Portland: First full week of fall sports season in the books

The fall sports season is in full swing and while local teams have had their share of hits and misses, everyone is thrilled to be back in action, enjoying a normal campaign.

Here’s a look back at the week that was:

Football

Portland’s Nathan Isajar breaks a couple tackles on a long reception during Friday’s 40-0 home win over Deering. Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald

Friday evening at Fitzpatrick Stadium, Deering and host Portland met in a countable regular season game for the first time in seven years, and the Bulldogs rolled to their second-straight victory to start the season.

One week after an impressive 30-18 win at Kennebunk, Portland got off to a perfect start against the Rams.

On the first offensive play, Kennedy Charles scored on a 6-yard run. On the second, Brandon Boyle, a transfer from Deering, scored on a 13-yard rush. On the third, quarterback Grant Crosby aired out a 56-yard touchdown pass to Aidan DiMillo, and just like that, the Bulldogs were in command, 20-0.

While Portland was stymied by a pair of turnovers and multiple penalties in the second quarter, it still managed to add to its lead when Boyle scored on a highlight reel 18-yard TD scamper to make it 27-0 at the half.

Placekicker Cristo Vumpa added a pair of field goals in the third period, one from 37 yards and the next from 25, to extend the advantage to 33. The Bulldogs added a 10-yard touchdown run from Reegan Buck in the fourth quarter and closed out a 40-0 victory.

Boyle ran for 149 yards and a couple scores as Portland improved to 2-0 and dropped Deering to 0-2 in the process.

“It was good to see my friends and play against them, but I wanted to beat them,” Boyle said. “I trained so hard to be out here. I wanted to prove myself.”

“It’s always great to beat our rival,” Bulldogs coach Jason McLeod said. “It’s been awhile. Regardless of how we played and what we need to tighten up, it’s always good to beat these guys. I thought we flew to the ball and did good things on defense.”

Portland will look to improve to 3-0 when it welcomes Noble (2-0) Friday night in a battle of unbeatens.

“We just need to work as a team and not overthink things or complicate things,” Boyle said.

“Noble has a quarterback who can throw the ball around and he’ll give us fits,” McLeod said. “Their defense blitzes a lot and tries to pressure us. We’ll need to have a good week of practice.”

Deering only managed 45 yards of offense in the loss, but coach John Hardy found reason to be optimistic.

“We definitely stepped up in the second quarter,” Hardy said. “A lot of teams would have just folded after their first three plays. I’m very proud of this young team for really buckling down and holding their ground. We have a lot of new guys in new places. There were positives.”

The Rams will try again to give Hardy his first victory Friday at home versus 0-2 Massabesic.

“The lesson is that there are some positives that come out of a loss,” Hardy said. “We’ll watch film tomorrow. The Portland game’s behind us and we’ll see them Thanksgiving Day. Now, it’s on to Massabesic.”

Cheverus, which beat visiting Yarmouth, 54-8, in its season opener, was scheduled to go to Maranacook Friday, but that game was canceled. The Stags host Lake Region Saturday afternoon.

Boys’ soccer

Waynflete senior Liam Slocumb defends Traip Academy’s Conor McPherson during last week’s 2-0 victory. Michael Hoffer / The Forecaster

Waynflete’s boys’ soccer team has picked right up where it left off in 2018, 2019 and 2020, atop the heap. The Flyers started with three straight victories last week to make it 17 consecutive wins over a three-year span. In the opener, at North Yarmouth Academy, Waynflete got early goals from Jacob Woodman and Samir Sayed and six key saves late from new goalkeeper Nico Kirby to prevail, 2-1.

“That first goal uplifted the team,” Sayed said. “After that, we knew we could score again. It was exciting to score, but I knew the game wasn’t over yet.”

“The second half was a lot different,” Kirby said. “We talked at halftime how we knew they’d come out and want to beat us. They had a lot of time to come back.

“To come here and get a win against a quality opponent that’s going to win a lot of games is a nice start,” added longtime Flyers coach Brandon Salway. “It’s nice to win and learn a lot and see what we need to improve upon.”

Next came the home opener versus Traip Academy, and Waynflete won that one, 2-0, on an “own goal” credited to Roan Hopkins and another from Woodman, as well as a stellar defensive effort, paced by Matt Adey.

“We have a lot of pride,” Adey said. “The guys we lost from last year were spectacular and it’s hard to fill their roles, but we have guys coming off the bench from last year and we learned a lot. I think we can be a really good team again.”

“I think we’re coming together really well,” Woodman said. “We just need experience. We still need to work on our first touch and possessing the ball.”

“We didn’t finish today, but I thought it was our most consistent 80 minutes by far we’ve put together,” Salway added. “We were far from perfect, but we moved the ball pretty well most of the game.”

Saturday, the Flyers beat host St. Dom’s, 8-2, behind three goals apiece from Sayed and Henry Hart and one each from Nils Burton-Johanson and Bryan Stark-Chessa.

Waynflete goes to Sacopee Valley Tuesday, hosts Richmond Thursday and welcomes Cape Elizabeth Tuesday of next week.

“It’s a process, but I’m happy with where we are right now,” Salway said.

Deering opened with a 2-0 loss at Scarborough, then improved to 2-1 after victories last week at Noble (3-1) and at home over Kennebunk (7-1). Against the Knights, David Kita and Nick Simon Mboumba each had a goal and an assist and Abdul Al Taee also scored. In the win over the Rams, Patricio Mowa scored twice, while Al Taee, Kita, Mboumba, Chandrel Mangele and Davonte Prom all added a goal. Deering hosts Marshwood Tuesday, welcomes Gorham Saturday and goes to reigning Class A champion Falmouth Monday.

Portland started with a 1-0 home win over Gorham, then lost last week at home to Cheverus (2-1) and at Windham (2-0) to fall to 1-2. Martin Kalala had the goal against the Stags. The Bulldogs hoped to get back on track Tuesday at home versus Biddeford. After going to Thornton Academy Thursday, Portland hosts Westbrook Saturday.

Cheverus started with a 3-0 home loss to South Portland, then won at Portland (2-1) and lost at Marshwood (3-1) last week to fall to 1-2. In the victory, Brady Hoglund and Jack Kingsley scored the goals and Wyatt Roy made five saves. The Stags welcomed Massabesic Monday, play host to Gorham Thursday and visit Kennebunk Saturday.

Girls’ soccer

On the girls’ side, Cheverus hasn’t missed a beat this fall despite a lot of new faces in new places. The Stags opened with wins at South Portland (2-0), at home over Portland (7-2) and at home over Marshwood (7-1). In the win over the Bulldogs, Julia Kratzer and Roxie van Oosterum had two goals, while Finley Brown, Kadynne Smith and Anna Vigue had one apiece. Against the Hawks, Vigue and Caoilinn Durkin each scored twice, and Olivia Bradford, Kratzer and Smith (two assists) found the net as well. Cheverus was at Massabesic Tuesday, has a showdown at Gorham Thursday and goes to Deering Tuesday of next week.

Speaking of the Rams, they gave new coach Paul Cameron his first victory Friday, 4-2, at Kennebunk. Deering opened with losses to visiting Scarborough (8-1) and Noble (1-0). In the win, Elsa Freeman’s two second half goals were the difference. Isa Gomez added two goals and Courtney Jackson stopped four shots. Deering looked to even its record Tuesday at Marshwood. The Rams go to Gorham Saturday and welcome Cheverus Tuesday of next week.

Portland fell to 0-3 after starting with losses at Gorham (6-0) and Cheverus (7-2) and at home to Windham (5-1). Eliza Stein scored against the Eagles. The Bulldogs hoped to get in the win column Tuesday at Biddeford. Portland is home versus Thornton Academy Thursday, visits Westbrook Saturday and is home against Scarborough Tuesday of next week.

Waynflete began with losses to visiting NYA (5-0) at host Traip Academy (3-0). Goalkeeper Jesse Connors had five saves in each game. The Flyers hosted Sacopee Valley Tuesday, welcome Richmond Thursday and play at two-time reigning Class B champion Cape Elizabeth Tuesday of next week.

Field hockey

Cheverus’ field hockey team has been dominant in the early going, blanking visiting Marshwood (8-0), winning at reigning regional champion Biddeford (6-2) and downing host Sanford (8-0). Taylor Tory scored four times against the Tigers, while Lucy Johnson and Zoe Radford also rattled the cage. In the win over the Spartans, Tory and Lily Johnson both had three goals, while Lucy Johnson added two. The Stags have a home showdown versus Scarborough Thursday (see pressherald.com/forecaster-sports/ for game story) and visit Bonny Eagle Monday.

The Portland/Deering co-op team began with losses to host Sanford (3-0), visiting Scarborough (8-0), host Bonny Eagle (4-0) and visiting Kennebunk (10-1). Hannah Caron scored the goal against Kennebunk. Portland/Deering was at Westbrook Monday, hosts Windham Wednesday and Monday of next week visits Thornton Academy.

The NYA/Waynflete co-op squad started with home losses to St. Dom’s (3-1) and Greely (2-1). After visiting Wells Monday, the team is at Sacopee Valley Wednesday and hosts Traip Academy Friday.

Volleyball

Cheverus’ volleyball team started with 3-0 losses at South Portland, at home against Falmouth and at Scarborough. The Stags host Sanford Wednesday and welcome Westbrook Thursday before playing host to Yarmouth Tuesday of next week.

Deering sandwiched 3-0 losses at Thornton Academy and Biddeford around a 3-0 home win over Westbrook. After hosting rival Portland Monday, the Rams play host to Bonny Eagle Friday and visit Kennebunk Monday.

Portland began its season Monday at Deering. After visiting Marshwood Wednesday and hosting Falmouth Friday, the Bulldogs play at Thornton Academy Monday.

Cross country

Cheverus joined Marshwood and Windham at Thornton Academy for a cross country meet last week. The boys’ squad was third, as Jesse Cadigan was second individually (with a time of 18:04). The Stags were also third in the girls’ race, as Annabelle Brooks was the individual runner-up (20:04).

Deering joined Falmouth and Noble at Sanford. The boys were second to Falmouth, as Alexey Seredin placed third (17:33.34). Megan Cunningham won the girls’ race (21:38.34), although the Rams didn’t score as a team.

Portland took part in a meet with Biddeford, Gorham, Kennebunk and South Portland. The boys took first place as a team, as George Theall placed fourth (16:01.62). Tenley Flint was third (19:08.66), but the Bulldogs didn’t score as a team in the girls’ meet.

Waynflete took on Lisbon, NYA, Old Orchard Beach and Wells in its first meet. The Flyers won the girls’ race, as Skylar Harris was first individually in 23:31.47. The boys were third, as Sawyer Linehan led the way with a ninth-place finish (21:19.53).