FOOTBALL

Coach: Aaron Filieo (fourth year, 18-12 overall record)

2022 record: 7-4 (Lost, 29-20, to Portland in Class B South Final)

Top returning players: Alex Dobson (Senior), Matthew Frey (Senior), Parker Sipos (Senior), Matthew Berry (Junior), Eli Filieo (Junior), Brady Haynes (Junior)

Pivotal games: Sept. 1 CONY, Sept. 8 LEWISTON, Sept. 15 @ Sanford, Oct. 6 THORNTON ACADEMY, Oct. 20 @ Scarborough, Oct. 27 @ Portland

Coach’s comment: “We graduated 18, most of them skill guys. We still have a lot young skill players and they’re good. They just need experience. Our line is very deep and has experience. We’ll spread the ball around this year. We have some weapons. Going back to Class A makes sense for us. The goal is to get in to the playoffs, then see what happens. I think we can make a push.”

The Forecaster’s forecast: After reaching the regional final for the first time in over two decades, South Portland has to reload this fall as it returns to Class A, its longtime home. While a player like do-everything, Fitzpatrick Trophy semifinalist Jaelen Jackson is irreplaceable and there are many other holes to fill, the Red Riots don’t expect to drop off much and hope that by season’s end that they can compete with anyone.

Junior Easton Healy, last seen helping South Portland’s baseball team win a Class A state title, is the new quarterback. The Red Riots expect do some damage through the air, as Healy can look for Berry, sophomore Darius Johnson and senior Gabe Galarraga, who didn’t play a year ago, but could be due for some big-time production. Frey, a captain, will be a key running back. South Portland’s biggest strength is its offensive line, as it returns Dobson, Filieo, Haynes and Sipos and can plug in senior Henry Risch, who was injured a year ago.

The Red Riots’ defense will keep the team in every game. Up front, Dobson, Filieo, Haynes, Risch and Sipos will all be a factor. Frey is a top linebacker. Berry, Galarraga and Johnson will all be heard from in the secondary.

South Portland will play some of the top Class A teams, including preseason favorites Thornton Academy and Portland, as well as some former Class B foes, which all adds up to a challenging slate. It might take the Red Riots a few weeks to completely come into their own, but the pieces are in place to do great things. Look for a triumphant return to Class A by this group.

BOYS’ SOCCER

Coach: Bryan Hoy (17th year, 148-75-22 overall record)

2022 record: 11-5 (Lost, 2-1, in double overtime, to Gorham in Class A South quarterfinals)

Top returning players: Tim Caouette (Senior), CJ Marenghi (Senior), Curtis Metcalf (Senior), Che-Hao Saito (Senior), Luke Tierney-Trevor (Senior), Beckett Mehlhorn (Junior), Ben Morin (Junior)

Pivotal games: Sept. 2 SCARBOROUGH, Sept. 7 @ Falmouth, Sept. 19 @ Gorham, Sept. 21 DEERING, Oct. 10 WINDHAM, Oct. 12 @ Scarborough

Coach’s comment: “We are feeling pretty confident in our squad this year. We have a lot of depth this season, which is normally not the case for us. We also don’t have a superstar player to lean on as we have had the past few years. If we can improve on our distribution through the midfield, we could be a team no one wants to match up with in the playoffs.”

The Forecaster’s forecast: South Portland remains the model of consistency under Hoy, having now posted 14 consecutive winning records in non-COVID seasons. Unfortunately for the Red Riots, they also have a penchant for falling just short, often in agonizing fashion, in the playoffs, with Gorham sending them home for the second year in a row last autumn. South Portland had to say goodbye to all-state standout Divin Mpinga, along with all-star goalkeeper Thomas Caouette and all-star back Drew Folley, but the 2023 edition remains deep, balanced, hungry and talented.

Morin will play a huge role this season in initiating the offense and finding his open teammates for great shots. He’s joined in the midfield by Marenghi. Top scoring threats include Mehlhorn, Metcalf, senior Tim Caouette and sophomore Casey Corcoran. The Red Riots will be tough to score against as well, as Saito and Tierney-Trevor are veteran defenders and they’re bolstered by seniors Caleb Juers and Chris Keene and junior Enoque De Dieu in front of new goalie, junior Michael Zaccaria, who saw some time as a backup last season.

The Red Riots will get a quick idea of where they stand when they go up against longtime nemesis Scarborough in the opener. South Portland will also see the Red Storm a second time, as well as face preseason favorite Windham and several other rivals. The Red Riots will hold their own against everyone and should again enjoy a winning mark. No one will want to see South Portland in the postseason and this could be the year that the Red Riots get the bounces to go their way.

GIRLS’ SOCCER

Coach: Tyler Pelletier (second year)

2022 record: 4-10 (No playoffs)

Top returning players: Olivia Bean (Senior), Samantha Clyde (Senior), Maddie Fitzherbert (Senior), Nola Gorneau (Senior), Marina Bassett (Junior), Emma Travis (Junior)

Pivotal games: Sept. 6 CHEVERUS, Sept. 27 @ Scarborough, Oct. 4 DEERING, Oct. 13 @ Portland

Coach’s comment: “The league is full of tough teams this year. Our goal this year is to make the playoffs and surprise some of the top teams.”

The Forecaster’s forecast: South Portland hopes to build on last year’s lessons and move up the standings this fall.

Clyde was an All-SMAA honorable mention in 2022. She’ll be a top defender, along with Fitzherbert, in front of sophomore Amelia Burton-Fowler in goal. Bassett, Bean, Gorneau and Travis will be in the midfield. Bassett will likely pace the offense. Freshman Maci Rauscher is a key new addition.

The Red Riots hope to be competitive with everyone and win more games than they did a year ago. If South Portland can get into the playoffs, it might just spring a shocker or two. The present is promising and the future is bright for this program.

FIELD HOCKEY (co-op withWestbrook)

Coach: Kaylee Whitten (second year)

2022 results: 2-11-1 (no postseason)

Top returning players: Emily Keefe (Senior), Jillian Pelletier (Senior), Maeve Tardif (Sophomore)

Pivotal games: Sept. 5 WINDHAM, Sept. 7 PORTLAND/DEERING, Sept. 29 GORHAM, Oct. 11 @ Portland/Deering, Oct. 17 @ Scarborough

Coach’s comment: “The co-op has brought us a lot of great girls with talent. We have the best numbers we’ve had in awhile, which looks to be promising moving forward for the program. With that being said, these girls have been putting in the work during the offseason. Each and every one of them wants to continue to improve, individually and for the team as well. We have talked a lot about working hard not only for themselves but for each other. Our team dynamic is strong and the expectation is that we continue to improve as a team throughout the season. We hope to shock some teams this year.”

The Forecaster’s forecast: South Portland/Westbrook enters its second season as a co-op program and hopes to build on last year. With a superb goalie and a lot of talent, don’t be surprised if this group makes a jump.

Keefe was an all-state selection as a junior after making 220 saves. She has 414 for her career and will keep her team in every game this fall. Offensively, Pelletier and Tardif (who made the SMAA All-Rookie team last season) are top returners. Junior Mackenzie Hall and sophomore Lily Dorrington will hope to put the ball in the cage as well. Other newcomers to watch include sophomores Olivia Inoscencio and Jane Phillips.

South Portland/Westbrook will have its hands full against the elite teams in the conference, but it should be competitive with everyone else and if it can produce a few goals, that will lead to victories, which in turn could spell a playoff berth, which last happened in 2016.

VOLLEYBALL

Coach: Sarah Marckoon (third year)

2022 record: 3-11 (No playoffs)

Top returning players: Ryan Hillier (Senior), Paige Marble (Senior), Ella Nickerson (Senior)

Pivotal matches: Aug. 31 @ Deering, Sept. 6 CHEVERUS, Sept. 14 @ Gorham, Sept. 30 @ Thornton Academy, Oct. 10 SCARBOROUGH, Oct. 16 PORTLAND

Coach’s comment: “We have set some pretty lofty performance goals. We are hoping to turn our record from 3-11 to 10-4. We have put in work in the offseason and during preseason to improve as players and coaches and we fully believe that everyone will take notice.  We only lost four seniors and have a bulk of our starting lineup returning for this season.”

The Forecaster’s forecast: South Portland believes that it has a big bounce-back season in store.

The Red Riots will be led by Nickerson, the softball standout, who had 35 aces and 25 kills a year ago, as well as Hillier, who had 72 digs, and Marble, who had 76 assists, 37 digs, 17 kills and 11 aces. Junior outside hitter Abigail Thayer and freshman defensive specialist Lila Phillabaum are newcomers to watch.

The Red Riots don’t have an easy schedule, but they welcome the challenge. If all goes well, a winning record and playoff berth will be the end result.

CROSS COUNTRY

Coaches:
(Boys) Dave Kahill (11th year)
(Girls) Matt Toothaker (second year)

2022 results:
(Boys) 6th @ Class A state meet
(Girls) DNQ for Class A state meet (11th @ regionals)

Top returners:
(Boys) Fischer Petrlik (Junior), Paul Sames (Junior), Evan Small (Junior), Sam Stocks (Junior), Brody Hamel (Sophomore), Michael Lawlor (Sophomore)
(Girls) Gabrielle Archibald (Senior), Eva Cooke (Senior), Iris Young (Senior), Lucy Down (Sophomore), Elsa Henriksen (Sophomore)

Coach Kahill’s comment: “We’re a young team with strong potential. With only one returning senior, the team will be focused on developing maturity, consistency and unity throughout the season. Losing four of last year’s top five runners to graduation is significant, but all of our top returners improved during last year’s track seasons, so we have the potential to develop a strong varsity team to compete for a top four finish at the regional championship. Ultimately, our growth as a mature and cohesive team will define our success.”

Coach Toothaker’s comment:  “Our team is in a great spot to start the season. We are returning nearly all of our runners from last year, have some great newcomers and everyone has been very focused so far with our preseason work. Our focus this season is on doing the correct things at an individual level to bring about strong results at the team level. Everyone has been running together for a few seasons now, so the focus and mentality is excellent. Our team is working really well as a unit with workouts and races. The expectation this season is to get stronger each week and to focus on the season as a whole. We have some great races on the schedule. I’m really excited to see what we can do.”

The Forecaster’s forecast: Both South Portland teams expect to be in the midst of Class A South contention this fall.

The Red Riots boys lost much of their firepower to graduation, but the cupboard isn’t bare. Small was 23rd at last year’s state meet and Sames also took part. They’ll lead the way this season, along with Lawlor and Petrlik. Hamel and Stocks will help the pack, while new juniors Tyler Bryant and Nolan I’Aboni will step right in and make an impact. South Portland hopes to qualify for states for the third straight season and certainly has the pieces in place to make that happen.

The girls’ team last qualified for states in 2015 and hopes to end that drought this year. The Red Riots will be led by four runners who scored at the regional meet last season: Young (52nd), Archibald (56th), Henriksen (57th) and Cooke (66th). Dow also ran a year ago. Sophomore Julia Tompkins and freshman Evelyn Smith round out a promising roster. If South Portland can get some runners to move up the standings, it will have a good chance to make the cut at regionals.

GOLF

Coach: Brandon Wohl (first year)

2022 results: Did not qualify for Class A state match

Top returners: Chris Keene (Senior), Tobey Lappin (Senior), Evan Campbell (Junior)

Coach’s comment: “With the majority of the varsity starters from last season graduating last year, we’ll be led by Evan Campbell, who competed in last year’s individual state tournament. The team has many promising newcomers from all classes who will help us remain competitive throughout the season.”

The Forecaster’s forecast: South Portland has a change at the top this fall after longtime coach Tom Hyland stepped down. Wohl takes over a team that’s in a building mode, but even after Lucas Flaherty, the 2021 individual state champion departed, the Red Riots do have some talent.

Campbell leads the way, he shot an 18-hole round of 88 at last year’s Class A state match. Keene and Lappin are seniors who will help the cause. If some other players can round into form, South Portland should improve steadily in the weeks to come.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. 

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