We are on the cusp of playoff thrills in soccer, field hockey, volleyball and cross country, while the football season is winding to a close.

The best part of the fall sports season has arrived and Cape Elizabeth and South Portland teams will be in the middle of the excitement.

Here’s a glimpse at how it all shakes out:

Football

Members of South Portland’s inaugural Football Hall of Fame class are honored at halftime of the Red Riots home loss to Noble last weekend. Courtesy Jim Clark.

Cape Elizabeth’s football team continues to surprise, improving to 4-3 and second in the Class C South Crabtree Points standings after last Friday’s 22-12 win at Brunswick. After a scoreless first quarter, the Dragons struck first in the second period, but a Danny Gray 5-yard touchdown run made it 7-6 Capers at the half. The Dragons retook the lead in the third quarter, but Brady Inman’s 5-yard run put Cape Elizabeth on top, 14-12. Eli Halter then scored on a 3-yard run in the fourth period and the Capers added the two-point conversion to seal it.

Cape Elizabeth is home versus 1-6 Westbrook in the regular season final Friday. The teams didn’t meet last year.

South Portland quarterback Easton Healy unleashes a touchdown pass to Alex Horton during Friday’s 21-13 home loss to Noble. Hoffer photo.

South Portland, meanwhile, dropped its third straight game and fell to 4-3 last Friday after a 21-13 home loss to Noble. After a scoreless first quarter, the Knights struck first, but in the blink of an eye, the Red Riots forged a 7-7 tie as quarterback Easton Healy hit speedy wide receiver Alex Horton for a 58-yard touchdown pass. After Noble went back in front in the third period, Healy found Connor Gerard for a 10-yard score, but a missed extra point kept the Knights ahead, 14-13. Noble added a TD in the fourth, then held on at the end, intercepting two passes before knocking down one last pass to the end zone.

Healy completed 18-of-33 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns, but the Red Riots had two interceptions and were flagged 11 times for 88 yards.

“The kids played hard,” South Portland coach Aaron Filieo said. “Defensively, I thought we played great. Offensively, we moved the ball. The game plan worked, but finishing is a big part of it. Obviously, hindsight is 20-20. We can look at the film, coulda, woulda, shoulda, but I thought our kids put themselves in a position, despite the penalties, to win the game.

Boys’ soccer

Cape Elizabeth junior Caiden Johnson shields the ball from a Yarmouth player during the Clippers’ 2-1 victory Tuesday. Photo courtesy Lisa Mims.

Cape Elizabeth’s boys’ soccer team ended the regular season 9-4-1 and will be the No. 4 seed for the upcoming Class B South playoffs after closing with a 4-0 victory at Freeport and a 2-1 home win over Yarmouth. In the win, Harry Converse, Tully Haydar, Caiden Johnson and Will Vaine all had goals. The Capers couldn’t quite dig out of an early hole against the Clippers, despite a second half goal from Vaine, off a corner kick from Haydar. Goalkeeper Cooper Bragg had six saves.

“We changed our shape quite a bit second half and did some things we’re not usually doing,” said longtime Capers coach Ben Raymond, after the setback. “We tried to put Tully up higher and try to be more dangerous and not worry about possession. It served its purpose today, but I’m not sure it’s what we want to continue to do. The effort was great throughout the game. Everybody kept working and fighting hard. Will scored on a great header. Their keeper made some saves on balls served into dangerous places in the box. He wasn’t afraid to come out. They have dangerous guys up top who create problems for us. Defensively, we have to stop diving in and lunging and move our feet a little bit more.”

Cape Elizabeth will host No. 5 Lincoln Academy (8-4-2) in the quarterfinals next Wednesday. The teams didn’t play this season.

“Our regular season was great,” Raymond said. “I think in every game at one point or another, we were the better team on the field. We just haven’t been as consistent as we’d like to be. I think that has to do a lot with kids getting more time and getting used to playing with their teammates. When we get in the playoffs, we want to be playing our best.”

South Portland finished the regular season 7-6-1 and ninth in Class A South after a 3-0 loss to visiting Windham and a 0-0 tie at Westbrook. Michael Zaccaria made 11 saves against the Eagles and stopped eight shots versus the Blue Blazes.

The Red Riots will go to No. 8 Kennebunk (8-5-1) for a preliminary round playoff match Saturday. The teams didn’t play during the regular season. If victorious, South Portland will play at No. 1 Windham (11-1-2) in the quarterfinals Wednesday of next week.

Girls’ soccer

On the girls’ side, Cape Elizabeth finished second in Class B South at 10-1-3 after a scoreless home tie versus Freeport and Tuesday’s 1-0 win at two-time reigning state champion Yarmouth. Goalkeeper Kelsie Law made five saves in each game and CC Duryee scored the lone goal against the Clippers.

The Capers earned a bye into the quarterfinals and will host either No. 7 Fryeburg Academy (7-7) or No. 10 Gray-New Gloucester (4-8-2) Tuesday of next week. Cape Elizabeth beat the visiting Raiders (5-1) Sept. 24 and held off the visiting Patriots (2-1) Oct. 1.

In Class A South, South Portland earned the No. 10 seed after finishing 4-7-3 with a 1-1 tie versus Sanford and a 6-0 loss at Cheverus.

The Red Riots go to No. 7 Marshwood (8-5-1) in the preliminary round Friday. South Portland lost, 1-0, to the Hawks on Oct. 11. If the Red Riots spring the upset, they’ll go to second-seeded, two-time reigning champion Scarborough (11-1-2) in the quarterfinals Tuesday of next week.

Field hockey

The South Portland/Westbrook co-op field hockey team earned the 10th and final playoff berth in Class A South after completing a 6-7-1 campaign with 1-0 victories over Portland/Deering and Kennebunk. Lucy Wetzel scored in the win over the Rams.

South Portland/Westbrook goes to No. 7 Windham (8-6) for a preliminary round game this weekend. The Eagles won the regular season matchup, 4-1, Oct. 12. If South Portland/Westbrook pulls an upset, it would go to No. 2 Biddeford (12-2) for the quarterfinals next week. The teams didn’t play this year.

Cape Elizabeth wound up 2-12 following losses at Freeport (5-0) and at home to Greely (2-1) and York (4-0).

The Capers finished 10th in Class B South, but only eight teams qualified for the postseason.

Volleyball

Cape Elizabeth’s volleyball team finished fifth in Class B after a 10-4 regular season, capped by a four set (23-25, 20-25, 25-21, 16-25) home loss to Greely and a four game (25-19, 10-25, 25-17, 27-25) home win over Yarmouth, the Capers’ first victory over the Clippers in six years.

Cape Elizabeth hosted No. 12 Marshwood (8-6) in the preliminary round Thursday. The teams didn’t meet in the regular season. If the Capers advanced, they’ll go to No. 4 Cony (12-2) or host No. 13 Kennebunk (8-6) in the quarterfinals Saturday or Monday.

South Portland finished 6-8 and 11th in Class A after a five set home win over Westbrook and a four game loss at Biddeford.

The Red Riots went to No. 6 Scarborough (6-8) for a prelim Thursday (see our website for story). South Portland lost, 3-1, at the Red Storm in the regular season. If the Red Riots sprung an upset, they’ll go to No. 3 Gorham (10-4), the reigning state champion, for the quarterfinals Saturday or Monday.

Cross country

The regional cross country meets will be held Saturday at Twin Brook Recreation Center.

Cape Elizabeth’s tune-up was the Western Maine Conference championship meet last week in Standish.

The Capers girls came in third (Freeport was first). Hannah Frothingham was the top individual, placing ninth in 21 minutes, 33 seconds. Cape Elizabeth’s boys were eighth and featured Liam Nudd (12th, 18:24). Freeport was first.