. He’s the heart and soul of our skill group. It’s tough to see him get hurt, but it’s an unfortunate part of the game. It’s the most unfortunate part of the game. We have a lot of great football players and luckily, we’re deep at the skill positions, so the guys will have to step up and they’ll have to step up with Reegan in their hearts and play for him because we know he’d like to be out there.”

Portland (first in the Class A North Crabtree Points standings at press time) hosts Noble (4-1) Saturday night.

“We have to have better practices,” Alkafaji said. “Everyone just has to do their job and keep doing what we’ve been doing.”

“Noble is very athletic,” Green said. “They have a quarterback who’s a very good runner. They have a good offensive line. We know they have athletes all over the field. They’re good at spreading the field. They have some very good offensive minds. They want to run and take shots when they need to. It’ll be a good challenge for us. We have to go back to basics on the line. As dominant as we can be, we’re not consistent. We need to refine technique and mechanics.”

Deering improved to 4-1 after blanking visiting Falmouth, 13-0. The game was scoreless after one quarter. Tavian Lauture then hit Santino Cavallaro with a 21-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 halftime lead. The score remained the same into the fourth quarter, where a 76-yard scamper from Joey Foley set up a 2-yard Lauture TD run to put it away. The Rams (third in the Class B South standings) go to to 1-4 Massabesic Friday.

Cheverus suffered its first loss and fell to 4-1 Saturday with a 27-7 home loss to Fryeburg Academy. The Stags fell behind, 20-0, at halftime, then tried to get back in the game when Matt Baker scored on a 5-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, but the Raiders put it away with a TD in the fourth period. Cheverus (third in Class C South) hosts Gardiner (4-1) Saturday.

Boys’ soccer

Portland’s Isaac Rodrigues-Nkanza passes the ball up the field during last week’s win at Scarborough Ben McCanna / Portland Press Herald

Deering and Portland’s boys’ soccer teams were near the top of the Class A South Heal Points standings when the week began.

The Bulldogs were 7-1-1 and fourth in the region following a 3-0 victory at longtime nemesis and reigning Class A South champion Scarborough and a 1-0 home setback to Kennebunk. In the win, Francisco Samuel scored a first half goal, then Martin Kalala-Wasukundi and Ronan Mas scored in the second half.

“It means a lot to us,” said Mas. “It’s a good sign for our season. We came in here knowing we haven’t won here in a long time and that it would be a hard game. We came out strong and got the result we wanted.”

“We’ve been working hard to prove we’re one of the best teams in the South,” Kalala-Wasukundi said. “Other teams want to beat us and we want to beat them. I hoped to be good, but I didn’t know we could be this good.”

“I knew this would be a benchmark for us against a very, very good Scarborough team,” added longtime Portland coach Rocco Frenzilli. “I’m just happy how the kids responded. They did a great job. We’ve focused on poise and being able to find each other in a good position to give us the best possible chance to do something positive. The guys have done that. I wanted to think it was possible back in August, but I wasn’t sure.”

In the loss, where the Bulldogs’ seven-game win streak was snapped, the Rams scored late in regulation and Portland couldn’t find the net. The Bulldogs were at Biddeford Tuesday, visit Bonny Eagle Thursday and play host to Massabesic Monday.

“We need to keep getting better,” Frenzilli said. “We’ll keep climbing the ladder. We respect all and fear none. That’s our mantra. We won’t get ahead of ourselves. These guys will stay grounded. It’s a special team. Not that my other teams haven’t been, but this one is just fun.”

Deering was 6-1-2 and third in the region following a 4-2 home win over Kennebunk and a 1-0 home loss to Scarborough. In the victory, Ethan Fisher, Chandrel Laza, Simon Mboumba and Nathan Dimandya (his first varsity goal) all scored. The Rams were at Windham Tuesday, visit Sanford in a makeup game Friday and welcome Gorham Tuesday of next week.

Cheverus fell to 2-6 and 11th (12 teams make the playoffs) after a 2-0 home loss to Gorham and a 3-2, come-from-behind victory at Biddeford. The Stags were at Noble Tuesday, host Scarborough Friday (see our website for game story) and welcome Falmouth Monday.

Four-time reigning Class C champion Waynflete was 5-3-1 and second behind undefeated Mt. Abram in the standings following home wins over St. Dom’s (3-0) and reigning Class D champion North Yarmouth Academy (9-1) and a scoreless tie at Gray-New Gloucester. Against the Panthers, Jacob Woodman had three goals and three assists, while Andrew Rogers added a pair of goals. Nico Kirby made seven saves in the draw against the Patriots. After hosting Freeport Tuesday, the Flyers go to Cape Elizabeth Saturday, then welcome Traip Academy Tuesday of next week.

Girls’ soccer

Waynflete’s Lucy Hart chases after the ball during Friday’s dramatic overtime win at North Yarmouth Academy. Michael Hoffer / The Forecaster

On the girls’ side, Waynflete ran the gamut of emotions last week. First, the Flyers lost their third game in a row, 2-0, at St. Dom’s, but they turned around to shock host North Yarmouth Academy, 1-0, in double-overtime, then blanked host Gray-New Gloucester, 3-0, to improve to 6-4 and third in the Class C South Heals. Against the Panthers, the four-time reigning Class D state champions, now playing in Class C, Waynflete snapped a four-year, six-game losing streak in the series, as goalkeeper Ayla Stutzman made a critical second half save on a penalty kick, then Morgan Earls scored on a rebound of a Lucy Hart shot two minutes into the second OT to set off a wild celebration.

“Lucy is such a good dribbler and I honestly thought she had that shot,” Earls said. “The goalie got a hand on it. Thankfully, I was right there and I got it in. It was kind of a gift.”

“It’s the best feeling,” said Stutzman. “It’s been awhile since we got a win against (NYA).”

“There’s a long history between us (and NYA),” added Carrie Earls, who is Morgan Earls’ mother, as well as Waynflete’s co-coach, along with George Sherry. “Their sports are great, our sports are great. They’ve just had one-up on us in (soccer, basketball and lacrosse) the past few years, but we got this one and it feels good.

“This says a lot for us. We have a lot of freshmen and underclassmen on the team. This shows we’re mentally ready. We took a harder schedule this year and it will serve us well in the long run. St. Dom’s was an especially difficult loss. We were down on ourselves, but I thought we played a solid 80-plus minutes today. The girls were confident.”

In the win over the Patriots, Hart and Naomi Rice found the net and the Flyers also scored on an “own goal,” while Stutzman made four saves. Waynflete goes to Fryeburg Academy Thursday and visits Traip Academy Tuesday of next week.

In Class A South, Cheverus improved to 6-2-1 and third after wins last week at Kennebunk (4-0) and at home over Deering (2-1). In the first victory, Finley Brown, Chloe Durkin, Sofia Pothier and Annie Vigue all scored and goalkeeper Evelyn Rush made four saves. Against Deering, Brown and Vigue scored the goals. The Stags were at perennial power Gorham Tuesday, host Biddeford Thursday, then visit Massabesic Tuesday of next week.

Deering was 2-5-1 and 10th following losses to visiting Windham (2-0) and at Cheverus (2-1). Goalkeeper Sophie Hill made eight saves in the loss to the Eagles. Shay Rosenthal scored the goal and Hill made 10 saves against the Stags. The Rams hosted Falmouth Monday (see our website for game story), visit South Portland Wednesday, welcome reigning Class A champion Scarborough Saturday, then play at Westbrook Monday of next week.

Portland was 3-5 and 13th after beating visiting Biddeford (5-3) and Kennebunk (2-1) last week. Anneliese Collin scored three times and Maizie Chalmers and Phoebe Knoll added one goal apiece against the Tigers. In the win over the Rams, Collin scored both goals. After going to Scarborough Tuesday, the Bulldogs host Gorham Friday and visit Noble Saturday.

Field hockey

Cheverus’ juggernaut field hockey team just keeps winning. The Stags, the reigning Class A South champions, improved to 7-0 Saturday with a 6-0 win at Biddeford, one of the teams considered a top threat in the region. Sydney Brunelle, Mackenzie Cash, Lucy Johnson, Joey Pompeo, Zoey Radford and Sophia St. John all rattled the cage and goalie Ellie Skolnekovich made eight saves. Cheverus, which is first in the Class A South Heals, looked to extend its regular season win streak to 40 when it hosted Scarborough Tuesday. The Stags welcome Noble Thursday (see our website for game story), visit Windham Saturday and play at Falmouth Monday.

Portland/Deering was 2-5 and tied for 11th in Class A South (the top 10 teams make the playoffs) following a 1-0 home victory over Kennebunk last week. Gabbie Harrigan scored the lone goal and goalie Emma Walsh made six saves. Portland/Deering was at Bonny Eagle Tuesday, goes to Windham Thursday, hosts Falmouth Friday and travels to Sanford Tuesday of next week.

Waynflete was 1-6 and ninth in Class C South (where eight teams make the playoffs) after losses last week to visiting Wells (2-0) and Traip Aacdemy (2-1) and at St. Dom’s (6-1). The Flyers hosted Traip Academy Monday, welcome Telstar Friday and play host to Fryeburg Academy Monday of next week.

Volleyball

Deering’s volleyball team was 8-2 and fourth in the Class A statewide Heals after extending its win streak to five by downing host Edward Little (3-0), visiting Lewiston (3-0) and visiting Lake Region (3-1) last week. Lara Gin had 13 kills and Isabelle Adji added six aces against the Red Eddies. Gin had 13 more kills in the win over the Blue Devils and Shea Fenton had 21 assists and seven aces. The Rams were at Brunswick Tuesday, host Falmouth Thursday and visit reigning Class A champion Biddeford Tuesday of next week.

Portland was 6-3 and fifth in Class A following a straight-set (25-13, 25-17, 25-14) home win over Lewiston and a 3-0 loss at Bonny Eagle. After visiting Edward Little Tuesday, the Bulldogs return home next Wednesday to face Windham.

Cheverus was 7-2 and eighth in Class A after blanking host Marshwood and visiting Thornton Academy. After hosting Falmouth Tuesday, the Stags visit Gorham Thursday and go to Bonny Eagle Monday.

Cross country

Portland’s Samantha Moore finished fourth individually at Saturday’s Festival of Champions in Belfast. Joe Phelan / Kennebec Journal

City runners took part in the Festival of Champions in Belfast Saturday.

Portland’s boys were second out of 75 scoring teams (E.O. Smith of Connecticut was first). The Bulldogs were led by Nathan Blades, who was fifth with a time of 15 minutes, 43.53 seconds. Cheverus came in 16th and was paced by Ambrose McCullough (83rd, 17:30.82). Deering finished 46th and featured Ellis Wood (15th, 16:21.59). Waynflete placed 61st and was led by Pi Crosby (179th, 18:21.78).

In the girls’ meet, won by Cumberland High School of Rhode Island, Portland finished seventh. Samantha Moore had the third-best time (18:11.35). Waynflete placed 24th and was led by Grace Alexander (47th, 20:72.31) Cheverus came in 27th and was led by Allie Schmitt (90th, 21:25.7). Deering didn’t score as a team. Delaney Goodwin took part as an individual and had a time of 25:37.46.