Newsletter #18...Road trip
Before we get into the usual newslettery stuff, I just wanted to give you all a heads up that I'm not covering games this weekend.
At least I have a good excuse (I think my boss agrees), as I'm taking my bride to New Orleans to see the Patriots-Saints game Sunday afternoon.
I'll share some of the sights and sounds in next week's newsletter, but thank you in advance for granting me a couple days off.
Back to our regularly scheduled program...
Verbal commitment season
Current high school juniors can't sign their college commitment letter until their senior year, but they can give a verbal commitment and last week, three Cheverus athletes did that very thing.
As you've probably already heard, softball standout Addison DeRoche will take her talents to Florida State University. DeRoche was pursued by more schools than you can count and after also visiting Oregon, Texas A&M and Alabama, opted to become a Seminole.
Hear much more about DeRoche's decision in this week's podcast (link later in this newsletter).
Sydney Brunelle plans to play lacrosse at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Brunelle is also a field hockey standout for the Stags.
Colton Jewett, a baseball standout, plans to play that sport at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Jewett is currently lighting it up on the gridiron for Cheverus.
Congratulations to Addison, Colton and Sydney!
Welcome, Coach Cimino
Travis Seaver recently stepped down as Greely's boys' basketball coach after 13 seasons, 177 victories and the 2017, 2018 and 2019 Class A state titles.
Wednesday, Greely athletic director David Shapiro announced that Seaver's replacement is Matt Cimino.
Cimino played for the legendary Bob Brown at Cheverus, then played collegiately at both American University and George Washington University. Cimino spent the past four years as the junior varsity/assistant varsity coach at Falmouth, where he helped the Navigators win last year's Class A championship. Cimino has also worked in player development for the Maine Celtics.
"It's an exciting and humbling feeling for sure," Cimino said. "Greely's a great program with a rich history in basketball, both boys' and girls' basketball. I can't say enough about my time at Falmouth. I loved those players so much and there's no way I could have gotten this opportunity if it wasn't for (longtime, legendary Navigators' coach Dave) Halligan. Winning last year's championship is one of the best memories of my life."
Shapiro felt that Cimino stood out among a strong pool of candidates and not just because of his size.
"(Matt's) such a humble guy," Shapiro said. "He didn't even have playing Division One basketball on his resume. What stands out about him is the depth of the relationship he has with his players. They love him. He's a great relationship-builder and is super-knowledgeable about the game."
On a heater
Several local squads have produced long win streaks. Here's a list of teams who have won at least five games/matches in a row at press time:
Cape Elizabeth girls' soccer (11 in a row)
Cheverus field hockey (10)
Gorham boys' soccer (6)
Gorham volleyball (7)
Greely football (14, including 2024)
Greely boys' soccer (8)
Scarborough boys' soccer (9)
Scarborough girls' soccer (6)
Scarborough volleyball (7)
Yarmouth field hockey (11)
In case you missed it...
If you missed any of our recent game stories, you can find them here:
Cheverus field hockey edges Biddeford in midseason showdown
TA earns revenge with decisive win at Portland
Gorham field hockey upsets Scarborough
Falmouth girls stay unbeaten with win at Thornton Academy
Yarmouth goes overtime to win showdown at Freeport
NYA boys get first victory, at rival Waynflete
Gorham volleyball goes the distance to edge Cheverus
Freeport bounces back with win over Cape Elizabeth
Greely boys surge late to beat Cape Elizabeth
Cape girls pass test against Greely
Media
My recent radio appearances, for those interested:
Spot with Matt Gagnon of WGAN from Tuesday morning:
https://wgan.com/morning-news/hoffers-high-school-sports-5/
Weekly WJAB spot from last Friday:
https://thebigjab.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/MMM-10-3-25-Michael-Hoffer.mp3
And a bonus WJAB spot from Thursday morning:
https://thebigjab.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/MMM-10-9-25-Michael-Hoffer.mp3
Predictions
I'm now 2-3 on my popular, prescient Patriots pick, following Sunday night's upset win in Buffalo, and how much fun was that game?!
This week's guess:
Patriots 23 Saints 20
This one has the feel of a trap game. We'll see how prepared the Patriots are to handle success. They should prevail, but the Superdome is a tough place to play and I have a hunch this won't come easily. I'm looking forward to catching it first-hand...
Turning to high school football, here are my picks for this week's games. I went 8-3 last week (44-11 for the season):
Spruce Mountain over Cape Elizabeth
Cheverus over Biddeford
Falmouth over Marshwood (game played Thursday, pick made Wednesday)
Freeport over Maranacook
Greely over Wells
Bonny Eagle over Portland
Scarborough over Gorham
South Portland over Deering
Thornton Academy over Massabesic
Kennebunk over Westbrook
Bangor over Windham
Yarmouth over Traip Academy
Daily features
All season long at Hoffer's High School Sports, we'll have fresh, unique content every weekday, in addition to the myriad game stories.
This past Monday, HHSS, in conjunction with our partner, cPort Credit Union, named another "Player of the Week," Freeport senior field hockey standout Liza Flower:
Michael Hoffer
Tuesday brought the release of our latest Super-Six polls for football, boys' soccer, girls' soccer, field hockey and volleyball:
Michael Hoffer
Wednesday saw us feature Greely at Cape Elizabeth girls' soccer as our Game of the Week (and it lived up to billing):
Michael Hoffer
Thursday, our weekly Hoffer's High School Sports podcast featured an interview with Cheverus' Addison DeRoche:
Michael Hoffer
Enjoy the weekend, everyone. I'll have some jambalaya and a Hurricane in your honor.
May we all experience as much joy as North Yarmouth Academy's boys' soccer did when it broke into the win column Tuesday by virtue of a win over rival Waynflete.
See you again right here, next Friday.
Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffersports@yahoo.com
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