The winter fun has begun and there’s plenty of drama to come.

The first couple weeks of the new sports season have featured strong play from local athletes and the good times figure to continue.

Here’s a glimpse at what’s occurred so far, as well as a look at what’s upcoming.

Boys’ basketball

Deering’s Askar Houssein rises for a shot during a Rams’ victory over Lewiston earlier this month. Ben McCanna / Portland Press Herald

Waynflete’s boys’ basketball team is off to the hottest start among city schools, winning its first four games. The Flyers opened by downing Sacopee Valley, 70-25. After holding off Cape Elizabeth, 61-52, Waynflete knocked off Old Orchard Beach (61-51) and Yarmouth (49-43). The Flyers hosted Class B South contender Freeport Monday, then are idle until Jan. 2 when they play host to Wells.

In Class AA North, Deering sandwiched victories over Oxford Hills (84-62) and Lewiston (74-51) around a 74-62 loss at South Portland. In the win over the Blue Devils, the Rams got 21 points from Darryl Germain and 17 from Askar Houssein.

“We just had to eliminate turnovers and get rebounds on the offensive glass and the defensive boards,” Houssein said.

“Even though we return a lot of seniors, we’re still trying to figure out who we are,” said Deering coach Todd Wing. “Tonight, we got up and down like teams of old and made it kind of messy, but I’ll take winning messy.”

The Rams were at Windham Monday, host defending Class AA South champion Bonny Eagle in a makeup game Friday (see pressherald.com/forecaster-sports/ for game story), then welcome defending Class AA state champion Bangor Monday of next week.

Portland opened with a 57-41 home loss to Bangor, then defeated Windham (55-54, on a buzzer-beater from Kevin Smart) and Oxford Hills (57-46) before losing to Scarborough (52-48) and Edward Little (55-48) to fall to 2-3. Richard Greenwood had 12 points and Smart 11 against the Red Storm, while Smart and Stillman Mahan had nine points apiece in the loss to the Red Eddies. The Bulldogs were at Cheverus Monday and host Cheverus Monday of next week.

Cheverus dropped its first three outings, 64-54 to Lewiston, 64-58 to Scarborough and 73-64 to Edward Little, then improved to 2-3 by downing Oxford Hills (55-50) and Massabesic (64-48). Against the Vikings, Dylan Morrison had 21 points and Evangelo Kapothanasis added 14. In the win over the Mustangs, Morrison had a game-high 24 points. The Stags hosted Portland Monday and go to Portland Monday of next week.

Girls’ basketball

Cheverus’ Julia Kratzer fights for a loose ball during the Stags’ loss last week to defending Class AA champion Oxford Hills. Ben McCanna / Portland Press Herald

Cheverus’ girls’ basketball team is off to a great start under new coach Billy Goodman.

The Stags opened with a 50-38 win at Lewiston, then held off defending Class AA South champion Scarborough (48-44) and Edward Little (54-31) and after losing to reigning Class AA state champion Oxford Hills (50-38), improved to 4-1 Friday after a 47-39 win at Massabesic. Against the Vikings, Cheverus hung tough throughout, but committed 24 turnovers. Emily Bontatibus had a team-high 10 points off the bench.

“We missed a lot of layups and we turned the ball over, but I’m so proud of my team,” Goodman said. “We didn’t give up. Oxford Hills and South Portland are the best teams in the state, so we battled one of the best teams in the state tonight and we’ll build on that.”

In the win over the Mustangs, Madison Storey led the way with 14 points, Lauren Jordan added 11 and Jillian Lizotte had 10. The Stags hosted Portland Monday (see pressherald.com/forecaster-sports/ for game story), then go to Portland Monday of next week.

Portland also started 4-1, opening with a 55-44 home win over Bangor and a 62-39 victory over Windham. After a 60-32 loss at Oxford Hills, the Bulldogs bounced back and defeated Scarborough (45-35) and Edward Little (70-22). Against the Red Storm, Gemima Motema led the way with 18 points, while Amanda Kabantu added 11. In the win over the Red Eddies, Elizabeth Yugu had 15 points, while Kabantu and Kiera Eubanks each added a dozen and Davina Kabantu contributed 10. Portland was at Cheverus Monday and hosts the Stags Monday of next week.

Deering started with a 65-28 loss to Oxford Hills, then fell to 0-4 after losing to South Portland (64-21), Lewiston (46-18) and Bonny Eagle (53-24). Charlene Butera had a team-high seven points against the Scots. The Rams sought their first victory Monday at home versus Windham. Deering is at Bangor Monday of next week.

Waynflete also started 0-4, losing to Sacopee Valley (36-28), Cape Elizabeth (37-20), Old Orchard Beach (57-43) and Yarmouth (61-18). Against the Seagulls, Kilee Sherry led the way with 15 points, Anna Wildes added 10 and Sophi Aronson and Margaret Ojut each finished with nine. The Flyers didn’t score a field goal in the first half of their loss to the Clippers. Ojut had a team-high 10 points. Waynflete seeks its first victory Jan. 2 at Wells.

Boys’ hockey

Portland/Deering’s Danny Tocci fires a shot during last week’s overtime loss Biddeford. Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald

Cheverus’ boys’ hockey team is off to a fast 4-0 start, defeating York (7-5), Marshwood (9-0), Kennebunk (5-2) and Brunswick (3-2). Graycen Hayes-Begley, Jack Chaput and Kevin Connolly scored third period goals in the win over the Dragons. The Stags are home versus Leavitt Thursday and go to Brunswick Monday of next week.

Portland/Deering, meanwhile, was 1-4 at press time. After losing to Thornton Academy (2-0) and South Portland/Waynflete/Freeport (5-0), the Bulldogs beat visiting Old Town/Orono, 4-3. After a 4-3 overtime home loss to Biddeford, Portland/Deering fell, 4-1, at Bangor Saturday.

Against the Biddeford co-op team, Portland/Deering got goals from Danny Tocci, Nick McGonagle and Nick Becker and was 45 seconds from victory before the Tigers tied it up. Portland/Deering then had a man-advantage for most of overtime, but couldn’t convert and lost on a goal scored with 29.8 seconds remaining.

“It’s a learning situation,” said Portland/Deering coach Jeff Beaney. “I’m learning a lot about these guys, but as you can see, we have a lot of fight. The kids are very resilient. By practice tomorrow, they’ll forget about it and be good.”

Portland/Deering is at Biddeford Tuesday of next week.

The SP/Waynflete/Freeport co-op squad opened with a 4-3 loss to St. Dom’s, then blanked Portland/Deering (5-0), Bangor (3-0) and Yarmouth (3-0), then settled for a 1-1 home tie versus Biddeford Saturday. Cullen Adams, Austin Gross and Deven Hannan had the goals and goalie Liam McGibbin made 24 saves in the win over the Clippers. Dylan Hannan had the goal in the tie. SP/Waynflete/Freeport goes to Scarborough Monday of next week.

Girls’ hockey

Cheverus’ defending state champion girls’ hockey team hit the midway point of the season at 7-2 after a 2-1 win over Portland/Deering and a 3-2 loss to Yarmouth/Freeport last week. In the victory, Lucia Pompeo and Hannah Woodford had the goals and goalie Trinity Atwater made 18 saves. In the setback, Bella Cloutier and Elle Cooney scored the goals. The Stags are idle until Jan. 2 when they host Brunswick. Cheverus meets Portland/Deering again Jan. 4.

Portland/Deering was 5-4 after one-goal losses to Cheverus (2-1) and Scarborough (3-2). Caroline Lerch scored against the Stags, while Lerch and Zoe Cheever had the goals in the loss to the Red Storm. Portland/Deering plays at Gorham Saturday.

The Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland co-op team was 6-0-1 at press time after last week’s 6-1 victory over Falmouth. The squad welcomes Traip/York/Marshwood Saturday and has a showdown at Scarborough Monday.

Indoor track

Cheverus, Deering and Portland joined Scarborough and South Portland in a season-opening SMAA indoor track meet Saturday.

In the boys’ meet, won by defending Class A state champion Scarborough, the Rams came in third, the Bulldogs were fourth and the Stags placed fifth.

In the girls’ meet, won by South Portland, Deering was third, two-time defending Class A champion placed Cheverus fourth and Portland finished fifth.

Swimming

In the pool, Cheverus’ seven-time defending Class A boys’ swim champion opened with wins over Waynflete (94-63) and Yarmouth (101-49).

The Cheverus girls opened with an 86-53 win over Waynflete, then lost, 95-70, to Yarmouth.

Portland opened by sweeping Deering, as the boys prevailed, 94-50, and the girls were victorious, 87-63. The Bulldogs boys then defeated Massabesic, 85-40, while the girls lost to the Mustangs, 106-59. Friday, Portland was swept by South Portland, as the boys lost, 98-79, and the girls were defeated by the Red Riots, 109-64.

Deering was swept by Scarborough in its second meet, as the boys fell, 128-29, and the girls lost, 121-41. The Rams girls then defeated Bonny Eagle, 85-62, while the boys lost a 57-48 decision to the Scots.

Waynflete was swept by Greely in its second meet, as the boys lost, 56-35, and the girls were defeated, 72-14.

Wrestling

Cheverus won the Greater Portland cup Saturday, defeating Windham (40-33), Deering (51-24), Portland (54-18), Scarborough (57-24) and Westbrook (56-18). Portland won three of five matches, while Deering went 2-3.

Deering was also 13th at the season-opening Westbrook tournament.

Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.