The fall sports season keeps steaming along with local squads emerging victorious more often than not.

It may seem hard to believe, but some teams are already nearing the midway point of the regular season and the action is just heating up.

Here’s a look back at the week that was and a glimpse at what’s to come.

Football

Greely’s football team, the reigning eight-man, large school South region champion, made a habit of scoring a lot of points and winning games in dramatic fashion last fall en route to the state final.

This year’s squad is following a familiar script, producing an absolutely wild, come-from-behind victory at Stearns last Friday night.

The Rangers, who dropped a close decision to Camden Hills in their opener before dominating Waterville in week two, fell behind just seconds into the contest when the Minutemen returned the kickoff for a touchdown. Greely then drew even at 8-8 on a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Andrew Padgett to Ben Kyles and a Padgett conversion rush. A 90-yard TD run from Wes Piper momentarily put the Rangers on the top, but Stearns rallied for a 16-14 advantage after one quarter. The Minutemen then made it 24-14 at the half and 32-14 heading to the fourth period.

And there, Greely roared back.

After Ben McCarron recovered a fumble deep in his territory, Luke Piper and Wes Piper connected for a 90-yard scoring pass (and Luke Piper hit Kyles for the two-point conversion pass), the Minutemen appeared to wrap it up, as they again returned the kickoff all the way for a touchdown with just 8:14 to go. But the Rangers still had some fight left and after Luke Piper hit Wes Piper for an 86-yard TD to cut the deficit to 40-28, Kyles returned a punt 70-yards for a score and Padgett’s subsequent two-point rush pulled Greely within four. The Rangers would get another chance and the Piper-to-Piper connection produced one more scoring pass, this one from 4-yards out with 1:30 remaining. Greely couldn’t get the two-point conversion and Stearns drove deep into Rangers’ territory looking to win it at the end, but a Luke Piper interception after the Minutemen’s quarterback was pressured by Isaiah Axelsen, allowed Greely to exhale and celebrate an unforgettable 42-40 victory.

“It was a great win to get against a really tough and good football team,” said Rangers coach Caleb King. “We stress that we cannot overlook anyone and the message was not any different with Stearns. They’re a gritty and well-coached team, but at the end, we were able to get the ball in our playmakers’ hands and take the win.”

Greely finished with 524 yards of offense. Wes Piper wound up with 349 total yards and scored four touchdowns on just 14 touches. Luke Piper was 4-of-5 passing for 225 yards and three TDs. He also had six tackles and an interception on defense

The Rangers go to 0-3 Yarmouth Friday. Last year, Greely made a statement that it was a true contender with a 12-8 home win over the Clippers, who were reigning state champions at the time.

“I am hoping the confidence from this week continues throughout the rest of the season,” King said. This Greely team is talented, but we’re also tough as nails and we never roll over. Ranger fight never dies.”

Yarmouth fell to 0-3 with a 22-14 home loss to Mt. Desert Island, the reigning eight-man, large school champion. The Clippers dug a 22-0 hole, then rallied before falling just short. Quarterback Jack Flanagan threw for 245 yards and two touchdowns to Adam Pelotte. Yarmouth welcomes Greely at 7 p.m., Friday.

In 11-man football, Falmouth continued its sizzling start with its biggest win yet, a 21-7 home victory over Cony last Friday. The Navigators (3-0) went in front to stay when Joey Guerrette scored on a 9-yard run last in the first quarter. Falmouth then doubled its lead, as Ben Robbins returned an interception 65-yards for a score in the late in the third period.

“I got off my block and I saw it tipped in the air and I went and got it,” Robbins said. “I dream of moments like that. I’m not going to lie to you. Just me and the end zone and no one in between, running with the ball in my hands and get there and celebrate with my teammates.”

The Rams finally broke through in the fourth quarter, as the Navigators surrendered their first points of the season, but Indi Backman’s 9-yard touchdown scamper with 1:52 left put it away. Backman finished with 166 yards on 24 attempts.

“We have kids who can play so unbelievably hard,” said Falmouth’s first-year coach Spencer Emerson. “We coach ’em hard and love ’em even harder. The effort and enthusiasm is through the roof.”

The Navigators’ next test is even tougher, as they host 3-0 Fryeburg Academy, the Class C South favorite, Friday at 6:30 p.m. (see our website for game story). The teams did not meet last season.

Freeport’s record fell to 1-2 Friday after a 35-6 setback at Winthrop. After falling behind by three touchdowns midway through the second period, quarterback Teddy Peters hit David Ulrickson for an 89-yard touchdown, but that would be it for the Falcons’ offense as the Ramblers gradually pulled away. Peters threw for 152 yards and also had 50 yards rushing on eight carries. Ulrickson had 121 yards on three receptions for Freeport, which turned the ball over four times.

The Falcons hope to get back on track Saturday when they go 1-2 Cape Elizabeth. Last season, the Capers eked out a 6-3 win at Freeport.

Field hockey

Freeport and Yarmouth’s field hockey teams continue to set the pace in Class B South.

Last week, the Clippers extended their win streak to five games and improved to 5-1 by downing host Poland (5-1), host Greely (2-1) and visiting Fryeburg Academy (8-0). Against the Knights, Celia Zinman scored three times, while Maya Nasveschuk (two assists) and Madison Wiles had one goal apiece. In the win over the Rangers, Zinman and Erica O’Connor scored the goals and Yarmouth held off a late rally.

“It’s a game that goes back and forth,” said Zinman. “We kept our intensity, which I’m really happy about, and we held our own.”

“We found a way to win it, which is awesome,” said Yarmouth’s second-year coach Bre Morrill.

In the win over the Knights, Wiles had a hat trick and two assists, while Nasveschuk, O’Connor (three assists), Zinman, Shea Abbott and Harper Featherstone finished with one goal apiece. After hosting Poland Wednesday, the Clippers are idle until next Tuesday when they play host to Gray-New Gloucester/North Yarmouth Academy.

“We lost a lot from last year, but we’ve gained just as much,” Zinman said. “Everyone has a mindset of winning, which is great. We all want to get better. We came into the season ready to go.”

“We just need to keep being intense and build from there,” Morrill said. “We want to try to get the gold and not the silver this year.”

Freeport improved to 6-0 and extended its two-year win streak to 14 games after a 4-0 win at Lake Region last week and Monday’s 2-0 home triumph over Greely. Against the Lakers, Liza Flower, Emily Groves, Anna Maschino and Reed Proscia all scored once and goalie Maddie Kryzak made three saves. In the win over the Rangers, Groves set up Flower for the first goal, then Lizalyn Boudreau scored the second goal. The Falcons are idle until Thursday of next week, when they have a showdown at York.

The GNG/NYA co-op improved to 5-0 last week after beating visiting St. Dom’s (3-2) and host Traip Academy (6-1). Against the Saints, Emma Bowden, Abby Lacombe and Greta Tod scored the goals. In the win over the Rangers, Bowden, Tod and Lydia Trytek scored two goals apiece and Kenlie Nadeau had four assists. GNG/NYA welcomes Lake Region Wednesday, hosts York Saturday and goes to Yarmouth Tuesday of next week.

Greely fell to 2-3 after a 2-1 home loss to Yarmouth and a 2-0 setback at Freeport. Sophia Hall-Riddle scored against the Clippers, while goalie Mya Vickerson stopped 10 shots.

“This game was so important for our confidence,” Rangers coach Burgess LePage said. “We’ve been working on some confidence issues that stem from last season. We needed to see our strengths. We’re lucky to play Yarmouth on grass because they’re so fast. We did a better job in the second half marking their most pivotal players and taking away some of their goal-scoring prowess. After we scored, our number one goal was to not let them score again. Of course, we wanted to come out with a ‘W’ against Yarmouth, but practicing that composure was paramount.”

In the loss to the Falcons, the Rangers hung tough throughout and held Freeport scoreless for the first half. Vickerson stopped 12 shots. Greely is home versus York Wednesday, goes to Fryeburg Academy Friday, then welcomes Cape Elizabeth Monday of next week.

Falmouth fell to 3-3 after home losses to reigning Class A champion Cheverus (7-0) and Gorham (2-0) last week. Goalie Avary Davis made nine saves against the Stags and seven versus the Rams. The Navigators look to get back on track Thursday at Sanford. Saturday brings a trip to Massabesic and Falmouth returns home next Monday to face Marshwood.

Boys’ soccer

On the pitch, Falmouth’s boys’ soccer team improved to 5-1 on the year with recent critical home wins over Scarborough (3-2) and Westbrook (2-1). In the victory over the Red Storm, the Navigators conceded the first goal, then got tallies from Simon Wissink, Sam Yoon and Evan Mayo. Goalkeeper Caden Berry made three saves. Against the Blue Blazes, Wissink and Charlie Creswell scored while Berry stopped four shots. Falmouth is at South Portland Wednesday (see our website for game story), then visits Biddeford Friday and Kennebunk Monday of next week.

Four-time reigning Class B champion Yarmouth took a 4-0-2 record into Tuesday’s home showdown versus Greely (see our website for game story) after a 3-0 home win over York, a 1-1 home draw versus Cape Elizabeth and a 4-0 home victory over Wells last week. Against the Wildcats, Luis Cardoso, Lucas Hayner and Ian Minnihan all scored once. Zacarias Binda scored the lone goal in the deadlock while goalkeeper Will Raymond made five saves. In the win over the Warriors, Cardoso had two goals and Binda and Mateo Coury added one apiece. The four goals came in an eight-minute span. The Clippers host Fryeburg Academy Thursday, then go to Freeport Tuesday of next week.

Greely took a five-game win streak and a 5-0-1 mark into Tuesday’s game at Yarmouth. Last week, the Rangers blanked host Freeport (6-0) and visiting York (3-0). In the win over the Falcons, Bez Mendelsohn scored three goals, Connor Skillin added a pair and Max Allen also found the net. Against the Wildcats, Owen Piesik scored a pair of goals and Skillin produced the other. Owen Partridge added a pair of assists. The Rangers welcome Poland Thursday, then play at Lake Region Monday of next week.

Freeport dropped its first five games, including losses at Cape Elizabeth (3-0) and at home to Greely (6-0), then improved to 1-5 with a 2-0 win at Traip Academy Friday. In the victory, Dylan Meinert and Cam Tourigny scored the goals.

“Tough schedule so far, but nice to get a win,” said Freeport’s first-year coach Peter Mills.

The Falcons went to York Tuesday, visit Wells Thursday, then return home next Tuesday to meet Yarmouth.

NYA was 3-1-1 after a 1-1 home tie against Gray-New Gloucester and a 1-0 home loss to rival Waynflete. In the draw, Cael Woelflein scored from Max Siebert to tie things up in the second half. The only goal of the loss came on a Flyers’ penalty kick. Panthers goalkeeper Gavin Thomas made six saves.

“You play on your heels, you’ll lose games,” lamented NYA coach Larry Burningham. “We’ve started off strong and our guys have to understand they’re as good as the other teams in the conference. It was just a lack of confidence. Our trend tends to be being on our heels for awhile then putting one in.

“(Waynflete) had to get a win under their belt. We didn’t have to win. They were more aggressive moving the ball. We gave them time and space to do it. We have to get smacked in the mouth every once in awhile to grow.”

The Panthers went to St. Dom’s Tuesday, host Traip Academy Friday and welcome Fryeburg Academy next Tuesday.

Girls’ soccer

On the girls’ side, NYA improved to 6-0 after wins last week at Gray-New Gloucester (6-0) and reigning Class C champion Waynflete (3-0). Against the Patriots, freshman Delphine Daniel scored three goals, while Lyla Casey, Alicia Fontana and Caroline Matusovich had one goal apiece. Emily Robbins contributed two assists and goalkeeper Sadie Morgan made three saves. In the win over the Flyers, which somewhat avenged last year’s regional final loss, Daniel opened the scoring by converting a penalty kick, then Natasha Godfrey scored on a rebound of a Casey shot and Ella Giguere buried a long free kick to put it away.

“We were so excited,” said Giguere, whose older sisters, Arianna and Lydia, were one-time Flyers’ stars. “I know a lot of faces here, so it feels good to beat them. We’ve been looking forward to this game. We were so ready for it. It feels so good to beat (Waynflete) after the upset last year. We knew our goal this year was to come back and beat them. We proved our point.”

“We felt the tide shift toward the start of the second half,” said Daniel. “We figured out our positioning and what went wrong in the first half, fixed it and it turned out amazing.”

“When that (final) whistle blew back in November, we were already planning for another shot at them,” added Panthers’ coach Ricky Doyon. “We have two shots this year, maybe three. We played OK today. It definitely wasn’t our best soccer, but I give Waynflete credit. I knew I had to make a couple adjustments with our forwards. I knew when we won the ball and put pressure on them, we’d find some through-balls with the speed and talent we have up top. I had a feeling we’d be OK.”

NYA hosted St. Dom’s Tuesday and Traip Academy Saturday, then has a showdown at Class B South contender Greely Tuesday of next week.

“We can’t take a break,” Giguere said. “We have to continue to push and work hard. We just have to be ready.”

“We have to keep momentum going and work on the little things,” said Doyon. “We still have a lot of work to do but we’re moving in the right direction.”

In Class A South, Falmouth suffered its first loss last week, 2-0, to visiting Windham, then improved to 3-1-1 with a 5-1 home victory over Kennebunk. In the setback, goalkeeper Madison VerLee made five saves, including a highlight-reel diving stop late in the game, but the Navigators’ offense couldn’t dent the scoreboard.

“We have to figure out how to score more goals in the run of play, but I think we did a good job battling with them,” Falmouth coach Ben Johnson said. “I think they’re the best team in the state.”

The Navigators played at Marshwood Tuesday, host South Portland Thursday and Westbrook Saturday, then travel to Sanford Tuesday of next week.

“We have to fix some things,” said Johnson. “We have to find players for certain roles. We want to be in the top eight to host a playoff game. We have to turn the corner.”

Two-time reigning Class B champion Yarmouth was 3-1-2 after sandwiching wins over visiting York (3-0) and host Wells (1-0) around a 2-0 setback at Cape Elizabeth last week. Taylor Oranellas scored all three goals against the Wildcats. In the loss to the Capers, in a rematch of last year’s regional final, the Clippers had some chances but couldn’t finish. Goalkeeper Linnaea Herring made four saves.

“I think the kids competed from start to finish and we’ll learn from this,” said Yarmouth coach Andy Higgins. “(Cape) probably had more of the run of play, but we didn’t back down and we answered. We had opportunities. Overall, we’re still a pretty young team. This is a great learning opportunity to come here and play on this field against a really good team and see where we stand.”

In the win over the Warriors, Miah Jacobs’ first varsity goal spelled the difference. The Clippers hosted Greely Tuesday (see our website for game story), go to Waynflete Thursday, then welcome Freeport Tuesday of next week.

Greely was 4-0-2 entering its showdown at Yarmouth Tuesday following a 2-0 home victory over Freeport and a 3-1 win at York last week. Molly Partridge had both goals against the Falcons. In the win over the Wildcats, Avery Bush scored twice and Lily Pierce also had a goal. The Rangers visit Poland Thursday and return home next Tuesday to face NYA.

Freeport was 2-3 after losing at home to Cape Elizabeth (2-1) and at Greely (2-0) and downing visiting Traip Academy (2-0). Against the Capers, Silvi Strong scored the lone goal, from Lucy Riggs, and goalkeeper Karleigh Costello stopped a dozen shots. In the win, Braelynn Coons and Abby Giroux both scored a goal and Costello made four saves. The Falcons hosted York Tuesday and are at Yarmouth Tuesday of next week.

Volleyball

Yarmouth’s five-time reigning Class B state champion volleyball team had won five straight matches coming into the week after dropping its opener to Washington Academy. Saturday, the Clippers outlasted visiting Cape Elizabeth in five games (25-17, 20-25, 26-24, 16-25, 16-8). Alyssa Rousseau had 31 digs, Ella Cameron finished with 21 kills and Norah Lushman added five aces. After hosting Class A powerhouse Scarborough Tuesday, the Clippers visit Sanford Thursday.

Falmouth evened its record at 3-3 following wins last week over visiting Greely in four sets (25-10, 25-22, 23-25, 25-17) and host Marshwood in five games (18-25, 25-12, 25-22, 18-25, 16-14). Against the Rangers, Sofie Asbjornsen had nine kills and five aces, Olive Clark added eight kills and six aces, Lyla Gagnon had seven kills and Abby Shaw finished with six aces. In the win over the Hawks, Clark had 14 kills and five aces and Asbjornsen finished with 11 kills and three aces. The Navigators were at Cape Elizabeth Tuesday, go to York Thursday and host Scarborough Tuesday of next week.

Greely fell to 1-4 after losses last week at Falmouth in four sets (10-25, 22-25, 25-23, 17-25) and at Washington Academy in three games. Against the Navigators, Annabelle Talley had seven kills and four digs, Maddie Croteau added five digs and five kills and Maggie Wilder finished with 12 digs. After going to Cheverus Tuesday, the Rangers host Gray-New Gloucester/Freeport Thursday, then welcome Messalonskee Saturday and Bonny Eagle Tuesday of next week.

NYA fell to 0-4 after a straight set loss at Wiscasset and a four game (15-25, 22-25, 25-21, 22-25) home setback to Camden Hills. Against the Windjammers, Eleanor Zuiches had eight aces and seven digs, Chloe Shervanick added nine digs and four aces and Joyce Abahari had four kills. The Panthers were at Brunswick Tuesday, host Maranacook Friday and Bucksport Saturday, then go to Westbrook Tuesday of next week.

Cross country

Yarmouth hosted a six-team cross country meet last week which also included Freeport and Greely.

The girls’ meet was won by Freeport, as Lucy Huggett was second individually with a time of 19 minutes, 14.62 seconds. The Clippers came in second and had the top finisher, Olivia Wentworth (19:09.25). Greely finished third and was led by Rowan Barry (third, 19:56.00).

The Falcons also won the boys’ competition, as Alex Gilbert (16:52.59) and Conner Smith (17:08.28) were first and second individually. Yarmouth came in second and featured Cameron Pernal (fifth, 17:50.12). Greely placed third and was led by Tait Harvey (fourth, 17:48.52).

Falmouth joined Noble and Thornton Academy at Portland. The Navigators boys were second to the Bulldogs. Eli Sidhu came in ninth (19:23). The Navigators girls placed third, but had the top individual in Parker Fox (20:06).

Golf

On the links, Falmouth’s reigning Class A state champion was 5-1 after wins last week over South Portland (13-0) and Cheverus (9-4). Against the Red Riots, Dante Iannetta was the medalist with a nine-hole round of 38. Anthony Graceffa led the way versus the Stags with a round of 40.

Greely was 2-3 after an 11-2 loss to Gorham and an 8-5 win over Bonny Eagle. Joe Hansen was the medalist in the loss to the Rams with a round of 36. Hansen shot 36 again in the victory over the Scots.

Freeport edged Yarmouth last week with a score of 163 to the Clippers’ 170. Charlie MacDonald and Terrence Snow each shot a 39 for the Falcons. The Clippers were led by Colby Carnes and Winslow Noel, who each shot a 43.

NYA beat Old Orchard Beach last week, 169-225. The Panthers were led by Devin Dube, who shot a 41.

Portland Press Herald staff writer Travis Lazarczyk contributed to this story.

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