Portland edition Winter Coaches of the Year

Boys’ team

DAVE ST. PIERRE – Cheverus/Yarmouth hockey

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The Cheverus and Yarmouth boys’ hockey programs have truly united as one and this year, the co-op squad proved to have no peer in Class B.

It took time to bring the two proud programs together, but Dave St. Pierre did the hard work and he was rewarded this season with a championship effort from his charges.

And for forming a powerhouse, title-winning team, Dave St. Pierre gets The Forecaster’s nod as our Portland edition Winter Coach of the Year, of a boys’ team.

St. Pierre was also selected as our Northern edition Coach of the Year in 2015.

St. Pierre, an Edward Little graduate, has long been a part of the Yarmouth program, serving as an assistant to Scott Matusovich during the glory years of the late-1990s and early-2000s. He returned to the Clippers in 2010 as an assistant to Marc Halsted, then moved into the head coach role for the 2011-12 campaign. St. Pierre nearly won a title in 2016, but Yarmouth lost an overtime heartbreaker to Waterville in the state final. St. Pierre had the Clippers in the postseason each of his first nine seasons.

Due to declining numbers, Yarmouth and Cheverus (one-time fierce Class B rivals) formed a co-op team for the 2020-21 season, but its schedule was limited by the pandemic. Cheverus/Yarmouth then reached the Class B South semifinals in 2022 and again last year, but on both occasions, lost to the eventual state champion.

While Cheverus/Yarmouth hadn’t been able to reach the pinnacle, it was achieving St. Pierre’s goal of becoming one program and that unity, along with an abundance of talent, was on display this winter.

Cheverus/Yarmouth, sparked by its captains from both schools, stormed out of the gate by winning five of six games. Then, after a loss to York, it closed the season on a 9-0-2 surge, which included a win over reigning Class A champion Thornton Academy.

Cheverus/Yarmouth earned the top seed for the Class B South playoffs and wouldn’t be denied, pulling away late to blank No. 8 Mt. Ararat, 5-0, in the quarterfinals, holding off Greely (5-3) in the semifinals, then downing Leavitt (3-1) to win the regional title. In the state game, Cheverus/Yarmouth got pushed by Camden Hills, but managed to hold on for a 4-3 win, ending a 16-year title drought for the Stags’ program and a 22-year drought for the Clippers.

“I’m just elated, through the roof for these kids,” said St. Pierre, following the state game. “I’m so proud of them. They worked so hard. They came together as such a great family. It’s such a special moment. The senior classes the past three years that helped build us to this point deserve as much credit for this win as anyone else. They built the culture and did so much and these seniors carried that forward for us.”

Cheverus/Yarmouth has arrived as a model co-op program and more glory figures to be in store as long as Dave St. Pierre, our Portland edition Winter boys’ team Coach of the Year, is leading the way.

Previous winners:

* 2022-23 Joe Russo (Portland basketball)
* 2021-22 Richie Ashley (Cheverus basketball)
* 2020-21 Todd Wing (Deering basketball)
• 2019-20 Marco Giancotti (Cheverus hockey)
• 2018-19 David Elowitch/Tony Napolitano (Portland wrestling)
• 2017-18 Kevin Haley (Cheverus swimming)
• 2016-17 Jeff Beaney (Portland/Deering hockey)
• 2015-16 Joe Russo (Portland basketball)
• 2014-15 Dan Lucas (Cheverus hockey)
• 2013-14 Joe Russo (Portland basketball)
• 2012-13 Rich Henry (Waynflete basketball)
• 2011-12 Dan LeGage (Deering basketball)
• 2010-11 Joe Russo (Portland basketball)
• 2009-10 Bob Brown (Cheverus basketball)
• 2008-09 Kevin Haley (Cheverus swimming)
• 2007-08 Bob Brown (Cheverus basketball)
• 2006-07 Bob Brown (Cheverus basketball)
• 2005-06 Dan LeGage (Deering basketball)
• 2004-05 Jack Lowry (Cheverus hockey)
• 2003-04 Joe Russo (Portland basketball)

Girls’ team

SARAH RASMUSSEN – Deering/Portland swimming

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The Deering/Portland co-op girls’ swim team had to practice in Cumberland and host meets in Sanford earlier this season, but from such inauspicious beginnings, a champion was formed and by February, Deering/Portland was primed to shock the world and win a Class A state title.

Its first.

That’s quite a triumphant arc and it wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for the guidance of Sarah Rasmussen, the RamDogs’ sixth-year coach.

She not only navigated a logistical nightmare, she put the right pieces in the right places to allow for February glory and as a result, Sarah Rasmussen is The Forecaster’s choice for our Portland edition Winter Coach of the Year, of a girls’ team.

Rasmussen began coaching at Deering, with Sarah Rubin, in 2017, and when Deering and Portland combined during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, she suddenly had a co-op squad to manage. The RamDogs girls were fifth at the Class A state meet in 2022, then finished ninth last year, but with the return of standout Maria DelMonte, who missed her junior campaign focusing on her club team, there was optimism that Deering/Portland could make a move.

But nothing would come easily, as the Riverton Pool in North Deering was closed because of structural issues and the Reiche Pool in Portland’s West End was off-limits as well, due to a pump failure. Undaunted, the RamDogs found pool time wherever and whenever they could and when the competition began, they were a force to be reckoned with.

Deering/Portland (which also includes students from Casco Bay and Baxter Academy) rolled to a win over Cheverus in the first meet, then defeated every foe but eventual Class B champion Cape Elizabeth, the state’s premier power, and even in that one, the RamDogs were competitive.

At Southwesterns, against some of the top teams not only in the region, but the entire state, Deering/Portland was runner-up to Cape Elizabeth.

Then, at states, came the storybook finish. Deering/Portland saved its best for last, wound up with 222 points and that was just enough to hold off Falmouth and Thornton Academy, which tied for second, six points behind.

“We scored out the meet in advance and we saw that first through fifth was a total toss-up,” said Rasmussen. “These kids came into today revved up and ready to go. It was amazing to watch. It was 100 percent a team effort. These kids came into the year with no expectations of what they could do. For them to race at this level is just remarkable.”

It was amazing story of perseverance and triumph, one that Sarah Rasmussen, our Portland edition girls’ team Winter Coach of the Year, played a major role in making a reality.

Previous winners:

• 2022-23 Scott Rousseau (Cheverus hockey)
* 2021-22 Billy Goodman (Cheverus basketball)
* 2020-21 Billy Goodman (Cheverus basketball)
• 2019-20 Bob Mills (Cape/Waynflete/South Portland hockey)
• 2018-19 George Aponte-Clarke (Portland/Deering/Cheverus skiing)
•2017-18 Tom Clifford (Portland/Deering hockey)
• 2016-17 Billy Goodman (MGA basketball)
• 2015-16 Kent Hulst (Cheverus hockey)
• 2014-15 Billy Goodman (McAuley basketball)
• 2013-14 Kevin Haley (Cheverus swimming)
• 2012-13 Brandon Salway (Waynflete basketball)
• 2011-12 Brandon Salway (Waynflete basketball)
• 2010-11 Amy Vachon (McAuley basketball)
• 2009-10 J.P. Lavoie (Cheverus hockey)
• 2008-09 Mike Murphy (Deering basketball)
• 2007-08 John Smith (McAuley swimming)
• 2006-07 Jan Veinot (Waynflete basketball)
• 2005-06 Kevin Campbell (Deering track)
• 2004-05 Lindsay Reagan (Waynflete Nordic skiing)
• 2003-04 Mike D’Andrea (Deering basketball)